CH 79

After I finished making the night time snack, I went to call Shizuku-chan to go to the hot spring.

“Hey? Will Shina-san enter with me?”

In front of the dressing room that looks like and inn’s detached room, I was pressed by Ryleigh-kun.

His arms, which had been entwined with mine as usual, were tightened.

And the eyes that can be seen diagonally from below. Cute. Cute. . . . . . but.

Entering with Ryleigh-kun. . .? Hot spring. . . . .? Hot spring?

“Umm, I was thinking about joining Shizuku-chan. . .”

“Yeah. That’s right. But I think Shina-san can come with me.”

“. . . With Ryleigh-kun? . . . No, but that’s. . .no? No, no?”

Something, yeah. Something seems strange. . .

“Sheena-san. I’m Shina-san’s younger brother, right?”

“Younger brother”

“Yes. Brother.”

“Younger brother.”

“You should take a bath together with your brother.”

“. . . take a bath with my brother.”

. . . .Is that so? Is that how you feel?

I don’t know. I can’t understand at all.

A haze spreads over my head, and I feel like it was like that. . .?

When I was about to not involuntarily, Zezgard-san was there.

“It’s funny!”

“It’s funny. . .is it?”

I can’t see the reason of the world. . .

“Hey! You’re always saying something about Ma-kun, but have you ever taken a bath with that cousin?”

“Ma-kun. . .”

I look back on my past at Zezgard-san’s words.

Even my hazy head could remember it.

“I’ve been in the bath with Ma-kun. . . Well, until Ma-kun was about eight years old. But after that, he started to refuse. . .”

“He’s decent. Look, men are like that.”

“I see.”

I don’t have any male siblings, so I don’t know much about it, but it’s possible that someone who’s around Ryleigh-kun’s age won’t be able to enter together.

When I nodded, Ryleigh-kun, who had been looking up at me until now, shifted his gaze to Zezgard-san.

“. . . Maybe Zez-san wants to join Shina-san too?”

“Huh?”

“Since it’s okay with Ma-kun, it should be okay with you too. . .”

This direction.

“Is that so? Ma-kun?”

“No! Not at all! Hey! Don’t call me Ma-kun naturally!”

Zezgard-san said ‘Damn!’. When he threw that out, he looked at Hurst-san.

“Don’t let your cold air out, either!”

Yes. Hurst-san is making it colder. When the flow of the conversation turned to Zezgard-san joining us, the temperature dropped sharply.

Zezgard-san, who sensed it, told Hurst-san to ‘Stop!’ and raised his voice.

“You’re on guard duty! I’ll take this guy with me!”

When he said that, he grabbed the collar of Ryleigh-kun who was wrapped around my arm and pulled him off of me.

It seems that Zezgard-san, who grew up with many brothers, is quite skillful.

Ryleigh-kun, who was pulled off, is taken by Zezgard-san.

“See you later, Shina-san.”

“Yeah. See you later.”

Ryleigh-kun is smiling as usual, and doesn’t seem to care much about not being able to enter with me.

The reason he followed me to the front of the hot spring was because he illuminated the road with flames so that it wouldn’t be dangerous at night.

That’s why I decided to enter the hot spring with Shizuku-chan as planned.

Hurst-san is waiting in front of the door of the dressing room in case something happens.

And then, the hot spring I entered. . .

“Wow. . .! It’s a sky full of stars. . .!”

“It’s true. . . It’s beautiful.”

“The hot water is just right. . . ah. . .”

The night sky is littered with stars that would be impossible in Japan.

The hot spring is pouring into the bathtub made of stone.

When I was soaked up to my shoulders, my voice came out.

In other words. . .

. . . It’s the best.

“Look Shizuku-chan. The sky over there is still purple. . .”

In contrast to me, who was excited by the scenery, Shizuku-chan let out her words in a calm manner.

“. . . you can’t see it in Japan, right?”

“. . . Yes.”

Yes. There is nothing like this in Japan.

Because there are many mountains and forests, there are few places where you can see the grassland and the horizon without interruption.

“. . . Oh, maybe you can see it in Hokkaido.”

“In Hokkaido. . .?”

“Yeah. Shizuku-chan, have you ever been there?”

“. . . . .No.”

“I see. Well, neither have I.”

I think I saw it on TV or something.

“. . . You don’t know what it means to be in another world, do you?”

“. . . Yes.”

but. . .

“I entered the hot spring together with Shizuku-chan, shoulder-to-shoulder. It’s not bad to talk about nothing like this. Well, I thought it would be fun.”

If you think so. . .

If you think this way. . .

My selfish goals and aspirations.

When I put it into words, it melted into the air with the drifting steam.

A little silence fell.

Shizuku-chan started talking slowly.

“. . . I thought I couldn’t laugh when I was suddenly summoned to a world like this.”

“. . . Yes.”

“But when I’m with Shina-san, I have a lot of fun. . . and then I naturally laugh. . .”

“Yes.”

. . . Shizuku-chan’s heart stopped moving forward.

I think it would be really nice if that heart started moving again.

That’s why, my cheeks relaxed unintentionally, but Shizuku-chan was looking at me like that. . .

“When I see Shina-san’s smile, I feel relieved. . . Always thinking about other people. . .Laughing together with everyone. . . Seeing Shina-san like that, I’m sure the people around you smiled too. . .”

After saying that, Shizuku-chan gently grabbed my hand.

“Shina-san laughs a lot, but I’m sure she’s not laughing because she’s having fun.”

The hands held in the hot spring are hot.

“. . .I decided to have fun.”

The words that spilled out from Shizuku-chan were small.

But it sounds dignified.

“You’re not laughing because it’s fun, it’s because you’re laughing that you’re having fun. . . I think Shina-san herself is cheering herself up by laughing. . . That’s what I thought.”

Those words reached my heart. . .

“. . . What should I do, Shizuku-chan?”

My murmured words were more trembling than I thought.

“. . . embarrassing, shameful”

This is embarrassing. . .

I was worried that I might be pushing myself to have fun.

But Shizuku-chan seemed to see my actions and behaviors from Shizuku-chan’s own point of view.

“Shina-san, your face is red.”

“. . . this is a bit unavoidable. . .”

Shizuku-chan looked at me and smiled happily.

But I didn’t want people to see my face, so I hid it with my unattached hand.

Then, I coughed loudly.

“Shi, Shizuku-chan! Did you know that there are also dishes that can be steamed at the hot spring?”

“Cooking at the hot spring?”

“Yeah. I made hot spring eggs today, but you can also cook vegetables with the steam.”

Clearly unnatural topic change.

However, Shizuku-chan didn’t rush into it and tilted her head slightly.

Taking advantage of Shizuku-chan’s kindness, I forcibly changed the topic and expanded it.

“Plenty of bean sprouts, cabbage, and carrots in a steamer, and arrange the delicious pork neatly on top.”

“. . . It sounds tasty.”

“Well, If it’s a loin, it’s soft, and if it’s a belly, the fat will be delicious. If you make it a little richer, like black pork, the red meat will be delicious.”

Pork is limitless.

In my imagination, Shizuku-chan also happily ate it.

“Is it ponzu sauce? Sesame sauce?”

“Ah! Both are good! How about adding leek and chili oil and sweet and spicy soy sauce?”

“I want to eat it.”

I want to eat black pork.”

“Yes! . . . I’m looking forward to it.”

Shizuku-chan softly smiles with the steam.

I smile back at her. . .

“Shina-sama! Saint-sama!”

Hurst-san’s voice suddenly echoed.

The voice that came from the other side of the dressing room wasn’t loud, but it reached us properly.

At that voice filled with tension, Shizuku-chan and I erased our smiles and turned our attention to Hurst-san’s words.

The words we were told. . .

“. . .I have a bad feeling.”

Shina was very desperate to change the subject, but she can’t expect Shizuku to talk about her insecurities if she isn’t willing to do the same. And how can she not know that Ryleigh shouldn’t go in the hot spring with her? You can’t use the excuse of not having brothers. It’s just common sense. But it seems like something important is about to happen.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thank you for reading!