Chapter 29 Hot Spring
Even though I wanted to go home, it took longer than before because of all the big dead lizards lying along the road, and we got to town when the sky changed from orange to deep blue.
They said the detailed talk would be tomorrow, but the 3 from [Fourth] said they'd go report the finished work and drove toward the city center, while Yuruyana and I headed to the hotel.
"Hot springs! Hot springs!"
Yuruyana has been saying nothing else since a while ago.
Usually when we walk somewhere unknown, he's either right next to me or a step behind, but now he's walking one step ahead of me.
Actually, he's kinda skipping a bit.
"You really love hot springs that much?"
"Of course. It warms your body, and makes your skin nice, too."
"I see."
I thought, what more do you want from your already shiny skin?
But maybe good-looking one have their own special ways to stay pretty.
The hotel was a pretty big and nice building, but maybe because they're restricting the lava zone tours──the biggest industry in town──there weren't many guests.
The mountain paths should be fixed and safe from tomorrow, so it should get better little by little.
"Isn't that kinda good for us?"
"Yeah, we get the whole place to ourselves."
The locker room in the big bath was totally empty, and no clothes of other guests were on the shelves──completely private.
While I was being slow, Yuruyana quickly stripped, wrapped a towel 'round his waist, tied his long hair high at the nape, grabbed his own bath stuff, and sped off toward the big bath.
Isn't he way too used to this?
"Tsukumo, it's huge! No one's here!"
"It says not to run, you know."
His voice echoed all around──like it said, the big bath was split into several pools with different temperatures and depths, plus there was an open-air bath at the back.
"Wait, you're not covering up now?"
"Huh? Why cover up? It's a hot spring."
I thought he'd be embarrassed since he looked way more n*ked than when he just woke up, but apparently, being n*ked here is fine.
I don't really get his rules.
But good thing there were no other guests; someone innocent seeing this would definitely feel awkward.
I washed off the dirt from working during the day and cleaned my hair with the shampoo Yuruyana lent me.
Feeling fresh, I finally sank into the bath.
"Ahh..."
"Heeey..."
As I slipped my shoulders into the slightly colored clear water, I couldn't help but let out a sound.
Yuruyana next to me made a deep gruff noise.
After stretching out my legs and warming up for a while, I thought he could just move wherever he liked in this big tub, but for some reason Yuruyana didn't budge and was staring at my arm.
"What?"
"No, I was just thinking you really do train properly."
Seems like he was comparing my arm to his again.
I actually thought Yuruyana looked more trained than I expected.
His small, thin body had these smooth muscles, not bulky but solid.
"I stopped training like in the army, so I lost a bit."
I kept training when I was bored or feeling down, so I still stay decent, but my mom noticed I got a little thinner when I went home.
"Is this it?"
Don't poke.
"If you want to see real muscles, just ask Thomas later."
"Thomas's are on a whole other level..."
Thomas really got blessed with his build, making Luka look small even though he's not.
Like them, he's kinda bad at swimming.
Yuruyana grabbed my arm again and looked it over closely, so I wondered what now.
"...You've got a lot of scars."
They must have popped up more because the blood's flowing better.
"You're some genius guy, right? You can use healing magic, so why not fix them?"
"There's a limit to how deep the magic can heal. Plus, during missions, I had to use my magic elsewhere."
"So that means the ones left are pretty deep wounds..."
"I don't even remember which scar's from what."
Sniped by some modified arcane gun, attacked by a sword master in the dark, thinking back, I really don't know how I'm still alive.
Maybe better said, I just couldn't die.
"Oh yeah, arcane medicine has that stuff that closes wounds instantly without a trace, right?"
"It's expensive! We don't keep the materials on hand."
"Figures."
I heard only really good Arcanopharmacists can make the top-grade medicine, but I'm not saying I can't make it.
"...Wanna make it for you, pay me back later. I think the scars'll vanish too."
Seems like they worry the scars will make me remember the army days and suffer.
Yeah, that does happen sometimes.
But I shook my head.
"I don't need it now. Feels like all that stuff's about to be wiped away."
I think forgetting would make things easier, but I also think I can't forget.
"Gotcha. Tell me if you ever need it."
"Okay."
Wish I'd had it handy back then.
Should've kept at least one, even if it was pricey.
While I was thinking about useless stuff like that, Yuruyana suddenly stood up with a loud splash.
"Let's go to the open-air bath! Staying in too long makes you dizzy."
"Okay."
He could've gone alone, but he think he's just being thoughtful by inviting me.
I gladly accepted and went outside with her, and the breeze felt cooler than it should've while we moved.
The hot tub built from rocks had a vibe different from inside, with hot water bubbling out over a little fake waterfall.
I wondered how it worked, but climbing the rocks to check was too risky with what we had on.
"Feels like a place for tourists, huh!"
Looks like Yuruyana liked it too.
I was watching her swim smoothly to the far end when the entrance suddenly got noisy.
"Captain and the others just got in too?"
Luka led as the 3 from [Fourth] popped their heads in.
"Seniorrrr!"
"D-don't run!"
Too late──Thomas ran straight at us, slipped on the wet floor where the thickish water spilled over, and, just like I thought, fell down.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Donate me
Support Me with USDC
(ERC20)
Support Me with XLM
(Stellar Lumens)