After finishing our boxed lunches, we watched the scenery pass as Elvis drove.
Before long, the surroundings began to resemble a hot spring town, and we started climbing uphill.
“Hey, is that a fire?”
“No—there are too many of them.”
White smoke was rising from all over the place.
“That’s steam from the hot springs. Open the window and see.”
At Elvis’s suggestion, I rolled down the window.
A cool breeze entered the car, carrying a sharp, pungent odor that stung my nose.
“It stinks.”
“Sulfur, maybe?”
“Unless it was Yuu-kun, probably.”
“How rude. I didn’t fart.”
“Could’ve been Ayaka.”
“Bzzt. My affection level just dropped dramatically.”
Guess I’ll have to work hard to raise it again.
“It’s because we’re in a hot spring town. Haven’t you ever heard of the Hell Tour?”
Ah, I knew that name.
I didn’t know exactly what it was, but I’d definitely heard of it before.
“So this really is a full-fledged hot spring resort town. I’ve actually never been somewhere like this.”
“I think I did when I visited my grandparents. Matsuyama wasn’t anything like this, though.”
Right, that area was famous for hot springs too.
The smell was getting a bit overwhelming, so I closed the window.
As we continued climbing, more hotels and inns came into view, and there were more people walking around.
Of course, every single one of them was a demon, so it was unquestionably a bizarre sight.
“Amazing.”
“Do you think the day will come when we get used to this?”
I hope not.
Eventually, Elvis pulled into the grounds of an inn.
He stopped in front of the entrance.
“Alright, we’re here. I’ve got to park the car and talk to an acquaintance, so you two go check in. I’ll come to your room in a little while, so take it easy.”
Elvis turned toward us as he spoke.
“Are you staying too?”
“Might as well. Mention my name at the front desk and they’ll give you a discount, though with the amount of mana you have, the difference is probably negligible.”
So, in this world, we were basically rich.
“Got it.”
Ayaka and I got out of the car, and Elvis drove off toward the back.
“This place looks expensive…”
Ayaka looked up.
The inn was more like a hotel, with over ten floors.
“I’ll pay with mana.”
“Are you sure? Your abilities depend more on magic than mine do. Losing mana would hurt you more.”
She had a point. My abilities depended on magic.
“We still don’t know the exchange rate, so to speak—or how much mana anything actually costs us. Staying somewhere like this should give us a better sense of it.”
I honestly couldn’t tell whether the mana I’d given Elvis or spent at the convenience store had decreased at all.
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
“Yeah.”
We entered and headed to the reception desk.
“…Her hair is made of snakes.”
“…Isn’t she a Medusa?”
The receptionist’s hair consisted entirely of white snakes.
Honestly, it was pretty creepy.
“Welcome! Are you staying the night?”
As the Medusa attendant spoke, every snake in her hair turned to look at us simultaneously.
If I’d seen that at night, I probably would have screamed.
“Y-Yeah… We’re with a goblin named Elvis. We’d like a room for one night.”
“Ah, Elvis. Understood. That will be twenty thousand mana.”
The Medusa attendant held out her hand, so I shook it.
Her hand was soft and warm, unlike the zombie cashier at the convenience store.
But I wasn’t exactly happy about it.
Those snakes were staring at me way too intensely.
“Oh my? Such incredible magic power. I could just eat you… Your room is 608.”
What a terrifying attendant.
“Um, can we use the hot springs at this hour?”
Ayaka asked.
“Of course. They’re open around the clock. As for meals, what would you like to do about lunch and dinner? You can eat in the restaurant, or we can bring them to your room.”
“We’ll eat in the room.”
“Hehe, understood. Enjoy yourselves until morning.”
Hmm…?
The Medusa attendant handed us our key, and we headed to a nearby elevator.
“That cost twenty thousand mana. What do you think?”
Ayaka asked as she pressed the button for the sixth floor.
“I have absolutely no idea. Still, I don’t think we need to worry about mana. We’ve killed hundreds—maybe even more than a thousand—monsters. If we absorbed their mana, we should have plenty.”
I doubted our mana reserves were anywhere close to normal.
Otherwise, ordinary demons could never afford to live.
“I guess that’s true. Still, that Medusa had a tremendous amount of magic power, didn’t she?”
“Medusas turn people to stone, right? She must be far above ordinary monsters.”
There hadn’t been any in the other world, but everyone knew the name.
She was definitely boss-tier, not some weak enemy.
“And she’s working as an inn attendant?”
“Let’s not think too hard about that. We already saw zombies working at convenience stores.”
“You’re right.”
We reached the sixth floor, found Room 608, and entered.
Inside was a spacious Japanese-style room, with a view of the sea through the window.
“Whoa, this is incredible.”
“Shikoku should be over there, judging by the direction.”
I vaguely remembered that being the case.
“The view is great, and the room is amazing. Feels like a luxury inn.”
The hot springs were looking very promising.
“Yeah… the hot springs… I assume the baths are separated by gender, but… we’ll be bathing with demons, won’t we?”
“Looks that way.”
“Let’s just not think about it.”
“That’s all you ever say.”
Ayaka laughed, stepped away from the window, and sat down on one of the floor chairs.
Then she poured me some tea.
“Sorry.”
“It’s fine. More importantly, shouldn’t we change into yukata? Yuu-kun, you stand out far too much dressed like that.”
Honestly, I thought she stood out more.
I was still wearing a robe, but Ayaka’s fantasy swordswoman outfit looked even more out of place in a traditional Japanese room.
“Yeah, let’s do that.”
“Okay. I’ll change in the dressing room.”
Ayaka took a yukata from the shelf and headed toward the entrance area.
I picked one up as well, took off my robe, and put it on.
“Uh… which side goes in front again? Whatever.”
I put it on however seemed right, tied the sash, and sat down.
As I sipped my tea, Ayaka returned, now dressed in her yukata.
“Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“Yeah…”
Wow…
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I was just thinking it suits you.”
You’re really cute.
“Thanks. It suits you too. I’d gotten used to seeing us dressed like that, but Japanese clothes really do suit Japanese people better than fantasy outfits.”
I couldn’t agree more.
“It’s strangely moving. I was never particularly attached to yukata, but this feels overwhelmingly nostalgic.”
And she’s cute, too.
“I know exactly what you mean.”
“By the way, it’s only ten o’clock. Even if we’re supposed to relax, what are we actually going to do?”
What…?
Ah, was that why the Medusa attendant had that grin on her face…?
“Let’s rest for a bit. And maybe see if we can find Minato and Riku on social media. My phone’s useless.”
“Ah, right. Good idea. Let’s look for them.”
Ayaka picked up her phone, stood up, and walked over.
Then she sat beside me and angled the screen so I could see it too.
That was when something finally dawned on me.
We were staying in the same room.
Back in the other world, inns often had too few rooms, so sharing one had become normal, and I’d completely forgotten.
But was it really normal for a guy and a girl who weren’t even dating to share a room?
And on top of that, it was a Japanese-style room.
Not that there was anything wrong with tatami rooms, but…
It made me strangely conscious of the situation.
Wait.
Should we ask for another room now?
How were we supposed to sleep tonight?
Since this was a Japanese-style room… would we be laying out two futons side by side?
“Yuu-kun, seriously, could you stop getting so flustered?”
I’m sorry.
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