After enjoying the hotel's upscale Western restaurant at noon, Kaguya proposed going to soak in the hot springs in the afternoon.
However, Maki stated that she was not feeling well and did not join. Chika said she had something to take care of temporarily and also did not join. In the end, only Kaguya and Takumi went to the hot springs.
"In that case, it feels like we might as well just use the small private hot spring in the hotel room."
In fact, even Takumi himself was not particularly enthusiastic. He yawned, talking about soaking in the hot spring in the room, while actually thinking about going to check out what fun things were inside the gaming room.
Come to think of it, even though he had always been a game enthusiast, it had already been a whole day since arriving at the hotel, yet he had not touched a computer or a game console at all.
Hmm… but playing an adult's game should still count as playing a game, right?
"True. Then, Takumi-kun, would you like to take another look at the information we investigated earlier? The information about Fujihana Middle School?"
Seeing that everyone was somewhat reluctant, Kaguya did not insist. She merely tried putting forward a second suggestion.
The girl's objective was extremely simple—to create opportunities for herself and Takumi to spend time alone together.
She had thought it through clearly. During the first month, it was precisely because she had been restricted by the Shinomiya family and had too little time interacting with Takumi that his relationship with Maki had rapidly grown closer. So now, if she wanted to make up for it, she also had to make up for it in terms of time spent together.
As for the plans Ai had provided—those that were practically no different from blatant seduction—it was better to set them aside for now… At the very least, she absolutely could not accept that mixed-bathing proposal.
"No, no, no. We're out here to have fun, so please don't make me struggle over this kind of thing. I've already spent quite a bit of time recently looking at information I never even wanted to understand in the first place. Since we're resting and playing now, let's just think about how to make ourselves relax more."
Unfortunately, the plan Kaguya proposed was precisely the kind Takumi found most unacceptable. So he refused cleanly and decisively, then turned around and walked off.
Kaguya stood there in disarray for quite a while. Only after stamping her foot in mild frustration did she quickly leave as well.
In the afternoon, Maki was still walking with a slight limp and had little energy, so she lay in bed to rest. Of course, it was the bed in Takumi's room.
The stained bedsheets had already been replaced by the staff, and the traces that had stretched from the floor all the way into the bathroom had been thoroughly cleaned. To be honest, once Maki realized that the staff had seen the traces she and Takumi had left behind the previous night, she panicked for quite a while. She even briefly entertained the extreme thought of whether she should silence the staff who knew about it. But that was as far as it went—just a fleeting thought. There was no way she would actually do anything.
"How is it? Feeling any better now?"
After returning to the room, Takumi immediately saw Maki lying on the bed with her hair spread out in disarray. He walked over and asked with concern.
"…Still alive."
Maki, who had long known Takumi had returned, only opened her eyes at that moment. She glanced at him, then turned her head away, replying slowly in a flat tone.
"Would you like me to provide a companion-sleep service?"
The next moment, Takumi lay down on the bed as well, reaching out over the blanket to wrap an arm around Maki.
"Ugh, no—I still hurt…"
Startled, Maki instinctively tried to struggle. Then she realized that Takumi was merely holding her and not doing anything else, which allowed her to relax slightly.
"Relax. I'm not that starved."
Takumi lowered his head and gently kissed the girl on the side of her face.
"Like I'd believe you, idiot…"
Although Maki was still instinctively putting on a tough front, her body had already obediently pressed itself against Takumi's, her entire self shrinking into his arms.
She could feel the warmth that belonged to him.
At that moment, the warmth being conveyed to her—so real and so strong—was the kind that made her feel at ease.
Closing her eyes, the girl's breathing gradually became steady, and just like that, leaning against Takumi's chest, she fell asleep.
Takumi himself remained lying on his side without moving, quietly admiring the sleeping face of the girl in his arms—silently, silently—until his phone vibrated once. He picked it up and glanced at it, discovering that Chika had finished what she was busy with and was inviting him and Kaguya to go soak in the hot spring again. After thinking for a moment, he lowered his head to look at the girl in his arms. Seeing that Maki was still sleeping quietly, he carefully got up from the bed and left as silently as possible.
However, just after Takumi left the room, Maki immediately opened her eyes.
Although she had only secretly glanced at that message earlier, it seemed like it had been sent by Chika?
A message she sent to Takumi-kun… What was that girl trying to do?
Maki grew a little nervous. Instinctively, she sat up and got out of bed. Enduring the pain, she walked to the door, and then heard the voices of Takumi and Chika from the hallway outside.
"Takumi, Takumi, you go soak first. After you're done, I've got another new and fun game for you. Make sure you look forward to it, hehe~"
In her impatient voice, Chika's footsteps quickly moved away.
Takumi merely responded with an "Mm" and continued forward, heading downstairs toward the hot spring.
...
Men's bath, women's bath, mixed bath.
The hotel's public hot spring area was divided into these three categories.
Takumi had already come to the men's bath once yesterday, but when he walked over today, he discovered that the signs for the men's and women's baths had been swapped.
Did this place really switch the men's and women's baths? Was it a mistake by the staff? Or was something else going on?
Takumi felt quite puzzled about it. However, since he had encountered this situation, he had nothing to fear. He straightforwardly entered the men's bath area—that is, yesterday's women's bath area.
He changed out of his clothes and first entered the shower area.
Takumi stepped into one of the shower stalls, turned on the showerhead, and began rinsing off.
Then he heard approaching footsteps from outside.
"Hehe, surprised?"
A warm body embraced him from behind, accompanied by Chika's slightly playful voice.
"Though I more or less guessed a little, aren't you afraid someone might find out?"
Takumi was not surprised by Chika's appearance; he only felt that his willpower was being tested once again.
"It can't be helped. I want to soak in the big hot spring together with Takumi. So then, just like last time, I'll scrub your back for you."
Amid her light laughter, Chika's hand had already fallen onto Takumi's back, gently sliding downward along the lines of the muscles of his spine.
"Why don't I scrub your back first?"
However, Takumi directly turned around and pulled Chika into his arms at once.
Inside the shower room filled with mist, it fell quiet.
Amid the rushing sound of water, disordered footsteps followed.
Chika let out a somewhat cheerful low laugh. From time to time, words like "Hey, don't move around," and "Stop scratching my arm," could be heard from inside the stall. It sounded rather lively.
But very quickly, that atmosphere was interrupted by the sound of Kaguya's footsteps entering.
"Chika-san?"
Noticing that there was the sound of water coming from a closed shower stall, she called out.
"Ah—ah! It's me. I'm already washing. Did Kaguya-san just come in?"
The reply came a moment later. For some reason, it sounded a little flustered.
"Yeah. What's wrong? Why does your voice sound a bit strange?"
As she spoke, Kaguya walked into the shower stall next to Chika's and turned on the showerhead, beginning to rinse herself as well.
"It's… nothing. Maybe I ran around too much during the day, so I'm a little dizzy? Hehe… mm, uhmm…"
Along with the voice from the opposite stall, there was the sound of something bumping against the partition.
The breathing from the other side sounded somewhat uneven, clearly not quite right.
Very strange. Extremely strange.
"Chika-san?"
Kaguya frowned and called out again.
"Wh-what is it, Kaguya-san?"
The responding voice sounded even more off than before.
There was also the sound of something sliding forcefully against the partition.
"Are you really okay? You're not feeling unwell, are you?"
As she spoke, Kaguya opened her own stall door. Without bothering to wipe the water droplets from her body, she walked straight to Chika's stall and asked from outside.
"…I'm fine. I accidentally bumped my shoulder just now. Even though I held it in and didn't cry out, it still hurts a little, haha… ha…"
The voice from inside the stall sounded somewhat more normal than before.
But now that she was focused, Kaguya's heightened senses allowed her to detect certain inconsistencies—such as another set of footsteps mixed in with Chika's, another breath, the presence of another person.
There were two people inside the stall.
What was going on? Could someone have taken Chika hostage?
In an instant, Kaguya became alert, already prepared to break the door down.
But in the very next moment, she heard the voice of the second person inside.
"I knew it… I just knew it… sob…"
It was Maki's voice.
The second person inside the stall was Maki.
"Maki-san, are you washing together with Chika-san?"
Kaguya, who had just been about to break the door down, froze in place, her forward step abruptly halted.
"That's right. Maki-san isn't feeling very well, so I'm helping her wash. Although she herself doesn't seem very willing, hehe."
Chika's voice no longer carried the slightest trace of anything unusual, while Maki's suppressed cries began to sound from inside the stall in waves.
"I… I see… Then take your time."
Even at this point, Kaguya still felt that there were many strange aspects to this, that perhaps the truth was not exactly as it seemed.
In the end, however, she chose to return to her own stall. Listening to the occasional bickering voices of the two girls next door, she lowered her head and silently finished rinsing herself quickly. After confirming that Chika and Maki would still need some more time to finish washing, she went ahead to the hot spring first.
Strangely enough, even after she finished soaking in the hot spring and returned to her room, neither Chika nor Maki came to soak.
From beginning to end, only Kaguya spent some time in the hot spring today.
If one specifically came to the hot spring's shower room to rinse off, then surely one was supposed to soak in the hot spring afterward, right?
But they had not come to the hot spring area at all. Then what had they gone to the shower room for?
After that, where had they gone, and what had they gone to do?
This event, filled with mystery, along with the series of questions connected to it, remained in Kaguya's heart for a long time, troubling the girl for quite a while afterward.
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