Soothing Waters

AN: Yeah I messed up, It was 3 weeks until the Siltvelt wave, not two.

"Back again I see."

"Shut up and send me back Teshub."

"I'll let that snide comment slide, but I'm not the one who sends you out."

"Then what about those ball things?"

"Technically. They give dying heroes their wishes and send them off. The reason why you came here so many times was that you came close to death's door."

"So am I dead this time?"

"It's hard to tell. But if you die I'll die as well, so death is not an option."

Teshub tapped Naofumi's chest with his claw.

"The hell are you-."

"I suggest keeping our deal. Until then stop dying."

Naofumi felt a jolt of electricity surge throughout his body.

/~/

"Guys, he's waking up!"

Opening his eyes. Naofumi sees his usual group, along with a few more watching him from the side. Sakura and Ake were nowhere to be found, however, but Naofumi could care less at the moment, as he was still salty about one thing.

"So he can send me out!"

Raphtalia hugged Naofumi's shoulder. Her usual armor was off but Naofumi didn't notice nor care about Raphtalias advances, he was only searching for a few people.

"Sakura, where is she!? And Ake too I guess."

"Don't worry, they're in separate rooms being treated. They've been cursed pretty badly."

Naofumi held his head low. He remembered what happened, and he could never forget the burns that he inflicted upon his companions. He even felt sorry for Ake, the poor kid was only doing the best he could to make amends with the hero, and he got burned for it.

"How long was I out for?"

"Three days. The curse on Raphtalia was simple to treat since she wasn't directly hit. Ake and Sakura on the other hand."

The nightstand moved as Naofumi used it to get out of bed. The pain was manageable, nothing that would keep him from standing, but still, pain nonetheless.

"Woah. Master, you shouldn't be standing." Raphtalia complained.

"Yeah, you should be resting."

"I've rested for three days. If I caused all of this, then I'm going to deal with the patients myself."

"But Naofumi-"

"No." Exiting the room, Naofumi went to the door next to them and reached for the doorknob. He stopped as he turned it, hearing voices inside.

"Hey, that hurts!"

"Of course, it hurts. It's not a cotton ball."

Then use a smaller dose next time."

"The pain will be the same, it doesn't matter how much I use it."

"The hell is going on in there?" The door closed as quickly as it opened, leaving Naofumi with some perplexing questions about what just happened.

In the short time, the door was opened, Naofumi's eyes witnessed the scene in the room. Sakura's dress was off leaving her with only her Sarashi and Pants on. Ake was also in the room applying a rag of water that caused the black patches on Sakura's back to go up into smoke. This method seemed to make the dark burns become lighter every time he pressed it, so Naofumi assumed that it was holy water. But did something else happen before, why were they both shirtless? Naofumi didn't know how to respond, other than to let it be.

"Naofumi I heard a slam, what happened."

"Nothing for us in there."

"What do you do?"

"Nothing for us in there!" Naofumi turned away and started to walk towards the inn exit.

"Naofumi, where are you going?"

"To the nearest body of water. I need a break… and a bath."

"There's a hot spring near. You can go there."

"Perfect, take me there now."

/~/

"The place looks pretty small and empty."

"It's the afternoon. Most people would be working right about now."

"Sounds perfect then. I'll see you guys when we get out?" Naofumi went through the boy's entrance, leaving Raphtalia and the girls of Ake's group outside. The rest of the boys decided to stay in the inn to recover, leaving Naofumi by himself. Or so he thought.

Inside the springs were the clothes of another.

"Social activity, great."

Looking into the bath the room was pretty steamy, but Naofumi was able to deduce that someone was definitely inside. He was then in for a surprise when he got closer, revealing the figure to be Ren."

"Why the hell is he here?" Naofumi thought as he rubbed his eyes. Ren was still there and was getting in the bath as well.

"Naofumi, aren't you supposed to be in Siltvelt?"

"I can ask you the same thing, aren't you supposed to be in Zeltoble."

"I was going but things got… complicated."

/~/

Stepping into the bath, Raphtalia watches as a girl with blue hair and a purple lizard-like tail soaks in with a Demi-human dog and her dragon. The girl seemed to be saddened by something like she'd been crying for hours until she had no tears left.

"Hey, I remember you! You were that girl Sakura tried to kick!"

"Likewise. I remember seeing you with the shield hero. Names Draco"

"Raphtalia. Who's the girl?"

"Oh, this is Wyndia. She's a… special case."

/~/

"Man, I don't know what to do. I killed the girl's dad, the city banned me for preventing them from getting the treasure, and now I have to take care of a child! I don't know how to do that!"

"Alright get off." Naofumi pushed Ren off him. Despite being in the water, Ren got down on his knees and splashed his face in the water. He tried to speak but bubbles rose up instead.

"Above water please."

"You gotta help me Naofumi. I can't take care of a child and her 4 dragons, I can barely take care of myself. Just yesterday I forgot my wallet and my party members had to pay for me."

"The hell are you asking me for?!"

"Don't you deal with kids on a daily basis, I'm sure you're good at that."

"Yeah, doesn't mean I wanted to. Just apologize and move on."

"Bro, I killed her father. Dragon or human, that's not something you can just apologize for."

"Well first of all, you should not do every quest you see without question. No sane person will kill a dragon without details."

"To be fair, it is a dragon."

"Oh really. Was the town panicked or distraught?"

"No."

"We're any buildings damaged or scorched because of this "dragon" terrorizing them?"

"N-no."

"And was the drake being hostile?"

"Of course. It shot black flames at me once I refused to… leave… oh shit."

"You see Ren. This is why they test deductive reasoning in school. You were so caught up in your own hype as "sword hero" that you forgot to actually think about what your actions may cause. It doesn't matter who it comes from, 9 times out of 10, they're trying to manipulate you."

Ren could only sigh. He would try to argue, but after being wrong twice he had no words to counter with.

"You're right. I guess what I did was foolish."

"You guess?"

"Okay it was foolish. Naofumi you're hated, what should I do?"

"Well first of all fuck you. Second, the obvious first choice is apologizing to the child. Whatever you do after that is up to you."

"Okay, I'll try. But she's probably gonna resent me for the rest of my life."

"Oh totally. She's not gonna let you live this down ever."

"Ughh. Why does this have to be so complicated?"

"Because it emphasizes the point that this isn't a game. Actions have consequences, and you pretty much triggered all of them at once somehow. Speaking of which, why are you here exactly?"

"Oh. Well I heard this was a Demi human territory, so I tried to-."

"Abandon the kid to someone else."

"Don't put it like that!"

"But that's exactly what you did."

"I didn't go through with it. Draco wouldn't let me, and I thought it was an asshole move midway through."

"Really, what gave that away."

"Not helping. What about you? Why are you here?"

"The Pope tried to kill me so I killed him first."

"Wha, how it's only been two days! You don't even have an attack power."

"Let's just say things got… complicated."

"How so?"

"Burned half my party with cursed flames. I don't even know what that shield was, but it came before I died."

"A weapon unlocked before death?"

"Probably. I wouldn't try it though, it could have been a coincidence."

"Either way, that's one way to start off your journey. Welp I'm done with serious talk, time to get into more manly things."

"Ren, what are you going on about?"

"Who have you done it within your party?"

"Really?"

"Come on, it's serious. You have two perfect choices, why not?"

"Because one's an idiot and the other is an adult and a half. I wouldn't even touch Sakura with a 5ft pole."

"Your talking figurative or your-"

"You know what I mean! Besides, would you do it with that dragon of yours."

"Well." Ren put his hand on his chin as he thought about the question.

"You're actually considering it?"

"I mean why not. Who wouldn't want to have sex with a dragon girl."

"Here's a tip Ren, don't even try. I've seen many of my friends fool around with girls just because, and they ended up being fucked over in the end. As an adult, heed my advice."

"Come on, it's just a 4 year age gap. You can't have that much wisdom over me."

"I do, because I'm not the one killing girls' fathers."

"And I'm not the one becoming wanted by an entire country for killing its main religious figure."

"That one ain't my fault, he had it coming. Besides, I'll only consider your experience when you finally get a job."

"Hey, I have a job."

"Adventurers guild does not count."

"I fight monsters for a living, surely it counts."

"I mean customer service. Once you get through that, if you can survive that then you can pretty much do anything."

"You know, that probably explains your lack of knowledge on games."

"Oh yeah, like I knew I'll be isekai to this place. I worked a job because most people don't have the liberty to live with their parents after-'' Naofumi's mind went numb as he felt a migraine come from out of nowhere.

"Shield hero, She is near I can feel it."

"Damn, did this have to come with a headache."

"I forcefully entered your mind, migraines are to be expected."

"Have I ever said that I hate you?"

"Plenty of times."

"Good it still stands."

"We'll since our deal is about to be finished, But I might as well give this to you now."

Naofumi's mind suddenly felt clearer, like some of the rage in his body just got pushed down a bit.

"That should fix the suppression I broke a while back. Cursed weapons are dangerous to utilize, so I agree with the bird when she said to not abuse its power."

"That's it. Just a replacement for the problem you caused."

"I also gave your body something else. But you can figure that out once you get there."

/~/

"Yo, you there?" Naofumi woke up to Ren snapping his face. Naofumi promptly slapped his fingers away and reached into the shield.

"What the hell happened, you just spaced out."

"Long story that I don't have the patience to explain. Just give this to your drake, it'll be important later."

"Hey, isn't this the shard from the shield I gave you?"

"Yes, it's your issue now."

"O…kay?"

"Trust me, it's complicated." Naofumi handed over the shard Ren, and got out of the bath. Walking out to the changing rooms he turned to Ren once more.

"This may be the last time we meet for a while, so don't mess anything up."

"Says the wanted man."

"Says the father killer."

"Low blow man."

"And yours wasn't?"

"Fair enough." Ren replied as he sunk into the depths of the water.

/~/

"Oh Naofumi, you're back." Ake said. He had just been talking to someone before directing his attention.

"Ake…" Both gave a silent stare to each other.

"So about earlier."

"Hey, I saved you, you saved me, so we're pretty much even at this point. I have no shame when I say I give you my blessing."

"What, no we didn't do anything. I was just applying holy water to her back."

"And you didn't get someone else why?"

"Well… umm." The boy's face started to turn red before deflecting once more. "I was the only one in the room, I had no choice."

"Sure. So what now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well we have a boy slot full after… whatever. Anyways I need a knight of Melromarc so I can squeeze all the information out of you."

"Is that your way of saying. "Oh Ake, thanks for saving me. Want to join." Makes you sound desperate."

"Not the case. Just didn't want to separate that love bird from you. I'll never hear the end of it."

"We're not even dating!"

"Sounds like denial."

"No it's not! I'm surprised anyone can party with you, you're a nightmare to deal with."

"A nightmare that has slaves?" Naofumi took out ink from his shield. Ake knew exactly what was gonna happen and started to back up, only for him to bump into someone else.

"Perhaps we could reconsider."

"Not an option. Sakura, get 'em!"

/~/

Meanwhile with Itsuki,

"You know, all these monsters seem pretty basic. I was expecting more wonderful creatures, but instead I saw a mule."

"Don't worry lord bow, this is just the mundane section for the commoners. The real section is back here." Opening the curtain, a new area of the tent is revealed.

"This is my exotic section. Monsters that you won't see everyday. Dragons, alligators. I even have Cetus offshore at another."

"One of those seems vastly different from the others."

"Aww yes. The dragons would usually be put in the mundane section, but they keep eating the chickens when I look away."

"Hey, is that?"

"Aww. Have your eyes caught something desirable?"

"This is a Pegasus. I haven't seen one until now."

"Aww the winged horse. This one was taken from the wave, very unique but also very dangerous. 3 owners have returned it with several broken limbs, definitely would not recommend it."

"But if I am to tame it, I'll be able to have a flying mount. I can see it mount."

An image of himself flying on and shooting arrows comes into his mind. He can't be self absorbed if he's the hero right?

"I'll take it."

"Wonderful. If someone were to be able to tame the wild beast, it'll surely be a hero. It's just a small payment of 7 gold, discounted included."

"The price to pay for a special mount. You better be right about this Naofumi."

/~/

Short Story: It takes a village, Moto edition

"This is insane. I already lord the town to Ryute."

"Things tend to change. The decree from the king makes it more clear." A knight who was in the room with them handed over a document.

"Due to the brave efforts of Motoyasu Kitamura, the spear hero. The desired land of Ryute shall fall under his lordship."

The old man didn't even finish the decree as he bawled up the paper.

"This is outrageous. Our town is small. Clearly this has to be a mistake!"

"The king makes no mistakes, and I'm getting very impatient for you being in my office."

"But this is the lord-." The old man is hit on the head by one of the "guards", and is dragged out the back door.

"Senile old man." Changing her face, Myne walks out the front entrance, and waved to Motoyasu.

"Lord Moto, Lord Moto!"

"Myne, what's up."

"The transfer went smoothly. The lord even vacated the office so you can take command quickly."

"Wow, that's perfect. If he is still around, I could get compensation money."

"Umm he's not here. Said he's going far to visit the grandchildren. You know old people."

"He left that quickly. Sounds irresponsible but I get it, family first. I'll just work to make this into a proper village!" Motoyasu ran off to help a few carts. Unbeknownst to him, Myne was truly the only one calling the shots."

/~/

Meanwhile with Ake,

"I would have said yes." Ake whined with a new tattoo on his chest.