CH 180

Chapter 180 : Deforestation

「Say, Mark. I’m all sweaty now. Can you make a bath for me later~?」(Celine)

「Of course. I’m planning to make one for you.」(Mark)

Celine really did her best today. She was tired because she tried my idea, so as an apology and a reward, I was planning to make a deluxe bath for her.

「Thank you, Mark~ Anyway, let’s go back to my mom’s house first.」(Celine)

After taking a break for a while, we decided to return to Eclain’s house.

Eclain was still working while drinking alcohol at the corner of the house when we got there.

「Mom, we’re going to take a bath. Do you want to join us?」(Celine)

「Are you going to go to the river?」(Eclain)

「Nope~ Mark will make a bathhouse for us~」(Celine)

「Ah, you told me you always take a bath in a bathhouse in Mark-chan’s inn. Sounds interesting~ I’m going with you!」(Eclain)

Saying that, Eclain hurriedly finished her work and cleaned up the table. Her face looked red. She seemed to be a bit drunk. I hope my potion bath will relieve her hangover.

After waiting for Eclain to get ready, the four of us then went to find a place where I could make a bathhouse.

While we were walking, Nicola wanted to cling to Celine, but Celine told her to stay away.

「Nicola-chan, you better stay away from me. Look. I’m all sweaty.」(Celine)

『That’s the point though…』(Nicola)

「Okay~」(Nicola)

Nicola was disappointed but she replied cheerfully as usual. She then clung to Eclain instead.

After walking around in the nearby forest for a few minutes, Celine stopped.

「I think this is a good place.」(Celine)

The area was surrounded by thickets, and the ground was covered with fallen leaves. I could tell in a second that this is a place where no one would likely set foot in.

「People rarely pass through this area, and it’s close to my house. Yeah, I think this is the perfect place. So… Mark-chan, how do you make a bathhouse?」(Eclain)

Eclain, who seemed to have sobered up a bit while we were walking, looked at me with a curious face.

「Umm… First, we need to clear this area from trees.」(Mark)

「Mark-chan~ You can’t use fire magic to burn down the trees. It will be a disaster. Fufu~」(Eclain)

「Eh? I won’t do that, of course…」(Mark)

「Good. I’m glad you’re smart. Unlike a certain person~」(Eclain)

「………」(Celine)

Eclain glanced at Celine and giggled for some reason. Celine then immediately looked away awkwardly.

Ahh… I can tell somehow…

Celine is good at fire magic, so she probably almost burned down the forest when she practiced her fire spells a long time ago.

I feel like I shouldn’t ask her anything about that.

Anyway, before I can make a bathhouse, I need to remove these trees… Hmm…

That’s right! I wonder if I can just put these trees in my Item Box.

I stretched my right hand toward a tree and opened my Item box. However, the tree didn’t budge at all.

It seemed like my Item Box couldn’t suck it because it was stuck firmly on the ground by its root.

I may be able to put it in my Item Box if I dig up the soil first. Alright, I should try it.

I used earth magic to soften the soil and put the soil in my Item Box little by little until I could see the root of the tree.

However, I still couldn’t put the tree in my Item Box. It seemed that the root spread deeply in the ground.

Next, I used earth magic to create an earthen sword and covered it with wind magic, then I used it to cut off the root carefully.

Right before the tree started to fall, I immediately put it in my Item Box.

I managed to remove the tree but it would be so much trouble if I had to do the same for each tree.

I don’t think this method is efficient but Eclain seems to think differently. She looked at me and complimented me.

「Mark-chan, you’re amazing~! You can remove a tree so easily with your magic~」(Eclain)

「Eh? Is that so…?」(Mark)

「Normally, you need to cut down the tree first then dig up the soil to pull out the stumps and the root. Your method is much faster.」(Eclain)

Now that she mentioned it…

I was thinking of removing the trees all at once but I might mess up the ground in this area. I think removing the trees one by one like this is much safer.

「Alright. I’ll remove all the trees around here. Please wait for a while.」(Mark)

It’s not that efficient but I can’t come up with any other method.

I decided to continue removing the trees one by one.

ーーーー

It took me about an hour to secure an open area large enough to build a bathhouse.

Without resting, I immediately started to build it.

First of all, I made one-meter high walls surrounding the area so that small animals couldn’t enter.

With an open area this large, it would be a waste if I only made a regular bathhouse like usual.

I’m thinking of making a Japanese natural hot spring like the one I made in Sadola Town. (ch 148)

After digging a circular hole of the same size as the last time, I used earth magic to harden the surface. After that, I made dozens of rocks and put them neatly on the edge of the hole, surrounding it.

As usual, the last thing to do is to pour hot water into the hole and mix it with several bottles of E-grade potions.

「Whoaa… This is amazing. Are all bathhouses in big cities like this?」(Eclain)

「Of course not. This is Mark’s special bathhouse~」(Celine)

While listening to their conversation, I made a simple dressing room next to the bathtub and hardened the floor.

The Japanese hot spring is now completed!

「Well then, you guys can enter now. I’ll be wandering around here for a while. I’ll enter after you’re done.」(Mark)

「Okay~ Thank you, Mark~」(Celine)

I waved my hand at the three and left them behind.

Hm…? Hold on. There’s something off…

Why didn’t Celine tease me like usual, asking me to join in the bath…? Is it because Eclain is with us?

W, Well… It’s not that I want to join them. I’m just curious.