Chapter 123: Sacred Sake And The Future

After finishing my shower, I came to the outdoor bath on my room.

"Fufun, rururun ♪"

There was an unfamiliar humming echoing in the air. Beyond the steam, I could see the shadow of a woman. It was Igarashi's back. She was wrapped in a towel, but the view clearly showed the curves of her sleek back. She was swimming in a style somewhere between a doggy paddle and a crawl.

"Oh, yoo-hoo. Do you swim too, Tokiwa?"

"No. I'll take my time."

I rest my back against the edge and soak in the hot water. A pleasant warmth envelops my entire body. Then Igarashi passes in front of me, her cute ass wrapped in a towel swaying. Especially, the waist of her waist with the towel stuck to it is not good. I wanted to grab her and pull her toward me! What a spectacular view!

"Ta, ta, ta, ta, ta, ta!"

Igarashi reaches the edge and turns, this time switching to backstroke. Through the towel, the rich twin peaks swayed and swayed as they passed me. The view is spectacular! I felt bad for Igarashi, who was innocently enjoying her swim, but I thought it was a very sensational and exciting sight. It was then that I felt a tugging pain in my ear.

"It's you!"

"You're looking at Riri too much."

Before I knew it, Mashiba was standing next to me. She had her hair tied back with a towel, so the nape of her neck was peeking out. I felt strangely sexy. It's funny, I never imagined I'd have these feelings for Saba-chan.

"Here you go."

Mashiba handed me the boar cup. And in her hand was the tokkuri.

"Eh ... seriously?"

"You don't want it?"

"No, I'll have it."

Mashiba pours sake into my cup. Unlike her usual cocky impression, she was neat and tidy. I was almost dazzled by the gap. I sip the sake to cover up the tremor in my heart.

"This is a very tasty sake. It has a flavor I didn't know existed."

It was the best sake I had ever tasted.

"Thank you. This is a sake made in our lab. It's custom made with test tubes and flasks. Fufu."

Mashiba also sipped sake from a boar cup. She wasn't the sake type, but her face was smiling.

"Heh. You're doing something interesting."

"Yes. It's a civilian conversion of the Gakufu's bio-technology. A replica of the mead that the Irish goddess Maeve gave to the kings at their holy nuptials. A drink fit for a king. In other words, it is the most delicious drink in the world."

"I'm not sure what you mean, but that means it's an amazing drink on a mythical level."

"Ah! You don't understand at all! The yeast in this drink is a goddess yeast miraculously extracted from the mead relics left in the mausoleum of the High King of Ireland near Liafal! Do you know how hard we worked to bring it back to life in the modern age? This this!!"

Mashiba pulls my cheek. It doesn't hurt. But it tickles. In the water, Mashiba's calf is on my thigh. Saba-chan is really weak with alcohol. After just one drink, I'm in a "kara-mi-zake" mode.

"Fufun, I'm glad. Tomoe seems to have recovered."

Igarashi swam up to us. She stared at Mashiba with a kind smile on her face.

"Uh-huh. I'm fine now. I'm sorry for worrying you, Riri."

"No, you didn't. I'm your friend. You can always count on me. So, what kind of alcohol is that? I want a drink too."

Mashiba handed Igarashi a large sake bottle that was on a tray floating beside him.

"Eh? Do you have a boar for me?"

"You don't need one for Riri, do you? A boar's mouth. It's a colander. I don't care about the taste of sake."

"Gah!"

Well, she's a woman who usually drinks cups of sake. I wonder if she can taste this liquor? She doesn't seem to have such a delicate palate.

"Just kidding. Boar's mouth."

Mashiba hands the boar cup to Igarashi and pours sake into it.

"Thanks. I've been wanting to try this!"

It's true that drinking sake with a tray floating in a hot spring like this is one of the situations I've always wanted to do. Igarashi sipped slowly from the sake cup.

"Puhaa. It really soaks into my dry body after swimming. Kuuuu!"

"Riri's impression is not that of a girl soaked in a hot spring!"

"It's so delicious, this sake! I think I'd like to drink more of it instead of sipping it."

Saying that, Igarashi gulps down the sake straight from the sake bottle.

"After all, Riri didn't need a sake cup!"

"Yes. It's delicious! But is it a little too refined? I'd like to have a little more of that tangy flavor. As it is, the sake is so good that I don't care about the hot springs. I don't want to be reminded later that it was the sake that was good, not the hot spring."

"Your criticism of the taste is like a connoisseur's. I guess this is better for Riri."

Mashiba took a cup of sake from somewhere and handed it to Igarashi. Igarashi smiled happily and gulped it down.

"Puhaa. Amazing."

Mashiba was staring at this scene with a very subtle smile. Somehow the usual air is flowing between us. I think that is a very happy thing.









I found myself stuck with Igarashi and Mashiba on both sides. I don't know anymore whether it was their skin that was hot to the touch or the hot water from the hot spring. Neither of the three said a word, but it was a peaceful and relaxing time. We got out of the hot water before we naturally became tipsy.










We changed into yukata and looked at the three sets of futons being pulled. Then Igarashi led Mashiba to the middle one. Then they lay down and lay down.

"You worked hard today, didn't you? Tomoe."

"Ah. Yeah, I'm fine. But, I'm a little tired."

Igarashi hugged Mashiba from the back. With one hand, she stroked Mashiba's head. It was like a motherly gesture. Maybe that's why. I also lay down next to Mashiba and patted her head. The other hand was on Igarashi's waist and stroked it as if gently pulling her closer to him.

"Heh. That tickles, Tokiwa."

It was Igarashi with a gentle yet somewhat coquettish smile. In the previous life, this smile drove many men crazy. I was probably one of them. But there must have been a definite difference between me and the other guys.

"Sooo..."

Mashiba had already fallen asleep. Her face was as peaceful as a child's. Seeing this, I felt a strange feeling of cuteness or loveliness.

"She's so cute."

"Yes. It's cute."

Igarashi patted Mashiba lovingly.

"Hey, Tokiwa. Am I going to be able to do this kind of thing for real someday?"

My chest tightened at that question. I was different from the other guys. I wanted a future with Igarashi. I still dream about it sometimes. I dream that Igarashi is holding a child. I dream that the child is between us and we hold hands together. It was a future we were supposed to have. No, it wasn't. It had to be a dream that I would get.

"Yes, you can. The future where you can do that will come."

I caressed Igarashi's cheek. Igarashi was shedding a few tears. I wiped the tears away with my fingers. I will make sure we have the happiest ending. That's why I'm sure that everything has been rewound.











***Author's musings***

The name of Maeve's daughter, who is said to have married Cuchulainn, is Findaville. The meaning of the name Findaville is "white ghost" and has a linguistic correspondence with Guinevere.

The equation Maeve = Findaville = Guinevere is valid, since mythological goddesses and their daughters usually refer to multiple aspects of the same deity.

And the fact that Cuchulainn and Findaville have an established marital relationship and Arthur and Guinevere have an established marital relationship means that there is a physical relationship.

In other words.

Findaville ≡ Guinevere (joint)

The couple Cuchulainn-Findaville and Arthur-Guinevere are analogous with respect to time difference.

Namely.

Arthur and Kufrin would have the equation of being super space-time hole brothers.


So much for my mythological knowledge.


I am happy to see Saba-chan being so fluffy. After all, this girl has been suffering a lot since she first appeared on the scene, and I hope her fate will turn around, at least a little.