Laid-Back Life in Tokyo: I Really Didn't Want to Work Hard

Hanamaru Hanabi blushed more and more as she listened, finally burying her face.

"Will you agree?"

Hanamaru Hanabi didn't say a word.

Uesugi Sakura stood up, gently cradled her petite back and legs with his hands, and lifted her up.

Hanamaru Hanabi shrank her neck in his arms, showing her shy girlishness.

"Hanabi-chan has become so bashful now," Uesugi Sakura said with a smile, looking down at her.

"I'm not, it's you, Sakura-kun, who are... bashful..." Hanamaru Hanabi avoided his gaze.

"Hanabi-chan, your denial lacks confidence."

"It's because... Sakura-kun is teasing me..."

Uesugi Sakura lifted her up and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Hanamaru Hanabi resisted in his embrace, pushing with both hands: "Nasty, you rascal!"

"Just wait, I'll be a big rascal."

"You are a big rascal now!"

Uesugi Sakura smiled at the girl in his arms, held her, and walked into the bathroom.

——————

In the evening, they left the hotel.

The group had agreed to go to the hot springs together.

Kitagawa Sakisa noticed Hanamaru Hanabi's face was adorably red: "Hanabi-chan, are you okay now?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." Hanamaru Hanabi was so shy she almost didn't dare to look at her.

Kitagawa Sakisa noticed Hanamaru Hanabi's expression, pulled her aside, and whispered, away from Uesugi Sakura.

When they returned, Uesugi Sakura asked, "What were you talking about?"

Kitagawa Sakisa said to him, "We were discussing what to have for dinner."

Before Uesugi Sakura could ask, Kyujuu Rika inquired, "Discussing dinner, and you needed to keep it secret?"

"You don't understand! Deciding what to eat is a very private matter."

No matter how you look at it, this seemed like an excuse.

"Forget it," Uesugi Sakura said, "let's go soak in the hot springs first."

The summer night breeze was refreshing, and beneath Mount Fuji, one could look up and see the snow-capped mountain enshrouded in clouds.

The hot spring was right next to the hotel, with an indoor corridor connecting the two. The spa entry fee was 1500 on weekdays or 2000 on holidays, making it worth the hotel stay if you soaked enough times.

Of course, that was for the more common hot springs.

The nicer private rooms still required payment.

"Uesugi-san, I'm afraid you'll have to put up with a bit, as the only guy, you'll have to go by yourself." Kitagawa Sakisa said with a smile.

"No problem."

Uesugi Sakura agreed so readily that Kitagawa Sakisa even started to suspect his intentions.

Didn't he want to soak in the hot spring with Hanabi-chan?

The spa was outdoors, and being a special suite, there were no gender divisions.

In other words, in the suite, you could let as many girls join you as you wanted.

The three girls went to the hot spring on the right-hand side, while Uesugi Sakura's was next door. He changed into a yukata and then sat in the spring.

When the hot water surrounded his body, it was truly relaxing.

Uesugi Sakura placed his hands on the stones of the hot spring, gazing up at the night sky.

Even though he was alone, he wanted to soak until he was completely comfortable.

He closed his eyes and relaxed his body.

Thinking to himself, if only Hanabi could be here to help...

————————

Next door, in the girls' hot spring room.

The sound of water flowed softly, steam rose, and occasionally the sound of a bamboo pipe striking could be heard.

"Hanabi-chan, didn't Uesugi want to soak with you? How come he looked so indifferent just now."

"I-I don't know..." Hanamaru Hanabi's head was wrapped in a towel, her face at once tenderly flushed and adorably delicate from the heat.

"Hmm... could he be trying to peek?"

Kyujuu Rika: "H-he's not that kind of person, right?"

Uesugi Sakura definitely wasn't that type of person.

He would never do something like peeking.

He always did things openly and honestly.

A cat suddenly appeared in Hanamaru Hanabi's view.

Its graceful body stood on the dividing wall, its tail gently swaying.

Hanamaru Hanabi recognized it at once and subconsciously called out: "Sakura-kun."

Then quickly covered her mouth.

Kitagawa Sakisa, who was chatting with Kyujuu Rika, heard and shielded her chest with her hands, nervously looking around.

"Uesugi? Where? Where?"

Actually, in the steaming hot spring, bodies under the water were completely invisible.

Uesugi Sakura also had no intention to take advantage of them.

He just wanted to see Hanabi, to gaze at her adorable face while she soaked in the hot spring.

So, a cat lounged above the dividing wall, its paws tucked into its belly, its tail lazily swaying.

The night breeze was cool, the hot spring water warm, and Hanamaru Hanabi gazed at him with an adorably slightly upset face. The cat-Uesugi lazily wagged its tail and squinted its eyes.

He thought this kind of life was exceptionally wonderful... exceptionally warm...

If only it could always be like this... it would be great...

Such emotions, like the final episodes of a beloved series, where the story no longer contained any dramatic emotions, with the finale just showing the ordinary everyday life of the male and female leads.

Waking up, eating, going to school, coming home, finally snuggling together...

When the daily life comes to an end... as beloved characters drift away...

At that time, it made him want to see their new stories again, to see their smiles...

Starting to reminisce about all those bits and pieces from the past...

The cat-Uesugi turned his head to look at Hanamaru Hanabi in the hot spring... feeling that everything in the world became vibrant because of her...

"Meow."

—I really want to see you happy, little Hanabi.