「はぁ……」

　アリスと相川さんが用事で先に帰った放課後の研究棟で、信吾が大きな溜息をついた。俺はコンにアイスを食べさせながら横目で信吾に問いかける。

「どうした？」

「恵美ちゃんの誕生日に渡すプレゼントが思いつかないんだよ」

　『もうおしまいだぁ！』というような感じで机に突っ伏しながら俺とコンを見てくる、そんなモン適当に喜びそうなブランド品でも渡せば良いだろ……。
　そう思ったが真剣に悩んでいる信吾に投げやりに答えるわけにもいかずに、俺もそれなりに考える事にする。そもそも誕生日は何時だ？　それによって用意するのに掛けれる時間も変わってくる。

「誕生日っていつ？」

「7月20日だよ」

　ふむ……まだ3週間あるのか。何かを買う為に取り寄せるにしても、何かを作るとしても十分に時間はあるな。後は相川さんの趣味とか嗜好だな本人が喜ぶ物が一番良いだろう、俺は信吾に彼女の好きな物や趣味を質問するが呆れた答えが返って来た。

「それがさ、ボクそういうの聞いた事ないから分からないんだよ」

　分からないっておい！　自分の彼女の事にもう少し興味持てよ！？　信吾の肩を掴んで揺らしながら文句を言うと涙目になりながら謝ってくる。

「ごめんって！　でもなんか恥ずかしくて聞けなかったんだよ。あ、でも温泉が好きって言ってた」

　ほう、温泉か。温泉なぁ……温泉は俺も好きだ。よし！　決まったぞ、俺は再び信吾の肩を掴んで宣言する。

「温泉を掘ろう！」

「フヒ！？」

　『何言ってるの？』的な目で見つめ返す信吾に俺は説明する。温泉が好きな相川さんの為に、信吾が自分で温泉を掘ってプレゼントすると間違いなく好感度はアップするはずだ。
　それに自分で掘った温泉なら、金を取られる事も無く好きな時に好きなだけ浸かる事が出来て更に他人という邪魔が入ることも無い！　まさに完璧なフロンティアの完成だ。そう熱弁すると信吾は具体的な問題点を上げてくる。

「でも、土地はどうするの？　それに費用や作業するのにも人手がいるよ？」

　無論その点もちゃんと考えてある。土地なんざ買えば良いのだ！　どうやら信吾はまだ自分のキャッシュ情報を確認していないようだが、この前の『欧州の悲劇』の治療薬を開発した報奨金が今日それぞれの口座に振り込まれてた。
　その額はなんと『５億ドル』。俺と信吾の報奨金を合わせればそれこそ城が建設できる。作業も自分達のパワースーツを使えばどうにかなるだろうし、温泉を掘り当てるのに必要な専門知識も当てがある。俺がこう説明すると、

「フヒ、いけそうな気がしてきた」

と信吾も乗り気になっている。よし後は何から手をつけるかだな、俺がこの先の予定を考えていると信吾は不安そうな顔で俺に質問してくる。

「でも良いの？　功樹だって別の事で報奨金を使いたいんじゃない？」

「信吾、こういう時に金使わないでどうするんだよ。そんな事は気にしないで予定を組むぞ」

　俺が笑いながらそう言うと信吾は『ありがとう』と嬉しそうに返してきた。まぁ本当に気にしなくて良いぞ、完成したら俺もアリスも使うだろうしな！



「じゃあ、場所は箱根でいいよな？」

「フヒ、無難な所だね」

　場所を俺の家に移して、これからの細かい予定を組む。場所は箱根で山のど真ん中辺りの土地を購入する事になった、これは周りの景観もそうだが第一に他人という邪魔が入らないようにする為でもある。次に温泉に付随する建物だが外国から丸々移築する事に決めたのだが……ここで問題が発生した。

「バロック様式の古城にしようぜ！」

「フヒ！　そんなの趣味悪いよ、ケルン大聖堂みたいなゴシック様式が良いって！」

　俺と信吾の建物に対する価値観が完全に違っていたのだ。どちらも譲らず平行線を辿った為に最終手段として母さんに相談してみる事にしたのだが、ゴミを見るような目でこう言われた。

'You know, the hot springs we make for the girls, right?　Why would they choose such an unpleasant building where vampires and ghosts are likely to be present? It would have to be the splendid Ottoman palace.

　No, as expected, I don't think so, and in the end, Shingo and I decided to ask Claire, aka 'Rocket Man', who had helped us during the previous debacle, to make a decision. We wrote our opinions to the address she had given us before and sent it to her, and within 10 minutes we received a reply.

'It's all rejected, I don't think you should show them a building like that, they'll definitely be drawn away, so I don't think you should. It should be a gentler, warmer looking log house.'

　With a crane call from Claire, we decided to order a log house from an importer. As for the rest of the land, we decided to buy it from her as a tatemae, since there are legal formalities involved.
　I suggested to Shingo that he could work on the project on his day off, but he gave me a different answer than I expected.

It's a good idea to have a good idea of what to do. You're not going to be able to find any particular thing to do at the school.

　We each sent a text to our girlfriends, 'I'm going to study insect biology for about three weeks,' and three days later we were ready to go, and three days later we were off to the mountains of Hakone.



　From the town at the foot of the mountain, we flew to the land I had purchased in my power suit. Of course, I'm carrying Shingo, who is also wearing the suit, and I'm carrying as much equipment as I can carry while I'm at it. But really, we're in the middle of the mountains, and all you can see around us is a forest. Well this is more convenient.

It's almost time for us to land. We'll make room and gain altitude.

　Shingo, who was looking at the map, sends me a transmission. I follow his voice and ascend to 200 meters above the ground, I drop the dynamite that Shingo is holding in his hand, saying, "I'll drop it then.
　The dynamite, which is set to work at 5 meters above the ground, works as expected, blowing away the forest within 10 meters of the surrounding area and creating a landing point. After landing at the newly created point, the ship took no time to rest before dynamite was set on the entire area around it and it fell back into the sky.

''Huh!　Huh-heehee.

　Every time Shingo presses the blasting switch with a strange smile, the forest is blown away and a rapidly open land is created. Hey Shingo you're going to use that blown up tree later, so don't shatter it too much.

'An excavator is right here?'

Yeah, just hold her steady. I'll take control from here.

　After the land was reclaimed, we set up a large excavator and started digging out the water vein of the hot spring. I asked a geologist from the New Metal Development Department of the Institute of Next Generation Science to estimate the general location of the water vein.
　When the anchor was sufficiently submerged in the ground, today's work was done. All we have to do now is leave it alone and hope that the hot springs are blowing out tomorrow morning. Once again holding Shingo in my arms, I soared into the sky and started flying towards the town at the foot of the mountain where I had booked an inn.




---- Miki Arakawa Viewpoint----

　I had come to the state executive branch to arrange the land for Gongju and Saito-kun. Gongju seemed to think that as long as he owned the land, he wouldn't have any problems, but in reality, there were other complicated procedures to go through. I have to take over the various procedures, such as permission to use the hot spring water and building permits.

'I thought I knew everything, but I guess I'm just a kid.

　As a mother, she is very happy that Gongju, who normally solves everything herself, comes to ask for a favor on a personal matter. Maybe that's why I forgot to make an appointment with the person in charge and ended up coming to the executive branch all of a sudden.

'My name is Miki Arakawa and I would like to meet the person in charge of land-related matters.

　I understand that I can't see him even if he comes unexpectedly, so I mention the name of "Arakawa" and ask him to come in somewhat forcefully. As expected, I was immediately granted a meeting with the person in charge and entered the room, but for some reason I saw a sweating and frightened person in charge.

You are going to stage a coup d'etat!　Then you should go to the Cabinet Office or the Self-Defense Force Headquarters, not here!

　What am I wrong about?　I am here to consult with you about the land and the interests involved in it for Gongju. I will explain the matter to you.

'I understand!　I'll grant you everything, just save your life!

He handed me a settlement stamp, saying "Let's go! He said, "I'm going to blow you up and force you to permit me to do this.　It's true that I gave the name "Arakawa" to force the meeting, but if I didn't, not only me, but also Kunugi and Saito-kun would be misunderstood.
　I spent the next two hours politely explaining to them to clear up any misunderstandings, and then I had them sign all the documents and leave the reception room. And when I stood at the exit of the executive branch, I finally understood why the person in charge was so frightened.

'It was because of this, wasn't it?'

　I couldn't help but speak, and what I saw in my eyes was the sight of a security force that had been greatly augmented since the last incident. Even though it was painted with UN affiliation, with 200 fully armed soldiers, 15 tanks and armored vehicles, and a combat helicopter flying overhead, one might be mistaken.

'That's a bit much,'

　While thinking about this, I sent a text message to Kouki saying, 'Everything is fine.



----Kouki Arakawa Viewpoint

I got it!

Baboon, you made it.

　It's been a little over two weeks since we started digging for the hot springs and we've finally completed something we're happy with. To begin with, the reason why it took longer than planned is that the hot springs did not come out of the first place we dug, and we had to dig three more places after that. After the hot spring gushed out, they built a wall made of blown-out wood around it, passed a pipe through the ground, and then connected a pipe that was extended from another underground water vein to make the hot water just the right amount.
　After that, we had to build a log house in an unobstructed area after laying down the rocks to make a bathtub, but I don't want to talk about the difficulty of that work, so I won't mention it. I don't want to remember how hard it was, so I'll spare you the trouble, but if I were to add a word of support, it would be 'It was not a job for two people.

The rest is just beds and other necessities of life. Do you have to carry it back and forth?'

No, Claire said she's working with her business associates to bring everything in by helicopter. We'll go back to the institute and pick up Alice and Aikawa-san.

　I didn't tell Shingo, but the night before last, Claire-san sent me a text message the night before last saying, ''If you have Gongju-kun and the others prepare the things you need for life, there's a possibility of a demonic boundary, so I'll do it on my end.
　What the hell is a demonic state of affairs!　It's not going to happen. I was going to buy a bed with a canopy or something.... I was complaining, and then Shingo said to me.

Kunugi, I'm ready.

He said, so he took off for the academy as an adult.



''What?　Hot springs?

　I contacted the two of them beforehand to prepare for the overnight stay and wait for them in the research building, so all I had to do was tell them what to do. I watched with a grin as Shingo shyly told Aikawa-san about his gift.

'Yeah, I just remembered that Emi said before that she liked hot springs, so I was making one with Koki. We said we were studying insects, but really, we've been digging hot springs all along. So.........would you accept it as a birthday present?

　My Japanese is a little suspect due to my nervousness, but I'm sure the meaning of "I dug the hot spring for you, so let's go now" was understood, and Aikawa-san happily hugged Shingo. It's a good thing that I also feel that my efforts were worth it when I see Shingo who looks equally happy. I was sullenly thinking about that when Alice

What will I get for my time?

He asked me with a smile, but I honestly didn't think anything of it, so I could only say 'secret'.



　I put Alice in my suit and forced Aikawa-san into Shingo's suit and flew back to the hot spring, after the daily necessities had already been brought into the log cabin. I found a letter on the table and read it.

I've brought in the items that my sister Ellis and all the other female colleagues have selected for you. I'm sure I paid for it out of your cash, so don't worry about it.

　After I finished reading, I looked around and saw that there were indeed dishes and tables full of 'femininity'... isn't that too fancy?　That's what I was thinking about.

Megumi!　This is cute.

It's true, Singh, you guys have good taste.

So I decided to tear the letter up into little pieces and take credit for it for us. I spoke to Shingo with my eyes as well and he nodded coyly, just as long as he didn't find out!　If they don't find out.　Now, the only thing left to do is to introduce you to the bathrooms, but I think you're going to want to get them to actually take a bath and when I say so...

I will, Alice and I will come in, but please don't look in.

Aikawa-san said to me in embarrassment. 'Of course I wouldn't do that,' I replied, 'but I've already planned it with Shingo!　For the millionth time, it's okay if they don't find out!　As I'm thinking these insolent thoughts, Alice looks me in the eye and blurts out a few words.

''That's right. If you're going to peek at me, it's a rabbit's nest, but if Gongju peeks at Megumi, I'll have to crush her!　

Huh?　Where are you going to crush it!　Aikawa-san says the same thing as she is driven by the fear of the pain in her lower abdomen area.

''Right. If Shin-kun looks at Alice-chan instead of me, I'll have to crush him.''

"Huh? Shingo sounded frightened, and the two of them disappeared into the open-air bath with those words as a souvenir, but we couldn't move from there. Wasn't Aris such a scary boy?　
　I tried desperately to remember, but I couldn't get an answer, but a thought came to me... 'If you're going to peek at me, anyway,' said Alice, 'that might be...' When Shingo remembers what Aikawa-san said to him, they look at each other and both of them are full of smiles.



There will be a lot of fun things to do this summer vacation.