Yari no Yuusha no Yarinaoshi (LN) - Volume 1 - Chapter 7

Chapter Seven: Gerontocracy 

We exited the dungeon and ended up coming out at the rear of the castle courtyard. 
“I know my way from here, I say!” 
“Scoundrel!” 
Some castle soldiers started to cause a commotion. 
“And you! Eclair! You’re helping the Spear imposter betray Melromarc, aren’t you?!” 
The soldiers had shown their true colors. If they’d acted like they didn’t know any better, I might have let them live. Holding back against this scum wasn’t worth the effort. I decided to use a skill that wouldn’t demolish the castle. 
“Shooting Star Spear V!” 
“Gah — ” 
My Shooting Star Spear skill smashed into the soldiers running toward us and they turned into dust. Any enemy of Father and his companions was an enemy of mine. I don’t go easy on my enemies! 
“Wha . . .” 
Éclair was standing there speechless while staring at me. 
“What’s the matter? We can’t protect the people that need our protection if we aren’t willing to protect ourselves!” 
“You’re right. But please try to refrain from killing people if at all possible.” 
“If you insist. Brionac!” 
“Gahhhh!” 
I used a weaker skill, Brionac, to mow down some more soldiers running toward us. 
“Come! We must rush to Father’s side at once!” 
I dashed into the castle. Where was Father?! I ran in the direction of the room where he was supposed to be staying. I encountered more soldiers several times along the way and made quick work of them each time. 
“Motoyasu! Stop this!” 
“Motoyasu! What’s this rampage all about?!” 
“Oh, it’s you, Ren and Itsuki. Do you know where Father is?” 
Ren and Itsuki had shown up to see what all of the commotion was. They were trying to act friendly, but they were looking at me like I was some kind of nut just randomly attacking people. More soldiers came at me swinging and I mowed them down with an effortless sweep of my spear. Ren and Itsuki gulped. 
“So strong . . . Just what level are you?” 
“How did you get that strong? Aren’t you supposed to be level 1?” 
“I said I was from the future, didn’t I? My level stayed the same when I traveled back in time.” 
“Say what?! T-that means . . .” 
“Is this the Sword Hero and the Bow Hero? Where is the Shield Hero?” asked Éclair. 
She was looking on as I stood face to face with Ren and Itsuki. She was right. Father wasn’t with them. Where in the world had he gone? 
“Motoyasu, why are you rampaging like this?” 
“They set a trap for me and separated me from Father. This is payback, I say!” 
“A trap?!” 
“They used the trap to send me tumbling down underground, but I escaped and now I’m here!” 
“Underground? Seriously?” 
After we had been talking for several moments, Trash showed up. 
“What’s all the commotion about?!” 
“Your Majesty!” Ren exclaimed. 
“Motoyasu says that a trap was set for him. Is that true?” Itsuki asked. 
“Depending on your answer, I may kill you, Trash!” I shouted. 
“Trash?!” Ren repeated, flabbergasted by my response. “I realize you’re strong, but isn’t that a bit much?” 
“Whatever you say. All I know is he better answer quickly, because I’m just about all out of patience!” 
I gripped my spear tightly and it crackled and sparked. I was preparing to fire off a powerful Brionac skill. Trash might have been a seven star hero, but I was sure that if he took the full brunt of my powered-up attack, it would leave a mark. He’d caused a mess last time and now this time too, so surely running him through once or twice wasn’t uncalled for. 
“T-there seems to have been a misunderstanding, Spear Hero!” Trash replied in a fluster. 
“Misunderstanding? Do you really think an excuse like that will work?” I asked. 
“I-I don’t know how they found out so quickly, but just a moment ago some emissaries from Siltvelt showed up in a hurry to take the Shield Hero. When they did, it seems that a demi-human disguised as a castle soldier used the castle’s trap door to try and dispose of you for political reasons.” 
A demi-human soldier was brought over. The soldier was already dead. 
“This is the demi-human that trapped you before trying to kill the Sword Hero and the Bow Hero. He committed suicide when he realized he was about to be captured.” 
“No way . . .” Ren whispered. 
“You weren’t in your room when we went to get you so that we could all see Naofumi off. We were looking for you,” Itsuki said. 
Everything about it sounded fishy. Did they really think I would believe a story like that? After all, Filo-tan and Father were the ones I trusted! There was no way I could believe the words of anyone who was trying to deceive Father! 
“And you want me to believe that?” 

I got ready to release Brionac in its most powerful form. According to Trash’s story, Father had already departed and was on a carriage headed for Siltvelt. I had supposedly just missed him and been set up by a demi-human emissary from Siltvelt who disguised himself as a soldier and tried to kill me. And then the castle soldiers panicked and attacked me when I came out of an entrance where no one expected to see me. 
“Your Majesty! That’s not a very convincing story!” Éclair stepped forward and spoke up. 
“What?! Seaetto’s girl?! You’re a prisoner! What are you doing here?! How did you escape?!” 
“I asked Mr. Kitamura to free me so that I could find out the truth and he granted my wish! It’s not too late, sir. You can still put an end to your plan to trick the Shield Hero. The queen would never forgive such savagery!” 
“M-my wife’s intentions and my own are one and the same! Return to your cell at once, felon! I show you the grace of responding to you and you speak to me like that?!” 
Éclair’s shoulders sunk dejectedly for a split-second before she straightened back up and glared at Trash fiercely. Trash belonged out on the curb. He was nothing but a useless old man who used his authority to cause trouble. He couldn’t be trusted one bit. 
“You’ve made your intentions clear, sir. I shall accompany the Spear Hero, Mr. Kitamura, and we shall go after the Shield Hero now.” 
“Wait! Do you intend to defy me?!” 
“I will accept my punishment as soon as I hear it from the mouth of the queen. Until then, I’m going to act based on my convictions! That is all!” 
There was a crackling sound. Éclair seemed to be channeling magic power into her sword. 
“That’s enough talk. Now’s the time, if you have any last words before I wipe you from the face of the earth, I say!” 
I pointed my spear at Trash. 
“B-before you what?! You’re going to kill me?!” 
I told him I would listen to what he had to say, but I never said I wouldn’t kill him! That was a little trick to use when talking to people. I had learned it from Father. 
“Mr. Kitamura, please hold off on doing that for now. If you defeat this king right now, it will only put the Shield Hero in even more danger,” Éclair pleaded. 
“I don’t think erasing him would change Father’s situation. We should nip the evil in the bud, I say!” 
In the end, he was just an old troublemaker abusing his authority. Surely, getting rid of him here wouldn’t have any real effect on the big picture. 
Sensing my bloodlust, Ren and Itsuki stepped in front of the king to protect him. If I wasn’t careful, I might accidentally kill the two of them. Then I would end up starting the loop all over. If there were a next time, perhaps I would try to restrain myself from causing such a disturbance after having seen what happened this time. 
“Ren and Itsuki, you would do well to remember this: putting your faith in Melromarc will only bring you pain. In particular, beware of the crimson swine, I say!” 
I would never give up on saving Father! I was sure I could still fix this. I couldn’t waste another second. I needed to go after Father now. I decided to hold off on unleashing Brionac and lowered my spear. 
“Come, Éclair! We leave at once, I say!” 
“That’s not how you say it! It’s Eclair!” 
“Wait!” shouted a soldier. 
“Let them go! If you go after them now, you’ll get everyone here killed!” 
Ren, Itsuki, and the soldiers started to chase us, but the king called them off. I ran out of the castle in pursuit of Father. 
It was nighttime, and the castle town was buzzing with life. Which way had Father gone? How incredibly annoying! They could have taken the back streets of the castle town, or they might have gone straight out into the fields. I had no idea which way the carriage with Father in it had gone! 
I imagined the so-called Siltvelt emissaries were almost certainly soldiers of Melromarc. Father didn’t know any better, so they tricked him and were dragging him off to who knew where. The castle gates should have been closed during the night, but I couldn’t rule out the possibility that they had made an exception and opened them for the carriage. 
“Mr. Kitamura! I got a lead!” Éclair said. 
“What is it?” 
“I was told that a short time ago the gates were opened and a carriage passed through.” 
“I see. It’s highly likely that Father is in that carriage, then.” 
I ran toward the gates in a hurry. I didn’t know what kind of carriage they were using, but it would be extremely difficult to catch up to them on foot. I wondered what I should do. 
“Why do you keep calling the Shield Hero ‘Father’?” 
“Because Father is Filo-tan’s father, I say!” 
“Is that your loved one?” 
“It is, indeed! Filo-tan is an angel that descended from heaven! She’s the one who soothes my soul. She’s my ultimate and my everything, I say!” 
“Oh, I see. The Shield Hero must be quite old.” 
“He’s 20 years old.” 
“Then what in the world does that make your loved one?!” 
Éclair was becoming rambunctious. We arrived at the gates and I pried them open and took a close look at the road leading out. 
“It’s a stone-paved road. In that case, I guess there’s no way to tell which way they went,” Éclair mumbled disappointedly. 
I got down on the ground and looked at the stones closely. 
“Mr. Kitamura?” 
I could see faint markings left by carriage wheels and hooves. It was almost imperceptible, but I could also detect Father’s scent! Judging by the carriage wheel markings, they had gone . . . southwest. That was the opposite direction from Siltvelt, which was to the northeast. Judging from the dirt left by the horse hooves, I was guessing the carriage had passed through the gates perhaps twenty or thirty minutes prior. 
“I’ve got it! They went that way!” 
“Really? I know some therianthropes and monsters have heightened senses of sight and smell. Do you have some kind of special power like that?” 
“I didn’t do anything special. Anyone properly motivated by love and a sense of loyalty could do the same, I say!” 
“I really don’t think . . . Oh, never mind. We don’t have time to argue right now!” 
I did a quick calculation of how much time we had lost in the castle town. 
“Éclair, I’m going ahead. I want you to follow and catch up when you can!” 
“Understood. We’re all counting on you, Mr. Kitamura!” 
I took off running at full speed down the road. I’d trained my legs well, running around with the majestic filolials! The question was whether my level and stats would give me enough of a speed boost to catch up with the carriage. I’d just have to try and find out, I say!