“If you take the new rapid train line from this station, you’ll find that Kyoto is surprisingly close,” Henri said.
After Shino and Masamichi ate breakfast, the inn manager drove them in what appeared to be his personal Mercedes-Benz to the nearest train station instead of having them take the inn’s shuttle bus. “Please come back and stay with us again soon. The two of you will always be welcome. Oh, but if you can book in advance, we’ll prepare a special feast for you!”
The nearby train station wasn’t particularly close. They drove for about half an hour—down a winding mountain road, entering a long tunnel, and passing by an observatory with a spectacular view, particularly at night, that was used for TV filming.
Hearing that they were going to Kyoto, he must have chosen the station with the best access to get there.
Shino quickly got out of the car, saying only, “I’ll be back.” Masamichi heartily thanked their host to make up for it, and parted ways with Henri.
After watching the car until it turned left at an intersection and was no longer visible, he turned around and found that Shino was nowhere in sight.
“Yikes!”
Masamichi panicked for a moment, but fortunately, he could see the stairs to the platform in front of him and was almost certain that Shino had gone upstairs.
Knowing Shino, he is likely to say something like, “You know we’re going to Kyoto. Surely, you can get there by yourself, get on a train, and take off.” Yep, he’d do that for sure.
Masamichi had no idea how often the “new rapid train” came, but he thought he had to catch up with Shino soon so he wouldn’t be left behind.
“Geez. Shino was so aloof back there after Henri had been so nice and hospitable to us.”
Quietly muttering complaints to himself, Masamichi rushed up the steps on the unexpectedly long staircase at full speed…
Fortunately, Masamichi made it and stepped onto the platform where the trains for Kyoto, bound for Shiga, arrived and departed. Then he found Shino sitting comfortably on the bench in front of him.
“Thank God you’re here! I thought you were going to leave me behind. You should have waited for me.”
“Fool. What kind of master matches his strides to his servant’s?”
“I get that, but the least you could have done was thank Henri…”
Masamichi knew it was useless, but he complained to Shino anyway as he sat next to him. Then he took a towel out of his bag and wiped the faint sweat off his forehead.
“It was chilly when I woke up this morning, but it’s still a little hot down here compared to the mountains.”
It seemed that specters didn’t feel hot or cold, and Shino rarely responded to Masamichi’s comments about the weather. Still, he appeared to be in a good mood that morning, and he gazed at the platform on the other side of the tracks and said, “Tokifuyu often said that, too. He said Arima was nice and cool, unlike the hot and humid capital. He said he’d like to live there if he didn’t have his duties.”
Masamichi loved hearing Shino’s stories about Tokifuyu, and he smiled instantly, his eyes lighting up.
“Really? I often hear that Kyoto is hot and humid, but I guess it’s always been that way.”
“It’s a matter of topography. Whether past or present, that should be the same. Because he was sensitive to the cold, he was grateful for the hot water, saying it loosened up his body, not that I understand that feeling.”
“You don’t understand it? But, Shino, you were soaking in the hot spring water in the bath in our room last night and this morning. Wasn’t that because the hot water felt good? I thought specters were healed by hot springs just like we are.”
Shino looked exasperated and raised a brow.
“That’s foolish. Unlike humans, I don’t have aches and pains in my joints. Just because I soak in hot water doesn’t mean some part of me will be healed.”
“Okay, if you put it that way. But you looked like you were enjoying yourself when you were in that tub, plunging yourself underwater.”
Wisely, Masamichi swallowed the words “like a child playing in a swimming pool.” Still, he couldn’t help pursuing the matter. The image of Shino that he’d seen the previous night had been out-of-this-world beautiful, yet he had also looked alive, like a fish at sea.
Shino then retorted curtly.
“For me, bathing in hot spring water is like eating a meal. The power of the dragon’s vein resides in the hot water at Arima. By bathing in it, I gain a little, however slight, mystical power.
“‘The dragon’s vein’?”
Although Shino looked exasperated by Masamichi’s confusion, he demonstrated his usual conscientious manner and started to explain in a minimal number of words.
“Tokifuyu said that in various parts of the world, there are prosperous lands that have dragon holes where the chi energy of the Earth erupts. We call the paths for that chi ‘dragon’s veins.’”
Since meeting Shino, Masamichi has had many opportunities to encounter such talk, which fell under the category often called spirituality. He had become completely accustomed to it, but the scale they were discussing was so huge that it made him dizzy.
“Um… So it’s like the whole world is connected by energy under the ground?”
Shino blinked in surprise.
“That was wise for a fool like you. Yeah, that’s right. If we were to compare the Earth to the human body, the dragon’s veins are like blood vessels.
“Ah!” Masamichi clapped once in understanding.
“I really get it. The Earth’s energy travels around through these underground dragon veins, just like the blood vessels you see under your skin. Are these dragon holes like what we call pressure points in acupuncture? Those places where it feels good when you press them, that can give you energy…?”
Masamichi thought Shino would scold him for blabbing about his imagination and making light of what he’d told him, but the specter nodded with a straight face.
“You may not be far off the mark,” he said. “That’s not a bad interpretation. Water from hot springs touches the dragon’s veins underground and contains a bit of the chi…the powers of the Earth. That’s why humans have favored hot springs since ancient times. Of course, hot springs aren’t a panacea, but when used well, they can help heal wounds and illnesses, giving people strength when their life force is dwindling.”
“I see…! I’ve always wondered why my parents and grandparents loved hot springs. I couldn’t understand why they would go to a day spa when we had baths at home. I suppose there might be reasons beyond just the comfort of soaking in a big bath. I usually avoid hot springs because I tend to get heatstroke if I soak for too long. Last night, I got into the water twice in a row, and I got so hot that my heart started pounding, and I felt dizzy.”