"Here we are…"
"The inn is huge!"
Standing in front of a sprawling inn complex, Megumin and the others couldn't help but marvel.
The "hot spring" that the female cultist mentioned was, of course, part of an inn—how else would they make money? Free hot springs aren't a thing.
This place sat at the highest point of town, close to the spring's source up the mountain. As long as it wasn't the actual source, they were fine—otherwise Aqua might purify it completely and the whole town would be done for. A hot-spring town without hot springs—what would it even be famous for?
The cultist had also said you could use the baths here without staying overnight.
"Shichen, why don't we switch and stay here instead? It's so big!" Aqua fell in love with the place immediately.
"I'm not against it. What do you all think?" Shichen asked Megumin and Yunyun.
"I'm in. Once we finish soaking I doubt I'll want to move anyway," Megumin replied.
"I like it too, but you can decide, Shichen," Yunyun said.
"Then let's switch. Wait here a sec."
Shichen ran back to their old inn, checked out, grabbed everyone's things, and came back. He checked them in—still three rooms, but the price was noticeably higher. Not that they were short on cash; what's the point of making money if you don't enjoy it?
After a quick setup in the rooms, Shichen led everyone to the baths. There were no private tubs here, only three large pools: men's, coed, and women's, from left to right.
"Which one are we going to?" Aqua asked.
"You two take the women's bath."
"You're not going to the coed one?" Megumin squinted at him.
"Coed my foot. It's not like we'd be the only ones there." He flicked her on the forehead.
"Possessive, huh?" Megumin covered her head, not angry at all—actually grinning.
"Big talker. In you go."
"Okay!"
Aqua and the girls headed into the women's bath. Shichen waited a moment. He'd planned to go to the men's, but curiosity got the better of him and he chose the coed bath.
Not because he wanted to peek or anything—there was nothing to see that could compare to Aqua and the others anyway. He'd just picked up strange voices coming from inside.
He stepped into the coed side and reached the changing area. Two baskets sat there with clothes—conveniently one male set and one female set. His sharp hearing caught a young man and a young woman talking inside. Couple or not, coed was open to everyone. If they weren't worried about getting taken advantage of, that was on them.
Stripping down, he wrapped a towel around his waist and went in.
The voices in the bath got clearer.
"…Then that hateful cult will finally be finished! The sabotage at the secret spring is done, and the other hot springs are going smoothly too. If everything goes according to plan, all we have to do is wait… For beings with long lifespans like us, ten or twenty years is nothing."
That was the man. Surprisingly nice voice—bad-guy lines, though. And the "hateful cult"? Shichen couldn't think of any group but the Axis Church. He found them hateful too—way too annoying.
"Hans, you don't need to tell me any of this. I've said it a dozen times: I'm only here for hot-spring therapy. Don't drag me into it."
The woman spoke next—cool, mature tone that made you curious about her face.
"Aw, don't be like that, Wolbach. You know a frontal assault doesn't work on that church. This is the only tactic that can crush them… I'll swing by and report regularly, so just stay at this inn and keep up your therapy."
Wolbach?
That name told Shichen exactly who was inside. He stepped forward and slid the door open.
Splash!
"Mm!"
The sudden sound startled the two inside. Shichen took in the scene: just one man and one woman. The man wasn't in the water—he was kneeling on one knee beside the woman, a towel tied at his waist. Tall, muscular, brown hair—he stared at Shichen, surprised.
Shichen didn't spare him another glance. His eyes went to the woman soaking in the bath, looking tense. Definitely an older-sister type: short red hair, fantastic figure, a real beauty. Steam curled off the surface, but Shichen's eyesight easily made out the pale curves of her chest above the waterline.
"Uh… think he heard us?"
"I've no idea. I didn't notice him come in. He is pretty handsome, though."
"Is this really the time to care about that?"
Ignoring their whispering, Shichen gave them a polite smile, headed to the wash area, and started rinsing off first.
The two of them just stared, stunned.
Shichen finished quickly, then eased into the pool opposite them. He lifted a brow—something about this hot spring felt different. Then again, if Wolbach was here for treatment, of course it wouldn't be ordinary.
"He's acting like we're not even here."
"In that case, maybe he didn't hear what we said…"
"No way. With a body like mine, how could he not look?"
She rose a little with a splash, the top of her chest even more eye-catching—like you might see "the two key points" any second.
"Why isn't he looking over?"
"What are you doing? Maybe he misunderstood our relationship?"
"Possible. You should go."
"…Fine. I've got things to take care of anyway. I'm leaving."
The man left decisively without a second thought—didn't even glance at Wolbach. Only then did Shichen look his way and nod. The guy wasn't wet at all. He nodded back and hurried out of the bath.
Once he was gone, the room fell quiet. Shichen closed his eyes again to relax. He had no real interest in Wolbach—he'd only wanted to confirm what she looked like, and she wasn't much different from his memory.
"You don't look like a local. Are you traveling?" Wolbach, unable to stand the silence, initiated the conversation.
Shichen opened his eyes and glanced over.
Splash—
Wolbach proudly lifted her chest, sending ripples across the water. Shichen still didn't catch any "sakura-colored" details. "Yeah, I'm not from here. I came with my companions. It's the dead of winter, so we figured we'd hit a hot spring. This town's famous for it."
"I see." Wolbach smiled and nodded. "These baths are famous—and they're therapeutic. I'm here for treatment."
"Oh? Are you hurt, sis?"
"'Sis,' huh? Heh." Wolbach laughed, shoulders shaking—still no sakura-pink to be seen. "I fought my other half and didn't fully reclaim my power. I'm here soaking to recover my original strength."
"Your other half? Sounds intense. If my companions were here, you'd definitely hit it off," Shichen said with a grin.
"Are your companions from the Crimson Demon Clan by any chance?"
"Yep."
"What a coincidence. I once taught a spell to a Crimson Demon girl. I wonder how she's doing now…"
"She's probably doing great," Shichen said.
She was talking about Megumin—the one Wolbach had nudged onto the path of Explosion Magic. Come to think of it, Megumin had always wanted to meet her again; she admired Wolbach—even her figure. Maybe Shichen should bring Megumin over.
Wolbach, like Aqua, was a real goddess—of Violence and Sloth, a true divinity. She was branded an "evil god" thanks to the Axis Church's relentless PR. She was also aligned with the Demon King's army; Arnes and the demon Host they'd met before were hers, same with the Dullahan.
By all accounts, she and Shichen were mortal enemies.
"I hope so… If only I could find my other half, I wouldn't need hot-spring therapy. If my other half would just show up in front of me, that'd be perfect," Wolbach sighed, openly airing her weakness.
Her "other half" was Megumin's familiar—Chomusuke. Shichen hadn't brought the little cat this time; it was back home, minding the house.
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 220+ Chapters Ahead of Others!