After Nino activated her emergency teleportation scroll, the three of them were immediately transported to the Papal Resistance’s main battle headquarters beneath Phantom Spirit Peak.
The headquarters had been established inside a natural cavern protected by magical barriers. From the outside, it appeared to be nothing more than a sheer cliff face — no one would ever guess there was an entire world hidden within.
In truth, one-way emergency teleportation scrolls without pre-established teleportation markers or magic arrays usually cost around two hundred gold coins each.
But to save her two sisters, Nino naturally wouldn’t begrudge spending such a small sum.
At that moment, after a flash of white light faded, Rachel — who had been waiting in front of the teleportation array for quite some time — spoke first.
“Aerlise, Lady Sophia, it’s wonderful to see that you’re both safe. When Nino received your distress call, she was on the verge of tears~”
“C-cough — huh? Mom, please don’t say weird things! It’s not like I was that worried! If I was going to cry, it’d only be because of Sister Aerl — th-that annoying Sister Sophia? I wasn’t worried about her at all. N-not one bit!”
The tsundere girl immediately launched into textbook-perfect denial. Who said tsunderes had gone out of style?
“Alright, alright, I know, my good daughter. How about this — you three go eat first. I’ve already prepared dinner. There’s also a bathhouse reserved just for the ladies. After you finish eating, Nino can take you there.”
Having seen straight through Nino’s thoughts, Aunt Rachel smilingly shifted the topic to food and rest.
The three of them arrived at the dining hall. As one of the reception chambers used by the Resistance’s leader, the decor was quite stylish. Although they still hadn’t met the leader, the enormous Palacio family crest emblazoned in the center of the hall immediately caught Aerlise’s attention.
However, just as she began to focus on it, Sophia interrupted her thoughts.
“Wow! Aerl — the girls-only bathhouse is huge! It feels like a Roman bathhouse. Come look!”
Since arriving in this new world, the sisters hadn’t truly seen a luxurious bathhouse with their own eyes. No matter how composed Aerlise tried to remain, she couldn’t help but go take a proper look.
Logically, they should eat first before bathing.
But taking a quick look beforehand didn’t seem inappropriate.
At the entrance stood two bronze lion fountains. Warm water continuously poured from the sculpted lion mouths into the bath pools. The air was filled with the pleasant scent of lavender aromatherapy.
“Mom already had this place appraised. Using the natural resources here to build a bathhouse is quite elegant, don’t you think, Sisters?” Nino introduced proudly.
This place truly counted as a natural hot spring. Its primary water source came from the underground fire veins beneath Phantom Spirit Peak.
To be honest, Rachel hadn’t requested this. The men simply washed up outside by the river. This bathhouse had been specially prepared by the Resistance’s leader to care for divine women who had escaped hardship from the Temple.
Suddenly, thinking about that, a certain line of thinking from Ai Lei almost surfaced.
No one noticed Aerlise freeze for a moment.
‘Wait! No male-perspective thoughts allowed!’
Determined to maintain her persona, Aerlise promptly shoved Big Brother Ai Lei back into his coffin.
Today, too, Aerlise worked hard to maintain an image that was both cute and dignified~
Still, she had grown even more curious about what kind of outstanding person their leader must be.
After a simple dinner, the three of them went together to soak in the bath.
With skin as fair as fine jade and delicate features, the three girls played and splashed about. At this moment, thoughts of witch hunts didn’t concern them. They could simply enjoy this brief, happy respite.
Sorry — there was no dramatic chest-bumping here. Only two pairs of small rice cakes, plus one pair of tiny buns.
Steam rose, mist swirled, and the girls, wrapped in towels, relaxed their stress.
Aerlise coiled up her long silver-white hair and wrapped it in a towel. Barefoot, she stepped across the warm tiles. When her toes touched the water, they curled slightly — the temperature was just right.
She slowly entered the hot spring. Warm water passed her ankles, her knees, and finally her shoulders. She gently closed her eyes, letting the spring water envelop her body.
‘So comfortable~’
It had to be said — the ancient Romans bathing more than two hours daily really did have their reasons. Especially when they could even hold meetings in such comfort.
However, before long, Sophia suddenly rushed over like a sworn brother and hooked an arm around her neck. The surprise attack left her struggling to breathe…
“Y-you brute green-eyes… s-stop… I can’t… breathe…”
Perhaps due to the humid heat of the hot spring, Aerlise’s consciousness began to blur — though the main cause was Sophia’s chokehold. Before long, her eyes were spinning.
Nino sat alone in a corner of the bath, her gaze flickering as she watched Aerlise and Sophia playfully interacting.
The thoughts she had buried for days began to grow.
(‘Sister Aerlise… why do you always look at Sister Sophia?’)
(‘They really are… so close…’)
(‘Even at last year’s Christmas Eve gathering — Sister Aerl went upstairs to find Sister Sophia and stayed there forever… even avoiding me…’)
(‘I’ve been working so hard… trying to catch up to both of you…’)
(‘When we were little, you said you liked me the most… you used to cling to me so much…’)
(‘Why… won’t your gaze linger on me more? Since you came back, you’ve looked at me for less than ten minutes…’)
She couldn’t explain what was happening to her.
Since earlier, her world had begun to feel strangely suffocating.
Nino wasn’t a bad child. She knew they were real sisters, but…
But why did her heart hurt when she saw this scene?
It felt heavy — painfully heavy.
Silently, Nino lowered her head into the water. No one noticed the tears mixing into the warm spring.
…
After finishing their bath, Sophia was called away by Rachel. It seemed Uncle Blake had also arrived — there was something to discuss.
Aerlise didn’t pay it much mind and padded back to the bedroom in her cat slippers.
Thankfully, there were plenty of rooms. Aunt Rachel had prepared a private room for each of them.
Truthfully, Aerlise was a bit tired today. As soon as she returned, she yawned. The journey, the unexpected incidents, and the hot spring had all relaxed her completely.
She had just sat up to turn off the lights when she saw Nino enter, wearing pajamas and hugging a pillow, fidgeting shyly.
Then Nino closed the door.
“Why… is it always Sister Sophia who gets to stick close to you lately? That’s not fair…” Nino pouted, looking gloomy.
“Sister Aerl… can we sleep together tonight?”
Tears welled in her eyes as she tried to act spoiled.
“Sister Aerl, you barely paid attention to me today… I just wanted to talk with you more…”
The “cute” side of the tsundere follower was on full display. From this moment on, her goal was to cling to Aerlise. Hugging her pillow, she sat beside her.
A subtle emotion quietly grew between the girls. For a time, neither spoke. The only sound in the room was the crackling firewood in the fireplace.
At last, Aerlise broke the silence.
“N-no, it’s not like that, Nino… My relationship with Sophia isn’t like that…”
“N-no, that’s not right! Your place in my heart has never changed!”
Nino still looked downcast, but tonight, she clearly wasn’t planning to leave.
Wanting to be spoiled, she clung to Aerlise like a kitten, lying in her arms. The lavender scent from the girl’s body soothed Nino’s mood.
She thought to herself that she had to be braver. A shy blush spread across her face.
“Sister Aerl… can I kiss you… just a little?”
Aerlise froze for a moment. Then her gaze softened considerably.
Nino had searched for them for years. Now that they were reunited, Aerlise had never properly responded to her feelings.
Knowing Nino’s personality well, she could only indulge her.
She gently said to the girl resting in her arms:
“Go ahead. Kiss me.”
Though embarrassed, Nino scratched her flushed cheek, sat up, and lightly kissed Aerlise on the forehead.
Aerlise felt the soft touch — even her heartbeat skipped.
After lingering close for a while, Nino slowly loosened her arms, wanting to wrap them around her sister’s waist instead.
But suddenly, a voice interrupted them.
Just as Nino’s soft lips were about to leave Aerlise’s forehead, someone called her name from behind.
“Oh my~ Isn’t this Miss Nino? It’s so late — why aren’t you back in your own room resting?”
Startled, Nino’s whole body jolted like a frightened cat. She turned around to see Sophia standing there, smiling brightly at her.