Infinite Cashback System

Chapter 255: 255 | She Has a Point, And Also More Mochi

Jordan left them to debate while he approached the bath itself. The water’s surface caught the lantern light, creating patterns that shifted with each gentle current from the heating system below. Steam rose in lazy spirals that carried the mineral scent he’d noticed throughout the facility. The stones lining the pool had been smoothed by years of water contact, their surfaces gleaming wet in the fading daylight.

He tested the temperature with his fingers. Hot but not scalding. Exactly what his body needed after Maya had systematically tenderized every muscle group from his shoulders to his lower back.

The sound of fabric behind him made Jordan turn.

Chloe had removed her yukata.

She stood on the wooden decking in what appeared to be a simple black bikini, though "simple" felt inadequate to describe how the fabric clung to curves Jordan had become intimately familiar with over the past two weeks. The top was a triangle cut that covered everything essential while suggesting the landscape beneath. The bottoms sat high on her hips, emphasizing the ratio between her waist and everything below it. Her black hair with its blue streaks fell past her shoulders, slightly damp from the humidity.

"Hot springs are typically enjoyed without swimwear," she said, her voice completely neutral. "But I figured we’d ease into cultural immersion gradually."

Jordan’s brain required several seconds to process language. "Good call."

"Mm." She walked past him toward the water, her movements carrying the same unconscious grace she brought to everything. The bikini’s back view proved equally devastating. Jordan became extremely grateful for the loose fit of his yukata.

Kumiko emerged from behind a changing screen on the far side of the bath area wearing something that could charitably be described as swimwear. The pink fabric featured an excessive quantity of ruffles, a design that somehow managed to be both childish and extremely flattering, and what appeared to be a small ribbon bow positioned directly between her shoulder blades.

"Chloe-chan helped me pick it out!" Kumiko announced with zero shame. "She said it matched my personality. I think she meant the ruffles."

"I meant all of it." Chloe had already lowered herself into the pool, the water rising to just below her collarbone. "Nnnh... that’s good. The temperature is perfect."

Jordan removed his yukata and set it aside on one of the wooden benches lining the bath area. He’d worn swim trunks underneath, a decision he’d made automatically while changing because swimming in a hot spring with two girlfriends felt like a situation that called for some measure of coverage.

Kumiko didn’t look away as he walked toward the water. Her eyes tracked down his torso with open appreciation, lingering on the muscle definition that the Tune Up trait had provided.

"Jordan-kun."

"Yeah?"

"Your body is unfair."

"Thank you?"

"It wasn’t a compliment. It was a complaint." She crossed her arms beneath the ruffled expanse of her swimsuit top. "Three weeks ago you looked like someone who subsisted entirely on energy drinks and regret. Now you have actual visible abdominal muscles. Multiple ones. That shouldn’t be possible without steroids or divine intervention."

"Good genetics and consistent effort."

"Lies and slander." But she was smiling as she said it, the expression softening her accusation into something closer to fondness.

Jordan descended into the pool via the stone steps built into one edge. The heat enveloped him immediately, working into muscles that Maya had abused earlier that afternoon. The mineral content of the water created a subtle tingling sensation against his skin, different from regular hot tubs in ways he couldn’t quite articulate.

"Haaa..." The sound escaped involuntarily as the warmth reached the tension knots in his lower back.

Chloe had positioned herself on one of the natural stone ledges built into the pool’s interior, the water level just below her shoulders. Her eyes had closed and her head tilted back against the smooth stone rim.

Kumiko descended the steps with considerably more splashing than strictly necessary, her ruffled swimsuit creating small waves that disturbed the steam patterns rising from the surface. She settled onto a ledge near Jordan, close enough that their arms almost touched beneath the water.

"This is nice," she said softly. "Being here with both of you. In a place that belongs to Jordan-kun. Even if he’s being stubborn about acknowledging that."

"I’m not being stubborn."

"You called your inheritance ’not real’ because you didn’t personally dig the hole for the koi pond."

"That’s an exaggeration."

"Is it though?"

Chloe opened one eye. "She has a point. You’re actively sabotaging your own success narrative because it conflicts with your self-made mythology."

"It’s not mythology. My dad built three convenience stores from nothing. My mom worked twelve-hour shifts while pregnant. My grandparents—"

"Jordan." Chloe’s voice cut through his defensive spiral with surgical precision. "Your family’s work ethic doesn’t invalidate an inheritance you received. Your grandfather wanted you to have this place. Rejecting it doesn’t honor his sacrifice. It wastes it."

The words landed somewhere in Jordan’s chest and stayed there.

He didn’t have an immediate response. The water lapped gently against the stone edges of the pool. Steam continued its lazy ascent toward the darkening sky. Somewhere beyond the bamboo fence, Mochi the diva koi was probably demanding his evening feeding.

Kumiko’s hand found his beneath the water. Her fingers interlaced with his, warm despite the surrounding heat.

"You don’t have to figure it out tonight." Her voice had dropped to the gentle register she used when his stress responses triggered her protection instincts. "The money will still be there tomorrow. The onsen will still be here. We’ll still be here."

"Haaa..." Chloe’s sigh carried contentment rather than frustration. "She’s right. For once the emotional support is actually correct. Stop spiraling and enjoy the water."

"I wasn’t spiraling."

"Your jaw did the thing."

"It did not."

"Kumiko saw it too."

"I did." Kumiko squeezed his hand beneath the surface. "The left side went tight and your breathing got shallow. But it’s okay because you’re here with us and the minerals are working and also Yumi-chan is bringing more mochi."

Jordan looked toward the attendant station where Yumi had indeed retrieved additional refreshments. She approached the pool’s edge with the careful movements of someone navigating a minefield, her eyes fixed on the tray in her hands to avoid making accidental eye contact.

"M-more mochi." She knelt beside the low table nearest to their position, arranging the new additions with the same careful aesthetic sensibility Kumiko had noticed earlier. "Kaori-san prepared chestnut and also green tea and also... also strawberry because she said guests with pink notebooks often prefer pink foods."

Kumiko made the squealing noise again. "Yumi-chan. That’s so thoughtful. Tell Kaori-san I love her."

Yumi’s face turned approximately the same shade as the strawberry mochi. "I... I will convey your message."

She retreated toward her station with speed that suggested genuine relief at escaping social interaction.

"She’s going to be okay," Jordan said, watching Yumi settle back into her corner. "She just needs time to get comfortable."

"Like you with emotional vulnerability?" Chloe’s voice carried amusement rather than criticism.

"Different situation."

"Is it though?"

"Stop using my own deflection tactics against me."