Chapter 22

 Chapter 22: Dramatic Again

What a shock.

When Minato opened the curtains, there was a hot spring in the corner of his garden.

It was surrounded by rocks of all sizes, with white steam rising from the round pool of water. A real outdoor hot spring, right there in his yard.

He stood there holding the half-open curtain, completely speechless.

"Well... I mean, yeah, I'm surprised... but that's actually a hot spring... No way."

Through the rising steam, he could see a huge white figure resting his chin on a rock while soaking in the water. Even from far away, he could tell the mountain god had his eyes closed and was probably thinking

"Ahh, this is heaven."

He opened the window and stepped outside. His sandals moved quietly along the stone path, trying not to disturb the peaceful morning.

The lawn around the area had been rearranged, and the sacred pond was a bit smaller now. But it was huge to begin with and only had two residents, so it didn't feel cramped.

He stopped to check on the pond. The little turtle and dragon were glowing with pearl-like light as they slept at the bottom. They'd been drinking late last night, so they probably wouldn't wake up until noon.

The dragon's side of the pond was all rocks now, completely different from the turtle's lush green area. The dragon apparently liked squeezing into gaps between the big rocks to sleep.

They'd split the pond down the middle at the arched bridge. Even though they were good friends, they kept clear boundaries.

Next to the pond, he looked up at the sacred camphor tree. It had grown into a massive tree, and the trunk he'd wrapped with rope was now so thick he couldn't reach around it with both arms.

The leaves overhead rustled gently. High up in the branches, he could see three white shapes—the familiars sleeping in their favorite spots after finishing their training. They were probably keeping quiet so they wouldn't wake each other up. He touched the trunk lightly to say good morning.

As he got closer to the hot spring, he caught a whiff of sulfur that made him smile with nostalgia.

He crouched down near the rock where the big wolf was resting and dipped his hand in the water. The heat felt amazing, soaking right into his bones. When he cupped some water in his hands, he could see mineral deposits floating in it.

"It's... a real hot spring..."

He couldn't help but gasp in amazement. The mountain god, floating peacefully, cracked open one eye. He looked extremely pleased with himself.

"This is insane..."

Hearing the awe in Minato's voice, the mountain god snorted with satisfaction and made a pleased rumbling sound.

"Well? How about a morning bath?"

"Don't mind if I do."

The mountain god was about one and a half times Minato's size. Even with that huge body in there, the spring was big enough that one more person wouldn't make it crowded. The house was surrounded by high walls, so he could bathe without worrying about anyone seeing him. He quickly grabbed a towel and clean clothes.

---

After soaking in the hot spring until he was dizzy, Minato was sprawled out on the wooden floor of the veranda, lying flat on his stomach with his cheek pressed against the cool boards.

"Ahhhh, I'm in heaven~"

"Good, good."

The mountain god never got overheated and was already enjoying his after-bath sweet potato candy. Minato finally managed to sit up halfway.

"Having your own private hot spring is crazy luxurious. Though I guess the guy who owned this place before was some big shot CEO, so maybe not such a big deal... for him?"

His head was still foggy from the heat, so his words came out slurred.

The mountain god's fur looked even more beautiful than before as he held his extra-large tea cup between his paws and lapped at it. He liked his tea warm rather than hot, so the cooled barley tea was perfect after a bath.

"Do humans think hot water is luxurious?"

"For us, yeah."

"To me, it's basically the same as regular water."

"Huh."

Learning that hot springs weren't a big deal for gods, Minato took a sip of his own water. The mountain god bit into his last piece of sweet potato candy, taking his time to savor it while glancing sharply at the back gate.

A moment later, loud rustling sounds came from the leaves. Seri and Torika came running down the tree trunk, and Utsugi fell to the ground with a thump.

The sudden noise broke the peaceful mood.

"What? What happened?" Minato asked, looking at the tree in surprise.

"Hmph, too slow," the mountain god grumbled.

At his scolding tone, Seri and Torika ran faster toward the back gate. Utsugi bounced up and joined them.

The mountain god quickly calmed down, wagged his tail, and told Minato, who was starting to get up, "Looks like we have another visitor."

"For me?"

Still confused, Minato headed for the back gate, but the sleepy Sacred Turtle and dragon who had climbed out of their pond blocked his way.

The two divine beings weren't hungover, but they were swaying and looked unsteady. Minato stopped.

"Friends of yours?" he asked.

They both nodded. When he asked to make sure, it seemed like they were.

He followed as they slowly led the way. The martens by the gate kept looking outside and then back at him, like they wanted to say something. Even though he was curious, he focused on checking who was visiting. He was getting used to this by now.

Excited to see what kind of being had shown up this time, he looked outside the gate. Something was hiding behind the gate post, peeking through the bars with just one eye showing. He could see one front leg covered in cream-colored scales.

Long whiskers hung down from what was clearly a dragon-like head.

"Oh! From back then!"

It was the lightning-fast deer-like creature he'd helped on the mountain a qilin.

Maybe his slightly loud voice scared it, because it quickly squeaked and hid completely in the corner. Between its trembling back legs, its tail was tucked all the way under.

For some reason, it was terrified.

If he spoke carelessly, it might run away again.

Not sure what to do, Minato looked back at the Sacred Turtle and dragon. Looking like "here we go again," the two faced the qilin through the gate bars. They were probably trying to talk it into coming in.

The martens, who could understand the conversation, just stood quietly at Minato's feet.

Soon the Sacred Turtle turned around, and Seri looked up at Minato.

"It wants to know if it can come in."

"Sure, go ahead."

Without opening the gate, it slipped right through.

They could come and go whenever they wanted. But it asked permission probably because the mountain god was here. As for the wind and thunder gods... well, even a little interaction with them made it obvious they did whatever they felt like.

Anyway, even though the qilin had entered, it wouldn't move from right behind the gate. It was completely cowering.

It was scared to death.

Was Minato scary, or were all humans scary? Being feared this much made him feel bad even though he hadn't done anything wrong.

Thinking maybe he should give it more space, Minato took three big steps back. The martens would translate between them, so that should work fine. The three animals understood and backed up with him. When he whispered "Please help," Seri gave him a reassuring nod.

When Minato backed away, the qilin stopped shaking. It straightened up and planted all four feet firmly on the ground. Though its tail was still tucked between its legs. Its brave attempt was actually kind of touching.

"Thank you so much for helping me before," it said through Seri.

Minato grinned and waved slightly. He kept his movements small to avoid scaring it. He figured it was better not to speak out loud either.

"Thanks to you, I got my mind and freedom back. Thank you so much. I can never thank you enough. I'll never forget what you did for me. But running away without even saying thanks was incredibly rude, and I'm really, really sorry..."

Then came a long, long series of apologies and thank you. For something so scared, it sure was chatty.

Minato kept what he hoped was a harmless smile on his face and nodded occasionally while listening.

Five minutes went by. With Seri's voice droning on like a lullaby, the Sacred Turtle and dragon leaned against each other and started dozing off. Next to them, the qilin stood up straight with tears in its eyes, probably from emotion.

Minato stood there with his hands clasped and his business smile getting a bit strained.

Only Seri kept translating seriously.

"....When your power destroyed that evil thing, I felt like I could fly to heaven. Actually, I did fly to heaven. I got so excited despite my age, it was embarrassing. But I think anyone would understand. The shock of that moment was just so, so..."

The grateful speech and endless self-narration continued. Utsugi got bored and leaned against Minato's legs, which had started to hunch over. Torika poked Utsugi's back.

Fifteen more minutes passed.

"...This is such a nice place you have here. It looks so comfortable, I'm jealous. You see, I'm wandering the world right now, no home to speak of. It's been so long since I've been free. Everything's changed so much, like Rip Van Win..."

It wasn't stopping. Minato's fake smile was gone.

Five more minutes later, the river of words finally...

"...So, as a small token of my gratitude"

Finally seemed to be wrapping up.

Oh, almost done, everyone perked up and straightened up. Then, through Seri's innocent child-like voice, came the bombshell:

"I want to make you a ruler of half the world."

"Thanks, but no thanks."

He refused immediately with a straight face. No way in hell.

The qilin shook violently, but Minato's heart was pounding and he broke out in a cold sweat. This terrifying reward was absolutely something he couldn't accept.

He'd seen the incredible power of the Sacred Turtle and dragon firsthand, so he had no doubt the qilin was just as powerful. He knew perfectly well he wasn't cut out for something that big. It was way beyond him. He didn't want it and had zero interest in it.

The future of the world and everyone's happiness would depend on his answer. The pressure made his throat go completely dry.

"Really, just saying thanks is plenty. I'm happy the way things are. I want to stay a normal person, just a regular guy. One face in the crowd, a nobody villager that's about right for someone like me. I'm begging you from the bottom of my heart. Please don't."

Before he knew it, he was leaning forward and pleading desperately. The qilin tilted its head, still scared. Being turned down seemed to surprise it.

"Why not? Humans are greedy, cruel things that steal land and resources, eat other species, and love killing each other too. If you grab power, you could pile up mountains of human corpses however you want."

Seri's emotionless, childish voice made the words even more chilling.

He couldn't argue with that. Humans had been doing exactly that throughout history and were still doing it now.

But not everyone was like that though he couldn't even speak up to argue or get any closer. He was getting more and more panicked.

Just when Minato was in serious trouble, two quiet laughs came from above.

"He says just thanks is fine. People are good at different things. That kid doesn't want stuff like that."

"Having half the world doesn't guarantee happiness anyway."

The laughing voices came to his rescue. Hearing the familiar voices, all the tension left his body and he looked up. Above the camphor tree, the wind and thunder gods were floating in mid-air.

But strangely, they weren't in their little kid forms they looked like teenage boys.

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