At noon, after Izumi Shirayuki made a phone call, Fujiwara Misa delivered an abundant meal.
“Fujiwara-san, when you came to see us, the inn was left unattended. Aren’t you worried about thieves?” Izumi Shirayuki asked casually.
Fujiwara Misa smiled bitterly. “With all the ghost rumors circulating about my place these days, how many people would dare come here?”
Of course, she wouldn’t leave anything truly valuable at the inn’s entrance anyway.
“Fujiwara-san! Fujiwara-san!”
A voice called out from outside.
Izumi Shirayuki looked surprised. “Is that a guest or an acquaintance?”
“Both, I suppose. That’s Hino-san’s voice. I’ll go greet her.” Fujiwara Misa exited the room and closed the door.
Hino-san?
Izumi Shirayuki remembered now. When she had earlier asked Fujiwara Misa about memorable guests, Fujiwara Misa had mentioned someone named Hino Kaoru.
In the hot spring inn’s lobby.
Hino Kaoru leisurely surveyed her surroundings. Having visited many times, she was quite familiar with this place.
She wore an ordinary white short-sleeved shirt and jeans, her pale blonde hair cascading naturally. Hearing Fujiwara Misa’s approaching footsteps, her amber eyes brightened, and she looked toward the source of the sound.
Fujiwara Misa, dressed in a yukata, hurried over. “Hino-san, you’ve come again. Welcome.”
Hino Kaoru nodded and asked, seemingly casually, “Is it the same as yesterday? Not a single guest?”
“Thank you for your concern, Hino-san. Luck has been better today. Two guests have arrived. Of course, counting you, Hino-san, that makes three guests today.” Fujiwara Misa answered with a smile.
“Two guests, is it? Men or women?” Hino Kaoru seemed somewhat curious.
“Both are girls. One looks like a high schooler, and the other seems like an elementary school student.” Fujiwara Misa replied, recalling Izumi Shirayuki and Tsukiyomi Ruri’s appearances.
“I’d like to meet them if the chance arises. Are they soaking in the hot spring now?” Hino Kaoru asked.
“They finished bathing not long ago. No one is there right now.” Fujiwara Misa answered.
“That works out well. In that case, I’ll go enjoy the hot spring first.” Hino Kaoru paused here before adding, “Fujiwara-san, would you come join me?”
Fujiwara Misa hesitated.
Truth be told, this wasn’t the first time. Every time Hino Kaoru visited, she invited her to bathe together, which always put Fujiwara Misa in a somewhat difficult position.
Under normal circumstances, Fujiwara Misa would have refused outright. But now, when every single guest was so crucial, she didn’t want to reject a regular like Hino Kaoru over something like this.
So after hesitating, Fujiwara Misa could only nod in agreement.
However, since she would be going to bathe, the inn would need to close temporarily. It wouldn’t do to leave the place unattended.
Hino Kaoru smiled with satisfaction. “Fujiwara-san, I’ll wait for you by the hot spring.”
The meal was very satisfying.
After finishing, Tsukiyomi Ruri flopped down and started playing on her smartphone.
“Ruri-san, lying down right after eating isn’t good. Get up now.” Izumi Shirayuki said to Tsukiyomi Ruri.
Tsukiyomi Ruri glanced at Izumi Shirayuki. “Senpai, why do you still add ‘-san’ when calling me now? You can make it simpler.”
Izumi Shirayuki couldn’t help but smile. “Alright then, Ruri-chan, get up quickly, or you might get chubby.”
Being stared at by Izumi Shirayuki like that, Tsukiyomi Ruri had no choice but to stand up.
Just then, Izumi Shirayuki’s smartphone buzzed with a new message, and she quickly picked it up to read.
Seeing this, Tsukiyomi Ruri closed the game that had drained all her stamina and opened the Reincarnator Forum. She found many red notification dots in her backend.
This meant people had been replying to her post. She opened it and found it was the one she’d posted in the Emotion Section.
‘I clearly haven’t responded since posting it. Why is it still so active?’
Tsukiyomi Ruri opened it and, after reading briefly, roughly understood the situation.
She hadn’t replied, but a user called Flame Bird in the thread had been responding with remarkable diligence. Their tone was sharp and condescending, constantly mocking other users, which had sparked a chain of heated debates.
Tsukiyomi Ruri felt this ID seemed somewhat familiar. After thinking for a moment, she seemed to recall something and opened her private messages to check.
‘So it’s her…’
Tsukiyomi Ruri realized. After this post was made, the very first person to reply had been Flame Bird, who had expressed strong agreement with her post.
However, Flame Bird had been sending private messages to Tsukiyomi Ruri, which Tsukiyomi Ruri had completely ignored. This seemed to have irritated Flame Bird, who had cursed at Tsukiyomi Ruri in the final messages.
After reading the private messages, Tsukiyomi Ruri returned to the thread. She saw Flame Bird still arguing with commanding authority, facing off against at least a dozen people, typing away with incredible fluency.
Though facing many opponents, Flame Bird showed no signs of losing ground, seemingly intent on suppressing all of them.
So Tsukiyomi Ruri deleted the thread outright.
‘If you want to chat, can’t you just make your own thread or take it to private messages?’
Tsukiyomi Ruri muttered to herself, unconcerned.
Meanwhile.
Hino Kaoru, already soaking in the hot spring while waiting for Fujiwara Misa, was rapidly tapping on her smartphone. Words formed one after another, in a single fluid motion.
Then she hit send!
Sorry, the thread you are replying to has been deleted!
A cruel message appeared before Hino Kaoru.
Damn!
Hino Kaoru nearly cursed out loud. She then sent a private message to The Faceless: “Are you sick? Why did you delete the thread?”
The Faceless: “Don’t bother me.”
“I’m bothering you. What can you do about it?” Hino Kaoru typed quickly.
Sorry, you have been blocked by this user!
Another cruel message materialized before Hino Kaoru.
Hino Kaoru was so furious she nearly lost her breath. Unable to control herself, she squeezed her smartphone, cracks spreading across its surface.
Footsteps sounded at that moment.
Hino Kaoru looked up toward the changing room, turned off her phone with its shattered screen, and set it aside, covering it with a bath towel.
The sound of a door opening came, and Fujiwara Misa walked in. “Hino-san, I’m here.”
Seeing Fujiwara Misa, whose figure was barely concealed beneath the bath towel, Hino Kaoru’s eyes brightened slightly, and she smiled. “Fujiwara-san, come over here. Come to my side.”
Fujiwara Misa untied her bath towel and tossed it aside, then entered the hot spring under Hino Kaoru’s intense gaze.
