“Thank you, partner. Wooow, so cool,” Flavia thanked Narias for offering his hand to help her get out of the carriage, gasping in awe the moment she saw the view in front of her after she got out.

“Thank you, Narias,” Ileena was next to step out. “It is quite lovely here indeed.” She added after looking around too.

“Humph, can we go inside already?” Flamiris on the other hand, wasn’t taken aback by the beautiful scenery.

“Wait, we need to get our bags first,” but Narias stopped her.

The outside of the Scarlet Sunset Hot Springs resort looked very beautiful and serene, with lots of greenery and flowers planted all around the place, and on the way near the stony path leading towards the resort itself. The carriage stopped a short distance away from the path and people who came to enjoy the hot springs had to pass the small flower garden to get there. One look was more than enough to know that the owners were taking care of the place and wanted for their guests to feel welcome. All the greenery and flowers helped to add to the lovely mood, helping people relax and making them eager to get to the hot springs sooner rather than later.

The resort itself looked rather cute and it wasn’t an exaggeration in the least. The stony path led to an open yard with a small pond in the middle which was surrounded by a handful of trees, bushes and several flower beds to make the place look more cheerful. There were several seating areas available to sit and enjoy the scenery that were smartly built under the trees, with the parasol type roofs hanging from above the trees to offer some shade. A stall offering drinks and snacks was setup close by which was attended by two smiling resort employees. As simple as the area looked, it was nothing less but welcoming to come, relax and enjoy peace, and quiet.

“Wow, so cute. How about we sit down and have a drink?” Flavia suggested, taken aback by how lovely the seating areas looked.

“No way. We need to go inside and book a room first,” Flamiris protested.

“As lovely as it would be to sit down and relax, I would have to agree with Flamiris. We should go inside and book a room first,” Ileena insisted as well.

“It was only a suggestion, geez,” Flavia said, rolling her eyes.

“I understand that and I do agree with you, Flavia. It would be lovely to sit here and relax, but maybe later,” Ileena added, proceeding to walk to the main entrance into the building together with Narias and Flamiris.

“Hey, wait for me,” Flavia sprung to her feet to catch up to them.

Narias was quiet during the whole time they walked to the main entrance. He was looking around and soaking in all the scenery around him. The hot springs bath at Estella’s grandparents house was nice and pleasant, but it didn’t compare to how fabulous the Scarlet Sunset Hot Springs resort looked here. Narias wasn’t dozing off, but he was taking his time to enjoy the feel of such amazing place.

The main hall looked as inviting and as pleasant as the outside yard. It was quite spacious and had many benches and seats available for people to sit on, with a lot of plants set near the walls as an added décor. There was a small fountain and a pond in the middle of the main hall too, adding to the peaceful and tranquil atmosphere. The place wasn’t exactly packed, but there were people waiting in line to get to the reception area, with Narias getting to the end of the line to get to the counter so he could book the rooms for himself and his girlfriends.

“Greetings and welcome to the Scarlet Sunset Hot Springs resort,” a cheerful and pleasant girl employee greeted Narias at the reception counter when it was finally his turn to talk to her. There was a big line of people waiting before Narias and his girlfriends arrived, so Ileena, Flavia and Flamiris decided to wait further away and let Narias do the bookings himself. “My name is Astelin. Are you here to make a booking or have you pre-booked in advance?” She asked.

“Ah, hello. My name is Narias Talrone, and no, we haven’t prebooked in advance,” Narias informed her.

“That’s alright. How many of you are and how many rooms would you like to book? Oh, I am so sorry, I forgot to ask if you are staying overnight?” Astelin apologized, realizing she has jumped into her own assumptions beforehand.

“Yes, we will be staying overnight. Sorry, I should’ve told you right away,” Narias apologized for putting them both in an awkward situation himself.

“That’s quite alright,” Astelin said, showing a cheerful smile. “And how many are you?”

“Right, it will be four of us and we’d like to book two rooms for the night. One single and the other one big enough to sleep three people in it,” Narias informed her.

“Ok, let me check which rooms are available. One moment, please,” Astelin said before leaning to check the registration book she had in front of her. “Before I offer you the rooms, may I ask if you want the rooms to have a private hot springs bath pool or will you be using public bath pools only? The reason I am asking is because we have separate rooms that have the private hot springs bath pools allocated to them.”

“Oh, yeah. We would like to have the rooms that have an access to a private bath pool as well, please,” Narias said, catching a mild blush too.

“Wonderful. And you said it will be for four people?” Astelin wanted to confirm.

“Yes, that’s correct,” Narias confirmed it.

“Aha, one moment, please. Huh? Oh my…” Astelin suddenly exclaimed, a slight worry jumping on her face too.

“Is something wrong, Miss Astelin?” Narias asked, catching it.

“Well, you see, Mister Talrone, since you haven’t prebooked in advance, we… don’t have any private rooms with separate hot springs bath pool that could fit four people available right now,” Astelin informed him.

“What? No,” Narias sighed, becoming worried for real.

“I’m terribly sorry about that, Mister Talrone,” Astelin apologized kindly. “We have several normal rooms available of course, but you’d have to use the public hot springs bath pool but they are separate for both men and women I’m afraid.”

“Oh, that’s…” Narias lowered his head before turning to face his three girlfriends who smiled and waved at him when they saw him looking at them. Ileena, Flavia were wearing their best dresses, with Flamiris wearing the same top and skirt as the one she wore when they went to the Magic Dome together with Emilia. They had their make-up and hair done too and were looking dazzling, attracting attention of every guest who were either waiting in line or passing by.

“Huh? I’m sorry, but can I ask you something, Mister Talrone?” Astelin spoke to him, making Narias turn around to face her again.

“Yes?” He asked.

“Are those three ladies together with you, Mister Talrone?” Astelin asked, feeling curious for some reason.

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“Ah, yes. They are my girlfriends and… I promised to bring them here as part of our date and they were really looking forward to it,” Narias confessed, not knowing why he would tell Astelin the reason why they were here.

“Your girlfriends? Oh my, please do forgive me, Mister Talrone. For some reason I thought you wanted to book a room for four people and I assumed that those three people standing behind you were your family. But since it is for you and your girlfriends, there might be something I could offer you after all, but I still need to double check to make sure if the room is available first. Do you mind waiting a short moment, Mister Talrone?” Astelin asked, showing a kind smile.

“Yes, of course,” Narias said, becoming hopeful.

“Then if you excuse me for a moment, please,” Astelin bowed her head before leaving the counter. She was gone for about five minutes, with Narias waiting patiently for her to return. Once she was back, Astelin had a very happy smile on her face. “Thank you for being so patient with me, Mister Talrone.”

“No problem, Miss Astelin,” Narias smiled back.

“Now regarding the room for you and your girlfriends, we have one of our three Royal Suites available this weekend. All three Royal Suites are usually reserved several months in advance for our special guests, but as so it happened, the party who had reserved it has informed us they will not be coming today only this morning, leaving the room free to use. The room itself can sleep up to six people and is one of our high-end rooms with everything included in the price, but that just means the price for it is on the higher end as well. Having said that, since the party who had booked the room had already paid for it, you have to pay full price in advance when you book a Royal Suite and we do not offer refunds on Royal Suites once you book it no matter what the reason of your cancelation is, I could offer that room for you at a steep discount and charge you as per normal room instead. I’m terribly sorry, but I simply cannot offer you the Royal Suites for free even if it was fully paid already. I hope you can understand that,” Astelin informed.

“Yes, I’ll take it,” Narias told her in a heartbeat after Astelin stopped talking.

“Wonderful. I’d like you to fill out this form and sign at the bottom here, and I would like to take the room payment in advance as well,” Astelin informed Narias.

“Yes, that’s totally fine,” Narias had no objections to that.

“Thank you, Mister Talrone,” Astelin said once Narias filled out the form and paid the bookings fee. “Mister Talrone, let me introduce you to Herman,” Astelin pointed at a half beast-man with dog’s ears, resembling golden retriever’s ears, and slightly curved nose standing next to her. He was wearing a very stylish servant’s uniform: white shirt, black pants and shoes, black sleeveless jacket and a black bow tie around his neck. Herman’s silky, sand-color hair was neatly combed back and he was exuding a well-groomed vibe around him.

“Herman, this is Mister Narias Talrone. Mister Talrone has booked Royal Suite number three. He has brought his three girlfriends with him and is looking forward to spending quality time with them. Please, make sure to attend to their every need,” Astelin spoke to him.

Huh? When did Herman get here? And what did she mean by attending to our every need? Narias exclaimed in his head, feeling surprised about the unexpected turn of events. He missed Herman’s arrival simply because he was filling out the form in the meantime.

“Yes, Miss Astelin,” Herman acknowledged it before turning to Narias. “Mister Talrone, it would be my utmost pleasure to serve you during your stay here at the Scarlet Sunset Hot Springs resort. Before I escort you and your girlfriends to your room, may I please take all of your luggage?” Herman placed his right hand next to his chest before bowing down respectfully.

“Ah, wow. I mean… it is a pleasure to meet you too, Mister Herman. Thank you… for your service,” Narias scrambled to respond accordingly.

“If I may, Mister Talrone,” Herman extended his hand, hinting to take Narias’s bag that he had with him.

“Yes, here you go, Mister Herman,” Narias said, giving him his bag.

“Thank you,” Herman said after placing Narias’s bag on the trolley. “May I ask for your ladies’ luggage as well, Mister Talrone?”

“Ah, yes. Right this way, please,” Narias said, motioning his hand for Herman to follow him.

“Welcome back, Narias. Is everything ok?” Ileena asked, seeing another person come together with him.

“Did you book a room, partner?” Flavia was eager to know.

“You really took your time, you know, forcing your girlfriends to wait so long,” Flamiris added a complaint before Narias could answer the two previous questions.

“I’m sorry for taking so long. It took some time to fill out the form to book a room for us. Oh, this is Mister Herman and this Ileena, Flavia and Flamiris. Mister Herman will show us to our room,” Narias explained himself, remembering to introduce the employee standing next to him.

“Wait, did you say a single room, Narias?” Ileena caught that one detail.

“Yeah, I wanted to ask as well. I thought we agreed to book two rooms?” Flavia was puzzled too.

“Hah, now we’re talking,” Flamiris was the only one who was happy about it.

“Yeah, well…” Narias rubbed the back of his head, showing an awkward smile. “They had only that one room available unfortunately.”

“Oh, ok. It couldn’t be helped, I suppose,” Ileena said, adjusting her glasses.

“Yeah, it’ll be fine. Don’t sweat it, partner,” Flavia changed her tune too.

“Excuse me, Miss Ileena, Miss Flavia and Miss Flamiris. Do you mind if I take your luggage, please?” Herman finally asked once the group was ready to go.

“You want to carry my bag? Cool, thanks,” Flavia passed her bag to Herman, smiling happily.

“Thank you, Mister Herman,” Ileena said, allowing for Herman to take her bag as well.

“Hmph, ok, you get some points for that, Mastermind Hero,” Flamiris seemed to be impressed by the service.

“Thank you. If you now please follow me,” Herman said, motioning with his hand.

The group left the main hall and followed Herman down the corridor, with Herman pushing the trolley that had Narias’s and his girlfriends’ bags on it. The floor and walls were made out of wood, just like the whole building, with many paintings hanging on the walls on the way, mainly showing various bits of nature on them. Once the group reached the end of the corridor, Herman turned right, reaching wide, beautifully decorated doors in a short while, with another similarly dressed wolf resembling beast human employee standing next to it.

“Hello Vincent. I’m escorting Mister Talrone and his girlfriends to Royal Suite number three,” Herman spoke to his colleague before taking out some papers from his jacket’s pocket to show them to Vincent.

“Greetings, Mister Talrone. Miss Ileena, Miss Flavia, Miss Flamiris,” Vincent greeted everyone with an additional bow of his head after checking the papers Herman gave him. “My name is Vincent and I hope you will enjoy your stay at our Scarlet Sunset Hot Springs resort.” He added before opening the doors for them to pass.

“Thank you, Mister Vincent,” Narias said.

“Right this way, sir,” Herman said before walking forward.

“Hey, hey, what did he mean by Royal Suite, partner?” Flavia was too curious not to ask once they have passed the doors.

“Well, it’s a… room that I’ve booked for us. It’s called that way because they have names for the rooms that have separate private hot springs pools with them,” Narias didn’t know what else to say.

“A separate private hot springs pool? Cool,” Flavia exclaimed excitedly.

Flavia’s excitement aside, the group noticed something else as they entered the new corridor. It wasn’t anything like the one they walked down from the main hall. It had a carpet for one, which was green and golden yellow in color. In addition to the paintings on them, the walls themselves had decorations carved directly on them, various beautiful sceneries being portrayed on them, with multiple lamps hanging at exactly the same distance from one another. The lamps were set on the walls in such a masterful manner they looked to be part of the scenery of the carved images themselves.

“So beautiful,” Ileena couldn’t help but express her amazement as they walked down the corridor.

“Oh my gosh. I have never seen such beautiful wall carvings before,” Flavia gasped in amazement herself.

“Yeah. You can say that again,” Flamiris added, feeling impressed herself as well.

“I must admit, I did not expect to see such incredible craftsmanship here,” Narias shared his thoughts too.

“We have arrived, Mister Talrone,” Herman informed before the four of them could express any additional observations about what they were seeing. “Please.” Herman invited for them to enter the room after he opened it.

“Thank you, Mister Herman,” Narias said, stepping aside himself and letting his girlfriends enter the room first.

“Thank you,” Ileena said, walking in first. “Huh?” But then she froze in her spot after making only several steps into the room.

“Yo’, let’s check it- Woah!” Flavia exclaimed out loud upon seeing how the room looked.

“Hey, what are you two- No Fire Blast way!” Flamiris was very loud too. “You know what, you are fully forgiven for making us wait back there, you Mastermind Hero.” She added, an extremely satisfied grin showing on her face.

“Huh? What’s going on?” Narias was confused why his girlfriends reacted the way they did upon entering the room. “Aahhh… W… wooow…” Narias’s reaction was no less shocking than all three of his girlfriends’.

No… way. So, when Miss Astelin said Royal Suite she actually meant ‘Royal’ for real… Narias would’ve said that out loud, but he was too stunned for his mouth to be able to move.