“Eh~~” Fuyuki’s surprised voice echoed softly in the space.
She truly hadn’t expected such a place to exist on a massive landship like Rhodes Island.
It was a hot spring style that seemed like a blend of Yan and Higashi.
The massive space was divided into four pools with different water temperatures, and the water in the hot spring pools remained crystal clear thanks to a powerful self-purification system.
On the other side of the pools was a grooming area.
“They even have brushes and care creams ready…” Most residents of Terra possessed various types of ears and tails.
And as a Vulpo, Fuyuki was naturally very proud of her big tail—and she had three of them!
—She was extremely proud.
Therefore, she was already quite happy to groom her tails.
Next to the grooming area was a rinsing area.
Basically, to keep the pool water usable for a long time, everyone chose to rinse themselves clean before going for a proper soak.
“Ah~ it’s little Cardigan and little Melantha~ and the newcomer~” After Cardigan and Melantha brought Fuyuki there, a somewhat lazy voice called out to them.
“Ko~ko~da~yo~” “Kroos!” Cardigan waved to her.
It was an orange-haired Cautus girl who looked lazily cute.
She had a smile on her face at all times, and her eyes were constantly squinted, though it was unclear if this was intentional or natural.
After a quick rinse, Fuyuki, Cardigan, and Melantha also soaked into the bath.
“Today’s exercise~ little Cardigan really worked hard~” Sitting next to Kroos, Kroos leisurely struck up a conversation.
Beside Kroos, there were several other girls.
“Haha, it was alright, my hands were just a bit numb, but they’ve recovered now,” Cardigan said with a smile, then introduced them to Fuyuki.
“Fuyuki, they are from the A1 Reserve Squad.” Unlike the A4 Reserve Team, the A1 Reserve Squad was composed entirely of girls.
Fuyuki gave a simple greeting.
And in this hot spring pool, it wasn’t just the A1 Reserve Squad.
Girls from the A2 and A3 Reserve Teams were also there.
It seemed that besides the A1 Reserve Squad, the other teams had also conducted some training after their exercises this morning.
At this time, almost everyone had finished around the same time and habitually came here to wash up and rest.
After some inquiries, Fuyuki learned that the current Reserve Teams had been established up to A6.
However, the A5 and A6 teams were slightly special; relatively speaking, their training intensity wasn’t as high, as they seemed to have higher priorities in other areas.
These matters didn’t concern Fuyuki for the time being.
There were many personnel stationed on the Rhodes Island ship; she could get to know them and become familiar with them slowly.
She submerged her entire body into the pool water.
The comfortable temperature enveloped her body.
The steam from the hot spring made the figures of the bathing girls appear somewhat hazy.
Aside from the girls’ graceful figures and supple skin…
“Most of them…
are Infected.” On most of their bodies, there was an eye-catching touch of black distributed across the skin.
Because of oripathy, the treatment of the Infected was terrible in most places.
One could even say they were at the very bottom of society.
In some harsh places, they would even lose their most basic human rights.
But here on Rhodes Island.
There was no difference between the Infected and ordinary people.
They treated their illness, then lived and worked seriously.
It was truly nice.
“Blub blub blub…” Fuyuki, with a bit of playfulness, blew bubbles with her mouth underwater.
However, this peace didn’t last long.
The presence of a newcomer was always quite conspicuous.
“Speaking of which, Fuyuki’s skin is so well-maintained!” “It really is!” When a group of girls stays together, the topics always evolve in various directions.
At the very least, the pursuit of beauty was a very common direction.
The Operators of Rhodes Island, even those in the Reserve Teams, would more or less take on some field missions, which meant exposure to the elements.
These were naturally the great enemies of beauty-loving girls.
But Fuyuki’s skin looked as if it had been perfectly maintained, even appearing delicate.
Yet many had seen her knock back Cardigan, shield and all, with a single punch, so she naturally became a topic of conversation.
They were all girls, so there was no shyness.
After a while, as everyone became more familiar, their actions became bolder.
A purple-haired Sarkaz girl had even started touching and squeezing Fuyuki’s arm.
She seemed to be from the A1 Reserve Squad.
“Hmm…
with this muscle mass, it feels like you shouldn’t have that kind of power…
but your resilience seems very strong.” Uh, a Medical Operator?
She seemed to be called Hibiscus.
Operators generally referred to each other by codenames, as not everyone used their real names.
Some Operators’ names represented a past they might want to hide.
Of course, some were chosen simply because they sounded good or cool.
However, not all girls looked at Fuyuki through the lens of a ‘Medical Operator’ like Hibiscus.
Among girls of the same age, Fuyuki’s ‘features’ were quite prominent.
Girlish features.
At seventeen, Fuyuki had long since outgrown the ‘loli’ category in certain areas and had fully blossomed.
One could even say she completely outshone all the other girls present.
“How can it be both so big and so perky…” Another girl, who looked almost identical to Hibiscus, muttered softly.
“And when wearing clothes…
it looks completely different too.
This is what they mean by ‘looks thin dressed, looks meaty undressed’.” Fuyuki’s size was probably the largest within the harmonious range, not giving any sense of deformity, but rather a kind of ultimate, beautiful form.
“If Lava eats my nutritious meals properly, she’ll definitely grow up to be very beautiful too!” “I absolutely do NOT want to!!!” “Really…” Cardigan, who was already quite familiar with Fuyuki, deliberately put on a rather infatuated expression, “If I were some creepy uncle, I’d definitely assault Fuyuki!” After saying that, she even made a grasping motion with her hand.
Even Fuyuki, usually so composed, rarely had jokes like this played on her by girls her own age.
And everyone really didn’t have the slightest bit of ill intent.
A shy blush began to appear on her face, and having been in the hot spring for a while, she felt a bit light-headed.
She instinctively used her arms to cover up.
Little did she know, such an action only added a different kind of charm.
“Mmmph!
I can’t take it anymore!
I’ve decided to tease you a little!” The playful sounds of the girls echoed in Rhodes Island’s hot spring.
“Wah…
Melantha, stop Cardigan!” “…I also want to…
tease a little…” “Melantha, block Fuyuki!
She’s trying to run away!” “Eeek!!!” It wasn’t a very outrageous joke.
But from the scene, it was undoubtedly quite a titillating sight.
Slight physical contact.
Blushes on faces.
And the soft panting after a bout of play, a sign of expended energy.
All of it proclaimed how wonderful it is to be young!
It might not seem tempting right now but who knows what the future holds?
“And If you’re enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!”