After gorging on all that meat, what awaited us was the ultimate natural hot spring—or rather, open-air bath.
The hot spring, which Lutecia had apparently remodeled with great enthusiasm, was every bit as wonderful as those in Japan, a hot spring paradise. I don't know if she studied it from documents or actually went and did research, but she had created a magnificent "wa" (Japanese) space.
There was just one thing I had to say about it:
"The space is way too big for the number of people, isn't it?"
"I know, right?"
I was in the hot spring alongside Erio. The temperature was perfect. It seemed to have slightly different temperatures in different spots, so you could adjust it to your liking. There was even a waterfall bath in the back. The facilities were perfect.
But it was too vast. When there's too much space for the number of people, it feels less like having it to ourselves and more... a bit empty.
It's just way too big for two people...
Okay, you there, I know what you're thinking. "Someone's going to come bursting in, aren't they?" I get it, I get it. It's a natural thought.
But I'm going to tell you something. That way of thinking is naive.
For one thing, it's not just me on this trip; Erio is here. There are two guys. Just like with the room assignments, we're basically a pair. Do you really think girls are going to come storming in? The answer is no.
And there are some scary chaperones here. Asuna and Sakura are among them, and they're the kind of girls who will chew you out when it's necessary. The biggest ones are Nanoha-san and Meguane-san. With two adults keeping an eye on us, nothing's going to go wrong.
At least not this time.
So for now, it's just me and Erio. It's extremely wholesome.
"You're a Butei, right, Shou-san?"
"Hm, yeah, I guess so."
"What kind of cases have you solved?"
Well, those are cases I can't talk about.
I felt bad for the curious, bright-eyed Erio, but there were so many secrets I couldn't tell him that I didn't know what to say.
"Ah, I'm sorry... I guess there are things you can't talk about, huh?"
"W-well, yeah!"
He seemed to have gotten the hint, and Erio calmed down. His slightly embarrassed expression would probably make him very popular with certain older ladies. I am not one of them.
But this is a good opportunity. I might as well ask him if anything's changed.
"Why are you so curious? Are you aiming to be a Butei too?"
"No, I'm leaning more towards the Bureau. I want to repay Fate-san for raising me."
Erio, and Caro as well, are not Fate's biological children. They're children with complicated circumstances who were taken in by Fate due to unavoidable reasons. It's only natural that he would want to repay the person who reached out to him.
Fate is proactive in taking in such children. She looks for foster parents and sometimes raises them herself. I have some ideas about her thinking, but I'll save that for later.
"That's a noble thing to do. But Testa Rossa-san might want you to live a more peaceful life, you know?"
"Haha... She was against it at first, honestly. But she started cheering me on in the end! And since then, she's been teaching me a lot about magic whenever she has time."
"Oh? So you're confident in your skills?"
"No, no! I'm still nowhere near the active members!"
"By the way, is Testa Rossa-san your only mentor?"
"No, Takamachi-san, and though they're not here today, Signum-san and Vita-san have taught me a little, too."
"..."
The lineup is so insane it's funny.
I haven't met the latter two, but I know they exist. Both of them are highly skilled. You could call it a golden lineup of instructors. And considering that Erio hasn't become jaded even after being trained by those geniuses, he must be a genius himself. And Erio is only 14.
Doesn't the phrase "frighteningly promising" exist for guys like him?
"I'm living at the Section 6 barracks now. I couldn't participate in the last Section 6, so I'm hoping to this time---"
"Wait a minute, you couldn't participate in the last Section 6?"
I had to ask because I was curious.
"Yeah, it was difficult because of my age. Oh, that's right. This isn't the first time Section 6 has been established. Special Section 6 is an organization formed by the Mobile Section 6 that solved the 'JS Incident'..."
I know about that. I know the general outline of the "JS Incident" (the name is taken from the initials of the perpetrator, Jail Scaglietti). What I want to know is,
"You didn't participate last time?"
"That's right. At 10 years old, it was impossible."
I want to say that's obvious, but I'll let him talk a little more for my own curiosity.
"Then what was the unit composition like? Um, weren't Takamachi-san and Testa Rossa-san each in charge of a team?"
I chose my words carefully as I asked.
"I'm sorry. I don't know the details either... but I'm sure they each had their own teams. You'd probably know more if you asked Subaru-san and Teana-san..."
"Thanks. I'll ask them later."
It's important to know what changes have occurred, even if it's in the past.
"Wow! The temperature is perfect!"
"Oh."
"Looks like the other side has people in it too."
From the other side, the garden of girls, I could hear the voices of several women. Due to the number of people and changing clothes, they were later than us to the hot spring.
With the only men being us on this trip, the hot spring should be wide, but I could hear their chatter quite clearly.
Didn't Lutecia care about privacy? She should have put up a soundproofing barrier.
"No, with Lutecia, it's possible it's on purpose."
"She would do that."
Just from our brief interaction, I could understand Lutecia's personality. She's quite a teaser and playful.
"It's a chance to hear the girls' secret conversations that we normally can't."
"Th-that's a bad hobby, Shou-san."
"Don't be scared now! Lutecia planned this, so she must have anticipated it!"
"What if she just forgot to add a barrier?! That's a no-no; you can't eavesdrop!"
"You're too serious. Acting like a goodie-two-shoes during a school trip-like moment like this, have you lost all your libido?! I'm the type who's already overflowing and still pours more into it!"
"That's what it comes down to!"
"But you're curious, too, aren't you? What Caro is saying. Besides, we can't help it since we can hear them."
"Wh-wh-why are you bringing up Caro's name?! She has nothing to do with this!"
"Besides, if we're making this much noise, don't you think they can hear us?"
"Are you even listening to me?!"
I grabbed Erio's mouth and forced him to shut up.
"It seems they haven't noticed..."
"Maybe they're so engrossed in their chatter that they don't notice?"
"You think so--- HEYYYY!!! CAN YOU HEAR US!!!"
I tried shouting loudly. But there was no reply.
"How can they not hear us at this volume?"
"Hmm..."
Erio also tilted his head.
"What should we do? Should we get out early?"
"No, way! I'm not getting out of this bath until I count to ten thousand!"
"You'll get a heat stroke."
"It's better to let them know so we can both be mindful of our volume."
"I'm glad that was a reasonable opinion."
"You don't hold back, even though I'm older. HEYYY!!!"
"But I'm relieved. I thought you might try to peek... I'm not saying I wanted to peek!"
Leaving aside Erio's full-force denial of a pubescent boy, I wasn't thinking of peeking at all. Because,
"I'd be killed if I peeked."
"Ah..."
He gets it. That's right.
"But to be honest, I want to peek."
"You're so honest..."
"Huh? I meant you, Erio! You'd want to peek if it was Caro, right?"
"No, I told you...!"
It's pure harassment, but there's no work-style reform in this industry. And this guy (Erio) is very easy to read. Well, with his complicated circumstances, it's natural he would have those feelings for a girl his age who grew up in the same place as him.
"Well then, it's a little early, but shall we start the main event of the trip?"
"The main event? Lutecia, what are you talking about?"
While we were talking, we could still hear voices from the other side.
"Something's off, right?"
"Huh?"
"That voice just now, it was way too clear, wasn't it?"
"Now that you mention it..."
It wasn't a very loud voice. It was too clear for a normal tone. If they could hear that voice, they should have responded to my shouting a long time ago.
With a suspicion, I stood up from the bath. It's hard to imagine an enemy appearing here, but you never know.
And at that moment, what appeared before us was--- a beetle about 10 centimeters long. Its body was mainly purple with red eyes. What was even more surprising was that it was holding a display with its thin legs. Even if it was lightweight, it seemed to be a strong one for its size.
Of course, there were words written on the display.
"That's Lutecia's summoned beast."
"Oh, really?"
Knowing it wasn't an enemy, I released my weapon, "Kiba Task." But why would it have something like this?
"Um, what does it say... 'Lutecia Alpine Presents! Pounding Heart! An Invitation to the Secret Garden!'... It seems."
For some reason, something had started. Erio continued to read.
"Ahem... 'From now on, we will present the bare, honest conversations of girls to the gentlemen's bath! Mr. Yozuki and Erio, please type in any questions you want to ask the girls on the display in front of you! I, Lutecia Alpine, will magnificently fulfill your requests!'"
Why would she go to such lengths for this...? What will happen to her if she gets caught? The people around her are quite skilled, you know? I'm not taking responsibility for this!
"Shou-san. You shouldn't do this."
"I haven't done anything yet, have I?"
"You haven't done anything 'yet,' have you? The moment you take that display, you can't talk your way out of it!"
She went to all this trouble to prepare this, you know? She did all this just to welcome us. To cast it aside would be a terrible thing to do as a person.
"But if we get caught, won't we get punished too for listening?"
"...Change of plans. Let's get out of the bath quietly."
"That's a wise decision! Let's do it!"
Erio and I quickly got out of the hot spring to avoid any collateral damage.
Eat, bathe, and sleep. Is there any better way to spend your time?
And they even have coffee milk after the bath. It's bliss. A moment of pure bliss.
As I was getting a massage on a massage chair and feeling dreamy, a group of girls came into the lounge.
"Shou-kun."
"Oh, everyone's out of the bath, too... huh, what's wrong?"
Why are they so angry?
"Is it true that you saw Yami-chan's panties and shouted loudly during the battle?"
"W-why are you asking about that?"
Asuna-san? W-why are you bringing up a story from so long ago?
"Yami-san told me."
"You're not denying it, so it's true, then?"
Yukina and Aria cornered me.
"For now, let's have you sit seiza style."
"...Understood."
I was about to be thoroughly scolded.
Hey Erio, there's no point in making that pitiful face. Remember this for tomorrow's training.
----------
It was midnight, and everyone was sound asleep because of the big day ahead. I was heading to the hot spring again. Not because I couldn't sleep and wanted to take another bath, though. I would have gone to bed obediently if nothing had happened.
But there was nothing I could do when a girl called me out.
The girl walking beside me, Riko, was wearing a thin yukata borrowed from the pension. I was holding Riko's hand in a lover's grip with my left hand. Riko held my hand with both of hers and pressed her body close to me.
With my left hand pressed so close it was squeezed between her breasts, my heart started to pound just from walking. That softness... she definitely wasn't wearing anything underneath.
"Well, I thought it would be one of you two who would call me out first."
"Which two?"
"Either you or Kurumi."
"Hehe, you were right."
Riko turned to face me. Her loosely wavy golden hair spread out softly.
"You're a pervert. You were hoping for something like this here."
"You're the pervert. You're the one who invited me."
"But you were so excited about it."
As we exchanged those meaningless accusations, we arrived at the hot spring.
"Which one do we go into?"
Riko pointed to two adjacent doors. Hanging over them were the signs for "Men's Bath" and "Women's Bath." There was no way we were going in separately.
"The men's bath is better. Besides me, there's only Erio, and I don't think he'd want to come in at this late hour."
"Then if Erio-kun comes in, he'll see me naked."
"We could go to the women's bath, but if an adult comes in, everything's over for me."
"In that case, we'll be partners in crime."
"I don't want a partnership like that..."
Under Butei rules, the crime would be multiplied by three.
We went under the curtain of the men's bath.
"Huh, the layout is the same as the women's bath."
Riko looked around the inside with curiosity. But that innocent Riko was gone in an instant.
"Riko?"
I called out to Riko's back, which had stopped. She turned to me. The moment she faced me, the obi of her yukata fell to the floor.
"Shou-kun."
The yukata came undone. It slipped off her shoulders and was barely supported by her twin mounds. Riko wasn't wearing anything, not even on the bottom. She smiled bewitchingly without trying to hide anything.
"First, how about we get in together and relax?"
The first night was not yet over.
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