​Ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ １４-𝓛𝓲𝓽𝓽𝓵𝓮 𝓥𝓪𝓬𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷 𝓭𝓪𝔂𝓼

“ Eh…you want to invite me?”

​Flora was surprised to get a knock on her bedroom door and see her sister looking excited, but what was more surprising was her sister's invitation.

​Autumn: “Yeah! It was Indigo's idea. It's already paid for. So we only have to pay for other necessities like food and drinks. I'm so excited! I have never been to a hot spring before. So pack your things! Mochi's stuff too! I heard Indigo is picking us up in an hour.”

​Flora nods before she starts packing her stuff.

​It was a special week since the school let the students have the 3 days off because of a big holiday that actually lasts for 3 days.

​The princess's birthday is today, and it was also a coming-of-age for her. So to make sure most people can attend the events, the kingdom passed a law that allows schools to take off when a big royal event happens.

​Within the three days, there will be a festival, a ball, and a famous sports event dedicated to the princess.

​Flora could never find herself attending any of these events because she wasn't close with the princess. She wasn't even sure what happened on day one of meeting her, but the princess always seems to glare at her.

​For some reason, her memory was rather fuzzy on that day, not remembering details.

​‘Hmmm … that day was strange too… After my desk was vandalized and part of my book was stolen, it all stopped the next day as if it never happened. Didn't the princess ask me something…? What was it again?’ She scratches her head.

​Bark Bark!

​Flora turned around to see Mochi with a hat on top of his head and couldn't see out of it.

​Flora chuckles a bit.

​“Awww Mochi. Did the big hat fall on you? Silly boy,” she took the hat away from him.

​She then recognized the hat.

​“ Ah… this was Mom's red hat. Where did you even get this, you silly dog?”

She has fond memories of her mother, but a lot of it feels faint now. But the memories of the red hat was something she never forgot. It wasn't exactly a fun memory, given she was only four years old at that time and had a near-death experience.

​Her mother's hat had been blown to the wind, and her young self chased after it only to fall into a lake. If it weren't for her mother saving her in the nick of time, she would have drowned.

​She put the red hat on herself

​Flora: “Pfft… I look so silly.”

​She chuckles before putting the hat away.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

It was a 40-minute drive to the village they are heading to. Villa Village is a small town that is secluded and almost feels like it was in the middle of nowhere as it is in an area more reserved for nature. The exception is a hotel resort that had been made for tourism or vacations. Flora sat in the train next to her sister as Autumn chatted with Indigo, who listened intently.

Flora rarely travels a lot, so it felt calming to sit by the window and watch the sight. Mochi on the other hand was tapping on the windows to see if he could stick his head out somehow.

Flora chuckles.

Flora: “Silly boy. What are you doing?”

She watches as he makes a couple of attempts to tap the windows to no avail.

She took out one of his toys and squeezed it, making a small noise. That immediately grabs his attention, and he turns to chew on it as she tugs slightly.

Flora: “I'll play with you for a while”

The two played with each other for a while before a woman with cat ears came by with a catering trolley.

Cat Lady: “Thank you for your patience, everyone. We are almost at our first stop, Villa Village. And before anyone leaves, we do have cookies-”

Bark Bark

Cat Lady: “Eeeek! What is that ferocious being?!”

Flora quickly pulled Mochi's leash before he got close to the woman. She quickly apologized.

Flora: “S-Sorry! He's actually friendly! I swear…” The interaction snaps Indigo and Autumn out of their conversations.

Indigo: “Yeah. He's really a sweet thing once you get to know him,” he says, pitching in.

The woman looked skeptical as she put her hands on her hips.

Cat Lady: “Really? Can you prove that? We don't allow untamed monsters here.”

Autumn stood up with a smile and then crouched to Mochi's level.

Autumn: “Oooh, who's a good boy! Who's the good, cute, fluffy boy of them all? Who's so cute and precious? You are, Mochi!”

As soon as she says that and taps her knees, Mochi spins around and then rolls over on his back so that Autumn can rub his tummy

Autumn: “Good boy!”

Autumn glances at Flora, who gives her a thankful look. Then she turns to the cat lady, who blushes.

Cat Lady: “So c-cute,” she mutters.

She then cleared her throat.

Cat Lady: “Um…that's fine then. You guys can take a cookie. Give the cookie to that thing too…”

After giving the group the cookies, she went on to the next group

Autumn winks at Flora.

Autumn:” I got your back, Flora.”

Flora: “Thank you, Autumn “

Indigo: “Awww, I'm really glad you're here now.” He smiles at Autumn.

The rest of the trip was rather quiet and peaceful, and Mochi stayed on Flora's lap, looking around.

When it was time to get off, the first thing Flora noticed outside was cherry blossom trees. Lots and lots of it. She only read about them in a book, but never saw them before. Yet somehow…they feel strangely nostalgic

Indigo notices her gaze

Indigo: “Oh? Pretty, aren't they? They were here before my aunt came here. My aunt put some mana in them to keep them growing forever.“

Flora steps out of the train and grasps her fingers in one of the petals.

Flora: “Pretty…”

She then heard a chuckle from Autumn. She turns around to see Indigo putting a blossom in Autumn's hair.

Autumn: “Aw~ Indigo, you are too sweet.”

Indigo: “Not as sweet as you. Something beautiful for someone beautiful. “He says, making her giggle.

Flora mentally groans at the sight of the lovebirds. She would prefer they do this in private.

​​A status pops up for Flora as she reads it.

​+---------------------------------------------------Flora-------------------------------------------------------------+

New location found

Villa Village

​Villa Villa Hot Springs & Spa

​+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

​​Autumn: “This is a beautiful place, Indigo. Does your family really own this place?”

​Indigo: “My dad did. He invested a lot in making water relaxing for customers. It is said that his hot springs are meant to be much healthier for your skin than regular baths.”

​Autumn: “Ah…right, your dad.”

Flora hasn't heard Indigo talk about his father for a while, but from what she heard, he was truly fond of him.

​​Indigo: “Yes… and he did leave all this to us before… Well, I'm honestly glad my aunt is taking good care of this place. Now it's a little resort where people can book their stay at the inn here and dip in the hot springs. Her assistants also do other things, such as massages and grooming. But for these 3 days, I rented it for ourselves.

Autumn looks at Indigo with enthusiasm.

Autumn: “That's so amazing. Thank you so much for inviting us!”

Indigo blushes

Indigo: “Of course. I want you here.”

​Indigo then looks down at Mochi, who was on a leash, sniffing around.

​Indigo: “I'm honestly glad Mochi can come. He'll definitely have fun here. By the way, what is he wearing?”

​Mochi seems to be wearing some outfit that has fins and a tail like a fish.

​Flora: “Oh, it's an armor I bought for Mochi. It actually has weak defense, but it allows the user to float on water…just so Mochi can swim.”

​In truth, Flora found out Mochi did not like water much, so she wouldn't be surprised if he couldn't swim. She just hoped he would be able to enjoy the water somehow.

​Indigo nods, smiling.

​Indigo: “That's such a great idea. Nice lengths to make sure your familiar is safe. And is it me or…”

​He walks closer and stares at Mochi and Flora back and forth

​Flora: ‘W-what is it?”

​She asks, feeling self-conscious with him staring.

​Indigo: “I think…you and Mochi feel much closer.”

​Flora blinks

​Flora: “You think so?” Flora looks down at Mochi, who was spinning in circles chasing a butterfly that landed on his tail. That caused her to chuckle.

Autumn whispers into Indigo's ear

​Autumn: “Ooh, it does seem that way~”

​Then she spoke up louder.

​Autumn: “Oh, we also taught Mochi another trick.”

​She tapped her sister's shoulder.

​Autumn: “Do you want to show it?”

​Flora slowly nods and takes out a snack from her pocket. Immediately, Mochi noticed the snack and got much closer.

​Flora: “Okay…” Flora cups her hand up and raises it slightly high.

Flora: “Stand up, Mochi.”

As if hearing the command, Mochi stands up, leaning on her legs and patting them with his little paws. To reward him, she gives him the treat, which he happily gulps down.

Indigo: “That's so cute. Mochi is willing to do anything when food is involved, huh?”

He went to Flora and extended his hand to her. Flora flinched and shut her eyes.

“ Eh…”

Indigo: “You did good, Flora.”

He said as he patted her head.

She nods but avoids his gaze. He noticed her strange behavior and gave her a concerned look.

Indigo: “What's wrong?”

Flora: “N-nothing.”

Her sister had a similar look

Autumn: “Are you sure?”

Flora: “Yeah. I'm okay. Don't worry.”

She felt things had been strange between them after he confessed his relationship with her sister in the open. She felt wrong to be near him now, even if she didn't have the same feelings as before. Don't get her wrong, there was a bit of longing in her heart, but it leaves her with a bitter aftertaste. As if a reminder that she had no control over her emotions.

‘I need to stay distant… just until I don't feel weird around Indigo anymore,’ she decided.

Suddenly, she felt her stomach growl, making her blush.

Indigo: “Ah. Did your stomach speak out? That's okay, my aunt made a lot of food today. Let's unpack our things, and after that, we can greet her. I'll show you guys to your room.

He had the girls follow behind him.

They came across a red bridge, and Flora could see a river flowing beneath it.

Indigo: “Oh, the river is clean. Our staff always makes sure it stays that way. We can take a dip later if you guys want.”

Autumn: “That would be amazing! We can all swim together. Mochi can swim with us here, too! The water doesn't look too deep.”

Flora watches as Mochi goes to urinate on a piece of the bridge. She pulls the leash to guide him further away from the riverside.

‘ I hope none of it got into the water…’

Flora: “Yeah, it’d be nice if we could get Mochi used to water.”

Autumn smiles.

Autumn: “Don't worry. I'm here to help if you need me.”

Flora: “Thank you.”

They continue walking. While the left side was just hills and trees, the right side was guarded by a little fence surrounding the river.

Flora saw that the river was much longer than she expected. From a distance, she even saw a small waterfall coming down from the mountains. She continues imagining taking a nice shower there.

Then up ahead, she saw a tall building on the left. They saw in front of the patio was a small hole in the ground with smoke coming from it.

Autumn prances forward excitedly.

Autumn: “Wow! Is this the hot spring?!” She heard Indigo chuckle.

Indigo: “One of them, yes. We have many hot springs here. This is more of a warm-up for you guys to try dipping your toes. That is why it isn't meant to be deep. Even kids can enjoy it here. Give it a try.”

Indigo took off his shoes, setting them aside and sitting down before dipping his feet in

Autumn copies him and made a relief sigh.

Autumn: “This is actually nice. Flora, give it a try! It's great. I think Mochi would love it too!” She extends her hand to her sister.

Flora looked at the water hesitantly and went to touch the water as if testing the temperature.

Indigo : “Oh, don't worry! The temperature actually adjusted to your body's tolerance.”

Flora: “Ah, I see. I do sense the mana in it now.”

Indigo: “Yes. Do you like it?”

Flora nods. Mochi was sniffing it and looking unsure of the water. Flora chuckles and pulls the leash towards the pool.

Mochi immediately sat down, trying to prevent the leash from pulling.

Flora decided to change her method and pick him up. She slowly hovers his body to the hot springs and watches as his legs paddle in the air.

Flora: “Mochi… you're not even in water yet.”

But as soon as he felt his leg touch the water, all four legs flailed in the air, and he ran away from the water. He, of course, didn't get far with the leash.

Indigo chuckles.

Indigo: “We can work on that later. Let's move on.” He got out of the water and grabbed Autumn's hand.

They went into the building. The halls were made of stones and pillars. As they continued walking, they noticed three women in uniform bowing.

“Welcome, dear guests, Master Indigo.” A blonde woman with hazel eyes greets them with a smile.

Indigo smiles back.

Indigo: “Lily, it's been a while. It's nice to see that you're still working here. Last time I visited, you were still getting used to things.”

Lily nods.

Lily: “Yes, I am grateful that Madam has been so patient with me.”

He then goes to the other two girls, who look closer to their age. Flora notices they look rather similar, with the same faces, except one has short brown hair and the other has long hair and wears glasses. They had dark green eyes. They were both slightly on the thicker side around their waists.

“Welcome, Master Indigo’s and friends,” they both shout at the same time. They seem more excited to see Indigo.

The short-haired eyes perk up, seeing Mochi.

“Wahhhhhhh wahhhh! Is that familiar? That is soo cute! Can I pet him? Please!” She was then pulled back, with the glasses girl sighing.

“Shana, give space to our guest, please.”

Shana: “Aww, but I want to hug it, Tanya. Look at it.”

Tanya straightened her glasses and looked closer at Mochi, who was staring at her with his tongue out and laying on the ground.

Tanya: “I-I -I… this is unacceptably cute!”

Tanya blushes and notices the leash.

Tanya: “Are you the Master of the familiar?”

Flora: “A-ah yeah. I am.” She says, feeling flustered, as she is being stared at.

Tanya: “Then may we groom your familiar? He looks like he needs a haircut!”

Flora blinks

Flora: “Eh…?”