"For real?" Shichen blinked, staring at the two of them in disbelief.
There was a big bath in the villa, but they had never asked him to bathe together—there hadn't even been one of those "lucky perv" accidental encounters.
Maybe it was just because he hadn't been around long.
He'd left not long after buying the villa and had only just come back.
"W-what? Not allowed?" Megumin shot back, cheeks burning but trying to sound tough.
"You running a fever?" Still unconvinced, Shichen pressed a hand to her forehead to check.
She was a bit warm, but clearly not from a fever.
"You're the one with a fever!" Megumin swatted his hand away.
"Now that's bizarre," he muttered, then turned to Yunyun, who was just as red. "You too?"
"Mm… yeah." Yunyun lowered her head in embarrassment until her chin touched her chest.
"What's with you two? This isn't like you. Don't tell me you're possessed."
"Possessed, my butt. I-it's just a soak in the hot spring. What's the big deal? Weren't you here to find a mixed bath anyway?"
"I never said that. Don't slander me."
"Tch~ So are you getting in with us or not?"
"Yes," Shichen answered without hesitation.
"Hmph~ Then what was all that nonsense for?" Megumin said, fighting a smile.
"You're not setting me up, right?"
"Shichen, how long are you going to keep doubting us?" Megumin snapped.
"Alright, alright. I'm just… really happy, okay? It's a little hard to believe."
"Th-that happy? You seriously want to bathe with us that badly?"
"Of course."
"Hmph~ If you want, we don't mind bathing with you every day," Megumin said, all tsundere.
"Really? Please do!"
He'd already bathed with Darkness, but he certainly didn't mind continuing with Megumin and the others.
Yunyun's proud curves, Megumin's youthful figure, and Aqua's flawless body… all sights he hadn't seen yet.
How could he not be tempted? "post-nut" or not, he could still look.
"Heh heh~ See? Would've been easier if you said that from the start, right, Yunyun?"
"Mm…" Yunyun kept her head down.
"So… right now?" Shichen looked between them.
He didn't mind another soak—even up till bedtime.
"Already eager? Getting impatient now? You were just playing coy… Let's eat first. We're all hungry. No idea what you were doing out for so long," Megumin said.
It was already night; Shichen had spent the whole afternoon with Darkness—keeping themselves, ahem, very busy.
When it came to that, the time was worth it.
Good thing Darkness took everything in stride—had she never considered pregnancy?
Shichen hadn't told her he could prevent it.
But knowing her, even if she worried, she probably enjoyed it anyway.
The inn's food was great; being near the sea, it was mostly seafood.
The crabs and shrimp in this world were different—maybe because of magic. After absorbing mana, they grew huge.
You could practically call them monsters.
Not that it mattered—they still got eaten, and they were surprisingly tasty.
Megumin filled up on a single shrimp claw; it was half her size.
Aqua ate the other one and still wasn't full—no matter how good the food had been before, she ate like she'd never seen the world.
No one would believe she was a goddess.
Frieren liked crab—with cola. A bite of crab, a sip of cola—pure bliss.
Shichen shared cola around, but no one else liked it; Megumin and Yunyun preferred juice.
Yunyun loved fish and ate neatly with chopsticks, a satisfied smile on her face.
Shichen liked everything, sampling a bit of each—none of it was bad.
The food was infused with mana; you could almost call it heaven-sent.
After dinner and a short rest, Shichen took everyone back to the room; by then Megumin was getting bashful again.
"Soak now?" Frieren asked.
"Any later and we'll be asleep. Hot springs help with digestion," Shichen said.
"Seriously? I've never heard that," Megumin said skeptically.
"There's plenty you don't know. Hot springs also promote, uh, development."
"That one I have heard…" Megumin muttered.
"Promote development? Then let's start soaking now." Frieren straightened up and headed into the partitioned bath alone.
"Promote what?" Yunyun asked.
"Nothing. Doesn't concern you; don't worry about it," Megumin said.
"Huh? Megumin, you're keeping secrets again."
"It really won't do anything for you this time. You can trust me—or ask Shichen."
"Really, Shichen?"
"Pretty much."
"Then it's fine. I'll go first too." Too shy to change alongside Shichen later, Yunyun hurried into the partition.
"Yunyun, wait for me!" Megumin rushed after her.
"Then I'll—"
"Hold up," Shichen said, catching Aqua before she could follow.
"What is it?"
"I just remembered something."
"What?"
"If you soak with us, won't you purify the water?"
"Of course I will—I'm the goddess of water," Aqua said proudly, hands on hips.
"Then you're not allowed in."
"Eh? Why?"
"If you purify it, what hot spring is there to soak in?"
"B-but… I want to soak too," Aqua said, aggrieved.
"…You can wait till we're done."
"No! I want to bathe with you! Shichen, you can't leave me out!" Aqua clung to him, on the verge of tears.
Shichen felt a twinge of guilt. "But if you come in, it won't be a hot spring anymore."
"Who cares~ What's the difference if it's real hot-spring water? We don't need the effects."
"That's… fair. You really can't control it?"
"I can… but I'll definitely forget halfway."
"Figures… Fine, purify away. Let's just bathe together."
He'd just soaked earlier anyway; whether it was true spring water didn't matter much—he wasn't that into hot springs.
As for hot springs helping Megumin "develop," his hands worked better.
"Yay! You're so nice to me, Shichen! I'll let you touch my chest later."
"…No need."
"Eh? Do you want to see my body? I-I could allow that…" Aqua blushed.
"Keep the towel on."
"What? You're not interested in my body? You've changed, Shichen! You weren't like this before!"
"Idiot!" Shichen gave her a light chop on the head. "Megumin and Yunyun are here. Save it for when it's just us."
"Ohhh, so that's how it is. Got it!" Aqua skipped happily into the changing area.
Watching her go, Shichen shook his head. He felt like a con man taking advantage of a fool.
No—he basically was.
But Aqua really was beautiful; only seeing her in person did her looks justice.
Even Tohka and the others couldn't compare.
Hmm… Aqua was just low on IQ; calling her a fool wasn't quite fair.
Yeah, that's it!
After talking himself into it, Shichen headed for the partitioned area. There was a small side nook for clothes; everyone's outfits were there, and four towels were missing.
He hadn't expected full-on skinship yet.
This was step one—take it slow, build up. Sooner or later, they'd get there.
Besides, he was still in sage mode—wasn't all that fired up.
He undressed, grabbed a towel, and walked into the little courtyard with the open-air bath. As expected, they'd sunk down to their necks, only their heads showing.
Steam curled lazily, but their flushed faces were easy to see.
When he appeared, Megumin and the others tensed—curious but too shy to look. They'd never seen his body before.
His towel was wrapped at his waist like oversized shorts; that was enough for him.
The four were spaced out along the edge. Without hesitation, Shichen slid in beside Frieren and leaned back next to her.
He could easily feel the smoothness of her shoulder.
Frieren glanced at him, neither reacting nor moving away.
Shichen didn't speak; he simply soaked quietly with the four of them… well, not in hot-spring water anymore—just regular hot water.
Soon, night fell, and the moon climbed into the sky.
~~~
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