21st Century Necromancer-Chapter 894 - 888: Hot Springs

Chapter 894 -888: Hot Springs

At night, everyone returned to the hot spring hotel. After a full day of activities, everyone was feeling a bit tired, so they all decided to soak in the hot spring.

Except for Chen Yu and his wife, who had gone back to the hotel earlier, the rest headed straight for the hot spring pool upon returning.

The hot spring at this hotel was a semi-outdoor natural hot spring. The pool, with its wooden coloring, appeared weathered and dark, showing signs of its age.

The air carried a faint trace of sulfur—a hallmark scent for natural hot springs, given their formation influenced by geothermal activity.

Breathing in the humid air tinged with sulfur, Kohinata Kaori, having already washed herself clean, stepped into the hot spring pool. Draping her body with a towel, she sank into the water, allowing herself to be fully immersed.

“Ah~!” Kohinata Kaori exhaled deeply, feeling a surge of relaxation wash over her.

Even though the day had been filled with fun and games, playfulness often drained more energy than actual work. Thus, as she soaked in the hot spring pool, she couldn’t help but experience a profound sense of relief.

However, while her body relaxed, Kohinata Kaori’s mind remained tense and troubled.

The source of Kohinata Kaori’s distress was, of course, Minami.

Although she hadn’t known Minami for very long, Kohinata Kaori was quite fond of the young woman. Despite the age gap between them, they unexpectedly hit it off in conversations. As a result, even though their acquaintance was brief, their relationship had quickly blossomed into a close friendship.

But precisely because of this, Minami’s feelings for Inomata Naoki became a major source of concern for Kohinata Kaori.

Inomata Naoki was her classmate and, much like Chen Yu, one of her closest friends. At first glance, Minami liking Inomata Naoki might just seem like one friend falling for another, which should be alright despite the age gap between them. After all, in Japan, it isn’t uncommon for women in their twenties to marry men in their thirties or even forties.

However, the issue wasn’t with their ages—it was because Inomata Naoki already had a girlfriend, and that girlfriend wasn’t Minami.

This situation caused Kohinata Kaori to feel particularly stressed. Although she had previously picked up on some clues and even talked with Minami about it, things clearly hadn’t headed in the direction she had hoped.

While Minami had declared earlier that she wouldn’t become a third party or fall for Inomata Naoki, emotions aren’t something one can easily control. After all, if people could control their feelings, there wouldn’t be so many instances of infidelity in this world.

And this was precisely what troubled Kohinata Kaori. Previously, Minami had promised she wouldn’t develop feelings for Inomata Naoki, but now she couldn’t help herself. It was evident that Minami lacked self-restraint in this regard.

Thus, Kohinata Kaori was worried. Even if Minami said now that she wouldn’t act upon her feelings for Inomata Naoki and could quietly harbor her affection, who could guarantee she wouldn’t change her mind later?

What if, like now, Minami started hoping for a genuine relationship with Inomata Naoki?

Unrequited love doesn’t require reciprocation. Yet, the longer one harbors such feelings, the stronger the desire to be with the person grows.

This was similar to when Kohinata Kaori had once secretly liked Chen Yu. If she hadn’t gone to the United Kingdom at that time to let the feelings fade away, and if upon returning home she hadn’t learned that Chen Yu was already married, Kohinata Kaori wouldn’t be certain she could interact with Chen Yu the way she does now.

Because of her own experience, Kohinata Kaori could empathize with the loneliness of secretly liking someone. And because of this, she felt even more worried about the situation between Minami and Inomata Naoki.

Back then, Kohinata Kaori’s feelings for Chen Yu stemmed from admiration as a junior toward a senior, accompanied by a faint admiration—yet even so, she had nearly fallen deeply in love with him. Now, Minami had already fallen for Inomata Naoki. How could she possibly disengage from these feelings?

As she mulled over these thoughts, Kohinata Kaori felt increasingly glum. She soaked a towel in the warm water, wrung it out, and draped it over her eyes.

The heat radiating from the towel eased the tension around her eyes, but it did nothing to alleviate the gloom in her heart.

At that moment, she heard the sound of someone entering the water nearby. freewēbnoveℓ.com

Removing the towel from her eyes, Kohinata Kaori turned to see Jounouchi Hiromi, her belly visibly protruding, struggling a bit as she stepped into the hot spring pool.

Seeing this, Kohinata Kaori immediately stood up to help support Jounouchi Hiromi.

“Sis, you and my senior came back so early—why are you just now coming to soak in the spring? And where’s my senior? Why isn’t he with you?” Supporting Jounouchi Hiromi to sit down, Kohinata Kaori couldn’t help but feel a hint of dissatisfaction toward Chen Yu as she looked at the pregnant Hiromi.

Though the hotel had a semi-outdoor bath, which was a large public pool, the rooms also had small private tubs that used the same natural hot spring water. It was possible to enjoy a soak directly within the room.

In Kohinata Kaori’s view, given Jounouchi Hiromi’s current condition, Chen Yu should have been more attentive and encouraged her to use the private tub instead of coming to the public bath.

However, Jounouchi Hiromi saw through Kaori’s thoughts and shook her head, saying, “I sent Mr. Chen Yu to get me something to eat. After we returned, I started craving a late-night snack but didn’t want to go out myself, so I asked him to pick it up for me. Since it’s taking him a while to come back, I thought I’d get a bath in the meantime.”

“Then why didn’t you use the bath in your room, sis? The floor here in the public pool is slick. If you fall, my senior will definitely be furious.” Hearing Jounouchi Hiromi’s explanation, Kohinata Kaori set aside her dissatisfaction with Chen Yu but grew increasingly concerned for Hiromi.

Jounouchi Hiromi smiled at Kaori’s concern. Although she had used Human Transformation Magic to shift herself from Dragon Bloodline to Human Bloodline and was physically slowed due to her pregnancy, she was still the Legendary-rank Necromancer Knight and Crimson Empress of the Blood School. If she wanted to, she could don armor, grab her weapon, mount Xiao Lan, and ride off into battle even now.

As for the slippery floors? A single stomp of her foot could smash through them. How could she possibly fall?

Yet Jounouchi Hiromi, faced with Kaori’s concern, merely smiled and replied, “It’s fine. I just don’t like that tiny tub in the room very much. I wanted to try the outdoor spring. Doesn’t it feel more authentic to soak in an open-air hot spring?”

“Well, that’s true! But…” Kohinata Kaori wanted to say more but, seeing that Hiromi had already settled into the bath, she decided not to push further. Instead, she moved closer to Jounouchi Hiromi, positioning herself to offer immediate support in case anything happened.

As the two enjoyed their soak in the spring, Kohinata Kaori, recalling her earlier worries, suddenly turned to Jounouchi Hiromi and asked, “Sis, what would you do if your best friend fell for another one of your close friends, but that friend already had a partner? How do you handle something like that?”