Let’s Wash Up, Shall We? (2)
‘I can’t just keep turning a blind eye and pretending I don’t see it forever.’
Even before Lapisha had moved to the North, she had made her own efforts to improve personal hygiene and public health conditions. But habits aren’t something that change overnight.
For the Northern people, who hadn’t even solved the immediate problem of putting food on the table, the tasks of chopping firewood, hauling water, boiling it, scrubbing their bodies, and washing their clothes were always pushed to the very bottom of their priority list.
“We’re going to implement this no matter what, so let’s start by drafting a budget.”
“...Yes, sir.”
The adjutants weren’t particularly thrilled, but they didn’t dare to argue with a decision once Aiden had made it. Perhaps they could have made massive profits from nobles coming to the hot springs for recuperation, but the thought of opening up the precious springs to the commoners of the territory was, in its own way, quite heartwarming.
“By the way, how large are you thinking for the public bathhouse?”
“You said the hot spring’s output is sufficient, right?”
“Yes. Since it came from the Groblins, it’s certain. There is no race better at smelling the land and water than them.”
“Then let’s start big from the beginning.”
“Then... if we make it so about thirty people can bathe at once...?”
“Thirty people? Who are you trying to satisfy with that?”
“......?”
Aiden clicked his tongue, looking at him as if to ask what kind of nonsense he was spouting. To a man from a "nation of bathers," where every neighborhood is packed with saunas and steam rooms that can accommodate hundreds of people at a time, a bathhouse that could only fit thirty was worse than having none at all.
‘Thirty? Even the shower room attached to a swimming pool could fit more than that.’
Since they didn’t even need to boil the water—it just bubbled up from the earth—the operating costs wouldn’t be astronomical even if they built it on a grand scale.
‘Though it will require some manpower.’
That much could just be considered job creation. He didn’t intend to make the bathhouse free, so even after subtracting labor and maintenance costs, it might actually help the territory’s income if managed well.
“One hundred.”
“...Pardon?”
“For men and women, respectively.”
“What?!”
“The steam sauna will be separate.”
“......”
Even so, since the North was short on population, he had suppressed his desire to call for three hundred people each and had thrown out a relatively modest number, but the three adjutants were staring at him as if their eyes were about to pop out.
“Oh. When you build it, you need to design it with future expansions in mind. If it becomes popular, this won’t be enough.”
As Aiden added this as if he’d just remembered, the three adjutants decided to simply give up on trying to understand him. They had no choice but to find comfort in the fact that, since it was a place for bathing, it wouldn’t cost too much in construction materials.
Spring had fully arrived. With the wind filled with warmth, the farmers who had finished leveling the fields began sowing their seeds. Moving their bodies in the warm weather caused sweat to pour down like rain.
“Whoa, it’s already hot. Summer will be here soon.”
“Haha, you old fool. Summer is still a ways off.”
“Let’s go down to the creek and wash off before we head back.”
“Sounds good!”
A few farmers who had finished their work headed to the creek in high spirits.
“Ah, this is refreshing!”
“Ugh, my bones are aching, my bones are aching.”
“Look at this guy, he’s getting old! Hahahaha!”
The farmers, who had waded into the cold water fully clothed, dipped themselves in up to their heads and shuddered. Because the water flowing down from the mountains where the snow and ice had melted was as cold as ice, it contrasted sharply with the warm spring breeze.
Without even any soap, the farmers simply rubbed their arms, necks, and faces a few times in the water, then climbed out with faces that said that was enough.
“Did you wash up, meow?”
Jingle, jingle—.
Perhaps on his way to deliver goods to the village, a young man of the Catfolk, now quite a familiar face, chimed in.
“I don’t understand what’s so good about going into cold water like that, meow.”
“Well, you have to wash up when you’ve sweated a lot. Haha. It feels so refreshing.”
“Ugh. I hate water. I hate cold water even more.”
The Catfolk narrowed his eyes and shuddered, and the sight made the people burst into laughter. Seeing his tail twitching involuntarily was always adorable.
“Hey, Kitty. If you hate cold water, try going to that hot spring over there.”
“Hot spring?”
A Groblin who had obtained land near the creek to start farming twisted his body, wanting to touch the Catfolk’s tail, and joined the conversation. The Groblins had spread out everywhere. Aiden had readily agreed to the Groblins’ explanation that since they were already farmers who could do the work of dozens of humans, it was better for them to be separated than to be huddled together.
- If they settle near various villages, it will be that much more helpful to the farmers.
It was inevitable that the villages near the Lord’s Castle would develop faster than others, but thinking that if the Groblins spread out of their own volition, at least agricultural technology could improve similarly everywhere, he had even been more proactive about it.
The dwarf who had settled near the creek had found land he liked quite quickly, and because he was curious, meddlesome, and obsessed with fur-balls, it had become his daily routine to come out to the roadside and wave his hands, jumping up and down whenever the Catfolk mail carriage passed by.
“They say the hot spring there is very good for skin care, Kitty.”
“Good for the skin? ...Still, I hate going into water, meow!”
“You can just go in as a human. Ah! They said there’s a sauna, too. Hehehe, want to go with me?”
“A sauna?”
“That’s where you don’t go into the water but just take in the steam, and they say just doing that makes your skin smooth and shiny.”
“Meow...”
The Catfolk were a race that loved their own beauty—to put it nicely, they were confident; to put it bluntly, they were near-narcissists. Becoming beautiful was the most interesting topic for Catfolk, regardless of age or gender. The cat’s yellow eyes contracted and expanded repeatedly before flashing open.
“I’ll finish the delivery quickly, so let’s go right away, meow!”
If he could just use the sauna without getting into the water, there was no reason to refuse.
Meanwhile, the farmers who had been listening to the two demi-humans’ conversation for a moment looked at each other, still dripping with water.
- A hot spring?
- That’s the one the administrative officers were promoting, right?
- But isn’t it a bit far? Going all the way there just to bathe is...
- Should we ask the Catfolk messenger to give us a ride?
“E-excuse me! Sir Knight!”
“Meow?”
“Could you give us a ride, too? We’d like to try out that hot spring...”
Thwack.
At the farmers’ words, the young Catfolk held up one finger.
“You have to pay if you want to ride the carriage, meow.”
“...Round trip?”
“One way!”
“Oh, come on, there are four of us, you should give us a discount.”
“...Tch.”
Negotiation successful!
“O-oh, we have to take our clothes off here?”
“Yes, please take your clothes off in the changing room and enter the bath. Ah! Before entering the bath, you must first apply the powder to this rough cloth and scrub off the grime. And make sure to wash your hair, too!”
“Ah, that, that...”
“You must! Follow the rules!”
At the attendant’s explanation, the farmers turned pale. Even though they were friends who had lived in the same village and seen everything there was to see since they were kids, showing their naked bodies—when they weren’t even their wives—was a bit...
“D-do we have to take off our bottoms, too?!”
“Of course.”
“......”
Their last hope had crumbled. Gulp. Even if it didn’t seem like a big deal, there are times when you need courage. The four farmers were feeling exactly that way right now.
Whether they cared or not, the two demi-humans threw off their clothes without hesitation. Even though they lived with humans, their standards of emotion were a bit different, so they had the attitude of, "What’s the problem with people of the same gender taking their clothes off?"
“Aren’t you coming in, meow?”
“W-we’re coming.”
“Yes, we’re, we’re coming...”
If one side acts like it’s nothing, the side that feels embarrassed for no reason ends up looking strange. The farmers followed the two demi-humans, who had already entered the bathhouse in high spirits, walking hesitantly while covering their lower bodies with the towels they had been provided.
Whooooosh—.
Fortunately, as they opened the door to the bathhouse, a thick cloud of steam poured out, briefly obscuring their vision, and thanks to that, the four farmers’ embarrassment faded a little.
A while later, as their eyes adjusted, a wonderland unfolded before them.
“What is this...?”
On the floor, water channels snaked endlessly in winding patterns, and on both sides of the channels, small wooden stools and basins were placed one by one. The small channels led to over ten different baths, each of which seemed to have its own characteristics—some were deep, some were hot, some were cold, and some were shaped differently.
“They say this bath is for standing?”
When one farmer, who had learned to read simple characters while attending the village school over the winter, showed curiosity while looking at a bath that looked quite deep,
“Wait a minute, the attendant told us to wash before entering earlier.”
“Ah, right. That’s right.”
Another farmer warned him.
“Kitty, didn’t you say you were only going to the sauna? You said the sauna was outside.”
“Still, since we’ve come all this way, shouldn’t we try going into the bath at least once, meow?”
The two demi-humans had already settled in and were splashing water on their bodies. The young Catfolk, who had said several times that he hated water and would only go to the sauna, seemed to have been swayed by the sight of the dozen or so baths, and was scrubbing his body here and there with the rough cloth.
“Sniff, sniff, but what is this?”
“It’s beans and oats, Kitty. You don’t even know that? Hehehe!”
The cleansing powder included in the admission fee was, as the Groblin said, made by grinding beans and oats. Since both were common crops in the North, it was judged that including them in the admission fee wouldn’t be a burden on operations.
Scrub, scrub—.
The farmers, who had always just washed their bodies roughly with water at the creek (and even then, while wearing their clothes!), followed the demi-humans and scrubbed off their grime with the grain powder, albeit clumsily. When the slightly rough powder met the hot water, it felt quite refreshing.
“I’m going into the bath first.”
One farmer, who had washed quickly since he had no hair to worry about, headed toward the hot bath he had spotted earlier. ‘A real man goes for the hot bath!’ Having experienced the luxury of soaking his feet in a small tub of hot water and feeling his entire body relax from head to toe, he was even a little excited at the thought of being able to soak his whole body in hot water.
“Ugh!”
However, the freshly drawn hot spring water was hotter than he had thought.
“Hahahahaha!”
“Hey, don’t try to be a hero, just go find a warm bath!”
“Kekekeke!”
The giggling laughter of his friends. Splash! Whoosh—.
Stung by his friends’ teasing, the farmer gritted his teeth and jumped into the hot bath. Water splashed and overflowed out of the tub. “Ah, this is nothing!” The farmer shouted loudly and proudly, as if to show off his grit or bravado, despite his skin turning bright red in an instant. You might wonder why he’d go that far for something so trivial, but men are creatures who sometimes stake their lives on useless things.
“Ughhh.”
He had intended to endure it for a bit to earn his friends’ recognition and then sneak off to a warm bath, but— ‘This is nice.’ The heat was only for a moment. As he got used to the temperature, the muscles that had been knotted up from hard farm work melted away in an instant. “Soooo good.” The genuine feeling slipped out before he could stop it.
Bubbling. It really was different from the creek water; after soaking for just a moment, tiny bubbles clung to his entire skin. He brushed the bubbles away, and—
“Huh?”
“What’s wrong?”
“My body feels slippery?”
“Huh?”
“Haha, well, look at that. I guess it wasn’t just talk when they said it was good for the skin.”
His joints felt like they were being loosened, tingling away. It felt as if his fatigue was melting into the water. “...I should bring my parents and my wife next time.” Good things are meant to be shared with family.
‘Six regulars secured, then.’
Though hidden by the steam, there was a customer who had arrived earlier, half-covering his face with a towel in one corner of the hot bath. It was Aiden.
‘But when do I leave?’
...The problem was that he had missed his timing to leave.