"Of course, like pure love hypnosis, pure love NTR, pure love…"
"So how the hell is that pure love?"
"Nijika, the purity is too low."
Scummy Ryou looked at her like she was a rotting log, full of disappointment, shaking her head and sighing, "As long as you're confident, any kind of expression works."
'Is this really a problem confidence can fix?'
'I really shouldn't have had any expectations for this bastard!'
Nijika, fuming, dragged Scummy Ryou aside, deciding to unleash the Iron Fist of Justice. Meanwhile, Kita wore a smile like "isn't that kinda nice though" and tried to smooth things over.
That commotion really did lighten the originally awkward atmosphere.
Seeing that it was getting late, Kaito didn't intend to continue the card game and decided to end the activity, letting everyone return to their rooms to rest.
Except for Kita, who never got her punishment, none of the girls had any objections. After all, they'd played for a long time and were honestly a bit tired.
However, they didn't intend to go straight to their rooms to rest. Instead, they decided to soak in the hot spring before bed.
After all, they were staying at a hot spring inn. If they didn't try out the local specialty, wouldn't that be a waste?
Kaito joined them too.
Don't get the wrong idea, it wasn't mixed bathing. The hot spring pools in the inn were numerous, with separate baths for men and women. A thick wooden wall stood in between, without a single gap, completely eliminating the possibility of peeping.
Of course, in the face of divine sense, so-called barriers were practically nonexistent.
'Still, I'm a proper gentleman. If it's not appropriate, I won't look.'
Changing into a brand-new bathrobe, Kaito stepped into the perfectly heated pool, letting the spring water soak his body.
Hoori's hot springs were quite famous, with a decent reputation all over Japan. They were said to have many effects, such as beautifying the skin, extending life, removing impurities. Just short of claiming to cure all diseases.
In truth, the hot springs here were just ordinary hot springs. They didn't contain any spiritual energy. Soaking in them often was good for the body, but nowhere near as miraculous as the legends claimed.
Because the inn had been booked entirely, there were no other guests in the spacious men's bath, and Kaito quite enjoyed this rare alone time.
The only downside was… the constant sounds of girls playing and laughing from the women's bath next door. Mixed within were Scummy Ryou's interrogations of Bocchi, seemingly asking about how it felt earlier. The shy social-phobic stammered, unable to respond, and could only cast a pleading gaze toward Nijika, Kita, and Yumiko nearby, completely screaming for help.
"I'll soak a little longer, then head back to the room to rest."
Kaito stretched lazily but suddenly retracted his smile, looking in a certain direction.
In a corner of the bath, a pitch-black monster emerged from the ground, its appearance resembling sludge. Two long tentacles extended from its back, radiating a thick aura of ominousness.
The monster's eyes were crimson, devoid of reason. Its two tentacles, like long whips, slashed down with a sharp, slicing sound and ruthless force.
This strike was incredibly fast and powerful, enough to knock out a strong adult man.
But the monster quickly felt tremendous resistance. In front of it was nothing but empty space, yet the tentacles it flung out were blocked as if by an invisible wall. No matter how hard it tried, it couldn't move forward even a centimeter.
Blazing fire surged in, as if in the midst of a raging inferno… that was the sludge monster's last sensation before it died.
"This is… a remnant soul crystal?"
Kaito didn't pay much attention to such small fry. Among the ashes of the sludge monster, he found a shiny, mysterious crystal.
Reaching out, the crystal flew into his palm.
He glanced at it casually. The crystal was an irregular rectangle, mixed with many mottled impurities. Aside from a faint trace of soul power, it didn't seem particularly special.
Though it was useless to him, since it contained supernatural material, Kaito kept it anyway. As a souvenir.
After wrapping that up, he frowned slightly, quickly walked out of the bath, and turned to pull open the women's bath door.
"Kaito-senpai?"
Nijika had just been scolding Scummy Ryou for bullying little Bocchi when the latter splashed her with water in retaliation. Furious, she was about to splash back.
Then the door opened with a bang. She turned her head instinctively, and saw a beautiful boy standing at the door with only a bath towel around his waist, walking in slowly.
Shimokitazawa's archangel froze, 'Th-th-this… this isn't right, is it?'
This was definitely supposed to be the women's bath, right?!
She started to doubt if she'd gotten it wrong, but looking at the others, Scummy Ryou and the rest, 'All girls! No mistake! This is definitely the women's bath!'
'Kaito-senpai, c-c-c-could it be that he's going to—'
Thinking of that face-flushing, heart-pounding possibility, Nijika's cute face turned so hot it could boil an egg.
Though she did like Kaito-senpai and wouldn't mind developing things further, 'Still, the first time should at least be in a quiet, romantic place, right?'
'Being with Ryou, that bastard, what the hell is that supposed to be! Not to mention there are other girls too!'
By now the others had also reacted. Kita grabbed Bocchi, flustered, and covered them both with a towel. Yumiko seemed surprised but not particularly reactive, standing up boldly. Scummy Ryou likewise showed no intent to cover up. Instead, she stared at Kaito's firm upper body like a guest becoming the host, thoughtfully commenting, "Usually he doesn't show off, but he's actually got pretty muscle definition, huh?"
'Hmm… feels like he could lift me with one arm...'
But saying such outrageous things out loud would clearly get her punished by Nijika, so Scummy Ryou wisely swallowed it back down.
Meanwhile, Kaito gave a brief glance at the girls bathing, then turned his gaze away and looked toward a certain spot.
There, in a similar corner location, another sludge monster had quietly revealed itself.
Still with a pitch-black, mud-like body, and crimson eyes filled with viciousness. Its two thick tentacles flailed wildly, making whooshing sounds.
"What is that thing?"
The girls were startled by the sudden appearance of the sludge monster and had no time to care about any romantic nonsense, all frantically jumping out of the pool.
"Maybe a local specialty of Hoori Town," Kaito casually responded, waved his hand, and summoned a roaring fire dragon, sending this sludge monster down the same path as its companion.
Compared to the rigid and masculine thunder technique, fire techniques might lack a bit in pure attack power, but they were handy for cleaning up the scene.
Once again, the sludge monster turned to ash and dropped a broken soul crystal, full of impurities and shaped similarly into an irregular rectangle.
After putting the soul crystal away, Kaito didn't leave immediately. He used divine sense to scan the surroundings, confirmed there were no other monsters, and then turned around.
"No matter what questions you have, for now, get dressed first."
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