48 Bath

Once more, let me thank you and formally introduce myself . I am the Ruler of Winberg, Ranzelf Forde Winberg . For removing that curse placed on me, I thank you . Also, like before just call me Ranze .

(Note: For those who have forgotten, Ranzelf or Ranze is the middle-aged man he chatted with in coffee shop Accoriente in Ch 34)

Thank you very much!

Right now, Im in a so-called audience chamber, and everyone lowered their heads to me .

No, its fine, so! Please raise your heads!

On Earth, no one had lowered their heads to me in gratefulness, so I ended up feeling bad .

(Note: Not sure about the last part)(TLC is like feeling bad for receiving kindness)

You say that, but do you know Seiichi? You saved me, a king, you know!

That might be the case, but please stop it! Im going to mentally die!

Its that bad?!

As they somehow understood how desperate I was, everyone raised their heads for me .

And this time, with a slightly serious expression, Ranze-san says,

However, I am obligated to at least give some sort of reward to you .

Eh?! Bu-but like I said, I dont particularly

Hearing me repeat myself, Ranze-san smiled wryly .

Well, I understand that you did it out of goodwill . However, doing nothing and just sayingOkay, goodbyewhen a countrys king has been saved is out of the question . Thats why Seiichi . You can request something that you want . If it is within my power to, I shall grant you whatever you wish . Thats how much meaning your actions hold .

Umm

I didnt know how to reply to Ranze-san words .

I dont really understand it very well, but nations have to keep up appearances, so thinking about it, just declining for the sake of my own convenience is a bit

As I was thinking about how to deal with this situation, I suddenly remembered something .

Umm In that case, there is one thing .

Sure, what is it?

Please help me with training my magic and skill .

Huh?

Besides me, everyone tilted their heads in confusion at my proposal .

It might sound strange, but The truth is I cant handle my magic or skills well . To be specific, I cant precisely adjust the strength, Im at the mercy of my skills and magic, and so on In any case, I cant use them properly at all . Thats why, since there happen to be several experts in their fields, it would be nice if they could teach me? Or so I thought

I dont think it could be helped that my speech had gradually lost its momentum towards the end . After all, everyone was staring at me with dumbfounded looks on their faces .

For example, although Louise cant use any attack skills, I thought she could still teach me her body movement technique, but After all, she is known as the countrys greatest combat power, so maybe that wouldnt be allowed? was what I nervously thought inside .

Shishou Youre still striving to get stronger I respect that .

Hm Seiichi-kuns drive to improve himself is impressive .

Being able to use magic at such a level, yet still being unsatisfied I still have a long way to go .

Huh? They have an unnecessarily positive impression of what I just said . Even though I just stated the truth .

Their reaction was so good that it made me feel silly about worrying in the first place .

Then, Ranze-san called out to Florio-san and Louise .

Florio, Louise .

The two of you shall assist Seiichi in his training . Hey, itll be good stimulation for the two of you, too .

Yes! As you wish .

Oh It was given the OK after all . No, Im happy about it, but you know?

My concerns really ended up as needless anxieties .

This time it was I that was dumbfounded, and so the two siblings in front of me, Floria-san and Louise approached me .

Shishou . I would like to learn together with you too so I will be in your care .

Me too, Im interested in your peculiar magic . Well, the magic that dispelled the curse on His Majesty seems to be a unique magic that neither I nor anyone else could replicate, but Even so, this could be a good stimulus for my magic . Ill be in your care .

Ah, yes!

And so, I was able to find the necessary teachers to help me learn to manage my power .

Yosh! Well then, leaving the formal stuff aside for now Seiichi! You should go take a dip in the bath here!

At Ranze-san sudden proposal, I let out a dumb-sounding voice .

This city doesnt have any public baths after all Seiichi, you havent taken a single proper bath since you came here right?

Eh? Ah, yes .

Certainly, much less since Ive arrived in this city, I havent had a chance to take a proper bath since Ive come to this world By those words alone, Im hella filthy, but I can just clean myself with magic .

But not getting that refreshing sense from bathing, is quite regrettable .

Well dont think too hard about it! Just get in .

Although I was worried for a moment about how my hair is black, I realised it was a bit late since I just remembered that when Rurune changed into human form, I had already taken the robe off .

And so .

Then Ill take you up on your offer .

And so I decided to take a bath . I mean, if youre a Japanese youll understand it right? Baths are the best after all .

After that, the talk turned into Ranze-san coming along into the bath, and so he personally guided me to where it was .

The changing room was already about the size of a public bath on Earth, so while I was being overwhelmed by the spaciousness and grandeur, Ranze-san quickly stripped off his clothes and headed for the bath .

I also hastily took off my clothes, and put my feet into the bath .

As I entered, I was shocked by its magnificence .

Of course, there was a Merlion-like statue, from which water was gushing out, and there was a water fountain in the bath as well .

Looking around, I saw a Jet Bath and an electric bath just being there like it was normal, something which can also be found in bath houses on Earth . It was likely to have been created with magic Magic is really versatile, isnt it?

As I was unintentionally astounded, Ranze-san came over .

Oi oi, dont just stand there staring, hurry up and get in the

Seeing Ranze-san suddenly stopped and his eyes opened wide in shock, I tilted my head in confusion .

Yo-you have quite an excellent thing

Where the heck are you looking at?!

I quickly covered up my lower half .

Even though I expected him to be talking about my black eyes and hair if anything!

Just when I was exposing a foolish side of myself to him by covering up my lower half while were nude, Ranze-san nodded with a convinced expression .

I see With such a splendid tool in your arsenal, no wonder youre popular This is the first time Ive seen something of your class .

Thats wrong! Leaving aside the matter of me being popular or not, thats definitely wrong!

Im not an exhibitionist of the guild, I wouldnt be showing it as if it were a natural course of action right?!

While I was heating up before even entering the bath from feeling ashamed, Ranze-san laughed it off with aMy badbefore getting into the bath .

Before entering the bath, I poured some water over myself, washing away my shame to some extent before I got in .

Ah Aaaaaaaaaaaaah This feels so good

I wonder why . When you enter a bath, that ends up getting said reflexively, right?

Hey, Seiichi . It seems like you are quite familiar with bathing . On this continentnormally only the nobles and royalty have baths . Is it different in the Eastern countries?

Eh? Ah, well Something like that, I guess .

Sorry to every one of the Eastern countries . I told him some random customs .

But, the thing about me being used to baths, is probably because of me being Japanese .

Foreign countries back on earth seem to not have a habit of soaking in baths, but it doesnt seem to be the case in this world .

When youre busy, I think showers are fine, but when fatigued from a hard day of work, then soaking in hot water is really the way to go . Baths are the best .

As the bath was so comfortable, my facial muscles relaxed to a slovenly state, and at that moment Ranze-san said with a serious face,

You know, I Someday, not just this in this city, but even in the many towns and villages of this country, I want to build public baths . No, not just in this country . I wanna have all kinds of people know that such an amazing thing exists . Doesnt matter which country or race they are from . However, with all these pointless wars nowadays, I dont have the time, and embarrassingly enough, I dont have the money either .

Even so, I dream that someday, people from all kinds of countries can stop warring, and take baths together while naked, just like this .

You can call me an idealist, or a dreamer, or whatever . But whats wrong with talking about my dreams? Its not about whether or not you can realise it, but just by having dreams, you can put in the effort to move, even just a little, toward that direction . After all You only get to live once . Reckless, impossible, bring it on! Youll lose out if you dont dream right?!

Ranze-san laughed as he said so .

Ahhh I acted really out of character there . As expected, baths are amazing . They can even exposure your true feelings Well, I, too got somewhat troubled and wanted to complain a little anyways . Just forget about it .

To the Ranze-san who said that sounding somewhat lonely, I replied .

Invite me to have a bath again sometime . At that time, Ill try inviting some of my acquaintances from the guild too .

The Ranze-san who was stunned by what I said .

Yeah!

Finally smiled at the very end .

Zakir Gilford was walking in Tsezaar Castle with a fierce look on his face .

Then, men in luxurious armour unlike that which Zakir was wearing came from the opposite direction .

Seeing that, Zakirs frown deepened further .

Gradually, the distance between Zakir and the men was reduced, until the head of the group of men noticed Zakir .

That man had darkish blond hair, and red eyes also containing the colour of contempt . Although he had a handsome face, his horrible personality was oozing out of him, and he had a constant expression as if looking down on people .

Oh~? Why why, if it isnt the countrys strongest Zakir-kun .

Zakir tried to do a light nod and pass through, but the group of men walked into his path and blocked him .

Why so cold, arent you and I comrades?

What is it .

Zakir felt disgusted inside .

Leader of the first unit of the Kaiser empire, Aurius Fencer .

That was the name of the man, who picked a fight with Zakir whenever anything happened .

No no, I dont particularly have business with you or anything, but Nn, Ive heard a rumour . Of all things, that Shien (Death Smoke) targeted His Majesty .

Furthermore, without being able to capture Shien (Death Smoke), you let him escape Oh dear, the Kings Blade sure has fallen far .

At Aurius words, the other men sneered .

Ignoring those men, Zakir once again tried to move away from them, but Aurius pulled Zakir around by his shoulder and whispered in his ear .

Thats what happens when the likes of you commoners get full of yourselves . In the first place, your Second Division made up of commoners, is merely a pawn meant to be sent to exhaust the enemy before we come in to crush them .

Well, Id rather not have clean up after your messes when you do poorly . Try your best to not to anger His Majesty . If you were all to disappear, then it would be troublesome for us, wouldnt it? Fuhaha .

No matter how much he was insulted, Zakir carried on with his deadpan expression, not even letting so much as an eyebrow twitch .

Annoyed by that attitude, Aurius clicked his tongue loudly and pushed Zakir away .

Tsk! What a boring person . Were leaving, you guys .

Yes, sir .

In the end, all Aurius did was quarrel as much as possible with Zakir before he left .

The sole remaining person, Zakir, leaned against a wall and murmured softly .

This sword of mine, what is it suppose to be used to protect . . ?

No matter how much he stares at his hand, the answer isnt written on it .

And then, the words of the escaped Shien (Death Smoke) once again came to him .

It was as he said . To feel joy from killing othersis messed up . It is to nurture a life thats a hundred times harder .

Zakir was someone, who couldnt do much other than wielding a sword .

Through that, he was able to save many people .

But he realised, that to save one, he would only be able to do so by killing another .

And so right now, his very reason for existing was crumbling .

a pawn, huh .

It held a different meaning from what Aurius had meant it to be, but still, it pierced deeply into his heart .

ITakamiya Shouta, and everyone from my class, were spending our days at the Barbador Magic Academy, training to subjugate the Demon King .

While Zakir-san and we didnt know, the other students arbitrarily decided by themselves, and then together with that robed old manif I remember correctly, his name was Helio? They negotiated with him .

As a result, we were sent to this Magic Academy, learning all sorts of magic, and receiving training in the ways of the sword . I wasnt really bothered by it, but it seems like the others were quite displeased with Zakir-sans basic training, and because of the accumulating stress, they ran wild .

And right now I was in the middle of the discussion about being at the academy, with my childhood friend Araki Kenji and Kannazuki Karen-senpai the three of us, in the academys courtyard .

Kannazuki-Senpai, do you think alright for us to continue on like this?

When I asked that, I could immediately tell from looking at Kannazuki-senpais face . That she didnt think it was alright .

As for a reason as to why this discussion was being held

If we were to continue as we are, well be completely isolated from the academy .

Yes, ever since a certain day, the relationship with the previously enrolled students have steadily gotten worse .

The reason was likely the arrogance of us heroes .

Who was the cause for this situation again?

Its the fault of those guys who were in the same class as Seiichi, Aoyama and them .

Kenji practically spat out those words, but Kannazuki-senpai was calmly shaking her head .

Its true that they might be one of the causes of it, but the main cause of it is something else . It is

Oh? You there, what are you three doing over there?

A voice suddenly interrupted us .

We all turned our eyes at the same time towards the direction of the voice and saw 3 guys standing there .

Kisaragi Masaya .

Kannazuki-senpai murmured, annoyed .

Just from looking at her behave like that, I understood everything .

That these 3, were the main cause that Kannazuki-senpai was talking about .

Please dont glare like that, Kannazuki-san . It makes your beauty go to waste, you know?

The person who said that frivolous warning without any hesitation, is Kisaragi Masaya .

A third-year student, like Kannazuki-senpai, and the leader of an idol group that flourished not just in Japan, but globally .

In truth, Kisaragi-senpai, with his silky brown hair, and his sweet looking face, continued to charm a large number of women .

And above all, he was the former captain of the soccer club . If I remember correctly, he handed over his position to the Aoyama and quit the club, with the reason that his time for playing around would shorten or something stupid like that, didnt he?

So? What were you talking about? We wanna join in too .

This doesnt concern you bastards .

Woah! Scary! But, forcing such a fierce girl to submit is fun too .

Being glared at by Kannazuki-senpai and showing a savage smile, was Ooyama Tsuyoshi .

With muscular sun tanned skin, the shade of mocha and red hair styled in a soft mohican .

Formerly of the Boxing club like Kenji, but he too gave a random reason and stopped attending .

Belonging to the same idol group as Kisaragi-senpai, his overflowing wildness was apparently quite popular with female students .

From behind Ooyama-senpai, a man with a Host-like hairstyle appeared .

Tsuyoshi, dont scare girls like that alright? Look, shes completely afraid there .

Spitting out a line that disgusted Kannazuki-senpai was Tougou Rento .

A long blonde hairdo thats so gaudy its annoying .

His face is like the others in Kisaragi-senpais idol group, good looking .

But I havent heard any good things about him from my female friends . But, that applies to all of the guys standing in front of me .

In front of those 3, Kannazuki-senpai glared at them with cold eyes .

But, as if he didnt mind that, Kisaragi-senpai continued talking .

Now, now, dont be so cautious . We only came here out of pure curiosity . Look, if you dont tell methen I might just cause some trouble, alright?

If the worst among the female group were Nojima and her friends, then among the male group it would be these guys for sure .

And associated with them, would be Seiichis classmate Aoyama .

Nojimas group had a lot of bad rumours going around them on Earth, but since theyve come to this academy, they have yet to cause any problems . Above all, if you to talk to them, they are nice enough that the rumours seem like lies .

Hearing Kisaragi-senpais words, Kannazuki-senpai had a bitter expression on her face for a moment, but it quickly changed back, and she straight-to-the-point replied,

Then, shall we talk . About the reason why were being isolated in this academy .

Oh, so its just about that .

Hearing what Kannazuki-senpai said, Kisaragi-senpai let out a voice that sounded bored .

Thats obviously because of us .

And then, he pointed his group out as though it was obvious .

You say were getting isolated, but that old manHelio-san was it? When he stated his conditions, besides sticking these bracelets on us, there was one more condition .

What?

LikeIsaidhe wants us to show off the power of us heroes .

Thats

Certainly, it was something that he had said .

But, aside from equipping the bracelets, there shouldnt have been any other condition that we needed to absolutely fulfil . Well, I dont really understand the meaning of these bracelets either, though .

Furthermore, dont talk about the school, even in this world, being able to control 2 attributes is already amazing . Yet, we can use 4 you know? See, its this special power that sets us apart from them . Even the magic taught in class, with just a little practice, we learnt to use it casually .

YeahYeah . I had a number mock battles, butwerent they too much like small fries? Its seriously hilarious . At this rate, beating the Demon King will be seriously easy .

Also, Helio-san even said it . Beastmen and demihumans and the like are lower lifeforms . Especially the demons, theyre the Demon Kings followers, so their lives arent worth anything, he said .

Even so! What all of you are doing is too much!

Kenji, tired of what his seniors were saying, shouted .

As of late, the heroes have begun to develop a tendency of looking down on those around them, and with having obtained powers that were unthinkable of on earth too, a severe discrimination mindset had started growing .

Its not like we directly saw the seniors do something, but weve seen Aoyama and his friends assault the enrolled students and stopped them .

From what Ive heard, there was a guy who tried to take advantage of a girl by flaunting his power . Fortunately, the situation didnt take a turn for the worse .

The seniors who pissed off Kenji had an uninterested look on their faces .

Huh? What are you saying? Were heroes, you know? Obviously, its fine no matter what we do . After all, were going to fight to save the world .

Kenjiif you get too cocky, Ill crush you, get it?

Seriously coldactually, that passion is annoying as hell .

Aaaahh?!

Truly, an explosive atmosphere .

But, Kannazuki-senpai cut into that atmosphere .

Whatever . Kenji, Shouta, lets go .

No, but . . !

Its fine .

Called strongly by Kannazuki-senpai, Kenji felt reluctant but backed off .

And so, as we were passing by Kisaragi-senpai and his friends, Kisaragi-senpai said loud enough that we could hear .

Isnt it natural that the weak obey the strong? Even in Earths society, people were kicked down, used, or just crushed . Thats why we, the strong, are just using that privilege . Why cant you even understand that .

Kannazuki-senpai ignored that voice, and together with us, walked back towards the academy building .