Chapter 128: A Ballad for a Curious Water Sprite, Part One

{One Week Later}

{Xhez}

"... though tragedy tends to stain the history of Cradle, one particular moment that will live in infamy is the Burning of Black Fox Bridge. It occurred in the year 415 A.S. when the Prime Minister of Cradle at the time, a woman by the name of Otea Palan, found herself at odds with the leader Cardana, which was then a budding young nation that was still somewhat in communications with the rest of the world. The conflict came from the fact that workers in Cardana were being pressured into having fairly high-risk jobs, managing farms, or participating in construction projects that were surrounded by monsters. Tensions rose and, eventually, an unknown criminal decided to burn the Black Fox Bridge, which had been built to connect Cardana with a portion of land to the north that they were separated from by sea. This..."

"Hey, Xhez."

"Huh?" The sprite looked up.

"We're about to head out," Rin informed her. "You said you wanted to come, right?"

"Oh, right!"

Xhez closed the book she was holding and jumped off of Rin's bed. She and the other woman were alone, as Elisa was off doing something else. Xhez found it slightly strange that these days it felt like she was in this room, outside her bag, more often than Elisa was.

Xhez quickly cast her disguise spell and went to put on some clothes. The adventurer had bought some for her recently, and those fit slightly more comfortably. There was a knock on Rin's door and just as Xhez finished putting on her clothes, Rin opened it.

Maria was standing outside with her hands clutched behind her back and a smile on her face.

"Hello," she greeted them. "Are you both ready?"

"Yeah," Rin nodded before turning toward the sprite. "Xhez?"

"Yes, I am prepared," Xhez stated.

"Ah, it would seem I arrived just in time," Maria noted with a giggle. "I must admit I find myself strangely excited. Maybe because of how many times we've had to cancel."

"M-Me too," Rin said, almost nervously for some reason.

"Don't forget to bring a towel!" Maria said to them, and Rin went to check their things one more time. Indeed, she'd forgotten to pack those weird items.

A few moments later, Xhez, Rin and Maria were all standing outside, all carrying some heavy-looking bags. As they decided they were ready, they finally exited the Academy, on their way to the "hot springs" they'd been planning to visit for a while.

Xhez, in particular, found herself very excited. This idea that Rin had planted in her mind of "magical water" she'd be immersing herself in soon was the main cause of the bright smile that bloomed on her face.

"Rin," Maria addressed her student as the three of them walked along the road, "you haven't told me about any of your fights lately. How have they been going?"

"Uh..." Rin looked away. "I haven't gone to the Arena in a couple of weeks."

"Really?" Maria asked, her brows raised. "Why's that?"

"I... Well, you know, I lost my last fight," Rin said with a sigh. "I just wanna make sure I'm ready before I head over there again."

"Hm..." Maria seemed to disapprove. Xhez would like to believe that she'd been getting better at reading the expressions on people's faces. It helped that Elisa and Rin, who she spent most of her time with, tended to be more transparent. "That's a fine mentality to have, but remember," she said, lifting a finger. "If you don't sign up for more fights, you'll lose your edge. Now, that's fine, if you've decided you want to stick to just adventuring, but if you haven't, then I'd say you should keep that in mind."

"Got it, got it," Rin nodded. "I'll sign up for one soon, just... yeah. So, where is this place anyway?"

"Just another couple of streets down. I trust you'll want to memorize this little route once you've experienced it. It's quite the feeling you're in for."

Xhez couldn't wait.

By the time they arrived, she was so excited she was almost buzzing. The building itself seemed strangely more spacious than the others around it, with two big open doors at the entrance leading to a huge room with a couple of bookshelves on the right, a carpeted floor, and a desk up ahead in front of two other doors. At the desk was a young human man, wearing what Rin had told Xhez was a "work uniform". She'd seen several people wearing this sort of thing by now.

The three of them walked up to him and he bowed.

"Hello, hello," he said with a kind smile, "which of our services will you be requesting today?"

"Could you list them for us? These two I've brought along," Maria gestured at them, "are new."

"Certainly," he bowed politely. "On your left, over here," he gestured at one of the doors behind him, "are the baths. One for men, one for women. We used to have a mixed bath option but... Well," he shrugged. "Things happened and we had to scrap that idea. On your right," he pointed at the other door, "over here we have the massage rooms. Both our massage therapists have been working for quite some time, so, you can rest assured that you would be in good hands should you choose that option."

[Massage?] Xhez tilted her head as Maria went on to ask:

"And, the rates?"

"For the baths, all you need are fifty silvers and you can spend as much time as you'd like in them. For the massage services, well, it depends on what exactly you want to be done. Would you like to hear the options?"

Maria looked over at Rin and the student shook her head.

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"I'm good."

"We'll just take the baths, then," Maria said before reaching for her coin pouch. She pulled out the money required for all three of them and the man bowed his head.

"Thank you, enjoy yourselves and feel free to leave any comments or complaints on our little notes over here," he pointed at a notepad.

With that out of the way, the three of them walked through the door on the left and a small hallway before they came out to find the springs, separated by a wooden fence. Instantly, Xhez had a feeling this was going to be amazing. There was a sweet smell in the air and a few people already in the women's section, and to Xhez's pleasant surprise, they were all naked.

She liked the clothes Rin had procured for her, but any opportunity she got to shed these tight layers was a welcome one. Indeed, as Maria began to take her own clothes off, Xhez just about ripped hers away and tossed them aside.

Rin did the same, albeit with a slightly reddened face, for whatever reason, as she subtly tossed glances Maria's way.

Xhez didn't really know what to make of that.

Maria, with a slightly prouder expression than usual, then went into the water as did Rin. The water itself looked crystalline, dark, and gleaming.  Xhez was the last one to go in, and as soon as she did, she felt tingles all around her body.

She gasped, then, as she took the water in through her skin.

[This is... Different,]  she thought with a smile. [It reminds me of the purewater my mothers would bring on occasion.]

She would tell Rin that, but with the other humans around, she kept quiet. She was trying to be mindful of her disguise, after all.

"So, how is it?" Maria asked as the three of them sat with their backs to the wooden edge of the baths. Rin was currently in between Xhez and Maria, looking down at the water.

"I... feel like I'm buzzing," Rin stated.

"Yes," Maria chuckled a little. "It's a peculiar sensation but I think it's pretty sweet."

As for Xhez, she could quickly feel a sort of happiness blossoming within her, which was the result of the water. At the same time, though, she could also feel her head becoming slightly lighter, and her body slightly heavier, just a couple of seconds into being in the baths.

"First time?" A lady asked them.

"Theirs, not mine," Maria replied to her with a smile.

"Nice, I come here just about every month or so. Can't get enough of it."

Xhez had only been in this water for a minute now, and she could understand that sentiment. She didn't want to leave.

Something quickly caught her attention, however. A woman at the opposite end of the bath was humming a little song to herself. One that Xhez remembered from some time ago.

Apparently, her realization must have been easy to see, because Rin asked:

"Xhez? You okay?"

"Hm? Yes," she replied with a smile. "It is just... The song she was humming," she pointed at the lady. "It is a song I heard June sing, back when we went to your home."

"Oh, seriously?" Rin asked.

"You mean June, as in, June Dahlia?" The same lady who'd spoken to them earlier asked.

"Yes," Xhez nodded, and the woman groaned.

"Well, between you and her I guess that's two more people I've met who are going to that concert of hers. By the Divine, I just don't have the varols for it."

Xhez blinked.

"What?" She asked.

"Her concert," the woman said. "Wait, you haven't heard?"

"Uhm," Xhez, Rin, and Maria all looked at each other and shook their heads. "No," Xhez said.

"June's having a concert here in Libera in about two weeks. She should be arriving in town soon," the woman informed them. "I know way too many people who are going. I don't know if I should save up for it, though."

Xhez, however, was barely paying attention to her words as the lady finished up what she said.

[June!? She is going to be in the city soon?] Xhez beamed as she realized that.

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