CH 23

On that evening, Satis came home with the recipes she had learned, and the fruit pie she was offered.

Seto, who was already home, opened the door to welcome her back.

At the same time, he caught the aroma of the fruit pie, and his eyes sparkled.

For him, the dish known as fruit pie was an unknown food.

Having promised to serve it for dinner, Satis immediately set about preparing it.

She told him to wait in his room, but instead, Seto sat on a chair at the table and waited patiently.

[…There, dinner is ready now. Let’s eat.] (Satis)

[Thanks for the food!] (Seto)

For dinner, they had soup with lots of beans and chicken meat that Seto had received a while back as a reward for his work in the fields.

And a fruit pie.

After another day of hard labor, the pair savored the modest yet mouthwatering food and pie with relish.

Satis smiled as she watched Seto eat everything with such delight.

Just the two of them, and a meal by the candlelight.

It was already dark outside, and the beautiful stars were now visible.

——Looks like tomorrow will be sunny as well.

With that in mind, Seto took a bite of the pie they had received.

[This is… delicious!] (Seto)

[Isn’t it? The fruit pie here might be, frankly speaking, much better than any other you could find in any restaurant!] (Satis)

[Yeah, it makes me wanna eat more of it.] (Seto)

[Fufufu. Let’s save the rest of it for tomorrow. You see, I was thinking we could go on a picnic together.] (Satis)

[Eh? A picnic? That thing you were talking about when we came to this village?] (Seto)

[Yes. We’ll go to the hills outside the village. This was a suggestion from Scarlett-san. I think she’s already told Ryodou-san about it. What do you think?] (Satis)

An invitation from Satis.

Or rather, a thoughtful offer made by Scarlett, the mayor of this village.

Naturally, Seto had no reason to refuse.

In fact, they had been working so hard since they arrived here that they had not been able to do something like this.

Nay, he regretted that he could not show this sort of consideration toward Satis.

[Okay. Let’s do that.] (Seto)

[Fufufu. I’m glad you’re up for it. It seems like it won’t take too long to get to the hill, so you can sleep in a little. …Though I have to say, you always wake up way too early.] (Satis)

[Well, that’s because I have to pay attention to the time when accompanying Ryodou on his work. …But yeah, I’ll spend a bit more time in bed.] (Seto)

[Very well. …Now, I’ll wash the dishes. Can you make us some tea? …Without dropping or spilling anything, that is.] (Satis)

[Leave it to me. Don’t think I’m the same as I was the first day we got here. You and Ryodou trained me well, after all.] (Seto)

[…For some reason, I feel extremely worried.] (Satis)

Having finished her chores, Satis sat on the sofa with Seto, and the two enjoyed a cup of tea.

She was using a tea set, which was one of the daily necessities Satis had stored away with her spatial magic.

Seto himself liked it so much they were both using it.

[Phew. Delicious.] (Satis)

[Yeah. Compared to the days when I drank nothing but water, this feels pretty luxurious.] (Seto)

[There’s no harm in a bit of luxury. And tomorrow is going to be even more luxurious, you know?] (Satis)

[You’re right. I can’t wait for tomorrow.] (Seto)

This time they spent sitting close to each other and drinking together was an irreplaceable moment.

This was what it felt like to live in a village, and it was a time of peace.

Those were not days of bloody battles, but days of activities between people and nature.

It was not about the harshness of life, but the preciousness of life.

They recounted the events of this morning and at work while enjoying the tea and each other’s warmth.

Time passed as they talked, then it was time for them to call it a day.

Indeed, it was bath time.

It may sound quite strange that such a small house would have a bathtub.

But that is because Satis could not forget how pleasant the public baths of Clay Shut felt, so two days after arriving in this village, she apparently decided to talk to Scarlett about it. 

She thought she would object, but instead, she replied “That sounds interesting” and easily agreed to it.

This sort of house remodeling had been pretty common since the founding of the village.

In some of the houses that had been demolished, it was later discovered that several rooms leading to the basement had been built.

Therefore, Scarlett would not object to it as long as Satis told her in advance what sort of thing she was going to build, and if she and Seto could take responsibility for it and manage it properly.

As expected of the woman acting as the mayor of a village of eccentrics.

Benjamin village was said to be housing numerous quirky characters who would have given headaches to any other villages.

And she was the one leading them all as a villager.

She was worthy of respect.

[Okay, I think the bath should be ready right about now. Seto, please go first.] (Satis)

[Sure. That’ll help me relieve myself.] (Seto)

After saying that, he went into the remodeled bathroom in the back.

[…Now, how should I go about giving a good wash to a bad boy who only takes quick baths like Seto-chan?] (Satis)

At that time, Satis also made her move.

Perhaps it was because he was not accustomed to it at all, but he never washed his body thoroughly, and spent less time in this bath than he did in the public baths.

Since she had to comprehensively teach him how it was done, she secretly followed him as he took off his clothes and went into the bathroom.

By the time she entered the dressing room, Seto had already washed his body lightly.

[Phew~… This feels good. It does, but still… This bathroom really is amazing.] (Seto)

Seto looked around the bathroom as he poured hot water over his body.

This was the perfect bathroom, created by using magic spells of various elemental attributes, namely water, fire, and earth.

Regardless of whether it was winter or summer outside, this bathroom could retain heat perfectly, and the hot water gave numerous benefits to relieve the body’s exhaustion.

I remember Satis boasting that even the public baths wouldn’t be able to build something like this.

And while he was taking a bath, Seto’s clothes were again carefully washed and dried clean by Satis’ magical invention.

[I wonder if everything else would be this great if Satis upgraded them all… Well, I heard that mages had tons of “secret information” to hide, though. And these accommodations are as useful as can be, so whatever. Now, on to the bath…] (Seto)

The moment Seto was about to enter the bathtub, the door behind him opened.

Upon seeing who it was, Seto’s eyes widened, and his body stiffened.

He, who was in such a relaxed mood, suddenly turned awfully tense, like during battles.

[Whoa~! Having your own bathroom is truly great, am I right?] (Satis)

[Wai…!? Huh!? S-Satis!? W-W-W-Why are you here!?] (Seto)

Satis, who was stark-naked with only a towel to cover herself, came in like it was natural.

Upon seeing her like this, Seto lost all his composure, his face was flushed, and he got confused.

[“Why”, you ask…? Isn’t it obvious? You didn’t clean yourself properly, did you? Come on now, sit down. I’m going to teach you how to wash yourself perfectly.] (Satis)

The boy could see the outline of her legs and hips now and then.

Her glossy skin looked even better with water droplets from the steam on it.

And above all, her voluptuous and luscious breasts, which contrasted with her slender figure, seemed to assert their presence in front of Seto, even though they were wrapped in a towel.

Seto, who felt more shaken and nervous than ever in the hot, closed bathroom, did as he was told and sat back down.

This would be his first time bathing with a woman, but he felt as if his heart was about to burst out of his chest and turn into a star.

[Now, I’ll start with your back, okay?] (Satis)

Satis was blushing in embarrassment too, albeit only slightly.

The heat of the bathroom probably had something to do with it, but it appeared that even Satis was nervous about doing this for the target of her affection.

I think… today might be the day I die.

The situation was so tense that Seto unintentionally sensed his own death.