Vol. 1 - Ch. 102 - Hot Spring (2)

The path to Ment village started by taking the northern mountain road of the Ament Volcano, and then a 120 degree anti-clockwise turn around the middle section of where the volcano was located.

The landscape of Ment village was filled with white walls and close-knit buildings of peculiar architecture built with reddish-brown, round bricks running parallel to the gentle slopes. It faintly resembled the white city, a famous tourist attraction in Europe.

Tonny-san raised his hand toward a man, seemingly a guard, from the gap of the stone walls surrounding the village as we entered.

Estimating from the village's area, its population should be around 2,000 at best.

I felt my heart throbbing when I breathed in the smell of sulfur--- though the smell was closer to rusted iron than hydrogen sulphide.

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"We plan to meet with someone, so we're taking our leave for a period of time. Let's meet at 9 in the morning at the village's entrance, then we'll leave for Kirika afterward. You better remember not to keep us waiting."

The short, goat-bearded man said in a rough manner as he disappeared into the maze-like alleys with a villain-like expression.

...Just what I wanted. The last thing I needed was to be embroiled in their turf war or gang fights just because we were in the same inn. After all, the request didn't say I needed to escort them anywhere else except in the monster-infested general route.

It was also why I refrained from using detection magic. I did want to believe that they were using the detection magic prevention tool but just in case they weren't, and I happened to overhear their deal of some illegal stuff, I wouldn't be able to ignore it anymore. It might be temporary, but I was still a member of the knight order.

"It's a beautiful village, Tonny. Honestly, it's only now that I understand why you're so adamant on saving this village despite where it's located."

I muttered my truthful opinion to Tonny-san, who was also left behind along with me.

"A beauty, isn't it? The white paint on the wall is a blend of powdered white stone and water meant to keep monsters at bay. The only thing this village doesn't lack are those stones from the Ament Volcano. Though the monsters are a nuisance and the profit doesn't match up with the effort, so the stone's effect is not widely publicized......

But then again, it's not a surefire method. This village had adopted this method long before the monsters even made this volcano their nest, wisdom of life I guess? Anyway, what're you going to do about the inn?"

Tony steered the conversation to me, and since there was a chance, I also tried asking if he had any hot spring inn to recommend.

"Of course, I have a lot of inns in this village stored in my head. And to answer your question, every inn here actually has a hot spring, so do you have any other criteria aside from that? Like delicious food or beautiful scenery?"

"Oh, in that case...... I guess it would be the quality of the hot spring. I like my water to be on a bit hotter side, but maybe I'll be dipping in for longer today so that's not necessary. Ah, just make sure the inn is different from those two, definitely."

Well, I wasn't expecting much from the food of this secluded village. I didn't mind the scenery, so it wasn't a must-have either.

"...That's quite an old man-like hobby despite having such young bones... I have the perfect inn in mind to suit your taste. It's the oldest inn in this village, the name's 'Tsukiya'. What do you think?

It's small and old, run only by an elderly couple, so the reception may not be up to the mark, but they are the only one with a natural hot spring here, so you should be able to experience a revitalizing, hot bath as you wanted. Well, the temperature does fluctuate depending on the day, but it would still be warmer than any other hot spring.

Nowadays, only a handful of visitors that happen to drop by visit it since this inn lacks a huge open-air bath with splendid scenery that's popular nowadays."

A natural hot spring......

Gin-san's brows shot up when I introduced myself.

"Quite a coincidence, huh~? I'm also from the Royal Capital. Well, it was around half a year ago that I came here to experience the hot water cure and have been staying here ever since, though I often hear about outside affairs from my henchmen who occasionally show up to look for me.

Little boy--- right, that would be rude. Ren, seeing as you're also a fellow bath enthusiast, do you mind listening to a request from this old man?"

Gin-san turned toward me and lowered his head.

"Actually, my old wounds started aching when I least expected, and now I can't stand up... It's a bit deplorable to rely on my henchmen, so it would be great if you could lend me a hand here."

......Huh, so that was the reason all along? Truth was never as it appeared, huh?

I nodded immediately after.

"Of course I don't mind. Where are you hurting?...... Don't tell me you've been enduring the pain all this time?"

Gin-san flashed a bitter smile and said.

"Pitiful as it might be, but yes. I couldn't call my henchmen since that would mean going against the manners of the public bath house that I keep preaching to them.

You're also minding your manners, and calling you out for my convenience would also go against my code of conduct, so I had been enduring... But I hit my limit, unfortunately. I haven't seen a kid like you before, so it's embarrassing, but please help me out."

...He was an even bigger bath enthusiast than I expected. But that was just to my liking!

With a wry smile, I lent him a shoulder and gently got him to his feet.

"The shackles increase the more you climb up in the ladder of life, doesn't it?"

"My words, it's really like a pebble in my shoes. T-T-Take it slow, right, like that. My head is all dizzy from the pain, I would have collapsed without your help."

I pulled Gin-san from the bathtub using body-strengthening magic --- though he did refuse once but that was the efficient way to not exert the pressure on his leg --- and then took him to the dressing room where I laid him on a chair.

"Shall I call your people?"

I asked, but Gin-san refused with a smile.

"Ah, leave it. The pain will subside after a short rest, so there's no need. It would just disturb those who're enjoying their bath. Take it easy."

I handed him a water pouch, told him 'It's water you can drink' and returned to the bathroom.

The empty bathtub was almost like a reserved place where I soaked myself to my heart's content for the next hour, until the moon was visible from the sole window of the place.

When I returned to the dressing room, Gin-san had already left.