My Glasses Will Be Able to Conquer the Whole World, I Suppose

Megane-Kun, Listen to the Law of Magic Circle

Now that we had reached a conclusion, it was no problem—

—But before that, there was something I’d like to confirm.

“Does this village have a bath?”

In the village of Albat, where I grew up, there was a small communal bath that all the villagers could use.
Every few days, there’d be hot water in it.

In my case, I often missed it due to my hunter profession.
As such, I rarely made it in time, and when I had time to take a bath, the water had already grown cold.

…However, I saw that there were several private, spacious baths that could be used in the royal capital as well.
Nevertheless, for a fee.

It’s the so-called public bathhouse.

Although, come to think of it, there was also a mixed bath, where a man and a woman could take a bath together.

…But when I thought about it calmly, it wasn’t like I could choose who came in.

It’s a big risk, isn’t it?

I wouldn’t admit that out-loud, though.

As I was pondering about various things, the face of that person from Joseph’s Shop flashed.
For some reason, I felt chills, and refused to think any further.

I object.

I firmly object.

Apparently, it was quite uncommon for an inn to come with a bath, making it a luxurious service that only expensive inns could provide.

As I thought, it’s “that.”

Usually, before the plebeian villagers from unknown countryside were to meet the castle’s bigshot, they were expected to come clean and proper.
Assuming that there was such an intention behind the scenes, and would be forced into said inn.

“It seems that there are baths in this village as well.
However, if you want to use it, you’d have to trade something.”

I see.

Just like in Albat Village, I wondered if I’d have to make an appointment to use the bath.
What was more, if I didn’t bring anything, would I have to pay the bath fee?

“In the long run, it seems that it’ll be better to make our own bath.”

“That’s right.
Besides, if we were to make it ourselves, we’ll be able to use it whenever we want.”

I see.

At this rate, if I’d like to use the village’s baths, I’d have to contribute each time.

Even if it was only a small contribution, it’d build up overtime.

Considering that we’d be using it until next year, it’d be cheaper to build it ourselves.

Did Cherry consider that?

“—Moreover, it’s just right.”

—Eh? “Just right”?

“After all, I have to unleash my magic for a few days, so I thought of magically creating a bath.”

…By magic?

Can you—?

When I asked Cherry about her sudden decision, she explained that she’d use “magic circle.”

“First, let me explain, I have the Gifts of the Principality Magician.”

…Oops, she suddenly revealed her gifts.

Usually, I’d rather not listen to such a story.

But in case of Cherry, I already knew that she was a magician right off the bat.

…Principality, as in “law”?

“Then, is it related to the magic circle or something?”

While I wasn’t knowledgeable about magic, I at least knew that much.
Other than that, I didn’t know what she was capable of, or how she differed from an ordinary magician.

“That’s right.
To put it simply, it’s a gift to form a magic circle with a lasting magical effect.
That said, even a magician doesn’t have a background in Principality Magic Gifts, I believe that they can do it to an extent.”

According to Cherry, there were several types of magic, and one of them was a talent for magic circles.

However, if asked for details, then I’d put it like this.

To put it simply, Cherry could use various magic with 50% output, but when it came to magic circles, due to her gift, she could give a 100% output.

In terms of magic, magicians had a lot of strengths and drawbacks.
However, it seemed that only a few magicians could use one type of magic.

But Sherry had just revealed that she was able to use both types of magic—“formal magic” and “common magic.”

…That healer guy seems to be an ordinary magician.
After all, his recovery attribute falls under the common type.

“It’s so complicated, you lost me.”

Perhaps unable to keep up with the explanation, Florentine stood up to pet the cat.

It wasn’t a

Well, I’m relieved that she doesn’t really mind.

“Now that I know of your background, how are you going to make the bath? What are you going to do?”

Even though Florentine had left, it didn’t matter because no important discussion had taken place so far.

…While I wouldn’t say that I was uninterested in magic, I wondered if now was the right timing to discuss that.
After all, it was still noon, and I had many other things to prioritize.
If she merely wanted to tell me the concept, it’d be better to do so at night.

“Did you go to the blacksmith shop?”

I did this morning.

“I want you to negotiate with the blacksmith about the bathtub.
Since only one person can enter at a time, the size will be small, like this—”

Cherry drew a picture of a rectangular box with an open top on the ground.

“Ask the blacksmith to make something like this.
If the material is iron, it should be completed soon.
The bathtub itself doesn’t need to be particularly thick, as long as it doesn’t leak.
No additional flair is required.”

Hoo…

“But is iron really alright? Won’t it rust?”

“I’ll apply the ‘Negate Degradation’ magic circle.
It’ll be fine until the magic effect wears off.”

Oh, I see, so this is where Cherry’s knowledge makes an appearance.

“Also, I can make something like this.”

Then, she took out a first-sized stone and handed it to me.

“Hmm? It’s warm…”

When I took it in my hand, it was very warm.
It was warmer than even body temperature, so Cherry probably didn’t transfer her heat to it.

At first glance, there was nothing unusual about the stone.

However, when I casually flipped it over…

…Ah, a magic circle.

Like a slow heartbeat, green light repeatedly flickered on the stone.

“As long as we have this, we don’t need to fill the bath with hot water.
Instead, we can just use normal water.”

Ah, I see.

…That’s right.

Back in my village, preparing a bath was a chore, so it was only prepared once every few days.
The male adults in the village would usually be tasked with that.

However, after the hot water had been added, it’d eventually cool down.
Not only that, when the hot water had just been added, it’d be extremely hot.
It was so hot that only the elderly could enter.
Moreover, the elderly would have long baths.

Due to those issues, I was in a bit of a rush.

“Which means, the bath will be easy to maintain, manage, and use.”

“Yes, and I’ll take care of it.
In exchange, please take care of the food supply, Eil-kun.”

 I see.

I could take a bath freely, but in exchange, I’d be taking care of her meals.

I thought that it was a completely unrelated topic, but it was all part of a negotiation.

“That works.”

After all, using wisdom was also part of survivability.

In short, Cherry would take care of the bath, and in exchange, I’d feed her.

Besides, if I were to use the village’s bath, I’d also have to pay.

In that case, I should just pay Cherry.

While it had its limitations, I was already thankful that it could be used at any time, without having to worry about the temperature of the water.

Moreover, the pros of Cherry’s bath outweighed that of the village.

Above all, I’d like to take a bath alone.

In Albat Village, I couldn’t do that, and at the inn in the royal capital, it was very comfortable.
I thought that it was nice to be able to take a relaxing bath by myself.
After all, I’d rather not enter a bath with a jerky old man like Joseph…

As such, there was no need to second guess myself.