The next morning, I woke up with my body feeling extremely cold and stiff. My hands were even slightly bluish.
Clearly, this was the effect of sleeping on the floor all night.
I tried to get up from the floor and began to stand, glancing at the bed and seeing Hime and Yuu-chan still sound asleep.
According to my original plan, I wanted to ask them when we would head to Charlotte's place.
If we were to depart from Ulvur to Charlotte's place, it probably wouldn't take too long, maybe less than a day.
The problem lay with the two of them, whether they were willing or not.
Well, I could handle that later. What mattered now was that I wanted to take a bath first.
Last night, before going to sleep, I had decided to go downstairs and ask the receptionist about it.
"If you want to bathe, there's a bathhouse in the back. From here, just go straight until you see the wooden door," he said.
—
I grabbed my towel and walked straight from the reception desk.
As he said, I stopped right in front of the wooden door that looked like it had been standing there for a long time.
Ckrek.
I turned the doorknob and entered.
Inside, there were two separate rooms, each also with a wooden door like the previous one.
On the left, the door had a pink circle drawn on it.
Meanwhile, on the right, the circle was blue. Well, I guessed I should enter the one on the right.
I knew my instinct told me to peek into the left room and go inside.
But… not yet, I had to resist that bad urge. Better to stay safe than get beaten up later.
—
Inside, there were two different pools, which I could say were quite large. Maybe they could fit up to ten people, perhaps?
I took off and placed my clothes at the edge of the pool and began to try one of the pools.
"Cold!" I was shocked because this pool contained cold water. And if my guess was correct—
I got out of the cold water pool and soaked in the other one.
"Ah…" As I suspected, the pool I was using now had warm water.
Even though the inn wasn't luxurious or grand, its bathing facilities were incredible.
If I were asked to give a rating to this inn, perhaps it was only lacking in its dining area.
Yesterday, I had noticed a food shop next to the inn. So there was nothing to worry about regarding food.
—
Indeed, I hadn't changed clothes much until now.
The reason was just one: there was a magic that could clean dirty clothes and make them look like new again.
There was no limit to its use, and not everyone could master this magic.
Clean.
Hime had taught this magic to me and Yuu-chan. And luckily, we both could use it.
Even though it sounded like useless magic, in fact, it was very helpful for people who were too lazy to wash.
I myself already felt comfortable and satisfied with my current clothes. So I didn't need to change outfits too often.
Likewise with Hime and Yuu-chan, they always used this magic every day.
—
Brash.
I stood up from the pool, causing some water to spill out. That was my fault.
I grabbed the towel I had placed on the floor earlier and started wiping my entire body until every part was dry.
After everything was dry, I put on my clothes and made sure everything was neat.
"Alright, let's go." I muttered.
——
To get to the second floor, I only needed to climb the stairs beside the reception desk.
And there, I saw the female staff who we had met yesterday.
Seeing me looking fresh and walking from the bathhouse, she smiled at me.
"How was the bath?" the staff asked.
I stopped and gave her a thumbs-up, indicating everything was perfect.
"I really enjoyed it, I even feel like I could stay there forever," I said.
The staff chuckled softly at my response and reaction.
"I'm going upstairs first," I said as I began to walk up the stairs.
From a distance, I could see the staff slightly bowing her head toward me.
This inn seemed to really respect its guests.
—
I entered the room and saw Yuu-chan still asleep. Meanwhile, Hime looked like she was sitting in front of the mirror, fixing her hair.
"Good morning, Hime," I said.
"Good morning too, Yukito-san," she said with a warm smile at me.
I placed the towel I had just used near the window so it would dry in the wind.
"Yukito-san just took a bath, right?" Hime asked.
"Of course… I wanted to make my body feel fresher today," I replied.
—
Ah, while Yuu-chan was still asleep, I had to take advantage of this situation.
"Can I ask you something?" I said.
"What is it?" Hime replied.
"Maybe this sounds too selfish… but when will we head to Charlotte's house?" I asked.
Hearing my question, Hime lowered her head and looked slightly downhearted.
I remembered when she told me about Charlotte, she had been sad then.
Their relationship was very close, I couldn't even estimate how close they were.
But one thing was certain, Hime wanted to meet Charlotte. Because she still thought that Charlotte losing her job was Hime's fault.
And Hime wanted to apologize and invite Charlotte to come back with her and be her bodyguard again.
I felt sorry for Hime, because she felt very guilty toward someone else.
If Charlotte decided to join the three of us, I'd feel either happy or a little confused.
The more people in this party, it could end up feeling like a group.
Then, if the only addition was a girl, it would make me feel stressed and lonely.
I also at least needed one male friend who could always accompany me. But unfortunately, I hadn't found that person yet.
"I hope we will leave after this room rental ends, and I will ask Yuu-chan about this too," Hime replied.
"So… we'll leave after two more nights?" I asked.
Hime nodded, meaning what I asked was correct.
"I know that Yukito-san actually just wants Charlotte and me to get back together quickly… but I also need to prepare my mental state…" Hime said.
"So… please be patient, Yukito-san. Trust me, everything will be fine," she said once again with such a warm smile.
That made my chest feel so relieved, as if my worries disappeared instantly.
My cheeks flushed slightly, not because of embarrassment, but because I felt relieved and happy.
I walked closer to Hime and touched her head.
"Yeah, yeah… I trust you," I said.
Then, I decided to leave the room; I didn't expect I would touch her head.
I did it just by following my heart, and ended up doing something embarrassing like that.
——
(Hime side)
"Ugh…"
Suddenly having my head touched, that's harassment, Yukito-san.
Even so… I could still feel the warmth of his hand earlier.
The warmth felt like it had spread through my body just now.
My feelings felt relieved… maybe later I'll ask him to just touch my head, huh?
Yukito-san also seemed unable to refuse my request… of course, I will do that.