The group bade Georgios farewell and hurried off toward the hot springs.
Everyone looked forward to the hot spring resort ahead. According to Kobayashi and Takiya, the voucher Georgios had given them was for one of the most famous hot springs in the country. If they had to pay out of pocket, the price would have been ridiculously extravagant—ordinary people like them simply could not afford it.
Since it was a perk provided by the organizers, it definitely would not be bad.
When they arrived at the hot spring inn despite their travel fatigue, everyone was stunned.
This was more than merely good—it was downright luxurious.
Yuxian and the others had only ever seen places this high-end on television. They had never experienced one in real life.
"We really struck it rich this time!" Kobayashi stared at the inn before them, her eyes sparkling. With a programmer's salary, she definitely could not afford a place like this. Being able to experience this level of luxury without spending a single cent naturally thrilled her.
"Let's go in. Everyone's tired from the journey, so hurry up and soak in the hot springs for a rest." Yuxian had never seen anything like this either, but as Chaldea's Master, he had to act a little more composed.
As they entered the inn, the staff at the entrance politely greeted them. Their service was impeccable and made everyone feel warmly welcomed.
Especially when Yuxian took out the voucher, he noticed the smile on the attendant's face grow even wider.
Yuxian immediately understood that this was no ordinary complimentary voucher. Still, since it had come from Teacher Qiao, he felt perfectly at ease spending freely.
Wasn't it only natural for a Master to spend a Servant's money?
By Yuxian's logic: all the treasures in the world belonged to Golden Flash, Golden Flash belonged to him, therefore all the treasures in the world belonged to him. Flawless!
Led by the attendant, everyone arrived at their lodging.
It was an independent courtyard, and the rooms had been cleaned spotless, neat as new. The place had a distinctly Japanese style, carrying an antique charm.
The facilities inside were fully equipped. Whatever they wanted, it had. The service was exceedingly thoughtful.
"If you need anything, please call for me at any time." The attendant gave a polite bow, then slowly backed away and left, giving the group their space.
"Wow!" The group began choosing their rooms and eagerly enjoying everything the place had to offer.
Naturally, their first choice was to soak in the hot springs. After briefly stopping by their rooms, they all came out one after another, ready to enjoy the winter hot springs.
Of course, there were exceptions. Elma found where the food was kept, then emerged carrying a huge plate of pastries. Her cheeks were stuffed full as she said indistinctly, "The food here is so good. Come try some! And you can eat as much as you want."
"You really are amazing at finding food!"
But the others clearly were not as devoted to food as she was. Compared to eating, the hot springs were what everyone looked forward to more.
The courtyard was private, and naturally, so were the hot springs. No outsiders would come to disturb them. It was wonderfully peaceful.
The changing room outside the hot springs was divided into two sides, with separate entrances for men and women. This was not a mixed bath.
Yuxian eagerly headed inside, with Jack following closely behind him.
Seeing this, Gretel grabbed Jack. "Jack is a girl, so you need to go this way."
"Can't I go with Mommy?" Jack blinked in confusion.
"Of course not!" Gretel lectured her seriously. "The Master is a boy. He's different from us!"
Yuxian turned and watched Jack get dragged away, inwardly breathing a sigh of relief. Kids really were difficult to teach about these things.
With Gretel stopping her, Jack finally went into the other side with the girls.
Only then did Yuxian enter the changing room, ready to enjoy the luxurious hot springs and wash away the exhaustion from their journey.
P.S. Victory is not eternal. Failure will eventually come!
Today Was a Lazy Day
When Yuxian entered the hot springs, Takiya and Fafnir were already soaking inside.
The water temperature was excellent, steaming hot. It felt a little scalding at first, but once he got used to it, it became extremely comfortable.
The pleasant sensation made Yuxian let out a long breath. He turned to Takiya and said, "You guys moved fast."
Takiya smiled. "We couldn't wait to see what the difference was between a high-end hot spring and an ordinary one!"
"There isn't really much difference, right?"
"It still feels great. Something this expensive must have its reasons."
The two chatted back and forth. Fafnir remained silent beside them, soaking by himself, while Shota stayed far away from Fafnir. The little boy was somewhat afraid of him.
Yuxian looked at Fafnir. His skin was pale, almost unnaturally white, so he asked, "Fafnir, have you been hiding in caves without ever going outside? Why is your skin so white? Have you not seen sunlight for years?"
Fafnir glared at Yuxian fiercely, but Yuxian was not intimidated in the slightest. Such weak threats were nothing to him.
But Fafnir did not respond at all, leaving Yuxian bored and unable to continue the conversation.
At that moment, Brother Fei entered through the doorway. His body looked incredibly robust, with healthy-colored skin and visibly powerful muscles that made people unable to help lingering their gaze on him.
Siegfried, feeling a little strange under Yuxian's stare, asked in confusion, "Is there something wrong with me?"
Yuxian smiled. "Nothing's wrong. I'm just a little curious about what an immortal body is like."
"There is not much difference, I suppose." Siegfried entered the pool, slowly walked over to Yuxian, turned around, and sat down.
There was an extremely obvious mark on his back, a patch of skin completely different from the surrounding area that was particularly eye-catching.
It was a mark shaped like a linden leaf, and it was also Siegfried's weakness.
Yuxian had known that for a long time, but curiosity still made him unable to resist taking a few more looks.
"What is Master looking at now?" Siegfried noticed Yuxian's gaze and asked again.
Yuxian quickly shook his head. "Nothing. I'm just a little curious."
Siegfried smiled. "You're looking at that spot on my back, aren't you?"
Yuxian felt a little embarrassed. After all, this counted as Siegfried's shortcoming, and staring at it too much was impolite.
But Siegfried did not mind at all. He continued, "Actually, it no longer counts as my weakness, because Master will always be behind me, won't you?"
Yuxian froze after hearing that. He had not expected Brother Fei to say something so sentimental. It did not sound like something Brother Fei would say at all.
"I don't have the ability to protect your back. I still need you all to protect me." Yuxian mocked himself. He knew exactly how capable he was.
"Master need not belittle yourself. Everyone recognizes your abilities. If you have earned the acknowledgment of so many legendary heroes, how could you possibly be an ordinary person?" Siegfried stated his view of Yuxian with great seriousness.
Yuxian felt that he really was ordinary and did not deserve such praise from Siegfried, but he did not refute him either. He happily accepted the compliment.
Compared to the emptiness and quiet of the men's bath on Yuxian's side, the women's bath on the other side was far livelier.
The moment she entered, Tohru shouted and leaped into the pool toward Kobayashi, splashing water everywhere and drawing a chorus of dissatisfied scolding.
Gretel cautiously huddled in a corner, gripping a nearby rock to keep herself from sliding down. More than half of her body remained above the water, wasting such wonderful hot springs.
Jack was far more active. She submerged her entire body, leaving only her eyes above the surface as she occasionally blew out a string of bubbles.
She swam around in the water, moving from Kanna's side to Gretel's, then over to Illya's, constantly churning the water throughout the pool.
"Jack, could you be a little quieter?" Gretel said weakly. She did not dare speak too boldly right now. If Jack pulled her into the water, that would be terrible.
Upon hearing Gretel, Jack blinked her large eyes. Then she suddenly burst from the water, the violent movement sending waves through the pool and completely submerging Gretel in the hot spring.
Gretel kicked wildly in panic. When the water receded and her head emerged, her face was dripping wet and her expression was furious. She shouted indignantly, "Jack, I'm going to kill you!"
Jack ignored Gretel entirely and swam away. She wanted to play with Kanna; Gretel was no fun at all.
Kanna also imitated Jack and swam around in the pool. Unlike Jack, she looked more like a little frog while swimming, kicking her short little legs in an adorable manner.
Martha smiled and shook her head. Somehow, she had found a wooden rack and placed it in the hot spring against the edge of the pool. Then she picked Gretel up and set her on it, allowing her to soak safely by herself.
Illya soaked in the hot spring with her eyes closed, wearing an expression of bliss as she lazily said, "This feels so good—"
"Yeah—" Little Jeanne was beside her, wearing the exact same expression as Illya. "It would be wonderful if we could live like this forever..."
Even Little Jeanne, who was always so earnest and diligent, had been conquered by the soothing hot springs. In the past, she would never have said something so lazy. She would probably have sternly criticized it instead.
"This feels so good—"
Another voice appeared beside Illya and Little Jeanne. Neither noticed at first, but Illya quickly sensed that something was off. She turned her head and saw Ruby floating on the water with a lazy expression.
Illya grabbed Ruby and said viciously, "How did you get in here? I remember leaving you in the room."
Ruby: Illya, how can you say that? Something as fun as soaking in hot springs, and you didn't bring me along. Of course I had to come by myself.
"Why would I bring you? You always do weird things. You've already lost my trust!" Illya saw through Ruby's troublemaking nature perfectly clearly.
She had thought that leaving it in the room would let her enjoy the hot springs peacefully by herself. She had not expected Ruby to sneak over on its own.
Ruby: Illya... you've wronged me...
Illya stared at Ruby without speaking.
Ruby: This time, I really only came to soak in the hot springs...
Illya still said nothing, simply staring at it.
Ruby: ...
At this point, Little Jeanne cut in from the side. "Illya, why not throw it over there?"
Little Jeanne pointed at the men's bath on the other side of the wall.
P.S. Thanks to Book Guest 4967046983, Three Thousand Gold Coins, and Wind. See. Yu. Fragrance for the blades!
Peak Showdown
When Ruby heard Little Jeanne say she wanted to throw it into the men's bath, it immediately panicked and hurriedly begged for mercy.
Seeing Ruby repeatedly plead, Illya finally let it go and did not actually follow Little Jeanne's suggestion to throw it into the men's bath.
Ruby: Illya, I'm so heartbroken. You actually wanted to throw me into the men's bath. I'm a girl!
"As long as you don't cause trouble, I'll let you off." As Illya spoke, she tossed Ruby back into the hot spring.
Little Jeanne glanced at Ruby and did not bother with it anymore, leaving the decision to Illya. She had only been trying to scare Ruby just now and had not truly intended to throw it over there.
Illya was still too indulgent toward Ruby. If it were her, hmph...
Everyone happily finished soaking in the hot springs, and their exhaustion seemed to vanish without a trace.
After returning to the courtyard, Yuxian had the attendant bring them dinner. The food here was exquisitely prepared, the ingredients were all high-end, and there were many things everyone had never eaten before.
Gulp, gulp, gulp!
"Ah—" Kobayashi drained a can of beer in one go and let out a long breath. "Drinking beer after soaking in hot springs feels amazing!"
Everyone else was also extremely satisfied with the food here. With premium ingredients and skilled chefs, how could the food possibly be bad?
Elma had already stuffed her mouth full, her cheeks puffed out like a hamster's. She was unwilling to waste even a moment talking.
Kanna ate more elegantly, but she consumed a great deal with every bite. In terms of efficiency, she far surpassed Elma.
After bathing and eating, everyone became idle again. It was not time for bed yet, so they needed to find something to pass the time.
The inn had all kinds of facilities, so everyone decided to visit the game room for a while.
"Let's settle this! Tohru." After seeing the ping-pong table in the game room, Elma challenged Tohru, intending to have a match with her.
She had long wanted another battle with Tohru, but Martha's supervision had kept her from getting her wish. This time, she finally had an opportunity. She provocatively challenged Tohru without considering the fact that she was not good at ping-pong at all.
Tohru and Elma began fighting at the ping-pong table. Neither was particularly skilled at ping-pong, but with their physical strength, the match became earth-shaking.
Yuxian looked at the broken ping-pong balls scattered across the floor and said helplessly, "Even if it's free, don't just destroy the things here."
They were no longer playing ping-pong. They were literally beating ping-pong balls—they really were beating the balls!
Kobayashi and Martha each dragged one of them away, finally ending the farce.
Inspired by them, several of the children also prepared to settle things at the ping-pong table.
Yuxian volunteered to be the referee. Ping-pong really was one of the few sports he was good at.
Including Shota and Kanna, there were six children in total. Yuxian divided them into three pairs by drawing lots. Each pair would face off to determine a winner, followed by a final match for the championship.
Relying on her A++ Luck, Little Jeanne unsurprisingly drew Shota as her first-round opponent.
Before you continue