"Go back quickly. Do you have a ticket?" At the entrance of the Bathhouse, Haku looked worriedly at the girl who had just straightened her clothes.
The latter pulled a card from her pocket, her pink nails flashing as she waved it at Haku.
"Oh, so Yubabas Sister is actually quite nice to you." He realized, the corners of his mouth finally curling up. "Alright, next time you come, find me at the entrance."
Sen Getsusa didn't eat anything on the Street of the Gods, nor did she communicate with any shopkeepers or passersby. She said goodbye to Haku and went straight to the station to wait for the Sea Railway train.
She didn't think those black shadows calling out to her wanted to give her a twenty percent discount.
————Sha-chan is on the train————
"I see..." Yubabas Sister, wearing her glasses, took the small red wallet from Sen Getsusa's hand.
When opened, several round, perforated crystals lay buried inside, sparkling.
"Don't underestimate these few coins. They're worth a lot of money..." Yubabas Sister put the crystals back into the wallet and tossed it onto the table. "little Yuesha, this journey was interesting, wasn't it?"
Sen Getsusa was eating a small cream puff-like cake, her mouth stuffed full and the corners of her lips stained white. "It was okay. Aside from almost being beaten to death by your sister, it was quite interesting."
Yubabas Sister:... The old witch didn't care, her giant face showing no sign of guilt. She looked behind Sen Getsusa with an unpredictable expression and waved her hand. "Well, that's impossible. She wouldn't dare hurt you."
Sen Getsusa raised an eyebrow and looked back—it was just the empty floor and kitchen counter.
She couldn't be bothered to argue with this elderly riddle-maker, so she simply recounted everything in bits and pieces. When they got to Mr. Bai, Yubabas Sister suddenly spoke:
"That Child shouldn't have come here. When he first arrived many years ago, I tried to advise him. Unfortunately, he insisted on following that person to learn magic."
"Learning magic?"
"Yes. Actually, that Child's problem isn't something magic can solve. But he was too stubborn, rejected my kindness, and insisted on following her. Now, it's probably hard for him to turn back."
Yubabas Sister finally began to explain: "I don't teach you magic, not because you can't learn it. It's just that this World isn't 'real'. You've seen many shrines, haven't you?"
Sen Getsusa nodded.
"These 'gods' aren't the beings you understand them to be. They are just fellows with some small abilities who receive offerings in the mortal World," Yubabas Sister gestured with her fingers to show a gap so small it was almost invisible. "And there are also youkai, spirits, and spiritual bodies. We are born by relying on faith and rules to obtain 'Existence'."
"A few of the deceased also wander here and become one of us. And how can magic developed by relying on 'Existence' be considered 'real'?"
"I've never taught you magic because you have a wide, sunny road to walk. Why would you want to take this tiny, narrow dead-end path?"
After Yubabas Sister finished speaking, she opened a glass jar, pinched out a few sugar cubes, and placed them in front of her, pointing at them. "The Bathhouse isn't just an ordinary hot spring."
She broke a small corner off one of the sugar cubes.
"We perform the 'Harae' ritual, using the hot springs to wash away the guests' filth and eliminate misfortune. The water bath is also to purify their polluted spiritual power."
Yubabas Sister waved her hand, and the chipped sugar cube began to move: it wobbled around in the pile of sugar, mimicking the posture of a guest soaking in a hot spring.
The old witch even mimicked the sound of hot water, pouting her lips: "Glug, glug, glug."
Sen Getsusa: You don't have to be that realistic... After having her fun, Yubabas Sister tapped the table lightly—the sugar cube hopped out and returned to its original, undamaged state.
"This is also why my sister's status is so high." Yubabas Sister sighed, appearing somewhat dissatisfied. "The pollution of industrial society is too severe. Those gods and spirits have to purify themselves more and more frequently. A hundred years ago, there was even a large-scale decay and mutation."
"That Haku... is the same."
Yubabas Sister narrowed her eyes. "If a river is polluted, it becomes a stinking river. If a stinking river is filled in, it loses its status. This stupid dragon wanted to learn the means of purifying spiritual power from my sister so that he could continue to stay 'clean'..."
"How could there be such a good thing..." Tired of talking, Yubabas Sister picked up her cup and took a sip of tea.
Sen Getsusa realized: "White, Haku, Mr. Bai. So, he's actually a dragon? Sigh, isn't the name a bit too perfunctory?"
Yubabas Sister laughed heartily at Sen Getsusa's look of disbelief. "The name wasn't given because he's a white dragon. Gods have their own true names. However—"
"Was it taken away by Yubaba?"
Sen Getsusa remembered the scene when she signed her name, how the handwriting actually stood up and was led one by one into Yubaba's palm. "I remember Yubaba saying that those who lose their jobs have no right to exist?"
"She didn't lie to you, but she only told you half of it." Yubabas Sister put down her teacup, picked up the sugar cubes that had just'soaked in the hot spring' from the table, and put them one by one into her black tea. "Those are the rules of 'Bathhouse Station'. They don't work in'Swamp Bottom'. Where do you belong?"
Sen Getsusa gave Yubabas Sister a mischievous look with a grin. "I belong to'Swamp Bottom', of course!"
"So—it's invalid for you."
The old woman tapped the table and said dismissively, "You don't fall under the jurisdiction of 'Bathhouse Station'. On the contrary, you descended in'Swamp Bottom', which is why I sensed and saw you immediately. I am willing to share 'Existence' with you; you don't have to work for her."
"I haven't worked for you either."
"Of course," Yubabas Sister laughed heartily, "but you made so much delicious food! Let's just call that work. Anyway, you're one of mine, and I'm more than happy to share 'Existence' with you. What's the problem?"
Sen Getsusa nodded obediently and looked at the wallet.
Yubabas Sister knew the girl's endless curiosity, so she simply told a story.
——A long time ago, two powerful witches joined forces to build a shrine named'Sentō'.
The elder sister was kind, optimistic, cheerful, beautiful, gentle, generous, slender and charming, powerful yet compassionate, and loved the lit... (Omitted hereafter for the duration of half a cheesecake.)
The younger sister was vicious and dull, greedy and cold. In order to earn more treasure from the gods and spirits who came to bathe, she used her magic to turn everyone who didn't work for her into pigs.
From then on, in this place, those who wanted a share of faith to maintain their existence had to work for these two sisters.
One day, the elder sister could no longer bear the younger sister's ways: she used her magic to create a 'Witch's Contract Seal' and, through the powerful magic of the seal, signed a contract with her sister:
[From this day forward,'Sentō' shall be renamed 'Bathhouse'.]
[All management rights shall be handed over to the younger sister.]
[In return, the elder sister would move away. She would only come by every month to collect her small share of the dividends—that is, the portion of faith shared by those gods—to maintain her existence.]
[Aside from that, all gold, silver, and treasures shall belong to the younger sister.]
After gaining full power, the younger sister gradually began to despise the elder sister who enjoyed the benefits without effort.
After that, she would try to obstruct her on every dividend day.
——Because once the elder sister failed to receive her dividends, the contract would be broken. She would then have the faith and treasures all to herself. The elder sister?
She would have nothing.
Yubabas Sister blew on the steam from her tea and finished the story slowly. Looking up, she found Sen Getsusa staring at her thoughtfully.
"What is it? Is there a problem?"
Sen Getsusa hesitated for a moment. "So, that kind, optimistic, cheerful, and charming woman in the story is—"
Yubabas Sister smiled. "That's right, she is..."
Sen Getsusa: "Is Yubaba?"
Yubabas Sister: ('^｀)??
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