After leaving the Kyoto Shinkansen station, they didn't wait for a taxi and instead chose to walk directly.
In Kotomi Izumi's words, by the time they finished waiting for a taxi, they would already have reached the love hotel on foot.
Yukino Yukinoshita had originally wanted to check whether there were any normal hotels nearby. But after searching on the map app, she discovered that the nearest regular hotel to the station would still take at least ten minutes by taxi. Walking there didn't even need to be considered. And as Kotomi had just said, once the weather turned cold, a city with hot springs naturally became one of the most popular tourist destinations.
Even though it wasn't peak tourist season yet, many hotels already had no suitable vacant rooms left and required advance reservations.
Many ordinary hotels were fully booked, and hot spring inns with their own baths required reservations at least half a month in advance.
There was no choice. For tonight, they could only stay at a love hotel first, then after sleeping during the day, take a car to Seiya Tower... Thinking this, Yukino Yukinoshita cast a quiet glance at Kotomi Izumi, almost suspecting that Kotomi had deliberately arranged the timing this way just to stay in a love hotel openly and legitimately.
When she arranged the schedule like this, Kotomi hadn't done it on purpose. But after realizing she had made a mistake with the timing, she definitely did it on purpose.
Originally, Kotomi Izumi only needed to call Aunt Matsusaka in advance. As a driver who had served the Izumi family for many years, she would arrive punctually to pick them up and arrange a hotel for Kotomi that night.
The Izumi family had many businesses in Kyoto, including hotels.
The moment word spread that the young lady of the Izumi family had arrived in Kyoto, countless hotels would proactively prepare their highest-standard presidential suites to welcome her. There would be absolutely no need to worry about finding a room.
Rather, if Kotomi Izumi wished, every hotel in Kyoto could clear out overnight solely to serve her.
Kotomi Izumi didn't actually dislike showing off. If there was an opportunity to show off, why miss it? But this time she was here to travel, not to show off.
Besides, showing off in front of Yukino and Yui wouldn't have much effect. On the contrary, it might create distance between them.
Showing off wasn't something you did randomly. Only when the timing and the audience were perfect would it produce outstanding results.
Of course, after all that reasoning, Kotomi's true final thought was simply that she wanted to spend one night at a love hotel with Yukino and Yui! Choosing a large bed room and sleeping together on the same bed, holding one on each side, was a dream Kotomi Izumi would never give up on and firmly believed she would achieve!
Soon, following the map app on her phone, Kotomi led Yukino Yukinoshita and Yui Yuigahama to a love hotel relatively close to the Shinkansen station.
Near stations and airports, the most common buildings were fast-food restaurants and love hotels.
What did couples want most before parting or after reuniting? Of course...
That was why there were so many love hotels near stations and airports.
After deciding to stay at a love hotel for the night, Kotomi's little idea of "big bed room, holding one on each side" began stirring restlessly in her heart.
Just as they were about to reach the entrance, Kotomi felt the timing was right and spoke first:
"I'm a little hungry. I remember love hotels usually have two vending machines. One sells snacks and drinks, and the other sells... that kind of stuff. I'll go check in at the front desk. You two go help me buy some snacks first. I want cumin barbecue-flavored chips."
"I can go buy them by myself..." Before Yui Yuigahama finished speaking, Kotomi Izumi had already vanished like she had teleported, dashing toward the front desk.
"Kotomi looked really strange just now..."
Yui Yuigahama felt puzzled. Buying snacks for Kotomi was something she could do alone. Why did Yukino need to accompany her?
"Her little brain is like a bottomless abyss. People with normal minds find it difficult to see through what she's thinking," Yukino Yukinoshita said meaningfully before turning toward the vending machines. Seeing this, Yui followed after her.
"By the way, Kotomi said love hotels usually have two vending machines. One sells snacks and drinks, and the other sells that kind of stuff. Yukino, do you know what she meant by that kind of stuff?"
Yui Yuigahama asked curiously. Innocent as she was, she always asked directly whenever she didn't understand something while interacting with family and friends.
Yukino Yukinoshita tried to recall. When Kotomi mentioned that kind of stuff earlier, she had worn a slightly mischievous smile, as if deliberately leaving it unsaid and acting like a riddle-maker.
When Yukino read books and encountered protagonists or characters who acted like riddlers, she usually felt extremely annoyed.
Kotomi's personality wasn't that of a riddler. Yukino knew this clearly.
But the way Kotomi had deliberately avoided saying it just now still made her slightly displeased. If Kotomi hadn't run off so quickly, Yukino might have grabbed her by the collar and forced her to explain exactly what "that kind of stuff" was before letting her go.
After thinking for a long time, Yukino still couldn't figure out what Kotomi meant. She could only shake her head.
"Unfortunately, I don't know either. Let's just ask Kotomi later. For now, let's buy the snacks."
The vending machine was on the left side of the hotel lobby. The entire lobby was very quiet. Aside from the three of them, only the night-shift receptionist remained at the front desk.
After buying the cumin barbecue-flavored chips Kotomi wanted, Yukino Yukinoshita also bought three bottles of mineral water. Although the distance from the station to the love hotel wasn't far, walking had still made them a bit thirsty.
However, Yukino noticed that there was only one vending machine here. There wasn't a second one like Kotomi had mentioned.
Looking around, Yukino finally discovered the second machine. Compared to the snack and drink vending machine placed openly in the lobby, this second one was mysteriously positioned inside a small room in the nearby corridor.
It was a very small room, so small that the vending machine occupied most of the space. The remaining area probably allowed only one person to stand inside. There was no door. Instead, a pink curtain partially covered the entrance.
The pink curtain didn't fully conceal it. It hung halfway, allowing people outside to see that there was indeed a vending machine inside.
Was this the machine Kotomi had mentioned that sold that kind of stuff? More importantly, what exactly did this mysteriously hidden vending machine sell?
Yukino Yukinoshita felt her curiosity rising. She found it difficult to restrain herself and wanted to step forward, lift the curtain, and take a look at what the vending machine inside was selling.
Meanwhile...
When Kotomi Izumi walked up to the front desk, she pretended to casually glance at the receptionist a few extra times. The girl looked delicate and pretty, but not her type, so Kotomi didn't bother flirting or asking for contact information. She went straight to the point and asked whether there were any vacant rooms.
"Hello, are there any available rooms right now? Do you still have large-bed rooms?"
"Yes, yes. There are still many vacant rooms. You can choose freely between standard rooms or themed rooms. If you apply for an annual membership card now, you can also get a free upgrade to a locker-room-themed room tonight. Would you like that?"
Kotomi Izumi glanced at the price of the annual membership card and felt a little tempted. Although she had visited love hotels a few times, she had never actually experienced a themed room before.
But after thinking about it, she decided to forget it.
It wasn't because she felt embarrassed. Very few things could make Kotomi feel embarrassed. The main reason was that she was too sleepy and not in good condition. If it were earlier and she were feeling energetic, she would already be asking the receptionist: besides the locker-room theme, were there other themes available?
Another reason was that she was only staying for one night. She wasn't a Kyoto local, and it wasn't like she would frequently come back to this specific love hotel. Buying an annual membership clearly wasn't worth it. Even if she had money, she couldn't just waste it like that.
"No thanks. Just help me book a regular large-bed room," Kotomi Izumi said, shaking her head.
Then she looked toward the electronic panel beside the counter and suddenly realized that the love hotel displayed room availability on a digital board.
Kotomi had already thought of an excuse for wanting to share a large-bed room with Yui and Yukino: most rooms here are already full, and there's only one large-bed room left. The bed looks big enough for the three of us. It's just for one night, so let's make do.
But now that this electronic panel clearly showed how many rooms were available at a glance, the excuse she had come up with instantly fell apart.
Fortunately, Kotomi's brain worked quickly. She pulled out a thick stack of cash from her wallet and placed it on the counter.
The receptionist initially assumed she intended to pay in cash. But after seeing that there were far more bills than necessary, she was startled, then blushed slightly and spoke in a low voice.
"Miss... you wouldn't happen to be thinking about..."
The receptionist's reaction confused Kotomi for a moment. But very quickly, drawing from memories of her second life, she instantly recalled something.
Not only in love hotels, but even in some regular hotels, certain female front desk staff sometimes had "special part-time work."
If you happened to like the receptionist handling your check-in, you could try giving extra money when paying for the room. A receptionist without that intention would naturally not understand why you were giving more money and would assume you miscounted, returning the extra portion to you.
On the other hand, a receptionist who did have that intention would understand immediately without you saying anything. She would pretend nothing was unusual, accept the money, pocket the extra portion, and tell her colleague: "I'll take this guest to check out the room."
Then once they arrived at the booked room...
The door would close. Lock...
And then you could enjoy yourself.
Why did Kotomi Izumi know this so well? Because in her second life, when she had been Ailun, she had worked night shifts as a hotel front desk clerk and had seen some female colleagues actually doing this kind of "part-time job."
Ailun himself had never done it. But whenever he worked the night shift and female guests came to check in, seven out of ten would give him extra money after seeing him, with ambiguous intentions.
At first, Ailun hadn't understood. Every time someone gave extra money, he returned it.
Only later, after a female colleague working the same night shift explained the hidden signal to him, did he finally understand.
After explaining, that colleague—who was about twenty-five or twenty-six, with a good figure and attractive appearance—had even touched the back of his hand flirtatiously.
"Ailun, want to go upstairs and check out a room with me? I won't charge you," she had said.
Ailun had been poor back then, but his biggest trait was being handsome.
He had refused her invitation.
Back to the present. Seeing the receptionist's blushing reaction, Kotomi Izumi realized she had misunderstood and quickly explained:
"The extra money really is for you, but I don't mean that. I just want you to help me with something."
bang bang.
"This electronic panel beside you—could you adjust it so it looks like there's only one large-bed room left? The one I just booked."
Of course, this only required selecting all rooms and then individually selecting the large-bed room she had reserved.
After hearing her request, the receptionist spoke a little awkwardly.
"Sorry about that. The salary for hotel front desk work isn't very high. Someone like me, who spends money freely every month, ends up living paycheck to paycheck, so I have to find ways to do side jobs that earn fast money. When you gave me extra cash just now, I misunderstood, haha... But honestly, you look pretty young, yet you seem to know quite a lot~"
"I've seen movies with plots like this," Kotomi Izumi replied casually.
"Movies nowadays really are creative," the receptionist sighed.
Kotomi booked a large-bed room and set the checkout time for noon the next day, perfect for sleeping until she woke naturally.
After accepting the extra money, the receptionist used the computer to control the electronic panel. She selected all rooms first, then clicked only on the large-bed room Kotomi had booked.
The panel, which had just displayed many available rooms, instantly changed to show that only one large-bed room remained.
After finishing the preparations, Kotomi Izumi walked toward Yukino Yukinoshita and Yui Yuigahama. Just in time, she saw Yukino staring curiously at a small room covered by a curtain not far away. Inside the small room was a vending machine.
Kotomi immediately realized that this was the vending machine she had mentioned earlier, the one selling "that kind of stuff."
Seeing Yukino looking serious, clearly preparing to step forward and pull open the curtain to investigate, Kotomi couldn't help but laugh softly. She quickened her pace, walked up, and patted Yukino on the shoulder.
"I just saw your profile from the side. You looked exactly like an explorer about to uncover the mysteries of the world."
Startled by the sudden touch, Yukino Yukinoshita instinctively shrank her neck slightly. Then she pointed toward the mysterious small room where the vending machine was hidden behind a curtain and asked curiously,
"Kotomi, why is that vending machine placed in a separate small room and covered with that half-concealing curtain?"
Looking at Yukino's serious expression, Kotomi Izumi's lips curled into a mischievous smile. Considering that Yui Yuigahama was still nearby, she leaned close to Yukino's ear and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear:
"Want to know? Let me kiss you once, and I'll tell you~"
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