[Darkness's POV]
It's been over a year since I met Kazuma, Megumin, and Aqua. The four of us live together in a haunted mansion. Our daily lives are filled with fun—adventuring, partying, making mistakes, and dealing with a huge amount of debt.
I always hoped that the four of us could keep living like this until our time ran out in this world. But deep down, I knew things between us would change. Especially when men and women live under the same roof, it's only natural that some feelings start to grow in our hearts.
Those feelings would change everything about the relationship between the four of us. I knew that wanting Kazuma while keeping things the same among us was a very selfish dream. I couldn't just sit back and hope all my wishes would come true on their own.
But there was one thing I knew for sure—if I didn't take action, my dream would never come true.
"BOOOOOOOOM!!!"
I heard an explosion.
It was the sound I had been waiting for since this morning.
It seemed Kazuma and Megumin had just finished practicing explosion magic. Even though they said they'd go far enough from Twilight Manor, I could still hear the sound from here. Just as expected from Megumin—when it comes to explosion magic, no one can beat her.
My Father once said, "Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity."
And now, my opportunity had come. I couldn't let it slip by. With all the preparations I'd made and this opportunity at hand, I could finally find my luck.
Now was the perfect time to put my plan into action.
For the past two weeks. I was always by Kazuma's side, watching his back, and realizing that Kazuma could actually be a hard worker, but he chose to be lazy instead.
For these two weeks, I observed Kazuma's routine from morning until night. In general, Kazuma would start his morning with breakfast, then go back to sleep until noon. After waking up, he'd head to the smithing room to make different kinds of magic tools until evening. He wouldn't stop until Megumin asked Kazuma to accompany her for explosion magic practice, and then they'd come straight back to the manor. Shortly after that, Kazuma would go for a bath in the hot spring here at the manor.
If I don't do it now, then when will I?
I couldn't let go of the opportunity Eris-sama had granted me. Right now, Aqua and Megumin were fast asleep. No one would be able to disrupt my plan this time.
I quickly ran toward the hot spring, making sure to get there before Kazuma could. I took off all my clothes and wrapped myself in a large white towel, covering me from my chest down to my thighs.
I entered the hot spring that Kazuma usually used. No wonder he liked this place so much. Even though I was used to such things, I still found myself admiring the entire structure of this hot spring.
While waiting for Kazuma to arrive, I spent my time sitting on a chair, enjoying the view of the night.
Tap… Tap… Tap…
I heard footsteps. They were steps I knew all too well, footsteps I heard every single day. I already knew exactly who they belonged to.
It seemed that the person I had been waiting for had finally arrived.
I knew what I was about to do was wrong and probably unforgivable. But I couldn't hold back any longer. I would accept any consequences, as long as I could be with Kazuma.
Creeeak…
Kazuma had entered the main area of the hot spring.
But it was strange—even though I was right in front of him, he didn't notice me at all. When he came in, he looked straight up at the sky. Just from his expression, I could tell he was mesmerized by the sight of the stars and the moon. And then, in the middle of it all, he muttered something that was a bit… cringe.
"The moon is beautiful tonight."
He covered one of his eyes with his hand, as if the moonlight was too bright for him. I wasn't sure if he was being cool or just plain awkward saying something like that. But no matter what, it wouldn't change how I felt about him.
"Yoo... Kazuma"
I greeted Kazuma with a wave, eager to see him lost in thought, staring at the sky.
"Ah… Da-Darkness, sorry… I didn't know anyone was here."
His face flushed with embarrassment, he wasn't acting like the usual Kazuma. Just as I suspected… he's so easy to read. If this were the Kazuma I first met, he'd have kept his eyes wide open without a hint of shame and probably said something I couldn't even imagine.
Back then, he was a bold guy who would casually say inappropriate things to me. But now that there were feelings between us, he had turned into a indecisive man. I even felt frustrated seeing that his relationship with Megumin had gone nowhere.
I knew this guy was hopeless. If I didn't make the first move, he wouldn't do anything at all.
He tried to close his eyes, but his actions didn't reflect that at all. He just covered his face with both hands, but at the same time, his fingers seemed to deliberately leave his eyes uncovered.
Kazuma was trying to escape the situation, but I grabbed his hand before he could run away.
"Wait, Kazuma… do you want to take a bath with me?"
Even though I felt embarrassed saying something like this, I pushed aside my shyness and gathered the courage to invite Kazuma to bathe with me.
"Oooo… Oiii… Are you aware of what you're saying? What will happen if Aqua and Megumin find out about this?"
"If that happens, why don't we all just get in together?"
"Didn't you say something like that to me before? Where's that courage of yours now?"
Seriously, what was going through this guy's mind? He used to be so bold and honest about his pervert side. But when it came to something romantic, he turned into a tomato like this. If I didn't take the initiative, I was afraid he wouldn't even dare to touch me.
"B-But…"
"What are you mumbling about? Besides, why are you acting so shy? Didn't we have a situation like this before, where you forced me to wash your back?"
"OOOI… OIII… don't talk about the past! Besides, that was unintentional!"
"Oh really? Unintentional, you say? Then can you explain how ordering a succubus and requesting a beautiful older woman with a hot body and that older woman is shy and inexperienced is unintentional?"
I stared at Kazuma's face from such a close distance that our noses were almost touching. He tried to back away, intimidated by my gaze, but it was no use. He was trapped in my grip.
"But… But… But I thought it was just a dream… ahahaha."
"Just come in and take a bath with me."
I was tired of hearing his excuses, so I decided to pull him into the side of the hot spring. Kazuma had a bit of trouble keeping up with my pace from behind and almost tripped. Yet, even in that situation, he didn't stop talking.
"Darkness, what's wrong with you? Seriously, what's going on with you today?"
"Kazuma, you've been so noisy this whole time. It's already night; if you keep shouting, I'll start yelling too, and then let's see if Aqua and Megumin will come here. Let's see what happens then!"
"Darkness… seriously, you're acting really strange… what's going on with you?"
"MEGU---- HMPPPH....HMPHHHH"
I tried to shout loudly to call Megumin, but Kazuma quickly covered my mouth. I had expected this to happen, so I didn't resist at all.
"Shh… okay, okay, I'll take a bath with you, but don't yell like that."
"Hmmph… finally, you're listening to me. You should have been like this from the start. Alright, Kazuma, now wash my back."
Without thinking twice, I removed my towel and turned my back to him.
"Ugh… Why… why is this happening? Usually, I'd be happy in a situation like this, but… even though I feel happy, why do I feel guilty about it?"
"What are you mumbling about? Just wash my back already!"
"Ughhh… fine."
Finally, Kazuma complied and obediently washed my back.
"Our roles have reversed, Kazuma. Before, I was shyly scrubbing your back, but now you're the one shyly washing mine."
"D-Darkness… can we not talk about the past, okay? Are you satisfied now? I just want to take a bath."
"Yeah, that's fine. Me too."
After cleaning ourselves, we both stepped into the same hot spring. We stared at each other, but it seemed he didn't realize he kept glancing back and forth at my chest. Yeah, even though I wasn't trying to hide it at all. Men really are simple, huh?
"Oii... Oiii.... Darkness, why have you been staring at me like that? My instincts are telling me you're thinking something naughty."
"Kazuma, it seems your shamelessness has returned. I should be the one saying that! Aren't you the one who's been looking at my body this whole time? And now that I'm not covered up at all, you're staring at me without even blinking."
"Sorry...."
"Well, let's put that aside for now. Kazuma… how about you tell me about your hometown again? I really enjoy hearing stories about it."
I slowly moved closer to Kazuma and stood beside him. His expression was truly amusing; both his body and heart were clearly working hard right now. His body instinctively wanted to look at me, but he was making a strong effort to resist. It seemed I needed to cool things down a bit before moving on to the main event.
"Ummmmm... what should I talk about...?"
"You like hot springs, right? How about you tell me about the hot springs in your hometown?"
"Hiiii..."
I took one of his hands and pressed it against my body, part of his hand touching my chest. He seemed a bit surprised by my sudden action.
"Aaah... that's true. Speaking of hot springs, it reminds me of a special hot spring that's famous in my hometown, and I'm sure you'd love it too!"
"Oooh, really? What makes that hot spring different from others?"
"The name of this hot spring is Jikogudani Yaen Koen. People usually refer to it as the snow monkey park, but literally, that name means Hell Valley Wild Monkey Park
"Aaaaaah... what a terrifying name! Is the hot spring filled with monster monkeys that will attack and do unspeakable things to visitors? Aah... that sounds dreadful. Just imagining it gives me goosebumps!"
"What kind of imagination do you have?! Seriously, can't you think like a normal person for just a moment? There are no monster monkeys there, just regular monkeys with red faces."
"Aaah... that's such an anticlimax. What's interesting about that place?"
"It's precisely those monkeys that make it so appealing. They really love bathing in hot springs. Their antics are adorable, especially the baby monkeys, they've even gotten used to humans and are willing to bathe alongside us."
"Oooh... oooh... bathing with monkeys? It seems I'm not the only one with strange thoughts. The people from your hometown apparently think the same way as I do!"
"Stop comparing the people from my hometown to you! Not everyone has strange thoughts like you!"
I fell silent for a moment, not responding to Kazuma's words. After a while, I leaned my body to him and whispered something in his ear.
"Hey, Kazuma, do you want to have a drink with me after this?"
(To Be Continued)