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Chapter 180 – Umi and Bath (1)
We took the stairs to the first floor where the open air bath was located. According to the leaflet, they also had a regular bath, but since we didn’t have to worry about other guests, we decided to go to the open-air bath, which was located near the entrance at the other end of the building.
“I’m going this way, Maki.”
“M-Mm
 T-Then, I’ll be going this way
”
We went to our respective changing rooms.
I placed my stuff in one of the baskets, before taking off my clothes and putting them in the bag I had brought. After bathing, Umi and I would be spending the rest of the day in the yukata the inn provided.
“
Phew.”
The rustling sound of me undressing echoed inside the empty room.
This wasn’t my first time taking a bath with Umi, but it wasn’t something that we did often, that was why I felt a little nervous.
Last time we took a bath together was before we became second-years. Back then, we were drenched by a sudden downpour on our way to my house. I told Umi to take a bath first, but she said that we should do it together instead, lest I caught a cold, so we did.
“We were both so nervous back then, we ended up bathing with our backs turned toward each other
”
However, the memory of her white backside, covered by a thin towel was still clearly engraved in my mind.
I couldn’t believe that I was so ready to take a bath together with her this time, though. Then again, it would be rude to Shizuku-san if I didn’t take this chance since she went this far to create an opportunity for us. Besides, we were lovers and this would be a good experience for us, I guess.
After making various excuses, I wrapped a small towel around my waist and opened the door to the open-air bath.
“Woah
”
The bathhouse looked even more beautiful than I imagined. Since it was nighttime, the whole place was faintly illuminated by indirect lighting. The lighting occasionally reflected off the surface of the hot spring water.
The hot-spring water itself had a cloudy white color. They said that soaking in it could help you ease your stiff shoulders, sensitivity to cold, rheumatism and so on
 Well, I guess those benefits weren’t of much use to me for now

Before going inside the water, I took a light shower to rinse off my sweat. Now that I think about it, back when we did that on the mountains, did I reek of sweat? I took a sniff of my own body and it was a little smelly.
Umi’s scent was mixed in there too

As I was rinsing my body and washing my hair, I heard the sound of the door opening from the other side of the fence. Umi entered the other side of the bath.
I continued what I was doing, but I couldn’t get her out of my head.
Then I heard the sound of splashing water from the other side. She was probably rinsing off as well.
We should be using the same equipment, but why were the noises we were making  so different? As expected, the way the water bounced off our body mattered, huh? (T/N: Kinda hard to TL this part, but basically, he’s just subtly thinking about the curves in her body.)
“I-I think I should go in now
”
Since I had finished rinsing my body, I decided to soak in the hot spring.
I wanted to go to Umi’s side as soon as possible, but I had to prepare myself first.
“Phew
 it’s so warm
”
I soaked my body from the shoulders down in the hot spring as I let out a content sigh. The water felt thick, yet it was pleasant to the touch.
Even though I had just entered the water, I could feel the warmth permeating through my insides.
I wasn’t particularly fond of bathing, but with water like this, I could stay here forever if it was possible. Of course, that wasn’t possible, I’d get sick if I were to do that.
Alright, I calmed down a little, time to go to—
“Maki~ Have you soaked yourself yet?”
“Mhm. What about you?”
“Me too. So, what are we going to do next?”
“Uh
 I’ll go over there.”
“Huh? You’re going to enter the women’s bath? Pervert.”
“Eh, rather than entering the women’s bath, I just want to be with you right now
 What, do you want to come over instead?”
“No~ It’s fine, just come over.”
“‘Kay.”
At times like this, I should be the one to take the initiative. No, I wasn’t making excuses so I could visit the women’s bath. I mean, I doubt that it would look different from the men’s anyway.
“Uh
 Excuse me.”
“Come in~”
After receiving Umi’s permission, I placed my hand on the door in the fence. As Shizuku-san said, the door opened easily.
“Hehe, come closer, Maki.”
“Ah
 Mm.”
Umi’s shoulders were already submerged in the water and since the water was murky, I couldn’t see anything below that. Since the towel was wrapped around her head, it was obvious that she wasn’t wearing anything below.
I gotta be thankful that I couldn’t see anything, because if I did, I would lose all reason. For now, I should be able to manage my composure.
As long as I didn’t start touching her body, it should be fine, maybe

I wrapped the towel around my head before entering the water.
“Maki, let’s hold hands.”
“Mm.”
We sat by side, shoulder to shoulder as we intertwined our fingers in the hot water.
It was something that we did regularly, but since we were both naked, I felt unusually nervous.
Not good. If we didn’t get out early, I felt like I would lose it.