Characters / Ambition of the Red Princess - Naofumi Iwatani

Ambition of the Red Princess Character Index
Main Characters (Malty S Melromarc) (Naofumi Iwatani) | Three Heroes and Allies | Houses and Kingdoms [House De Gallia](Siegmar Isaac Octavius Consevatie) [Melromarc Kingdom] | Religious Factions [Church of the Three Heroes] | Others

All Spoilers Off for the whole of Ambition of the Red Princess, and the many plot points the story lays out in later chapters.

Shield Hero/Siesta of Totela/Naofumi Iwatani

Debut: Chapter 1/Chapter 1: The Royal Summoning

Origin: The Rising of the Shield Hero

For the companion who believed in me, I will be the strongest shield on Earth!

Back when I thought I couldn't attack, you (Mein/Malty) said you were my sword, and I said you were my partner. Partners are supposed to help each other because they are equals.

Naofumi Iwatani, an unremarkable university student finds a book in a library. Within the book he found, Naofumi is transported in the land of Medea where he is given a Shield. Beginning his adventure, he meets his first companion going by the name, Mein of Samphor. Though flustered at meeting the most beautiful girl in his life, Naofumi puts his trust on her as a genuine companion, that is until an unfortunate False Rape Accusation trial befalls onto him. Expecting his first companion to betray him, Naofumi is instead left in shock that Mein chose to stick for him. Afterwards in Ambition of the Red Princess, Naofumi makes his Declaration of Protection to always protect Mein, like she had done for him, and also promising to be the greatest Shield for Medea.

If you were looking for Naofumi Iwatani from The Rising of the Shield Hero, then click here.

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Tropes that apply to Naofumi Iwatani

A-I

• Accidental Misnaming:
  • Played for Laughs. In chapter 85, Naofumi at first calls Katarina, Bertia, and Iris with "Miss" as part of their titles, before realizing they are to be called "Lady" as the noble title. With how noble titles work, Naofumi begins to curse the traditions of needing proper titles for aristocrats.
  • As Mein disguises herself as a person known as Sophia of Totela to prevent herself from getting exposed as a fugitive, Naofumi is prone to calling her Mein, before quickly switching his words to address her in the second secret identity.
    • Naofumi accidentally says Mein to call for her, but quickly changes to Sophia in chapter 100 to avoid alerting everyone of her true identity (although Naofumi doesn't know Mein isn't her real identity).
    • He almost address her as Mein, instead of Miss Sophia in his objection to her decision to assist Ken in going out to the middle of Graile to monitor the Three Heroes Church at chapter 106.
    • Inverted and Played for Laughs. Naofumi is able to call Mein as Princess Malty with no slip-ups exposing her adventurer name to the public, all while not knowing he is calling her by her real name in chapter 109.
• Accidental Pervert: Naofumi approaches Satellizer from behind to restrain her in place with his body at chapter 110, but because Satellizer is suffering under Clothing Damage from fighting Ken before hand, Naofumi holding down Satellizer gives him the appearance of a rapist.
• Accidental Truth: Naofumi calls Mein as Princess Malty to give the illusion that the first princess of Melromarc is fighting for Graile's rebellion against the Three Heroes Church, but he fails to realize that calling Mein as Princess Malty is actually her real identity.
• Actually a Good Idea: After defeating the undead knights of the Scourge in chapter 69, Naofumi, Richard, and Jaune are left with the task of the weapons the fallen knights once held. They all discuss what options they should do and each time Naofumi brings up a potential solution, Richard and Jaune shut it down with the flaws it brings. Pressured as to what they should do with the weapons, Naofumi brings up that Jaune and Richard carry the weapons, and if the worst scenario comes, then Naofumi can absorb it. In response to Naofumi's answer, Richard and Jaune nod in agreement that it best settles the problem.
• Adaptational Angst Downgrade: He is never falsely accused of rape by Malty and as a result, Naofumi is a Nice Guy that cares for his companions and refuses to let them down like what had happened of his friendship with Yuugo. Subverted as the story goes on, since while Naofumi is never betrayed, he is constantly pressurized on not wanting to let his companions down and is afraid to reveal himself as a nobody-otaku to the companions that believe in him.
• Adaptational Angst Upgrade: Whereas Canon!Naofumi had a rough start in his Isekai journey throughout Medea from being unable to effectively find allies and of his tarnished reputation Malty given him, Canon!Naofumi ultimately got an easier time once he and his companions surpass all their enemies in sheer level. For Ambition of the Red Princess, Naofumi has a seemingly easy start, because he has Malty's support and knowledge of Medea to guide him, but his adventures become much harsher than in canon for his emotional insecurities to not let his companions down as their hero. The result is that each time his companions suffer, Naofumi is likely to blame himself in someway to cope with his guilt or believe in his own incompetence as a hero.
  • To add an even bigger load of trauma onto Naofumi, a heavy betrayal from the Church of the Three Heroes that drives him into a major Heroic BSoD that leaves him catatonic under the belief that all his heroism as a Small Steps Hero has separated him from all of his party members, except for Mein by his side.
• Adaptational Heroism: Naofumi from canon was a genuine hero, but a lot of his actions were motivated by self-interest and in a situation where is confronted by highwaymen bandits, his solution to their thievery is to rob them of their stolen loot. For Naofumi in Ambition of the Red Princess, he is much more reluctant into taking morally grey actions and is portrayed as a Classical Anti-Hero trying to be the best hero that can save everyone.
• Adaptational Nice Guy: Naofumi never getting betrayed by Malty in the trial stopped him from taking on a cynical mindset as a way to survive in Medea. Although naïve at times in wanting to be a great hero, he nevertheless opposes slavery and tries his best to navigate the lies world of Medea has for him.
• Adaptational Skill: The Rising of the Shield Hero has Naofumi only use his Shield and its magical based forms as his only means of abilities. To the Naofumi of Ambition of the Red Princess, he still uses his Shield as his primary source of skills, and also has the additional benefit to perform healing miracles.
• Adaptational Wimp: From the original series, Naofumi losing his legendary Shield was only temporary, and despite the loss, Naofumi was given the Star Wand in exchange for his loss. At the fanfic, Naofumi loses his Shield, but gains no additional weapons to lessen the loss of his shield. To make matters worse, Ambition!Naofumi is also unable to pick up any other weapons, but he at least has the added benefits of being able to perform healing miracle spells.
• Adaptation Name Change: Downplayed. His name is still Naofumi Iwatani and is sometimes referred to as the Shield Hero, similarly to his canon counter part. Difference is that Naofumi relies on a Secret Identity known as Siesta of Totela to avoid detection from the Three Heroes Church.
• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: Exaggerated. Canon!Naofumi's relationship with Princess Malty was that they were bitter enemies until the very end. Both would gladly love for either one of them to die horribly in a gruesome death and Naofumi almost always refers to Malty as "Bitch". Here, due to Malty never choosing to betray Naofumi in his trial and siding with him as companion for the story, Naofumi has a trusting relationship towards her, and is willing to push past the hidden ulterior motives Mein has.
• Affectionate Gesture to the Head: In spite of Naofumi not knowing demi-human customs that head pats are done only for lovers and parents, he rubs and pats down on Raphtalia's head to show gratitude and love for her childness.
• Always Save the Girl: When it comes to the safety of Mein and his party members, Naofumi always puts them as the main priority to keep safe, before moving onto any missions or plans to participate in. Whenever Mein or someone else offers to get themselves in danger, Naofumi will be insistent to come alongside them for their safety, or be desperate to find alternatives out of fear he could fail being their protector.
• Anguished Declaration of Love: Downplayed. In a more platonic version at chapter 105 for Mein to see him as a partner, and not just a Damsel in Distress to look over for not having a shield, Naofumi asks if she is willing to stay by his side even after what he has lost. Mein accepts to be seen as his partner, even if she secretly feels fearful of failing the revolt in Graile of being just a coldhearted as her mother.
• Apologizes a Lot: Naofumi has a habit where if he feels as though he let someone down either because he believes he did not try hard enough or was not there to support their problems, he will apologize as a way to mediate his guilt.
• Arbitrary Equipment Restriction: Being the Shield Hero, Naofumi's only weapons he can access is to use variations of different shields. Any weapon besides a shield, Naofumi will be unable to hold it and he can only absorb different weapons into his shield.
• Armed Females, Unarmed Males: Downplayed. While Mein can use any type of weapon to fight with, though she sticks mainly with her sword, magical affinities, and Vassal Wand, Naofumi is limited to only his Legendary Shield. Otherwise, any other weapon besides it would be rejected out of his hand.
• Armor-Piercing Question:
  • To Malty being desperate to convince him to just focus on protecting himself and instead of risking his life for the the people of Graile in chapter 105, Naofumi asks her if he is considered a hero for the Shield he wields or the courage he displays to everyone he wishes to save. By asking Malty that question, Naofumi gets her to recall historical moments that made individuals stand out and be valued for their heroism.
  • Before starting the plan to be the Voice of the Resistance with Mein in chapter 108, Naofumi makes a question that if Mein impersonating Princess Malty would get her killed, what would happen to Princess Melty in the custody of the Three Heroes Church. Unbeknownst to Naofumi, Mein being Malty in disguise is hit hard over the possibility as to what her sister Melty is suffering under the Three Heroes Church.
  • In his desperate attempts to stop Mein from endangering herself through her plan in chapter 115 to go into the Melromarc capital alone, Naofumi asks her on how she can overcome any unexpected obstacles that interrupts her journey. Mein, thinking on the question tries to come up with a response but is unable to, due to realizing she Didn't Think This Through.
  • He brings up a possible idea to Mein that if Consevatie is not following them, then the latter could be exploiting Mein's slave seal as a Tracking Chip for his Trick-and-Follow Ploy. Mein, in response, gets an urge to give herself a Facepalm at the possibility Consevatie had outsmarted her without knowing the trap her slave seal possessed.
• Armor-Piercing Response:
  • In response to the goddess expecting and judging Mein to be a traitor to him, Naofumi denounces the goddess' words by answering that Mein was the one who saved him in his difficult times. In addition to Mein being his savior, Naofumi chews out the goddess for making such biased judgements to people she doesn't know.
  • While Mein gives an Armor-Piercing Question to assure Naofumi that her plan is necessary to achieve victory in Balafon at chapter 132, he gives off his own response that shatters her question by asking if the plan involving fiery infrastructures would unintentionally harm Bed-Chan.
    Naofumi: You are right... but won't the fire harm Bed-Chan?
• Ask a Stupid Question...:
  • Naofumi asks Richard why the Church of the Three Heroes uses shields as one of their weapons, despite hating the Shield Hero. Richard gives his reasoning that not using shields for the sake of religion would have resulted in Melromarc getting invaded by Siltvelt and that the church would look like poorly written villains that can't even strategize. Naofumi then realizes just how stupid of a question it was to ask for Richard to answer.
  • Naofumi's makes up a suggested plan in chapter 116 to debunk the religious ways of the Three Heroes Church to defeat them, but both Mein and Uranus tell him the several flaws of his plan that could backfire on themselves and the possibility of a religious war. Once Naofumi understands the consequences, he gets a Jaw Drop to realize how foolish of a plan it was to suggest to his group.
• Awesome by Analysis: Although mediocre at pursuing his high school studies, Naofumi's ability to predict and infer the motivations of the people he interacts through their behavior is what makes him a highly reliable hero that can take care of himself in the land of Medea.
• Baby Factory: Discussed. Not knowing just how bad the consequences it would be for him to go to Faubley without his Legendary Shield, Mein brings up a possibility where he is used to mate with multiple women as a way for them to use his bloodline as a Legendary Hero to elevate their status through the children he provides them.
• Barrier Warrior:
  • After the loss of his Shield, Naofumi resorts to having Uranus teach him how to use the [Barrier] miracle, as so he can give Graile's public the appearance of himself as the Shield Hero with no one to denounce his hero status.
  • Exploited. At chapter 109, Naofumi uses his newfound [Barrier] miracle to expand an invisible bubble of protection around the Siege Engines as a way to topple them over like an offensive spell, rather than [Barrier] being the defensive spell it was intended for.
• Berserk Button:
  • Asking Naofumi to use a monster seal on Firo is an easy way into triggering his anger. Even if it is suggested by others as the most optimal option to control Firo's Ax-Crazy aggression, Naofumi is always looking for another way at the cost of annoying others from his stubbornness.
  • Any person of his party proclaiming himself as his tool use, examples being Mein proclaiming herself as his sword and Yatsuhashi wanting to act as a shield, Naofumi is quick to remind them that they are people and not objects.
  • Being suggested with options that could risk the lives of his party members can set off Naofumi into a fit of rage or paranoia, as he believes choosing such options would make him responsible for the potential pain they have to carry on.
• Better the Devil You Know: In chapter 78, Naofumi is given an option by the Phoenix Prince to come with him to Siltvelt or to have the princes soldiers accompany him, Naofumi refuses. The reasoning stems from while the Church of the Three Heroes hate him and view him as a devil, Naofumi at least knows that not all of their members are evil and some can even be trusted with benevolent intentions. However, Siltvelt and any agents wanting him to go into their country will likely cause him problems, since Naofumi has no trust towards them and all his interactions end up being hostile in the end.
• Big Damn Hug: Finally escaping out of his dungeon cell with the help of Yomi feeding him a Healing Potion, Naofumi rushes towards Mein in chapter 119 to give her a hug for their reunion to be alive.
• Big "NO!":
  • Played for Laughs. Naofumi lets out a loud "no" at seeing Firo and the other Filorial birds become incredibly fat.
  • By chapter 126, Naofumi says two Big "NO!"'s for the first to stop Oersted from splitting away their remaining party members, and to stop Mein from thinking Bed-Chan is a hostile threat to them.
  • He says a Big "NO!" in chapter 127 to alert Nora that Bed-Chan is an ally helping them battle the Three Heroes Church, and not a hostile threat.
• Blank Stare: Played for Laughs. In chapter 107, Naofumi accidentally says his Secret Identity's name to be Siesta of Tarbe, before getting corrected by Mein that his identity is called Siesta of Totela. Naofumi responds to her criticism by staring at her blankly.
  Naofumi: Right. What Mein said. (The Shield Hero gives her a blank look before turning back to Oersted.)
• Blow You Away: His [Force] miracle spell can blast people away with an invisible wind that can send them flying for a few meters back to tumble.
• Blunt "Yes": Double Subverted. He looks to be denying the comedy of Roger of Ajax suffering from the bite from the Yuzus, until Naofumi admits finding a funny irony that for all the manliness Roger of Ajax displays, he Screams Like a Little Girl when overwhelmed by pain.
• Bodyguarding a Badass: Downplayed. Mein has the means to effectively attack her foes with fire magic or her sword skills, but because she suffers from stamina issues due to her weak heart, Naofumi dedicates himself to be a partner that protects her.
• Book Dumb: Naofumi when dealing with his academic school work, he does horribly at it and struggles to understand the knowledge he learns. On the other hand, he's great at solving problems that need to be looked at another angle and by thinking outside the box.
• Bound and Gagged: To stop Consevatie from further threatening the lives of everyone with slave seals, while also not using any lethal attacks to prevent a possible Dead Man's Switch, Naofumi suggests in chapter 130 to gag him as a means for Consevatie to be neutralized as a threat.
• Brainwashed: Discussed. To bring out the abilities of what he remembers about Slender Man in chapter 126, Naofumi explains to Mein that one of Slender Man's powers is to brainwash the people that are captured.
  Naofumi: Some depict it having tentacles growing out of its back. Some say it can turn people it captured into 'proxy'... it basically means it mind controls the people it captured. Most of the time, It's said to capture children.
• Brooding Boy, Gentle Girl: Inverted. Naofumi is on the gentle side, because of the awkwardness he sometimes displays and the Nice Guy attitude he gives around everyone he meets. Mein, in contrast, is brooding in her thoughts Beneath the Mask, as she suspects meeting others to be a distraction for her main ambitions, and has worries of her real identity ruining how people view her.
• Brought Down to Badass: Since losing his Shield, Naofumi lost his ability to activate any of his shield based abilities, but he shows himself to not be completely useless in the battlefield as shown in the Graile arc. To substitute his lack of a Shield, Naofumi resorts to miracles to fight off his enemies and the high defense stats he gained from level grinding pays off in making him a Stone Wall.
• Cannot Spit It Out: He wants to go confront Mein of her real identity, but is unable to find to confidence within himself to do it, because it would also mean revealing that he isn't the great hero Mein believes him as.
• Cerebus Retcon: Before getting into Medea, Naofumi commented on the Portal Book's princess in the cover to be "bitchy-looking" in the anime. By the time of chapter 115, Naofumi describing the princess he found in the book as someone he doesn't see as a Nice Girl, and Mein interpreting his words triggers her into having an Existential Horror where she is possibly Marked to Die either as a heroine or for being a Spoiled Brat in the past.
• Character Development: Naofumi starts off as someone suffering under a Guilt Complex where if anything goes wrong, he would always blame himself first, instead of the enemies who started everything. Arriving into chapter 117, Naofumi learns to blame the Three Heroes Church for the horrible things that happened to Graile, instead of guilting himself and Mein, since they only tried to mitigate all the damage in their rebellion.
• Cheshire Cat Grin: To indicate of a brilliant plan he thought of in chapter 128, Naofumi wears a smile that questions Mein as to what is causing him to be suddenly joyful.
• The Chosen Zero: Naofumi, who is The Everyman Otaku of Japan that could be compared to any other person, coupled with being a high school dropout, he is sent to Medea via Portal Book and becomes the Shield Hero destined to protect the place from the Waves of Catastrophe.
• Chronic Hero Syndrome: A major worry he frequently thinks about as his role as the Shield Hero is by needing to be more to save the lives of innocent people. Even if one life perishes, or the evils of slavery persists, he usually blames himself for not acting quick enough to make a difference.
• Cluster F-Bomb: Played for Laughs. Naofumi swears a ton of F-Bombs as his way to react to his shield's weapon restriction shocking his hand in chapter 107.
• Color Failure: Getting intel from Jackson that Consevatie refers to the inhabitants of Medea as NPCs, Naofumi's face turns white from shock, as he finally understands that the reason Consevatie acts the way he is because the latter sees the world to be a fantasy-type video game.
• Comical Overreacting: In Chapter 54, Naofumi yells out a Big "NO!" from having discovered that Firo, alongside the other Filorial birds have become so massive that they are comparable to giant rubber duckies.
• Cooldown Hug:
  • Naofumi hugs onto Raphtalia in chapter 64 to bring comfort that she is better than what she thinks of herself as a demi-human being equally horrible to Mouse. As Naofumi hugs Raphtalia, he explains the positive traits that separate her from the bandits.
  • Downplayed. Mein isn't breaking down, but because of her Heroic Self-Deprecation believing herself to be an unneeded party member for the team in chapter 79, Naofumi hugs her to bring comfort that she is better than she thinks of herself and can continue improving.
• *Cough* Snark *Cough*: Naofumi pretends coughing in chapter 114 to hide his Luminescent Blush away from Kate and the latter teasing him with her words.
• Crazt Jealous Guy: Played for Laughs. To stop Bellatrix from further teasing Mein in a way to get intimately closer to her in chapter 123, Naofumi comes forward to hug Mein, so that he can declare to Bellatrix that he won't have his partner be taken away from him.
  Naofumi: Yeah, you aren't taking away my partner from me.
• Cruel Mercy: He saves Manfroy from a ghostly leviathan in chapter 93, because Naofumi believes that a quick death is not what he deserves and Manfroy needs to explain himself for having used malevolent spirits onto his own members of the Loptr Cult.
• Crush Blush: Any intimate interaction where it is mainly him and Mein, Naofumi has a chance to blush whenever she pursues romantic acts on him, no matter how long they've known each other.
  • Mein being The Tease by proclaiming herself as "the girl" among the many "guys" Naofumi requested to have a rest in chapter 15, Naofumi blushes for generalizing her as a male and his body tenses up when touching her, in comparison to Raphtalia who he just views as a child.
  • On a more tranquil environment for himself and Mein to recover from all the fighting they had to deal in Graile, Naofumi still tenses up in chapter 113, when they get close to each other in a tree with Intertwined Fingers.
• Death Glare:
  • After thanking Oersted for the loyalty and fairness he displayed to himself and Mein, Naofumi glares at Streibough to express his anger at the latter's convoluted conclusions that had been irritating him in chapter 107.
  • Questionable if Jackson had done his Heel–Face Turn to help him, Naofumi glares at him to interrogate for his motives and insider knowledge about the Three Heroes Church in chapter 128.
• Death Seeker: Interpreting Mein's statement in chapter 115 that Medea is capable of surviving, even if a Legendary Hero were to die, Naofumi believes he should die and let everyone else fend for themselves, so that no one has to sacrifice their lives for his own safety.
• Delayed "Oh, Crap!": Understanding from Mein's explanation in chapter 117 as to why Satellizer acted aggressively towards everyone in Graile, Naofumi is led to a realization that Lord El Bridget wanted his daughter to purge everyone in Graile, since the city looked to be beyond saving. Coming to the conclusion, Naofumi does a Stress Vomit to comprehend Mein leading him to his worst fears.
• Declaration of Protection: For all the times Mein risked her life to save him from prosecution and in battle, Naofumi vows to protect her as the companion that believes in him.
• Demoted to Extra: Downplayed. He is still one of the main characters just like his counterpart from The Rising of the Shield Hero, but he is demoted to the role of the deuteragonist with this story having Malty as the main focus of her goals, relationships, and thoughts.
• De-power: Naofumi gets his shield wrecked and taken away from him by the arrival of goddess Raphtalia in the third wave. Even as the goddess is defeated, Naofumi lacks a shield, and now has to rely on the knowledge he knows of Medea and miracles he can perform to survive.
• Determined Expression: Anytime he gets a Determined Expression, his eyes will glimmer with light or burn in confidence to ready himself up as the Shield Hero.
  • Comforted by Mein's bravery in chapter 5 for standing up to clear his name in the False Rape Accusation trial, Naofumi's eyes burn brightly with determination to make his Declaration of Protection to always keep her safe as a companion that believed in him.
  • Feeling confident with his mindset that he can still protect Mein without his Legendary Shield, Naofumi's eyes shine brightly for his Determined Expression for her to accept him as a partner in chapter 105.
• Didn't Think This Through: Played for Laughs. After Naofumi makes his plan in front of everyone inside of Nagumo's dojo to pretend being the Shield Hero (even though he is supposed to be disguising himself as Siesta of Totela), Mein questions in chapter 106 as to how he can make himself look like a Shield Hero, if his disguise gives him the appearance of a woman and that he also needs to hide his balloons. In response to Mein's question, Naofumi suggests leaving behind his balloons for a lack of option.
• Disguised in Drag: The best disguise he is given by Mein in chapter 100 to hide himself from the public and Three Heroes Church is to dress himself up as a servant woman, since nobody in Medea expects male legendary heroes to look like lowly servant women.
• Disapproving Look: Knowing Streibough's accusation that Mein did try to ditch everyone in their troubles from the earlier chapters, Naofumi gazes over Mein in chapter 107 as a reminder that he knows of her plan, even if Streibough and anyone else does not for that matter.
• Divide and Conquer: As part of his plan to defeat the Three Heroes Church and members of House Consevatie camping inside of Balafon in chapter 129, Naofumi has Jackson lead some of Balafon's soldiers away into the woods, so that their group can ambush them while separated from the majority of the army.
• Dramatic Ellipsis:
  • Three dots follow up Naofumi's nervous orders to not have Oersted be split from himself and Mein to, so that no one is left in danger because they follow the plotline of a typical horror movie.
    Naofumi: NO! We are not splitting up any further! Splitting up in a horror medium is bad...
  • To built up tension to how he thinks of Mein's plan to set the buildings of Balafon ablaze in chapter 132, he first agrees on Mein's reasonable points, before exposing its flaws possibly hurting Bed-Chan.
    Naofumi: You are right... but won't the fire harm Bed-Chan?
• Embarrassing Cover Up: The outfit of disguise chosen to him by Mein in chapter 100 is a lady's servant outfit for him to wear on. At first, Naofumi thinks that the dress is for Mein, only for the latter to clarify that the dress is indeed for him to put on to go against everyone's expectations that a legendary hero would dress themselves up as a lady.
• The Empath: Although he knows that Mein took the cowardly option to leave Raphtalia to fend for herself against the Hound, Naofumi understands Mein's fear for her own life. While it can be easy to act noble, Naofumi understands how hard it can be to be a hero in dire situations, so he chooses to forgive Mein's mistake, although Mein is confused at Naofumi's strong empathy for her.
• Enraged by Idiocy: Having to think about Consevatie's thought process and values in Medea, Naofumi is left raging at the former's idiocy in being an Insufferable Imbecile who believes themselves to be capable of conquering Medea, despite thinking everything to be a video game where people can be outsmarted easily.
• Entertainingly Wrong: Meeting Rudopholus and Bellatrix for the first time in chapter 123, Naofumi assumes them to be hostile threats like the versions he knows from Harry Potter. Once Naofumi gains context of their past as heroes smuggling out people from Faubly's game of thrones and involvement to battle the Three Heroes Church in the present, Naofumi then grows to trust them.
• Even the Loving Hero Has Hated Ones: Naofumi can usually be tolerant of most enemies and would not immediately resort to death as a means to bring them down. To Consevatie the Younger, however, Naofumi hates him with a burning passion and sees him to be Beyond Redemption for the enslavement and idiocy Consevatie caused to everyone, all so he could go on an ego trip thinking Medea is all a video game.
• Everyone Has Standards: Naofumi can be reluctant in taking having to take actions that would make him a Pragmatic Hero, but quickly crosses the line at Mein's plan to perform a Uriah Gambit towards the Gallian knights in chapter 103, since it would make as bad as the Three Heroes Church or look like ungrateful people wasting their goodness.
• Experience Penalty: Naofumi checks his current level in chapter 69, but instead of being at level 40 like the rest of his party members, he is at level 35. Being behind the levels of his party members, Naofumi is led to suspect that he is near the other Legendary Heroes, and that being near them is coded within their weapons to slow down any gained experience points. This is as to ensure the heroes work separately and are spread out to deal the Waves of Catastrophe in different parts of Medea.
• Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: As Naofumi recaps the plan with Oersted in chapter 107 on their plan to overthrow the Three Heroes Church out of Graile, Naofumi realizes that what he described is a revolt and could potentially lead to people dying in the revolution.
• Eye Take: From the blinking of his eyes, he uses it as a way to respond to Mein on their inability to save Raphtalia and Firo from the Three Heroes Church in chapter 122.
• Failed a Spot Check: In chapter 103, Naofumi gets close in uncovering Malty's identity as the First Princess of Melromarc by associating both Lautrec's goddess and a rebellion in Defiant Bay both referring to Mein/Malty as "The Witch". Sadly for Naofumi, he fails only sees both the mentions from the events as just a coincidence, despite the fact they both point out to Malty's real identity.
  Naofumi: "The Witch"... you think it's connected to the goddess summoned by Lautrec? Aren't you trying to grasp at the straws here? It's probably just a coincidence that bitch goddess called you the same as that rebel called the first princess of this country's manipulative queen.
  Malty/Mein: (Of course, the Shield Hero doesn't see the possible connection because he doesn't realize she and the first princess of Melromarc are the same person. Something he hopefully won't ever learn after what the Three Heroes' Church did to his companions, no matter how unlikely that will be.)
• Fake Boobs: To make himself appear feminine in his disguise as Siesta of Totela, Naofumi uses the roundish shape of his balloon monsters to give himself the appearance of a busty woman.
• Faking the Dead: Invoked. To save the commoners from taking anymore orders and getting killed by the Three Heroes Church in chapter 129, Naofumi asks them all to make a run to afar. That way, the commoners can give off the impression that they are dead, which can stop the Three Heroes Church from bothering to punish them.
• Fall Guy: Being near the summoning of Lautrec's goddess, and combined with his bad reputation as the Shield Hero, the Three Heroes Church often uses him as the person to be most frequent in absorbing the blame, so the organization is able to thrive in raising their powers over everyone/
• "Fawlty Towers" Plot: His feminine identity as Siesta of Totela is put under pressure by needing to work with Mein to come up with a made backstory of how he lived his life as a female commoner in Totela.
• Finishing Each Other's Sentences: As Raphtalia states her question on if the old mage was close to Mein, Naofumi finishes the question by confirming Aldrecht to be someone Mein did indeed knew well after an Accidental Murder on him.
• Fist of Rage: Upon arriving to Graile in a carriage at chapter 103, Naofumi spots a knight taking away a penchant from a demi-human, all because the demi-human looks to be too poor to be deserving of something expensive. Naofumi's reaction to the event is to clench up his hand that is holding onto Mein's body.
• Foreshadowing: After Naofumi has his Shield taken away by Lautrec's goddess, he assumes his Shield is gone forever, yet for some reason, he is still able to understand Medea's languages and his weapon restriction still applies to him. Coming by chapter 126, Mein and Naofumi are able to confirm that his Shield is still with him, since the latter had never lost all of its provided perks to survive Medea.
• French Maid Outfit: In chapter 100, Naofumi's given disguise to hide his fugitive status as a Legendary Hero is to wear an outfit designed for servant woman, because he would look way too out-of-place to be suspected as the Shield Hero.
• From Zero to Hero: Starting off the story, Naofumi was nothing more than The Everyman wandering around Japan reading light novels and watching anime, after being Off the Wagon without Yuugo's presence and failing to reach university. By the time of his role as the Shield Hero, he has made himself into a Small Steps Hero trying to save anyone whenever danger is present, always trains himself and his party for the waves, and has an overarching goal for a Slave Liberation.
• Genre Savvy:
  • Being alone with his group members in the black night of a mountain in chapter 125, Naofumi comments his vibes being comparable to the plot of horror movies where a possible monster is lurking within. Near the end of the chapter, his suspicions become more evident by Yukari suddenly disappearing from the group, when all he wanted to do was to make a role call for everyone's attendance.
  • Do deal with the possibility of Slender Man in chapter 126, Naofumi uses his knowledge of the internet to not have his group be reckless in fighting the monster. Additionally, he urges Sir Oersted to Never Split the Party, out of the risk that splitting up in situations comparable to a horror movie plot is always bad.
• Genuine Imposter: Despite not having no shield and hiding his identity in the name as Siesta of Totela, Naofumi offers himself up to pretend being the Shield Hero in chapter 105 as a way to give Graile hope in taking out the Three Heroes Church.
• Guilt Complex: If anything were to go badly with his companions, allies he gained, and innocent people he failed to save, Naofumi's first person to blame is himself not doing enough heroism for everyone, instead of accepting problems that may be out of his reach or the enemies that endangered everyone in the first place.
• Hard Head: Though his helmet is split in half and he gets a bit bloodied from tanking Web!Raphtalia's attack with his head, Naofumi stays relatively fine to give her a scolding that he will protect Mein at all cost in chapter 95.
• Healing Potion: Naofumi us nursed back to health with his hunger restored in chapter 119 from Yomi feeding him a Healing Potion.
• Heroic BSoD: Naofumi has a severe breakdown in chapter 95 from the Three Heroes Church threatening to have him and Mein be arrested under the suspicion that they are in someway indirectly responsible for Lautrec and his goddess appearing. Though Naofumi and Mein escape the church, their remaining party members are left behind and Naofumi had to witness Kyubey perform a Heroic Sacrifice to save him. Once he and Mein escaped the church, Naofumi is left catatonic over feeling like he failed everyone as their hero and being the Shield Hero is only going to get more people killed.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: In spite of all the heroism he has done for everyone and the great hero image he built himself up for his companions, deep down, he sees himself as The Chosen Zero that is an Otaku of no value, because he can't bring himself up to tell anyone, and Mein specifically that he is not the trained hero with a tragic past people view him as.
  • Afraid of Mein endangering herself in her own plan she made at chapter 115, Naofumi breaks down warning her of threats, and that proceeding to perform tasks without him gives the implication he is less than a partner to her, because of not wielding his Legendary Shield.
    • When learning from Mein that he keeps people alive as a Legendary Hero slowing down the difficulties of the Waves, Naofumi takes her words as suggesting that death is what he deserves, because he believes Medea can function without him.
• Heroism Motive Speech: To explain himself to Mein in chapter 105 as to why he volunteered to be a Genuine Imposter of his Shield Hero self for Graile's people, despite the act potentially endangering his and Mein's life, Naofumi brings up his reason and what it means to be a hero. Though heroes in Medea are regarded as people holding Legendary Weapons, Naofumi expands her worldview that heroes in his world and the type of hero he wishes to be is the one willing to be heroic, even when everyone is stacked against putting him down.
• He's a Friend:
  • To clear up the confusion with Mein in chapter 126 that Bed-Chan is a friend and not a hostile threat brainwashing their friends, Naofumi acts as a Translator Buddy communicate Bed-Chan's motives to escape the Three Heroes Church.
  • As Nora wakes up under the assumption that Bed-Chan is threatening her life, Naofumi yells a Big "NO!" to signal Nora that Bed-Chan is an ally helping them fight the Three Heroes Church.
• He Who Fights Monsters: Defied. In the pursuit of stopping slavery, Naofumi restricts himself from using all forms of slavery onto any of his party members. Even if Firo throws her violent tantrums, Naofumi will not put a familiar seal on her, out of fear that he might become exactly like the slavers he wishes to stop.
• Honor Before Reason: His stance against slavery can get so extreme that when forced in a situation to use a monster seal to punish Firo's violent actions, Naofumi is always rejecting the option out of fear he might become a Knight Templar. As a result, his own stubbornness to pick the most practical options, even if they are sketchy, has infuriated Mein during their arguments on the topic of slavery.
• Hypocrite: In chapter 89, Naofumi chastises Mein and Yatsuhashi for trying to act as his sword and shield, since it makes the both of them look like tools to use. Something Naofumi fails to consider is that they genuinely want to follow and protect him, but at the same time, Naofumi also wants to instill his own judgement towards them as Mein notices in her head.
• If You Kill Him, You Will Be Just Like Him!: Naofumi's reaction to Mein's willingness and plan to ditch lead the Gallian knights into a fight with the Cultists, just so she could leave them to their deaths sparks up Naofumi's standards to berate her of her idea. If they were to reward the people who only wanted to help them with death, Naofumi claims that he and Mein would be just like the Three Heroes Church that betrayed and framed them as fugitives.
• I Just Want to Be Special: A part of his insecurities as to why he doesn't want to explain his Japanese origins is that if he were to reveal himself as The Everyman who just so happened to find a magical book, he either let down his friends' expectations that he was a trained Legendary Hero. In addition to letting them down, Naofumi enjoys the feeling of finally being respected, which is something not even his own family in Japan had done.
• Improbable Use of a Weapon: The [Barrier] miracle of Naofumi is designed to act as a protection spell in substitute for the loss of his Legendary Shield. In chapter 109, however, Naofumi uses his [Barrier] as an offensive spell to apply an expanding pressure that can topple Felix's large Siege Engines.
• Innocently Insensitive:
  • Unbeknownst to Naofumi, the elder princess of Mirellia he assumes to be worse than the latter is the same Incognito Princess that is within his party and had been actively helping him to become a hero.
  • For all the madness that happened within Melromarc, because of the Three Heroes Church spiraling out of control, Naofumi suggests that he and Mein should just leave the country and settle somewhere else in chapter 115, as Melromarc is not exactly their responsibility. However, due to not knowing Mein's real identity, he fails to realize that her role as a princess is to stabilize Melromarc and eventually become its future queen.
• Internal Reveal:
  • In chapter 107, Naofumi reveals himself to be the Shield Hero to the demi-humans and the Gallian knights he stayed with. To the people learning who he is, they assumed him to be Siesta of Totela and a female servant that follows around Sophia for her pilgrimage.
  • By chapter 112, Consevatie's origins as an reincarnate believing himself to be the main protagonist is revealed to the perspective of Raphtalia, due to the former's terminology of NPC and way of speaking. Coming into chapter 128, Naofumi learns Consevatie to be a reincarnate from Jackson telling him the term, NPC, a word in which only people from another plain of existence can understand the meaning.
• Intertwined Fingers: As Mein moves her hand towards him in their sitting position near a tree at chapter 113, Naofumi freezes out of shyness, before calming himself down to accept the physical touch to show their intimate love for each other.
• It's All My Fault: During the instances where his party members get hurt and he isn't around to protect them in their time of need, Naofumi will likely blame himself for failing to live up to being their hero. Even if the problem was circumstantial and unpredictable, Naofumi would find a way to relate the problem as something he is responsible for letting happen.
  • Learning of Mein's heart problems in chapter 53 from overexerting herself to stop the Life Root, Naofumi blames himself for choosing the option to plant the Life Root seed. If Naofumi had chosen with Irileth's option to destroy the seed, then Mein would have been fine, but while that may have been true, Naofumi had no idea of the unforeseen consequences and power the seed contained.
  • After escaping Consevatie and the church in chapter 95, Naofumi is left blaming himself for everything that went wrong in the Three Heroes Church betraying him. He thinks that had he just been more cautious of the people's hatred for the Shield Hero, his party would still be safe and be beside him. This is of course ignoring that it was Consevatie, Cromwell, and Lautrec that were the ones that were responsible in stirring up the conflicts against him.
  • Feeling like that by choosing to not properly dispose of the Thunder Lizard and the creature coming back to life to face off the Three Heroes in chapter 98, Naofumi puts the blame on himself for being lazy. To be comforted, Mein comes towards him in chapter 123 to assure him that all of their party members agreed to not worry about the Thunder Lizard, as they could not risk coming into another fight with more bandits.
• It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time: Naofumi suggests his idea to his group in chapter 116 that they should all start using theories to debunk the influence of the Three Heroes Church. Though on paper, Naofumi's plan could work well against the Three Heroes Church, Uranus deconstructs his plan, as it would only paint him as a heretic going against the beloved Chief God, and a possible religion war could start that would kill lots of lives.
• I Will Only Slow You Down: Having witnessed the death of Kyubey, been betrayed by the church, and separated by the rest of his party members in chapter 95, Naofumi begins to see himself as worthless and asks for Mein to leave him behind. Believing that his existence Medea is only going to cause problems for everyone, Naofumi no longer wants to have his companions sacrifice their lives for him, so their safety is ensured.
• Jaw Drop: Played for Laughs. Understanding from Uranus at chapter 116 that his plan to deconstruct the religion of the Three Heroes Church would result in a dangerous religious war, Naofumi hangs his mouth opening from the realization of his own plan being stupid in the long run.
• Jerkass Ball: Though Naofumi is usually a Nice Guy, learning the insistence of Rudolphus and Bellatrix to operate on Mein's slave seal in chapter 124, despite being Uncertified Experts, pushes Naofumi to explode in an unnecessary fit of rage. Being enraged, Naofumi butts in on insulting Bellatrix and Rudolphus' expertise as dangerous and insensitive to the victims that partake in it. For Naofumi to stop behaving unreasonably, Mein steps in to have Naofumi reflect on his anger and gives herself the permission to have her slave seal be tampered.

K-Z

• Keep the Reward: Justified. After successfully liberating Graile of the Three Heroes Church, Uranus welcomes Naofumi to keep the House Okami armor for his protection in the future. However, Naofumi denies the armor for both his gratefulness to not deprive House Okami of its important artifact, and because he does not want anyone to recognize him as the fugitive Shield Hero.
• Lady and Knight: While Mein acts as his lady and first companion to always believe in him, Naofumi in return promises to keep her safe at all costs and be a Legendary Hero that looks like a knight that protects everyone.
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall: Played for Laughs. Angered that the world of Medea is filled with so many pop-culture references he can recognize, with the exception of the people inhabiting the world, Naofumi has a Rage Against the Heavens in chapter 125 to question the gods as to why the world feels like fanfiction.
  Naofumi: Whatever god created this world is clearly a pop culture reference whore. We already have ''Skyrim'' nobles and ''Harry Potter'' characters... from fanfiction tropes running around. Why not add ''The Slenderman'' too!?
• Likes Clark Kent, Hates Superman: Naofumi is afraid of revealing his complete Japanese background to Mein and all of his party members, because as the Shield Hero, Naofumi is praised for his heroics and courage. For his past, however, he comes off as a lazy otaku that couldn't even pass his high school exam and is fearful of letting others down as just The Everyman.
• Living Emotional Crutch: Being with Mein and knowing she is in shape, Naofumi is stable and can be lifted out of his worse troubles when she comes to help him. However, when she makes plans to handle problems by herself, and is exposed to the possibility of being endangered, Naofumi is quick to shut down such plans out of fear for her life and himself for failing to live up as a great hero people see him as.
• Locked Out of the Loop: While everyone else involved with the Three Heroes learn of Mein being Malty in disguise by chapter 111, Naofumi is left the only that lacks the full scope of who Mein really is, as the only suspicion he has on her is that she is a noblewoman in disguise as an adventurer.
• Loophole Abuse: The case of the slave seal is that whenever a tattooed slave disobeys their master, it acts as a Shock Collar to punish the slave. So to minimize the possibility that Mein's slave seal could punish her, Naofumi suggests an implication of himself becoming her Sympathetic Slave Owner in chapter 123 to remove Consevatie's control over her.
  Naofumi: Wait, you can change the owner of slave seals? Can you do that for my companion? She was enslaved by those assholes from the church when we were captured.
• Love Confession: Downplayed. To be treated more fairly and have agency in his cooperation with Mein, Naofumi confesses to her in chapter 105 if she can still accept him as a partner, despite lacking a Shield.
• Luminescent Blush:
  • Naofumi blushes out of embarrassment near Kate hearing her words to keep him for herself and for the all the teasing she is giving him by the beginning of chapter 114.
  • Receiving an answer from Uranus in chapter 116 that the Chief God's existence is confirmed to be real through the usage of miracles, Naofumi blushes because he himself looks like a hypocrite by using miracles that he learned from the Three Heroes Church.
• Luck-Based Search Technique: Naofumi randomly stumbles upon an ancient room of the cave he and Mein were hiding inside of in chapter 100. When asked by Mein as to how he discovered the hidden room, Naofumi frantically replies that he did so by complete accident, and he only discovered it out of sheer boredom to find a more comfortable position to wait.
• Made a Slave: Downplayed. Though he can only be enslaved with the Imperious Slave Seal, Naofumi is given a regular Slave Seal in the form of an iron rod by Consevatie, as so he looks like a slave that was completely defeated by him in chapter 118.
• Meaningful Look: Naofumi gives Mein a gaze in chapter 107 as a response of his awareness that he disapproves her original plan to ditch the Gallian knights against the Cultists by the earlier chapters.
• Mistaken Identity: He utters Raphtalia's name in chapter 113, believing to have seen her at the monastery, but upon a closer inspection, the person is a ram girl that only has a similar appearance to Raphtalia, so Mein steps in to clear up any misconceptions.
• Moment Killer: Malty gets close into revealing her identity as a princess in chapter 107 to protect Naofumi from any Misplaced Retribution by the demi-humans, but he bests her in revealing his identity as the Shield Hero first, thereby stopping himself from learning her true self.
• Morality Pet: Naofumi serves as the main conscience that eventually grows onto Malty for being the one that calls out her questionable plans that serve only to further their goals without regards to anyone else, and by emotionally connecting her with their other party members into caring for their lives.
• Moral Myopia: Played for Drama. Part of the reason he isn't able to motivate himself into confronting Mein of her fake identity is because he himself is also wearing a fake identity as the Shield Hero. While Mein may be a noble in disguise of a commoner, Naofumi underneath is an Otaku playing the role of the hero and is mistaken by Mein as some noble person from his original world.
• My Greatest Failure: From his original world, Naofumi's biggest mistake was his harsh parting words to Yuugo. Although Yuugo wanted to pursue his dreams and move into another location, Naofumi called him a coward for running away from the truth. Eventually, when Naofumi's anger calmed down, he felt guilty of his last conversation with Yuugo. After Mein had saved him from his trial, Naofumi vows for himself to never let down his new companion and promises not to make the same mistake with Yuugo.
• Mythology Gag:
  • Played for Drama. At chapter 95, he experiences a brutal betrayal from the Church of the Three Heroes and their betrayal gets two of his companions killed. On top of losing Kyubey and Farkas' life, Naofumi is left without a shield and is separated from all his remaining party members, aside from Mein being still be his side. Having experienced a betrayal that game changing to his situation, Ambition!Naofumi is put into a similar position where his canon self was betrayed by Malty. A major difference their situation being that while Canon!Naofumi can blame others for his problems, since he lacked any sort of close attachments to anyone, Ambition!Naofumi blames himself and loses all of the party members that were once a part of him. With no one beside Ambition!Naofumi, except for Mein, they both have to work to their very best to survive Medea as wanted criminals.
  • Played for Drama. In The Rising of the Shield Hero, and Ambition of the Red Princess where Naofumi finds a Portal Book that takes him into Medea. Before getting the Isekai teleportation, Naofumi in both the original series and in this fanfic saw a princess in the books cover, where he comments as a "bitchy" person he should probably be weary of. While such a statement could apply to Canon!Malty, Naofumi bringing up his experience with the Portal Book to Ambition!Malty gives her an Existential Horror where her life might not be important in chapter 115.
  • At The Rising of the Shield Hero, his first real companion he grew to trust was with Raphtalia who was a willing slave that always stayed by his side. All while for Malty, she got turned into a slave to be minimized as a threat, and to be humiliated for life. By chapter 123 of Ambition of the Red Princess, he makes a suggestion to have himself be the Sympathetic Slave Owner to Malty, bringing the irony of her being his first real companion being ranked as a slave.
  • Played for Drama. Not trusting Jackson to be a participant that could follow his plan and betray him at an opportune time groveling at the Three Heroes Church in chapter 129, Naofumi has Malty implant a fire rune onto Jackson to serve as a Betrayal Insurance to kill the latter if he were to actually betray their entire group. By having Naofumi agree with a fire rune be placed onto Jackson, it resembles Canon!Naofumi's paranoia to enslave people as a way to ensure no one betrays him and his party.
• Nerves of Steel: Naofumi is able to keep his cool under control in coming up a plan for Mein to use a [Hydro Sphere] at an ash creature, and then later having Streibough freeze the water by pointing at what spell combinations should be used in chapter 102.
• Never a Self-Made Woman: Defied. Wanting other people to value Mein as her own person and personal achievements for her to stand out upon, Naofumi asks for Rudolphus in chapter 124 refer to Mein by name, instead of referring to her as a companion or servant.
• Never Learned to Read: Justified. Since Medea contains set of people with possible different languages that differ from the ones he recognizes, Naofumi has to rely on his Legendary Shield to translate the tongue of its people. To books, his Legendary Shield does not translate any literature text, so he is left on his own to learn how to read in Medea.
• Never Split the Party: As a safety precaution of his Genre Savvy knowledge of Horror movie plots, Naofumi advises Oersted to not go after Yukari, Ren, and Nora alone, because doing so would decrease their remaining party numbers, thereby making them a more susceptible to the creatures hunting them.
  Naofumi: NO! We are not splitting up any further! Splitting up in a horror medium is bad...
• New Skill as Reward: Having paid attention to all of Gaston's teachings about differentiating edible and poisonous plants in the wildlife, Naofumi is able to put the skills to use in chapter 122 to set apart the berries he found for himself, Mein, and Oersted to eat.
• Non-Indicative Name: His companions refer to him as a "master" out of their own personal respect to him as the Shield Hero, but all of Naofumi's interactions make the word, "master", as more of a preferred nickname, rather than his companions seeing him as a boss reigning over them.
• No Time to Explain: Naofumi has Manfroy be saved from a ghostly leviathan, because the latter has a lot explaining as to why he would sacrifice his own granddaughter's body to spirits to fight against the third wave in chapter 93.
• Not What It Looks Like: In chapter 80, he wrestles a naked Firo from attacking Mein, but the way Naofumi is restraining Firo makes him look like a pedophile wanting to rape a child.
• Oblivious Mockery: Played for Laughs. For Mein's attempts to convince Naofumi to find Queen Mirellia's elder daughter to be trustworthy in chapter 57, he silences Mein's justification by bringing up the likelihood that every new generation of a reigning monarch is almost guaranteed to be worse than the previous. This is all while Mein is watching Naofumi directly insult her princess identity, causing her to be discouraged in revealing herself to be a Princess Incognito.
• Off the Wagon: In his first interlude, Naofumi used to be an Otaku that frequently stayed inside his room to play video games, read light novels, and watch anime. With Yuugo's strong will to do well at school and strict discipline from the latter's father, Naofumi is inspired by Yuugo and it convinced him to work hard in school. Unfortunately, Naofumi's hard work didn't get him into university and when Yuugo left him to follow his own dreams, Naofumi slipped back into his original Otaku lifestyle.
• Only Sane Man: The other Legendary Heroes have their share of flaws but compared to Naofumi, he looks to be the most stable of all. Ren struggles at trying to get along with others and views the world as a video game with nothing meaningful, Motoyasu is an Idiot Hero needing his companions to guide him, and Itsuki's perception of justice can make him come off as crazy. Naofumi on the other hand, despite his meager life in Japan, he is the most perceptive of the heroes and can act cordial with others.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: If innocent lives are involved in a cause of danger, Naofumi's usual reaction is to be a Small Steps Hero in saving as many as he can. In chapter 100, Naofumi displays his serious behavior, despite no innocent lives being in danger and it perplexes Mein as to what he is trying to show her. It's then revealed that his seriousness was to reveal to her a secret room of the cave they hid in, and Mein seeing the the mystical appearance manages to impress her well enough to sidetrack her goal to leave the cave immediately.
• Papa Wolf: His surrogate children, Raphtalia and Firo, being kept as slaves of Consevatie the Younger, Naofumi has contempt towards him for failing to treat his children with nurturing care, coupled with viewing everyone around as an NPC that is not valued.
• Parting-Words Regret: Naofumi's final words to his best friend, Yuugo, before the latter departed from Tokyo to pursue his dreams is to call out Yuugo for leaving him behind in Tokyo to be all alone. Once Yuugo left, Naofumi became guilty at how harsh he was with his friend and he felt as though he himself was The Load for only slowing down Yuugo from achieving his dreams.
• Pit Trap: His ultimate plan in chapter 129 involves using Jackson to be a Fake Defector to lure hordes of soldiers in Balafon near a cliffside. Afterwards Jackson's role, Naofumi steps in to order Bed-Chan pull away her roots, so that most of the soldiers plummet to their deaths.
• Platonic Declaration of Love: He declares in chapter 105 for Mein to treat him as more of a partner to protect and uplift each other in their hard times, instead of being just a Damsel in Distress staying quiet while she does all the work. As Mein accepts to be more of a partner, Naofumi and her see it as a way to better work together, rather than to be more romantically involved.
• Pop-Cultural Osmosis Failure: Anytime Naofumi recognizes a character having a name or appearance that came from his world, he will likely say their real-life counterpart name or attributed traits, all while Malty is left wondering if the characters Naofumi is talking about are grandiose figures that exist.
• Portal Book: While the Three Heroes found their way to Medea, via being close to death, Naofumi finds his way into the land by an Isekai light novel book he just so happened to pick out for reading.
• Punctuated Pounding: Just as Naofumi relentlessly punches the Bitch Lord with her own prosthetic arm, Naofumi also declares that the Rabier Keep does not belong to her.
• Puppy-Dog Eyes: To keep Mein from going through her decision to scout around Graile at the risk of getting caught or exposed for her identity, Naofumi grabs her sleeves to give her a pleading look in his eyes at chapter 106.
• Rage Against the Heavens: Played for Laughs. Angry at the possibility of Slender Men existing in Medea, as how Yukari is describing a hidden creature in chapter 125, Naofumi releases his anger onto the heavens to ask why the god of Medea added in tons of pop cultural reference that makes the worldbuilding look like fanfiction.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Once Naofumi is done Taking the Bullet from Lautrec's goddess who almost struck a killing blow to Mein, Naofumi calls out the goddess for her biased judgement. While the goddess may hate Mein, Naofumi makes it clear that the goddess knows nothing about her and is only thinking through baseless judgement.
• Remember the New Guy?: For some reason in chapter 114, Naofumi claims to have said Kate's name or has had the time to talk to her in the previous chapter, yet no mention is made of their interaction before hand.
• Right for the Wrong Reasons: He is right to suspect that Mein isn't who she says she is but to come to the conclusion that her real identity is that she is the daughter of Lord Ascart is wrong. Although, Naofumi is right about Mein being the daughter of a high ranking noble, despite not knowing who the person is.
• Right in Front of Me:
  • His role in being a Genuine Imposter of himself as the Shield Hero in Graile is delivered by Rhapsodos relaying news about what had happened in Graile, yet the latter is unable to see Naofumi pretending to be Siesta right with him in chapter 114.
  • Played for Laughs. Naofumi wondering that if Consevatie is willing to enslave a nobleman like Bartfort, who has connections that are meant to protect him from slavery, then it would be plausible to assume Consevatie doing the same enslavement to a royal princess. At the same time, however, Malty is right besides Naofumi, and she can only laugh to drag herself away as a princess that got enslaved.
• Roaring Rampage of Rescue: Naofumi was already determined to save Raphtalia and Firo from Consevatie's enslavement, but after hearing Mein's news of the Training from Hell that Consevatie subjected Raphtalia and Firo into, Naofumi becomes filled with rage to have a stronger drive to rescue Firo and Raphtalia immediately.
  Naofumi: That's it. We need to get them out tonight. Any of you have something to add, you better do it now. Because I'm not leaving Raphtalia and Firo with that creep another day longer!
• Robbing the Dead: Discussed. Naofumi personally feels horrible for copying the shields of the the dead knights of the Scourge. While pragmatically, it can help him become stronger to save more lives, Naofumi finds it to be disrespectful towards the dead. However, Jaune believes Naofumi's actions to be respectful in the end, since the latter is doing so to avenge the deaths of the fallen by saving more innocent lives.
• Rude Hero, Nice Sidekick: Inverted. Malty herself is his first companion being the closest to a sidekick, as she receives most of the focus, gives Naofumi context of Medea's world, and does some decisions for him. Being the sidekick, Malty is secretly on the cynical side in playing the game of thrones, is cautious around the behaviors of others, and can be a Pragmatic Hero that relies on dubious plans for survival. Naofumi, on the other hand is the main leader of his party, is generally a Nice Guy around everyone and is dedicated to being the best hero for Medea.
• Running Gag:
  • Throughout various chapters, Naofumi referencing stuff from his world or using unknown terminology is played for laughs to other characters (mainly Mein) driving their imaginations wild as to what Naofumi is talking about.
  • Naofumi accidentally keeps using the word "Miss" onto Katarina, Bertia, and Iris' names, but is quick to change into using "Lady", since that is the proper noble title. Due to the mishaps in naming the three of them, Naofumi curses the usage of aristocrat titles.
• Sarcasm Mode: As a response to Ken's vague question in chapter 107 at where he should begin his story on how he came to Graile, Naofumi sarcastically questions Ken if the story he provides should recap the False Rape Accusation, or the Three Heroes Church being the main enemy that ruins everything.
• Secret Identity: While Mein creates her secret identity as Sophia of Totela to hide herself from being discovered as a fugitive of the Three Heroes Church, Naofumi gives himself a girlish sounding name known as Siesta of Totela and wears a servant's outfit to act as an Embarrassing Cover Up.
• Secret Room: Naofumi finds a hidden room inside of a cave that was turned into a waiting spot in chapter 100, and when revealing the room to Mein, the environment she sees has a familiar look to Boletaria castle and ancient writings that are hard to understand.
• Secret Secret-Keeper: Downplayed. He lacks the awareness to know who Mein's true identity is, but he knows enough that her origins as Mein of Samphor is not true, due to her behavior not aligning to what would be expected of a commoner, and Ren confirming the existence of the real Myne of Samphor. Regardless of what secrets Mein is hiding from him, Naofumi refuses to confront her about it, out of fear that he comes off as a hypocrite for his origins as The Everyman, and because he does not want to bring discomfort to her.
• Selective Obliviousness: Despite knowing that Mein isn't who she claims to be, Naofumi manages to convince himself for most of the chapters that Mein is a commoner and doesn't think much of the secrets she keeps. It's until chapter 85 where Ren has to tell him in the face to eventually make a confrontation with Mein as to who she really is. Even then, it takes time for Naofumi to comprehend the truth and accept that both her and himself will have to come forward of their true identities.
• Shout-Out:
  • His secret identity as Siesta of Totela has allusions to Siesta from The Familiar of Zero, as Naofumi and Siesta both wear maid-looking outfits, on top of the latter being an actual girl. Naofumi's identity also fits the theme of disguise in Gallia, as he is essentially interacting with individuals that come from Siesta's franchise.
  • Yukari describing a Humanoid Abomination she sees in the mountains in chapter 125 looking slender, Naofumi reaches his Rage Breaking Point to wonder the possibility that the creature could be a pop-culture reference of Slender Man. By chapter 126, his Shout-Out of Slender Man is taken further by exploring all the possible abilities it might have in comparison to the plant monster that's been mysteriously kidnapping their navigators.
  • Smiling gleefully of a wonderful plan he thought out in chapter 128, Naofumi congrats himself as someone that Lelouch would be proud of.
    Naofumi: I think I just came up with a plan that'll make Lelouch proud.
• Sins of Our Fathers: Having the title of Shield Hero on his head, Naofumi is occasionally put into situations to clean up or is hated by some townsfolk of Melromarc for the horrific actions the previous Shield Hero, Mikage Mikami, had done.
• Slave Brand: To be labeled as a slave defeated by Consevatie, a hot, iron rod is placed on his chest to mark him in chapter 118.
• Slave Liberation: Seeing slavery as a vile act legalized all around Medea, Naofumi vows to have slavery be banned all over the worlds, but wants to make sure no unintended consequences are caused in his heroic act to ban the practice.
• Slavery Is a Special Kind of Evil: Upon learning the prominence and existence of slavery in all countries of Medea, Naofumi is quick to realize the type of Crapsack World Medea is. To slavery, he will only use it either to protect his companions initially from exploitative laws or to boost the intelligence of his balloon monsters. Anything else, Naofumi will refuse to slavery as a form of punishment to anyone and promises to stop all forms of slavery in Medea.
• Slippery Slope Fallacy: He refuses to use any form of slavery onto his party members, because he believes indulging himself onto the practice will make him as bad as the slavers he wishes to put to stop. Naofumi imagines his Slippery Slope Fallacy jump in chapter 80 be believing himself to become a Knight Templar to anyone of his party members wishing to disobey him.
• Small Steps Hero: Naofumi always remains vigilant in sticking to his morals and will help those in need. Due to this viewpoint, this can act as a deconstruction to Naofumi's prioritization to be ready to save everyone, no matter where they are, he unprepared to witness the unforeseen consequences of the heroism he commits. As such, his life is frequently put into danger, just to make sure everyone he cares for and meets is protected.
• Spotting the Thread:
  • Despite's Mein's decision to save him from his False Rape Accusation trial, Naofumi inner thoughts reveal that in chapter 20, he had been slowly gaining awareness that Mein isn't who she claims herself to be. Based on how high she holds herself, how she utilizes her rapier, Naofumi suspects her to be less innocent than she appears to be. Even more, Naofumi learns of another Mein of Samphor that confirms his suspicion that his Mein is pretending someone else. Despite the warning signs and ulterior motives Mein may potentially have for him, Naofumi will trust her the best he can, as long as she remains faithful.
  • Naofumi can tell that Pope Balmus is likely to have ulterior motives, as his supposed kindness towards him is unusual for being a follower of the Three Heroes religion. Naofumi suspects Balmus' intentions are to overthrow the Royal Family and views Balmus to be more dangerous than Aultcray for being more subtle of his antagonism.
• Stating the Simple Solution: Looking around Porter's abandoned campsite in chapter 122, Mein suggests for everyone to do their searching on the surface of the campsite, until Naofumi brings up an idea to go looking inside of the camp's nearby cave. By his announced idea, Mein is left ashamed for missing out an obvious detail that could have helped in their searching.
• Stress Vomit: He vomits out his stomach contents once he finishes his Delayed "Oh, Crap!" where Mein confirms his worst in fear in chapter 117 that the reason House El Bridget attacked Graile was because the city appeared to be beyond saving.
• Stunned Silence: Expecting Mein to betray him, Naofumi boils up his rage, until Mein instead chooses to explain his innocence. Surprised by the action Mein took, Naofumi is left unable to talk and could only think in his thoughts in chapter 5 that Mein chose to stay loyal with him.
• Suddenly Shouting:
  • Once the constant demands of Prince Kael'thas become too much to handle in chapter 79 over what should be done with the Orb of Power, Naofumi shouts at Kael'thas for his Fantastic Racism towards his friends and acting as a prideful nobleman.
  • Being pressured by Mein and Yatsuhashi requests to follow him because they are his sword and shield, Naofumi begins to suddenly shout at them in chapter 89. The way they want to always follow him feels degrading to their own individuality, as both Mein and Yatsuhashi are considering themselves as tools for him to use.
  • Naofumi quickly loses his cool in chapter 103 and shouts at Mein for her idea to get their Gallian knights killed by leaving them into troubling situations, as the act portrays them as ungrateful people that don't appreciate the help they are given, even if its an Unwanted Rescue.
  • Being irrational about the possibilities of how tampering with Mein's slave seal could hurt her in chapter 124, Naofumi begins Suddenly Shouting at Rudolphus and Bellatrix to deny them permission to operate on Mein's slave seal to be switched.
• Naofumi starts off calm and worried for Raphtalia and Firo's safety under Consevatie's watch in chapter 132, but after learning from Mein of the brutal training Consevatie had placed Raphtalia and Firo in, Naofumi is quickly filled with the rage to scream for his group to rescue Raphtalia and Firo immediately, before they are further hurt.
• Supreme Chef: Whatever food he cooks for his companions or kind strangers, Naofumi is likely to be praised by other for the wonderful meals he can cook up for them.
• Survivor Guilt: He and Mein succeed in escaping the Three Heroes Church's attempts to capture them in chapter 95, but it came at the cost of Kyubey dying and the remaining party members getting left behind. He and Mein being the only ones that escaped, Naofumi blames himself for surviving, since it looks like his companions were the ones paying the price for the selflessness he has committed to save others.
• Sympathetic Slave Owner:
  • By any means does he not support slavery, but when needing to get himself party members, Naofumi goes for buying Raphtalia, Kyubey, Farkas, and Lautrec as his slaves. Having them by his side, Naofumi makes sure to never use the electric shocks of the slave seal to not promote the use of slavery, and instead give his slaves their own freedom. Once put in a situation to abolish his slaves by King Aultcray and Itsuki, Naofumi eventually stops being a slave owner, as he allows his enslaved party members to be removed of their slave seal by chapter 26.
  • Invoked. Needing to find a way to take away Mein's slave seal potentially shocking her, due to being connected to Consevatie as her owner, Naofumi brings up suggestion in chapter 123 to imply himself becoming Mein's new owner as a way to remove the possibility that her slave seal may act as a Shock Collar.
• Take That!:
  • Naofumi losing his Shield and having to learn being a hero without it is meant by Qinlongfei for Naofumi to prove himself as a real hero, and to demonstrate that Canon!Naofumi's only useful need only came from his Shield. Without a Shield, Qinlongfei sees Canon!Naofumi as an idiot reliant on others and his no real agency on his own beyond his weapon.
  • Describing Consevatie's goals to Take Over the World in chapter 130 as an overly ambitious endgame the will never be able to sustain itself, Naofumi compares the way of thinking to horrible Isekai novels portraying a protagonist with an Informed Attribute of being smart that somehow conquers as a Power Fantasy meant for personal pride.
  Naofumi: It's stupid to go against the world when all he has is a small village. But it makes a bit more sense if he's incarnated from my world... maybe not literally my world, but a world similar to mine. There are plenty of trashy, power fantasy novels about some arrogant, stupid schmuck who gets summoned, or incarnated into a fantasy world and they eventually take it over. If he is literally calling everyone around him NPCs, he probably thinks he can do it too. It's still stupid, but it would make sense in the mind of a smug idiot like himself.
  • After witnessing and analyzing many of Consevatie's stupid decisions made, Naofumi compares his character to Dumb and Dumber making a show that will be just as horrible as the downfall of Game of Thrones.
    Naofumi: I'm sure dumb and dumber can make another hit show like Game of Thrones out of it.
• Taking the Bullet: Naofumi charges his head between Web!Raphtalia's sword to protect Mein from a fatal stab. Fortunately for Naofumi, he survives the attack on the head, and while he does bleed a little, he manages to stay conscious to give the goddess "The Reason You Suck" Speech.
• Teach Him Anger: To stop sulking in his Guilt Complex that anything going wrong is somehow going to be his fault, Naofumi learns to blame the Three Heroes Church for having put Lute Village in danger, instead of himself indulging in his Chronic Hero Syndrome of not being in Lute Village to defend everyone.
• These Hands Have Killed: Just as his levels implode with experience points from the hordes of soldiers he got killed by luring them into his Pit Trap in chapter 129, Naofumi mumbles in his guilt of himself being a murderer. Before he could continue his ramble any further, Mein approaches to give him a Cooldown Hug, as so his guilt is lessen.
• Tired of Running: After escaping the Three Heroes Church and hiding under the identity known as Siesta of Totela, Naofumi is left increasingly agitated at leaving Mein with all the work to care for him, all while he does nothing. Eventually in chapter 105 when Mein pretends to be Princess Malty (not knowing that they are the same person), Naofumi takes action in playing himself as the Shield Hero to help the people of Graile overthrow the Three Heroes Church.
• Tracking Chip: Discussed. Naofumi thinks up an idea for Mein that Consevatie is not following her, because it could be possible the latter is using the implanted slave seal as a tracker for his Trick-and-Follow Ploy.
• Translator Buddy: Since Bed-Chan's language sounds exactly like Japanese to Naofumi being able to translate her words with his Legendary Hero abilities, Mein has to rely on him to relay what information he can learn about Bed-Chan's existence, because Mein herself lacks the same capability to translate another language.
• Translator Microbes: Downplayed. His Legendary Shield provides him to understand the language of every living being in Medea, with the exceptions of monsters too unintelligent to form proper sentences, or written literacy.
• Trick-and-Follow Ploy: Discussed. Thinking for a reason Consevatie is not being found near Mein in chapter 125, Naofumi suspects Consevatie to be using Mein's slave seal as a Tracking Chip to follow, until eventually surprising everyone when no one expects it.
• Underestimating Badassery: Being the Shield Hero, Naofumi is underestimated by a majority of his enemies or rivals thinking his main weakness is his lack of attack power. However, Naofumi can prove those statements wrong by utilizing in creative strategies or provide the best support he can with his high defenses.
• Unspoken Plan Guarantee: Announcing to Mein of his wonderful-like Lelouch plan in chapter 128, the next chapter in 129 skips through all the planning Naofumi explained to his group and instead focuses on the plan being enacted by Jackson luring the Three Heroes Church into a trap. By not letting the audience in on what the plan was about, Naofumi's plan being put into action goes perfectly well with, since most of the armies after them are dead by the time the plan is over. When the plan is finally explained, it happed by a How We Got Here to detail the steps made to enact it.
• Uriah Gambit: Defied. As Mein explains her desperate plans to find situations that can get their Gallian knights escorts be killed in chapter 103, Naofumi quickly gets agitated in turning down the idea, as to explain to Mein that going through with that plan would make them both ungrateful for the Gallian Knights' help and be no better than the Three Heroes Church.
• Use Their Own Weapon Against Them: Due to not having any way to damage any opponent with his own fists, Naofumi resorts to using the Bitch Lord's prosthetic arm against the latter to increase the damage output being put towards her.
• Voice of the Resistance: As Mein makes her claim to be Princess Malty to give an inspiration for Grail to revolt against the Three Heroes Church in chapter 108, Naofumi rises up to be with her to claim himself as the Shield Hero. Though not having his shield by his side, his balloon monster mimicking an appearance of a shield gives claim that of his hatred that the Three Heroes Church are wrong to enslave everyone in Graile.
• Welcome Back, Traitor: Though Raphtalia had a helping hand with her illusions to lure him and Mein into Consevatie's trap in chapter 118, Naofumi holds no grudges towards her and only wants her to be safe from whatever abuse Raphtalia has to go through as Consevatie's slave.
• We Need a Distraction: Suspecting a monster to be lurking within the forest in chapter 126, Naofumi makes a plan for his group to have the Three Heroes Church act as bait while the potential monster is distracted, thereby allowing himself and his group to make an escape with most of their members intact.
  Naofumi: We aren't at the end of the mountain. There's a chance we won't give ourselves away. And even if we lure the church people over, maybe they'll even act as a distraction to the monster while we escape.
• What Are Records?: Inverted. Having to explain the "static" effect to Mein and his group members in chapter 126, they are all left confused as to what Naofumi is talking about, since the word, "static", only exists in modern Earth technology.
• What the Hell, Hero?:
  • Hearing Mein blurt out a barrage of racist statement towards the Siltvelt Agents, Naofumi who is normally a Nice Guy loses his cool and berates Mein for her unusual racist behavior. Once Naofumi regains his calmness, he apologizes for his out-of-control anger and justifies her behavior from how she was raised.
  • Naofumi learning that Mein planned to pull out a Uriah Gambit in chapter 103 by leaving their Gallian knights to the Cultists pushes him to scold her for thinking such actions would be acceptable, even if they are both fugitives.
  • He gives off a more subtle look of disapproval for her original plan to her face in chapter 107, when he hears Streibough be accidentally right of the fact that Mein did plan to leave the Gallian knights in the clutches of danger against the Cultists.
  • Mala immediately going out of her way to kill the squatters in chapter 120, Naofumi snaps to accuse Mala for mindlessly murdering people that never got a chance to explain any their own motives. However, Mala reminds him that such actions to Shoot Everything That Moves is necessary, since they are in a desperate position to not get caught by the the Three Heroes Church or any thieves' guild associates.
  • Naofumi yells at Mein to question her violent actions of setting the Balafon building on fire during their rescue operation to save its people from the Three Heroes Chuech. To Mein's defense, she reasons that they need to take every opportunity to beat their foes, before being able to reconstruct all the damaged infrastructure with Bed-Chan's help. However, Naofumi still ends up deconstructing the aftermath of what she believes might happen, as he gives an Armor-Piercing Response of the fire endangering Bed-Chan's life.
• Wham Line: Learning that Bellatrix and Rudopholus have the magical knowledge to switch owners of the slave seal as a means to partially give freedom to the enslaved villagers of Balafon, Naofumi suggests in chapter 123 to have Mein's slave seal owner be switched from Consevatie to someone else, which he implies to be himself.
  Naofumi: Wait, you can change the owner of slave seals? Can you do that for my companion? She was enslaved by those assholes from the church when we were captured.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are:
  • Just as Motoyasu prepares to leave his party members out of guilt for not living up to the ideal hero and for suggesting to use the miracle seed, Naofumi approaches him to change him mind. Naofumi empathizes with Motoyasu on their failures as heroes and talk on their past lives to comfort each other.
  • On the receiving end, Naofumi is reminded by Mein in chapter 84 that he won't turn out as the King of Rape, since he is a kind and generous person that wishes to save everyone as the Shield Hero.
• You Can Turn Back: Having no Shield and watching Mein taking the role that is actively protecting him, Naofumi asks her in chapter 105 if they can still fight together as partners for Graile, or if their dynamics and goals should change for his lack of a shield. In Mein's response, she answers being his partner as a preference to help Graile, despite being Not in This for Your Revolution.
• You Monster!: Disgusted by Emon decapitating Hob's head in chapter 33, Naofumi calls him a monster for his delusional actions.
• You're Nothing Without Your Phlebotinum: Since losing his Legendary Shield at chapter 95, Naofumi actively works himself up to be more protective over Mein's safety, because deep down, he secretly sees himself as unworthy to be her partner or as someone special without the Legendary Shield enforcing his potential.

Tropes that apply to the Yuzus/Naofumi's Balloon Monsters

A-Z

Yuzus/Naofumi's Balloon Monsters

Debut: Chapter 3/Chapter 3: Shield Hero and other heroes

Origin: The Rising of the Shield Hero

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• Adaptational Badass: His balloon monsters in The Rising of the Shield Hero, only stayed with the reputation as the weakest monsters to exist in the Isekai world. The best feats the balloons ever get is by biting Motoyasu inside of a Shield Prison. In the fanfic, the balloons have a Cannibalism Superpower, in which they can mimic materials or other monsters by devouring them, and they can also level up as a means to become stronger.
• Adaptational Intelligence: The balloons in The Rising of the Shield Hero could only growl or bite any target that just so happened to be near them. In Ambition of the Red Princess the balloons all develop their own sentience as they level up, allowing them to understand Naofumi's orders and act upon them that does not require combat.
• Ascended Extra: The balloons Naofumi kept in The Rising of the Shield Hero served as a temporary weapon monster he used for the early parts of the series to find a way to attack people, despite his Shield lowering his damage output. Once Naofumi is able to rely on Raphtalia as his means to damage people, the balloons fade out of the story and are never used again. In Ambition of the Red Princess, however, Naofumi keeps the balloons with him, and the balloons themselves recur at times to use any of their newfound abilities to help Naofumi.
• Cannibalism Superpower:
  • Downplayed. In chapter 107, Naofumi's balloon Yuzus eat Oersted's buckler to take on its appearance for Naofumi to wield without the Legendary Shield system rejecting the item out of his hands.
  • Played Straight. The balloons devour the defeated raven monsters in chapter 107, granting them the ability to perfectly mimic their voices and behavioral patterns to be The Night Owl.
• Humanoid Abomination: The balloons transform themselves into rubber humanoid to carry Raki in chapter 118 and bounce away from getting captured by the Three Heroes Church.
• Instantly Proven Wrong: Played for Laughs. Naofumi thinks about leaving behind his balloons to hide them from the public and to better think of a way to impersonate his Shield Hero self in chapter 106. All of a sudden, his balloons reveal their stretching abilities to blend in with Naofumi, so that they don't have to take the option of leaving him, and to give Naofumi an easier time looking like the Shield Hero.
• Loophole Abuse: In chapter 107, Naofumi works with Oersted to find a way on how he can hold weapons, even if he lacks his shield. At first, things go fine with Naofumi using Oersted's buckler, but coming in contact or utilizing the latter's sheath ends up shocking him in pain. All of a sudden, as Naofumi squirms in pain, his balloon monsters transform themselves into Oersted's buckler to mimic its appearance. Having the balloons mimic the buckler, Naofumi is able to find a way to utilize a shield, without it qualifying as an item to be rejected.
• Named by the Adaptation: His balloon monsters from The Rising of the Shield Hero has no name, since Naofumi only saw them as tools to have a means to attack people that plan to pick a fight against him. Ambition of the Red Princess names them as the "Yuzus" to give the implication they are living beings Naofumi cares for, as they are capable of developing a lovable personality to protect him as the master.
• The Night Owl: After consuming the raven monsters in chapter 116, they adopt a behavioral pattern where they howl loudly at the night.
• O.C. Stand-in: Originally in The Rising of the Shield Hero, the balloon monsters were not considered characters, since they only growled and attacked anyone who got close to them. The balloon monsters in Ambition of the Red Princess all receive the characterization of being cuddly and cute when around Naofumi, as they make an effort to adjust themselves to best suit his needs.
• Power Misidentification: Lacking the original Legendary Shield he once held, Naofumi struggles to find a way to convince people of Graile as the Shield Hero with no shield to wield. Luckily for Naofumi, his balloon monsters are able to use their mimicry of Oersted's buckler to form a fake shield for him to look like the Legendary Shield Hero with no real shield.
• Rubber Man: His balloons' stretching abilities that are displayed in chapter 106 show that they can stretch themselves enough to form specific shapes that can make them blend with Naofumi and give him the appearance of the Shield Hero.
• Voice Changeling: His pet balloons use their Cannibalism Superpower to copy the voices and howls of the raven monsters devoured in chapter 116.

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