As night fully descended while we made our way down the mountain, we once again found ourselves on the nerve-wracking, narrow road back to the inn.
To prepare this time, I interwove
Silveit
along my fingertips, creating a setup that allowed me to cast magic without needing to free my hands in case of any sudden dangers. As I experimented with this new technique, born from my recent reflections, my father, seated in the front passenger seat, spoke in a low voice.
"I never thought he'd demand something so unreasonable," he said. "Leaving a child behind... it's unacceptable."
Renji-san, driving carefully through the mountain road, added, "It might be his way of testing Itsuki-kun's determination, seeing if he's truly ready."
"Maybe, but still... how can anyone accept leaving a child behind as payment?" my father replied, sounding both angry and perplexed.
The swordsmith's habit of setting conditions was something we'd been prepared for, but this was beyond anything I'd expected. I'd thought his demands might be something like "only someone who's defeated a Sixth Rank" or some other achievement-based requirement. But to ask for a person as payment...
Finally, we left the mountain path and returned to a wider, two-lane road, enveloped in the peaceful, natural darkness unique to the countryside. I undid the
Magic Suppression Lens
I'd created earlier, and in that instant, the surrounding area brightened subtly.
"...Huh?" I murmured, confused.
There were no streetlights out here, and it wasn't the season for fireflies. Curious, I looked out the window and saw faintly glowing orbs floating up from the river running below, illuminating the entire scene as if the mountain itself were alive with light.
Then I remembered: wasn't the hot spring water sourced from a local river?
And so, I realized the truth: it was magic. Under the sun, I hadn't noticed, but now that night had fallen, it was visible—a river shining like a starry sky.
Just then, Aya-chan, seated across from me, noticed my reaction and asked curiously, "Itsuki-kun, what are you looking at?"
Since she couldn't see magic, I probably looked strange, suddenly gazing out into the darkness.
"Here, I'll show you something interesting. Look at the river," I told her, creating another
Silveit
lens. This one did the opposite of my previous lens—it concentrated magic, making it visible by adding color.
A moment later, Aya-chan gasped in awe, "Wow... it's beautiful."
"Right? That's magic flowing through the river," I explained.
Then, as if to lighten the mood, Hina reached over and pointed to the small dessert on Nina-chan's tray—a bowl of grapes.
"Nina-nee-chan! Are you gonna eat your grapes?"
"No... I can't eat them."
"Then I'll have them!" Hina said eagerly, reaching over to claim Nina's dessert.
Mom scolded her, "Hina, that's not polite."
"But Nina-nee-chan said it was okay!" Hina replied, pouting.
Watching the exchange, I couldn't help but smile at the simple honesty of it all. Soon after, we finished our meal and decided to head back to our rooms.
On the way back, I felt a tug on my arm from Aya-chan, who was walking behind my father and Renji-san, who were chatting about going back to the hot springs.
As I stopped, I noticed that Aya-chan was also holding Nina-chan's hand.
"Itsuki-kun, I want to talk to you," Aya-chan said, looking serious.
"What's up?"
"Come over here with me. Nina-chan too."
Aya-chan called out to her father, "We're going to get some juice!" and led us to a small vending machine area.
The room was a small alcove with four vending machines, a single bench, and two trash bins. Since the gift shop was still open, no one else was around. Aya-chan looked around, exhaled in relief, and turned back to us.
"So, what did you want to talk about?" I asked.
"It's not really me who wants to talk..." Aya-chan replied cryptically.
Suddenly, there was a crackling sound, and the air around us seemed to drop in temperature.
Aya-chan's hair began to shift from black to a glistening silver, her eyes changing color as her familiar warmth faded into an intense, otherworldly aura.
Standing before us wasn't Aya-chan anymore, but rather the Ice Princess in all her chilling majesty.
"It's been a while, Itsuki," she greeted me.
"...Ice Princess," I replied, taken aback.
"I've missed you," she said, and before I knew it, she had pulled me into a fierce embrace.