Heavenly Wind? Mi

(Bai Ziye)

The hot spring bath has a "Heavenly Wind".

Despite its name, it has absolutely nothing to do with Tianjin or hot springs.

This is just a well-packaged public bathhouse that blatantly charges exorbitant prices under the guise of hot springs. This is undoubtedly a vicious trap of consumerism.

Ultimately, is using a bath to build rapport really a reliable method?

I have a feeling that Mono and Ceruno are just here to have fun.

"Wow, it's huge! This three-story building is almost the size of a shopping mall!"

Mono wearing the full-face helmet of my Ghost Combat Suit looks suspicious no matter how you look at it...

"They actually let you in like this? What's going on with this bathhouse?"

I was speechless, but Mono yelled at me:

"Stop calling it a bathhouse! It's a high-end hot spring bath! Isn't calling it a bathhouse vulgar?"

How can a public bathhouse be dirty?

There aren't any real hot springs here; it's just water heated by a boiler, isn't it?

Ceruno just chuckled sheepishly.

"Hehe~ After all, magical girls have special privileges! As long as we say she's a magical girl who doesn't want to show her face, plus the Association's registration certificate, the bathhouse staff won't give us any trouble~!"

Incidentally, she was using Ceruno's own identification.

It's amazing that the receptionist didn't realize the person in question was right next to her. Do they recognize people based on hair color?

"Alright! Go change your clothes!"

Before we could even take a look around the bathhouse, Ceruno pushed us toward the changing room, adding a few words of advice:

"Don't go to the shower after you've changed! Let's gather back in the lobby!"

The changing room was nothing special, not much different from the public bathhouses I remembered, except that everyone's locker numbers weren't consecutive.

This three-story standalone bathhouse is very large. In addition to bathing, it also offers accommodation, food, nail salons, and karaoke, but those aren't the main attractions. When you come to a bathhouse, you definitely have to take a bath first, right?

The changing rooms in the bathhouse are connected to the bathing area. Usually, you take off your clothes and go straight in to soak, then change into a bathrobe after you're done.

It seems that Ceruno has other plans.

Having used my ability to Time Acceleration to leave the changing room first, I'm now sitting idly on the sofa in the bathhouse lobby.

The bathhouse provides free yukatas, but you can also wear your own. And I happened to have some "souvenirs" I brought back from the Hawaii hot springs in my Crystal.

Miss Freya took Barbara to change her clothes. It was only natural for the gardener to take good care of the Ancient Tree, and they had also become quite familiar with each other recently.

However, the lobby of this hot spring bath seems a bit empty.

Perhaps because the fighting a few days ago had left everyone in a state of panic, there were surprisingly few customers coming to bathe, only a handful of young couples... What are couples looking for here? There's no mixed-gender bathing here, so what's the point of coming together but bathing separately?

Of course, couples like Ceruno and I have no problem.

"Come on! It's almost nine o'clock! A lot of people have already finished their baths and gone home, right? It's normal for there to be fewer people here."

The little one had just finished complaining when someone pounced on my back. Among all the people present today, there was one with such gentleness...

That Ceruno.

"Yezi, you changed your clothes so fast!"

She was wearing a yukata she'd brought back from Hawaii, while Mono behind her could only afford the cheap clothes provided by the bathhouse.

Individually, they're alright, but the difference is quite significant when compared to others.

"Ugh! I want to wear nice clothes too!"

Mono, wearing a helmet, spoke in a somewhat muffled voice.

"Stop fooling around."

I tapped Mono's helmet with my hand like striking a wooden fish, and asked:

"What's the purpose of this gathering? We're at the bathhouse, so we should probably take a shower first?"

Washing yourself thoroughly before taking a bath is considered basic etiquette in public bathhouses.

Towels, shampoo, and shower gel are all provided at the bathhouse; they're not exactly free, but all included in the entrance fee, so why not take advantage of them?

Ceruno, hands on her hips, said cryptically, "No rush, actually we're not going to the public bathhouse outside."

Is there some hidden service?

Ceruno pointed to the promotional posters on the bathhouse wall.

"What on earth is this luxurious VIP bathtub?"

Ceruno rented out some strange specialty items; it was the first time I'd ever heard of such a thing.

"Well, according to the receptionist's description, it's basically a private room, right?"

Private room?

Do public bathhouses and bathhouses have private rooms?

She glanced at the information board of the bathhouse again and explained it word by word.

"Um, this is a special bathhouse for guests who don't come to bathhouses often and get shy around strangers. If you come with family and friends but don't want to bathe with strangers, you can choose this VIP bathhouse... Of course, to prevent abuse by criminals, the VIP bathhouse is also divided into men's and women's sections, but that's no problem for us!"

Is everything really okay?

Ceruno no longer sees herself as a man at all.

"Although it's a bit strange, this bathhouse is really considerate in taking care of its guests' feelings."

When I expressed my opinion, Ceruno shook the bracelet on her wrist.

"Hehe, this thoughtful service comes at a price; VIP service is very expensive!"

Is this really a special service only available to those with money?

Damn consumerism, damn capitalism.

Mono also glanced at the value-added services offered in the store.

"There are even single-person bathtubs; the single economy is really getting more and more developed."

"A single-person bathtub? Isn't that just a bathtub?"

No, would anyone actually buy this service?

All services inside the bathhouse can be paid for using the wristbands distributed upon entry, and reimbursed together at the end of the bill. Of course, we put all the charges on Ceruno's tab.

Miss Freya, dressed in a swimsuit, emerged from the changing room. Barbara hid behind her, wearing a yukata provided by the bathhouse, but it was a children's version. Compared to the adult version, it had a more childlike pattern with silhouettes of small animals, and it was actually prettier than the Mono was wearing.

"Now that everyone's here, shall we head straight to the VIP pool?"

Ceruno asked this, I replied, "Then you guys go ahead. I still want to check out the main public bath. There's only one pool in the private rooms, right? But the main public bath has all sorts of milk baths, medicinal baths, and the like... I want to try out the effects of all of those. I'll be Past in a quarter of an hour at most."

"Oh, okay? Then we'll go to the VIP room and wait for you."

"Hehehe, I want to go too!"

"No way! Mono, let's go straight to the private room!"

"Hey!"

Even though she managed to sneak in, the thought of her wearing a helmet to the public bathhouse would surely frighten the other customers.

Most importantly...

That lecherous woman wants to go to the public bathhouse; she definitely has ulterior motives. How can we let her succeed?

"So you don't have that kind of thought then!"

Hmph, who are you underestimating?

Please, in the year and a half since I became Miluno, I've been to women's bathhouses quite often. This kind of thing is already commonplace for me, and it doesn't arouse any desire in me at all.

Yezi: I'm super brave!

Oops...

The women's bathhouse was more exciting than I had imagined.