Ch.263Chapter 263 – Hot Springs (1)

After preparing everything in Rubrum’s lair, the next day.

Having packed all our belongings, we arrived at an inn in Ferrarius through Lorona’s warp gate.

“It’s quite neat,” said Chris with a bright smile as she looked around the inn.

Standing beside Chris, Sera added, “To be honest, this is my first time at a hot spring.”

“Ah, me too.”

Naturally, it was my first time since coming to this place. I never had the circumstances or time to visit somewhere like an inn with hot springs.

Beatrice also spoke with a bright face, not hiding her excitement.

“I heard there’s a saying that if you come to Ferrarius and don’t visit the hot springs, you’re missing out on one of life’s great pleasures.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Though that information is from before the national isolation.”

At least it seemed certain that the place had a good reputation even in the old days. Perhaps that’s why Beatrice’s expression was unusually bright.

Looking at everyone’s brightened faces, Eve smiled and said, “We’ve chartered the entire place for about three days.”

“Three whole days?”

“Yes.”

I turned my gaze back to the inn. It appeared clean with rather elegant, classic facilities. We spent a moment slowly examining the inn, and soon Beatrice quietly remarked:

“It looks expensive.”

“We came here to rest properly, didn’t we? Consider it compensation for all our hard work. We couldn’t settle for just any place.”

Eve said quietly. Then, with a radiant smile, she added:

“The entire cost will be covered by Rubrum, so we just need to relax and enjoy ourselves.”

She seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood.

Apparently, we wouldn’t be the ones paying.

Given the money we’ve accumulated and her wealth, chartering this place wouldn’t be difficult, but saved money is saved money.

As a merchant by profession, Eve had every reason to be pleased.

Eina approached quietly behind the visibly happy Eve.

“We’re enjoying such luxury before leaving.”

“Indeed… You’re also scheduled to depart in three days, right?”

“I didn’t want to impose… but that’s how it turned out.”

Eina nodded at Eve’s words. She had been planning to move the unconscious test subjects to the magic tower and leave immediately.

However, upon hearing that our recovery spot was a hot spring, Asam asserted her rights.

“Me, Perry, and Eina—we all worked hard, didn’t we? I want to rest in luxury too!”

We were planning to invite them anyway, but Asam seemed determined to take this opportunity to rest in style, perhaps because the work had been particularly difficult.

And that desire must have given her strength, as she managed the remarkable feat of settling all magic tower-related matters and arranging facilities for the test subjects in just one day.

Her passion for rest must have been contagious, as the other companions also decided to stay and relax.

“Everyone worked hard, so I think it’s fine,” said Sera.

“…I’ll be in your debt,” Perry replied with slight embarrassment.

“Me too…” added Lara.

After smiling at them, I turned to the one person who hadn’t been our ally in Ferrarius.

“I didn’t expect you to come along.”

Kara, who was sticking close behind Chris, turned her gaze to me and said:

“…Am I somewhere I shouldn’t be?”

She said this while slightly pouting. It reminded me of Chris when she pretends to be upset.

“You’re no longer a heretic anyway. I have no reason to be hostile toward you now.”

Kara spoke seriously. I gently asked her:

“But you’re still an enemy of the Emiris Order, aren’t you?”

“That’s…”

Kara couldn’t answer.

“The Order’s enemy is… my enemy… no, but the Order’s god has… I’ve been… abandoned anyway… but all those years I’ve lived… um…”

She was muttering somewhat frighteningly. According to Chris, she was still confused, trying to adapt to the changes in her environment.

After staring at the ground for a while, she quietly looked at me and said:

“…Anyway, I have no intention of being hostile toward you for the time being.”

“Is that so.”

“Yes.”

Kara said this and quietly stepped back.

‘It will take some time.’

At least I knew that Kara herself wasn’t evil. According to rumors, she had genuinely fought with concern during the calamity in Ferrarius.

Of course, she had been a saint of the Emiris Order and had nearly killed me, but on the other hand, she had also been abandoned by the god she believed in.

There were some unclear points that made it difficult to be completely hostile. Though it was equally ambiguous to keep her close…

‘At least she doesn’t seem to harbor any ill will.’

I didn’t think Kara would plot anything here. Besides, seeing how she stuck close to Chris, as if she thought she could rely on her, it was awkward to push her away.

She seemed to have opened up to Chris, occasionally talking to her, and the kind-hearted Chris was smiling and responding.

Of course, there were people who looked displeased at Kara, but they didn’t seem to have any immediate intention of condemning her.

‘Someone should keep an eye on her.’

As I was thinking about asking Beatrice or Eve, Chris looked at both Kara and me.

Then she approached me with a smile and said:

“Don’t worry, Kay. I’ll keep watching Kara.”

“Will that be alright?”

“Yes.”

Chris said this and approached Kara, who was looking at us with an anxious expression. Soon Kara was sticking close to Chris’s side, and I could see Chris smiling as she stroked Kara’s head.

And Kara didn’t resist at all.

‘I can leave it to Chris.’

I felt that Chris would handle Kara well.

I’ll entrust Kara to Chris.

‘Come to think of it, I think I heard that Chris also has something like Kara’s shadow inside her.’

It was a shadow presumed to exist in a state similar to Fiana or Yuto within me. I should ask Chris later if it’s still there and if we need to distinguish between them.

“Ahem.”

Eve cleared her throat once. After looking at each of us, she quietly said:

“Let’s go in now. Time is something you can’t buy even with money, and we’ve already been standing here for several minutes.”

“That’s right, let’s go in,” Sia said with a smile as she immediately entered the inn.

Everyone hurried their steps, and soon the entire group moved inside.

+

After a small commotion about room assignments.

I soaked alone in the hot spring.

Of course, I hadn’t planned to come in by myself from the start.

“He said he needed some rest.”

Perry, the blacksmith who was the only other male in our group, didn’t come to the hot spring, citing the need for rest. Additionally, we had chartered this hot spring.

Thanks to that, I ended up using this spacious hot spring all by myself.

I slowly immersed myself in the bath, starting from my feet up to my shoulders. Soon, a warm sensation began to course through my body, and along with it, drowsiness gradually spread.

“This feels good…”

I quietly murmured as I felt my muscles relax from the warmth, making my mood more mellow. I began to understand why hot springs were Ferrarius’s specialty.

“I wonder if the others went in too.”

I quietly spoke while looking at the wooden wall behind me. Beyond the wall was the women’s bath. Since most of our companions were women, if they were using it, they would be beyond that wall.

Of course, I couldn’t see through the wall, but I thought there might be one or two people using it by now.

‘It doesn’t matter anyway.’

It’s a place I can’t go to anyway. I had absolutely no desire to peek over there.

A gentleman doesn’t deliberately put his head in dangerous places.

Quietly turning my attention away from the women’s bath and enjoying the warmth, I murmured:

“…Should I come back again after taking a break?”

There was a medicine I received to dissolve in the water when visiting the hot spring. Originally, I should have been leaving soon, but…

“I want to stay longer.”

The pleasant warmth was tempting me to keep soaking. As I was thinking about what to do and decided to stay a little longer before leaving and coming back later, I heard:

“…Are you there?”

“Huh?”

A small voice came through. I realized the voice was coming from the wall right behind me.

Recognizing what was on the other side and the owner of the voice I just heard, I quietly called out:

“Eve?”

“So you knew it was me.”

Eve’s voice came from beyond the wall.

“How did you know I was behind the wall?”

“Intuition. I didn’t think you had any indecent intentions; I just thought you might have come close to enjoy it.”

Eve’s voice quietly reached me. Then, with a slight laugh, she said:

“Am I wrong? Did you actually want to peek at my body?”

“Not at all.”

“Well, Kay doesn’t have a reason to do that. You’ve already seen all of me, after all.”

I cleared my throat as soon as Eve finished speaking.

“…Is that something you should say so openly?”

“It’s just me on this side right now. Others will probably come soon.”

It seemed Eve was in a similar situation to mine.

“So, we can have a strictly private, secret conversation between just us?”

“Really?”

“Yes. Shall we start with how Kay defiled me in the past?”

“That’s a lie…”

Starting with Eve’s joke-filled words, we soon spent time in the hot spring, reminiscing about old times.

Having a conversation partner in this warmth made me feel even more at ease. As our enjoyable time was coming to an end, Eve quietly said:

“…You need to rest well, Kay.”

Her voice was quiet but filled with concern.

“You need to take care of your body. Please rest properly while we’re here.”

“I will.”

I answered Eve’s words. Even in this situation, she continued to worry about me, making me think I should treat her better.

For a moment, Eve said nothing, but I had a feeling she was leaning against the wall. I carefully leaned my back against the wall, looked up at the sky, and waited for her next words.

Soon, Eve spoke to me again from behind:

“By the way, will you come for a massage later?”

“What?”

A massage out of nowhere? Of course, giving one wouldn’t be difficult. I had already massaged Eve’s body once, and it wasn’t particularly tiring.

However, there was a reason for mentioning a massage here…

“I’ll come in the middle of the night, so be ready on the bed?”

The time—middle of the night—was specified. This changes things. It made clear what Eve’s intention was in mentioning a massage.

Realizing the hidden meaning, I lightly coughed, and soon Eve’s presence began to move away from the wall.

“Oh, really.”

I moved away from the wall, thinking it was fortunate that I was alone here.

+

“Hehe.”

Eve laughed as if pleased.

“Sometimes, you’re so easy to read and cute.”

Eve spoke, thinking of Kay’s clear reaction when she deliberately made that kind of joke. She quietly recited the greatest achievement she had just obtained, thinking that next time she should see his reaction face-to-face.

“I’ll be able to get another massage from Kay.”

Eve recalled how incredibly good the last massage felt.

And given the time—middle of the night—the massage she was talking about didn’t simply mean rubbing the body and ending there.

And Kay didn’t exactly refuse.

“You heard that, right?”

Eve looked at someone as she spoke. It was a person who had been in the hot spring with her from the beginning but hadn’t said a word, staying quiet as a mouse.

“I’ve already made my preparations.”

Eve said quietly.

“…During our stay here, I will spend time with Kay. This has already been promised.”

“So I’ll ask you.”

Eve said with a winner’s smile.

“What will you do tonight?”

Eve’s words ended. And Sera, who had been quietly listening to those words…

Was clenching her fist, silently strengthening her resolve.