It's the obligatory hot spring arc!

Cutie is too pure for this world.

He finally told me about his punishment for Gina on Friday. She has to pay for a two days hot spring get away for all of Royal magnificent.

Of course by “paying” he meant the money that was already rightfully his.

I never know if I should hug or slap him.

Still, the money certainly was more then enough to cover the trip and while I wish he'd spend it on something else, the mere effect that he finally used it on something was cause for celebration. (Well, there was still about half of it left, so I guess I go trough with my original investment idea anyway.)

We also still needed to throw a party for our victory against Marel, so the timing was rather fortuitously.

And so it came that on next Wednesday all of Royal magnificent would go to a trip to the nearby Nōnēmu mountains to soak in some hot springs.

Everyone in Royal magnificent was invited, except our Spy Vanessa. (I will make sure she gets compensated fairly for her service)

“Relax, this is not a trick”, I told Gina who looked like we where just about to bury her somewhere deep in the mountains. Well, I suppose I can't blame her after last week. Anyway, it probably was a good idea to get it out of her system.(pun intended)

The only other who looked like he was about to march unto the gallows was ironically the one who instigated this whole trip.

“Wow, Cutie! That was quite crafty of you!”

“I say! How many guys can pull off to go on a hotspring trip with over 20 girls?”

Cutie was surrounded back and front with voracious females. If they act like this even without being drunk then I really fear for his virginity this time.

“I didn't intend this!”, Cutie tried to defend himself. “I was planning for the Leaders to join us too!”

Rina let out a maniacal cackle. “And let this nice all female trip be spoiled like that? I think not! Don't worry, they won't be bored, I have them train their routine for today and tomorrow. We have a big game coming up next week and I intend to have them cheer us on, fufufu.”

Sorry guys, you don't really deserve the demon I unleashed upon you, but sacrifices need to be made for the greater good.

Speaking of Demons...

“So, Marcie...” Lindsey started with a grin from behind me. “Since this is a Hot Spring Inn the main draw will of course be the Hot springs.”

“I figured as much.”

“That means bathing.”

“Of course...where are you going with this?”

“That means getting naked.”

Suddenly I realized exactly where Lindsey was going and I didn't like the destination. I started to blush. “Oh.”

Lindsey enjoyed that way too much. “So you actually forgot...that is unusually adorable of you.”

I can't believe how much I dropped the ball on that one.

I hate showing off my body. Even when it comes to sports or swimming I make sure to change in private. Should I just use a towel? But If I am the only one who does it I would appear as extremely prudish. Ah, this sucks!

Our bus came at a stop by a very nice looking inn. It had a rustic feel to it. Booking in the middle of the week was definitely a smart choice, as it would be impossible to accommodate that many people on a weekend. Even so, certain concessions had to be made. Girls would have to sleep in groups of 3. Of course it would be only proper to get at least a single room for Cutie, but I thought it would be funnier not to.

Obviously the notion came up to have Gina sleep in the woods, I turned that down as well. I genuinely want Gina to enjoy herself. “Alright! Here we are! Lets get us all checked in. Oh, and don't worry about the luggage, Gina will take care of that.”

Well...mostly enjoy herself.

(From here on out there will be a couple of different paths and viewpoints, they all cover the same events and will converge at the end of the trip. There will be a lot of redundancy. Just follow the ones you are interested in.)