After that, Himeka-san took Touka away, and I was told to follow by Shuuji-san, who brought me to the dojo.
As we walked in, the disciples began bowing one after another.
「Instructor! Thank you for your hard work!」 they called out as they bowed their heads.
Then, Shuuji-san took a sword from the wall and handed it to me. It looked like a replica, right?
Seeing my concern, Shuuji-san said, 「It’s been blunted. Don’t worry.」
No, no, I just got discharged from the hospital today…
He picked up another replica and walked to the center of the dojo. So I guess running away isn’t an option now…
I gave up and walked to the center too. Just as I was getting used to the feel of holding a sword for the first time, he said, 「Here I come.」
Before I could blink, Shuuji-san’s blade was already in front of me. I quickly raised mine to defend, but it was easily knocked out of my hands.
「――――――Ow.」
My hand went numb from the impact.
「Pick it up」 he said coldly.
After that, I was struck down by horizontal slashes, knocked back by diagonal strikes, sent flying by upward cuts, and when I tried to create distance, he used iaijutsu to blast me away.
Bit by bit, I started to imitate his movements and respond to the attacks. When I did, Shuuji-san gave a grin and sped up. After about two hours of this, he even added kicks and throws and beat me down thoroughly.
「Alright. That’s enough.」
With those words, Shuuji-san brought the session to an end.
「Follow me.」
He cast a healing spell on me. I stood up and followed him to a storage room in the corner of the dojo. Inside, there was a door with an electronic lock. Shuuji-san unlocked it.
When we entered, there were all sorts of old weapons, likely real ones, arranged neatly throughout the room.
At the very back were four swords on display. Shuuji-san took one of them and handed it to me.
「This is one of the swords passed down from my father. Take it.」
「I can’t. I could never accept something like this.」
「It’s fine. If you carry this, both I and my father would be proud. My father forged this sword when Haruka and Touka were born. Of the other three swords, two are for Haruka and Touka.」
「Then all the more reason I can’t accept it.」
「No, it’s fine. This one was made for the man who would become their husband.」
I drew the sword in my hand. A beautiful hamon wave pattern rippled along the blade, and perhaps because of the story I’d just heard, I could feel a strange warmth emanating from it.
「That sword will surely protect you, Yuuki-kun. And I’m entrusting you with my daughters. This was also my will as a father.」
「Understood. I’ll accept it with gratitude.」
Shuuji-san gave me a gentle smile, then handed me another blade—a short dagger with no tsuba or flashy decorations.
「This is a protective dagger, something like a good-luck charm. You probably won’t need to use it, but keep it with you.」
「Thank you. I’ll take good care of it.」
「Alright, let’s head back. Everyone’s probably worried.」
◇◆◇◆
「Hey, you’re back, Yuuki!」
「Welcome back, Yuuki-kun.」
「Welcome home, Yuuki-kun.」
「Welcome back, Yuuki.」
「Welcome home, Yuuki-kun～」
「Welcome back, Yuuki-oniisan (onii-chan)!」
「Welcome home, Yuuki.」
Everyone greeted me with warm smiles and relaxed faces—they’d clearly settled in.
Shuuji-san stepped forward to where my dad and Seigo-san were and bowed deeply, back straight.
「Shinji-san, Seigo-san. Please take care of my daughters.」
「Shuuji-san, we’re counting on you to look after my idiot son too.」 Dad replied with a bow of his own.
「And Shuuji-san, my daughter will likely be in your care as well, so thank you in advance」 Seigo-san added as he bowed.
While all the fathers were bowing to one another, Himeka-san suddenly stood up with a cheerful voice:
「Since this is such a joyful occasion, let’s celebrate together!」
My mom and Elina-san also stood up, saying,
「I’ll help out～」
「Me too～」
and followed after Himeka-san—likely toward the kitchen.
At some point, the dad group had shifted gears completely.
「Shall we take a bath first? We have a large communal bath here.」
「A big bath? Sounds great.」
「Let’s all scrub each other’s backs!」
They disappeared down the hallway together.
And just like that, I was left with Hikari, Haruka, Touka—and myself. The four of us.
Now then… what should I do? I was just thinking that when—
BAM! I was hit with impacts from both sides.
「W–wait… Haruka? Touka too, what’s going on?」
I was caught off guard, frozen in place as the two of them clung tightly to me. While I stood there, bewildered, Hikari came over as well.
「These girls were worried sick about you, you know. Just accept it already.」
They weren’t crying, but both of them clearly looked worn out.
(Guess I’ve got no choice… It’s embarrassing, but I’ll just have to accept it.)
About ten minutes later, they finally let go. Sure, being hugged by two beautiful girls is nice… but seriously, it’s embarrassing. I am a teenage boy, after all.
But of course, it didn’t end there.
This time, as if to say “it’s my turn now,” Hikari pulled me down—right into her lap.
I was now fully positioned for a lap pillow, her fingers naturally stroking through my hair.
「H-Hey, Hikari…」
「Nope. I was worried too, so I deserve at least this much, don’t I?」
「R-right. Sorry for worrying you.」
I apologized. I couldn’t really see her face because of her chest, but from the softness in her voice, I could tell she was smiling.
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Author’s Note
Added 11/26, in response to a reader’s question.
As for why the protagonist got beaten so badly by Shuuji-san:
During his time as a Hero, the protagonist fought using a one-handed sword and a shield—one for defense, one for offense. He never fought with a two-handed sword or relied on heavy armor to absorb blows.
Even the Holy Sword and the blade given to him by the princess were both double-edged one-handed swords, so he was accustomed to using them with a shield. In short, he wasn’t trained for fighting with a two-handed sword at all.
On top of that, the protagonist never learned proper dueling swordsmanship. He was specialized in anti-monster combat techniques. His swordmaster mentor was also a female knight who taught him sword-and-shield style fighting.
So, when facing someone like Shuuji-san—a master of traditional sword arts and martial disciplines—the protagonist was completely out of his element.
Even though his eyes can follow the movements, his body can’t react properly. It’s that classic case of seeing but not being able to keep up.
Lastly…
Even if it’s a large home bath, it’s still a private residence.
Which means… yeah, no gender separation. (whispers)
TN: TLDR: in short, bad writing and shallow imagination. There is no way a melee hero who eats life and death battle for breakfast will be defeated by a normal swordsmaster regardless of the weapon of choice. No way he’ll beat anyone in the constantly in battle isekai world much less the demon king/evil god if that’s all what it takes to beat him.
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