episode_0082

I arrived at Gelida together with the villagers who had been detained by the Iron Can Unit, and the village chief who ran out barefoot greeted me with reddened eyes.

“After losing sleep over those guys for years, I can finally stretch out my legs and sleep soundly. It’s all thanks to you guys.”

“Bloodborne… Ugh.”

I had to hide my embarrassing excitement by hastily covering Rachel’s mouth.

Is this what you call a sellout?

It seems that our teacher really likes the rustic nickname, Blood Demon Prince, that he gave to his disciple.

Even as he came to Gelida Village, he couldn’t hide his delight as he said, “If Shinmyeong is the Bloodthirsty Prince, then I will be that god.”

Of course, it seems like he’s teasing her, judging by the slightly bitter smile.

anyway.

After exchanging greetings with the village chief, I looked around.

Those who had their families taken away by the Iron Can Group are rushing in all at once to reunite with their separated families.

Hugging and jumping around, hugging and crying, hugging and screaming.

The town square was bustling with people expressing their joy in their own ways, and we had to run away from the square as people tried to bow to us, give us money, or take off the gifts on their wrists or around their necks.

We never thought of receiving any reward or following, and all we needed now was a comfortable resting place.

And there was nothing good about attracting too much attention.

I passed the security with a free pass(?) thanks to the village chief’s privilege, but Lumiang was hiding in the cart.

If someone happens to find Lumiang hiding in the cart and starts questioning him, a very difficult situation could unfold.

Since I only exerted my power to a moderate extent, moderate hospitality was sufficient.

“We will raid the village granary and prepare a grand welcoming party!”

“It’s okay. I just need a comfortable place to stay.”

“Then we will take you to the best accommodation in town!”

So we followed the village chief who was in the lead and received extreme poverty until we arrived at what was said to be the best lodging in the village.

I didn’t have high expectations since the total population was 200.

“… … .”

“… .”

“?”

As if to meet those low expectations, the best accommodation in town was so shabby that it made me wonder what the other accommodations that weren’t among the best would be like.

I had visited countless villages smaller than Gelida, and stayed in countless lodgings that were said to be the ‘best’, but this was the first time I had stayed in such a shabby lodging, so I had to look at the village chief, who was grinning broadly, with a puzzled look.

I understand that your financial situation is not good after suffering from the Iron Can Group for years.

I also understand that the accommodation was not well managed.

It must have been a long time since travelers stopped coming here because of the cast-iron cans that stood proudly at the crossroads.

However, it was questionable why the accommodation, which was covered in dust and had spider webs everywhere, was referred to as ‘the best’.

I looked at the village chief with such questions, but the village chief only smiled faintly in response to my questioning gaze.

As if this accommodation were the town’s landmark.

“Hehehe. Actually, this is not a place to stay, but a place managed by our family. There is a hidden treasure.”

“Treasure?”

The village chief’s confident face grew increasingly suspicious, and he took a step closer, covered his mouth with his hand, and spoke quietly.

We were the only ones around, and there was no time to even hear a word.

“This is where our family heirloom, passed down through generations, is located.”

“… Is that so.”

I don’t see any elements that would make me want to go there.

It was just an ordinary accommodation, and it looked like an unmanaged accommodation.

I wonder what was so special about the village chief’s ancestors that they left them behind in such a grand way.

As I looked around the inside of the inn with a cold expression, the village chief whispered to me again.

“Just as the Lord sent a special person to look after the village, the Lord also sent a special power behind this inn.”

“Back?”

“Yes. The power is so miraculous and divine that it has been kept a secret from outsiders, but since you are the ones who carry out the word of the Lord, there is no need to hide it.”

“… … .”

What great power is hidden in this shabby lodging that makes it so inconvenient?

And why are they hiding the family heirloom that has been preserved for generations in such a shabby place?

Just as too much steaming can make food tasteless, the village chief was about to urge the others to hurry up and make a fuss about the impending release of the unexpected heirloom.

“Then, let us accept the miraculous grace that the Lord has bestowed upon our village of Gelida.”

The village chief led us to the yard behind the lodge.

And I could see it.

It is the wise grace of God.

An heirloom passed down through generations.

“… … .”

It was such a wonderful heirloom that it was understandable why the village chief was so excited and boasted about it as a blessing from the Lord.

but.

“… .”

That heirloom was something to be admired and considered a symbol of divine power by medieval people, but to me, a modern person, it was something ordinary and familiar.

A small pond located in the center of the backyard.

Green garden trees decorate the area around the pond.

Pure white steam rising above the calm waters.

‘It’s a hot spring.’

It was an outdoor hot spring.

**

“Heh heh heh! Isn’t that amazing? The myth of Pyron, the god of fire, warming the bathhouse of the gods forever with his eternal flame, the eternal flame, unfolded right here!”

with a plop.

I immersed myself in pure white steam.

The heat that envelopes my whole body makes me feel like my brain is melting like ice cream.

I leaned back and looked up at the wide open sky.

The face of the village chief who introduced this hot spring as the bathhouse of the gods, eternally warmed by the Eternal Flame, is clearly depicted.

“This is the bathhouse of the gods. Is it okay for us to use it?”

“Yes! Aren’t you messengers sent by the Lord?”

《… Okay. I see.》

How could we refuse the kindness of the village chief who treats us as messengers of the gods and donates the bathhouse of the gods, which is a family heirloom?

He looked around at the group with a face full of anticipation for a fantastic hot spring bath in the middle of winter, and exchanged glances with the village chief, who believed that the family heirloom that had been passed down through generations was the bathhouse of the gods, as if he was worried that this would hurt his pride.

《It is indeed a family heirloom. What a beautiful view.》

《Hehehe. Actually seeing it, no. It’s an honor to see the bathhouse of the gods with my own eyes.》

《… … This is just a warm place… sob sob.》

Rachel’s directness almost broke the contraction, but my quick blocking saved the village chief’s smile.

《Hehehe! Then I’ll bring some washing and cleaning supplies.》

So the village chief left, and so I was enjoying an open-air bath, something I had never enjoyed even in modern times.

The village chief would be extremely disappointed if he found out that the family heirloom, the bathhouse of the gods, was actually a hot spring formed by natural phenomena.

If only they had the excavation technology, they could have made Gelida Village the best hot spring village in the northern region, like the public baths of ancient Rome, and it would have been a source of glory for their family, but the closed culture of the Middle Ages, which considered public bathing taboo, would have treated the hot spring village poorly.

anyway.

“Yongcheon water is not a common phenomenon.”

It was a natural reaction, considering the logic of the Middle Ages, when supernatural phenomena could not be scientifically proven.

For them, who regard plagues as curses from the gods, lightning as their wrath, and floods as their punishment, these natural hot springs are sacred places where the gods are believed to occasionally come down to earth to wash themselves.

Hot springs are a common sight in volcanic areas, but in general areas, they are rarely seen. They are underground water heated by geothermal heat generated by vibrations in the earth’s crust or magma, and they rise up through the soft ground, and this is called a dragon spring.

Natural hot springs created by the gushing spring water accumulating in one place were bound to be rare.

Especially since there were no volcanic areas in the Kingdom of Elpherion.

There is a history of hot springs being used in ancient Rome, but since it was not common and public bathing was taboo in the Middle Ages, and the ability to spread information was low, many people regarded hot springs as sacred, likening them to myths.

In particular, since it was said to be an heirloom that had been passed down from generation to generation and was kept as a family secret under the pretext of ‘protection,’ no one would have told them that it was a natural hot spring.

anyway.

“Great~.”

I simply soaked my body in the open-air bath and enjoyed an unplanned hot spring bath.

The taste of the open-air bath was so wonderful that at this very moment, I felt like I was truly using the bathhouse of the gods.

I am enjoying the pleasure of an open-air bath for the first time in my life.

Knock knock.

The door leading to the accommodation and the backyard opened.

I turned my head, thinking that the village chief or the lender was going to bring me something to wipe down… .

“Rachel?”

The silhouette that caught both eyes was none other than Rachel.

Rachel entered the backyard, wrapped in a long towel.

And the body wrapped in a towel clearly showed off its curves.

In particular, the bulging flesh on the upper part of the chest was somewhat revealing.

“I asked you to keep guard outside the accommodation. Is it okay if I join you?”

…you’re already in the bath?

“Well, I, I don’t mind… .”

“Then.”

Swish.

Rachel, who checked the water temperature by dipping her toes in, soon immersed her entire body in the open-air bath.

Opposite me.

Hmm…

A mixed bathhouse?

Our teacher, you surprisingly have an open mind, don’t you?