Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari (LN) - Volume 15 - Chapter 6

Chapter Six: The Love Hunter 

“The winner gets to take one filolial from the loser, correct?” I reconfirmed. It wasn’t like I really needed one of them, but that was the agreement. The whole point of this thing had been to bring Motoyasu back into the fold. 
Of the three of them, Green looked to be the easiest to handle. 
“Right. I’ll take the most peaceful looking-one of them . . . Green. Hand her over,” I proclaimed. 
“No waaaaaaaaaaay! No way you’re having Green!” Motoyasu lost it, grabbing all three of them protectively. 
“Seriously?” He was the one who set this whole thing up, and then when he lost, he wanted to back out? Filo was more than enough. Another one? God forbid. 
I just wanted a regular filolial, like the ones in the village. 
Nope, not even that. Now that we had the ability to class up into the Raph species, I didn’t need any more filolials at all actually. 
“Heheheheh . . .” If I did class the new one up, I’d turn into a Raph-mix! 
“Mr. Naofumi, stop making that face. It makes me afraid for the future.” Raphtalia always said things along those lines, and I just ignored her. The moment this new filolial came under my control, it would be fated to become one of the Raph species. 
“Motty!” Crimmy whined. 
 
“Moomoo!” bellowed Marine. 
“Mr. Motoyasu!” Green cried. Couldn’t they even decide on what to call him?! I decided not to say anything. It was likely to just make them even noisier, and I was no stranger to having lots of different people call me lots of different things. 
The three of them were all clinging to Motoyasu and crying together. 
“Enough, enough. Just don’t cause any more hassle for us,” I said. That was it, then. Mission completed. Now, by bringing Motoyasu back in, it was finished. 
“Father-in-law!” Motoyasu implored me. The guy was truly broken. Bowing low to me, groveling, he asked, “Please let me have your daughter!” 
“Not this again!” I was at a loss. Seriously, what an absolute pain this guy was. After losing the race, he still comes out with this? 
“Uhh . . . I’m finally starting to feel better,” Raphtalia said. 
“Then I’m one step ahead of you,” Atla replied smugly. 
“What’s that supposed to mean? You can handle wagon rides well, can’t you?” Raphtalia admitted. 
“I did get dizzy, but I just put up with it,” Atla explained. 
“So you did feel sick! You just pushed through it! Because of your history with sickness?!” Raphtalia exclaimed. They sounded like a bad comedy duo, going back and forth. 
“Raph-chan, thank you,” Ruft offered. 
“Raph!” The boy looked like he was in good shape, Raph-chan having protected him, although maybe he looked a little pale around the gills. 
 
“Uph . . . I feel awful.” Melty didn’t have to say anything for that to be clear. Meanwhile, the three around Motoyasu were saying things similar to Filo. 
In the end, they were all pretty much the same. 
“Boo to you! You lost, so get lost!” Filo proclaimed from on high. 
“Sorry, but I can’t just let you leave,” I chipped in. I wanted to bring them back into the fold, or at least set up cooperation between us, and it would be a real big problem if he didn’t show up when called for. 
“You’re not going to ask for the wagon back?” Motoyasu asked. 
“I don’t want it, now that it looks like that . . . Ohhh!” Filo sounded dejected, this victory not having taken the edge off the transformation her wagon had undergone. I mean, if something of mine had been stolen from me and then came back looking like that, I’d probably feel much the same way. 
“Hear me, Filo-tan! Feel the depth of my feelings!” Motoyasu shouted. Without any warning, Motoyasu suddenly twirled his spear and struck a pose. This energy . . . could it be?! 
“Temptation!” Motoyasu shouted. With a crackle, I felt something like a barrier expanding out from him. I remembered experiencing this before. It was a skill Motoyasu had used when he captured Ren. 
Whne I thought back to that situation, Raphtalia, Atla, and I hadn’t really been affected. We just had to withstand the effects of him becoming even more handsome than normal—super handsome—and start to . . . sparkle a little. 
That meant Melty and Ruft were in the most danger! 
 
“Melty! Are you okay?!” I looked over at Melty and the others. 
“Ah, uhn. I’m okay . . . I did think he looked cool just for a moment, but I’m okay now. More than that, I just feel sick . . .” Melty was close to her limit. 
“I wish I could say that wasn’t okay, but he does have a handsome face. I can’t deny that,” I consoled her. 
“What a sad reality we live in,” Melty said. It was true. Even from a male perspective, Motoyasu had striking good looks. There was nothing wrong with that part of him. 
It was his inside that was all messed up. 
I was starting to think that if only he hadn’t put his trust in Witch, he might have ended up as just a passionate guy with a love for the ladies and a deep trust for his allies. Maybe this was just an expression of my sympathy at how changed he had become. 
Melty had resisted the effects anyway, by the skin of her teeth. Next then, Ruft . . . 
“Ruft! Are you okay?!” I asked. 
“R-Raph-chan . . . I love you,” he said. 
“Raph?” was the quizzical reply she gave. Unsteady on his feet, Ruft loosened his hold on Raph-chan and looked around, as though coming back to himself. 
“Huh?” Ruft asked. So Raphtalia could withstand it but Ruft couldn’t? Was it simply due to the difference in their levels and abilities? It looked like Raph-chan had released him from the status effect. 
 
“No matter what happens, I am focused entirely on you, Master Naofumi.” This from Atla, who was reading the situation and making her own contribution. The temptation skill was probably having some effect, but Motoyasu was normally so out there it felt more like a calculating move on his part. 
“Glad to hear it,” I blew her off. Motoyasu was the issue. What the hell was he trying to pull?! 
I’d been wondering about it when we handled Ren too . . . but now he seemed more open to me, so I guessed it was worth asking. 
“Tell me something. What’s with that spear?” I asked. 
“This is my Last Spear IV, father-in-law,” he explained. IV?! Just how loopy was the poor guy? He was able to reply even with Temptation active too? 
Hold on. I played it back in my mind. He didn’t say “last.” Of course he didn’t. 
Lust Spear. Okay. That made a lot more sense. 
“Father-in-law, if Filo-tan so desires it, please agree to my engagement with her,” he persisted. 
“You’re just brainwashing her with your Temptation skill, surely,” I accused him. 
“That’s not the case at all! This is a skill that imparts the depth of my love to Filo-tan!” he insisted. 
“You’re having an effect on the other women too—even on the men,” I pointed out. I mean, it had been a convenient skill for catching Ren when he tried to run away. It had worked on those enemies of S’yne’s too, which meant it was definitely for the best that S’yne wasn’t here. 
 
Anyway, I had to wonder what he was doing using brainwashing skills. I’d made it clear how shielded I was from being brainwashed, so why try this again? Before getting broken, Motoyasu had always been babbling on about brainwashing. That much was true. 
“I need only the love of Filo-tan and my other filolials, I say!” Motoyasu proclaimed. 
“Yeah, good for you,” I muttered. This guy just wouldn’t quit. My sentiment was: whatever then, you win. I just wanted to go home. 
That said, Filo was strangely silent. She’d fallen for this skill before. 
“Filo?” I asked. All I got back was heavy breathing. She’d fallen for it. Love had blossomed. That was what Motoyasu had been after. It was over. I just had to give up. 
“Master, I want you,” she managed. So it hadn’t worked on Motoyasu. That reminded me of the last time she had looked at me and breathed in much the same way. 
“Raph.” The still big-sized Raph-chan stepped up, Ruft on her back, and placed her paw on Filo’s forehead. 
“Wha-wah?” Filo came back to herself from the state of temptation. 
“Raph, raph,” Raph-chan soothed her. 
“Huh . . . that was a little scary,” Ruft said. Raph-chan lifted him over onto Filo’s back, then changed back to regular size and also jumped onto Filo’s back, allowing both Filo and Ruft to stroke her. 
 
“Filo-tan, my darling! I’m here for you, I say!” Motoyasu shouted. 
Ignoring the audible jealousy of his own tri-colored harem, Motoyasu threw his arms wide and waited for Filo to jump into them. 
Could alluring someone using the power of his spear really be called love? 
“Boo!” Filo promptly rejected him, as I expected she would. “I want to be with Master!” 
“Hey, you didn’t need that last part!” I chided her. Motoyasu put the tip of his flag in his mouth and tugged it downward as hard as he could, glaring at me with jealousy burning in his eyes. 
“You did this!” I reminded him. “Stop looking at me like that!” 
“Curse you, father-in-law! Father and child, that is a crime! I’m not jealous of that, I say!” he shouted back. 
“Don’t you try to take the high ground with me, you moron!” I retorted. 
“What’s with this lack of tension in the air?” Raphtalia wondered. 
“Filo, you’d better just give up to Master Naofumi,” Atla chimed in. 
“What are you talking about, Atla?” Raphtalia asked her. That was the right question to ask in this situation. Just what was Atla talking about? 
“I’m jealous, so jealous! So jealous over the love of Filo-tan!” Motoyasu was still having a moment. 
“Shut it! Some things just should not be said out loud!” I shouted. I was at a loss. Raphtalia was right; where was the tension? The consideration for others? 
“Filo-tan!” Motoyasu leapt at Filo head-on, using his best Lupin III dive. 
 
It was almost too fast to see—was this another facility of his cursed spear?! 
“No! Master, Mel-chan, save me!” Filo gave her standard cries in times of distress. Had Melty ever saved her? Yeah, of course. She’d been with us when we fought the Demon Dragon. 
“Filo is worn out from that race! Not to mention barely able to stand, thanks to you!” I shouted. 
“Hold on! Mel-chan? Who’s that?” Motoyasu had a delayed reaction to that name. 
“Uh . . . what is it?” Melty managed in response, shaking her head multiple times to try and end Motoyasu’s hold on her. I pointed at her, trying to make things clear to Motoyasu. 
“This is Melty—Mel-chan,” I told him. 
“What do you want?” she croaked. 
“Filo-tan! You’re here with your fiancé, so why are you calling the name of someone else?” The gall of the guy! Since when did he become her fiancé? “Huh?” he continued. “Now that I look closer, I see you are the younger sister of the red pig . . . I understand why you are a blue pig then, but if Filo-tan would call you for aid, then you can’t be a pig at all!” Oh? Being involved with Filo removed the status of pig? 
The “red pig” had to be Witch. She had red hair, after all. 
I was going to have to look into all of this a little more. Just because we knew he was cursed didn’t mean we knew what to do about it. I was pretty sure I could protect everyone from him, but I needed to make sure. Best not to stimulate him unnecessarily. 
 
“Motoyasu, I wasn’t sure if I could tell you this or not, but . . . Filo already has a fiancé,” I carefully explained. 
“Which is me, right, father-in-law?” he replied. 
“No,” I said, a little bluntly. 
“What?” Motoyasu’s expression, which had been looking pretty happy, quickly crumbled. The fact he had believed so strongly that he was her fiancé was clearly the bigger problem here. As if I would accept that! 
“Her name is Melty Melromarc. She’s the next queen of this land and Filo’s fiancé,” I said. 
“What?!” Motoyasu was aghast. 
“Hold it, Naofumi. I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” Melty said. 
Motoyasu was no longer able to tell right from wrong, which meant I needed to remove Melty as a possible target for his attacks without overtly stimulating him. 
“Excuse me, but what should we be doing?” Raphtalia and Atla were both pretty puzzled by this turn of events, but they’d be fine. I’d just have them recover themselves while they could. 
“Incredible! Filo-tan’s boundless love extends not only to you, father-in¬law, but even to women! Ah, she’s truly an angel of love, so say we all!” Motoyasu enthused. I decided to overlook her transformation into an “angel of love.” Maybe that was the name of the videogame character he had previously mentioned being his type. 
“But hold on . . . You’re talking about the sister of the red pig?” 
Motoyasu realized. 
 
“Yes, but she’s completely different from the worthless Witch! A most capable young woman and next in line for the throne. I’m sure that Melty can be trusted with Filo. Do you think you can defeat her?” I asked. 
“Naofumi! Stop this at once! It’s going to end up with me skewered on that spear!” Melty bemoaned. 
“Just leave it to me,” I reassured her. “I’ve got an idea.” 
“Nothing you could have said would make me worry more!” she fired back. Ignoring her worries, I turned back to face Motoyasu. 
“Motoyasu, don’t you dare think about ending Melty,” I threatened. “If you do, Filo’s rage will know no bounds! She will hate you forever!” 
“That’s right! I’ll never forgive you if you do anything to Mel-chan!” Filo added. 
“Filo, please don’t upset the Spear Hero any more than this!” Melty pleaded. 
“T-this can’t be . . .” Motoyasu muttered. I was really hoping that would mark the end to his rampage. “I’m so jealous! So jealous, I say! So jealous of Filo-tan loving you!” Motoyasu proceeded to grab onto Filo like a child and throw what could really only be called a tantrum. 
What was he doing at his age? 
“Hey! Get off!” Filo shouted. 
“Yeah, get off her! At least let Raph-chan and Ruft go!” I said, making my priorities clear. 
“What about Filo?” Melty asked. 
“Motoyasu won’t hurt Filo,” I explained. 
 
“Raph?” Raph-chan questioned. 
“Should I be getting away with Raph-chan?” Ruft asked. 
“Raph, raph,” Raph-chan seemed to explain, tapping Filo on the back. If she moved away now, Filo might end up under the effects of Temptation. 
“Master! Mel-chan!” Filo herself called for aid again. The accessory for protecting against status effects wasn’t ready yet. I really needed to get on that . . . and then I had a thought. 
“Whenever she gets into trouble, Filo only ever calls for Melty or me, right?” I said. 
“What are you talking about? Naofumi, hurry up and save her!” Melty moaned. 
“If we take Motoyasu down by force, Filo, Raph-chan, and Ruft could be put in danger. As I was trying not to get him too upset, I just had that thought,” I explained. Thinking on it again now, whenever Filo got into trouble, she only called for Melty or me. If she wanted aid from her friends, those she’d shared the good and the bad with until now, at least one other name should come out. 
“Why doesn’t she call for Raphtalia?” I asked. 
“Mr. Naofumi, please don’t drag me into this!” Raphtalia chided. 
“Raphtalia! My big sister! Save me!” Filo shouted, almost in the same moment. 
“And don’t you suddenly start calling for me either, Filo!” Raphtalia retorted. 
“Filo-tan, did you really just call that pig your sister?” Motoyasu asked. 
 
“Hah! Don’t talk to me!” Filo responded. Rejected by her, Motoyasu turned to look at Melty. 
“Hey, fiancé! Filo-tan really did call her ‘sister,’ didn’t she?” he questioned. 
“I’m no one’s fiancé!” Melty explained, exasperated. “You still believe those lies from Naofumi? How is this conversation still going?!” 
“Mr. Naofumi, if I take him on using the sakura stone of destiny sword, I think maybe I can stop him,” Raphtalia posited. The abilities of a pacifier could very well cause massive damage to Motoyasu. That said, we were still really just talking with him . . . right? I signaled Melty with my eyes. 
Melty gave a big sigh, nodded, and explained, “About the question you just asked, yes. Raphtalia is like a big sister to Filo.” 
“Now you’re putting this on me?!” Raphtalia fumed. It sounded like Melty had scored quite the goal! I almost wanted to make that quip but wasn’t sure anyone would get it. 
“I-is that so? Filo-tan’s beautiful sister!” Motoyasu, without batting an eyelid, now started to praise Raphtalia, whom just a moment ago he’d been calling a pig. 
Just how messed up was his head? Was it time to just stop all this chatter, beat him senseless, and drag him back with us? 
But hold on. Raphtalia proceeded to address Motoyasu, seemingly having had a good idea. 

“Spear Hero, please let Filo go. Do you seek to bind her completely with your love?” she asked him. 
 
“Ah! Whatever am I doing?” Motoyasu immediately stopped grabbing Filo and . . . What? Came back to himself? 
Ah, Raphtalia! An excellent approach. Filo had been saved from Motoyasu’s clutches. Finally free, she came over between Melty and me and hid—well, tried to hide—behind me. 
“Thanks, sis,” she managed. 
“Should I bring up how you only thank me at times like this?” Raphtalia asked. 
“Mel-chan! Oooh!” Half-crying, Filo moved over to lean on Melty. Motoyasu looked on, visibly grinding his teeth. Huh? An even thicker black smoke than before seemed to be pouring from his spear. 
“Motoyasu, change that spear to something else!” I barked. 
“What are you talking about, father-in-law? This spear appeared as a manifestation of my love for Filo-tan. I couldn’t possibly change it,” he exclaimed. That caused Filo to hide behind me again. She was like a terrified child, even if she was in her filolial queen form. 
“No! Filo-tan!” Motoyasu suddenly gave a roar, close to a primal scream, and dashed toward us. 
“Now!” Atla cried, and then she grabbed onto me. Dammit! Would everyone just get their hands off me? 
“Atla! What are you doing?” Raphtalia accused, but that wasn’t the problem. Motoyasu was standing in front of us, as though to protect Filo from me. Then he looked at Filo and shouted. 
“No, Filo-tan! Incest is wrong, I say!” 
 
“We aren’t actually related!” I shouted in exasperation. “How many times do I have to tell you this?!” I really couldn’t take any more of this situation. 
“Shall we just cut him down?” Raphtalia suggested as she drew her sword from her scabbard. She also seemed to be reaching her limit. 
“Might be the time,” I concurred. 
“Filo-tan! No!” Motoyasu shouted. 
“No to you! Ah, Mel-chan!” Filo pleaded. 
“Now you’re coming to me?!” Melty exclaimed. 
“Nuah! I will stop you slipping into the path of evil, no matter what!” Motoyasu raved. Yeah, okay. Time to cut him down and resolve this. 
“Nuwaaah! Father-in-law, I’m so jealous of yoooooou! Having my fiancé Filo-tan caring for you so much, it makes me maaaaaad! That’s what I think!” He’d really lost it. 
“Shut it! This is exactly the kind of reason why Filo hates you!” I pointed out. 
“Shall we do this?” Raphtalia asked Atla. 
“Yes, we agree for once,” she replied. They both prepared to fight. 
So it was always going to end up this way. 
“I’m so jealous . . .” he began to shout. 
What now?! A black aura erupted from Motoyasu’s spear. The aura turned into a thick fog-like state, making the tip of the spear even harder to see than before. The pixelated effect—it might be called —had been visible on the weapon when we saw him before, and now it looked even bigger and more pronounced. 
 
“Wh . . . wh . . .” I turned at the voice to see Melty blushing bright red. “What the hell kind of spear are you carrying around?! Ah! It’s been that shape the whole time tonight?! I didn’t realize because I didn’t get a good look at it!” Melty’s high-pitched voice echoed out. 
“Hold on . . . What do you see, Melty?” I asked her, not sure I wanted an answer. 
“You can’t see it, Naofumi?” she questioned back. 
“From the last time we met, just the tip of his spear was pixelated—I mean, blurred.” It looked like the shape had changed a bit since then too. With the pixelation, I couldn’t really tell. 
“Why can’t you see it?” Melty asked. 
“Who knows.” I changed track. “Raphtalia, what shape is it?” Being unable to see it was actually making me more interested. Why was I the only one who couldn’t see it? 
Raphtalia just turned her face to the side without saying anything. Her face looked red too. 
“That’s sexual harassment! If it wasn’t you, Naofumi, I’d be punishing you for this! You’re just saying you can’t see it to embarrass me, aren’t you?!” Melty accused. 
“Sexual harassment? Seriously?” Just what shape was this thing? I looked at Ruft, and he was rubbing his eyes and repeatedly looking at the spear, much like me. So maybe men couldn’t see it? 
The things I could think of were . . . Well, the things that would have been pixelated when broadcast on TV—grotesque stuff? No, not likely. Cutting up monsters would be covered with pixelation otherwise. 
 
That meant we were in the territory of the Elizabeth Mikoshi, or that game with the spear called the Male Thruster. If I remembered correctly, it did double damage to women. 
I checked the shape of Motoyasu’s spear again. The shaft part was luridly decorated with a scorpion and snake. But the tip still had the pixelation on it. 
“Father-in-law . . .” Amazingly he still called me that, even when he was so deeply possessed by the curse series. In fact, I was almost impressed. I’d even accept being beaten by him now. 
Motoyasu . . . I didn’t have a grudge against him anymore. I made a declaration. He was so pathetic I could barely bring myself to look. Just go, I wanted to say. Just leave us alone. 
 
 
“I’m taking your daughter. Using my Lust Envy Spear IV,” Motoyasu exclaimed. God. This was all depressing me intently. 
“Filo-tan! I will stop you and take your purity!” Motoyasu thrust his spear at Filo. 
“Boo!” She wasn’t interested. Then I noticed what he was pointing at. Below the waist, shall we say. 
“Right, we’re doing this! Raphtalia, Atla! Bring Motoyasu down!” I ordered. 
“Okay!” Raphtalia affirmed. 
“Understood!” So did Atla. 
So we really were going to have to fight him. Immediately after starting the battle to capture Motoyasu— 
“Unleash Ressentiment!” Something else flickered past me. The Temptation had been close to working on me. But the skill this time . . . Hmmm, I kind of recalled being framed by Motoyasu and Witch back then. But that was just my daily dose of grudge-induced bile. Looking at Motoyasu, who had been betrayed and brought so low, had no real effect on it. 
In fact, in the next moment I saw Raphtalia’s face and then nothing happened. So just what kind of skill had it been? 
“Ooh . . . my head feels all funny,” Melty moaned, leaning on Filo for support. 

“Raphtalia . . . brother . . . how jealous I am of you receiving Master Naofumi’s love. Unforgiveable!” Atla started to mutter to herself. 

“Ah . . .” Even Raphtalia was holding her chest, suffering. 
“Are you okay?!” I asked, mainly directing my comments at Raphtalia. 
“I’m f-fine . . . but this isn’t easy to bear. It’s worse than the Temptation skill,” Raphtalia managed. 
“What’s going on?” I still wasn’t really feeling it. 
“I think it’s something that makes people feel jealousy,” Raphtalia managed around her own moaning. Even though she had decent protection against this kind of status effect, she was taking this much damage? What about Filo, Raph-chan, and Ruft then? 
“Raph.” So Raph-chan seemed fine. 
“Mel-chan! Are you okay?” Filo asked. She was more worried about Melty. 
“I’m fine,” Melty replied. “Don’t worry about me, Filo.” 
“Shield Hero, is there anything I can do?” Ruft bravely asked. 
“Nope. Just stay close to Raph-chan and Filo,” I told him. Thanks to Raph-chan, it looked like he was holding things together. 
Still, if Motoyasu could create a field to cause double status effects, we needed to take him down right away! Everyone had been jealous once or twice in their lives, surely. But this was a mental attack, as I had feared. Why had he unleashed it though? 
“My heart . . . grows stronger!” he bellowed. Right. He was using the power of jealousy to enhance himself. “Now! Fly to my intended! My charging heart of love!” Motoyasu lifted his spear high above his head. 
 
“Haaaaaah!” Amid the entire crazy situation, Atla—perhaps losing her mind entirely—suddenly attacked Raphtalia. 
“Watch out!” I warned her. Raphtalia smoothly avoided Atla’s incoming strike. 
“What do you think you’re playing at, Atla?” Raphtalia asked. 
“You hoard all of Master Naofumi’s affections for yourself . . . No matter how hard I try, I can’t become Master Naofumi’s shield . . . because you exist, Raphtalia!” On unsteady feet, Atla charged forward, as though in all the world she was only aware of Raphtalia. Motoyasu had really done a number on her feelings of jealousy! Dammit, not the best timing for her to go crazy! 
“Raph!” Raph-chan clearly wanted to help, but if she left Filo, that would likely mean Filo would start rampaging. She was totally pinned in place. 
This was turning into a real nightmare! 
“Raphtalia! Atla! Waaah . . . spear guy, move!” With that, Filo kicked Motoyasu in the chest. 
“Guwah . . . I’m so happy to be kicked by you, Filo-tan. It feels as though my heart might burst from your foot pressed against it!” Motoyasu expressed nothing but pleasure at getting his ass kicked, an enrapt expression on his face. I’d clearly heard some nasty sounds when the blow landed too— damn, she still had Liberation Aura on too! 
It really showed just how crazy Motoyasu was about Filo. 
The situation was certainly not improving anyway. 
 
“Die!” This from among the combined squawking of the three under Motoyasu’s control, who had been silent until this moment but now launched an attack on Filo. 
“W-what are you doing, my lovelies?” Motoyasu stepped forward to protect Filo. The three of them moved to attack Filo regardless, one ripping off a kick, another using magic, and the third swinging a battleax in human form. 
The one kicking was Crimmy, the one incanting magic was Marine, and the human form one with the ax was Green. All of them had a crazy look in their eyes. 
“I hate her! She holds all of Motty’s love and yet allures other men instead! I hate her so much!” Crimmy cried. 
“Moomoo belongs to us!” Marine screamed. At least she was willing to share. 
“Yes. I won’t accept this interloper!” Green agreed. 
“S-stop this! Girls, please!” Motoyasu tried to stop the very thing he had unleashed. 
“We want to gobble you up! That bitch is in our way!” they all proclaimed together. Then Motoyasu started fighting the three of them to protect Filo. 
While they couldn’t match Filo’s speed, all three of them were definitely faster than before. Lust was firing them, girded by jealousy—a nasty combination. 

Faced with three of them, even Motoyasu was forced almost completely onto the defensive in order to keep Filo safe. They were his precious daughters after all. His was as likely to harm them as he was to harm Filo. “Atla! Come back to yourself!” Raphtalia had her own problems. “Raphtalia . . . when I wore the miko outfit from my own race . . . 

Master Naofumi didn’t look at me once,” Atla lamented. “You can’t hold me responsible for how other people react!” Raphtalia opined. “N-Naofumi! What do we do?!” Melty shouted. “That’s what I’d like to know!” I fired back. Look at this mess! Not only was Raphtalia fighting the enraged Atla, but Motoyasu had ended up having to fight his own three filolials, who he had also powered up, while Filo looked on, protecting Raph-chan and Ruft. 

How the hell had it come to all of this in such a short space of time? “Ah! Uh! My angels! Stop this! Nuwaaah! I will protect you, Filo, 
father-in-law!” Damn, Motoyasu was so loud. “Motty is mine—” “No, Moomoo is mine—” “You’re wrong. Mr. Motoyasu is mine—” The three of them at least agreed on the final part. “That bitch can’t have 
him!” Have at it then! 
They all looked like Filo, but without the cowlick. Crimmy mainly used her claws but sometimes spat fire. Could filolials do that? Maybe it was a type of magic. 

Marine seemed based mainly in magic, but sometimes she plucked out feathers and threw them like a Feather Shot attack. 

Green, meanwhile, had stayed in human form the entire time. Looking just like a human with wings, she swung her battleax around and unleashed magic. She was the one who looked most like a demi-human as she fought. A pretty brassy combat style too, despite how docile she had looked. 
All three of them fought very differently from Filo. Was that just down to filolial individuality? I didn’t really want to know. 
“Gah . . . Atla is attacking with a speed I’ve never seen before!” Raphtalia interjected from her side of the battle. 
“Do you want a hand? Some support magic?” I offered. 
“No, Mr. Naofumi. Please stop the Spear Hero as quickly as you can! If he puts that spear away, it might stop all this!” Raphtalia struggled to get that much out, taking Atla’s strikes on her blade even as we conversed. 
“Haaaaaah!” Atla was totally out of it. 
What to do then? Motoyasu and his three opponents looked like they could go at this all night if someone didn’t step in. Stopping Atla’s rampage meant first stopping Motoyasu. 
It made me want to think about how we reached this situation in the first place. 
It was all Motoyasu’s fault, of course. Filo also had some of the responsibility for breaking Motoyasu so completely. Somehow I needed to persuade Motoyasu and get him to change that spear, stopping its effects. 
I wasn’t sure if he would even listen or not, but I had to give it a try. 
“Filo,” I said. 
 
“What?” she replied. She didn’t look happy about this situation. 
“Repeat what I’m about to say to Motoyasu!” I ordered her. 
“No! Don’t want to!” Seriously? Couldn’t she see what was going on? Filo was the only one who could bring this situation under control. 
We might have been able to stop Motoyasu by force, but it wasn’t a sure thing as to whether that would work on him. I needed to shake him mentally. 
“If we don’t do this, who knows what Motoyasu might do!” I pleaded with her. It was true that his spear was already spitting out more cursed smoke. I really wanted to stop this as quickly, and as peacefully, as possible. 
“He’s right. Please, Filo, do what Naofumi asks,” Melty said, agreeing with me and prompting Filo to resolve the situation. 
“Uh . . .” Filo still wasn’t sure. 
“Raph!” 
“Being a hero is real hard work, isn’t it?” Ruft noted. 
“I guess so,” I agreed. Raph-chan and Ruft were a little out of the loop perhaps, but they were still able to read the situation. 
The problem was Filo. 
“Look, Filo.” I changed my approach. “At this rate, we’ve no idea when Motoyasu may blow up completely. If that happens, I can’t guarantee what might happen to you. Do you want to get stabbed by Motoyasu’s spear?” 
“Stabbed by his spear . . . An interesting choice of words, Naofumi,” Melty jibed. 
“But I’m not wrong, am I?” I fired back, at which Melty gave an exasperated shake of her head. She must have some idea of what Motoyasu was after. 
 
“No!” Filo shouted. 
“Then I need you to do this for me. Raphtalia is really struggling with Atla too.” I was watching that battle out of the corner of my eye, Raphtalia desperately fending off Atla’s attacks, as I continued to persuade Filo. 
What the hell was going on here, seriously? I’d thought this to be a simple request, and look at what it turned into. 
Fitoria! You’ll pay dearly for this! She’ll never hear the last of it. 
Putting this one off was absolutely the right thing to have done! 
“Stop this, I say!” Motoyasu had been trying to talk his retinue down for the entire time. As if it wasn’t all his fault! His own three seemed to be in love with him and so jealous of Filo. 
Not that he’d listen even if we said that. So I’d have Filo resolve this. 
“Hey! Spear guy, listen!” At Filo’s shout, Motoyasu turned around. 
“Of course! What is it, sweet Filo?” he asked. 
“Right, well,” Filo started. “I like platonic relationships. I’m not going to think about anything more until the world is truly at peace.” What else? What else was there? “I like people to be loyal, and kind to everyone, and never cheat, and always abide by the conditions of a bet. Also, they need to keep promises, not just pay lip service to them—” I had Filo run down an exhaustive list of all my problems with Motoyasu. Hopefully this would change him . . . The part about Filo’s tastes was a total lie. 
Filo liked Melty, surely. That was who she was always hanging around with. She’d almost been affected by Motoyasu’s Temptation skill, saved only by Raph-chan, but if that hadn’t happened, Filo would have gone for Melty. Surely. 
 
“Naofumi, you’ll have to explain the meaning of that look later,” Melty commented. 
“No idea what you mean,” I replied. 
Filo, meanwhile, hadn’t finished her explanation. I remembered something else I wanted her to say. 
“Ah! Finally, you have to listen to what people tell you, especially my master. You need to listen to his orders at all times. Oh, and until the world is really at peace, just leave me alone!” That last part hadn’t come from me. Filo could be cunning at times, couldn’t she? 
“I-is that all true, Filo?” Motoyasu’s reaction suggested he had bought it. Good! Now, Filo just needed to get him to change the spear. 
“So I need you to—” Filo looked at me, eyes wavering. She’d forgotten what I told her! After remembering stuff I didn’t even need her to say! “Ah, right, right. I’ll really hate you if you don’t change that spear to something else! Please, never use that spear again!” 
“N-no! Don’t hate me! I’ll never change to this spear again, I say!” Motoyasu quickly changed his spear at Filo’s suggestion. 
Ugh, what a dope. So easily manipulated. I couldn’t believe he went along with it so easily. 
In the moment he changed the spear, everyone in his retinue collapsed as though their batteries had been plucked out. 
“Uh . . .” Atla stopped moving too. 
 
“Now!” Grabbing that tiny opening, Raphtalia whacked Atla’s solar plexus with the hilt of her sword and knocked her out. 
“Raph,” Raph-chan said. 
“Yeah,” Ruft agreed. After checking that Filo and Ruft hadn’t been affected by Motoyasu’s skill, Raph-chan climbed down from Filo’s back along with Ruft. Then Filo turned into her human form. 
Having seen all that, I turned back to look at Motoyasu. 
“Now then . . .” I proceeded to give Filo the next thing to say. 
“Right then . . . I like heroes who fight for the sake of the world. But I don’t like people so caught up on me all the time that they can’t work with others! Please, do what my master tells you!” she pleaded. 
“Very well, I say!” Motoyasu had changed his spear, but his silly verbal tics remained. Was that an effect of the curse series? Like when I’d lost my sense of taste, were his visual and hearing senses being impaired? 
If Filo had saved him though, surely they should be fixed too, no? 
“Father-in-law, I now solemnly swear that I, Motoyasu Kitamura, shall contribute to your cause as a love hunter, seeking to bring true peace to this world and to win the heart of Filo.” Yeah, he was still talking garbage. “I will officially come and stay in your territory, father-in-law, if you can just give me some time to get my belongings ready.” 
“I’d really rather you didn’t come at all, but I guess it’s better than having you wandering around,” I managed. 

“Mr. Naofumi, you need to be careful what you say.” I couldn’t help but nod in agreement with Raphtalia’s caution. 
 
“Very well. Just be quick about it,” I told him. 
“As soon as my preparations are ready, I shall descend upon you! My angels, we are leaving! Portal Spear!” Motoyasu shouted. 
“S-sure thing!” Everyone in his retinue picked themselves up, and in the next instant, all four of them were gone. 
“He left the wagon behind,” I muttered. It was impossible to miss the thing, the teeth-jarringly decorated sparkly monstrosity making its presence painfully felt. 
“Yes! The spear guy is gone! But my wagon . . .” Filo lamented. 
“This really is in the worst possible taste,” Melty commented, moving over to the wagon and checking it out. I was in complete agreement. I’d had an Internet friend with a car that was pretty outlandish, but I’d never dreamed that the wagon I purchased for Filo would end up stolen and turned into this. 
“My wagon . . .” Filo was getting some serious consolation from Melty. I shared an unspoken look with her, knowing what had to be done, and then I spoke with a sigh. 
“Right. I’ll buy you another one, so cheer up, okay?” I told her. That looked like the only way to cheer Filo up. 
“Yay!” She immediately did so. 
“That’s great, isn’t it?!” Ruft offered, whose own eyes had been as round as saucers when looking at the golden monster. 
“Yeah!” Filo agreed. 

“What an incredible wagon . . . It reminds me of one I had decorated with filolials that I received in tribute once,” Ruft admitted. 
 
“There was a wagon like that,” I recalled. 
“Yes, we saw it in the castle storeroom, didn’t we?” Raphtalia corroborated. 
“Really?” Melty asked. “What did you think of it, Raphtalia?” 
“A better design than this one. That’s for sure,” she replied. 
“I bet,” Melty said. I’d never considered someone could make something so offensive to the eyes, honestly. Motoyasu wasn’t just a moron; he was terrifying to the extreme. 
“In any case, that completes the request. Back to the village! Shall we portal it?” I asked. 
“You want to leave this here?” Melty cut in. 
“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking,” I replied. 
“Hold on. If we do leave it here, what if someone else starts using it? Or some wild filolials come along and take it away?” Raphtalia made some good points, I had to admit. 
I checked with Filo. 
“Uhh . . . I don’t want to leave this thing here!” she responded. 
“We could destroy it?” I just wanted this over with. “What do you think?” 
“At least discuss it with that blacksmith you favor so much. He might be able to cheaply restore it to normal?” Melty suggested. Filo had a clear look of disgust on her face, this being something that Motoyasu had been touching. But as it had also originally been hers. She seemed to be having difficulty making a decision. 
 
“In any case . . . looks like we should just cover it with a cloth and take it back with us. I really just want to get back. Filo, can you and Melty handle getting it back?” I asked. 
“Hold on! No way! Just think what it’ll be like for us transporting this eyesore?” Melty complained. I mean, I could say the same thing, but . . . fair enough. 
“It’s not like our wagon can really be called a wagon anymore. That’s true,” I conceded. “I guess we can make use of it.” And so that was what we decided to do—make use of the wagon that Motoyasu horribly modified. 
Right away though, I noticed something strange. All kinds of work had been performed on the undercarriage so it hardly vibrated at all. 
“It looks ugly, but he’s done a lot of work to make it easy to ride in,” Raphtalia conceded. 
“Do you think he used his hero knowledge to do this?” Melty pondered. 
“Considering how nice this all is, he may have put his money where his mouth is and got some merchant to hook him up,” I contemplated. 
“I wonder . . . Anyway, if only it didn’t look like this, Filo could really make good use of it,” Melty commented. 
“Uhh . . .” Filo didn’t sound convinced. She made an extremely displeased face as she pulled the wagon along and we made our way back to the village.