Chapter 22: Relaxing time on Hottokeya
Eleonora just sweatdrops and smiles weakly when seeing Aoi's face right now. She knows very well what kind of face that kansai girl makes, and that's why the young chairman doesn't say anything to her as she prefers to take it slow and silent.
'I may have a new girlfriend later. Aoi-san is giving me the vibe and face of someone who was currently falling in love, and the person who won that is me. It's so obvious, and there's no way someone won't notice it unless they're dense and not knowledgeable in the love department.'
She just sighs in tiredness as she slowly shakes her head.
'What an awesome life I have….'
She tries to ignore it and focus on enjoying the bath as she thinks that. Her schedule for today is camping with her beloved sister-in-law, Kagamihara Nadeshiko, along with her friends from the high school she currently attends. Relaxing her body, and if anything strange or weird happens to them, she doesn't have a choice but to protect them from any harm.
After all, she's the only one who can fight in her current group.
"So… Nadeshiko-chan, when exactly are you interested in camping? When I visited you last year, I'm pretty sure you didn't have any interest in that. What's the sudden change?"
Eleonora asked Nadeshiko, which made the pink-haired girl smile at her. She shows her sister-in-law widened smile, a sign that is something that really she currently loves. Eleonora had to ask because Nadeshiko always loves to eat, which is a trait and habit her father shares.
Curiosity hits Chiaki and Aoi; they look at each other and look straight to Nadeshiko, who is about to answer it.
"Hehehe. It's around early November when our family finished moving, Leo-nee-chan! I was cycling from home and ended up near the campsite of Lake Motosu because I wanted to see Mount Fuji! I missed seeing it because I was asleep, and Onee-chan won't wake me up; that's why I determined to do that myself."
"Oh…? Is that so? Then how come you like camping?"
"Um… it's because of Rin-chan! I ended up meeting with her when she was doing solo camping, and she sheltered me for a while. It's really awesome, the food is delicious, and the view from there is also beautiful! I can see Mount Fuji from there while eating delicious food Rin-chan gave me!"
"I have to repeat it, but she's quite brave to do solo camping in this month and this kind of weather. But I think if she was camping in a site protected by the laws, I wouldn't worry about her safety. Although there's no wrong to be cautious and aware of the surrounding."
"I'm pretty sure Rin-chan do that too! And she's a big girl, she is a lot braver than me, Leo-nee-chan. She said it's not her first time to do solo camp. I'm amazed by that."
Chiaki nods her head, agreeing with her words about her friend, Shima Rin, who often do solo camp and is not afraid of any danger that might harm her in any way.
"Indeed. Shimarin is a fearless girl, unlike us… I think? I mean, I rarely do solo camp like her. Mostly I'm with Inuko, right? I'm quite jealous of that side of her. Maybe someday I want to do solo camp too. It will be a good lesson for me."
"Aki's right. We often camp together and not solo like Shima-san. I'm not brave enough to do that, and Shima-san seems like a person who enjoys being alone. Nadeshiko-chan even trying to make her join our club every time she got the chance."
The said person just smiled happily as she rubbed her head in embarrassment.
"Nadeshiko-chan, you can't force her to join the club. Remember that, okay?"
"I know, Leo-nee-chan! I won't force Rin-chan again to join our club!"
Eleonora smiled and pat Nadeshiko's head, making the pink-haired girl smile happily and feel comfortable when her sister-in-law suddenly pats her head. Her patting is somewhat addicting for Nadeshiko, and she's not going to lie that the pink-haired bubbly girl always wants more to be patted by the long bluish-haired girl.
'Honestly, I wonder who's the younger and the older. Nadeshiko-chan always liked to be mistaken as a middle-schooler or younger, and she always wanted to be spoiled. Not going to lie, I also felt guilt to pamper her too much, and Sakura-nee sometimes scolds me because of my bad habit.'
Seeing that Nadeshiko is being patted in the head, Aoi tries her best not to be jealous. She was trying to put up her usual face and smile, although she wanted to get that from her first crush too deep in her heart and mind.
'Nadeshiko-chan's nice… I want Eleonora-san to do that to me too. But I mustn't do that; it will surely give Eleonora-san a bad impression of me. I don't want to look bad in front of her, and I'm pretty sure there's a lot of girls would chasing Eleonora-san, seeing how beautiful and elegant she is.'
But she has to endure it for now. Patience is somewhat common for her since she always does that and is not that impatient. She is also not greedy and always be humble because of her family teachings, unlike Nadeshiko, who is constantly pampered and spoiled by her family except her sister.
Even Eleonora does that to Nadeshiko.
The reason is that she's rich and has a ton of money saved up in her account even though she's underage. But thanks to Mikogami Tsukasa and Sanada Masato, she can own a bank account even if she is a minor. She was really thankful to them.
"Alright, how about we enjoy our bath more before we are done? It's rare for us to find a nice and cheap onsen with a beautiful view like this."
"Yes!"
After that, they enjoy the bath while talking to each other; they have fun talking, especially Aoi, who can get to know more about her first crush and is always embarrassed whenever she is asked about her private life by Eleonora. Nevertheless, she was happy that her crush asked her about that as their bonds became closer than before.
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After getting a relaxing and warm bath in the outdoor bath, Eleonora, Nadeshiko, Aoi, and Chiaki left the onsen bath. And when they were about to rest their bodies in the lounge room, they were stopped by a stand selling something, mainly Nadeshiko, who noticed that and told them about it.
"Oh, looks like you can also eat in here? It's rare."
"Yeah! How about we eat something, everyone? Can we, Leo-nee-chan?"
"Hm… but you won't be able to eat camp food if we eat here. Are you sure about that?"
"Ah! Eleonora-san is right. If we eat here, then we won't be able to eat at the campsite!"
Hearing what Aoi said, both Nadeshiko and Chiaki were surprised to realize that.
"That's right! The onsen was so nice, it shut off our brains."
"For sure. Beware of the onsen."
Eleonora, who witness their funny reaction like this, just sweatdrop as she thinks it's amusing.
'They really exaggerate it… but I can't deny that the onsen was so nice and almost made me not overthink about the aftermath. It is terrifying and nice at the same time. It's been a year I enjoyed an onsen and let my body feel the warm feeling of it.'
As Eleonora thought of that, she heard a voice from someone selling something on the stand.
"The fried onsen egg is good. Buy some, please?"
"Let's just buy some fried onsen eggs."
"Yeah!"
And they ended up buying the fried onsen eggs as they ate them; they felt the deliciousness of the fried onsen eggs while all of them were lying on the floor while still eating them. This weird sight was really made Eleonora sweatdrop again because this is ridiculous.
But Eleonora can't deny the deliciousness that comes from a simple fried onsen egg like this. She sometimes does cooking, and that's why her cooking skill can be considered high since she has the talent to be a genius in cooking. That's also why she is fascinated and amazed by the taste of the food she eats right now.
"Well, it's really delicious and comfortable after taking a bath, but don't forget that we have to go to the campsite, okay?"
"Yes~!"
The three high school girls answer it in unison, making Eleonora giggle in amusement as she finished eating her fried onsen egg and taking out the laptop she brought from her [Inventory] magic while the girls just rest comfortably. She almost forgot to check out what was happening in the chat group; maybe the feeling of onsen might affect her.
'Alright, let's see what's going on in the chat group. Hope something is interesting going on. Although it's a shame that the chat group still doesn't have the feature to upload a picture or video. I would love to see how another world looks like.'
As Eleonora opened up her laptop and the chat group, she was presented by the history chat of the group, as well as the new ones that currently happened. The current conversation is the one that piqued her eyes and interest as she found it more enjoyable.
Sword Princess: "Everyone, thank you for your advice that time, I already asked about my friend, and she indeed loves me."
Pudding Lover: "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHH???????!!!! DO YOU SERIOUSLY DO THAT?! Unexpectedly, someone would actually do that. I felt a bit guilty… hehe."
King of Knight: "…You have really asked your friend about how she feels towards you? Is it really a romantic feeling?"
Sword Princess: "Yes. I still didn't understand romantic feelings since I'd never felt it. I know about all other forms of love, but not romantic. My friend said she willingly taught me about it to make me understand more about romantical love."
The Nightmare: "That's beautiful. I hope you can understand that, @Sword Princess-san. I… I also don't know the feeling of love. No, maybe… it's something I was lost. I've lost that feeling."
Hajime True Soulmate: "@The Nightmare… please don't make us worried. You can always talk about it to us."
Titania The Empress: "Indeed. We are your friends, and it's natural to help each other when we need. My friend in Fairy Tail always helps each other when someone has trouble and is in trouble. It's like we are a whole big family in there."
The Florist Succubus: "Ump! Don't shoulder it yourself, @The Nightmare-san! If only I could give you something, I would love to do that, but sadly, we can't do that right now. Ah… I cannot wait for my turn to meet with each other in this group!"
The Nightmare: "Thank you. But don't worry about me, everyone; I'm quite happy with my life since it's becoming more interesting when @Strongest Ice Queen lives with me."
Strongest Ice Queen: "That's right. @Nightmare-san is really interesting, and so is her world. Apparently, I've learned the usefulness of 'smartphone' and 'internet.' They are amazing, and the technology in the Empire would be considered inferior and out-classed by it."
The Nightmare: "Yes. It's more lively with you, @Strongest Ice Queen. I won't be alone and lonely again even if people don't believe me because of what I did in the past. I admit that I did something horrible and may not be forgiven because of that, but I'm trying to change it and maybe become a better person than before."
Queen of Sweets: "Everyone has a past that may be considered bad to them, so I think it's natural for you to feel like that. I think someone always deserves a chance to redeem and change themselves to be better than they were."
Demon Mommy: "What @Queen of Sweets said is right, @The Nightmare-san. You deserve a chance and forgiveness. As long as a person has a will for that, then they deserve to be forgiven no matter what horrible and hideous it is."
Bloodsucker Black Serpent: "As long as the person doesn't have any ill intention or lying about that, then it's okay. Like a certain someone I knew back then, he's a person who didn't deserve forgiveness and only by killing him or death is the way to make things better."
Seeing the Bloodsucker Black Serpent's answer made Eleonora raise her eyebrows in curiosity.
'Seems Bloodsucker-san have an issue with someone in the past… but so is everyone in there, I think? I don't think that my past is bad or like that, but at least I can tolerate them. No one wants to have a bad past or memory; they all only want a happy life.'
Then they happily chatted, although Eleonora doesn't see the Golden Fox of Kyoto in the chat. She is always in there and active, but the young chairman knows the best not to pry about it and just ignore it for the time being. She worried about her and wanted to know about it; after all, she's one of her friends in the chat group.
As soon as Eleonora thinks it's enough for today's chat group check, she closes the laptop and shuts it down before seeing what currently happened with the three high school girls lying comfortably on the floor with a pillow and the fried onsen eggs bought earlier.
Eleonora just sighed when she watched them in that state.
'They fall asleep… let's see, what's the current time right now?'
While her eyes check the time, it shows the time at 15:00, and they still have the time, but Eleonora knew that they had to prepare for leaving, even though she could do the shortcut by using her teleportation skill.
"Nadeshiko-chan, everyone, please wake up. We have to go to the Eastwood Campgrounds, or we will be late."
Hearing the voice of Eleonora, Nadeshiko then immediately wakes up in a panic and is surprised.
"Hah! O-Okay, thanks, Leo-nee-chan! Aki-chan, Aoi-chan, wake up! We have to go to the campsite now."
And then the two girls also woke up in a panic and hurried, making Eleonora somewhat giggle at their antics as they hurriedly tried to pack their things and get dressed appropriately so they could go to the campsite they had already bought. Especially Chiaki, who already did that when she surveyed the camp that fits her and the club preferences.
After a few minutes, approximately fifteen minutes, they had already dressed and packed their things and looked ready to leave the Hottokeya Onsen to continue their goal to the Eastwood Campground today as campers.
"Alright, let's go to Eastwood Campgrounds!"
"Oh!"
When Chiaki said that, the other two followed while Eleonora smiled at their childish antics.
'I wonder why I'm not childish like them. This is a mystery for me and also weird because I'm not like any other girls my age.'
Leaving the Hottokeya Onsen, the four of them then walk towards the road connecting to Eastwood Campground; however, something is bothering Eleonora, so she asks them regarding that since she's worried.
"Oh right. Have any of you encountered any monster or anything like that in your home, school, or part-time? With our country and maybe the world condition we have right now, it is recommended for those who aren't 'Awakened' or have any fighting abilities to be aware of their surroundings whenever they felt danger."
"Um… I don't think seeing something like that. Ah, but one of my neighbors said they see a creature resembling a dog that walks like a human. With two legs! The creature or monster they said is walking with two legs like a human and carrying thick stick or wood on its left hand."
Chiaki told that to Eleonora, who's curious.
"I see… so it's kobold or monster related to that. How about you, Aoi-san?"
Said Eleonora, who turned her head and looked at Aoi, trying to remember if she saw any of that.
"My little sister is the one who saw it. I think it's pretty harmless, and she said, 'Aoi-chan, it's wiggly jiggly! It's also soft. What is that animal you think, Aoi-chan?'. I don't think I recognize it because she doesn't give me a better detail. Sorry, Eleonora-san."
But Eleonora shakes her head at Aoi.
"No problem. I believe the creature that your sister saw is similar to your pet, right Nadeshiko-chan?"
"Ah! Yeah, Pochi! It sounds like Pochi, Aoi-chan! He's so cute and always eager to take a walk with me."
Nadeshiko said with a happy smile adorned her face, which confused her two friends as they tilted their heads.
"Pochi? You have a pet, Kagamihara?"
"Yes! It's just recently. He's squishy and fluffy! Makes me want to hug him more, hehe~."
"What kind of pet you? Dog? Cat? Or something else, Nadeshiko-chan?"
Hearing the excitement of Aoi and Chiaki, as well as they pretty sure didn't hear about it clearly, Eleonora is the one who took the initiative to answer that.
"It's slime, a slimy and transparent monster that has always been seen in any video games, especially RPG."
A silent fall on them when they heard what Eleonora said.
…
...
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!"
They are both shocked when they hear it and have an unbelievable face until they look at Nadeshiko to confirm if that's true or not, and the pink-haired girl gives a nod that's hinted as confirmation to both glasses girl and kansai girl.
Well, both of them were shocked to find this fact. The pink-haired bubbly girl just smiled as she scratched her cheeks while Eleonora just snickered about it. Although she's a bit worried about Nadeshiko since she made first contact with a monster, maybe her chance to encounter some monsters will increase.
'It will be bad if that's happened. Training Nadeshiko-chan may be a little too much since she always prefers to laze around and get herself comfortable. Maybe I must create some accessories to protect her… or just protect her with my spells? No, creating a clone spell and assigning them to protect her might be a better option.'
"I want to ask about it, Nadeshiko-chan. Did you also encounter any scary or dangerous monsters? Also, is Pochi really harmless and not harm anyone?"
"No, Leo-nee-chan and Pochi is an obedient boy! He always listens to me and is happy when I take him to walk. Also, he likely loves to eat leftovers and some trash. Every time I'm about to take out the trash, he is always excited and wants to eat it."
"Oh… is that so? Then I'm relieved and please always tell me when you notice something strange, okay? Your parents and sisters will be worried if you don't."
She said while patting Nadeshiko's head and turning around to see Aoi and Chiaki.
"And please don't hesitate to tell me too about it, you two. Ah right, how about we exchange our numbers? You are Nadeshiko-chan's friends, and I want to become friends with you. How about that?"
Aoi and Chiaki nodded at that and began to take out their phone as they exchanged their numbers with Eleonora. When she got their numbers, Eleonora smiled and nodded.
"Good. Then our destination isn't far away; let's get to the campsite on time."
"Yeah!"
They then continue to walk toward the campsite. Although Eleonora can solve it easily by using teleport, she decided not to since maybe it's one thing to enjoy when camping. She also can appreciate and be amazed by the view around her, which is so lovely.
Eleonora checked her phone to pass the time, and there were a few emails she got, so she decided to open it one by one to check the inside of the email. Although she knows who the sender it is. Some of them are from her girlfriends or, better yet, known as lovers.
[Sender: Kikuchi Sonoka]
[Leo-chan, how are you? I heard you currently take days off from your work, and honestly, it's better if you do that often since you always worry me too much because of your workaholic habit. Anyway, if you are free and don't have any plans, how about coming to my place? My parents will welcome you greatly, and I think it's great to see you again. Tell me about it first, okay!]
Smiling when seeing it, she then read the following email.
[Sender: Kuwayama Chiyuki]
[Ah Leo-chan! I'm sorry for not calling you this week and not seeing you since I am currently busy with the store and apparently I was about to join an idol group. Though I'm still unsure about it and trying to discuss that with you. If you are free, can we meet and have a date? If possible, this Saturday or Sunday I'm free. Also, please be careful and keep your safety; it's become dangerous out there.]
'Hm… Chiyu-nee becomes an idol? That's rare, and I think it fits her perfectly since she's always kind and mature enough; she also has a motherly aura around her. Kids around her were always happy when playing with her. But Saturday or Sunday, huh… might have to check my schedule.'
She continued to read the following email as she finished reading the previous.
'Oh. Hotarun?'
This piqued her interest since Hotarun or Hotaru is the person who rarely messages her and prefers to call.
[Sender: Ichijou Hotaru]
[Leo-chan! Sorry for messaging you this, and I know you've been busy with your work, but can I… call you? If not tonight, how about tomorrow? Ah, please don't be worried, this is not that urgent. I can wait for it. Please give me a call when you have the time.]
'Judging from her message, this is something important. Although I knew it might be better to talk face to face, maybe I will give her a call first to make sure of it. The next is… from Dad? What is this? It looks important and weird since Dad is also the type that always calls me whenever he needs.'
[Sender: Theodore Pendragon (Dad)]
[Hey, Ellen! How have you been? Still enjoying your vacation? Ah right, I know this is pointless, and I'll go straight out. If you are about to return, please don't be surprised at what is happening right now. Also, I will take over the company for a while since you're on vacation. But honestly, I think it's my job to take care of the company and not you, that's why when you're going home, we are discussing this. See ya later!]
This made Eleonora raise her eyebrow in confusion and curiosity as she read the content of the email sent by her father. It looks serious even if he is trying to hide it and made it not like that. This is really troubling her, but her father said she can wait since she's on vacation and he takes over the company for a while when she's not around.
But the thing that made her a bit mad was he told her that it was his job to lead the company and not her.
'Dad… I'm mad. It's my job, and I like it. Seriously, it's not like I was being forced or anything. Looks like this really needs to be discussed. Also… what kind of surprise did he prepare for me? Hope it's not dangerous or weird.'
She's worried a bit because his father always has a knack to give her something weird as she tries to reads the following email. Some of them are related to the company and the companies that cooperate with her. That's why she reads it carefully while also standing on guard about her surroundings if something happens and harms her and the three girls with her right now while they are about to reach the Eastwood Campgrounds.
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