I Was Caught up in a Hero Summoning, but That World Is at Peace

At first, I was understandably quite flustered, but the hot spring felt so good that I gradually started to relax. And once I relaxed, I naturally began to pay attention to the situation itself.

Right now, Lilia-san and I are sitting side by side in the hot spring. Even though we’re wrapped in towels, it’s still quite an intense situation. Naturally, my heart’s racing too.

However, I can’t afford to show my nervousness here. That’s because Lilia-san, sitting next to me, seems even more overwhelmed, she has absolutely no room to breathe.

Alice is also quite shy, but even then, she tends to joke around and tease herself a bit, so she still manages to talk. In Lilia-san’s case though, if I don’t take the lead, I get the feeling she won’t say a single word and will just sit there with a bright red face, staring down at the water.

So, it’s up to me to take the lead. And as the one leading, I need to act composed. Otherwise, my tension will just make things even more awkward for both of us.

Well, I should be fine. One way or another, I’ve already survived quite a few mixed baths up to this point, so I’ve got enough experience under my belt…… hmm, thinking about it again, haven’t I ended up in mixed baths a little too often? W- Well, I’ll set that aside for now.

[Lilia-san, you don’t have to be so nervous. I mean, I totally understand feeling embarrassed, of course, but if you’re too stiff, you won’t be able to enjoy the hot spring.]

[Y- Yes, that’s certainly true…… but still, the embarrassment is…… Kaito-san, you seem so calm.]

[Well, I’m definitely nervous too, sitting here in a mixed bath and all, and my heart’s pounding but…… seeing how tense you are, it kinda made me calm down a bit, actually.]

[I’ll try not to look your way as much as possible, so please try to relax a little too. You’re probably tired from the party, right? This is a rare chance, you should take the opportunity to refresh yourself.]

Yes, it’s easy to focus on my own burden here, but Lilia-san must be exhausted too. She handed out her present in that crazy order earlier, got caught up in between that death-stare battle between Shiro-san and Makina-san, and even served as a judge in the hidden talent show…… yeah, she must be pretty worn out.

[Not looking…… um, Kaito-san…… t- this might be a really weird question but…… I- I guess you would want to…… um, look…… at such things…….?]

……What do I do? That’s a way more intense question than I expected…… She’s probably a little high from the tension and embarrassment right now, but still, that question is incredibly hard to answer.

No, answering it isn’t the problem, it’s answering it in a way that doesn’t make things awkward between us that’s the challenge. But staying silent would just make it awkward in a different way……

[……Well, of course, I won’t deny that I have those kinds of feelings and desires. Lilia-san, you’re an incredibly attractive woman…… and you’re my girlfriend……]

For now, I decided to just answer honestly. Of course, it’s a bit embarrassing, but I don’t think there’s any point in dodging the question or trying to cover it up.

After hearing my answer, Lilia-san, her face still red, fell silent for a moment, then timidly opened her mouth.

[……Errr…… then…… w- would you like to see?]

She just said something unbelievable, or rather, I’m pretty sure her mind is kind of short-circuiting right now. It feels like she’s put the pedal to the metal and can’t stop herself anymore.

How should I say this…… the embarrassment and tension pushed her past a breaking point, and now she’s just charging forward without thinking things through.

And responding to that question is even harder than the last one…… way harder.

I mean, of course if you asked me whether I wanted to or not, I’d say I do, and I even almost nodded in my dazed state…… but I can’t just go along with it like that.

If this were a situation where we were alone on a hot spring trip, I probably would’ve nodded…… But right now, we’re just on a break in the middle of a birthday party. Based on how Shiro-san’s break went earlier, we’ll definitely have to head back after a certain amount of time.

If I just get swept up in the moment and act on impulse here, it’ll be unbelievably awkward when we go back to the break room, and more than that, I’d be stuck with all kinds of frustrations afterward.

[Um, that’s…… that’s an extremely tempting offer, but since we are on a break right now and all…… maybe we could save it for another time? Like…… the next time we go out, just the two of us……]

[……Time? You mean, we don’t have…… Oh……]

Lilia-san blinked in confusion for a moment at my words, but then seemed to realize something, and her face turned even redder than before.

Yeah…… I might’ve messed that up. I mean, I don’t think I said anything wrong, but the result is this awkward, ticklish atmosphere that’s hard to shake.

[………………Umm…… Kaito-san…… let’s go on a trip together again sometime……]

[……Yeah. Let’s go somewhere again, just the two of us.]

Her voice was so soft it was almost a whisper, but even so, hearing her say that, considering everything that had just happened, made me really happy. My face grew hot, but I smiled in return.

<Afterword>

Serious-senpai : [So if she doesn’t faint, she panics and slams the gas pedal to the floor…… Sealing off the option to faint…… actually increases her sweetness power……?]