Side Story: Elegant Bathing for Bath Enthusiast
Night.
“Fuu…”
Such a voice escaped from Nell’s mouth as she soaked in the bubbling bathtub.
The bath salts given by Yuki had been added to the bathtub, so the bathtub had a faintly pleasant aroma, making it very comfortable.It was as if the fatigue of the day was slowly melting away from deep within her body.
–This was inside one of the church-managed dormitories in the royal capital.
Recently, Nell had been working not in the Royal Capital but in Alfiero, a remote town, and could return to the dungeon every day if there was nothing going on, but since she had been in the Royal Capital on business in the past few days, she could only soak in the bath of the room assigned to her after work to relax and recover from her fatigue.
This bath was actually built within the past year, and was prepared at Nell’s request.
Nell, who had grown accustomed to bathing every day in the dungeon, could no longer stand the days without it, so one day she said, “Please make me a bath! I’ll pay for it!” asking the church leaders to build a bathroom for her, and so they built it.
Nell even went to the trouble of breaking up a room in the dormitory.
Nell herself was aware that she had been quite selfish, but she was a “bathroom enthusiast” and was prepared to go to war for the sake of a bath.Not allowed to take a bath? Fine, then war it would be.
Creek! Creek! Creek! Creek!
With her full force, Nell dared to aim for the attack and won a special bath only for her use.
Since Nell rarely expressed selfishness and always did her job well, and since she was now one of the most important people in the country, the request itself was easily granted.
The structure was designed to produce hot water using a magical device, which takes a day to fill with magical power from the magic elements in the air, and once activated, the hot water would continue to flow until it was full.
It was a very valuable item that would worth a fortune if sold, and was used only in royal castles and a few mansions, which showed just how much Nell was valued in the country.
It was because she had a strong connection with the Demon Lord, or rather, Demon Emperor Yuki, as a married couple.
She used to be a soldier, but now she was the wife of the Demon Emperor Yuki, a queen of another country, so to speak…. As a result, there was a bit of debate in the country as to how to treat her.
Overall, it was decided to treat her as a first-class hero, and because of her one and only connection with the extraordinary Demon Emperor Yuki, she was not treated as a subordinate.
Nell was perplexed at first, but she accepted the treatment because she was afraid that if she behaved too easygoing, people might mistakenly think of her as easy to manipulate and she might cause Yuki unnecessary trouble.
Her dignified behavior also added to her status, and even though she may still be considered a [Young Woman] in terms of age and appearance, she knew that none of the high-ranking officials in the country see her that way anymore.
So Nell, who was slowly soaking in her bath, pouted.
“…Well, compared to our bath, it’s a little bit different…”
The hot spring bath in Yuki’s place was huge.
The waterfall hot spring bath was large enough for the whole family to enter and stretch out their legs. Even swimming would be possible.
If they were not within the dungeon’s premise, they would need to be careful when taking a bath. The bath in Yuki’s dungeon was mostly exclusive to Yuki’s family, and no invaders would be able to go there undetected, so there was no need for any of Yuki’s family to be too careful when taking a bath in that place, the little girls were even allowed to swim and have fun in the baths every day.
The little girls would spend the day playing until they were exhausted, and then end the day with a bath. Nell considered that to be a productive day for them.
Above all, it simply felt good to soak in that hot spring bath.
Soaking in the hot spring bath made tiredness disappear in the blink of an eye as if dissolved into the hot water, and on the contrary, it would give one a sense of vitality as if power was rising from the depths of one’s body.
The hot spring bath in Yuki’s place had numerous effects, such as restoring physical and magical strength, and other benefits that would fit it to be called a “secret bath” perfectly.
This bath made for her in the royal capital was also reasonably spacious and comfortable, since it was built in a renovated room, but… Nell, who inevitably compared it to the bath in the dungeon, couldn’t help but think of the bath she was using as so-so.
In fact, despite the spaciousness of the bath, the fact that she was the only one there made her feel relatively lonely.
Since Nell takes a particularly long bath, it was common in their house for someone else to come in while she was taking a bath.
During that time, Nell would speak with family members about unimportant things, one after another, until her body was completely warmed up, at which point she would get out of the bath.
There was a part of her that enjoyed chatting with her family members while soaking in the bath, and that was why she took a long bath.
Yuki was a little cautious about this, and would mostly take a bath at a slightly different time from the women so that they could have their private time, but they would also occasionally soak in the bath together, shoulder to shoulder, to relax.
How blissful that time was!
“…Fufu…when did I become so selfish?”
She could not help but feel dissatisfied with the environment in the Royal Capital, which would be considered a luxury for her past self.
In reality, Nell could return home as soon as she wanted to, and yet despite being a little self-indulgent, she still couldn’t help but continue her work.
‘No, no, if I keep thinking like this, I’ll want to go home right now.’
‘I still have work to do.’
‘If I continue to feel like this, I will become depressed.’
“Okay! I have to work hard again tomorrow!”
With renewed vigor, she got her body out of the bathtub.
