Naofumi

Naofumi was summoned to another world using a book called "The Tale of the Four Sacred Weapons". As the only hero to be first on the list of candidates to summon his weapon, Naofumi is also the only Sacred Hero who did not die before being summoned to Melromarc. He has a natural immunity to alcohol and motion sickness. Naofumi has an affinity for healing and support magic. Among all the Four Sacred Heroes, Naofumi has the highest defense stat and the lowest attack stat, making him the opposite of Itsuki, who has the highest attack power but the lowest defense stat. Naofumi was very fond of the Kogole Berries, saying they were like concentrated grape juice with a pleasant aftertaste, which is used to turn a barrel of water into a barrel of alcohol. Furthermore, the fact that Naofumi can eat these berries without any health risks has become so well-known that it is now used to confirm the Shield Hero's identity. For ordinary people, ingesting even one berry can cause severe alcohol poisoning, leading to their use by assassins. Naofumi, Raphtalia, and Firo appear as guest characters in the second season of the anime crossover "Alternate World Quartet". Naofumi placed second in the male character popularity poll held to commemorate MF Books' tenth anniversary. The poll included male characters from works published by the publisher.

Naofumi also noted that the reason he refused to drink alcohol was because he himself never got drunk, and seeing his friends getting drunk made him feel deprived.

According to Naofumi himself, his parents were insensitive in their own way, as they didn't hesitate to tell him that they failed in raising him right in front of him. Even during family trips, Naofumi was the only one who stayed home, and in the morning, he would only find a note saying that they had left. However, Naofumi himself didn't care much about this, as he could spend his free time playing video games.

One of Naofumi's memories of his family is an episode when he went to a traditional sushi restaurant with his parents and younger brother, and Naofumi himself was strictly instructed to carefully watch the hands and actions of the chef preparing the sushi. From then on, whenever Naofumi suggested eating sushi, he was offered to make it himself, and a little later, the whole family ordered it from Naofumi himself. One day, Naofumi goes to the library to find some fantasy books to read, since he doesn't have any extra money to buy anything new. While passing by the bookshelves, Naofumi finds an old book on the floor called The Tale of the Four Sacred Weapons and, taking this as a sign of fate, decides to read it. However, he soon discovers that the page describing the Shield Hero is blank, and Naofumi, surprised by this out loud, loses consciousness and finds himself in a parallel world.

From an early age, animals were naturally drawn to Naofumi. During walks in the forest, wild birds would land on his shoulders, and once, when he encountered a bear, Naofumi pretended to be dead, and the bear responded by licking his face and leaving. Large yard dogs themselves invited him to ride on their backs, and when he jokingly agreed and sat down, they really did give him a ride.

At the age of twenty, Naofumi was a second-year university student who was into video games, novels, anime, and other otaku activities. He often put his hobbies above his actual studies, which led his parents to place all their hopes on Naofumi's younger brother, sending him to famous courses in the hopes of ensuring a good future for him. However, the strong pressure from his parents and the almost complete lack of any freedom and free time led to the fact that one day he simply "broke" and changed beyond recognition: he dyed his hair blonde and began to swear left and right. Naofumi himself understood perfectly well that the cause of all the problems in his younger brother's life was banal stress, and he dared to fix it - and to this end, he advised him to play a famous dating simulator, which his brother was initially hesitant to play. Naofumi's younger brother got a taste for it and soon his room was filled with a bunch of goods dedicated to anime heroines. Having let off steam in video games, he easily completed preparatory courses and was heading towards a bright future. Naofumi's parents appreciated his role in this matter, and therefore began to spoil him even more - this is how he received monthly financial support from his parents and the opportunity to do whatever he wanted. However, he spent the money from his parents on his otaku hobbies, and therefore in the summer and winter periods he worked part-time at several jobs at the same time, including in an izakaya and a food court.

When Naofumi became loved and adored by the public, and the other three heroes became hated by the same people who once admired them, he decided to take his colleagues under his wing.

Naofumi has a habit of giving nicknames to people he comes across. The reasons for this are usually because he often does not know their names, or because he hates them. In the latter case, he gives them extremely derogatory nicknames, such as calling them Malty Bitch. He calls most people by who or what they remind him of, sometimes adding a number if he feels they act too much like someone he knows. After Naofumi became a Mirror Hero in the Glass world, his friends note that the mirror suits him much better than a shield, as he always "reflects" other people's attitudes back to him, insulting those who insulted him first and helping those who helped him.

Naofumi is an incorrigible pragmatist, willing to go to extraordinary lengths to achieve his goals, even though they may seem immoral to others. For example, after saving Rishia and Keel, he offers them to become his slaves, as the shield helps improve the growth and stats of his slaves. After becoming the governor of the territory, which includes the destroyed Raphtalia Village, Naofumi acquires many slaves as workers and future residents, as he believes it will be better for them and that it will help them gain independence and self-sufficiency. Due to Naofumi's good treatment and the respect he has gained, the children of the village soon begin to adore him.

Subconsciously, Naofumi often feels unworthy of what he has and tries to deny certain things. This is seen when he constantly ignores Raphtalia's romantic feelings, believing himself to be unworthy of her. This is also shown in his crush on Raph-chan, who he states he only likes because of her resemblance to Raphtalia. He often feels vulnerable about some of his actions, which is often shown when Raphtalia points out the ridiculousness of some of them. He has feelings for Raphtalia for many reasons, including the fact that she was the light that brought him out of the darkness of his life. Naofumi considers her a hero for being the only person who stayed by his side even when everyone despised him. Despite the fact that Naofumi often solves problems in a non-heroic way, his methods of solving problems are considered the most effective among the heroes. Another aspect that sets Naofumi apart is that he is generally reasonable and willing to listen to others' opinions. After listening to the queen's arguments, he decided to stay in Melromarc. At Fitoria's request, he also tried to mend fences with the other heroes, overcoming his dislike for them.

At first, Naofumi was a very trusting and positive person - he was happy to be summoned as a hero. However, his worldview changed dramatically after Malty S Melromarc, the princess of Melromarc, betrayed and framed him.

Left almost penniless, falsely accused of a crime, and hated by almost everyone, Naofumi became extremely distrustful of everyone and cynical about life. He could not trust anyone and began to believe that everyone was trying to get something from him. As a result of the princess's betrayal, he is almost constantly in a state of anger and hostility, which he hides behind a calm and level-headed personality. This trait leads to him unknowingly pushing away the true believers of the Shield Hero, the demi-humans of Siltvelt.

Unfortunately, Naofumi's status as the Shield Hero means that he is practically useless on his own, which is what made him desperately search for a way to solve this problem. His search led him to those who would never betray him - the slaves, and he eventually found Raphtalia. Naofumi heals her wounds and teaches her how to fight. Spending time with Raphtalia, and later with Firo, Naofumi begins to find peace of mind and trust his close comrades. However, this is a long process, and Naofumi still cannot fully trust those around him. Having lost almost everything in the blink of an eye, Naofumi treasures what he has achieved since being summoned, especially the connections and relationships he has built. Therefore, he tries his best to protect and preserve those dear to him, like Raphtalia and Firo. It has also been shown on multiple occasions that Naofumi is at his most vulnerable when he loses someone close to him, such as when Naofumi thought he had lost Raphtalia after losing to Motoyasu, and when he was separated from Raphtalia and the others when he went to Glass's world. In order to protect and save others, Naofumi was even willing to sacrifice his own life, such as when he fought Fenghuang and Tact.

As Naofumi himself mentions when meeting him in the web novel, the slave trader reminds him of the Millennium Count from D.Gray-Man.

Naofumi is a man of average height and a slender build. His black hair is cut short and sticks out in different directions, and his small green eyes complement his rather sharp features. His face often shows a displeased expression, which is due to his cynical outlook on the world. Only occasionally does a smirk appear on his lips when he jokes or mocks someone. However, over time, Naofumi begins to smile, as he did when he played with the newborn Firo or showed affection to Raph-chan and the other Raph-like creatures.

Most of the time, Naofumi wears his favorite armor, the Barbarian Armor and its various modifications. Depending on the situation, he trades in his usual armor for other clothes. During his first entry into the world of Grass, he was forced to part with his favorite armor and trade it in for simple samurai armor, and then for another world's version of the Barbarian Armor, the Berber Armor. When capturing Kutenrou, in order to hide his involvement with the Heroes, Naofumi temporarily traded his armor for regular cotton clothes. Upon returning to Raphtalia's world, he briefly wore armor made of magical silver, which was created in the image of his favorite armor. However, in preparation for the battle with the Guardian Beast, he returned to the Barbarian Armor again, but this time updated and lighter. The most common shield seen on Naofumi's arm is the Legendary Shield, which was given to him when he was summoned to another world. However, Naofumi can move the shield around his body at will, such as behind his back when visiting the Kalmyra Hot Springs.

Naofumi Iwatani (岩谷尚文, Iwatani Naofumi) is the protagonist of The Rising of the Shield Hero series. He was summoned to another world as the Shield Hero (盾の勇者, Tate no Yuusha), one of the Four Sacred Heroes.

After traveling to another world, Naofumi was chosen by the Mirror Clan and became the Mirror Hero (鏡の勇者 Kagami no Yuusha).

Known as ・Shield Hero ・Mirror Hero ·Saint ・God of Siltvelt ・Archduke of Melromarc ・Count Melromarc (formerly) ・Staff Hero (temporary) ・Rock Valley (formerly) ・Shield Demon (formerly)

Nickname(s)

・Naofumi-sama (Raphtalia, Atla) ・Mr.-sama (Filo) ・Naofumi-chan (Sadina, Sildina) ・Brother (Four) ・Shield Boy (Earhart) ・Iwatani-sama (Mirelia) ・ Iwatani-dono (Altcray, Eclair) ・Little Boy (Lark) ・Great Master (Teris) ・Count (Rato) ・Shield Brother (Kiel, villagers) ・Saint-sama (El-Rasra) ・Naofumi-san (Itsuki, Esnobart, Licia)

Age 20

Race Human

Floor Male

Eye color Green

Hair color Black Personal Information

Relatives ・Unknown (Father) ・Unknown (Mother) ・Unknown (Younger brother) ・Melty Q Melromarc (Political Bride)

Status Alive

Activity ・Legendary Hero ・Clan Hero ・Village Elder ・Merchant (katurai) ・Archduke of Melromarc ・Count Melromarc (formerly) ・Star Hero (temporary) ・University student (formerly)

Level ・150 (Raphtalia's World) ・110 (Grass World)

Country ・Melromark ・Japan (formerly)

Capabilities The magic of healing and support Defense, support, obstruction, reflection of attacks and counterattack.

Weapon ・Legendary Shield ・Clan Mirror ・Clan Staff (temporary) ・Fenghuang's Sword (formerly)