Chapter 411 Relaxation Time
"Ah, this feels so good!"
After the party ended, Sara and Chloe secretly returned to Maiden's Tower and headed to the "staff" bathroom.
"Sara's bathroom is nice, but I just can't resist the charm of the steam room and the outdoor bath. The staff bathroom is definitely more appealing."
"I agree. We should make this our main spot."
The staff bathroom at Maiden's Tower is a spacious steam room, like a hammam. After the maidens moved into the tower, the old bathroom was renovated, and then, at Sara's suggestion, an outdoor bath was added.
The two of them lay on the stone beds in the steam room, having their hair and bodies washed.
"Miladies, aren't you being a bit too relaxed? You're acting like you're much older than you are."
Maria said while washing Sara's hair.
"But I'm really tired today. By the way, Chloe, was Prince Andrew really like that? I thought he was a relatively decent prince."
"Royalty and nobles are sensitive about anything related to fairies."
"I know that, but that was too much."
"I think it's a serious issue for the royal family."
"Honestly, I can't agree with bringing fairies into national politics. For that part alone, I might agree with the first king of Roisen."
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, maybe Chloe hasn't studied this. The royal family of Roisen used to be nobles from the Odel Kingdom."
"Yeah, I know that. The kings of Odel have had fairy friends for generations, right?"
"Yeah, in the end, Odel was destroyed by the rebellion of Duke Roisen, but during that time, the King of Roisen said, 'Human activities are created by humans'."
"I didn't know that part. But isn't that just common sense?"
"That's true. But Odel was a country that developed a barren land with the power of fairies, so it must look very appealing to the royal family. Avalon still has a lot of undeveloped land."
"If you understand that much, then you should also understand the prince's feelings."
"I get his feelings, but I can't stand his arrogant attitude."
"Well, he is a prince, so it's expected. He has been treated specially until now."
"But it still feels off. Plus, for fairies, human status doesn't mean anything. You need to have a lot of magic, be able to see fairies, and the fairies have to like you."
"Isn't that a lot of conditions?"
Chloe, who was being washed by Thomashiina, tilted her head towards Sara while lying face down.
"That's just how it is. When you give a fairy a name, the blessings of the fairy come down."
"Does that mean you become younger?"
"Not really. To stay with their friends a little longer, the fairies slow down the aging process of the person they have a bond with."
"So, if you become friends with a fairy when you're older, you stay the same age?"
"Of course."
"But isn't Sara able to transform into Sophia because of the fairy?"
"That's because my friend is a fairy that controls time, so I can manipulate the body's age. Now I can do it with my own magic too."
"Wait, you can do it with your own magic? Can you use it to me too?"
"Well? I'm not really sure what type of magic I'm using. I think it's mostly light and water, but there might be other types too. It uses a lot of magic power. Even Blaze, who caused a big forest fire, was completely drained after just one use."
"You can't do it. What a shame."
"I don't think that's true. Chloe is a direct descendant of Grandchester, and her aunt's family had a princess from the royal family marry in three generations ago, right? If you train, you could boost your magic power to near royal levels. You might have enough magic power to transform at least once. But after that, you wouldn't have enough to change back. You'd likely need a magic recovery potion or to stay in your transformed state for a few days."
"That's an inconvenient magic."
"Well, isn't the royal family's top-tier magic that takes 2 days to chant even more inconvenient?"
"It would be disrespectful to compare it to the royal family's Inferno."
Chloe sits up a bit and scolds Sara.
"Oh right, that was the name. If you get a stomachache while chanting, do you have to stop?"
"Don't make me imagine that."
"You're not thinking that princes don't go to the bathroom, are you, Chloe?"
"I don't think that way, or rather, I've never thought about it."
"Princes are human too, so they go to the bathroom after eating, and they can throw up if they drink too much, right?"
"Stop ittt!"
Sara finds Chloe's reaction a bit amusing.
"What about the prince's swordsmanship?"
"I've heard he has the Royal Guard Knights' leader as his master."
"Then he must smell like sweat."
"That can't be helped."
"He must take baths, right?"
"Of course! He's always clean and smells nice."
"Do you think he came in alone?"
"Of course, he has a servant with him."
"I wonder if it's a man or a woman?"
"Sara!!"
Chloe's face turned bright red as she shouted.
"Oh, it's an important thing. Adam even has a maid wash him when he bathes."
"Recently, he's been having a steward do it."
"Really? When I was in the capital, it was a maid."
"Thanks to Sara's teasing, Mother changed it. Chris is also being washed by the steward."
"Speaking of which, I think I refused when they said a steward would take care of Adam at Maiden's Tower. I mean, if he's a noble's son, that's how it should be."
"Noble sons usually start having stewards take care of them when they enter the academy. Maids can't go into the boys' dorm."
"Oh, I see. So they missed the chance to switch."
"Exactly."
"Then Chris should get used to it now. He'll definitely pass."
"We need Adam to do his best too. For dear Big Sister Marg."
"Wait, why does Adam get to be called by his name when Marg is big sister?"
"I promised to call him 'big brother' once he enters the academy."
"Ha! I'll pray that Adam can show some big brother dignity."
After washing their bodies and hair, the two headed to the outdoor bath. The bright moon hung in the sky, and the steam from the water mixed with the soft glow of the magic stone lights and moonlight, creating a magical scene.
"It's beautiful. Thinking that only the servants got to enjoy this makes me feel a little jealous."
"It's part of the benefits for the servants working at Maiden's Tower. We're just borrowing it for a bit."
"Are you not going to build one in the royal capital?"
"Ask Grandfather or Uncle for it. But, the royal capital doesn't have the grand nature like Grandchester, so the view might not be that great."
"Then we can make it like a garden facility."
"Chloe, it's hard to believe Grandfather and Uncle would spend that much money on a bathhouse."
"That's why I'm asking Sara."
"Why me?"
"You might come to the royal capital sometimes, right?"
"I might, but I can just go back to Maiden's Tower at night."
"That's just unfair."
Chloe pouts cutely. However, Sara had a little idea about this matter.
"I can't really make it personal, but I'm not against the idea of having a bathing facility in the royal capital."
"Really?"
"The land we bought for the store is quite large because it used to be a noble's villa. I thought it would be nice to create a relaxation salon just for women there. It would be great for people to try Sophia Merchant Guild's beauty products and cosmetics, right? Of course, I plan to hire female staff who are skilled at massages."
"That sounds great, Sara!"
"Of course, some nobles might bring their own personal servants. I'm also planning to have a space just for super VIP customers. Nobles love that kind of thing, right?"
"They absolutely do!"
"What if we spread rumors that treatments using Sophia Merchant Guild's magic potions might be available there...?"
"Then a lot of noblewomen will come to my mother and me!"
"Maybe, just maybe, the super super super VIP will really use magic."
"Sara?"
"I hope I can train others to do it too, but for now, it's just me. Maybe Rihito could draw a special magic circle for me, but everyone's skin and body are different, so I think it would be hard."
"But won't Sophia get found out?"
"I think I'll transform into an old lady and use heavy makeup to hide it. I might even wear a veil."
"Honestly, being able to change your body's age is way too enviable. Just having that kind of skin is so impactful. I wish there was a magic potion that could change age!"
"That's definitely impossible."
Sara and Chloe looked at each other and burst into laughter.
'But wait, is it really impossible? Mike and Noir can control the aging of alcohol, so that means they can manipulate time for people they aren't bonded with. That means they might be able to control Chloe's time too. If that magic can be drawn as a magic circle, could a magic potion be developed too?'
With the tension of physical fatigue, Sara came up with an outrageous idea. A bit of sleepiness was creeping in, and an old anime song that she had only seen a few times started spinning in her head.
"For now, let's think about making red candy and blue candy."
"Huh?"
"Don't shave the blue candy. It will turn into 'I quit being human.'."
"Hey, Sara, you're half asleep, aren't you?"
"Zzzz."
If you looked closely, Sara's body was floating in the bathtub.
"Hey, hey, Sara! Maria, Sara is in trouble!!"
Maria hurried over and lifted Sara's body. With Thomashiina's help, she wiped Sara's body and dressed her in nightclothes, then carried Sara to the room.
"I can't help it. It was a long day starting early this morning."
"That's the same for Lady Chloe, right? You haven't been sleeping well for days, have you?"
In the now quiet bathroom, Eliza was waiting in place of Maria and Thomashiina.
"If the prince is here, we can't slack off."
"Hehe. It's strange, isn't it? During the day, we attend a fancy tea party in the capital, and at night, we bathe in Maiden's Tower in Grandchester."
"Sara is being unreasonable."
"But Lady Chloe has gotten used to it, hasn't she?"
"I stopped thinking too hard about it. No matter how much I think, I won't understand anything, and Sara will only act as she likes. So, I thought it would be more positive to enjoy the good fortune while I can. It's harder to not take it for granted, though."
"I believe you are very wise."
"I think so too, lately."
As Chloe quietly got out of the bathtub, Eliza called over the other maids who were hidden from view with just a gesture, and they wiped Chloe's body and wrapped her in a towel. As the maids encouraged her, Chloe headed to the resting area outside the bathroom, where 2 maids were waiting by a rattan couch that was usually not there.
As they carefully dried Chloe's hair with a dry cloth, they used the makeshift hair dryer that Alicia and Rihito had recently made. If it were Sara, she could dry it in an instant with magic, but Chloe didn't mind being taken care of by the servants like this.
'I see. A relaxation salon for women is definitely going to be popular.'
While sipping the cold herbal tea prepared on the side table, Chloe began to think about the priority of her friends to invite to the Sophia Merchant Guild's salon.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Donate me
Support Me with USDC
(ERC20)
Support Me with XLM
(Stellar Lumens)