34: Sauna
In front of the convenience store, they consoled the dejected Seito while munching on fried chicken.
“Cheer up. It’s not like your girlfriend turned out to be a total psycho, broke your fingers, made you pee yourself, dragged you into a nonsensical fight, or had some mysterious higher power, or that Enka was actually behind it all.”
“It’s still like the world has turned upside down… Besides, you’re the one who caused some of those things!”
“Isn’t it great? You’ve got a clear-cut enemy to blame.”
“…You’re my enemy too. Who knows when you’ll start manipulating people again?”
“Well, that kind of attitude won’t help you against this app.”
“Cut it out with the cheesy villain lines! It’s creepy!”
Seito, who had become as wary as a stray dog after being abandoned, distanced himself from Ryugo and the others.
They hadn’t expected to reconcile so easily.
Still, they were somewhat disappointed. They had thought that if the three of them joined forces, they could even defeat Enka, but it seemed that things wouldn’t be that simple.
“What are you going to do now?”
Kouki asked, but Seito looked away awkwardly.
“I don’t know. I can’t keep my promise to my dad anymore…”
“Sorry… I meant, are you going to apologize to the people you hurt?”
“Huh? I don’t know how much of it was my fault, so why bother?”
WHACK!
Ryugo punched Seito with all his might, sending him sprawling on the concrete floor.
“Guh…”
“It was mostly your fault, idiot. There was nothing strange about your behavior. That means Enka’s hypnosis was pretty much just ‘being a friend.’ She couldn’t have manipulated your actions with that. So you did it of your own free will.”
“You bastard…!”
They glared at each other.
He deserved sympathy, but he was still a rotten person at heart. They had known that all along.
“Show a little remorse.”
“Don’t preach to me. Looks like I’ve got no choice but to beat you to a pulp.”
“I’ll knock some sense into that rotten soul of yours.”
From behind, Koki warned, “Don’t fight here.”
He was right. It would be a nuisance if we started brawling in the parking lot of a convenience store. Actually, fighting in public could get the police involved.
Besides, fights with no one to stop them tend to end in a stalemate. Both parties get exhausted and can’t even stand up straight.
I didn’t want to end up spreaded on the ground, covered in wounds.
“Fine, follow me.”
As we started walking, Makoto looked at me with a puzzled expression.
“Where are we going?”
“To a sauna.”
The dimly lit room was nearly silent, with only the crackling of fire echoing through the air.
The interior had a warm wooden feel to it.
In front of us was a cylindrical cage to the brim with black stones. That’s where the crackling sound was coming from. It was being heated from below, radiating heat throughout the room. That was filled the so-called “sauna stone.”
As a result, the room was filled with scorching heat. It was so hot that I felt dizzy after just five minutes.
And the humidity.
Everyone in here was drenched in sweat, sitting quietly with their heads down.
“…………………………………”
Ryugo, Makoto, and Koki sat side by side, enduring the steam in silence. There were a few other people in the sauna as well.
The seating was tiered, with a total of four levels.
Ryugo and the others were sitting on the second level.
If you go too high up, you’ll be exposed to the full force of the heat, and it’ll be more painful than enjoyable.
There was no conversation here. The only thing breaking the oppressive silence was the occasional gasp for air.
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Suddenly, the door opened and a staff member in a shirt walked in.
“We will now begin the Aufguss service.”
While he explained the service, another staff member started pouring water over the sauna stones. The sound of the water hitting the hot stones was like a gentle breeze rustling through pine trees.
Then, a refreshing, pleasant scent wafted through the air. It was an aroma. Thanks to the scent filling my nostrils, the heat seemed to ease up a little.
“Please raise your hand if you would like to receive the Aufguss.”
Ryugo raised his hand, and Makoto quickly followed suit.
“Please put your hands down. If you reach your limit, please feel free to leave at any time. We will start from the end.”
The staff members took large fans in their hands and began directing hot air at each person.
A loud “whoosh” echoed through the room, shaking our eardrums. The person next to me was getting fanned, but I could feel the intense heat even from the residual air, and it made me want to run away.
It was Ryugo’s turn, and he was blasted with hot air all over his body.
–Hot…no, it hurts!!
The sensation was like a thousand needles piercing his skin, combined with the scorching heat.
I wanted to scream, “Someone kill me,” but I somehow managed to endure it for a few seconds.
Makoto, on the other hand, had rolled his eyes back in his head from the heat.
H-he’s dead…
“This concludes the Aufguss service.”
A few scattered claps echoed through the sauna.
Amidst the scorching heat that would make even a nude person cry out, we encourage the staff for their hard work in fanning us with giant fans while fully clothed.
I would never want to do something like that.
After seeing the staff off, Ryugo and I also hurt outside.
Our consciousness was hazy from the heat, and it felt like our brains were already turning into hard-boiled eggs.
“I thought we were going to have an endurance contest in a sauna…”
I replied to Makoto’s question while washing away my sweat in the shower.
“Never do that. It’s seriously dangerous if you collapse. Besides, the amount of time you can endure it varies depending on your physical condition. If you haven’t been exercising, you can last more than ten minutes, but if you have been exercising, eight minutes is the limit.”
“Huh, then why are we here?”
After washing the sweat off my body, I entered the cold bath.
A coldness that felt like my heart was going to stop attacked me with a vengeance. I could feel every pore, muscle, and cell in my body constricting.
It’s clearly bad for you, but I endured it for thirty seconds to a minute, staying still because it would feel even colder if I moved.
Once that was over, I took a break on one of the chairs in the outdoor bathing area. I didn’t do anything special, I just sat there in a daze. Even if I didn’t reach the so-called “perfect state ,” it still felt good.
That was one set.
Luckily, there were enough deck beds for everyone, so I rinsed one off with hot water and lay down.
A pleasant breeze was blowing, and the blue sky peeked through the opening in the roof. When I closed my eyes, I felt like my body was floating.
“Hey, let me ask you something…”
I responded to Makoto’s words with half my consciousness.
“What is it?”
“What are we doing here?”
“Don’t worry about it. Let’s do another set.”
After finishing a total of three sets, Ryugo and I gulped down the juice we had bought at the lounge inside the facility.
I could feel the lost moisture returning to my body, and it tasted even better than usual.
“So, Makoto, how was your first sauna experience?”
When I asked,
“Yes. It felt really good.”
Makoto’s eyes sparkled and a big smile spread across his face.
“I was wrong. It was foolish of me not to confess my sins because of petty pride and rebelliousness. I understand now. The kindness of others is what makes the world go round. I shouldn’t just pursue my own interests, but strive for something that is infinitely greater.”
“Hmm… So that’s what the sauna taught you, huh?”
“I plan to sincerely apologize to everyone I have wronged until now. And I want to start a new life for myself and confront the unknown future head-on.”
Makoto stood up abruptly and said,
“Well then, excuse me. Thank you for today.”
He left with brisk, disciplined movements.
If he has come to understand what goodness is, then surely a bright future awaits him.
“Huh… What the heck?”
Koki looked at Ryugo with eyes that couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
“Huh, huh… Huh? Hey, isn’t that a bit too much of a change?”
“The sauna washed the evil from his heart and out of his body.”
“That’s not even on the same level, right? He’s clearly become a different person. I mean, this is even more amazing than that hypnosis app?”
“Look. Thanks to Makoto’s change of heart, the app’s level has gone up to ’70’ now.”
“Just going into a sauna shouldn’t make the level go up that much, right?!”
“It’s a sauna, after all.”
The rewards I had obtained were ‘Attitude: Murderous Intent’ and ‘Command Level 3’.
I hadn’t used the command much, but it would be great if it reduced costs. I wanted to try stronger commands, but it would be a bad idea to use up my levels now.
Speaking of which, it had only been a few days since Makoto’s finger was cut off, so I wondered if he was okay.
Well, he didn’t bleed to death, so he must be fine.
I talked to myself as I made my way home.
◇
“Misato, how are things on your end?”
Enka’s voice sounded cheerful from the other end of the line. Things must be going her way, so she must be in a good mood.
But things don’t always go according to plan.
After all, the enemy is a sly fox.
“On my end…”
Misato looked at the entrance of the health spa from outside and said into her smartphone,
“The sly foxes went into the bathhouse.”
“Huh?”
“There are probably three men in the sauna.”
“…Huh?”
A bewildered voice came through the phone.
Of course, they would be bewildered. After all the drama they had caused and the big fight they had picked with Ryugo and the others, no one would have expected them to be out enjoying themselves less than half a day later.
–That sly fox can’t be read by someone like you.
She wanted to laugh smugly, but when she thought about it, there was no way that going to the sauna could be part of their winning strategy.
They really are just playing around.
“Seriously, what are they thinking…”
She clutched her head at their unbelievably foolish behavior.
◇
Ryugo was alone in his room, thinking about the day’s events while stretching.
Despite seeing a dead body, nearly killing someone, and being betrayed…he was strangely calm.
Was it because he was relieved that Haruyoshi’s body wasn’t real? Or was it because he was numb from all the surreal things that had happened one after another?
“Which one is it?”
“Probably the former.”
“Whoa!?”
The sudden voice from behind him made him jump.
He turned around in a panic and saw a bunny suit sitting on his bed.
As always, she was wearing a flashy and revealing outfit.
“How did you get in here!?”
“We are beyond your comprehension. The important thing is ‘why we are here’. First, now that the app belongs to you, I must formally report that I must accompany you. Until now, I have been instructed by Koki to avoid contact with you.
Second, I would like to confirm our future course of action. While excessive interference will result in penalties, there should be no problem with consultation.”
Her arrogant tone was subtly irritating.
The bunny suit crossed her shapely white legs and continued speaking.
“We have both revealed our faces and our hands. Now is the time to settle this. If we don’t act first, Enka will launch a preemptive attack.”
Of course.
There’s only one thing left to do now.
It’s about who can destroy the other’s smartphone first.
If we drag this out, the difference in our levels as resources will decide the outcome. From here on, it’s important to use “Orders” to corner her as much as possible. My level consumption will also be intense.
If that’s not enough, I’ll gather allies with “Attitude”.
“However, my opponent’s level is ‘300’, and she can only cast hypnosis on ten people at once. I don’t see a clear path to victory.”
“Have you already forgotten about today?”
“If you’re talking about Aira, I have to say that’s a shallow way of thinking. She’s already been hypnotized by Enka. I don’t know when it will be lifted, so it’s difficult for me to aim for the moment when it wears off.”
Surely I can’t sneak into Aira’s house and wait for the timing to cast hypnosis…
“Even if I rely on Aira’s private soldiers, Enka can divide them if she wants to.”
“Then what should we do?”
“I’ll knock Enka down from behind–“
Just as he was about to finish speaking, his mother’s voice came from outside the door.
“Ryu-chan, you have a guest!”
Why does she still call her high school son “Ryu-chan” in front of others?
But who would come at this hour?
Could it be Enka again?
Ryugo exchanged glances with Bunny Suit and hurriedly went downstairs with his smartphone in hand.
On the way, his mother passed him and asked, “She’s a very cute girl, but is she your classmate?”
When he reached the entrance, he saw that it was
“Tanuki, I’m staying over tonight.”
Aira, carrying a carry-on bag.