Mixed bathing with Anima. Although there is a part of me that wonders why I’m taking a bath alongside Anima…… but more than that, I think I need to do something about Anima, which is on the verge of blowing her fuse.

  However, there is one problem here. Anima’s question was that “What should we do now?”, but do I really have a clear answer to that question of what to do while mixed bathing?

  This isn’t an onsen. So, we can’t really look at the scenery, and drinking alcohol here feels slightly strange. Washing our bodies…… Well, in this case, it would be more correct to say that we would be washing each other’s back, but telling her that feels like I’m digging my own grave.

  In that case, what should we do…… No, I mean, can’t we just take a bath together while relaxing and chatting?

  [……Errr, Anima. You don’t really have to think about it so much. Let’s just relax and chat.]

  [I- I see……]

  [Unnn……]

  [Yes……]

  Ahh, this feels like one of those patterns where we are so conscious of each other that we ended up being unable to say anything. H- Hmmm, this is Anima’s first time in a mixed bath, so as someone with some experience in this matter, I guess I should be the one leading her here.

  ……Even though I was the one who thought of such a thing, I feel like it’s strange of me to think about how I have a lot of experience with mixed bathing.

  [……Errr, Anima. Thank you for today, Anima. You taught me a lot, so I was able to enjoy fishing.]

  [N- No, I couldn’t be any happier to have been of service to Master!]

  [Well, I ended up being unable to catch any edible fish at all.]

  [……Probabilistically speaking, you’ve had a great catch, but I guess it’s hard to say only having rare results would be the best result huh.]

  As I spoke to her, I could sense that Anima was slowly regaining her composure. Anima has always been a reliable girl, so as long as she can keep her cool, I don’t thnk there’s much for me to worry about.

  At least, this way, she wouldn’t be so nervous that she’d end up panicking.

  [But we caught a lot of fish itself, and thanks to Anima, we had a great meal…… For our first date being lovers, I think it went pretty well, Anima.]

  [Yes!]

  Anima smiles happily when she hears my words. Without the hat she usually wears, I can see her bear ears twitching with her emotions, which looks kind of cute.

  At that moment, a question that I had been thinking about for a while inadvertently popped out of my mouth.

  [Speaking of which, were Anima’s ears the only remnant of being a former Black Bear?]

  [Eh? Ah, no, there are also other remnants in my body. It’s usually hard to see with my clothing but……]

  [……Eh? Wait!?]

  In response to my curiosity, Anima suddenly stood up from the bathtub and turned her back to me….. and lifted the towel up her buttocks. Eeeehhhh!?

  [As you can see, my tail is still there.]

  Yeah, it is nice to see that there’s a “round tail” hidden behind her towel…… but let’s rethink our situation here. I’m currently soaking myself in a bathtub…… which means I’m sitting down. And Anima just stood up to make it easier for me to see what she was showing me.

  Thereupon, what happens is that…… It wasn’t just her tail that was visible to me. Even though I’m slightly dizzy from soaking in the hot water, that doesn’t change the fact that her astonishingly white and firm butt was exposed almost right before my eyes.

  [A- Anima!?]

  [It doesn’t really get in the way that much, so I usually keep it in my pants……]

  [I’m not talking about that! Quickly put the towel down!!! Return back underwater!]

  [Eh? Ah, yes. Understood.]

  It seemed like Anima wasn’t conscious about what she did, thinking that she was just answering my question, and that she didn’t quite understand the situation.

  Still, hearing the words of the flustered me, she immediately followed and sank her body down into the hot water…… but unfortunately, that still didn’t make me any calmer. The surprise was just too much, and it was perfectly burned into my eyes. I may not be able to look Anima directly to her face for a while.

  [……Master?]

  [Ah, no, errr…… Ummm, I know I’m at fault here for asking such a question, but I’d like it if you don’t casually do such a thing…… It’s bad for my heart.]

  [Such a thing? I’m just showing Master…… showing Master…… showing———–!?!? ]

  [Anima!?]

  It seems that Anima finally realized the state she was in earlier,as her face suddenly turned bright red. Her eyes also started swimming about, and to the onlookers, she looked really confused.

  [Awawawa, m- m- m- my a- a- apologies!? I- I- I- I’m sorry for showing s- s- s- such an unsightly thing!]

  [Anima, calm down! For the time being, take a deep breath……]

  [H- H- H- However, ummm, I- I- I, w- whenever it may be, am ready to offer m- m- my body to Master!!! A- A- As we’re lovers, we would eventually come to do s- s- such an act……]

  [Seriously, calm down! You’re seriously starting to say strange things!]

  Anima’s face had reddened to a worrying point that even an onlooker could see it, her eyes were rolling around in circles, and the tone of her voice sounded like she was no longer clear as to what she was trying to say. The only thing I could say was that she was already at her wit’s end.

  [T- T- T- That’s why——— Kyuuu~~]

  [Animaaaaa!?]

  It seemed like the chaos in her mind had already reached a critical point, and Anima sank into the bathtub, her body losing strength. I rushed to pull Anima up and out of the bathtub, carrying her surprisingly light body.

  What is this, seriously, how should I say this…… I guess I really am cursed whenever I enter the bath.

  **********