Sendai Yuusha wa Inkyou Shitai

Here is my first chapter after three months. Please enjoy.

The Preceding Hero and the Public Bath 1

People, no matter who they are, are dream chasers that chase after dreams.

Embracing dreams is people’s nature.

Therefore……――

「Beyond here……It is there.」

There are no people that stop people that are pursuing their dreams.

「A spectacle……That no one has ever seen before, and, one that has been longed for……っ」

A man is climbing up a wall.

Little, little, little by little. That progress is something small. However, as if to say that he doesn’t know how to give up, the man desperately continues to climb.

A precipitous cliff, little by little, he continues to climb that wall where it’s difficult to even get a grip on it.

The skin on his fingers feel like it’ll tear at any time.

But the man continues to climb.

In order, to seize his dream.

「……っ!」

However, even in uncertainty, that wall, which stands at attention, hinders the man’s advances.

That already hard to climb wall, after a certain time, becomes super flat to the point that hands slip.

「っ……」

The man’s extended hand slip, his posture is broken, and he falls.

*Bassha~n!!* (Splash!!)

There was water ahead of where he had fallen, so he slapped onto the water’s surface, and although a waterspout rose up, it was not something that had anything to do with the man’s life and death.

Because he had fallen starting with his face, it was at the level of some prickling pain on his face.

「Damn it, even though it was just a little bit more!」

The man pulled his face out from the water and stood up.

The wall that he had been climbing until just a few seconds ago, was covered in a dense fog and couldn’t be seen all that well.

「To think that they wouldn’t put a rat blocker but a peeping blocker there……っ」

Anguish appeared on the man’s face.

Slamming into a wall that great effort could do nothing about, this time, he could only resign.

「……Even so, even so, I will……！」

But the man extended his hands out once again.

The man knew of nothing but to advance.

「I won’t give up on my dream (the women’s bath)!」

The man, Yashiro Yuu started to climb that wall once again.

Seeking the spectacle of his dream (the woman’s bath) that he still had not fulfilled.

◇

「Yuu, do you want to go and have a morning bath?」

Her white skin, maybe because it carried some heat, was a bit red, and her breath had slightly shorter intervals than usual.

Shedding sweat on her cheek, Sylvia wiped the sweat on her face with a towel that she was handed by a maid and made that proposal.

「A morning bath? ……Eh, that’s fine but, what? Is it a mixed bath? Are we going in together? Just the two of us?」

Manー, certainly, I knew that Sylvia thought about me without hating me, but to think that she would take that first step and turn it into that kind of relationship. Once I thought that, Sylvia’s face went bright red and she started shouting.

「Wha, stu, there is no way that would happen, you fool!」

「Well, I mean, it’s because you asked if I wanted to go and have a morning bath.」

Damn it, what a short-lived joy.

「Good grief……There are public baths in this town of Galarie, you see. And it would seem that there are tourists that visit with that as the purpose.」

「So people come just to enter a bath?」

「It is not like I have seen it directly myself, but it seems that it is beautiful, as well as vast enough that one would not even consider it a bath. The public bath is something sacred in the Ulquiorra Faith after all. It is said that some of the deeply religious ones would settle down on this land from how comfortable the baths are.」

In the Holy Ulquiorra Faith, it seems that the first generation saintess was a matchless bath lover. Because of that, baths are surprisingly regarded as sacred or something.

「Come to think of it, I haven’t gone into a bath since I came into this world……」

In this world, a bath enters the category of being a luxury item. It’s common knowledge that you would only be given a bucket of hot water and a towel at the inns after all.

「Well then, I guess we should go.」

I’m also a Japanese person. Let’s get enjoy having a bath after such a long time.

Afterwards, Sylvia and I, taking along several escorts, were headed to Galarie’s public baths but,

「Is it alright to not take Leo along?」

The three escorts that Sylvia chose were all female. So that the three Imperial Guard Knights wouldn’t stand out, they only had light armor that covered their chests, gauntlets, and were armed with a sword.

「It is because he has the position that leads the Imperial Guard corps.」

「And the real reason is?」

「It will definitely turn into something troublesome if we take him along.」

「That’s trueー」

She must have been teased by Leo, who is a criminal that takes delight in seeing people’s reactions to his crimes, at times that I didn’t know about. He really hasn’t changed from three years ago.

「What, although they do not reach Leo’s level, these people are quite skilled. Be at ease.」

When Sylvia praised them, the three Imperial Guard Knights proudly puffed out their chests. Ohh, their chests that are hidden by light armor went *tayun* (jiggle) and shook!

Ability aside, in the size of their chests, it’s Sylvia’s loss.

「Just now, a sign of rudeness was……」

Concerning the matter of how sharp the intuition of the female camp that is surrounding me.

「L, let’s hurry up and go to the public baths or whatever, Sylvia!」

She might notice that I was making a hard look at the chests of the three attendants. Because of that, I tried making a voice that had a somewhat invigorated impression to it.

「Fufu, what an impatient fellow. Well, wait a second, right now……It would seem that he has come.」

Sylvia took her gaze off of me. When I looked at where her gaze had gone to, I saw a young boy that was a couple years younger than us running towards us.

「So it’s Marco.」

That’s right, it was the kid that stole my wallet, Marco.

「He is originally a resident of this town after all. I wanted to ask about the bath manners, you see.」

「Manners? Like “don’t swim”?」

「I think that swimming in the bath is questionable as a person before it is a problem with manners though?」

「I think that wanting to swim once you enter a vast bath is part of the nature of people.」

I won’t swim at times where there are other people, but at times when I’m alone in it, I would definitely swim.

「Your Highness-nee-cha~n!」

Marco found Sylvia and came running while waving his hand.

「Marco, we have been waiting for you!」

In response to that, Sylvia also waved back.

At that moment, I could tell that the atmosphere of Sylvia’s three attendants had hardened. It didn’t show on their faces, but they probably had some thoughts on how Marco had taken an overly familiar attitude to Sylvia who was the Empress.

Huh? Come to think of it, it feels like that kind of thing didn’t happen to me, who has been utterly over-familiar with her……Is it because I’m treated like a house guest?

「Sorry, you Highness-nee-chan, the place has been awfully crowded today, ya see. Well, I got that everyone was excited because the final preliminary round was bein’ fought, but it was more than I thought.」

「Do not mind it, Marco. ……Now then, seeing as how Marco has come, let us head out immediately.」

When I nodded to Sylvia who was looking at me, Sylvia cheerfully smiled and started walking.