Ch 94 — My Heart's Desire, Taking A Bath
Fer swiftly brought me out of the city and into a deserted part of the forest. He erected a Barrier around a large area to ensure my safety and then headed off to hunt. Me, I was in a hurry to have a bath.
First off I cast "Stone Wall" repeatedly inside Fer's Barrier, creating a roofless square-sided room with four walls. I wanted to be able to look at the sky while enjoying my bath and if it rained? So what, I was going to get wet anyway. I pulled my new bath (MY bath!) out of my Item Box and positioned it in the middle of my magical bathhouse.
"Sui, are you awake?" I enquired telepathically and Sui popped out of her bag.
"Fuh~… whaaaat zit, Aruuuji…" Sui-chan was still sleepy. She was finding her new bag very comfortable, it seemed.
"Sui, can you use your Water magic to fill this for me?" I indicated the bath.
"Ok…" Sui's tentacle stretched out and pure water flowed from the tip into the bath, filling it quickly.
"Sui, that's enough." The flow of water from Sui's tentacle stopped when the bath was about 80% full.
Now for my Fire magic …. "Fireball!" I made a small fireball and plopped it into the bath water. The fireball disappeared in a sudden explosion of steam and boiling water. Oops, maybe it was a bit too much… I needed to stir the water but I had forgotten to get a paddle, I didn't want to scald my hand after all. I needed other things for my bath anyway so I opened up Net Super and started ordering various necessities.
"Lessee, a paddle for stirring the bath, yes and body wash." I personally prefer a liquid body wash soap to regular soap. I added a bottle of rinse-in shampoo as it's less bother to use and it was just for me. Towels, I bought some face towels and bath towels too. Is that all? Oh, bath salts, something that would smell good and invigorate my skin. I put everything into the shopping cart and fed the Net Super some coins to settle the bill. A cardboard box with my order popped into view.
I stirred the bath water with the plastic paddle, waiting for it to cool down a bit and then I realised it was being kept at that temperature by the crushed mana stones embedded in the pottery. It was a magical bath, after all, the water wouldn't cool down naturally. Duh. "How stupid of me…" I muttered to myself. "Sui, can you add some cold water to the bath?" Sui-chan obliged, squirting cold water from a tentacle. I gingerly put my hand in to the water to test it, thinking I should get a bath thermometer next time I ordered anything from the Net Super, but it was just right now. Excellent.
I stripped off my clothes and began preparations to bathe by thoroughly washing my hair. I'd only been able to wash my hair with plain water since I got here and it wasn't in the best of condition.
"Geh, the shampoo isn't lathering up at all, my hair is super-greasy after so long…" I added more shampoo after a first rinse and finally got bubbles to appear. Thinking about the condition of my hair I washed my body down twice with the liquid soap from the Net Super. I put some hot water from the bath in a large pot and washed each foot carefully. I didn't want my new bath (MY bath!) to get dirty footprints in it after all.
"Okay, my feet are clean!"
Finally I sprinkled bath salts into the bath and stirred them until they dissolved in the hot water. They were a favourite choice of mine with a citrus-y smell. I paused, savouring the moment, before I got into the bath.
"Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo"
After such a long time without having a bath, I couldn't stop moaning as I finally got to soak myself properly again. I patted the rim of the bath (MY bath!) contentedly.
"Ohhhh yes, having a bath feels grrreat…"
"Aruji-, does being in the water make you feel good?" Sui asked me curiously.
"Oh yes, the water's nice and hot, so it feels good." I thought for a moment. "Do you want to come in too, Sui?"
"Uh-huh-" Splash, and Sui was floating in the bath beside me.
"Oh, you're right. This warm water feels good. The smell is good too~" Sui seemed to like being in the bath.
Myself, I stretched out, feeling the knots and tensions in my body dissolve in the hot water. The smell of citrus wafting from the bath water added a relaxing effect to the overdue experience. Life is good, I decided, bathing is best. I looked up at the open sky above me. It is a wonderful thing to take a bath while looking up at a blue sky. Paradise, paradise.
Japanese people can not live without a bath. This is simply a fact. I thoroughly enjoyed my bath with Sui.
I took a long indulgent bath. The water stayed hot because of the magical properties of the crushed mana stones in the pottery and I didn't have to add more hot water half-way through. The bath had been expensive but boy was it worth it, I decided.
After climbing out of the bath and drying myself and changing my clothes, it was time to clean up. First of all I erased the Stone Walls of my temporary bath-house using my Earth magic.
"Sui, can you get rid of this water and all the foam bubbles?" I asked. I didn't want to just tip the water out on the ground, it would become muddy.
"I understand~" Sui burbled and turned into her Giant Slime form before splitting up into a host of Little Suis who sucked up the bath water and froth, cleaning everything up nicely.
"I want to drink something cold after a bath." I decided so I bought some milk coffee from the Net Super. Sui-chan had been in the bath with me so I bought her some fruit-flavoured milk.
"Sui, this is delicious when you drink it after having a bath." I explained as I put the fruit milk in a dish for her.
"Wow, it's true. It's cold, sweet and delicious-" she said, sucking up the fruit milk with a tentacle.
Yeah, for me drinking cold sweet milk coffee just after a bath hits the spot.
