This made Tsukiyomi Ruri also glance at Izumi Shirayuki from time to time, but unfortunately the steam from the hot spring was so thick that Shirayuki’s fair skin was vaguely obscured by the mist, making it hard to see clearly, yet it sparked even more of an urge to explore.
Izumi Shirayuki didn’t pay much attention to Tsukiyomi Ruri’s occasional glances. She moved to the edge of the hot spring, dried her hands, and picked up her smartphone that was placed nearby to look at it.
Tsukiyomi Ruri placed her hands on the ground, her body soaking in the hot spring, kicking her feet in the water, causing splashing sounds behind her.
At that moment, Izumi Shirayuki let out a surprised sound, making Tsukiyomi Ruri look up involuntarily.
“Ruri-san, look. There’s something online about this hot spring inn. I didn’t notice it when I was looking for a hot spring inn before.” Izumi Shirayuki held her smartphone out in front of Tsukiyomi Ruri.
Tsukiyomi Ruri didn’t really want to look at anything other than Izumi Shirayuki at the moment, but since it was Shirayuki’s smartphone, she had no choice but to shift her gaze and take a brief look.
Spring Mountain Hot Spring Inn, haunted, terrifying… all sorts of information appeared.
“Haunted?” Tsukiyomi Ruri shook her head in confusion.
“Ruri-san, I think the reason this hot spring inn is so deserted might not be because it’s not a holiday now, but because the ghost stories scared away too many people, so there are no guests.” Izumi Shirayuki’s violet eyes sparkled. “But why is this place haunted? I’m very curious about that.”
The hot spring trip Tsukiyomi Ruri had imagined was just relaxing in the hot spring with Izumi Shirayuki, chatting about light topics, and getting closer to each other.
But they had just arrived at the hot spring, and a ghost story came up already?
Because of previous experiences with the Ghost Legend and the Faceless Man Legend, Tsukiyomi Ruri keenly felt that things were about to get complicated.
She didn’t want to spend time investigating a haunting, so she said, “When was this? Maybe it’s something from a long time ago? Aren’t we overthinking this?”
“No, it’s something recent.” Izumi Shirayuki pointed to the date displayed on the news article on her smartphone.
Tsukiyomi Ruri: “…”
Izumi Shirayuki said curiously, “The ghost incidents seem to have started about half a month ago and have continued until now. According to online discussions, most people who came to Spring Mountain Hot Spring Inn during this time saw terrifying ghostly figures. If that’s the case, do you think we’ll see a ghost too?”
Tsukiyomi Ruri shook her head. “How could ghosts exist in this world? Right? So there must be a misunderstanding, and we won’t gain anything from it.”
“I also think there might be some misunderstanding, but investigating the truth is an interesting thing, isn’t it?” Izumi Shirayuki said energetically.
If ghosts really existed, Izumi Shirayuki wouldn’t dare to bring Tsukiyomi Ruri, whom she considered an ordinary person, to investigate. But to her, this seemed man-made—maybe the work of a competitor trying to make Spring Mountain Hot Spring Inn lose customers—so it was something the two of them could explore together.
“Is exploring this kind of thing really interesting?” Tsukiyomi Ruri was reluctant to investigate.
“It will definitely be interesting! And how exactly did they manage to make it so that people can’t see through the trick? What method did they use? Could there be some special storyline behind it? I’m really curious about all of this.” Izumi Shirayuki said full of enthusiasm.
Since Izumi Shirayuki wanted so much to investigate this, Tsukiyomi Ruri really had no way to refuse. Anyway, when the time comes, Shirayuki will do all the investigating, and she can just coast along.
“This will be another club activity for us. Although Yuzuki-san and Keiko-san didn’t come, as members of our club, I’ll share this activity with them.” Izumi Shirayuki sent messages to Mizuhashi Yuzuki and Inoue Keiko respectively, explaining the haunting incident.
“If we’re sharing, should we also share with those two club members I haven’t met yet?” Tsukiyomi Ruri thought of this and said.
“I can’t get in touch with those two right now. I don’t know why they’ve taken such a long leave of absence.” Izumi Shirayuki spread her hands, indicating she was also helpless.
Hearing this, Tsukiyomi Ruri didn’t ask further; to her now, those two were just strangers.
After Izumi Shirayuki sent the messages, Inoue Keiko didn’t reply, but Mizuhashi Yuzuki quickly responded and started chatting with Shirayuki, discussing the haunting incident together.
Gradually, over an hour passed.
Tsukiyomi Ruri and Izumi Shirayuki had soaked quite comfortably in the hot spring. They got out, dried off, then wrapped themselves in bath towels and went to the changing room to get dressed.
Izumi Shirayuki took out a white yukata with a wisteria flower pattern and then glanced at Tsukiyomi Ruri. “Ruri-san, didn’t you bring a yukata?”
Tsukiyomi Ruri had just taken out the clothes she had worn during the day and shook her head.
“It’s more comfortable to wear a yukata after soaking in the hot spring. The inn must sell yukatas. I’ll go buy one for you. Wait for me, okay?” Izumi Shirayuki quickly put on her own yukata and hurried out.
Seeing this, Tsukiyomi Ruri didn’t intend to refuse.
Before long, Izumi Shirayuki returned, carrying a white yukata with a pattern of dancing cherry blossoms, which looked very suitable for Tsukiyomi Ruri.
Taking the yukata from Izumi Shirayuki, Tsukiyomi Ruri recalled how to wear it and slowly put it on.
By the time Tsukiyomi Ruri had put on the yukata, Izumi Shirayuki had also let down her long, silver-white hair, letting it cascade naturally.
Then Izumi Shirayuki looked at Tsukiyomi Ruri and offered, “Ruri-san, shall I comb your hair?”
Pink hair was quite rare. In Izumi Shirayuki’s eyes, Tsukiyomi Ruri looked just like an anime character, and she really wanted to touch her head.
“Sure.” Tsukiyomi Ruri didn’t refuse; she was generally indifferent to daily life matters.
Izumi Shirayuki successfully used the excuse of tying her hair to thoroughly ruffle Tsukiyomi Ruri’s head and derived great satisfaction from it.
Of course, she still responsibly tied up Tsukiyomi Ruri’s hair. After trying out various hairstyles, Izumi Shirayuki thought that twin tails suited Tsukiyomi Ruri best, bringing out her petite and cute qualities to the fullest.
Thus, the familiar twin tails quickly appeared.
“Alright, done. Let’s go back to the room and rest. It’s almost time for lunch anyway.” Izumi Shirayuki naturally took Tsukiyomi Ruri’s hand.
