On Earth, there is a famous story.
Someone once asked a mountaineer:
"Why do you want to climb Everest?"
And that mountaineer answered:
"Because Everest is there."
In Japan, this has been mistranslated and passed down as "Because the mountain is there," but the meaning is the same.
For that person, no further reason is necessary. It's simply a phrase that expresses the single-minded pursuit that comes from passionate feeling.
Yes, everyone has moments when they move purely according to emotion.
That's just how feelings work, isn't it?
"So... as inspirational as your speeches always are... why are we preparing to peek into the women's bath?"
Steve, the idiot, asked the painfully obvious question.
"You fool... Because the women's bath is there!!"
Title Revised:
Because the Women's Bath Is There - Overview
Side: Yuki
"...Seriously, why now? And why are we peeping on the women's bath in Weed's entertainment district instead of your wives' bath? This could turn into an international incident. You're the strategist of the Weed Army and Seraria-neesan's husband."
"Steve, don't suddenly become responsible at a time like this. I don't remember raising you that way."
"No, no, I'm basically a diligent worker-ssu. I've been working hard alongside you ever since this dungeon was built, you know!?"
Explaining it to Steve is pointless.
Come to think of it, we've really come a long way... Who would've thought a classic joke like this wouldn't land anymore?
...Or maybe the real problem is that I've become too important? This is why I hate being in a high position.
"Jokes aside, take a look at this."
With no other choice, I hand Steve a certain report.
"Hm? This is the performance report on the bathhouse security systems?"
"That's right."
It was the report covering the defensive systems installed around the women's bathhouses scattered throughout Weed.
Public security normally fell under Tori and Riel's jurisdiction, so I hadn't paid much attention until a particular request landed on my desk.
"Whoa, this is amazing-ssu. Zero successful peepings so far, they all ended as mere attempts. Isn't that great? Thanks to that, neither side suffered any real damage, and the would-be peepers just got off with a strict warning before being permanently branded as perverts-ssu."
Just as Steve said... Not one person had ever succeeded.
"So why exactly does that mean we, military officers, have to become peeping toms?"
"You could call it... a tourism promotion event... Or maybe just an event."
I handed him another sheet — a flyer.
"'The Grand Women's Bath Peeping Tournament is here!! Brave souls, test your might!! Furthermore, as this is an official event, rest assured that no criminal charges will apply. *Note: While some women in the bath may be nude, the majority are expected to wear swimsuits. We are also looking for women willing to enter the bath. Swimsuit rentals available, rewards provided for helping with the event, and we will also share live updates on the condition of the peepers from a unique perspective.' ...What on earth is this-ssu!?"
"Exactly what it says. It's a festival planned to advertise the safety of our ironclad security equipment while explicitly declaring that, by mutual consent, it won't be treated as a crime."
"And the true motive behind it?"
"It's propaganda for technology export. We'll earn foreign currency with it. 'Security equipment? Definitely get it from Weed.'"
"No way, what kind of cheapskate scheme is this? There's no way other countries would accept something like that-ssu."
"That's why I said 'technology provision'. We're selling it piece by piece. Traps, interception magic, etc. So they can build it themselves."
"Wow, that would reduce the sense of aversion-ssu. And you're also targeting individual buyers, not just countries?"
"Of course. The advantage of selling separately is that it becomes relatively cheap. Depending on how it's used, it could also help merchants traveling from village to village."
"Ah, so that's the real goal. You can't just give defense items away for free to traveling merchants, so this way you can openly provide them and improve overall safety-ssu."
"It's been a problem in many countries for a while now. Dungeons improved distribution, but because working with dungeons is more profitable, fewer people are willing to go peddling in rural areas."
"That makes sense if you think about safety. At this rate, rural areas will dry up and lose population-ssu."
"Exactly. Villages that can sustain themselves are fine, but towns that rely on goods from outside will definitely decline. And since villagers come to those towns, the villages themselves will eventually be in danger. That means the local industries will decline."
This is a common issue in Japan too.
People gather in big cities, and the countryside becomes depopulated.
Japan has cars, airplanes, and incredible road infrastructure, so it rarely completely withers, but in this other world, distribution is mostly left to individual discretion.
Countries clear some paths (though it's just removing grass and rocks), but dealing with bandits and monsters is entirely up to individuals.
As a result, towns and villages far from dungeons are feared to decline dramatically... In fact, it's already happening in Weed, Rithea, and Gartz, which started using dungeon-based distribution early.
At first, we in Weed planned to handle sales to those declining areas while gathering information, but Weed's reputation spread faster than expected. Dungeon distribution began across many countries and became unmanageable.
This women's bath peeping event is the solution we came up with.
"So it's a project that benefits the countries too-ssu."
"Exactly. They're probably also thinking about talent scouting."
"Ah, people who can hold their ground against Weed's traps?"
"Yes. We want people like that, right?"
"Of course-ssu. Talented people with the guts to get through the General's traps and stand up even after getting caught are valuable... Wait a second. Are you the one making the traps for this women's bath event? No one in all of humanity could get through those-ssu!"
"Idiot, read the flyer properly."
Steve flipped the flyer over and read the details.
"Uhh... 'Note: The security equipment for the day will be independently constructed by the women entering the bath, and will differ from the regular defense systems. Therefore, the women entering the bath will gather the day before to discuss and plan the installation of security measures.' …So this means women get to see the defense items that will be used as tools for the event first?"
"You're too sharp, it's boring. Seriously, who raised this goblin?"
"You did!! ...Anyway, jokes aside, this will probably draw quite a lot of women."
"Yeah. No matter the reward, women who would sell themselves cheaply just to be peeped at would only be ruined or desperate people."
"That would cause a riot among the successful male peepers."
"Exactly. This way, other countries will have no choice but to tacitly gather participants too. From Weed, my non-pregnant wives will participate. Other countries will probably bring beautiful princesses to match, right?"
"The men who get to peep will go wild with joy. They'll get to see the naked bodies and swimsuits of princesses from various countries without punishment."
"And as a result of too many beauties gathering from different countries, the event ended up being split into four separate times: Weed area, Roshuru area, Litea area, and Galtz area."
"Ugh, how massive is this event!?"
"Furthermore, we were planning to have our military men participate to show that the country officially supports the event, but…"
"But?"
"Our participation was interpreted by other countries as a display of military power. So, the three other major powers will also be sending military personnel."
"...Just how far are they willing to go with this peeping event?"
"No idea. And since the number of general participants is about to exceed ten thousand, it became a lottery system."
"That makes sense."
"As a result, our military units had to reduce the number of participants to a small group to open up slots."
"Sigh, so that's why it's only five people."
Yes, the members attending this meeting were me, Steve, two male members of Seraria's royal guard, and one person from the Weed police.
"So that's the situation. You don't have to participate if you don't want to. No matter how you try to sugarcoat it, it's still peeping into the women's bath."
I turned to the three who had been silently listening until now.
"Thank you, Advisor Yuki!!"
"I had already given up on the lottery!!"
"I'm definitely going to see Chief Tori naked!!"
""O-Oh...""
I think it's good for people to have something they can get passionate about.
Also, police guy, don't lay a hand on someone else's wife. I'll crush you.
"Anyway, I'm glad I got your consent. But remember — unlike the general participants, as representatives of our country, we have to participate in all four events. Keep that in mind."
"""What are you saying!? That just fires us up even more!!"""
My words didn't reach the men who were already drowning in worldly desires.
"For real...? At the very least, I didn't want to participate in Weed's turn-ssu..."
Steve muttered, turning pale.
As expected, he understood.
Who would willingly do this? Especially when princesses and beauties representing their countries won't easily show their skin.
No matter how you look at it, to protect their countries' princesses, evaluate the peeping traps, and absolutely prevent successful peeping, a mountain of beautiful female soldiers will be participating.
The traps are adjusted so no one dies, but there's also an underlying evaluation of repelling other countries' military personnel.
This is also a battle of wits between the women of various nations.
And we have to do this four times... I don't think our bodies are going to survive this.
