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The battle was tough and proved to be a worthy challenge for the team. As the last enemy fell to the ground, Lyn, Ike, Tana, and Azura finally relaxed, laying down their weapons as they let out a sigh of relief. They usually weren’t paired together, as Lyn and Ike were more familiar with the dancer Inigo and the mage Arvis, but they were still glad that Azura and Tana were by their side during the last wave of enemies.
Nailing his sword into the ground, Ike sat by it, still breathing heavily due to the fight. Although he was still considered one of the strongest unit in the army, he lacked the physique of his Vanguard counterpart, which he recently got the chance to meet.
Lyn leaned on her horse, patting him and thanking him for the good work while ruffling his mane.
Azura and Tana descended from their pegasi, Tana to stretch and Azura to slightly unwrap her kimono and let some air in.
A clap of hands echoing in the cave caught their attention, as Kiran showed up with Feh on his shoulder.
“Boy, that was a tough fight. Good job everyone!”
“Feh!” said the owl happily.
“I’m glad I got you guys covering me up!” said Tana, stretching her knees.
“Same here.” Said Ike getting back up and dusting off his armor.
“That fight was rather…peculiar,” said Azura.
“Yeah, we don’t usually fight enemies like that,” said Lyn, now feet on the ground.
“Now now, I know this was different, but I’m sure that with some practice we’ll get the hold of it, eventually.” Said Kiran.
The group stared at him with a concerned look. Although it was a rather fun experience fighting enemies that could only be beaten following the rhythm produced by Breidablik, it wasn’t something they would repeat anytime soon in the near future.
“Besides!” exclaimed Kiran, “We finally get the chance to see what’s at the end of this cave!” The summoner clapped his hands together, scaring Feh.
That was true. Commander Anna sent the Summoner and the group to investigate the mysterious appearance of a cave that appeared out of nowhere some days ago. The cave was discovered to be a Labyrinth composed by multiple floors, some of which forced the group to wait a couple of days to unlock, as the curiosity for what was waiting at the end of the cave was railing up. Finally, after the last, almost chaotic, wave of enemies, the only thing waiting for them was the prize on the 100th floor.
The group formed up and marched forward, with Tana leading. As they reached the end of the corridor, Tana saw a strange glow at the end of the cave and went forward to investigate.
“Be careful!” said Lyn.
“Hey, guys! Come take a look at this!” said Tana. The group rushed forward, leaving Kiran behind.
“Come on guys, you know I’m not build up to run as fast as you!” whined the summoner.
The group met up with the Pegasus royal, as they looked over the shining glow.
“Is that…?” muttered Ike.
“Well this was unexpected,” said Lyn.
In front of them, there was a hot spring, the steam floating around their knees and a greenish light glowing around it.
“What do we do now?” questioned Azura.
“Well, I say: I go first!” yelled Tana.
The princess started undressing while still on her pegasus, making Ike turn his head to face the wall, while Lyn and Azura looked puzzled at the princess. Left in her underwear, Tana jumped elegantly from her Pegasus straight into the water with a loud splash. The girl emerged with her long hair wet, as she was brushing the water off her face.
“Join in guys, the water is awesome!” said the princess sinking in, letting the hot water relax her tired muscles.
“It doesn’t sound like a bad idea.” Said Lyn. “We did go through a exhausting fight. Maybe we could use some rest” The archer started untying her belt.
“I agree. My arms are sore,” said Azura, loosening her kimono yet again.
Ike, that just then decided to peaked on what was going on, immediately turned to face the wall again, not wanting to peek on something he wasn’t allowed to see.
“Come on Ike, don’t be shy! You fought the most, you deserve this!” said Tana, her arms resting on the rocky border of the hot spring.
“No thanks.” Said Ike, still facing the wall as he walked away. “I think I’ll wait my turn”
Before Tana could said anything, Ike already left the room where the hot spring was.
“Don’t worry, he’s like that.” Said Lyn with a smile, sinking in the water until it reached the bottom of her head.
Azura removed her headband, letting her hair free to roam in the water.
“I have to say, for being located in such a dark and gloomy place, this is a rather nice—“
“HOT SPRING?!”
The girls turned to face a stunned Kiran, that was looking at the hot pool with his mouth open.
“WE WENT THROUGH ALL OF THAT FOR A HOT SPRING?!” he yelled, scaring off Feh from his shoulder.
“You can’t deny this is what we needed after that fight!” said Tana smiling.
“I WENT DOWN THIS CAVE SURE THAT THERE WAS A TREASURE WAITING FOR US! ANNA IS GONNA KILL ME!” yelled the Summoner, his hands bringing down his hood to cover even more of his face.
“Oh come on Kiran, why don’t you try to relax and join us? The water is rather nice!” said Lyn.
An unamused look appeared on Kiran’s face.
“I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR BATHS! I have to come up with an excuse for Anna. Besides, I got like, only this pair of clothes since I’ve got here and sure I ain’t gonna…”
Kiran stopped as a thought crossed his mind.
“You..don’t have a change or towels, do you?” asked Kiran.
The girls shook their heads, a little concerned for what was the summoner up to. A sly smile crossed his face.
“Well well, ain’t this just a misfortune, guess we'll have to—“
Kiran didn’t get to finish as Ike took him by his hood and was dragging him away.
“Ike. Ike what are you doing.”
“We’re gonna go and take some towels, we can take our turn at the hot spring later.”
“Ike. Ike wait. Ike please. IKE. IKEEE. JUST GIMME A MOMENT. IKEEEEEEEE” yelled Kiran as he was dragged out of the cave.
The girls looked at each other, then heard a soft splash. Feh had joined them and was currently surfing through the warm water with a relaxed look on her face. The girls couldn’t help but laugh.
Back to the Askr castle, when informed that the cave did not hold a treasure room but instead a hot spring, and therefore needed some towels, Anna was so happy of the news that she launched a towel at Kiran so hard that knocked out the summoner unconscious.