Kays Translations

Chapter 6: A Handful of Rest: Part 1

We left our luggage in the room and headed for the hot springs.

I thought it might be a good idea to bring towels, but there were towels available in the large bath area that we could use freely.

Thinking that there are hot springs where you can use towels as much as you want in the world, I headed to the changing room. Indeed, there were towels free for the taking, and if I were really a grade schooler, I might have played around with them.

Perhaps due to the time being mid-afternoon, there were no other customers, so I didn’t get to see Father and Renji-san’s rugged bodies.

Actually, not only their faces but their bodies were also covered in scars, so they would stand out even in public baths. Of course, they didn’t have tattoos on their bodies, so there was no restriction on bathing in hot springs, but still… right?

If these two had entered the hot spring when I was bathing in my past life, I would have run away immediately. I’m confident about that.

As I looked at Father’s body, he tilted his head curiously.

“What’s wrong, Itsuki?”

“N-nothing, really.”

However, upon closer inspection, Father’s body was covered in incredible scars. There were burn-like marks on his chest, a torn skin wound on his right arm, and on his left shoulder, there were scattered round scars. I heard about it when we bathed together before; those scars were from when a monster pierced his shoulder.

There were scars on his abdomen, legs, and back as well. Not many bodies clearly showed signs of having fought monsters for a long time.

On the other hand, Renji-san’s body didn’t have as many injuries as Father’s, but each of his injuries was significant. Vertical cuts on his face, a large horizontal cut on the front of his chest… I couldn’t help but think that if you were sliced with Wind Blade, it might look like this.

And seeing these scars made me afraid that I might end up like this someday too…

“How about it, Itsuki-kun? Now you understand why women couldn’t become exorcists in the past?”

“…Y-yeah.”

The deeply ingrained gender hierarchy among exorcists.

I felt that in various places. For example, during the gathering at ‘Shichi-go-san’.

But, looking at these two… maybe that wasn’t such a bad choice after all.

I wouldn’t want Aya-chan or Nina-chan to end up looking like this.

Moreover, it’s not just physical wounds that they bear.

There are wounds in their hearts too.

“You’re behind the times, Renji.”

“I don’t want to hear that from you, Souichirou.”

As they exchanged these words, I poured water over myself and washed my body before heading to the hot springs.

I had heard about the earth veins and energy from Renji, but to be honest, I didn’t understand if the hot spring itself was any different from a regular one… I couldn’t grasp whether the magic concentration was high or low, or anything like that.

The only thing that told me this place wasn’t a public bath was the distinct smell of the hot spring.

“…I wonder if Nina-chan is okay.”

If the energy of the earth veins really exists, then perhaps Nina-chan’s heart has recovered a bit. I hope so, but if the wounds are of this degree, they would have healed from the beginning.

“How’s the hot spring, Itsuki-kun?”

“…I don’t really feel much ‘energy’.”

“Ah, maybe it’s hard for you to feel it because you have a lot of magic power.”

“Can you feel it, Renji-san?”

“Hmm. It’s a bit more than the usual bath I have at home.”

As he said that, Renji-san scooped up some hot water with his hands.

Is that really so?

I looked at Renji-san with a bit of suspicion, then tried to focus on the water.

However, I still couldn’t tell the difference between it and other water.

There are two ways to sense magic. The first is when you create a form like with ‘Guiding Thread Silvate’ or ‘Fairies’. To see someone else’s, you need to have ‘True Eyes’ like me, but if you create it yourself, any exorcist can see it.

And the second is by directly touching and feeling the heat of magic. When touched by magic, it feels warm, which is common to everyone. However, it’s warm because the hot spring water is warm, so I couldn’t distinguish whether it was the heat of magic or just the water. I couldn’t discern that difference right now.

So I couldn’t understand the energy of the earth veins that were supposed to reside in the hot spring, and all I could do was furrow my brow.

“Anyway, even if you understand it, it’s not like you can use it for anything.”

“…Hm.”

As Renji-san said that, I groaned a little.

And at that moment, I realized that I had never consciously felt the magic residing in something.

I do know that magic resides in various places. In the first three years of my life, I learned from the ‘Magic Eater’ training that magic accumulates by simply living without being conscious of it. By breathing, eating, and drinking water, magic accumulates in the body.

How magic is replenished… is by absorbing something external into the body. If you live without being conscious of it, you’re fine. Inhaling, eating, drinking water. By doing that, magic accumulates in the body.

Maybe… there might be a way to use that?

Lost in thought about such things, I looked at the water.

For example, if I could manipulate the external magic, maybe I could use magic without consuming it?

I wonder. It might be worth a try.

While I was thinking about that, Father came over.

With a splash, just by entering the bath, his massive figure caused the water to overflow. I had just learned from my science teacher that the amount of water that overflowed was equal to the volume of his body. I wonder if that teacher is doing okay.

My thoughts were taking a negative turn, so I became aware of it and got up as Father and Renji-san stood up.

“All right, shall we go?”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

It’s scary how we can understand each other even without words.

“Where are we going?”

“To the sauna.”

I had a feeling that would be the answer, and indeed, it came just as I expected from Father.

“Renji and I will go in… but Itsuki, you can stay here. It’s dangerous for a grade schooler to go into the sauna.”

“What if I just go into the mist sauna?”

I’ve never really understood saunas or sauna enthusiasts, even in my past life. I mean, why would anyone willingly want to go into such a hot place? It can’t be good for the body, right?

Every time I hear the word “sauna,” I can’t help but think that, so I decided to ask about it.

“Hey, Papa. Is the sauna really good for your body?”

“Hmm. It might be too early for you to understand, Itsuki… but saunas aren’t meant to have a physical effect on the body.”

“Eh, really?”

“Yeah, saunas are meant to heal your mental state. They’re for stress relief.”

Come to think of it, Renji-san also said that saunas are effective for exorcists’ stress relief.

“Itsuki-kun, saunas involve intentionally alternating between tension and relaxation. It’s a bit technical, involving the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems… But saunas help to suppress an overactive sympathetic nervous system. Specifically, by entering a hot environment and then entering a cold water bath afterward, it shifts the balance in favor of the parasympathetic nervous system.”

Huh…?

Renji-san noticed my confusion and tried to explain, but I still didn’t understand.

Well, I understand what he’s saying. I know that the sympathetic nervous system is active when you’re excited, and the parasympathetic nervous system is active when you’re relaxed.

But why does that relate to going into a sauna… I don’t get it.

As I pondered this, Renji-san calmly continued.

“Well, Itsuki-kun is still a grade schooler, so it’s better not to force yourself into a hot sauna.”

…Right.

That’s probably true.

I’ve never been in a sauna before, so I don’t feel inclined to go in willingly.

But in my past life, I would have closed off my curiosity and willingly turned a blind eye to it.

In this life, however, I’ve decided to challenge myself to try new things.

So, with determination, I spoke up.

“I’ll give the sauna a try too.”

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