After the soak, Shichen still didn't know where Yunyun's mark was; Darkness hadn't found it anywhere not covered by a towel.
Megumin probably knew but refused to tell him. That was a little out of character—shouldn't she be the "if I'm going down, you're coming with me" type?
Oh well. If he didn't know now, he could always find out later.
Back in the room, Megumin and the others trailed after him into Shichen's room. Maybe because her own mark had been exposed, Megumin couldn't quite meet his eyes.
"Aren't you going back to your rooms?" Shichen asked Yunyun.
"I… can we stay here for a bit?" Yunyun asked softly.
"Of course."
"Great!"
"Yunyun, careful—Shichen might be trying to find out where your mark is," Megumin warned.
"If Shichen wants to know, I can tell him," Yunyun said, blushing.
"You… that's our clan's mark. How can you just show it to him?"
"But it's Shichen. It's fine."
"You… forget it." Megumin shook her head helplessly.
"Look at Yunyun, then look at yourself. I already know yours—what's there to be shy about?" Shichen said, a little disappointed.
"H-How do you even know the Crimson Demons' shame points… Yunyun's just an outlier."
Compared to most Crimson Demons, Yunyun really was different—where the rest wore their chuunibyou like a badge of honor, she was embarrassed by it. To Shichen, though, Yunyun felt like the normal one.
"I've already touched it. You're still afraid of letting me see it?"
"W-Wait—stuff like that!" Megumin stared at Yunyun in a panic.
"Megumin? Mind telling me what exactly happened?" Yunyun looked at her with a smile that didn't reach her eyes.
"Th-this…" Megumin cut a pleading look at Shichen. "Shichen…"
"Just tell her. It's not some state secret."
"No way I can tell her!"
"Shichen, what happened?" Yunyun pouted at him, clearly annoyed. She obviously knew where Megumin's mark was, and since Shichen said he'd "touched" it, there wasn't much to guess—they'd done something behind her back.
"Well… come here."
"W-Wait, Shichen, you—?" Megumin's face went scarlet.
"Can't hide it anyway," Shichen said, palms up.
"Uu…" Megumin glanced at Aqua and the others and realized none of them cared in the slightest.
"So, here's the deal…"
When Yunyun came closer, Shichen leaned to her ear and explained: he'd helped "encourage development" for Megumin, and since one hand was enough, the other had wandered off on its own. Nothing to hide—especially not from Yunyun.
"I see. Since you're a guy, that kind of thing isn't a big deal… but, um, I can do it too," Yunyun mumbled, flustered.
"Got it," Shichen said, blinking at her rosy cheeks.
"Mhm…" Yunyun ducked her head, mortified.
"Hey! What are you two whispering about?" Megumin, who'd been wallowing in embarrassment, instantly sensed something was off.
"It's nothing. Anyway, we haven't had dinner yet, right? How about we go eat and see if this inn's food is any good?"
"Let's go, let's go—I'm starving!" Aqua chimed in at once.
"Me too! Shichen, bring my cola!" Frieren perked up.
"…I've had it on me the whole time."
"Come on, move it!"
"Hold up! You still haven't told me what you two were whispering about!"
"Nothing at all~" Yunyun sang back.
"You expect me to believe that?"
"That's still better than secretly asking Shichen to 'help your development,' isn't it?"
"Uh…"
That shut Megumin up.
The dining area was on the first floor. There weren't any other guests, but the spread was lavish—still seafood, but far more abundant than the other inn's.
After picking their dishes and finding seats, Shichen and the others dug in.
"By the way, it feels like this town's in danger," Aqua said suddenly.
"What's up?"
"Well… you know my purification ability, right?" Aqua asked.
"Yeah."
"Purifying the baths at the previous inn was easy—done in no time. But the springs here felt off. It took me ages to purify them."
"I see," Shichen nodded.
"Wait—purify? Aqua, what are you talking about?" Megumin latched on to the keyword.
"Did I forget to mention it? If I touch any liquid, I can purify it completely into water. I am the water goddess, after all," Aqua said, proud as ever.
"What? So you're saying the hot springs here turned into ordinary water because of you?"
"Uh…"
"Great! I was wondering why the springs weren't doing anything—it was you!" Megumin snapped.
"Ahem, well, let's not focus on that. There's something more important."
"Don't change the subject!"
"Megumin, let Aqua finish," Shichen soothed.
"Fine…" Megumin obediently went back to gnawing on a jumbo prawn.
"I'm saying it took that long to purify because the springs here are seriously contaminated. And isn't everyone in town saying the hot spring quality's getting worse? It must be the Demon King's army, who see my Axis Church as a threat! Hmph! They can't win head-on, so they're trying to take the Axis Church's most important source of income—the hot springs!"
To be fair, Aqua did have a brain cell or two. She might have been guessing wildly, but she wasn't far off.
"Oooh, scary," Megumin said perfunctorily.
"Believe me!" Aqua huffed.
Darkness couldn't help asking, "It's just that the springs are getting worse. How does that lead to the Demon King's army?"
"Yeah," Megumin added. "Maybe it's just some regular folks who can't stand Axis Church harassment anymore?"
"No ordinary person could pull this off. It has to be the Demon King's army. My Axis Church is their greatest threat!"
"…"
"Trust me. Help me protect this town. Will you help me?" Aqua, unusually righteous, pleaded. Unfortunately, Megumin and the others weren't buying it.
"I wanted to stroll around town. You've already kept me busy all day, so no," Megumin refused without hesitation.
"Mm. I've seen firsthand these past two days how terrifying Axis cultists can be, so I'll pass too," Darkness said.
"How could you! A stroll isn't that important! And Darkness, what about your justice?"
"This…" Under Aqua's fiery stare, Darkness looked away. She could help, but Aqua's claim was all fog and no evidence—and she was flaky on a good day. Hard to take seriously.
"Shichen…" Aqua looked at him with tearful eyes. Only he could help her; Yunyun only listened to him, and Frieren didn't care about anything but her cola.
"Alright, alright—I'll help you." Shichen really couldn't handle that pitiful look of hers.
"Yay! Shichen, you're the best!" Aqua nearly threw herself on him.
"Eh? You're really helping Aqua? What if it's just her imagination?" Megumin asked.
"No. She's right. There are Demon King's troops here," Shichen said.
"What? Really?" Darkness tensed up.
"Do I have any reason to lie to you?"
"No—we believe you. In that case, I'm helping too," Darkness said, suddenly serious.
"Then I'll help as well."
"Count me in!"
Everyone volunteered—except Frieren, happily sipping her cola.
"You guys! Why do you only believe Shichen? I'm the water goddess!" Aqua protested.
"It's fine. They trust me, and I trust you. Same difference, right?" Shichen said.
"That… makes sense. Shichen really is the best!" Aqua beamed. The smile was a little dazzling—she really was beautiful.
"So what's the plan?" Megumin asked.
"Simple. We keep sightseeing and, along the way, look for the Demon King's people. Aqua, you keep purifying the springs," Shichen said.
"That vague? Hey, Shichen—can you come along and let me fire one off tomorrow? I didn't get to release today," Megumin whispered.
"F-Fire one off?" Darkness perked up.
"Explosion Magic," Shichen said, smacking her lightly on the head.
"Mmm~ do it again, a little harder," Darkness murmured.
Shichen ignored her and answered Megumin, "Sure."
"Awesome!" Megumin bobbed her head happily.
An Explosion would definitely cause a stir. The people here were a little unusual, but unlike Axel, they weren't used to it. Which was exactly the point: stir up the Demon King's forces so Aqua could purify the springs.
If Aqua finally wanted to get something done, he'd back her all the way—even if helping the Axis Church made his skin crawl.
Perfect. Once this is settled, he'd take a little "payment" from Aqua. She'd completely let her guard down around him now, and he couldn't help wanting to fully savor her.
That shouldn't be illegal… right?
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 220+ Chapters Ahead of Others!