“You don’t trust Touya?”
“I’m embarrassed! I feel like I might be able to trust him, but that’s a completely different topic altogether!” So she did trust me. That made me a little happy. “And besides, you’ve just barely met him. You don’t know him enough to decide whether or not you can trust him, right?”
“...” Rium looked between Haruno and I, then slowly nodded, as if she understood.
Sera patted a hand on her chest in relief, then looked at me and bowed her head. “I’m so sorry for all the commotion, Sir Touya...”
“Oh no, it’s fine. More importantly, here. This is a present for you.” I handed a bath set that contained soap and shampoo to Sera.
“What? But this is...”
“If I run out, I can always just create more with my MP. And I’ve already proven that the items won’t disappear even if they get taken out from the bath. I also know that this soap is on a whole different level from the soap in your world.”
After watching Haruno for the past several days, I realized that her hair had lost the luster that I’d remembered seeing when I first met her. It was probably due to the lower quality of soap she was using. If she used the shampoo that came from my Unlimited Bath, I was sure her black hair would be shining again in no time.
“You know how to use this kind of shampoo, right? Don’t try to eat it like Rium did, okay?” I tried throwing in a little joke, but Sera listened to every word with a very serious face.
“It this really okay? It seems like such a valuable item...” She had a point. In this world, it was impossible to find such a thing. But I still wanted her and Haruno to use my soap.
“Well, as long as you only use it between yourselves, and don’t make a big deal out of it...”
“I understand. I would never do something to betray your trust, Sir Touya.”
“Okay, thanks. I trust you, too, Sera.” She was taking this all so seriously, I felt like I should be thanking her instead.
On second thought, this might lower my chances of getting to bathe with them... But it doesn’t seem like I’ll be able to for a while, so I’m sure this was the right decision.
“Thank you very much, Touya,” Haruno said.
“...Thanks.” Rium followed Haruno’s lead and came up and thanked me on her own.
“It hurts if you get it in your eyes, so ask Haruno how to use it, okay?” I told her.
As I watched them rejoice over the soap, a thought occurred to me. If I had bought a female raver just so that I could have someone to bathe with me, I would have never been able to look them in the eyes ever again... And so, I decided to make as much soap as I could and create a stock so that I could keep giving them lots and lots of presents.
In the days that remained before my departure, I went out to do some shopping and continued to train. I wanted to acclimate myself to this world as quickly as possible. I went with Haruno’s group, of course, who had three pilgrim knights guarding them. One of these three was a friend of Sera’s, and she was close to Haruno in age, so they were already on friendly terms. I feared that going out in full armor would make the townspeople afraid of us, but there were a lot of people walking around with battle ravers to guard them, so we didn’t even stand out. Rulitora, the giant sand lizardman who was walking beside us, definitely got the most attention.
One day, we went to the open café that served con panna, which I had visited on the day of the festival. Haruno seemed to like it too, and her face kept breaking into a smile. So far, so good.
Rulitora struggled with the tiny cup, but he wasn’t adverse to drinking coffee. Of course, I paid for everything. I wanted to get a grasp on the average cost of things in this world, so I used the money I’d made from selling water. Haruno tried to pay for her portion at first, but I was stubborn and told her that my honor as a man was riding on this. I paid for Rulitora as well, but only because I was his employer.
Next, in order to help Haruno get a sense for the price of things as well, we went shopping together. Since I was the more experienced one, I had no choice but to guide her. It really felt like we were on a date, so I was a little nervous.
While we were shopping, I got caught up in staring at her as she scanned the products lined up in the storefronts. Should I try to hold her hand? No, if I tried something like that all of a sudden, it might make her hate me... Then, as I continued to hesitate, I felt someone grab my hand.
“...Together.” It wasn’t Haruno, but Rium.
Before I knew it, she had Haruno holding her other hand, and seemed quite satisfied. As we walked on together, I couldn’t help but notice how the three pilgrims watching us sighed in disappointment.
Several more days passed, until the hose I had ordered was finally completed. Covered in grey sea monster skin, it looked more similar to a fire truck hose.
I also had the craftsmen prepare me a rickshaw. I thought about what we’d need to do in order to get to Rulitora’s homeland as quickly as possible. In the end, I decided that just having Rulitora run would be faster than using horses.
Once I packed the food and other items we’d bought into the rickshaw, we were finally ready to depart. We’d be leaving a bit earlier than Haruno, but this was in order to save Rulitora’s homeland, so we had no choice. Besides, she had Sera, Rium, and the pilgrims with her. The same went for Cosmos – the more party members a hero had, the more time it took them to get ready to leave. But it was all worth it in my eyes, as long as it meant that Haruno would have a safe journey.
The temple elder offered to lend me a few of the pilgrims as well, but I turned him down. If the temple ordered them to bathe with me, they’d probably do it, but that’s exactly why I couldn’t accept it. Bathing with someone who was ordered to do so would be no different than bathing with a raver. Besides, if I got any more party members, we wouldn’t be able to ride in the rickshaw. I wanted to save Rulitora’s people as quickly as possible, then keep Haruno as safe as I could, and in order to complete both goals to the best of my ability, Rulitora and I had no choice but to go out on our own.
I’d already talked to Haruno about it, so it was a done deal. She said she felt guilty about how she was the only one who had so many people protecting her, but when I explained how the Unlimited Bath worked, she understood. When I closed the door to the Unlimited Bath, it became impossible to access from the outside. I even had the temple elder do a little experiment – not even magic could trace it. This also made it impossible for me to make contact with the outside, but if it was Rulitora fighting, he’d probably be better off without me there to drag him down. The Unlimited Bath was cramped, so not many people would be able to hide inside at the same time. With that in mind, journeying as a party of two was definitely the best option.
The night before we departed, I rolled around in bed, unable to get Haruno out of my mind. Ever since she entered the Unlimited Bath that day, we’d discussed a lot. Haruno had been a first-year in high school back in our world. She went to a very prestigious girls’ academy known even to me. She mentioned that she’d been in all-girl schools since she became a middle schooler, so she hadn’t talked to a boy this much in a long time. It also turned out that she was the daughter of a politician. She’d always had that sort of high society air about her, but now I knew for sure that she was from a well-to-do family.
I didn’t want to make her do all the talking, so I also told her about my family. I was just a normal second-year in a public high school, with a salaryman father and a mother who worked part-time. Honestly, we had nothing in common aside from the fact that we were both born in Japan – yet we had encountered each other in a completely different world.
It must be destiny. Am I being too romantic for my own good here?
I... think I like her...
Her glossy black hair and soft-spoken, docile demeanor... the fact that she had a good head on her shoulders, and a good upbringing... how strong she was deep inside, and how surprisingly funny she could be. When I th
ought about how the shampoo I created had helped her black hair regain the shine it’d temporarily lost, I felt proud. I couldn’t deny the fact that I felt close to her since she was from my homeland, but she had also been a source of comfort to me over the past week.
Most importantly, I wanted to bathe with her from the bottom of my heart. I wanted to take out what she had imprisoned under her chest armor, her surcoat, and her cloak, and let them float in my bath. I wasn’t joking around here – I was deadly serious. Haruno had been the reason I had decided not to buy a female raver to have someone to bathe with. I just wanted to bathe with Haruno, and no one else.
“Ahhhh! Owww!” Once I got to that point, I accidentally rolled off the bed and fell on the floor.
Spreading my arms and legs on the ground, I continued to ponder my problem. I was troubled – troubled about Haruno. I liked her, but if that was all there was to it, I wouldn’t have needed to worry about a thing. We had shared a very fantastic meeting – it was a classic ‘boy meets girl’ scenario.
“But Sera’s really nice, too...”
My problem was that Haruno wasn’t the only one I liked. I knew how much effort Sera had put into helping Haruno. She had a very strong sense of responsibility, but that wasn’t all. After all the teamwork they’d done, they’d most likely become best friends.
Sera wanted to help her friend. It was probably the most powerful emotion that Sera was feeling. She was so kind – and she was also 18, one year older than me, with blonde hair that reminded me of warm sunlight. Her wavy hair had become even more brilliant after she started using my shampoo. Her skin also looked tender and lustrous, and since she had a reputation as a young, beautiful cleric, it only made her look all the more radiant. But what stuck out most in my mind was the bountiful, round derriere that she hid beneath her cleric’s robes.
I wanted to bathe with her – not just with Haruno, but Sera as well.
“But how could I forget Rium?!”
I couldn’t allow myself to neglect Rium, Haruno’s other party member. She was only 14 years old, with straight, cocoa-colored hair that came down to her shoulders. In modern Japan terms, she’d be a second-year in middle school. Her petite frame made her look more like an elementary schooler, though.
Rium was just so lovable, and I wanted to adore her. She seemed stoic at first glance, but I knew that there was more to her. Her eyes lit up when she saw bubbly shampoo, and she showed me an expression that looked much younger than her age. I bet if I taught her about more things, that curiosity would glimmer in her eyes again. I would’ve never been able to do it in front of Haruno, yet I still sort of regretted not bathing with Rium when she had requested it. But it was too late now, and there was no sense in crying over it.
So, I don’t just like Haruno... I like her entire party. How can I be so unprincipled? But no matter what I told myself, I couldn’t forget the paradise I had seen in that dream. If I had to go on living with the Unlimited Bath, then I least wanted to try and make that into a reality.
As I firmed my impure resolve, someone knocked on my door.
“Um, it’s me, Haruno. Are you awake, Touya?”
Haruno... She always comes to visit around this time. I hurriedly jumped up and let her in.
“Thanks...” She was in her pajamas, as usual, and held her gown closed with both hands. Perhaps it had just become an unconscious habit for her to always hide her chest. “Touya, your eyes...”
“Err, sorry!” Panicked, I looked her straight in the eyes and apologized.
“You’re... a pervert, aren’t you, Touya?”
“I can’t deny that.” After all, I’d just been dreaming about how I wanted to bathe with her.
“I guess that’s a better answer than denial,” she said with a sigh.
According to Haruno, she had the ability to sense ulterior motives within people. It was just something that came naturally to her. Due to that, she preferred it when people were open versus trying to hide something as petty as a glance toward the chest area. Of course, it would have been better to simply not look at all, but it was important to apologize honestly when one accidentally did.
“I have a request for you, Touya. You can summon light spirits, right?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah.”
“Could you try attacking me with one?”
“...What?” I stared at Haruno blankly.
This made her a bit flustered. “It’s fine, really, just try it.”
“Whoa whoa whoa, hold on a second here. I accidentally got hit by one in my training, and those things really hurt.”
“Please, just... trust me.”
“I do. Probably more than anyone else in this world. But this is different. There’s no way I’d ever be able to attack you, Haruno.”
As she listened, Haruno started to look a little embarrassed. In retrospect, I suppose I’d said something pretty big there. I was just being honest, though.
“Grr... You’re so mean, Touya.”
“I’d be mean if I actually attacked you.”
“Well... Yes, I guess you’re right.” After thinking for a moment, Haruno finally seemed to agree with me. “I’m sorry. Can you open up the Unlimited Bath instead, then?”
“Huh? Sure.” I didn’t know what she wanted, so I simply did as I was told and opened the door.
“Now then, if you’ll excuse me. Oh, Touya, please come inside as well. I want to use the water.”
“Okay.”
Haruno walked into the bath, scooped some hot water into a wash bowl, then splashed it all over her face.
“Whoa!”
I had no chance of stopping her. I hastily handed her a towel, but she refused it with a hand gesture. When I looked at her hand, I realized something – she wasn’t the least bit wet.
“Look closely, Touya. I’m not wet at all,” Haruno said, then spread open her hands to show me. With that, her gown opened up a little, and I could clearly see just how big her hidden breasts were. “Not there!”
“S-sorry!”
“Come on...”
She was right. And it wasn’t just her hands – her beautiful black hair, porcelain skin, her gown, and her pajamas were all dry.
“What in the...?”
“Unlimited Reflection... I have the power to avoid influence from anything that’s created by MP. This means that no magic, magic items, or even gifts can touch me.” I’d heard all those terms before, and it made sense. I looked at her, and she nodded. “This is my gift.”
Haruno stared at me with serious eyes. It was such an amazing ability, I didn’t know what to say. Then, I realized something.
“Wait, hold on a minute! Haruno, if magic doesn’t work on you, then does that mean you can’t heal yourself with magic? That’s no good!”
“Oh, you don’t need to worry about that. If I choose to let it touch me, it will. Watch.” Haruno rolled up a sleeve and put her hand into the water. When she took it out, it was clearly dry. “It’s just like how you can open and close the door of your Unlimited Bath. In my case, this gift automatically reflects everything unless I focus on it.”
I passed a hand over my chest in relief – apparently, she could turn it on and off. “Phew... If your gift prevented magic from healing you, I would have stopped you at all costs from departing.”
“Sorry for making you worry.” Despite her apologetic tone, Haruno was beaming.
Incidentally, after some time, it became impossible for Haruno to deflect soap and other things that had been taken out of the Unlimited Bath. Haruno suspected that it was because something created from MP had gone to being ‘an ordinary object.’ Over the past few days, Haruno had asked numerous times to give her soap – turns out that it was all part of an experiment to test out her gift.
“Well that’s news to me. But how come you decided to ask me for help? And tell me about your gift?”
“Um... You trusted me and told me about your gift, so I didn’t want to just keep mine a secret.” Haruno fidgeted as she
answered my question.
It appeared that she had told me about her gift because she trusted me. The elder and the others knew about my ability, mainly because I didn’t see the point in hiding a gift like that, but apparently Haruno hadn’t taken it that way. Regardless, I was grateful that it had given me brownie points with her.
“Oh. Thanks, Haruno.”
“No, thank you, Touya.” After thanking each other, Haruno and I looked each other in the eyes and laughed.
Once we left the Unlimited Bath, I closed the door and made it disappear. Instead of returning to her own room, Haruno sat down on the chair in mine. Since I only had one chair, I sat on the bed.
“Touya, can I ask you a question?”
“Sure.”
“Is the reason you’ve been having trouble finding party members... because of your gift?” She hit the nail right on the head.
“Well, you know how small it is. I just can’t imagine myself bathing with another guy in there. I had the temple elder and his helpers enter in order to confirm how my gift worked, but I can’t really say it was any fun.”
“So that’s why you picked Rulitora?”
“Yeah, otherwise I’d feel guilty about not letting someone into the bath. Rulitora hates damp places, so he can’t enter baths like these, which means I can keep my conscience clear.”
“I see...” Haruno nodded, then looked downwards as if she was thinking about something.
She was a smart person, so I worried about her figuring out my ulterior motive, but I also felt a little happy that she’d put so much thought into something related to me. Eventually, she brought her head up a bit and looked at me.
“...You’d really rather bathe with a girl, huh?”
Another bullseye. But I knew that hiding something would be the wrong decision here – so I decided to come clean about everything.
“Well, I’m a guy. If I had to bathe with someone, I’d rather it be a girl.”
“So that’s also why you went to buy a raver, huh?”
“...At first, I thought about buying a female raver. But not anymore. I’m done entertaining the idea of buying a raver just to bathe with me.”
Mixed Bathing in Another Dimension: The Hero of the Unlimited Bath Page 9