Shield Hero With Barrier Magic

(Hiro's POV)

After the incident in the weapons shop, we teleported to Riyute.

Villagers: "Oh! The Shield Hero!"

The villagers greeted me warmly. I took 30 gold from the money that I won from the bet with Motoyasu and gave it to them.

Villager: "This is..."

Hiro: "I don't have any use of that money. I thought you guys could use it for reconstruction."

Villager: "But this much amount of money."

Hiro: "Alright, how about this? I will give it to you with a condition that everything we need in this village will be given free for us."

They laughed and expressed their gratitude.

Villagers: "Thank you very much, Shield Hero!"

After that, I asked about the remains of the Wave. They said that they were about to burn or bury them. I asked for the remains of the Wave and absorbed them in the shield and I got another useful skill 'Change Shield' from 'Chimera Viper Shield'.

And we went to an inn. We got separate rooms for the first time. Well, the girls were reluctant on leaving me. So, they put a condition that they will be in separate rooms only if Eclair also stayed in a separate room.

Well, Eclair agreed to it reluctantly. Well, it's not like we can have s.e.x in that inn though. Ao, we are in different rooms. Anyway, my main job today is to ensure that both chicks in the egg live. It's very rare for two chicks to come out from the egg even though double-yolk eggs aren't that rare. Because one chick might outgrow and kill the other or both might die in the process.

Why? Well, let's start a biology lesson. A chick inside an egg needs the nutrients provided by the egg, space, and oxygen to grow. Normal eggs hatch in about 21 days but in incubation, it will hatch in a day or two. As this egg is under incubation and already developed a little, it will hatch by tomorrow morning.

So, for the twins, the nutrients aren't a problem as they have two separate yolks for providing them. The next thing is the space to grow. The egg is actually big enough for the chicks but the slave trader used magic at that time to make all eggs look similar and have the same weight. I made an elastic barrier between the chicks so that they won't restrain each other.

And the third one is oxygen. This is the main problem for the two chicks in a single egg. The chicks mostly die due to the lack of oxygen. So, how do the chicks get oxygen in the first place even though they don't have lungs at the start? The eggs shell have holes in them which filters the outside air. There are blood vessels near these holes which take incoming oxygen and releases the carbon dioxide outside. When I divided them with a barrier, I also made sure that their blood vessels stay in their respective halves. And I used the barrier to make more oxygen available for both of them so that both of them stay healthy.

Now, all I have to do is to wait the whole night. I am not going to sleep tonight. In fact, I am so excited about my babies that I can't get sleep at all.

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(Rino's POV)

I am currently studying the books that we brought from the magic shop. I am trying to understand. How could Hiro-sama understand this that easily? Is there anything impossible for my hero in the first place?

I am currently trying to learn shadow-type magic that can change my appearance and wind-type magic that is stronger than typhoon. I think the wind-type must be practiced outside. I think I need some fresh air too. So, I went out of my room with the books. I found light coming from Hiro-sama's room.

I don't know if he forgot to blow the candle or he is still awake. I am fine with both of them. I can ask him to explain some things and spend the night with him if he is awake and I can give him a kiss and blow the candle if he is asleep.

I knocked on the door once. Hiro-sama opened it instantly.

Hiro: "Hey, Rino. Didn't sleep?"

I shook my head sideways and showed him the book. My heart started beating faster. That's right. Hiro-sama loves me too. It makes me remember it whenever I am alone. Alright, I promised Eclair that I will stop for a while before doing l.e.w.d things with Hiro-sama. But promises are made to be broken, right? Alright, I have to get a hold of myself or else I will pounce on him.

Hiro: "Umm... Do you need help with learning magic?"

I nodded and gave him the book and followed him inside.

Hiro: "So, what can you not understand?"

I showed him some random line. Hiro-sama started to say something. It's just going inside one ear and coming outside from the other. I kept looking at his face the whole time. Was he always this handsome?

Come on, Rino. Say something! You can declare all of that in public. Why can't you do it when you are alone ?!!

Rino: "Umm... Why is Hiro-sama still awake?"

Hiro: "Oh, I am so excited about the filolials that I can't sleep."

Lucky filolials. Getting Hiro-sama's attention even before they came from the eggs.

Hiro: "Can I ask you why you are that interested in filolials?"

Rino: "Well, we used to have a filolial."

Hiro: "We?"

Rino: "Oh, I used to live with my mom. She died a year ago. She became sick."

Hiro: "Sorry..."

Rino: "Don't be... Hiro-sama is the first person I talked with about her and it feels nice."

Hiro-sama turned and looked into my eyes.

Hiro: "Tell me more about her and you in the past."

Rino: "Don't ask about me. You know how much of a fool I was. In fact, the reason I turned like that is my mother. She didn't teach me correctly about the world. She also thinks like me. But she was lucky that she didn't see the dark side of the world before she was gone and kept believing that everyone is mostly good until the moment of her death."

Hiro: "What about this Filolial?"

Rino: "Ah, I used to have one named Filo."

Hiro-sama made a surprised face at once.

Rino: "I know... It's not a creative name but I was a kid when I named it. I grew up along with it. But Filolials life is shorter than humans. So, it died. And after another year, my mother died due to sickness."

Hiro: "What did you do after that?"

Rino: "I started adventuring by that time. I was a fan of the legends of heroes and applied for adventuring with heroes. You know the rest, Hiro-sama."

Hiro: "I wonder why your mother couldn't find the cruelty of this world."

Rino: "I wonder about that too. When my mother died, Hiro-sama, I didn't cry. When Filo died too, I didn't cry. Maybe because I don't want to accept the fact that they left me. And I kept living in delusions that my mother gave me because I didn't want to accept the fact that I was alone and wanted to keep her alive at least like that. But that day when you made me realize the truth, you pulled me out of it, Hiro-sama. I cried for the first time after the death of Filo and mother, Hiro-sama. Thank You, Hiro-sama. Thank you for bringing me out of it."

I remembered Filo and mother. Tears started falling down my cheeks again.

Rino: "You taught me how important crying is. You didn't know how much you helped me by making me cry that day. I love you, Hiro-sama. I love you a lot. So please don't leave me ever, Hiro-sama. Even though you taught me the importance of crying, I don't want to cry because of you leaving me."

Hiro-sama put his hand on my head and started patting me with a smile. He has such big and warm hands.

Hiro: "I love you, Rino."

He said it. He said it at last. The words that I wanted to hear the most. The words for which I have been waiting for since morning. Hiro-sama finally said it! I... I don't know what to do. I am so happy! I pounced on him and immediately locked my lips with his. Hiro-sama responded after a moment of surprise.

Hiro: "Wow..."

Rino: "How was it, Hiro-sama? I... It was my first time."

Hiro: "You are really good for a first-timer."

Rino: "All thanks to Aunt Elaria's training."

Hiro: "Seriously, what the hell has she been teaching you?"

Rino: "Hehehe... That's a secret."

Hiro: "Well, it's fine as long as she taught you magic."

Ah, the magic. I didn't process a word of what Hiro-sama explained.

Rino: "Hiro-sama... I have a confession to make. I didn't really process a single word of what you said when you were explaining magic. So, I think you have to teach me again."

Hiro: "Ah that... I also have a confession to make. My mind was also in the same state that yours was at that time. So, everything I spouted at that time was nonsense. I will definitely teach you another time clearly."

Both of us laughed.

Rino: "Hiro-sama..."

Hiro: "Yes?"

I am sorry, Eclair. I am going to break my promise. I am going to do the l.e.w.dest thing that Aunt Elaria taught me.

Rino: "C... Can we hold hands?"

He smiled and nodded. We held hands and kept looking at the egg waiting for it to hatch. I didn't know when but I fell asleep on Hiro-sama's shoulder while holding his hand and waiting for the egg to hatch.