The Rising of the Shield Hero

College student Iwatani Naofumi is reading a book titled "The Records of the Four Cardinal Weapons" in the library when he is suddenly summoned to another world and told he has to save the world as the Shield Hero, one of the Four Cardinal Heroes. And one morning, he finds all his money and equipment gone.

Naofumi follows the slave merchant to his store, where he looks for a partner to act as his sword. But all he has the money to buy is a diseased demi-human girl named Raphtalia, whom he then forces into an incredibly harsh battle.

Naofumi has obtained a whole load of abilities and skills, and his teamwork with Raphtalia is reaching perfection, too. To prepare for the incoming Wave, he upgrades their equipment and heads to the dragon hourglass to find out exactly when it will arrive. But there, he runs into Motoyasu and the other heroes once again.

The Wave is gone, but Naofumi's relief is short-lived as Motoyasu challenges him to a duel in the middle of the celebratory banquet held in Melromarc Castle. Motoyasu insists that owning a slave is unbecoming for a hero and that Naofumi free Raphtalia at once.

After Aultcray reluctantly offers Naofumi a paltry reward, he heads to the slave merchant to redo the slave crest as per Raphtalia's wishes. He also buys a monster egg there, which hatches a few days later and gives him a new party member. Meanwhile, Myne shows up in Lute Village, where they're staying.

The mysterious girl that showed up out of nowhere was actually Filo. She's a filolial queen with an advanced transformation ability, and she can even take human form thanks to it. However, her clothes get ripped every time she transforms, meaning Naofumi has to get her some magic clothes if he doesn't want to go broke. The party leaves on a new adventure to gather the materials required.

After hearing of a village that's in immediate need of herbicide, Naofumi and his party head there to do business. The village has been overrun by plants that have turned into monsters, and its residents were forced to abandon it. These plants can even take root in humans, and apparently Motoyasu is the one who released them into the wild.

After hearing of a village in the East that's being ravaged by an epidemic, Naofumi and his party head there to deliver medicine. The epidemic was caused by the corpse of a dragon that had been killed a month before and left there to rot. Naofumi's party accepts a job request to clean the corpse and head to the mountains where it lies.

In the Eastern village, Naofumi meets a girl named Melty. She instantly becomes friends with Filo and then requests to accompany the party on their journey. It seems she got separated from her guards. They travel together for a while, but when they reach the capital, they find...