Chapter 57
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: Let's Go to the Hot Springs!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Dr.'s one-on-one chat never came through.
Well, more precisely...
Clunk-!
[Benefactor! What the hell did you do while I was taking a quick nap? Why does the Tower look like such a mess?!]
...Dr. showed up at my door in person, so there was no need.
It was a predictable outcome, really.
She lived next door, after all—close enough to bump into if I tripped.
'Living right next door has its downsides...'
Anyway.
Since running away or ghosting to dodge the situation had failed...
My best option now was just one.
"What are you talking about?"
Play dumb. Pretend I had no idea what she was on about, no matter what she asked. Deny everything.
Dr.'s grilling was all suspicion, no hard evidence. If I acted well enough, I could slip by.
'Can't keep getting pushed around by Dr. forever...!'
So this time, for sure.
I'd fool her with my method acting, stand tall on top—those vows lasted a moment.
Her next words left me dazed.
[Oh? So the environmental changes from floors 11 to 15 in the Tower weren't your doing?]
"The Tower's environment changed? First I've heard of it... I've only cleared up to floor 9, so I wouldn't know."
[Hmmm...? Benefactor. You think I wouldn't know?]
"Pardon? Know what?"
[What else? Satisfying specific Tower conditions to skip floors, obviously.]
[A friend of mine just messaged me. Said you set a new record on floor 15 today.]
"...Huh?"
Wha... How does Dr. know about that...?
This wasn't in my script...
So I asked.
'Lavris! Help! How the hell does Dr.'s friend know I updated the rankings?'
['Lavris' explains that unofficial ranking updates don't notify regular Climbers, but Climbers who've hit unofficial rankings at least once do get notified.]
'So... Climbers who've skipped floors like me get notified about each other?'
['Lavris' nods in affirmation.]
'Why the hell are you only telling me this now?!'
['Lavris' says you never asked, and honestly, it slipped my mind until just now.]
'You useless axe!'
Back to the present.
[So, Benefactor. Were you trying to fool me?]
"Calm down, Dr. I can explain everything."
[Calm down? What kind of talk is that, Benefactor? Me? Right now? I'm perfectly calm.]
[The little brother I watched over, worried he'd get duped 'cause he's such a clueless idiot... and he stabs me in the back?]
[In a way, it's growth as a person. How could I get mad at you for that?]
[Yeah, yeah. Now you can survive out here in the wilds of Korea on your own.]
[Right? Benefactor?]
"Dr., I'm really sorry. I'll tell you everything, so please don't talk like that..."
.
.
.
In the end, I couldn't withstand Dr.'s pressure and spilled everything that had happened so far (the Transcendent's existence, Lynn's condition, Tabula's presence, skipping floors via Lavris, and so on...).
.
.
.
[So that's what happened while I was too busy to check in? You've been through a lot on your own.]
"So... you forgive me...?"
[Eh, to some extent.]
"Then can I get up now?"
[No? That's that, and this is this.]
[Trying to deceive me is unforgivable, so stay seated while I sort my thoughts.]
"...Yes, ma'am."
For now, sharing all the info I'd gathered up till now...
Somehow dodged being treated like an ungrateful black-haired beast.
I'd agonized over whether to spill it all or just parts...
But ultimately, puzzling it out with smart Dr. seemed better than me hoarding it alone. So I laid it all out.
['Lavris' marvels at how you're tough on other women but go soft only for that Dr. lady.]
'It's not like I want to be like this... Maybe 'cause she looked after me when I was at my lowest? It's hard to be harsh with Dr.'
Really hard.
Sure, not long ago I'd schemed to make her fully mine with a contract or some elixir equivalent, feed it to her, all that shady stuff.
But face-to-face with Dr., those thoughts vanished.
'Weirdly, just seeing Dr. puts my mind at ease, fills me with gratitude...?'
['Lavris' advises checking if it's some magic or curse effect.]
Magic or curses...?
'That... makes... sense...!'
Come to think of it, Dr.'s job was 'Mage'.
If those mage rumors I'd heard were true, the odds she hadn't pulled something like that weren't zero.
So I quietly asked Tabula.
"Tabula. Make me a potion to resist curses. Right now!"
[Looks like getting a stepmom is gonna be a rough road!]
"What're you talking about?"
[Nothing! Anyway, Tabula checked Father's status—no traces of magical or curse-like hexes!]
"...Really?"
Tsk... Then why the hell am I acting like this? No clue.
Anyway. Tabula says no, so I'd let it slide for now.
#####
As Dr.'s deliberations dragged on...
The moon rose in the darkening sky, shining white.
Lulu and Arin, who'd been watching TV, came over.
"Daddy-nyang? When we going to the hot springs-nyang?"
"The sun's fully set, and the stars and moon are out."
"...Oh, has it gotten this late already?"
Time flew by while getting chewed out by Dr.
Karin had probably finished prepping the hot springs by now, waiting for us.
No more delaying. I grabbed some food and decided to head out.
Oh, and of course, Dr. and the dead-to-the-world pathetic Pureblood came along too.
[Hot springs?]
"Staying cooped up like this won't solve your worries, right?"
[True... but...]
"Soak in some nice warm hot spring water and think it over slowly. You've been pushing yourself lately and look beat."
[Hmm... No. We're almost done, so I need to wrap up. Go without me.]
Convincing Dr. hit a snag here...
"I worked hard on ryokan cuisine, and you're not eating it? What about my feelings?"
[Made with Tabula's special spices and oils! Flavor enhanced by over 2.4 times!]
"See?"
[...Ahem. Well, since our Benefactor's begging like this, maybe just a break today?]
...I'd learned Dr. had a surprising weakness for food.
Managed to convince her, and we all headed to the hot springs.
About ten minutes' walk brought us to Karin's place (the ryokan).
"You've arrived, my lord."
"More people than planned. That okay?"
"No issue at all. This way, please."
Following Karin, who'd come out to greet us, we entered the building. The interior felt totally different from last time.
Makes sense—the ryokan grounds were...
"Daddy-nyang! Everything's all white around us-nyang!"
"Snow piled up thick and cold!"
...blanketed in a soft layer of pure white snow welcoming us.
"Isn't it too early for snow? Why just here...?"
"Thanks to the magic our Benefactor laid down."
"Dr. did?"
What was that about? I glanced at Dr. nearby.
She brushed it off casually.
[Snow adds ambiance to hot springs, right? So I embedded a snowfall magic circle when building it.]
"Snow just for a soak... Cleanup must be a pain."
"That's why today's the first real use."
"...? Then why make the feature if—"
[Got excited building and threw in all sorts of stuff, but when it came to actually using it, yeah, cleanup's annoying.]
[Ended up just using the hot springs and forgetting the little features.]
"Prepared it specially since the young ladies were visiting today."
Yeah... apparently.
Seeing Dr. pull off wild impulses like me made me think people are all kinda the same.
[Benefactor. You just had a super rude thought, didn't you?]
"Me? No way."
[Suspicious...]
"Anyway, let's hit the hot springs already!"
Anyway.
Dodging Dr.'s sharp gaze, we hurried inside.
Soon, blue and red curtains marked "Men's Bath" and "Women's Bath" in Japanese welcomed us.
"Alright, girls. Be good for the grown-ups while Daddy's gone."
"Daddy-nyang not coming in too-nyang?"
"Daddy's a boy, so no women's bath."
"Is that how it works?"
"Yup."
After explaining to my two daughters ahead of time...
I handed Tabula to Karin.
"Karin, take good care of the kids."
"Understood, my lord. But... why this turquoise tablet...?"
"That's not a tablet. It's my new daughter, Tabula."
[Nice to meet you, Karin! I'm Father's third daughter, Tabula! Looking forward to our time together?]
"...Pardon?"
"Tabula's more mature than Arin or Lulu, so no big worries. Fully waterproof too—no issues in water."
"...Huh??? No, that's not— What in the world are you...?"
[Karin, if you're gonna serve Benefactor as lord, better get used to this quick.]
[Stuff even crazier than that tablet's gonna pop up.]
"I'll... try..."
Dr. soothed the bewildered Karin.
I watched Lulu and Arin totter into the women's bath after them.
Then I grabbed Lavris and headed to the men's bath.
Oh, sidenote: the pathetic Pureblood was still out cold, so I laid futons in a guest room for him.
Left a note—he'd find us when he woke.
Decided not to sweat it.
Anyway. Entering the men's bath...
Shelves with baskets greeted us, so I neatly stacked my undressed clothes in one.
Suddenly, Lavris spoke up.
['Lavris' has one question for you, Master.]
"Question? Shoot."
['Lavris' asks if humans split males and females into separate baths.]
"Usually, yeah? People get shy seeing opposite sex naked unless they're super close. Orcs don't?"
['Lavris' says Orcs wash, live, and train all together regardless of male or female—no such custom.]
"Fitting for a warrior race. Anyway, you sure you're good in the bath? Brought you 'cause you said yes, but don't want you rusting later."
['Lavris' says don't worry—this proof restored some old functions, so no problem.]
"Functions? Which one?"
['Lavris' says it'll show better than tell—activating new function 'Materialization'!]
-Flash!
"Hm? Why human form instead of Orc? No idea... Whatever, not a big deal. See me, Master? This is the recovered function 'Materialization'! Impressive, right!"
"...What the."
I had no clue about functions or whatever.
Just one thought in my head right now.
"What's with the reaction, Master?"
"Lavris... you're a girl?"
"Huh? Didn't know? I'm female!"
"You crazy axe! Why didn't you say so?!"
"You never asked!"