Chapter 148 : A New Model Of Bathtub

At night, Celine asked me to build a bathtub. She didn’t want to skip bath two nights in a row.

She told me to build it near the well in the backyard of the inn but I didn’t want to get close to that well again remembering how scary that well was when I took a bath there last night.

I then told her that I would build it near Bian’s warehouse instead. I thought it would be a good idea because you could see a beautiful night view from there while bathing. However, Nicola disagreed. She didn’t want to climb that slope again.

In the end, I decided to build a bathtub outside the town. Fortunately, our inn was near the edge of the town so we didn’t have to walk that far.

And here we are now, at a dark place where the light leaking from the houses in the town didn’t reach.

I cast light magic to make a light ball as a light source.

The scenery here is a bit gloomy due to the dry and cracked ground.

「I hope my light ball won’t attract monsters…」(Mark)

When I murmured that, Celine looked around and replied to me.

「Hmm… I think it will attract giant rockworms, so you better make the light a little dimmerー No, wait. If we hunt those giant worms and bring them back to the inn, the landlady may pay us, so… Mark, make the light brighter!」(Celine)

「Hey, we’re here to take a bath, not to hunt giant worms, right?」(Mark)

「Fufu. I’m just kidding. Of course I prefer taking a bath rather than hunting~」(Celine)

「Hahh…」(Mark)

I sighed as Celine patted my head while saying that.

「Alright then, I’ll build it here.」(Mark)

After finding a good place to build a bathtub, I stretched out my hands.

But, wait… Since I haven’t used much magical power today…

「Celine, I will build it slightly larger than usual. Are you okay with that?」(Mark)

「Hee~ So you finally feel like joining me in the bath? Of course I’m okay with that. You’re always welcome to my bath~」(Celine)

No, the phrase is, “You’re always welcome to my bed”, not bath.

Oh, well. It doesn’t matter.

「No, I just want to use my mana more. I haven’t practiced magic today.」(Mark)

「Is that so? That’s too bad~ But if you change your mind later, you can always come in~」(Celine)

「No, thanks. I’ll take a bath after you’re done.」(Mark)

「Eeehh~ You’re stubborn as always.」(Celine)

I ignored Celine and began to make the bathtub.

First, I softened the ground in the same way when I made a temporary toilet a couple of days ago, after that, I stored the softened soil in my Item Box.

I repeated it several times and created a shallow circular pit in the ground with a depth of 50cm and a diameter of about 6 meters.

After that, I hardened the surface with earth magic so that water won’t leak. If I didn’t do this, the water would be sucked into the ground and we would end up bathing in muddy water.

After hardening the surface, I created rocks with various sizes and put them around the pit. I also made a rather big boulder and put it at the center of the pit.

The last thing to do is always the same. I poured hot water into the pit and poured several bottles of potions, and the bath that looks like a Japanese natural onsen* is complete!

*/open-air bath

「Ara~ It’s so pretty! It looks like the hot water gushed from the ground. Good job, Mark!」(Celine)

Hearing Celine’s loud voice, Delica, who was practicing with her sword while waiting nearby, approached us.

「Whoaa… It’s a strange bathtub but it looks so natural and I think it’s wonderful!」(Delica)

Celine and Delica seemed to like it.

Meanwhile, Nicola grinned while looking at Celine and Delica, and for some reason, she talked to me like a spoiled child.

「Onii-chan, Onii-chan~ You will join us, right~?」(Nicola)

「Huh? I’ll take a bath later. Besides, I have to be on the lookout for monsters while you’re bathing.」(Mark)

「Eeehhhh!? NO! I want Onii-chan to join! Let’s take a bath together! Celine onee-chan can detect nearby monsters so we don’t need a lookout!」(Nicola)

「Ughh…」(Mark)

I was so confused with Nicola’s behavior. I decided to ask her with telepathy.

『Oi, what are you planning this time?』(Mark)

『………』(Nicola)

Nicola just grinned at me without saying anything,

I don’t know what she is up to but I’m sure it’s not a good thing.

While I was thinking, Celine looked at me and smiled bewitchingly.

「She’s right. I can detect monsters nearby and I can shoot them with Fire Arrows from here if necessary, so we don’t need a lookout. So, Mark, why don’t you join us~?」(Celine)

So she can shoot without looking at the targets? That’s quite amazing.

I, who can only shoot stones at enemies in front of me, am nothing compared to her.

「Uhh… But…」(Mark)

「I-I disagree! Taking a bath with a boy is too embarrassing for me!」(Delica)

Delica looked at Celine and stated her disagreement with a blushed face.

As expected, she won’t agree with that.

Suddenly, Nicola stepped forward with a face as if she had a good idea.

「Then Onii-chan will make another bathtub like this and put a wall in between! You won’t be embarrassed if there’s a wall, right?」(Nicola)

「That’s… If there’s a wall, I think I’ll be fine, but… What do you think, Mark…?」(Delica)

I see. It’s like open-air baths in Japan where there are two different areas for males and females that are divided in that way.

It’s not a bad idea coming from Nicola.

Perhaps I should make it more realistic so that I can take a bath while enjoying the nostalgic feeling of a Japanese open-air bath.

「It’s not a bad idea. Besides, I want to use my mana more. Alright, I’ll make one more.」(Mark)

When I said that, Nicola clenched her fist and grinned for some reason with a face as if saying, “Nice! All according to keikaku*!”

*/plan

I don’t know what the hell she is planning but I think I’ll find out soon.