Tuesday, October 12, 2021

Hell's Hot Paradise Episode 2 Part 2

We pick off from last time with Mineaki demanding to know why you and Sarutahiko are stopping him. You point out that it's not actually clear Onamuji is Daikoku, that there's not enough evidence as to what's going on, and/or ask Mineaki what's wrong with him. Onamuji says he'll apologize if he's actually wronged him somehow, but he honestly doesn't know what Mineaki is talking about. You prompt Mineaki to look Onamuji in the eyes and say they don't look like the eyes of a liar. You can also say Daikoku's eyes are more evil, and if you do pick C Mineaki gasps and stops for a second saying that's very persuasive.

Anyways, Sarutahiko points out that when you guys woke up in hell, Daikoku was with you guys. He then says Onamuji hasn't left his inn for the past several days and will serve as his alibi. Mineaki is still suspicious, but he accepts it after a moment and apologizes for his mistake, then says he'll go cool his head off. He walks off, and Sarutahiko falls down in relief. Sarutahiko gasps and asks how a doctor like him can be so strong in a fight. While he's at it, he's impressed you did so well in the fight too. Onamuji thanks the two of you for helping him, so you either tell him he's welcome, say people should help each other when they're in trouble, or start fishing for a reward. C gets an extra line of Onamuji calling you Susanoo before correcting to your name as he freaks out at the face you're making at him.

Sarutahiko says he just won't put up with people being intolerant of differing views, saying it's weird for people to give an opinion on things they've never done or experienced themselves. Onamuji seems touched by this, and Sarutahiko asks Onamuji to stop treating him so formally since he doesn't like that.  He doesn't know much of what's going on, but he's sure Onamuji is someone who hasn't done anything terrible. He gave a total stranger like himself help, so Onamuji must be a good guy. Onamuji is nearly moved to tears as he bows to you two, thanking Sarutahiko. Sarutahiko says it's fine.

You point out that while Sarutahiko said he hated overly formal speaking, he still called Onamuji 'lord.' You ask him if he's one of those dutiful kind of gangsters, so Sarutahiko laughs it off and is about to say something about Onamuji, but Onamuji gently interrupts and tells him to not keep you here for too long since you must be tired from a long day. Sarutahiko awkwardly obeys, then apologizes to both of you. Onamuji turns back to you and apologizes for the trouble when you're tired, then suggests you try the hot springs if you'd like. He also offers to wash your back if you want that too, and you can either say you're fine with just a foot bath, accept the offer, or suggestively ask him to wash every inch of you. B and C affects the next part slightly, starting with an extra few lines here with Onamuji saying he'll take care of it and lead you towards the springs. In both sides, Sarutahiko says he's sure the springs will surprise you.

Once you get to the hot springs area the view impresses you, and there are a variety of springs around. There's one boiling and looking like lava, and some that are more blue and green than the color the water would normally be. There's even springs that you can enjoy looking at snow in and ones decorated to make it feel like you're in a hidden spring in nature. It's so beautiful that it's hard to believe that few customers ever come by like Onamuji says they do.

Sarutahiko takes pride in the springs available and offers to describe any that catch your interest. Onamuji admits that the place gets dirty when he's by himself and unable to clean up there, but Sarutahiko alone managed to clean it all. Sarutahiko laughs and asks him to dial down the complimenting, though this is his kind of work. He also thinks what he did wasn't that impressive since his boss at Asakusa said as much too. You comment that he seems like a hardass since you think this is pretty impressive yourself.

Here things diverge a little. If you say you just want a foot bath, Sarutahiko says Onamuji will yell at him if he stands around more and decides to stop talking about depressing things. He moves to show you around and recommend something, but then he trips. On the other hand if you chose to have Onamuji wash your back, Sarutahiko says he'll just have to work harder so his boss will approve of him. He looks sad for a second, but then looks cheerful again as he says you need to wash up before getting into the springs. He tells Onamuji he'll help wash you too, and Onamuji prompts you to sit by him, saying he once had to wash Susanoo's hair. He and Sarutahiko sit on both sides of you and get to scrubbing, and you comment that it might be nice to have it like a beauty spa treatment, say it's kind of ticklish, or sigh happily as you tell them to keep at it. Once that part's done Sarutahiko massages your shoulders and Onamuji does your back. Then we branch things back together as Sarutahiko moves to show you the springs he recommends and tripping in trying to do so.

Anyways, Sarutahiko trips and falls into you, which you react to by processing the pain like normal, comment that Sarutahiko is surprisingly soft, or breath hard through your nose. Sarutahiko gets back up and apologizes profusely, saying his boss had gotten on his case about being careless. He asks if you're hurt as he blushes like hell, and you either ask how he is instead, comment on how he really flipped over when he tripped, or say you want him to bump into you more. Sarutahiko says he's fine since he landed on you, but he notices you seem fine too. He sighs about how embarrassing this is and asks you not look at him much since he's sure his face is red. Onamuji is amused at how cute this side of Sarutahiko is, leading Sarutahiko to protest he's always been like that with the blushing.

Sarutahiko presses forward in an attempt to cover his embarrassment, leading you guys to a hot spring decorated like Enma's Court. Mineaki turns out to be here, and everyone is surprised to see each other there. Onamuji attempts to excuse himself saying he has futons to prepare, but Mineaki asks him to stay and let him say something. If that'd be too awkward, then Mineaki says he'll leave.

Mineaki apologizes to Onamuji for what he did, and he concedes that he wasn't calm at all earlier. He also thanks you and Sarutahiko for stopping him, and you either say things like that happen sometimes, say he must have been worried for everyone at Yoyogi, or say you thought he was more of a colder person. A and BC split into two different conversation paths. In A, Mineaki laughs that he can't bear how precocious kids are these days, and he admits he thought he was more mature than that. But yeah, he admits he may love his students more than he thought he did. He gets more passionate than he thought he'd be if anything threatens the lives of his students, and he admits to being more reliant on his artifact than he realized. It's embarrassing how he lost his cool like that. He has thought he may be leaning on it too much, but having it suddenly fail him made him panic. Figuring out who was responsible should have been easy, but he stops himself here, apologizing for making so many excuses. Onamuji says it's fortunate he wasn't hurt, so he asks Mineaki to not worry about things. His life has been a constant string of misfortune, and he's been trained in hell further by Susanoo, he laughs. Sarutahiko says if Onamuji forgives Mineaki, then he can too.

In BC, Onamuji asks Mineaki to raise his head and stop bowing, and while he was surprised by what happened he can see Mineaki was suffering even more than that. It reminded him of people left behind on the other side of hell, and he's had the same feelings Mineaki does. If there's anything he can help with he'll do it, he says as he looks to Sarutahiko. Sarutahiko decides to agree, and Onamuji mentions that his original work and role is to help those who are hurt. Ever since Susanoo ordered Onamuji to wash his hair for him, he's been suited to run a bathhouse in hell.

Anyways, Mineaki raises his head in surprise, then smiles at Onamuji and Sarutahiko. He asks if Onamuji really is offering to help despite what he did. You either compare Onamuji to some story protagonist, say he must have been popular in the past, or nod to yourself that he definitely isn't Daikoku. Onamuji confirms that he is, saying Sarutahiko should be helpful in getting back to Tokyo. He understands how it feels to want to go back to where you used to be. Sarutahiko sadly agrees, saying he needs to get back to Tokyo too. You notice Sarutahiko looking sad and try to ask about it, but Sarutahiko puts on a smile asks what you mean. Mineaki accepts Onamuji's offer to help, and Onamuji politely says he hopes they'll get along. The two shake hands, and everyone starts talking about Mineaki's students and what the hot springs do.

Time passes a bit to the part where Mineaki says it's about time for him to get out because he's getting old enough to get out earlier of the water compared to younger people. Onamuji says he and Sarutahiko need to get back to work, so he excuses the two of them to you. You choose to either sit in the hot spring a little longer or get up now. Either way you notice a lot of steam coming from one of the springs and that someone is over there, which you initially think is Onamuji. You go over to check, and you instead find Daikoku. He greets you and asks for a bit of your time, and so the episode ends.

1 comment: