Hyakuren no Haou to Seiyaku no Valkyria - Volume 2 - Chapter Ep

EPILOGUE 

The moment the flash flood subsided, Yuuto made his armies advance further into the Lightning Clan’s domain. 

With almost half of their soldiers dead, and with the fate of their patriarch uncertain, they were as good as defeated and could barely be called an “army” anymore. Upon seeing the organized ranks of the Wolf Clan, most of them simply scattered and fled. 

Though Yuuto was a pacifist at heart, he wasn’t naive enough to assume a nonaggressive defense policy. 

War wasn’t cheap. 

There was the cost of weapons and armor for every soldier, the preparation of consumables such as arrows, and, of course, the immense amounts of food used up while marching forward and back. All of it had a price. Obviously, some didn’t make it back alive, which called for compensations to their families. Victory cost money, as well, since it was necessary to reward those who helped achieve it, especially since he’d forbidden pillaging. It was far from a philanthropic business. 

Yuuto had no intention of waging war himself, but if war was waged against him and he had to spend money on defending his lands, he had to choose between allowing his nation to gradually become poor or finding ways to break even, and his people would certainly not approve of the former. 

In fact, before Yuuto had become patriarch of the Wolf Clan, it had been on the brink of destruction exactly because it was constantly on the defensive. He had no intention of repeating that mistake. 

After his army had scattered and driven off the remaining Lightning Clan troops, Yuuto conquered three forts with next to no bloodshed, placing the local towns and villages under his rule. 

What followed was a triumphant return to Iárnvi?r. After that, he reported to Mitsuki that he was all right, and a while later, he decided to sneak out into town and have a good time. 

It had been a whole year since he’d walked the streets on his own two feet. As the Wolf Clan’s patriarch and hero, he would always become the center of attention, making the people humble or outright prostrate themselves before him, and he didn’t feel comfortable about that. 

It didn’t help that his appearance stood out among the people of Iárnvi?r. Though he could hide his pure black hair with a hood, the same couldn’t be said for the eyes, and though he had a bit of a tan, the ivory skin tone unique to his race was sure to attract the people’s attention. 

Yuuto held Kristina’s hand as he walked. “Man, thanks to you, I can finally walk around town like normal. Thanks,” he said with delight. 

By holding her hand, he could borrow her Ve?rfölnir powers and conceal his presence, preventing him from attracting attention. 

“Honestly, I would prefer not having to hold a man’s hand, but you’re an exception, Father,” she said. 

“Ha ha. What an honor.” Yuuto shrugged. 

Spearwork wasn’t the only thing that could earn merit in a war. She’d brought the information that the Lightning Clan was preparing for battle, and that was more than worth its weight in gold. Then she’d infiltrated Bilskírnir and acquired information such as the enemy count, composition, weaponry, and day of departure, which had greatly helped Yuuto come on top in this battle. Those accomplishments had indeed been a worthy tribute, and Yuuto had no problems with granting her his Oath of the Chalice. 

Of course, the direct exchange of the Oath of the Chalice with a patriarch required an appropriately elaborate ceremony. Since that would take some time to prepare, he hadn’t yet actually exchanged the Oath with her yet. She was currently his sworn daughter on an unofficial level, sort of like how a company back in modern Japan might give a provisional employee status to a prospective employee. 

As for Albertina, who’d also become his sworn daughter... 

“Hey, Kris, Kris, look. The food on the skewers in that shop looks delicious. Can I buy some?” 

“Oh, what a nice smell. It’s probably really good.” 

“I know, right?” 

“Okay, then go and buy some.” 

“Yaaay...! I’m baaack! And I’ve got one!” 

“And now I take it from you and quickly eat it.” 

“Gyaah!” 

As always, she was being bullied by her sister. The girl just never learned. 

Yuuto silently, yet intently, wished for her happiness in the future. 

“I must say, it’s quite curious how nobody is noticing you.” Felicia stared at Yuuto and said that with wonder in her tone. Unusually for her, she hid her beautiful figure with a hooded robe, trying not to stand out too much. 

Because he had the twins with him to act as his bodyguards, he’d told her to take a rest, but she wasn’t having it. In fact, she’d gotten mildly upset at the suggestion. It had left Yuuto puzzled, since he’d merely wanted her to take a breather from her taxing duties as his adjutant. Not even with his modern knowledge could he understand the heart of a maiden. 

“He looks normal to me,” Felicia added. 

“I only negated his presence and made him melt into the scenery. It doesn’t do much if you notice and stare at him.” 

“I see.” Felicia nodded. Being a wielder of galldrs, she was quite interested in such matters. 

“Are you sure that’s all right, though?” With his thumb, Yuuto pointed behind him, at Albertina. She was crouching on the ground, crying the biggest tears and attracting lots of attention from the surrounding people. 

“You stand out far too much, Father,” Kristina told him. “If Al attracts most of the eyes, no one will look at us.” 

“Ohh, that makes sense.” He nodded and looked at the town. 

It was loud and full of energy. Compared to a year ago, it also had far more people walking its streets. Prosperity attracted both visitors and migrants from the neighboring lands. 

Yuuto often rode on the main road leading to and from the outside, but he hadn’t walked on the other roads for a long time now, so he found this experience somewhat nostalgic and exciting. 

“Hm?” 

Suddenly, he noticed a familiar silhouette. 

Short, unruly hair and facial features one could call “charming,” rather than “beautiful.” She was clearly shopping, humming as she eyed the goods in the bazaar. 

“Hey, Ingrid, what a coincidence.” 

“Uah! Y-Yuumgh!” 

“Shh, keep it down, okay?” Yuuto lightly tapped her shoulder, but that was enough to almost make her shout his name, so he quickly put a hand over her mouth. His little sneaking trip had only just begun, after all. He didn’t want it to end so abruptly. 

Despite looking like nothing more than a cute town girl, Ingrid was the eighth ranked of the Wolf Clan. And as the owner of the Ívaldi rune, she was an exceptional blacksmith. 

Her contributions in iron refinement and crossbow creation had made her a leading figure in the clan’s advancement. 

“Have you calmed down yet?” Yuuto asked him. 

“Hhw chn I chlm dhwn whhn yhh’rh thhchhng mh lhps?!” (“How can I calm down when you’re touching my lips?!”) Ingrid’s face turned beet red as she responded to the question with an obvious complaint. 

She’s as short-tempered as ever, Yuuto thought with a wry smile on his face. Though he felt as if he was misunderstanding something, he chose to just continue the talk instead of clearing it up. “I’ll let go if you promise to be quiet.” 

Ingrid quickly nodded, and Yuuto did as he said he would. The girl took a moment to catch her breath, then looked directly at him with a serious expression on her face. 

“Wh-Why are you here? Do you have any idea what would happen if the people noticed?” 

“Oh, I can walk around fine thanks to her powers.” Still holding Kristina’s hand, he held it up, and for some reason, it made all color drain from Ingrid’s eyes and her face turn expressionless. 

“Ohh, I see... So you went and got yourself another girl. And just look at how well you get along.” 

“You idiot. It’s not like that.” 

“It not not like that either, though,” Kristina commented. “We are queen candidates, after all.” 

“Hmmm, she certainly seems comfortable at your side. And you’re just walking around touching girls’ lips. Ah, crap, why am I so...?” Her tone was cold and composed at first, but Ingrid gradually turned red again and began mumbling instead. 

The undulation of emotions made Yuuto falter. “I’m telling you, it’s not what it looks like.” 

“Oh, you don’t have to hide it from me. You sure are big and important now, aren’t you? Big enough to get all and any girls you want, huh?” 

“Speaking of which, there are marriage proposals flooding in from all of the neighboring clans as well,” Kristina said. 

“OHHHHHH?” Ingrid looked at Yuuto with scornful eyes, as though he was the enemy of all womankind. 

He shifted his gaze to the left and down, and saw an imp with a full smile on her face. Kristina had said that on purpose, and was clearly proud of it. She was a mean girl indeed. When it came to mischief, she didn’t spare anyone. 

“How did you even turn out like this? Remembering the time we met makes it even less believable. You used to be a useless, weak blockhead who could barely talk.” 

“Oh yeah, sorry about all the trouble I gave you back then.” 

“Oh, you should be.” Ingrid sounded vexed. “Hmph.” 

The hopeless boy from back then was now a great hero, defeating the surrounding clans one after the other and spreading his territory wide. The world was a mysterious place, indeed. 

“But... to think that it’s been a whole two years since then...” With a whisper, Ingrid looked up at the sky. She seemed to be running her mind through her memories.

To Be Continued