Takane no Hana - Volume 2 Chapter 13

With a bathrobe from my room, I was escorted to the large bathhouse by a servant who was waiting a short walk from the guest room. I undressed in the dressing room and opened the door to the bath with some excitement.

“Oh ……, this is certainly a bath to be proud of.”

The Tennoji family’s large bathhouse was so gorgeous that it was hard to believe it wasn’t a separate home.

There are two bathhouses as large as a school swimming pool, and even an open-air bath. Although I had vaguely expected the faucet to be a golden lion, it was a very large and conspicuous statue.

“The ceiling …… is high.”

Steam, like a cloud, is solidifying near the ceiling.

I soaked myself in the water after lightly washing my body, enjoying the sight that I usually don’t get to see.

“Haa………… come back to life.”

Not that I’m really dead.

When I’m alone, I end up uttering my standard mutterings.

Come to think of it, it’s been a long time since I took a bath alone. Ever since I became a caretaker, I had been taking baths with Hinako, so I was more relaxed than usual today.

It is not bad to take a bath alone.

It’s not bad, but it’s also somewhat lonely. I guess I was feeling more comfortable with Hinako.

“…… Oh?”

At that moment, I heard a woman’s voice from behind me.

It was so unexpected that I stiffened involuntarily. Looking closely at the voice, I noticed a figure standing in the steam.

“Wait, you don’t mean …… Tennoji-san?”

“Yes, this is Tennoji.”

The reply was given in a very calm tone of voice.

However, it was not the voice of the Tennoji-san I knew. It was similar, but slightly different. Her tone of voice also seems different from usual.

Someone was approaching from beyond the steam.

It was a young woman with chestnut-colored hair pulled back. I involuntarily looked away, seeing her cheeks stained red with moisture and water dripping on her smooth skin.

However, the woman did not scream, nor did she walk away, but instead came even closer.

“Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I’m meeting you here. Ufufu, it’s an interesting first meeting, isn’t it?”

The woman, who exudes a calm atmosphere, smiles while covering her mouth with her hand.

“You must be Nishinari-san. Nice to meet you at ……. I am Tennoji Hanami, Mirei’s mother. My daughter is always in your care.”

“Oh …… that, I’m Itsuki Nishinari. It’s me too, Tennoji …… Mirei-san has always been a great help to me.”

“Oh my, you are such a polite and nice boy~!”

Hanami-san smiles in admiration, while I stiffen up.

She is very young for the mother of a classmate. She looks to be in her early twenties. Since she is taking a bath, she has probably removed her makeup. To be honest, it is hard to believe that she is Tennoji’s mother because she looks like this.

“I always hear from Mirei that Nishinari-san is a very studious person. Not only the guest room, you can use anything in this mansion as you like.”

“Oh, thank you…….”

The compliment made me bow my head as well.

That’s when I finally came to my senses.

“No! That’s not the point! I think this is a men’s bath!!”

“Oh!? Is that true?”

Hanami-san tilted her head fluently.

How could she be so calm in front of a naked man?

“I think it’s true.”

“Oh dear, that’s a problem.”

I’m in more trouble than you are.

I am a guest, but how could the woman in front of me, who knows this house well, possibly mistake a men’s bath for a women’s bath? I even had the illusion that I was the one who was crazy.

“It’s a good opportunity, so let’s go in together~”

“Yes!?”

My head is starting to spin.

I don’t understand the distance. Don’t tell me that this person sees me as an elementary school kid or something like that?

“Nishinari-san?”

Puzzled, I heard a girl’s voice from the other side of the wall.

“That voice …… Tennoji-san?”

“Yes, it’s me.”

It’s Tennoji-san (the real one)!

Good, maybe she can do something about this situation.

“What’s more, how can I help you? You’ve been making a lot of noise…….”

Apparently there is a women’s bath on the other side of the wall.

At Tennoji-san’s concerned voice, I tried to explain while looking away from Hanami as much as possible.

“Oh, actually…”

“–Oh, my, Mirei. You’re over there, aren’t you?”

Before I could explain, Hanami-san spoke up.

For a moment, it seemed as if time had frozen. Tennoji-san, who is on the other side of the wall, does not utter a sound. Only the sound of dripping water could be heard.

“Oh, Mother!? What are you doing there!?”

Tennoji-san, who seems to have rebooted, says in a loud voice.

“I’m sorry~, Mirei. I seem to have made a mistake again.”

“This is the only time it’s not funny! Please leave there immediately! There’s no way to avoid black history when your mother is seen naked by a boy in your class!”

I’m sure that’s true…….

“Ehhh. But it’s a good opportunity, and I’d like to talk a lot with him, Nishinari-san~.”

“Mother!!”

“Why don’t you come over here, Mirei?”

“Mother!?”

“Nishinari-san, you have a pretty nice body, don’t you?”

Tennoji-san no longer responded.

After waiting for a while, I heard thumping and hurried footsteps coming from the changing room – and then….

“–Oh, mother!!”

With a loud noise, Tennoji-san opened the door to the men’s bath.

I turn my head in that direction – and immediately look away.

Tennoji-san was naked with only a bath towel wrapped around her. Unlike Hinako, Tennoji-san is well-developed, and even with the bath towel wrapped around her, I couldn’t look directly at her because of the danger involved. Furthermore, perhaps because she had been in the bath, Tennoji-san now wore her hair down differently than usual, which was strangely mature and almost made me fall in love with her.

“Come on, come on! We’ll be out of there in no time!　Oh, mother, you are a woman, please have some modesty!”

“Yes, yes, it can’t be helped at all.”

With that, Hanami stands up.

I was about to close my eyes immediately, but just before I did, I noticed that Hanami-san’s reflection at the edge of my vision was not naked.

“Mi, swimsuit …………?”

“Mother was swimming in the pool just now, so I came straight to the bathtub! It’s embarrassing to be naked, isn’t it?”

To a stunned Tennoji-san, Hanami explains too late.

No, even if you are in a bathing suit, I am naked…….

“More importantly, Mirei……. you’re the one who should have modesty.”

Hanami-san looks at Tennoji-san and said.

She was probably in such a hurry that she was unaware of what she looked like at the moment. When Tennoji-san lowered her gaze and realized that she was clad only in a bath towel, her face turned bright red.

“Hiiiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa—-!!!!!!!”

Tennoji’s scream echoed through the spacious bathhouse.

With footsteps even louder than when she arrived here, Tennoji-san left.

“Oh dear, it’s so noisy.”

“…… I think more than half of it is your fault, though.”

I let out a deep sigh as Hanami-san smiles somewhat happily at me.

“By the way, Nishinari-kun.”

Suddenly, Hanami looked at me with a serious face.

Even though she was wearing a swimsuit, the sight of Hanami-san was arousing for a healthy boy. I turned my head toward Hanami and listened to her, averting my gaze for a moment.

“Is Mirei having a good time at the academy?”

The question that came out in a serious tone was about Tennoji-san.

As a mother, was she concerned about her daughter? Perhaps Hanami-san just wanted to ask me this question from the beginning.

I shook my head …… clearly, remembering Tennoji-san when we were at the academy.

“Yes. Tennoji-san is always so magnificent and straight forward in everything she does……. I’m sure she’s having a great time every day.”

“…… Right. Well, then I’m glad.”

Hanami-san smiled softly.

Her expression seemed truly relieved from the bottom of her heart.