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Asakura's mind was blank, his eyes vacant.
How to describe Gokou Ruri's back scrub?
It felt like eating a meal at a vegetarian restaurant.
Was it delicious?
It was.
Was there meat?
It looked like there was.
Was it meat?
Not a hint of meat flavor, all vegetarian…
The back scrub Asakura imagined: being gently served by a beautiful girl, during which her clothes would get wet from the hot spring, revealing her beautiful body faintly, their bodies drawing closer in a heart-tickling ambiguous atmosphere, feeling each other's warmth…
The actual back scrub: being pressed against the edge of the hot spring pool for ten minutes, 'scrubbed' by a bunch of bath towels and scrubbing cloths that had turned into cat shapes, along with shower gel foam, while the girl who said she would scrub his back stood a meter away, directing, never personally laying a hand on him.
Although Asakura never intended to have any super-friendly relationship with Gokou Ruri, after all, the girl was a middle school student. Before his transmigration, making a move on a child of that age could lead to a minimum of three years in prison, up to the death penalty…
But he was a healthy male, so naturally, he hoped to get close to a beautiful girl. Even if he couldn't eat the meat, smelling it would be great.
But thinking about it, Gokou Ruri had always been quite shy in front of him. Her sneaking into the men's bath was already a considerable adventure for her. It was highly unlikely she would personally come to scrub his back. He must have misunderstood from the beginning.
"Does Takuma not like others scrubbing his back?" Gokou Ruri asked cautiously, seeing Asakura's despondent expression, afraid that her good intentions had backfired.
"Not really, in fact, this is the first time anyone has scrubbed my back or anything, it feels quite strange."
Asakura shook his head and said with some difficulty, "Of course, it would be even better if you didn't scrub with the force and intensity as if you were trying to peel off my skin."
"Sorry, it's a bit difficult to control the force of Magic creations…" the girl said, distressed.
"It's fine, being able to control Magic to this extent in such a short time is already very good."
Asakura glanced at her: "What about those two little tails that always follow you?"
"Hinata and Tamaki are both asleep now, and Yuigahama Yui is helping me look after them."
Speaking of her younger sisters, Gokou Ruri's lips carried a faint, gentle smile, and even the tear mole at the corner of her eye seemed to become more alluring.
The girl whispered, "They go to bed very early at home. They were so excited today during the day and didn't even take a nap, so they accumulated a lot of fatigue. Hinata was even clamoring to have a pillow fight, but as soon as she touched a pillow, she immediately fell asleep."
"Being able to eat and sleep well is a good thing for children of that age," Asakura said in a seasoned tone.
"…Sometimes I also feel that Takuma speaks like an old man."
"While not quite an old man, my mental age is indeed older than I appear." Asakura said seriously, "Please call me a mature senior."
"Then, mature senior, do you want to continue soaking in the hot spring?"
"I plan to soak a bit longer, otherwise, what was the point of the back scrub? But you, Ruri," Asakura looked at the girl, a mischievous smile with a hint of instigation on his face, asking, "You've been busy taking care of those two kids all day today, you probably haven't had a good soak in the hot spring, have you? Want to come together? Anyway, there doesn't seem to be anyone in the mixed-gender pool right now."
"Sorry, I don't like to expose too much skin in front of others," the girl replied conservatively, "If I brought a school swimsuit, it would be fine."
"While a school swimsuit certainly has its own charm, can wearing that really count as bathing?" Asakura stroked his chin, his gaze sweeping over the girl, seemingly imagining what she would look like in a school swimsuit.
"…It seems Takuma is not an old man, but a normal boy," the girl said with a straight face, but the faint blush on her cheeks proved she was only hiding her shyness with a retort.
"No, no, no, it's like this no matter how old your mental age is. Men are boys until they die."
Asakura said, then jumped back into the hot spring pool, letting the slightly hot spring water submerge his shoulders, letting out a comfortable groan.
"Does Takuma like hot springs very much?" Gokou Ruri asked curiously, looking at him.
"Hmm, not really. I don't quite understand the difference between a hot spring and ordinary hot water… But as for the act of bathing itself, I really like it." Asakura folded the towel into a tofu-like block and placed it directly on his head, enjoying the hot spring while sighing, "It's just a pity the season isn't quite right."
"What?"
"If it were autumn or winter to come here for a hot spring, it would feel even better," Asakura looked up at the deep night sky. Although 'men's bath' can be directly translated as 'men's bathroom,' in reality, several of the main hot spring pools at the inn are open-air. While there are indoor ones, their scale cannot compare to the outdoor pools: "Especially when it snows, with snowflakes falling delicately from the sky, not only does it look particularly beautiful, but it also cools the brain down, making it less likely to get dizzy from the heat. The warm spring water dispels the severe cold of winter, letting warmth flow through every part of your body."
"Winter snow is beautiful, but it makes people cold. Hot springs are comfortable, but soaking for too long can make you dizzy. Only soaking in a hot spring while enjoying the snow allows you to experience the beauty of 'winter meeting first snow' while also enjoying the comfort of the hot spring for a longer time. It's a win-win, I win twice! Is there anything more wonderful than this?!"
"Now that Takuma mentions it, I really do want to come to the hot springs when it snows," Gokou Ruri also looked up at the night sky and whispered, "Unfortunately, it might be a long time before I get the chance to experience the beauty Takuma spoke of."
The girl's family background was not good. Although not particularly impoverished, Gokou's parents were ordinary salaried workers. Raising three children in a place like Chiba, the pressure of life was imaginable.
Although the Gokou sisters would not starve on weekdays, and Gokou Ruri even had some pocket money for her hobbies, that was all. The cost of a hot spring trip would probably require her to save for a very, very long time by being frugal.
According to the girl's own calculations, even if she controlled her hobby expenses to the absolute minimum, the situation was still not optimistic—it would be a victory if she could save enough before graduating middle school.
"Then let's come again in winter," Asakura looked back at the girl: "I'll pay."
But the girl shook her head: "I can't always take advantage of Takuma."
"Then consider it a loan from me, you can pay me back slowly later. As a witch, are you afraid you won't have opportunities to earn money?"
Asakura didn't really care; he just said cheerfully, "And it's not just 'winter meeting first snow.' As the saying goes, spring for night cherry blossoms, summer for gazing at stars, autumn for appreciating the full moon, and winter for first snow. If you keep thinking about the first snow, won't you miss the stars now?"
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