CH 82.1

──A dozen days later, near the border’s forest──

“Thank you for inviting me to this trading post, people of the Demon Territory.”

Her Imperial Highness Sophia got off the carriage and smiled kindly.

This place is near the border of the Demon Territory.

Around her are soldiers from the Empire and people of the Demon Territory.

The members of Demon Territory are General Reisenga and his soldiers, Erte, Mabel, and I.

“It has been a while, people of the Demon Territory. My name is Isaac Omawarisan Muira, the commander of this unit.

Isaac, the leader of the unit, stepped forward.

“I have accepted your invitation and brought Her Highness Princess Sophia with me. Her Imperial Highness came here out of respect for our friendship with the Demon Territory. The people of the Demon Territory should be aware of this and show no disrespect to Her Highness. Do not forget that elite soldiers are standing behind us. Also──”

“You are being disrespectful. Isaac Omawarisan Muira.”

Princess Sophia interrupted Isaac.

Isaac kneeled down in front of her.

“I am the guardian of Your Highness. It is my job to put your safety first. Please understand my position, Your Highness.”

“I understand your position, but the people of Demon Territory are our good neighbors. Please do not forget that.”

Saying this, Princess Sophia gave a gentle smile.

Her gaze turned towards me.

I have been communicating with Princess Sophia through the pixies for a long time.

The fact that she looked at me is a sign that she knows what she was here for.

“We welcome your visit, Your Highness Sophia.”

General Reisenga, representing the Demon Territory, greeted them.

“We have been working on the establishment of a trading post under the agreement between Her Majesty Demon Lord and Your Highness Sophia. We have invited Your Highness today, to inspect our work.”

“Thank you, General Reisenga.”

“We have also prepared a place for Your Highness to rest later. By all means, please relax there.”

“I will be in your care then.”

After the greetings, Princess Sophia started walking.

Near the border forest, there are more than a dozen tents.

The ground has been leveled so that people can come in and open stalls.

A wooden fence surrounds the site to keep animals and monsters out.

This will be the trading post between the Demon Territory and the town of Nosa.

Word of the trading post has spread to the town of Nosa.

The people of the town were surprised that a trading post with Demon Territory had been established, but they were also happy that a business partner had appeared in the vincity.

Because the Imperial capital was far from here and there weren’t any cities near the town, a business opportunity with the Demon Territory was a big deal to them. They must be thinking about how they’re going to take advantage of it.

“The main transactions at the trading post will take place in these tents.”

General Reisenga explained.

“The left half of the tent will be used for the Demon Territory’s goods, and the other half will be used for the goods from the town of Nosa. Her Majesty Demon Lord and the Chancellor have decided that this will allow us to do business with each other without worry.”

“That is a wise decision.”

“How do you like the tent?”

“I’m surprised at how magnificent it is.”

“The tent is made of a special material. Some are made of airy materials so that they can be used for cooking, while others are made of materials that are impervious to bows and arrows…”

The General and Princess Sophia talked as they walked.

For the next little while, she will be looking around the proposed trading post.

Then they will take a break at the rest facility at the back of the camp.

“Then Erte-san, I’ll leave the rest to you.”

I called out to Erte-san.

“I’m going to work with Mabel on the preparations.”

“By preparations… um?”

“Yes, It’s the [Aristocrat Shuwashuwa bath].”

After I mentioned it, Erte-san’s face turned bright red.

It seems like she remembered the experiment.

Erte-san is always so serious.

She volunteered to not only be in the experiment for the [Shuwashuwa bath], she also tried out the [Aristocrat Shuwashuwa bath] herself.

“…… T-that was… my first time I’ve ever… had such an embarrassing experience.”

“……You asked for it yourself.”

“I did! But …….”

Erte fidgeted, clutching the hem of her skirt.

“E-enough of that conversation. Have you seen a copy of the magic circle yet?”

“Yes, I have. Thanks to Erte-san who convinced Chancellor Kelve?”

“I-I had no other choice. It was indispensable to let Princess Sophia see it. And to let the pixies deliver it would mean that Alchemist-sama would see it eventually. It’s completely unfair!”

“It seems that the safety of the magic circle itself has been confirmed.”

“Yes, it is so. Her Majesty and Uncle Kelve have confirmed that the magic circle alone cannot do anything. So I shouldn’t be credited to Alchemist-sama seeing the magic circle.”

“Still, it was thanks to Erte-san that the process proceeded so quickly.”

“………… mumu.”

With a bright red face, Erte-san sighed.

“I already know that you’re not a bad person. You’re a troublesome and careless person. As a civil servant, you’re someone I have to be careful of…”

It was an evaluation I didn’t quite understand.

“But …… Without a doubt, it is thanks to the alchemist-sama that the people of Demon Territory and the people of the empire can talk like this on an equal footing. So, thank you very much.”

Saying this, Erte-san bowed so deeply that she almost touched the ground.

“Y-you don’t have to go that far! You don’t have to be so formal.”

“Please let me stay like this ……. When I look at your face, it reminds me of the experiments…”

“I told you to take it easy.”

“A-as a civilian officer, I am obligated to give you permission for your items…”

“I understand. I understand now ok?”

Erte-sna sure is a serious person.

But that’s what makes her trustworthy.

I think she will be able to make the trade with the Empire go well.

“Well then, Mabel and I will go to the rest stop. I’ll ask you to take care of the rest.”

“Understood. Please prepare the [Aristocrat Shuwashuwa bath] well.”

“Erte-sama, Thor-sama doesn’t make mistakes in his works.”

“That’s why I’m troubled …… because Alchemist-sama is the one who solves problems with strange ideas…”

Parting with the murmuring Erte-san, Mabel and I head deeper into the post.

A few dozen minutes later.

“Okay. There are no problems with the [Shuwashuwa bath] for Princess Sophia. ”

I finished preparing the bath.

This is the rest facility built at the far end of the trading post for the exclusive use of Princess Sophia and the Demon Lord Rukie.

It is a stone building with a resting area, dressing room, and bathroom inside.

The bathtub is specially made and incorporates the [Aristocrat Shuwashuwa bath] that I made.

I asked Princess Sophia to come to the border this time not only to inspect the trading post but also to use the bathtub.

Usually, I send a pixie and let her use the [Foot Bath], but the more times she comes and goes, the bigger the possibility that the people of the Empire will find out.

But here, Princess Sophia can come anytime under the guise of inspection.

Moreover, this [Shuwashuwa bath] is a large version of the [Foot Bath] which makes it more effective.

It would make her feel better faster and she would need to use it less often.

Everyone in Demon Territory agreed on this.

Rukie also said that she, too, would like to visit the trading post and use this bath.

Of course, I explained to Princess Sophia about the rest facility and how to use the bath.

All we have to do now is wait for her to come.

“Thor-sama. May I ask a question?”

“Yes, of course. What is it, Mabel?”

“How did you come up with the idea for this [Aristocrat Shuwashuwa bath]?”

“Eh? It was Mabel who gave me this idea…”

“I did?”

“I told you when I created the [Shuwashuwa Bath]. In the [Mail Order Catalogue], the reason there are so many bubbles and mysterious lights in the baths with people in them is to hide their bodies.”

“… You remembered that? Thor-sama”

“How could I forget Mabel’s words?”

I made the safety system of this [Aristocrat Shuwashuwa bath] with those words as a hint.

The name of the system is “a system that hides the body with steam and mysterious rays of light.”

──────────────────

[Aristocrat ShuwShuwa Bath] (Attributes: Fire, Water, Wind, Wind, Light) (Rarity: ★★★☆)

The wind magic stone creates jets of water and bubbles.

The fire magic stone makes the water and bubbles moderately warm.

In addition, wind and light magic stones create steam and a warm light.

This is an improvement of the [Foot Bath].

Components installed at the four corners of the bathtub create a warm stream of water and bubbles throughout the bath.

Those who take this bath can relax their bodies and improve their magical circulation.

The effect is ten times greater than that of [Foot Bath].

The wind and light magic stones installed in the corner of the bath can manipulate the steam and produce a mysterious light.

The steam follows the bather and hides their body with the mysterious light and steam.

(This was made possible by the advice of Mabel Refrain, who saw the book from another world.)

The magic stone is consumable and needs to be replaced periodically (Once per year).

Resistance to physical destruction: ★★★ (Can only be destroyed by magic weapons).

Service life: 25 years.

──────────────────

This is a system to prevent people of high status from being seen naked.

When Princess Sophia bathes here, it is possible that her maid or attendants may inadvertently see her naked.

I think that because they are in a different place than usual, and because the rules are different, they could make a mistake.

It would be a pity if the attendants were punished for that.

Princess Sophia may not mind, but others may not forgive the maids.

I would feel bad if someone was accused of a crime because of the magic item I made. On top of that, Princess Sophia would not be able to take a bath in peace.

That is why I created a system that covers the naked body with steam and a mysterious light.

With this system, the steam and light hide the bather’s body even if the bather gets out of the bath or lies down on the floor.

This way, even if a maid peeks into the bathroom while Princess Sophia is taking a bath, there is no problem.

If nothing can be seen, there is no reason to punish her.

“This was made possible thanks to Erté-san, who was willing to be our test subject.”

“She is a serious person, isn’t she? I didn’t expect her to help us this far.”

For the sake of experimentation, I also incorporated a safety system into the [Shuwashuwa bath] in my workshop.

I was going to ask Mabel and Agnis to try it out to see if they could really hide their bodies from the steam and the mysterious rays.

” ……Erte-san didn’t listen to you when you said that she was going to be the guinea pig.”

“……She said that it was her job to receive Her Imperial Highness.”

“……It’s not easy to be a respectable civil servant, is it?”

” ……No, I think that Erte-san just feels like she needs to repay Thor-sama.”

“Is that so?”

“Her chronic stiff shoulders have healed… and she also spoke ill of Thor-sama when she first met him. Agnis told me that she wrote a letter to Her Majesty and the Chancellor to disclose the magic circle to Thor-sama.”

” …… She sure is earnest.”

“The Chancellor’s family has been in the civil service for generations. They have a strong sense of responsibility.”

“That said, you didn’t have to ask me to check to see if the bathtub safety system was in working order.”

“Did Thor-sama say that?”

Mabel looked at me with a sideways glance.

I do have the responsibility to confirm it but…

Well, in the end, I asked Mabel and Agnis to confirm it.

“Erte-sama’s body was obscured by steam and a mysterious light. But…”

“But?”

” …… How should I say it, on the contrary, it was embarrassing to see.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. You can’t see the body, but your eyes are drawn to the steam and the mysterious light.”

“I see.”

“The face of the Erté-san was also bright red. Perhaps she was overworked. ”

“If she’s tired, she would just say that she’s tired…”

Erte-san sure has a strong sense of responsibility.

Normally you wouldn’t take a bath in the house of someone you just met and help them try out their new item.

Erte-san is really serious and faithful to her work.

“….It’s about time for Princess Sophia to come over here.”

“Yes, let’s go too.”

We moved to a hidden room in the rest facility.

Behind the bathroom, there is a place to secretly talk with Princess Sophia.

Originally, the place was built to hold cleaning supplies.

There is a small opening near the floor through which the bath water can be drained

It also allows voices to be heard, so it is possible to have a secret conversation with people bathing.

The door to the bathroom is locked from the bathroom side and cannot be opened from here.

The door is behind the bathtub, so it is not noticeable at a glance.

This was made by the people of Reisenga with my input.

Naturally, I have also talked to Princess Sophia about it.

I’ll ask her what she thinks of the bath here and for information about the empire.

” …Then let’s go hide.”

” …Yes Thor-sama.”