"Do we have to, though?" I sigh, wrapping my arms behind my head as we walk.
Rose glanced back at me, an eyebrow raised. "It'd be prudent to at least see for ourselves. Besides, it might help Lunarie narrow down the source of her curse, if only by one."
I couldn't help but grumble, "I told her, though…"
Rose waved a finger, "Telling and feeling it yourself are two very different things."
I could only huff back in response to that. Fair. Serious Rose is one hell of a workhorse once she gets going.
And get going, she did this morning.
I showed her the pamphlet I got from Freya, and she seemed equal parts excited because her hometown didn't have many saunas and nervous- because, though it had a few, she didn't really get the chance to use them, with how busy she was.
Read - what with her being a bit of a nerd back then.
Well, I call her that to tease her; she was actually just a workaholic genius, but the point still stands.
Anyhow, the point is, I showed her the invite from Freya, and she was up for it, of course, but wanted to get something else done first.
Apparently, before I got there, Freya was informing Rose of everything going on: that Valkyrie patrol memories being wiped and the evil dragon's aura being found were the two biggest and only real pressing things.
Rose got the location of the dragon's aura sighting from her, and as she said, Lile was interested, considering the matter of her curse.
I cleansed it, but that doesn't mean the event that led to her receiving it was cleansed as well.
I do love a good, well-done revenge story.
Considering what I heard from Vali about the aura's owner, Ferny, I don't think he was the one who cursed Lile, doesn't really seem like his modus operandi in my opinion.
Even with what little I know, I think that's pretty easy to surmise.
But Lile would rather confirm for herself, which is fair enough.
Thus, we are here, in a massive sweeping valley.
Well, Rose insisted on calling it a fjord instead, proper Norse name and all, but I'm still not sure why I had to come, so I'm going to do a little bit of trolling.
Just a little.
It was early morning, and while that had no effect on me, naturally, and Rose seemed up and ready to go, the girls that trailed behind us were…significantly less so.
Most of them, anyway. Lile was wide awake and upright, scanning the ridges, basking in the early morning glow like there was an attacker waiting to spring from them.
Elta, the cotton candy manager, trailed closer to the ledge, ever-present clipboard in hand. She seemed awake in almost a similar manner to how Rose is, except rather than forward, her gaze was focused on the group of far more tired and sluggish girls to her left, and the massive river flowing several dozen feet down past the ledge.
That left Schwe, Avi, and lastly, Zekka.
The last of whom was practically being dragged around by Schwe and Avi, on either side of Musashi's descendant, their arms wrapped around the girl's own, in a scene damn near straight out of a harem anime.
Yet all three were just tired, Zekka especially, hence why she had to be carried. Her eyes were constantly drooped to be only a sliver open, her head hung off her shoulders, and every few steps, her feet dragged a bit behind her.
Avi and Schwe were warbling, swaying back and forth, clearly not used to being up quite so early, yet their eyes remained at least half open at all times, and they could keep their heads up.
The only reason those two are somewhat out of it is that Zekka barely managed to drag herself inside before collapsing and waking the other girls up.
Apparently, what little her exhausted state managed to prattle off only managed to worry the others to the point they couldn't go back to sleep, worried as they were for her.
Regardless, everyone's here for Lile, just in case.
I looked out across the mountain range and couldn't help but smile.
Even just the view alone would be worth coming out here, I suppose.
I catch Rose glancing back my way, and blushing with a soft giggle as she quickly averts her eyes.
Heh, cheeky.
If I get to pick your swimsuit later, it will be the skimpiest thing I can find, mark my words!
Despite the view, though, I didn't want to spend too much time out around here, but thankfully, our destination wasn't going to take too long to reach.
It was about halfway up the mountain.
With my senses, I couldn't sense or feel anything, really, which, considering the scene before us, was a surprise.
The ground was torn asunder, and the foliage, the forest of trees in the area, was flattened.
It looked like some kind of battle had happened here, in complete and utter chaos.
Everyone seemed shocked; even Zekka managed to lift her head, her eyes open a touch further.
Rose's eyes scanned the flattened treeline. "We have arrived." She hums out before two magic circles, one around each of her hands, spiral into being.
She mumbles something about the trees being more pushed down than cut down, which, now that she mentions it, checks out.
I'm not sure how that helps, however. Dragons are big beings, and…
Wait. Vali kept saying that it shouldn't have been possible for Ferny to appear, right? Implied he was dead, or close enough to it that he shouldn't be around in the first place.
Huh. I should've asked for more details there.
If not a battle, then I wonder how else all this damage could've been caused.
In the background, I vaguely hear Avi barely manage to ask Lile if she feels anything.
Lile confirms that so far, nothing.
I spread my senses out while focusing them far more upon the local area.
I'm not picking up any dragon aura myself. I'll chalk that up to my sensory abilities not being up to snuff enough to detect such small amounts of presumably already old leftover aura.
Yet, I am feeling…something.
In the background. An echo. Not of a dragon's power, but familiar all the same.
My senses catch Schwe groggily asking if they should maybe check the bottom.
The cotton candy butler tentatively gives the go-ahead, but only if they go one at a time, and she'll be keeping a very close watch.
I glance over to Rose, sweeping the surroundings with Norse magic circles, as the other girls start making their way down.
Zekka, somehow, looks a tad bit more awake, yet there's something new in her eyes that I can't quite place.
I hum and float down to the bottom of the valley, past the girls.
Just in case one of them does fall, I keep my senses focused on them for the most part on the way down.
I know the cotton candy butler probably has it handled, but it wouldn't hurt to give an extra pair of hands.
If the shrimp were to take a tumble and bonk her head, well.
That might be everyone's problem; best not to risk it.
Still, as my feet settle upon the ground bordering the river, I can't help but notice my concentration slipping, my focus metaphorically gazing past the girls, onto something it can't quite grasp.
Here, it's stronger. That echo. I can almost taste it.
It's so familiar, like I've felt this directly before, yet its texture, so to speak, is different; I can't place it.
One thing's for sure, though, it feels-
"Divine." A tired mumble at my side snaps me out of my sensory trance.
I turn and see Zekka kneeling there, a hand on the ground.
When did she and the others…? How long have I been standing here?
Oh well, it couldn't have been long.
"Right." I find myself saying, in agreement, "Divine."
But not Shinto.
Yet, the only other real divine power I felt would be related to the big man upstairs.
Holy Power, but with the same flavor, so to speak, as the, hmm…
Ah.
"The True Longinus." I finish the thought aloud, my mouth twisting with a smirk.
Zekka perks up at my words and seems to flinch at my smile.
Of course, that can't be it.
I have that spear under my bed as I stand here. It's been there for months at this point, and according to Rose and Freya, this incident is estimated to have occurred somewhere within weeks ago.
I only know of one other weapon now, thanks to Plain Jane, that could take credit for having a similar feel to that spear.
Charlemagne's Another Longinus, her sword.
You know, I had my suspicions, but this pretty much confirms it.
I'm not sure why she'd want this dragon specifically. Her power, her underlings so far- from everything I've learned, I almost didn't think her faction would deal with dragons like Ferny.
But no, of course they're connected. In that case, she's using the dragon for something, has to be.
Possession. Ferny can possess people, enslave them to his will, use their powers, and such.
But who would she want this dragon to possess? And for what purpose?
I'm definitely missing a piece of the puzzle here, likely related to Charlemagne's ultimate goal.
I click my tongue in distaste. One step forward. Still, in the dark.
When we finally meet, I'm going to take painstaking care to pull everything I can out of that girl's head. Hopefully, I can end the entire subset of that faction right here, during this festival, and never need to worry about them again.
["...zzz…"]
Was that snoring?
I turned my head back toward Zekka to find her looking at her chest in sheer exasperation, yet no small amount of relief. There was a soft glow emitting from it, as usual whenever her sacred gear did something like this.
Zekka put a hand on her chest and smiled.
Well, good to see the First Man only got put in nap time by his son at least.
With time, then, they should both be fine.
Although I have no idea how Zekka is going to gather back her titty energy, I have not the slightest idea, and to be perfectly honest?
I don't want to know.
The search ended soon thereafter. Lile took off her eyepatch and confirmed, for herself, that this dragon at least isn't the one who cursed her.
Yet, as we headed back, I whispered to Rose what I had felt, and what I had concluded from that.
She didn't like not having all the pieces of the puzzle as much as I did and couldn't offer anything else really beyond what I thought.
Since we were going to meet Freya at the saunas, we decided to fill her in then.
~ A New Sun ~
It was only an hour, so after our investigation ended, I found myself standing on a sandy beach, resting quietly upon a lakefront.
Stretching down the sands were several small wooden buildings, but beyond that, nothing.
Just sand, the coil of the waters, and peace.
This place wasn't in town; Rose had to use a magic circle that was apparently on the pamphlet to teleport us here.
She ran off as soon as we got here to get changed, though.
I came around already wearing my swimming trunks, and I don't think Rose was carrying anything else with her when she scurried off, so…
Eh. I'll probably learn what's up with that soon. No point getting pressed over it now.
A real shame I won't get to pick her swimsuit.
Right. As I alluded to earlier, I got my swimming trunks on, and Rose will be wearing one too. Rose elaborated, and I called it: in a sauna, men and women go together as a group.
Thus, the swimsuits.
I'm no complete idiot, however. I know this world. I know exactly what to expect.
This is either going to be torture or heaven, and honestly, I'm scared to find out which.
With a sigh, I turn toward one of the small wooden buildings, the closest one to me, in fact.
A quick check with my senses reveals that no one is in any of them, and I presume that, no matter which I choose, I'll be joined by Rose and most likely Freya.
No point in hanging around outside then.
Without further hesitation, I crack open the door and head on inside.
I was immediately hit by a blast of hot mist, but unfortunately, I couldn't really feel the heat all that much.
Although the fact that I could even tell it was hot was interesting.
The inside of the sauna reflects the size of the building, with wooden benches wrapped around a central stone column that I guessed could fit eight, maybe ten people, comfortably. There was a bundle of leaves hanging from the wall, but I had no idea what that was for, so I acknowledged it and then proceeded to ignore it.
Within said stone column, a pile of hot stones illuminated the interior with a dull orange glow, adding a hint of soft light to the blazing morning sunlight that cascaded in through a nearby window.
I sat down and took a nice, deep breath.
All in all, not bad. It kind of reminds me of an onsen, relaxation-wise, but instead of soaking directly in a body of water, you soak in the steam, if that makes any sense.
So, I settle back against the wall, empty my mind for just a little bit, and let the steam soak me.
I could've sworn you were supposed to throw water on the coals to make more steam, but I haven't touched it at all, and there's been a steady hot mist rising from it the whole time.
Magic, most likely. Unless I'm missing something about saunas.
It was nice, lying there, and just lying there.
I feel like, partly, I've sort of been winding myself up into a little ball of tension and stress.
Constantly considering the future. Constantly considering what to do next in it.
Everything that's going on with Charlemagne.
Wanting to be proactive rather than reactive, but forced to sit and wait because I don't and can't know everything.
I was never going to snap. It was never going to be too much.
But this is nice. Here, it's like all of this is bleeding away. I can just relax, not worry, not think.
Just relax.
I didn't even realize I had closed my eyes until something made me open them.
The sound of the door opening.
"A-All settled in?" Rose's voice, already breathy and embarrassed, pierced the quiet.
"Mhmm~," I hummed out, blinking away the haze of steam covering my eyes, "it's pretty good so far, although, say, how long-" I stopped, freezing in place as I could finally see clearly.
Huh.
Guess I didn't need to pick anything out for her after all.
Although calling it a bikini really is a stretch. It's more like two strips of cloth over her chest, held together in the center with a ring, and as if she needed to show any less, her bottoms were incredibly skimpy. I could probably see the entirety of her ass if she turned around, with how small the straps are.
Rose gulped as she walked the rest of the inn and sat down on my left.
Yep. Whole ass, by the way. I was right.
Almost immediately, her entire face was flushed, the steam already getting to her, and I could tell the heat was already, somehow, hitting her like a truck on top of that.
"You alright?" I chuckled at her mirthfully.
"H~Hmm~…" she groaned out, her hands sliding down between her legs, onto the bench, as she leaned her head back, "H-Hot~…" she mumbled out in response.
Felt, Rose. But for entirely different reasons.
On the other hand, she just sat down, and I'm honestly a little worried she might pass out.
If this keeps up, I'll pass her along a blessing to help with the heat and see if that does anything.
The door creaks open again, and oh my holy me, I'm not prepared.
My swimming trunks instantly felt tight.
Freya walked in, a lovely sweet smile on her face, wearing a fucking string.
Not a string bikini, no, a string.
A golden string wrapped around her top, covering nothing literally. The only thing covering her nipples was these ribbon-like bow ties specifically covering them. Her bottom? A thong, practically, if you could somehow be thinner than a thong and call it any type of covering.
"Good morning, everyone~!" Freya sang out lightly as she walked on in, her enormous tits shaking and jiggling every which way, "I hope I didn't take too long. Is everyone enjoying their time~?"
Rose let out a shuddering little groan, and my trunks pulsed.
It's torture, then. I didn't reincarnate. I died, for real, and stayed dead. The past year or so was a dream.
This is hell.
I'm sure of it.