Bath Time Assistance (1)
There’s an old saying that the best medicine always tastes the most bitter. It turned out to be completely true. The moment the pill touched my tongue, it was so foul I nearly spat it right back out.
-Munch munch.
As I squeezed my eyes shut, tears streaming down my face while forcing myself to chew, a cheeky voice rang out.
“Master, is it really that delicious? You’re even crying!”
Jukchang-i was clearly toying with me. Instead of answering, I simply clenched my fist with all my might.
-Squeeze!
“Uwaaaaaagh!”
I did my best to ignore her scream and swallowed the spiritual medicine. The instant it went down my throat, a cold bead of sweat trickled down my forehead. Soon after, it turned into a waterfall of perspiration. If I didn’t keep a tight grip on my consciousness, I felt like I might actually faint.
I need to focus as much as possible.
I sat in the lotus position and began absorbing the new power flowing into every part of my body. At the same time, I slowly circulated my mana to purge the impurities that had built up inside me.
About thirty minutes later, I finally let out a long breath.
“Hoo…”
The spiritual medicine had been completely digested. The moment I slowly opened my eyes while exhaling in relief—
-Creak!
The door suddenly burst open. I turned my head toward the sound.
“Jane? What’s the matter all of a sudden?”
“Ah, um…”
At my question, her eyes darted around in clear panic. It seemed she hadn’t expected to find me drenched in sweat. When I stared at her pointedly, demanding an explanation, she suddenly perked up as if she’d just remembered something and quickly made her excuse.
“Oh! I sensed a sudden surge of mana coming from Young Master’s room, that’s all.”
“……”
Her shameless expression left me speechless, but she was technically telling the truth about the mana. There was no point pressing her further. Instead, I answered her original question.
“I was just releasing my mana for training.”
“I see. By the way, Young Master.”
Her voice suddenly turned deadly serious. When I tilted my head in confusion, Jane looked me up and down and said,
“It appears you need a shower.”
“Ah…”
She wasn’t wrong. The room was absolutely soaked in my sweat, so a shower was definitely in order. But did she really have to frown like that while saying it?!
-Master, even I—a weapon—can tell you smell terrible!
Thanks for the brutal honesty, you little brat!
As I mentally snapped back at Jukchang-i’s jab, Jane continued.
“Young Master, it has been quite some time. Allow me to wash you.”
“Huh?”
The unexpected words from Jane’s mouth caused my brain to short-circuit for a second. Before I could stop myself, I blurted out,
“Out of nowhere?”
“Ah, well… didn’t I used to wash you when you were little? It’s been a while, so I thought it wouldn’t be a bad idea.”
The moment I had possessed this body was right when Elric became a professor. In the previous timeline, she had never washed me, so I had no idea if she was telling the truth.
-Isn’t that just a bald-faced lie, Master?
Hmm. It might not be a lie, though.
Since I had lived in the modern world, I had always taken care of myself. But originally, bathing and other personal tasks were usually handled by maids and butlers.
-So what are you going to do, Master?
Guess I’ll accept.
Compared to the other women, Jane was relatively tame. Her original role was my personal maid. When it came to work-related matters, she didn’t try to jump me.
Still, just in case, I’m bringing you along!
-So you don’t trust her after all.
Hey, it’s not that I don’t trust her. It’s just being prepared for the unexpected.
With that thought, I shifted my gaze back to Jane.
“Alright. I’ll head to the bath first.”
“……Ah! Yes, understood, Young Master.”
With those words, I headed toward the bathhouse in the mansion. Jane had looked a bit startled, but I figured it was just my imagination.
No matter how many times I saw it, the bathhouse was always overwhelmingly grand. It felt like I had rented out an entire modern sauna for myself.
“Haa…”
The moment I stepped into the hot spring, every muscle in my body went limp. That was when—
-Master, it feels like some thick liquid is entering my body!
Jukchang-i, who had transformed into a ring, made a comment that could easily be misunderstood.
What kind of description is that?
-Heheung. But it’s true.
Her reaction was ridiculous, but she wasn’t exactly wrong. The hot spring I had entered wasn’t ordinary water.
-Master, your family really is versatile. I, the legendary Jukchang, acknowledge it! Ahem!
The person who actually made it probably doesn’t care whether you acknowledge it or not.
I let out a dry laugh at Jukchang-i’s arrogance. Then I glanced down at the spring water.
Well, it is pretty impressive.
The water in the bath was a hot spring infused with mana. They had crafted the faucet out of mana stones and enchanted it with the lowest-grade spell, Water. It sounded simple, but imbuing a mana stone with magic was surprisingly difficult. One small mistake and the stone could reject the enchantment and explode.
You’d lose your hands in the process.
Anyway, what came after was far more important. Considering my current growth rate, defeating the Demon King would be quick work. Thanks to the spiritual medicine and the author’s rewards, I had become ridiculously strong in a short time. On top of that, my constant training was making me grow at an absurd pace.
It all sounded great, but it wasn’t.
If I get too strong too fast and defeat the Demon King, I’ll just regress again.
In the previous timeline, the story had progressed way too quickly, and everyone complained about it. Of course, even I hadn’t expected the Demon King to get knocked out after just a few hits from Jukchang, so I felt a little wronged. Still, the conclusion was obvious—if things continued like this, another regression was inevitable.
In that case, it would be better to let the protagonist handle it instead.
Sai, the protagonist of the novel, was the Hero the Demon King had been searching for. In a standard story, it was only natural for him to defeat the final boss. The problem was—
This guy isn’t that strong at all.
After checking, his strength was barely at the level of an average student. He was so weak compared to me that it was almost embarrassing. The one saving grace was—
He’s in the class I’m teaching.
With that thought, I fell into deep contemplation about what to do next.
At the same time, while Elric was lost in thought inside the bathhouse…
“Hmm…”
Meanwhile, Jane was deep in complicated thought, her expression troubled.
So in the end, that person wasn’t Young Master?
She recalled what had happened about an hour ago.
Roughly one hour earlier.
The man she had assumed was Young Master had vanished while holding the Subjugation Necklace. The only silver lining was that there had been plenty of demons nearby to take her frustration out on. After venting on them, she had hurried back to the mansion.
If things went as expected, Young Master should have arrived no more than an hour ago.
When she checked, sure enough, he was in his room. The strange part was how much he was sweating. It could have been from running away in a panic, but the room was far too drenched for that. Just from the traces, it looked like he had been sweating for several hours.
Hmm. No matter how I look at it, he seemed exactly like Young Master.
His movements, breathing, speech patterns, and even the subtle habits he displayed—all of it screamed Elric. While Jane was still trying to make sense of it, one idea suddenly flashed through her mind.
This method should work to confirm it.
That was why she had offered to wash him. Normally he would have refused, but that didn’t really matter. Actually, she quite liked the idea of washing him. Ahem. More importantly, she needed to check whether he had taken the Subjugation Necklace. If he had, he surely would have stored it in his spatial pouch.
I can check while Young Master is bathing.
Given his personality, he was bound to refuse anyway. She was certain of it—until he suddenly accepted.
“Alright. I’ll head to the bath first.”
Contrary to her expectations, Elric had taken the offer without hesitation. For a brief moment, her brain completely froze. But as a professional assassin, she quickly composed herself.
“……Ah! Yes, understood, Young Master.”
After he left for the bathhouse, Jane shook her head and cleared her thoughts. She then checked the spatial pouch he had left in the room.
The Subjugation Necklace isn’t here.
Just as she feared, there was no sign of it. If he had taken it, it should have been inside the pouch. Since it wasn’t, regardless of his true identity, one thing was certain—he hadn’t taken it with him.
I shouldn’t have believed that succubus.
She had been crying and begging so pathetically that Jane had assumed it was true. It turned out to be a lie after all. Jane let out a deep sigh and headed toward the bathhouse.
“Haa…”
Still, let’s think positively. Even though she had lost the Subjugation Necklace, she could still wash Young Master. An opportunity like this wouldn’t come again. It wouldn’t be bad to take this chance to have some skinship with him.
My creed has always been not to touch him while working.
But wasn’t it only natural for a maid to serve her master? Therefore, this wasn’t breaking her creed at all. Rationalizing it to herself, she soon arrived at the bathhouse entrance.
-Rustle.
She slowly removed the clothes she was wearing. Once she was completely naked, she gently touched the side of her waist.
It’s still fascinating no matter how many times I see it.
In the previous timeline, there had been a scar there from when she had been injured protecting Elric.
Of course, Young Master wouldn’t know about that…
Thanks to this regression, the scar had disappeared. She still couldn’t get used to it. Covering herself with a towel, Jane entered the bathhouse. The next moment—
“Uh… Jane, you’re here…”
Elric’s eyes widened the moment he saw her.
What the—? Why is she coming in completely naked?!
Elric inwardly panicked and corrected his earlier thoughts. Jane was no different from the other women after all!