Chapter 43: Chapter 40 – Bath Time

The kids divided up into groups and scattered about. Some went upstairs, others headed to other rooms, then went outside.

"Miss Philia, what're they doing?"

"Oh, everyone is getting ready for their weekly bathing."

"Huh?"

(Bathing? Weekly?!)

"T, they only bathe once a week?"

"Only? Sometimes the things you say make you sound like a noble."

"Ah..."

(Is that the norm among commoners?)

"Are you going to take a bath as well then?"

"...Are you really not the daughter of a high lord somewhere?"

"I can assure you I'm not."

(Where did that even come from?)

"Oh, is that so. Well, I do not know for other places, but at least here, we bathe once a week, and that is by wiping our bodies off with a wet cloth."

"Th, that counts as bathing?!"

(There's not way that would get anyone actually clean, would it?)

"So then..."

As I watched, quite a few of the kids had all congregated in the same room.

"Is it alright if I have a look?"

"I don't think there is a single person who would object to almost anything you do."

I didn't really like the way she worded that, nor the little grin she gave me, but I peeked inside the room.

The room itself was quite large, large enough for all the kids to use at once, though it would be a little cramped if they did that. Aside from the kids and their things, the room was pretty barren. There weren't any decorations for furniture. It looked like the only reason why they used this room to bathe was because it had drains, so getting the floor wet wasn't a problem.

The kids themselves were in various stages of 'bathing', some were still taking off their clothes, others were soaking and wringing rags over buckets of water, and the rest were in the middle of wiping their bodies down.

If I had to describe it as quickly as possible, the words I'd use were cold and miserable.

"Miss Philia, is the next room used for anything?"

I pointed at the door next to this room.

"No, it's one of our storage rooms, but we haven't used it in years."

(Perfect.)

Opening the door to the next room, I had a glance around. The room was entirely barren. There wasn't any junk or even any dust as far as I could tell at first glance.

"It's pretty clean."

"Of course. We work hard to maintain the orphanage to the best of our abilities after all."

Beside me, Philia puffed out her mostly nonexistent chest while giving me a proud smile.

(Am I even allowed to use that joke, considering the size of my air bags?)

That aside, I was a bit surprised she answered my little mumble.

Turning back to the room, I stretched my arms out and pushed out my mana, suffusing it with the floor, walls, and ceiling. From there, I manipulated the room and pushed up material from the ground below, creating a large c-shaped tub with several divisions that filled up almost all the space in the room. The gap was facing the wall towards the room the kids were in, but otherwise the tub went from wall to wall to wall. The separators divided the giant tub up into smaller tubs, but even those were big enough to be comparable to a typical hot tub.

Taking drainage into consideration, I even slightly angled the bottom of the tubs towards the middle of the room, then made a hole for drainage, as well as large piping that connected to the drain in the next room.

I removed an ingot of copper and tin, as well as a leather hide. I mixed portions of the ingots to make bronze, then reshaped the resultant metal into a plug and the leather into a gasket. I test fitted it, and they had no problems. The plug I made extra large for both durability and weight, so it wouldn't easily be knocked loose if the kids ended up playing in the bath.

The little spirits were running around, checking all the stuff I had made like usual. Dipping into the tubs, spinning around like they were swirling in water, curiously poking at the bronze plugs.

"Can you step inside and close the door Miss Philia?"

"Oh umm, sure. Are these what I think they are?"

"Maybe? I can't read mind after all."

Once Philia did as I asked and came over to join me in the open gap in between the tubs, I put all the remaining material away. Next I stretched my mana out more lightly this time and turned it into hot water, quickly filling up all the tubs as Philia's eyes grew as wide as saucers. I had trouble suppressing the grin on my face as I looked at her expression from the corner of my eye.

I stretched out my mana for the third time into the adjoining wall between where we were and where the kids were. Once I reinforced the structural supports, I dropped the wall and buried it underground.

"Wha?!"

"Ahh!"

"What the?!"

In front of us were the kids, mostly still in the middle of their so called bathing, all staring in surprise at Philia and me. Beside, me, Philia's eyes were also open wide in surprise, but she quickly composed herself and glanced at me.

"Ah, I was thinking. How about I show you all how people bathe where I come from?"

"You're going to bathe with us?"

"Really?"

"I wanna try it out!"

The kids' reception seemed to be pretty good.

"Alright. It's kinda hard to show you all without a demonstration. Can I get a volunteer?"

Almost before I could finish my question, one girl stood straight up, shooting an up as high as it would go, not even bothering the fact that she was completely naked. Rather than her being bashful about it, I felt like I was getting a bit embarrassed in her place.

"I'll do it!"

She had a determined look on her face. The other kids quickly got up one after the next, as if they were racing each other.

"Umm, yea. I guess I can demonstrate with you then, since you want it so bad."

I pointed at the first girl, and she happily hopped over, swiftly weaving her way in between the other kids. All the while her tail was wagging, the long, still wet fur flicking water left and right as her tail swung back and forth to the annoyance of the kids who got caught in it.

"Alright then. Let me get ready too."

As quickly as I could, I stripped down as well and stuffed all my clothes into my magic bag, then took out a cloth and several bars of soap.

"Could you put this somewhere dry?"

I turned to Philia and handed over my bag. Or at least I tried to. Her face was a bit rosy as she stared at me. She hadn't reacted like this before and was making me a bit uneasy.

"Umm...Miss Philia?"

Leaning in, I tried to get her to respond.

"Ha! Oh, umm, what was it you asked?"

"...Could you take my bag somewhere where it wouldn't get wet?"

"Oh, sure. Right away!"

Holding my bag to her chest, she quickly turned to leave, only to realize that there were pools of hot water in between her and the door she entered from. Immediately after realizing her mistake, she turned and made her way to the door for the next room and exited.

It felt like it wasn't my imagination that her face was getting red.

"Umm...alright then. Now let's go to the demonstration."

I turned to the triangle eared girl, but she was as still as a statue as she stared at me.

"Umm...you alright?"

Leaning side to side, inspecting her, the only sign that she was still alive was that her chest was rising and falling as it should, and her eyes were following my movements. Straightening my back, my eyes caught on to the stillness of the rest of the room. Everyone there was staring at me, frozen as a statue. Looking closer, I saw that their cheeks were a bit red as well, just like Philia's.

I was pretty confused at the scene, but nothing would start if they stayed like this. Not having any ideas, I tried plopping my hand on the girl's head.

"Hey, you awake?"

"Hya?! I, umm...I'm sorry! I, I was..."

She finally reacted after having her head stroked for a few seconds. As if by magic, all the other kids started to move as well. Many of them turned away, while peeking from the corner of their eyes, while others grouped up and watched me even more closely, as if they were anticipating a show.

(Well, in a sense this is supposed to be a show.)

"It's fine. But let's hurry and start, or some of you are going to catch a cold."

All the kids were still naked, with quite a few's skin was still glazed with water. I really needed to speed things up.

I levitated a bucket over from one of the kids, then guided the girl to sit on it facing our audience once I emptied and overturned it. Next, I levitated some of the hot water from the bath and splashed it on the girl's head, pushing the water around with my hands to make sure it seeped all the way to the roots. Her hair was pretty short, so a single splash ended up being enough.

Taking one of the bars of soap I had made beforehand, I rubbed it between my wet hands, lathering it up. Once I was satisfied, I rubbed my hands through the girl's hair, giving her a bit of a scalp massage as I went.

(Ah, it hadn't been so long, but this is so nostalgic.)

I couldn't help but think about all the time I used to do this for Alicia. Every night I'd wash away the dirt and sweat off of her hair and body just like how I was doing it for this girl.

"...Scarlet?"

"Eh? W, what is it?"

The girl turned to look at me from the corner of her eye. As I tried to ask her what was wrong, to my surprise, the words that came out strangely shook.

"Did I do something wrong? Why are you crying?"

"Huh?"

Only then I realized that there were tears running down my cheeks.

(This isn't good.)

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, forcibly calming myself down. My chest felt warm, as if to support and encourage me.

"No, I'm fine. I was just remembering something nice."

"You cry when you think of good things?"

"Sometimes."

I gave her the most gentle smile I could. But contrary to my expectation, she quickly stiffened up, then turned back and faced forward.

(Did I just mess something up?)

"Umm...I'm going to continue."

The girl didn't say anything, but answered with a stiff nod.

Sighing, I went back to the scalp massage.

"Alright, now close your eyes tight as I rinse the soap off."

Giving my warning, I levitated a larger ball of water, then slowly trickled it down from above, using my hands to push it around and sweep away the lather from her hair. When I was done, I took my cloth and lathered it up with the same bar of soap, then gently scrubbed her back with it before rinsing it off.

"Now, I think you can do the rest on your own?"

I handed the bar of soap to the girl. I thought I could see disappointment flash across her expression, but I might've just imagined it as she quickly put a bright smile on her face.

"Thank you so much Scarlet!"

"Now everyone, that's how it's done. Don't forget to wash your whole body though, not just the head and back. Once you're finished washing, the next step is to soak in the baths. It's the best part of bathing, so don't forget!"

"""Okay!"""

The kids all came to gather as I handed out several bars of soap, then several kids scooped out hot water for their buckets then they all went to start washing. I watched with a smile as they clumsily went about washing each others heads.

"Oh, and be careful you don't let any of the soap get into your eyes. It hurt a lot."

"Gyaaa!"

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Just as I finished saying that, one of the kids yelled out. There was lather dripping down all over his face, and his was holding his eyes with his hands. The amazing timing made me freeze for a moment before I went over and helped him out, rinsing off his face with fresh water.

After that, everything more or less went smooth, so I concentrated on myself.

Taking the last bar of soap, the one I had bought earlier in the day, I tried using it.

As expected, it lathered up pretty well and had a good feel overall, though the random petal particles were a little annoying. The scent though was entirely lacking, and was completely overpowered by the scents of the other soaps being used. The room smelt somewhere between a flower garden and a dessert festival, murdering the weak scent of this bar.

But the feel of it as I rubbed it into my hair was decent. Still not as good as the shampoos on Earth, but it didn't lose out to my own recipe.

"Umm...can I wash your back Scarlet?"

Just as I was wringing out my hair after rinsing it, the girl who's hair I washed came up with a lathered up rag.

"Oh, sure. Thanks."

Making sure that all of the strands were pulled out of the way, I presented my back to the little girl. Her little hands pushed the rag up and down as she carefully scrubbed my back. It was a strange feeling. I couldn't remember ever having my back washed by someone, but it wasn't bad.

"Thanks. That was really nice."

Once she poured water down my back, I turned and gave her a gentle smile and pat her head. In turn, she gave me a bright, full toothed grin. When I turned to finish washing myself up, I noticed that the kids were all looking my way. Each of them had a slightly different expression, but I couldn't help but think that quite a few looked envious.

The envious ones were mostly looking at the girl who washed my back, who in turn looked like she was on cloud nine, not even noticing the fact that she was stared at. I was a bit baffled that so many of the kids were envious of someone who just washed my back.

(This means I'm popular, doesn't it?)

It wasn't like I wasn't entirely unaware about it, but seeing how the kids were reacting here just made it click. My feelings on the matter on the other hand were pretty mixed. It was nice to be liked, but I was pretty nervous about how the kids were acting because of it.

"Umm, everyone! If you're finished washing, then hurry up and enter the baths! You don't want to catch a cold, do you?"

"""Okay!"""

Forgetting entirely about what just happened, the kids quickly scrambled over to check out the large, wall to wall bath tubs. But that was all they did. They just stood there at the edge, looking at the hot water.

"Oh, right. I forgot. Can you guys step away from them for a second?"

Heeding to my words, they made some space. Without wasting any time, I quickly produced a series of steps along with handholds to let the kids get in and out of the baths. I had forgotten the high walls would make it hard for kids to get in.

The older kids wouldn't have had much trouble, but they were in the back since they initially made way for their younger counterparts. Due to that, they were unable to do anything until the smaller kids made way.

The kids quickly entered the baths, a few at a time. As expected though, they quickly devolved into playing around in the water rather than relaxing quietly.

(Well, this is basically a giant private bath, so it's not a big deal.)

Quickly finishing up my own washing, I joined in with the kids, entering a segment with fewer kids. I leaned against the far wall, soaking up all the way to my shoulders. I closed my eyes to enjoy myself as the kids played.

"Umm...can I sit with you?"

That girl once again came over and asked nervously.

"Huh? Oh, sure."

It wasn't like I had a reason to refuse. But contrary to my expectation, instead of sitting to my side, she sat down squarely on my lap, and leaned her back against my chest. I couldn't see her expression from this angle, but it felt like she probably had a big smile on her face right then.

"Ahh! That's cheap! You're doing it again Flix!"

One of the kids pointed at the girl on my lap.

"That's right! No fair! Me too!"

"Yea! I want to sit with Scarlet too!"

One after the next, the kids came over. This time jealousy was quite apparent on their faces as they vocalized their wants.

"Heheh! You guys are just too slow!"

But rather than trying to diffuse the situation, the girl just boasted and aggravated the other kids.

"Why you!"

"That's so unfair!"

"You guys. While everyone isn't possible, a few other can sit with me, can't you? And you can take turns as well, so everyone can sit with me at some point."

It felt dirty the way I had to word it, and goosebumps crawled up my back. It was the sort of thing the type of characters I hated often said. The ones there were overly popular in their universe and often treated people who liked them like objects. Here I was saying similar words, but I couldn't think of any other way to placate the kids.

But a saviour appeared at the corner of my eye.

"And also, there's Miss Philia! How about a bunch of you sit with her once she's finished washing?"

"Wha?!"

Surprised at me suddenly mentioning her, Philia froze in the middle of washing her body with a bar of soap that was haphazardly left on the ground.

"Wouldn't Miss Philia feel lonely if nobody sits with her when she comes over to take a soak?"

(SOS! Please help! I'll die at this rate!)

"I won't be lonely. I'll be fine while you take all the attention Miss Scarlet."

"Now now, there's no need to be reserved here Miss Philia. I'm sure a lot of the kids want to sit with you as well."

The kids looked back and forth between the two of us as we smiled at each other. It felt like her glance dipped slightly for a moment, but I couldn't tell for sure at this distance.

"Oh, but I'm sure that it would be great to allow the kids to enjoy your bountiful heart."

My smile cramped a bit at the way she worded her line. Whether intentional or not, it felt like she poked me with a sharp instrument just now. My eyes flicked down slightly as Philia continued to scrub herself, and I saw that her chest really was pretty flat. It wasn't exactly nonexistent, but it was a far cry from what could be considered generous.

(Was she maybe...?)

"Oh, but I also have a heart to share as well. Please, come and join us. I'm sure the kids would love to be with their favourite director as well."

If she was, it was unjustified resentment! I didn't max that particular slider for my new body to have AAA rated air bags! I didn't even notice that the gender label had switched to female!

*sigh*

"I'll be there in a moment. For now, I'm sure that quite a few of you children can sit comfortably with Miss Scarlet, can't you?"

After a moment, Philia finally acquiesced. Grateful, I let out a sigh as well.

"It's like Miss Philia said. There's enough room for several of you kids."

As if my words was the bang of a race's starting gun, the closest kids all rushed over, finding a spot wherever they could. Three kids on each side leaning on my outstretched arms, another pair on my lap squeezing in between the small gap between the middle and sides, and a final pair sitting on my shins, not quite happy where they were, but more satisfied than the kids who couldn't find a spot at all.

Me on the other hand, I was a bit nervous and frustrated. There was no way for me to move anymore without pushing one of the kids aside. To my annoyance, the directer chuckled quietly as she looked on.

All I could do was sigh and hope that none of the kids would get overheated while waiting for their turn.

 

In the end, due to me not having the foresight to properly make the kids rotate quickly enough, I was forced to end the session early as some of the kids were developing symptoms of heat stroke. It got quite a few complaints, but Philia reminding everyone that it was past their bedtime managed to seal the deal for them, even if a bit, or rather, very reluctantly.

Once I fully dressed myself, I helped out getting the kids to bed. They spent quite a lot of time thanking me for various things, not the least of which the furs I had provided to keep them warm at night. Seeing their happy faces as they lay in their beds brought warmth to my chest and a smile to my face.

When all the kids were tucked in bed and the shutters all were closed on the upper floors, Philia and I headed down to the first floor.

"...Do you want to stay the night, Miss Scarlet?"

I looked at her wide-eyed. It was like she could read my mind.

"Is that fine?"

"I think the children would love it. I as well wouldn't mind the extra company either."

"If, if it's fine then."

"It is more than fine. But..."

"But?"

"Perhaps you can accompany me for something to drink before we head to bed ourselves?"

"Umm...alright..."

I struggled to squeeze the words out. Rather than simply reading my mind, it felt more like reading me like a book. The more I got to know her, the more amazed I was.

We headed to the dining room, and Philia had me sit down at one of the tables. After a few moments, she brought over a tray with two cups and a teapot.

"Would you like some tea?"

"Ah, no. No thanks."

With a nod, she placed the tray on the table and put a cup in front of herself, then poured the tea. It didn't go unnoticed that there was only enough water for one. Maybe she already realized that I didn't enjoy the tea she served last time? The grassy scent from her cup didn't help the image that it was really just some boiled wild leaves.

She slowly took a sip while I did my best to avoid fidgeting.

"Now then, what is it you want to ask me?"

Once again I froze, but I quickly composed myself and sorted out my thoughts.

"I...things have happened lately. Things that make me question what I'm doing."

"Something...aside from the good you're doing here?"

"I uh, yea. For some reason, I've been attracting a lot of attention. The bad kind."

"...And you haven't done so in the past?"

"I...lived alone for a long time. Even when that changed, it was only me and one other. I've only seen other people, lots of other people, for the first time in a long time."

"Am I right to presume that you hadn't come in contact with others since you were a child?"

Rather than a child, since my last life, but there was no way I could say that out loud. In the end, rather than vocalize the lie, I just nodded.

"I see. Then perhaps it's because you don't know your own charm."

"My...charm?"

The very word felt foreign to me. It wasn't like I didn't know it, but it felt like a word that had nothing to do with me. Merely association with it felt weird.

"I'm sure you're aware that you are well liked here."

"I'd be blind if I wasn't."

The way the kids looked at me, the way they smiled. It was obvious. They've opened themselves to me in a way they would only if they liked and trusted me.

"*chuckle* That is true, isn't it? But I'm not talking about that charm. That is the charm of who you are inside. But those that look at you with ugly eyes, they see the charm on the outside."

"..."

(Was that it? Was it just that?)

I was aware that I had a bombshell of a body. It was impossible to not notice. Not only that, but while I never bothered to look in a mirror, I had seen my own reflection in a river once. I was definitely very pretty.

"Hmm...you really that unaware of your own beauty, aren't you? It's a shame we don't have a way to show you here."

But a light bulb flashed in my head. They might not have a mirror in an orphanage, but it wasn't hard to make one. Mirrors were just a flat, shiny piece of metal with a glass coating to protect it.

I quickly removed a silver ingot and flattened it out, separating a part of extremely flat metal the shape and size of a hand mirror, then touching the ground, I brought up some purified earth, reshaped the structure then thickly layered the sheet on both sides, as well as made a thick frame to hold it all together.

In the end I made a proper mirror rather than something quick to use immediately.

Pulling down my hood, I turned the new mirror towards me, I gazed at the reflection...and froze.

...

...

...

(...I...wha...)

I couldn't move. I couldn't look away. I couldn't do anything but look at my own reflection.

My emotions swirled inside me as my body was as still as a rock. From attraction to fascination, from affection to excitement, from longing to allure. All sorts of feelings bubbled up as I stared into the mirror, but the one that made me most uneasy, was lust.

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