The Espers Who Regretted Losing Me Chapter 37

I closed my eyes again. At some point, I must have fallen asleep once more.

When something gently poked at me, I lifted my eyelids— and realized it was already broad daylight.

Frowning, I looked around, only to find a gigantic rabbit peeking its face out and staring down at me quietly.

Drooping ears, round eyes, a little black nose twitching as if sniffing.

Just like when I briefly woke up at dawn, I stared blankly at the rabbit and gave an awkward smile.

“H-Hi?”

The rabbit opened its tiny mouth and let out a long cry.

“Piiiiii—”

Then, like a child hugging a stuffed doll, it suddenly pulled me close and rubbed its head against my face.

“W-What…?”

“Pii, pii, pii.”

Cute cries kept spilling out.

W-What is this? Why is it acting like this? It seems to like me, but why—?!

I had no idea why, but I decided to accept this enthusiastic affection for now.

After a long bout of rubbing and cuddling, though, it started to feel a bit suffocating.

My body felt sticky too, and I really wanted to wash up, so I carefully spoke to the rabbit.

“Um… I sweated a lot yesterday, so I kind of want to wash up. Could you… let me go?”

Even as I said it, I wondered if this made any sense. No matter how big it was, it was still a rabbit. Would it really understand?

But just like the squirrel yesterday, the rabbit cried “Pii!” as if responding—and released me.

Then it handed me my bag, which I had set down earlier.

“Th-Thank you.”

At my short thanks, the rabbit let out a few pii-pii sounds and washed its face with its front paws.

Somehow, it made my heart feel warm.

That warmth aside, my body was still sore.

After watching the rabbit for a moment, I hugged my bag and turned around.

I had definitely fallen asleep by the lake, but now I was quite far from it— maybe the rabbit had carried me while I slept.

As I walked toward the lake, animals that had grown familiar to me in just one day blocked my path, rubbing their heads against me.

Keeping animals was forbidden at headquarters, so it felt unfamiliar—but not unpleasant.

Each time, I stopped and petted the rabbits and squirrels one by one.

When I reached the lakeside, several rabbits were already lapping up water as usual.

Seeing that made me hesitate.

If I wash here… won’t I contaminate the water?

The lake was so huge it could be mistaken for the sea—except the surface was calm, the bottom was visible, and there was no saltiness. Still, it bothered me.

More than dirtying the water, I was worried about upsetting the animals.

They all seem to understand what I say. That means they’re pretty intelligent.

As I lingered awkwardly, the ground behind me began to tremble—
thud, thud.

Startled, I turned around.

The giant rabbit was hopping toward me.

It looked cute, but the sound definitely wasn’t.

Reaching me in one bound, it twitched its black nose, then turned its head.

“Piiii.”

“Uh… are you telling me to follow you?”

“Piiii.”

After answering with a cry, the rabbit began bounding toward the opposite side of the lake, shaking the ground with each step.

I hesitated briefly—then followed.

Each time the rabbit hopped, the smaller animals nearby bounced from the recoil.

Yet they all acted like it was normal, which was both strange and adorable.

What rank would this gate even be?

Definitely not A or B. C is kind of questionable too.

There were other gates that didn’t harm humans, like the White and Pallid Botanical Garden, but I’d never heard of a place this beautiful and peaceful.

After chasing the rabbit for a while, it stopped in the middle of an empty flower field.

Then it looked around as if searching for something.

Watching its round back, I tilted my head in confusion.

The next moment—

The rabbit slammed its fist into the ground.

“Eek!”

BANG!

Startled by the noise, I screamed and staggered backward.

A moment later, the ground where the rabbit had struck split open—and water burst forth.

Not cold water.

Hot water.

And a sweet fragrance filled the air.

The rabbit kept punching the ground, digging, until the pit quickly filled with water.

Staring at the steaming pool, I muttered absentmindedly,

“A hot spring…?”

Yes. A hot spring. I’d never been to one, but I’d seen plenty in photos.

The rabbit let out a proud huff! and jumped straight into the hot spring.

Its massive body displaced water everywhere, but it didn’t seem to care.

Soon, smaller rabbits and squirrels followed, soaking themselves.

I was the only one left standing.

Why… is there a hot spring here…?

Did hot springs normally appear just by digging the ground?

I wasn’t great at natural science, but didn’t hot water usually require volcanic zones?

“…Ah.”

It clicked late.
A lake had formed in the former glacier area—so this place must’ve originally been volcanic!

The rabbit had made this hot spring for me. It was even waving, urging me to come in.

Kneeling, I dipped my hand into the water.

Just like the lake, there was nothing wrong with it.

It bothered me that the area was so open, but there was no one around anyway.

I moved my bag far enough so it wouldn’t get wet and took out my only towel.

Then, peeling off my clothes layer by layer, I stepped into the hot spring.

My fatigue melted away instantly.

“Ah… this feels amazing…”

I’d heard that hot springs often smelled like sulfur—but this one only smelled pleasant.

Come to think of it, the rabbit smelled nice too.

All my tension drained away.

Humming softly, I splashed my arms and legs leisurely, then rinsed the clothes I’d taken off.

Even the wet fabric seemed to carry a floral scent.

I probably don’t even need shampoo or soap.

After quickly washing my hair, I soaked until my fingers were completely wrinkled.

When I got out, the giant rabbit and the other animals followed.

Unlike me, who had washed everything, the animals had kept their heads out of the water— so only the fur below their necks was completely flattened.

It was so cute that I burst out laughing.

“You guys… your fur was padded, wasn’t it?”

“Piii…”

The giant rabbit cried shyly, then shook its body vigorously, spraying water everywhere.

I unfolded my towel and dried myself.

I’m really glad I packed underwear and a change of clothes.

A suitcase would’ve been better, but honestly, this was more than enough.

I wanted to praise my past self.

After roughly drying my hair and wringing out my clothes, I looked around.

I washed them, but… where do I dry these?

The sunlight was strong—if I had a drying rack, they’d dry quickly. But obviously, there was no such thing here.

I couldn’t just spread wet clothes on the ground either.

Then I noticed the trees standing all around.

Perfect. I’ll just hang them on low branches.

After shaking out the towel and laundry and hanging them up, my stomach growled.

“Oh… right. I haven’t eaten properly since yesterday.”

I’d packed plenty of snacks—but I needed to adapt to life here.

I’ll save those as emergency rations and try some fruit instead.

The very tree I used had pear-like fruit hanging from it.

But the fruit was too high to reach.

As I debated whether to climb, break a branch, or find another tree, something nudged my leg.

“Hm?”

Looking down, I saw rabbits and squirrels huddled together, holding fruit.

“Uh… is that… for me to eat?”