Chapter 179 – The Devil’s Whispers

After that, we managed to enjoy the rest of our dinner without bringing up Umi's slip up again.

The food was particularly tasty because Shizuku-san and her dad stocked up on fresh ingredients daily. They gathered everything from the village.

Then they served us some after-dinner tea for us to enjoy in our rooms. When we were relaxing in our room, Shizuku-san came to prepare our beds.

"Everyone should take your baths now while I prepare for your beds. How many futons do you need?"

"Huh? There are three of us here, of course we'll only need–"

Suddenly Umi cut Riku-san off.

"We'll only need two."

"Huh? What are you on about? C'mon, it's been a long day for me, I want to sleep in–"

"By two I meant one for you and one for us."

"…Huh?"

Us.

In other words, she wanted to sleep with me.

I see. So that's why Shizuku-san asked us this question. I took a glance at her to see her smiling at us mischievously.

"You little… I know that this isn't my business, but don't you think you're going a little bit too far?"

"What about it? It's just us sharing the same futon, what's so bad about it? Why are you so against it? What, are you jealous?"

"Ugh, you little brat…"

Well, we did this before in the Asanagi's house, so it shouldn't be a problem if we were to do it again. But, by the look of it, Riku-san was probably thinking about the other meaning of this action.

"Shizuku-san, just give us three futons, please."

"Maki? Why are you on his side?"

"Look here, if we share the same futon, it will be annoyingly cramped there. Besides, you'll come closer to me even if there are three futons, right? It's better to lay down three of them to keep it spacious."

We could definitely make it work even if we were to share a futon, but there was a chance that one of us might get pushed out of the futon and end up sleeping on the tatami mat. This wasn't a big problem, but it would be bad if we ended up catching a cold because of it.

"Umi-chan, what Maki-kun is trying to say is that a double bed is better than a single bed."

"Ah, I see~ Why didn't you just say it directly, hm?~ Are you feeling shy?"

"Listen to my words properly, would you?"

Those two were totally in sync, weren't they? Well, whatever, since that statement convinced her, I should just keep my mouth shut.

"Then, let's take our bath now, Maki. We wouldn't want to get in Shizuku-san's way would we? Let's take our time while we're at it~"

"Mm. What about you, Riku-san?"

"I'll take a dip after you guys are done. It's more relaxing for me that way."

"So you want to be alone with me after all, Rikkun?"

"What are you on about?! …Jeez, I'm your customer, you know? Treat me like a customer properly…"

"Hehe, will do~"

Even after the whole situation with Reiji-kun, there wasn't an awkward air between the two of them. Have they already talked it out? Well, they both were adults, what was a kid like me doing, worrying about them?

"Ah, right, Umi-chan, Maki-kun, do you have time?"

""Yes?""

When we were about to go to the open-air bath on the first floor, Shizuku-san called us over.

We turned around, thinking that she probably forgot to tell us about something important. Then, she came closer and whispered to us.

"The men and women's baths are usually separated by a large fence, but when I was cleaning the place earlier, I forgot to lock the door of that fence. Normally, only employees can pass through it… Well, you understand what I'm trying to say, right?"

""…""

We looked at each other before nodding quietly.

'If you want to take a bath together, then go ahead.' That was what she meant.

"Ah, but don't get overboard, okay? You two are the only ones who'll be using the place, but it's still a public place. I'll turn a blind eye toward it, okay? Just think of this as a thank you because Reiji disturbed your date."

"…Shizuku-san, has someone ever told you that you're a nosy person?"

"They've been saying that since I was little~ C'mon, get going already~"

Then she pushed us away.

'Shizuku, what did you guys talk about?'

'Hehe, I just told them not to be naughty and enter the baths separately. Right, didn't we use to take a bath together–'

"Idiot— Stop that! They'll hear you!'

I could hear an interesting conversation from inside the room. Well, we should just follow Shizuku-san's instructions and get going quickly.

"L-Let's go, Umi."

"Y-Yes!"

Thanks to the devil's whispers, my heart that had calmed down, started beating faster again.