Everybody was clapping: humans, elves, monsters, and even Barkus.
“Do you think we’ll get to have another bout?”
“One more tournament...until you...cross the border...”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“I will train more...and come...for a rematch...”
“By all means. Kukuri and Uta, you did well too.”
Hearing my praise, the two monsters smiled.
The gray referee raised his hand to the east side of the ring.
“The team competition between Aryakan forces and the Demon Lord’s army has concluded in the favor of the Aryakan forces, with a score of two to one!”
The referee bowed, then began to fade from view, and finally disappeared as the yin-yang-shaped dohyō sank back underground.
“You did it, Floortje!”
“Th-Thank you, Your Highness.”
Embraced by the prince, I could feel my rapidly beating heart. Dosukoi dosukoi!
“Bark, bark, bark, bark!”
Barkus clung to my feet, making it hard to walk. The elven elders and Boorman approached me next.
“Well done, well done! What a splendid bout that was!”
“I have never been so excited since reaching this ripe old age!”
“Did the magical effect of that Spinning Backwards Body Drop draw its propulsion from the earth? I’m assuming the skill was of the earth attribute.”
These elders and their enthusiasm for magic... How would I know the workings of magic-imbued techniques? I did have a sense that this one was purely about motion, though, without any particular attribute.
“That was a hell of a bout, Floortje! I’ll work hard so I can fight like that one day!”
“Show due diligence, Boorman, and you’ll become strong in no time.”
“I’ll do all it takes!”
I was covered in sweat from all that wrestling.
“Do you have showers here in Hufton?”
“We don’t have anything so advanced, but there is a hot spring in the forest nearby.”
A hot spring!!!
“That’s great, milady! Let’s go take a relaxing bath!”
“I agree. Let’s go wash that sweat off, Floortje,” added the prince.
“Good idea, you two.”
“Bark, bark!”
“Are you coming with us, Barkus? All right, Chief Vivi, we’ll be borrowing that hot spring.” I turned to face Arima and the two monsters. “There’s a hot spring near the village. Would you like to accompany us?”
The three of them exchanged glances, waved my offer away with forced smiles, and mounted their gryphons. Too bad. Seeing them fly away in the direction of the Town of Yggdrasil, I looked forward to facing them in the ring again.
Chief Vivi personally led us to the hot spring.
“It’s just us villagers using this place, so I’m afraid you won’t find any fancy facilities. Sorry about that.”
“Th-That’s okay, Chief, but... I-Is this hot spring meant for mixed bathing?”
Oh, Your Highness! Dosukoi dosukoi.
“Hah hah hah, no! That wouldn’t bode well for public morals, so there are separate sections for men and women.”
“Tsk. Well, that sucks,” grumbled Boorman, who, for some reason, had joined us.
“Boorish elves are hard to like, aren’t they, milady?”
“They sure are, Adela.”
Realizing his blunder, Boorman awkwardly scratched his head.
“Bark, bark, bark!”
Look! Even Barkus is saying, “Shame on you!” Probably.
Deeper in the forest, a rustic structure came into view.
“That’s the place,” said the chief.
“Wow, how atmospheric!”
“I’m glad you feel that way. The structure above may be old, but the spring water is perfect.”
Swinging the door open, we were greeted with a pleasant smell typical of hot springs. And there were indeed two sections. But the fact that the dividing curtains had “MAN” and “WOMAN” written on them made them feel, perhaps, a little too Japanized. Oh well. This was, after all, the world of an otome game.
I parted with Prince Richie and entered the women’s section. To my surprise, the changing room had proper lockers.
Adela helped me undress. I had never considered this in my past life, but it was normal for the daughter of a marquis to be assisted by a maid. Since I wore a corset and my dress was held by a plaited cord on the back rather than a zip fastener, I couldn’t do without her help.
Looking at my naked body in a full-length mirror, I saw it still didn’t have even the slightest bit of fat. Or muscle. As much as I wanted both of those things, my body hadn’t changed at all over the years.
“It’s too bad.”
“Your body is incapable of growing heavier or more muscular, so give up this pointless struggle, milady.”
“I want to gain weight somehow...”
“Please don’t.”
“Bark, bark, bark!”
“See, even Barkus says so,” said Adela.
If only it weren’t for the curse of this otome game world... I wished The Rondo of Light and Darkness had been a pro wrestling simulator. Oh well. Taking Barkus in my arms, I headed to the baths. Stark naked, Adela was evidently intent on going in with me.
“Bark, bark!”
Barkus seemed happy too.
I used a wooden bucket to pour hot water over myself and entered the bath. The bathtub was made of wood too and felt pleasant against the skin, while the water was clear and had a faint smell of sulfur, the concentration of which didn’t seem very high. Soaking myself up to my shoulders, I let out a relaxed sigh. Barkus seemed fond of the bath too as he calmly sat in my arms, submerged in the water. Adela entered after us.
“This is good water.”
“Yes, it’s invigorating.”
There was a hole in the ceiling for ventilation, letting in the soothing sound and light of the forest outside. I was already becoming very fond of this hot spring.
“What a wonderful place. Let’s come here again once this coup is over,” I suggested.
“Certainly. Those vegetable dishes were delicious too.”
“I do want meat for dinner, though.”
“Bark, bark, bark!”
“You’ll get some for us, Barkus?”
“Bark!”
“You think he can understand us?”
“It does feel like it.”
Hearing that, Barkus turned away and began swimming around.
“He’s surely a fenrir, because then it would make sense,” supposed Adela.
“Must’ve been separated from his parents. I wish we could return him to them somehow.”
“As lovely as that would be, we surely won’t find his parents at the Dwarven Great Caves we’re heading to.”
“Maybe we should release him while we’re still here?”
“Bark, bark!”
Still swimming in the bath, the pup barked as if to reject my idea. What a cute little thing. I patted him on the back. As his fur was wet it wasn’t fluffy, but it still felt good because of his warmth.
“Let’s take him with us to Aryaka for now. We’ll have to visit these lands again to reunite with General Maurilio, and we can look for his parents after that,” I proposed.
“Sounds good.”
With Barkus in my arms, I stepped out of the bathtub. I then sat on a wooden chair and had Adela wash me. Elven soap smelled good but didn’t seem to foam much.
“I wonder whether it’s made from the fruit of some tree. It doesn’t foam very well, but the smell is nice and I feel like it’s good at removing dirt,” spoke Adela.
“It would be nice to stay in this area for a few days and have a taste of how the old elves live.”
“It would indeed. The Town of Yggdrasil went so far with modernization that the whole place didn’t feel very elven anymore.”
After washing my body and hair, Adela proceeded to wash Barkus too.