Green foliage sat atop rocky outcroppings bordering the steamy open bath. A large rock formation protruded above the water near the center of the hot spring, and a doubly tall wooden fence separated the men’s bath from the women's.

Edge sat on a rock with his back to the fence trying to soak away his earlier efforts. He hoped the bath would grant him some kind of bonus experience tomorrow, or at least special recovery today. There was no way to tell; a special status window would have been too much to ask for. Reflecting on how often he blamed or praised the developers for various aspects of the game that was now his life . . . In a sense, the developers were like the government, except with god-like powers. If Levia was a democracy, he would have voted for a special status window, he reasoned.

A boyish chuckle echoed through the steam filled bath. Edge wasn’t alone on the men’s side of the onsen. [Your Observation skill has increased: 26]

A man in flower patterned swimming trunks stood upon a tall rock behind him, peering through a small hole in the fence. What Edge had mistaken for a boyish chuckle was actually the creepy call of the infamous onsen pervert.

“Hey! Come down from there,” Edge demanded.

The lanky man, with pale skin and black hair tied back into a ponytail, jumped in surprise. “Don’t do that,” he said, taking a breath. “I thought you were a defender. You’re not, are you?”

“No.”

“Oh, good. You gave me quite a fright there.”

The pervert hadn’t seen frightening yet. “If you don’t get down from there right now, I’ll call the defenders.” Edge had no idea how to go about doing that, but he doubted this NPC would know the difference. The yellow name above the pervert’s head was a [???], which meant this was probably part of some sort of quest.

“It’s not what you think,” the pervert said. “Come see for yourself.”

Ugh. What harm could it do? Edge climbed up onto the rock, dripping water from his black rogue shorts.

“See, it’s completely harmless.”

Edge peeked through the small hole. Daphne, Sakura, and Belladonna were enjoying a relaxing bath. None of them had purchased real swimsuits. Daphne’s white and red striped comfortable undergarments matched the dress she usually wore. She really had more curves than he’d thought. Meanwhile, Sakura seemed to be bursting from her pink matching ensemble. The developers had made the elvish avatars a bit panoramic. It would have been sexist, but the male elves were equally endowed with superhuman physiques, so it was only mildly inappropriate instead. Belladonna’s outfit was more of a shock. Her red lacy thong and matching bra were tiny and nearly transparent. Set against her dark skin, the outfit made her look downright risque. Despite both being Kiten, there were vast differences between the short adorable lioness and the voluptuous panther. Sakura was in a league all her own.

“You’re a pervert,” Edge stated. “I’m telling the owner.”

The man laughed at him. “I have one word for you,’ he said, “accomplice.”

“You tricked me.”

“Well, you weren’t all that difficult to trick. I think you wanted to peek.”

This guy was really making Edge wish he’d kept that giant two handed sword. “I’m not letting you,” Edge said, putting his hand on the pervert’s chest, and pushing him into the spring.

The man emerged, spitting water from his mouth, “you hit me.”

“I didn’t hit you. I pushed you.”

A whistle blew somewhere outside the compound. The stranger sighed at hearing the noise, “looks like it’s time to go.” He abruptly ran from the pool, hopping barefoot over the far exterior fence.

A group of Cobbletown defenders in heavy chainmail armour clanked through the inn and into the pool area.

“You there, what do you think you’re doing?” their leader called.

“I’m-”

“He’s a peeping tom, sir. That there behind him is a hole into the women’s bath.”

“And how do you know that, Corporal?” The leader chastised.

The man appeared decidedly guilty.

“Nevermind. We have bigger fish to fry tonight. You there man, have you seen any suspicious characters lurking hereabouts?”

This was almost guaranteed to come back and haunt him, but . . . “No, sir, just me.”

“It’s your lucky night, closet pervert. I don’t have the time to deal with you now. But if I catch you in the act again, you’ll find yourself in shackles.”

“ I wasn’t . . .” It wasn’t worth trying to explain to an NPC, so he couldn’t be bothered to try. Edge nodded, and the defenders quickly vacated the premises.

“What was all that about?” said a voice through the hole in the fence.

A startled Edge saw Belladonna’s yellow Kiten eye peeping through the hole. “Nothing,” he tried, noncommittally.

“Did you enjoy the view?” she teased. “If you wanted to see us naked, all you had to do was ask.”

Edge turned beet red.

The fence shook violently, and Daphne screamed, “P-pervert, Edge!”

“Did you want a turn, Sakura? The view is quite revealing,” Belladonna asked.

“No! I’m next,” Daphne blurted. “It’s only fair if he sees, I should see too.”

“They’re always black,” Sakura noted.

“What are?” Asked Belladonna.

“Edge’s man panties,” replied Daphne.

He didn’t wear panties! They were his rogue shorts, very manly adventuring essential rogue shorts . . .