Chapter 224 - Hot Spring, Part Four

Nighttime

The wives had said earlier, "We'll come over once we've put the kids to sleep~"

But the kids decided they wanted to sleep with me, so putting them to bed naturally became my job.

It wasn't a hard task. If there was one difficult part, though —

It was Lara Greyrat.

This adorable little thing, her mouth just didn't stop.

She had endless questions, magic, my past, random everyday things. I answered all of them patiently. She's a kid. Talking a lot is normal.

But when it got late, Lara smiled up at me.

"Papa."

"Hm?"

"Are you going to go soak in the hot spring with the mamas?"

"...I'll go after you fall asleep."

"Then I'll fall asleep right now~ Papa, pat my head."

"Got it."

I stroked Lara Greyrat's head gently until she actually drifted off.

-------

The indoor open-air hot spring was even quieter than I'd imagined.

When the maid slid the wooden door open, warm, damp air rushed over me all at once, a faint trace of sulfur, the smell of wood, and something underneath that just made you want to let go.

The ceiling was high. Dark wooden beams sat hazy in the steam. Warm yellow light played across the water, moving with it.

Further in, the structure opened up on one side entirely.

Outside: a snowy night.

Fine snow drifted down. The distant mountains had blurred into dark shapes under the darkness. Only the stone lanterns in the garden still glowed, dim and amber, and where the cold air met the heat of the water, white mist curled endlessly along the surface.

"Wow..."

Sylphiette let out a small sound at the doorway. She stood there with a towel in her arms, ears giving a little twitch, her emerald hair already faintly damp from the steam.

"It's quite nice~"

I smiled. "Ariel is a clever woman. And Nanahoshi really does know me."

The next second, Eris hit the water.

SPLASH!

"So warm!"

"Eris, don't act like a child."

"I know, I know."

She showed absolutely no sign of taking that to heart. She folded her arms over the edge of the pool and waved at me.

"Rudeus, come on!"

Roxy stood at the edge, testing the temperature carefully with one toe. Then her shoulders rose in a small, involuntary flinch.

Adorable.

While I was watching the others, Aisha had already drifted naturally to my side. She looked up at me with a bright smile.

"Brother~ tie my hair for me."

She held out the hair tie. I reached over and gathered her long hair up gently, working it into place. The smooth strands slipped through my fingers, and Aisha glanced back at me over her shoulder.

"You're pretty practiced at that~"

"I do it for my daughters all the time."

"Eh—"

She stretched the sound out deliberately.

"Should I be jealous?"

"Why would you be jealous over hair?"

"I just feel like it makes Brother love me a little more~"

"My love was already full to begin with."

She smiled, genuinely delighted.

On the other side of the pool, Roxy finally eased herself in.

"Hah..."

One soft exhale. Her whole body unwound. Steam rose slowly around her and made her face go hazy at the edges.

Every time I see that expression on Roxy — that relieved, unguarded look — I feel something I can't quite name. Satisfaction, maybe. She works so hard to seem reliable. But at moments like this, she's just soft.

"Rudy~"

"Hm?"

"Traveling like this together." She looked toward the snow outside. "It's really nice."

Snowflakes drifted through the dark. The water rippled gently. The air was quiet enough that you could hear it moving.

After I finished with Aisha's hair, I stepped in.

The warmth wrapped around me all at once. "Hahh..."

I didn't want to move.

Sylphiette naturally settled in beside me. "Rudy, so warm~"

"That's because hot springs are warm."

"That's not what I mean."

She smiled and pressed her shoulder lightly against mine.

Eris sat on my other side, arms draped over the edge, completely at ease. The heat had put color in her cheeks. She stared out at the snow for a moment.

"Snow scenery and hot springs really do go well together."

Hoh.

"Eris actually said something that sounds like a tourism advertisement."

"What's that supposed to mean, Rudeus!"

She smacked the water. The splash caught Roxy in the eye.

"Eris~"

"Sorry, Roxy."

Aisha watched the whole thing and laughed.

"It feels like a long time ago somehow."

"Hm?"

"When Brother had just gotten married to the older sisters." She propped her chin on her hand. "But back then, you weren't this relaxed about everything. And I wasn't there yet."

"What do you mean, relaxed about everything... And I loved Aisha back then too."

"Hmm? You really do feel like the head of the house now~ Brother, you're so like a gentle husband."

Sylphiette smiled. "Rudy has always been a gentle husband."

Roxy added quietly, "And a pervert."

Eris tacked on: "But very cool!"

I smiled wryly. "Only with you all."

Aisha laughed. "Brother's eyes don't even know where to look anymore~"

"That's because you're all too close."

Sylphiette blinked, mischief in her eyes. "Then who does Rudy most want to look at?"

"That question is a trap and we both know it."

The steam thickened. The snow fell outside in silence. Warm lantern light swayed on the water, and my wives' laughter drifted softly around me.

At moments like this, a feeling always comes.

...Ah. I'm really glad I'm still alive.

Chilled juice and sake were set along the edge of the pool. The wooden tray even had sliced fruit.

Sylphiette's eyes lit up immediately. "Oh, orange juice~"

She reached for it. Her body tilted forward slightly, and her ear brushed my shoulder.

"Ah..."

She was the one who got flustered.

I couldn't help laughing. "You barely touched me."

"Because we're in the hot spring..."

"What does that matter? What part of Sylphiette have I not touched?"

"It's just... different..."

Her voice got smaller and smaller. In the end she tucked herself back against my side and said nothing.

Eris had no idea what to make of that. "What's the big deal about touching?"

She leaned over naturally and draped her arm over my shoulder.

"Like this, isn't it fine?"

"That's too close, too close."

"We're husband and wife. What does it matter?"

"...I really don't want to flip some kind of Eris switch in a hot spring."

Roxy laughed softly. "Eris is always especially bold in situations like this."

"Because I love Rudeus."

Steam drifted up around us. Her long red hair clung to my shoulder in the moisture, and her eyes were steady, open, without a trace of hesitation.

"When the person you love is right there beside you, of course you want to be close. Right?"

I cleared my throat. "...That's not fair, Eris. Saying something like that out of nowhere."

"Why?"

"Because it's embarrassing."

"Rudeus is only getting embarrassed now?"

"A little."

Eris laughed like she'd found something genuinely funny.

Aisha said idly, "Brother is surprisingly pure-hearted, you know~"

"Don't make me sound strange."

"But Brother, we're practically old marrieds by now~"

She rested her cheek in her hand, still grinning.

"And you still go shy over one 'I love you.'"

"That's because Eris is too direct. And we're in a hot spring. How do I put this... nothing on, so maybe... defense stat: zero?"

"Then Brother doesn't like direct?"

"I like it."

"Oh my~"

Aisha drew it out. "Brother is very honest today."

Roxy said softly, "Hot springs make people relax~"

She leaned back against the edge. The mist made her long blue hair look a little hazy.

"And quiet places like this make you want to say what you actually mean."

She finished speaking and tilted her head back gently, looking up at the snowy night.

The snow outside had gotten heavier. Flakes fell onto the open edge of the pool and melted almost instantly in the warm air rising off the water. Somewhere in the distance, wind moved through the trees.

Time always slows down at moments like this. Like the whole world has gone still.

Aisha spoke.

"Brother."

"Hm?"

"Are you happy right now?"

I laughed a little helplessly. "Why ask that out of nowhere?"

"The atmosphere is just so nice." She swung her legs slowly. "Makes me want to ask things I normally wouldn't."

Sylphiette watched me quietly. Roxy didn't say anything.

Eris just said it plainly. "Rudeus is happy, obviously. Right?"

I nodded.

"Very."

A beat of silence.

Then Sylphiette broke into a smile. "That's wonderful~"

"Why are you the happy one?"

"Because if Rudy is happy, I'm happy too."

She said it like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Roxy narrowed her eyes softly. "Sylphiette really does feel like a wife."

"I am a wife."

"That's true."

The two of them laughed together.

Eris raised her hand. "What about me, what about me?"

Aisha answered with a grin. "Eris-nee is more like a lover~ You always look like you're madly in love."

Eris's expression flickered with something uncertain. "Is that... not good...?"

I smiled. "Nothing wrong with it at all. It's very cute. I like it."

Eris went quiet.

Then, slowly, her ears turned red.

"...Don't just say things like that, Rudeus."

"You were the one who said you loved me first."

"That's different."

"How?"

"It's just different."

Her body, already pressed close, shifted closer. And her hand began to wander.

"Eris, the atmosphere is so nice right now..."

"That's exactly why!"

"Let's go back to the room. It's also a bit dangerous here, isn't it?"

"Hmph! Coward!"

I refused her.

But, how do I put this.

The others had already come prepared.

They wanted to experience the hot spring, they said. All of it.

With four of them working on me together, I didn't last long.

Roxy and Sylphiette were pregnant, so...

There is no "so." Even pregnant, they both insisted on helping.

"Rudy~ Sylphiette and I will assist properly~"

"Rudy, you're looking forward to it. I can tell."

"Rudeus, you're already like this..."

"Brother, don't forget the Silence Magic."

The water resistance was something I hadn't accounted for.

More tiring than usual.

But also, somehow, gentler.

➤ Next: Hot Spring, Part Five