The warmth of the afternoon sun had started to fade by the time we made our way through Orario's Market Square toward the bathhouse. I had seen it from afar once or twice—its large stone gates and wood-paneled façade giving it an air of elegance, like a spa straight out of an old JRPG or a slice-of-life anime.
The stone path crunched beneath my sandals as I walked between Ryuu and Syr, each of them still carrying a relaxed but alert presence. I felt like I was flanked by two guardians—one cold wind, one warm fire—and I wasn't sure if I should feel protected or suspicious.
We reached the entrance just as the wooden doors to the women's side slid open with a creak, steam puffing out like breath from a dragon's mouth.
Out came Anya, Chloe, and Lunoire, each of them wrapped in white towels, their hair still damp and skin flushed from the heat.
"Cain!" Anya beamed, raising a hand with a wide, fang-toothed grin. "Nyahah! I smell sweat! But it's not bad… it's kinda good! Almost manly~nya!"
I blinked. Was that a compliment?
Chloe, the other catgirl—taller, sharper, and very much more normal—gave her partner a side-eye and sighed. "You can't say that to a kid, Anya."
"But it's true!" Anya sniffed exaggeratedly in my direction and grinned. "His sweat smells like effort! Nya!"
I looked down at myself, sniffed once... and paused. Honestly? Not bad. A bit musky, sure, but no sourness or rot. I guess those good genetics I asked for were doing work. Chloe tilted her head and, despite herself, leaned in and sniffed lightly. She blinked. "...Okay, I'll admit it. He doesn't smell like a ten-year-old."
I scratched the back of my head, mortified and weirdly proud at the same time. Lunoire—always the most composed—rolled her eyes and nudged both catgirls forward. "Okay, okay. Enough sniffing. Let them have their turn. Cain, enjoy your soak. You've earned it."
"Thanks, Lunoire," I said gratefully, bowing a little. The three towel-wrapped women disappeared into the changing room with a chorus of laughter and faint meows echoing down the hall.
I took a step forward and reached for my little pouch of valis. "Alright, let me just" "Nope." Syr's hand was already up, a bright, teasing smile on her face. "Today's bath is on me~."
I froze. "Wait, Syr, I can" "Too late," she said with a wink, already dropping her payment onto the front desk and tugging me forward like an overexcited older sister. "C'mon, Cain. Don't fight your fate."
That word—fate—felt ominous coming from her. We entered the main corridor separating the men's and women's sides. I headed toward the door marked with the male symbol—
—and Syr started to follow.
I stopped mid-step.
So did she.
"So, I'll just go in with—"
A hand caught her shoulder.
Ryuu.
"This is the men's side," she said plainly, though her grip was firm enough to snap steel. "You will not accompany him." Syr's expression didn't break, but a tiny pout curled at the corners of her lips. "Spoilsport."
I didn't say anything, but internally, I sent Ryuu a telepathic thank-you beam of gratitude. She didn't respond—probably because I wasn't actually psychic—but I appreciated her all the same. I stepped through the men's side, shoulders sagging in relief.
Inside, the atmosphere shifted warmth and calm. Wooden benches, neatly folded towels, a small washing area, and beyond that—the open-air bath itself, fed by hot water flowing down smooth stone from a small fountain shaped like a lion's head.
The scent of herbs and minerals hung in the air. I stripped down and stepped under one of the rinsing buckets, washing off quickly like I remembered from Japanese bathhouse etiquette. My muscles sighed in gratitude as the hot water sluiced over me.
Then I stepped into the bath.
Oh. My. God.
I melted.
Back against the smooth stone, eyes half-lidded, I exhaled like a man thirty years older than my ten-year-old body. "I never made it to Japan in my old life," I murmured to myself, closing my eyes. "But this? This is the dream."
I could feel the knots of soreness in my shoulders and thighs slowly unraveling under the water. My mind drifted. My senses calmed.
Then something stirred. I opened my eyes and lazily looked toward the wooden divider wall separating the men's and women's baths.
It was thick and steamed over, but then my sight shifted.
Not literally. Not with my eyes. But with something else. A layer peeled back in my perception. I blinked—and suddenly, I wasn't just seeing steam and wood.
I saw auras.
Glowing outlines, feminine shapes, like heat signatures, painted in gentle pinks, purples, and silvers. I could make out three, four—no, five distinct presences.
Each one had a color, a feeling. One felt sharp and clean like frost—Ryuu. Another was warmer, vibrant with joy—likely Anya or Chloe.
But then…
One presence shifted.
A slow turn.
Eyes—not visible, yet unmistakably present—tilted toward me.
Freya.
Or rather, Syr.
Her aura pulsed. Elegant, silver and violet, it shimmered like silk caught in starlight. For one terrifying second, I knew she felt it. The watching.
I spun around in the water, dunking myself to the neck, flushing crimson.
What the hell was that?! I thought, scrubbing my temples. I didn't mean to peep! It just… activated! Mind's Eye, you traitor!
Meanwhile, on the other side of the wall…
Syr paused, hands trailing down her arms as she turned her head sharply.
Her brow creased faintly. "Hm."
Ryuu glanced over while gently pouring water over her long green hair. "Is something wrong?"
Syr blinked. Then smiled. "Ah… no. I just thought I felt eyes for a moment. Silly, really."
She closed her eyes, but her thoughts didn't match her tone.
Strange. That didn't feel like one of my children watching… and they're under strict orders to stay away.
She pondered. For a second, her divine senses flickered, probing the unseen threads between mortals and fate.
Then—nothing.
Just steam, water, and the subtle heartbeat of a ten-year-old boy calming down from across.
Syr's smile deepened "nteresting."
After our respective baths, we rejoined outside the entrance. I'd dried off and dressed in my clean work clothes, my hair damp and sticking up like a fuzzy white halo.
Syr had that suspiciously calm smile again, her violet eyes twinkling too brightly. Ryuu, ever watchful, walked just behind us as we made our way through the city under the light of early evening.
The air had cooled, and the glow from shop lanterns gave the cobblestone streets a warm, homey feel.
We reached the Hostess of Fertility, the familiar wooden doors just ahead. I stepped forward, hand reaching out to push them open.
Then— I stopped so did Ryuu and Syr.
Something was wrong. The air was still, too still. Not quiet, but held. As if the night itself had sucked in a breath and forgot to let it out.
I felt it immediately. A presence—deep, ancient, unfamiliar. Not like Freya. Not like any god I had ever known. It was darker. Wilder. The shadows in the doorway… seemed to stretch. And from within them, just faintly— a flicker of void-colored aura.
Not a person. Not quite a monster either. But something had come. My eyes widened. My Mind's Eye pulsed.
Ryuu stepped forward, hand already hovering near her hidden blade. Syr, unusually silent, stared into the dark with narrowed eyes.
I swallowed.
We stood there, three figures frozen outside the Hostess, staring into the unnatural stillness beyond the tavern door and the presence… waited.