Chapter 206: The Worm Becomes a Worm
In exchange for overcoming a terrifying dinner, Rest found himself temporarily hindered. This hindrance manifested as an inability to walk without leaning forward, an incapacity to perform vigorous movements with his lower body, and the risk of exploding if accidentally stimulated.
No need to question the nature of such a hindrance.
While it might be easier to let everything go, the burden of holding it all in was far too great.
“Uo… Guh…”
“Ah, this feels so good! After working hard, a shower is the best!”
“Valhalla, Valhalla…”
“My lady, allow me to wash your back.”
And then… another trial awaited him. Despite being in the midst of a camp, the women had begun their bathing rituals. Laughter and cheerful voices echoed from within the square partition made of cloth. Rest stood just outside the partition, manipulating his magical power while enduring various temptations.
This all traced back to earlier in the day. While exploring the muddy wetlands, a conversation had unfolded among them.
“Ugh… I’m covered in mud. This feels disgusting.”
“Sticky…”
While battling monsters, Yuri had been splattered with mud, shaking her arms and legs in discomfort. The muck clinging to her body was not something that could be easily washed away, sticking stubbornly to her graceful form.
“If it’s mud, I can clean it with magic… [Purification].”
“Oh! The mud is coming off beautifully!”
As Rest cast the spell, the grime that had clung to Yuri’s body vanished. This magic had been invaluable since his days at the Evern Honorary Viscount House, used for cleaning the stable and his own body.
“Rest, you’re amazing… but I still feel like I want to take a bath. It feels like there’s invisible dirt on my body.”
“Ah… that might be true.”
Whether it was dirt that magic couldn’t remove or a psychological issue, even after using [Purification], a strange discomfort lingered on Yuri’s body. It was easy to understand her desire for a bath.
“I’m sorry to trouble you, but could you bring some water later? I want to wash my body.”
“Don’t worry about just water; I’ll prepare a bath for you. We can even have a hot shower.”
“A bath? In the middle of this plain?”
“Of course! I can create a bathtub with Earth Magic, and heating the water with Fire Magic is a piece of cake. It’s no trouble at all.”
“I want to take a bath!”
Ula chimed in, clearly excited about the prospect. Behind her, her attendant, Arly, looked on with keen interest.
“Alright, I’ll prepare a bath for you tonight. If you want, I can even set up an instant shower, so look forward to it.”
Though Rest had made that promise to pamper the women, he would soon come to regret those words immensely.
Fast forward to the present, Rest was fulfilling his promise, allowing the women to bathe. Inside a makeshift bathroom formed by tents, three women stood in their natural state. A bathtub filled with warm water awaited them, prepared by Rest before sunset.
“Oh, this feels wonderful… I feel like I’ve been reborn.”
“It’s warm… so soothing.”
“My lady, I’ll wash your hair now, so please wear this shower cap.”
“U… Guh…”
Rest stood just outside the bathroom. Paradise lay just beyond a single layer of cloth, the cheerful voices of the women teasing his ears. As a result, the worm of desire within him refused to settle, leaving Rest in a rather precarious situation.
No, why am I even here? I want to shout for them to go away. However… Rest was in the middle of a task requested by the women.
(Calm down… Focus. Channel all my awareness into the use of magic…!)
Above the bathroom floated a large mass of water… no, a mass of hot water. Rest decided to break the floating water into droplets, creating an instant shower.
(I shouldn’t have said, “If you want, I can even set up an instant shower.” How foolish of me…!)
Rest deeply regretted his rashness. If only he hadn’t made such a casual promise, if only he hadn’t said something that would raise their expectations, he wouldn’t be in this situation. When they asked him to create the shower as promised, Rest found himself unable to refuse, leading him to conjure the shower with magic.
“Focus… concentrate… I am merely a water heater. I’m just a machine that dispenses hot water…!”
“Rest, are you there?”
As he mentally chanted this mantra, Yuri’s voice called out from beyond the tent.
“…What is it?”
“If you’d like, why don’t you join us? It must be chilly just standing there working.”
“No way! I can’t do that with Ula here!”
“Don’t worry. Ula says it’s fine. Lady Curly feels the same way.”
“I’ll wash your back.”
“Wha…!? ”
Following Yuri, Ula threw out a similar invitation. Rest’s lower body yearned to leap into that temptation, but he suppressed his desires with ironclad willpower.
“I’ll pass… I’ll wait until you’re done before I go in…!”
“Is that so? What a shame.”
“How disappointing…”
Yuri and Ula replied, sounding regretful. Above Rest’s head, a ghost of missed opportunities danced a samba, but somehow, he managed to overcome the trial.
“It can’t be helped. Well then, I’ll wash your back later.”
“Pat pat, service.”
“Don’t you dare!”
As the two pursued him with playful banter, Rest shouted through the cloth barrier.