All the surrounding noise suddenly fell silent.
Everyone stared at Sato dumbfounded. Then someone laughed first, and soon the whole group burst into laughter.
"Hahaha! That's true though! No one would confess by barging into someone's hot spring bath, right?"
"I knew something about what the owner said felt weird!"
Everyone began chattering noisily at once. The owner paused for a moment, an awkward expression flashing across his face.
"Ahem!"
He immediately coughed twice and said, "What I said earlier was indeed a bit off. Then let me add one more sentence, how about after getting out of the hot spring?"
The owner resumed speaking passionately.
"After soaking in the hot spring, the two walk beneath the night sky together, gazing up at the beautiful stars. The warmth from the spring still lingers on their bodies, just like the blood gradually heating within them at that very moment. The boy and girl, each holding feelings for the other, silently look into each other's eyes. And within that wordless silence, one of them finally says in a trembling voice, 'The moon is beautiful tonight.'"
"Doesn't a scene like that sound wonderful?"
The owner suddenly chuckled while looking at everyone, his gaze sweeping repeatedly across the group as though secretly speculating about something.
In an instant, everyone's expressions became a little subtle.
Heads lowered, eyes quietly exchanged glances. Naturally, there was longing in those looks, along with traces of something else.
After all...
Everyone present was single.
"A scene like that would never apply to Onii-chan anyway."
Suddenly, Hikigaya Komachi's muttering reached everyone's ears. In the silence, her voice sounded especially clear.
Hikigaya Hachiman's expression darkened again.
He had just been stabbed in the back by his little sister once more.
Sato also looked at Hikigaya Hachiman with a grin, his eyes carrying a teasing look.
Looks like that little sister you're always proud of leaks a bit of wind.
As Hikigaya Hachiman noticed the malicious smile on Sato's face and glared fiercely at him, Sato turned toward the owner and smiled.
"Owner, you seem to have studied literature?"
Hearing that, the owner chuckled. A nostalgic look appeared in his eyes as he sighed emotionally.
"To tell you the truth, I was also part of the literature club back in high school!"
High school?
Sato caught the key point immediately. Looking thoughtful, he asked, "Then what about university?"
Owner: "..."
Everyone's gazes toward him became strange. Since he had gone silent... did that mean he failed the entrance exams?
Facing all the eyes staring at him, the owner's gaze toward Sato gradually became resentful.
Sato shivered involuntarily and laughed awkwardly twice.
Please don't look at me like that. That resentful expression really gives off the feeling of being abandoned after being toyed with.
Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the shrine on the distant mountain again.
"Owner, has that shrine been abandoned?"
The owner glanced up at it and said, "Ah, that place. Yes, it's already abandoned."
"Right ahead is our inn, everyone must be tired from the trip, so please head inside and rest!"
...
At the mountainside stood a cluster of very traditional Japanese-style buildings. This was the Kaizan Hot Spring Inn.
After bringing everyone there, the owner headed back down the mountain. There were many tourists during this season, and another group of guests had yet to arrive, so he needed to wait for them below.
Thus, the one receiving the guests changed from the owner to the proprietress.
"Welcome to Kaizan Hot Spring Inn!"
Standing at the entrance, the well-maintained-looking proprietress bowed slightly to everyone.
She wore a yukata with subdued colors, giving off a calm and dignified feeling. In traditional hot spring inns, proprietresses often wore yukata, as though that was what truly gave the place the atmosphere of a hot spring inn.
"Hello!"
Everyone returned the greeting.
"Your rooms have all been prepared. Please change your shoes and follow me!"
As the proprietress led everyone upstairs to their rooms, she began explaining the inn.
"Our hot springs are all located on the mountain behind the inn, very close by. The paths are paved with cobblestones, and the lights stay on until eleven at night, so guests can simply follow the trail."
"Oh, right. Our curfew is eleven-thirty, so please keep that in mind."
"Besides that, there are currently six developed hot spring baths in total. Three men's baths, two women's baths, and one... mixed bath."
The proprietress suddenly turned around and gave everyone a meaningful look.
The hallway instantly quieted down. A faint blush appeared on all the girls' faces almost simultaneously.
"We've taken sufficient privacy measures around every bath, and there are surveillance cameras installed at every entrance, so please be mindful."
Although the proprietress did not state it directly, everyone understood what she meant.
The second floor had a traditional wooden corridor. Even with the lights illuminating it, the hallway still felt deep and eerie. The doors on both sides remained tightly shut, making it seem as though ghosts could drift out at any moment.
In all sorts of Japanese films, anime, and novels, inns hidden deep in the mountains were always the places most likely to be haunted.
Sato could clearly sense the girls behind him breathing more rapidly. Some were even secretly swallowing nervously.
Of course, there were exceptions...
"Owner, can we go soak in the hot springs right now?"
Ritsu excitedly raised her hand from the back while asking. Yui also looked eagerly at the proprietress.
The proprietress smiled.
"Of course. All the hot springs are open twenty-four hours."
"Your rooms are arranged as two people per room. Rooms one through five are all yours. How you arrange yourselves is up to you. Here are the keys to all five rooms, so please take good care of them. Losing them would be troublesome!"
"Yahoo! Then I'm taking the first room!"
Ritsu snatched the key from the proprietress, opened the first door, and rushed inside. Right before everyone's eyes, she tossed her luggage aside and flopped onto the bed, rolling around twice.
Yui excitedly followed her into the room.
"Onee-chan!"
Seeing this, Hirasawa Ui opened her mouth slightly while looking somewhat aggrieved at Yui's figure.
"Hehe! Then how about sharing a room with me, Ui-san?"
Hikigaya Komachi suddenly jumped over, wrapped her arms around Hirasawa Ui, and smiled brightly.
"Ah? O-Okay..."
Seeing Hikigaya Komachi's dazzling smile, Hirasawa Ui blushed faintly and nodded weakly.
Ho ho! Looks like Ui triggered the Yuri route.
Sato raised an eyebrow as he watched the scene unfold.