After eating our snack, we played a second match. Just like the first match, it was a very close game, but Fate-san won this time, and we ended up with 1 win and 1 loss.

  After that, I cooked a really simple dinner……no, it really was a dish that has nothing noteworthy at all, and ate it with Fate-san.

  After we finished eating, I thought about watching the stars with Fate-san as I had planned, but the sun had just set and thinking that the stars would be more beautiful after a little while, I decided to take a bath first.

  [Fate-san, I’ve prepared the bath, so please go ahead and take a bath first.]

  [Eh? We can just bathe together.]

  […………………………Eh?]

  [No, like I said, we don’t have to go in separately. We can just take a bath together.]

  Now then, she started saying troubling things…… What should I do? She said that as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, making me surprised.

  [Do you not like going in the bath with me, Kai-chan?]

  [N- No, it’s not that I don’t like it…… rather, is that fine with you, Fate-san?]

  [Eh? You do remember we’ve already taken a bath together, right?]

  [……That is, well, true but……]

  This is troubling…… I’ve almost lost the argument with the earlier exchange. I don’t really mind bathing with Fate-san, and she herself doesn’t seem to mind either.

  The bathroom in the cottage seemed to be quite spacious too, with plenty of room for the two of us to bathe together.

  [Then, there’s no problem!]

  [……I suppose so.]

  I had no more reason to refuse, so I just gave my consent, pressured by the smiling Fate-san.

  Just like that, it was decided that we would take a bath together, and I went in first. I also asked Fate-san to keep a towel wrapped around her body.

  The bath was made of wood, and though it may not be cypress, it had the nice atmosphere of one.

  Although it was quite spacious, it was still smaller than an onsen bath. This tourist spot is basically a place for one or a few people, so it’s not designed to accommodate a large group.

  Even so, there’s this sense of luxury in some parts of the building, and the construction seems to have been done with utmost care.

  [Kai-chan, I’m here~~]

  Announcing her presence with her cheerful voice, I turned around to see Fate-san wrapped in a towel as per my request. Even with the towel though, her appearance is quite intense.

  Fate-san’s breasts are quite large, and her hair, which is usually tied in a twin-tail, is undone, giving her a different atmosphere.

  [That’s right, Kai-chan, I’ll wash your back~~]

  [Eeehhhh!?]

  [Isn’t it fine? Well then, me next…… you can just lightly wash me, so I’m counting on you~~]

  Announcing with great excitement, Fate-san quickly prepared a chair and sat down with her back towards me.

  I was overwhelmed by the speed of the turn of events, but I couldn’t just leave Fate-san there, so I gave up and approached her with a sponge in hand.

  [……Errr, well then, I’ll wash your back now.]

  [Yeeeeees, I’m counting on you!]

  [W- Well then, excuse me.]

  I could see Fate-san trying to remove her towel, so I quickly squatted down and tried not to look down on her body from above, keeping my sight towards her back as much as possible.

  After soaking the sponge with body soap, I checked the temperature of the hot water in the bucket, before pouring it over Fate-san’s back.

  [Isn’t it hot?]

  [No, it’s just right.]

  [Well then, I’ll wash your back now.]

  When I put the foamy sponge on Fate-san’s beautiful white back, I could feel the softness of her skin even through the sponge, and I felt my face blushing red.

  [I’m not being too forceful, am I?]

  [Hmmm, I think you can put a little more force in it.]

  [Alrighty.]

  Checking with her for a bit, I firmly scrubbed Fate-san’s back, and when the bubbles had spread all over her back, I scooped water out of the tub again.

  [Well then, I’ll rinse your body now.]

  [Eh? W- Wait a moment there! Kai-chan, aren’t you forgetting something?]

  [Forgetting something? Did I forget to wash somewhere?]

  [No, no…… For the time being, just reach out both of your hands over here!]

  [Reach out? Like this?]

  I’m not really sure what Fate-san’s intentions are, but for the time being, I decided to do as she says and reached out my hand near Fate-san’s face from behind her.

  As I was absentmindedly thinking about what would happen if I reached out my hands like this, my hands were suddenly grabbed by Fate-san and she pulled me closer to her…… Eh?

  There’s a huge difference in strength between Fate-san and I, so my body would naturally lean forward when she pulled me. As for what will happen then? My body got in close contact with Fate-san’s, as if I’m hugging her from behind.

  [Wha!? Eh? F- F- Fate-san!? W- W- What are you……]

  [Arehh? In Kai-chan’s world, aren’t you supposed to wash people’s back with your foamy body?]

  [No, no, where the heck did you get that information!?]

  [Ahh, Shall-tan told me that Kai-chan had Ein wash your back like this during the Six Kings Festival though?]

  ……Alice, just you wait for the beating you’ll get later.

  [Ein-san definitely did wash my back like that before, but what happened back then was quite different from now……]

  [Unnn? I don’t really know what you’re talking about, but I like this. I don’t know if it’s because you’re naked now, but I can feel Kai-chan’s warmth more than usual, making me feel happy.]

  [ ~ ~ ~!?!? ]

  She isn’t saying that on purpose, she’s just spontaneously saying that? She isn’t saying that on purpose, right? It kinda feels like that…… It doesn’t seem like she’s just teasing me like that time she asked me for a massage.

  [Hmmm, even then, I still prefer to be hugged from the front rather than from behind……]

  [Eh? Wait, Fate-san!? What are you doing!? Why the heck are you trying to move your body…… My hand! Please release my hand!!! As expected, that is bad-!?!?]

  From that point on, my mind went blank and I lost the composure to think about this and that…… The only thing I know for sure is that my thoughts and body completely froze against her extremely soft touch.

  ……Thinking about it, Fate-san is, how should I say this…… She’s shy when it comes to flirting like lovers do, but like the last time I bathed her, she didn’t have much shame in regards to this aspect, or rather, she was very aggressive…… What a terrifying person, she is.

  **********