Yari no Yuusha no Yarinaoshi (LN) - Volume 1 - Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen: Peeping 

“By the way, Father, what level are you now?” 
“I’m level 38. I powered up my shield too. I even used the weapon copy system you told me about before we came to this inn, so I feel like I’ve gotten fairly strong now.” 
Father was taking off his clothes while speaking. Hmm . . . I looked at his body. Compared to the Father from the first world, he wasn’t as muscular as I remembered that Father being the last time I’d seen him. I guess that was only natural, since that Father had struggled to overcome so many hardships. 
“I’ve gotten a bunch of different skills too, so I should be pretty strong, right? The only thing is, I’m not really sure how strong, and that kind of scares me. I’ve never been in a real battle either.” 
“You’re just being modest. You’ve always been dependable in battle, I say!” 
“I don’t know. I’m a bit worried, honestly. I’ve played online games, so I’ve seen those bigheaded players who have nothing going for them but their high level. They’re completely useless when it comes to a real battle.” 
“I do remember hearing something about you running a notorious guild.” 
“Oh, did I mention that in the future? Yeah, I was an officer in a guild that ranked maybe third on the server.” 
“That’s right.” 
“But what does that have to do with anything? I mean, it did teach me a thing or two about forming parties, giving basic commands, like when to attack or withdraw, and providing logistical support. But I really doubt that’s going to help me in the real world, here in a parallel universe.” 
“What are you talking about? Your experience helped you minimize casualties during the waves — a meritorious feat, I say!” 
Back when I was still acting like a fool, I was only concerned with attacking the bosses and the cracks in the sky during the waves. Ren and Itsuki were the same. We didn’t even consider the damage to the surrounding area or the residents, but Father was different. He was always thinking about how to minimize the number of casualties. 
I’m sure that’s why there had been so little damage. There was even a group of soldiers that sought to assist Father, regardless of the fact that he was in Melromarc, a country that treated him as an enemy. His command of those soldiers once again helped minimize damage during subsequent waves. I was sure he made use of his experience with inter-guild warfare in numerous other battles too. 
I was well aware that it was thanks to Father’s instruction that I had become as powerful as I was. I had no doubt he would show the same resourcefulness and quick wits this time around as well. 
“Hmm, are you sure?” he continued. “Something about that seems off. I find it hard to take your word for it on this one. Was I really commanding people? Are you sure I didn’t leave that to someone else?” 
Father sure was skeptical. He was being extra careful about what he chose to believe. It wasn’t the first time I’d seen him do that. Okay, it was true that he’d left the strategizing and commanding up to Trash at one point. But that was an entirely different story. 
“Absolutely certain, I say!” 
“Well, I guess I’ll believe it, if you say it’s true. But I don’t think that kind of thing would work against an experienced strategist. It’s hard to believe that picking up bits and pieces from a game could actually help in the real world.” 
“Kitamura! Let’s wash each other’s backs!” Kou suddenly shouted. 
“Of course! Allow me, I say!” 
Kou began begging, so I started to wash his back. I lathered up some soap and went about carefully washing each feather, right down to the root. This kind of attention to detail would help make filolials even more attractive. Sadly, I was generally only able to do this for the males — Midori and Kou . But I had groomed Crim and Marine after they took baths. 
“It ticklessss!” Kou said. 
“Now, now, stop wiggling, I say!” 
“Okay! Come on, Iwatani! We’ll wash your back toooo!” 
“Alright then,” Father agreed. 
We were having a pleasant time washing each other’s backs when Sakura came bounding over the fence in her filolial queen form. 
“Wait! Sakura! That’s the men’s bath!” 
I could hear Éclair shouting. 
“Naofumiiii!” 
“Oh, hey, Sakura. I guess you came, after all.” 
“Let’s bathe togetheeerrrr!” 
“Umm, well, let’s ask first. Hey, Eclair! Sakura came over to our side. What do you want me to do?” 
Father called out to Éclair, but it sounded like she was busy scolding Yuki. She sounded upset. 
“Why am I the only one who doesn’t get to be with Motoyasu?!” Yuki shouted. 
“Because it’s not allowed! I have no doubt Mr. Iwatani will scold Sakura and send her back immediately,” Éclair explained. 
“But I, too, would very much like to bathe with Motoyasu!” Yuki stated. 
After hearing their exchange, Father chided Sakura gently. 
“Well, there’s our answer. Hurry on back to the women’s bath.” 
“Aww . . . Okay, then let’s go togetheeerr!” 
“Huh?! W-wait!” Father exclaimed. 
Sakura threw Father onto her back and leapt back over into the women’s bath. 
“M-Mr. Iwatani?! Why are you in the women’s bath?!” Éclair demanded. 
“It’s not my fault! Sakura brought me without asking!” 
“Yup! I wanna get in with Naofumiii!” 
“No! Hurry up and take Mr. Iwatani back to the men’s bath!” 
“Boo . . .” 
“Mr. Iwatani, I’ll let it go this time, since you’re covering your eyes, but I expect you to have a word with her!” 
“O-of course!” 
Sakura jumped back over the fence and brought Father back to our side. To think that he would get access to the women’s bath . . . Way to go, Father! Now that was a real hero! 
“Umm, Motoyasu? Why do you look so excited? Whatever you’re thinking, it’s completely wrong,” he reprimanded. 
I wondered what Yuki had looked like. 
“You still haven’t given me a satisfactory answer!” Yuki shouted. 
She was still arguing with Éclair. The sound of her voice traveled surprisingly well. 
“Yuki, I shall be sneaking a peek at the women’s bath shortly, I say!” 

 

“Mr. Kitamura!” Éclair shouted. 
Éclair didn’t seem happy with my announcement. But that wasn’t my problem! 
“Getting peeped at makes a lady more attractive, I say! But it must be unexpected to receive the full effect, so you should wait there patiently and look forward to being seen!” 
“Understood! Then I shall wash my body and wait patiently for you to peek! And I shall undoubtedly be the most attractive of all, once you have graced me with your peeping!” said Yuki. 
“Yuki . . . Is that really all it took to satisfy you and convince you to give up?” Éclair asked. 
She was speaking more quietly now. Father scolded Sakura too, and she hesitantly returned to the other side. 
“Ha! You openly showed them your naked body, Sakura. That means the increase in attraction will be reduced. I hope you’ve learned your lesson. You mustn’t go to the men’s bath,” Yuki chided. 
“Huh? I’m fine with how I am. I would rather take a bath with Naofumi and Motoyasu than be more attractive.” 
“I don’t understand either of you. Anyway, both of you wash yourselves off properly and get in the water. And make sure you submerge yourselves up to your shoulders!” Éclair demanded. 
“Okaaay!” 
Yuki and Sakura began washing themselves off quietly. Over the next several minutes, I focused my attention on the women’s bath. I was worried about Father, since his face was slightly flushed. 
“The water is so waaaarm. It feels so gooood.” 
I could hear the sound of bubbles. 
“Sakura, don’t go to sleep in the bath!” Éclair scolded. 
Then there was a loud splash, followed by snoring. 
“So what, you think you won’t drown if you change to your filolial queen form? Stop coming up with such strange ideas!” she continued. 
Éclair was starting to sound like a pesky mother-in-law. It reminded me of big sis for some reason. I’m sure it was because she was always giving Father advice. 
“It sounds like Eclair is having a tough time over there,” Father said. 
“Now then, I suppose it’s about time to peek,” I told him. 
“You were actually serious about peeping?” 
“Of course! I must keep my promise to Yuki, I say!” 
“I realize I can’t stop you even if I try, but I really don’t think you should do that. Yuki will be happy as long as you tell her you peeked, even if you don’t actually do it,” he told me. 
“Father, telling lies is wrong, I say!” 
“Well, yeah, but using that to justify peeping just doesn’t seem right.” 
“Come now, Kou! I need something to stand on!” 
“What do I get for letting you stand on meee?” 
“I shall rub your cheeks, I say!” 
“Yaaay! Stand on me!” 
“Don’t let him!” Father snapped. 
Kou ignored Father’s objection and complied with my request. He changed into his filolial king form and put me on his back. 
“Come, Father. Join me for a peek, I say!” 
Thinking back, I had no memories of Father joining me for a peek at the paradise known as the women’s bath. Generally speaking, he was never very fond of peeping. But things might have been different, since this was a different cycle of the time loop. 
“Whoa! H-hey, put me — ” Father began. 
Kou understood what I was thinking. He grabbed Father by the waist and lifted him up into the air so that he would be able to see over the fence into the women’s bath. Éclair’s face popped up out of the water all of a sudden. 
“Mr. Kitamura, I would like to ask that you comply with social norms. Have you ever thought about how the women — the victims of your peeping — might feel?” she scolded. 
“You need not worry! No woman has ever been upset with me for peeping at them in the bath, I say!” 
Even if they pretended to be upset, they were always happy in the end! Although, actually, I did feel a bit of uncertainty, since my experience had only been with pigs. But my intuition as the Love Hunter was telling me that I wasn’t mistaken. 
Éclair sighed and said, “I will admit that you are quite handsome, as long as you keep your mouth closed. Perhaps there aren’t many women who would be upset by you looking at them. But that’s not the point!” 
“Eclair! I’m sorry! I promise I’m not looking!” Father shouted. 
Father was desperately covering his eyes with both hands again. He was so shy! He would never become manly at this rate. Just like women became more attractive with being seen, men honed their manliness by looking, I say! 
“And now you’re forcing Mr. Iwatani to take part in your shenanigans. I don’t even know what to say anymore. Do you really want to see naked women that badly, Mr. Kitamura?” 
“I’m only interested in seeing Yuki and Sakura, I say! The only problem is that there are occasionally pigs claiming to be women in the women’s bath. Seeing naked pigs just makes me want to puke! Yuck!” 
“. . .” 
Éclair was squinting her eyes at me suspiciously. Looking more closely, I noticed she had a towel wrapped around her torso to cover herself. It looked like Yuki did too. As for Sakura . . . She was near the edge of the bath, nodding off in her filolial queen form. 
“You did brazenly announce that you were going to peek. We were originally the only ones in here, so I took the liberty of preparing in advance.” 
“What do you think, Motoyasu? Has my attractiveness risen now?” Yuki asked. 

“Try to submerge yourself in a slightly more seductive manner, I say!” 
“Did you seriously just critique her bathing? You really are something, Motoyasu . . .” Father mumbled. 
In order to become a truly exceptional lady, one would need to hone their attractiveness from time to time. Filo-tan had been a ten on the attractiveness scale from the very start, though. There was nothing more appealing than that ditziness of hers! But I wasn’t so far gone as to think that everyone needed to be just like Filo-tan. I adored all of my filolials and I would shower them all with affection! That’s right! I loved all of my filolial children equally, I say! 
Éclair seemed to give up after that. She stopped trying to interfere with my peeping and sunk back down into the water. I shifted my attention back to the men’s bath and decided to get back in. Kou put Father down. 
Father sighed. 
“I can’t believe you dragged me into that. What a mess,” Father said. 
“You’re such a sissy, Father.” 
“I’m fine with being a sissy! I mean, I know that peeping is every man’s dream, but you’re supposed to do it without being noticed!” 
“Mr. Iwatani?” Éclair said. 
There was something interrogatory about Éclair’s tone of voice. Being questioned must have disconcerted Father, because he hurriedly threw out an explanation. 
“I’m not going to peek! I’m just speaking in terms of the conventional wisdom of our world. It’s a rite of passage kind of thing. That’s all!” 
“I see. Well, please talk some sense into Mr. Kitamura. At least if he did things like this without being noticed, it wouldn’t turn into such an ordeal. I’m exhausted from having to constantly lecture him about things.” 
I heard Éclair sigh and then sink back down into the water. 
“So like I said, Motoyasu, no peeping. If you wait until they get out and then look at them while their skin is shiny and flushed, it’s still satisfying and it’s something to get excited about without breaking any rules,” he explained. 
“I see. So it’s like stopping at foreplay,” I said. 
“Huh? Umm, how is anything I said like foreplay?” 
“Because you wouldn’t actually get to see their naked bodies,” I complained. 
“Yeah, but that’s the kind of thing that, umm . . . You’ll get to do plenty of that once you’re in an intimate relationship, like dating someone or being married.” 
Oh? I was pretty sure I remembered seeing Father go to one of those private baths meant for families with big sis and Filo-tan. Wouldn’t he have seen their naked bodies in there? And I also remembered him telling us about big sis showing him her naked body so that he could check on her wounds. But I think I understood his logic. They were like family to him, which is an intimate relationship. It was the same for me and the filolials — they were my children! 
“I’m already in an intimate relationship, I say!” 
“Huh?” 
“I worship the filolials. My relationship with them is basically the same as that of a parent and child. There is no relationship more intimate than that, I say!” 
“. . .” 
Father dropped his shoulders and gazed down at the water like he’d given up. 
“Eclair, I’m sorry. I don’t think I’m going to be able to talk sense into Motoyasu,” he said, defeated. 
“It’s okay, Mr. Iwatani. You’ve already said more than enough. Please try to relax a bit now.” 
I got the feeling that going to the hot springs together had brought us all closer to each other. That was the power of peeping! It strengthened the bonds between people, I say! 
“Umm, let’s talk about something else. So even if you learn a million skills, that doesn’t mean you’ll be able to use magic, right?” Father asked. 
“That’s right. But if you just want to learn one simple magic spell, you can do that by purchasing an expensive crystal ball at a magic shop,” I told him. 
“But that’s not going to give you any kind of deeper understanding of magic, right?” 
“You are correct! Indeed, magic learned using a crystal ball is inferior in many ways, including how powerful it is, how much magic power it consumes, and how much control you have over it.” 
In the beginning, I’d taken the easy way out and used crystal balls to learn magic. But ultimately, Father taught me how to learn spells using magical tomes and I finally realized how convenient magic learned that way could be. It was a perfect example of how taking the easy way out in life just resulted in spinning one’s wheels and putting oneself at a disadvantage. 
“But learning magic means learning to read the writing of this world and deciphering magical tomes . . .” Father began. 
I nodded silently. It was difficult, but it wasn’t impossible. Case in point, Father and I had done it, as had the other heroes. 
“Leveling up, unlocking skills, and powering up my shields have all gone really smoothly so far. Compared to that, the process is a real pain in the neck, isn’t it?” 
“That’s just how it is, I say!” 
“Learning magic sounds really romantic and all, but I guess it’s just not the kind of thing you can do overnight.” 
“You can just learn it bit by bit over time. In the future, you mentioned that it went more quickly than you expected too.” 
“How long did it take?” 
“I believe you could already use magic around the time we defeated the second wave.” 
“Which means around two and a half months. That’s a long time,” Father whispered. 
He stuck his hands in the water and started squirting water out by squeezing his palms together. He was really good at it too. The water was shooting quite high up into the air. 
“Wow! Hey, Iwatani! How are you doing that?!” Kou asked. 
“Put your hands together like this and make a little window for the water to squirt out of. It should be a small hole, like you’d make with your mouth if you were going to blow out. Then just squeeze your palms together to create pressure and make it squirt out.” 
“Put my hands together . . .” 
Kou made a clumsy attempt at squirting the water and failed. 
“It’s so haaard!” he complained. 
“You’ll get it in no time if you keep practicing. I guess it’s the same for magic, huh?” 
“Once you learn to read and get a feel for manipulating magic power, using magic is no problem, I say!” 
Well, using the Liberation class of spells did require learning the Way of the Dragon Vein, which was a type of magic that couldn’t be used without having received a dragon’s blessing. I wouldn’t have wanted to learn it if Father hadn’t ordered me to. Even then I was reluctant to do so, but I couldn’t deny the fact that learning it had proven invaluable on numerous occasions. 
“We’re getting pretty close to Siltvelt. Once we’re sure things are safe, we can take our time to study magic and continue to level up to prepare for the waves.” 
“Yeah, I’ll do my best too!” Kou replied. 
“As shall I!” I said. 
Just then, something came flying toward us at high speed. I jumped out of the water to protect Father, but I’d been just a moment too late. My sudden movement sent large waves rushing across the surface of the water, and the Siltvelt emissary, who had been sitting off to the side quietly, tumbled over into the water. 
“Huh?” 
I’d been able to deflect the majority of the objects, but one of them had hit Father. It had bounced off and landed to the side, and now Father was looking over at it. Judging from the shape, it appeared to be . . . a thorn? Or a blow dart, perhaps. 
“Father! Are you okay?!” 
“It just went ping as it bounced off, and nothing else happened. Is that a blow dart?!” 
If it was a blow dart . . . Those were often used to assassinate people by coating the tip with deadly poison. A sense of danger came rushing over me when I thought about Father getting shot with something like that. 
Several shady characters leapt over the fence and into the men’s bath area. It was clear that the attack had been their handiwork. 
“That was a paralytic poison ! T here’s no way you can move now, Shield Hero! Prepare to die!” 
Father stood up out of the water and held his shield up in front of himself. I thrust my spear at one of the fools who had recklessly attacked us. 
“Gah!” 
“Let’s do this!” Kou shouted. 
“Let’s, indeed!” I replied. 
Kou changed into his filolial king form and kicked one of the morons as hard as he could. It was a good kick that sent the scum flying. 
“Should I use magic to nullify the poison?” I asked. 
Healing magic and the like had originally been Father’s specialty, but I had an aptitude for it as well. Even if it was a fast-acting poison, I would be able to counteract it, I say! 
“Quickly! We must treat the wound at once! Where did the dart hit you?” I asked. 
“Motoyasu! Relax! It didn’t even break the skin. I’m fine.” 
“Oh?” 
Judging by Father’s reaction . . . 
“I see now. Father, the time has come for you to show them just how strong you’ve become, I say!” 
“Huh? Are you sure I’ll be okay?” 
“It’s a little late to be asking that! Their lethal poison dart was ineffective against you. You have nothing to fear, I say!” 
“Here’s my chance!” shouted one of the assassins. 
Thinking he could take advantage of the fact that I was standing there quietly, the assassin swung his sword at Father. Father held his shield up immediately, but he’d reacted just a tiny bit too slowly, perhaps due to his lack of experience. The assassin leaned to the side and redirected the attack, aiming at Father’s torso. But Father successfully defended against the attack by blocking it with his arm. A loud clang echoed out and sparks went flying from the point of contact. 
“Umm . . .” 
“Shield Demon, this is the end!” 
The assassin swung his sword down at Father. Father held his hand up and spread his fingers. Just before the blade cut into his skin, he closed his fingers and grasped it between them, stopping the sword dead in its tracks. 
“Wh-what?! Shit! It won’t budge!” 
“That’s strange. If I really focus, everything looks like it’s moving in slow motion. Even his voice sounded like it had been slowed down. Is that because of the power-ups?” Father asked. 
“It is, indeed!” 
As a matter of fact, Father had attempted to implement all of the power-up methods that I’d been able to recall. I was certain two-bit assassins like these wouldn’t even be able to scratch him anymore. Ha! Ha! Ha! They were in trouble if they thought he was the same Father they’d encountered before! 
“H-he’s a monster!” one shouted. 
“Now that Father has finished testing his defenses, it’s time to pay for your foolishness. Be thankful that Father and his companions are so compassionate, I say!” 
I hooked my spear onto the assassin’s collar and spun him around a few times before flinging him high up into the air. 
“Gaaahhhh!” 
“If you don’t enjoy that, then don’t do foolish things! Ha! Ha! Ha!” 
“I never expected to see enemies like this here. We should probably leave this town soon. Eclair? Is everything okay over there?” Father yelled over to Éclair. 
Yuki leapt over the fence onto our side. Éclair was sitting on her back with her sword in her hand. 
“Yes, we’re fine. We wiped the enemies out in the blink of an eye. I’m sorry it took me so long to get here.” 
“We took care of ours in a matter of seconds. Don’t worry about it,” Father said. 
“My sincere apologies, once again. Escorts from Siltvelt will have driven away the remaining church members shortly, I believe,” said the Siltvelt emissary. 
“Good. I’m glad to hear that Siltvelt is responding quickly too. Even if we stay on the lookout, it’s always possible that someone will slip through,” Éclair replied. 
“But that sure is strange. General security was increased after the incident with the Spear Hero, and we asked the demi-humans to tighten the security here at the inn too,” he said. 
The Siltvelt emissary looked confused. Hmm, it appeared we had an intricate conspiracy on our hands. Perhaps there was nowhere we would be able to relax before we had reached the safety of our destination. 
“Well, I sent one of the assassins flying. He should be lying on the ground outside of the baths. We should go tie him up and then force him to spill the beans, I say!” 
“I’m glad nothing bad happened,” said Éclair. 
“Raising my level and powering up my shields made a huge difference. I really felt the effects clearly.” 
“That’s good. Perhaps the assassins will give up after realizing they can’t defeat you. Then we could continue our journey in peace,” she replied. 
We left the hot springs after that. On a related note, we found out the following day how the enemies had managed to show up at the hot springs. It turned out the Church of the Three Heroes wasn’t our only enemy.