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The ran we bought was delicious. The noodles were soft and chewy, the broth boasted a rich aty flavor, and the at, veggies, and other toppings complented the experience perfectly. It was the best ran I’ve ever had, I would say.
"Thank you! If you ever visit the floor again, please make sure to co back!" the spirit said, waving his hand.
"We will!" I said, waving back. "Was it tasty, everyone?"
"Really delicious! I ate three more bowls! Burp..." Nyx said, patting her belly and burping cutely.
"It was definitely a delicious bowl of noodles with soup! I never thought it could be eaten like this," Jonathan said. "Ran, huh? You learn sothing new every day!"
"Jonathan’s right. I can’t wait to see what else we find in another world," Eraldine said. "I know we’re in a hurry, but let’s enjoy the journey as we make our way down, shall we?"
"It wasn’t bad at all. I liked it," Partner nodded. "I ate five bowls, but I still feel hungry for more at, maybe so blood... and wine too. I want wine."
" too," Lucifer said. "I wonder if they sell wine around here?"
"It was yummy, but my tummy hurts..." Celes sighed.
"I told you that you ate too much, my son," Nia sighed. "You’re not like Nyx and Arachne, who have large stomachs. We’re still human in comparison..."
"I know... sorry, mom..." Celes sighed, patting his belly.
"Haaa... What am I going to do with you?" Nia sighed. "I think we should rest for now, Maria. Everyone seems tired, and I want Celes to take a bath and go to sleep."
"You’re right. It’s quite late now. Let’s move," I said.
We walked through the stalls, down a road, and across a large bridge over a flowing river from the mountains, heading into the forest that led to the hotel.
There, I noticed soone watching us from a distance, never getting too close
"Hm."
I glanced back for a mont but decided to just observe. I didn’t want to distract myself from this nice, relaxing mont.
"This hotel? Wait, isn’t this the biggest and most expensive?!" Alma asked. "I heard you talking with the spirit about it, Maria..."
"Golden Sakura?" Partner wondered. "Do they have good food?"
"Apparently, the most expensive place has the best service and food," I explained. "So, yes, I assu that’s the case. Let’s go inside and see."
We entered the building and were greeted by several spirits wearing colorful clothes.
"Welco to the Golden Sakura!" they said in unison, startling us and making Alma scream.
"Uwaaaha?! I-I almost had a heart attack...!" Alma cried.
"Haha, calm down," I laughed. "Hello, we’re here to stay for one night. Do you have adjacent rooms? Four should be enough, I think."
"Yes, four adjacent rooms are available!"
"Do you want dinner for all four rooms, plus breakfast?"
"You can also use our exclusive onsen at any ti!"
"Yukata are included for free, and you can take them with you, along with the aromatic soap, shampoo, conditioner, bath salts, and anything else provided in the bathrooms."
"Sounds really good! Sure," I nodded. "Do I have to pay now?"
"Yes, upfront paynt, or no service!"
"Upfront paynt, please!"
"Or no service!"
"Okay, okay, calm down," I said. "How much is it?"
"Four million! Can you afford it?"
"Can you?"
"Can you afford it?"
"I can," I sighed, waving my hand. "There you go."
I sent four million, and the spirits rejoiced, flying off to prepare everything, I suppose.
"Thank you so much! What is your na?"
"I’m Maria," I said.
"Very well, Maria. Please follow our worker. She will lead you to the rooms."
"Sure, thank you," I said.
"Please, follow ... please."
The adorable little spirit seed shy, perhaps on her first day of work. She led us through the hotel, and we reached the four rooms, settled down briefly to change clothes.
"Wow, Mom, Dad, look! It’s a huge lake with hot water! And it’s natural?" Nyx wondered as we made our way to the hot springs. The male and female sections were separated by a large, thick wooden wall.
"Yes, it is," I nodded.
"These hot springs are extrely rare back ho, if not completely nonexistent," Lucifer said. "But I recall tales of dragons enjoying naturally occurring warm water from the ground."
"Alright, now we go our separate ways," I said. "All n to the left, and ladies to the right, alright?"
"Sure," Jonathan nodded.
"Wait, what? I wanted to wash Nyx...!" Lucifer complained.
"Don’t worry, I’ll wash her," I said.
"...Fine," Lucifer sighed, walking away and entering the water. "Hmm?! It’s not bad...!"
"Mom, do I have to go?" Celes asked.
"You can stay with us. You’re still just a baby boy," Nia said. "Right, girls?"
"Sure," I said.
"No problem," Eraldine nodded.
"Yeah," Partner said.
"Thanks..." Nia smiled. "Alright, let’s wash ourselves in this warm water, Celes."
We entered the onsen, and as expected, it was very warm but pleasant. The water’s properties, tied to high quantities of spirit energy, made feel healthier and more alive the longer I soaked. The rich spirit energy had healing properties and helped recover my internal energies much faster.
"Uwah... I-Is it fine to walk here naked?" Alma wondered, covering her chest.
"It’s fine. Just sit down and enjoy for once!" Partner said, grabbing her shoulders and guiding her to sit in the onsen.
"Awaah?!" Alma cried, splashing water everywhere but calming down. Her Undine Staff materialized by her side, soaking in the relaxing waters too. "U-Undine?! Do you like this place?"
"It’s nice, Alma... The water in this world is rich in nutrients, minerals, and a lot of Spirit Energy, which I can absorb to grow stronger," Undine said. "If we soak for an hour or two, my energy reserves, and yours, will more than triple."
"Really?! Permanently?" Alma asked.
"That’s right," Undine said. "In this place, I feel I could grow a lot, though only up to a certain point."
"That sounds nice. We can leave her soaking in the hot spring while we sleep later," I said.
"I guess that’s fine, yes!" Alma nodded. "So, what do we do now?"
"We relax, sleep, or talk about anything," Eraldine said.
"Yeah, you don’t have to worry about anything. It’s like a vacation, Alma!" Nyx said.
"Vacation..." Alma wondered, walking to my side and resting her head on my shoulder. "Well, if you don’t mind, Maria... I’ll rest here. I feel kind of sleepy after eating so much."
"That’s alright," I said. "Rest if you want to."
I caressed her long pink hair as she slowly fell asleep. I saw Celes, Nyx, and Arachne playing in the water, splashing each other, while Nia constantly tried to calm them to avoid a disaster.
Partner and Eraldine sat next to , chatting. I could also hear my brother, Lucifer, and Jonathan talking nearby. Jonathan was the most talkative. Lucifer enjoyed talking sotis but could be very quiet at others.
Arthur had been rather silent throughout the trip. He was likely still sad about leaving Azure Star, but he’s also just a quiet boy, a man of few words, as so would say.
Still, he might also be tired and sleepy. He ate a lot of ran—two bowls, in fact—and really loved it.
An hour passed quickly as I chatted, then dozed off with Alma for a few minutes before we decided to leave the hot springs.
We left Undine at the bottom of the hot spring, informing the spirits working here not to disturb her, as she was a spirit using the services we paid for.
They had no issue with it, and there was no ti limit for how long soone could soak. So Undine stayed the whole night, absorbing the essence of the rich hot springs to grow stronger for Alma.
As we dried off with towels and donned the new, colorful yukata we ordered, along with wooden sandals, we walked to a large restaurant area adjacent to the hotel. There, we saw other groups dining, mostly wealthy Player Parties composed of elves, beast people, or humans. The waters seed to have little effect on others, like rn, Toy People, and the sli-like Bacteriums. I assud it was the sa for bugs, as Splex had ntioned earlier.
"So, what are we ordering today? Wait, where should we sit— Ouch!"
As I walked through the corridor into the open area, I bumped into soone, a small figure who fell to the ground.
"Auuh..."
"Ah! I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you. Are you alright?"
I looked down, finding an adorable fox person. Not a beast person with just a human body and fox ears, but a true anthropomorphic animal, with beautiful orange and white fur. The fox, perhaps a boy or girl, wore a red and orange kimono with sandals and had slightly long blonde hair.
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