Blue Archive - Story of Joshua Sensei

Chapter 64 - A Student's Heart III: Chinatsu

...

After my bath in the open-air, I went to sleep in one of the many rooms for the night. It took a while to get to Red Winter and most of the afternoon was spent coming to the hot springs place and bating, so I fell asleep pretty quickly.

I woke up the next day, getting dressed in a fresh robe. I came to a recreational room to get something to quench my thirst, remembering this one had a vending machine.

Quickly, I pop in a coin and get a can dropped from the machine. As I open it and take a sip, I hear a familiar voice coming from a nearby massage chair, just out of my sight.

"I feel healed." The voice says, letting out a relieved sigh. "The hot springs in Gehenna are great, but these hot springs aren't half bad either."

Moving to investigate, I find Chinatsu, practically melted into the chair. She's clad in a grey yukata decorated with black patterns resembling branches with small leaves. Her hair is done up, or rather down, to the side, held by a small band as the low, side ponytail rests on her shoulder. The black headband she wears is still in place, as are her glasses. The new hairstyle really lets me see just how long her ears are as well.

"Looks like someone's havin' fun." I comment, causing her eyes to snap open.

"S-S-Sensei?!" She shrieks, golden eyes wide.

"You didn't even give me a heads-up when you arrived? You hurt me, girl." I tease, feigning injury.

"I-I'm sorry, I-"

"Chinatsu, I'm just teasin' ya." I interrupt, smiling. "You didn't have to text me."

"Geez." She groans, before looking down at the chair's controls. "The cancel button should be around here somewhere..."

"Done already?" I ask.

"Well, it would be rude to speak with you while lying down like this." The elf girl argues, her face red.

"It's fine. This place is meant for relaxation, after all." I shrug.

"W-Well, I have to get up and work anyways." Chinatsu continues.

"I thought you had the day off." I point out, taking a sip of my drink.

"I do, but there's still a lot to be done for the Eden Treaty." She explains. "To top it all off, I have something else unrelated to that which needs to be done."

"Oh?" I ask, sitting down at an empty chair next to her and whispering. "What's so important?"

"Sensei, do you know the Hot Springs Development Department of Gehenna?" She asks.

"Can't say I do." I say.

"Well, as their name implies, they're a club that develops hot springs It's notorious even among the problematic clubs of Gehenna because they frequently cause major accidents using their heavy equipment." Chinatsu explains, serious. "Not too long ago they caused a big commotion as they insisted on mining a hot springs near the ocean. Their only redeeming factor was that they were only causing trouble within the Gehenna district... at first."

"Then they came here." I surmise.

"Then they came here, and, for some reason, developed at hot spring within the Red Winter Academy." She confirms. "In principle, any club activities within the district of another academy is a serious violation of the school rules. Since this could potentially instigate a fight between the Gehenna Academy and the Red Winter Federal Academy, I came here not only for a day off, but also as a member of the Prefect Team to see if there was anything I could do."

"Ever responsible, huh, Chintasu?" I ask. "Though the massage chair seems to be helping you relax, so that's good."

The elven girl blushes from my words. "Yes, well... I've been following traces of the Hot Springs Department all day and felt really tired. I decided to take a bath and then the message chair seemed really inviting..."