"You doing okay, Aoi-neesan?" he asked, enjoying the soft touch of the married woman's hands that had clearly never seen hard labor. "If you knew some martial arts, you could've knocked those guys flat yourself."
She looked at him with surprise. "Oh? so that's how you beat them up? With martial arts?"
"Yeah, I've trained in lots of different styles," he said confidently. He was completely making this up, of course.
Aoi clapped her hands together, suddenly enthusiastic. "That's amazing! Taking down such big guys with just a punch—so cool! Martial arts might actually be more impressive than magecraft... I'd really love for my Rin to learn something like that too."
She seemed to be seeing a bit of her own black-haired, dark-eyed daughters in the boy standing before her. Aoi, who had been pretty shaken up until now, suddenly perked up considerably.
As they continued walking, they chatted about all sorts of things—martial arts movies, cooking, his mother, and other casual topics. Interestingly, she seemed to really know her way around a kitchen.
"You should come over sometime, Ryuuto-kun," she suggested warmly. "I'd love to cook something for you."
"I'd like that," he replied with a smile. "It would be my pleasure."
She hesitated at his immediate acceptance. Usually people politely decline such offers at first, but he had nodded so earnestly. What a refreshingly honest kid, she thought. Holding Ryuuto's hand, she looked at him with affection.
"Is there anything special Ryuuto-kun would like me to make?"
"Hmm... maybe oyakodon?"
"Oh my," She giggled, covering her mouth with her hand. "That's not a food."
Their pleasant conversation made the time pass quickly, and before they knew it, they'd arrived at Shinto Station.
"Looks like we missed the last train," Ryuuto said, glancing at the station schedule. "All the buses to the neighboring town have stopped running too."
"Oh dear... what should we do now?" She knelt down to his level, placing her hands gently on his shoulders. "It's gotten so late, Ryuuto-kun. You should really get back home. I'll be fine staying in the waiting room overnight and catching the first bus in the morning."
"Why don't we just find a hotel to stay in, Aoi-neesan?"
"A hotel? But... won't your mother be worried about you?"
He suddenly looked down, a flash of sadness crossing his clear eyes. "My mother isn't with me right now... she's far away." In his heart, he added: one in Tokyo, one in the Throne of Heroes.
Aoi's expression softened with concern. "Oh... I see. I'm so sorry! I had no idea..."
She had been chatting about his mother during their entire walk to the station. Now she felt terrible for bringing it up so much.
The boy quickly lifted his head, the sadness vanishing from his face, replaced with a bright smile. "Don't worry about it, Aoi-neesan. You don't need to apologize. Actually, hanging out with you makes me really happy—like there's not such a big empty space in my chest anymore."
"R-really? Well, I'm having a wonderful time too." Aoi's face lit up with a happy smile as she took his hand and headed toward the exit.
"Come on, Ryuuto-kun. Let's go find ourselves a hotel for the night."
...
"This hotel is so fancy! And even though it looks expensive, the price is actually quite reasonable. This is my first time staying overnight away from home. Are hotels usually this affordable?" Aoi was practically bubbling with excitement as she held his hand, walking through the lobby with its over-the-top flashy decorations.
"..." Ryuuto's mouth twitched as he remained speechless. Though she was already a mother of two, she was clearly still incredibly sheltered and unworldly. The reason for his reaction was simple—Aoi had unwittingly chosen a love hotel just outside the station for their overnight stay. Not a place meant for regular accommodation, but rather a special establishment designed specifically for... enhancing relationships between men and women.
After chatting with her earlier, he had discovered that Aoi had absolutely no idea what a love hotel actually was. Apparently, she'd chosen this place simply because she thought the castle-like exterior with all its pink lighting looked pretty.
"Hello, we'd like a room for the night, please."
Aoi's cheerful voice instantly snapped the hotel receptionist out of his sleepy daze.
He looked up to see an elegant, graceful, and beautiful mature woman holding hands with a young boy as they approached the desk.
"Um, if you don't mind me asking..." Fifteen years of working at this hotel had given the receptionist a special talent: he could usually size up guests and their situations with about 80-90% accuracy. He could tell these two weren't mother and son. Moreover, just one look made it crystal clear that this was an incredibly innocent woman. Which meant... this must be her first affair? With a boy who was half a head shorter than her?
...No way, that's ridiculous. The receptionist shifted his gaze to Ryuuto, but strangely found that he couldn't read this kid at all. That was a first for him. Maybe it was just because the other person was a child, so his usual people-reading skills didn't apply?
His curiosity got the better of him, and he asked, "What's your relationship to each other?"
They must be brother and sister, he thought to himself.
"We are..." Just as the innocent Aoi was about to answer, Ryuuto quickly cut her off.
He made a circle with his left thumb and index finger, then pushed his right index finger through it, making a rather inappropriate gesture.
"We have this kind of relationship," he said flatly.
"O-oh... I see. My apologies for asking." The receptionist's face turned bright red as he bowed his head and hurriedly processed their check-in.
...
"Ryuuto-kun, what did that hand thing you did mean?" Aoi asked while opening the door to their room.
"It's a secret."
"Come on, tell me!"
"Nope, can't do that."
"Ryuuto-kun, be a good boy..."
Aoi was about to press further with a tickle, but the moment she stepped into the room, she froze in her tracks. In the corner of the spacious bedroom was a completely see-through bathroom, enclosed only by clear glass walls.
"Why is the bathroom completely transparent? There's not even a separate room or frosted glass!"
Because this is a love hotel where "visual stimulation" is the whole point, he thought to himself with amusement.
"What's wrong, Aoi-neesan?" Ryuuto, apparently quite familiar with love hotel setups, asked with feigned innocence.
"Well... there seems to be an issue with this room. I can't possibly take a bath like this."
For someone like Aoi, a completely transparent bathroom was obviously unacceptable. After all, she was the traditional Japanese lady type who wouldn't dream of bathing with a man—not even her own husband.