The real reason for the trip—hot springs, right?

Abandoned village... or abandoned settlement?

Whatever you want to call it, the place we found was a dead village. It was up above the great waterfall.

Jitarou looked up at the final cliff.

"Guess the reason it's gone is monsters, huh?"

There’s definitely someone dangerous here…

The roar sounded pretty far off. That’s not the only thing bugging me, though.

It was Camille who confirmed my suspicions for sure.

The building’s destruction is relentless. Should’ve been sturdy, but only a few foundation stones remain. Too thorough for a monster’s handiwork.

Yeah, that's the thing.

I’ve seen villages wiped out by monsters enough times in my adventuring days. Monsters don’t usually go after people and then smash up buildings for no reason. They just wreck things while hunting humans. That’s how it works.

Eva mutters, crouched over the rubble.

“If this place was some hidden alchemist village, like the one we found before, then a few ordinary monsters wouldn’t be enough to wipe it out. Unless… it was something so vicious it couldn’t be repelled.”

She looks up, eyes scanning the last cliff face, then sweeps her gaze across the entire ruin once more.

“Something else happened.”

“That means… a third party, right?”

“……”

Don’t wanna think about it. Don’t wanna. But there’s still a mountain of things I have to do, things I can’t avoid thinking about.

First thing I gotta do—

"Hot spring! That's what it is!"

"Yeah, hot spring... huh?"

The declaration sparkled from Mizuho samurai Nobuna, her eyes shining bright.

"What? Hot spring?"

"Exactly! The temperature’s perfect! The water quality’s top-notch! The bathhouse is ruined, but the hot spring waterfall’s been flowing for years—so the bath’s clean, no rubble at all!"

"Uh... yeah..."

"It’s a massive open-air bath! There’s no reason not to get in!"

"Uh, it’s far, but there might be something nasty deep inside?"

"If it comes near, we just change and take it head-on!"

I started to ask what they’d do if the enemy flew in like a wyvern, but then I remembered—these guys could handle it. Maina’d just leave it to Ryuuko to sort out.

"Truth is, if this was its territory, we’d’ve been attacked already. Either it hasn’t noticed us, or it’s ignoring us."

"True enough."

"Missing out on the finest open-air bath? Unthinkable for a Mizuho citizen!"

"Obviously. No danger around, so bath time it is."

Watching the two buzz with excitement, I finally got it—how seriously Mizuho folk took their baths. I knew they loved baths, loved hot springs—but not *this* much.

"Got it, got it. Long journey, we’re filthy. Cleaning off? Absolutely."

"Smart as always, Craft! Me and Chiyome’ll gather everyone. Jitarou, you go on ahead."

"Ah, got it."

No point saying anything. Their energy was already too high.

Now that things had settled a bit, maybe we could take it easy for a little while.

The hot spring area sat slightly elevated, with stone shelves clinging to the cliffside like small waterfalls, and the hot spring runoff seemed to double as a fountain spreading across the village.

Called a "small waterfall," but that was relative to the cliff’s scale—large enough to be a proper bath by human standards.

Climbing the stone steps still clinging to the cliffside brought us to a slightly wider space. Probably once held a changing hut. Only the foundation’s remnants remained.

Beyond that, there was a rock bath big enough for a training ground, with a hot spring waterfall cascading down its center.

"Whoa! This is amazing!"

"Let’s get in quick!"

Jitarou and I slipped into our swimwear behind cover, then dove straight into the hot spring.

"Phew! Feels totally different from a regular bath!"

"Ah… ah… ah… it’s like the fatigue you can’t even shake with a stamina potion is just… melting away."

More like the tension’s dissolving into the water, isn’t it?

Whatever it is, once your body gets used to the heat, it’s like you’re getting squished flat—nice and soft, like a slime.

"Man, the view’s amazing! Sure, the village’s been wiped out, but still—"

"Because this bath is higher than the buildings, look—over there! The great waterfall! The sea of clouds spreading out below!"

"Whoa—clouds look gloomy from down here, but up here? They’re glowing white!"

"No clouds blocking the sun, see? The cliffside’s great too—just steam rising from the hot spring waterfall, the sound of it, the whole thing—perfect. I think I finally get why Mizuho people love hot springs so much."

Just as I let myself get completely relaxed like that, I heard Nobuna’s voice behind me. I turned around.

"That's wonderful!"

She stood with her legs apart.

Naked.

"Yeeeeeeeeeessssssss?!?"

"Wha—what the hell?!"

Unfortunately... or maybe luckily... the spray from the waterfall and the steam from the hot spring hid the important parts, thank the gods!

"Both of you, screaming like that—must really love the hot spring. Wonderful!"

"N-no, it's not that—"

"Best ever! Absolutely best!"

Evva burst in, fully dressed in swimwear.

"Miss Nobuna! Why are you naked?! Swimwear! Put on swimwear!"

"Swimwear in a hot spring? That's sacrilege! Evva, take yours off too!"

"W-what?! Where are you touching?! No! Don't take it—!"

Oof!

The magician couldn't stand a chance against Nobuna's strength—she ripped the swimsuit right off Evva in an instant.

My heart’s gonna explode!

Lilirily burst in.

"Smelled romance, so I came! No flags getting raised—me and my darlin’ are the ones who do that… wait, why are both of you starkers!?"

"Lilirily, you don’t need that awkward swimsuit—just take it off!"

"Yeeeeeek!"

In a flash, Lilirily was stripped bare. One glance at me, then she screamed and dove headfirst into the hot spring, hiding her body.

…Yeah. Probably because Evva had just been undressed, I wasn’t all that flustered. She’s still a kid, after all.

Evva, watching, scrambled and jumped into the hot spring too, covering herself.

Oh no. Bad. Seriously, my heart’s racing!

"What are you all yelling about? You two—"

Persia, Maina, and Ryuuko arrived.

Maina’s swimsuit flutters around her, I get that. But Persia’s swimsuit looks weirdly cute too. Doesn’t suit her at all.

"Why’s Nobuna-sama fully naked?"

"Swimming suits are sacrilege in hot springs."

"Really?!"

"It’s common sense."

Nobuna nods deeply.

Not that it matters, but I swear the steam’s been thicker than usual since a bit ago! Makes it easy to catch a peek, though.

Ryuuko nods slightly too, but with a thoughtful look.

"True, in Mizuho that’s considered proper etiquette—"

Before Ryuuko finishes, Persia’s eyes widen and she yelps.

"S-so that’s how it is?! I mean, we’ve done co-ed survival training in the army before… but—"

Nobuna nods in satisfaction.

"Especially at the front lines!"

"In my personal guard unit, we’ve only done shared marches and camp life with male soldiers—"

"We're the special task force to bring Kyle back to life, right? This is the front lines, isn't it?"

"Wha— I see! Now that you mention it, that makes sense!"

Ah! Nobuna’s being a lazy bastard again, making up nonsense to avoid talking!

And the idiot who actually believes that crap is even more of a fool!

"Ugh... I was once a noble guard knight! Such trivial shame is nothing to me!"

Saying that, she yanks off her swimsuit with a snap and walks toward Eva and Lililily.

Wait— she didn’t actually need to take it off, did she?

Maina shifts her gaze from me to Nobuna, then to Eva and Lililily, then slowly pulls her swimsuit down, tossing it aside, and walks toward me.

"..."

Silent. Looking up at me.

"Uh... not too hot, is it?"

"Just right."

"Ah, right. I’ll wash your head later."

"Mm."

Maina nodded, satisfied. Back at the orphanage, she’d washed kids’ heads all the time. That’s her thing.

Ryuko muttered quietly.

“Going with the Mizuho method, then.”

She quickly slipped into her swimsuit, then folded up every other swimsuit scattered about before sinking into the women’s bath.

Next came Camille and Marilyn.

Gah! Man, Marilyn’s destruction power is insane! No surprise she’s called the Busty Saint…!

Camille nodded. “You’ve got this.”

“Felt something… unfair.”

Camille a telepath?!

She stared hard at Nobuna.

“Have heard of it. Mizuho people… naked folk.”

“No way! We’re just perverts outside the hot spring!”

“Don’t get it.”

Camille, I’m with you 100%!

I don’t get the logic that bathing means no shame!

But… yeah, I really think that’s how Nobuna sees it, watching her.

“Fufu. Either way, I’ll have you strip down at the hot spring.”

“But I’ll refuse.”

Two facing each other. Equal in strength?

No—Nobuna’s a magic swordsman who uses Onmyō techniques, so in a bare-handed fight, Camille’d have the edge.

“I’ve always wanted to fight you for real, Camille.”

“Agreed.”

There’s a hint of rivalry in the air, but neither of them’s forgetting they’re both naked… or in swimwear?

Totally irrelevant, but Camille’s wearing a one-piece swimsuit, right? Feels like it covers more than her usual battle gear, though.

Tension thick in the air, eyes locked. Then—nakedness added. Chiyome.

“Carelessness is the enemy.”

“Ahh…”

Chiyome suddenly appears. One second she’s behind Camille, the next—her swimsuit’s yanked off in a flash.

"Two against one's cheating. But losing's losing. Just admit it and go full naked."

"It's just the hot spring!"

Camille quietly sinks into the bath.

Marilyn, left behind, stares at Mizuo's group with teary eyes.

"I-I'll do it myself..."

Slipping off her swimsuit, she shyly dashes into the bath. Dynamite!

Yeah, Marilyn had that one mark—something she'd rather not show publicly.

...Better not think about that. Yeah.

Next up, Javir arrives—gone in a flash, tossed straight into the bath.

"Wha—what the hell is this!?"

Finally, Leifan shows up... already completely naked. Though he's holding a towel in front of him.

"Resisting’s just wasting time. Better to minimize the damage."

Sighing, he sinks into the bath.

"Ahh... paradise."

Ah. So that’s why we didn’t have any trouble if we’d just done it from the start.

That’s how we lounged in the hot springs, relaxed as could be.

...Needless to say, later on, me and Jitarou got caught in our swimwear, and Nobuna gave us a long, drawn-out lecture, mixing in Mizuho’s spirit and all that nonsense.

Ryuuko, already changed and setting out the food, murmured.

“Was it really necessary to stick to Mizuho’s way?”

Exactly!

Too late now, though!

Sudden hot springs trip! \(^o^)/