「Having this whole bath to myself feels way too luxurious…」 I murmured as I undressed and placed my clothes into the basket.
As I stepped into the bathing area, a distinctive scent hit me—it seemed this place used real hot spring water.
I quickly washed my hair, then scrubbed down with one of the coarse body towels left out for guests. After rinsing off and doing a quick pre-soak wash, I was already feeling more excited than I expected.
「Hmm, which one should I start with~? Let’s see… The indoor bath is a carbonated spring, and the outdoor one’s mildly alkaline… Looks like the indoor bath is a bit hotter.」
Since I wanted to relax and take my time, I decided to go for the open-air bath.
The outdoor water temperature was kept around 40°C, which made it easy to soak for a while. Even though summer was almost here, nights were still chilly.
I stepped outside and rinsed off again before slowly sliding into the bath. As the water wrapped around me, it felt like all the fatigue in my body was just melting away.
「Aahhh… This feels amazing… It’s like all the soreness from earlier is disappearing…」
I mean, I’ve been using healing magic, so technically I don’t have any pain—but I still feel that satisfying kind of tired.
「Still, a private hot spring at someone’s house? Isn’t that just a little too fancy?」
The moment I muttered that, the door to the outdoor bath suddenly slammed open.
◇◆◇◆
◇Mizushiro Hikari’s POV◇
After the banquet, while we were helping clean up, the moms suddenly said, 「Why don’t the three of you just barge into Yuuki-kun’s bath?」 and before we could even protest, here we were—standing in the changing room.
It was all so sudden… Honestly, it was super embarrassing. Touka-chan, on the other hand, was totally into it.
Thankfully, Himeka-san had handed us swimsuits so we wouldn’t be completely embarrassed. The Takanashi sisters were in swimsuits too. Though… mine felt a little loose. Himeka-san must’ve assumed I’d be, well, bigger. Can she go toe-to-toe with Mom in that department…?
「But still… a bikini, huh… Well, at least it’s a halter neck, so it’s not too bad…」
I usually go for tankinis or something with a bit more coverage, so this felt kind of revealing. For the record, Haruka-chan was wearing a flared-type suit, and Touka-chan had on a high-neck type. We’d swapped colors based on each other’s hair for fun.
While I was thinking that, I noticed Touka-chan staring at me… specifically at my chest.
「Hikari-oneechan, you’re pretty big… and we’re only a year apart…」
「H-Hey, Touka! Don’t just stare like that, it’s rude!」
「But Haruka, you think so too, right? About Hikari-oneechan’s chest?」
「…Well, yeah, I do…」
Now they were both looking right at me.
「So… do half-Japanese girls develop earlier or something?」
「Uhh, I-I don’t know? Honestly! Haha… H-how about this? Since you’re the same age, maybe ask Tomoe-chan? She’s pretty well-endowed too, right?」
When I fumbled out my answer, the two of them seemed satisfied enough and headed straight into the bathing area, towels in hand. Haruka was dragged along by Touka.
「That was fast… A-Alright then!」
I took a deep breath and followed them into the bath, steeling myself.
◇◆◇◆
The sound of the door slamming open made me jump. I turned around to find Touka and Haruka standing there wrapped in towels.
「Oniichan!! We came to wash your back!」「We’re here…」
「W-wha—ch-cha-cha—」 I panicked so hard my words got all scrambled.
「Wait just a second! This is the bath, you know!? I’m in here!!」「We know.」
「Why are you even—?!」「We came… to bathe with you, onii-san.」
Haruka, fidgeting like that, is way too cute. Way too cute!! (Important enough to say twice.)
「No, but still, you two—」「Tadaaa~」
With that shout, Touka flung off her towel, and I immediately covered my eyes with both hands. The pain of that move had me thrashing around in the tub.
「Yuuki-oniisan, are you okay!?」 came Haruka’s voice as she pitter-pattered toward me.
「Haruka, staaaahp!! Don’t come over heeere!!」
I scrambled to grab the fallen towel, using it to shield the danger zone while trying to stop Haruka from getting closer.
「Y-Yes!」
「Ahaha, it’s okay to look now, oniisan! We’re wearing swimsuits~」
「R-Really?」
「Yup. The moms said being naked would be too much, so…」
「Alright, if Haruka says so, then I believe it!」「Ehh, that’s not fair—why don’t you believe me!?」
「Because you suddenly started stripping! What else was I supposed to think!?」
I cast a quick healing spell to fix my eyes. Lately, I’ve really gotten the hang of chantless magic…
「Honestly, what are you three even doing…」 I heard Hikari’s exasperated voice from behind.
When I opened my eyes, Haruka was in a frilly lapis lazuli-blue swimsuit, and Touka was in one with lace that reached all the way up to her neck. Behind them, Hikari stood in a black halter bikini—maybe? The kind that ties at the neck.
「Yuuki… you gonna say anything?」 she asked, half-lidded and clearly expecting a reaction.
「Yeah. Honestly, I’m kinda speechless. The black really pops against your fair skin—it totally brings out how beautiful you are. And your hair’s always long, but it’s tied up into this neat little bun, which makes you look even more elegant. Also… did you bring a swimsuit with you?」
As I poured out the compliments, she turned beet red.
「I, um… I borrowed it from Himeka-san.」
「I see…」
Makes sense. If there’s anyone whose swimsuit could fit certain parts of You, it’d have to be Himeka-san… Not that I’m thinking anything indecent. Nope. Not at all. Really.
「Hey hey, Yuuki-oniichan! What about us~?」
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