"Is this… a bath…?"
I, Luna─was dumbfounded in front of a huge bathtub filled with hot water, which gave off a strange presence in front of me. According to a mysterious young man named Yuuya, whom I met in this Great Devil's Nest, it's called a [Hinoki Bath], but…
"You really had it. A bath."
Normally, if someone tells you they are carrying a bath, everyone would think it's a lie. In the first place, baths are a super-luxury thing that only royalty, aristocrats, or the rich are allowed to enjoy.
I never thought there's one that can be carried around, but also that I would experience it too… Moreover, it even has a feature that is not supposed to be attached to a bath; it's a feature that hides its appearance, which doesn't make sense anymore. Still, as a precaution, Night and Yuuya are going to keep an eye on it outside.
I take off my clothes and scoop up some hot water from the tub provided and pour it over my body.
"Huh!?"
At that moment, an electric current ran through my body. What is this hot water? Even though I just poured it on my body, it was like my fatigue was instantly healed…
Besides, the unthinkable is happening. Normally, when you wash yourself with water, the dirt doesn't come off so easily, and you have to scrub it off with a cloth. But this hot water… I was instantly enveloped in a crisp sensation of being cleaned off by pouring it over my body.
I was confused by the situation, yet I fearfully entered the bathtub.
And then──.
"Ah… haahh~~~"
──I was instantly captivated by the bath.
＊＊＊
"Luna, they're coming your way!"
"Okay! Night, please!"
"Woof!"
It had been a few days since Luna and I had decided to train together. At first, we worked awkwardly with each other, but now we're working together moderately well, including Night. Now, she had managed to stand up against a group goblin elites, which had beaten her before.
"Guoooo!"
"Woof!"
"Gogaa!?"
Night took the goblin elite by surprise when they tried to attack Luna, and the goblin elite was forced to stop attacking Luna to prevent Night's attack. And there was no way Luna was going to miss that opening.
"Now!"
"G-gugaaahh!"
Luna waved her hands wide, and the goblin elite's body fell apart as if it had been slashed by something. At first, I thought Luna was empty-handed, but I found out that she was actually using a special weapon called [Thread].
Moreover, this thread was quite strong, and even a goblin elite's physical strength couldn't tear it apart. On the contrary, the more they tried to shred it, the more the threads bit into it and tore into its body.
Since I'm used to fighting the goblin elite, I'm now working with Night to support Luna.
"Eat this! [Spiral Line]!" As Luna put her hands on the ground, the threads that had been stretched around her gathered and spun like a single drill, piercing the goblin elite.
And the moment it was pierced, the threads unraveled from the goblin elite's body in one fell swoop, leaving its entire body full of holes. W-wow…
As I was pulled back from the much too gory scene, Luna and Night were clearing out the rest of the goblin elite before I knew it.
"I guess you can take out the goblin elite without a problem now."
"…No, it would still be dangerous without the help of Yuuya and Night. That's especially so when fighting a group of them."
From my perspective, I think she's already strong enough, but it doesn't seem to be enough for Luna.
But alas, time is running out…
"…Luna. Unfortunately, I don't think I'm going to be able to attend training for a while after tomorrow."
"What?"
In fact, with the field trip starting the day after tomorrow, I can come back to prepare dinner for Night, but I can't take enough time to keep up with Luna's training. However, Luna will not understand if I'm honest about this, so I'll just let it slip away, though I'm feeling sorry for her.
"Hmm… well, I have some personal things to do. Sorry."
"…No, never mind. So if it's no good from the day after tomorrow, does that mean it's okay tomorrow? In that case, I'll have you to come with me for more training tomorrow."
"Hahaha, please go easy on me."
I smiled bitterly at Luna, who smiled mischievously. At first, she was very cautious at me, but now she has opened up to me, and I'm very happy that she's starting to show me her various expressions like this. Even though it was only for a few days, because we fought for our lives against the monsters together, I feel like we became real friends rather than training partners.
Despite all that has happened, it was nice to meet Luna. I would be glad if Luna felt the same way.
By the time the monster was defeated to some extent, Luna had stretched one out.
"Well… let's call it a day."
"Hmm? Are we done?"
"Yeah. So, let's take a quick bath, shall we?"
"Okay."
Since the day I met Luna, and showed her the bath, she loved it so much that she would always take a bath at the end of her training in this way and go home. In addition to that, I brought in earth shampoo and conditioner for her bath, and she began to value her bath time even more.
And I thought she was beautiful to begin with, but the bath made her even more beautiful. As usual, Night and I tried to keep an eye on the situation while Luna was taking a bath, but then she grabbed my hand.
"Eh?"
"You'll have to come in first today, Yuuya."
"Huh? Are you sure?"
"Yeah. Today, I'm in the mood to go in later."
"I-is that so? Well then… I'll take your offer and enter it first."
I was a little surprised since Luna usually went in first, but I nodded obediently and decided to take a bath first.
"Aah… it feels so good."
"Wooof."
Night also makes a pleasant voice next to me. It's nice to take a bath after all… the fatigue of our training is soothing at once. But then, when I was completely relaxed with that in mind──.
"Hmm? …Eh? Lu-Luna-san!?"
"….."
I felt the presence of someone and turned my gaze in that direction, and Luna, who was supposed to be waiting outside, walked in with a towel wrapped around her.
When I was too confused to say anything, Luna quietly approached me and hugged me just like that. ──She hugged me!? The moment I recognized that fact, my body completely froze.
Well, uh, that… W-what should I do!? What am I supposed to do right now? I thought I was supposed to be the first one to enter the bath! Eh, but that doesn't make sense in a situation where Luna is hugging me and… what's actually happened?
Luna muttered to me, who was too confused to make a calm decision.
"…Thank you."
"Eh?"
"I really appreciate the fact that you went along with my selfishness. Thanks to Yuuya, I became stronger."
"T-that's not… you say that you're stronger, but Luna was strong to begin with, and training is something I wanted to do too, so you don't have to thank me for that."
In fact, Luna had a very high physical ability, along with her other attributes, compared to when she was first attacked by the goblin elite. She just happened to be working with us, and she moved even better from the effects of being leveled-up.
Besides, I'd rather be the one to thank her for the training, because it's something that even Night and I needed, and thus it's become such a good time I spent with Luna.
But Luna shook her head slightly as she hugged me.
"…No, Yuuya really helped me, as was the case with the goblin elites, but more than that… I could see the bright world again. I will treasure this time for the rest of my life. Thank you so much."
"Eh? What does that actually mean…?"
Luna stood up with great vigor as I tried to hear the truth of her words.
"Now, let's get up there, shall we? You don't want to take a bath too long and then feel dizzy, right?"
"Eh? Ah, Yeah… that's right─buhohh!?"
"Hmm? What's going on?"
The moment Luna stood up, I was grabbed and shifted my gaze to Luna… and to my surprise, with Luna's momentum standing up, her towel fell off, and the sight of a naked Luna came into view.
I mobilize every nerve in my leveled up body to turn my face away at an unseen speed, and Luna looks at me curiously like that, coming around to look into my face as if she doesn't realize what she's doing now!
"What's wrong with you? You suddenly erupted and then looked away…"
"T-towel! Your towel is falling off!"
"Eh? …Ugh!"
Luna finally figured it out when I pointed it out, and she crouched down on the spot, hurriedly trying to cover herself with the towel that had fallen into the hot water. I was still too awkward and embarrassed to properly look at Luna, and she glared at me weakly, with blushing cheeks.
"…Did you see it?"
"......…I'm sorry."
I seriously considered what to say, but after a long thought, I chose to apologize honestly. Then Luna blushed even more, but she didn't say anything else.
──While Luna and I are in a state of awkwardness with each other at the end of the last minute like this; Night raises his voice in a pleasant way, not caring about such a situation.
"Woof~"