Bathe Before the Storm

Neto journeyed next door to the recommended bath house. A large clock sat above a sign that read [Everyday Spring!].

2pm. he'd slept for more than half the day...

Mukai, the old lady in charge, almost kicked Neto out. She had wire-frame spectacles and a face that looked naturally like something sour sat in her mouth. Good thing he still had plenty of silvers. This game was realistic, but Neto wouldn't let that curb his confidence. Charisma was an important skill in fantasy worlds.

'Inventory store coin pouch.'

Once the pouch was in his inventory, Neto intuitively knew how many silvers were left. 43. It was as if his system fused with his subconscious.

To avoid corrupting the shower-room and carpet, Neto asked Mukai to assault him with buckets of water. She happily obliged.

"That should be good!" Mukai said with satisfaction, wiping the sweat from her brow.

Neto saw other people working at her bathhouse, but Mukai must've just wanted to pelt him with ice-cold water. He shivered in the afternoon breeze.

The feces had all but melted away, and now it was up to Neto to finish the job before his bath.

The shower room was strangely modern. There was a large open space with holes dotting the tiled wall every few paces, each having a small bucket of sponges on the ground underneath.

Mukai Instructed him to feed some of his mana into a rune-halfway from the hole to the ground, but since Neto didn't know how to use his mana, he stepped under the one activated by her.

"You don't want to try activating one?.."

"Well, you already prepared this one, so..."

When the old lady finally left, Neto stripped down and began clearing the grime off himself. This was his first time seeing his new body without clothes on.

In his old world, Neto had been short and albino, so it was weird to see the almond-skin of this body which hung over his bones like hide on a rack.

He was impossibly thin... In school, Neto had seen pictures of starving teenagers during the great depression, and wondered if this body had been through such a circumstance.

Lines of repugnant grime nestled into each crevice of Neto's body. He took a sponge from a nearby bucket and scrubbed hard enough to draw blood. Bars of soap lay hidden in waist-high crevices beside each shower-rune. By the time Neto finished, three black sponges lay in the 'used' basket beside him, and he'd all but demolished an entire bar of soap.

Now for the bath.

This place wasn't so busy in the afternoon. Since this city was full of dungeon-delvers, Neto figured they'd be working right about now.

'This place must be packed in the morning and evening.' he thought in admiration.

Neto stepped through a curtain of steam into a man-made spring, around ten meters in diameter.

There was a totem in the middle spewing fragrant water. Drainage holes on the bottom to keep circulation and freshness.

Neto thought he would be the only one using these facilities at midday, but once he had adjusted to the molten bathwater, a head poked out from the steam.

"U-uh... Someone else is here?" the intruder muttered.

He had... well... radish hair. His cheeks were speckled with moles, and his eyes were green like the surrounding water. Neto guessed he was around 15, four years younger than himself in the real world. He wondered how old his new body was…

Radish-boy was lean but well muscled, giving his body stark definition. There were strange lines tattooed on his neck, almost like a barcode. Neto couldn't help but ogle at the animal clinging to the boy's shoulder. It looked like a mix between a wolf and a dog, but its eyes carried more intelligence than any human he'd ever met.

Did most people have such odd animal companions in this world? Neto wasn't one to talk. He was sponsoring a demon, after all...

The boy moved to the spring's edge with such grace, Neto couldn't help but see him as a kind of humanoid bunny. Without the ears or tail, that is.

"Toru." The boy introduced himself, stepping a ginger leg into the spring opposite from Neto. "H-hey I think I saw you sleeping in a gutter earlier!"

Toru's pet waddled to the edge of the spring, gingerly setting its feet inside. Was that sanitary? If Mukai let the thing inside, this was probably normal…

"I'm Neto. What kind of animal is that?" he wondered. It looked to be around Rakshasa's size.

"W-what, are you a bumpkin or something? T-thats my unique spirit, Fen."

Neto wasn't a fan of this duo's first impression, so he tested something out:

Raising his fist, Neto gestured with a certain finger.

"I've never seen that sign before..." Toru wondered.

"What, are you, a bumpkin or something? It just means Peace..."

Neto folded his middle finger back into the water. "So, what's your reason for coming during lunchtime?"

Toru didn't seem perturbed by Neto's belligerence. He sank a way into the water, reflecting on the circumstances that led him here.

"I just arrived in town and signed up at the adventurer's guild... but before I could get to the [Grand Void] some fat merchant and his dumb horse nocked me into a puddle." Toru grumbled.

Neto's heart beat with empathy.

"...damn, seems like we're here for similar reasons."

Neto didn't know where the adventurer's guild would be. Also, he was still level 0… Maybe he could use this kid to get accustomed to this world.

"You don't have to sign up if you don't care about rank... and some people like to have comrades." Toru blew bubbles in the water. "Dungeons are hard to clear when you 're by yourself, after all..."

Neto spread an evil grin, obfuscated by steam. He could tell this kid was fearful of dungeons from the look on his face.

"Thats what I hear as well, hard to make allies when your knew in town though."

"Y-yeah." Toru murmured. "But my goal is to become solo-delver in the future so I can't rely on large groups. "

Was it Neto's imagination or had Fen rolled his eyes? The spirit definitely disapproved of his masters goal.

'Where'd that confidence come from suddenly?' Neto wondered. 'Didn't Toru just say "it's nice to have comrades?"'

"Tell you what," Neto replied calmly. He leaned back, enjoying the rejuvenating heat of this spring. "I'm staying at an inn by [The Heavenly Donkey]. If you want an ally for tomorrow's delve, come by. Large groups aren't my forte either, but one more comrade can't hurt."

"I-I dont know…" Toru paused "Whats a forte?"

"Ah, hmm… Just a turn of phrase from my hometown."

After some small talk, Neto convinced the indecisive Toru to give his proposition some thought. He would come by the tavern around 7am and wait for fifteen minutes. If Toru didn't show up, no hard feelings.

Fen's expressions were unreadable, but Neto knew that spirit was worried about its master. Being a solo delver in this world seemed like a lofty goal. Goren must'be been even stronger than Neto thought....

Two more hours went by before radish boy left. They'd grown rather comfortable with one another by that time. Comfortable enough for Toru to imitate Neto's hand gesture as a goodbye.

"By the way - since we're acquaintances now... I lied. That means '****'"

Toru looked confused, but Fen chirped with laughter.

'I hope Rakshasa can get along with them.' Neto smiled.