Hot Spring Revelations and Foreboding Premonitions

Splash—

After intense exercise, a soothing bath was the perfect way to unwind.

A small, silver-haired head emerged from the clear spring water. Her cheeks flushed faintly as her eyes darted in several directions. Only after confirming her solitude did she exhale a long, deep breath.

‘This is too much,’ she thought.

Four distinct, stunning beauties bathed naked in the crystal-clear spring. For a young girl like Ziyao, the scene was utterly overwhelming.

Consequently, she submerged herself and swam to a more secluded part of the pool.

As a water mage, she could easily remain underwater for days on end.

Leaning against the cool stone wall, the white-haired girl closed her eyes. The warm spring water truly invited drowsiness.

“What’s wrong? Not staying over there?” The snide tone immediately revealed the speaker’s identity.

Ziyao didn’t open her eyes. She merely replied, “It’s more comfortable alone.”

Of course, there was another reason she kept her eyes shut.

Raphael’s physique perfectly embodied the term ‘healer’—or rather, ‘nursemaid.’

Her proud figure was truly a rare sight in this world.

‘Is this what it means to be a Saintess of the Church? Truly terrifying,’ she mused.

“Actually, I’ve always wanted to ask something,” Ziyao said, turning her small head. Her eyes fluttered open slightly.

Good. Raphael wasn’t in that direction.

“What is it?” Raphael asked, her arms crossed, a hint of confusion in her voice.

“What on earth did you eat to develop into such a monstrous size?”

“Pfft.”

Raphael covered her mouth, her body beginning to tremble uncontrollably. With each tremor, her ample chest also swayed.

Slosh, slosh, slosh—

The sound of flesh breaking the water’s surface reached Ziyao’s ears, making her earlobes burn crimson.

‘Truly shameless,’ she thought.

“Little Ziyao, are you… envious?” Raphael emphasized the word ‘little’ deliberately.

Among the five girls soaking in the hot spring, Raphael was undoubtedly the true champion of figures.

Her physique was likely unmatched by anyone else in the world.

Elena, the knight maiden, had developed surprisingly well, surpassing Ailin to claim second place.

‘This girl probably binds her chest normally,’ Ziyao mused. ‘Otherwise, such intense activity would be torture.’

Especially since Elena was a knight, close-quarters combat was unavoidable.

Ailin, on the other hand, perfectly embodied the word ‘perfect.’ Not an ounce too much, not an ounce too little—just right.

Her figure was both beautiful and didn’t hinder her combat. Ziyao wondered how she maintained such perfection.

And then there was Aiya. She actually had a little something, which surprised Ziyao. She had assumed Aiya was as flat as she was.

But it was really just a tiny bit.

As for the remaining one, was there even a need to discuss what wasn’t there?

“No, I’m just avoiding lightning strikes,” Ziyao replied, unable to imagine what it would be like to have ‘that’ growing on her own body.

‘If that were the case, I might as well just restart my life,’ she thought.

“Haha, just kidding,” Raphael chuckled softly. Of course, she didn’t believe Ziyao would feel envious.

A Sage? Would a Sage harbor envy for such worldly things?

“Apparently, according to that old hag, after breaking through to the Sage realm, a mage’s body stops developing significantly,” Raphael said, stroking her chin. “So, Ziyao, you’ll be a loli forever.”

“Old hag?”

Raphael couldn’t possibly be talking about… the Pope, could she?

Ziyao didn’t know much about the Church, but she was aware that the current Pope was a woman.

And rumor had it, she looked quite young.

“Um, isn’t the Pope quite young?”

“Her? Young? I’m telling you, that old hag is almost a hundred and fifty!”

****

Snap—

The delicate steel pen was crushed into fragments.

The golden-haired girl stared at the ink on her hands, her eyes twitching slightly.

It seemed someone had just said something rather significant.

‘Raphael… is getting a bit too bold, isn’t she?’

She decided. Tomorrow, she would visit Roland and check on her dear disciple.

A slight smile played on the maiden’s lips. Disciplining a disciple who loved to speak carelessly was one of life’s great pleasures.

****

“It’s over.” Raphael shivered, feeling a strong surge of malice.

‘It couldn’t be that old hag, could it?’

‘No, no, no. She’s too far away; how could she possibly know what I’m saying?’

‘Right, right. It must be about something else.’

“What’s wrong? Shivering even while soaking in a hot spring?” Ziyao raised an eyebrow.

Even without opening her eyes, her senses allowed her to perceive Raphael’s current state.

“I feel like something big might happen tomorrow,” Raphael replied, her face solemn.

‘Yes, this is a revelation from the gods.’

“So?”

“We should make a few more preparations,” Raphael said, clenching her fists.

****

Tonight, more than just one group shared a bath.

“Sophia, I feel like… you’ve grown a little?” The black-haired girl, arms crossed, emerged halfway from the water. She, too, was unaccustomed to such candid encounters.

The green-haired maiden twitched her pointed ears. Instead of answering the black-haired girl’s question, she complained, “Elf ears are such a hassle. I wish I hadn’t played with them so much when I was younger.”

Elves were her kin.

So it was only natural for her to have an elven form, wasn’t it?

“If your kin heard their goddess say that, they’d probably cry,” the black-haired girl remarked. She, too, possessed a demonic form, but she dared not use it on the continent.

She was here to find her wife, not to start a fight.

“Never mind, let’s not talk about that,” Sophia said, shaking her head. “Have all those materials been buried in the designated locations?”

“You can trust me to handle things,” the black-haired girl replied, making an ‘OK’ gesture.

Still, she couldn’t understand why Sophia had asked her to do it.

She was indeed less intelligent than this green-haired goddess of wisdom.

She remembered that array was meant to deal with those disgusting creatures from the Abyss. Sophia couldn’t possibly be doing this just to amuse her, could she?

Tomorrow was the nation’s grandest festival.

‘Could someone be planning trouble?’

‘But colluding with the Abyss…’

“What is Ceres doing? Humans are her kin.”

“Her? Right now, just maintaining her divine clarity is good enough,” Sophia scoffed. “If it weren’t for this, I wouldn’t bother with human affairs.”

‘Wouldn’t it be more pleasant to spend this free time caring for the merfolk?’

‘Having lost their deity, their lives in the sea are far from comfortable.’

“Divine clarity? What happened to Ceres?” The black-haired girl immediately tensed up. Regardless, her affection for Ceres was second only to Lotia’s.

Hearing Sophia’s words, her heart immediately leaped into her throat.

She didn’t want… to witness another friend’s departure.

“Don’t worry, you’ll see her tomorrow,” Sophia said with a slight smile. “Don’t be too surprised then, alright?”