I was going to get out of the bath first and let Igarashi-san and the other three take their time, but they all didn't take a long bath, but they all came up, reddened though they were.

''Um ... well, Kyouka-sister, can I ask you what happened?　I feel like I don't need to ask, but I'm pretty sure I've made it s*xually explicit.
"....what are you talking about? I wouldn't do such a thing, I just wanted to show my appreciation for my daily work to Rearward-kun........

　Igarashi was greatly upset when he couldn't take Misaki's direct hit. Elitia was about to run off to her room when Suzuna gently pulled her sleeve to stop her.

''Ah, um. If Kyouka-san is right, I won't suspect anything. Ellie-san, please drink some water and take a break. It's important to hydrate yourself after your bath.
'Yeah, yeah ... but ... but ... what a lack of attention on our part, I don't know, I mean, we didn't do anything wrong with Arihit, but I'm not comfortable right now with him around, so let me take the night off and reset it. Can I have it?
Oh, is it possible that you thought you could get away with it by wearing clothes, but then you became embarrassed?　All three of you are maidens - I can't speak for others either.
..........

　Theresia is also embarrassed to be called a maiden. I would fan the three of them, who are turning bright red, if I had a fan.

　I can't say that I have nothing to be ashamed of. For my part, I'm very sorry, but the three of us aren't angry about the matter of our clothes showing through, and although it was very awkward, we've come to terms with the fact that it was an act of God.

　But my memory is imprinted with what I saw earlier. If I'm going to party with a woman, I must have the heart of a saint, but I'm not at all like that now.

''........hmm?　Whoa, what's the matter, Suzuna, stare so long?
No, no. Arihito-san, make sure you're hydrated....
'Suzu said she was grateful to Arihito-san and wanted to flush her back. She even sighed a lot while she was waiting.
Oh, no...
We won't be afraid of red lights if we all cross them together, right? I'd like to ask you to do something about that, Alihito-san.
Oh, hey, what are you talking about...?

　Misaki didn't explain, but retreated into her own bedroom. The remaining Suzuna, usually calm and collected, freaks out under my gaze and shakes her shoulders.

''Well.........I'm just as grateful to Arihito-san as you all are, so I wanted to tell you how grateful I am for your daily work. It is. I'm not talking about baked rice cakes or anything like that...
''Suzuna, you don't have to be so reserved, Aricht understands. I haven't known her that long either, but she let me shed my back.
'Well, well I was surprised, but I don't think it's a good idea for us to be too complacent as adults.
You're so calm... you were more shy at first, weren't you?

　As for Igarashi-san, she seems to be the most embarrassed about the wetness of her clothes. That's not surprising, she has large breasts, so the way the wet fabric sticks to her is also pithy - and it's going to show on her face when I imagine it.

'....Does karma stop going up when you have a party?
'Igarashi-san, please don't do this. I don't want to get caught.
'So far, they haven't reacted because they've both agreed to it but I don't feel too good about the license they're keeping an eye on me. We have to be careful.

　Elitia drinks a little glass of water and empties it. 'I guess it's time to rest for today and get ready for tomorrow.

'Speaking of which, where are Melissa and Madoka?　You're staying here today, since you're joining our party.
'Oh that too. We need to decide on a room assignment.

　After Elitia and Igarashi-san told me, I finally realize that I'm not the only one. Where are the girls now?

　Just as I was thinking that, there is a knock on the door. And then I hear a voice from outside.

'Brother Alihit, we're back now. It's Madoka. Melissa is with you.
Yeah, you're here. I'll pick the lock now.

　I open the door and Madoka and Melissa come in. Apparently they were working on the demolition, so Melissa had taken care to bathe outside, and Madoka seemed to go along for the ride, removing the turban she always wears. Her bob cut dark hair was a little moist.

'You've been outside for a bath?　Don't hesitate to use this bathroom if you want.
'Ha, yes ... thank you, brother. But today, Melissa-san wanted to go home to take a bath, so I came to visit with her. I also had some things to do outside. I asked Zion-chan to come with me.
'I see. Has Theon gone back to the outhouse?
"...a very nice girl. He's strong, but he listens to me a lot.

　Melissa seems to be a dog lover too, and I can see a slight smile on her face. She's wearing a private dress-type outfit instead of her usual tuna, and her hair, which is always a bit shaggy, is well combed - I wonder if Madoka took care of it after her bath.

'This is what I asked the apothecary to give me. It's a tonic.
I see. It's easier to make than I thought. Thanks for the effort.
'No, this is what I do, and I'm happy to help.

　He thanked her and tried to let it slide for now, but there was no way Igarashi-san would have missed it.

''Do you mean tonic tonic tonic or something like that?　So there are things like drinkables in the labyrinth country.
'They say you can make it from a mushroom-type demon, but do you mean you could make it from dirty mash?　With Misaki around, it looks like you got some rare material.
Some mushrooms are poisonous, but some are good for your health, and that's what we've extracted.

　Igarashi had been drinking nutritional drinks from time to time at work, and she was interested in them because she thought they were the same kind of thing.

　Melissa doesn't say anything in particular - she seemed to have trouble saying it was a tonic earlier, so I thought it was something to be used in that direction, but that may not be the case.

''Well then, if anyone is feeling tired, you can take it.
'What ... are you sure?　But isn't it valuable...
If you want to hunt dirty mash, you can, so it's not so precious that you can't get it again. It might taste amazing, so I want someone else to taste it.
'Arithito but you're right. If it tastes bad, you might not be able to use it when you should.

　If you have a companion who is tired from the day-to-day exploration, I hope it will help you recover. That would be better than keeping it for the rest of your life.

　Then I'm asking for a taste - the harvest in the labyrinth is common property, so everyone is entitled to experience the first bite. I'm not a hipster by any means.

''It's amber in color and looks delicious... but I wonder how it smells...''
'Some things are hard to get over...'
''Misaki-chan and the others might want to have a drink too, so let's ask her later. Theresia-san seems....interested in...?
..........

　Theresa didn't nod. She wasn't going to let him drink if he didn't feel like it, but when it came to this, everyone was so defensive that no one wanted to touch it.

　　　◆ ◆ ◆

　Afterwards, after everyone left the living room, I used the Elementary Appraisal Scroll to see what effect it had, and I got these results.

　◆Dirty Spirit ◆.
　If you drink it, you will be in a 'tonic' state for a certain amount of time.
　There may be side effects when using it.

(I'm glad I didn't take it ... the risk is too great. What the hell are the side effects?)

　I know it's dirty because it's dirty mash, but when I say drink in "Spirit", I think it's a drink.

　If it's a drink where the colored core of the Dirty Mash is leached by soaking it in liquor or something like that, then it's not a good idea to give it to minors. I haven't checked if there is a concept of underage in the labyrinth country.

　The "tonic" itself is supposed to give you stamina or something like that, but trying out something that has side effects is indeed barbaric. I put the bottle of Dirty Spirit in the living room cupboard and returned to my bedroom.

''Ah........Aricht-san, what was the result of your appraisal?''
It's a very booze-y name, so minors shouldn't drink it.


　Tonight she was sharing a room with Suzuna again, and she seemed to be sitting on her bed, thinking about something. It would be hard to move from one room to another every day by lottery, so she'd have to change rooms again tomorrow.

'Suzuna, are you sure you'll be okay in the same room?'
''Yes, I'm resting well and, well... I was wondering if it's okay for me to share a room with you, Aricht-san... Misaki-chan can tell you lots of exciting stories.
'It's better to be quiet, as expected, at least before bed. Even though it's a lot of fun, Misaki's topics of conversation tend to make fun of me.
''Hmmm.......Misaki-chan, I always do that to people I like.

　It's a common thing when you're a kid, teasing for attention and all that. I don't know if I should be happy about the fact that I'm the object of that to Misaki.

'Am I quiet when I sleep?　I mean, if Suzuna is asleep, I don't know.
It's very quiet. I don't have to worry about breathing too loudly or anything...
'Don't worry, I don't hear anything. Well, I guess it's okay, at least a little bit. I don't want you bouncing off the covers or anything because you're a bad sleeper.
''Hmmm........Misaki-chan can be like that, so please tell her not to show her belly when you are in the room with her. Misaki-chan, she'll listen to what you say, Aricht-san, she'll listen to you honestly.

　If my roommate was sleeping on his or her stomach, what could I do - just gently put a blanket over him or her? Well, once I fall asleep, I'm a deep sleeper too, so it's not often that I suddenly wake up in the middle of the night.

'.........oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't be doing this where Misaki-chan isn't around.......like we're talking about a rumor, right?
'I'm not saying anything bad about him, so that's fine. When people say that he's a bad sleeper, it's just the way I imagine him to be on a daily basis.
'I don't think I'd want to show Arihito-san too much embarrassment. Misaki, I really respect Aricht-san so....
Oh, really...?　Misaki's always been on a roll, so I thought it would be a good idea to listen to her half of the story.


　Talking like this makes me wonder if he's really the same age as Misaki. When I was in high school, I wasn't as calm as Suzuna.

'I think everyone is comfortable with Arihito-san's sense of distance that doesn't allow him to get into people's minds unnecessarily.......because I am too.
'I'm not that fastidious, though. Maybe I'm just slow.
Oh...well, you're aware of that....
Hmm?　Suzuna, what did you say?
''Wha........nothing. I thought men like this were only in stories, but it's really........amazing.......

　When you stare at me with a blush on your cheeks like that, you might misunderstand - but right now Suzuna doesn't seem to be saying 'great' in a very positive way.

''........Ah. S-, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I did something rude again.......
'No, I don't mind. Anyway, I'm glad we're getting to talk about things. If you have any thoughts too, Suzuna, you can always... hmm?

　The chest of drawers on Suzuna's bedside table glowed a pale neon blue.

　It was Suzuna's license. The light periodically intensified and weakened, as if to signal something.

''This is........Aricht-san, can you take a look at it?''
'Oh, yeah...'

　I got out of bed and asked to see the license for the Suzuna. There was a display on it that read.

　◆Notice ◆.
　Ariadne requests Suzuna to use a medium.

'Is this ... a call from Ariadne?　You're asking me to use a 'medium' in a place like this...
"...not everything appears on the license, but so far I haven't seen anything wrong, so I'm pretty sure this is what Ariadne asked for.

　I can contact Ariadne in the fourth layer of "Akebono's Field" through the license - not to mention, there seems to be a reason why the other side is asking for a "spirit medium".

　I'm not going to question the indication of the license either, and if there's some urgent requirement, it's not a good idea to go through with it.