Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks?, Vol. 2

“What’s going on? That’s what I wanna know! You were downright terrifying there!”

“I was? …I can’t seem to recall anything like that, though…”

Medhi’s unmistakably beautiful face tilted to one side, baffled. How could she not remember…? It was like she was desperately feigning innocence. What was he going to do with her? What could he do?

Either way, he couldn’t keep pinning her arms, his body pressed up against hers. It was not good for his mental health. He was a little unsure if it was safe to release her, but he slowly did.

And just as this side of things settled down, the even more problematic half started moving again. Not giving him a chance to breathe.

“What is all that fuss? Quit your muttering! Sigh…”

Medhimama had definitely calmed down a lot, but he wasn’t letting his guard down yet. Masato quietly placed Medhi behind him, standing between the two, not letting either go after the other.

Medhimama looked Masato over and let out another deep sigh.

“…I won’t raise a hand to her.”

“Sorry, but I can’t just take your word for it. Either of yours.”

“Either? …I don’t know what you mean by that, but fine. Take Medhi with you. Medhi would probably like that better.”

“No. I’m going with you, Mother.”

Medhi stepped out from behind Masato’s protection, placing herself next to Medhimama.

Medhimama looked at her with genuine surprise.

“…You’re sure?”

“Yes. I want to be with you, Mother. If you’ll allow it.”

“No, wait, Medhi, if the two of you are alone together…”

You’ll hit her. He wasn’t sure if he should say that. He wanted to but couldn’t quite bring himself to.

Medhi shook her head slightly. “Don’t worry. I promise,” she said softly. Was that a promise not to hit her mom? He was super unsure how much he could trust her right now.

“Mother. Do you mind if I stay with you?”

“…Do what you like. The inn we were staying at kicked us out because of…some nonsense about another reservation. We’ll have to find a new place to stay. Best to get that sorted out quickly. If you’re coming with me, do so at once.”

“Yes, Mother.”

The Cleric family went away, the daughter following on the mother’s heels.

Talking quietly to each other.

“…I should apologize.”

“No need, Mother. I understand. You’re always thinking of what’s best for me, and that makes you strict sometimes. I know that.”

“Yes… You’re a very good girl.”

Medhi smiled. Medhimama looked uncomfortable but managed to smile back.

It looked like they’d made a kind of peace.

The whole incident still preying on his mind, Masato watched them walk away.

That evening, in the inn’s baths…

“Sigh… I just don’t know…”

…a drop of water fell from the ceiling, hitting him on the forehead. Masato was lost in thought.

The hot water was draining the fatigue of the festival away, and he was giving his limbs a light massage.

What was he thinking about? What else?

“Whew… It’s a little on the hot side but quite nice! Baths the whole family can use are something else.”

The foremost problem in his mind: Why was Mamako sitting next to him?

He glanced in her direction, and yep, it was still her next to him. Treasured chest island ×2 floating on the surface of the water, thoroughly enjoying sharing the bath with her son. Her skin flushed a pale pink.

And it wasn’t just her.

“Geez… Why does this always happen? It ain’t right…”

“It’s a bit hot, but I can handle it! It’s fun to take a bath with everyone!”

Wise and Porta were here, too, beyond the steam rising off the water.

Wise was in maximum defensive mode. She had everything from the nose down below the water and had been muttering to herself the entire time, ready to commit murder at the slightest excuse.

Porta seemed to be happily enjoying the water. Her precious bag was on her head, never leaving her body. Such a good kid.

Suddenly, a surprise fanfare played in Masato’s head.

Masato’s secret title, Mixed Bath Creep Level 1, advanced to Mixed Bath Creep Level 2! Well done!

So, well, the first thing on Masato’s mind was definitely this state of affairs.

“…Why…why is this happening…?”

“Because you walked straight into the girls’ bath, you freak.”

“I did not! When I went in, the curtains were definitely for the men’s bath! And while I was in here, I guess it became women’s hours. But you saw I was in here, and you all still chose to join me! Who’s the shameless one here?”

“I didn’t want to! But these two…!”

“I don’t see what the problem is. Everyone bathing together is a good thing!”

“Yes! Bathing with your party is nice!”

“And then they start talking like this! If I refuse, it’s like I hate them or something! I had no choice!”

And thus, this situation had everyone’s explicit consent. He was safe…right?

Well.

“Well, now that everyone’s settled down,” Mamako began, “it’s time for the customary naked strategy session! Yay!”

“Wh-when did that become customary?”

“You know what they say! Bare your body and soul, and don’t ever hide what you’re thinking. It’s so important! So…Ma-kun? There’s something you want to share with everyone, isn’t there? Mommy can tell just by looking at you. What’s the problem of the day?”

“Well, obviously… Medhi and her mother.”

“““…Ohhh…”””

Everyone hung their heads. No need to explain it. Everyone had witnessed the same things and knew exactly what was going on. The same thought floated into everyone’s minds.

Wise gave an exasperated sigh. “You know what I think? I think we oughta just leave them to it.”

“We can’t just do that, though. If something isn’t done, they’ll seriously…”

“Yeah, maybe. But the old bat treats her daughter and everyone around like trash, and she won’t hear a word of protest from anyone. And Medhi’s being Medhi and dutifully following the hag around. Nowhere for us to butt in.”

“Yeah, but…I don’t think Medhimama can go on like that, and Medhi’s stress levels are only gonna get worse. If the darkness inside her continues to grow…”

“I can totally see a healer running a Darkness build. Drain-type spells that siphon HP and MP are usually Dark, so if she focuses on spells like that, she’d actually be pretty useful.”

“That’s not the problem…”

“Then what is? I mean, Masato, why should you even care about either of them?”

“Well…”

Now that she mentioned it, Masato didn’t really have a legitimate reason to be this focused on the problems of Medhi and her mother. It wasn’t his job. It wasn’t necessary.

As a hero, it was his duty to tighten his bonds to his own mother, but even that responsibility was one forced on him during account creation.

But even so, Masato thought…

“…I can’t just ignore them. Or at least, I don’t want to. I can’t just call it someone else’s problem.”

Masato saw his own problems in their problems. Medhi’s position and feelings hit painfully close to home.

A mother whose behavior restricted her kid’s behavior, putting pressure on them. Rebellious feelings festering inside. He’d worked through all of that. He was well aware of just how hard it could be.

He’d thought he’d finally met his ideal heroine, and the glimpses of the darkness within her felt like a betrayal of that ideal and left him feeling powerless to help. Even so…

“I just feel like there must be something I can do. But I need your help to do it. Please.”

Masato bowed his head, asking for his party’s help.

“Mommy agrees,” Mamako said, her warm voice a great comfort. “If Ma-kun wants to help, then we should help, too. Mommy will do whatever she can.”

“Mom…”

The perfect mother, one who understood how her son felt, and gave him a gentle push forward…except… “I’d love your help, just make sure you don’t try to take over.” “R-right. I understand.” Parental self-awareness played a vital role in reducing the suffering of children, so he was forced to press that point.

Mamako accepted his admonishment and turned toward Wise. “Given all that, Wise, I’d appreciate it if you could cooperate with Ma-kun here. What do you say?”

“Cooperate, huh? I’m not sure why I should have to cooperate with the urges of Masato’s libido…” She stared at him pointedly.

“Take that accusation out of your eyes! My libido is unrelated! Regardless of how this started, right now I’m genuinely just concerned for Medhi!”

“Genuine concern… Riiiight.”

Wise took a long look at Masato, mulling it over. And then sighed, as if she had grave concerns.

“All right, all right. I’m a Sage; it’s, like, my job to get run ragged by the dumb, pervy, pointlessly hot-blooded hero.”

“But our party’s hero is an intelligent, reliable, handsome gentleman.”

“So you say. Sigh… But, well, that same busybody bullcrap helped me patch things over with my mom, so…can’t really sit this one out, can I?”

“Thanks, Wise. How about you, Porta…? Oh my!”

When Mamako turned toward Porta…

“S-surrrrre… I’ll…be glaaaaaaaad…to heeeeeeelp…”

Porta was bright red, her eyes spinning. Her whole body was swaying. Yet somehow the bag stayed on her head. Good job! Though maybe her impeccable balance shouldn’t have been their first concern.

“Hey, Porta! You okay there?”

“My goodness! Porta, sweetie, you’ve been in the bath too long!”

“Crap, that’s not good! We’d better get her out!”

Mamako and Wise stood up and quickly moved to tend to Porta.

Two bare behinds moved swiftly through the water…though now may not be the best time to look.

Mamako picked Porta up, and she and Wise left the bath.

“Porta needs to rest! The three of us are leaving the bath first!”

“You stay here awhile! We need to get dressed in the changing room, so you sit right there and count to twenty million before you dare come out! And stop looking this way!”

“R-right… Yes, ma’am…”

Masato averted his eyes, letting the three ladies go.

That meant…

“…I escaped punishment this time, too?”

It wasn’t like he’d been looking forward to it. They’d bathed together, he’d seen them naked, and nothing had happened to him. “Guess I should say…thank you?” Masato murmured.

“One…two…three…four. Times five million…is twenty million…”

Masato waited to get out until he’d counted all the way to twenty million. He may have skipped a few numbers along the way, though.

He may not have bothered counting properly, but he’d made extra sure the three of them had definitely left the changing room. He was in the clear. Absolutely clear. Only then did Masato try to open the changing room door.

Just as he did, there was a noise on the other side. Someone had just come in.

This inn only had the one bath. And right now, it was the women’s bathing time. Which meant…

…Uh-oh. This is bad news.

Beyond bad news. If he ran smack into them, he’d be labeled a creeper for life.

At least he’d better get in there before they started undressing… No, wait, Masato himself was naked.

He was doomed.

I…I-I-I’d better hide!

Masato quickly put the bathtub cover against the wall and hid behind it… If he was found hiding here, he would definitely be mistaken for a Peeping Tom. But what choice did he have?

The door opened, and someone came in. Masato kept his breathing shallow, his eyes tightly shut, promising he wouldn’t look…

But the muscles in his eyelids were feeble, and his eyes opened of their own accord, and since they’d opened anyway, he stole a glance—just a glance!—toward the noise.

There, he saw a girl with long hair, large breasts, a thin waist, long legs… The shape of her figure was so beautiful…

Oh… Medhi?!

It was definitely her! That was Medhi! She was right here, naked!

Medhi undid the towel covering her…

…and then flung it as hard as she could at the surface of the water. Splash!

Medhi pulled the wet towel out of the water, then flung it down again. Sploosh! Then she did it again. Relentlessly, like it had killed her father, over and over and over.

Spitting poison.

“Ughhh… Shit… Self-training before dinner, self-training after dinner… That toxic bitch is driving me crazy… Why won’t she just die already?!”

Foul word after foul word came flying out of Medhi’s mouth.

Part of him knew how much stress Medhi was under and thought it was only natural she’d end up like this, but…

But watching a beautiful naked girl throw a towel with perfect pitch form was, in all kinds of ways, not something he should be seeing.

“…Sigh.”

Without thinking, Masato let out a rather loud sigh. Even though he was supposed to be hiding.

And naturally, she heard him.

“Huh… I-is somebody there?!”

“Oh, crap!” he blurted, sealing his own death warrant. No getting out of this now.

Masato went down on all fours, staring firmly at the floor, and came crawling out.

“Oh… M-Masato?! Why are you here?!”

“Um… Well… Long story short, we’ve been staying at this inn the whole time, and while I was in the bath, it switched to women’s hours, and when I tried to leave, you came in and…here we are.”

“Th-that doesn’t… We only just started staying here tonight, so… But… Um…”

“I didn’t look! I didn’t see anything! Totally not looking!” His forehead hit the ground.

“Oh, yes, well, not right now, but…like, a minute ago you were, so…”

“Erp…”

When Medhi’s stress-fueled dark power was gushing out of her, he’d heard and seen, so…what should he say?

While he was debating it…

“Medhi? What’s all the fuss?”

Medhimama entered the bath. Her alluringly mature body was totally exposed—she might not be quite as young-looking as Mamako, but she was definitely in great shape.

When she saw Masato there, she smiled broadly, the veins on her entire face bulging out. That was far beyond mere anger.

“Oh, Masato. Fancy meeting you here.” Throb, throb, throb, throb.

“Um… I literally just finished explaining the situation to Medhi here, so I’ll let her fill you in. You, uh…go ahead and enjoy your bath.”

“You don’t say? You certainly don’t lack for nerve. Nonetheless, your scummy behavior deserves a fitting punishment, and I shall deliver it personally.”

In Medhimama’s hand was a different staff from the one she’d broken before. This one had a gem the color of darkness itself. She chanted a spell.

“Spara la magia per mirare! Purificare!”

A magic circle appeared at Masato’s feet, and cold light poured out of it.

…Oh, right… Of course…

Enveloped in a light that purified evil thoughts, Masato realized something.

Being blown away in one way or another after any accidental pervert situation was not a matter of a simple violence. It was a punishment.

And after receiving that punishment, many men expressed words of gratitude.

But that gratitude was not directed at the punishment itself. They were grateful to receive a just punishment that alleviated the guilt they felt.

So…

“Thank…you…,” Masato said, his heart clear as his body and mind vanished…or so he thought.

…Huh? What is this?

Masato should have been evaporated, but he was still standing in the bath. Not in a coffin but floating above a coffin like a ghost.

Because of the nightly death spells Wise had cast on him since first entering the game, his accumulative death count had reached a high-enough level that Masato’s death form had evolved to Ghost. Congratulations!

My movement is limited… The difference from the standard coffin state is that I can still see around me…

Meanwhile, it didn’t seem like anyone else could see Masato in Ghost form.

Medhimama had clearly not noticed what was happening with Masato at all and was standing there naked as the day she was born. He didn’t even have to peek. He could stare all he liked. This form certainly had its benefits… Wait, he wasn’t looking! He wasn’t!

Medhimama looked down at her staff, mildly surprised.

“Oh my. He really was vaporized… That was more powerful than I expected. I wonder if this means my true power has been unleashed… I have no idea who sent this to me, but this Aperto staff is quite powerful. Ohhh-ho-ho-ho!”

“Um, Mother… We really should bring Masato back to life soon…”

“We can do that later. First, Medhi, come here. I’m going to use this release power to really draw out your appeal.”

“Huh? …Wh-what would that accomplish, exactly…?”

“Isn’t it obvious? You’re going to snare that Masato.”

“Snare…him?”

“Yes. Charm him, bewitch him. Your appeal will be so powerful that simply walking by him will make him fall in love with you. And then I’ll arrange for the two of you to face off directly…but his love for you will prevent him from doing anything and ensure your victory. Well? Great plan, or greatest plan?”

“Th-that’s…something only a coward would…”

“It’s perfect! I said it was, so we’re doing it! You shut up and do as I say! I grant you the power of this staff!”

Medhimama held Aperto over Medhi’s head. Light from the dark gem in the staff poured over Medhi.

“You must win at all costs. You will win. You will be number one. And I will take the utmost pleasure in it. Ohhh-ho-ho-ho!”

Drunk on her own pleasure, Medhimama smiled dreamily.

Her daughter stared at her, utterly baffled.

“…You’ll take pleasure in it?” Medhi whispered, visibly upset. “That’s all this is for?”

That sure made it clear who really benefited from this.

I agree! That’s a dead giveaway.

Floating nearby, Masato was as aghast as Medhi.

Total scores:

Masato: 70 SP. Wise: 45 SP. Porta: 70 SP.

The shop the party had run was a great success. As a reward for that fervor, all of them had received twenty points. And Wise had received a beauty contest consolation prize of five points.

Which was great and all, but perhaps none of that mattered anymore.

The darkness inside the girl was growing stronger and beginning to affect things around her.