The changing room of the large bathhouse was empty. It seemed the claim that there were hardly any guests was true.
I felt like I was living in extraordinary luxury. Humming a tune, I made my way to the row of lockers.
A seasoned Treasure Hunter never neglects preparation. That was one lesson even a non-seasoned nobody like me had learned to keep in mind.
I was weak. On top of already being weak, if I took off my Treasure Weapons, all that remained was an ordinary person. That was why I never removed my Treasure Weapons outside my own room—and vacations were no exception.
Clinking accessories all over myself as I entered the hot spring felt a bit embarrassing, but desperate times called for desperate measures.
If Luke or Anthem were here, they could protect me and I could afford to keep the number down, but this time I was all alone, so I couldn't compromise.
"There might be thieves, after all…"
Muttering excuses to myself, I removed the Treasure Weapons I'd been wearing over my clothes, then stripped.
The "Dog Chain" I'd had wrapped around my waist was too much of a hassle to carry around, so I activated it. The chain rose up like a living creature and obediently sat down—then I threaded the rings onto its head and tail one by one. I'd had to carry the rings in a bag because I didn't have enough fingers for all of them. Semi-autonomous Treasure Weapons were really convenient in situations like this.
Bracelet, necklace, pendant, circlet—I handed them off to the Dog Chain in order, then hung my key ring on it as well. For the record, every key on that ring was also a Treasure Weapon. Key-shaped Treasure Weapons were remarkably popular.
While I was checking my pockets, a golden key fell out. For an instant I couldn't tell what it was, but then I realized—it was the key to Cro and the others' collars.
I hesitated for a moment, but unlike Treasure Weapons, this key wasn't made of Mana Material. Treasure Weapons didn't rust and were barely affected by their surroundings, but a regular metal key could rust, and there was no need to bring it into the bath.
I locked it in the locker, grabbed a towel, and headed for the large bathhouse together with my chain dog.
Ordinarily you couldn't bring pets into a hot spring, but the Dog Chain was technically a chain rather than a dog, so it should be fine. Well, whether bringing a chain into a hot spring was fine in the first place was questionable, but…
I pushed open the frosted glass door. Thick steam and the unmistakable scent of hot spring water washed over me.
My feet slapped against the marble floor as I surveyed the interior. The Dog Chain followed behind, swishing its tail heavy with all the accessories hanging off it.
True to its status as a high-end inn, the bathhouse was magnificent. It wasn't enormous, but from the floor to the washing stations, every detail showed meticulous care. It's hard to put into words, but from the variety and quality of the facilities, even a hot-spring fanatic like me couldn't find a single fault. There was no space for washing away blood, but this wasn't a Hunter-oriented inn, so that was to be expected.
Even inside the bathhouse, I couldn't see a single other guest. Not a soul in the washing area or the tubs. Klye Andrich—center stage.
At the very least, Cro and the others should have been at the inn. Maybe they were resting in their rooms.
I waggled my ring-adorned hand and wandered aimlessly around the bathhouse. There was something slightly liberating about being able to walk around without hiding, without feeling self-conscious.
In the main tub, a dragon-shaped sculpture spouted hot water. The entire wall was covered in relief carvings that someone with zero interest in art—namely me—could not appreciate in the slightest.
Unfortunately, the hot spring wasn't large enough to swim in, and at my age, even with no one watching, swimming felt childish anyway. Not that I minded.
"Perfect. There's even an outdoor bath."
Alright, I'd decided. When I retired, I was going to live here.
I approached the glass wall and peered at the outdoor bath.
In the open-air pool carved from natural rock, a light-blue dragon was bathing.
"…?"
I rubbed my eyes and looked again, but the dragon hadn't disappeared.
It was a round, fancy-looking dragon with somewhat squinty eyes. Small for a dragon, perhaps three meters long from head to tail.
Hot water sloshed and spilled over the edge of the tub. Every time it happily flapped its wings or swished its tail, droplets splattered against the glass from the other side.
The Dog Chain was running circles around me like a madman. If it had vocal cords, it probably would have been barking.
I stood there dazed for a while, then decided to pretend I'd seen nothing and went to the washing station, where I took my time thoroughly scrubbing my body and hair.
My heart was still pounding. But this was a different kind of thumping from the one I'd felt when Citry had pressed her chest against mine earlier.
Keeping a dragon soaking in the outdoor bath—rich people's hobbies were truly beyond me…
Once I'd gotten myself sparkling clean, I cautiously peeked at the outdoor bath from a distance. A faint blue shadow was still visible. The dragon had not disappeared.
I slowly lowered myself into the hot spring, tilting my head. The temperature was on the high side, but that only made it more satisfying. Every bit of tension drained from my body. It was as though the fatigue was dissolving into the water. The Dog Chain paddled around in doggy-paddle mode, absolutely loaded with Treasure Weapons.
But my mind was entirely occupied by the dragon in the outdoor bath. Here I was at a precious hot spring, and I couldn't relax and enjoy it.
I'd seen all manner of dragons up to this point, but I'd never seen one like that.
Come to think of it, by any reasonable standard, this was impossible. If I told anyone, they'd probably think I was lying. Maybe I should be questioning my own sanity.
I soaked for a while, glancing at the outdoor bath now and then, but the bath remained under dragon occupation.
This was a problem. With things like this, I couldn't use the outdoor bath.
Wait… maybe I'd be allowed in together?
Thinking about it rationally, there was no way a dangerous creature would come into this high-end inn's outdoor bath. There was already a dragon spouting water inside, so maybe it was the inn's signature attraction.
A dragon bath, a dragon bath… personally, I would've been fine with just a regular bath.
When I looked over, the dragon had its head sticking out of the water, looking thoroughly content. I couldn't read dragon expressions, but it was probably relaxed.
The dragon was fairly large, but there was still room in the tub. If I wanted to, I could probably fit. I'd been through all sorts of terrible experiences, but I had never shared a bath with a dragon. Not that I'd ever wanted to…
…maybe I should leave well enough alone.
The other party was a dragon. And I was a harmless human being who'd completely run dry of Mana Material.
Even if the dragon meant no harm, one careless movement that happened to hit it by accident, and I'd go flying.
Maybe it was from having my head submerged up to my neck in hot water while thinking this hard, but I was starting to feel dizzy. I'd been planning to visit the sauna too, but I'd completely forgotten.
There was no time to waste. Should I intrude or not? Was it okay? Dangerous or not?
No, let me think from their perspective.
I'm a dragon. I'm relaxing in a hot spring when a human shows up.
Humans are weak. They don't have much power, and they're not monsters like Hunters. I'm a dragon. The chance of being harmed is one in ten thousand, if that. Would I go out of my way to attack in that situation?
The answer was—no.
I steeled my resolve and stood up. That dragon was almost certainly the inn's mascot. A pet. There was no need to fear.
If I showed timidness, it might cause problems. I opened the door to the outdoor bath, folded my arms in front of the dragon, and stood tall and proud, hiding nothing.
And then, with one casual strike from the dragon, I was sent spectacularly flying.
I smashed through the glass and tumbled into the large bathhouse. The Barrier Ring I wore at all times flawlessly absorbed the impact and the damage from the shattered glass.
The light-blue dragon, despite its squinty eyes, was glaring at me with a look that belied them as I lay sprawled pathetically on the floor. The Dog Chain positioned itself in front of me as if trying to protect me.
My mind reeling, I screamed in a voice that cracked and soared: "CITRYYYYYYYYYYY! There's a dragon! There's a dragon hereeeeeeeeeee!"
No good. I'd been momentarily fooled because it looked so comfortable, but it was just a wild dragon.
§ "CITRYYYYYYYYYYY! There's a dragon! There's a dragon hereeeeeeeeeee!"
"!?"
At the roar echoing from the large bathhouse, Cro and Shiro exchanged glances.
In Thousand Transformations' locker, as expected, the key remained. The collar was already unlocked. All that was left was to run.
They hadn't expected things to go this smoothly. No—judging by what Thousand Transformations had said in the changing room, everything was probably going exactly according to plan.
But having come this far, they couldn't stop now. They had committed to the theft knowing full well the warning they'd received. Even if they confessed everything now, it was hard to imagine the situation improving.
"Let's go."
"Y-yeah… I'm not hanging around with that crazy bastard!"
Shiro nodded firmly at Cro's words. The reason he looked so pale was the same as Cro's—they were both gripped by the premonition that everything was being controlled.
From the direction of the bathhouse, the thunderous crash of shattering glass rang out. Cro and Shiro threw the key and collar into the locker, then burst out of the changing room at full speed.
Incidentally, the dragon was male (since it was the men's bath).