42 Episode 42 "The Melancholy of theChosen One".txt (1/2)

And the next day.

I finished preparing for the trip, cleaning up, and shopping, and then in the evening.

When I opened the door to the hot spring facility's changing room, there was a naked elf girl.

''What ......?''

We stare at each other as if time has stopped.

It's funny.

Isn't this the same hot spring facility that Iris gave us a bathing ticket to?

And I was directed at the entrance, and I was supposed to come to a place called the private baths: .......

'Huh?　What, eh?

The elf girl looks at me, stunned.

She's rigid, with the last one down to her knees. Her hair is fluffy pink. She looks at me with bluish eyes. Her skin is pure white everywhere, and it's slowly turning red from the tips of her ears. Holding my gaze straight, the elf girl is shaking and shaking, forgetting to hide her body.

Huh?　Did I go in the wrong place?

But this should be the place where the receptionist showed me to be here.

Iris, of course, knows that I'm coming here.

And yet the fact that a girl is here...

Could it be that hot springs in other worlds are based on mixed bathing?

Well, be polite in here then.

”Oh, hi. It's a beautiful day.

'What?　Huh?　Ha, yes. It's a perfect day for a hot spring.

Are you going to take a bath now?

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

'I'm the same way. I know someone who gave me a bathing ticket.

'Well, um, ...... ah, yes, then please join us ............, no!

The elven girl, who had turned bright red, rushed to cover her body with the cloth she was holding.

It wasn't a mixed bath, apparently.

'Why would a man come in!　Heh, heh, big mistake...!

I'm not a pervert!

Oh, yes, yes, I'm very sorry!

When I rushed into it, the elf girl jerked, jerked her body, and lowered her head as it was.

What's this deja vu (deja vu).

The same kind of thing happened before ......?

I'm sorry. I yelled at the top of my lungs.

No, no, I'm sorry I called you a perv.

A bowing contest.

It's not good to keep this up, so I turned my back.

I'm not going to be able to get a good look at it.

I've been invited by a certain someone to come here. I'm not a pervert, it's true.

Oh, I'm, you know, it's just a matter of work. Well, you've worked so hard for me that I was told to take a hot spring bath and get some rest. ......

Sorry, I made a mistake! Raphilia-Grace-san. Adventurers, this is the main bathhouse.

Outside the changing room, I heard the facility's clerk's voice.

'I don't have ............ on me.'

I heard the elven girl murmur, ”Gulp,” as if to say.

Was she an adventurer?

Is that why I felt a sense of déjà vu earlier? I'm not sure if we've ever met.

Ugh ...... I'm sorry. It was me who was wrong.

An elven girl who was getting ready came in front of me and bowed her head.

''I'm sorry for showing you something unseemly. Please forget it.''

No, I'm sorry, too.

Again, a bowing contest.

The elf girl wandered out of the changing room in a huff.

...... She looked like a very unhappy girl.

─────

I've been in the tub and stretched out my arms and legs.

It's ...... the first time in a long time, or maybe the first time in my life that I've been in a hot spring.

The bathroom is made of stone with a window at the top of the wall opposite the changing room for ventilation and light. The bathtub is circular, with a pillar in the middle that leads to the ceiling. A slightly lukewarm hot spring is flowing out of it.

You should have been there.

But Cecil was preparing for his trip, Rita couldn't catch him because he was running around red, Aine was cleaning and tidying up the separation, and Letitia said she didn't want to be left out, so I ended up being left alone.

I thought it would be a celebration for solving the case.

”...... fake demon tribe, huh?

The case should have been solved, but it doesn't feel right.

If he was a visitor like me, he would have been summoned as a hero. I don't understand why they are that particular about being brave. I'm not a fan of the ”company”, but of the ”hero”.

I'm sure you'll be able to find out what's going on.

I'm sure Iris would be shocked.

The fact that you're the target of an attack on you has brought the whole town down.

He was going around apologizing to the adventurers, saying ”Iris is in charge,” even though he looks just as good as Cecil. He also said he would compensate them properly.

I guess I can't ask for ...... 'shoddy goods' anymore, can I?

Well, that's okay.

They gave us extra money and a ticket to the hot springs.

That's fine by us.

You can't ask for too much, or you'll be afraid of the consequences.

It's good enough to have a good time at ....... The rest is .......

What else can you do with ”Life Negotiation, Food Negotiation, Lv 1”? If it's impossible to live without working, let's figure out if we can live with working less time and volume to the limit.

............

I heard a noise in the changing room.

It sounds like someone's coming in.

I'm going to move behind the pillars. This bath is supposed to be rented by Iris.

...... means that it was a regular soldier who came in. Or a freshly arrived soldier.

.................. Good. Thank you.

As an unnamed adventurer, I don't want to see you too much.

”............ excuse me.

I come.

Through the steam, I see a small shadow.

We go around to the dressing room to avoid detection.

Dear Souma. I know you're here: ......?

splash

It's as if you're walking through some royal palace, or palace, or something like that, with grace.

Barefoot, stepping on the damp stone floor.

Dressed only in a bathing cloth wrapped around her slender body.

A girl with green hair entered the bathroom, looking anxiously from side to side.

It was Iris.

You're not going to be able to get it right. I'm glad.''

Iris found me and smiled reassuringly.

'...... Why is Iris here?'

I wanted to have a private conversation with you, Lady Souma, alone.

Iris says, and sits on the edge of the tub.

He looks at me on this side of the pillar, holding his chest in embarrassment.

If you're worried about an attack, that's okay. Right now, the hot spring facility is surrounded by a corps of soldiers who have just arrived from Ilgafa. There's no room for the bugs to crawl.

I was rather worried.

It's just me and Iris in the private bathroom.

There was no sign of anyone else in the room. The only sound is the sound of hot water running.

”Oh, by the way, I was going to ask Iris about Ilgafa.

I didn't have any pause, so I said.

'We're going to be settling down, so I'd like to know the procedures for that, the structure of the town, and then maybe the security ....... That's the kind of stuff I need Iris to teach me.

'Yes. If you're going to live here for a long time, I think you should register as a resident. It's hard to explain the structure of the town without a diagram. I think it's a safe place to live. There are conflicts between merchant guilds, but basically, we can't go against the Ilgafa lord's family.

The answer came back smoothly.

As expected of a ”sea dragon maiden”, she's tiny but excellent.

You can't disobey, is that because you have the right to make a contract with a 'sea dragon'?

'Yes. Only the House of Lords can do that.

Do you think it's safe for strangers like us to live in a town like that?

'It's a shipping town. There are people who come across the sea, and there is usually an adventurers' guild. There are also the usual adventurers' guilds. I'll send you the detailed information about your question later to Souma-sama.

'One more question. Is the Demon King (・・・・) really (・・・・)?

I've always wondered.

The king told me the Demon King was here. So we were summoned.

But in all the time we've been traveling, we haven't seen anything that would lead us to believe there is a Dark Lord. There are demons, but it's the nobles and abandoned visitors that are running amok. The threat of a demon king is not clear to us.

'...... there, I think. We're sending relief supplies by sea from Ilgafa. The supplies are supposed to be landed at a port across the sea, and then transported from there to a remote stronghold fighting the Demon King's army.

That means you don't know what's going on beyond the port, do you?

'Yes, sir. His Majesty's direct soldiers will be transported to the frontier by His Majesty the King's direct soldiers, so no matter how much ...... or how little .......

I'm sorry. It was just an idea.

How much is that possible?

If there's no demon king, then the king is summoning brave men for another purpose under the pretext of defeating the demon king (・・・・) (・・・・).

That's delusional no matter what you think. That's.

If you're concerned about it, I'll talk to the person in charge of the supplies for the frontier.

'You don't have to go that far. Just tell me what Iris knows.

No.

Iris shook her head as she sat on the edge of the bath.

'I owe you, Souma-sama, more than I can ever repay you for that. 'Those who help each other in times of storm can become a family for life,' an Ilgafa proverb says.

'Family ......? You're supposed to help your friends.

I wanted to find out about the identity of the Fake Demon tribe, but...

But it's true that I wanted to help Iris, who treated us as ”friends” when we were different in status. If I didn't, I wouldn't have used my cheat skills to intervene in the battle.

Yes, I would have used my cheat skills to intervene in the battle. Souma and the others and Iris are friends.

Then Iris laughed.

She looks like a normal little girl when she does this.

”Are you friends with Iris and ...... Souma-sama?

Uh-huh.

Why do you look so worried about it?

'It's only natural for friends to take a bath together, isn't it?　You don't hide anything from me, do you?

'Bathing depends on the local customs, and I think it's okay to have something to hide.

'So, according to Iris's custom, your friends bathe together and don't hide anything from you, is that correct?

In an instant, our logic was reversed.

As expected of Iris. I wonder how high her negotiation skills are.

'I've always longed to be an equal friend.

Iris murmured, her eyes twinkling as if she were dreaming.

'Friend LV1' is to talk about dreams, fantasies and people you like, 'LV2' is to have sleepovers and exchange journals, and 'LV9' is to walk through the line of death together and not hide anything, right?

Friends of Iris is treated as a skill: ......?