After successfully entering the city, the group chose a fairly standard-looking "Tulip Inn" located in the city center. Its quality was roughly equivalent to a modern budget hotel chain.
"Four guests, two premium rooms, correct? That will be 3 silver coins per room per night," the owner said, a smiling fat man.
"Fine."
There was no dispute over the room assignments this time.
A-Ling and Vespa shared one room.
Lucrezia, however, spoke up with natural, matter-of-fact confidence, "I shall share a room with the small fry."
Leo’s lips curled into a faint, playful smirk.
From the moment they teleported into the Thousand-Tentacle Swamp, he had already foreseen this outcome—it started with dependence, fell into habit, and finally...
They entered the room.
The south-facing window was wide open, allowing the afternoon sunlight to spill across the soft white bed, chasing away the slight chill of early spring.
"Phew—! So comfortable!"
Lucrezia threw herself onto the bed, letting out a satisfied sigh.
Leo nodded. Although 3 silver coins (roughly 300 yuan) was a bit pricey, seeing the clean sheets and the private bathroom made him feel it was worth the money.
"Bathwater? Hot water at this establishment is 50 copper coins a bucket." The owner rubbed his hands together with a businessman's shrewdness. "You understand, honored guest, heating water costs firewood and labor..."
"That's so expensive!" Vespa was the first to cry out. "50 per bucket? Why don't you just rob us?!"
Just as everyone was hesitating whether to grit their teeth and bleed some coin, a sudden flash of inspiration struck Lucrezia, her red eyes sparkling with the light of wisdom.
She stood on her tiptoes, leaned into Leo's ear, and said in a voice she thought was a whisper—but was actually audible to everyone present:
"Hey, hey, small fry... we have magic now. Why are we spending money on this?"
"Can't we just use mana to create some water and then heat it up?"
Silence.
Dead silence.
Leo, Vespa, and A-Ling all looked at Lucrezia as if she were an alien. The coin pouch in Vespa's hand even dropped to the floor.
Elementary! You've found the key point!!
That’s right!
They had magic, so why the hell were they wasting money on this?!
"You..." Leo looked at Lucrezia with a shocked expression. "Since when did you grow a brain?"
"Hmph! I have always been clever!" Lucrezia lifted her chin proudly. "Owner! We want four large bath tubs! The biggest ones you have!"
The owner was clearly a man of experience. Upon hearing this, he knew there were distinguished mages among these guests and immediately switched to an even more respectful smile. "Right away! They'll be delivered immediately!"
Ten minutes later.
Two massive wooden bath tubs were placed in the rooms.
Leo rolled up his sleeves and looked at the three individuals waiting for "service"—Lucrezia, and the thick-skinned Vespa and A-Ling who had tagged along.
"So..."
Leo pointed at himself:
"I'm the laborer?"
"What else?" Lucrezia sat on the edge of the bed, swinging her legs naturally. "I am responsible for providing the mana source, and you are responsible for the specific operation. This is called a clear division of labor!"
Fine, consider it a company benefit. These days, how else can you attract the workforce to work themselves to death without some perks?
Thus, Leo had to go to the adjacent room first, transforming into the heartless "Master Lee."
"Are you ready? I'm starting."
Leo pressed his hand against the wall of the giant wooden tub.
Hum—
Under Leo's control, the cold water in the tub instantly began to simmer with fine bubbles.
"Wow! So fast!"
Vespa leaned in excitedly. The cat was clearly not very sensitive to heat, as she reached out directly to test the temperature.
"Ouch! Hot, hot, hot!"
She screamed as if her tail had been stepped on, and in her frantic state, she accidentally knocked over a basin of cold water nearby.
Splash—!
The cold water spilled, drenching her completely.
Her already tight-fitting leather armor lining was instantly soaked, clinging tightly to her flat yet elastic skin, outlining the exquisite, if not grand, curves of the young girl.
"Ah! My fur! It won't look good if it's wet!" Vespa complained as she shook off the water, completely unaware of how... revealing she looked right now.
Leo's eyelid twitched, and he quickly turned his head away.
See no evil, see no evil.
Meanwhile, on the other side.
The cold and elegant A-Ling had her back to Leo, sitting on the bed and organizing her equipment.
Hearing the commotion, she didn't turn around. She only tilted her body slightly, her slender fingers resting on the zipper of her tall leather boots.
Zip—
As the zipper slid down, a glimpse of breathtaking black silk stockings slowly emerged from the stiff leather.
Though it was only her back, the absolute territory peeking out from the top of the boots and the thigh lines slightly tightened by her sitting posture radiated a deadly, high-class sexiness under the sunlight.
'I’ve seen this scene in light novels before...'
Leo felt like his heart-cleansing mantra was about to fail him.
"Cough! The water is ready!"
Leo quickly withdrew his hand and fled the dangerous room filled with "wet cat-girl" and "black-stocking beauty" like a man escaping a fire.
Back in his own room.
Lucrezia was lying on the bed, her face slightly flushed. Clearly, the remote mana supply just now had given her some strange sensations.
"Done with those two?" She looked up, a hint of cunning flashing in her eyes.
"Done. Now it's our turn for this tub."
Leo took a deep breath, walked to the tub, and pressed his hand against it again.
A moment later, both tubs were steaming.
Leo clapped his hands. "Alright, the water is ready. I'll go sit in the lobby downstairs for a while; you go first."
With that, he turned to leave.
"Wait."
Lucrezia suddenly called out to him.
Leo turned back to see the girl kneeling on the bed, biting her lower lip indecisively, her eyes flickering.
"What? Need a back-scrubbing service? That costs extra," Leo joked.
"In your dreams!" Lucrezia rolled her eyes at him, then pointed to the thin screen in the middle of the room. "You... don't have to go out."
"Huh?" Leo was stunned.
"I mean... this screen... it blocks things quite well."
Lucrezia's voice grew smaller and smaller, while her cheeks grew redder and redder.
"Besides... what if there's an assassin? If you go out, who will protect me?"
This was, of course, an excuse.
The real reason was that after seeing those two "homewrecking cats," Vespa and A-Ling, hovering around Leo these past few days—especially since Leo had spent so long heating water next door—she felt a deep sense of crisis.
'If this guy gets lured away, who will help me get my revenge!'
'Exactly! That's it...'
'Although that cow-demon A-Ling has a great body... I'm not bad either!'
'As long as... as long as I make him realize it a little...'
"Are you sure?" Leo raised an eyebrow, his gaze playful. "A man and a woman alone in a room, listening to the sound of you bathing... you're really testing my self-control."
"Hmph! Less talk! Turn around! No peeking! Or I'll gouge your eyes out!"
Lucrezia waved her small fist in a show of bravado, then pointed to the tub on Leo's side of the screen.
"You wash too! You smell like sweat, don't let the scent reach me!"
Leo looked at the chest-high screen, then at the girl who was blushing but acting tough. A meaningful smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Interesting.
"Fine, since you've said so, I'll graciously accept."
Leo shrugged and walked over to the other side of the screen.
Soon.
Rustle...
The sound of clothing hitting the floor came from the other side, followed by the crisp splash of the girl entering the water.
"Mm..."
An irrepressible, comfortable soft moan drifted through the thin screen and into Leo's ears.
Reflected by the setting sun, a hazy and graceful silhouette of the girl was projected onto the screen.
Although it lacked the direct visual impact of the room next door, this hazy feeling of "hearing it, seeing the shadow, but being unable to touch" was actually even more provocative.
Leo soaked in his own tub, looking at the silhouette and listening to the splashing water. He had to admit—
This move of "playing hard to get" was indeed more effective than just stripping naked.
'This little girl... her level is rising.'
Leo closed his eyes and leaned against the tub, a smile on his face.
'These 3 silver coins were worth it... this is the life.'
On the other side of the screen.
Lucrezia curled up in the water, hugging her knees, peeking through the gaps of the screen at that blurry figure.
Her heart pounded violently in her chest, as if it were about to jump out.
'He... he isn't peeking, right?'
'But... if he really doesn't react at all... wouldn't that mean I have no charm?'
The girl bit her finger in conflict. Between shyness and anticipation, her small face turned as red as a ripe apple.
Rate on N.U.
