Chapter 115: The Girl and the Hot Spring

After resolving the unexpected incident regarding Iriush, Miss Vilyric and her party temporarily settled down under the warm hospitality of the Puppeteer Sisters.

Naturally, Iriush was taken away by Iwen for further examination and inquiries, leaving this matter for them to handle. The Priestess had no intention of intervening too much for now.

Miss Vilyric and the others did not return to Iwen’s small dwelling, as it was a place for the tribe leader to live alone, with limited space.

The Puppeteer Clan had specially built a unique area for hosting honored guests, deep in the forest, a distance from the Spirit Spring. It was an exquisitely elegant three-story villa made of a mix of wood and stone.

One must say, the Puppeteer Clan was truly remarkable at artistic creations; anything they found interesting, including “food preparation,” could yield exceptional results.

Even though the ingredients mostly consisted of materials foraged from the forest and some game hunted by the Puppeteers, after the outstanding cooking of an unnamed Puppeteer Miss, the dinner Vilyric had was quite satisfying. To be frank, the taste was not inferior to the royal meals she had tasted in the palace of a certain queen.

But one must know that the ingredients of royal cuisine are exceedingly expensive, hence the gap in craftsmanship is evident.

The other girls also praised the food, and even the little Dragon Daughter, who usually only demanded “simple meat dishes,” tried a lot of vegetables from the table. This made the Priestess, who had been worried about her child’s picky eating, pleasantly surprised.

Afterwards, as night fell, following their original plan, everyone left the villa and headed to the Spirit Spring for a bath.

During the meal, Miss Vilyric purposefully gathered some information about this spring water from the Puppeteer Miss in charge of hosting them.

Just as that Miss Iriush had mentioned before, the Spirit Spring was excavated by the Puppeteers to maintain and preserve their body’s vitality. It contained rich and gentle magical energy; though it is fundamentally water, it could not be entirely measured as a regular hot spring. Prolonged immersion could actually be harmful to ordinary people.

A body devoid of magical energy cannot adjust and adapt to such energy. Absorbing a large amount of it forcibly would lead to blockage within the body, causing physiological functions to gradually become disordered, and in the worst-case scenario, it could even be deadly.

On the flip side, for special beings like the Puppeteers, the Spirit Spring would enhance and invigorate their organs. Other magical creatures, while not as compatible, would still benefit from occasional baths in this spring water.

Among Miss Vilyric’s group, there were no ordinary people without magical energy; even the relatively weaker Tilysha and even the little wolf cub Noviya Moonshadow, who slept all day, fell into this category. Therefore, soaking in the Spirit Spring was very safe.

Now, that was no problem.

As night enveloped the surroundings upon reaching the Spirit Spring, the treetops were already illuminated by dangling decorations that emitted a faint glow in the night, resembling the flickering stars in the night sky.

Of course, this was not something hastily hung; Miss Vilyric had seen them earlier in the afternoon, but since it was daytime then, they weren’t as prominent.

It appeared that these decorations were made from materials like night-shining stones, and though each emitted a rather subtle light, when they filled the treetops alongside the hazy glow from the magical energy of the spring, it created a rather enchanting atmosphere in the night.

The soft chirping of insects echoed in the distance, and Miss Iwen, the tribe leader who had briefly separated from them in the afternoon, and the short-haired girl Iriush, who claimed to be the third-in-command of the Puppeteer Clan, were already waiting by the spring. However, the shy Miss Iriuni was nowhere to be seen—perhaps she didn’t come.

“You’re here! How did you enjoy Irriel’s cooking?”

Having changed out of her daytime dress, Miss Iwen, wrapped in a white bathrobe that enveloped her delicate form, smiled as she approached. Iriush was similarly dressed, but it seemed she was less interested in bathing, her lively eyes occasionally darting toward Miss Vilyric, clearly searching for something.

Intentionally ignoring the glance from the inventive miss, the Priestess smiled widely, not hesitating to give a thumbs up to something wonderful.

“It was great! Her skills are absolutely amazing. The food we had earlier was rare even in human lands, to create such deliciousness from ordinary ingredients is truly a transformation of the mundane into the extraordinary.”

“Mm-hmm, it looks like Miss Vilyric has quite a knack for taste. I’ll be sure to pass your compliments to Irriel.”

Miss Iwen elegantly covered her mouth with her hand, making an expression akin to “Oh ho ho,” even though the praise wasn’t aimed at her. One could easily see that the tribe leader was still very pleased.

Initially thinking that Miss Iwen’s anxiety during Iriush’s absence was because of the close relationship between the two, it now seemed she valued every member of her tribe greatly.

Engaging in lengthy discussions at the poolside would undoubtedly be quite impolite. Just like Miss Iwen had said earlier, being among girls, there was nothing to feel shy about, so everyone simply changed out of their clothes in the makeshift wooden changing stalls nearby, putting on the prepared matching bathrobes.

Though the Puppeteer Clan were merely dolls, they were evidently more considerate and understanding than most living beings. The bathrobes they had prepared for Miss Vilyric and her companions were clearly specially selected, perfectly fitting each person’s body type, making them feel entirely comfortable.

However, as she felt the smooth, soft fabric against her skin, Vilyric couldn’t help but wonder.

When exactly did they obtain the measurements for everyone’s bodies?

Oh, well…

The style of their bathrobes closely resembled the classic standard ones from Blue Star she remembered, entirely white, tied in the middle with a string. By simply removing this single constraining element, the loose-fitting robe could be directly taken off.

Since the 【Feather Garment: Gloraya】 was a bound equipment, it could easily be removed or hidden with just a thought. Thus, Miss Vilyric was the last to enter the changing area.

When she stepped out from the essentially nothing more than a few wooden boards, the others had already comfortably soaked in the steamy Spirit Spring under the luminous decorations and the moonlight.

Once she entered the water, their bathrobes must have been shed and placed neatly or haphazardly in dry spots nearby, far from the splashing water, which made Miss Vilyric suddenly think—“So, what was the point of changing into this outfit?”

Even though she had already bathed together with a certain queen many times in the City of Courage and no longer felt as bashful as she did initially, enjoying the hot spring with so many girls was indeed a first-ever experience for Miss Vilyric, and there was no doubt it was a fresh and exhilarating one.

Perhaps in someone’s heart, echoes of another memory still lurked quietly.

Walking slowly toward the spirit pool in her bathrobe, Miss Vilyric felt it might just be her imagination, but it seemed the scattered group soaking in various places in the pool kept casting glances this way, making the Priestess, who felt a bit tense due to the surrounding skin and some indescribable floating objects, even more self-conscious.

“Miss Vilyric, are you not coming down? It’s quite chilly; you’ll catch a cold like this!”

Miss Leila unusually gave a rather awkward and clumsy suggestion, even raising her wet wings to splash the surface of the water. Immediately, Miss Renée, who had been sitting beside her, shifted over, leaving a space in the middle; the implications were nearly overflowing.

Tilysha seemed a bit shy, hiding in the far corner, with most of her body submerged in the water, yet she watched the Priestess’s movements with a hopeful yet uneasy gaze.

Edwina was even more direct, nearly staring over here with an expression akin to one of pilgrimage—full of expectation and nervousness. If it weren’t for the inappropriate setting, Miss Vilyric would honestly suspect she’d whip out some drawing materials to sketch the scene live.

The little Dragon Daughter’s lustrous hair floated in the spring like glimmering golden shadows. She leaned against the edge of the pool, seemingly indifferent, maintaining her aloof persona. But Miss Vilyric knew that this girl usually didn’t need to use her eyes to see her; their contract communication was far more convenient, and in fact, the certain dragon was indeed doing just that.

As the hosts, Miss Iwen and Iriush sat at a more distant position. While the latter clearly wished to eagerly approach for some undisclosed matters, she never succeeded due to Miss Iwen’s restraint.

Only Aiste from the Moonshadow Clan appeared somewhat normal. She sat alone in the corner, using a soft-bristled brush to groom the sleeping little wolf cub Noviya, and it looked quite heartwarming. However, for some reason, Miss Vilyric felt a particularly high concentration of magical energy gathering around them.

Glancing around, Miss Vilyric let out a helpless sigh.

“Alright, alright, I’ll get in now…”

   

---