Chapter 4: Hot Springs, Hospitality, and Trouble

Episode 198: Prologue  

––Splash.

“…Ahh, this is such good water.”  

“Pi–kya~!”  

Soaking in the hot spring, I exhaled softly. Beside me was Sunny, narrowing its eyes contentedly.  

“Alright, we’re warmed up. Time to head out.”  

“Pikyah!”  

Calling out to Sunny, I stepped out of the hot spring. I then bought coffee, and downed it in one go. It was a local specialty thanks to Moriya 

“…Phew! Yep, that’s good stuff!”  

Stretching out with a big yawn, I left the bathhouse and strolled around the hot spring town with Sunny. The town was bustling, with public baths everywhere. They were all drawing hot water from the same spring. Every bathhouse was packed with visitors, and the inns built around them were thriving.  

Even though the hot spring source was the same, and thus the benefits were identical everywhere, the bathhouses competed for customers with their services. My favorite was a bathhouse called Hometown Springs. Which offered a variety of products that recreated the flavors of Earth, like the coffee I had earlier.  

Of course, this was largely thanks to Moriya, who ran the place.  

“Honestly, the one having the most fun with all this is Moriya.”  

At first, Moriya complained about how hard it was to manage everything. But after a while, he seemed to enjoy it and started putting his own spin on the place. I had to laugh when he brought over crops he’d grown himself. But since they’ve now become local specialties, I really can’t complain.  

In fact, I’m more grateful than anything—I get to enjoy it all myself. Now, under Moriya’s guidance, people here have even started cultivating new crops. It sparked an unexpected wave of innovation.  

“Ah! Maki-kun!”  

As I walked leisurely, someone waved to me from down the road and approached.  

“What’s up, Madoka?”  

“Geez! I told you today was the day for hunting magical beasts, didn’t I?”  

“I know that, but… is it already over? That was quick.”  

Madoka, the ‘special class’ Sage, puffed out her cheeks slightly.  

Her speed was surprising, though. It was just past noon. Normally, when the soldiers started hunting magical beasts, it would take until nearly evening.  

“Gregori was with us, and even Leyreina-san helped out today.”  

“Leyreina-san? …What, she wanted to level up or something?”  

“Seems like it. She was super motivated, saying she wanted to prove herself to the Maguire family.”  

Prove herself to her family, huh? I feel like she’s already done that, though.  

Now that I think about it, Dietrich-sama mentioned investigating why the Maguire family had sent Leyreina-san here. I wonder how that’s going. Maybe I’ll ask him the next time I invite him over.  

“Alright, I’m off!”  

“You should try the hot spring, Madoka. It’s really nice during the day, too.”  

“……. Maki-kun, were you lounging in the hot spring instead of working?”  

“Hey, I work hard every day, alright?”  

Can’t I take a break once in a while?  

“Just kidding! See you later!”  

With that, Madoka headed toward the direction of Hometown Springs.  

…Yeah, she’s definitely going for a soak.  

Still, I can’t help but wonder about Leyreina-san.  

Even though His Majesty praises her, she still feels the need to prove herself to her family. Honestly, I don’t think she needs to. If her family causes trouble here, I’ll protect Leyreina-san with everything I’ve got. After all, she’s as important as Moriya when it comes to managing this hot spring town.  

“Hmm, I wonder if there’s something going on with her. ..…Maybe I’ll ask her about it later.”  

I could figure it out instantly using my Appraisal skill, but it feels wrong to pry into someone’s private matters just out of curiosity. If it were a dangerous situation, sure. But otherwise, it’d be a huge breach of trust.  

“Once everything’s ready, I need to call His Majesty and Dietrich-sama too.”  

Muttering to myself, I began pondering how best to show them hospitality.