Chapter 10: Fuji no Yu

Fuji no Yu was the public bathhouse run by Emichan’s grandmother, a classmate from elementary school. Emichan and her parents lived in an apartment, so her grandmother ran the bathhouse with just one assistant. Eventually, Fuji no Yu went out of business due to the changing times and her grandmother’s passing, becoming a parking lot a few years later. I remember feeling a little sad about it, even as a child. But my house had a regular bath, so did I ever go to Fuji no Yu? …Only once, I think. I remember going to Fuji no Yu when the water pipes broke and we couldn’t bathe at home. I think I paid the money myself that time.

I ducked under the noren of Fuji no Yu that had appeared in the le Philharmonie garden. Inside were worn wooden shoe lockers on both sides, and equally worn wooden slats (sunoko) on the floor. In front was the bandai (attendant’s station). Emichan’s grandmother used to sit here. The entrances were divided: a red noren on the right for women, and a blue noren on the left for men. …I wonder how that is handled here.

“Father, the money.”

“Ah, yes. I understand.”

Father placed a gold coin on the bandai. After seeing that, I deliberately tried to enter the ‘Men’s Bath’ side. However, I couldn’t pass the noren and was pushed back by a resilient wall of air, just like the back room of the cheap sweets store. So, I can’t enter if the gender is different. …No, wait, it’s not like that! I didn’t want to enter the Men’s Bath; it was just for verification!

“What’s wrong?”

“Well, this blue noren is for men, and the red noren is for women’s baths. So, it seems I cannot enter here.”

Incidentally, Father was able to pass through the blue noren normally. The gold coin on the bandai scattered with a jingle, just like at the cheap sweets store. Ah, next to the bandai, they are selling soap, towels, bath towels, shampoo, and conditioner. There are also toothbrushes, toothpaste, plastic cups, and razors. I was able to enter the bandai area. I thought I couldn’t enter areas off-limits to customers, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. What’s the mechanism here? Oh, but I was able to stand behind the counter at the cheap sweets store too… I don’t understand. Perhaps I can enter if it’s recognized as part of the ‘Store’ itself? The back of the cheap sweets store was completely a private home, though…

Passing through the women’s noren, I entered the dressing room. There were many tiers of shelves with numerous yanagi gōri (wicker luggage) placed on them, where one would undress. The yanagi gōri were in locker-like compartments with glass windows and could be locked. There was a calendar in the dressing room, and it was indeed from the year I came here. It feels like I’ve time-slipped. There was also a retro-looking massage chair in the dressing room. There was a fan and a hair dryer too. That’s a relief. But since they aren’t products, I probably can’t take them outside. Well, even if I could, it would be useless without electricity. There’s also a refrigerator for buying drinks. A post-bath drink is essential! I took off my socks, put them in the wicker basket, and entered the bathing area barefoot. This was to check the water supply, which was what I was most curious about. I picked up a nearby plastic basin, placed it under the faucet, and pressed the blue button on the push-button tap (karan). Water came out with a tap-tap sound.

“My, it’s like a magic tool.” “If you press the red one, hot water will come out.”

Mother sounded surprised behind me. Good, hot water comes out too. The large bathtub is full of hot water, but it’s better to be able to wash your body here. There are showers too. In the bathing area, there’s a large bathtub at the back, and on the wall is a peeling, painted mural. It’s Mount Fuji. I couldn’t enter, but I could peek into the boiler room through a window, and there was wood fiercely burning. This means there shouldn’t be any problem. Yes, that means we can take a bath.

“Well, what do you think? Shall we go in?”

I returned to the bandai and asked Father and Mother. Mother was fine, but I couldn’t accompany Father. He would have to manage the men’s bath alone.

“There’s no danger, is there? I think I’ll go in since we’re here, but I’ll feel uneasy by myself, so… you two go in too.”

“Eh, us too?”

Father also called out to Yuan Polka, the knight waiting outside the public bathhouse, his knight colleague, and Sebastion, the butler. In that case, Mother called out to the female staff, including Arisa the maid and Tanya Celesta, my bodyguard. First, I taught Father how to use things like the razor, toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, and conditioner. Soap was fine since they have that in this world. And also how to use the taps and showers inside. One gold coin was enough for everyone’s bathing fee. Still, in Earth money, that would be in the tens of thousands. A bathing fee of nearly five thousand yen per person is quite an exorbitant rate. We separated into male and female groups and went under our respective noren.

“We take off our clothes here?”

“Without hangers, Madam’s dress will get wrinkled…”

“Ah, there are hangers here.”

The women were bustling around the dressing room. Mother and I were undressed by the maids first, and no matter how many times this happens, I never get used to it. We have a bath at the Ducal House, a bigger one than this. We have a magic tool that produces hot water, so bathing is much easier, but it takes time to charge the magic power. That’s why we only bathe once a day. A Japanese person might take it for granted, but taking a bath every day is apparently a luxury even among high-ranking nobles. It’s heaven compared to when I was in the slums. There, wiping your body with a hot, wrung-out cloth was the most you could do. Mother, having finished undressing, unreservedly exposed a model-like figure. Even as her daughter, she has an incredible body. Her bust is bigger than I thought. I know I’m only six and still have a long way to go, but I unconsciously pat my own chest. If that blood flows in me, too, there is hope, right…? I sincerely, sincerely hope I don’t end up with the same sad result as in my previous life.

“Shall we go in now, Sakura?”

“Yes, Mother.”

Deciding not to think about a sad future, we took our towels and entered the bathing area.

“Let’s wash our bodies first. We don’t want to dirty the bathtub.”

“Then, Ojou-sama, I will assist you.”

Arisa the maid came right over with a soap and a towel. Ah, I guess I’ll be washed here too… Arisa scrubbed my body with a towel lathered with soap. I’m not used to this either…

“This soap has a very good scent. And it lathers up so much. I have never seen a soap like this.” “Do you think it will sell?” “Undoubtedly. The nobles will flock to buy it.”

There were about twenty bars of soap at the bandai. I can’t put out a large quantity, but I think it could sell for a considerable amount. After washing my body, I washed my hair. Mother tried to wash her hair with the same soap, so I stopped her. That will damage your hair! It would be a waste of your beautiful colored hair! Wait, I have the same color hair. Is that self-praise? I recommended that she wash her hair with shampoo and conditioner, and I used them too.

“It makes my hair so manageable…!”

Mother was surprised as she checked the condition of her hair with her fingers. She’ll be even more surprised when it dries. We tied up our washed hair with a towel and entered the bathtub. As I stretched my legs into the perfect temperature and submerged up to my shoulders, I couldn’t help but sigh aloud.

“Hafuu…”

“Oh, my, what a comfortable sound.”

Well, of course. My hair and body feel refreshed, and it’s nice. I could hear a similar sound from the men’s bath next door. They seemed to be relaxing too. We fully enjoyed the bath and got out before overheating. I poured a cold fruit milk taken from the refrigerator into my flushed body. Kuh! This is a moment of bliss! Mother, who also drank fruit milk, had sparkling eyes.

“Delicious! Does it come in various flavors?”

“If you drink too much, you will get a stomach ache, so only one bottle, please.”

The small refrigerator contained regular milk, fruit milk, coffee milk, and strawberry milk. It was a pity there were only three bottles of each. The remaining bottles were causing a small dispute among the maids. Please be friendly. I thoroughly dried my body and hair with a bath towel and used the hair dryer on Mother’s hair.

“It’s loud, but it feels good. This is convenient!”

Mother wanted to try it, so she dried my hair. The hair dryer is the best. We combed our dry hair, changed back into our original clothes, and went outside. The cold air outside felt nice and refreshing. Father and the others had already finished and were cooling off in the shade.

“How was the men’s bath?”

“Well, that soap is good. It smells nice and removes dirt well. And the razor! It was scary at first, but once you get used to it, it shaves cleanly. Everyone will want this.”

Father seemed to like the T-shaped razor. It is convenient. Since it doesn’t need to be disposed of after one use, it can be used multiple times.

“Sakura, can you summon the cheap sweets store while keeping this bathhouse out?”

Mother asked, and I tried, but it didn’t work. It seems my current level of magic power is insufficient to summon two stores simultaneously. Since my magic power should increase as I grow and use it daily, I have hope for the future.

“For now, I’ll summon them alternately, every other day.”

“Yes, that sounds best.”

Furthermore, since this Fuji no Yu only uses my magic power, it was decided to open it up to the servants as well. Father is footing the bill for the bathing fees. Yay, how generous! For things like shampoo, they won’t go around to everyone at first, so they will have to share. It may not be very useful for making money, but it is plenty useful for hygiene. Being able to summon a bathhouse means I can take a bath anywhere. Well, I don’t have any plans to travel, though. However, a public bathhouse, huh? Shampoo and conditioner wouldn’t make a good birthday gift for Elliott… I guess a plastic model is the safest bet. He probably doesn’t need a T-shaped razor yet. Suddenly, I wondered if giving Elliott a gift he absolutely loved would instantly raise his approval rating and level up my [Gift] again. No, no, that’s wrong, wrong. What good would raising his approval rating do? It’s dangerous if I don’t keep my distance from the capture targets! Hmm. I guess a gachapon animal figurine is fine for a birthday gift. Isn’t that a perfect, subtle choice that won’t raise his approval rating but also won’t make him dislike me enough to cause trouble? Incidentally, the gachapon at the cheap sweets store I summoned costs one copper coin. The size is exactly the same as a hundred-yen coin. That’s a thousand yen per turn. Expensive! Still, I buy all of them every day by putting in a copper coin. The quality is good even in this world. Since they are unique, they should be fine as a gift from a Ducal House. The thing is, there are animals like pandas and zebras that don’t exist here, and they are somewhat stylized, so they seem to be perceived more as figures of demon beasts or summoned beasts. Well, in any case, this will have to do for Elliott’s birthday present. I still have a mountain of things to learn, like the etiquette of a noble lady, before Crown Prince Elliott’s birthday party… Ah, I’m depressed. If there was a way to avoid going, I wouldn’t go, but that’s just not how it works for a noble. Haa, what a hassle.