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

by Nagaharu Hibihana

  Worried, I called out: “We’re on your side! Get in!” to let them know it was okay.

  Yes, that seemed suspicious in its own way, but luckily they were desperate enough to believe me. As our rickshaw moved past the front of the monsters and reached the two, I saw one girl with long, custard cream-colored hair pulling the hand of another with silver hair. They ran toward us – the silver-haired girl was panting hard. It didn’t seem like she’d be able to run for much longer. Custard cream grabbed silver’s arm and moved it toward me until I could reach out from the rickshaw and grab on.

  “Oww!” Silver let out a pained shout, but we didn’t have time to worry about that.

  The girl was heavy, especially with her armor on, but the other one pushed her up from behind, so I managed to forcibly pull her into the rickshaw. Next, I stuck my hand out to help custard cream up, only to watch as she leapt into the rickshaw on her own. She definitely had some athletic skills.

  Now that we had safely rescued the two girls, all we had left to do was escape. “Rulitora! I got them both in!”

  “I’ll speed up, then! Please hold on tight!” Instantly, Rulitora sped up, and the rickshaw started shaking even more violently.

  Silver didn’t have enough strength left to hold onto the rickshaw, so custard cream supported her with her body. I stabilized my body on the edges of the rickshaw, and looked back to the monsters who were now chasing after all of us.

  “Halt!!” A small, hooded man riding a boar-like monster could be heard shouting from the very front of the monsters.

  Is that their leader? He sure is acting like he’s in charge... That thing he’s riding on is probably a lesser boar. If we can take out their leader, we might be able to stop the entire mob.

  With that in mind, I channeled my MP and created a light spirit that was as big as a soccer ball, then tossed it toward the lesser boar. The boar recoiled and came to a sudden stop, which sent the short man flying onto the ground.

  “Hffff?! Oww! Waugh! Mmpgh!” In an instant, his body was swallowed up by the horde of monsters behind him.

  Even though I was the one who did it, I couldn’t help but cringe. “Eesh...”

  That hooded man looked like a mage. He might have had resistance to magic, so I’d aimed at the boar instead. Despite my attack, though, the mob showed no signs of stopping. Now, the lesser boar led them, as they bared their fangs and rushed toward us.

  Guess that guy wasn’t their leader after all. Or maybe they’re just beyond his control now? Either way, the two we’d saved had taken a lot of damage, and they also looked exhausted, so I was afraid that going any faster might cause them to pass out.

  “I have no choice...” The moment I decided my only hope was to stop the monsters using magic, I heard a rumble coming from the direction we were running in. When I turned around and looked ahead, I saw a new mob creating a dust cloud as it came toward us. “Don’t tell me... We’re sandwiched?!”

  “No... They’re on our side! They’re my allies!” Rulitora called out.

  “What?” Soon, the group passed by us, and my question was answered.

  As I followed the storming crowd with my eyes, I quickly figured out who they were: Lizardmen, with bodies covered in amber scales and black stripes on their long tails. They were the Torano’o tribe, sand lizardmen just like Rulitora.

  The Torano’o warriors let out a battle cry and flew at the monsters like arrows. In moments, they tore right through the mob. The warriors on the front lines, who stood about as tall as Rulitora, looked especially powerful. Once their mob got broken up, the monsters wasted no time in screaming for their lives and running away. The smaller lizardmen – well, they were still bigger than me, but you get the idea – tried to go after them, but the ones as big as Rulitora stopped them.

  “Rulitora, can we approach them?”

  “Y-yes, I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

  “Be sure to let them know we’re approaching, then.”

  “Yes, sir!” Rulitora swung his glaive around and pulled our rickshaw toward the dust cloud. This time, he wasn’t moving at full speed, and took his time.

  Soon, we were surrounded by ten lizardmen wearing loincloths and carrying spears. The two girls we saved were clearly afraid, so I put them at ease.

  “Rulitora! I thought that was you! Have you returned to us?!” asked the largest lizardman, who wore a feather ornament on his head.

  “Yes. I found a very good buyer.”

  “I can tell, judging from that armor. Is that giant scorpion?” The big lizardman curiously inspected Rulitora’s armor.

  Apparently, giant scorpions were one of the strongest creatures in the desert part of the void. Simply seeing Rulitora in giant scorpion armor instantly told the lizardmen what sort of treatment he had received.

  “Rulitora, I’m guessing you know these people. Introduce them to me.”

  “Oh, please excuse me. That’s Dokutora, the warrior chief of the Torano’o tribe.”

  “I’m just an amateur who took over for Rulitora,” the big lizardman named Dokutora said with a hearty laugh.

  Dokutora was large, and certainly didn’t look any smaller than Rulitora. In exchange for Rulitora’s lean, muscular body and masculine features, Dokutora was stockier, and possessed a round face and a potbelly. Rather than a lizard, he looked more like a round tyrannosaurus. He was stout all across the board, and seemed to possess great strength. The other nine lizardmen more or less went up to Rulitora’s shoulders. They were probably average height for lizardmen.

  “Dokutora, this is Sir Touya. He owns me right now.”

  “I see... Hm? Then why did you come back, Rulitora?” Dokutora cocked his head. It seemed he thought Rulitora had returned because he completed his work period.

  Unsure of how much he was allowed to say, Rulitora glanced at me. “They’re going to see it eventually, so you might as well tell them,” I said.

  I wasn’t really sure if it was okay to let the two girls we saved hear, but I felt like it was too late now. I didn’t want to force them to follow any orders just because I saved them, but I hoped they’d keep it a secret.

  “Okay then, I’ll explain the situation to them.” Rulitora gave me a deep nod, then turned back to Dokutora’s group and began to speak.

  “Dokutora, this is a Hero of the Goddess. He received a gift that allows him to create water.”

  “A hero?! Water?!”

  “You don’t need to concern yourself with the hero part,” I called out from the rickshaw, as Dokutora let out cries of surprise. “Right now, I don’t really feel like a hero, nor do I have any real strength.”

  “Did you receive the water I sent out with the money I got from selling myself?” Rulitora asked.

  “We’ve managed to preserve as much as possible by limiting our usage, but we’re almost out. The elder was worrying about what we’ll do for the next two months, before it starts raining again.”

  “Oh... Well, you don’t need to worry. With Sir Touya’s gift, we’ll be able to save everyone. That’s why he came all the way here.”

  “His gift? Oh, so he was summoned from another world!”

  Only those who were summoned from other worlds received blessings from the Goddess of Light. Therefore, hearing the word ‘gift’ was enough to make Dokutora aware of who I really was. After he shouted, the other lizardmen started to make some commotion as well. Soon, all their eyes were on me, which felt a bit uncomfortable.

  “Rulitora, how about we hurry to your people? It seems like we still haven’t arrived yet, and they’re in dire need of water, right?” I asked.

  “Y-you’re right.”

  “I want to let these two rest as well.” I shifted my eyes to the two girls we saved.

  Silver still couldn’t move, so custard cream held her as she stayed on guard. She looked just like a puppy who was doing its best to appear menacing. I had no intention to harm her, of course, so I kind of wanted her to stop, but I decided there was nothing I could d
o at the time being. I was on friendly terms with the lizardmen thanks to Rulitora, but it didn’t change the fact that these girls were surrounded by warriors from a species that was alien to them. On the contrary, I thought it was very noble how custard cream was protecting her companion despite her own exhaustion.

  We need to get to the lizardmen’s settlement. Once we have a safe place to rest, I’m sure I’ll be able to convince them that I don’t mean any harm.

  “Don’t worry about rattling the rickshaw anymore. Just run as fast as you can,” I said. Even if I fell unconscious, I could still create water as long as I had MP.

  “Huh? What was that about rattling?” Dokutora asked.

  “Oh, don’t worry about it. When Rulitora runs at full speed, this rickshaw shakes pretty badly, that’s all.”

  When he heard that, Dokutora took a look at the rickshaw’s wheels and commented on how fragile they looked. I’m sure most things looked fragile compared to his bulky arms.

  “If that’s the case, then ride on my back,” Dokutora said. “We can leave the vehicle and the other two to Rulitora.”

  “What?”

  “That should give you a more stable ride than the rickshaw, Sir Touya,” Rulitora said. “I should be able to cut down on the rattling if I lower my speed a little, which will make it easier on those two. And with the other warriors around us, we’ll be safe.”

  This meant that Dokutora and I would get to the village quicker, which would allow me to prepare the water while also allowing Rulitora to carry the girls at a calmer speed. It made sense, but...

  I glanced at the two girls. Even though I was a stranger to them, I wonder how they’d feel if I left them completely alone with all these lizardmen.

  “...Go!” The silver-haired girl forced out a pained voice.

  “What?”

  “Lady Clena?!”

  “It’s okay, Roni... More importantly, you! People are waiting for your help, aren’t they? We’ll be fine, just go!”

  It wasn’t very convincing considering how debilitated she sounded, but it appeared that the girl named Clena had figured out the gist of what the lizardmen and I had discussed. When I looked at the girl with the custard cream-colored hair named Roni, she nodded with strong eyes. “...Okay. Thanks for the help, Dokutora. Rulitora, take good care of those two!”

  “Leave it to me!” Dokutora shouted.

  “Understood!” Rulitora nodded.

  I gave all my water skins to Clena and Roni, then put on my desert/wasteland-customized overcoat and climbed onto Dokutora’s back. I wondered how he would fare with a high schooler on his back, but once I got up there, I realized I had no reason to fear. Dokutora was over two stutes tall, and had broader shoulders than Rulitora. It almost made me feel like I’d become a kid again.

  “Ready? Then let’s go!” Once Dokutora made sure I was on his back, he started sprinting.

  “Wow! There’s no shaking at aaaall!” It was surprising how comfortable the ride actually was. I felt like I might fall off if I got too comfortable, but I didn’t bounce a bit.

  “Gah hah hah! Not even Rulitora can beat me in terms of stability!” Dokutora called out, pleased by how surprised I was.

  Now I wouldn’t need to worry about getting carsick. I couldn’t actually see his entire body from where I was, but I bet he really looked like a tyrannosaurus when he was leaned forward and sprinting.

  As I traversed the wasteland on the back of this dinosaur-ish lizardman, I felt the wind on my skin. I’d never be able to experience anything like this at home, no matter where I decided to take a vacation, so I felt like I’d discovered another perk to being summoned here. As thoughts ran through my head, I made sure to hang on tight to Dokutora so that I didn’t fall off.

  We reached the Torano’o tribe’s settlement before the sun went down. “Dokutora, I held on pretty tight, so I hope I didn’t hurt your neck or anything.”

  “Huh? You’ll need a lot more strength than that if you want to strangle me!” I had been hanging on for dear life, but it hadn’t even fazed him.

  Unlike Rulitora, Dokutora wasn’t my raver, so I started out referring to him as ‘Sir Dokutora’ just in case – but he told me there was no need. The ride had taken a while, so my arms were sore from holding on for so long. I wanted to rest as soon as possible, but first there was something more important I had to do.

  “Hey, Dokutora. Where are you storing the water?”

  “Rulitora sold himself to buy us that water, so I split it up into jugs and put them in everyone’s houses.” While I was still on his back, Dokutora pointed into the distance, where I saw big tents made out of sheer white cloth.

  In this lizardman settlement, everyone lived in tents. They migrated every now and then, so tents were probably all they needed.

  “Okay then, I guess I’ll start by filling up the jugs. Can you gather them up for me, Dokutora?”

  “Right now? But you look exhausted.”

  “You’re almost out of water, right?” The lizardmen were my top priority at the moment, due to their water crisis.

  “...Thank you.”

  “Oh, but let me down first. I can’t move my arms.”

  “One minute.” Dokutora let me down and leaned me up against a rock, then ran off to the tents.

  Once I was alone, I took off the unrefined overcoat and struggled to withstand the pain I felt in my arms. Honestly, it hurt badly. My entire body hurt. Still, I refused to let it get the best of me, and attached the hose to the faucet inside the Unlimited Bath. The sand lizardmen wouldn’t want to go in there, so I was the only one who could do it.

  Once I finished my preparations, I sat down against the tub. After waiting for a bit, Dokutora returned with the jugs and two other lizardmen. I had no way of telling whether they were male, female, young, or old from their appearances. One of them was small, though, so I guessed it was a child. He was holding a cup in his hands.

  “Dokutora, I need to ask you a question before I get myself into any trouble... Is there any way for someone like me to tell how old or what gender a lizardman is?”

  “...Oh, I see. Unlike humans, we don’t have hair, breasts, or wrinkles.”

  It turned out that Dokutora had brought over a young woman and child, but they only wore loincloths like him and Rulitora. The woman had no boobs, since apparently lizardmen didn’t have breasts to begin with.

  “When lizardmen get older, their scales harden... Oh, I guess I’ll just have to narrate for you.”

  “Umm, Chief Dokutora told us we could receive water from you...” The lizardwoman asked meekly. The floating door and the Infinite Bath beyond it must have startled her.

  “Dokutora, put the end of this hose into the jug... No, put it into that child’s cup first.” I handed the hose to Dokutora, then went back inside the Infinite Bath and turned on the faucet.

  Dokutora let out a shout. When I looked back, I saw that his face had gotten completely drenched. Apparently, he’d never seen a hose before, so he’d been peering into it right when I turned the water on.

  A few moments later, he took the cup from the child and filled it up to the brim with water. Then, he put the hose into the water jug that was on the ground. When the child lizardman took the cup back, he didn’t seem sure about what to do, and looked between his mother and I.

  “You can drink it. There’s still a lot more where that came from,” I said.

  The mother bowed her head to me, then patted her child on the head. The child opened his eyes and mouth wide, then gulped down the water.

  It was still hard for me to figure out lizardmen’s facial expressions, but I’m pretty sure the child looked super happy. “This tastes so good!”

  “I bet that quenched your thirst,” his mother said. “Thank you so much, Sir Touya.”

  “Oh, don’t mention it. Just using my gift, that’s all!” If people kept bowing their heads to me, it’d only make me even more uncomfortable. I tried to change the subject and called out to D
okutora. “Dokutora, how many water jugs are there?”

  “The water merchant brought 14. Hmm, I think this one’s almost full.”

  “Whoa, this should do it then,” I said, as I turned off the faucet.

  Rulitora sold himself, and they only gave him this much water? Although, the void is pretty far from the city... I guess a lot of his money must have gotten eaten up by transportation costs. I knew that they were almost out of water, but the more I hear about their situation, the more dangerous it seems. That child must have been really thirsty...

  “I’m glad we hurried here... Keep bringing on the jugs, Dokutora!”

  “You bet!” I could hear heavy thumping as Dokutora jogged off happily.

  When I watched him leave, I spotted the child looking quite refreshed after drinking my water. If I had gotten here a few days later, the lizardmen may have seen their first losses with the frail little ones like him. I was glad to know that withstanding Rulitora’s full speed for all that time had actually been worth it.

  “First, I need to fill these 14 jugs up. I can worry about the reservoir tomorrow.”

  Honestly, I was mentally exhausted. Using Summon Light Spirit multiple times on those monsters had really taken a toll on me. I still had enough MP left, though, and I wanted to get the jugs filled so I could truly relax.

  As I was massaging my arms and trying to grin and bear it through the pain, more lizardmen brought over the other jugs. I was used to seeing them thanks to Rulitora, so they didn’t scare me one bit. As I filled the jugs up, I decided to talk with Dokutora. He hated steam too, so he kept his distance, but I could still hear his voice.

  According to Dokutora, about one hundred Torano’o tribe lizardmen lived in this settlement. There used to be a bit more, but they’d lost some in a battle with the sandworm, the monster that destroyed the reservoir As the name implied, the sandworm was a huge worm-like creature that lived in the desert, but rarely appeared in the wasteland. Since they’d dug a hole in the ground to create the reservoir, I wondered how it could have been destroyed, but now everything made sense – the worm had destroyed it from below the ground. A crack had appeared in the wall of the reservoir, which caused all the water to leak out, leaving the lizardmen with no way to survive until the next rainy season.