After he rushed out of the slave tent carrying Raphtalia, and with Motoyasu trailing behind but remaining unseen, Naofumi asked around town where the nearest clinic was and some people gave him false directions on purpose just to get him turned around. Finally, someone honestly pointed him in the right direction until he spotted the red cross sign hanging from the door.

When he approached the building, Naofumi banged his fist rapidly on the door and called out in desperation, "Hello! Hello! Is anybody there! Please! I need help!"

Just as he shouted that, someone appeared in the door's window and Naofumi showed them Raphtalia and he asked with a pleading look, "Please! I need some medicine for her!"

The person looked at Raphtalia and then to Naofumi and then they turned the 'OPEN' sign on the door to 'CLOSED' and Naofumi heard the door lock and the person walked away. Naofumi got desperate and he started to shout while pounding on the door with his palm, "No wait! Please! I just need some medicine!"

But no matter how much he shouted, the person in the clinic wouldn't let him in. Naofumi looked down at Raphtalia in his arms and he saw that she was started to breathe heavily and he got worried. Thinking if there were any other options, Naofumi immediately remembered Erhard and he said, "Maybe he could help." And soon, he ran off towards the blacksmith shop to see Erhard with Motoyasu trailing behind.

Before Motoyasu got far enough, he saw the 'CLOSED' part of the sign turn back to 'OPEN' and he glared and thought, so that's what they're playing at. Meanwhile, Itsuki was walking through town with his party members behind him and he took a bite out of a drumstick that he bought. One of his party members asked, "Are we gonna do more training before the upcoming Wave, Sir Itsuki?"

Itsuki thought and he said, "We could do a little bit more grinding today. I do want to get my level bit higher than it already is."

Suddenly, Itsuki stopped when he felt a presence coming his way and he immediately knew who it was. He looked in the other direction and his eyes instantly went wide with glee when he saw that it was Naofumi. He then said in a gleeful tone, "Fumi-tan!"

However, Itsuki saw that Naofumi was carrying a little girl in his arms and he thought, who's that Fumi-tan is holding? Just then, Motoyasu trailed behind and Itsuki called, "Motoyasu! What's going on with Fumi-tan?"

Motoyasu said while jogging in place, "That's what I'm trying to find out. I'll fill you in later!" And Motoyasu ran off to continue shadowing the shield hero.

Once Motoyasu was gone, Itsuki put on his yandere face and said in a dark tone, "He'd better." And Itsuki's party thought with fearful looks, Sir Itsuki can be scary!

At the blacksmith shop, Erhard entered the shop's front when Naofumi burst in panting heavily. Erhard saw Naofumi and he asked with a concerned look, "What's the matter kid? Why are you back so soon?"

Naofumi showed the old man Raphtalia and he said "Please boss! Help her!"

Erhard saw how red the little raccoon girl's face was and he put on a look of sympathy and he told Naofumi to follow him. Above the shop, Erhard tucked Raphtalia into the bed Naofumi stayed in while Naofumi explained all that happened. Once Erhard was done, he let out a sigh when he heard the clinic wouldn't let the boy in. The old man the mumbled, "Those idiots."

He then looked at Naofumi and he said to him, "Listen kid, it's best that you ignore the clinic for now."

"But what am I gonna do for medicine? And how am I gonna find a doctor for her?" Naofumi asked desperately.

Erhard held up his hand and told Naofumi to calm down. He went on to explain, "I might help you with that, kid. I know someone at the castle who's a doctor. If I message him now, he'll be here in the next couple hours."

Naofumi put on a look of relief and he said, "That's great, but what about medicine?"

Erhard told the boy there's an apothecary not far from his shop and the man who runs it might spare Naofumi some herbs that will help bring down Raphtalia's fever. Naofumi nodded while listening and he told Erhard he would head to the apothecary right away and the old blacksmith said he would watch over Raphtalia while he did. Naofumi then took Spot off his shoulder and said to the little monster, "You help take care of her too, okay Spot?" And the balloon monster let out a little growl.

Once Naofumi left Raphtalia in Erhard's care, he rushed over to the apothecary remembering the directions the old man gave him. As soon as he arrived at the building, Naofumi entered and called out, "Excuse me!"

The old man behind the counter looked up from what he was doing when he heard that and he saw Naofumi standing there. He squinted his eyes at Naofumi and he said, "Yes. May I help you?"

Naofumi approached the man behind the desk, placed both hands on it and said with a bow, "I'm begging you! Please spare me some herbs for medicine!"

The old man looked at Naofumi when he heard the desperation in his tone and when Naofumi lifted his head up, the old man saw his eyes were almost ready to pour out tears. Naofumi then said again, "Please. A friend of mine is really sick and she needs medicine."

The old man let out a sigh and said, "I would love to give you some herbs Sir Shield Hero, but unfortunately most of the herbs I use for medicines are running low. I put in a request for more herbs, but who knows how long it'll take. No one wants to step foot in the woods and face the monsters because any who do are either killed or get really hurt."

Naofumi looked at the old man then to his shield and back to the old man again. Naofumi let out a sigh, stood up straight and said to the old man with a determined tone, "I'll do it!"

The old man widened his eyes with shock after hearing the boy say that. He then proceeded to tell him, "Are you sure, son?"

The old man then looked down at Naofumi's arm and saw the shield on it and he narrowed his eyes and thought, I see. So he really is one of the four like the legend tells. The old man looked at Naofumi and said to him, "Very well. I'll give you list of herbs that I need. And if you can manage to find them, I'll give you a grimoire that'll show you how to make medicines and healing potions for your future adventures."

Naofumi smiled and nodded and he said, "Thank you sir!"

After the old man gave him a list of herbs, Naofumi ran out of the apothecary and headed out towards the field. Meanwhile, Motoyasu was watching and listening and he smiled and thought, good boy Naofumi. In the field, Naofumi proceeded to collect the herbs on the list and store them in his shield. He even managed to get a leaf shield which has the same effect as a healing herb so it'll heal him or others should the shield be needed.

Naofumi also got a water drop shield which can give him minimal water powers. While going around and collecting the herbs, Naofumi got ambushed by monsters, but he used his shield to protect himself from their attacks. Plus, whenever one of them bit him, he managed to bleed a bit, but Naofumi didn't feel any pain at all. Looking at his shield, Naofumi thought, it may be only good for defense, but it's quite handy whenever you need it. The shield hero thought if he's lucky, maybe he'll attain a shield that'll let him attack.

After searching around for a few hours, Naofumi got all the herbs he needed and soon, he headed back to the apothecary to give them to the old man. Once he got there, Naofumi showed the old man all the herbs he collected and the shop's owner was surprised that the shield hero collected so much. The old man looked over the herbs and he then looked at Naofumi and Naofumi asked, "I hope I got the right ones. I even gathered some extra, you know, just in case you ever run out."

The old man nodded and smiled at the boy and he said to him, "This is more than enough. Thank you, my boy."

Soon, the old man gave Naofumi the grimoire just as he promised along with a few herbs that'll help him make potions for healing and medicine. Naofumi bowed and thanked the old man for his help and he then raced out of the apothecary after storing the herbs in his shield to head back to the blacksmith shop where Raphtalia was waiting.

Motoyasu was following behind Naofumi as quick as he could and he thought, I understand where Naofumi is going with this. If I was in his shoes, I too would try to get medicine for someone who's gravely sick. After arriving back at Erhard's shop, Naofumi went into the back and climbed up the stairs to Raphtalia's room.

As soon as he got there and burst through he door, Naofumi panted heavily and he saw not only was Erhard in the room, but two other individuals as well. One of them he recognized as the healer who looked him over back at the castle when he first arrived at the capital and the other was a girl with black hair, black eyes and her arms were covered in feathers.

The healer looked at Naofumi, smiled and said, "Hello there young man, do you remember me?"

Naofumi nodded and he said, "You're the healer from the castle who looked at me."

The man held out his hand and Naofumi took it and the man said, "My name is Rayas, Sir Iwatani. The girl I brought with me is my assistant, Stella. You may not remember her, but she was with me when you were brought in."

Naofumi looked at Stella curiously and he asked, "Is she a..."

Rayas nodded and said, "Like your little friend here, Stella is a demi human. She's a crow demi human, to be precise. Her family and entire clan were killed or captured by traffickers and she was sold from noble to noble. That's when I bought her from a noble when I was making a house call and from then on, she's been my assistant. The king even agreed that as long as she works for me, no noble will touch her."

Naofumi nodded in amazement while hearing Rayas' tale on how he saved Stella. Rayas then said, "Well, enough about Stella. It's Miss Raphtalia you want to hear about, correct?"

Naofumi immediately remembered the reason he came and he said, "Yeah, please doc! What's her condition?"

Rayas looked at the raccoon girl and explained, "She has some inflammation in her lungs which is giving her some breathing problems. I also noticed she has some injuries both old and new, a few broken ribs which will be healed with time, some deep scars on her back, deep cuts on her wrists, neck and ankles that look like they've been cuffed tightly over and over and even some burns left by branding sticks and cigars.

"I also found some tearing in her vaginal area like I did with you, Sir Naofumi. I bet the man who had this poor girl last really did her in."

After hearing everything Doctor Rayas said to him, Naofumi looked at Raphtalia with worry and he placed his hand gently on her head and thought, she's like me. He then looked at the doctor and said, "I brought some herbs back from an apothecary near this shop. The owner also gave me a grimoire on how to make the medicine from it. The problem is, I can't read this world's language."

Rayas nodded and said, "No worries lad. I'll show you how to do it and also show you how to make the medicine too."

Rayas looked at Stella and asked her to watch Raphtalia, which she agreed and Erhard offered to help out while allowing the two men to use his kitchen to make the medicine. Soon, Naofumi and Rayas were in the kitchen and Rayas showed Naofumi the right tools and what to use to make the herbs into medicine. A few minutes later, Naofumi got the hang of learning how to make medicine and learning the words and letters from the grimoire.

Pretty soon, the shield hero made a few bottles of medicine from the herbs and he brought one up to Raphtalia's room. When he got there, Naofumi gently lifted up the raccoon girl's head and poured the bottle's contents into her mouth. Raphtalia coughed slightly and Naofumi thought she was gonna throw up the medicine. He then said to her softly, "Bear with it Raphtalia. This will help you feel better, I promise."

Raphtalia looked at Naofumi with her big pink-red eyes and she saw the concerned look on his face. Raphtalia then said in a hoarse voice, "It's bitter."

Naofumi closed his eyes and nodded sadly and he said to her gently, "I know. But it's supposed to taste bitter. The bitterness will help your fever go down a bit."

Raphtalia nodded and she agreed to continue taking it. Naofumi smiled and said as he put more of the medicine in her mouth, "Good girl."

A while later, Naofumi and Erhard were standing outside the shop with Rayas and Stella and Naofumi shook the good doctor's hand and said, "Thanks for everything doc."

Rayas nodded and said, "No problem. Just continue giving her the medicine and let her heal a bit before you train her for anything."

Naofumi nodded and told him he will. Erhard also thanked Rayas for his help and the doctor nodded at the old blacksmith. Once Rayas and Stella bowed to them, the two took their leave back to the castle. As they were walking, Stella looked at Rayas and asked, "Sir, why didn't you tell the shield hero what the king told you?"

Rayas smiled and said, "I'll tell him eventually. When the next wave happens, that's when I will give Sir Naofumi the news. Of course, I'll expect you to help too, Stella. Given you're a crow demi human and crows are known for their wind ability."

Stella nodded at her master and said to him, "You can count on me, Sir Rayas. I'll do what I can to aid you and the shield hero as a part of his party."

AN: Here's the next part to my 'Rising of the Shield Hero' fanfic. Sorry it took so long, I was working on other stories and I was trying to let certain parts of certain stories flow through me so I can use them. I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy out there. For me, I just want this horrible year to end!😩Anyway, I was given new prompt ideas from juubi-mage0327 so expect a 'Naruto x Ben 10' crossover fanfic, a 'Xiaolin Showdown x Highschool DxD' crossover fanfic, a 'Blue Exorcist' fanfic, a 'Naruto x Bleach' crossover fanfic, another 'Highschool DxD' fanfic and a 'Naruto x Fairy Tail' crossover fanfic, all coming soon. Plus, some original fanfic ideas I thought of and original stories too.

Also, be patient with me when it comes to updates because I'm doing the best I can and I get distracted by certain things easily. I have some minor autism and I can't help it sometimes.😤So, anyway, that's all I gotta say. Till then my little kittens!😘😘😘