"S-Sora-kun, what should we do?"
Realizing that she was the one who had entered the wrong hot spring, Ruri instantly panicked.
Other people won't know I accidentally wandered into the men's hot spring. If I'm seen, I'll definitely be considered a shameless girl, won't I?
No!
I absolutely don't want that!
"Steady, don't panic."
Sora's voice was calm as he said in a low voice:
"Since it was an accident, we just need to explain it clearly."
"It's exactly because it can't be explained clearly that I'm worried..."
Ruri bit her lower lip, her tone despondent.
Under the dim candlelight, the girl's pretty face was already burning crimson, and even the tips of her ears and her neck were tinged with red.
You say it's a misunderstanding?
What decent person comes out to soak in a hot spring at 1:00 AM, and coincidentally with a companion, and coincidentally a boy and a girl... No matter how you look at it, the probability of it being a secret date is much higher!
"Older women super love to gossip, they'll blab about anything. Just like the granny who lives next door to me. Whenever anything happens, within a day, the entire community knows..." Ruri's tone was resentful. "If we're discovered, it's highly likely she'll tell others about the secret."
Sora whispered, "As a hotel employee, it's more likely she'll keep the secret."
"Better safe than sorry." Ruri was still uneasy. "I don't want to be discovered no matter what."
I am the Black Cat of the Dark Night, a great existence bearing a heavy destiny, a traveler traversing endless digital worlds. If that grandma accidentally lets it slip and tells Anna and the others about tonight... I'll be considered a thieving cat, won't I?
Anna, Elf, Mahiru-san... Even though we've only known each other for a day, I subconsciously treat everyone as friends. So even if there's only a one-in-ten-thousand chance, I don't want to be misunderstood by everyone!
"Then we can only try our best to hide." Sora pondered. "She should just be coming over to check if anyone is in the hot spring. The light at night is very dim. As long as we carefully hide, we shouldn't be discovered."
As they spoke, the sound of footsteps became clearer, accompanied by the swaying beam of a flashlight.
"Hide behind that rock." Sora acted decisively, pointing a finger. "Use the rock to block the light. I'll block the view in front of Ruri-san. After she comes over, you can hide underwater."
To create atmosphere, there was a scenic rock in the hot spring pool. Although it wasn't large, it could barely be used for hiding.
"What about Sora-kun?" Ruri looked over worriedly.
Sora's tone was nonchalant: "I'm a guy, it's perfectly normal for me to bathe in the men's hot spring. It doesn't matter if I'm discovered. As long as we aren't discovered together, there's absolutely no problem."
Ruri: "..."
Seeing Sora get up and walk toward the scenic rock, Ruri had no choice but to endure her shyness and stealthily stand up.
As everyone knows, you can't wear a bathrobe while soaking in a hot spring, so Sora only had a single towel in his hand. The function of the towel is actually to wipe off water, not to cover one's modesty, so it could only barely conceal his body.
Ruri followed behind Sora, her gaze involuntarily falling on the boy's back. The terrible image she had seen earlier barged into her mind once again, vividly clear down to the finest detail.
(D-Damn it!)
(Hurry up and forget it!)
(If I don't forget it, I'll definitely have nightmares tonight, right?)
The two quietly slipped behind the artificial rock.
Without needing to be told, Ruri quickly bent down and crouched, leaving only her small head above the water.
Sora used his body to shield Kuroneko and silently observed the situation.
With the flashlight illuminating the ground, the inn employee slowly walked toward the hot spring.
Please don't be discovered, absolutely do not be discovered...
Ruri prayed nervously in her heart.
At this very moment, she desperately wished her ability was invisibility or Time Stop, so she wouldn't have to await judgment on the edge of a cliff, but could easily escape instead.
"She's here." Sora warned in a low voice. "Ruri-san, hide underwater."
"Phew..."
Ruri took a deep breath and quickly submerged herself in the hot spring.
The hot spring surface was shrouded in mist, and combined with the dim light, she most likely wouldn't be discovered hiding under there.
"A customer is still soaking in the hot spring this late?"
The beam of the flashlight swept over the hot spring, and the old granny quickly spotted Sora.
Sora feigned the appearance of having just woken up:
"You are...?"
"Did the customer fall asleep in the hot spring?" The old granny's voice was concerned. "It's best to go back to your room and rest."
"Sorry, I have insomnia and couldn't sleep tonight, so I wanted to come out and soak in the hot spring for a bit. I'll head back right away..."
With Sora 'drawing fire' out in the open, the old granny naturally wouldn't carefully inspect the hot spring pool. After a few words of advice, she turned and slowly walked away.
Meanwhile.
In the hot spring.
Ruri pinched her nose and struggled to hold her breath. The sound of the water isolated the conversation; she could only faintly hear Sora conversing with the old granny, but couldn't make out the specific details.
After holding on for a short while, Ruri felt the oxygen in her chest rapidly depleting, and a sense of suffocation swept over her like a tidal wave.
I can't...
Hold on just a little longer...
If I'm discovered now, all my previous efforts will be wasted, right?
...
Time quietly slipped away, minute by minute, second by second.
When her body reached its limit, as if she were going to suffocate in the next second, Ruri finally couldn't help but surface.
Splash.
Water splashed everywhere.
"Hah... haah..."
The girl's rapid breathing echoed under the night sky.
Rising too quickly, Ruri experienced a blackout due to shame, nervousness, and lack of oxygen. Coupled with getting up too forcefully, she fell backward into the hot spring pool with a plop, and actually started flailing around in a panic in the water.
"Cough, cough... help, help, he—"
Hearing the girl choking on water, Sora's expression instantly turned serious. Without a second word, he quickly moved forward to help.
Although the hot spring pool was only a little over a meter deep, once balance is lost, it's still very dangerous. Every summer, people drown in shallow streams.
Quickly reaching Kuroneko, Sora grabbed the girl's slender arm and pulled her straight up.
"Cough, cough, cough..."
The girl's coughing, like someone surviving a disaster, immediately rang out. The agony of drowning caused Ruri to instinctively cling tightly to the boy in front of her, like a drowning person clutching the last straw.
Skin against skin.
The exquisite, milky-smooth, and silky sensation instantly rushed into his cerebral cortex.
Sora's breath hitched, and his body subconsciously tensed.
During the struggle just now, the final towel on Kuroneko's body had vanished, and the towel in his own hand was also nowhere to be found. So now, they were in the most intimate, barrier-free state of contact...
"It's okay now." Sora took a deep breath, suppressing the awakened beastly instincts. "Ruri-san, hurry up and let go of me."
"Eh?"
Ruri blinked, finally realizing how shameful their current state was. She swiftly released Sora's arm and shamefully crouched down into the hot spring, covering her body. White steam whistled out from the top of her head.
(Why... why did it turn out like this?)
(I clearly just couldn't sleep and came out to soak in the hot spring... I definitely won't be able to marry anyone else now, will I?)