Volume 6 Chapter 23 Disappearance
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
At the hotel, I was rooming with my mother, while Shu and Saran-san shared the room next door. Last night, Shu kept insisting she wanted to bathe with me. It was probably just a kid’s innocent curiosity, I guess. I highly doubt she understands the first thing about the birds and the bees…¹not that I’m exactly one to talk.
I felt restless and wound up, so I didn’t get much sleep. Regardless, she’s a Princess from another world. I can’t be looking at her that way, and laying a hand on her is completely out of the question.
I woke up way too early, so I headed down to the morning bath alone. Maybe because it was early April, the tourist spots weren’t that crowded yet. This hotel was quiet, too, with hardly any other guests. Even the bathhouse was deserted. Perfect, I thought. I’ll just soak, warm up, and try to clear my head. I used a hand towel as a pillow, rested my head on the edge of the stone tub, and closed my eyes.
Then, out of nowhere, a familiar voice rang out.
”Oh. Halt?”
Gasp-!! I nearly swallowed half the pool. Shu was standing right there, completely in the buff.
”Shu?! What are you doing in here?!”
”What do you mean ‘what’… I was going to take a morning bath with Saran…” Shu said, looking tilted.
”Look, the morning bath is fine, but… where’s Saran-san?” I asked, scrambling to cover himself.
”Well, we were together until we got near the entrance…”
”Gah! Shu, you went into the wrong one! This hotel swaps the men’s and women’s baths between night and morning! Saran-san must be in the bath next door!”
”Wait, really? Uh-oh… what do we do?”
”What do you mean ‘what do we do’?! Hurry up, put your clothes back on and get to the other-“
”Yeah… wait. Oh no, Halt! Someone’s coming in!” Shu whispered.
”You’ve got to be kidding me!”
I could definitely hear a group of men chatting in the dressing room. If Shu walked out now, it would be a total scandal.
”Crap. Fine, Shu-get over here!”
I grabbed her arm and pulled her behind one of the massive boulders in the rock bath.
* * *
It sounded like a trio of older guys. I made sure to poke my head out and greet them so they could see my face; that way, they didn’t seem suspicious of me at all. Shu was tucked deep into the shadows of the rocks. As long as they didn’t walk directly past me, they wouldn’t see her. We were safe for the moment, but… man, I was definitely not “safe.”
You see this kind of “lucky lecher”²trope in manga all the time, but I never realized how incredibly stressful it is when it actually happens to you. I had to find a split second to get Shu out of there-either when those guys left or when they were looking the other way. Every second that ticked by just increased the odds of more guests walking in.
Despite my internal panic, Shu actually seemed to be enjoying herself.
”Hehe. I’m taking a mixed bath with Halt,” she giggled.
”This isn’t funny! What are we going to do? Saran-san must be worried sick… You better back me up later so she doesn’t literally execute me.”
”I can’t guarantee that… So, while you’re still alive, Halt, maybe I’ll just stick to you a little longer.”
”Whoa! What kind of crazy stuff are you saying?!”
Taking advantage of the fact that I couldn’t yell, Shu started pressing her soft, curvy chest right against my arm. Oh, man. This was bad. I felt the steam going to my head-I was seconds away from a massive nosebleed.
* * *
”Ms. Tomori! Is Shu-hime in here? We went to the baths together, but we got separated… She wasn’t in the bathhouse!” Saran-san asked, her voice tight with worry.
”No, Saran-san. I haven’t seen her. Actually, my son hasn’t come back from his bath either, and it’s been over an hour,” Tomori replied.
”No… then the Princess and Halt-san… could they have gone somewhere together?”
”No way, not that kid. He doesn’t have the guts… Saran-san, let’s talk to the front desk. We need help,” Tomori said, grabbing her coat.
The two women explained the situation to the staff and began a frantic search. They scoured the hotel and the grounds, but there was no sign of them.
”Um… was my son in the men’s bath?” Tomori asked a staff member.
”Yes, ma’am. Our staff checked, but he wasn’t there. The other guests said they didn’t see anyone matching his description either.”
”I see… that idiot! Where on earth is he taking the Princess?!”
”No, Ms. Tomori. It’s possible Shu-hime was the one being difficult. Ever since Ms. Sheena went back to the lab, she’s been acting strange. She kept asking me all these… ‘adult’ questions,” Saran-san noted.
”‘Adult’ questions? Wait, don’t tell me the Princess has… awakened to that kind of thing? Oh god, if something happened, George will do more than just scold me!”
”Regardless, we have to find them. Whatever it takes!”
”Right. I’m calling the AWCC³for backup,” Tomori said, her face pale.
When the AWCC responded, they used GPS to immediately pinpoint the coordinates of the AI automatic translator⁴.
”Wait… the bathhouse?”
Tomori couldn’t believe it. You’re telling me they really were in there playing house in the tub? She and the staff rushed to the men’s bath, but all they found was the AI translator unit, lying abandoned at the bottom of the water.
”This is it… there’s no mistake. This belongs to Shu-sama!” Saran-san cried out.
”Wait, hold on! Does this mean… the two of them disappeared and eloped?!”
Overwhelmed by the thought, Tomori and Saran both collapsed onto the floor.
* * *
”Mmph… Mmph!”
I couldn’t say a word with this gag shoved in my mouth. I was blindfolded, too, so I had no idea where I was. But… I knew Shu was right next to me. I could feel her soft body pressed against mine. If we weren’t in this mess, my excitement would be through the roof, but…
Back in the bath, just as I was hitting my limit from the heat, several men had approached. For a second, I thought I was about to be caught by Saran-san and forced to commit seppuku⁵, and I actually felt a weird sense of relief. But… those men grabbed us. They hauled us out of the bathhouse and threw us into the back of a van.
Is this… a kidnapping?!
But weren’t the bodyguards watching? Oh… right. They wouldn’t be watching inside the hotel. Dammit, I let my guard down. I don’t know if they’re after Shushu-ria or me, but I could feel Shu trembling against me. She was terrified. My top priority is getting her back safely. That’s the whole reason I came to Japan, after all!
Crap. This is it, Halt! Time to show them your WEEB guts!!⁶
—
Summary:
Halt and Shu-hime find themselves in an accidental mixed-bathing situation at their hotel. While hiding from other guests to avoid a scandal, they are suddenly abducted by unidentified men. Their guardians find only their discarded translator, leading them to believe the two have eloped.
—
Trivia:
- The hotel swaps bath genders between morning and night.
- Shu-hime has been asking ‘adult’ questions lately, influencing the guardians’ suspicion.
- Halt’s translator was left in the tub, which is why the GPS pointed there.
- The bodyguards do not monitor the interior of the bathhouse
—
Character Insight:
Halt shifts from awkward teenage arousal to a protective ‘protagonist’ mindset, showing growth in his sense of responsibility toward Shu. Tomori and Saran’s leap to the ‘elopement’ conclusion shows their deep-seated anxiety about the duo’s relationship.
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Behind the Scenes:
The ‘lucky lecher’ trope is a meta-commentary by the author on standard isekai cliches, which is then subverted by the sudden shift into a kidnapping plot.
—
TL Notes:
Notes:
• Saran – An elf; part of the joint team working on the Gate. A Royal Palace Guard Officer from the Zerlant Royal Family. She has very white skin, is small in stature, and is described as incredibly cute. Despite her appearance, she is a master of all martial arts and exceptionally strong. She is described as ‘stiff’ or serious.
• Halt – A sixteen-year-old high school sophomore living in the suburbs of Washington D.C. He is the grandson of the President of the United States and is recognized as a severe otaku by his peers. He attends a prestigious high school for children of celebrities and elite families.
• Sheena – A Lizardman from the Apocalypse Empire, specifically a junior researcher in the teleportation research team of the empire’s army. She is the 47th resident (hence ‘No. 47’) of the secret underground facility in Nevada, where she has been living for several years after accidentally being transported to this world through a failed gate experiment. Yuuta’s saffle too. Grey hair, long hair.
• George – An U.S. military officer and the son of Michael Anderson, a high-ranking official. He is also the brother of Gregory. Tomori’s husband. Halt’s father and a Major General in the military.
• Shushu-ria – Queen Asuka’s daughter, 11 years old, potential successor, Dwarf Engineer
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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