Chapter 38: That time when I was called out by father to have a serious fight
TL: kizen
ED: Kat
Five rest days have pa.s.sed since Suzuran came to town.
「I think that we’re going to have a lot to discuss when I get back to my village, so I’d like to take an even longer leave this time」
After imparting that to the boss, I started traveling back to the village. To be honest, every step I take feels really heavy. Aside from the bra.s.s knuckles and fifty pieces of candy, there’s nothing heavy in my rucksack though. I’m sure that this day is likely going to end up being terrible. When I finally reached the farthest watchtower from the village, an arrow suddenly pierced the ground about 5 meters ahead of me. Since the area by the highway hasn’t been cleared yet for the planned expansion of the fields, while trying to comprehend the situation, I leaped towards the slightly overgrown gra.s.s and ducked for cover. That was a pretty late reaction, wasn’t it? It would have been bad if this were an actual battle, wouldn’t it? I would have never expected to get attacked in the village after all. However, the next arrow didn’t come no matter how long I waited. If I think about it for a bit, that must have been Sc.h.i.n.ken right? Thinking that, I raised my head a bit and saw Sc.h.i.n.ken. He wasn’t holding his bow but was running towards me. Does that mean he’s not hostile? Well, I’ll just stand up for now.
「Sorry about that. I just had to talk to you no matter what before you entered the village」
「Well… I can somewhat understand. So? What is it?」
While I was removing the dust from my body, he replied「It seems like that thing about you and Suzuran has already spread all throughout the village」
「As expected…」Haa, I let out a sigh.「This concerns your life so I just thought whatever and shot an arrow while making sure not to hit you, but I didn’t think that you would jump in the gra.s.s to hide」
「I never would have thought that I would get aimed at before I reached the village as well」I tried being sarcastic but I didn’t get a reaction. Well, I think I might have just made everyone in the village my enemy though.「It’s not that. Sure, Suzuran’s story may have already been pa.s.sed along the village, but more importantly talks about you getting killed by Ichii-san have started to come out」I guess that’s to be expected. She’s his only daughter after all.「I have already prepared myself for that. As I was walking here, I thought that it would be nice if it’s just something like getting hit once」
「Wurst and Speck are worried for you too. We’re hoping that you can still show up later at the bar tonight」
「I hope that as well」I pa.s.sed by my house first to leave the rest of my stuff. After that, I took the bra.s.s knuckles and bag of candy, then headed towards Suzuran’s place. To be honest my steps feel really heavy now. I know that Ichii-san still isn’t home yet, but that isn’t stopping my stomach from hurting. When I reached Suzuran’s house I found her giving the chickens their dinner.
「Ah. Welcome back」
「I’m back. Since Suzuran doesn’t like really like accessories that much, I’ll just give you this bra.s.s knuckles as a present. And this candy is a souvenir from me」
「Thanks. I’ll brew you tea once I’m done with feeding, so just wait for a bit」
「Aa, thanks」With that said, I was going to leisurely watch her until she finished feeding the chickens, but it ended surprisingly quickly.
「I’m finished」As she said that, I followed her inside the house. As usual, I sat down and waited, then thanked her once she brought me my tea. After that, I mustered up my courage in order to ask about that matter.
「I heard it from Sc.h.i.n.ken on my way here, but it seems like it turned into some kind of major rumor」
「I guess so. I heard it from Mir and Kuchinas.h.i.+ though. Since it became quite exaggerated, I just let it be」
「Well, I guess that’s true, but you still need to explain it properly right?」
「I already did you know? To father, mother, and everyone else as well」By everyone, I guess she means my parents, the three idiots and her women friends. Well, that’s most likely the reason why the rumor propagated, but oh well, it can’t be helped.
「So, how did it go?」
「They were angry at first, but they eventually gave in so there are no problems over here. More importantly, what about Latte-san?」
「There’s also no problem on my side. She dropped by, but I escorted her home before I went and had my bath. She’s pretty clingy as usual though. Aside from me asking her to stop rummaging through my laundry, I don’t have any problems with her. And also, just so you know, we haven’t done that thing even once」
「Un, that’s good」With that, the two of us idly pa.s.sed the time by until Ichii-san arrived.
「Ou, I heard it from Suzuran but you sure have some guts to show your face around here」He complained about me showing my face, but it couldn’t be helped. She’s your only daughter after all, so I can somewhat understand how you feel. Even though I didn’t have a daughter in my previous life, it was me that caused this to happen.
「I also want to talk about it from my perspective, so I ask that you listen to it first」
「That att.i.tude of yours is admirable. Fine, I’ll hear you out」After that, I told him about what happened at that time from my perspective.「Well, I guess that’s pretty much the same as what Suzuran told us」
「The reason for this is because I couldn’t give a clear refusal. At that time, everything would have been fine if I just didn’t go to the red-light district」
「It can’t be helped. You were just going out with your workmates after all. If you didn’t go, your relations.h.i.+p with them would have been strained. In the end, no matter what the reason is, I think that what’s important is that Suzuran has already given her approval. If my daughter has already accepted it then there’s nothing more I could say. Still, if you make her cry, I’m going to use your face as a punching bag, got it?」
He said that while projecting a really terrifying thirst for blood at me but I shouldn’t waver.「I understand. I won’t make her cry」
「Good. What I can get from all the things you said earlier is that you at least have some integrity so I’ll just put my faith in that. But still, I can’t do anything about who falls in love with you, so you should discuss and decide how to move forward with Suzuran and that other girl」
「Understood」
「Yes」With that said, Ichii-san stood up, got two cups and sake from the shelf, and then proceeded to pour me some. Can I take this as a sign that I received his approval? In silence, we looked at each other’s eyes, brought our gla.s.ses together and drank it in one go. I wonder why we’re doing this men’s exchange? Ah, I guess I’m a man as well.
「Caam, I’ll just say this to you beforehand, but it seems like Hail is up to something. Take care of yourself. When that guy gets awfully quiet, it’s usually when he’s already boiling up inside. There’s a certain air around him so you can tell. He pretty much consented when Suzuran told him, but he’s probably thinking about something else」
「I understand. I’ll be careful」After saying that, I was about to go home when Ricoris-san came back.
「Geezー,
all you do is drink」
Hearing that, he replied「I only had this one cup!」
「Thanks for the treat」After saying that, I decided to go home.「Take care of yourself」
「Yes」
When I arrived home, mother was there. She started asking about Latte so I told her my side of the story as well. Since Suzuran and my story was pretty much the same, mother finally gave us consent.
「Anyway, rather than that, I’m more worried about your father. He was really mad about that you know?」
「I heard about it from Ichii-san earlier… I’ve already prepared myself」
「Really? If so, then that’s good…」While mother was preparing for dinner, father came back.
Seeing me, he said,「There’s no need for words, take up that specialty weapon of yours and go outside. I believe what Suzuran-chan said, that’s why I consented, but as a man if you’re going to take a woman as your wife, it’s unacceptable if you can’t protect them right? That’s why, show me your strength」After saying that, he wore his soft leather armor, equipped his short sword and buckler, then went outside.
「…that person stops listening when he gets like that. I don’t think he intends to kill, but you probably should still be careful」
「Got it mother. It’s just a little father and son quarrel」
「Don’t kill each other okay?」
「…yes」It feels like this isn’t going to be your usual conversation, but it can’t be helped. He probably won’t consent to it if we don’t fight. Thinking about that, I returned to my room and placed the crowbar by my waist and the machete on my back. Then, after taking the shovel in my hands I went outside. Standing 10 meters away from father, I gripped the shovel with both hands and took up my stance.
「As I said earlier, show me your strength」
「Understood. You won’t consent unless we do this right?」
「Yeah」After he said that, father charged towards me with his s.h.i.+eld in front. So fast! Jumping backwards, I raised a 2 meter square earth wall that was 50 centimeters thick to kill his momentum. Right? Left? Or perhaps above? As I was thinking about where father’s attack will come from, he just plunged straight through the wall. It seems like just by using his momentum he was able to break through. Him plunging into it while his eyes were still open just goes to show how serious he is. I was thinking about adding a stone wall, but it was already too late. That didn’t really kill his momentum, so when father got closer, he swung his sword from right to left. s.h.i.+t! Compared to our previous battle, his swing is several times faster! Grabbing the short end of the crowbar, I used it like a tonfa to block the sword. Since I can’t swing the shovel quick enough with one hand, I let go of it and produced an obsidian kunai in my hand. Flicking my wrist, I threw it while aiming at his face, then at the same time pulled out the machete to attack him with it, but he just knocked the kunai away with the pommel of his sword and blocked the machete with his s.h.i.+eld.
「…didn’t I tell you to come at me seriously?」
After taking a deep breath, I replied.「That was me being serious though」
「Stop thinking of me as your parent. Come at me with the intent to kill. Was defeating that high goblin just a fluke? Let me experience your magic first hand. Pick up your shovel as well. I’ll give you time to do it」
Father set up his s.h.i.+eld in front of him and got into a low stance.
Thinking that the high goblin thing had probably got even more exaggerated to some extent as it was pa.s.sed along, I took another deep breath.「Yeah, yeah. I guess father saw through me… Well then, I’ll take your challenge, just don’t complain to me later. Also, since I let go of it in the middle of battle, I don’t think I should pick it up. I’ll just leave the shovel where it is」
「Ha! Say that again after you surpa.s.s me」He lowered his stance even more and prepared to move towards me. With a quick glance at father’s feet, I immediately start preparing for my own attack.
『Image・under the feet of the person 7 meters in front of me・5cm diameter・ 20cm long ice spike』Activating that quick mental image, an ice spike pierced through father’s instep, causing blood to come out.
『I won’t be able to hear again, but I have to do this』Thinking that, I shut my eyes and activated 【Flashbang】 at the bottom of father’s feet to strip away his ability to see and hear. Seeing father with his sword and s.h.i.+eld in front of his face, I threw my obsidian knives at him. They pierced deeply into the back of his right hand and his left shoulder causing him to curse in pain, or at least that’s what I think. While taking my distance, I moved towards his back and hit his shoulder twice. After that, I took my distance again and went back to his front. I might get attacked if I remained close after all.
「『I got it. It’s my defeat』」
I haven’t regained my hearing yet, but judging from the way his lips moved while dropping his sword and s.h.i.+eld and pulling out the obsidian knives, I a.s.sumed that’s what he said, so I canceled the ice spike. Due to that, father dropped to his knees and collapsed on the ground. A stream of blood started coming out. Well, I guess it can’t be helped if father finds out. He wasn’t showing any signs of movement, so I hurriedly rushed over to use recovery magic on him, but with a terrifyingly loud sound, the door burst open. It seems like my hearing is starting to come back.
「What was that sound just now! Dear!」Seeing the ground covered in blood, mother ran over in panic.「Didn’t I tell you to stop before it turned out like this!」She started crying as she shook my shoulders.「Caam, carry him to the clinic!」
「There’s no need mother」I brushed mother’s hands away and held out my own hand against the wound.
「How can you say that! Are you saying that you’re okay with your father dying?!」While shaking my head, I said in a calming voice,「It’s not that」Having another one find out wouldn’t change anything I guess. As I used recovery magic, a bluish-white light shone causing the wound to start closing. Since I know to a certain extent about the human body’s structure and how muscles work, I used that knowledge to forcefully stimulate cell recovery. Thank G.o.d for j.a.panese health and physical education cla.s.ses. Still, that was the first time I saw my easygoing mother raising her voice like that. After a while, father opened his eyes and mumbled.
「Uu… uu. So I guess I lost…」
「That’s right. Didn’t I tell you to stop before it ends up like this!」
「Sorry Kasan. Even though there’s no pain, I can’t work for a while like this. I can’t use my right hand and I can’t even raise my left arm. I also can’t use both of my feet. Aa… this is the worst. I’m really sorry」Un… you’re not feeling any pain because I already used recover magic to heal your wound. I think a scar would still remain though.
「It’s alright dear. Caam has-」At that time, I placed my index finger on my lips to stop mother from talking.
「Keep this a secret from everyone okay?」Although there is n.o.body else around, I want her to tell him in a way only the two of them can hear. Because of that, mother got her lips close to father’s ear and whispered.
「Caam used his recovery magic to close your wound. That’s the reason why you don’t feel
feel any pain. Blood is no longer coming out and if you wait a while you’ll be able to move again. You might be surprised, but it seems like he doesn’t want anybody else to find out about it, so don’t tell anyone about it okay?」Covering his mouth, he bobbed his head up and down in reply. Checking to see if it really doesn’t hurt anymore, father open and closed his hand, raised his arm and rotated his ankles. Judging that it was probably alright, although a bit unsteady, he started standing up.
「Sorry ’bout that Caam. I doubted you. You are strong. Strong enough to protect those two」
「Yes」With that said, I went back inside the house and checked the condition of my equipment. The crowbar just had a slight dent on it. As expected from a lump of iron. After father took a bath to wash away the blood and dust, we both sat down and he poured some sake for me. Is this a peace offering? While I was thinking that, he also poured some for himself.
「With this we’ve patched things up」
「Yes」He raised his cup while saying that, so I did the same and then both of us drank it all up.
「Iyaa, who would have thought you’d grow this strong? It was impressive how quickly you decided to let go of that specialty weapon of yours in order to block my sword at the start of the fight. You reacted well on the spur of the moment」
「Well, I just thought that it would have been impossible to react to it with a two-handed weapon so I decided to switch」In FPS games, a single mistake in judgment can instantly result in death after all.
「By the way, why didn’t you pick up your weapon like I told you to?」
「I would have been attacked while I was picking it up in the middle of the fight. Unless I find the right opportunity or the fight has ended, I don’t think I’ll be picking it up. And I can’t do something like kicking it up and catching it in the air as well」
「That’s right. Are you really sure that you don’t have any experience fighting people? That I was the first?」
「Well… yeah. I guess」It was just an online compet.i.tion though.
「Well, you can be proud of winning against me. Back in our adventuring days, we were known as the powerful Ichii and the skillful Hail after all. They eventually changed it into ‘fierce G.o.d’ and ‘hurricane’ though」 [TL: The kanji is actually translated as gale or strong wind but it lacked impact compared to ‘fierce G.o.d’ so I just went with hurricane. And besides, ‘Hurricane Hail’ sounds cooler]」He chuckled and it looked like he was reminiscing something as he poured sake into his cup and drank it. I kinda feel like those names belong to mask-wearing, motorcycle-riding characters. Well, I guess it’s better if it’s something simple so that it’s easy to remember. Like the party name of those Dragon’s Fang guys who got sent to the front lines.
「Whatever you say, dear. What’s important is that both of you are alive. Caam, you’re going to go out drinking after this right? These are just side dishes but you should eat while you wait」Since I couldn’t refuse, I picked up some cheese and ate it.
「I thought you were a magician type who is only good at magic, but it seems like you can do other things as well. It would be better if I call you an all-rounder. Things that I can’t do… you can even use recovery magic as well」The end of his sentence trailed off, but it wasn’t like I couldn’t hear it. Because of that, I looked him in the eyes and once again placed my index finger on my lips. When he saw it, father nodded while giving a bitter smile.
「WHAT THE h.e.l.l HAPPENED HEREー!」Together with that loud voice was a violent knock on the door, so I hurriedly opened it. There, Wurst, who had a fl.u.s.tered look on his face, checked the condition of my entire body.「If Caam’s safe, then what about Hail-san? What the h.e.l.l did you do? What’s with that blood stain! He’s your father isn’t he!?」Ah, c.r.a.p. I forgot to remove the blood stains. My bad, my bad.
Taking a step back to let him look inside the house, he saw father drinking sake while having a curious look on his face. Seeing that, Wurst feebly dropped to the floor.
「Phew, so you two are safe… wait, if that’s the case then whose blood is that?」
Uh-oh, this is bad.
「W… well then, we’re off to the bar」While Wurst was standing up, I turned over the bloodstained ground with magic, then forcibly dragged him to the bar. It was still soft, but I’ll just tread on it tomorrow. Reaching the bar, the three idiots have gathered there like usual. Wait, if you include me, does that make us the four heavenly idiot kings? Well, whatever. After enjoying the sake for a while, Wurst finally broke the ice.
「It’s about time you tell us what happened」
「What happened?」
「I’m curious as well」
「When I was on my way to fetch this guy, I saw a pool of blood by their entryway. Thinking that maybe one of them was seriously injured, I hurried over, but when I looked inside their house both of them were fine」
「So fishyー」
「Muuー」Since it can’t be helped, I related to them what happened in front of our house earlier.「I’ve been keeping this a secret until now, but I can use recovery magic. I healed my father, left the blood there, and we went inside to have a drink. That’s the reason why both of us had no injuries when you saw us. Keep this a secret okay?」With this, the people who know my secret have increased.
「So, does that mean you beat Hail-san?」
「Well, yeah」
「Being able to defeat that Hail-san, as I thought, Caam sure is amazing!」
「Amazing!」
「Hey… it might be too late to ask this, but is my father really that amazing?」
「Of course! It’s the Hurricane Hail you know?」For some reason, Speck got fired up. Did he choose to use 2 daggers because he admired him? Well, father may have shown an uncool side to him for a moment but once you’re cool, you’re cool.「More importantly, how is she? That Latte-san from the rumors」
「I’m also curious about it」
「Un un」
「Ah, if I had to sum it up in a few words then she feels like a slightly gentler version of Tryapksan at first. That’s right, she frequently clings on to me to rub her face and she digs through my laundry basket to find something that has the scent of my sweat since according to her it has a 『nice smell~』. She’s also earnest」
「So she’s not like her at all!」Speck shouted as he hit the table with both of his hands. Well, I did say that it was only at first.「How old is she?」
「She’s says she’s 10 years older than me. Whether or not that’s true, I’m not sure」
「Isn’t that double of your age?」
「Well, she seems like she’s just a little bit over the age of 10 though」
「What does she look like?」
「She’s a head shorter than me with white, shoulder-length hair, cute, has a low level of exposed skin even though she’s a succubus, and she has more of a chest compared to Suzuran」
「It would have been better if you died」
「Un un」
「That’s why, Caam, it’s on you today」
「HAA!? Are you serious?」
「「「Thanks for the treat」」」After reluctantly paying the bill, I went home and decided to make another hair ornament for Latte. She kept telling me to make one for her too after all. I guess I shouldn’t really show preferential treatment. If I made Suzuran a suzuran flower made of gla.s.s, for her
for her it would be… Milk. I mean… what else can I really do?
I can’t really think about anything else but that famous flower. It’ll also suit her white hair I guess. There’s not a lot of latte-colored flowers and most of them don’t look that pretty… I guess I’ll just go with that. There probably isn’t anything that wouldn’t suit her.
While thinking about that, I imagined the three colors of the Cosmos flower in my head. I went with pink as the main color and a little bit of white and red to balance it out. It was unexpectedly troublesome because of the large number of petals. It was even more work than just attaching a green stem to a white orb.
【Skill・Craftsmans.h.i.+p: 3】 acquired.
I won’t say anything about that anymore. With this, the hair clip is finished. I hope it doesn’t break when I go back.
Hmmー I guess that’s it for today.
-Hail’s POV-
「Like I said earlier, show me your strength」
After saying that to my son, I hoisted my s.h.i.+eld in front of me. I guess the distance is about 10 large strides away.
「I got it. You won’t consent if we don’t do this right?」
「Yeah」I ran at full speed and with just three strides left, an earth wall appeared in front of me.
How foolish. He just simply elevated the soil and turned it into a wall. I was able to see how thick it is just before it rose up, so considering the wall’s thickness and my current speed, there would be no problems if I plunged into it as is. Dirt might get into my eyes a bit but it can’t be helped. I can’t close my eyes since I don’t know what my son has set up for me. After preparing myself, I broke through the earthen wall and started my attack, but my son was surprised for some reason. Like that, I swung my sword horizontally. I’ll stop before I hit bone but this is more or less a serious swing so I’m not sure what he’ll do. Forgive me if your arm falls off… However, if he gets defeated like this, he won’t be able to protect his women. Now then… what will you do? I don’t know what he was thinking but he took the nail puller on his left hand and lined it by his arm to block my sword. Then he dropped his heavy shovel. I thought it would have been impossible for him to block it earlier. Excellent quick thinking. After that, he used magic that I haven’t seen before to produce throwing knives. However, he just threw it by flicking his wrist so there wasn’t much force behind it. It was disappointing to be honest. He also pulled out his machete at the same time to attack me with it, but I just dealt with the flying objects by knocking them down with the pommel of my sword and blocked the machete with my s.h.i.+eld. Did he throw it with his wrist just for this? I can now understand why there wasn’t much force behind it, but if he trained a bit more so that his actions would be smoother, then that would be a pretty good combination attack.
「Didn’t I tell you to come at me seriously?」
「That was me being serious just now though」
My son took a deep breath. I guess I should talk a bit more to give him time to prepare.「Stop thinking of me as your parent. Come at me with the intent to kill. Was defeating that high goblin just a fluke? Let me experience your magic first hand. Pick up your shovel as well. I’ll give you time to do it」So that I’m ready to start anytime, I raised up my s.h.i.+eld, lowered my stance and waited.
「Yeah, yeah. I guess father saw through me… Well then, I’ll take your challenge, just don’t complain to me later. And also, since I let go of it in the middle of battle, I don’t think I should pick it up so I’ll just leave the shovel where it is」
「Ha! Say that again after you surpa.s.s me」I think what he’s saying is correct. Be it one-on-one or a melee, you can’t just pick up something once you drop it. But still, I’m looking forward to how he’ll do without his main weapon. I lowered my stance even more and decided to wait for him to come at me since I was looking forward to what he’ll do. Looking at my son’s eyes, I eagerly waited, but after looking at my feet for an instant, he suddenly closed his eyes. To be honest, I was curious why he made that face but I have to concentrate right now. While I was thinking about that, a sharp pain suddenly ran through my feet.
『What’s this?』Thinking that, I looked down and saw something piecing through my thick leather boots. It was an ice spike-like object thing sticking out of my feet. It’s the worst. I didn’t think he could cast his magic this far. I could have still fought even though there’s no sign of those things coming off, but it was already too late. An intense blinding light and a deafening sound filled the area all of a sudden. It sounded even louder than a large monster hitting a building and it wouldn’t lose out to a dragon’s roar. With that simultaneous attack, I can’t see anything even though my eyes are open and my ears feel like I’m inside a really quiet room. I can’t do anything about it. Since I had no choice, to defend myself, I covered my face with my sword and s.h.i.+eld. However, that was a mistake. After I did that, I felt something hit the back of my right hand and my left shoulder. It felt really hot, like there was a foreign object stuck in my body. It’s probably those throwing knives he made using magic. Throwing out curse words, I thought that I would have been able to prevent that if my armor just extended over my shoulders but I didn’t like it since I couldn’t raise my hands that way. I regret it, but it can’t be helped. I don’t know what’s happening right now and I can’t hear anything so I can’t decide what action to take. While I was like that, I felt two hits to my shoulder from the back.
ah, my son is behind me right now so I’m sure that he can just deal with me who is now helpless whenever he wants.「It’s my loss」I don’t know if he could hear that but when I dropped my sword and s.h.i.+eld and pulled out the knives, the uncomfortable feeling on my feet was gone. He probably made the ice spikes disappear. Because of that, I fell forward. Somebody’s shaking my body. Stop it, blood would flow out even more. Aah, how am I supposed to work tomorrow? My hands and feet are useless now as it is. Recovery magic and medicines are not omnipotent and it’s expensive as well. Because of the pain in my hand, shoulder, and feet, it seems like I fainted for a bit. When I opened my eyes, my son was looking after me. My wife was crying. Ah-ah, I made her sad.
「So I guess I lost…」
「That’s right. Didn’t I tell you to stop before it ends up like this!?」
「Sorry Kasan. Even though there’s no pain, I can’t work for a while like this. I can’t use my right hand and I can’t even raise my left arm. I also can’t use both my feet. Aah… this is the worst. I’m really sorry」It won’t just end with my apology since I also won’t I also won’t be able to earn any income starting tomorrow.
「Dear, it’s alright. Caam already-」
Then, after my son stopped my wife from talking and with a finger on his lips, he said.「Keep this a secret from everyone okay?」
With that, my wife came close to my ear and said「Caam used recovery magic to close your wounds so you shouldn’t feel any more pain because of that. Blood is no longer coming out, but you should still not move around for a while. You might be surprised, but it seems like he doesn’t want anybody else to find out about it so don’t tell anyone okay?」Did she cover my mouth with my hand so that I won’t interrupt halfway? After moving my head up and down, my mouth was finally released. Hearing that, I tried it out, and as if everything that happened was just a lie, I could now move my hands once again and raise my arm. The hole in my leg was closed as well. The color is still a bit different where the wound was healed, but it’s not like you can easily close up such a big injury just like that. Seriously, what the heck is with that guy.
Well, I guess I should start acting like a father from now on.「Sorry about that Caam. I doubted your abilities. You are strong so I’m sure you’ll be able to protect those two」
「Yes」Because my body is covered in blood and dust, I decided to enter the bath so that I can feel refreshed. I guess we should drink sake after that. Drinking sake together with my son who’s all grown up, I yearned for a situation like this you know? While thinking about that, I took out the sake and some cups from the shelf. Then, I poured sake into the cups for me and my son. I feel like he should be the one to pour my share but I’ll just ignore that. It’s embarra.s.sing after all.
「With this, we have reconciled」
「Yes」
I was the only one embarra.s.sed. Oh well. Raising our cups, we drank it all in one go.「Iyaa, who would have thought you’d grow this strong. It was impressive how quickly you decided to let go of that specialty weapon of yours in order to block my sword at the start of the fight. You were able to react well on the spur of the moment」
「Well, I just thought that it would have been impossible to react to it with a two-handed weapon so I decided to switch」So both of us thought of the same thing. I may have been underestimating my son a little.
「By the way, why didn’t you pick up your weapon like I told you to?」
「I would have been attacked while I was picking it up in the middle of the fight. Unless I find the right opportunity or the fight has ended, I don’t think I’ll be picking it up. I can’t do something like kicking it up and catching it in the air as well.」That’s certainly right. It seems like we thought about the same thing in this part as well.
「That’s right. Are you really sure that you don’t have any experience fighting people? That I was the first?」
「Well… yeah, I guess」He may have experience fighting monsters, but this being his first interpersonal battle might be a lie. If this was his first then he’d be terrifying once he gains some experience.
「Well, you can be proud of winning against me. Back in our adventuring days, we were known as the powerful Ichii and the skillful Hail after all」I got embarra.s.sed while saying that.「Well, they eventually changed it into ‘fierce G.o.d’ and ‘hurricane’ though」Since I was now embarra.s.sed anyway, I also said that to turn it into a funny story while under the influence of alcohol. As I chuckled, I poured some more sake into my cup.
「Whatever you say, dear. What’s important is that both of you are alive. Caam, you’re going to go out drinking after this right? These are just side dishes but you should eat while you wait」He meets up with those three to drink whenever he comes back. They also did the same last time. Well, it’s been a while since they last met so they probably have some stuff they want to talk about.
「I thought you were a magician type who is only good at magic, but it seems like you can do other things as well. It would be better if I call you an all-rounder. Things that I can’t do… you can even use recovery magic as well」It seems like he heard it since he once again placed his finger on his lips. Seeing that, I just nodded while letting out a bitter smile.
「What the h.e.l.l happened hereー!」Along with that voice, there was a violent knock on the door so my son went to deal with it.「If Caam is safe then what about Hail-san! What the h.e.l.l did you do? What’s with that blood stain? He’s your father isn’t he!?」How noisy. Well, I guess I used to be an idiot like that back in the day. I already lost, so I guess he can just do as he wants. While thinking that, I drank sake to show him I was alright as he looked from the entrance. My son sure is terrible at his endgame though. Wurst-kun then feebly sat on the ground.「Phew, so you two are safe… wait, if that’s the case then whose blood is that?」
「W… well then, we’re off to the bar」I guess I’ll just leave the rest of the troublesome things to my son. While laughing in my mind, I decided to go and have a drink at Ichii’s place.
「Sleet, I’ll just go to Ichii’s place to have a drink」
「You just got your injury cured, so don’t overexert yourself okay?」
「Yeah, I’ll make sure not to fall over」Although I said that, as I was about to go out, the footing that I stepped on turned soft that I almost fell down. Was this done to forcibly remove the traces of blood I wonder? He sure did a terrible job cleaning up. Did he decide to remove the traces of blood for now and just tread on it tomorrow? Well, that’s fine. I guess I’ll just tread on it for a bit. After that, Ichii and I drank, and influenced by my drunkenness, I let what happened at home and about being able to use recovery magic slip. Of course, Ricoris-san and Suzuran-chan also heard it. Sorry, my son, it seems like your father is a big idiot.
~Idle Talk~ In the bar.「Kon really looked like he was going to die, didn’t he? Since he’s going back to his village, he’s going to meet that Suzuran girl’s father right? If that girl’s like that then how strong would her father be?」
「He can probably easily squish something like your head, can’t heー?」
「S-scary」
「…let’s just pray that he comes back alive from that. We can’t do anything else but that」Everyone nodded while drinking sake with their work friend.
「Still, she sure was a cute girl wasn’t she?」 「S-she certainly is cute」
「But even so, if her parents are scary, I’ll just have to give up. I don’t want to die-ssu. If Kon’s stories are true, then her father looks really scary you know?」
「But still. It’ll be bad for him either way, right? There are a lot of cases in society where it doesn’t work out well after all. I guess it’s fine to treat him if he comes back alive from that」
「Right! I don’t like being sad, so let’s just drink to that! Let’s pray that Kon comes back from there alive as well!」
「「「Ou!」」」With that, the sign of the start of their second round resounded in the bar.
