“This might sound obvious, but you have to clean your body before entering the pool. The way I wash up will dirty the surroundings, so don’t come too near.”
Having said that, Ainz poured a full ladle of warm water onto his body. An amazing amount of water bounced off without touching his body. Wetting his body in one shot was impossible. After repeating this several times and confirming his body had been rinsed, Ainz took out his brush.
After applying a lot of liquid soap, Ainz started brushing his body. There were plenty of gaps between his bones and the bubbles flew all over the place, as if a monkey was doing the brushing.
Huh, I should have brought my cute slime, bathing assistant Miyoshi-kun with me.
He shouldn’t be showing others his goo-covered appearance, but cleaning himself with a brush after so long was a great hassle. While Ainz was working hard and brushing himself, Mare pulled a stool over with one hand. A little nervous with his cheeks red from the steam, Mare smiled:
“Ai-Ainz-sama! I, I will help you wash your back!”
“Hoh? Oh, I see. You want to help me wash up. It is tedious, so use this brush, using a towel will be tiring.”
Ainz turned his back to Mare, who picked up the brush and started cleaning slowly.
“You are doing great.”
“Thank you very much!”
“You can’t do it wrong though”, Ainz responded to Mare’s thanks. He sneaked a peek at the other two.
“I will help you wash up.”
“Sorry to bother you.”
Ainz was all smiles— although he didn’t actually have an expression as he was a skeleton— and couldn’t suppress his grin.
— Right now, this is the best place in Nazarick.
Ainz’ smile deepened when he heard the child’s voice say: ”I need to wash here too”.
“Thank you, Mare. Now, let me help you wash up, you don’t need to hold back.”
Ainz turned the panicky boy around, and filled Mare’s towel with suds. Ainz washed carefully and made sure to apply enough force, relaxing more than when he was being washed.
“Does it hurt?”
“No, no problem!”
After cleaning up Mare’s unusually stiff back, Ainz returned the towel to him.
“You can do the front yourself right?”
“Of-of course!”
Ainz picked up the brush and scrubbed his ribs carefully, taking care not to splash water onto Mare who was cleaning besides him.
“Well then, I will make a move first.”
Demiurge, who was done, swayed his tail as he walked towards the pool. Next was Cocytus. Compared to Ainz, cleaning up was equally tedious for him, but his four nimble arms hastened the process greatly. Mare followed after, and finally, Ainz was done several minutes later.
The pool was large. Warm water flowed endlessly from an exquisite lion head and steam covered the entire place. Ainz watched his steps as he walked over, and saw two of the Guardians in the pool nearby, with Cocytus a bit further away.
“Ah... so comfortable.”
Ainz had the impression that children would swim in the pool, but Mare simply sat there maturely with a towel on his head. The way he talked like an adult even though he had the appearance of a kid surprised Ainz. The position of a Guardian was a tiring job.
“Indeed, I can feel the fatigue flowing out from my body.”
Demiurge took off his glasses and splashed his face as he breathed out, just like an old man.
“So. Hot…”
“Eh, you said you had resistance.”
“I. Didn’t. Expect. It. To. Be. So. Hot…”
“…Don’t release cold air because of that. And don’t come over here. A bath has to be hot.”
No wonder Cocytus was staying further away. The water around him was probably turning chilly.
“It. Feels. Nice. To. You. Because. You. Are. Resistant. To. Fire, Demiurge… Cold. Springs. Are. Great. As. Well. Right?”
“I’m not interested. Also, you can enjoy it without resistance anyway. Can’t you endure this bit of discomfort, Cocytus?”
“Are. You. Taunting. Me. Demiurge— Interesting.”
“Take it easy, bathing is a leisure. Go to the sauna if you want to compete in endurance. Don’t push yourself if it gets too hard.”
“Phew.”
Mare’s forehead was sweating as he exhaled hotly.
“Look, that’s how a bath should be. Don’t push yourself too hard Mare, get out of the pool if you can’t take it anymore alright?”
“No, no problem Ainz-sama! I will use magic if I really can’t take it!”
That would be weird too, Ainz thought without saying it out loud. He shift his gaze towards Demiurge.
“…Is entering the pool with your resistance on the correct way?”
“That is one way of doing it, Ainz-sama. It is similar to Ainz-sama who is an undead creature that can’t get wet.”
“…That’s true.”
He could feel his body warming up a little, but it wasn’t as comfortable compared to his time as a human.
The drawbacks of being undead…
While Ainz was missing the joy he had lost—
“Hmm?”
—He lifted his head above the steam and looked at the surroundings.
“May I ask what is the problem?”
“I think someone is calling my name.”
“Did. It. Come. From. Next. Door?”
Cocytus gestured at the wall behind him.
“That side is— I see, the women’s bath.”
“I see, but… Are the walls that thin?”
“Maybe. They. Are. Just. Too. Loud.”
Ainz focused on his hearing. He didn’t have any ulterior motives, just a bit curious about what the girls were chatting about. He didn’t stick his ears to the wall. That would be an action ill befitting the ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. Keeping some distance from the wall, he tried his best to eavesdrop on the sound from next door.
“Albedo is so bushy down there.”
The first thing he heard made Ainz frown.