"Um... Excuse me, is anyone inside?"
After hesitating for a moment, Yuigahama finally stepped forward and knocked on the door, asking if anyone was inside as she knocked.
"We are the tenants who booked rooms online. Sorry to bother you."
Taking a deep breath, Hoshino Sora shouted towards the inside of the house. As he spoke, he reached out and pushed open the inn's main door. The old wooden door creaked, making one wonder if it would collapse with a little more force.
"Hello, I am the owner of this inn. You can call me Nao-baasan."
Leisurely walking towards them with a cane, Nao-baasan, dressed in a traditional kimono and slightly short in stature, politely nodded to them.
"Nao-baasan, we are the guests who booked rooms online. These are the rooms we booked. Could you please tell us where they are in the inn?"
"Rooms? Come with me."
Nao-baasan leaned in to look at the information on her phone, then turned and walked deeper into the inn. With each step, the old floor creaked, causing the group to exchange glances again.
"Let's go."
Hoshino Sora scratched the side of his face and shrugged. He put on his slippers and stepped onto the wooden floor. The others followed suit. Fortunately, although the wooden floor looked old, it was exceptionally sturdy; it creaked for a long time but didn't break.
The group followed Nao-baasan. It's worth mentioning that the light bulbs in this inn were still the old-fashioned kind, dim and yellowish, not very bright.
"These are your rooms. There's a private hot spring bath inside. If you're tired, you can go in and soak for a while; it's very good for relieving fatigue."
Pulling open the sliding door, Nao-baasan stepped aside, revealing a spacious room before them. The room was laid with tatami mats, and the furnishings were simple, consisting only of a square tea table with several cushions underneath, facing an old television.
It had a simple and clean beauty.
"Nao-baasan, I remember I booked two rooms."
"Yes, this is a room made by combining two rooms. This is a screen; you can pull it down when you sleep. It's also safer to stay in one room when traveling."
"I see..."
"It's getting late. You all rest here, and I'll go make dinner for you."
With a kind smile, Nao-baasan explained to Hoshino Sora, even demonstrating by pulling down the screen in the middle of the room, then turning and returning the way she came.
"Wow! There really is a hot spring, and it's so big! Let's all soak together tonight~"
Kitagawa's face lit up with excitement as she looked at the steaming hot spring. She took off her shoes, tossed aside her stockings, and sat on a stone by the hot spring to soak her feet.
The warm feeling brought a contented smile to her face, as if all the day's fatigue had vanished in the hot spring.
"Awesome!"
"You all go ahead and soak. I'll go help Nao-baasan in the kitchen."
Looking at the girls whose faces were filled with excitement and joy, Hoshino Sora felt awkward staying there for long. Although it would definitely be great to mix-bathe with so many girls, still...
Shrugging helplessly, Hoshino Sora turned and left the room, wandering around the inn.
This inn was very large, but there were no guests, so it looked deserted and very quiet.
This made Hoshino Sora a little puzzled. After all, although the place was a bit run-down, the rooms were decent, and there was a hot spring. Logically, it shouldn't be so deserted.
He was lost.
Turning left and right, Hoshino Sora felt a bit disoriented, walking forward with uncertain steps. Because the interior furnishings of the inn were largely similar, there might be subtle differences, but he couldn't recognize them.
"It smells so good..."
He subtly twitched his nose, and a pleasant aroma wafted over, giving the lost Hoshino Sora a direction. Following the scent, the sound of cooking gradually reached his ears.
"Do you need any help?"
Hearing footsteps from behind, Nao-baasan, who was busy at the stove, turned around. Hoshino Sora immediately smiled and asked.
"You are a guest; just wait in your room. This old woman is quite confident in her cooking."
"I'm not questioning your cooking; I just want to help out. Besides, I'm quite interested in this hot spring cuisine. You're making hot spring egg beef bowl, right?"
"Young man, your nose is really sharp. This is my family's unique recipe; the taste is a bit different from what's outside. Never mind, words can't explain it. You'll know once you taste it later!"
Because she had her back to Hoshino Sora, he couldn't see the dish in the pot. It was quite remarkable that he could guess what she was cooking just by the smell.
"Then I'll have to look forward to it. Is it made with a special sauce?"
"You can smell that too? That's right, we use our secret sauce here, blended from eighteen spices. My old man invented it, and I guarantee you'll never forget it once you've tasted it!"
Hearing Hoshino Sora's words, Nao-baasan was quite surprised, then, as if a floodgate had opened, she began to chatter away.
"Let me help you serve."
As he spoke, the delicious dish was already out of the pot. Hoshino Sora, with good foresight, stepped forward to help, then walked with her towards their room, getting his bearings along the way.
"Dinner's here! Are you all dressed? Come and try it."
Hoshino Sora knocked on the room door and called inside, then waited for about a minute before pulling the door open and walking in, carrying the incredibly delicious hot spring egg beef bowl into the room.
"Coming, coming."
Just as he placed the food on the table, several wet figures ran out of the hot spring. The anticipated R-rated scene didn't appear; everyone present was wearing a swimsuit.
However...
The sight of water drops sliding down her fair skin, especially the moment they dripped into the cleavage, was this really something he could see for free?
"Hee hee, does the manager really like looking at people's chests that much?"
With a hint of teasing in her eyes, Kitagawa Marin covered her mouth with both hands and giggled. However, on closer inspection, her cheeks were slightly flushed. This guy had been staring at her swimsuit since he entered the room; he was simply too easy to read!
"No, I just thought the swimsuit looked good on you."
"Was it really just the swimsuit? I remember you stared at it for a long time before buying it. Did your thoughts at that time overlap with my current appearance?"
Kneeling on the floor cushion, looking at Hoshino Sora, whose face was slightly red and somewhat shy, Kitagawa Marin mischievously pressed on, being aggressive. This was the feeling, the feeling of teasing a proper man.
"Pretty much. The food's getting cold, let's eat quickly."
He had to admit, the 'balls' in front of him were truly enormous. When he watched the anime, why hadn't he noticed she was so well-endowed? No, perhaps it was because the anime didn't show enough, so it wasn't clear.
But now, the distance between them was less than ten centimeters, and everything his gaze fell upon was exceptionally alluring. He could even feel the warm breath from Kitagawa Marin, and a faint fragrance, probably perfume she had sprayed before going out.
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TripleCrown Note:
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