After deciding to stay overnight, I continued fishing with Anima, and in
the evening, we cooked and ate fish together in the kitchen inside the
log house.
Afterwards, on Anima's recommendation, I went to the bath first, and
am now soaking in the warm water.
The bathtub of this log house, which is similar to a cypress bath, had
greatness different than an onsen. There's no scenery to look at, but the
wooden walls and bathtub have a warm atmosphere, and the smell of
wood wafting in the air is pleasant.
Moreover, as expected of a very expensive log house, the bathtub is
spacious enough that it could even hold several people, so I can take a
relaxing soak.
As I was relaxing, thinking that baths really are nice, my peace was
broken by a loud voice.
[Master! Excuse me!]
[…Huh?]
[I'm sorry that I'm a little slow in making up my mind and to have kept
you waiting!]
[...… Eh?]
When I turned towards the direction of the voice, I saw Anima with a
towel wrapped around her body, looking like she was ready to take a
bath. No, no, wait! What the heck is going on!? I tried looking back at
her just to make sure, but seriously, why in the world is this
happening!?
[A- Anima!? Eh? W- Why?]
[Hahh! I've heard that there's a rule that those who become Master's
lover must bathe together with Master to deepen our relationship!]
I almost reflexively shouted that there was no such rule but… What
came to my mind was the many mixed bathing experiences I've had. IIndeed, I had taken mixed baths with my lovers… No, wait, I haven't
taken a mixed bath with Sieg-san. I didn't, right? Rei-san tried to get me
to bathe together with Sieg-san, but it just ended up being an attempt,
so no, I didn't.
[…Anima, who in the world told you such a ridiculous story?]
[Alice-dono did. In Master's world, naked socializing was apparently a
traditional practice between lovers…]
[...]
I'm definitely going to smack that woman later.
While I was burning with anger at Alice for putting strange things in
Anima's mind, Anima somehow came near the bathtub, scooped some
of the hot water in the tub and poured it over herself… She then
brought her hand on the towel wrapped around her body…
[Anima, stop! What are you doing!?]
[Hahh! Because one shouldn't soak in the bath while wrapped in a
towel, I was trying to remove it… Mhmm, should I have removed the
towel first before pouring hot water onto my body? My apologies, I
don't usually wrap a towel around me when I bathe…]
She is a former Black Bear, so it's no wonder she isn't familiar with
proper bathing etiquette. When she's a Black Bear, she would probably
have just bathed herself in water as she was.
Well, this isn't really an onsen, so she can just wash her body
afterwards, and doesn't have to worry too much about towel
etiquettes… but this isn't about etiquettes!
[…Anima, you can just leave the towel on.]
[H- Hahh… Understood.]
The situation got troublesome. What was even more troubling was that
Anima had already poured hot water over her body, so it became
difficult to clear up the misunderstanding and ask her to leave.
No, I'm sure Anima will listen to me if I properly explain it to her, but I
don't feel comfortable asking her to get out of the tub when her body is
already halfway wet.
[…I mean, Anima. Aren't you feeling embarrassed?]
[I've had plenty of time to prepare myself, and the entirety of this body
originally belongs to Master! So, there's no problem!]
[…I- I see… Unnn. For now, just leave the towel on…]
[Hahh!]
Even as she said this, Anima was blushing red, so she must be feeling
quite embarrassed. However, Anima has the drive, or rather, the
determination to pull things through.
Once she decides to do something, she doesn't hesitate, and if I hadn't
stopped her earlier, she would definitely have removed her towel.
[Well then, once again, please excuse me.]
[…U- Unnn.]
Since the situation is already like this, let's just make up my mind. It's
alright, the water may not be clear, but she got a towel properly
wrapped around her body, and since it's Anima, she would definitely
not do anything outrageous.
All that's left is for me to not be too conscious of her… s- so it should be
fine.
As I was thinking about this, I glanced at Anima, who has come into the
bathtub with a towel wrapped around her… and she sure has big
breasts huh. With her wearing only a towel around her, it felt like
they're standing out even more… No, wait, wait, let's calm down. What
the heck am I suddenly thinking about now!?
[The water is just the right temperature, isn't it?]
[U- Unnn. That's right.]
[I never imagined I'd be soaking in warm water when I was a Black
Bear, but now that I got used to it, it feels quite pleasant.]
Anima sure looks calm. How should I say this… It's like she's filled with
confidence. Her cheeks were red, but her answers were calm and she
seemed to be more relaxed than I was.
Well, even so, with her like that, this situation should end without any
problems…
[…Master, may I ask you a question?]
[U- Unnn?]
[…A- A- A- After getting into the bathtub, what should I do now!?]
[...]
Let me retract my previous statement. I think the reason why she
looked so relaxed was that she had simulated the situation beforehand,
up to the point where she said she was ready to get in the bathtub with
me. That's why, she was able to act without hesitation, and why she was
filled with confidence.
However, she hadn't thought about what to do from there, and Anima
was becoming visibly flustered.
Her gaze was shifting restlessly, and her face was getting redder than
before. And most of all, my intuition, which has been tempered by all
the troubles I've faced in bathrooms, is screaming at me right now.
…"That the troubles I'd be facing in this mixed bath are just getting
started"…