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I honestly agree. In my day-to-day life, I don’t really mind people paying attention to me. However, when I lose my clothes, I suddenly get self-conscious. Wait, is it just me becoming anxious because I lost all my defense? This isn’t a damn game.

“Okay, to the bathtub!”
“You’ll probably get dizzy early this time.”

After rinsing my body, I somehow ignore the surrounding stares and enter the bathtub. Outside the window is a superb view of the area from high above. Looking below, the snow and the lights from the building make for a magical sight.

“It’s rare to see this kind of scenery, so it’s really moving, you know?”
“Perfect for some escapism, isn’t it?”

Shut up. If I focus on something else, I can ignore the stares. But I guess, thanks to that, I didn’t notice someone sneaking up from behind. I was enjoying the scenery, but suddenly I was embraced from the back, surprising me so much that I couldn’t scream.

“Oh~o, aren’t you pretty huggable?”
“Harumi. Kotone’s frozen stiff.”
“Your reactions really are so innocent, Kotonen. Ah, wait. Don’t push my head under the water!”
“Harumi. Rest in peace.”

Miyako pressed her hands together, but I know she also tried to sneakily approach me. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be so close to us. The only reason she didn’t try doing the same is because she realized how it would end for her.

As usual, I was weirdly exhausted despite the bath, but after getting out earlier than I’d normally choose, we had some delicious dinner. Surprisingly, Akira and the others didn’t come barging in.

“Man, I really wanted to do some other activities after this, too.”
“You’re at your limit, Miyako, so it can’t be helped. We can continue having fun tomorrow.”

After having a relaxing soak in a hot bath and eating to their fill, it’s easy to guess what would happen to someone who was totally exhausted. I’ve been in that exact position during the field trip, after all. Plus, I even stayed awake all night.

“Well then, good night.”
“Good night; see you tomorrow.”

Being towed by Harumi, Miyako walks away with an unsteady gait. There are a lot of places to have fun at this hotel, but I guess we’ll leave it for tomorrow. Still, we’ve got some unscheduled free time, so what to do now…

“Are you sleeping too, Kotone?”
“Hmmm, I’m still fine. I’m tired, but it’s still too early to sleep.”
“Well then, let’s wander around the place.”

It seems like Kaori also thinks it’s still too early to sleep, so she gave a suggestion. There is one place I’m curious about, so I guess we should check that in advance. Just a peek, so that we don’t get involved with them.

“Yup, they’re drinking like there’s no tomorrow.”
“Stepping into that place is dangerous.”

Akira and the others are really partying it up. Kyousuke, who paired with me earlier, is already groggy. Will they be able to wake up on time tomorrow? Since they have Gojima, it should be alright…

After that, we really just wandered randomly all over the place. It’s because we’d feel somewhat guilty having fun without Harumi and Miyako. We just looked at the souvenir shop and what other establishments this place had. And that killed us a lot of time.

“I’ll be going for another round, then.”
“You really do love baths. I’ll be in our room, so take your time.”

I’ll take you for your word and take as much time as I want. There shouldn’t be many people this time; heck, there might not be anyone at all. It’s about 22:00 o’clock.

“Ohhh, it’s all for me.”

As anticipated, there’s no one at the overview bathhouse. Being able to hog such a big place all to myself really tickles the sense of superiority. I quickly wash my body before soaking in the large bathtub.

“Haaa, I can finally soak in peace.”
‘In that case, wouldn’t it have been better to use your room’s private bathroom, where absolutely no one can see you instead?’
“We went all the way to this place, so it’d be a waste not to enjoy the facilities, you know?”

I let out a relaxed sigh. While it is fun to be with friends, being able to enjoy a bath alone like this isn’t bad either. After all, I don’t need to be worried about Kotone’s disposition. I feel both my physical and mental fatigue melting away.

“Crap, I’m getting sleepy.”
‘Don’t. It wouldn’t be funny if we drowned to death while bathing.’

I know that. Still, I really exerted myself on the snowboard I just learned to ride. And before that, there was the long trip, so my exhaustion has piled up. My eyelids are slowly getting heavier. I guess I can’t find fault with Miyako now.

‘Wait, Mister!’
“It’s fine, all fvigughghg—”
‘It’s not fine at all! Please wake up!’

Ah, this is really bad. Kotone’s voice is starting to sound distant to me. As I attempted to get out of the bathtub, I lost consciousness.

‘She really fell asleep! Ah, jeez! Suspend the assimilation sequence, construct a temporary personal space for mister, consciousness dive and surface proces—my nose is underwater!’
“Bwah!”

That was dangerous. I had to act quickly, but I managed to avoid drowning to death. I’m really glad that I didn’t die a second time due to such a stupid reason. I completely didn’t expect the possibility of drowning.

“You really fumbled big this time, Mister. Mister?”

Not good; she’s completely asleep. The temporary personal space I constructed should be so small that Mister has to curl up into a ball to fit in, yet she can still continue sleeping. Perhaps the exhaustion was just that extreme. Still, I won’t forgive her this time.

“Ah-ah, now it’s going to be delayed again.”

It isn’t good for me to be at the forefront. If even the body’s control system fully tilts to my advantage, Mister’s existence will slowly thin out. However, if I’m only in control for a short time, it shouldn’t have major after-effects. The problem now is what to do next.

“Kotone~? Are you still there?”
“Fhya!?”

Why is Kaori suddenly-… What should I do? I can’t think of any way to explain. No choice; I’ll have to imitate Mister to tide over this situation!