As I gently lowered myself into the waters of the hot spring, a sigh I didn't realize I was holding back escaped me. As much as it irks me to admit it, the cultists of this farcical city really were sitting on a profitable goldmine. I could practically feel the accumulated stress melt away as I submitted myself to the bath's seductive warmth.

"Should we really be relaxing like this?" Asked my stoic partner. "Feels like we've barely gotten anywhere with our assignment."

"Which is why we are here," I cooed, picking up a small pail and using it to scoop some of the lovely water over my arm, "We've been going in circles. It's time to unwind, destress, and relax. Our work will still be there tomorrow."

Hans hmphed again, but I could see his toes start to wiggle in the water. The big softy would come to relax, even if it killed him. "Feels wrong to be indulging in these freaks' services. Almost like we're letting them win in a spiritual sense or somethin'. Doesn't that bother you, Wol?"

I stretched out without a care in the world, doing that thing he hates where I lick the back of my wrist and scratch behind my ear. "As much as I dislike a certain water goddess and her merry band of weirdos, hot water is hot water. No way I'd let some dim cultists ruin my good time."

Of course, it also helped that the mixed bath we were in was absent from anybody else at the moment. Simply finding a spa that wasn't swarmed with those invasive, money-hungry fanatics was a miracle in it of itself. If I was going to have to check up on my fellow general in this accursed place, I may as well treat him and myself before heading back to the castle and leading myself to another dead-end in my research…

No, no, don't think about that. Just focus on the warm water. The sensational ripples, the calming peace of the- -

"So you know the goddess of this place?" asked Hans, the brute who couldn't read the room. "Any way you can get her to make her followers slightly less abominable?"

I was really beginning to regret bringing up my past life to him.

"If I had any way of communicating with Heaven, they'd be getting daily updates of where they can shove it," I grumbled, flipping myself over and looking out towards the pretty view of the mountains. "Besides, where do you think these sheep get their attitude from? That blue-haired fool was top in a long list of angelic idiots up there. If I never see her again, it'll be too soon."

"That bad, huh?" The slime man idly commented, and though I wasn't looking at him, I could hear the smirk in his tone. At least he was finally easing into the idea of taking his mind off things for a while. "Sorry to hear. She must've been one piece of work to have to deal with. Never thought an eternal paradise would be plagued by nepotism but, hey, gods will be gods I guess."

"Yes, yes, I know all too well about the pitfalls of hubris," I mumbled back, trying as hard as I could to show my mood in my voice. "Look, can we please talk about something else? I'd rather not go down memory lane regarding the Heavenly Council and what they did to me."

"Woah, woah, woah, they did something to you?" He asked, ignoring my request completely, "What was it? What happened?"

I sighed once more, the tense feeling in my bones managing to find its way back despite the waters.

"You don't defy that kind of power without losing something on the other end. The higher-ups possess too much knowledge to simply let fallen gods retain everything when they're banished to a singular world. I still remember the inconsequential basics of my home realm and that they took away my memories of other worlds… but that's about it. Everything else is a blank. Next thing I know, I'm wandering aimlessly in an unknown world for what felt like forever before getting sealed away and displayed as a damn tourist attraction by the Crimson Demons. I was eventually released but lost half of my very essence. It feels so strange to be missing a part of yourself, both in mind and in spirit…"

Hans nodded solemnly, looking as sympathetic and introspective as I'd ever seen him. Perhaps he was a better listener than I thought…

"...Hang on, what do you mean by other worlds? As in the one off the map? I thought we were all living on a flat plane and you'd fall off if you went out too far."

Okay, perhaps not.

"Yes, Hans, other worlds exist. No, they aren't flat planes. And no, I won't elaborate further," I replied, trying my best to keep from sounding too agitated. Wasn't his fault anyhow, I'd walked into this conversation all on my own. "I would much rather prefer to enjoy the water and relax while I have the chance to."

On that pointed note, I rested my chin into my arms, closed my eyes, and allowed myself to become one with nature as the perfect waters soothed my- -

"This is about that bot head thing, isn't it?"

I stifled a groan. Slimes really were dense creatures in every sense of the word. "Is trying to stress me out just your way of relaxing?"

"What? I can't ask how my fellow general is doing in these trying times?" Hans countered as he leaned his back against the rocky ledge I was resting my arms on. "You're here to check up on me, it's only fair I check up on you. That's how comradery works last time I checked."

"Did I ever tell you that you have a troublesome ability to make fair arguments at the absolute worst times?" I sighed, rolling my eyes fondly as I sat up a bit straighter. Apparently, relaxation would have to wait. "Yes, it is about the 'bot head' thing. I'm surprised you're not any more nervous than the others."

"Believe me, I've had my fair share of sleepless nights recently. This whole doomsday prophecy has got everybody in the know all wound up," Hans corrected with a more stern expression as he followed in my stead and sat up straighter himself. "I take it you haven't had much luck in finding any weakness in that Spicer kid's creations, or what makes 'em tick?"

"Nothing of substance, outside of the utterly predictable fact that if you hit them hard enough, they crumble fairly easily. Nearly lost all my research because of that," I replied, barely stifling an exasperated sigh. Research really had been an utter chore, especially for next to no results from the process. "Durability aside, his technology is beyond me. I feel woefully unqualified to study it."

"I'll say. That babbling head still gives me the creeps," Hans confessed with a shiver, ironic given the temperature of the bath. "Although, weirdly enough, knowing that those bot things can still be destroyed is kinda comforting in its own way. Reassures me that whatever force we're up against isn't flat-out invincible. Gotta find that silver lining somewhere, right?"

"I suppose you're right. Funny, I never pegged you as the optimistic type," I said in slight amusement, before sobering up once more in a worried expression. "Still, the odds we are facing are truly beyond us. I do worry for what is to come of the prophecy, if everything foretold comes to fruition…"

"You and me both, Wol. You and me both…" Hans grunted in agreement, casting his gaze down in the clear waters while idly swirling his hand amongst the ripples. If it weren't for him being in his human form, the Poisonous Slime would've contaminated the entire bath by now. Eventually, he looked back up at me and said, "I think I get why you wanted to relax now. Sitting around worrying about the war and the prophecy all day is only gonna make us needlessly stressed. Sorry for bringin' it up."

"It's quite alright, Hans. Not like we talk much outside of missions on a consistent basis anyhow. It was bound to come up eventually." I replied simply, truly not seeing any reason for an apology. The matter of Spicer was hanging over all of our heads, whether we spoke of it or not.

"Huh…yeah, I guess you're right. We don't usually talk unless it's about work, do we?" Hans muttered, probably realizing the awkwardness of the truth himself as it quickly became silent, the only sounds being the constant stream of new spring water pouring in and the birds flying off towards the mountains behind us.

My partner looked around the area for a moment before suddenly hitting me with a complete non-sequitur:

"Hey, remember when the castle still used to do mixed showers? Y'know, before the 'Misplaced' Beldia Head Incident?"

"Oh, I try hard to forget. Thank you for reminding me," I hummed nonchalantly, not particularly amused with his choice of topic, especially given the unexpected nature of it. "Your point being?"

"I dunno. Just tryin' to make with the pleasantries I guess. Apparently I'm not very good at it," Hans chuckled before giving me an amused side-glance. Better than him sulking I suppose. "I just find it interesting that you're okay with hanging out with a guy in the buff even after that fiasco. Figured you'd peg all men in the castle as pigs or something stereotypical like that."

"Well, on the one hand, I am more than capable of handling any wandering eyes, I assure you," I snorted, cracking a slight smirk as I tilted my head to him questioningly. "Plus, if I'm being entirely honest, even if I didn't trust you, I wasn't under the impression you had a sex drive."

Hans stretched out his arms over his head before casually explaining, "I don't. I'm a slime. My kind reproduces asexually, remember?"

I blinked as I returned facing forward in the bath, my traitorous cheeks blushing. I really did forget…

"PFFFT! You've been milling around this plane of existence for who knows how long and you forget something as basic as that!? HAH! That's rich- -!"

I promptly shut the fool up with a well-aimed splash to the face.

"Just because I used to overlook worlds doesn't mean I had to know all the intricate, little details of each and every one," I growled, though I was helpless to hide the growing smile worming its way onto my face.

"Uh-huh, uh-huh. A likely story," Hans chortled in return, thoroughly enjoying this revelation and taking my retaliation splash in stride. "All joking aside, I don't really blame ya. It's not like we talk about slime biology much at tactical meetings. Easy enough to let slip if you ain't one yourself."

I nodded, but before I could continue getting to know my fellow general on a more personal level, we heard the sound of a woman's voice emerging from the changing room nearby.

"Was stuffing rags into your goggles really necessary? What, are you going to rely on echolocation to find your way to the bath?"

"It's to avoid any and all temptation, Alexis! I guarantee it'll do the trick," A young male voice replied, prompting me to quirk an eyebrow. Had I heard it somewhere before? It sounded vaguely familiar, but paging through my recent memories, I couldn't place it in the slightest.

"Okay, but if I have to swoop in and save you from cracking your head open on one of the rocks, your face is going straight into my tits, mister," Teased the first voice as its owner stepped out into the bathing area: a tall, mature woman with magenta-colored hair and white side bangs. The towel she wore hugged her body firmly, outlining a voluptuous form I could tell she was proud of, especially if her remarks were anything to go by. "It'd be much safer there, don't you agree~?"

"I'm gonna level with you: those subroutines of yours sure don't sound disabled right about now," The young man replied, shrouded for a moment as if hesitant to move into the bath, before properly coming into sight.

Paper white skin, the slightest hint of crimson hair, and what I dutifully estimated to be somewhere between 10 and 20 towels, including a small pair tucked under his goggles.

I could feel the waters shift rapidly from my companion sitting straight up at attention. It…it couldn't be him, could it? I-I mean, his appearance does match the eyewitness account, and I believe I may have heard the bot head garble out a voice that sounded eerily like his…

B-But he's supposed to be all the way out in Axel, a three day carriage ride if you're not traveling by foot or teleportation! Surely this must be a freak coincidence…

"Oh, don't tell me the great Jack Spicer is scared of a little harmless flirting~?" The woman replied with a chuckle, patiently waiting for the blinded boy to make it a few more steps before grabbing his hand and guiding him along. "Relax. We both have self-control, don't we?"

It was no coincidence. Jack Spicer, the alleged Dragon of Metal, harbinger of doom…was about to take a bath with us.

"Fuck."