Chapter 133: Hotsprings (II)

Giliath demands your power stones!

*

"Now let's get this party started!", Lechter's voice yelled out happily as he stood in front of the Schwarzer Mansion seeing its doors slowly close shut. Lechter currently ignored the slightly purple bruise his eye currently had. After we got dressed and ready, Angelica took a moment to sock him in the eye, which was pretty funny to watch. Lechter didn't put up any sort of shield either, only to act as if he was expecting Angelica to do that.

It really wasn't that much of a surprise to see Lechter again. He probably got a response from Claire, and he said that he was to ensure my safety going back to Liberl after we are done in Ymir. But perhaps he jumped the gun too soon, he was way too much looking forward to going into these hotsprings.

Either way, I proceeded to give Lechter a deadpan look the moment he shouted that.

"You want another punch to the face, Lechter?", I retorted him.

"That's right. You have another eye don'tcha?", Angelica also revealed a grin, only to crack one of her knuckles a tiny bit. Hearing that, Lechter shuddered a bit.

Note to self, don't actively try to piss off Angelica. The result is clear as day, haha!

"I think I'm good...", Lechter responded as he scratched his cheek a bit. Seeing him more down now caused a wave of laughter to spread over us, even if we were just joking around. That seemed to ease the atmosphere a bit.

By now, a group of kids with a scarlet haired teen in tow could now be seen following a black haired kid in front of us. We parted from the Schwarzer Mansion. Rean decided to take the lead this time since this place was essentially his backyard, so that was nice to see. Those who were out and about looked at Rean with smiles as they all assumed that we were friends of his, or they looked on politely as both Rean and Elise were still kids of their town's Lord.

We passed by the footbath in the center of the town. Rean explained its uses to us, and complimented that it was rather famous, should one still have some time left over that they were to give it a try. Thankfully Phoenix Wings was just right around the corner so walking there only took a few minutes. Ymir itself wasn't a very big town either as compared to Heimdallr where one would have to take a tram or car to reach another district.

It also had a double door similar to Rean's home. With a large push, we entered Phoenix Wings. We were immediately greeted by an aged man wearing some glasses. He seemed to be a butler, but was likely an active worker at Phoenix Wings. The moment he saw Rean, he put on a polite smile.

"Welcome, Young Master, Young Missus. I was already informed by Lord Schwarzer of your guys' appointment today. I do hope you all look forward to your stay at our establishment today. We do have rooms where one can cool down should the hotsprings prove too much for them as well.``, A clerk at the front said, welcoming us. "And once you guys have finished bathing, Lord Schwarzer has reserved a lunch for you.", The clerk continued

"Is that so? We'll have to thank father for giving us such an opportunity.", Elise thanked the clerk.

"That we will do. But Mr. Baggins, how many times do we have to tell you to stop addressing us like that?", Rean asked as he scratched his cheek. Seeing him do that caused us to laugh a bit.

"Hoho, Young Master will always be Young Master to me. Once you all are ready to go in, you'll find the entrances off to the right. The area for lunch will be to the left. Unless you all were staying overnight, the second floor will be off limits to residing guests only. Any questions so far?", Mr. Baggins asked us. Most of us shook our heads.

"Not currently, though we may have one or two who hasn't gone to Phoenix Wings yet. The open air bath is reserved for us, right?"

"It is. You all have it reserved until the appointed lunch time. Each entrance is separated by gender. You'll find a small locker area to store your belongings and take a key, as well as a washroom to wash yourselves prior to taking a dip. The indoor baths are separated too, but you'll find a hallway connecting both which will take you to the open air bath. Any time you want to step out we do have some foldable chairs, and a sauna.", Mr. Baggins continued to explain.

"Excellent. That will do us nicely.", I responded happily with a nod.

"Hehe. That also means you guys can't peek, so no peeking alright~?", Anelace responded with a playful smile.

"I'm already looking forward to taking a dip.", Angelica also responded happily.

"Hoho, it looks like you all are quite eager. I won't hold you any longer.", Mr. Baggins said.

"Thank you. Please pardon us.", Elise responded, giving a slight bow.

Ending the conversation, we soon parted into two groups with the girls leading. We arrived at two separate halls, one colored blue while the other pink. In front of the blue was Lechter, Rean, and I. In front of the pink was Shizuna, Anelace, Elise, Angelica, and Emma.

"Guess we'll see you all on the other side. We could take turns in the open air bath, but it's not restricted, right Rean?", I decided to ask Rean. Rean shook his head.

"It isn't. We could all share it together, as long as everyone's fine with it. Mixed bathing is acceptable here in Ymir, unlike other areas.", Rean explained.

"That's very similar to my hometown.", Emma responded happily.

"Really? Well Anelace and I are already used to bathing in Ymir's spring, so I don't see a problem with it.", Shizuna answered, only to look toward Angelica. "But you're a noble as well, aren't you? It might be a weird.", Shizuna wondered.

"Oh you needn't worry about me. I don't stand against that commoner bullshit and all that. Like Naoto said earlier, just see me as Angie.", Angelica responded with a smile.

"Haha, I guess no one has complaints then.", I said,, earning a laugh from Angelica. "We'll see you girls on the other side.", I continued to say.

Hearing that, the girls nodded their heads, and vanished into the drapes of the hallway, leaving us three behind. Seeing this, Lechter turned around and faced me.

"Shall I was your back, Young Master?", Lechter said revealing a playful grin.

"Hell no.", I said, only quickly look at Rean. "Let's ditch this guy, okay?", I asked Rean.

"Haha.' Rean responded with a laugh only to leave Lechter behind as the two of us headed into the men's side.

"Hey, that's not cool man.", Lechter retorted, seeing Rean and I vanish. Still, he shrugged his shoulders a bit before he headed on in as well.

Since this whole place was rented out to us for a couple hours till lunchtime, that meant there was no one else inside but us. All of the lockers were currently available, so the three of us chose three that we liked, and stripped of our clothes. We each found a bath towel resting inside a locker before we grabbed our keys.

With bath towels in hand, we made our way to the wash area next. Lechter still gave us a boo before he took a spot first to wash him down. However, I suggested Rean that I wash him. He wasn't against it, so we took turns washing. It did deepen our bond, even if it was by a tiny bit. With a full rinse, the three of us proceeded to the hallway that lead outside. The moment we reached it, we were blasted by the cold drifting air of Ymir along with the hot steam of the hotspring. It felt really nice.

Sadly, it looks like we were not the first to arrive, as we could see five figures already on the opposite end of the hotspring.

"Heh, you guys are last after all. Still come on in, the water's great.", Angelica responded with a grin. I couldn't help but blink at her for a moment. Those who were more composed like Elise, Emma and Shizuna, wore pink towels around their body as they enjoyed a soak, but Angelica laid there bare. The steam wafting around made it hard to see, but Angelica definitely laid herself bare there. She also had her two arms out resting over the rocks going around the spring's edges, acting as if she was having the time of her life. Anelace also stood bare next to her. Despite it being hard to see, I was still able to get a glimpse of her figure, and she was definitely pretty to say the least. Anelace was your typical tomboy adventure-ish type of girl.

"Now that is definitely how to enjoy a dip.", Lechter said, seeing Angelica. He dove in right away, sticking to the closest end toward us, only to stretch out his arms too. We only blinked once, but he seemed to have brought out a tray from somewhere and had a glass ready. I doubt he had started drinking this early so it was probably non-alcoholic. I shook my head seeing Lechter do this but took a dip right after. Placing my back against the cool stones, I let the water start to flow around me, it was a very enjoyable sensation. After all, hotsprings were used to have people relax and let their stress vanish.

Once we all got settled, we started to make light conversation to pass the time. We were all friends by now compared to the beginning of arriving at the dojo, so we were able to pass the time pretty quickly with laughs and stories to share. We also brought up the topic of the future a bit as well, considering that most of us were still kids who were approaching their teens.

Anelace expressed her interest in becoming a Bracer, which surprised Rean and Shizuna, as it seemed she didn't bring it up a lot. Estelle and Joshua were set to become bracers in three years time, so Anelace becoming a bracer now made since, and she also expressed interest in working out of Liberl's branches, so it's possible Emma and I will see more of Anelace in these next couple of years.

As for Elise, her studies at St. Astraia are going smoothly and she is enjoying the circle of people she is currently spending time there with. Right now, she appeared to be on a small vacation, but was set back to start her next year there.

Perhaps it was Shizuna who surprised us the most, as she expressed her interest into travelling to Calvard and the east beyond. Apparently she had more contacts over there. I know I didn't play the Kuro games but if I recall, Shizuna was also set to appear there, wasn't she? And to a Jaeger corp no less. I wonder if she had already reached out to her contacts after we heard her say that.

Angelica looks like she will be returning home for a while, and perhaps will get to her duties with the other Great Houses during this next couple years. I do remember she wanting to talk to me about something after our dip, so I do wonder what she will talk about. Her plan to enroll at Thors is still a go, she'll start her first year there likely in S1202, while I'll still be at my second year in Jenis. The goal for me is to spend my first year at Thors with Angelica's year, so that'd make me an upperclassman when Rean's Class VII arrives.

As for Rean, it looks like he is just expressing his interest to develop his swordsmanship more, which made sense. He's still eleven this year, and as I recall he would spend most of his days here with Master Kafai and Lord Schwarzer in Ymir until he decides to enroll at Thors Military Academy when he turns seventeen. Emma was also with me acting as my supporter right now, but also to enjoy the fun here in Ymir, so the both of us will be returning to Liberl once this trip is over.

And well, for Lechter, he's still doing Lechter things. Making a hassle out of everywhere he goes and showing up at random times. Hell even now he should be back at Jenis for his studies instead of doing who knows what all the way up here in Ymir. I know the job he received since he's to be my escort back to Liberl, but even then, he's still a bit too carefree, isn't he?

Still, we were very merry during our bathing here in the open bath at Phoenix Wings. Since it snowed last night we were all able to get a good glimpse of the snowcapped mountains in the distance. The cool air around us made it the perfect temperature to where we could stay in for a longer period of time.

We were sad yet thankful after seeing how much time had passed here, and it was soon to go back down and have lunch inside. If there was a peak to this trip, it was definitely catching a glimpse of both Anelace's and Angelica's bare ass the moment they stepped out of the bath to walk back inside. Anelace seemed more clueless on the matter, but Angelica was able to spot my glimpse, and gave me a playful grin after reminding me to speak to her.

Since that was still the case, I bid everyone farewell for the moment and made my way toward Angelica after putting our clothes back on and drying off...