That left Blake cold, he knew he shouldn't have looked at her so intently before and he was wondering if he was really a pervert. He wanted to apologize again, but her laugh made him stop.
"Ufufu!, I'm just playing with you."
"Haha..." Blake could only produce a nervous laugh, although he didn't see the humor, he was grateful to see the smiling face in front of him.
"But... You are too bold to say that to a woman you just met."
"Sorry if I made you upset."
"Hehe, you apologize too much, besides... Any woman would be happy to hear that they say that she is beautiful, why should I bother? Although, I would like to ask you something as compensation."
"What? I'll do the best I can."
"Stop being so formal, there is nothing wrong with talking as if we were close, after all, we will see each other very often in town, don't you think?"
"Hmm... Well, I think you're right. Feels kind of strange actually." She just wanted to play a little joke on him since she knew he was the guy who had just moved to town, but she had gotten a little out of hand. After they both calmed down a bit, Blake was the first to speak this time. "I don't think I have introduced myself yet. My name is Blake."
"So your name is Blake, I had already heard that a young had moved to town, that should be you."
"Yes, I think the whole town already knows, I'm living in the Sharance tree."
"I think you will end up being a nature lover after a while, hehe. My name is Miyako Shinonome, although I would prefer that you call me Shino so as not to make it too long, it is a pleasure to meet you."
"Anyway... I was coming down the path and I was curious about this place, what exactly is it?"
"This is a sanctuary, it's a nice place to spend time, and everyone in town takes care of it"
"So it is a sanctuary, it made me curious because you were very concentrated when you saw it, I already realized why."
"I was just praying a little and leaving a small offering... I like to come here now and then for a little peace." Although she hadn't removed her smile when she said that, Blake could see a look of melancholy on Shino's face, he was curious, but he knew it would be wrong to try to dig deeper. "Well, Blake, where are you going? Maybe I can show you the way."
"I was heading to the inn."
"What a coincidence, I was heading there too. How about we go together?"
"I would appreciate it very much."
"Then follow me." After that, they both took the same path. Their conversation was very fluid and pleasant as they progressed, they talked about many things, such as their likes, and dislikes, among other things. Blake discovered that Shino had a special taste for sashimi and some strange reason also mushrooms, whether they were poisonous or not, they would have continued talking about more things, but they had to stop as they arrived in front of the building that was probably their destination. "Here is, Blake, what do you think?"
The place was very unique, the construction seemed to have a Japanese design, the entrance and the path were divided by a wooden bridge where there were some small statues since around the construction there was what appeared to be an artificial pond with several leaves of lily and fish in it, the inn was relatively large and had two floors. Since he was watching for a while, Blake answered the question.
"It has a very interesting design; I wonder how it will be inside."
"And what are you waiting for? Let's go inside." Making their decision, they both crossed the small bridge and Blake was the first to cross the entrance with Shino following behind. Once inside he saw a large reception, there was a huge counter just as he entered, on the right side you could see some signs that suggested that there were the baths and, on the left, there was what seemed to be a mini-store of some kind. Blake was going to keep watching until a voice called out to him suddenly.
"Welcome!" Again he met the strange pink-haired girl he met at the lake, he could still see the big smile on her face and she didn't seem to have paid attention to who was the blonde in front of her. "Do you want to take a bath? or do you want to be a bath?"
Again, Blake didn't know how to respond to her comments nor did she seem to allow his time to say anything.
"The bath is over there! Come on, the water is great!" And before he knew it, he was already being dragged by Pia towards the signs that had "baths" written on top of them. He couldn't free himself from her grasp, but a voice managed to stop her from continuing.
"Pia, don't mistake him!" That voice belonged to a girl who made Blake stare at her thinking he'd seen her somewhere. She was very cute, she seemed to be his same age, her hair was long and brown, but the reason why it became familiar to him was that like Shino, she also wore a kimono and had the same pink eyes as someone he had captivated him before. "I'm sorry about that. Come on, let's go this way!"
"What, you too?!" Blake had released that expression since the new girl had also taken him by the arm, but this she was leading him to the opposite side of the bath.
"Sakuya, don't you DARE to steal it from me, he's MINE!" From what he heard, he could tell that that girl's name was Sakuya, and he remembered that she is the girl he had to give the payment to.
"What are you talking about? It's clear that he was coming to me!"
"Sob... Sob..."
"Ah, come on, Pia... Don't cry..." Sakuya had a nervous look on her face when she saw Pia crying on the ground inconsolably, you could see that she didn't know what to do until she got an idea. "I know, let's do this! he can come with me and then take a bath. How about?"
"That will do, ahaha!"
"Cool!" Then you could see how both girls, after reconciling, turned to see Blake with looks that made him fear for his safety.
"Can't I give my opinion first?" Even with his attempts to strike up a conversation, both girls ignored him and just kept approaching him. That seemed to be the end of our blonde, but the script would come to his rescue.
"Stop, that's enough. Why do they never remember what I have taught you? The customer always comes first. I'm glad you are so enthusiastic about the job, but you shouldn't pressure such a client." Blake was surprised that Shino could stop the customer hunters and get their attention, plus they seemed to listen intently as Pia had a look of regret on her face and Sakuya frowned in annoyance causing Blake to wonder what just happened.