(Heartfelt thanks to 'Kaiper' for the 1888 reward! And thanks to 'Pokémon,' 'Kanata Roujin-kun,' and 'Yan Yu Jiangnan' for their rewards!)
(Why did Qidian make my birthday January 1st again? What a scam!)
Soaking in a hot spring late at night was not particularly unusual.
But running into a mountain that could be called utterly desolate in the dead of night, where there was no light besides the moon and stars overhead and monsters lurked everywhere, just to soak in a hot spring—that was something quite unusual.
At this moment, close to dawn, Reimu, Remilia, Patchouli, and Sakuya each occupied a different spot as they soaked in a hot spring on Youkai Mountain.
Amid the billowing steam, only someone with sharp eyesight and a careful eye could make out the scene within the hot spring.
Reimu was curled up alone in one corner of the spring. Not far beside her was Remilia, with Sakuya beside Remilia.
Across from Remilia and Sakuya, on Reimu's other side, Patchouli had somehow brought a book along despite coming to bathe. She soaked in the spring while reading with a blank expression, entirely unconcerned with the incongruity.
Thus, Reimu, Remilia, Patchouli, and Sakuya all sat in the hot spring, leaning against the rock walls, with nearly everything below their shoulders submerged beneath the water.
Remilia, who had been somewhat delighted at being able to touch water; Sakuya, who had felt somewhat hesitant about bathing together with Remilia; and Reimu, who was annoyed for all sorts of reasons—all three of them had turned their gazes in the same direction and fallen silent.
The direction they were looking in was Patchouli's.
No!
More accurately, it was Patchouli's chest, half of which was visible above the water's surface!
Since they were in a hot spring, it went without