NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 039 – Tired
Sophia connected the underground hot springs with her domain to build something nice with it there. Everyone was looking forward to soaking in their very own hot spring next to the cottage very soon. Once they returned to the surface and noticed that the sun was still up, they decided to keep exploring for a little while longer.
“Oh, yay, another plain!” After walking for a good while, Steph sounded ever so slightly bored. “Anna, the area around the capital is way too monotone!”
“And how is that my fault?!” She looked back at her.
“You’re the princess of this place, right?”
“And what does that have to do with anything?!”
“No idea~.” The dog-girl smiled at her.
“Grr!” She didn’t like that. “We’re still mostly in the right direction of Sava, though. It is one of the cities on the list that was given to us by father. Things might get more interesting once we’re close to that.”
“Let’s go!” Steph got motivated again.
“Sure.”
They kept going for another hour or two, but once they reached a small forest after the sun had fully set, the group once more returned to Sophia’s domain to spend the night there. However, Fey and Mira decided to head over to the teal's domain for a while. Fen wanted to see Aura’s pine forest, so they went there, leaving the girls on their own for the time being.
----------------
“Alright, hot springs time!” The very second they arrived at the cottage on the other side, Steph immediately got loud again and sprinted into the jungle around it.
“I think someone didn’t get powered out enough today.” Ari rolled her eyes. “Though, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her powered out…”
“Because that has never happened before.” Sophia scratched her cheek. "I doubt it's even possible."
“I tried many times.” Chloe shook her head. “It is impossible.”
“Are the things you tried the things I assume we’re talking about?” Maya smiled at the fox.
“It’s not like I can even try making her tired by running around with her, do I? I’d just die in the process!” She had no idea why the cat-girl even asked. "Of course, it's that."
“Hehe~.”
“Shouldn’t we go after her?” Anna pointed in the direction Steph had disappeared in. “Who knows what kinds of hot springs she’s going to create if she’s unsupervised.”
“Good call!” Everyone agreed with her, and the girls also left the mansion to stop the dog-girl.
“There you finally are!” Noticing their arrival, Steph smiled at the girls. “Let’s get going already!”
“Do you have a plan?” Sophia lightly tilted her head while looking at her sister.
“When do we ever have a plan?” She looked back at her. “Let’s just make something and see how it turns out!”
“And here’s our daily reminder that those very different-looking girls are indeed sisters.” Ari spoke out everyone’s thoughts. “Remember, it has to look cute. Otherwise, I don’t want to go into the hot springs! I need to be in the right mood to get naked!”
“…” Maya stared at her for a moment. “Sometimes, you’re worse than Sophia when it comes to speaking without thinking first. Your ambiguity is something else.”
"A-Ah.” The jaguar just now noticed it. “You all are rubbing off on me too much!”
“You’ve been like that since the day we became friends.” The blonde shook her head. “Just ask Anna how many misunderstandings were caused~.”
“Don’t remind me of that!” The princess didn’t want to hear it.
“Urgh.” Ari had nothing more to defend herself with.
“So, what’s your plan to make it look cute?” Steph looked at the jaguar. “What do we need to do to get you naked?”
“Shut up!” She didn’t appreciate this.
“Anna, how do we get Ari out of her clothes the fastest?” Not having gotten an answer, the dog-girl faced the princess. "I'm sure you'd know."
“I do know how, but I’m definitely not telling you!” The tiger glared at her. “It’s of no importance here, either!”
“Aww.”
“Anyway!” The jaguar had enough. “It doesn’t take much to get me-.” She suddenly paused mid-sentence, shook her head, and continued. “Ahem, making it look cute and comfy shouldn’t be too hard.”
“You’re the best.” Maya loved how she had immediately followed up with something without thinking again before correcting herself.
“S-Shush!” Her cheeks turned slightly red. “The most important thing for the hot springs is to be comfy and sit down. It shouldn't be too deep. Not being able to see the ground, like in the cave, is a complete no-go. Some sort of fencing or bushes around us to feel less exposed would be nice, too. I know we're the only ones around here, but the feeling is important!”
“I agree with that!” The cat-girl nodded a few times. “Also, why I’d prefer a view at the open sky, as there is no sky in the domain right now, I’d prefer it to be under the tree crowns. The all-white is not good for the mood.”
“Fair enough.” Sophia didn’t blame her for that. After all, she wasn’t the biggest fan of the white part of her domain, either. “Until I manage to create an actual sky, I feel the same, too.”
“It sounds like we have a plan!” Steph got loud again. Let’s go!”
Being concerned that the dog-girl might actually explode from being too excited, the girls got going and started the construction of their very own private hot springs.
----------------
The group was at it for about two hours, but they eventually managed to turn their project into something respectable.
“Haa~.” Relaxing in the water, Maya let out a comfortable sigh. “I have to admit, this was completely worth it.” Afterward, she submerged her body a little deeper in the water, almost hiding the fact that she was fully naked at the moment, thanks to the fact that the water wasn't clear and more of a milky white color.
“Yes." Ari felt the same as she stretched her arms over her head while looking around. The pool they were in was about three by four meters wide and, judging by how much of their bodies were sticking out while sitting in it, about half a meter deep. On the short side opposite of them, there was a one-meter high and wide waterfall feeding fresh hot water into the pool, which was lined with flat stones all around it. On the longer side was one little indentation each, where the water could overflow, which flowed downhill through a small river before it eventually disappeared below a hedge. The hedge was about two meters high and went around the entire hot springs to provide an extra bit of privacy. “It’s so comfy~.” The jaguar finished stretching and then leaned against Anna next to her while resting the side of her head on the tiger’s breast.
“What exactly is comfy here?” Steph looked right at her. “The water or the pillow?” She naturally didn’t fail to notice what she was doing.
“Yes~.” Ari smiled at her, which then turned into a bit of a smirk as she rubbed her head against the super soft and comfy pillow.
“So envious!” Steph didn’t like her smirk. “Is what I would’ve said a year ago!” Then, she looked to her right, where her own pillowy girlfriend was also relaxing in the water, though only the upper half of her breast, shoulder, head, and a third of her tail were visible in the milky water. “I have my own, after all!”
“No pillows for you!” Chloe did not appreciate being reduced to that.
“Yes, I agree with my similarly endowed friend.” Anna smiled at the pink fox before peeling Ari away from her chest.
"Hey!" The duo, in need of resting their tired heads against something soft, got upset.
“Shush!”
“How does it feel to only be the third most perverted member in the group for a change?” Sophia looked at Maya next to her, who was surprisingly calm, all things considered. To be fair, she also was using the blonde's chest as a pillow, just as Ari had a moment ago, but she had just naturally done it without being smug, and it wasn’t because she had nothing to be smug about, either. Sophia was undoubtedly the smaller tiger in all areas, but she still was a very comfortable pillow.
“Do you want me to?” The cat-girl’s expression turned mischievous as she turned and lifted her head to smile at her.
“Nah, I’m good.” Sophia lightly shook her head.
“Good.” She got comfortable against the blonde’s chest and side again. “Today’s cuddly mood, not horny.”
“Even though there’s so much to look at because we’re all naked together?” She then gestured at the other four while taking her time looking at Anna, Ari, and Chloe. “There is a lot to see and be horny over.”
“I guess I’m just the 4th most perverted one today, huh?” Maya’s voice turned a little smug.
“Ah.” She scratched her cheek. “Though, you can’t blame me, can you?!” Sophia pointed at her naked friends again. “I’m not the issue here! You’re usually way hornier over much less. What’s wrong?”
“I’m not always horny, okay?” She sounded ever so slightly displeased.
"…" All five of them went silent momentarily before unionizing. "E-Eh…?" They were honestly shocked by this revelation. “Are you getting sick?” This was the only possible explanation for them.
“Don't worry, I just got tired over building the hot springs. I’ll be back to normal after a good sleep.” She started smiling again. “Tomorrow, when we’re in the water together again, I’ll be your usual beloved pervert. By the way, I just decided that this hot spring bath will be part of our daily evening routine from now on. I wanna enjoy the amazing view every day! Also, we need to come up with a way to make the water a bit less opaque. We're missing out on all the interesting bits below the waterline!"
"That sounds a lot better!" The group was relieved that Maya hadn't gotten sick because it seemed like that for a moment.
Once their new evening routine was universally agreed on, the girls relaxed in the water for a little longer before eventually returning to the cottage and getting ready for bed. Maya apparently really needed it, after all.
