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"Very well!" The man smiled, as he bows down and his arms moved to his left. "I authorize you two to enter inside our Shrine. Have a good day, ladies."
He lifts his posture, folding his arms. His eyes were following each Inkling walking towards the entrance. Tonna barely bended her knees during her walk and Mirii keeps bouncing her irises left and right. Her feet stepped on a wooden tile.
Her head looks down, seeing a semi-reflection of herself.
PA-TUUUU…
Mirii turns behind: the doors were closed.
"Welcome!"
The girl returns ahead: two young Inkling girls bowed down quickly, both with their eyes closed and their open mouth smiling a lot. The girl on the left was entirely colored in purple, the right one was colored in orange.
Both were wearing a white kimono, both with long sleeves which were covering their hands.
"Welcome to the Hot Baths!" The orange one had her hands on her back, while bending forward: same for the purple one.
"… huh." Mirii's mouth was slightly open. "Aside from the same pose, they also look the same…"
"That's right!" The purple closes her eyes, tilting her head to the left. "We are twins!"
"Twins… I see." Mirii rose her head, smiling a little. "I was figuring out that"
Suddenly her eyes almost pop out and her mouth sealed. The twins laughed, as the orange one covered her mouth with her hands, as the purple one did the same.
"What the?!" Her jaw dropped, as she took one step back. "I… did I say out loud my thoughts?!"
The two girls looked at each other: they both nodded.
"You did!" Both raised their heads, with their eyes closed: the orange girl clasped her hands, same for the purple one. "Everyone wondered the same thing!"
"Everyone said their own thoughts? That… that doesn't seem logical." Her irises fell down-right. "But then again, it doesn't seem logical that those girls could read my mind… …" Her irises returned on the two twins. "Although, that guardian was capable of sending illusions in front of my eyes. Hmm… the situation seems too suspicious… I should be really careful, in order to not decimate my perfect performance."
The girl coughed once, as she rose her head once more and hugged her own mask.
"So, you two are twins…" Her eyelids lowered. "Are you members working for the Inkling Hot Baths?"
"Yes!" Both smiled. "We are your guide! Our older sister is waiting for you, behind the reception desk!"
The twins moved one on the left and the other one on the right: both thrust forward their own arms. Behind the purple girl's left hand and the orange girl's right hand, a reception desk made in wood was showing the light from a hanging lantern.
A grown Inkling woman had her hands on the desk, smiling and closing her eyes. She was wearing a dark-green kimono with multiple, small white circles around it. Her tentacles were colored green and were tied together into a ball, with a group of red and white flowers on it.
"You must be Mirii." The woman bowed. "Please to meet you. I'm Chie, receptionist and supervisor of the Inkling Hot Baths."
Mirii bowed once, then she walked in front of the desk while lowering the mask down.
"The Shrine is honored to receive the visit from the guardians of Inkopolis." She closes her eyes for a moment. "We hope that the sacred waters heal the wounds sent by the evil forces."
"Thank you for the greetings." Mirii smiled. "I have questions to"
"Before you ask any questions related to the Shrine itself…" Chie's hands go under the desk, returning holding a paper. "… please sign this Shrine agreement."
Mirii nodded, as her head turned left and right. On the desk there was a vase with multiple flowers of different species and colors.
"Excuse me, but…" Her eyes stared in front of the woman. "A pen is required for signing the agreement. Even a quill if"
"No, no." Chie shakes her head. "You must sign with your thought."
Mirii kept looking at the woman, as her irises shrunk.
"… excuse me?"
"I said, you must sign with your thought." The woman closes her eyes again. "Is there a problem with it?"
A sweat drop appears on her right side, as the girl bended backwards.
"Wait... th-that statement must be explained correctly! No one can sign a paper with the mind's words!" She frowns, while shutting close her mouth.
Chie opened her arms.
"I see it now… the Agents from the Inkopolis Security Team didn't told you the pre-bath procedures you have to complete." Her hands went down the counter, returning with another paper. "Then, I'd like to show you the techniques of the thought."
She lays down the paper, right next to the other one.
"Look carefully at the line down there…" Her right forefinger points at a line, located in the right corner. "… and imagine to sign it with your hand."
"Imagine?!" She thrusts forward, frowning even more. "That's madness! I can't create actions based on my mental works!"
"In this Shrine, the mortals who enter inside… they automatically receive a mental power, which let them perform very specific tasks. This is one of them." The woman was breathing calmly. "Although, there are exceptions…"
Mirii kept looking at the woman's face… then she looks down the piece of paper.
"Th-this is not logical… th-this is ridiculous! I-I refuse to lose my time with elements coming from a fairy tale!" She turns her back and raising her head. "I require a pen. If I don't receive one, I'll send a complain to the manager."
"I'm afraid it's not possible."
"Really?!" Mirii returns ahead, frowning a lot and lying her right hand on the desk. "I could bet my perfect career that your behavior is hiding a multitude of contradictions! Where is the manager?! The owner of this Shrine?!"
Chie frowns a little.
"He's right here… listening at every single bickering you are shouting." Her mouth downturned slightly.
"He's here…?" She turns around, seeing the twins, red pillars, lanterns and a large drum. "Where?"
The woman turned her head to the left, as her right fist stands on her chest.
"The rules of the Shrine impose that only the staff can see its owner… no mortals can glance at him." She returns watching Mirii, with her eyebrows high. "It's because of a curse…"
"A curse?" Mirii's head rose. "Are you stating that the owner loses his ability to meet with strangers?"
"At all." She shakes her head. She starts trembling, as her irises bounces left and right. "You see… it's the owner the one that decides to appear in front of a mortal. When such event happens, it's because the mortal… well… committed something terrible."
"Hmm…" Mirii lowers her head, as her eyes closed.
"This never happened in our Shrine… so, none of us know what this curse is effectively." Chie swallowed silently. "Please, don't ask questions on this regard… I-I had nightmares about it, in the past."
Mirii opened her eyes, looking the woman's face. Her skin got a little paler. The girl sighed loudly.
"Listen, I request the pen right in this instant."
"The pen is not needed at all." The woman shook her head, while clasping her hands and frowning slightly. "I said for the umpteenth time, Mirii..." She breathes loudly. "... use your thoughts to sign the agreement."
Mirii kept looking at the woman and the paper. At last, her sight stops on the paper.
"I'll not be surprised, if nothing happens…"
Her eyes kept seeing the line: she sees her right hand holding a pen, writing down her name and real surname. Blinking twice, the same exact words were now on the line. Mirii gasped, as she moved backwards.
"Impossible!" Her sight moved on Chie. "How this phenomenon happened?!"
"With your thoughts, as I said once again." She nodded, as her hands are clasped on her hips. She lifts her right fingers in front of her mouth. "I expected to see you stumble, though… that means you really believed in such power." She smiles.
"I still don't believe in such craziness." Mirii's head rose a bit. "There must be some kind of technology you are using… those papers could be made with a material unknown from squidkind."
Chie laughed briefly.
"I guarantee that the papers are coming from handicraft work." Her left hand opened in front of the second paper. "Now, if you could please sign the real Agreement paper…"
Mirii frowns a bit.
"What's happening around this Shrine? First the illusions… now this mental power… and then? I'll be capable of floating in midair?! There has to be an explanation to all this, it can't be the product of mystical magic!"
Small laughs were heard: the girl turned behind, seeing the twins with a large smile. Another sweat drop appeared on her right side.
"Mirii, this is not the time to ever think the remote possibility of encountering mental problems!" She returns looking forward. "Those little girls are laughing because of my ignorance about HEY! WHAT AM I SAYING?! I KNOW MORE THAN A DICTIONARY!" She frowns a lot.
More louder laughs came right from behind.
"Nnngghhh!" She bites her own lips. "Let's sign this paper, before more unexpected technology tries to challenge my patience!"
After a loud sigh, the girl looked down the empty line: after two blinks, her sign appeared on it.
"Thank you for the cooperation." Chie bows down, taking the paper with both her hands and putting it below the desk. "Now, do you have questions regarding the Shrine?"
"Yes, I do." Mirii nods. "I'm allowed to explore this Shrine as a visitor?"
"You can." The woman closes her eyes, while smiling. "But only if my sisters are guiding you."
Mirii lowers her eyelids, while turning her back once again.
"We are happy to help you know our Shrine!" Both opened their arms, jumping once.
"Great… I just needed the assistance of those two twins, in order to search Hunley around"
Suddenly, she slaps her forehead with both her hands. The twins kept looking at the girl, while smiling.
"Oh no, what I have done?! Th-they could see my thoughts like an open book! No, Mirii! Don't think about anything! Don't think… … then, I'm going to walk around when they are not looking… NO! STOP IT!" She shakes her head, while squeezing her eyes.
"Do you want to start the tour now?"
Mirii opens her eyes, seeing the orange girl smiling down and clasping her hands.
"Yes! Yes, I'm ready!" She lifts her posture, raising her head.
"You are not." Both shake their heads.
"First, you have to wear a kimono." The purple girl lifts her right glove-like hand. "You can find one in the change room."
"It's right there, you see?" The orange girl pointed at red curtain, with a large single word on the center and a small one on its left-down corner.
On its right, a blue curtain having the same word on the center, but with a different one on the corner. The girl's eyes were on the red curtain, though.
"Understood." She nods. "Thank you for the information. I'll arrive shortly." She walks over them.
The two twins walked faintly towards Chie.
"Hey sis, where is the other woman?" The purple one lies her hands on the desk, same for the orange one.
"The staff brought her to the Bath of Liberation." The woman smiled, while closing her eyes. "It happened while Mirii was listening my words. Speaking of Mirii…"
She bends forward, as her eyes looked over the red curtain for a moment.
"Make sure she doesn't reach our Master." Her voice volume was low.
The twins nodded, as they lowered their eyebrows and kept their smile.