Fang Qiu eased herself into the hot spring, and the warm water slowly swallowed her delicate body.
The depth was just right.
It covered half her chest without submerging it entirely, so she could still breathe easily.
Better yet, sitting in the water made things much lighter than usual.
Water had buoyancy, after all.
Her shoulders didn't ache so much anymore.
It felt wonderful.
Naganohara Yoimiya and the Traveler sat down beside her.
Paimon and Klee perched on the steps at the edge of the spring, where the water was just the right depth for them.
"Mmm…"
Feeling the spring water wrap around her, Fang Qiu let out a long sigh.
So good.
The exhaustion from a whole day of wandering the streets seemed to melt away in the heat.
This was what life was all about.
She had a bath at home, and she'd been to plenty of bathhouses in Liyue.
Sister Beidou's The Alcor even had a bath.
But whether it was just her imagination or not, she felt that a bath simply couldn't compare to a hot spring.
Then again, this was her first time in a hot spring.
Well… it was probably an artificial one…
Still, if even a man-made spring felt this good, would a natural one be even better?
She couldn't say. She didn't know much about these things.
Sitting in the pool, Naganohara Yoimiya was telling Klee about some of Inazuma's fun traditions, and Klee excitedly answered with stories about everyone in Mondstadt.
Paimon, meanwhile, had heard that the attendants over there sold iced drinks, and the Traveler wanted to try the joy of drinking something cold in a hot spring.
So the two of them wrapped themselves in towels and went off to buy some.
Fang Qiu slowly closed her eyes and settled in to enjoy herself.
"Fang Qiu, your hair is all spread out in the water. I just got a bath cap from the attendant that'll hold it up. Let me put it on for you."
Just as Fang Qiu was relaxing with her eyes shut, Naganohara Yoimiya's voice rang out.
The moment Fang Qiu opened her eyes, she was met with a sweep of snow-white, silky skin.
Naganohara Yoimiya was crouching right in front of her, holding a white velvet bow-style bath cap printed with crimson cherry blossoms, ready to gather up her hair.
"Mm."
Fang Qiu gave a soft reply and let Naganohara Yoimiya put the cap on her.
She'd meant to say she could do it herself, but since Naganohara Yoimiya was already helping, it felt rude to refuse.
Besides, this bath cap was actually pretty nice. Big and white.
"Fang Qiu, your skin is so lovely. I can't see a single flaw."
Naganohara Yoimiya praised her as she fitted the cap, studying Fang Qiu's fine skin.
"Uh."
With that white softness swaying right before her eyes, and the faint warmth radiating from Naganohara Yoimiya's body, Fang Qiu felt her cheeks heat up.
She had no idea where to look. Right then, Paimon and the Traveler came back.
The Traveler carried a big tray of cold drinks in both hands.
Paimon held a fiery red drink and was sipping it happily.
"Sister Honorary Knight, Klee will carry that for you!"
Seeing them return, Klee said with a beaming smile.
But as she stood up, her foot slipped, and she bumped into Naganohara Yoimiya from behind.
"Careful!"
Paimon's expression changed. She didn't even remember to put down her drink as she flew toward Klee.
But it all happened too fast. There was no time.
Naganohara Yoimiya had been leaning forward to fix Fang Qiu's bath cap. Hit by Klee, she lost her balance and pitched toward Fang Qiu, her towel coming loose as she fell.
"Careful!"
Fang Qiu's face changed, and she quickly reached out to steady Naganohara Yoimiya by the waist. But she didn't have the strength, and Naganohara Yoimiya still collapsed onto her.
Luckily, Naganohara Yoimiya reacted in time and braced a hand on the edge of the spring, so Fang Qiu didn't crack her head against the stones.
Her face was buried in warm, smooth softness. Fang Qiu felt as if she were drowning, completely at a loss.
Just then, Paimon, arriving too late, braked hard in midair, and the iced drink in her hands sloshed out, splashing over Fang Qiu and Naganohara Yoimiya.
"Aah!"
Naganohara Yoimiya yelped.
The cold made Fang Qiu go rigid all over, and the suffocating feeling got worse. She hurriedly patted Naganohara Yoimiya's body, tapping out, until a faint pat-pat-pat sounded and Naganohara Yoimiya finally came to her senses.
"Fang Qiu, are you all right?"
Flustered, she scrambled back a step and looked anxiously at Fang Qiu's slightly flushed face.
"I'm fine. What about Klee? She fell just now. Is she okay?"
Fang Qiu drew a deep breath, and once she had recovered, quickly asked.
At her question, Naganohara Yoimiya remembered and turned to look. A moment later, Klee's little head popped up out of the water.
Seeing everyone staring at her with worry, Klee grinned. "Klee's okay!"
"Thank goodness."
Paimon flew over to Klee and looked her over. Only when she was sure Klee really was fine did she breathe a sigh of relief.
Naganohara Yoimiya reached out, took Klee's small hand, and pulled her back over.
"I'm sorry, Klee made you all worry, and bumped into Sister Yoimiya, too."
Klee said, looking very apologetic.
"It's fine, it's fine."
Naganohara Yoimiya waved a hand with a smile.
"Heh, sorry, I accidentally spilled my drink on you both, too."
Paimon said sheepishly, scratching the back of her head.
"It's fine."
Fang Qiu shook her head and wiped the fiery red drink off her chest.
She wasn't sure what flavor it was.
It smelled sweet.
It was only then that Fang Qiu noticed quite a few people nearby were looking over at them.
The two girls from the changing room earlier were looking too. The short-haired one had leaned in close to the long-haired girl's ear and was whispering something as she watched them.
The black-haired girl was gazing at them, her face shy.
Fang Qiu had no idea what they were saying…
But she guessed it had something to do with what had just happened between her and Yoimiya…
The thought made her face turn red.
She'd nearly been unable to breathe just now…
"By the way, Yoimiya, did you hurt your hand?"
Fang Qiu asked.
"Don't worry, I'm fine."
Naganohara Yoimiya said with a smile.
She even held up the hand that had braced against the edge to show her. The palm was clean, only slightly red.
Just as you'd expect from a Vision holder.
"Here, yours."
Lumine handed one blue drink and one red drink to Naganohara Yoimiya and Fang Qiu.
Naganohara Yoimiya took the fiery red one.
Fang Qiu took the icy blue one and took a small sip. The faintly sweet, cool liquid flowed down, and the feverish heat in her chest cooled at once.
"How is it?"
Lumine asked.
"Really good."
Fang Qiu said with a soft laugh.
"Klee thinks it's super yummy, too!"
Klee said.
After that little interlude, they went back to chatting happily.
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