The next morning, as there was also noise coming from the next room, Jin woke up at around 5 am.
When he tried listening closely, he heard Hanna rustling about.
“Hanna, you’re awake?”
He asked in a low voice.
“Ah, brother? …… Is this, your castle?”
Hanna opened the sliding the door saying that.
“I was a bit scared when I woke up in this unfamiliar room but Elsa sis was sleeping beside me too so I didn’t understand where we were.”
“I see. You fell asleep last night after the party so Martha asked me to let you sleep here.”
“I see…… Elsa sis too?”
“Yeah. You would feel lonely sleeping alone, right?”
The actual reason was a bit different but Jin decided to go with that.
“Hmm…”
As they were talking, Elsa also woke up.
“……”
Elsa isn’t that good with waking up. Her expression looked blank as she got up and sat on the futon.
“Sis, good morning!”
Hanna said cheerfully to Elsa. With that, it seems like Elsa also remembered that she stayed in Jin’s castle.
“…Good morning.”
“Elsa, Hanna, let’s go wash our faces. Then we go eat at the dining hall.”
Saying that, Jin closed the sliding door once to change clothes. Elsa was also wearing the guest clothes of the castle.
After changing clothes, Elsa asked Jin for a favor.
“…Sorry to keep you waiting. But, after washing our face, can we go up to the roof again?”
Elsa also remembered about the view last night. Rather than going all the way down and coming back up, she wanted to enjoy the view before.
“It’s not exactly the roof, though.”
After washing their faces, Jin also called Hanna and all 3 of them went up to the 6th floor.
The stairs were steep so to catch them if they slip, Reiko was also following from behind.
“Waah! So high!”
“Ah, is that the Helme river?”
Elsa was also enjoying herself.
“Uwah, such a nice view!”
On the eastern side, the sun was slowly rising behind the mountains. Although the sunrise was a bit earlier, because of the mountains blocking that view, now was the time they could experience that view.
After enjoying the view for a while, the 3 of them went downstairs.
“Shall we go take a morning bath?”
Jin suggested. As they were in the party last night, they couldn’t take a bath.
“Mm.”
“Yes!”
Elsa and Hanna both agreed so they decided to head towards the hot spring. Towels and change of clothes could be taken along the way from Martha’s house so that wouldn’t be a problem.
“Ah, Mr. Jin, good morning.”
As they were talking along the road towards the village, a voice called out to Jin from behind. It was Lishia. Lishia had also woken up and got dressed.
“Ms. Lishia, good morning.”
“Good morning.”
“Ms. tax collector, good morning!”
Lishia also said good morning to Hanna and Elsa saying she wasn’t the tax collector anymore.
“Mr. Jin, you sure wake up early. Where are you headed to?”
“Ah, to the hot springs for a morning bath. The castle also has a bath but hot springs are better still.”
As Jin said that, Lishia came asking hesitantly.
“Ah, that sounds nice! May I come along as well?”
“Sure. Right, Hanna, Elsa?”
Both of them also said yes immediately.
“Thank you very much! Then I will quickly go and get a change of clothes!”
Saying that, Lishia went running towards the castle again.
“Jin-nii, how do you know that person?”
After Lishia couldn’t be seen anymore, Elsa asked Jin.
“Yea, last year, I got to know her while carrying the tax wheat to the
Neighboring village.”
“That’s all?”
Elsa was quite sharp today.
“…Well, I may have given her advice and saved her from a golem attack along the way.”
“You had fixed her sword for her too.”
Reiko came adding unnecessary supplements. However, that made Elsa remember.
“Ah, the person in Alban.”
“Yea.”
“Brother was kind to that person from the start, huh?”
Even Hanna came saying stuff like that, which made Jin panic a little. Elsa just said,
“…Jin-nii is kind to girls, huh?”
Jin didn’t know how to answer to that. But fortunately, Lishia came back just then.
“Sorry to keep you waiting!”
And so, Jin and the others started walking towards the village. And there, another person called them.
“Good morning, Ms. Lishia! Are you going on a walk?”
It was Pascaud Rush. He had also gotten up early and went for a walk.
“Good morning, Mr. Pascaud. We are all going to the hot springs together.”
“Eh?! That… Mr. Jin too?”
Jin guessed what he was trying to mean and said,
“Of course, the bath is seperated for men and women.”
And Pascaud was visibly relieved.
“Ah, may I join as well?”
“Yes, we don’t mind.”
“Then please go on ahead. I will catch up with a change of clothes.”
Saying that, Pascaud ran towards the castle at full speed.
Jin and the others walked slowly and first dropped by Martha’s house to get a change of clothes and towel.
Martha and Mine were also awake and when they asked what Jin and the others will do about breakfast, Jin said that he will be having breakfast with Lishia and the others at the castle.
Hanna looked a bit sad about it but that can’t be helped.
And then they headed towards the hot spring. Pascaud had also caught up.
Pascaud and Jin went to the men’s bath and Hanna, Elsa and Lishia went to the women’s bath while Reiko stood by outside.
“Waaii, so warm!”
Hanna stretched in the bathtub. Elsa and Lishia also got in.
“Ms. Elsa, your skin is very pretty and fair.”
“…Yours too, Ms. Lishia.”
Unlike Barbara and Belle, Lishia’s volume was similar to Elsa’s so she was relieved.
“Ehehe, but my face and arms got so sunburnt, it’s basically all black now.”
Lishia, who had been to battlefields was exposed to the sun a lot and got a bit tanned in those areas. But as Elsa was fair-skinned from the start and didn’t go out as much, her skin didn’t get tanned.
“It will be fine…… I am sure if you stay in the hot spring for some time.”
“That would be nice…”
Maybe they felt connected somehow, they both could talk without feeling awkward. Hanna was going by her own pace.
“…”
“………”
“(This is awkward……)”
“(What do we talk about now………)”
On the other hand, Jin and Pascaud were in the bath without having a single conversation.