Chapter 162: Fun at the Hot Spring
The Cloud's party continued on its way, but in the Land of Hot Water, the group split in two.
The main party, led by the Third Raikage, continued north, back to the village.
Dana, on the other hand, took the twenty-one contestants to the capital of the Land of Hot Water. They would be resting there for three days, at "Gokuraku no Yu," all expenses paid by the village. It was a reward for their hard work.
As the most luxurious and high-end comprehensive hot spring resort in the Land of Hot Water, "Gokuraku no Yu" was famous even in the Land of Lightning. For the young people of the village, it was a legendary place. When they heard they could eat, drink, and play to their heart's content, they were ecstatic.
Konan and Yahiko were also very happy, as they would be able to see their families.
The moment they stepped into "Gokuraku no Yu," everyone was stunned by the opulence.
Dana had already arranged everything. A servant came to greet them.
"Lord Dana," he said with a respectful bow, "and esteemed guests, please follow me. Your rooms and the hot spring have been prepared. Please, let me show you to your rooms. The banquet will be in two hours. You may rest for a while and wash away the dust of your journey in the hot spring."
The sudden arrival of over twenty young people had attracted the attention of the other guests. The people who could afford to come here were all either rich or noble. It was rare to see such a large group of young people.
"I feel like this handrail is worth more than all my possessions," Killer Bee said, touching the railing of the staircase.
"If I were to break a vase here," Yusuke said, walking around a statue, "I'd have to sell myself into servitude."
"You're exaggerating," Konan, who had spent a good deal of her childhood here and considered it her second home, said with a pat on his back. "But the decorations here are very expensive."
"The hot spring system here is amazing too," Yahiko said. "My dad designed it."
Chattering away, they arrived at their rooms. Dana had arranged for two people to a room, a total of eleven rooms, which took up a small section of the northwest wing of the inn. The hot spring that had been specially prepared for them was also in this section.
Half an hour later, changed into their yukatas, they began to arrive at the hot spring.
Yusuke, holding a wooden washbasin, curiously lifted the curtain with the character for "hot spring" on it. Inside, it split into two directions, one marked "men's bath" and the other "women's bath."
"What a magnificent hot spring."
As he was standing there, dazed, he suddenly felt a smack on the back of his head. He turned around. It was the "big sister" of the group, Kayo Uzumaki.
"Big Sister Kayo!"
She was with a few other girls. She pointed at her own eyes, then at his, and made a "I'm watching you" gesture. "If you dare to use your Red Eye," she said, "you're dead. Do you hear me? My senses are watching you at all times."
"Don't worry, Big Sister," he said, standing up straight. "I would never make such a fundamental mistake."
He wanted to say that if he did, all he would see were internal organs and bones. Who would want to scare themselves like that? And if he were to do something like that, what difference would it make if he was in a hot spring or not?
After watching her go into the women's bath, he shook his head and was about to go into the men's when he felt another tap on his shoulder.
He spun around, startled. It was Lord Yotsuki Dana.
Dana smiled and pointed at his own eyes, then at Yusuke's. "Really, don't do it," he said. "The consequences will be very severe."
After all, Kayo, Konan, and the others, whom he cared about, were in the women's bath. A little extra... emphasis... was in order.
Yusuke quickly nodded. Dana patted him on the shoulder and went into the men's bath.
When he entered, there were already a number of people there. They all greeted him.
He just waved his hand and began to wash himself, a necessary step before entering the hot spring.
As he was showering, Killer Bee was secretly sizing him up from behind. "I'm so jealous of Lord Dana," he whispered to Yahiko. "He's so tall."
Compared to the other boys, who were all about 160cm tall, Dana, who was now 180cm, was a giant. He had always thought he was tall, but here, in the bath, with everyone... exposed... the difference was even more stark. He was not just tall, but his muscles were sculpted like a statue. It was the difference between a five-head and a nine-head body proportion. It was like a group of Tanjiros with a Jotaro standing among them.
"I hear the Yotsuki clan can all grow to be two meters tall," Yahiko whispered back. "I don't know if I'll ever even be 180cm."
"If we train hard," Killer Bee said, clenching his fists, "and eat a lot of meat and drink a lot of milk, we can do it! I have a feeling I'm going to be very tall! Really!"
Yahiko just rolled his eyes.
In the women's bath, a few of the girls were splashing each other. In a corner, Kayo was washing her hair. "By the way, Konan," she said, "will we be able to eat your mother's cooking tonight? I'm so curious!"
"The dinner was arranged by Lord Dana," Konan said, rinsing herself off, "but I'm sure there will be some of my mother's cooking. She's the head chef here... well, one of them."
Just then, a splash of cold water hit her, and she jumped. She had been hit by the girls who were playing. Annoyed, she immediately got up and joined the fray.
After washing, Dana wrapped a towel around his waist and went into the hot spring. It was a medium-sized, crescent-shaped bath, with a bamboo wall in the middle, separating the men's and women's sides.
When he entered, Hiroto was already there. He went over to him and sank into the water.
"Ah," he groaned.
"This is so nice," Hiroto said with a sigh. "The weather in the Land of Rain is so miserable."
"Yeah," he said. "Let's relax for the next three days."
Hiroto completely relaxed his body, only his head above the water. He suddenly realized that he was floating, while Dana was sitting on the bottom.
"Why am I floating? And you're sinking?"
"Probably because our densities are different," Dana said with a wink. "Haha."
On the other side, Kayo had sunk her entire body into the water, a towel on her head, her face flushed. "This is the life!" she said. "Konan, did you really used to live in a place like this? I'm so jealous!"
"Living here doesn't mean you get to eat, drink, and soak in the hot spring like a guest every day," Konan said, lying on a rock, her face a picture of contentment. "The people who come here are all rich or noble. But we do get to enjoy it every now and then."
Coming from the shower to the hot spring, the girls had become much more reserved, probably because they knew the boys were just on the other side of the wall. The ones who had been the rowdiest in the shower were now blushing.
"Actually," Kayo whispered, "did you know that Tomonobu Hisada and Ai Naruse from this exam are secretly a couple?"
"What?! Really?!" Konan said, surprised.
"Shh, keep your voice down. They were on the same team, and they were both eliminated in the first round. While we were fighting for our lives, those two were falling in love."
"I'm so jealous," Konan said. "But I still want to achieve my ultimate goal first, to open a hot spring inn for my mom. That's more important than falling in love."
"Your mom is the head chef at 'Gokuraku no Yu'," Kayo said, curious. "That should be a good job, right? Why do you want to open your own?"
"It's not the same," she said, shaking her head. "When my mom and I first came here, we were refugees from the Land of Rain. We didn't know anyone. If it hadn't been for Lord Dana, who let us stay here, we wouldn't have even had a place to live. At that time, my mom wanted..."
"Wait," Kayo interrupted. "What do you mean, 'Lord Dana let you stay here'? Does he know the owner?"
"You don't know?" Konan said, taken aback. "This is his place."
"WHAT?!"
At almost the same time, a commotion erupted from the other side of the bamboo wall.
"Hey, look! Yusuke's nose is bleeding!"
"What?! Dammit! That kid must have been peeking!"
The sound of clanging and splashing drowned out Yusuke's voice.
"Wait! I was just in the water too long! Really! I swear it's just a nosebleed from the heat!"
"Get him!"
"Ah! Wait! It's really just the heat! Aah!"