311 - - Open-air bath

"....... Let's sign the petition."

Kaja grits his teeth reluctantly and squeezes out a few words. I'm getting all squishy, squishy, squishy.

"Your men have taken the castle, and now you yourself have taken it... so be it!

"You seem to be taking this as if I beat you, but it was an accident, okay?"

I'm innocent, I'm the one who tried to stop it.

You don't want the name of the crown?

Homura, you can have it. When he's drunk, he either falls asleep or gets into trouble. He's a pain in the ass.

A drunkard wakes up and takes a drink to refresh his palate. You're still drinking!

Why do you say they're good and I'm not!

Are you drunk? Are you still white in the face? He grabs my sleeve and pushes me hard.

"Okay, okay..."

Giving up, he pulls out his book of Yama and opens it to the page with the handwriting of Katsusha.

Gently, Benihai offers me an inkstone and a brush. Ukon tells me that I can write with my fingertips without the inkstone, but it is more formal to write with a brush, which I gratefully accept.

"This is the second time I've witnessed Homura-dono receiving signatures from ogres, but as usual, they are more willing to write than I am. ......"

Sakon is looking at me with a distant look, but I decide not to care.

"Oops. I've reached my limit.

With that, Peter goes into the closet.

"Why the closet?"

"I don't have time to move around so seriously, so I'm going to ward it here."

The closet seemed to have a cushion in it, and Peter quickly lays down on what was left of the cushion. Oh, I can't believe the logout beep has already sounded.

"Good night."

"Good night."

A fusuma sliding door of a closet being closed.

Unfortunately, the color is pale. The form is also round and more blue ....... No, it's nothing.

"Well, I must take a bath and go to bed.

"Oh, I've sent the lady back, so I don't have directions, but if you go out there and to the left, you'll find them."

Ukon indicates the direction with a closed fan.

I set out new snacks in the tatami room, which had been transformed into a banquet hall, and set up the sake barrels, then went to take a bath.

The long corridor is a roofed but wallless sukiwatadono, but it is warded off from the outside wind and rain. To keep the atmosphere intact, only weak, dim lights placed regularly on the floor illuminate my feet. I walk to the bath, looking out over the snowy night garden.

There is no lock on the changing room. What should I do if a courtesan or someone comes in? ....... Well, let's use Peter's method and put up a instead of a key, even if it's weak, it will be a sign that "you're in".

When you enter the building, which looks like a detached house, you will see a tatami-mat room of about 6 tatami mats with a box for putting away your clothes, beyond which there are stone pavements and no walls. Rather than a roof over the bath, it looks more like an open-air bathhouse inside a building without walls and floor.

A soft blanket is put out in a random box.

"Black, I'm going to take off my clothes.

I poke him in the stomach, and he slips out of the room and moves to the blanket.

"Do you want to take a bath?"

"No."

I invited him to stay, but he refused.

In the direction where the banquet hall is located, there are several large rocks that seem to reach the ceiling from the hot water, blocking the view. The only other rock is a pillar, and the hot water flows out directly into a stream, melting the snow in the garden.

The paved stones are not rough, but they are not slippery even when wet.

Pour some hot water over yourself and get into the bath. The water is a little warm, perhaps because it is recommended to take a long bath. The water is soft with no odor or turbidity, and there seems to be plenty of hot water as you can feel the flow of water in some places. Find your favorite spot and stretch out.

Sometimes snow falls from the branches, blown by the wind. If it were wet snow, I would have been startled by a thud.

The contrast of black and white in the snowy landscape looks strangely like bright pale blue and black as my eyes become accustomed to it. The black of the wet rocks, the black of the branches of the trees, and the snow on top of them. The sound of hot water flowing out and the flow of water on the body.

.......

.............

That's it... or I'm going to take it off. It's a hot spring.

.......

...... Which is the standard in the fantasy world?　No, I think it depends a lot on who you compare yourself with around you.

Should I wash this?　I took it off while it was still soaking. I've already poured hot water over the towel, and there's a good flow of water, so I guess it's OK.

I drink soda water in the open-air bath while looking at the snowy scenery. Ah, at times like this, I wish I had the taste buds to appreciate sake. In the real world, soaking in hot water and drinking sake is just too dangerous. I'm enjoying a lot of freedom.

I like it.

<, but what should I do about the hot spring? Would Feng Shui work?　I have to build a house in Kuzunoha before I can build a hot spring. < has been accumulated, and I got some hibiscus. We have plenty of EB oil and lacquer, so why don't we paint the floor black and polish it like a mirror, and plant autumn leaves in the garden so that we can enjoy their reflection on the floor in the fall and their greenery in the summer?

"Lord!"

"Uh-oh!"

I was just thinking about the fall foliage and out of the shadows of the rocks came the autumn leaves!

"...... well handsome."

Demons have night vision. I rush to wake myself up from my half-asleep position.

"Let me pour you a drink."

The edges of Momiji's rouged lips turn up.

She drops her red robe on the snow, exposing her white body, which glistens faintly, to the night. In the blink of an eye, she is completely naked. No, isn't it hard to take off and put on the costume that Momiji was wearing?　Why not?

If you look down at the kimono at Momiji's feet, you will see that the beautiful red color of the kimono, which always looks like it is in full bloom, has turned black in some places and is falling apart.

I shouldn't have worried about that!　Unprotected!　I've never been so defenseless!　I rush to open the menu and try to undo it.

Homura!

"Lord!"

"Kya-homra, homra!"

Wait a minute, Galahad and Kal, but not Camilla!

"Ukon, can you break the warding?"

"This is tough. It's going to take time."

Not even Ukon!　Eagle is heard talking to Ukon.

Why won't it open?

"Homura-sama's wards are strong, it would be better to go from the outside."

Even the voices of sake-drinkers and red plum blossoms are heard.

"Oh my God!　It's true that the outer wards are weaker because they are wider."

Even Amane's voice ......!　Or, perhaps, almost all of them!　All the women!

"Well, I've left some sparks on the fire, so it will take some time for those who are bothering me.

I look at the entrance of the building where I can hear the rustling of autumn leaves.

I operate the screen in confusion, but since I have never used this function before, I open it in the wrong place, and only the window grows around me. I am not sure that this detachable function is easy to do, it requires not only a thought but also a procedure to operate. I don't always operate from a window, so even for free I am lost where something is!　You could have made it easier for me to put on and take off ......!

"Hmmm ....... Ggh!"

As Momiji tries to take a step forward, he is blocked by an invisible wall between the pillars.

"Another wall here?　Very tactless."

Even here?　

Oh, my clothes were scorched because I had broken through the wards that prevented me from getting close to the open-air market. Anyway, some kind of small explosion sound is approaching.

Woman!　How dare you interrupt my Lord's bath!"

Cal, you're fast!

"Hey!　You've already got that flame!

"He deserves to die!"

The head of the startled Momiji is quickly dropped.

"You are indeed a man who has been allowed to live next to the Lord!"

His white body remained standing without spurting blood, and his head, which had been cut off with such force, jumped up quickly before falling to the ground.

If I had killed him for peeking into the bath, I would have been killed by Ukon and Amane on the first road to Fuso. ....... I guess Cal knew that demons don't die easily and swung his sword at them.

Finally found the pants removal screen and put them on. That's a relief.

It was supposed to be a snow viewing bath, but now it's turning into a battle viewing bath. It was supposed to be a one-to-many, but the sake-drinker got too excited about the battle, and now it's chaos.

"It's ruining the scenery, isn't it?"

Ukon, next to him, sips a glass of cold sake and mutters.

"I'll bring it back tomorrow. I mean, are you sure it's okay to take a mixed bath?

"I'm wearing a yugi. Besides, you've already seen me once."

Ukon is indeed wearing a white robe, but it is thin and transparent, sticking to his skin. It is very annoying.

The bath is protected by a strong ward that Ukon has placed over it, and Sakon and Amane are guarding the ward. For some reason, Beni Ume is facing them with a thin smile hidden by a scepter, while Camilla is negotiating with them to let her in. Kojiro throws his fist toward the ward.

Sake-drinker is clashing his sword with Kal and Galahad is clashing his sword with Kannushi. Eagle stands watching the battle between the two groups, while Ibaraki, the loincloth girl, cheers for the sake-drinker. The four fighting men and Kohmei do not look at each other and only attack Momiji.

Every time Kojiro hits the invisible wards, the wards warp and the scenery is distorted.

"It's too chaotic."

"It's mostly your fault."

I just came to take a bath!

"Wow. How did this happen when I was out of sight for a moment?"

When Peter came back from his break, he looked at me with a stunned look.

So I'm innocent!　Don't look at me!

After all, we all went into the open air. All but a few of us were dressed in waterproof bathrobes. It was a surreal sight to see a group of people dressed in white entering the open-air bath. It's funny, it was quiet when we entered.

But still, how is it to be completely naked in the presence of a woman, drunkard?

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

"Lord ......"

"...... this is tricky."

Cal and Benime slipped out of their assigned room to escort Homura while he slept, and when they looked up, they saw Homura already on the floor.

To their right was a white mystiff about the size of a person, to their left was a black mystiff also about the size of a person, and a small black dragon hovered above Homura's belly.

Bahamut, a small figure, emits a tremendous amount of chi, and his pupils, which are split vertically, are pointed at the two men. When the black beast flinches, the white beast opens its eyes and looks at us without waking up.

The night at the hot springs is drawing to a close.