episode_0020

Of course, I couldn’t just stand there blankly.

We soon began preparing to enter the city.

Although there were some things that made me feel uncomfortable during the process.

“…This is…”

Linia said only one word in a voice trembling with anxiety and was looking at the rope in her hands.

Her hand holding it involuntarily becomes tense.

In the case of Rubina and Emma, these were restraints that they naturally wrapped around their bodies to avoid being noticed whenever they visited places with many people.

However, as she was filled with hope that she might finally escape from slavery, there was no way she would be happy to be tied up again, no matter how much it was for camouflage.

I also couldn’t easily urge her as she was shaking, but fortunately, Emma stepped up appropriately.

Emma held Linia’s trembling hands, took out the rope she was holding, and began tying it to her own body.

Then she came back to me, put the rope in my hand, and leaned her body slightly towards me.

Luvia, who was rubbing her body to ask me to put a leash on her, frowned for a moment, but didn’t say anything when she saw Linia who was frozen behind Emma and me.

Emma closed her eyes and made a relaxed expression, showing Linia how much she trusted me through actions rather than words.

Linia, who saw this, stopped trembling and exhaled more comfortably, and began tying herself with rope.

He even helped camouflage another unnamed centaur who had been just dazed after waking up.

Soon we were nothing more than a man, an adventurer and slave trader, and his four slaves.

“…I will enter the city as quickly as possible. Please be patient.”

Linia nodded quietly at my words, and we left the forest and entered the beginning of the road into the city.

——

How long has it been?

Soon, Aquaris began to catch our eyes.

‘…It’s always amazing.’

Pure white steam was rising from the pure white city built of marble and flying to blend in with the clouds.

It was evidence that the water contained in the numerous baths inside the vast Thermae was glowing with warmth and heat even at this very moment.

And in front of us, a fairly large crowd of people was moving towards the steamy city.

The majority were carriages ridden by nobles, and their servants, guards, and slaves moving with them.

Their eyes focus on us for just a moment, but then they return to their own business.

Fortunately, we didn’t seem to be that noticeable right now.

Armed and wearing armor without a carriage, with only three centaurs and one human as slaves, I probably looked like any other adventurer who had come to deliver slaves to Aquarius, which was always in high demand for manpower.

I quietly followed the procession slowly entering the city, and when I finally encountered the guards guarding the entrance to the city, they seemed to have thought of me in the same way and showed a nonchalant attitude.

“Oh… They are all high quality products… Centaurs would be good for labor, and they all have good bodies and looks-”

He simply added, looking at Luvia, Emma, and the other two women with his eyes as if they were criticizing them.

Since the core element of Aquarius is the gigantic Thermai, was it because the city guard was also half part of it?

Fortunately, I was able to silence them by quickly approaching them and showing them the medal I had hidden behind my breastplate.

“Huh? Gold Grade-”

“If possible, I would like to quietly head to Thermae, but I have a story to share with ‘her’.”

“Now.. just wait.. ”

After silencing them before they could shout in surprise, we were soon guided by a soldier into the city through an inconspicuous side road.

It may be said that it is a water city famous for its luxurious and large-scale Thermae, but it was always impressive to see that even the side streets were clean.

Not long after quietly entering the city, I saw a river running through the middle of the city and a large bridge over it.

On the other side of the bridge was the entrance to Thermai Solarinae and a huge statue of its founder, Empress Solaria.

The sphere of flame held in the statue’s hand was still burning brightly, shining brightly above the heads of visitors to the crowded Thermae as the authority of the emperor, the sun of the empire.

“…Here…”

However, because it was rather dark under the lanterns, entering and exiting through another door under the bridge was barely noticeable to others.

“Thank you for the guidance. Let’s go now.”

After sending the soldier away, we walked slowly along the path under the bridge and disappeared into the shadows.

Then, he carefully pushed aside the marble wall and came out again from a passageway inside Thermae, where cloudy steam, the noisy laughter of men and women, and the sound of water lapping were rising from both sides.

“…It will be okay for everyone to untie the ropes now. Thank you for your hard work.”

As soon as I finished speaking, Linia quickly began to take off the ropes that were binding her body.

Still, when I tied the rope, I must have tied it very carefully for camouflage, and when I couldn’t untie it easily, I told him not to worry and that he could just break it with force.

-Too-duk…

“Phew…”

Then, the next moment, Linia was breathing a sigh of relief along with the broken ropes.

‘I hope you can stay here and find some peace of mind…’

As I helped untie the others, I looked at Linnea somewhat pitifully.

Soon, the sound of footsteps echoed in the passage, and she was startled, turned her head, and took a stance to rush in at any moment.

“Calm down. Not the enemy.”

“Welcome to Thermai Solarinae.”

While I was quickly stopping Linia, the blue-haired woman who came to see us bowed her head politely and said hello.

“Ah, Liber, Rubia, and Emma. It’s been a while since everyone came here. I couldn’t be happier.

But there are some people you didn’t see last time?”

“Nice to meet you too. Niella. They are the ones who want to entrust themselves to this Thermae.

I would like to meet the hostess here to talk about that problem and other things, so please guide me once again.”

“Of course. Everyone, please follow me this way.”

While following Niella, who was walking ahead, Linia continued to look around.

He seemed unable to hide his anxiety as he laid back his long ears close to the constant sound of people talking and laughing, barely separated by a single wall.

Niella noticed her appearance and soon began to hum a song softly.

I couldn’t understand the meaning of the lyrics, and there was still loud noise around me, but even so, her voice shone brightly through all the noise, like a beacon in the darkness.

Warmly like a mother’s lullaby that puts her child who suffered from nightmares back to sleep comfortably.

Before she knew it, Linia had pricked up her ears that had been lying down due to anxiety and was trying to hear Niella’s song a little better.

Just because the song was so beautiful.

Niella, seeing her like that, smiled softly and turned her head forward again while continuing to sing.

So that no one feels anxious while walking with her.

Just as we always have when we have brought here those seeking refuge from the harsh empire.

Finally, the joyful walk thanks to Niella’s song stopped when she pushed aside the wall that blocked a passage.

Despite its massive size and weight, the door opened gently and silently, as if by magic, revealing what was hidden beyond.

In the middle of the room, which was almost the size of a small park, was a spacious bathtub filled with warm, clean water, which formed steam droplets on the colorful mosaics and statues surrounding it.

Flower petals of a variety of colors were floating on the water as if they had just been scattered, painting the surface with their scents and colors.

All that beauty seemed to shine even brighter thanks to the silence where not a single human voice could be heard.

“It is an honor to be able to show you the sea of flowers, one of the prides of Thermai Solarinae.”

Niella, who entered the room first, turned around, bowed her head, and introduced this secret space to us.

Among the many bathhouses in Thermai, this is a special space prepared for VIPs who want a more secret and quiet rest.

A space where stories that shook this empire were sometimes shared.

It was a space that even most of the empire’s nobles had to pay a large sum of money to use, but now we were stepping into it without any problem.

“Please rest here for a while to relieve your travel fatigue. I will immediately tell the hostess that you have arrived.”

Niella greeted us politely and then left for a moment, leaving us alone.

It was a shame that her singing voice disappeared, but perhaps thanks to the quiet and peaceful atmosphere of this place, Lineag did not feel as anxious as before.

It felt like I was trying to take a break, taking in the scent of flowers floating on the water.

Of course, there were people who were not satisfied with that alone.

When I heard the sound of something someone was wearing slowly falling to the bathroom floor along with a light hum, I couldn’t help but turn my head and look in that direction.

The moment I saw the white skin peeking through the steam, I became embarrassed and raised my voice.

“Ruvia?!”

But when I shouted, Rubia had already combed through the flower petals and dipped her body into the warm water.

“Phew… As expected, it’s amazing to have a proper bath for the first time in a while… Are you really not going to come in? Master?”

Luvia’s gaze, as she looked this way as she loosened her hair, had a clear mix of playfulness and a bit of seduction.

Her body, swimming among the flower petals beneath the surface, revealed her desire a little more openly.

“No… there are other people too, what are you doing?…”

“Why? I’m just saying we’ve worked hard for a long time, so let’s take a break together? oh? Did you have some wild thoughts?”

Even though I asked embarrassedly, Luvia just smiled and answered.

“Hmm… When I told you earlier, what they were trying to do in the bath after kicking them out was-”

“Definitely, I should take a dip too.”

“Fuhehehe!”

Next to Luvia, who was continuing to play around, Emma also joined in by dipping her body into the bath.

At that moment, his appearance changed back to that of a half-man, half-horse.

Naturally, the wave that was shaking due to the suddenly increased mass hit Rubia directly in the face while she was playing on the water.

“Hehe… Kehehe! What are you doing all of a sudden?!”

“What do you mean? I just wanted to soak and rest a bit.”

Of course, even if he said that, his persuasiveness was greatly diminished at the point where he was crossing his arms to cover his exposed chest because he couldn’t properly cover his upper body due to his changed size.

In the meantime, my eyes were naturally drawn to the size of my breasts pressed against my arm, and the moment I noticed it, I was extremely embarrassed.

I just hoped that Linia next to me didn’t know that I did that.

“Please move that body carefully. Are you planning to destroy the bathtub this time? This is a lot more expensive than a bed.”

“Keuhum! I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Ha! Are you going to turn away? The last time I went into the master’s bed completely naked, I accidentally transformed and almost destroyed the master’s back and the bed – Wow!”

To stop Luvia from telling the embarrassing story, Emma once again covered her mouth by splashing water loudly.

Luvia, who drank water twice, could no longer hold back and splashed around trying to pour water on Emma.

“Uh… Don’t you… have to stop that?”

“Yes… well… that’s right. But I won’t have to do it.”

“Yes?”

Linia, who had been quietly asking me in embarrassment, did not understand my answer and froze as she looked worriedly at the noisy bathhouse.

I saw something big and black moving under the water, approaching Rubia and Emma.

“Danger-”

“No. It’s okay.”

I stopped Linia, who was startled and trying to warn her, and looked at the two who were still bickering, unaware of what was approaching.

‘Well… because I’m self-employed.’

The next moment, those black shadows finally appeared on the surface of the water and quickly attacked the two.

Its identity was purple tentacles and suckers divided into several branches.

“Wow! Oooh!”

“Aaaah! This again!”

Before they could say anything more, the long, thick tentacles quickly tied them up and subdued them.

The tentacles that instantly penetrated into the mouths of the women who were half-in the air and writhing around, blocking their screams, turned their direction as if they were slightly looking back in this direction.

Seeing that, I once again stopped Linia, who was about to enter a full combat stance, and greeted her in a loud voice.

“…It’s been a while. Lesala. How have you been?”

“I think we would get along much better if your slaves were a little more polite in my bath.”

A new voice echoed in the steamy room, and its owner appeared.

A beautiful woman looking at me with a frown, fiddling with her relatively short purple curly hair as if annoyed, is the chief caretaker of this huge Thermae Solarinae.

Lesala Polyfa.

Surprisingly, she was not a human, but Scylla, the manager of the facility, where the Empress personally supervised the construction and is still paying a lot of attention.

While Niella was laughing awkwardly right next to her, she sighed and lightly moved the tentacles under her pelvis to lift the trapped Luvia and Emma out of the bath.

“Don’t you know that recklessly playing with water in the bathhouse is prohibited?”

‘…But honestly, I think there was more water that splattered when I picked them up with the tentacles just now-‘

I shook my head as if it was nothing in front of Lesala’s gaze, which seemed to read my thoughts and glared at me again.

Because I wanted to refuse to deal with those tentacles again.

“Well… So… What brought you here?… Ah.”

Finally, after sighing, Lesala, who had been asking me as if it were a nuisance, soon found Linia, who was completely frozen by all this, behind me, and the blonde centaur who was still looking at all of this indifferently, and spoke.

“…Let’s listen to the story first.”