Lord of Disease (JP-GL) 226

226: It’s Natural to Want to Wash a Cute Sister’s Back

The public bathhouses in Listrea were, at first glance, similar to the public bathhouses in Japan.

There were separate entrances for men and women, and you paid a fee to enter the changing room, where you undressed and put your clothes in a basket before entering the bath. There was no time limit; you simply left when you were satisfied.

The interior was not particularly Japanese, but then again, neither were the public bathhouses in modern Japan.

Except for the fact that the ‘hot water’ was a slimy, pale green viscous creature, the ooze, it was a perfectly normal bath.

The hot water was supplied by [Create Ooze], and since the summoned ooze disappeared after a certain amount of time, it needed to be replenished.

So, each bathhouse had staff to do this, though depending on the establishment, they also served as managers and attendants. In some regions, the customers added the ooze themselves, and those were more like communal baths.

I cheerfully undressed, folded my clothes, and placed them in a basket.

Liz and Bridget also undressed, and, covering their chests with their towels, they naturally flanked me.

Standing next to the two of them, who were as majestic as the Lital Mountains, my own slender frame felt a little… inadequate.

I was suddenly reminded of the time my younger sister had surpassed me in chest size, a mixture of joy at her growth, lamentation at the world’s inequality, and the bittersweet realization that not all effort was rewarded.

I composed myself and opened the wooden door, and I was in paradise.

The walls were made of a cream-colored stone. The slightly rough stone floor, probably for slip resistance, and the rows of columns and arches supported a high, open dome ceiling. The building had a double dome, shaped like the letter M, and I assumed one dome was for the women’s bath and the other for the men’s. The entrances had been separate, so it was probably more like two connected buildings.

The dim interior was illuminated by the light streaming in from the windows. There were magic lamps in recesses in the walls, with curved reflectors behind them, which they probably switched to when it got dark.

After a few seconds, my eyes adjusted, and I looked around. Everyone seemed to be a dark elf or a beastman. It was about 70/30, dark elves to beastmen, though it was hard to tell, as some of the beastmen had brown skin. In the men’s bath, it would probably be easier to tell, as the male beastmen were more bestial in appearance.

There were no dragons, of course, and no undead, as far as I could tell. Though there might have been a few demons, like Listrea-sama, who had changed their form.

The large bathtub in the back caught my eye, but there were several others as well.

“Hey, why are there so many bathtubs?”

“They’re probably separated by depth and the temperature of the ooze. The depth is probably the same or shallower, and the temperature, based on the largest one, probably has both cooler and hotter options.”

“I see.”

“Bri… Neesama, do you usually use public bathhouses?” Liz started to say her name, then corrected herself, realizing that in Litalside, even the shortened form of Bridget’s name was well-known.

“This is my first time in Litalside. There’s one attached to the training grounds… so I usually use that.”

Even though she’d corrected herself, the fact that she’d so casually used a word that revealed her position made me a little nervous. It was fine if they knew she was a soldier, but…

“What about you? Where do you usually bathe?”

“I have a large bath at home. Sometimes I bathe with my housemate.” I was careful not to say ‘mansion.’ Incidentally, when I was at the mansion, I usually bathed every day, not so much for cleanliness, but to relax. But everyone only accepted my invitation about once a week. Liz was the most reluctant, and it had become a sort of ‘reward’ for a job well done.

Aithys didn’t seem to mind, and she would join me if our schedules aligned. Rebecca didn’t really need to bathe, but I had convinced her to join me about once a week.

The Barghests didn’t seem to be particularly fond of bathing, but one of them would come out of my robe when I was bathing alone. I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was out of pity for their lonely alpha.

“So, I’ve never had the chance to go to a public bathhouse with friends. I’m really looking forward to this.”

Bridget’s expression softened.

“…Then you should enjoy it.”

“Yes.” I nodded.

“So, which do you prefer? Washing my back, or having your back washed?”

“Huh?” Bridget’s expression was one of bewilderment.

A dark joy welled up in my chest. Ah, this is the face I wanted to see.

I pressed the choice.

“Washing, or being washed.”

“I-I can’t decide so suddenly—”

“Decide.”

“Neesama, you’ll end up doing both, no matter which you choose.”

At Liz’s words, Bridget breathed a sigh of relief.

“Liz, I don’t think you should have spoiled it. …As punishment, you’ll have your back washed by me and my big sister.”

“W-what you’re saying… is strange, in every sense of the word!”

“If it’s strange in every sense of the word, then from a different perspective, it might be perfectly correct.”

“It seems there’s a zero percent chance that Master’s head is not strange.” Liz’s expression was one of exasperation.

“I’m used to it. Now, big sister. Let’s wash our little sister’s back.”

“Big sister… wait, were you serious about that?”

At Bridget’s words, Liz sighed.

“…She’s always serious.”