I was just about to leave the dining room after a leisurely dinner when Sylvia came running up to me with a smile and a pat on the back.

　Judging from the atmosphere, it seems that they are still talking in work mode rather than private.

''Both of you are tired from your long journey, right? If you'd like, why don't we take a bath at our place to get rid of your fatigue?
'Oh ...... I'm definitely tired, but ......'

　He is approached with an invitation that is hard to refuse, and he slurs his words vaguely.

　As a matter of fact, I haven't used the bathhouse of the Wakaba-Tei in the spring since I came to Green Hollow, and that slight experience has been concentrated in the very beginning.

　The reason for this is the situation Garnett is in.
　In fulfilling the absolute requirement of hiding her gender, the biggest problem is bathing.

　The Kingdom of Westland is so vast that there are still some areas where bathing is not practiced, but on the whole, these areas are becoming a minority.

　Green Hollow is particularly prone to this, and because of the hot springs and the easy availability of boiling water, it has become a common practice to rinse off your body every night.

　This obsession is so hardcore that when the whole town went to the Demon King's Castle Realm to support the Demon King's War, they even built a temporary large bathhouse in an underground space that couldn't hold the hot springs.

　However, perhaps the reverse of the fact that hot springs and public baths are well developed, there are very few cases of people having bathrooms in their homes.

　Paying less than the cost of snacking and using public baths is a common bathing style in Green Hollow.

　Of course, there are no bathrooms in the original White Wolf Store building, and we too use the town's bathrooms, but this is where the question of Garnett's gender comes into play.

　Public bathrooms and large baths are not available.
　We have no choice but to use the private baths provided by some of the stores, but the Wakabatei does not have such a service.

("I used to be able to say no without feeling uncomfortable, but that's not the case anymore: ......)

　Sylvia doesn't know Garnet's true gender, but I know that she's a knight who hid her identity in order to protect me.

　So, at first, I was able to shift my living environment without any discomfort under the guise of 'because of my special position as a knight', but as Garnett became more familiar with the town and opened up to Sylvia, I began to feel uncomfortable with the fact that I was dealing with such a situation forever.

　...... Well, I didn't check out every single one of the other guys' impressions, so it's possible that I'm just paying too much attention to them.

(As expected, it's time to come up with another excuse: ......?)

　As she pondered this and that during the slight silence, Sylvia made sure there were no other staff or guests around before she began to say something she hadn't expected to say.

''Of course I haven't forgotten about Garnett-san's situation. Many of the other knights don't want to use the large bathrooms because they say it's not indicative of using the same bathrooms as the soldiers, or they're worried that their clothes and belongings will be stolen. We don't let that happen at our inn, though.

　Sylvia crossed her arms under her chest, nodded vigorously and continued her words.

''So, we decided to start a new service at our inn as well. The preparations themselves have been underway for a while now, but they were completed while Luke-san and the others were in the royal capital.''
New service?　Maybe a private bath?
'Yes!　We've created a new small room for one or two people to use, and a new room that's small enough to hold a small adventuring party at a time!　There aren't too many of them yet.

　It was unexpectedly good news.
　With the increase in the number of knights and party unit adventurers, the Springtime Wakaba-Tei must have begun to expand and renovate to meet their demand.

''That one's good. The white wolf's. It's a good thing we're here for an occasional visit, right?　But I'm the type of person who wants to relax on my own, so it would cost me two rooms' worth of money. We don't have that much money.

　Apparently, Garnett is also willing to take Sylvia's suggestion.

　If we rent two private rooms, as we always do in other bathhouses, we can continue to misrepresent Garnet's gender without any discomfort.

　So I asked Sylvia to get the key to the bathhouse, but for some reason, Sylvia returned with a troubled look on her face.

''I'm sorry. There are still only two baths in the small room, but it seems that a guest with a family rented one of them just now.''
Then I guess we'll have to do it: ......

　The mother and daughter of the chapter leaders, Florence and Lisa, are the ones who come to mind when I hear of families who are content with a small room for one or two people.

　I don't know if it's really those two or not, but it would be a normal pattern for them to enjoy a meal and a hot spring at the best inn in town on holiday.

　And then Sylvia came up with a proposal that was too critical for me.

The rest of the small rooms and the bath for the party are empty, do you mind if I go there as well?

　...... No, I can't think of a natural excuse to refuse.

　Even if it's a mere matter of preference to get rid of the desire for a different private room for each of us, refusing to share even a bathhouse large enough for a small party might be suspicious indeed.

　I turned to Garnett to ask his opinion on what was going on.

　But in the end, Garnett simply walked past me and accepted the key to the private room from Sylvia's hand as if it were a matter of course.

It's a good thing there's only one room available. Let's go, white wolf.
'What?　Oh, hey ......!

　In front of Sylvia, I couldn't hold her back too strongly, and after catching up with Garnett, who was walking nonchalantly, I asked her in a hushed voice.

''You, you need to know exactly what you're talking about--''

　The face that peered into the room as they walked shoulder to shoulder, a hint of reddening of its cheeks, while its eyebrows were knit together as if to feign grumpiness.

I'm not sure you understand. I'm not going to be the only one who can do that. It's always a good idea to look at it the way you do, idiot.

　...... got me. Such an expression is too critical for me.

　If I had been told so clearly in person, I couldn't have refused to give any kind of reason.