CH 30

As she let out an “ah” at how good the bath felt. Hirune suddenly remembered Carla’s bent back.

(I’ll heal her back later. …… But since there’s a hot spring, it might be better to heal her with the benefits of the water. Then everyone will be fine.)

Hirune turned her sleepy eyes towards the large bath, watching the water droplets forming grains on the ceiling, thinking that this was a good idea.

“It feels so good. Jeanne, have you ever taken a bath before?”

Holly asked over Hirune.

“I’ve only taken a bath once. In the south, there are hot springs deep in the mountains, so there are paid guides who lead you in a convoy to the hot springs.”

“Oh, that’s interesting.”

“Yes. I’m sure we’ll be able to go back again when it’s safe in the south.”

“That sounds great.”

As Holly and Jeanne were laughing with each other, a magic circle suddenly unfolded from Hirune in the middle of the room.

The magic circle floated up like the large bath was being cut. 

“What?!”

” Hirune-sama?!”

The two of them immediately looked at Hirune’s face.

The ladies, who had been relaxing in the hot water stood up while screaming, “Kyaa!” and “What is this?” in anxiety.

(Holy magic – healing power – may it continue to have an effect on Carla’s bathhouse. ……)

As Hirune closed her eyes and prayed, stardust flew into the large stone bath, whirling and dancing. The stardust flies towards the men’s bath as well. The stardust bounced as it played on the surface of the hot water.

“The Stardust is leaping!”

Jeanne pointed in surprise.

“It’s true. I’ve never heard of this kind of holy magic …… before.”

Holly, the saint, looked at Hirune in surprise.

When the stardust was sucked into the large bath, it then ran to the ceiling.

They clung to the ceiling as fast as they could and then disappeared.

“I’ve seen it before! It’s holy magic!”

The woman who had called out to Hirune and the others before said so that everyone in the bathroom could hear, and stared at Hirune in the center of the magic circle. The people in the room all looked at Hirune at once.

“ Oh, young lady … I didn’t think so, but is that child, a saint …?”

The woman asked Jeanne fearfully.

“Yes. This person is Saint Hirune, who became a saint by showing the biggest holy light of all time.”

Jeanne proudly puffed out her chest.

The woman and the other guests hung their heads as they repeatedly made the holy seal.

The pious women even shed tears.

There was no such thing as a holy woman coming to a bathhouse, so the surprise was quite great.

“……, that should do it.”

When Hirune stopped the magic, the stardust leapt and dispersed in a dancing mist. Like it was saying, “Call me again.”

“Huh, what’s wrong with you guys?”

“Hirune, don’t use holy magic out of the blue.”

Holly pushed Hirune’s arms around.

“Oh, I’m sorry, it’s ingrained in my body to act immediately upon an idea.”

“I don’t know about that but everyone was surprised.”

Hirune looked around and saw that all the women were hanging their heads.

“I’m sorry I made a lot of noise. Carla’s bathhouse is a very nice place, so I thought I should do something to repay her. …… I cast a spell to make you feel better after taking this bath.”

When Hirune smiled, the old woman from before began to turn her shoulders.

“I haven’t been able to lift my shoulder since I got injured. …… My shoulder is light. …… Huh?”

The old lady was twirling her right shoulder like a pitcher before pitching.

In the end, the surprise turned to excitement and she immediately ran out of the bath.

“Grandma Carla, come on in. Come on, come on.”

She seemed to be a regular customer and brought the proprietress, Carla, with her.

Carla, with her bent back, smiled with a confused face, saying, “I take a bath everyday.”

“The saint has cast a holy spell on the bath! Look at my shoulder, see?”

The regular customer turns her shoulders with pride.

Carla was surprised to see this.

“I thought you fell off the roof and couldn’t lift your shoulders. Did the saint really use holy magic on you ……?”

“That’s what I’m saying. Take off your clothes and come in. I’ll take care of the store for you.”

The regular walked briskly out of the bathroom.

Carla looked at the large, old stone bath and saw Hirune, Holly and Jeanne inside. Her wrinkled eyelids were moving impatiently.

“Carla, I took the liberty of casting a holy spell. I’m sorry.”

(I hope I didn’t trouble you? )

Hirune lowered her eyebrows and apologized.

Then Carla thanked her, “Not at all,” and hurried to the changing room, took off her clothes, and with a washcloth, entered the large bath.

“Oh …… are those stains …….”

When Carla muttered, the water droplets on the ceiling fell into the hot water.

The water droplets turned into stardust as they bounced and shone brightly.

“Oh, The water drops have turned into stardust.”

“It’s because I used holy magic.”

When Hirune smiled happily, a drop of water fell on the tip of Hirune’s nose and sparkled with stardust.

“Ah, It’s a little cold.”

“Is that so?”

“It’s beautiful.”

Holly and Jeanne smiled happily at her.

Hirune rubbed the tip of her nose with her finger showing her white teeth.

Carla found the scene somehow precious, and a smile naturally appeared on her face.

“Carla, your waist is ……”

One of the customers noticed and pointed to Carla’s back. Then the other customers also noticed and exclaimed in surprise.

“My back is straight! Oh, this is amazing…….”

Carla’s hips had been bent from cleaning the bathrooms by herself every day, but now they were straight.

“I’m glad to see that, Carla-san.”

(Carla, I hope you’ll be healthy for a long time.)

Hirune nodded her head in a happy manner.

The gesture was so cute that Carla felt as if she were looking at her grandchild. When she saw how happy Hirune looked, she felt that her title as a saint was not important, and her true feelings leaked out.

“Thank you, Hirune-chan.”

“Thank you, too. It was a wonderful bath.”

“Come and take a bath anytime. Your friends too.”

Carla’s wrinkled eyes narrowed, and she smiled like a mother.

“Yes, I want to come back again. Thank you for your kindness.”

“Thank you.”

Holly and Jeanne also thanked her again.

“Mmmm.”

Hirune was already not listening and was lazily opening her mouth, trying to eat the falling drops of water.

Holly, Jeanne and Carla giggled at this.

“She’s a laid-back saint, Ain’t she?”

Carla said, and Holly chuckled, “I’m always in trouble.”

The guests around her smiled as they looked at something gladdening.

A drop of water fell into Hirune’s small mouth and stardust fluttered.

“Did you just see that?　It went in my mouth. Jeanne, did you see it?”

(Baths are fun. …… Let’s come back again.)

Jeanne smiled and nodded at Hirune, who fluttered her big blue eyes open and closed.

Holly shrugged her shoulders with a sigh, and Carla felt happy as she remembered her only son’s childhood.

(Carla’s son. I hope he can come back. …… Goddess, please bless him. ……)

Hirune opened her mouth and looked at Carla and prayed for such a thing.

The stardust glittered.

No one noticed that the stardust danced at the edge of the ceiling.

()

In the northern land, there exists a lost forest.

It was covered with miasma, a kind of magic that prevented those who entered from leaving.

“……”

A man was wandering in the lost forest.

He was wearing tattered soldiers’ armor.

The flesh of a dried beast hanging from his waist.

The man walked through the forest, but came back to the same place again, sighing and leaning against a large tree.

(It’s been a year since I strayed from my unit. …… Hah …… I need a bath. ……)

The fearless face of the man who used to be a troop leader was now dirty and unrecognizable.

He discovered a beautiful spring, secured water, and somehow tried to escape from the lost forest, but no matter how many times he tried, he was always sent back to where he came from. What held him together was his wife, his children, and his mother, who ran a bathhouse.

(When I return to the Royal Capital, I’ll follow in my mother’s footsteps and run the bathhouse. …… Now that I think about it, I should have taken over right after my father died……)

Hope and regret went back and forth in his mind over and over again.

(The water in the spring is about to run dry. …… I’m not giving up until it’s gone. ……)

The man raised his back from the large tree that stood by the spring and sat up.

They say there’s an escape route to the Lost Forest……. Hmm? What’s that?)

He saw something glittery fly into the dark forest.

He reached for the sword at his waist, thinking it was a demon, but relaxed when he realized it was stardust.

(Stardust in the shape of a doll?)

The stardust, glowing faintly, gathered together to form a small Hirune.

To the man, it looked like a doll.

The stardust doll was floating in the air, pointing into the forest.

(……  stardust usually comes out when the saints use holy magic ……)

The man’s back stretched as he remembered the holy magic he had seen before going into battle.

(Are you showing me the way out?!)

A hot feeling welled up in the man’s chest. It had been a year since he had been separated from his unit. He had tried many times to escape from the Lost Forest and had failed. He didn’t know how many times he had thought of giving up.

When the man stepped forward, the stardust doll swooped forward softly.

(I’ll believe in this stardust….. ……)

The man stomped his foot on the ground.

That day, he made his escape from the lost forest.

()

A month after Hirune went to the bathhouse, a soldier made a miraculous comeback and became a big rumor in The Royal Capital.

The soldier’s story soon became an anecdote passed down by bards.

The soldier returns home and takes over a bathhouse, and with the blessings of the saint, it becomes very prosperous. The story in the bard’s song ended with such a happy ending. In the story, an eccentric saint appears. The saint is said to be very popular and loved by men and women of all ages even after a long time.