Chapter 347
Ishikawa Hayato immediately cut the macaron in half and gave her one half.
Nijika accepted it easily this time.
After finishing all this, Ishikawa Hayato wiped his hands, put on his coat, pricked up his ears to watch the next room, waited two seconds, then lowered his body and walked out, with Nijika following behind him.
The two walked halfway around to the back of the coffee shop, asked a waiter for help, and were led out through the back door.
"Phew, safe escape."
Once Ishikawa Hayato saw the sunlight again, unobstructed by glass, he leaped forward into the sunlight and raised his hand in satisfaction.
Nijika looked at him with a light laugh, then spoke to the waiter beside her.
"Thank you."
Ishikawa Hayato turned around, smiling and giving a thumbs up.
"Thanks, buddy."
"You are welcome."
The waiter, with a polite smile, turned and went back into the coffee shop. He walked behind the door, nodded to them, and then closed the back door of the coffee shop.
The back door of the coffee shop faces a parking lot, which is also not far from the next hellish hot spring.
Nijika walked lightly down the steps, and only when she reached Ishikawa Hayato did she speak with a smile that showed more embarrassment than apprehension.
"I feel like I'm getting worse and worse. Stalking, eavesdropping, and even getting happy when my sister has bad luck—I've been completely corrupted by Hayato-kun."
Ishikawa Hayato took her hand and asked with a smile.
"Then, you'll be happy, right?"
Nijika smiled, sighed heavily, and nodded.
Ishikawa Hayato raised her hand high, as if raising the hand of a champion, and said with great anticipation.
"Then let's continue."
"No need! Hayato-kun, please moderate your intake!"
The two's cheerful voices rang out from the back door of the coffee shop, completely unknown to Liang and his two companions who were about to slip back inside, as well as the four people chatting inside.
Then Ishikawa Hayato showed Nijika the remaining hells.
Next comes Oniyama Hell.
Upon arriving at the hot spring pool, Nijika looked at the seemingly ordinary hot spring with thick steam rising from it, not quite understanding.
"It suddenly feels like this place has become ordinary."
Ishikawa Hayato remembered the features of this hot spring, pointed behind him, and said to her.
"Go look in the back."
The two continued walking forward, and when they reached a zoo-like display pool, Ishikawa Hayato patted Nijika on the shoulder, gesturing for her to look down.
Nijika looked over curiously.
Below her was a massive crocodile, twice her height.
At that moment, Ishikawa Hayato suddenly cried out.
"Wow!"
Nijika was so startled that she jumped up and threw herself into Ishikawa Hayato's arms, taking two seconds to react.
"That's outrageous!"
She cried out in embarrassment and annoyance, and slapped Ishikawa Hayato's shoulder hard.
After getting the stamp and leaving Oniyama Hell, the next stop is White Pond Hell.
The scenery here is beautiful, with antique-style buildings, simple green plants and shrubs, a large hot spring in the middle that is white with some green, and white mist floating on the hot spring.
The two strolled around here for a while.
Nijika stared intently at the calm yet steaming hot spring. "It feels like a whole day could easily pass by sitting here leisurely watching the white steam rise from the hot spring."
Ishikawa Hayato noticed that the vitality in her red eyes had diminished considerably, revealing a more mature and composed side, and even the curves of her face showed a hint of calmness. He agreed.
"That's fine too, let's stay here today."
After hearing this, Nijika looked away, smiled at Ishikawa Hayato, and regained her bright and cheerful expression.
"Does Hayato-kun have any reservations today?"
"There's not that much. It's nice to sit here and daydream for a while before lunch, and enjoy the life of an elderly couple in advance."
"We're only 16! This is way too early!"
Nijika complained like this, but the two of them still sat there for a while.
Afterwards, they had lunch at a nearby restaurant. Ishikawa Hayato didn't choose any famous restaurants, and the two of them didn't have to wait too long to eat lunch.
In the afternoon, the two did not rest, but went directly to the last two hellish hot springs.
When they arrived at the entrance to the Blood Pond Hell, Nijika thought they were going to go in, but Ishikawa Hayato pulled her to continue walking forward.
"Hayato-kun?"
"I'll come back and check again later."
The two went straight to the final Tatsumaki Hell.
When we arrived at the entrance, Ishikawa Hayato asked the staff about the hot spring's eruption time.
"It should be soon; it's been quite a while since the last eruption."
Tatsumaki Hell is a geyser that erupts about every half hour, spewing out water mixed with air at 105°C. If there are no obstructions, it can reach a height of 30 meters.
However, we usually try to shield ourselves from the water spray to prevent it from getting everywhere.
After getting the answer, Ishikawa Hayato took Nijika to buy juice nearby, and then went back to sit next to the Tatsumaki Hell.
"Everything's planned out, huh?" Nijika said with a smile, holding Ishikawa Hayato drink.
Ishikawa Hayato denied it, biting his straw.
"What do you mean by 'well-planned'? This is all about improvisation. We just sat down and rested after dinner, which is perfect timing for the geyser to erupt."
Nijika recalled Ishikawa Hayato's various actions in the past and found that he did indeed act on impulse most of the time.
However, her female intuition told her that Ishikawa Hayato was also someone who valued planning highly.
As I thought about it, the steam rising from the geysers of Tatsumaki Hell increased.
The two of them stared intently at the pool.
Suddenly, within the pool surrounded by stones, a straight stream of water shot directly onto the stones above, releasing a large amount of steam.
And the hot spring gushing from the pool showed no sign of stopping, but continued to gush forth, water mixed with sediment and steam, crashing against the stone slabs with high temperature.
Looking at this natural yet quite dangerous scene, Nijika murmured.
"That's dangerous! It feels like you could cook something on that stone slab."
Ishikawa Hayato's expression was somewhat strange, but he nodded.
"Indeed, it's amazing. It can gush continuously for several minutes. Even knowing the principle of geysers, one still wonders where this power comes from."
After that, the two arrived at the last hot spring hell, the Blood Pond Hell.
This is a large area of orange-red hot springs.
But the difference in color alone didn't surprise the two who had spent so much time looking at the hot springs.
Although the white mist floating above the red hot springs can be intimidating.
Ishikawa Hayato started playing here.
Beside the blood pool, he pulled Nijika aside, his expression somber and serious.
"I've only heard about it, Nijika. Do you know the origin of the Blood Pond Hell?"
Nijika knew something was wrong when she saw the expression on his face, and quickly glanced at the information board.
"Wasn't it said that hot mud containing underground magnesium oxide and iron oxide was sprayed into water and turned into this state?"
"That's just what's said on the surface. This story is the origin of Beppu Hell. Do you remember the names of the Seven Hells?"
Before Nijika could speak, Ishikawa Hayato continued, "Kishibozu, Umi, Kamado, Oniyama, Blood Pond, Tornado—hidden within the names of these seven hellish hot springs is an incredibly terrifying story."
Nijika was so frightened that her eyes widened. She swallowed hard and grabbed Ishikawa Hayato, begging him for help.
"Hayato-kun, please stop talking."
While she wasn't paying attention, two other passengers nearby heard Ishikawa Hayato's voice and stopped in their tracks out of curiosity.
Ishikawa Hayato asked in a somber tone, his expression grim.
"But this is our last hell. Do you really not understand the truth about this place before trying to break the curse? You must know that only by knowing the name of the ghost can you drive it away."
"No... uh..." Nijika cried, clutching Ishikawa Hayato's arm tightly.
Meanwhile, the number of passengers around them inexplicably increased. Five or six passengers stood by the blood pool, pretending to look at the scenery, but actually listening intently to Ishikawa Hayato's story.
Seeing that Nijika had agreed, Ishikawa Hayato then unleashed his talent as a former light novel author, and said with a sinister smile.
"The story begins with a young monk who has just entered the temple. At that time, the place called Ghost Stone wasn't called Ghost Stone; it was called Sea Cliff..."
More than ten minutes later.
The dozen or so people around were filled with fear, yet they couldn't move their feet. Nijika was already clinging tightly to Ishikawa Hayato's arm, her eyes closed as she leaned against him.
"And so, the blood of the dead gushed forth, the endless struggling souls underground were transformed into fine wine and spewed out, the rocks were teeming with ghosts, and the ground was piled high with flesh, hence it was called Hell."
"Waaah..." Nijika was no longer able to react, and pitifully wailed.
Seeing that she was truly frightened, Ishikawa Hayato quickly comforted her, pressing her back and patting her head.
"Okay, okay, that's just a story, there's nothing to be afraid of."
Nijika murmured for a while before calming down, and then she raised her head and said with tears in her eyes.
"Hayato-kun, I need to go to the restroom."
Ishikawa Hayato isn't the kind of straight man who would just tell a girl, "Okay, go ahead," when she says she's scared and wants to go to the bathroom.
But most people have no other options at this point, only Ishikawa Hayato could offer a different answer.
"Okay, let's go together."
His decisive answer made Nijika pause, and she was no longer afraid for a moment. She asked tentatively in a low voice.
Are you going to the women's restroom?
Ishikawa Hayato answered with an incredibly sunny smile.
"It's okay, there are cubicles."
Nijika tiptoed and lightly patted his head, and only then did Ishikawa Hayato tell the truth.
"Okay, I'll go to the men's restroom next door. If Nijika calls me, I'll be right there."
"No way..." Nijika was about to refuse, but then she remembered what had just happened, and her voice softened.
"It will scream when it's dangerous... Hayato-kun, you have to come!"
"Of course," Ishikawa Hayato replied cheerfully.
Unfortunately, they simply went to the restroom.
In the afternoon, the two visited the Beppu Observatory and then went to the nearby Perfume Museum before taking a bus to the ropeway to Mount Tsurumi.
Because lunch was rather late, and we visited two hellish hot springs and two other attractions, the sky was already orange-red when we arrived at the station.
Ishikawa Hayato got out of the car and said to Nijika in the back.
"It's that time of year again."
They arrived in Beppu yesterday, also in the evening, but a little later than now.
As he spoke, he extended his hand, Nijika helped him out of the car, taking his hand in return.