Mixed Bathing in Another Dimension: The Hero of the Unlimited Bath

by Nagaharu Hibihana

  There was also talk about how demi-humans who were captured in battle sometimes became ravers as well. Due to that, there was always a chance one would appear at the raver market, but at the time, I didn’t have the composure to think that far ahead.

  “Sir Touya, we’ve arrived.” Before I knew it, the carriage had arrived at the raver market.

  I glanced out the window to see a towering building that looked like a giant coliseum. There was a stage within where the raver auctions supposedly took place, and inside the circular building that surrounded the stage were several business rooms that housed ravers split up by category.

  After knocking on the door to the room I wanted to enter, the merchant in charge came out holding a small box filled with bundled-up papers and told me to sit down. The quality of the paper looked similar to washi, or Japanese paper. Apparently, it was used quite often in this world – introduced by the first sacred king, perhaps.

  Doing as I was told, I sat down, and Mr. Butler walked up and stood next to me. He didn’t say a thing to the merchant. Is he just acting how a subordinate is supposed to?

  “Now, what sort of battle raver would you be looking for?” the merchant asked.

  “Do you have any demi-human battle ravers?” Mr. Butler was the first to answer. When I looked at him, he turned to me and said: “They probably don’t have many, so we should get this out of the way first.”

  I was really after a female battle raver, but I’d still happily check out a beast-eared female, so I decided to stay quiet and leave it to him.

  “Demi-human battle ravers? I’m sorry, but...” the merchant began evasively.

  Not only were they rarer, but demi-humans who became ravers were mostly captured for doing something bad, which meant that the bulk of them were criminals. Battle ravers were basically free, so becoming one was hardly a punishment.

  “Most of the demi-humans become labor ravers. They get comparatively harder physical labor.”

  When I glared at Mr. Butler, he kept his cool and replied: “That’s why I wanted to get this out of the way first.” He probably already knew all this, and just thought it would be a nice bonus to actually find one. “In that case, could we see your human battle ravers next? The females, if you don’t mind.” Having given up on demi-human ravers, Mr. Butler quickly moved on to the next category.

  The merchant did as he was told and started picking the female ravers out from his list, then suddenly stopped and gazed up at the ceiling, as if he’d remembered something. “That reminds me, we do have an unusual lizardman among our labor ravers.”

  “Unusual?”

  “He sold himself to us. He said he’d do any manner of hard labor just as long as we bought him for a high price.”

  “...Why would he say that?” Curious, I asked another question. “Do lizardmen bathe?”

  “Um, if you’re asking whether he’s a swamp type or a desert type, he’s a desert type. A male sand lizardman.”

  I thought it was a strange question upon posing it, but apparently the merchant didn’t think so, and gave me a thorough reply laden with terms unfamiliar to me. I later learned that lizardmen lived together in different settlements created by them. Swamp types constructed homes in wetlands and near riverbeds, while desert types lived in dry terrain. Both types were optimized for their terrains. Swamp types were great swimmers, while desert types had toughened bodies that allowed survival in harsh climates.

  “Desert lizardmen don’t like moisture, so they don’t bathe. They do rinse regularly, though, so you don’t need to worry about them getting dirty!” the merchant explained.

  “I-I see...” As the merchant leaned forward and tried to sell me the lizardman, I couldn’t help but recoil a bit. He must have thought I asked about bathing because I was worried about how filthy the lizardman might be. Things had certainly taken a strange turn, considering how I’d only come here in search of a female raver.

  “And he isn’t a criminal raver?” Mr. Butler asked.

  “Huh? Oh, no! No, of course not! He’s a very hard worker, and only came here because he wanted to make some money!” The merchant started rubbing his hands together as he answered the question. It was the first time I’d seen someone actually doing that.

  With exaggerated gestures, the merchant continued to explain how there was nothing wrong with the lizardman. Did he have some vested interest in this? For whatever reason, he was desperate to contract this raver to someone, which only ended up making the raver seem more suspicious in the end.

  As if he’d been thinking the same thing, Mr. Butler interjected. “Are there any other problems with him?”

  “Well, he is a demi-human raver, so he has no oath magic cast on him. That makes a lot of people nervous, you see...”

  Oath magic. It was the first I’d heard of the term. I looked to Mr. Butler, who quickly noticed and started to explain.

  “It’s a type of cleric magic. When you cast it on someone, oath terms appear on their forehead. If they break the oath, they’ll suffer extreme pain.”

  “That sounds horrible...”

  “Really?” After he heard my honest feelings, Mr. Butler just stared back at me with a serious face. At first it sounded like this magic infringed on human rights, but when I heard his next line, I realized my error. “Oath magic is only allowed when criminal ravers are hired to do work. Without that, they’d be put to death, you know?”

  “...I see.” Hearing that, I had no choice but to agree.

  It made sense, though. I’d certainly be too afraid to keep a criminal raver by my side without some sort of leash like that. Oath magic allowed people to turn criminals into ravers and punish them with work instead of death. It seemed cruel at first glance, but this oath magic was saving criminals’ lives. And since most demi-human ravers were criminals, it made sense why so many people would feel nervous that the lizardman didn’t have oath magic cast on him, even if he wasn’t a criminal.

  “Incidentally, can he fight?” Mr. Butler asked.

  “He told us he was a warrior in his tribe, so I believe he can. But he said he needed a lot of money fast, so instead of becoming a battle raver, where he would only be hired temporarily, he became a labor raver, since it’d allow him a long period of employment.”

  “Hmm. What do you think, Sir Touya?”

  Honestly, I wanted a female battle raver, but it was true that this lizardman was a male that I wouldn’t have to bathe with. It’d require a bit of courage for me to say ‘No, please show me the women instead.’

  “...Okay. Should I go to the labor raver room, then?” I asked.

  “Oh no, I’ll bring him right here at once!”

  In the end, my curiosity won out, and I decided to meet this unique lizardman. Oh no, it wasn’t because Mr. Butler and the merchant were glaring at me with disapproving eyes. Not at all. I’ll admit that I was afraid about what Haruno and Sera would think if they found out, though.

  According to the merchant, as long as the lizardman agreed, we could hire him as a battle raver even though he was registered as a labor raver. Apparently, it was normal for people to gather up strong labor ravers and use them as soldiers when they needed more help.

  “As long as you aren’t hiring me temporarily, I don’t mind being hired as a battle raver.”

  That was the first thing the lizardman said once he entered the room. Perhaps it was because I was listening through a translation provided by the goddess’ blessing, but he sounded surprisingly well-spoken.

  He was kneeling on one leg, but looked close to two meters tall, or two stutes in this world’s terms. He was muscular, with a large frame, and was apparently on the large end compared to other sand lizardmen. The area underneath his chin, his chest, and his stomach were all ribbed like a snake, while the rest of his body was covered in amber scales. Was it protective coloring? It seemed like that color would blend right in with the desert. He seemed a little forward-bent, and basically had the upper body of a human. His skeleton looke
d much different, especially on his lower half, and his legs reminded me of bipedal dinosaurs or perhaps even kangaroos. He had the face of a lizard, a large mouth filled with small fangs, and his horizontally long, scarlet eyes were staring right at me. Black lines enclosed his eyes, reminding me of the eyes of an Egyptian king. This was what a sand lizardman looked like. I had no idea how to judge them by looks, but he looked strong and brave. The only thing he wore was a loincloth to cover his lower hips. Apparently, it was common dress for lizardmen.

  “May I first ask why you need money? I want to make sure it’s for nothing bad,” I asked.

  Now that I had seen what a demi-human looked like, that was the next thing on my mind. According to the merchant, it was quite unusual for demi-humans to sell themselves.

  “...Water. Right now, no rain is falling in the land where my people live.” The moment I heard the lizardman say that, I imagined a savanna where there were dry and rainy seasons. “We rely on a reservoir to survive the dry seasons, but this year, we were attacked by a large monster, and the reservoir got destroyed. We managed to kill the monster, but failed to recover the water we lost.”

  “So that’s why you want water...”

  “I asked the merchant to deliver to my people water equal to the price I sold myself for.”

  I looked to the merchant, who promptly confirmed this with a file. “It appears that he made that agreement with the merchant in charge of the labor ravers.”

  When ravers sold themselves, they could take the profits with them to their places of employment, or pay a service charge to have it delivered somewhere else. It certainly sounded like an emergency, so the lizardman had changed all the money into water and sent it off right at the start. It seemed like a bit of a special case, but the raver market had been happy to accommodate him.

  “But will selling yourself suffice to buy enough water for your people to survive on?” Mr. Butler asked.

  The lizardman shook his head sadly. “Absolutely not, but it’s better than nothing. At the very least, it’ll help some to survive.”

  “I see you’ve put a lot of thought into this... Well, Sir Touya?” Mr. Butler turned to me. It seemed like it was time for me to decide on my purchase.

  “Please buy me!” The lizardman looked straight at me and bowed his head deeply.

  I’ll be honest here. Personality and ability-wise, I thought I’d struck gold. His strong, muscular body was big, even for a sand lizardman, he was a warrior, and he also seemed to be a genuine, hardworking person. The public opinion of demi-humans must have been really bad if no one had bought him just because he didn’t have oath magic cast on him.

  But... I wanted a female raver to bathe with. And if it had to be a demi-human, then I at least wanted a girl with beast ears. Maybe I’d even settle for a lamia-type or a mermaid with fish scales, as long as she was beautiful.

  I had never once wished for a bulky lizard guy.

  Despite all that, I still managed to realize that my Unlimited Bath might have what it takes to save this lizardman’s people. After all, it allowed people to bathe anytime, anywhere. As long as I had the MP to cover it, I could create as much hot water as I wanted, and even take it out from the bath. I couldn’t become a permanent water tank for them, but perhaps I’d be able to help them until they got out of the crisis they were currently in.

  Allow me to repeat: I wanted a female raver who I could bathe with. A beautiful, young girl. Pleasantly plump. Nothing like this buff lizardman.

  But I didn’t have enough courage to ignore someone in need of the help I could provide and say: “Give me a woman!”

  “...Fine. I’ll buy you.”

  “Thank you!” The moment he heard my voice, the lizardman’s head shot up. Then, he bowed it back down so far it looked like he was going to kiss the ground.

  “Ohhh! Then let us make a contract right away! However, I already sent the water out, so I won’t be able to lower his price any further,” the merchant added in a calculating tone. Not like it mattered – because I wasn’t the one who was going to pay.

  After giving the merchant a side glance as he prepared the contract, I called out to the lizardman, who was still bowing his head.

  “I don’t think I got your name. I’m Touya. What’s yours?”

  The lizardman raised his head and looked straight at me as he answered. “I’m Rulitora, a warrior of the Torano’o tribe... Or I was, at least. It’s very nice to meet you.” As he introduced himself, I saw that his scaled tail was covered in black stripes.

  “Now, I’ll bring out the female ravers,” the merchant said.

  “No, that’s enough.”

  “...Are you sure?”

  After buying Rulitora, I took him and Mr. Butler to the craftsmen’s town. I could have purchased a female raver as well if I’d wanted to, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it. How could I just help someone and then say “Now, I’d like a woman to bathe with me?”

  Soon, we arrived at the weapon smith. Rulitora had always used a spear back home, and said that the ones at this smith felt too light. Once he heard that, a competitive fire started to burn in the blacksmith’s eye, and he pulled out a large glaive, a long weapon with a single-edged blade on the end, which was extremely difficult for a single human to carry.

  Rulitora picked up the super heavy masterpiece as if it was nothing, and gave it a few sharp swings. Even to my amateur eyes, these swings looked much different from those made by someone swinging a light weapon.

  “I guess you like it?” I asked.

  “Yes. This feels much better.” I could sense how happy Rulitora was.

  Yep, this is definitely a buy. I had the blacksmith put a scarlet cloth on the joint of the blade to match Rulitora’s eyes, then bought a hand ax and a knife for him.

  After leaving the weapon smith in high spirits, it was time for us to pick out armor. Since Rulitora’s body was covered in scales, he wouldn’t be able to wear any clothes under his armor, so that meant metal armor was out. Meanwhile, leather gear would only be a downgrade from his naturally protective scales.

  In the end, I bought him a set of half plate armor made from a giant scorpion’s carapace. It was a monster native to Rulitora’s land that also possessed a carapace that was as strong as steel. As long as the armor was created from natural sources, we could use the perverted master Ficus’ magic to prevent any chafing, which would allow Rulitora to wear it without any clothes underneath.

  The armor would all have to be made-to-order, so it seemed like it’d end up being a little expensive, but again, I wasn’t the one who had to pay. It might have been a problem if it became really expensive, but Mr. Butler didn’t say anything, so it must have been okay.

  Lastly, I bought him a change of clothes from perverted genius Ficus’ famous brand – a few simple robes and some spare copies of the loincloth he had been wearing.

  After we left the smith and Rulitora changed into a robe, we headed to the temple. The people there seemed surprised to see Rulitora, but after I explained that he wasn’t a criminal raver, they calmed down.

  When I introduced him to Haruno, she ended up running and hiding behind Sera’s back. After we spoke a bit, she calmed down and laughed at herself a little. “I’m about to depart, so I need to prepare myself for even bigger surprises, don’t I?”

  Rulitora was assigned to the room next to mine. Before he went in to rest, I took him to the temple elder’s office and explained how I was a hero who had been summoned from another world. “The problem is my gift... Oh, I guess it’d be easier if I just showed you,” I said, then created a door to the Unlimited Bath on the wall.

  The moment he saw the door, Rulitora instantly poised himself. He was definitely fast.

  “You don’t need to worry. This is my gift, the Unlimited Bath. Look inside.”

  After I opened the door to the Unlimited Bath and went inside, Rulitora cautiously moved up to the door and carefully peered inside – then scowled and pulled back. It appe
ared that the steam of the Unlimited Bath didn’t mix with sand lizardmen.

  “Is this a human bath? I’ve never seen one before.”

  “Yeah, this is what they look like in my world. With this, I can take a bath anywhere, anytime I want. That’s the only thing I can do. Can you believe they expect me to fight the demon lord with this? Hilarious, right?”

  “I-I suppose...” Rulitora hesitated to join in as I made fun of myself. I imagined the gift seemed even more worthless to him, since he never bathed.

  “But it also allows me to do this,” I said, as I turned the faucet and filled a wash bowl up with water. “Look. The temple elder used his magic to confirm that it’s safe. Tasteless, odorless, completely pure water!”

  “Pure water?” Rulitora took the wash bowl from me and pensively stuck a finger into the water. “Y-You’re right... It was so humid in there, yet this water is cold! And so is this vessel!”

  Even the wash bowl had surprised him. After all, it was plastic, so it must have looked like something bizarre. I’d long since gotten used to it, but even the temple elder and his aides had acted the same way when they first saw it, too.

  “The Unlimited Bath can create as much water as my MP will allow. Do you know what that means?”

  When he heard this, Rulitora looked up at me. It seemed that he had figured it out. “With this, my people could make a new reservoir!”

  “Just so you know, I can’t keep supplying water to you forever.”

  “That’s fine, as long as we have enough to get through the crisis!”