Thin wisps of hot steam curled in the air, filling the spacious room dominated by natural stone. A massive curved glass wall on one side of the room displayed a magical night view. Green and purple aurora lights danced in the sky, reflecting beautifully on the surface of the clear pool water. Several stone islands could be seen floating statically in the distance.
Inside the warm water pool, Rasie submerged her face up to her nose. Her eyes darted anxiously to the right and left. Small air bubbles escaped from her mouth as she sighed underwater. She knew perfectly well the two women in front of her wouldn't let her off that easily.
"I know, I know!" Rasie mumbled, muffled by the water.
Cyhas leaned her face in until there were only a few centimeters between them. Her eyes sparkled with curiosity.
"Rasie, Rasie! So you really fell in love with Hasya, Rasie? Was that really you earlier?" Cyhas fired off questions without a pause. Her hands patted the water surface in excitement.
Illya, sitting beside Cyhas, smiled mischievously. She tucked her wet green hair behind her ear.
"Incredible, Rasie. I didn't even expect you would do it in front of us..."
"Aghh, I can't hear you, I can't hear you!!" Rasie immediately lifted her head out of the water and covered both ears tightly with her palms.
Illya and Cyhas didn't give up. They shifted their seating, cornering Rasie against the edge of the stone pool.
"Come on, Rasie~" Illya said in a teasing tone. She poked Rasie's arm. "Why do you like him?"
"No, Miss Illya! The correct question is since when has Rasie liked him!" Cyhas corrected while raising her index finger.
Rasie's face turned bright red, contrasting with the wet white skin of her neck. She squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her hands harder against her ears.
Unable to stand being cornered, Rasie opened her eyes suddenly. She slammed both hands into the water with force.
Splash!
A heavy splash of water instantly hit Illya and Cyhas's faces, making them recoil in shock while coughing slightly.
"Cyat! Cyat!!! Sha!!!" Rasie snapped while continuing to splash water blindly.
"R-Rasie!!" Cyhas protested while rubbing her stinging eyes.
Illya narrowed her eyes. She moved her fingers slightly. Small blobs of water floated up from the pool's surface, obeying her subtle magic control. Illya flicked her finger toward Rasie.
Burr!
The water blobs burst right on Rasie's face, soaking her hair and eyes instantly.
"Illya, that's cheating! Cheating!!!" Rasie wiped her face roughly. "Stop it, aghh!"
Illya laughed softly and continued to shower Rasie with small water attacks. Cyhas, seeing an opening, joined in to help, splashing water manually with enthusiasm.
"Stop it, you fools!!" Rasie shouted in frustration.
Rasie was panting. She raised both hands in surrender.
"Aghh, alright, alright! I'll talk! I'll talk!"
The water attacks stopped instantly. Illya and Cyhas looked at each other, smiled widely, then high-fived in the air.
"Yay!"
Rasie wiped the water from her chin. She stared sharply at Illya while pointing with a wet index finger.
"As long as you also tell us why you like Fyar!!"
Illya flinched slightly. A thin red blush appeared on her cheeks. She looked down shyly then nodded gently.
"S-sure!"
The atmosphere became a little calmer. Only the sound of trickling water from a bamboo spout in the corner of the room could be heard. Rasie adjusted her sitting position, leaning against the rough pool wall. Her eyes gazed far out the glass window, staring at the slowly moving aurora light.
"The reason I like him... well..." Rasie began in a low voice.
"And since when!" Cyhas cut in quickly, reminding her again.
"Yeah, yeah, that too!" Rasie snorted in annoyance, but not long after, her face softened.
She let out a long breath, warm steam escaping her mouth.
"H-honestly, the first time I saw him, I was already a l-little amazed by him..."
Rasie's finger played with the water in front of her, making abstract patterns.
"Because he's strong. I thought, who is he? Why did he help us? And... and when he said he saved us because of me... that made... made me a little... s-start to get interested in him... yeah... like that..."
Rasie fell silent for a moment, recalling that memory. The corners of her lips lifted to form a thin, shy smile.
"Then he trained us, right... then he took me for a walk and... and stayed silent... aghh, I can't do this! I can't!!" Rasie slapped the water surface lightly out of awkwardness.
"Come on, Rasieee!! You're almost done!" Cyhas encouraged while clenching her fist against her chest.
Beside her, Illya nodded enthusiastically.
"Yes, yes, yes!"
Rasie took a deep breath, trying to calm her heartbeat.
"In short, because he's cool, he's strong... and... he makes me feel safe and and and he's a little similar to my type that I told you about, that's all!!"
Her voice trailed off at the end of the sentence.
"And I truly realized I loved him when... when I leveled up to 40...."
Rasie's eyes looked more "alive" when telling this part.
"I looked at him and... somehow I felt very grateful to him. And I felt like... like... h... h... I want to hugging him.."
"I just thought, ah, maybe it's just momentary euphoria, right? Right? And... and in the sky when... when he openly said he loved me again... I felt happy... I felt... very happy.." Rasie held her own chest underwater.
"My heart was beating so fast... I started thinking maybe he... maybe he's the one.."
"He's stupid, his personality is so open, strong... and... I guess it's okay if he..."
Rasie swallowed hard, her face getting redder.
"I thought maybe I fell in love with him... and... and... when my emotions rose I decided to kiss him... to tell him that you're not the only one who can be open like that!!" Rasie said with ragged breathing.
As soon as she finished speaking, Rasie immediately submerged her head back into the water up to her eyes. Air bubbles poured out from her nose, hiding her exploding embarrassment.
Cyhas immediately moved forward. She cupped Rasie's wet cheeks with both hands.
"Rasieee, you're cute! So cute, oh my goodness!!"
"You're so cute!!"
"Shut up, shut up!!" Rasie swatted Cyhas's hands away and surfaced again. She immediately pointed straight at Illya's face.
"Your turn! Your turn, Illya!!"
Meanwhile, in the men's bathhouse.