Snow in the Hot Springs
Belmonte Winterhaven had an incredible number of hot springs. If you just dug a hole in the ground, a spring would pop right out. That made it easy to enjoy them, but also made it surprisingly difficult to find the one you actually wanted.
“Mmm…”
“Lady Ruina. This doesn’t seem to be it either, does it?”
“I suppose not.”
Chris and I soaked in a completely open-air wild hot spring, exchanging quiet impressions of the experience.
“This one feels a bit thicker than the others.”
“Honestly, I can’t tell any difference at all.”
“Take a deeper sniff. The sulfur smell is stronger here too.”
“Chris. You are helping me search for the Holy Grail, right?”
“Huh? What are you talking about, Lady Ruina? Obviously I’m looking for hot spring water suitable for commercial sale.”
I left the useless Chris to her own devices and folded my arms. She immediately copied the motion. As a result, the cooking pouch tucked against her chest was squished flat between her arms. I stared at her pointedly.
“Lady Ruina? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing at all.”
I had once given her high praise for being able to cook well even without a cooking pouch. It turned out she had simply been hiding one the entire time. The sense of betrayal was indescribable. To think she had been hoarding one all by herself. How were normal people without cooking pouches supposed to cook, then? Not that I needed one to cook well myself.
“By the way, Chris, you’ve stopped cross-dressing? This is a public mixed hot spring. If anyone sees you, your secret will be exposed immediately.”
“Now that you mention it, I think I’ve been taking the whole male disguise thing way too seriously. Maybe loosening up a bit like this won’t cause any problems?”
So she finally realized it. Human perception was a funny thing—people only believed what they wanted to believe. Even if someone spotted the current Chris, they would never connect her to the cross-dressing version. If anyone did make that connection, it would only be because they had already suspected she was a woman from the start. In the end, whether they saw her or not, the result was the same.
I idly kicked at the surface of the water before leaning back. Maybe I should have brought some snacks. After soaking in hot springs nonstop, my body had gone beyond relaxed and straight into completely limp. Which meant I was hungry. I slowly opened my mouth, intending to suggest we head back to the inn for a meal.
“What are you going to do?”
“Hmm?”
But someone else entered the spring before I could finish speaking. The newcomers were a man and a woman, both covered head to toe in scars that radiated an intimidating presence. Mercenaries, perhaps? As I met their eyes with mild curiosity, the massive, muscular man sniffed loudly and spoke bluntly.
“A mage? Didn’t expect to run into one here. Not a problem, is it?”
“Walker. You still don’t understand the ecology of mages. Look closely. She’s covered in burns.”
“So what?”
“When a mage looks like that, it means with high probability they have an affinity for fire magic and are completely insane about it. As long as you don’t bother them first, they’ll just stay cooped up training in a corner. There won’t be any friction with us.”
These people really had no filter, talking like that right in front of someone. I smiled and greeted them politely.
“Hello there?”
“See? Would a normal person greet someone in a place like this?”
“If it were me, I’d get angry.”
“Proof that every value outside of magic has sunk to rock bottom. She’s a lunatic. Best we steer clear. Let’s go.”
After one single greeting, I had apparently received every insult in existence. I felt like I might cry. I watched in silence as the man and woman, who had only stayed in the spring for a few dozen seconds, left. Then I turned to Chris.
“Shall we go eat?”
While chewing on smoked meat and cheese, I asked Leon,
“Did you find anything useful?”
“Not a single thing.”
Leon, who had answered while sipping milk, tapped his finger on the table.
“With this, we’ve investigated every hot spring in Belmonte Winterhaven.”
“The village is smaller than I expected. Since we split up, we finished the whole investigation in just a few days.”
After soaking in every spring and occasionally sniffing the water, we still hadn’t found even the slightest trace of the Holy Grail. The hot springs of Belmonte Winterhaven seemed good for the body, but they didn’t possess the kind of power that would earn them the title of a healing spring.
“Another village that turned out to be a bust.”
“Didn’t you predict that from the first day?”
“Still, a shame is a shame.”
I stacked smoked meat and cheese between two slices of bread and took a big bite. The food at this place was pretty decent.
“Anyway,” I continued after swallowing.
“Dawoo moruu—”
“Could you please finish eating before speaking?”
Following Leon’s request, I swallowed everything in my mouth and resumed.
“Shall we decide on our next destination?”
“Yes, let’s.”
“Hmm.”
I shifted my gaze to Chris. She had been eating bread as well, but now her eyes widened into perfect circles.
“Lady Ruina? Why are you looking at me?”
“I was wondering if you might have any good ideas.”
Chris was a peddler who traveled everywhere collecting information. When it came to rumors, she was unmatched. She stroked her chin and pursed her lips thoughtfully.
“The Holy Grail’s abilities were immortality, healing, abundance, purification, and wisdom, right?”
“Yes.”
“Now that I think about it, I’ve heard that all sorts of things that extend human lifespan are gathering in the imperial capital.”
“What do you mean?”
“There are plenty. Phoenix feathers, mermaid tears, essence of the moon, heart of the earth, fruits of the world tree, and so on.”
“Things like that gathering in the capital has always been normal, hasn’t it?”
“That’s true, but you asked about rumors, so I told you.”
Clues to immortality were concentrating in the capital… If that was true, there had to be a reason. I twirled a lock of my hair around my finger, lost in thought. Chris smiled brightly at the sight.
“I’ve always thought this, but your hair is almost the same color as Star Silver.”
“It’s the only part of my body that still looks exactly like it did before.”
“If we’re talking about that, your eyes are the same too. That green is really pretty.”
“I’ve noticed for a while now that you don’t seem to mind my burns at all, Chris.”
Chris never paid any attention to my scars. She simply considered them trivial. Since I felt the same way, our minds aligned perfectly on the matter.
Leon, who had been quietly listening to our conversation, murmured softly.
“The imperial capital…”
“Leon. Are you interested in Eternia?”
“It is the most advanced place in the world, after all. Since all kinds of information gathers there, I have wanted to visit at least once.”
“Then our next destination is decided.”
The capital of the Eterno Empire. The thousand-year-old city, Eternia. That would be our next stop.
“That was decided quickly.”
“When do you plan to depart?”
“That depends on Chris’s condition.”
The moment I finished speaking, both Leon and I turned to look at her. Caught in our gazes, Chris hurriedly swallowed the honey wine she had been gulping down and explained.
“I’m in the middle of component testing right now, and I’ve almost finished gathering the large containers needed to store the spring water. It should be ready soon?”
“Then we can enjoy more hot springs in the meantime. Leon?”
“I will have to decline. I’ve taken too many baths already and I’m quite tired.”
“Already worn out? Your stamina is surprisingly weak, Leon.”
“…I’ll be going now.”
Instead of teasing Leon any further, I finished my honey wine and stood up. I had loved bathing since my previous life. There was nothing quite like soaking in hot water to wash away fatigue.
I entered the women’s section of the inn’s public hot spring and looked up at the peach tree that filled the sky. Those pink petals were fascinating every single time I saw them. It looked like the tree was being kept alive and vibrant even in this freezing weather through magic. I wondered what kind of spell it was. I wanted it.
There was no owner in sight. The spot had been left empty, but I didn’t care. I simply slipped into the hot spring. The scorching heat spread through my entire body. Surrendering to that pleasantly languid sensation, I closed my eyes and leaned back against the edge.
It was only after experiencing every hot spring that I realized this one had been the most effective all along. Looking back, this spring relieved fatigue the best, didn’t it? I had slept especially well at night here. Yes. It felt almost like bathing in medicinal herbs that were good for the body—
“……”
A sudden thought made me quietly stare down at the water. Then I plunged underwater with a splash.
Was this spring really unrelated to the Holy Grail?
Beneath the surface, I opened my eyes wide and scoured the bottom. But no matter where I looked, it was just an ordinary hot spring. Had I misjudged? Or did I need to investigate more carefully? Just as those thoughts crossed my mind—
“No matter how much you dig around, the Holy Grail isn’t here, you crazy woman.”
“My mind is perfectly sound, thank you.”
When I surfaced, green hair greeted me. Flora, puffing on her long pipe, lay down on a flat rock beneath the peach tree and spoke.
“Do you have a reason for searching for the Holy Grail?”
“It’s a quest issued by the Holy Kingdom. If I complete it, I can receive a full treatment for free.”
“You don’t seem like the type to care about appearances.”
“It’s a last request.”
“Since you received one, you have to honor it no matter what.”
Flora gave a short laugh and tapped out her pipe. Then she spoke again.
“If I left you alone, you’d probably drain the entire spring. That’s terrifying.”
“I wouldn’t do that.”
“So you weren’t planning to evaporate the water with fire magic?”
“I was only going to evaporate it for a moment.”
“See? I was right. So. Why did soaking in my spring feel especially refreshing? I’ll give you the answer.”
With that, Flora tapped the rock with her pipe.
“This rock.”
“Yes?”
“Even though it doesn’t look like it, this is Star Silver.”
“Star Silver? This thing?”
“That’s right.”
No wonder. I had thought it was strange that she kept lying on that rock instead of in the spring. So it was Star Silver? That explained why bathing here felt mysteriously refreshing.