Chapter 119: Ryokan’s Hot Bath
「Why did you say my actual age, huh!? If I said that I’m five years old, then I might be able to enter the women’s bath!」
「Shut it! I will never let only Alfried-sama experience something good!」
「You’ve abandoned us along the way! 」
Driven by their unseemly jealousy of these two men, I eventually took the men’s bath with them. At my age of seven years old, it is impossible to enter the women’s bath and be considered an innocent child. What a strict world……
Those dirty guys are now taking their clothes right in front of me one after another, then they tossed their clothes into a rattan basket provided.
No matter how many times I see that kind of sight, it is unpleasant, so I also silently took my clothes off and threw them into the basket.
Roomba, Irvine, and Mort have a lot of weapons, so I thought that it would take quite a long time for them to change, but maybe it’s easy for them to take their clothes, they stripped naked just as when they were born in a blink of an eye.
I already know that Roomba has quite some muscles since I usually saw him back in My Home and from his usual appearance, but I was surprised that Irvine and Mort also have relatively toned muscles despite their appearance.
I knew it, do adventurers who rely on their body have to strongly temper their body, I wonder?
In comparison, Tori’s - a genuine merchant - body has no muscles at all.
「You’re not a woman, so work out some muscles, will ya?」
「Ah no, even if I look like this, I also trained by myself, y’know? But it’s quite hard for me to work out some muscles, y’see.」
Roomba slapped Tori’s back *bashin*, but it seems the slap received by Tori’s slender body has a strong impact that there was a red handprint on Tori’s slender back.
Well, there are people with a physique who don't have a lot of muscles even if they trained themself, right. Even though I should have been training intensely with Sylvio-niisan back home, we don’t develop muscles at all. Tori might be someone with a similar physique to us.
After that, we carry the towel that was prepared by the employees with one hand.
No one does something petty like covering our groin.
……I wonder what is this feeling. Could it be that it’s because I took off my transient armor that was my clothes? My body strangely overflows with a sense of liberation, it feels refreshing.
Perhaps everyone else also had the same sense of exhilaration, cause for some reason, they looked like they’re brimming with confidence.
I took a deep breath, then slowly exhale it.
「Yosh, to battle!」
「「「「Ou!（yeah）」」」」
Without knowing why we vigorously raised our voice as we were naked, then we opened the sliding door *karakara*.
What was waiting for us in that place, was a bath that was filled with steam all over.
The steam rushed under our feet - who opened the sliding door -, the air was humid and filled a little bit of heat as it came toward us.
Then, as if it’s going to snatch the heat around our body, cool air flows.
As a result, a paradise shrouded by the steam appeared in front of us.
The first thing we saw as we opened our eyes, is the huge bathtub in the middle of the bathhouse.
The ceiling construction is very high and it gave us a sense of freedom.
I guess some sort of stones are processed and laid on the ground just like that. Despite it being a little rough in texture, it was also soft at the same time.
「……aah, so wideー」
Roomba - who is standing next to me - said involuntarily.
Irvine and Mort also had their mouths similarly half-open. They probably thought that it wasn’t this wide.
Only a plain expression came out of my mouth but when I first entered the bathhouse, I thought that it was even wider than what I imagined it to be.
On the other hand, it appears that Tori has been here before as he smiled triumphantly while he looked at us.
「Yossha! Shall we enter immediately then!」
It looks like Irvine was about to start running at full speed toward the bath, but then Tori - who was beside him - grabbed his arm from the side.
「You can’t do that. Didn’t you read the sign at the changing room, hm? You have to wash your body first before entering the bathtub, y’know. If you don’t do that, the hot water will get dirty ‘fter all. 」
「……heeーi」
Irvine replied dejectedly, perhaps he assented to Tori’s comment.
Well, I fully understand that feeling. If there is a fine bathtub in front of you, then it makes you want to directly jump into it, right?
You can’t do anything but obey the rules because the important hot water will become dirty if you don’t.
Because of that reason we walked in succession toward the washing place at the edge of the bathhouse where magic tools were provided to wash.
First, it was Tori, Roomba, and me in that order, then behind us are Irvine and Mort.
I immediately put a stool in just the right place for me.
As a result, a nice sound *kakon* resounded inside the bathhouse.
「Somehow it sounds nice, doesn’t it」
Maybe Roomba - who was sitting normally - liked the sound, he also put a stool in the same manner as me to make that sound.
Another *kakon* sound resounded again.
Then maybe Roomba was satisfied with that, he laughed happily and sat down.
Irvine, Mort, and even Tori imitated it, and the sound merged.
It sounds harmonious for some reason.
I thought as I looked up while hearing the pleasant sound.
I love this kind of relaxing and peaceful time.
However, my body will get cold if I just stay naked here absentmindedly and I might catch a cold. I’m going to quickly pour some hot water on my body.
There was a round bucket, taps, mirrors, and then a magic tool that looks like it can be used to take a shower in front of me. But unfortunately, it’s not the type with small holes on it, it’s a hose-like type but it can produce plenty of hot water so there’s no problem.
Perhaps, if I turn this round red thing here, it will produce hot water.
「Hmm? What is this?」
With a puzzled look on his face, Roomba turned the knob in front of him while holding the hose.
That hose was pointing toward me, and the direction where Roomba turned the hose was the one with the light blue color.
I sensed danger to myself, so I quickly changed the hose’s direction to the back using the non-attributed magic Psychic.
Then, water fiercely spouted from Roomba’s hose.
「Uwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!? My back is coldd!?」
The cold water fiercely spouted toward Mort’s back, probably because Roomba turned the knob too much.
「Uwaaa!? Hey, it’s cold! Roomba-san it’s cold!?」
Not only did the cold water hit Mort’s back directly, but a small amount of cold water also splashed onto Irvine.
「Hm? Ohh, my bad. So this is for water, huh. Wahahaha!」
Finally realizing the situation, Roomba laughed while turning the knob.
「You’re hurting me!? The force of the water is getting stronger, hey!?」
However, the direction where Roomba turned the knob was the opposite of what it should be, but the water current was still surging toward Mort’s back.
「……Roomba, you turn the knob the other way around, the other way」
「Ou, so it’s like that! My bad!」
When I told Roomba about it, he finally stopped the water.
That was dangerous, if I didn’t use magic back then I would have been bathed in cold water.
I have to thank Mort for becoming the sacrifice.
I turned the faucet while thinking about that, then pour the boiling hot water into the bucket, and splashed the hot water onto my body.
「Haaー……」
The dirt and sweat on my body are being washed in an instant. The refreshing feeling makes me sigh involuntarily.
Sigh, why is a bath so comfortable, I wonder?
「Sighー……I’m alive……」
「……being able to stay warm is happiness, isn’t it」
Mort and Irvine - who were bathed in cold water - looked like they found it even more comfortable and they let out such comments.
I splashed hot water all over my body, lather a nice scented soap with the towel, and then I wash my body with it *goshigoshi*.
Everyone appears to also wash their body in the same way and for a while, we wash our body in silence.
「Oーi, Mort. Scrub my back」
「Sure, but scrub my back too after that」
Mort scrubs Irvine’s back *goshigoshi* while bluntly asking him.
Even if those two guys scrub each other’s back, it still doesn’t make it a very pretty sight.
「Ohー! How about we also wash each other’s back then」
「Then, I’ll wash Roomba’s back!」
I immediately take a position as the one to wash Roomba's back since Romba said something like that.
I mean, if Roomba washes your back with his great physical strength, there’s the possibility that you could lose your back after all.
「Oh, really now? Then I will wash Toriela’s back!」
「Eh?」
Because of that we reseat ourselves and wash each other’s back.
I say wash, but maybe it’s because Roomba’s back is so big, along with his uneven and developed muscles, it’s so difficult to wash. It’s difficult to exert strength on it.
「Oi, Al. Put some more strength into it」
「Ow, ow it hurts! On the contrary Roomba-san, I want you to reduce your strength a little, hey!」
While laughing at the screaming Tori, I strengthened my body with magic power and washed Roomba’s body with all my strength put into it.
「Ohh, that’s nice」
Using body strengthening only got ‘nice’? Either it’s because I’m too weak or maybe because Roomba is strong……
「But I don’t feel ‘nice’ at all here! Weaken it further, hey!」
Only one other person has his new skin - not only his old skin - in a pinch, but I don’t care about him.
I had finally managed to wash Roomba’s back, so now I fill the bucket with hot water and pour it onto his body.
The hose-like thing is well and good, but still, I think rinsing yourself in one go using a bucket like this feels pleasant. A smooth skin appears when you rinse the soap and the dirt on the large back repeatedly with hot water.
「……sigh, no problem here.」
「Ou, thank you, Al」
「There is a sting each time you pour hot water on my back y’know」
I can hear someone sobbing behind Roomba. Roomba doesn’t have any ill will toward you, so just forgive him, alright.
After that, we finished washing our face and hair, and feeling refreshed, we stood up from the stool and headed toward the bathtub.
「You can bring your towel into the bathtub, alright?」
When I look at the direction Tori pointed to, there is a sign at the edge of the bathtub that informs you about it. It has a clear illustration drawn on it, so it’s easy to understand.
「So it means to not put the towel into the hot water, huh」
While staring fixedly at the sign, we put the towel on our heads.
There is a bathtub with bubbles on the other side, a medicinal bathtub with green-colored hot water, and I even saw something like an open-air bath.
「There is an outdoor bath?」
「Well, let’s enjoy this huge bath here first」
There are a variety of baths here that makes us unable to decide which to use, but everyone decided to enter the large bath in the middle first.
After checking the water temperature with my hand lightly, I slowly put my foot into the bath.
As expected, unlike the washing place, the temperature here is a bit higher. Just what you’d expect from a ryokan’s bath.
Even while I was being surprised about the bath’s heat, I submerged my body into the bath in one go.
「Aah……」
It felt so good that a rough voice leaked out from me.
The heat made a tingling sensation on my body, but it soon softened.
Aah, it’s like the fatigue from our journey melts away into the hot water.
「「「「Aah……」」」」
After that, a rough, bliss-like voice escaped each member in succession.
「Everyone sounds like a middle-aged man」
「Nah, I don’t want to be told that by Alfried-sama. Despite being a kid, you made the loudest sound just like a middle-aged man you know.」
I can’t deny that. I mean, the voice that I leaked out just now was surprisingly rough even for me.
I look upward as if to gloss over it.
I wouldn’t be able to take a bath in such a spacious bathtub, or a place with such a liberating feeling.
No, if I used Teleport magic, I can take a bath here every day, huh………
I will feel guilty to bathe without paying, so if I do it in the future let’s just Teleport to a place near the ryokan and properly pay the fees.
「Ahー……it feels good」
I muttered while stretching my limbs and relaxing.
「Yeah, that’s right」
「It is, isn’t it」
Then, everyone also has the same opinion as each of them replied while leaving their bodies to the hot water…
At the edge of the bathtub, hot water poured out from the mouth of a statue modeled after a lion, the pleasant sound of the water echoed.
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