“What the hell...”
In the evening, just as I was preparing to go offer tribute to Tengushi, I stepped into the bathroom to take a bath only to find the pipes completely wrecked.
“But where is this chill coming from?”
For some reason, nothing seemed wrong within the bathroom itself, yet I could feel a cold draft seeping in from somewhere.
Wondering what on earth was happening, I searched the entire mansion and eventually caught the culprit who had trashed the plumbing.
“S-sorry...”
The culprit was Yoshino.
After hearing her out, I understood why the pipes had been destroyed.
According to Yoshino, she had gone into the bathroom to wash up, but Yoshinon had slipped out of her hand. Of all the places to land, the puppet fell right into the bathtub, causing Yoshino to panic and rampage.
“H-Hieta-san...?”
“Hmm? Ah, I’m fine.”
The silver lining was that I could manipulate fire through sorcery.
Consequently, I spent the next few minutes melting the frozen-solid bathtub to rescue Yoshinon.
Drip, drip.
How long was I supposed to keep this up?
Apparently, a rampage was a rampage, because the amount of ice was enormous. However, if I used offensive sorcery, I felt like I’d melt the entire mansion instead of just the ice, so that was out of the question.
Well, there was nothing for it. Time to call the commander.
“Hello, commander?”
[What? Why are you calling?]
“Commander, by any chance, did your pipes also meet their end?”
[‘Also’? You too?]
Of course. At this rate, I figured not only the mansion’s water supply but Itsuka-kun’s place had probably gone down as well.
“Help me! Commander-emon!”
[Gah! What happened?!]
I gave her a rough explanation: I tried to wash up, but there was no water. I felt a chill. Then I searched the mansion and found that Yoshino had gone on a rampage, or something to that effect.
The commander told me to wait a moment and said she’d send someone over.
“As expected of the commander! I knew I could count on you!”
[Enough. Just hurry up and get Yoshinon out.]
And with that, the call ended.
“Wh-what happened...?”
“She said she’d send someone, so it should be fine. I’ll get Yoshinon out before they arrive.”
Besides, since I’d been melting the ice throughout the call, I was already close to reaching Yoshinon.
A little while later, I managed to retrieve Yoshinon and hand her back to Yoshino. Then, Yoshinon’s mouth opened.
『Waaah~! That was my first time getting frozen! It was suuuper cold!』
“Sorry, Yoshinon.”
『It’s okay! Things happen! Just be more careful next time~』
Not long after their conversation ended, a crew arrived and we were led outside the mansion.
“Haa... It’s a little annoying that I couldn’t wash up, though...”
“I’m sorry...”
“There’s no need to apologize. Yoshino didn’t do it on purpose, after all.”
To reassure her, I patted Yoshino on the head while thinking to myself.
My plan to clean up before heading out had been ruined by Yoshino’s rampage, and I didn’t know of any place nearby where I could bathe. I figured I might just have to go without washing.
Just as I was worrying about it, Itsuka-kun stepped out of his house.
“Huh? Hieta and Yoshino?”
“Itsuka-kun?”
Tohka and the commander followed him out, carrying toiletries in their hands.
“Where are you going?”
“Mm! We’re going to a place called a bathhouse!”
Was there a bathhouse around here? I hadn’t explored this area, so I had no idea.
“But why are you outside? Ah, your pipes broke too, right? Do you want to come with us?”
At Itsuka-kun’s unexpected suggestion, I thought it over for a moment and decided to join them. A person should at least wash up before doing anything else.
“What about Yoshino?”
“I’d like to go too...”
Yoshino and I joined Itsuka-kun’s group and headed toward the bathhouse.
“Hello, Hieta.”
“...Yes, hello, Rinne-san.”
Of course, Rinne joined us partway through as well.
We chatted about various things on the way.
“By the way, is this your first time at a bathhouse, Hieta?”
“? Why do you think that?”
“Well, Hieta is a—”
Just as the word “Spirit” was about to leave Itsuka-kun’s mouth, the commander hurriedly covered it.
“Hm? What is it, Kotori?”
“Kotori? What’s wrong?”
“Ah, haha, it’s nothing!”
Leaving Tohka and Rinne looking puzzled, the commander glared at Itsuka-kun and hissed in a low voice.
“You said Rinne-nee doesn’t know about Spirits...!”
“Ah, right!”
That was the first time I’d learned that Rinne was unaware of Spirits. So she was Itsuka-kun’s childhood friend, but remained in the dark, huh...
“Hmm, I guess that makes sense.”
Since she was supposedly a normal person, I figured she wouldn't know unless she encountered a Spirit personally or Itsuka-kun told her.
Besides, when the commander mentioned it last time, she emphasized that information about Spirits was top secret.
“So, Hieta, do you know about bathhouses?”
“Of course. I went when I was little, too.”
“When you were little?”
The commander tilted her head at my words.
I wondered if she still suspected I was a Spirit.
“Yes, when I was little. I went with my parents back then. I remember following my father into the hot bath, and it was so hot. I can still feel it.”
Recalling the past, the memories came back vividly.
The first time I visited a bathhouse. My father stepping into the hot water and claiming it was refreshing. I believed him and jumped in, only to find it insanely hot and scramble right back out.
I was more used to this world now, but I still missed my original one.
Lost in those memories, Itsuka-kun asked worriedly, “Th-then, Hieta. Are you maybe the same as Kotori?”
“Huh? The same as her?”
“A human who possesses the power of a Spirit.”
What on earth was he talking about now?
“Itsuka-kun. I’m telling you, I’m not a Spirit. If I were, would you raise my affection and kiss me?”
“See? Hieta isn’t a Spirit after all!”
See? You don’t want to do it either.
“What are you two whispering about?”
“Gah!”
“Aw, damn, you startled me.”
Apparently, Rinne had noticed us whispering, because before I knew it, she was standing right beside us.
“W-we were just asking whether Hieta had been to a bathhouse before.”
“Mm-hmm. Is this your first time at a bathhouse, Hieta?”
“No. I went when I was little.”
At my answer, Rinne simply said, “I see~,” and returned to Tohka’s side.
“Itsuka-kun. Be careful.”
“Yeah. That was close.”
If Rinne had approached a few seconds earlier, she might have overheard the part about Spirits.
“By the way, have you been to a bathhouse before, Itsuka-kun?”
At my question, Itsuka-kun nodded. “Of course. When I was little... I think it was elementary school? That was probably the first time. Little Kotori was so cute back then. She kept clinging to me and—kuh!”
The commander, who had been listening quietly, unleashed a Falcon Punch on Itsuka-kun. Struck square in the solar plexus, he collapsed on the spot and groaned.
“Ghh...”
“What are you talking about?!”
“No... I was just talking about when we were kids...”
“Shut up!”
Itsuka-kun clutched his stomach and staggered back to his feet.
“Ugh...”
“Honestly, comman—oof!”
“You watch your mouth too!”
Out of habit, I almost called her “commander” in front of Rinne, and I got hit too.
I mean, what was I supposed to do? The word had already slipped out.
“Just call me by my name!”
“Ah, got it...”
Whatever force she’d used, it knocked the wind out of me. She was seriously too violent.
“Are you okay?”
Rinne came over to us as we staggered along, asking if we were all right. Like hell we were. It hurt like crazy.
“Does this look okay to you...?”
“Ahaha, Kotori must be going through puberty. She’s a little sensitive. Please understand, Hieta.”
“Rinne-nee! What does that mean?!”
Like hell I’d understand that. She hits people for everything.
But I couldn’t say that aloud, so I just nodded and said I understood.
Anyway, just as we were almost at the bathhouse—
“Uuuh... huh?”
“What’s wrong... huh?”
A girl was standing in front of the bathhouse.
“Origami...?”
That’s right. The white-haired girl, Tobiichi Origami. I had no idea how she’d found us, but it was obvious she’d been stalking Itsuka-kun. A normal person wouldn’t have jumped to that conclusion, but Tobiichi wasn’t normal—she was a super-ultra stalker.
“Origami? Why are you here?”
“It’s broken.”
“Huh? W-what is?”
“The pipes are broken.”
Well, that’s what she said, but there was no way I could believe it. Unfortunately, there was no evidence to prove otherwise, so she ended up joining our group as well.
“Then let’s all meet here at the appointed time!”
With that, we set a time to meet again and split up into the men’s and women’s baths. Or rather, we tried to.
“Mm! I’m going too!”
“Gah! Tohka! Why are you here?!”
“Tohka can’t go in.”
“Origami too?!”
If it had just been those two, maybe it would have been manageable.
But these crazy women were actually trying to follow Itsuka-kun into the men’s bath.
Seeing that, I hurriedly pulled my clothes back on and shouted, “Get out!”
“Sorry! I’ll take them away right now!”
Rinne, having heard the commotion from the men’s side, dragged the two of them away, and the little uproar was settled for the moment.
“Haaah, what even is this?”
“Yeah...”
Mentally exhausted from the chaos, we finally managed to soak ourselves in the bath.
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