[MHCISQD] Chapter 344: Familiarity

The hot springs inn reserved this time couldn't possibly be in the city but rather in a small town on the outskirts of Tokyo.

Over the years, this place had seen quite an increase in the number of visitors due to development.

However, this year, the hot springs inn that would normally be fully booked during the new year was entirely taken over by Renault several months in advance.

After an hour-long journey, the bus finally arrived at the small town.

"Finally, we're here!"

"Hot springs, hot springs!"

"This place is so lively!"

After getting off the bus, everyone was astonished by the bustling scene in the town.

Renault was no exception. He had been here once before to make the reservation, but back then, the buildings weren't as nice as they were now. It seemed like a lot had been constructed in just a few months.

But that was a good thing; at least there were plenty of places to explore in the town.

After arranging with the driver to pick them up the day after tomorrow, Renault led the group to the entrance of the hot springs inn.

The inn's proprietress, a woman of around 50 years old, was already waiting there with several staff members. When she saw Renault, she immediately smiled and said, "Welcome, everyone. Please come in."

The inn had a traditional Japanese-style structure, and the rooms were spacious enough. Since they were here to relax, they couldn't possibly have one room per person. Instead, they shared rooms with three or four people, making it more lively.

At first, they naturally divided into rooms to freshen up before lunchtime.

Unfortunately, when it was time to divide into rooms, Renault encountered a major issue.

Both Mikoto and Yaoyorozu, even Mikumo, refused to share a room with him.

"Of course not! With so many people, how do you expect us to face others later?" Mikoto said firmly, scolding Renault. Then she led a few girls into a large room, warning Renault before closing the door, "Don't even think about sneaking in tonight, Mei is here!"

That's right, besides Mikoto and their friends, Mei also stayed in the same room. Five girls in one big room didn't feel crowded at all.

"..."

Watching the closed door, Renault sighed and said to the proprietress who was personally leading him, "Then just give me a smaller room, just enough for one person. I rarely get a chance to have some peace and quiet."

He didn't want to share a room with other guys and ended up making noise all night. That would defeat the purpose of coming here to relax.

The proprietress, being experienced, could tell at a glance that Renault had a different kind of relationship with some of the girls, but she didn't say much. She smiled and led him to a room not too far away.

Once inside the room, Renault put down his luggage, arranged some toiletries, and took out a few sets of replacement clothes, putting them into the wardrobe before finally sitting down on a chair on the balcony.

From the balcony, he could see a part of the town's scenery and the beautiful view of the mountains behind.

After Christmas, they had experienced two snowfalls, and it seemed like this area had more snow than the city. The snowflakes fell slowly, and the mountains still had patches of white.

'A bit of a shame. It would've been great if it was snowing when we arrived.'

Lost in thought, Renault's gaze shifted downward, where he saw Kirishima and a few other guys, accompanied by an inn staff member, walking towards the outside. As they walked, the staff member was explaining something to them.

"They can't seem to calm down, didn't we say we'd have lunch in a little while?"

Shaking his head, Renault got up from the chair and left the room.

As he turned the corner in the corridor, he ran into the proprietress who had just come up from downstairs. Renault took the opportunity to ask casually, "I saw a few of my schoolmates heading out earlier. Is it alright to have lunch a bit later?"

"No problem at all. I noticed that too and already reminded them. Your schoolmates are probably just exploring nearby. There's plenty of time for lunch," the proprietress replied.

"That's good to hear."

Since there was no need to worry about the timing, Renault decided not to bother with his friends anymore.

He strolled around the inn, which he had visited a few months ago. This time, he took the chance to familiarize himself with the inn's layout once again.

Compared to his previous visit, the inn was now decorated with various new year's ornaments, as it was the festive season.

Renault glanced at the hot springs pools. It wasn't time to use them yet; the staff would clean them after lunch, and they'd be ready to use afterward.

However, Renault couldn't help but notice that the pools were already relatively clean, even cleaner than their own bathroom at home. Did the inn's proprietress have a cleanliness obsession?

After waiting for a while downstairs, Mikoto and the others finally came down, and they all took a quick tour of the place to get familiar with the environment before lunchtime arrived.

One significant reason Renault chose this place was the food. The inn's chef, who happened to be the proprietress's husband, used to work as the head chef at a high-class restaurant. Afterward, the couple returned here and opened this inn together.

So, in terms of food, Renault was sure to be satisfied.

Just before lunch, Kirishima and the others returned from their walk outside and gathered to have lunch.

While the ingredients weren't the most luxurious, they were all freshly purchased and prepared on the spot, especially the seafood, which had just been delivered early that morning.

After all, with money, anything could be accomplished.

During lunch, Mikumo sat to Renault's right. he glanced at the plate of sashimi that Mikumo had already finished and slid his untouched portion in front of her.

"Eat this for me, I'm not a fan of raw fish," Renault said.

Mikumo looked at it and didn't refuse, smiling as she started eating. She knew that Renault wasn't fond of raw food, except for maybe oysters, but even those he ate in moderation.

As they ate, Kaminari across the table said, "Renault, while we were out, we found out that there's going to be a temple fair in town tonight. Let's all go together!"

"There's a temple fair here?"

Renault hadn't expected that.

The proprietress, who was adding seasoning to everyone's miso soup, chimed in, "Yes, there is. The town's shrine has an open area where they hold a fair on special occasions. And this year, the people from the neighboring town will join in, making it even livelier than last year."

"Let's go, let's go!"

"Sounds like a lot of fun!"

"I never said I wouldn't go..." Renault said to the girls who were getting excited, "But what about the hot springs? Aren't you going to soak?"

"We can come back and soak in the hot springs after the fair! No one will be there to compete with us anyway!"

Their reasoning was sound, and Renault had no argument.

And so, another activity was set for the day.

As Renault took a sip of his miso soup with a smile, his eyes caught a glimpse of a waiter walking out of the dining area.

Looking at the figure from behind, Renault felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

Who could it be?