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"The old lady's gone." Blake quickly turned around and used his towel to cover himself. "Let's get out of here."
"S-So scary…"
Even though Blake moved fast, Ruri still caught a brief glimpse of the terrifying "monster."
The steam around her head only thickened further.
"My towel…" she whispered weakly, her voice tiny as a mosquito's buzz. There wasn't even a trace of the usual chuuni confidence of the Black Cat of the Dark Night. "It disappeared…"
"Stay hidden. I'll find it."
Blake bent down and searched immediately.
Unfortunately, the bath was full of steam, and the towel itself was white, making it hard to spot. After searching for quite a while, he finally dove underwater and found it at the bottom.
"Ptooey, ptooey—"
Blake surfaced and spat out the hot spring water he'd accidentally swallowed.
"Found it."
"Thank you…"
Watching him wipe his face, an unbelievably embarrassing thought suddenly popped into Ruri's mind.
(Mr. Blake spat out the water because he accidentally swallowed some of the hot spring water, right?)
(I swallowed a bunch too…)
(So this isn't just mixed bathing anymore…)
(We basically drank each other's bathwater, didn't we?!)
(That's way too humiliatingggggg!!)
"Here."
Blake tossed her the towel, then decisively headed for shore.
"I'll wait by the changing room. Hurry over."
"O-Okay…"
Once inside the changing room, Blake quickly dried himself and put on his Robe. But instead of leaving, he stayed behind to wait.
This was still the men's bath, after all. Even late at night, there was always a chance some sleepless guy might wander in. If Black Cat got spotted alone, things could get dangerous.
A few moments later, quiet footsteps approached.
Ruri walked in cautiously, covering herself with the towel. One hand shielded her chest, the other her lower stomach.
"M..Mr. Blake…?"
Her timid voice trembled with nervousness.
"I'm here. Nobody else is inside." His calm voice carried a reassuring steadiness. "I'll wait in the hallway. Dry off and get dressed."
"Thank you…"
Hearing his footsteps leave, Ruri finally slipped out from the shadows. After confirming the changing room was empty, she let out a relieved breath and hurried inside with a bright red face.
Once she finished putting on her Robe, she finally relaxed a little.
Opening the door shyly, she stared down at her toes.
"I'm dressed now…"
"Then let's go." Blake put away his phone, expression completely normal. "Back to the room."
"Okay…"
Ruri glanced timidly at the wall. The wooden signs that had been swapped as a prank earlier had already been corrected.
The thought of accidentally entering the men's bath made her shudder all over again.
"Thank you for today, Mr. Blake." She puffed up slightly, forcing herself back into chuuni mode to hide her embarrassment. "I, the Black Cat of the Dark Night… shall one day repay this debt!"
"And also… you absolutely cannot tell everyone about this!"
"Don't worry. I'll keep it in my heart forever."
"Forget it immediately! Don't remember it!"
"What if I can't?"
"Then I'll use Dark Night Magic to erase your memories!"
"…"
After joking around for a bit, Blake suddenly remembered something.
"There actually is something I want your help with."
"Huh?"
"I'm making a small game right now, and I'd like Black Cat's help."
"You're making a game?!"
Ruri's eyes lit up instantly.
Her hobbies were incredibly broad. Manga, light novels, games… if it was related to otaku culture, she loved it. She'd even taught herself programming because of her interest in games.
"We'll talk tomorrow." Blake started walking. "It's too late tonight. Let's get some sleep first."
It really was late, and the hallway wasn't exactly the place for a conversation, so Ruri could only suppress her curiosity and follow him back.
Soon, they reached their rooms.
"Good night, Ruri."
"...Good night."
Sneaking quietly back inside, Ruri's heart nearly stopped from anxiety.
She was terrified Yanami might notice something.
But the moment she entered, she saw Anna Yanami sprawled flat on her back, limbs spread everywhere, one long snowy leg kicked completely out from under the blanket.
She was sleeping incredibly soundly, blissfully unaware of the world.
"Yanami sleeps so well…"
Ruri let out a quiet sigh of relief, tinged with envy, and carefully lay down beside her.
"I'll probably stay awake until morning anyway…"
She sighed inwardly.
Yet despite thinking that, drowsiness crept over her almost immediately after lying down.
Before long, the girl drifted off to sleep.
The night passed quietly.
The next morning—
"Miss Ruri, wake up! Breakfast time!"
A cheerful voice rang beside her ear, pulling Ruri from sleep.
"Mm…"
Still groggy, she slowly opened her eyes.
Then fragments of last night's chaotic dreams surfaced in her mind.
Her face instantly turned bright red.
After falling asleep, she'd had all sorts of strange dreams.
And almost every single one involved Blake.
Worse, the contents had been extremely dangerous.
Unlike Elf, Ruri was a veteran otaku. Not only had she read adult manga, she'd secretly read erotic novels too.
"I-I actually dreamed about sneaking into the hot spring and attacking Blake…"
"Ugh!"
"There's no way I'm that perverted!"
"It's all because of what happened last night!"
"That's why I had such embarrassing dreams!"
"…"
"Huh? Miss Ruri, why's your face so red?"
Yanami tilted her head curiously.
"I-I had a nightmare…" Ruri's gaze darted away. Feeling the strange discomfort in her body only made her more embarrassed. "I'm going to wash up first."
…
At 8:30 in the morning, Blake met up with the girls for breakfast.
The inn offered a free breakfast buffet, and nobody intended to waste it.
"Morning, Blake!"
Yanami greeted him with a bright, sunny smile, acting as though last night had all been a dream.
"Morning."
Blake looked toward the blue-haired girl and answered softly.
Their eyes met.
Yanami's gaze immediately drifted away, the tips of her ears turning pink as she quickly looked elsewhere.
So last night's kiss really hadn't been a hallucination.
After greeting the other three girls, Blake noticed that both Yamada Elf and Mahiru Shiina looked perfectly normal.
Only Ruri kept avoiding eye contact.
The moment she opened her mouth, her whole face turned red again.
The dream scenes from last night hadn't faded after waking up. If anything, they'd become even clearer, making her too embarrassed to look anyone in the eye.
Blake assumed she was still shy about the hot spring incident and didn't think much of it.
Together, the five of them headed to breakfast.
"Blake somehow looks even better today…" Yanami said curiously while eating.
Leveling up increased all attributes, including charm and appearance. Combined with her childhood-friend filter, Blake looked ridiculously handsome to Yanami right now.
Sharp facial features, fair skin, a high nose bridge, eyes bright like moonlight…
Basically, the more she looked, the better he seemed.
"Your skin looks nicer too," Elf said, tilting her head. "And you seem more energetic. Can hot springs actually improve your looks?"
"People temporarily look better after bathing," Blake answered calmly, smoothly changing the topic. "So, are we heading home this morning, or staying to explore Mount Takao for the day?"
"Obviously we're staying!" Yanami clenched her fist excitedly. "A one-night-two-day hot spring ticket should be enjoyed for two days! Going home after one night would be such a waste!"
"I want to stay too," Elf agreed, crossing her arms. "I've heard Mount Takao's fun, but I've never been before."
Blake looked toward Mahiru.
"What do you think, Mahiru?"
Mahiru hesitated briefly before smiling softly.
"Well… since we're already here…"
"....."