Chapter 9

Continuing the combat, magic, and gift training, only one week remained until the preparation period ended.

The day before yesterday, all of our weapons and armor had arrived, so since yesterday, we had been training in combat while wearing the armor. Of course, the weapons were for training.

To get used to the armor, I made it a point to wear it when walking around town.

I thought I might be feared if I went out fully equipped, but many people walked around with combat laborers as guards, so I didn’t stand out at all.

Perhaps the existence of Ruritra, the Sand Lizardman with amber scales, was more eye-catching.

I had also gotten quite used to magic. It was difficult to succeed at first, but once I managed to summon a spirit, it was just a matter of getting used to it.

"But the gift..."

I muttered while poking the blue-white ball—the light spirit—flying around me. The light spirit had no physical form, but the sensation of touching it with my fingertips was fluffy and pleasant.

However, it would burst if I gave it a strong shock, so I had to be careful.

I was in the middle of training to control my magic.

As for the gift "Infinite Bathroom," I thought the amount of water I could produce had increased compared to before, but the MP shown on the status card didn’t change at all. The level remained at 5.

"What's the matter?"

A servant of the temple asked.

Actually, I was continuously producing water from the "Infinite Bathroom" to train my MP.

I had brought in a barrel instead of a basin and was filling it with water from a shower instead of a faucet.

The servants were helping to carry the barrels. Four of them were carrying the barrels for me.

Incidentally, the water I produced was sold to water merchants. Since it was clean water that was hard to come by, I was able to sell it for a good price.

At first, I could only produce enough water for two barrels, but now I could produce enough for five barrels.

I wanted to think that I had grown that much, but the fact that there was no change in the status card was making me anxious.

"No, I'm just thinking that the level isn't going up. Do I really need to fight monsters?"

The servants looked at each other upon hearing my words. One of them timidly spoke up.

"Um, Hero-sama, have you updated your card?"

"…What's that?"

After that, I learned from the servant that I had a major misunderstanding.

This status card showed the status at the time of creation and did not automatically update in real-time as the level increased.

In other words, to know the current status, I needed to update the card.

Incidentally, creating a new card was quite expensive, but updating it was not a significant cost.

In this country, it was a custom for nobles to create a status card for their newborns as soon as they could go out and update it every birthday to celebrate their growth.

This custom continued until the child reached adulthood.

According to the servant, they updated the card just before the departure ceremony, so I decided to wait until that day without updating it.

I was aware that I had spent a considerable amount of money on things like buying Ruritra and custom-ordering armor.

Since I couldn't skimp on the preparations for the journey, I thought it was best to be frugal in such small matters.

And then there was the problem with the hose.

Thanks to the introduction of the butler, I had a craftsman who worked with rubber make a prototype.

However, it wasn't as sturdy as the hoses I knew from Japan and would swell and burst under the pressure of the water.

I thought making it thicker might help, but unfortunately, the technology in this world couldn't produce a rubber hose; it only resulted in a hard, inflexible rubber tube.

In the end, the craftsman suggested using leather.

In this world, people used leather bags to carry small amounts of liquid like water. It was common for travelers to carry two leather bags, one for water and one for wine.

In the end, we decided to use a slightly thicker rubber for the part that attaches to the faucet and the skin of a sea beast, which was said to be the best material for water bags, for the hose part.

Sea beasts are a general term for giant monsters that live in the sea. They don't transfer odors, are sturdy, and don't leak. The water bag I bought the other day was also made of the same material.

However, this material was not available in the Holy Capital Jupiter Polis, so we had to import it from another country.

It was expensive, but a material that would break halfway through would be meaningless. I decided to have the craftsman make a hose from the skin of a sea beast, considering it a necessary preparation.

As for the companions, I simply couldn't find any.

It wasn't that there were no suitable people in this country. In fact, the other four had so many candidates that they had to select from a large number of people.

Why didn't they come to me? There were two reasons: I was a man, and the conditions were too strict.

To be clear, the strict conditions were not about mixed bathing.

Being in the same position as the first holy king was very valuable in this country, and if I had made that condition public, I might have attracted hunters who wanted children.

And it wasn't to my taste. I hadn't even met the candidates; I had left all that to the butler.

What made the conditions strict was whether they could fight on par with Ruritra.

I left the judgment of whether to actually fight Ruritra to the butler, but no one had made it that far yet.

As for non-warriors, there were simply fewer of them. Magic required a special talent.

Out of all the candidates, only about 20% could use magic, and more than half of those were clerics.

This showed how rare offensive magic users, like the princess who was a mage, were.

"Alright, that's enough for today."

When the fifth barrel was full, I declared the end of the session to the servants.

Thanks to repeating this every day, I could now tell how much MP I had left.

MP decreases when you use magic or abilities, and when it drops below 50%, you start to feel mental fatigue. When it drops below 30%, you start to feel physical weakness.

At first, I overused it and couldn't move. According to the high priest, my MP was down to about 10% at that time.

Incidentally, it's almost impossible to use up all your MP. Most people pass out before that happens.

I probably had a bit more than 50% left. Since the next training session with Ruritra was after a break, it was better to have some reserve.

Incidentally, MP recovers with a good night's sleep.

Depending on the amount used, it might not recover in one night, but I had been using the leftover MP to the limit every night to produce soap, and so far, it had always recovered by the next morning.

The next day, for some reason, Haruno and the others came to the temple.

They had already received their armor, and instead of the uniforms they wore when we first met, they were properly equipped.

The hard leather armor was custom-made to fit their bodies, so it must have been quite impressive.

However, Haruno wore a surcoat and mantle over her armor, and Sera wore a cleric's robe, so they didn't show their figures.

"Haruno, are you here to learn magic?"

"No, we're here to take refuge..."

"Refuge? From what?"

A strange word came out. What were they taking refuge from?

"Yes, from the people who volunteer to be our companions."

"Why?"

I couldn't understand why they were running away when they were having trouble finding companions.

"Many people came, but their eyes were..."

"Eyes?"

"They were... lecherous..."

Haruno said, blushing and looking down. I couldn't help but avert my gaze from her.

"Oh, it's fine for you, Tōya. It's normal for men of your age to think that way. But the people who want to be companions are a bit different."

Haruno's follow-up stung my heart. Had she noticed that I was looking at their chests?

I asked without meeting her gaze.

"Different? How so?"

"Well, a different kind of lechery? It felt like they were after something other than me. I'm sorry, I know it doesn't make sense."

"...No, I kind of understand."

Listening to her, I realized that not only women but also men might be after the "same position as the first holy king." The people surrounding her were likely of that ilk.

Thanks to the story about the hunters, I understood.

"Thank you..."

Haruno seemed slightly relieved that I understood.

"I heard that people who want to be companions don't come to you, so I thought I'd take refuge here until the departure ceremony."

"In my case, the butler turns away people who don't meet the conditions."

"Actually, I asked the butler not to let anyone through."

"You're going to listen but turn them down?"

"Yes... um, that's fine, but Tōya..."

"What?"

"Can you look at me? I'm hiding it so you can't see."

Haruno asked me to look at her. I didn't want to be seen, but it was also unpleasant to keep averting my gaze.

I looked at her face as she asked, being careful not to let my gaze drop.

We ended up staring at each other, and it felt a bit awkward.

"Um, well, let me introduce you to another companion."

With a red face, Haruno brought out a girl who had been hiding behind her.

A small girl with cocoa-colored hair that reached her shoulders. She was probably about as tall as my or Haruno's chest. She wore a bulky mantle, which seemed a bit too large.

"This is Rium. She's a mage."

"Rium. Nice to meet you."

"Ah, nice to meet you, Rium."

Rium greeted me with a neutral expression. She seemed to have a cool personality.

I instinctively added "chan" to her name because she was small, but she didn't seem to mind.

"She's only fourteen, but she's an excellent mage."

Then Sera put her hand on Rium's shoulder and spoke happily.

Fourteen, that would be a second-year middle school student. However, the small Rium looked more like an elementary school student.

While Rium was unapproachable, Haruno and Sera were very friendly. She must be like a little sister to them.

After that, while I was doing my daily task of producing water from the "Infinite Bathroom," Haruno and Sera started practicing swordsmanship with Ruritra.

I adjusted the door to see them practicing.

Incidentally, while they were in the castle, they had practiced with several knight captains, most of whom had recommended their own children, subordinates, or even themselves.

This was the main reason they had taken refuge in the temple.

"Did Haruno originally practice kendo?"

"Kyuudō, she said."

While watching Haruno and Sera practice, I muttered, and Rium responded.

"Archery." Indeed, she seemed to suit a hakama.

Curious about the unusual items, Rium was looking around the "Infinite Bathroom."

"Was she a novice in swordsmanship, then?"

Watching her fight Ruritra, it was hard to believe she had been a novice just a few weeks ago.

She was clearly better at moving than Sera, who seemed to be supporting her.

"But, Tōya-sama, I don't think you're losing either."

A servant waiting for the barrel to fill up tried to reassure me.

I was aware that I had improved compared to the beginning.

I didn't think I had some hidden talent.

This was probably due to the "blessing of the goddess of light, the most noble favor in this world," as the high priest had said.

Sera, being a cleric, also had a similar effect. Haruno, who seemed like a gentle lady, looked quite impressive swinging her sword against the large lizardman.

The practice sessions with the knight captains, who had recommended companions with ulterior motives, had actually been beneficial for them.

Perhaps the knight captains had felt that Haruno's demeanor made her easy to handle.

Nakahana Ritsu, the other female, was said to be more active, inviting the prince, the current holy king's successor, to be her companion, so she might have felt even more so.

"What's this?"

While I was watching Haruno and the others, Rium, who was inspecting the "Infinite Bathroom," called out.

The "Infinite Bathroom" was a single room, and the only thing separating the bathroom and the changing area was a curtain.

The curtain was open, and the barrel was in the changing area, while I was using the shower to fill it. I had brought a plastic chair from the bathroom and was sitting next to it.

Rium, on the other hand, was on all fours in the bathroom, not minding the wet floor, and was looking at something with interest.

What she was holding was a bottle of shampoo.

"That's shampoo. It's soap for washing your hair."

"...It looks like it's filled with liquid?"

She shook the bottle by her ear and listened to the sound inside, then asked.

Her eyes seemed to accuse me of lying. There was no liquid soap in this world, so she probably thought I was lying.

"No, I'm not lying. Here, let me show you. Hold out your hand."

Rium handed me the shampoo bottle with a suspicious look. I pressed the nozzle and put a little shampoo on her small hand.

Rium's eyes widened in surprise. She probably didn't understand how the nozzle worked.

Then I scooped some water from the bathtub and poured it over her hand.

"Here, try to make bubbles."

"...Like this?"

She moved her hand as instructed, and her hand was soon covered in white foam.

The soap in this world was more primitive and didn't foam as nicely. The servants waiting for the barrel to fill up were also watching the foam with interest.

Rium's eyes, which had been staring at the foam, soon sparkled. I could see her age-appropriate, or rather, slightly childish expression.

I could understand why Haruno and the others doted on her.

Incidentally, all the soaps here were not from a specific manufacturer but were original products.

Of course, I didn't know all the soaps from every manufacturer, but this shampoo, for example, had "Ingredients: My Magic Power" written on the label.

I had already reported and consulted with the high priest about this. He said that if I was using my MP to create the contents, it made sense.

"Hey, don't eat it! That's not cream!"

Seeing Rium open her mouth and bring her hand close, I hurriedly stopped her.

After washing the foam off with water, Rium looked at me with an accusing gaze, but this time her eyes looked childishly cute.

"What's the matter?"

At that moment, Haruno and Sera, who had finished their training, came over and peeked into the "Infinite Bathroom." Ruritra, who didn't like steam, was standing a bit away.

"No, Rium was trying to eat the soap foam."

"Eh... I'm sorry. Rium, that's not food."

Haruno scolded her, and Rium looked down dejectedly.

She looked like a sad puppy, so I decided to follow up.

"From the perspective of people in this world, it probably looked like cream, I guess."

"That's... probably true. Soap is rare in this world, and it doesn't foam much even when used."

Haruno seemed to recall something from her time in the castle.

"Still, this is Tōya's gift..."

Sera, peering into the "Infinite Bathroom," looked surprised at the water in the barrel. The clarity of the water was unparalleled, so it was a natural reaction for someone from this world.

"Hmm, it's full. Alright, carry it out."

"Hai!"

The servants carried out the barrel filled with water. This was the fifth one, so today's training was over.

I stood up and moved the chair back to the bathroom.

With the barrels gone, the "Infinite Bathroom" looked tidy, and Haruno seemed to have something to say, fidgeting.

I could guess what she wanted to say. She had just finished intense exercise and was sweating.

"Um, Tōya, it's embarrassing to ask, but..."

"I know what you want to say, but if you listen to me now, it might get even more embarrassing."

"Eh...?"

If I had gotten her to agree to the condition, she might have ended up taking a mixed bath with me, even though she was a serious person. It was a faint hope, but it crossed my mind.

However, I didn't think it was a good idea.

Even if I aimed for a mixed bath, I didn't want to resort to such a deceptive tactic.

So, I decided to explain the condition to her before she asked.

"This bath can only be used if I'm in it. You can use the changing area if you want."

"Eh? So, together...?"

"That's right."

Haruno's face turned bright red.

I felt my cheeks heating up too. I was probably as red as her.

"Um, I'm sorry! I'll pass."

"That's for the best. I don't want to force you."

Haruno, looking down, was blushing and seemed embarrassed.

The heroes who went to the castle were acting separately and rarely met to talk.

From my perspective, I thought I had a decent relationship with Haruno, whom I had met after being summoned.

But when it came to taking a bath together, that was a different story.

I thought of her as a cute girl and wanted to take a