Chapter 52

Chapter 53: Almost Caught by an Acquaintance～

Deep within the forest, there stood a grand waterfall about ten meters high, with pristine white water cascading down ceaselessly.

Fine droplets of water danced like mist, bringing a refreshing and moist spray.

Beneath the waterfall lay a large spring, surrounded by woods and crystals, its top completely shaded by massive tree branches.

With the surrounding landscape tinted blue, one might even be reminded of the term “Forest Sanctuary.”

From Izay’s position, he could easily take in this picturesque scene, as the giant tree branches conveniently left an opening facing him.

The reason Izay noticed this place was rather straightforward.

Because beneath that great waterfall, there was a group of girls who seemed to have finished bathing and were preparing to leave～

“Do girls really like bathing during the day? And why is the timing so similar???”

Noticing the figures gathering under the distant waterfall spring, Izay couldn’t help but feel puzzled.

And why did those people look so familiar?

“You’re impressive, Tiona! To find such a comfortable spot. Unfortunately, we’ll be leaving tomorrow, so we can only come here once more at most.”

“Hehe, actually, Refia and I found it together. It doesn’t matter if we can only come once; I’ve already memorized the location. We can visit again when we explore the Dungeon!”

“That makes sense.”

Standing at the edge of the spring, conversing were a pair of brown-skinned girls.

Judging from their appearances and attire, they were unmistakably Amazons.

Their faces almost identical, they appeared to be twins—one with long hair, the other with shoulder-length locks.

They were enthusiastically discussing this grand waterfall.

“Good job, Refia～”

Nearby, a tall elf sister with golden long hair approached a small sprite with a mountain-breeze colored hue, smiling gently as she reached out to pat her head.

“N…not really…I just happened to find it…”

Apparently unaccustomed to such intimate gestures, Refia shyly lowered her head.

“Ara, you’re blushing, how cute.”

“Big Sister Alisia…”

“Alisia, stop teasing her. The poor girl is about to cry.”

Unable to bear seeing the elder elf tease the younger sprite, the black-haired catgirl stepped between them and rescued Refia.

“Anqi, you’re exaggerating, I didn’t do anything like that!”

Feeling falsely accused, Alisia pouted unhappily.

The three came together, joined shortly by Rine and Elfie, two human girls, forming a lively group of five.

Under a nearby shady tree, listening to her companions’ chatter, the blonde girl adjusting her armlets suddenly paused mid-motion.

In the next moment, the blonde girl sharply looked up towards the gap in the dense foliage.

In the distance, there stood a particularly noticeable tall tree.

Perhaps it was an illusion, but the girl thought she caught a glimpse of a shadow retreating from the tree canopy.

“What’s wrong, Ais?”

Beside her, the emerald-haired elf mama-san noticed her abnormality and glanced over.

Staring at the towering tree’s canopy for a few seconds, Ais shook her head in response.

“Nothing, Riviria, probably my illusion…”

“Illusion?”

Riviria raised an eyebrow slightly, her gaze following where Ais had been looking, immediately spotting the towering tree.

Could someone be peeping from up there?

Impossible…

While it was indeed a good spot for peeping, no one else besides the girls present knew they would come here to bathe. How could someone deliberately spy on them?

It couldn’t possibly be a coincidence.

After all, what kind of person—or how idle—would climb to the treetop just to sit there?

If it were a flying or ape-like monster, it might be possible.

Maybe they liked the peaches on that tree?

That possibility was quite high.

Quickly making her judgment internally, Riviria smiled slightly after pondering.

It must have been Ais’s illusion…

…………

“Sss… sss…”

On a branch of a towering pine tree, Izay leaned against a trunk thick enough for two or three people to embrace, his other hand pressed tightly against his chest, breathing heavily.

“Holy crap, it’s our own people!?!”

“It makes sense. When I saw so many girls, I should’ve realized…”

“After all, apart from Loki Familia, who else would be around here?”

Izay pressed his hand against his chest, trying to calm his rapidly fluctuating conscience.

Speaking of which, Ais’s senses were way too sharp, weren’t they?

Just a glance, and she noticed—he almost got exposed…

Actually, Izay discovered the group from Loki Familia when they had already finished bathing, almost fully dressed. He hadn’t seen anything he shouldn’t have.

Logically, having nothing to hide, Izay had no reason to hide.

But would they believe him?

In that situation, being caught practically equates to social death. No matter what he said, it wouldn’t help. Even eight mouths wouldn’t be enough to explain clearly.

They were bathing, Izay was watching—that’s the simple logic. Once established, it’s indefensible and would tarnish Ize Alward’s lifelong reputation.

“Phew… Luckily, I moved fast enough. I probably wasn’t noticed, right?”

Taking another deep breath, Izay wondered uncertainly.

“Mr. Izay, what are you doing? Not only climbing a tree, but also looking so guilty?”

At that moment, a clear voice came from below. Ryu, who had completed her bath quickly, had returned to this spot.

“Ah, this…”

“Isn’t this voyeurism!?”

Before Izay could respond, Ryu spoke with an oddly certain tone, taking a couple of steps back.

She muttered something like “underestimated, didn’t expect Mr. Izay to be peeping from the tree.”

“Miss Ryu, this is a serious misunderstanding. Look around, the trees here are so dense. Trying to peep from a tree is absurd.”

To that, Izay shrugged, speaking as if it were true.

“But why are there so many broken branches on the ground?”

Though Ryu mentally agreed that peeping from a tree in the dense forest wasn’t practical, especially in her area with abundant trees, she noticed the freshly fallen (sacrificed) twigs on the ground, the leaves stuck to Izay’s clothes, and the fresh break marks on the branches above. She doubted Izay’s explanation.

“Oh, I took a nap on the tree earlier, didn’t realize the branches were so brittle. They broke off, and I was both relieved and nervous about it. Definitely not what you called ‘guilty behavior’～”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

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