Yari no Yuusha no Yarinaoshi - Chapter 431

431 Regrouping

Escaping from the partially destroyed inn, I ponder.
Considering that I had just been attacked, it was entirely likely that some action had also been aimed at Father-in-law’s group.
My intention to be vigilant notwithstanding, quickly giving chase appears to be the best option. Let’s rely on passing some instructions to the demihuman responsible for guarding the inn.

“Following this incident, I plan to chase after Father-in-law… The Shield Hero. If by chance we miss each other, are you able to lead Father-in-law’s group to the next town and meet me there?” (Motoyasu)
“Y-yes sir!” (Guard)

Thus, I left town and followed the remaining filorial tracks, pursuing Father-in-law.
However… En route, the traces of my filorials grew dodgy, and I completely lost the lead at the entrance to a mountain trail.

Playing with the nonsense monsters around here was unnecessary at present. They would be little more than raw materials for Father-in-law’s group at this point.
Until the sun set, I searched for the filorials, relying on just their familiar scent, but I didn’t catch up with them.
Nearly ready to weep, I entered a portal back to town.

At that time, the uproar in town appeared to have mostly subsided into a still air.
However, a few demihumans present seemed to be seething with anger, as though ready to burn right up.
Proceeding to the damaged inn to speak with the guard once more, I found both the bodyguard and the innkeeper were working on cleaning up the damage.

“How is the situation?” (Motoyasu)
“Ah! Honorable Hero of the Spear! Quite a while back, the Honorable Hero of the Shield’s group stopped by!” (Guard)
“Hum… Around what time was that?” (Motoyasu)
“Since the Honorable Hero of the Spear’s departure… It was just around sunset, I think?” (Guard)
“Is that right.” (Motoyasu)

It seems we’ve completely and splendidly missed each other.
Things will only get worse if I don’t immediately give chase.

“When the Honorable Shield Hero’s party returned, several Three Hero adherents attacked, but thanks in part to their accompanying creatures immediately crushing the attackers, the honorable Shield Hero’s group quickly heard our explanation and set out.” (Guard)
“Understood.” (Motoyasu)

Somehow or other, it seems Father-in-law and the others departed safely.
Obviously, this situation left me no option but to travel overnight to the next town.

“Say, Honorable Spear Hero?” (Guard)
“What is it?” (Motoyasu)
“If the goal in the first place was to pursue the Honorable Shield Hero’s group, then wouldn’t it have been fine to chase in the direction of the next town?” (Guard)

That… It had completely slipped my mind.
Still, for a Motoyasu such as I, waiting would be completely impossible.
Even if it may at a glance appear that I set off on a fool’s errand, absolutely any and every course of action is better than waiting about!

“At present, we are in the middle of arranging a body double for the Honorable Shield Hero in order to confuse the Three Hero adherents’ assassins. The assassins directly after you should decrease a bit with that, we think. Hopefully that will give some peace of mind.” (Guard)
“Understood” (Motoyasu)

That’s right, Silt Welt had made sure to deploy body doubles of Father-in-law along the journey.
With this small consideration, the trip might yet get a bit easier.
Thus, I… of course travelled all night to the next town.

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I raced down the highway at full speed for several hours, and at length, the lights of the next town grew visible in the distance. The mountains ahead provoked a feeling of the temperature falling several degrees.
As I approached the town gate, it seemed like this town looked similar to a hot spring district, with steam wafting about in plain view.

“Halt! Who-”
“Tis I, the Love Hunter!” (Motoyasu)
“Huh?! The heck are you saying!”

With heightened vigilance, the town gatekeepers turned their weapon towards me.
How foolish; I’ll make sure to have them regret such an action immediately, for I am on a mission to reach Father-in-law.

“Please wait!”

At that moment, an unfamiliar face appeared between the gatekeepers and let out a voice. Judging from the appearance of the animal ears and tail, I suppose they were a demihuman.

“This person is our acquaintance. Could you please allow him inside?”
“R-right…”
“It’s fine if that’s the case, but he has an awfully questionable personality.”
“He certainly says some dubious things… However, please listen when I say his skill is certain.”

Who is this, I wonder?
He wasn’t the Silt Welt messenger, at least.

“This way, Sir Shield Hero is waiting.”
“Are you acquainted with Father-in-law?” (Motoyasu)
“Yes, I was commanded by the Honorable Hero of the Shield to bring along the one who called out looking for ‘Father-in-law’.”

Thus I was allowed through the gate of the hotspring town.
With that, the demihuman kindly guided me to Father-in-law’s inn.
Perhaps sensing my presence, the inn’s front door burst open as Yuki-chan and Kou raced towards me.

“Motoyasu~!” (Yuki)
“Kitamura~!” (Kou)
“Yuki-chan, Kou! We were finally able to meet again!” (Motoyasu)
“When we returned from our hunt and found the inn had become like that, I, I was truly worried!” (Yuki)
“Welcome back Kitamura. Any souvenirs?” (Kou)
“I don’t have any souvenirs, but I’ve long since finished your clothes.” (Motoyasu)

To the two I display the produced outfits. Thereupon, Father-in-law’s group and Sakura-chan appeared from the inn as well.

“Motoyasu-kun! We’ve all been worried since we left the previous inn.” (Naofumi)
“I received no injuries myself, but more importantly, was your group safe Father-in-law?”
“Yeah. Sakura-chan and the others were able to repulse anyone that came for us.” (Naofumi)
“It’s all because these children are earth-shatteringly strong. At this point, I’m not sure I have a role to play.” (Eclair)

Or so Eclair softly informed. Hehehe, what would you expect of these youths? They were filorials, members of the race that stands at the pinnacle of the strongest existences.
It’s perhaps a level of existence not fully displayed in their human forms however. In that regard, Eclair was considerably perceptive to notice just how great they are.

“Sir Iwatani was so worried that, even upon arriving at the inn here, he was unable to relax properly. Now, Sir Kitamura should immediately rest as well.” (Eclair)
“Understood” (Motoyasu)
“Fortunately, they have plenty of hot springs here, so it’s the perfect place to let go of our fatigue right?” (Naofumi)

Eclair fidgeted about a bit.
Hmm…

“Kitamura~, clothes~” (Kou)
“If you properly take a bath, you can wear them afterwards.” (Motoyasu)
“Al~right! Then everyone, to the baths~” (Kou)
“That’s right huh? We all worked hard today, so how about we clean off and relax?” (Naofumi)

Thus we decided to transitioned our reunion to a soak in the local hot spring.
This establishment’s baths, it turned out, were similar to stone baths back home.
Differing from Calmira Island’s vaguely Japanese style hot springs, this bath felt more natural, or wild.

Perhaps one could think of this bath as more Roman-esque, as it did reflect that this area was a relatively prosperous region. Nevertheless, this was still a region that would easily trade hands in war, so perhaps no single culture was able to take root.
Regardless, the men’s bath and women’s bath are divided.
My, my…

“Kou is so lucky huh? You get to enter with Motoyasu!” (Yuki)
“Ehehe~, Kitamura! Let me wash your back when we get there!” (Kou)

Yuki-chan and the others happily chatting and occasionally lamenting. However, Father-in-law’s decision was that girls should properly enter the women’s bath.

“Eclair, I’ll entrust Yuki-chan and Sakura-chan to you.” (Motoyasu)
“Sigh… Once again, arbitrary instructions have come my way…” (Eclair)
“Motoyasu-kun, you aren’t… going to try peeping or anything, right?” (Naofumi)
“Hahaha, of course I will! Since I’m looking forward to seeing Yuki-chan and the others’ growth!” (Motoyasu)
“What are you just boldly declaring, Sir Kitamura!” (Eclair)

Well, I won’t be able to find Firo-tan by looking around here I bet, but regardless, when a man visits a hotspring, it’s his duty to peep!
Through being seen, a woman’s appeal will also rise!
For Yuki-chan and the others to bashfully hide their body after being seen by a man will definitely raise their charm.
As a parent, you could call it my conviction to instruct my feathery children on this fundamental truth of my philosophy!
Indisputably, this Motoyasu possesses not a speck of guilt.

“As usual, I think, but I can’t understand Motoyasu-kun’s reasoning at all…” (Naofumi)
“Naofumi~, isn’t it okay for Sakura to come? Can we enter together?” (Sakura)
“Eh? Well… Since Motoyasu-kun and Kou will be coming with me, it’ll be alright for you to enter the women’s bath.” (Naofumi)
“Got it~, then afterwards I can got to Naofumi’s side, right?” (Sakura)
“Were you properly listening? Ms. Eclair, could you help with everyone?” (Naofumi)
“Hm, acknowledged. I’ll rely on you to restrain Sir Iwatani and Sir Kitamura.” (Eclair)
“Yup, got it! I’ll do my best to look after them as much as possible!” (Sakura)

And like that, Father-in-law and Eclair gave a deep sigh.

“When the heck did I get stuck with the responsibility of child care…” (Eclair)
“Motoyasu-kun is incredibly reliable, but it’s hard to persuade him knowing he sometimes goes on a rampage.” (Naofumi)
“Hahahaha! An honourable jest. This Motoyasu is sincerely committed to Father-in-law and his companions!”
” “Haa…” “

For some reason Father-in-law and the rest let out profound sighs as we all headed for our respective baths.