So, before we start, some info.

The story takes place in the generic setting of heroes, demons, monsters, magic, advanced lost civilizations, and all the between.

"This is when a character speaks." "I need to figure out a better explanation."

(This is thinking.) (I need to stop talking to myself in my head)

This is narration. The man just stood there, his mind seemingly not present as he kept thinking without paying attention to his surroundings…

/ / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /

Among the busiest streets of Iero. The biggest and hailed Holy city of the nation. Two well-dressed women were nonchalantly looking at the shop stalls as their horse carriage was passing by…

One was dressed in a bright red ball dress, looking slightly annoyed. The other was in a blue ball dress, her expression not visible through the hand fan she was holding over the lower part of her face.

The packed dirt road their carriage was going through was full of people, some trying to sell their wares on makeshift stalls, others hastily moving towards their destination, while others were casually browsing the wares of a stall that interested them. The stalls themselves set up rather haphazardly with no real order. You could find a weapons dealer next to a smelly fish stall, which could be next to a jeweler. Being it one of the most walked roads, having the ability to just set up shop here usually surpassed any annoyance of who was next to you.

The road, seemingly unending, stretched for as far as the eye could see, heading straight towards the main heart of the city. The spire.

But, that was not the destination these women were going for, as the carriage took a turn away from the populated street soon after, turning towards an upward road, leaving the overcrowded, rough dirt road behind for one that was quieter, cleaner, and covered in stone slates.

"Ugh. Finally, the smell was starting to get to me." The woman in the red dress groans as she keeps glancing out of the carriage.

"I told you to get a carriage that had a ceiling and doors dear, you didn't listen." The woman with the fan chuckled.

"You never told me we would be passing through the slums." The one in the red dress responded as she turned to face the one holding the fan, narrowing her eyes.

"Slums? It was just the busiest road of our fair city. Though, I do admit that most individuals trekking that road, could use a bath." The woman with the fan responds as she chuckles once again.

The woman in the red dress groaned silently once again before turning to look at the passers-by.

"By the way, did you hear? They say that the Demon queen's daughter is trying to gather up an army again."The one with the fan continued, causing her chat partner to yet again turn towards her.

"Really? Already?" The woman in the red dress asked as she arched an eyebrow.

"Don't tell me the imbeciles want to attack again. They should have learned by now, even the meekest hero baptized here, is leagues above their very best." She continued.

"You tell me, it's been only a year since the late demon queen fell, but it seems they are at it again." The woman with the fan replies as she waves it slightly at her face.

"Which just proves my point exactly. But hey, since it has been only a year, maybe they could just skip baptizing a new generation of heroes and send the old ones again, maybe this time snuff out the queen's bloodline completely as well." The woman in the red dress folds her arms as she speaks.

"Now you know that's not how it works dear. They'd have to be baptized again. And good luck finding the last generation of Heroes among the haystack, it's not like they're keeping a track of each and every person that passes the baptism." The woman with the fan shrugs slightly as she turns to look outside, glancing at a set of well-dressed knights that were heading in the opposite direction, towards the main street.

"Besides, I think it would be good to give the younger ones a chance." She adds.

"Huh, I guess?…" The woman in the dress responds nonchalantly, turning to also look outside, seemingly bored of the little chat she was having.

And with the sound of the galloping horses being the only thing that was left, the carriage kept on, until it finally reached the end of the uphill climb. And, as the road became wider, and the houses sparser. A single, exceedingly tall, white spire could now be seen clearly in the distance, tall enough to actually hide the peak behind the clouds. That, was the city's main attraction, and heart. It was also the reason Iero was considered to be the holy city of the nation. As it was said that the spire was actually connected with the goddess's realm.

The woman with the fan turned to look at the spire for a few seconds, before letting out a small sigh.

"I wonder how it is, to look at the world from that up high…" She whispered as she kept looking at the spire.

"I don't think you would actually be able to see anything from that up high to be honest. Not that it matters, nobody is allowed in it." The woman in the red dress responds as she also turns to look at the spire.

And then, silence returned once again. Until, the carriage stopped.

"Ladies, I do not mean to impose, but we have arrived at our first stop." The carriage rider, who was silent up until now, speaks up without turning to look at the two women that were behind him.

"Well, this is my stop. Take care Isabella." The woman in the red dress slowly gets up, and starts to get off the carriage.

"Yea, yea…" Isabella just waves her hand slightly as she keeps looking at the spire…

You know, some people say that the spire was made this tall by the goddess in order to be a beacon for the lost, others say it was to show off her power. And others, say it's because she just really likes tall spires…

But no matter what the truth was, that spire was and still is visible from everywhere, as long as you could see the sky that is. So even from miles away, where the light of day had yet to arrive. Past forests, deserts, and mountains. At a small Hot Spring resort that rested at the foot of a mountain, that white spire would still be visible, poking a hole at the night sky...

Inside that resort, in the entry room, was a man. Sitting behind a polished wooden counter, cleaning a mug with a piece of rug…

"...Why am I even sitting at the counter? Nobody really comes over at this hour…" The man sighs as he lifts his head to look around the room he was in.

Most of the floor consisted of the same polished wood that the counter was made off. Except for a relatively big recessed square space to his left that was made of smooth stone, and a small pathway from there that led into a single, rather tall doorless frame, which was a few meters to the left of the counter. That door frame had a long towel-like sheet instead of a door, and a wooden sign with the words 'H.S.' over it.

The walls of the building, other than having two wide, polished wooden beams on the top and bottom, and a vertical wooden beam at the points that the walls connected, also consisted of smooth stone slabs.

After the doorframe that led to the hot spring, and about five to six meters down. The stone floor ended and the wooden floor began once again. There were several sets of tables, each one with four chairs accompanying them. Followed by a staircase that led up to the second floor, a sign with the letters 'INN' hanging from two chains that were stuck on the wooden ceiling.

Straight ahead of the counter was a big, bulky-looking door, about as big as the door frame that led into the spa. The door itself was right now open, revealing a small wooden porch and a small grassy field, which was mostly surrounded by trees to the left and right. A wide stone pathway also started where the porch ended, and continued on straight, until disappearing into the darkness of the night. Around the porch, were small clusters of levitating lights, seemingly looking like small groups of fireflies, except, they seemed to be completely motionless.

To the right of the counter, a couple of meters down, was another wall. The counter also continued down to the right until it met with that wall. And on said wall were also two unnamed wooden doors. One behind the counter, and one over it.

"Maybe I should just tell my last customer it's closing time and shut down for today…" The man turned to look back ahead of him as he whispered, towards the building's entrance.

But, instead of seeing the door, he saw a face. A face that was excessively close to his, as in, a few centimeters away from his.

The face was milky white, and had an excessively long smile. Like somebody had taken the corner of its mouth, and dragged it up to its cheekbones. Said mouth was also missing lips. Instead, looking more like a long crack on a white porcelain vase.

Two wide, pitch-black eyes. In which you could only make the difference between the iris and the sclera because the sclera was a bright red, seemingly illuminating color.

The figures also had long black hair that touched the counter. And, that was essentially the only thing that actually 'touched' anything, as the rest of the body of that figure, that, girl. Was levitating behind her, making it look like she was on all fours as she kept swaying gently on the air…

"Uhh, Can I help, you?" The man asks casually as he slowly pulls his head slightly back…

The ghost girls just kept staring, before slightly opening the crack of a mouth she had, revealing the insides of her mouth to be the same bright red of her eye's sclera.

"Spaaaa." A soft voice trails out of the ghost girl's open mouth, while the mouth itself stayed motionlessly open.

"Spa? Yes, of course. Is this, your first visit here?" The man asks. The ghost then closes its mouth and nods, slowly.

The man then nods back and turns to look at the counter, spotting the giant, thick book he was looking for.

He then slides the book in front of him and opens it. Then runs his finger through a set of extruding paper clips, until he stops at the one that had the letter 'G'. He then opens the book, grabs a pen from under the counter and leaves it on the book.

"Could you please sign your name here? On the very first line over here." He points at the page under the letter 'G'

The ghost grabs the pen with a lock of her hair, and signs with the name 'Alma'. Then leaves the pen back on the book, all the while still staring at the man's face with blinkless eyes.

"Thank you. And, as you are the very first customer on this book's section. Your first stay is completely free. The hot springs are behind the doorless frame to your right." The man points to his left as he glances at said doorframe.

"Also, as we are close to closing time, the only spring left open right now is the gender shared one. And, no possessions, curses, or anything in between is allowed. Hope you understand" He adds. The ghost reacts by blurting out another 'spaaaa'. Before floating past the wall that was right next to the door frame...

"...Thank, you?" The man tilts his head slightly as he keeps staring at the wall that the ghost just flew through. And after a couple of blinks, he turns to look back at the book. The word 'free' being written by itself next to the name 'Alma'.

The man then closes the book and starts cleaning the mug in his hand again.

And, as a few minutes passed...

"AAAAGUAGAAAA!" A loud scream echoed from inside the hot springs. Followed by, floppy footsteps, which quickly got louder and louder, until.

"What the hell was that?!" A blue merman bursts out from the hot spring door frame, seemingly in a panic…

Most of his body was covered with a layer of scales, and his face looked like an amalgamation of human, and a piranha.

"Is there a problem? The man asks as she turns to face the dripping Fishman.

"You tell me! I opened my eyes and this, thing! Appeared in the hot spring!" He shouts as he points towards the door frame…

"..." The man leaves the mug on the counter, and with a small sigh, goes through the doorless frame.

Behind it, was a wide hallway that extended to the left and right. The wooden wall that was ahead of him had several doors of several sizes lined up, from small, to very large. But all of them, other than one medium sized one, were closed.

The man then walks through the only open door to find himself in a wide-open space.

The stone floor he was stepping on continued on for a few meters, before giving way to a short rock formation that separated the actual hot spring from the floor. A small pool then extended for a couple of meters. Before a more natural, sloped, smooth rock formation took over, creating several 'steps' with its stone slabs, until hitting an actual rocky wall. Water seeping out of the several cracks between the rocks of said wall, creating a small fountain that ran down the slabs, and into the pool.

The place had no ceiling, so you could actually see the night sky if you looked up. And to the left and right, rows of tightly packed tall bamboo, which separated the spring into sections.

"So uhh, where is the problem?" The man asks as he glances around.

The merman just points with exaggeration towards one of the lower slabs. There, was the ghost girl. Or to be more correct, the ghost girl's head, as the rest of her body appeared to be 'inside' the stone…

Her mouth was also slightly open, which gave the illusion of water flowing out of it…

"Is that, really a problem?" The man asks as he turns to the merman. The merman just looked back with his mouth half agape, and a 'Sorry what?' expression. Or at least, that's the expression his fishy face seemed to take.

The man then shook his head, and turned towards the ghost girl.

(Is she embarrassed because the merman is here?...)

"Excuse me but. Would it be possible if you sat, normally in the spa please? Most races are not exactly used to seeing a floating head..." The man asks as he raises both arms slightly.

The ghost girl stares at the man for a few seconds, before casually floating out of the stone slab, going over to the right corner of the pool while blurting out another 'spaaaaa'. After she settled herself. She turned to stare at the man again.

(Nope, she's just weird…)

"Thank you." The man responded, then turned to stare at the merman, who, with slight reluctance, entered back into the pool, at the far left side…

"Anything else?" The man asks.

"...She keeps staring at me…" The merman mumbled…

"Maybe she likes you." The man casually answers as he turns to leave. Not waiting for the merman to respond.

With that, the man returned to the front, grabbed the same mug he had left of the counter, and went back to cleaning it…

(Still, I wonder how that ghost ended up here. There aren't any haunted grounds around here for miles, and she looks nothing like your normal ghost to be honest…)

The man thought as he left the mug on the counter.

(Oh well, as long as she doesn't try to cause any actual trouble…)

He then sat down on the chair next to him, and stretched…

"Ughh, people say that after you go on a grand adventure, sitting on your ass all day and doing nothing feels, shallow…" He says to himself as he passes his arms behind his head, then turns to look at the ceiling.

"Heh, I must really be shallow myself then, because I like doing nothing…" He chuckles as he closes his eyes…

And, he stayed like that…

For how long, he didn't count, but it must have been for quite some time. As by the time the silence got cut by a set of approaching floppy footsteps, both his arms were starting to feel rather sore.

Opening one eye, he turns his head to see the merman walking out, dressed in his gear. That being a small leather shoulder pad, a shoulder strap with a cylindrical hole on his back. And a leather, soft scaled skirt.

"Done. My spear." The merman fixes his shoulder pad as he speaks.

The man nods and gets off his chair, then puts his hand under the counter and pulls out a tall bronze trident, the green hue on it showing that it must have spent a lot of time near, or inside water.

"I hope miss Ghost didn't give you too much trouble." The man adds as the Fishman takes his spear

"She woke me up…" The merman mumbles as he passes his spear through the cylindrical hole on the leather shoulder strap.

(...Woke, you up? Wait, you were asleep in the hot spring?...)

The man blinks a couple of times, before opening the book that the ghost had signed in some time ago. Then flips to the page with the letter M, and puts his finger on the name. 'Gagrle'.

He looks at the number that was written next to the name, and clears his throat…

"Six hours." He adds as he lifts his head to look at the merman.

The merman casually nods, opens a pouch that was on his skirt, and leaves twelve gold coins on the counter.

"I would have stayed more. But, that ghost is creeping me out…" The merman glances towards the door frame that led to the hot springs, then starts walking towards the exit with floppy footsteps.

(Uhh, I get that mermen like to spend a lot of time in the water. But six hours sitting inside a damn hot spring? I'm surprised he didn't turn into a red variant. Or a cooked piranha...)

The man lets out a sigh, then sits back on his chair.

"Well, now I guess I'll wait for…"

"Spaaa..." And before he could even finish his sentence, the ghost girl casually passes through the same wall she used to enter the hot spring, and makes a beeline towards the exit. Paying no attention to the man that was sitting on the chair…

"...the ghost..." The man blinks a couple of times. Then gets up and also heads towards the exit, stopping by the door. The Fishman was walking down the stone pathway straight ahead, while the ghost girl floated off towards the right forested area…

"Huh, and here I thought she actually liked that Fishman and was going to follow him. Guess, she just got bored without having anybody to stare at? Uhh, understanding normal girls is hard enough, ghost ones? Way outta my league..." The man tilts his head slightly before shrugging, then turns around and walks back into the building, the door closing behind him. The firefly-like lights flickering off as the giant door shut.

The only motion now visible was from the swaying board sign in front of the building. On it the words...

[A hero's Resort. Humans, Monsters and Demons are all welcome. -No pets- ]