Atelier Tanaka

Book 7: Chapter 1 (3)

Ordinary Day

After my exchange with Richard had concluded, I made my way to Ester-chan’s room.

Ester-chan and Allen were put in separate rooms despite my suggestion to put them in one together.

Allen ended up refusing that offer so I set him up in the room beside hers. It seems that Allen has decided to remain in a relationship with Ester-chan but has chosen to keep a certain distance from her in consideration for me.

I knocked on her door and after a few seconds she opened.

“…eh? Why would you come to my room?”

“I needed to let you know that things have become complicated.”

“Complicated?”

“That’s right.”

“Well, whatever. Just  get in here before somebody sees you.”

“Pardon the intrusion.”

With little prompting, I entered the room of a teenage girl.

There was a notable change in smell once I entered her room. It was the unmistakable sweet scent that can only be produced by a sexually experienced woman. It was both Ester-chan’s biggest strength and weakness. I closed the door after entering and following her small frame as she led me inside. After a few seconds, she turned on her heel to face me and said,

“I’ll make some tea. Just sit here and wait.”

“The tea isn’t necessary. This is an urgent matter.”

“Is it really that serious?”

We spoke as we made our way to the couch in the center of the living room.

I guess Allen isn’t here. I was fully expecting the two of them to be going at it when I knocked on the door. Walking in on a riajuu sex scene would be like taking a drug that would damage this virgin’s social life for the foreseeable future.

We sat across from each other with a short table between us. This was the first time I had been alone and in such close proximity to the lolibitch in some time. This gave me the chance to get a good look at her. She wore a mini-skirt with her legs crossed which gave me an excellent view of her bare thighs.

“So, what is it?”

“Richard-san is in Dragon City.”

“Eh? P-Papa is!?”

“I’ve just come from speaking with him. He’s arrived in the city to look into the tower that the mayor recently built. He will stay here for a few days which puts both you and Allen in danger if you remain here. I think it best that the both of you leave as soon as possible.”

“…y-you’re right. If he were to find out Allen is here, it would end badly.”

“I will join you on the airship when you leave.”

“Y-You will? Don’t you have things to do here?”

“I have business I need to attend to in the capital.”

“You do?”

“That’s right.”

I still need to give my report to the King.

I also need to ask him for payment.

“Thank you. That will help us a lot.”

“I think it woud be best if the two of you gathered what you need and got ready to leave immediately.”

“Of course. I’ll go see Allen and get everything ready.”

“Please do. Avoid leaving your room as much as possible. It would be difficult to explain if you were seen here and if you’re with Allen-san, there won’t be much I can do to protect him. If you need to get anything from around the city, ask the Twilight Company to assist you. Please, let Allen-san know all of this as well.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t leave.”

Ester-chan gave me a nod showing she understood the seriousness of the situation.

I gave her a nod back and stood up from the sofa.

“I’ll be back to pick you up shortly.”

“Thank you. I’ll wait for you here.”

“Good. I have preparations I need to make as well, but I’ll be back when I’m ready.”

“Thank you for letting me know.”

I need to get ready to leave as well.

It would be smart if we left by tomorrow, but today would be better.

***

With Richard sudden visit to Dragon City, I can no longer stay here for long. Both Ester-chan and Allen are in the city as well and the two parties can’t be allowed to meet.

It’s clear that the safest action for Allen is to leave the city and head to Kalis as soon as possible. Still, being in Dragon City provides me the opportunity to take a nice long bath. I haven’t been able to take one since I returned and I fell asleep last night before washing my body. My hair is starting to get greasy.

So I headed off to one of the baths in the western part of the city after asking the crew of the airship to make preparations for our departure.

The captain informed me that they could be ready to leave in as little as a half hour. I thought this gave me plenty of time to relax in the bath.

“…I feel alive again.”

I sank into the hot water and stretched out my tired arms and legs.

I’m glad that there’s nobody else here.

It’s like my own private bath.

I allowed myself to indulge in this brief moment of happiness. The bath salts I made from the powdered purple garlic plant I found still felt as rejuvenating as always. I could feel it healing every inch of my body. Maybe my prolonged absence from the baths has made the effects more potent, but the intense pleasure it caused forced me to let out a satisfied sigh.

“The baths are still the best part of this city.”

I don’t even want to leave for the capital anymore.

I just want to stay here and soak all day.

Nothing will matter outside these waters.

“….”

This is amazing.

It feels so good.

This kind of spa could ruin lives. It makes anyone that enters never want to leave. I’m tempted to neglect all of my responsibilities and stay in here all night. With a little warmer water, I could even easily fall asleep here.

“….”

Seriously, this just feels way too good.

It has to be stronger than it used to be.

I almost couldn’t stop myself from peeing.

“….”

It’s not like there’s anybody else here.

Nobody would even notice if I peed in here. The feeling of guilt that usually comes over me would dissipate in the warm waters of the bath. The relaxing sense of release would even add to my comfort.

I want to.

I want to pee in the bath.

“…should I?”

I can’t allow myself to get too loose in my old age.

But this is just a natural reaction to being in warm water. It’s not anyone’s fault and it’s not due to me being negligent.

I’ve even heard about studies that propose it’s common to find dozens of litres of pee in public pools.

I’m little more than a statistic.

“…haa~”

Nothing feels better than this.

This is paradise.

I could get addicted to this feeled.

“…did somebody pee in the bath?”

“Eh!?”

Where did that voice come from?

I stood out of the water immediately.

As I rose from the water, a figure in front of me stood as well. It wasn’t as if it were another person. It was like the figure was completely dissolved in the water, but as I stood up, it reformed into a humanoid figure and began to rise from the water.

The figure was so close that I could’ve touched it.

“….”

“Who did it –? Who peed….”

As the figure took shape, more humanlike features began to form. Once it was fully formed, it was in the shape of a woman in her thirties. However, she clearly isn’t entirely human as her entire body is translucent. More importantly, she’s not wearing any clothes. Not a single article of clothing covered her. I guess this makes sense as she’s in the bath.

“…who did it?”

“Uh, eh….”

The sudden appearance of a human figure from the water reminded me of Aesop’s Fable about the golden axe.

The nude appearance reminded me of Edita Sensei when I first saw her.

Wait a second, I know this person.

“Are you Nannuzzi-san?”

“…m-maybe I am…what does it matter….?”

“Oh, sorry, I was just surprised is all.”

This bath was the place Nannuzzi-san met her end at the hand of the loligon. I still remember the sight of her naked body exploding and the pieces flying across the bath.That marriage age woman, who I thought even my recovery magic couldn’t bring back, was now standing before me.

I think I’ve seen this before. Back before I ever saw Edita Sensei’s real body.

Or is she an actual ghost? Her translucent body would suggest this.

“It’s because of you that my life will never be the same….”

“I didn’t know you were still alive.”

As expected of a mature woman, she stood in front of this middle-aged bastard while completely nude and seemed entirely unfazed. This is what’s considered to be the natural state of a woman and I should feel privileged that I get a chance to see it.

“So why are you here? …are you planning on killing whatever is left of me?”

“No, that’s not what I’m doing here at all.”

“…then why?”

The way she spoke terrified me.

I just came here to relax.

“Since you were here first, I’ll leave and let you have it to yourself.”

“Ah, hey….”

This is one of the mixed baths, but I still feel like I have no choice. I left the bath due to the unavoidable sense of guilt I felt to her. While walking toward the exit, I shook the water from my body and wiped the sweat from my brow.

I grabbed a towel and started drying my body with one hand before running my fingers through my hair.

My hand naturally made its way to the bald spot on my head.

I noticed something strange when my fingertips reached it.

It wasn’t the normal smooth patch that I felt. There was more resistance. More hair. The alopecia patch was completely gone and had been replaced with newly grown hair.

“….ah.”

So much hair.

There’s no doubt about it, my hair has grown back. I could clearly feel the tips of newly grown hair covering the bald spot entirely. I couldn’t stop myself from rubbing it over and over just to be sure.

How did this happen?

“…w-what is it? Did you decide to kill me after all?”

“No, it’s nothing like that. It’s just….”

I remember feeling the bald patch when I took off my clothes in the changing room. It was still completely smooth. There’s no mistaking it. I checked it three times before getting in. How did this happen?

“I’m sorry, excuse me.”

I made my way to the nearest mirror and checked the spot once again.

What did this?

“Oooh….”

It’s growing back. It really is.

And it’s not growing back like it did when I used recovery magic. This is short hair that’s growing back naturally at a normal rate. It’s not like the rest of my hair, but this is the sprouting of a young plant that will grow into a forest given time.

“…impossible.

It has to be the baths.

What makes the water here different? I haven’t heard of any reports of similar effects at any of the other baths in the city. None provided to me by Gon-chan, Neumann-san, or Sophia-chan.

Maybe this specific bath is the only one.

“…are you balding? Fu~fu~n, you deserve it.”

That has to be the reason.

The married woman.

It has to be.

“I feel I need to ask you how long you’ve been here?”

“Yes, I suppose so. I’ve been here ever since that friend of yours murdered me. Whenever I attempt to leave the water, my body just disappears. I can’t leave the bath. I have no choice. My entire existence is a cruel joke.”

“I see.”

I need to look into this more.

I don’t know exactly what caused my hair to grow back, but this is always the first step taken toward an amazing discovery. X-rays, penicillin, and yagi antennas; each of these inventions were first discovered by complete accident.

“…amazing.”

“Ha? What’s supposed to be wonderful? That I now have to live in a bath with your urine?”

“No, umm, it’s just something I’m realizing….”

Now isn’t the best time for this.

I have plenty of other things on my mind, so my precious hair will have to be put on hold. This will be the first thing I get to after finishing my vacation. I’ll throw my all into this and hopefully, just maybe, I’ll be able to create what all men desire: a hair regrowth potion.

“Pardon me, I’ll leave the bath to you.”

“W-Wait a moment…”

The marriage age woman started to say something but I was already heading out the door.

I’ll be sure to ask Gon-chan to protect this bath while I’m gone. It’s too precious to lose.

Once I return to this city, I’ll start a thorough investigation.