CH 195.1

Chapter 195.1: Night At The School Tower

「Haah…」

The reason he let out a moan as his body immersed in the hot bath was simply that he was Japanese.

Souma Yuuto seriously considered that fact as he entered the bathtub filled with hot water.

「He really made a huge open-air bath, huh.」

This hot-spring hotel-sized open-air bath was enough for all members of the boys’ team to enter together. Though he had this experience before during a field trip, the wasteland that lay right on the other side of the steam slapped him back to the reality called survival life in the dungeon of another world.

Nevertheless, it didn’t change the fact that entering a hot bath literally healed his weary heart.

「Yo, you seem to have worked your ass off.」

「That goes for you too, Ryuuichi.」

「Heh, I guess you’re right.」

Tendou Ryuuichi had been fighting Yamata no Orochi non-stop from start till the end of the scouting session. His burden was clearly far heavier than Yuuto and Co who only went hunting weak monsters, and the perfect cure for their fatigue was letting their bodies immerse in the hot water.

Yuuto and Ryuuichi sat side-by-side, enjoying the hot bath in silence amid the Totem Pole Trio’s merry voices as BGM.

「Is that even allowed?」

「Oioi, it’s too late now that you’ve entered the bathtub.」

Ryuuichi muttered dumbfoundedly as he heard Yuuto’s voice.

「Yeah, I mean, it feels like we’re… Completely led by the nose by Momokawa.」

Ryuuichi was the same as always but, Yuuto’s current expression was that of someone who had submitted to the temptation of the bathtub.

「Don’t be so petty.」

It wasn’t limited to the wonderful bathtub. Before they took a bath, they had had a meal that could be called a feast from the game they had hunted during the day.

A lot of meat dishes, dripping with their delicious meat juice, were cooked with exquisitely balanced seasoning and a lot of spice.

Plenty of soups seasoned with fish sauce in the cauldron, fresh salad served on a platter, and pickled dishes in small bowls.

And following the sumptuous meal was dessert. Fruit pickled in honey, while there was only a small portion of that, it was distributed equally among the 18 people.

After Meiko left the group during Reina’s incident, Yuuto felt ashamed of himself and wished that Meiko would go back and cook for them. Without Meiko, they had no choice but to go back to eating walnuts despite the abundant edible ingredients in the dungeon. The walnuts might be enough to replenish their nutrition, but they literally were living like cavemen since they had no idea which ingredient was safe to consume.

Nevertheless, the Totem Pole Trio who lived like cavemen were also speechless when they saw the lineup of dishes which were basically a full course, completely different from their haphazardly prepared meals.

Following the sumptuous feast was the hot bath, open-air style.

Moreover, since the fairy plaza in the tower was lacking the usual lawn, Kotaro told everyone that he would prepare soft beddings later.

That was the most gracious offer. The more he thought about it, the more he felt like their current environment was akin to an illusion or dream-like environment in this dungeon.

But Momokawa Kotaro had turned that illusion into reality with his vocation.

Like the bath they’re enjoying right now, it was made with one of his vocation’s skills called 『Witch’s Kettle』. It wasn’t just for cooking, the kettle could also be used for various purposes such as smoking or refrigeration.

Using that ability, combined with the giant kettle made with Kyoko’s earth magic, filling the completed kettle with Shimokawa’s water magic, and heating the water with the kettle’s special abilities—Thus, the giant open-air bath, which was completed by the combined force of the three people, was made as pair for the girls too and completed in literally no time.

The dishes were also cooked with the 『Witch’s Kettle』.

Yuuto had already heard the rumor about the dishes made by Futaba Meiko— as a member of the cooking club, he could rival a professional chef. In addition to her already transcendental cooking skills, her way of freely using the 『Witch’s Kettle』 as an Omni cookware had greatly shortened the time and labor needed for cooking.

In addition, she had also worked together with Kotaro and mastered the way of cooking using only the edible local ingredients that could only be found inside the dungeon.

「We’ve no choice but to accept the truth. I, or should I say, all of us, won’t be able to do the same.」

The 『Sage』 Takanashi Kotori who could use alchemy, and Tendou Ryuuichi who could supplement what he lacked with 『King』, those two vocations were really useful in combat. But even those two vocations couldn’t reproduce a comfortable living environment like Kotaro’s vocation did.

It was a harsh reality that Kotaro’s vocation was the only one that allowed them to enjoy a comfortable living environment in the dungeon.

It wasn’t a simple difference of abilities. It was akin to the difference in their disposition.

「Well, he’s really a hard-working fella since he went as far as preparing this.」

Said Ryuuichi as he tapped on the floating bucket that was filled with a white towel prepared by Kotaro.

The white towel was made with Arachne’s thread, the bucket was made with 『Simple Alchemy Formation』 using the log from the jungle that was prepared by Yamada.

Moreover, in the corner of the open-air bath was 『Nut’s Bar Soap』 which was made from fruit that could help them to get rid of stains in their clothes. The soap was closer to a real soap than a mere mix-match of the chopped-up and compressed ingredients.

The reason Kotaro had prepared even the simplest necessities for daily life might be because of his OCD, or simply to let them know about the versatility of his vocation.

Kotaro was currently busying himself with selecting monster material that the hunting team had brought back. He would use it in alchemy and take a dip in the bath once he was done with his job.

「He isn’t preparing to spend his entire life in this place, right?」

「That guy just got cold feet. He won’t be able to calm his mind unless he does something.」

「Ryuuichi, you have the experience of partying with Momokawa before, right? Could it be that you’re getting along with him?」

「The heck, are you trying to say that I’m betraying you? Or, could it be that you’re jealous of me being able to get along with Momokawa?」

A dumbfounded Yuuto heaved a sigh seeing Ryuuichi ask that question as if he had made a fool of him. Ryuuichi knew that Yuuto wasn’t the kind of person who got provoked easily and that too by such cheap provocation.

「So, what actually happened?」

「Nothing. He just bribed me with a cigarette then made a commotion among the girls and solved their problem… In the end, he got kidnapped by a spider right after the boss battle.」

「Considering all of that, you seem to take Momokawa’s side.」

「That’s only natural, after all, he even made an In-Charge-of-Tendou-kun.」

「Don’t you think that Momokawa is simply keeping his guard toward you?」

「Coz he’s weak. That pipsqueak ain’t your normal pipsqueak.」

And yet, there was the fact that Momokawa Kotaro had managed to bypass Souma Yuuto and Tendou Ryuuichi, directly taking control of Class 2-7.

As for the reason he made such a drastic move, Souma Yuuto already had his own guess in that regard. After the class meeting, he realized that he wasn’t as dissatisfied as he expected.

「That’s what makes him so eerie. The one who killed Reina is Momokawa and yet, the one who took the central role in this operation is also him.」

It was as if everybody in the class had been dancing on his palm all along.

In fact, they even obediently followed his order to hunt the prey for their food.

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But no one objected to his order since they knew that it was reasonable.

「Fool, you look like a girl in love with worrying about that now.」

「What?」

「Judging someone in accordance with what you hear from the other is what girls do. Quit acting like a girl, ask the person himself. Once you learn that he’s better, you try to sell a fight. As your childhood friend, I’ll at least teach you, an honor student, how to sell a fight.」

「Aah, I understand, I’m really such a fool. I’ll ask you then.」

「Oh, shut up!」

But, Ryuuichi was right.

The fact that Momokawa Kotaro had killed Reina wouldn’t change. Yuuto might not be able to forgive Kotaro for the rest of his life, nevertheless, he decided to cooperate with Kotaro and the rest of his classmates due to the current situation.

Moreover, he had to see with his own eyes whether Momokawa Kotaro was truly a man worthy of his trust.

「Haah… The hot water has hit the spot.」

Souma Yuuto looked up at the night sky as he gave his honest opinion about the open-air bath.

===

「Haah…」

Himeno Airi dipped herself into the bathtub, her expression was that of someone who was at the bottom of her despair seeing the scenery before her.

「Yup, the open-air bath is perfect.」

「We really have to thank Momokawa-kun for this.」

「A~h, it feels so go~od.」

「Kotori should’ve come faster.」

Before her were the members of Souma harem party starting from Souma Sakura, Kisaragi Ryoukou, Natsukawa Minami, and Kenzaki Asuna. Yes, it was a lineup of the famous beauties of Shiromine High.

All of them were stark naked as they immersed themselves in the open-air bath.

「It must be some sort of new spell which created the bathtub~」

「He~, that’s jackpot magic.」

「Though it’s slightly different from normal, he has learnt a new skill.」