In the petting area, there were animals and monsters of all sizes, making it look like a zoo. There were no attendants here either, but the monsters seemed to be well-disciplined and very docile.
Sieg-san, who loved animals, had been so excited since her arrival that it was obvious to the casual observer that she was somewhat more childlike than usual. That's also what made her so cute.
[Look at this, Kaito-san! It's a Funny Rabbit!]
[Ahh, so this is what Sieg-san mentioned before…… It's fluffy, isn't it?]
I had seen the funny rabbit she mentioned before that she wanted to keep at the monster race track, but I had only seen it from too far away to recognize it as anything more than a rabbit with a horn.
Up close, the rabbit's fur was quite fluffy, and it felt wonderful to touch. Its slightly unmotivated atmosphere combined with its cute appearance was soothing.
According to Alice, they don't move quickly except when they're chasing prey…… Overall, they apparently move slowly.
In fact, the size of the rabbit is the same as that of a normal rabbit from Earth, although it looks two times larger because it has more and fluffier fur.
Sieg-san and I took turns holding and petting them, which was quite soothing. The magic box provided in the connection area also contained food, so it looks like you can feed the animals.
Many of the monsters in the connection area were new to me, and I enjoyed spending time with Sieg-san. Well, they obviously aren’t as cute as Bell and Lynn, but this is still a healing space that naturally brought a smile to my face.
In the end, without taking into account the time to look at other areas, we looked around at all the monsters in the connection area, and several hours passed in the blink of an eye.
[It's already time, isn't it?]
[Ahh, you're right. I had so much fun that I lost track of time. I'm sorry…… We don’t have time to visit other areas anymore.]
[Don't worry about it. I'm glad that Sieg-san had fun, and besides, I myself, also had fun.]
[Yes…… Even so, as expected of Kaito-san…… you've very well-liked by them.]
[A- Ahaha…… They're rather heavy though.]
It seemed that monsters and animals like me, and now, I have small monsters and animals riding on my head and shoulders, which made them quite heavy, and various monsters are gathering around my legs.
Even though they were well-disciplined, I think there is another reason why they're so attached to me. Perhaps, just like how the spirit Raz-san said that my magic power was comfortable for her, my magic power was something that monsters would like……
[……Sieg-san, I have a question. Is there a Blessing among the Gods' Blessings that makes it easier for animals and monsters to like you?]
[Hmmm, there's no such Blessing from the low-ranking Gods with temples in the Human Realm…… It seems that there is a high-ranking God known as God of Beasts, so if it's a Blessing from someone like her……]
[……No, it seems that Shiro-san's Blessing is a Blessing that is a higher level than the other Gods' Blessings, and it has all the effects of all the other Gods' Blessings, so I was wondering if there was one that would make animals and monsters like you……]
[I see…… There certainly are great Blessings, and if they exist, I'd like to receive them too.]
While making idle chit-chat like that, Sieg-san and I bid farewell to the monsters that had taken such a liking to us, and we returned to the building where we were staying.
After returning to the building, Sieg-san and I prepared dinner together. I was only helping out lightly, but as expected of Sieg-san, her cooking skills were excellent.
I don't know if it's because I had eaten her meals before, but I felt like her meals had become tastier, and when I told her about this, she only giggled and said "Perhaps, it's because my secret ingredient, love, has become deeper".
Finishing our meal with a sense of happiness, after cleaning up, we decided to go to the onsen. I was going to ask Sieg-san to go in first, but it seemed that there were several onsens available at different locations, so it wasn’t really a problem if we went in separate onsens.
We consulted with each other over the onsens written in the booklet to make sure that we didn't overlap, and after choosing our respective onsens, bathing tools in hand and we used a Teleportation Magic Tool to teleport to our respective onsens.
The onsen I chose was an open-air bath located at a slightly higher elevation with a panoramic view of the illuminated mountains. The air was clear, and the sky full of stars was beautiful.
To have a view like this all to yourself, this really felt quite luxurious…… I would like to have a light drink, but I wonder what would be good for this moment? I have various kinds of alcohol in my magic box, but when it comes to onsens, I guess one would think of sake.
I'm pretty sure I have some among the stuff I received from Neun-san……
[……Kaito-san, how's the water temperature?]
[It's just right. I was also just thinking of having some sake.]
[That sounds great. Can I have some too?]
[Yes, of cour——— Eh?]
Arehh? Isn't that strange? I felt like I heard a voice I shouldn't be hearing right now…… Arehh?
<Afterword>
Serious-senpai : [As I thought, a second part really did pop out!]
Q : How did Tre reserve this resort?
A : Saying that she would pay for it herself, she asked Kuro to help her and got it through Kuro's connections.
Q : Wasn't there someone else who had originally reserved it for that day?
A : It was originally reserved by a certain fashion-conscious skeleton, so it was no problem.