Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari (LN) - Volume 14 - Chapter 8

Chapter Eight: Big Sister 

“Welcome back.” Raphtalia greeted us upon our arrival. 
“It’s time you were in bed. Staying up late is bad for your skin,” I scolded. 
“Hah. You never stopped me in the village when I was going out to intercept Atla,” she retorted. Ah, so she was annoyed by me coming back late. I should have made better use of S’yne. 
“I got stuck spending time with that pervert. S’yne and I set a little trap for him.” 
“I don’t need the details, if possible. I sent one of the servants to the old guy and heard that much, anyway.” 
“Ah, yeah, he mentioned that.” A messenger from the house had come to check where I was, something like that. I had been on my way back at that point though, so I didn’t think it mattered. 
“Anyway, you go and get your rest, Raphtalia. We’re going to be busy again tomorrow.” 
“Very well.” 
“In which case—” 
“In which case we’ll go to bed too. If you need us, we’ll be right there.” S’yne entered the house and went off to bed. 
“What about Atla?” I asked. 
“After bathing, she ate the food you made, Mr. Naofumi, and then got a bit rowdy. For now, she’s resting.” The “for now” part worried me a little. Sounded like they’d had their fair share of fun here too. 
“Big sister!” That was Fohl, and it was directed at Raphtalia. Huh? “Big sister?” Fohl was calling Raphtalia big sister now? What the hell happened here tonight? 
I pointed at Fohl, and Raphtalia’s reply was mixed with a sigh. 
“I finally had enough of Fohl enabling Atla’s spoiled rampage and gave him a bit of a lecture. This is the result,” she explained. 
“Okay, you’re going to have to fill me in,” I said. Raphtalia proceeded to give me the details. 
As it turned out, there had been a scuffle with Atla after I left, because she wanted to follow after me. As always, Fohl had tried to keep her under control. Sometimes he did, but he always needed someone’s help to do so. 
“Brother, please. I’ve spent so much time with you today. Please, move aside.” Atla had turned her wiles on Fohl in order to get him on her side and then escape. Raphtalia, Filo, and Sadeena had still stood in opposition to her. 
“After spending so much time with you both, I know how important Atla is to you. But just sitting by and watching your precious Atla’s violent tantrums, I have to wonder—is that really the way a gentle brother should act?” Raphtalia had lectured. 
“Uwah! I’m—I’m on Atla’s side! She’s been so kind to me today. I have to repay her for that!” Fohl had said and proceeded to take a swing at Raphtalia. But his fist didn’t reach her, and instead Raphtalia landed a slap on the violent Fohl’s cheek. Of course, with the modifier from the katana vassal weapon, he didn’t take much damage. 
 
“If Mr. Naofumi said something odd, I’d warn him and put him right. Worst case scenario—physically, if it came down to it,” she had denoted. She wasn’t wrong. Raphtalia would indeed get physical if I looked to make a mistake. The first time I used the Shield of Rage, for example. I could still remember that vortex of negative emotions. I couldn’t allow them to swallow me. 
Yes, she was right. Raphtalia always stopped me if I was going to make a mistake. 
“But what about you? You handle your kid sister with kid gloves! That’s not going to resolve anything,” she had fumed. 
“Uh . . .” 
“She even causes trouble for Mr. Naofumi. If you don’t help keep her in line, Mr. Naofumi may end up hating your precious Atla!” Raphtalia had warned. 
“Him? Hate Atla? That’s impossible! This is Atla we’re talking about!” 
“You think everyone loves Atla unconditionally, do you?” 
“Brother, don’t listen to her!” Even while she had cautioned Fohl, Atla had looked for openings in Raphtalia’s defense. 
“A-Atla is my precious sister who everyone loves!” 
“And I’m asking if you think that’s in the best interests of your sister!” At Raphtalia’s outburst, Fohl had backed away in something close to terror. 
“If you don’t caution her about these tantrums, she’s the one who’s eventually going to suffer,” Raphtalia had gone on. 
 
“W-what? Atla? You think so?” 
“Do you know the kind of person that Mr. Naofumi doesn’t like? Women who use others, trample them, and enjoy their suffering!” 
“You’re right. When Atla trampled me, he did have a very unpleasant look on his face.” 
“Indeed. If you truly want the best for Atla, you need to take the reins and raise her into a respectable woman. Isn’t that what a good brother should do?” Had Raphtalia been aware that she was saying something a bit odd? Did a brother have that authority? That said, though, Fohl was not only Atla’s older brother, but also her parent-like figure. So maybe Raphtalia wasn’t so far off the mark. 
“Oh my. Don’t get too carried away, little Raphtalia,” Sadeena had cautioned. 
“Hmmm? I’m exhausted. Isn’t Master back yet?” Filo had whined. 
Ignoring this background noise, Raphtalia had voiced her concerns directly at Fohl. As though snapping back to himself, Fohl had looked at Raphtalia. 
“You’re right. I’ve been so fixated on Atla I’ve not been thinking about her at all. I’ve come to accept him, a little, but I’m not going to let that guy take Atla, no matter what!” Fohl had spouted. He accepted me? If I’d been there, that’s what I would have asked about.
 
With that, Fohl had swiftly turned and launched a technique at Atla. His sister barely saw it coming and just got out of the way. 
 
“Brother, is this some kind of joke?” she had questioned. 
“Atla, if you stray from the true path, I will stop you with everything I’ve got!” 
“You’re betraying me?” 
“Betraying? I am, and always will be, your ally. I’ve realized that if you remain so selfish, the one you wish for may end up disliking you. As your brother, I will ensure that you grow into a fine, responsible woman!” 
“Hah. So you’re finally turning on me, brother? I won’t hold back, even for you.” And so Fohl and Atla’s scuffle had begun, and as a result, tonight Fohl had been the winner. 
This was all starting to make my head ache. I pressed my hand to my forehead and sighed. 
“Maybe he’s a little too muscle-brained?” I suggested. 
“Well—I think maybe it’s also my fault for beating the bushes a bit too hard,” Raphtalia sighed. 
“This isn’t your fault, big sister!” Fohl blurted out. 
“If we’re getting into ages, I’m younger than you!” 
“That doesn’t matter!” 
Hmmm. This might actually clear up the problems with Atla a bit. If I lectured her, she would be just happy to have me lecture her. It would definitely be better if Fohl could take over that role. 
To be honest, she did need a bit more discipline. 
Back when she was sick, Atla had appeared pretty disciplined. They do say love changes a person, but still. 
 
“Everyone is tired, anyway, so I’m going to bed too,” Raphtalia announced and turned to go. 
“Yeah, goodnight. Fohl, you’re watching Atla?” I asked. 
“Yes. Not on your orders though.” 
“Sure, yeah, yeah. If you can curtail your sister’s rampages, you won’t get any complaints from me. I’ll help out when I can.” 
“Help out? What does that mean, exactly?! You don’t have designs on Atla—” he began, but I glared at Fohl so intently he promptly shut up. 
“We’ve been together long enough now that you know what I meant. I’ll chat with her every now and then, nothing more,” I finished. 
“O-okay.” He didn’t look especially happy, but Fohl left. Maybe he was going to check on where Atla was being held. 
I was exhausted, anyway. Time to get some sleep. 
So that’s how my day ended. 
The next day. 
We headed toward the old city during the day, reaching the point where tomorrow we’d be launching our attack. After finishing our meeting, we were in our lodgings. The houses were small here, so we were staying in the best lodgings in the town. 
As a continuation of the day before, we were training prior to taking a bath. 

I launched Air Strike Shield, experimenting with whether I could imbue magic into my skills. Then I looked closely at Air Strike Shield, seeing spots where the flow of magic was weak. 

“Atla.” 
“Yes?” 
“Try destroying the magic shield I just created.” 
“Of course.” Following my orders, Atla—as I had expected—struck where the magic was weak. With a splitting crack, the shield crumbled easily. 
I knew it. 

In which case . . . I tried activating the skill while concentrating the magic and life force in my body. 
“Air Strike Shield!” Then Atla struck the new shield and destroyed it. I checked, and once again she was striking at a point where the magic flows were weak. 
That settled it. She knew the spot to strike at. 
“It didn’t change much,” she said. 
“Yeah. Another failure,” I admitted. To be honest, this method wasn’t all that different from imbuing magic at the point of casting a spell. 
“As the source of your power, the Shield Hero commands you. Read the truth once more and protect this soul! First Guard!” I focused my magic, and at the point of expenditure, I pushed in more prior to release. Hmmm, that took more magic than I expected. It had even decreased my SP. 
That one looked like a success.
 
To be sure, I checked the effects using my own status. Yes, it was clearly more powerful than a normal First Guard. 
 
I was right, then. I’d learnt from magical texts that adjusting the amount of magic when casting a spell could increase or decrease its strength. I’d always intended to be firing off the strongest possible spells, but it looked like there was a whole higher level. 
Hmmm, I had the feeling this was going to be even harder than learning magic. 
Combining the information from S’yne and Rishia, it seemed certain that life force was a different element from SP. But could it be something similar? If I could come to understand this feeling and imbue it into my magic, it felt like I’d further be able to enhance my skills. After all, simply defending enemy attacks using the defense value of my shield, as I had been until now, was eventually going to hit a limit. If there was some way to increase the strength of my magic, that was something to really be happy about. 
“Like—” S’yne gave a practical example. What just happened? It looked like she was just gesturing with her hands, but the Keel doll pantomimed bumping into something. 
“You mean like this?” Atla copied her and created something— something like a wall?—even more powerful than the one created by S’yne. 
“This is like your power, Master Naofumi! I did it!” Atla beamed. At a glance, it could indeed be taken as a recreation of the Air Strike Shield. 
“S’yne is pretty skilled, isn’t she?” Atla admitted. 
“I know.” She looked like such a natural, so why didn’t she pull some of this out when she fought us? Looking at the durability of the wall that she had created, maybe she would only make ones that weren’t all that reliable. 
 
“Rishia, when will I be able to learn this?” Itsuki asked, watching the unfolding events. 
“Have a little more patience,” Rishia replied. 
“With this power, I might even surpass you and Raphtalia, brother.” 
“I won’t allow that.” Raphtalia’s voice was hard. 
“Me either! Stop me if you can! Atla!” Fohl and Raphtalia were both pushing hard at Atla. I didn’t think it was such a bad thing, but maybe I should stop it. 
“Rafu!” Raph-chan jumped down from Raphtalia’s shoulder. 
“That reminds me, S’yne, have you finished what I requested yet?” 
“Right here—” With that, S’yne pulled out the item I ordered from her, a miko outfit for Raph-chan, and handed it over. 
“Ah! Well done. Come on, Raph-chan. Put this on.” 
“Rafu?” I put the miko outfit on Raph-chan and checked her over. Yeah. Just as it suited Raphtalia, it really suited Raph-chan too. The only issue perhaps was that Raph-chan didn’t normally wear clothing, so it looked a bit like cosplay. 
“Rafu, rafu, rafu,” Raph-chan was copying Raphtalia, posing with a wooden stick. 
“Yeah, perfect! Raph-chan. I bet people will find you just as appealing as Raphtalia in her miko gear!” I said. 
“Rafu!” Here in Q’ten Lo, with their deep faith toward the Heavenly Emperor, there might be many who understood the appeal of Raph-chan. I wasn’t about to give up spreading the good word! 
 
I gave Raph-chan a stroking that some might consider excessive. If I did that to the real Raphtalia in her miko outfit, she’d get real mad, that was for sure. 
“Oh my.” Sadeena looked at us and smiled to herself. What was so funny? 
“Kwaaa!” 
“I want to wear that too!” chimed in Filo. 
“Gaelion, I’ve already equipped you with a festoon. Isn’t that enough? Filo, well, I’m not sure it would suit you.” Putting a miko outfit on the Western-looking beauty like Filo felt like a bit of a mismatch. It definitely wouldn’t suit her as much as the one piece she was currently wearing. So I told her, “I don’t think it would suit you in human form.” 
“What! Then I’ll do what Raph-chan does and wear it as a filolial,” pouted Filo. I considered that for a moment. Hmmm, it might suit her, but then I also considered what Filo would look like walking the streets of Q’ten Lo in her filolial form. 
“In your filolial form, though, you wear that—what is it, bib-like thing, right?” Filo walked through the streets in her filolial form wearing a getup a bit like a Tosa dog. In that regard, she went well with Gaelion. 
“But I still want to wear that.” 
“Okay, sure, sure. Later. If you want to wear something different, maybe try a loincloth in your filolial form?” I thought that would go pretty well with her stocky form. 
 
“That’s what Keel wears, right? Wouldn’t that be strange?” 
“I reckon it would suit you more than a miko outfit.” Although Melty would probably have something to say about it, it also sounded like a veiled way of calling Keel strange. 
“You think so?” 
“W-why is Raph-chan wearing a miko outfit!” Raphtalia raised her voice, finally noticing, but I decided to just ignore her. 
Time passed, and the sun started to set. 
We weren’t doing the night parade today. We’d basically already done one during the daytime. 
“Ah, Master Naofumi. Today, at least, I will spend some quality time with you,” said Atla. 
“We just trained together for ages,” I grumbled. 
“That’s still not enough for me. I want to be with you forever and ever!” 
“Even in the bath? That’s a bit much. Fohl, you do see where this is going?” 
“Y-yes!” Atla was still trying to resist her now more-controlling brother, but the situation wasn’t great. 
“I’m heading to the bath, anyway,” I announced. 
“I’ve heard there are hot springs effective at soothing curses in the vicinity of the old city. The bath here is hot spring water too.” I nodded at this information from Raphtalia. Maybe there was a place like the hot springs on the Cal Mira islands? 
Sounded good after all the curses we’ve suffered recently! 
 
“I’d love to join you for some coed bathing.” Atla’s words made me a little uncomfortable. 
“I won’t allow that! Your nakedness will not be put on display!” So did her brother’s. I’d bathed with Raphtalia and Filo before, of course. Although Raphtalia was really like my daughter so there was no need to worry about that. 
“I’d like to bathe with little Naofumi too,” chimed in Sadeena. 
“Oh look, another pervert!” 
“What? You don’t want to get naked together?” Sadeena proceeded to hug me from behind. 
“Sorry, not interested.” 
“Lots of the bathing in Q’ten Lo is coed,” Sadeena went on. I had seen at least one public bath. It looked pretty Edo-ish too. 
Raphtalia explained, “There were places like that in Kizuna’s world. L’Arc wanted to go, but Glass got angry about it.” 
“There was some talk about peeping with Motoyasu too, before he went wacky. What a pervert,” I commented. Anyone in L’Arc’s position could have all the women he wanted, although he seemed to prefer Therese the most. 
Raphtalia continued. “He was good at compartmentalization, I’ll give him that.” Yeah, that sounded about right. I could almost see him starting to drool. 

“Anyway, watch our own perverted ladies to make sure they don’t bother me in the bath.” 
 
“Very well,” she said. Women trying to get into the men’s bath? That just didn’t sound right, but I decided to leave that topic well enough alone for the time being. 
So I went off to bathe in the hot springs. 
“Ah, Master Naofumi! Brother, I won’t forgive you for this!” 
“You don’t have to. If you’re trying to crawl into a bath with some guy, I have to stop you! I’m not letting you be such a loose woman. I’ve hardened my heart in order to make you into a fine and upstanding young lady!” 
“I’m already fine, thank you!” No, sorry, but he was right. There was something wrong if she wanted to charge into the men’s bath. 
In any case, they were as crazy—and noisy—as ever. Kizuna . . . things were more lively now. I didn’t dislike it, just wished they’d keep it a little more under control.