One of the most fleshed out relationships in the anime is the one shared by protagonist Naofumi and his self-proclaimed bodyguard, Raphtalia. Having lost her family and her old village to the first couple of Waves, the biggest element to Raphtalia’s character was her feelings of loneliness, guilt and her trauma. Being in Naofumi’s party allowed her to process some of the trauma that she had experienced throughout her life. This was the same for Naofumi and his anger towards the Kingdom of Melromarc for falsely accusing him of his crimes. As a gesture of appreciation towards Raphtalia, as well as the beginning of his construction of an easier life for her once he’s gone, Naofumi sets out to repopulate and rebuild Raphtalia’s place of origin, with help from some of the people they saved in Siltvelt. A moment worth many tears of joy.

The whole reason why Naofumi had been treated as an outcast, over and above the religious extremism and propaganda propagated by the Three Heroes Church, is that Princess Malty accused him of sexual assault. Malty, also known as “Myne Sophia”, put together an intricate lie in order to gain favour with Motoyasu, the Spear Hero, and also to rob Naofumi of his starter budget and gear. It turns out that the King was already biased against Naofumi and was all too willing to exile him. When it was revealed that Myne lied and the King’s vendetta against The Shield inspired Naofumi’s exile, the Queen decided that they be executed. Naofumi stepped in at the last moment and suggested that rather than brutishly chopping off their heads, they live by new names: “Bitch” for Myne and “Trash” for the King. It showed Naofumi’s very… interesting kindness.

Soon after purchasing Raphtalia from the slaver, Naofumi set out to training the then-little Raphtalia; however, she was still traumatized and timid around him and many enemies. When the two entered a cave with valuable ores hidden inside, they encountered a beast that tormented Raphtalia’s past – a three-headed dog-type beast, which triggered Raphtalia’s panic, guilt, grief and self-doubt. However, with Naofumi’s guidance and continued protection even if it cost him his body, Raphtalia mustered up the courage to lunge at the beast while it was preoccupied with Naofumi and his shield, proving to be a pivotal moment in their relationship.

While most of this has been about Naofumi’s relationship with Raphtalia, we have to pay our respects to the wild decision that landed them together in the first place. Angry at the entire world for the lack of faith in him as well as the heap of damning evidence against him, Naofumi realises he can’t go adventuring on his own. He decides to look for a companion who won’t have the capacity to defy or betray him – a slave. A certain shady slaver has just what he needs in stock, and with Naofumi’s finances in shambles, he could only manage to afford a sickly racoon demi-human. That turned out to be his best decision and his eventual salvation from the anger that consumed him.