Chapter 22 : Snow White (4)

There were a lot of hot springs in Belmonte Winterhaven.

Hot springs would just come gushing out if you dug into the ground, so it was easy to enjoy them, but that also made it hard to find the right one.

“Mmm.”

“Ruina, I don’t think this one’s it either?”

“Yeah, seems like it.”

Chris and I quietly exchanged our thoughts while soaking in a completely wild, open-air hot spring.

“This one feels a bit thicker.”

“To be honest, I don’t feel any difference.”

“Try smelling it closely. The sulfur smell is stronger.”

“Chris, you are helping me search for the Holy Grail, right?”

“Huh? What are you talking about, Ruina? Of course I’m looking for hot spring water that’s good for sale.”

I folded my arms, ignoring the useless Chris.

Chris folded their arms too, following me.

As a result, the cooking pouch got squished between their arms.

I stared at Chris.

“Ruina? What is it?”

“It’s nothing.”

I had given Chris high marks for cooking well without a cooking pouch, but it turns out Chris had been hiding one all along.

The betrayal was unspeakable.

To think they kept that cooking pouch all to themselves.

What are people without one supposed to do?

Not that it mattered—I cook well even without one.

“By the way, Chris, did you give up cross-dressing? This is a public outdoor hot spring—someone might notice your real identity.”

“I figured I’d been dressing too strictly like a man this whole time. Maybe it’s fine to loosen up a bit like this?”

Only realizing that now, huh.

People’s perception was funny—they only believed what they wanted to believe.

Even if someone saw Chris now, they wouldn’t even think this was the same person as the cross-dressed version of Chris.

And if someone did think that, it meant they had suspected Chris was a woman from the start—those kinds of people would figure it out anyway.

Whether they see or not, the result would be the same.

I kicked the hot spring water with my foot and leaned back.

Should’ve brought something to eat.

Soaking in hot springs back-to-back had made my body go past relaxed into jelly.

In other words, I was hungry.

I slowly opened my mouth.

I was about to suggest we go back to the inn for a meal.

“What do we do now?”

“Not sure?”

But before I could, someone entered the hot spring.

It was a man and a woman, both covered in scars from head to toe, exuding an intimidating aura.

Mercenaries?

Just as I lightly wondered, our eyes met.

The giant muscleman sniffed and casually spoke.

“A mage? Didn’t expect to run into one here. That’s not a problem, right?”

“Walker. You still don’t understand mage behavior. Look closely. Full-body burns.”

“So what?”

“That means there’s a high chance they have an affinity for fire element and are completely obsessed with magic. As long as we don’t provoke them,

they’ll just train in their corner and we won’t have any conflict.”

Wow.

These people really have no filter even with someone right in front of them.

I smiled and greeted them.

“Hello?”

“See? No sane person would greet someone here.”

“If it were me, I’d get mad.”

“It’s proof that all values besides magic have hit rock bottom. A madwoman. We better avoid her. Let’s go.”

Just from saying hi, I heard every insult under the sun. I felt like crying.

I stared blankly at the man and woman leaving after barely soaking for a few dozen seconds, then said to Chris,

“Shall we go eat?”

***

While munching on smoked meat and cheese, I asked Leon, “Did you find anything?”

“Absolutely nothing.”

Leon replied, sipping milk, then tapped the table with his fingers.

“We’ve now investigated all the hot springs in Belmonte Winterhaven.”

“The village was smaller than I thought. Splitting up helped us finish in just a few days.”

After soaking in every hot spring and occasionally sniffing around, we found no trace of the Holy Grail.

The hot springs in Belmonte Winterhaven were good for the body, but not nearly powerful enough to be called a Fountain of Healing.

“Another dead end.”

“Didn’t we expect that on the first day?”

“Still, it’s disappointing.”

I stacked smoked meat and cheese between bread and took a big bite.

This place has decent food.

“Anyway,”

“Swallow first, please.”

As Leon requested, I swallowed all the food in my mouth before continuing.

“Let’s pick our next destination.”

“Exactly.”

“Hmmm.”

I turned to look at Chris.

Chris was also eating bread and blinked wide-eyed.

“Ruina? Why are you looking at me?”

“Just thought you might have a good idea.”

Chris had been gathering information while traveling around as a peddler.

When it came to rumors, no one was better.

Chris stroked their chin and parted their lips.

“The Grail’s powers were immortality, healing, abundance, purification, and wisdom, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Come to think of it, I heard all kinds of life-extending artifacts are being gathered in the imperial capital.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“There’s a lot—phoenix feathers, mermaid tears, moon essence, earth’s heart, fruit of the world tree, and so on.”

“That kind of stuff always ends up in the imperial capital anyway.”

“True, but since you asked about rumors, I just mentioned it.”

Clues to immortality are gathering in the imperial capital…

If that’s real, what could be the reason?

I twirled my hair absentmindedly, lost in thought.

Chris looked at me and smiled brightly.

“I’ve always thought this, but Lady Luina, your hair is a similar color to Star Silver.”

“It’s the only part of my body that’s exactly the same as before.”

“Well, if you put it that way, your eyes are still the same too. They’re green and pretty.”

“Chris, I’ve noticed this before, but you really don’t hold back, do you?”

Chris didn’t care at all about my burns.

He thought things like that were trivial.

Since I also considered it trivial, we got along well in that respect.

Leon, who had been quietly listening to our conversation, murmured softly.

“The imperial capital.”

“Lord Leon. Are you interested in the imperial capital?”

“Well, it is the most developed place in the world. Since it gathers all kinds of information, I’ve always wanted to visit at least once.”

“Then our next destination is decided.”

The capital of the Aeterno Empire.

The ancient city of a thousand years, Aeternia.

That would be our next destination.

“That was decided quickly.”

“When are you planning to depart?”

“That depends on Chris’s condition.”

As soon as I finished speaking, Leon and I turned to look at Chris.

Under our gaze, Chris hastily stopped stuffing his mouth with honey mead and explained:

“I’m currently having the ingredients tested, and I’ve almost secured enough large containers to store the hot spring water. Preparations should be done soon.”

“Then in the meantime, we can enjoy a hot spring bath. Lord Leon?”

“I’ll pass. I’m tired from too many hot spring baths already.”

“Already worn out? Lord Leon, you have surprisingly low stamina, huh?”

“…I’ll be going now.”

Instead of teasing Leon further, I finished drinking my honey mead and stood up.

I’d loved baths even in my past life.

Nothing else relieved fatigue as well as soaking in hot water.

I entered the inn’s hot spring, specifically the women’s communal hot spring, and looked up at the sky filled with peach trees.

Those pink petals were always fascinating to see.

It seemed like the trees were kept alive and blooming even in this cold weather thanks to magic.

I wondered what kind of magic it was.

I wanted it.

The tree had no owner.

They were just away, but I didn’t mind and slipped into the water.

Heat spread through my body.

Savoring that drowsy sensation, I closed my eyes and leaned against the wall.

It really takes experiencing all kinds of hot springs to realize—this one was the most effective.

Looking back, I’d say this hot spring relieved fatigue the best.

I slept well at night.

Yeah.

It felt like bathing in water infused with beneficial herbs—the thought struck me, and I quietly looked down at the water.

Then I plunged under with a splash.

Is this really just an ordinary hot spring unrelated to the Holy Grail?

Under the water, I opened my eyes wide and scoured the bottom thoroughly.

But no matter where I looked, it was just a normal hot spring.

Had I misjudged it?

Or maybe I needed to investigate more carefully?

That thought crossed my mind for a second—

“No matter how hard you search, the Holy Grail isn’t here, you crazy girl.”

“I’m perfectly sane, thank you.”

As I surfaced, green hair greeted me.

Florra, taking a long puff from her pipe, lay down on a flat rock under the peach tree and said:

“Is there a reason you’re looking for the Holy Grail?”

“It’s a quest from the Holy Nation. If I complete it, I can receive full treatment for free.”

“I thought you were the kind of person who didn’t care about appearances?”

“It was a dying wish.”

“Since you accepted something like that, of course you have to honor it.”

Florra gave a short laugh and tapped her pipe.

Then she spoke again.

“You’re scary—you’d have drained all the hot spring water if I’d left you alone.”

“I wouldn’t do that.”

“Then you weren’t planning to evaporate it all with fire magic?”

“Just a little bit of evaporation…”

“See? I was right. So, why does soaking in my hot spring make you feel especially refreshed? I’ll give you the answer.”

With that, Florra tapped the rock with her pipe.

“This rock here.”

“Yes?”

“It may not look like it, but it’s Star Silver.”

“Star Silver? That?”

“Yes.”

No wonder.

I’d always thought it was weird how she didn’t use the hot spring and instead lay around on random spots.

So it was Star Silver?

No wonder hot spring baths here felt mysteriously refreshing.