06-08 A Good Bath

The lunch served white bread, fish karaage, vegetable salad, and Citran juice. The dessert was Pelshka fruit.

“Umm, could this pure white bread be…”

“Yes, we performed the peeling.”

Reinhardt was surprised by the whiteness of the bread, because the golem maids had diligently peeled the chaff off the wheat with their hands.

The girls’s special quality was to be able to continue such menial work far longer than humans.

“…Delicious.”

Beana had a mouthful, and gave her opinion on the flavor.

“But Jin, when you ate at my place, you said next to nothing while you ate. If you usually eat tasty things like this, how come you were so okay with it?”

“Oh. I’m not very picky. I’ve got a habit of just being grateful that I’ve got something to eat.”

“That’s, how should I say this, remarkable…”

Beana had some strange admiration.

“This is delicious.”

It looked like the karaage was to Elsa’s tastes.

Reinhardt’s interest was in the taste of the salad dressing,

“Something in this salad’s taste makes me feel like I’ve had this somewhere before…”

He sounded like a gourmet in some respects.

“It’s fish sauce I got from Port Rock.”

Jin said, and,

“Oh! That’s it! It’s that taste! I see, so there’s a way like this to combine it with spices too!”

He received praise again. Things like Jin’s various j.a.panese style dressings he made in the orphanage were his forte.

“But Jin, you said you’ve lived all your life here, right?”

“? Yep.”

Beana suddenly asked.

“Do you grow wheat and such on this island? Or do you buy it? If you buy it, doesn’t that mean you’ve been to Blue Land quite a while back?”

“Uh.”

Having the contradiction caused by the food pointed out to him, Jin was fl.u.s.tered. Reiko came to his rescue.

“Beana-san, if the Warp Gate’s adjustments and such went poorly it would be dangerous. That’s why it was primarily me who went to stealthily buy wheat and other things. The time Father went to Blue Land and met you was only after the adjustments were perfected.”

“Ah, so that’s how it is… What would happen if the adjustments weren’t done properly?”

“You would teleport into an unexpected place.”

“…I shouldn’t have asked.”

It seemed like Warp Gates became somewhat scary.

＊ ＊ ＊

After lunch, they enjoyed tea at ease, and finally the tour around Kunlun Island began.

Everyone got on a golem horse and began the trip around the island.

The three who weren’t used to riding like Jin were guided by the golem maids that accompanied them during the teatime. Reinhardt had Amethyst-100, Elsa had Aqua-100, and finally Beana had Ruby-100.

They couldn’t possibly see everything, so they went towards the mining site in the west. There was a hill in the place where the mining tunnels were, and it commanded a nice view.

“This horse is interesting after you get used to it.”

It looked like Elsa liked the horse golem.

“This one also moves wonderfully. Just like a real one.”

Unlike on modern Earth with its high-speed cameras, a.n.a.lyzing the walk of a four-legged animal is normally impossible. And that’s why animal-model golems had somewhat awkward movements that looked unnatural.

For that reason Reinhardt’s admiration could be said to have been just natural.

After an hour of enjoying the scenery… Although it was mostly just gra.s.sy plains, fields of bamboo, spa.r.s.e woods and wilderness with nothing much to look at, but in any case, the group arrived at the mining site.

There, Army golems from 91 to 100 were working, and the sight was overwhelming. It was finally the debut of the male golem models.

“This is terrific.”

It was the place where dug up metals and crystals were sorted into piles.

Magi Crystals were carefully stored in a warehouse with a roof, while Magi Stones were stored together with other Magi Stones.

“As I thought, having a mine exclusively for one’s use is amazing.”

“I only succeeded it from my teacher, though.”

That wasn’t true. On Hourai Island that may be the case, but here on Kunlun Island the exploitation had only started during Jin’s era.

“Your teacher…Adrianna-dono was it? She must’ve been a great person.”

When Reinhardt said so, even though it was just for a moment, Reiko had a glad look on her face.

“There will be a good view from top of that mountain.”

The guide Soleil told them so, and everyone started ascending the hill with their horses.

The climbing came to an end after around five minutes, and to the west was the sea. Beyond the clear afternoon horizon tiny silhouettes of islands could be seen.

“Ooh, the sea’s beautiful.”

“Truly. Could Io Island be nearby?”

Reinhardt and Elsa seemed to be reminiscing about the golem boat contest.

When Jin told them that it doesn’t seem like Io Island can be seen from here, the two were disappointed.

Beana on the other hand was as if it was her first time seeing the sea; she only stared without words.

“Pretty…”

Nevertheless, it felt as if a voice like that could be heard.

They were like that for a while, but they couldn’t stay on the summit forever, and after calling out to Beana they descended.

“Jin, it was good to come here. Thanks.”,

Beana sighed and muttered at the back of the line.

＊ ＊ ＊

As they came back to the mansion, the sun was already starting to set. The sundial in front of the mansion was at nearly four.

“Now then, Reinhardt, isn’t it time to return soon? Or are you going to stay the night?”

Jin asked, and Reinhardt was considering what to do with a pensive look on her face. Then,

“Stay.”

Elsa expressed her wishes in a single word, and as Beana also said she would stay Reinhardt had no other option than to stay too.

“In that case, by all means use the hot spring.”,

Jin said.

“Yes, that. I wanted to try it.”,

Elsa said happily. She had seen a glimpse of the hot spring while in the changing room changing to pants.

Following the etiquette of ladies first, the girls entered the bath first. Soleil and Luna went along as a.s.sistants.

“Woow…”

The bathtub was around 4 meters in diameter, made of marble and filled to the brim with hot water. Because the water flowed in and out through a structure in the bottom of the tub, hardly any dirt acc.u.mulated.

This one was a simple alkaline hot spring. They are easy to get into and causes only a small mellow sensation. They’re also good for your skin.

The two entered the bath after having Soleil and Luna pour hot water on them to prepare them for the bath.

“Aah, it feels good.”

Beana who rarely had opportunities to to bathe simply enjoyed it.

“This hot bath. It makes the skin feel smooth. Is this what a hot spring does?”

Elsa noticed the difference from a regular hot bath, and asked Luna.

“Yes. Father said that because of the weak alkalinity it is good for the skin.”

“Weak alkalinity?”

It was Greek to her, but she understood the part about the water being good for the skin.

She then stretched her body in the water, and tried caressing her feet and arms.

Elsa had a glance at Beana’s direction, then at herself in comparison, and for some reason had a relieved look on her face.

Image (NSFW, mild nudity)

“Beana, was it?”

“Y- Yes, Miss Elsa.”

Beana was surprised when Elsa spoke to her.

“You don’t need to be so humble. You and me, we’re both Jin-kun’s guests here.”

“Y- Yes, thank you very much…”

Even when asked, it wasn’t so easy for the commoner Beana to change her behavior like that.

“What’s your relations.h.i.+p with Jin-kun?”

“Uh, with Jin?”

Elsa nodded to confirm, and said she was interested in how Jin acted when she wasn’t around.

“Let’s see, was it one and a half months ago? It began at a Magi Tool sales stand in Blue Land. Then…”

Beana told her about how she met Jin, and how she then asked him to help her because of the repayment of her debt and her siblings’ illness, about the lighter and refrigerator’s development, and about popcorn and the water heater, in that order.

Elsa listened attentively until Beana’s story came to and end and said,

“Jin-kun is Jin-kun after all. No matter where, he’s the same.”

Beana felt a sad feeling in her chest when she saw Elsa’s faint smile as she said those words.