Chapter 100

After that, while playing lightly on the sandy beach, the sun began to set, so we returned to the inn, and I visited the schedule with Kage.

"By the way, when is the meeting?"

"It will be after the heroes have bathed and eaten."

"I see."

After the bath and meal, there's a meeting. It all depends on how much information I can extract from them.

Before that...

"I'm going to take a bath."

"Ah, yes. We will also bathe soon."

"Alright."

Leaving Raphatal and the others behind, I went to take a bath.

"Phew..."

Soaking in the Japanese-style outdoor hot spring, I exhaled while looking at the sky. Since this is a hot spring resort, it's been great to be able to take a bath every day recently. I also feel like my heavy body has improved a lot.

Although it's not healed in terms of status.

Maybe I've just gotten used to feeling sluggish.

While I was enjoying the bath comfortably,

"Hey, isn't that Naofumi?"

...Genkou enters the bathhouse.

Where's his spear?

Looking closely, he has transformed it into a very small spear and attached it to his waist.

Of course, that's expected. I also make my shield as small as possible and attach it to my back.

It's a relief that you can change where you wear it, even if you can't take it off your body.

After taking a quick rinse, Genkou enters the hot spring.

"Are you over the hangover?"

"Are you the one to say that?"

"You ate on your own. I didn't tell you to eat."

"Well, your world is a different Japan, so let's just say it's a difference in constitution."

"Sure, sure."

I've never been drunk, but the next day must have been fun with the bitches taking care of you.

Maybe it wasn't that great with a hangover, though.

"Hey, this is a pretty good bath."

Genkou calls out loudly to someone.

Who is he talking to?

"Of course we know. What day do you think we've been here?"

Shuu and his group of men come in one after another.

Shuu's expression darkens when he sees Genkou.

"…You have a lot to say to me at the meeting, so please keep it to a minimum."

"That's what I would say, but this is a bath. Enjoy it."

What is there to enjoy?

Thinking that, I turn my gaze and realize that Ren and his group of men are already there.

Well, it's a meeting today, so this kind of thing happens.

"Master!"

Philo jumps over the fence and comes to the men's bath, of course in her monster form.

"Huh? What is it?"

"I want to bathe with Master."

"You're a bird. Use a different bath. Or just rinse off."

"Yah!"

What a stubborn one.

Well...

"Make sure to dispose of any feathers properly."

"Yay!"

Philo soaks in the bath next to me.

"…Bathing with Philo-chan"

Genkou approaches with a lecherous look.

Philo hides behind me to escape.

"Philo-chan, please transform into your angel form."

"Yah!"

This guy is so persistent. How much does he love angels?

Is it really that enjoyable to bathe with a bird? I can't understand.

While I'm thinking this, Genkou starts to get rowdy.

"So, I tried switching parties. Who do you think is the prettiest among your companions?"

Wow... That's a really trivial topic.

This isn't a trip. Or is it a trip for Genkou?

Ren and Shuu look a bit uncomfortable.

However, Shuu starts to think about it to go along with the conversation.

"Also, have you guys... done it yet? I have... Hehe."

Genkou is incredibly annoying!

What does he want?

His comments have a virgin smell. Was he really a popular guy?

It's an incredibly unpleasant feeling. I just got in, should I leave?

"Hey, Naofumi, haven't you already done it with Raphatal?"

"Why are you bringing this up with me?"

We're not that close to talk about this, are we?

By the way, who was it that glared at me like I was their father's enemy after the incident with the queen?

Is this light-hearted attitude necessary for a hero? I doubt it.

"It's fine. Isn't this event to foster friendship?"

"What are you misunderstanding?"

Well, it might be for show, but the real purpose is to extract information.

Or maybe it is friendship for Genkou.

He must have replaced the word "steal" with "friendship."

Ren and Shuu must have similar experiences, as they look at Genkou with extremely unpleasant expressions.

"Let's talk about my ranking of cute girls, then."

"Refuse."

"It's pointless."

"It's not my taste."

Even so, Ren and Shuu don't try to shut Genkou up.

It's a waste of time to engage with him.

"I think it's Abigail, Raphatal, Philo, and Reisha."

"..."

What is Genkou's taste?

They're all different types. Does he like anyone with a good face?

"Right. Abigail is a former princess, after all. She's supposed to have a bad personality, but she treated me normally."

Shuu joins in the conversation.

Armor... whispers something in Shuu's ear.

I can hear it a bit.

He's telling Shuu who he likes the look of.

They're all getting carried away.

"Well, I didn't mind the queen's bad personality either."

Ren joins in.

You... aren't you supposed to not be interested?

"Raphatal has a more severe personality, doesn't she? She's very serious and rigid. But her face is very beautiful, isn't it?"

"Right."

"Indeed, her face is good. But her personality is bad."

Why are you guys falling into Genkou's pace?

It's easy to complain, but I don't want to engage with him.

Besides, it's not that Raphatal has a bad personality, but how you guys treat her is bad.

"Is Philo cute?"

Philo, of all people, asks me.

"Maybe."

"Boo..."

"I think Philo is the cutest. So, transform into your angel form—"

"Yah!"

Does Genkou really like Philo's human form that much?

He could just raise a Philo doll to get something similar...

"Reisha is also cute in a sincere way... Shuu, I'm envious."

"No... She is..."

Shuu looks a bit embarrassed.

He's the kind of guy who will do anything to be a hero. I also have suspicions that Reisha was added to Shuu's party as a matchmaker.

"Is there such a person?"

Ren seems to be out of sight.

Well, it's possible that Shuu's companions were acting according to Shuu's standards... They might have been putting on a show for Ren and Genkou.

Reisha herself is rather unlucky and doesn't assert herself much.

To Ren, she might just seem plain.

"So, everyone has the same impression as me."

"Well, mostly, in terms of looks."

"..."

Ren and I ignore him silently.

What is this conversation about?

Well, men are like this, I guess.

"Philo, I'll go back to the women's side soon."

"Alright, go ahead."

"Okay!"

Philo nods energetically and jumps over the fence to return to the women's bath.

Well, it's time to leave.

Genkou looks like he's going to get rowdy and start a men-only conversation.

"Hey, Naofumi, how far have you gone with Raphatal?"

"Again? I've already told you there's no such relationship."

"No, Raphatal must have feelings for you."

"What nonsense."

"Then, did you take any action?"

"No."

"Then, did Raphatal make a move?"

"No. Besides, she's a kid."

"Are you insensitive? Then, did Raphatal ever take off her clothes? It's hard to tell with clothes and armor, but her figure must be good, right?"

If I don't engage, he'll keep following me.

He's really troublesome.

"By the way, remember before—"

When I was a peddler.

I went to a famous hot spring area to sell.

The inn had a hot spring, and I took a bath.

"Naofumi-sama..."

That night, Raphatal, who had just finished bathing, spoke to me while I was mixing something in the room.

She was only wearing a towel and looked embarrassed.

For some reason, Raphatal took off the large towel and showed me her body.

"How do I look?"

She had well-toned muscles, and I knew her breasts were large from when I hugged her. I also thought they might be a hindrance.

To put it simply, she was plump, and I wondered where she got such strength.

Her hair was wet.

There seemed to be scars on her back, but they were gone now.

I had applied a medicine that worked on such scars when she showed them to me before.

Raphatal was showing me her whole body, looking embarrassed.

"Well, you've improved a lot. You're a world apart from when we first met."

"Eh? That's all?"

"Is there something else?"

At my question, Raphatal opened her mouth in surprise.

"Also, if you stay naked for too long, you might catch a cold—"

"Ah! Big sister is naked!"

Philo came back to the room and shouted.

Then, she took off her dress and came at me naked.

"Include me too!"

"No way! What are you doing?"

Usually, with Philo being naked, when I'm in human form, she wants to take off her clothes too.

"So, that happened."

"Insensitive bastard—"

Genkou came at me with a punch, looking angry.

I grabbed his fist and stopped him.

"What's your problem?"

"That was a blatant appeal! How can you turn down a set meal?!"

"What are you talking about? I've been telling you, Raphatal is a kid. Besides, she's very serious. She wouldn't think about that."

If you get involved, she might get pregnant during the battle with the waves and become a liability.

Raphatal, who is so dedicated to her mission, wouldn't want that. She would probably hate it.

My motto is to create an environment where Raphatal can fight comfortably.

"You're really stubborn... I can't believe it."

Genkou, having come to his own conclusion, stepped back.

Then, he suddenly changed his focus and looked at the fence.

"As a hero, it's a man's duty to do the obligatory peeping, right?"

"What duty?"

"Come on, you guys are curious, right?"

The justice-obsessed Shuu wouldn't let this slide.

"That's not right. You shouldn't do that."

While saying that, Shuu doesn't stop Genkou much and approaches the fence. You too.

Armor and the other men also gather around the fence, seemingly interested.

Queen, it looks like the friendship is deepening in a different way.

"That's ridiculous."

Even as he says that, Ren doesn't get out of the bath.

I can't deal with these guys anymore.

"Let's not overdo the long bath."

I was getting tired of it, so I got out of the bath.

"What's wrong, Naofumi? Not joining us?"

"I'm not interested."

What do you want me to do with real women's bodies?

Just thinking about the bitches makes me feel unpleasant.

Besides, if I stay in such a place, I might be falsely accused again.

A wise man avoids dangerous situations. If I talk with Kage in the room, I can create an alibi if something happens.

"You're really insensitive. I can understand Raphatal's frustration."

"Say what you want."

In your mind, Raphatal is probably after me, wanting to have a relationship, but that's not the case. She respects me as a hero. What good would it do to betray her expectations?

Really... they say heroes love beauty, but loving it too much is a problem.

Genkou will probably have relationship troubles after the waves.

The party of bitches is on the verge of breaking up.

"Phew..."

I was cooling off in the room after the bath.

I had been chatting with Kage, but he disappeared, saying he had some information.

Soon, I heard footsteps, and Raphatal, in a towel, rushed in.

"Naofumi-sama!"

"What is it? Did you catch Genkou and the others peeping?"

"Ah, yes! They are now sitting in seiza with the other heroes."

Really... well, it was under Kage's surveillance, so they probably said it was to deepen friendship.

By the way, what are the standards for peeping in this world?

In my world, during the Edo period, there were peepholes in public baths.

Here, the baths are separated by gender, but in other inns or regions, mixed baths are quite common.

"But that's not it! What about Naofumi-sama?"

"Why do you need to peep?"

At my response, Raphatal hangs her head in disappointment.

"I thought you might have awakened a bit after talking with the other heroes..."

"Awaken?"

To a special ability or the true power of the shield?

I wish I could. Unfortunately, nothing has happened.

"What's wrong, big sister?"

Philo, who had returned, tilts her head at the dejected Raphatal.

"I don't know."

What has made Raphatal so down?

"What are you so upset about? Did Genkou see your body or something?"

"I wasn't seen!"

"That's good."

"Ha... It's fine now."

Raphatal, who had just gotten out of the bath, returned with a tired expression.

When I asked her the reason after she came back, she didn't answer.