Chapter 56 — The Hot Spring
"You sleep outside?" Ren clarified.
"Then you sleep outside!" Maki snapped, her brows shooting up.
"That's what I thought," Ren muttered with a shrug.
"Relax," he said, giving her a light push from behind.
"I can use Reverse Cursed Technique. I don't even need to sleep."
"I can just use it to dispel my fatigue."
"And even if I catch a cold, I can just heal it with the technique."
With a small yelp, Maki tumbled into the tent.
She turned around to face him, lowering her gaze slightly.
"…Then… thank you."
"Why are you being so formal?" Ren replied, pulling the tent flap down.
"Just relax and get a good night's sleep."
With that, he pulled the zipper closed.
"Wait—!"
Maki suddenly lunged toward the entrance.
"It's not even bedtime yet, right?"
"Sleeping early is good for your health."
"This is stargazing camping, you know! Stargazing!"
She yanked the zipper open and crawled back out of the tent.
After brushing the grass off her clothes, she stood facing Ren.
For a moment, the atmosphere felt strangely awkward.
"…It's still a little early for the 'starry sky,'" she muttered.
Then she glanced at him and suggested softly,
"Maybe… we could walk around for a bit?"
"Sure."
---
Night eventually fell.
Ren and Maki sat together on the grass outside, looking up at the star-filled sky.
Surrounded by the quiet darkness of the mountains, they chatted for a long time.
This time their conversation wasn't limited to jujutsu.
They talked about all sorts of random things—anything that came to mind.
Only when it grew very late did Maki finally return to the tent.
But even after lying down and tossing around for a while, she couldn't fall asleep.
She quietly opened a small gap in the tent flap.
Through the narrow slit, she watched the boy sitting cross-legged near the edge of a cliff in the distance.
Moonlight bathed his silhouette.
For some reason, the tent suddenly didn't feel as cramped as she had imagined.
In fact…
It almost felt a little too empty.
---
"Wake up! Wake up!"
A voice suddenly startled Maki awake.
"Does Heavenly Restriction make people this sleepy too?"
A lazy voice drifted in from outside, accompanied by someone lightly patting the tent.
"Ah—"
Maki rubbed her eyes and yawned.
Then she suddenly froze.
Oh no.
Did he notice me watching him last night?
Her eyes widened as she looked around.
She realized her head was pressed right against the entrance flap.
Fortunately, the curtain was still hanging down.
No gaps.
She reached out and touched it carefully.
Sure enough, there was a small section of zipper left slightly open.
When she pushed that corner aside, a thin beam of sunlight slipped inside—along with the sight of Ren's casually swaying black pant leg outside.
"What are you making so much noise for?" she grumbled, feeling a little more confident.
After tidying herself up a bit, she bent down and squeezed her way out of the tent.
Before she knew it, morning had arrived.
Bright sunlight streamed down from the sky, piercing through the thin mist and scattering gentle warmth across the chilly mountain air.
In the distance, the tour guide was already calling everyone together with a loudspeaker, counting heads for the day's schedule.
"Ah—"
Maki yawned again.
"I thought," Ren said with a teasing smile as he stood in front of her, "with your special constitution, you'd be even more energetic than normal people."
"I…"
Maki looked utterly exhausted, dark circles under her eyes.
Even she didn't understand what had happened. She had tossed and turned for a long time before finally falling asleep last night. Normally she slept perfectly fine.
"Never mind," Ren said when he saw how sleepy she looked.
He raised a finger and lightly tapped her forehead.
"Reverse Cursed Technique."
Maki froze.
In an instant, she felt a sharp clarity wash through her entire body. Her fatigue vanished completely—like she had just slept for seventeen or eighteen hours straight. Even the dark circles under her bright, delicate face faded rapidly.
The guide's loudspeaker rang out again.
Ren grabbed her wrist and pulled her along as they sprinted toward the gathering point.
---
The morning itinerary consisted of typical sightseeing.
At noon, they enjoyed kawadoko cuisine, dining on tatami platforms built above gently flowing streams, savoring delicious food while listening to the soothing sound of water beneath them.
Then came the highlight of the trip in the afternoon and evening—
The hot springs.
They stood before a traditional hot spring inn with an elegant, old-fashioned atmosphere called Kagetsu Pavilion.
Ren had been looking forward to this moment for a long time.
After spending the entire night outside in the cold mountain wind, he couldn't wait to soak in the hot spring and relax his stiff, chilled body.
Meanwhile, a sudden sense of vigilance rose in Maki's mind.
Mai wouldn't… arrange some kind of mixed bath, would she?!
The moment she remembered the tent incident, Maki gritted her teeth.
Zen'in Mai…!
If she had arranged something like that, Maki swore she would kill her when she got back.
Fortunately, after nervously approaching the tour guide to ask about it, she learned that this was a normal inn with separate baths for men and women.
"However," the guide said with a knowing wink and a meaningful smile, "if Miss Maki has any special requests, I could arrange something. I know a nearby innkeeper who runs a mixed bath."
"N-No thank you!" Maki waved her hands frantically.
"What's wrong?" Ren asked when she hurried back with a panicked expression.
"N-Nothing," Maki said, her face bright red.
Seeing how awkward she looked, Ren could tell something was up.
But the moment they entered the inn, he forgot about it completely.
After excitedly stripping off his clothes and taking a quick rinse, he rushed straight into the hot spring.
As his entire body sank into the warm water, Ren felt every pore relax.
He leaned back against the stone edge of the pool, eyes half-closed, savoring the rare moment of peace amid the warm water and drifting white steam.
"Mmm… Mai may be unreliable… but this 'hot spring trip' was actually pretty worth it."
In his drifting thoughts, he remembered Zen'in Mai, who was far away in Kyoto.
"But… I wonder what she meant by the real reward?"
He recalled her saying this trip was merely a "bonus reward," and that the "real reward" was still waiting.
He suspected she had just been teasing him.
Even if there was a real reward, he probably wouldn't find out until he finished his exchange period in Tokyo and returned to Kyoto to see her again.
---
Meanwhile, in the women's bath.
Several young women were soaking in the hot spring.
Some closed their eyes and relaxed, while others chatted happily, laughter echoing softly through the steamy air.
Suddenly, a faint click came from the entrance.
One woman sitting near the edge of the pool instinctively turned her head, assuming another guest had arrived.
The doorway was empty.
But the sliding door stood slightly open, leaving a gap just wide enough for one person to pass through.
She stared at it in confusion for a moment before turning back.
The instant she did—
A corner of a bath towel piled on the floor suddenly lifted slightly, as though something had brushed against it.
Moments later, soft ripples spread across the water.
A woman who had been relaxing with her eyes closed suddenly felt something brush against her body.
"Who—?"
Her eyes snapped open as she stared at the water's surface, instinctively beginning to rise.
But the next moment—
Her face flushed red.
Her eyes grew hazy.
Her body relaxed again as she slowly sank back into the water.
Her slightly parted lips released a soft, pleased moan…