Yari no Yuusha no Yarinaoshi (LN) - Volume 3 - Chapter 7

Chapter Seven: Rebirth of the Paradox 

“Looks like we got past the first wave,” Father said. 

“That was easy-peasy!” Keel said. “And if that obnoxious group of knights hadn’t butted in, it would’ve been even easier.” 

“I think so too,” Sakura said, and Yuki and Kou nodded in agreement. I couldn’t disagree. The first wave had been nothing short of a marvelous success. 

“Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves,” Father said. “Based on what you said, Motoyasu, the waves are just going to get more dangerous from here on out, right? We can’t get careless.” 

A chorus of agreement rang out. 

Meanwhile, the captain of the group of Melromarc knights went over to Ren and Itsuki. 

“You did well, heroes,” he told them. “The king has officially invited you to the castle in honor of your deeds today. You will also receive a generous reward.” 

That’s quite the attitude to take toward Ren and Itsuki, considering how he greeted me and Father. Of course, Ren and Itsuki should still take all the money they could get. It would become their funds to use after they left Melromarc, and 500 silver coins was nothing to scoff at. Although 500 silver coins was chump change compared to what Siltvelt would give the Shield Hero, it was still enough to get some weapon power-ups, so there was certainly no harm in taking it. 

“The wave went well, but still . . .” Father was murmuring to himself. “The real show starts tonight, I think . . . Motoyasu is still here, and the best-case scenario is nothing happens.” 

Father appeared to be worried about going to the castle. Naturally, it would be the best-case scenario if Trash and the Crimson Swine left us alone, but there was a possibility that they would try to pull off some dastardly scheme. 

And if I immediately disrupted whatever they tried to do, it could have a serious effect on future events. 

The good news was that Father was much stronger than he had been in the first go-around. That’s a significant change. And of course, I was far, far stronger as well. If we decided to, we could put an end to their schemes instantly. 

“E-excuse me,” came a voice. One of the Riyute villagers who we had evacuated came up to us. 

“Hi—can I help you?” Father asked. 

“I wanted to thank you for helping us,” the villager said. “If you hadn’t been there, our lives would’ve been in danger.” 

“You’re very welcome. Was anyone injured? If so, we have some medicine . . .” 

“No, no, we’re fine,” the villager said. “Nothing serious—and all thanks to you.” 

Father nodded. “That’s great to hear.” 

“Again—thank you so much!” The villager bowed deeply and hurried off. The villagers were truly relieved to be safe. There was no serious damage to Riyute either, beyond a few ruined buildings. It wasn’t as bad as the first go-around. 

Still, back then, Father had done an impressive job minimizing damage without any of the other heroes helping him. It was a remarkable achievement. 

“So I guess we’re off to the castle now,” Father said. “It seems like they’ll be putting on a feast for us, so enjoy yourselves.” 

“Heck yeah! Food!” Keel shouted. 

“I can’t wait!” Sakura exclaimed. 

“No one here has any modesty,” Yuki declared. 

“You’re not looking forward to the food?” Sakura asked. “Kou’s basically drooling with excitement. I wonder if there will be food as tasty-looking as Keel!” 

“I’m telling you I’m not some kinda snack! Leave me alone!” 

“Oink.” 

Oh yeah. I had totally forgotten about Lazy Pig. What had she been doing this whole time? Was it possible that she hadn’t helped out during the attack at all? If so, I’d have no choice but to send her flying as far as I could. 

“Yep, thanks so much for all your help with the evacuation,” Father said. 

“Oink.” 

“Your instructions were just right,” Yuki chimed in. 

“You didn’t fight much though,” barked Keel. 

That point was obvious. Well, it’s not like I was expecting anything more from her. But if Father said that she had been helpful, then I had no choice but to raise my estimation of her. Slightly. 

And as we chatted and as I got lost in thought, we continued to follow the knights toward the castle, staying on guard as much as we could. 

“You’ve done splendid, fine heroes!” bellowed the king in excitement when we arrived. “This wave of destruction did nothing compared to how hard the last one hit us before you arrived!” 

We were taken straight to the banquet hall, where a feast was laid out for us. 

Did nothing in comparison, you say? Indeed—the greater damage was done by your own soldiers, Trash! We knew just what happened to Keel and Big Sis; innocent demi-humans were taken captive as slaves! 

Incidentally, the soldiers let us know that there was not even a single casualty in the fight. 

Before we got to the castle, Father asked that I stay quiet about whatever the king might be scheming against us and let events proceed as naturally as possible. Of course, that was my intention from the beginning, so I would put all of my trust in Father’s wits, I say. In typical Father fashion, he was anticipating that they might try to do something or other. 

“Food! Yes!” 

Keel shoveled dishes onto her plate and gobbled them up, one after the next. She had quite the appetite, nearly on the same level as a growing filolial, I say. 

“You all sure can eat fast,” Father observed. 

“This isn’t as good as your stuff, Big Bro!” Keel said. “Make us something tomorrow!” 

“All right, all right.” 

“I want it too!” Sakura added. 

“And me!” Kou shouted. “I wanna dip you in sauce, Keel!” 

“Why won’t you stop talking about wanting to eat me!?” Keel barked. “Come on and fight me if you wanna eat me so bad!” 

Kou was drizzling some sauce on Keel and licking her all over. 

“All right, Kou, stop it already,” Father said. 

“Aw, man,” Kou said. “Can’t we get another Keel so I can eat him?” 

Father shook his head. “Even if we get another Keel, you can’t.” 

“What do you mean ‘get another Keel’!?” Keel shouted. 

What a delightful scene. I was having fun just watching from the sidelines. Seeing Father take care of the others cleansed my heart and soul, I say! 

Keel, Yuki, and Kou all gobbled up the food with glee. However, I did notice the other groups watching us coldly. Did they not understand how many lives we had saved? 

But as the meal unfolded pleasantly for the most part, I had more important things to be thinking about. In the first go-around, now was around the time that Father and the Crimson Swine betrayed me. 

Oho? Itsuki was walking over toward me with a grim expression. Apparently, even without me on the Crimson Swine’s side, Itsuki was fulfilling my role to a tee. 

But what exactly would he try to pull? I couldn’t just let him do whatever he wanted, so I decided to make the first move and walked over to him. 

“Itsuki, is there something wrong?” I inquired. 

“I have to talk to Naofumi,” he said. “Please step aside.” 

“What about? I can tell him for you, I say!” 

“Motoyasu, this is none of your business!” 

He tried to push me aside, but even a hard shove from someone as weak as Itsuki wouldn’t make me so much as flinch. 

Then Father came hurrying over. I saw Father glance at Itsuki, and I could tell that when Father saw Itsuki’s unpleasant expression, he understood just what was going on. 

“What’s up?” Father asked. 

“Nothing is up!” Itsuki pointed at Father. “I heard everything, Naofumi!” Itsuki raised his voice. “That you—you bastard—enslaved your own companions!” 

Father and I met eyes for a moment. “I did, and so?” 

Keel, Sakura, Yuki, and Kou all looked over toward us. Lazy Pig, seemingly too lazy to get involved with anyone else’s business, looked away as if she hadn’t heard anything at all. Father was looking surprised, as if to say, Itsuki, what in the world are you even talking about? But since Father and I had discussed the possibility that this might happen beforehand, I knew that Father wasn’t the least bit surprised. 

“So you admit it!” Itsuki’s face flushed with the glee of victory. 

“Keel is a slave, and Sakura and Kou are monsters,” Father said, with his confused expression a contrast to Itsuki’s joyous determination. “Is there a problem with that?” 

Itsuki suddenly looked lost as well. “How . . . how could you just say that? Like it’s a matter-of-fact thing?” 

“Well, it is matter of fact,” Father said. “Of course, it’s immoral, but it’s not against the law. Given the circumstances, I didn’t have much choice—” 

But Itsuki was quick to interrupt. “You enslaved a human being and forced them to fight to the death on a dangerous battlefield! How could someone who takes slaves call themselves a hero? Let them go—and if you don’t, I’ll make you!” 

“What are you talking about?” barked Keel. “We fought because we wanted to! Alongside Big Bro!” 

But Itsuki shook his head. “Of course you have to say that—you’re being controlled by the slave seal to do whatever Naofumi commands! But don’t worry, I’ll save you!” 

Father sighed. “I’m not sure what to tell you. Is it wrong for us to use slaves? Maybe, but in this country, demi-humans are by and large enslaved to begin with. There are some exceptions, some adventurers, but it’s hard to find them in Melromarc. And one of the only regions with free demi-humans was completely ruined in the first wave of destruction. And then the people from that village were enslaved by none other than the knights of Melromarc!” 

Itsuki didn’t appear to be listening to a single word that Father said. Trash and the Crimson Swine appeared to have noticed the commotion and moved over toward us as well. Surely, they had whispered all sorts of dangerous lies to Itsuki beforehand. 

“Keel told me himself,” Father said. “It was Melromarc knights that enslaved him.” 

“And that’s the truth!” Keel interjected. “It was Melromarc soldiers. We were trying to rebuild our village and they killed every last one of the men and took the rest of the women and children into slavery!” 

Of course, Keel was telling the truth. But Itsuki had heard Trash and the Crimson Swine’s side of the story first, so he would never believe her. Itsuki was neck-deep in their lies. Just like me in the first go-around. 

“Itsuki, we’re in another world,” Father said. “When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Slaves exist in this world and we have to make do with it.” 

“‘We have to make do with it’? Surely we can do something! Naofumi, this . . . this is just wrong!” 

“Honestly, I agree with you. It is wrong. If we were back in Japan, I couldn’t be more wrong. But we’re not in Japan. We’re in a country where demi-human slaves are the norm.” 

Itsuki’s expression was resolute. He would not back down. I could tell. 

Back then, I looked at Father the same way Itsuki and Ren were looking at him today. And yet Father somehow found it in his heart to forgive all three of us. To take the point to its logical extreme, there is no such thing as an absolute right or wrong. Something done for the right reasons could kill countless people. And while the way we treated Father was wrong, Father recognized that he needed our strength as heroes. So he let us live. 

It was all in spite of Itsuki’s cruel treatment of Father. 

Yes, for better or worse, the world has never revolved around right and wrong alone. 

This makes my promise to Filo-tan a bit of a paradox. In order to do the right thing, I might have to do things that would otherwise be wrong. I learned that from watching Father. 

“Itsuki, I couldn’t help but overhear your noble words!” Trash exclaimed, breaking through the crowd to join us. But he was the one who made Itsuki think this way in the first place. His pestering alone was nearly enough to drive me to action. Should I kill him on the spot? 

But I couldn’t. It would cause too many changes to the timeline. 

“I had heard a rumor that one of the heroes was using slaves, but I couldn’t believe my ears!” Trash said. “And since Itsuki disapproves, I command it: you two will duel!” 

Father let out a heavy, exasperated sigh. A duel against someone who can only use a shield? What a ridiculous concept. Of course, Trash pit me against Father in the first go-around, but I realized now just how stupid I was. And since we had suspected just what was coming, there really was nothing we could do but sigh in the face of the absurdity. 

“If Itsuki wins, then you must release your slaves at once,” Trash continued. “And if the Shield Hero wins, then we’ll let the incident pass without punishment.” 

“I really don’t think there’s any point,” Father said. 

“Of course there’s a point!” Itsuki exclaimed. “Justice will be done!” 

“Justice?” Father shook his head. “There’s no benefit to fighting me and you know that I have pretty much no way to beat you in a duel, right?” 

“I see benefits for both of us,” Itsuki responded. “If you win, you get to keep your slaves, and we’ll leave it at that.” 

“I already have that right,” Father said. “Why are you trying to make it into some sort of lucky prize?” 

Father was right to get angry here. But there was no point in arguing with Itsuki. Even though Father already had slaves, Trash was stepping in after the fact to try and act like he had the right to give Father permission. I nearly lost my cool myself. 

“How about I fight you instead of Father, eh?” I proposed. “I too am little more than a slave to Father’s will, I say!” 

Indeed, for I am the Love Hunter, a slave to my love! I will do anything that my beloved Filo-tan asks of me! And since Filo-tan was Father’s slave, any order from Father is an order from Filo-tan! 

“What are you talking about, Motoyasu? You’re not my slave—” 

I held out my hand. “I appreciate the good word, benevolent Father. But it’s true. I, Motoyasu Kitamura, the Love Hunter, live to serve your will. I am a slave to love!” 

“I have no idea what you’re trying to say,” Father said. 

“Regardless,” I said, turning back to Itsuki and Trash. “There will be no problem if I fight Itsuki in this duel as Father’s representative. Am I wrong?” 

Itsuki had no chance of defeating me. The biggest challenge would be to avoid killing him by accident. And he had seen me take out the chimera before. He was sure to admit defeat easily. 

“Why would the Spear Hero be able to fight in the Shield Hero’s place?” Trash asked. “I will not permit such an exchange.” 

“Yeah!” Itsuki said. “This matter is between me and Naofumi! Stop trying to interfere!” 

Now I was starting to get angry. I’m sorry, Father, but I may just need to kill Itsuki. 

But of course, that would reset the time loop all over again. So maybe I could chop off his hands or legs without killing him. We could always get him back up to shape with healing magic, and I was sure that he would never try to take action against Father again. 

Meanwhile, the castle soldiers had to hold Keel, Sakura, Yuki, and Kou back from attacking Itsuki right away. 

“Let me go!” Keel barked. “No way! Big Bro, don’t listen to ’em!” 

“Calm down, you brat,” shouted the soldier, struggling to hold Keel down. “Hey! Ouch!” The soldier kicked Keel away after she bit him, and Keel hurried to Father’s side. 

“Stop bullying him!” Keel yelped. “If you don’t, I’ll teach you a lesson!” 

“Keel, it’s not quite . . . bullying.” Father sighed, patting Keel on the head. Keel growled angrily at Trash and Itsuki, and you could sense her bloodlust. 

The filolials had also broken away from the castle soldiers and Sakura had even drawn her swords. 

“You aren’t thinking about biting me, the king of Melromarc, are you?” Trash said to Keel. “So you’re one of the Shield Hero’s companions, I see. But you do have a slave seal. You must not be able to speak beyond whatever your master commands you. Call magicians who can undo the curse, immediately!” 

Then Father clapped his hands loudly to capture everyone’s attention. 

“All right, I get it! You want me to fight Itsuki one on one, is that it?” 

“Who said anything about a one-on-one fight?” Trash said. “It will be a fight between you and your parties! And my orders are absolute! I’ll confiscate your slaves by force if I have to!” 

Father’s jaw dropped in surprise. A duel between their whole parties? Somehow, Trash was always even more idiotic than I could’ve expected. 

I may end up breaking my promise to Father, but I couldn’t just let this unfold without intervention. I supposed now was the time to just wrap things up and kill Trash. 

And just as I started charging up my spear to launch an attack, Itsuki interjected. 

“But that is an act of cowardice!” he cried. “Of course it’s a one-on-one fight!” 

“What the hell is going on?” demanded Ren, finally coming over to the discussion. Ren didn’t really react to much of anything until much later in the first go-around, but I supposed that this time he had many more reasons to mistrust Melromarc. Maybe now was the right time to give him the full story. 

“Itsuki is unhappy that Father has been using slaves, so he complained to the king, who’s trying to force them into a duel,” I explained to Ren. 

“Slaves? Naofumi, you’ve been using slaves? Are all of your companions slaves?” 

A bit late to the issue, aren’t you, Ren? 

Ren looked over at Keel and the filolials. “I mean, you and your companions all seemed so close, so I would never have guessed that they’re slaves.” 

“I may be a slave, but I respect Father as a hero!” Keel barked. “Unlike the rest of you lot!” 

Ren paused. I saw him giving Itsuki and Trash some unpleasant side-eye, I say. It seemed like things could start getting out of hand at this rate. 

“And when Father was about to agree with Itsuki to have a one-on-one duel, the king interrupted to say that it was actually a battle between their entire parties and that it was his absolute command,” I continued. 

“What the hell? Isn’t that totally unfair?” 

“Absolutely it is,” Itsuki exclaimed. “For the likes of him, alone I’m more than enough!” 

I should’ve expected that Itsuki would be overconfident. I could tell that Trash had realized things were starting to spiral out of control. He wiped sweat off of his brow as he tried to remedy the situation. 

“No, that’s not what I meant,” Trash said. “A one-on-one duel it is, between Itsuki, the Bow Hero, and the Shield Hero. I command it!” 

Well, it’s not like that would be enough to make Ren suddenly trust Melromarc again. 

Realizing that they wouldn’t be able to hold down Keel and the rest, the Melromarc soldiers finally backed away. 

“Big Bro! Are you sure you wanna do it?” 

“But of course,” I said. “This is similar to events that happened in the first go-around, but Father is stronger and better equipped. It should be no problem.” 

And even though things were shaking up in a different way this go-around, it was quite similar to the first go-around in that Ren and Itsuki were still as clueless as ever. Itsuki was determined to protect his own version of justice at all costs, and Ren was just a little more skeptical of Melromarc this time around. 

“I would rather have Sakura and Keel be there with me,” Father said. “But still, it sounds like Melromarc just wants to see me fail no matter what. There’s really no point in negotiating with them.” 

“Are you saying that you’re considering losing on purpose?” I asked. 

It was undeniable that no matter how strong Father was, he didn’t exactly have a wealth of attack moves at his disposal. And even if Father lost and we released Keel, Keel would simply come with Father regardless. 

I remembered my duel with Father from the first go-around. Good times, good times. After they released Big Sis from the slave seal, Big Sis gave me an honorable slap across the face, I say. And I figured things would be the same this time around. It’s not like Keel or the others were going to appreciate Itsuki’s savior complex. 

But Father shook his head at my question and cast a glare over at Itsuki. 

“Don’t worry about it. I do have some idea of what I’m going to do. Just because I can’t attack doesn’t mean I can’t win. I want to show Itsuki what I can do. He’s been an accomplice to Melromarc this whole time, and his attitude is starting to seriously piss me off.” 

“But, Naofumi . . .” Sakura and Keel looked worried, but Father patted them on the heads and gave them a smile. 

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. I’m going to win. I promise.” 

So Father and Itsuki went to stand in the center of the castle garden, with spectators gathered around them to watch the fight. 

But what was up with Father’s shield? It looked like it had thorns stuck onto it. Did he get it in Siltvelt? And if he did, wouldn’t that make Melromarc start to suspect us? 

What exactly would he do? Simply block Itsuki’s attacks until he gave up out of exhaustion? Father hadn’t learned any spells yet, for one. And they probably wouldn’t let him use any of the medicine he had made during the duel. 

Going against mighty Father was as good as a public execution for Itsuki. I started to have flashbacks of when I had my own duel against Father. It nearly broke my heart to think of it. 

“This is a duel between the Bow Hero and the Shield Hero! The duel will end when one of them completely corners the other or one of them admits defeat!” 

Father cracked his knuckles and adopted a fighting stance. I nearly leapt out into the ring to defend Father, but I reminded myself that he would surely be fine. All I could do was sit here and watch. 

“It feels a bit like bullying to take on someone as weak as you, but it’s all in the name of justice,” Itsuki declared. “I’d recommend simply admitting defeat as soon as possible.” 

Father shook his head. “I’ll show you, Itsuki. In gaming, tanks are always tough to take on. Soon you’ll understand just how terrifying an unbreakable shield can be!” 

Father might have significantly more gaming experience than even me or Ren. I remember hearing that Father was ranked third in a major guild on one server. And it wasn’t just his experience—he also had instincts. 

The rules may have been different in this world. But Father had a weapon capable of adapting to almost any situation. While everyone assumed that the shield was the weakest weapon, they forgot that Father himself was the strongest out of all of us. So while I did feel a tinge of anxiety, I nevertheless believed that Father would find a way to win. 

And then the judge screamed, “Let the duel begin!”