The so-called bathing and hot spring soaking in Neon actually starts after cleaning your body outside before entering the pool. This explains why Neon people can use bathwater one after another.
In Huaxia, as a southerner, he had never even been to a northern bathhouse, let alone sit in a pool with a bunch of strangers. So, after dinner, Shirakawa Sawahei didn’t choose to soak immediately but went back to the room first and calmly pulled out a book to read.
When he figured the group of college tourists were likely done soaking, Shirakawa Sawahei then lazily put down his book, grabbed his towel and toiletries, and headed towards the lodge’s distinctive hot spring.
The hot spring was watched over by an elderly woman, who seemed to be dozing in a rocking chair. Shirakawa Sawahei glanced carelessly, noticing her pants legs were so slack they seemed to disappear below the knees.
As he looked more carefully, the old woman suddenly opened her eyes and, half-asleep, said, "Young man, what time is it now?"
The old woman went back into a deep sleep, leaving Shirakawa Sawahei scratching his head in confusion as he carried his basin into the hot spring’s bathing room.
Wait a minute, better check again.
Shirakawa Sawahei poked his head back out and looked at the canvas sign hanging above.
Yes, it’s the men’s hot spring.
Many harem seniors have fallen due to overlooking such details, and as a man who learns from history, Shirakawa Sawahei was very cautious about this.
Although it’s called a hot spring, the lodge merely revamped an artificial hot spring as a gimmick to attract tourists. Genuine natural hot spring inns are beyond what several high school students can afford to enjoy. Now, with the peak time bypassed, Shirakawa Sawahei enjoyed a certain unique pleasure of having the place to himself.
He eased into the water carefully, steam rushing to his head, making his face blush warmly.
No wonder so many Neon people enjoy soaking in hot springs; it’s truly a kind of enjoyment.
"Shirakawa~ Is that you~"
Tsukimi Sakurazawa’s voice timely echoed over, leaving Shirakawa Sawahei helplessly opening his eyes, thinking to himself how amazing she was. I had just gotten into the water and barely started enjoying it, and she received the news already.
Is it telepathy? That would be too ridiculous.
He sighed, intending to reply, but Tsukimi Sakurazawa on the other side started talking to herself, "Ah~ Turns out Shirakawa hasn’t come over yet~ What a shame."
"Huh? Minister, do you want to chat with Shirakawa?" Little Lolita leaned on the edge, looking up to ask.
"Not really, just that I... A friend once mentioned to me a hot spring.avi, and I suddenly remembered, so I wanted to ask Shirakawa what the core selling point of this plot was~"
"Shirakawa knows even about that?" Little Lolita suddenly raised her head in surprise, causing the towel on her forehead to fall off in shock.
You can never really know someone, can you? Little Bai, this guy... turns out he’s so H in secret!
"Of course, he’s Akihisa’s super study god~ This bit of reading comprehension is certainly no problem for him."
Shirakawa Sawahei: "..."
Chiboku quietly squatted down, letting the hot spring water cover her little head, bubbling out a string of tiny bubbles.
This topic... I’d better not participate...
"It’s so strange, when I came in, there was clearly no one on the men’s hot spring side. Could it be that Shirakawa doesn’t plan to soak in the hot spring?"
"Minister, did you go in to take a look?"
"No, I asked the old man at the door."
To avoid being bothered to death by Tsukimi Sakurazawa and Little Lolita, Shirakawa Sawahei calmly closed his eyes and continued soaking in the hot spring.
By the time Shirakawa Sawahei, dressed in the hotel-provided sleep robe, walked back to his room, it was nearing 11 o’clock.
He soaked for nearly an hour, feeling a bit dizzy. By then, the three little girls were already in the room starting to make some noise, showing vague signs of starting a pillow fight.
Shirakawa Sawahei didn’t join them. After reminding them not to disturb others, he went back to his room to rest.
The time slipped to midnight, the sounds from the neighboring room gradually quieted down.
The door to Shirakawa Sawahei’s room was quietly pushed open, revealing a small gap.
A pair of eyes suddenly appeared at the crack.
Thanks to his good alertness, Shirakawa Sawahei opened his eyes and woke up the moment the door opened.
Sounds of movement followed in the room, like soft footsteps on tatami mats. Shirakawa Sawahei hesitated slightly, choosing to pretend to be asleep, staying still to wait for the person’s next move.
A thief? But how would a thief have the room key?
Could it be someone from the inn committing theft? If so, they would have already been reported, how could they still be operating today?
Just as he prepared to subdue the suspicious figure, the person suddenly spoke.
Shirakawa Sawahei: "..."
Turns out it was Tsukimi Sakurazawa sneaking over for a night raid!
If this guy had spoken a few seconds later, Shirakawa Sawahei might have had to show her what a hard fist felt like.
Not hearing a response from Shirakawa Sawahei, Tsukimi Sakurazawa happily hugged a pillow and lay down beside his bed.
"Ah~ So happy... I couldn’t sleep at all over there~"
Shirakawa Sawahei was speechless; this girl ran over in the middle of the night just to crash and sleep. Did she treat me as a sleeping pill?
Too lazy to kick her out, he decided to ignore the night-raiding female hooligan and continue trying to sleep.
After a while, the door was quietly opened again.
Shirakawa Sawahei: "..."
This time, it was Chiboku who came in, holding a pillow. She called softly from the doorway, then cautiously came in.
Shirakawa Sawahei maintained his pretending-to-sleep posture.
Once inside, Chiboku bowed slightly in Shirakawa Sawahei’s direction, whispering, "Sorry, Shirakawa... for entering your room without permission... but... the air conditioning in the next room is broken... so..."
After saying this, Chiboku placed the pillow near Tsukimi Sakurazawa and lay down.
Shirakawa Sawahei was full of black lines.
Scared me to death, I thought my Little Invisible Study Girl had gone bad, joining in on a night raid. Turns out it was just the air conditioning that broke...
According to this, the next one to show up should be Little Lolita Asano Nazuki, right?
He patiently waited a while, Chiboku and Tsukimi Sakurazawa both asleep, yet there was no sign of the Little Lolita coming in.
Does that little Lolita have such good sleep quality? Not waking up from the heat?
As Shirakawa Sawahei was still contemplating, a sudden scream broke the silence of the night, a sound that seemed like the kind a girl might make while covering her mouth. Following that was a burst of chaotic movements, as if someone was fleeing in panic.
He hesitated slightly but then slowly got up, intending to see what was going on with Asano Nazuki.