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Ch. 168: Hot Springs Part 2
Cyril: “WHOAー! Henry! Look, look! The sunset is so pretty!”
As we entered the “Sparkling Stars”, Cyril threw down her luggage and clung to the window sill.
I let out a quiet sigh and walked to stand next to her.
…….over on the horizon, the sun was just about to hide behind the mountain ranges. With all the beautiful nature we could see from our view, it truly was a wonderful sight.
Henry: “I guess it was worth running over here. If we arrived just a little later, we would have missed this.”
Cyril: “That’s true～”
And we both gazed outside the window at the sunset.
I felt Cyril’s hand hold mine tightly. …….and understanding her signal, I drew her body up close to mine.
……..we both remained quiet, and well…..it was nice to be able to have a time like this to ourselves.
It took about 10 minutes for the sun to completely disappear. We stayed as we were until then……and after the light was gone, we parted naturally.
Cyril: “Fwewー Henry, that was pretty good! You earned yourself some Cyril points!”
Henry: “......we still had that point system?” Cyril: “Of course we do! But you’re still a long way from full marksー!”
I know she’s really not keeping score, but I was still a little curious to know what she thought my current score was.
………well, not that she would really have an answer.
Henry: “Fine, fine. Hmmm, why don’t we take a seat?”
The interior of the room was similar to the guest meeting room of the Sagiri household. A very low table was placed surrounded by chairs without legs. …….and on each chair had a cushion.
On top of the table was a tea set and a few pamphlets.
With some relief, I sat down on one of the seats.
Cyril: “Henry, do you want some tea? There’s Magic Tools for boiling water here.”
Henry: “.......I think I had more than enough at Mrs. Akane’s, so I’m okay.” As we continued our long conversation about Ageha, she kept filling and refilling my tea cup, and I can still feel the liquid splash around inside my stomach. So I don’t need any more at the moment.
Cyril: Okay～ so……this pamphlet……….ohhhh, I see, I see. A map of the inn and a ‘yukata’? There’s instructions on how to put one on.”
Hmmm, I see. And as Cyril was reading the pamphlet about the yukata thing, I looked over the map.
According to the map, the most famous outside bath at the inn is……oh, it’s actually close to this room. And there’s also something called an “away” bath in another location.
There’s also a recreation area, gift shop, and on the first floor a……..couple’s bath? Not sure what that is.
Cyril: “Oh, Henry, can you pass me that?” Henry: “Sure.” I was still reading the pamphlet with the map, but that’s okay.
I picked up Cyril’s pamphlet in exchange and began reading it.
………ohー a “yukata”, huh. It’s one of the Rishu people’s clothes, and it’s to wear when you’re relaxing indoors. They’ve prepared several sizes, in each room, so we can freely pick and choose the size we want.
Since there are a lot of visitors from the mainland, there was also simple instructions on how to put it on, that even I could understand. ……well, not that it was that complicated in the first place.
Henry: “Well, I guess we should give it a try since we’re hereー”
I looked around the room and found what I was looking for. There were several cloths folded very nicely…..and among those, I chose the 2nd to biggest size.
Henry: “Like this?” I realized that my clothes were in the way from wearing the yukata, so I began taking them off.
Cyril: “Waiー Henry! Why are you stripping all of a sudden!”
Henry: “...........what?” Wait…..really?
But Cyril wasn’t joking. The redness in her face reached the tips of her ears.
…….um, Miss Cyril? We have……you know……been together, right? I know it’s not that many times, but aren’t we overreacting a bit? ーーis what I wanted to tell her, but this might not be the place and time. In fact, I might end up poking a hornets’ nest.
Fine. Fine. I relented and retreated to the green room. The green room is a separate room divided by a sliding door…….something called a shoji, so I hid behind it and changed my clothes.
Henry: “.......oh, this feels nice.”
Though I can’t say that the quality of the cloth was exceptional, it still…….how to say it, it felt natural. It was light and easy to maneuver.
Henry: “Oh, hey. How do I look, Cyril?” Cyril: “Oh! It looks good on you～ but let’s see, I think the belt can be adjusted a little more to……maybe like this?” Cyril adjusts the belt’s position. ……..hmm, well, I can’t tell the difference, but Cyril knows her fashion. Even if she’s a self-proclaimed fashion expert, she still knows a lot.
Cyril: “Then I’ll get changed too, Henry.” With her yukata in her hand, she traded places with me and headed into the green room.
………..hmmmm….
Henry: “........Cyril, can I watch?” Cyril: “OF COURSE NOT!”
<SLAP!!> (*sfx)
And as we walked past each other, she slapped me across the back.
……..and because the yukata was thinner than my regular clothes, I felt it sting more than usual.
<<<<>>>>
Cyril: “Now, how is it? What do you think about Miss Cyril in a yukata?!”
After she was done getting dressed, she mumbled to herself, “well, with this, we should probably do something with the hair too～” and sitting in front of the mirror available in the room, she quickly braided and styled her hair.
And with confidence overflowing from her expression, she looked to me for affirmation.
Well, actually, in fact….
…….she was breath-taking, but I decided to keep that to myself.
Henry: “Ohー uh, yeah, you look good. Yeah.” Cyril: “Hehehe～”
Cyril’s smile widened as she took the compliment. ……..crap, she looks really cute.
<*cough cough*>
I cleared my throat.
Henry: “AーAnyways, it’s about time, so let’s go meet up with Jend and Ferris and head to the bーー”
[Heーy, you twoー c’monー]
And with impeccable timing, we heard Jend’s voice as he knocked on the door.
Henry: “Comingー”
And I head to the door.
When I opened to greet them, I saw Jend and Ferris who were also wearing yukatas.
Jend: “Hey, Henry. I see you’ve tried on the yukata. How’s the room?”
Henry: “When we walked in, the sun was just setting, so we got to catch a great view.”
Jend: “Yeah? We got to see the waterfall behind the inn in our room too, and it was amazing.”
I guess it’ll be worth going to see it afterwards.
I welcome the two into the room.
Cyril: “Welcome, Jend, Miss Ferris.” Ferris: “Hey Cyril. I see you did your hair. Yup, it looks good on you.”
Cyril: “Thank you very much! How about you, Miss Ferris? I still have more ribbons left!”
Cyril jumped up and down as she ran to get more ribbon cloth from her bag.
Ferris: “I’m okay. My hair’s too short anyways.”
Cyril: “Leave that to me! Even if it’s a little short, I can still work with it.”
Then why did you ask her in the first place……
But my mental retort was left unanswered as Cyril circled around Ferris with a “Sit down, sit down.” And pressed her hands gently down on Ferris’ shoulders.
Ferris: “Aren’t we about to take a bath?” But Ferris gave in and sat down.
Cyril: “You’re right. Then let’s do this…..”
And Cyril quickly braided Ferris’ hair up and………man, it’s impressive how easily she’s able to manipulate other people’s hair like that.
Jend: “Whoaー yeah, the view is definitely better in this room. The stars are starting to come out.”
During that time, Jend went over to the window to look out, and impressed, commented loudly.
Henry: “Since we’ll be here for a while, you want to switch rooms tomorrow?” Jend: “No, Henry. You’re forgetting. Guys and girls will be separate from tomorrow on, right?” ……..that’s right.
Since Teo is coming to join us, we can’t stay in this arrangement.
Henry: “....I wonder if Teo feels awkward with the Party members like this.”
I mumble the comment under my breath, but loud enough for Jend to be able to hear. I wasn’t comfortable bringing this up with the other females in the group.
Jend: “Hmmmm, I wonder. I mean, we’re talking about Teo here.”
Henry: “I know that too, but….”
If the rest of the Party was dating another Party member, I would feel really awkward in Teo’s shoes. And if it was me, I would have left the Party quickly……….but considering Teo’s personality, she really may not care at all.
But just in case, she’s actually feeling awkward about it…….it’s not impossible so I need to think about how to address it with her later.
Cyril: “Henry, Jendー? What are you whispering over there? Let’s go to the bathー”
With Ferris’ hair done, Cyril came over.
Jend: “Well, we can talk about this later.”
Henry: “Yeah, it’s time for a bath, a bath.”
And the four of us walked down the inn’s hallways.
I forced myself to memorize the layout of the inn. It’s important for an Adventurer to memorize the geography and paths, so this was relatively easy for me.
It was not far before we found the entrance to the Roten Baths.
The entrance was separated to a men and women’s area. They apparently switch during the day so that both can enjoy both baths.
Ferris: “Then Cyril and I are going this way.”
Henry: “Yeah, hey, look after Cyril, okay? She might slip and hit her head or something.”
Cyril: “.....grrrr, I’m not that childish!”
As I asked Ferris, Cyril pouted next to her. But she didn’t have too much confidence behind those words.
I look at Ferris and make one last plea with my eyes. Ferris was used to it, and with a “Leave it to me,” she nodded.
Jend and I walk through the men’s entrance way, and in the changing area, we strip down.
And walking to the Roten Baths……
Henry: “Whoa…….” The place looked impressive from the start.
Jend: “This is amazing…..” You first notice the bath formed from the natural rock formations.
There is also a washing area, and there’s even a few wooden chairs in case you need to step out of the bath to cool down.
ーーif it’s like this, it’s not so different from the mainland’s public bath house.
But before us, there was no wall cutting off our view to the backdrop. The mountains in the distance greeted us, and looking up, we saw the moon and stars.
Enjoying nature while sitting in a hot bath………..was a luxury I haven’t experienced before.
Though I wanted to jump right in, there were manners and etiquettes to follow, and there were many signs warning us about this.
Following the directions, Jend and I quickly wash ourselves clean, and then proceed forwardミミ
Henry: “UGHHHHHHーーーー it feels so gooooooood….”
Jend: “Hey, stop that. That sounds weird. …..but I know how you feel.”
The water was slightly murky white, but I lowered down into it until only my head poked out. I can’t tell you how amazing that felt.
I could feel the water’s heat from the ends of my hands and feet, and as it tingled, I also felt the fatigue exit my body.
Once I thoroughly enjoy the hot waters, I turn my attention to the view.
ミミwith the sensations of the bath still lingering in my body, I felt the natural view gently flow into my mind.
Though it would be impossible on the mainland because of the Demonic Creatures, if some eccentric asked me to open up a mountain frontier to build a Rishu-style bath house, I might say yes.
[WOWーー Miss Ferris, Miss Ferris! Look, look! Isn’t this amazing?!]
[Hey, Cyril. Stop running around. It’s embarrassing.]
……..but as I was enjoying the bath, something drew me straight back to reality.
Henry: “Ugh….sheesh. We’ll have a talk after the bath.”
But my comment disappeared with the steam.
……..but let’s not think about things after the bath. For now, I just enjoyed the hot spring as much as I could.
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CHONKY TL LiT (Lost in Translation)
Yukata (浴衣) (ゆかた)