Chapter 374 : Bath For The Ladies
「Welcome, Mark-kun, Nicola-chan, we’ve been waiting for you.」(Pamella)
A few days had passed since I ordered a hinoki bath from Gauche oji-san, and now I’m currently visiting Iris Bar to make a bathroom as promised.
After welcoming us, Pamella took us inside, and then we were greeted by her mother, Camilla-san, the owner of this bar. She smiled at us while carefully wiping an expensive-looking liquor bottle behind the counter.
「Ara~ Welcome, Mark-kun, Nicola-chan~」(Camilla)
「Good afternoon, Camilla-san.」(Mark)
「Hello, Camilla-mama~!」(Nicola)
「Fufu~ You two must be thirsty from walking all the way here. Let me prepare you some drinks.」(Camilla)
「Thank you.」(Mark)
「I want some apple juice!」(Nicola)
「As our little angel commands~ Pamella, can you show them their table?」(Camilla)
Pamella nodded to her mother and took us to an empty table. Meanwhile, Camilla-san put away the liquor bottle she was wiping and went into the kitchen.
As we sat on the sofa, I talked to Nicola with telepathy.
『Oi, couldn’t you keep your modesty and hold back a little bit?』(Mark)
『Why? She’s giving us free drinks. Children don’t hold back when they get free drinks, and I’m just behaving like a normal kid. You should do the same.』(Nicola)
She’s behaving without holding back as usual, but what she said had a point.
By the way, Nicola is not needed here since I’m the one who will be working today. But, it’s Nicola. There’s no way she would miss a chance to see Camilla-san and the hostesses here.
After waiting for a few minutes, a young hostess came out of the kitchen while holding a tray with three glasses of apple juice. The familiar-looking young woman then approached our table and greeted us as she put the drinks down.
「Mark-kun, Nicola-chan, welcome! It’s been a while!」(Colette)
「Hello, Colette-san.」(Mark)
「Colette onee-chan, it’s been a while!」(Nicola)
She is Colette, the youngest hostess in Iris Bar. She has a sister about the same age as me and Nicola, which is probably the reason why she’s so thoughtful toward us.
By the way, she is Nicola’s favorite hostess here. She has short hair and huge breasts. I still remember taking a bath with her and another hostess called Elmena after I was done working here as Mary. (chapter 99)
「I heard from Camilla-mama that you came to build a bathroom for us here.」(Colette)
「Yeah. I was supposed to do it much sooner, but a lot happened on my trip, so…」(Mark)
「It’s alright. I don’t think Camilla-mama will mind it. But, you sure can do anything with magic. I bet you will have a bright future. Pamella-chan, if you’re taking too long, I might make a move on him first~」(Colette)
「*Cough cough*! CーColette onee-san!」(Pamella)
Pamella, who was drinking her juice, suddenly coughed when Colette said that teasingly.
She then tried to explain to me while moving her hands in weird gestures in panic.
「MーMark-kun, what she said isー I… It’s not what you think!」(Pamella)
「Hm?」(Mark)
Actually, I knew what that meant, but at times like this, I guess I should pretend like I had no idea at all, so I tilted my head and made a confused face.
Also, I bet Colette was just joking. It’s nothing serious.
「Phu phu! Pamella-chan, your reaction is cute as always! Haha! Don’t worry, I’m just joking~」(Colette)
「Geez!」(Pamella)
Feeling annoyed, Pamella puffed her cheeks and glared at Colette.
Pamella is a quiet and shy girl, but she looks cute when she’s angry.
『Onii-chan, you should have played along and responded with a bashful look. It would be interesting that way.』(Nicola)
『Too bad, I’m not a show for your entertainment.』(Mark)
ーーーーー
After quenching my thirst with delicious apple juice and chilling for a bit, it’s time for me to get to work.
「Well then, Mark-kun, shall we go to the backyard?」(Camilla)
「Yes, let’s go.」(Mark)
Camilla-san showed up from the kitchen and took us to the backyard.
We passed the staff’s room on the way to the backyard, and I could hear the happy voices of female staff members from inside the room as we passed.
It’s still afternoon, so there are still several hours until the opening hour of this bar. I wonder why they’re here already. Isn’t it too early?
「I want you to build a bath over there.」(Camilla)
As soon as we got to the backyard, Camilla pointed to the edge of the backyard by the high wall that separated Iris Bar’s property from the neighbor’s. It was exactly where I built a temporary bath for Pamella before.
「Alright.」(Mark)
After nodding to Camilla-san, I approached the spot while Nicola, Pamella, and Camilla-san stayed near the door and watched me from there.
I then stretched my arms forward and started producing earth-attributed mana. First, I should start with the foundation.
『Muhehe~ Camilla-mama’s waist is so soft~』(Nicola)
『…..』(Mark)
While watching me work, Nicola clung to Camilla-san’s waist and sent me an annoying telepathic message.
I ignored her and kept working.
Where was I again? That’s right. The foundation. It should beー
『Her butt is soft too~』(Nicola)
ーIt should be soft…
No, no, no! The foundation should be hard and solid!
Argh! Nicola’s voice is disrupting my focus!
I shook my head to regain focus and used earth magic to make a high-density solid foundation neatly and evenly on the ground.
If I’m not mistaken, it’s called a slab foundation, and it would cost you a lot of money if you made it manually by pouring concrete on the ground. However, since I use magic, it’s free.
Next, I made the floor with a different material. I made the surface look like a natural onsen in Japan for the atmosphere.
After that, I built three-meter solid walls and covered them with a flat roof.
A simple building that looked like a concrete box was completed. Now, it’s time to add a door and make some adjustments.
I took out a wooden door from my Item Box. I bought the pre-assembled door from Gauche oji-san when I collected the finished hinoki bath this morning.
Speaking of Gauche oji-san, he wanted to go with me, but he couldn’t because his wife was watching him. She didn’t want him to go with me to Iris Bar and see Camilla-san.
Well, I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel bad for him. I may take him to Iris Bar sneakingly while his wife is not around.
Using earth magic, I made a rectangular hole in the wall that matched the size of the door and then installed the door. Thanks to Levitation Magic, even a child like me could easily install a heavy pre-assembled door properly without breaking a sweat.
After that, I made some adjustments such as smoothing the floor, solidifying the walls and the ceiling, and lastly, creating a water channel as the drainage.
Now that the bathroom is finished, it’s time to install the hinoki bathtub.
I took out the huge wooden bathtub from my Item Box and immediately applied Levitation Magic on it to make it float in the air because it was very heavy. It was much bigger than a normal hinoki bathtub in Japan since it could fit a few people in it.
After finding the perfect spot for it, I carefully put it down on the floor slightly toward the wall.
「Phew…」(Mark)
A simple bath with a slightly Japanese atmosphere is complete.
Now it’s time for the owner to check her new bathroom.
I opened the door and beckoned Camilla-san who had been watching from afar.
「Camilla-san, it’s done. Come in and check it out.」(Mark)
She entered her new bathroom with Nicola and Pamella and looked around with her mouth wide open.
「Mark-kun, you’re very skillful at using magic as always! Is that a wooden bathtub? It looks so expensive.」(Camilla)
「Don’t worry. It’s not that expensive.」(Mark)
「Really? But… This bathroom is wonderful! It’s better than I expected!」(Camilla)
Looks like she was impressed by the freshly made bath.
*/TL : I think it looks like this.
「Do you like it?」(Mark)
「I like it a lot! Thank you, Mark-kun!」(Camilla)
「You’re welcome.」(Mark)
I’m not a merchant, but I’m happy to see a satisfied customer.
By the way, Camilla-san planned to pay me 25 gold coins for this, but I thought it was too much.
If I built the bathroom manually with labor, I might take the money, but I did it effortlessly with magic, plus, I didn’t pay Gauche oji-san a single coin for the hinoki bathtub. I paid him with the spirit tree, so the bathtub was completely free.
After negotiating with Camilla-san for a while, we agreed that she would pay me 10 gold coins. It was a weird negotiation where the hired hand, me, demanded less money than what the employer offered.
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You should have accepted 25g, if she already offer 25g in first place. while I get most stuff was free but labor time. If you accept or demand lower amount, people in future will take advantage of you lol…
I guess again the rest of payment will be deferred as free service a few years in the future. To make him keep visiting her daughter, for some mysterious reason.
I’ll never undestand the reason behind these goody two shoes protagonists. Some japanese authors really like to show off how virtuous and selfless their characters are to the point that it feels unnatural, especially when the protagonist knows he’s doing something weird.