Meryl and Mira were drinking Nikki when we got back.
“Mister Yusuke, this hurts my throat, but it tastes pretty good,” Meryl told me. “Oh, but we don’t know how to open this Ramune thing.”
You had to push the marble attached to the top so it went inside of the bottle. It was probably hard to tell for a first-timer.
“Got it. I’ll get it for you, so hang tight.” I popped four bottles open one after another. We all took a sip.
“It’s delicious!” Mira said. Then, giving her opinion as a mage, she added, “And the flow of mana within my body has become smoother.” She seemed to have really taken to the drink.
“Yeah, this is really nice,” Minerva agreed. He even immediately purchased one to store inside his bag. He could whip out his Ice Magic to chill it whenever he wanted, so he could easily keep one at the ready at all times.
I tilted the bottle so that the marble inside wouldn’t slip in, and as I took a sip, a fizzy sensation accompanied by a refreshing scent rose to my nose.
“Mm, that’s good! This really hits the spot!”
Had it been about a year since I’d last drunk this? Whether at summer breaks, temple festivals, or public baths, ramune was an important drink that recalled many special memories to mind. Today, I had found the hot spring with Minerva and the others. Now that I had connected this memory to the Ramune, I could store it away inside my heart as well.
We all sat alongside one another on a stone bench that Minerva made for us. For a time, we basked in the leisurely feeling of being fresh out of the bath. It was a pleasant atmosphere, and we were lulled by the distant sounds of splashing water.
“It’s so quiet here,” I said, “and best of all, no monsters appear here, so it’s safe.”
“I know, right? I’m kinda getting sleepy. I wish I’d brought a futon or something,” Meryl said, looking very drowsy from the bath.
“If we could use this as a break room, it’d make our B2 dungeon crawls a lot easier.”
Mira’s words lit a sudden light bulb over my head.
“It’d be nice if I could start selling here,” I said.
“In here?”
“Yeah. We could leave the bath open to the public, and I’d set up my dagashi-ya right here. There’re no monsters around, so I could safely sell my goods as well.”
“I think your regulars would be super happy to see you here,” Meryl said eagerly, her drowsiness blown away by my idea. “There are a lot of young rookies who are thinking about heading down to B2 soon too.”
I could do this all immediately starting tomorrow.
I should make a public announcement, I thought to myself. But there was one problem.
“There’s only one bath here,” I pointed out. “There’s no dressing room or anything either, so it’s pretty inconvenient.”
Wouldn’t it make both men and women uncomfortable if we made this hot spring a mixed bath? On the other hand, I thought it’d be too much trouble for adventurers to bring a bathing suit with them when they were off exploring.
“Hm, so all you need is a partition?” Minerva said, standing up.
“What are you going to do?” I asked.
“I’ll make one for you with my Earth Magic.”
“You looked tired. Are you sure you’ll be all right?”
“I feel refreshed thanks to that bath.”
Minerva put one hand on the bathroom floor and sent his mana into it. With a rumble, a four-sided boulder protruded from the floor, rising into the ceiling.
“Nice! Now men and women can have their own sections.”
“I’ll go and partition off the entrance and the dressing room too.”
Thanks to Minerva, we had the proper arrangements for a bathhouse set up in the blink of an eye. It was still pretty rough around the edges, but this was an unmanned public bathhouse located in the dungeon; it didn’t need to look super elaborate or anything.
“When it comes to keeping it clean, I think everyone who uses it should clean up after themselves,” I said.
“So long as you have a mage who can use Water or Wind Magic, that’ll go by in a flash. I’ll help as well!” Mira exclaimed with the utmost enthusiasm.
“Great! I’ll give away a free mana-regenerating snack like Ten-Rim Gum to any mage who cleans up!”
I hoped that this place could become somewhere nice and relaxing for all of the adventurers.