Taimanin: The Weakest's Resolve

Five Days Break - 03

"They don't serve milk?"

While he was looking around, Kotaro was somewhat disappointed.

The inn didn't provide any form of entertainment to their customers. He tried calling the staff and no one was responding. The owner was nowhere to be found. As if the whole place was deserted. Only a table tennis was all that left to save their guests from boredom.

Kotaro inspected it closely. The table didn't look that new. On the contrary, it looked rusted and covered in a pile of dust. No one here bothered to clean it. The same state he noticed among a few stranger things here. Lots of cobwebs on the ceiling, there were some in his room too. Kotaro didn't really care much about it. Because this town was barely a tourist attraction anymore, the lack of people could lead to these things. But to think many places in the inn had it, he could hardly ignore. The hot spring and the old-styled room, where he was staying, were both great. Other qualities? Not so much. Kotaro swiped a finger on the dirt filled table to see how thick the layer was. The tip was pitch-black. It was that dirty. Surely a one hundred percent they called this poor management.

He couldn't do anything with his phone since the area didn't have any network available, even the reception. This was a peacefully quiet town. Though he didn't think it would have this much of technology disadvantages. Kotaro gazed back at the table tennis one more time. If someone would be willing to clean the dirt on top, he could play it without any problem. A green board with chalk boxes, the ping-pong balls and paddles were already there.

Still, here was the big question. If he was going to play the game, who would be the opponent? Right now the only guests here were him and Ingrid. There was no way he could play a game that required speed, good reflex and accuracy against a sword wielder like her. She was feared on the battlefield for a reason. Yeah, not a chance.

Oh well, at least I still have the books.

As Kotaro intent to leave, he stopped in place when he saw Ingrid in a white yukata standing outside the room. Not too loose or revealing, her current attire did a good job in accommodating her natural beauty and figure. And it was about time he averted his gaze to somewhere else before she noticed.

"It's strange, don't you think?" Ingrid suddenly asked.

"Huh?"

"There's not much activity going on in this place. In term of services, they are very lacking. If it wasn't for the quality of the hot spring." Her eyes trailed off from the dust filled table tennis to various dirty spots around the corridor. "I would have send a complaint to the person who is running this inn. The treatment provided to their customers is unpleasant."

Kotaro nodded. He couldn't agree more.

"And it doesn't seem like the owner is available, even the staff. Asides from him and you, I haven't seen anyone else here."

He understood what she meant. This place had such a small population that it was no different from a ghost town. The owner did say his town hadn't seen visitors for a long time.

No visitors → No money for maintenance → Business goes down → People leave town for better lives → Small population → Current state of the town.

Plus, the place was in a really secluded location. No wonder not many people knew about it.

"Well, if that tree came back to life, this town could have been something entirely different." Kotaro pointed out the opened window, where the sight of the giant white tree could be seen.

"You could be right. But right now as we are here, there's nothing much to do."

Even though the expression didn't show much hint of the boredom she was having underneath, Kotaro was fully aware of it. Then, her line of sight stopped at the table tennis. Her eyes remained fixed on it for a while as if an idea popped into her mind. For some reason, Kotaro knew he should leave this room quietly before she voiced out those thoughts. Guk! She already went and picked up the paddle.