#056
First of all, judging by the golden shimmer, it looked quite expensive.
‘I can’t add more debt.’
If it’s a complimentary gift for guest treatment, it would be better to save it for the next expedition. Unless I couldn’t wash at all, but it seems they purify water for use here.
And honestly, this was after completing an intense desert quest. I’d been fighting unfamiliar battles for days, and I hadn’t had a memory of soaking my body in warm water since entering the game. If not this opportunity, there probably wouldn’t be another chance.
With that calculation, I undressed as the butler suggested and entered the bathroom with its antique interior. When I turned on the tap to fill the bathtub, hot water gushed out vigorously.
“Wow…”
For a moment, I felt like I’d returned to the reality I used to live in. I thought I wouldn’t see anything like this until I saw the ending.
While the water was filling, I briefly looked in the mirror.
“……”
I’m not particularly concerned about appearance having fallen into this world, but this was a bit too much.
‘A mummy would ask to be friends.’
I looked like skin barely stretched over bones. Setting aside my face, every bone in my body protruded so prominently that they all seemed observable. My shoulder blades jutted out, my collarbones were deeply hollowed, and my stomach was on the verge of sticking to my back.
“Wow, my waist is just a handful. Even ants would cry.”
I mocked myself. Come to think of it, it wasn’t strange since I couldn’t eat properly but my activity level was insane. If not for potions, I would have starved to death long ago.
I sighed and leisurely turned off the bathtub tap. Filling it completely felt guilty, so I only filled it halfway. The bathroom was already full of warm steam.
‘Half-body baths are good anyway.’
My mood, which had briefly sunk, improved a little. I examined the glass bottles displayed on the shelf. There weren’t any common body shampoos, but there were candy-like round bubble bath products and colorful bath salts filling glass bottles.
A guy taking a bubble bath at someone else’s house felt somehow ticklish, so I picked up a bottle containing bath salts and read the description on the surface.
[Solid potion. Dissolve in warm water for use. Helps not only with body purification but also muscle fatigue relief.]
As expected, it wasn’t simple soap. It was even better since no separate shampoo was needed.
‘How convenient.’
Among various colored bath salts, I chose light green and sprinkled it in the water, filling the air with a subtle green apple scent.
“Nice fragrance too.”
When I immersed my body, warm heat enveloped my entire body. I could feel the tension and fatigue that had been building up in my body quickly dissolving. Rather than just the power of hot water alone, it was probably the power of the potion bath salts.
Relaxing my body and leaning back my head, I completely loosened my tension for the first time in a long while. It felt like my mind was being purified along with my body, becoming calmly clear.
I slowly retraced the events from this desert quest.
The results were considerable. I didn’t know at first, but they said byproducts from hunting monsters were automatically harvested as the vehicle passed by. The vehicle itself had an inventory function that could autonomously absorb and categorize substantial amounts. Of course, when that got full too, it had to be manually sorted, discarded, and refilled, and Taro took charge of that task every evening before bed.
Some of the harvest had priority for the hunters who were the conquerors, but since it was part of expedition activities, most would be donated to the village. However, what was harvested from hidden dungeons was separate, so there was no need to donate to the village. This was because the existence of hidden dungeons itself wasn’t known.
The Administrator of the Sacred Tree requested that the existence of hidden dungeons be kept secret. If this story leaked before collecting all the Fragments of the Sacred Tree, problems could arise from those driven by greed. So currently, the only people who know about hidden dungeons are me, the Priest, Carlisle, and Taro, who’s an expedition member.
‘Naturally it would be problematic if NPCs interfered with what players should do.’
I interpreted the Priest’s thinking that way.
However, things like bread trees were important resources that could solve the village’s serious food shortage (no matter how purified, who knows what might happen if we keep eating monster meat), so we couldn’t monopolize them among ourselves. But if asked where these unpolluted pure bread trees or coffee fruits came from, and if they wanted to send additional expeditions, that would also be difficult to answer.
“How about saying they came as boss mob conquest rewards? Boss mob rewards vary each time, so it wouldn’t be strange if they didn’t appear again.”
I offered my opinion and we decided to handle it that way for now. Since boss mob rewards differ for each individual and the authority belongs to the conqueror, it was decided that Carlisle would receive the bread fruit and I would receive the coffee fruit to donate.
Tomorrow was scheduled to be incredibly busy.
Not just the donation issue, but first I had to meet the Priest to deliver the Fragment of the Sacred Tree, and I also had to give Elmer the sand strawberries to be used for Kate’s treatment. I should also meet Seiz and Eira to request supplies in advance for the next expedition. This time I really wanted to prepare abundantly, so I wouldn’t have to uselessly beg Carlisle for help.
‘I also have to pay back the overdue credit to Seiz…’
Most importantly, I had to bring Halmite to Seiz to receive Tranquility Potion as a reward.
‘There’s really a lot to worry about. When will the next expedition quest be scheduled?’
I sighed. I wanted to smack the back of my head for complaining about having too little to do when I was gaming. I wanted to rest thoroughly for a while since I’d suffered so much, but would resting here be proper rest? Getting through quests quickly and returning to reality was the priority.
‘But I’ll probably have to cling to Carlisle for the next expedition too.’
To somehow cling to Carlisle, today’s conversation would have to go well. Naturally, I’m still not in a position to repay my debts. Some money will come in this time, but preparing for the next expedition would make me penniless again in an instant.
How should I cling to the next expedition without immediately clearing my debts? It’s not like Carlisle has any particular favorability or trust toward me…
‘Favorability…’
Thinking of Carlisle, a scene suddenly popped up like a popup window. In the suffocating water, when I was panicking, pressing lips together… no, that… scene.
Of course, the first time was supposedly to feed me medicine when I couldn’t breathe. But what about the second time? What was the purpose?
‘Was it mockery?’
I wanted to ask directly, but since we’d been with Taro constantly after coming out of the water, I couldn’t ask. I even felt strangely affected because in the sudden event right before entering the hidden dungeon, I had actually kissed Carlisle during our date.
‘Why did that event suddenly happen and why was the content like that?’
There were more than one or two things I was curious about, but there was nowhere to ask.
‘But back then I slightly… got hard, but he probably didn’t notice, right?’
The overalls were baggy so it probably didn’t show, but we were pressed so closely together at the time.
“Hah. My mind is chaotic. Why do I have so many stray thoughts?”
I was shaking my head, overwhelmed by thoughts leading to more thoughts, when—
“What stray thoughts are you having?”
Startled by the sudden voice, I flailed and slipped, actually falling into the water.
“Puhah!”
I floundered ungracefully before barely managing to compose myself. Hanging onto the bathtub rail with my arms, barely catching my breath.
“You weren’t coming out, so I thought you’d drowned in the bathwater and came to fish you out.”
A voice tinged with hollow laughter rang from above my head. Carlisle was looking down at me with an incredulous expression, having arrived at some point.
“What are you doing? Were you perhaps waiting for me to come and watch over you?”
As if that would be the case.
He must have caught on that I’m afraid of water. At this rate, he’ll tease me to be careful of even plate water. Annoyed, I glared at him briefly, then remembered my recent resolution to make a good impression and slyly lowered my eyes.
“As if. It’s just been a while since I had a bath, so it got longer without me realizing.”
Still, I couldn’t make my tone gentle, so my bluntness wasn’t hidden.
“Well, that could be the case. If you’ve enjoyed enough, shall we get up? Our cook has shown off his skills for once, and I’m worried it’ll all get cold.”
Since when do you consider the cook’s feelings? I snorted inwardly. No, before that, why did you come directly instead of sending the butler like before?
I started to get up with a disgruntled feeling, then hesitated. Come to think of it, I was naked right now. Even with another man, showing my scrawny body, especially in this emaciated state, in front of someone with a good physique was deeply damaging to my pride.
On top of that… we’d done that strange thing that wasn’t a kiss but seemed like a kiss, and I’d even had the experience of getting hard just from some tongue contact, so showing my naked body felt awkward.
‘Even now it’s a bit… dangerous.’
Even thinking such thoughts made me more conscious of it, and my lower abdomen, which had been comfortable until just now, began to tingle.
“Um, I’m going to get out, so could you…”
“Mm?”
“Could you… move aside?”
“…Hmm?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
