History Headscratchers / TheRisingOfTheShieldHero

** In addition to this, '''''how''''' was supposed to prove his innocence to the others given the situation.?The King ''wanted'' him to be guilty due to his personal biases, Myne was working with the church to frame him, and the other three heroes don't know him well enough to believe him.

** Pragmatically, it's because he's useful in battles (especially during the Waves) for his StoneWall and [[SupportPartyMember supporting]] capabilities. And despite [[PunchClockHero charging for his services]], Naofumi has saved numerous lives, especially with his medicines.

** Pragmatically, it's because he's useful in battles (especially during the Waves) for his StoneWall and [[SupportPartyMember supporting]] capabilities. And despite [[PunchClockHero charging for his services]], Naofumi has saved numerous lives (especially with his medicines).

** If he was sent to one of the country's that worships the Shield Hero they'd definitely learn how badly he was treated and it could have potentially have started a war
** The other countries are already pissed that Melromarc violated the agreement in how the heroes were to be summoned. It is in her kingdom's best interest to mend relationships with the Shield Hero and help train all the holy heroes to fight now in her care. Otherwise she'd send them off and lose what little leverage she has against already angry leaders.

** He has no real offensive ability ([[MagikarpPower at first]]), so he has to rely on [[CounterAttack counter-attacks]] and more indirect methods. He might seem useless in fights, but those who underestimate him often regret it later.

** There's also the fact that he, in part, raised her after buying her as a slave. He might have some lingering paternal, feelings for Raphtalia and that becomes too much {{Squick}} for him to consider a romantic relationship for his surrogate daughter.

* In the anime, it is implied that the trauma caused by Myne's betrayal caused him to keep seeing her as her child self.

** It's explained in the Web/Light Novel (the anime & manga have not reached this point yet, so beware of spoilers). Details below: \\
[[spoiler: The Waves of Calamity are caused by two worlds colliding and bleeding into each other. The Waves become deadlier and destroy the world faster if one or more of its Heroes is killed. Once one world dies, the other world is free of the Waves (at least for a while until another world starts colliding with it). One symptom of the Waves is the presence of demi-humans, who were not originally native to Melromarc.]] \\
In the web novel, [[spoiler:the Waves are instigated by Medea Pideth Machina who drains each world's energies and revels in the suffering.]]

** Pragmatically, it's because he's useful in battles (especially during the Waves) for his StoneWall and [[SupportPartyMember supporting]] capabilities. %%How many lives has he preserved each time he singlehandedly tanks a powerful large-scale attack?

* Why didn't the Queen of Merlomarc, upon learning how the Shield Hero was treated in her country, didn't just send him off to the other countries where he will be treated like the hero that he is? Given how she was working herself to the ground just to pacify the other countries when they learned that Merlomarc summoned all 4 heroes and was working extra hard just to keep secret how the Shield Hero was being treated, it would've been easier to just take Naofumi and send him to the neighboring countries, especially those that ''will'' gladly choose to summon the Shield Hero and treat him with respect. Also Naofumi would gladly leave Melromarc given the chance because of how he was treated.

** The other countries are already pissed that Melomarc violated the agreement in how the heroes were to be summoned. It is in her kingdom's best interest to mend relationships with the Shield Hero and help train all the holy heroes to fight now in her care. Otherwise she'd send them off and lose what little leverage she has against already angry leaders.

** There are a few reasons. Yes the slave owner's shield comes with a variety of bonuses that boosts the growth of the slaves contracted to him similar to the monster owner shield. This is why [[spoiler: later when he builds his village he has everyone get a crest and even reset their levels so they can get the bonuses.]] Next, Naofumi still has trust issues and Raphtalia knowing this willingly enters into the contract again so he can fully trust her. Lastly, and this is only in the Web Novel, Raphtalia actually has more rights as Naofumi's slave in Melomarc than if she were on her own. Even discounting that, she essentially is a slave in name only after the duel with Motoyasu.

* Did they ever explain WHY Glass and L'Arc had to kill heroes from another world to save their world or delay the Wave? How would killing delay the Wave in any way? %%It's explained later in the novels. The anime & manga haven't reached that point yet.

** All of the Sword Hero's party [[spoiler: died against the Spirit Tortoise]] and the Bow Hero's party [[spoiler: exploited his mental state from the Spirit Tortoise battle, then left him.]]

** He also still has an aversion to women and romance up until [[spoiler: Atla's death]] so many times when being confronted with evidence of her love for him, he rationalizes it away as **her** not having time for love and other excuses.

* How does Raphtalia still have a slave seal by the end of the first season? She was originally bought by Naofumi during his ThenLetMeBeEvil period, and when he thought that a geas was the only way he could trust anyone in this world. After her seal was removed, Raphtalia surprisingly decided to have a new one put on her, perhaps because she believed that Naofumi still had to relearn to trust. But why keep it after all this time? Was it actually Raphtalia's way to swear a lifelong oath of fealty? Does she consider herself PropertyOfLove? Or is the "slaver's shield" skill tree just too good to pass up, compared to regular party-member options?