Reborn as shield hero with Garps Template

"Um... can I sleep here with you?"

Melty cautiously poked her head into the tent and asked.

"Find a place to sleep by yourself."

Jason, who was still half-asleep, frowned in irritation.

"There's no place for me to sleep. I just need to lie down next to Filo. I won't take up much space or make any noise."

Melty explained, hoping to find a sense of security by being near Filo in this unfamiliar place.

"Fine, but be quiet. If you disturb me, I'll throw you out immediately."

Jason, too sleepy to argue, gave in and soon drifted back to sleep.

"Thank you, Shield Hero."

Melty was overjoyed and carefully nestled herself next to Filo.

Since the tent was quite large, and the corner was far from Jason, Melty didn't feel uneasy. Her main comfort came from being close to Filo.

As time passed, Jason, still sleeping, vaguely felt someone shaking him.

"What's going on?"

Jason, thinking they might be under attack by monsters, immediately opened his eyes and asked.

"Lord Jason, Filo and little Mel..."

Raphtalia's finger pointed toward Filo, who had reverted to her monster form and was sleeping soundly.

Melty's clothes were scattered across the ground, even her shoes, but she was nowhere to be found.

"Little Mel is gone, and she didn't take any clothes. She shouldn't have gone far. Could she have been..."

Raphtalia suddenly thought of something horrifying, her eyes filled with fear. "Did Filo... eat her?"

"No matter how hungry Filo is, she wouldn't eat someone alive. She's a Filo bird, not a dragon."

Jason shook his head, sounding exasperated.

"Then where could little Mel have gone? It's not normal to find only her clothes left behind," Raphtalia said, still confused.

"Huh~~?"

Raphtalia's voice had gotten louder, waking Filo from her slumber.

"Master? What's wrong?" Filo asked groggily.

"Filo, where's little Mel? You didn't eat her, did you?" Raphtalia asked anxiously.

"Where else would she be?"

Before Filo could respond, Jason, frustrated from being woken up again, stood up and approached Filo. He thrust his hand into her feathers and tugged.

A moment later, Melty was pulled out from within Filo's feathers and onto the tent floor.

Filo's feathers were so fluffy that they could easily hide a small girl like Melty.

"Ouch..."

Still half-asleep, Melty had no idea what was happening and was too dazed to react.

It wasn't until she felt the cold air on her skin that she shivered and fully woke up.

At the same time, she realized that Jason was glaring at her.

"W-what did you do to me? Where are my clothes? You pervert!"

Suddenly recalling that her clothes were still on the ground, Melty hurriedly covered herself, trembling as if Jason was about to do something terrible.

"Pervert? Sorry, but I'm not interested in a kid like you who's still growing."

Jason rolled his eyes, sounding utterly uninterested.

"Growing? Hey, I'm not that small!"

Melty's emotions were all over the place—she was both scared and offended, feeling like her pride had taken a hit.

"What am I doing? I told you not to cause any trouble, and now you've woken me up over this nonsense," Jason grumbled, clenching his fists.

"Don't come any closer! Stay away!" Melty shrieked in panic, feeling like joining Jason had been a huge mistake.

Soon, the tent was filled with the sounds of a scuffle, followed by Melty's wailing and crying.

"What happened to Shield Hero-sama?"

"It seems Melty has managed to annoy Lord Shield Hero again, so she's probably getting punished."

"A future queen getting beaten up... She really should've picked someone else to offend, but no, she had to go after Lord Shield Hero."

"Still, you've got to admit, Lord Shield Hero sure lives up to his name. He dealt with the first princess, taught His Majesty the King a lesson, and now he's educating the second princess. He just needs to handle the queen, and he'll have the whole royal family covered."

"Better keep quiet and focus on the surroundings. We don't want to be caught off guard by approaching monsters."

Bell and the others, standing watch nearby, overheard the sounds from Jason's tent and couldn't help but sigh.

The next day, the group packed up their camp and continued their journey. Jason looked refreshed and in a good mood, but Melty could only lie obediently in the carriage, clutching her clothes tightly.

"Damn Shield Hero... Why does he always hit the same spot? It hurts so much... Sister Raphtalia, can you be gentler?" Melty groaned.

"I'll try," Raphtalia replied gently as she applied medicine to Melty, looking at her with sympathy. "Little Mel, look on the bright side. At least the place you're getting hit has grown bigger."

Melty froze at this, silently enduring her suffering without complaint.

As the days passed, Jason and his group grew ever closer to the capital. Along the way, everyone's strength had also improved.

Bell and the others had all reached an average level of 35. They had completed about half of their selection tasks. Meanwhile, Jason's template completion for Garp had risen to 52%, and his own level had climbed to 43.

Jason (Garp template completion: 52%)

LV: 41 → 43

HP: 5710 → 5830

SP: 1655 → 1725

Strength: 265 → 275 

Agility: 306 → 318 (with equipment bonuses: +23)

Defense: 785 → 821 

Endurance: 270 → 282 

Luck: --

However, due to Jason's high level and the weaker monsters in the area, his experience gain had slowed down considerably. This map was no longer suitable for his level progression.

Raphtalia and Filo, of course, had also reached level 40, but they were now stuck, unable to advance further without the required Dragon Hourglass to upgrade.

Fortunately, on this day, the group finally caught sight of the city walls surrounding the capital.

"I'm back again."

Jason stood on the carriage, gazing at the distant city wall with a smirk on his face.

However, the weather in the capital seemed foreboding. Dark clouds gathered overhead, as if signaling the approach of some impending disaster.