Chapter 87 Decompressing With the Weight of the Night

As Azi approached, Shizu tensed as she knew that Azi was likely going to tease her. They were in public and she would have a little time to avoid him due to how close they were.

She had once again made Azi sit in her lap as they enjoyed the hot spring but it would seem that her teasing actions and words have backfired on her. She tried to back away but Azi pursued quickly nimbly for someone in a bath.

Knowing that she could do nothing to avoid him, she closed her eyes in a panic as her imagination began to picture what he was about to do.

Darkness covered her vision for a few seconds but in the next moment she felt the unexpected sensation of two hands grasping her cheeks.

"Azi?"

Peeking one eye open, Shizu saw Azi's head move close and then felt his lips upon her forehead.

The nearby girls blushed at the sight while the men hooted and hollered at the somewhat sweet sight. Azi then lowered himself into the water and hugged her as he rested his head on her shoulder.

He then whispered into her ear so softly that no one else could hear.

"Don't worry, I won't do anything embarrassing in public."

He then nuzzled his head close to her fluffy ear as he tightened his hold around her as if she was something precious to him.

Her large breast pressed into him and while this had occurred many times before, Shizu could now clearly feel how manly his chest was from the front.

His body was small but she could now see and feel how muscular Azi had become. How hard he had worked in the short time she knew him.

In the beginning, he had a scrawny body and it was only compounded by his short stature, but now that she was more attentive due to her nerves being tense. She saw him in a new light.

His training with Shizu, with Kajima, and even Ougi, were paying off. He applied himself constantly in the workshop and did all he could for a reason she had yet to ask for more details about. She had tried to understand his reasoning for working so hard on a past account but he always had a troubled look on his face.

This made her worry about him so she hugged him back and began to giggle to help cheer herself up. She worried about his future so she wanted to support him the way she could by enjoying the moment with him.

She thought to herself that this was the one, this was the worthy man she yearned to meet. He had many mysteries to his past and he had not yet passed her trials but she had made up her mind.

After a touching moment, everyone continued to banter, drink, and chat through the night as they enjoyed the hot spring. Kajima got a chance to chat with Azi over some alcohol and as he chatted he could see over his head due to how tall Kajima was.

Over Azi's head, he saw that Saki was talking with Shizu who was flushed red after her exchange with Azi.

Saki was also blushing as they chatted but he knew that Saki was likely teasing Shizu. He could guess at what they were talking about but in this moment a gear clicked in his head as he grimaced a bit in realization.

"Kajima? You alright? Need some water?" Asked Azi.

"I'm alright. Just thought of some business me, Ben, and Bail have to attend to."

Kajima gave the drunk brothers a knowing look and they returned it with the best knowing look they could muster through their stupor. Kajima sighed as he thought to himself that he would have to deal with this pair later on.

Azi looked at the sight and was a bit confused as he thought that Kajima's business was about the work for tomorrow but he thought Kajima should be free tomorrow since it was the blacksmith's meeting.

Before he could think more on the matter, Azi was called over by Shizu and Rulu who wanted him to join them in listening to more of Nosuri's tall tales.

His attention now peaked, Azi moved over while off to the side Ougi cracked a slight smirk as he saw a skulking figure in the background of the hot spring. The figure gave him a glare but he returned it with a nod of his head which placated the shulking figure as it then proceeded back into the inn totally unnoticed by anyone else.

Eventually, near the end of their dip in the hot spring, Azi and Shizu sat next to each other with their backs against a nearby boulder that was placed in the hot spring as decorum. They held hands under the warm water to hide it from their friends and gazed up into the night sky.

The sky, so full of stars and with a full moon as its centerpiece, looked like a masterpiece of natural art.

Azi was again reminded of one of the few memories he could recollect. The sight of the night sky from his bed, the stars disappearing over time, and the memory of his friends leaving him like the stars he once adored.

He remembered it all and this time it was in much clearer detail.

He could not remember the names of his friends but he remembered his emotions at the time. Sadness and melancholy.

Before the feelings could overtake him, he looked around and saw where he was and who he was with. People he knew were intoxicated off alcohol as they had smiles on their faces, some were laughing as they told funny stories, and some were grinning as they watched their friends banter. It was a joyful atmosphere and it was only made better by the hand he gripped beside him.

He wished that this moment, that these times, would last forever and to never go back to that time in the black void or the time when he lost his friends.

This made him reflect on his current history, when he first came to this village he had nothing. No friends, no family, no money, no house and a few memories that made him more confused of who he was.

He wondered why he had so few and remembered the unknown figure's words.

"Are you enjoying your life? Without your memories?"

Azi then thought that maybe he did not want to remember them but this idea made him feel uncomfortable.

He gave Shizu's hand a squeeze to steady himself.

Feeling his grip tighten Shizu turned to Azi and asked.

"What's wrong Azi?"

"I'm just….." He paused for a moment to collect his thoughts as the words of the unknown figure had somewhat made his mind stall. With a bit of trepidation in his voice he said. "Glad. … I'm glad I have friends, I have a family, and I have …you."

The last word caught in his throat as a tear rolled down his smiling face. He blinked and another large tear came out of his eye and in the brief moment when his sight was covered in black from his reflexive blink, Shizu moved her hand to wipe away his tears.

With his sight now filled with Shizu's visage, he felt as if the brief darkness he had experienced was a distant memory.

With a loving expression Shizu gave a response with only a slight amount of teasing mixed in.

"And so do I."

She smiled back and then looked around to make sure no one was looking.

Assured that no one would see, she moved her lips and kissed him. It was a brief peck, but it felt right.

Azi stared into her crimson eyes that glimmered like red stars and he thought to himself.

'Is this love? If it is then I know what I must say…..…"

*Crack* *Snap* *Crash*

Azi then heard the sound of something breaking. He broke from the kiss and turned his head to get a look at his surroundings but saw that no one else had reacted to the sudden noise.

Shizu giggled at his reaction as she thought that he was embarrassed, but wanting to keep his eyes on her. She gripped his head and turned it to face her.

Her smile deepend and she hugged him once more. Azi, still befuddled by the sudden sound, suddenly felt Shizu's breast on his face which calmed him. The tiny bikini did nothing to cover Shizu's exposed skin and this caused his attention to be drawn to the "spoiled little cat" that was now hugging and nuzzling the top of his head.

This had pushed his confusion away as the pleasant softness and affectionate nuzzling felt pleasant. For the remainder of the time in the bath they remained like this while hidden behind the boulder from the others.

Azi and Shizu, after having their fill of hugs, join the others. They then talked about trivial things to pass the time.

Ben and Bail talked about their businesses across the empire. Nosuri told tall tales of her work as a mercenary. Finally, Kajima told a few embarrassing tales about King Ozen in his younger days.

Yashimu, and his 4 younger brothers who all noticed that the topic of the stories changed to their father, were intrigued by the stories Kajima regaled about their father's youthful and energetic past. Shizu and Rulu looked wryly as the group of their 5 brothers now looked like young obedient boys waiting for their father figure to read a book to them.

Unbeknownst to anyone, a small, white glow emanated from Azi's chest during the later part of their time in the hot spring but due to the steaminess of the hot spring it obscured the glow.

Azi felt it as he felt warmer than usual, so he excused himself from the hot spring which prompted Shizu to excuse herself as well to escort him through the long and winding hallways of the inn.

It was already past midnight and everyone was somewhat tipsy so they called it a day a few minutes after Azi left. Oddly enough Nosuri had to be hauled away by Ougi while she was over his shoulder since she had drunken herself to the point where she could not walk straight.

Kajima had to carry both Ben and Bail away like luggage for the same reason but he ordered the staff to bring him some buckets of cold water. He would use them to wait the two up as they had business to attend to.

Finally, Yashimu and his 4 younger brothers escorted Rulu and Saki to their shared rooms.

*****

After arriving at their room, Shizu and Azi settled into their own personal room at the inn.

Azi thought to himself that if Saki was here, then that might mean that Elder Sung could be nearby.

He put up his guard and was on high alert. He had only known the elderly woman for little over a month but he had already picked up on Elder Sung's mischievous proclivities.

So, as a precaution, he began to check under the bedding, checked the floors, and checked the walls for any holes or cracks that could easily be peered through. As he was doing this, Shizu looked on with an amused expression as she laughed at his unusual behavior.

"Azi? I don't think Elder Sung is anywhere nearby. Saki told me that Elder Sung wasn't coming to enjoy the hot spring. You don't have to worry."

Azi looked over and gave a deadpan look with a slightly accusing implication in his stare.

"I would not underestimate Elder Sung, I remember that a specific someone shared about how we slept in the same bed and this secret somehow got to her?!"

Shizu blushed and attempted a retort.

"I didn't know that Saki would share that with Elder Sung. She was so quiet during the academy days. I have no idea how she became such a blabbermouth."

Azi cocked his head in confusion but soon realized a plausible reason for Saki's change.

"Well, I guess she picked up a few things from her new teacher."

He then heaved a sigh and Azi had already inspected the entire room and found no discrepancy. The roof was high but Azi saw no discrepancies or peep holes.

He calmed himself and he sat down on the mat that acted as the seat to the short legged dining tray that the staff had prepared while he was looking around the room. On it, was a luxurious dinner. The spread of food looked artistic but Azi had picked up on the delicious smell.

Wanting to take his mind off Elder Sung and Saki, he changed the subject.

"I don't see any sign of either of them, let's eat and get to bed."

He indicated for her to sit, which she promptly did. While they were getting settled into their rooms they changed into yukatas that were provided by the staff as they said that this was the attire to be traditionally worn in hot spring inns. But due to how the average height of humans in this world was much greater than Azi's height, he got the short end of the stick.

The yukatas were quite large so Azi had tried suggesting using the child sized versions.

Unfortunately, while Elder Sung had reserved the hot spring she could not reserve all the other services so Azi had to make do with a yukata that was not in his size. The long sleeves of the outfit got in the way when eating so he had rolled them up.

Starting a bit after Shizu, he picked up his chopsticks and brought a white piece of food to his mouth.

Unlike their usual home-cooked meals, which used a very basic variety of ingredients, the luxurious hot spring inn was able to procure numerous specialty items from around the Empire.

This included different kinds of beef, pork, or even seafood.

Taking a bite, Azi tasted a salty flavor of the sea spread onto his taste buds. It was salty but the overwhelming taste of the sea was then mellowed out by the savoriness.

This was a piece of salted fish that was placed atop what looked like a clump of white grains. Intrigued, Azi began to eat fervently at the tray's variety of food options.

The meal, while varied, lacked quantity but had a high amount of quality. Azi was still a bit hungry but knew that it was getting late to ask for another meal. So, to end the night Shizu suggested a toast.

Provided with the meal was a black, opaque glass bottle that contained a variety of alcohol that was called grape wine.

Shizu uncorked the bottle and began to pour out the drink.

Azi smelled the aroma that wafted from the liquid. It was sweet, but also had a fermented kind of scent that made his nose scrunch up a bit. Not wanting to ruin the relaxed mood they had going, he took the proffered cup of grape wine.

Unbeknownst to either of them, in a dark place a figure chuckled to themself as they watched the two down their drinks.

After they drank about half the bottle, they filled the rest of the time before bed with more bantering about topics such as Azi's work or the complaints that Shizu had about her own duties.

"Hehehehe." Chuckled the unknown figure.