After walking around the capital and reminiscing, Elna and I found a random restaurant and had lunch. I'd originally planned on treating her to a more upscale meal, but she refused, claiming that would take too much time.
For her, seeing the capital was more important.
"Let's keep on moving!"
"You're sure full of energy today," I muttered as I followed after her.
After that, Elna headed to the outskirts of the capital and led us on a wild ride consisting of her getting called flat-chested by some bratty kids, proceeding to punish them under the guise of a game and hijacking the lot they'd been playing in, flying into a rage after hearing the kids mention they'd once seen me walking with a girl with big boobs, openly lamenting and complaining that some of her old favorite shops were gone, and more.
Eventually, just as I was starting to grow weary of trying to keep up with her, a drop of water fell on my cheek.
"Uh-oh," I murmured as I looked up.
The blue sky had all of a sudden filled with clouds. I could hear thunder in the distance, and a light rain started to fall.
I knew it would be wise to find shelter somewhere.
Elna seemed to realize that too and picked up her pace. I followed along in silence for a while, then started to get a bad feeling and asked her about our destination.
"Hey, Elna?"
"Yeah?"
"Where are we going?"
"To the inn. We used to go there all the time, remember?"
I did remember. It was an inn we'd stop by on our way home sometimes. We liked going there because, unlike most inns, there was a bathtub in every room. Naturally, it was classy and expensive. Most commoners could never stay there even once in their entire lives. Having a bath in each room meant that each room also had a magical tool inside that could heat water. Those tools were pricey and consumed mana with each usage. It was an expensive operation.
Despite all that, Elna had always used that luxury inn as a place to wash up. Fortunately for her, the supreme archduke's predecessor, Elna's grandfather, had provided lots of magical tools to the inn when it had first opened. Therefore, Elna got free use by association.
She was probably heading there now on the same premise, but that would be a huge mistake.
"Hang on, Elna. Trust me, that's a bad idea."
"Huh? What's the problem?"
"Nothing. It's just not a good idea."
"Hmm, now I'm suspicious. Don't tell me you went there with that girl those kids were talking about?"
Elna gave me an interrogating look. For all her cleverness, she really was slow to catch on sometimes.
Sighing, I figured I had better tell her the shocking truth. But before I could do so, Elna cut me off.
"Well, the thing is—"
"If I say we're going, we're going! A knight never goes back on her word!"
"...Oh geez."
I let out a deeply frustrated sigh. Why did she always have to drag the fact that she was a knight into everything?
"What now?"
"Okay, whatever. Maybe you'll understand once you see for yourself."
This time I took the lead. Before long, we arrived at our destination. It was still the inn of Elna's fond memories, but its appearance had undergone some big changes. The most obvious one was the sign out front. Once Elna saw it, she blushed and let out a stuttered exclamation.
"...H-huh?"
"Now do you get it?"
Written on the sign were the words "Love Hotel." It had become a high-end hotel where couples could spend the night together. There were only a few such establishments in the empire, so most common people hadn't even heard of them.
The second generation of management had changed tactics a few years back and remodeled the inn in its current form. All the necessary amenities were already present, making it an ideal place for nobles to bring their partners or lovers. The hotel quickly became a popular destination, and business was booming.
"The place is only meant for couples now. It would be trouble if you went in there and got recognized, don't you think?"
The hotel's owners and staff understood privacy, but other guests didn't. If anyone saw Elna going in there, there would be an uproar. She was the supreme archduke's heir. Her marriage would be an important event within the empire. Her father would also likely get caught up in the fall-out.
Given all that, I suggested we change our destination, but Elna's reply surprised me.
"Come on. Let's go somewhere else."
I wasn't thrilled about getting wet, but there was no other choice. It didn't feel right to enter a love hotel just to avoid a little rain—all the more so if I was with Elna. I assumed she would feel the same way and started to turn back.
"No... L-let's go in."
"What?!"
The unanticipated situation must have scrambled her thoughts. Although blushing, Elna was heading toward the hotel. I hurriedly re-explained as I stopped her.
"Elna, this is a love hotel now."
"I-I don't care. A knight never goes back on her word."
"I'll pretend I never heard you suggest we come here. Come on, let's go."
"N-no! Now that I gave my word as a knight, I have to go in! I-it'll be fine! All I have to do is make sure no one notices me!"
She had a point. As long as no one recognized Elna, there wouldn't be any problem. My being seen here, or anywhere for that matter, wouldn't make juicy gossip.
Still, Elna sure had one heck of a difficult personality. She never compromised on her decisions, no matter how small or trivial. Apparently, her thought process was that if she went back on a decision once, she would do it again, and going back on her word even once would make all her years of dedication up to that point meaningless.
Personally, I didn't see it that way, but there was nothing I could do about her conviction.
"W-we're going in! We're just seeking shelter from the rain, and we'll get separate rooms, anyway!"
"Are you stupid? No couples that come here are going to get separate rooms."
"Huh?!"
Elna suddenly looked incredibly timid. Going into that sort of room with a man was an awfully high hurdle for her. Of course, I was practically family, which was a lot better than going in with any other guy. And I'm sure she knew nothing was going to happen. But it made sense that she'd still be hesitant.
However, for Elna, what she'd said earlier was practically a vow on her knight's honor. She wouldn't be going back on it anytime soon.
The rain was steadily getting harder. Our clothes were already wet. Continuing on to find shelter elsewhere at this point would be bad for our health; we could even catch colds. Or rather, I could.
With a faint sigh of resignation, I entered the hotel. I quickly got us a room, then took Elna by the hand and went up to the second floor.
"I guess we'll just have to hang out here until the rain stops."
As I spoke, I looked down at my clothes. They'd gotten pretty soaked during the time we'd stood out in front of the hotel. I knew I should probably take them off to dry for a while.
"Hey, Elna—"
"Don't look at me!"
Elna shouted while trying to conceal her body with her arms. From the short glance I got, I noticed the rain had made her clothes practically transparent. The image of damp cloth pressed flat up against her already diminutive chest was seared into my mind. I quickly averted my gaze and went looking for the bathroom in an effort to distract myself. However, once I found it, I immediately regretted it.
"You've gotta be kidding me."
What I saw was a white bathtub surrounded entirely by glass walls. It was a bathroom explicitly made for voyeurism.
Could you even call that a bathroom? I struggled to understand why anyone would make something like that.
"Oh well... Elna, I'll go outside, so you can wash up first."
With that, I started to leave the room. I was contemplating how chilly I'd be and consoling myself that at least both of us wouldn't catch cold, when a hand suddenly grabbed onto my clothing.
"No, it's okay... I'll go outside first. I'm a knight, after all."
"You think I'm going to make a woman go out and wait in the hall? Other guests are going to see you waiting out there. Who knows what kind of ridicule you might have to endure?"
She'd look like a woman who'd been locked out of the room by her partner. That would be an intolerable humiliation for Elna.
"I could say the same for you, though. No one's going to recognize me, but they'd recognize you. You'd be ridiculed again."
"That's nothing new for me."
"But I don't want to be the reason you get made fun of."
"Oh my god. What, should we both catch colds then?"
"Well...we can both stay in the room. One of us just has to not look while the other is in the bath. Right?"
Elna blushed as she made this unexpected suggestion.
"Uh... Are you serious?"
"Of course I'm serious! Ugh! You can go first. Just hurry up!"
She headed to the corner of the room in a huff and sat in a chair.
I stood there frozen a moment, but I quickly deduced that Elna wouldn't get in the bathroom if I didn't go along with her plan, and that would mean her getting sick.
Left with no choice, I took a towel and went to the bath.