Chapter 255: The Four Princesses

On the first floor of the hotel—past the front desk and the entrances to the outside, now sealed—Suzuri and Asuka stand before what resembles an attraction-like (though, to be fair, the entire hotel operates on this whimsical tone) public bathhouse.

"Free bath towels and robes are available in various sizes—please help yourselves. Also, mineral water is complimentary."

"Yay~♪"

Zutori hoped the hotel staff member would quickly leave the spot, but—this person seemed to have been assigned the role of surveillance. Standing perfectly still with a gentle yet unwavering expression, there was no sign whatsoever that he would move from his position.

"Um, actually, I'm feeling a bit unwell... I need to go to the restroom..."

"The restroom is located within Termae, please use that one."

The tone was unmistakably firm and left no room for argument.

Stay calm. There's no time to think of any other options...

There you go, Tsuzuri-san, let's get going quickly now~♪

And was brought to a desperate situation by Asuka, who was supposed to be a comrade.

Before I knew it, I was pushed into the red curtain reading 'Woman'.

No, this won't do. If we keep going like this, it'll turn into something like a risqué shonen manga...

Even as I thought that, I had already reached a point from which there was no retreat.

The reason was that I had unexpectedly witnessed four girls changing clothes right at the entrance, in the changing room.

"Hm?"

"Oh?"

"Ah, my."

"………Huh?"

They all stared at me, puzzled, as if I were an unexpected intruder.

Their faces looked familiar.

These were the girls I'd seen earlier on a broadcast called 'Ku-chan's Daily Ranking.'

If I were to use the language of this country,

"Vivian is gathering at the top of the rankings...!"

Tsuiri quietly nods in response to Asuka's whisper.

The songbird, Chita Mizuki.

A woman whose hair is dyed golden, evoking a splendid, large blossom. Among the four, she is the most full-figured, and her age is likely just shy of twenty.

The Storyteller, Enomoto Kazuha.

A woman with lustrous black hair, as glossy as wet crow feathers, her eyes slightly upturned, giving her a sharp, cunning look. Despite her serious demeanor, she is the most "refined" beauty among the four.

"The Laughing Maiden," Negu Nanami.

She's a girl with fox-like, slanted eyes, always giving the impression of wearing a perpetual smile like a mask.

Upon closer inspection, it's a bit disappointing to see blue bruises scattered across her body, but her healthy, well-proportioned figure more than makes up for it.

"The Announcer Princess," Torayama Torako.

At first glance, she appears to be a little girl around 130 centimeters tall. Yet her intelligent facial features unmistakably belong to an adult, clearly indicating she is no ordinary person.

Though their types may differ, all of them possess strikingly refined appearances—truly worthy of being praised alongside the title "Princess."

Yet, apart from that, there was one thing common among them.

All four of them had bodies rigorously trained to the utmost limit.

"Player"—more specifically, a trait characteristic of those who had mastered the combat skill system to its highest level.

"——…………"

Tenmi Tsuzuri hesitated, about to call out to one of the four—specifically, the woman she had met even before Abienia's entry—then deliberately held back.

I thought I'd had enough of making things more complicated.

Then again...

—Damn it. It's no longer enough to just say "sorry."

At this point, confessing "Hey, actually I'm a guy♪" would only cause trouble for myself. It would also affect my comrades' future activities.

For the sake of Kamisono Yuki's revival, that was precisely the situation I had to avoid.

—If things have come to this, I must stubbornly stick to the lie.

A single thought of 'reckless' flickered in the back of his mind and vanished—still, there was no choice but to go through with it.

Yet he wasn't without confidence.

His body, with the exception of one part, was undeniably feminine in structure.

There would be no need for something like showing off his private parts in a changing room, and he had the confidence to back that up.

"Ah, my my."

The "Storyteller" sat on a wicker chair, draped only in a bath towel around her waist, elegantly crossing her legs. In Tenmi Tsuzuri's mind, a scene from the film *Ice's Smile*, where Sharon Stone was being interrogated, flashed before her eyes.

"...Were you two also summoned by the Hundred Flowers?"

Tenmi Tsuzuri thought intently. The autumn of her first year of high school, and the incident of her friend Sōko Ryōhei accidentally defecating during a field trip.

Fortunately, Konno Asuka is handling the chatter for us.

"Actually, I wasn't exactly called here..."

"Then you just came here to soak in the bath, right?"

"No. We just have a few questions for Hakka-san."

"Haha....But right now, the situation's a bit complicated. If we head to the bathhouse now, we'll end up hearing unnecessary things. To navigate this world smoothly, you've got to live by cutting out the useless stuff."

"No."

The anime voice companion slightly shook their head,

"But if this involves Senpai, we have every right to hear about it."

"Senpai? Ah, that girl in the sailor uniform, right?...Hmph. Everyone's always talking about her, aren't they? Is she really that important, that girl?"

"At the very least, she's a benefactor to me."

"Hmm."

The "Storyteller" glanced away, seeming slightly uninterested.

Meh, it's fine. If things get awkward, we can just move to another room....This bath is unnecessarily huge, you know.

And she took the bath towel in hand, disappearing into the bathroom with a relaxed pace.

……………………Wait, hold on……Kazuhachan……

Following behind, the "songstress" trailed with soft, steady footsteps.

Hmmmm

The "Laughter Princess" seemed to have something on her mind, yet she maintained her smile like a mask, giving only a slight bow before heading toward the bathroom.

Left behind were the "Commentator Princess" and Asuka and Tsumuri, who still hadn't undressed.

At last, the boy spoke to her.

"Long time no see."

Tora Mountain Toraiko. …That utterly clichéd pseudonym, spoken by the girl.

"Commentator Princess... no, Miss Gambler."