by Aneko Yusagi
“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 b
lack 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.