"And what will we do now?" I looked at the colossal body of the ancient dragon.
"He spent so many years here, and he died as soon as he was freed," Seleria thoughtfully ran her hand over the dragon's scales. "I would like to bury him here. Though this place was his prison for a long time, it was also his home."
"Then allow me to do it," Asura nodded to the princess and touched her katana. "The sacred mountain should be covered with eternal ice."
We exited the crater through a half-destroyed passage, and the girl headed towards the crater's summit.
"You'll find it difficult to create so much snow," Hilda, still swaying after her injury, followed her. "But I'll help you."
The girls climbed to the top of the mountain and prepared their weapons. Their weapons and hair filled with a white glow, and with a single gesture, they created an icy wave.
The ice filled the crater's bottom, burying the colossal body, and began to cover the entire summit. Due to the sudden drop in temperature, clouds in the sky started to melt, showering the ground with a snow covering. In just an hour, the sacred mountain returned to its former state. This was a signal for the opposing sides to begin their actions.
"Let's quickly go to our hiding place, and you'll be welcomed there as heroes," Kagyuki unexpectedly changed her demeanor, now behaving like a kind and lively girl appropriate for her age. Perhaps, after the burden of responsibility for the clan's destruction was lifted from her shoulders, she could become the loving sister who would be proud of Asura. The girl visibly tried to stay close to her sister, but she still hesitated to talk openly after what had happened.
"Oh, I hope you have some clothes there," Seleria walked in just the cloak, and she didn't even have any footwear, stepping cautiously on the bare ground.
"Don't worry; we'll prepare something suitable for you. And, hehe, we also have something appropriate for you to relax," Yuki beamed with a smile and flirtatiously winked at us. "We have a place for you to unwind. After you rest, we'll throw a feast in your honor."
The girl cheerfully led us towards the fortress, but I whispered in her ear.
"Yuki, if you're planning a feast, make sure your warriors don't drink too much. It might not be the end of the battle yet; Baron won't miss such an opportunity, so it's better not to get too relaxed."
We arrived at the fortress after noon. All the clan members lined up in front of the entrance.
"Long live the great heroes, saviors of our clan," Hiren greeted us with his booming voice, and all the residents bowed to welcome the heroes.
"It feels a bit awkward," Katrina lowered her gaze in embarrassment.
"You've earned it," Yuki stepped forward and bowed to us again. "And now I want to escort you THERE. Hehe."
"Oh, Yuki-sama," Hiren leaned towards the lady. "Do you want to escort them there?"
"Yes, uncle, you escort the boys, and I'll take care of the girls. They worked hard and deserve better treatment. And please, tend to Lady Hilda's wounds; she got hit hard in the battle."
Two shinobi led us into the depths of the fortress and brought us to a large room inside the mountain with an open ceiling. A white mist rose from behind a wooden fence in the center of the room.
"Wow, Yuki, is this what I think it is?" Asura joyfully ran towards the massive gates.
"Yes, we have an open hot spring here too," Yuki approached the doors and opened them for us. "Joint bathing is prohibited, so boys to the right and girls to the left."
Following the shinobi's instructions, we entered the room. The floor was covered with large stones, and along the far wall, there was a large recess filled with hot water.
"These are our open baths. While you bathe, your clothes will be cleaned, and the water from the spring will help heal minor wounds."
"Wow, I haven't bathed like this in ages," Asura quickly started removing the Academy uniform that smelled of sulfur and ash from the Volcano.
"Huh? W-w-will we all bathe together?" Katrina hesitated awkwardly, standing in place. "And... do we have to be naked?"
"Don't worry, we are all girls here. And if the boys decide to peek, they'll have to deal with a special squad of shinobi girls guarding the wall between the sections," Yuki also began removing her mesh clothing.
"Well, I'm a bit shy," Leira also felt uncomfortable.
"Hehe, it's my little revenge," Seleria quickly took off her red cloak. "You've all seen me today, now it's my turn."
Rubbing her hands together, the princess lunged at the young noblewoman.
"Seleria, what are you doing!?" Leira tried to fend off the girl, but her determined hands quickly undid the fasteners.
Katrina flinched, recalling the last time she bathed with the red princess, and quickly started undressing.
"It's better to undress yourself before she gets to you," the girls nodded sympathetically and began undressing.
"Maybe I should leave this on," Katrina looked at her belt with a golden badge. "I hope it's not afraid of water."
"By the way, since everyone is here, I invited your teacher too. She'll come with Hilda after they treat her wounds," Yuki dashed ahead and jumped into the bath with a squeal.
"Ho-hooh, we should make the most of this," Vina grinned slyly, her head burning with a mischievous desire.
"Vina, you scare me," Ragni hesitated for a second but then resigned herself to the inevitable.
"Hmm, so this is just a big bath," I inspected the room where Hiren led us. "True, the girls probably welcomed this more."
"What are you saying, young man? This is one of our clan's landmarks," when I turned around, an experienced shinobi was already standing naked behind me.
"Aren't you undressing too quickly!? Hey!"
"Haha, better not lag behind; come inside quickly!" The man jumped into the bath and sat down next to one of the walls.
"Wait, according to the direction of the voices..." I followed along the wall that separated the baths. "YOU! Did you deliberately sit close to the girls' bath?!"
The spot where Hiren sat was on the boundary of the baths, and there wasn't even a clear separation; a wall was built inside the bath itself.
"Oh, you youngsters just don't understand. We used to have traditions of joint bathing; those were the times. But now these walls have restricted our freedom," Hiren genuinely shed tears, reminiscing about the old days. "It's all influenced by other countries; young people stopped being interested in training and only wanted to be with girls in such places. So the clan decided to preserve the young minds and banned joint baths. But a couple of centuries ago, it was entirely natural."
"Hey, you old pervert! It seems like this issue concerns you the most!!" I lunged at the shinobi and pushed him away from the wall.
"Why are you so upset!? Aren't you curious about what's happening OVER there, beyond this wall?" The shinobi's eyes sparkled, and I involuntarily swallowed, succumbing to his persuasion. "Unfortunately, we won't be able to get over the wall; there are too many traps set here. But trust your imagination."
Gradually, his words began to poison our minds, and we started listening to what was happening in paradise on the other side of the wall...
"Ah, girls, I'm so glad you all came back," Levris and Hilda entered the female section. "It looks like the only one who suffered significantly is Princess Hilda, but somehow I feel like she was the cause of it herself."
Levris gave a sly glance at the careless disciple, and they both returned to the first room to change.
"Well, what else? It's nothing," Hilda stroked the bandage on her arm discontentedly. "I could have handled everything myself. I-I-it just happened that way."
"Alright, need any help getting undressed?" Levris tried to remove Hilda's armor, but she jumped back abruptly.
"No! I'll manage myself; don't worry, I can do it with one hand," Hilda protested vigorously against any help.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, yes, go on; don't worry about me."
Levris shrugged and prepared for the bath, then left. Hilda timidly touched her back and started taking off her armor.
"Heh-heh, VICTORY!" Seleria exclaimed triumphantly, striking a victory pose.
"Eh? What else? What did you win?!" Katrina, who was sitting nearby, jumped in surprise.
"Hee-hee, in sizes!" The red princess confidently crossed her arms, raising her breasts even higher.
"Heh, naive!" A voice came from the back of the bath. "Judging solely by breast size is too simplistic!!!"
"Huh?" Seleria slowly headed towards the corner where the merchant was laying something out with interest. "What are you doing here?"
The girl, leaning on the edge of the bath, was laying out several pieces of soap in front of her. Each one had the name of one of the girls written on it.
"Hey, we still have to wash with that!" Ragni tried to grab one piece, but the merchant's sharp blow pushed her hand away.
"Hee-hee-hee, you don't understand! I have this rare opportunity, and I don't want to miss it!!" The girl leaned back over the soap with a malicious smile.
"And what are you doing?" Now, all the girls gathered around Vina.
"It's just a little marketing research, see, this one here, and that one there," Vina glanced at her fellow shinobi, arranging the names in a row.
"For some reason, I don't like this," Vivien looked displeased at her name, which ended up almost at the end of the list. "What are you evaluating?"
"Isn't it obvious? The overall attractiveness of the girls to the opposite sex!! Now that I can evaluate all of you comprehensively, I can rank you based on looks, figure, character, and overall sex appeal," thud something fell on the other side of the partition with a loud crash. "Hm, maybe it was just my imagination."