Part 9: Osaka’s Auntie Builds a Hot Spring

Chapter 38: Level 13 Floor Dungeon Hot Spring

 

Translated by Zzonkedd

Edited by Gumihou & Onionpi

 

Now that they have the space to make a large public bath, the next thing to do was to dig up a large reservoir to store hot water. The hole was quickly dug up via magic and sheer brute power, and the next thing Natalia knew, Haruna was already putting water into it.

At first, Natalia wondered how long it would take to fill such a large bath. However, as soon as she had gotten a rough estimate, Haruna increased the speed of water pouring from her hands.

“There, that should do it. It’s not as good as having a proper water source, but for an underground public bath, this should be good enough.”

“… I’m just wondering how much more powerful you will become…”

“If I can repeat the Dungeon Creation Magic, wouldn’t that be amazing?”

“That’s too frightening! Please don’t do it anymore. Never, never do that again, please. People will think you’re the Maou and send heroes to hunt you down, you know?!”

As they quarrelled amiably together, the baths were eventually dug and lined with wood or stone. Work progressed without further weird, life-changing complications. Once it was finished, it was time to prepare for the business side of the whole public bath shenanigan.

Though the number of male Adventurers overwhelmed the number of female Adventurers by a whole lot, for the sake of the female Adventurers, the baths were divided into male and female sections.

They had prepared two types of public baths. One was lined with rocks and was named The Rock Pool, while the other was lined with wood, cut from a type of tree that was similar to Cypress. That one was called The Cypress bath.

Every other day, the bath would be switched so that men and women could enjoy both types of baths if they stick around for at least two days.

The baths were technically open-air, but it was extremely difficult for random bystanders to just stumble in since it was mostly concealed by the specially built changing rooms and they were also partially fenced up by tastefully arranged logs. The only thing an outsider could really see was steam wafting up from behind the logs and backlit by the natural dungeon light.

When everything was up and running, [Haru-chan] soon added a bathing facility called the [Haru no Yu] into its conglomerate.

Additionally, Japanese style public bathing etiquette was introduced and everyone was encouraged to follow. The list was posted within the changing room, and they are as follows:

 

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• Valuables handed over to the counter will be kept in the safe. We will not be responsible for valuables left in the laundry basket and subsequently stolen.
• Drench yourself in hot water first before entering the bath.
• If you’re dirty, please shower before entering the bath.
• Those with tattoos are not allowed, ah, but I’m speaking to Adventurers, so I guess that’s fine.
• Drink water regularly if you stay in the bath for a long time
• The cost of entering the bath does not include towels or razors.
• We have complimentary Cold Ameyu [1] after you’re done with your bath
• The quality of the water is unknown, but it originates from a hot spring [2]. There is some recovery effect, but drinking too much of it could be bad for you.

 

“Okay, everything’s perfect now, ya!”

Haruna was quite impressed with herself after taking a step back to admire the work she had done. The Rock Pool bath was already completed and filled to the brim with hot spring water. Steam drifted lazily from the surface of the bath.

The water in the bath was filled with Healing Magic imbued water. Since it was done by Haruna herself, she was able to fill an entire public bath with healing water without dying or even exhausting herself from the magical expansion. It was an incredible show of her magical reservoir.

“Alright. Well then, Natalia, shall we try it out?”

“Eh? We get to go in first?”

“That’s right, I have no idea what kind of water we have here, so I can’t just let our customers enter without trying it out myself, right? Alright, let’s test out both baths now.”

“W-wait, are you saying that we go into the baths to-together…?”

Natalia did not seem too excited about the prospect.

“Of course, yan. Who else is here, ya?”

“But, we’ll be n-naked together… right? Aren’t you embarrassed…?”

 

It looked like this fantasy world did not have the culture of having multiple people soaking in a bath together. Asia, in general, did not have such a practice either. Japan is certainly unique to this.

 

“If you’re talking about getting shy about seeing naked people, hmm, not really. When I was a young girl, my dad would just walk in and out of the bath all the time in front of me, all naked, naa.”

 

Getting out of the bath naked with just a small face towel over the shoulders and walking naked towards the fridge for a cold drink was pretty common within a standard Japanese household.

 

“There! That thing there! That’s just barbaric!”

“I know, right? Mum would often scold him for walking around with a weird Tsuchinoko[3] flopping around.”

 

Please note that this particular incident is strictly limited to Haruna’s family. Not everyone in Osaka would do this.

 

“Jyaa, wrap yourself in a large towel if you like, wa. I’m going in first.”

Haruna was not shy in the least as she chucked her clothes off and went into the bath naked after going through all the proper pre-bath procedures. Natalia had gone into the changing room to change out of her clothes and into a towel.

Since she was shy about looking at Haruna naked, she took her time so that she would enter the bath after Haruna. After making sure the towel was perfectly secure around herself, she breathed in deeply and prepared to challenge the Rock Pool Bath.

 

“Ahhh, baths are the best, wa~ As expected, Japanese people are synonymous with hot springs and baths, ya naa. If only we can enjoy a nice view from here, na. I should put up a painting of Mt Fuji on the wall, naa.”

 

However, even if she were to hang up a painting of Mt. Fuji, no one would recognise what it was or what it meant.

 

“Ah, but even I am not that familiar with Mt. Fuji since I can’t see it from Osaka.”

 

For some reason, human beings would become contemplative when they soak in hot water and breathe in fragrant steam. Haruna was no exception.

 

“From Natalia’s reaction, I can tell how much she hates this. I guess the public bath hurdle might be too high for the locals.” For a culture that could not even tolerate the nakedness among same-sex people, getting into a bath together would probably not be feasible.

“In Japan, a lot of places don’t allow you to bring a large towel into the bath, but I guess I have no choice but to allow it here. Or, I could limit the amount of time in a bath to 15 minutes per person.”

 

The transfer of cross-cultural habits takes time to adjust compared to cuisine only transfer.

So long as the ingredients used in the cuisine is not prohibited due to religious reasons, or is considered ‘food’ in that region. The potato, for example, was despised for a long time due to its reputation as a poisonous plant. However, in general, food-related cultures are easier to adapt to.

It mostly depends on whether or not the people there find it ‘delicious’.

In fact, cuisines from different parts of the world have spread like wildfire and crossed cultures in the past two or three decades. In the post-war period, pizza from Italy became very popular in the US and from there, it spreaded out to other countries through television and commercials.

There are even Sushi restaurants in places like New York and Paris now.

Compared to that, cultural difference assimilation is a little more difficult to navigate.

 

Just then, the changing room door opened and Natalia came in, with a towel tightly wrapped around her chest and waist.

“Oh, you came!”

“I must take this opportunity to also… experience… this. Moreover, Adventurers don’t run away from challenges, embarrassing though it may be.”

Natalia tightened her hold on the towel guarding her body and extend one foot forward into the bath,

“Tanma!”

 

By the way, ‘tanma’ means ‘time out’.

 

“Eh? What is it?”

Natalia retracted her foot.

“You must pour hot water over yourself first! I understand that you’re embarrassed, but going in without making this step is a breach of bathing etiquette.”

“I- I see, I understand. It’s unsanitary to just enter with a dirty body, right?”

Natalia grabbed one of the buckets, went to a corner to take off her towel to pour hot water over herself.

“D-don’t look over here…”

“A-re? Natalia sure has a good pair of boobs. Hoho, you’re the type who looks slender in clothes, eh?”

“Told you not to look!”

“They’re not as big as mine though.”

“Don’t say anything unnecessary!” Natalia sighed. She wrapped herself back into her towel and entered the bath, making sure to leave some space between herself and Haruna.

“Natalia, your towel is coming a bit loose around your chest. It actually looks lewder than not covering them.”

“I don’t care anymore… You’re the only one here anyway.” Natalia felt as though all her worries and cares had melted away by the water. “What’s the point of worrying over pointless things anyway?” She thought as she stretched out her legs.

“Ahh, it’s such a nice bath, right?” sighed Natalia comfortably. “How should I put it? It kind of feels like it’s warming me up right into my soul.”

“Right? That’s the power of hot springs, wa.” Haruna’s chest puffed up with pride. “Also, this bathwater is made from my Magical Healing Hot Spring Water, so anyone who says they don’t recover after a bath is a liar.”

 

[Gumihou: Ahhh, I want to enter a large bath too…]

 

[1] Cold Ameyu or Hiashiameyu = Cold Candy Drink (Hot Water)

 

[2] By the way, it’s perfectly normal for Japan to ship hot spring water into towns and cities. My sister stayed in this Onsen Ryokan Yuen in Shinjuku which had their bath water brought in from ___

https://ryokan-yuen.jp/en/room/

 

[3] Tsuchinoko – A mythical snake like creature with a rather wide and flattened belly

https://mysteriousfacts.com/tsuchinoko-snake-creature-japan/