Free Web NovelChapter 252: Bathing
If Lucas had blown his top back in the meeting, he would have offended everyone there, all of whom were critical to making the upcoming evacuation successful. On top of that, he would have lost an opportunity to network with others who might be useful in the coming days, people who could provide ships, carriages, manpower, food, and other essential equipment and resources.
Now, that didn’t mean Lucas suddenly thought this banquet was a good idea. Quite the contrary, in fact. However, he did understand that in a highly stratified society, where the strong held absolute control over the vast majority of money and power, appealing to them on their terms was non-negotiable.
This was another point that Lucas found to be starkly different between the world he lived in and the one his inherited memories came from.
It wasn’t like the other universe was a paradise of friendship and harmony. There were still people who had orders of magnitude more than others, and organizations that exerted more than their fair share of influence over society, but those at the bottom of the hierarchy still had guaranteed rights and protections that allowed them to live freely and comfortably.
What’s more, anyone who was willing to put in the effort could lift themselves up the social ladder. It wasn’t simple or easy, but opportunities for advancement were certainly a lot more accessible than in the Rockwell Kingdom.
Seeing Lucas fall into a state of reflection, Allina Crest smiled gently, reached out, and patted him on his shoulder, "Don’t worry too much about it, Lucas. You don’t have to do everything on your own."
"En," Lucas looked up and smiled back, "Thanks, Big Sis."
"Good," getting up from her chair, Allina stretched lightly before saying, "We should get ready then."
"Agreed," Lucas nodded, wondering aloud, "I hope there’s a proper bathroom in this place..."
"Pft, phahah," Allina couldn’t stop herself from laughing when she heard this.
After interacting with Lucas for the past half-a-month, she, like many others, had noticed his near obsession with cleanliness.
Not that Allina was complaining, that is.
As a woman, she too enjoyed feeling fresh and clean, and she couldn’t help feeling a bit jealous of her best friend Vanessa who had constantly bragged to her about the bathhouse in Redwood Town, the one Lucas had built, with unlimited amounts of scented soap and hot and cold water available on demand.
Allina had even heard her master, Celestina, quietly grumbling these past few days about the lack of decent bathing facilities in Herald City.
Lucas, on the other hand, was now blushing slightly, knowing his quirk about baths had slipped out again. Still, he didn’t think there was anything wrong with being clean, so he quickly shook of his embarrassment and jogged over to the door, opening it to find a maid waiting outside.
"May I help you with something, Young Master?" The young woman, who could not have been older than 20, asked with a sweet smile.
"Yes, I was wondering if this villa has a place where I can have a proper wash?" Lucas asked politely, not looking down on the other party just because she was a servant.
"A place where both of us can bathe," Allina chimed in, casually walking over to the door.
"Certainly! Lady Crest, Young Master Lucas," the maid quickly but professionally replied, "Water has already been drawn and heated downstairs in the main bathroom. I will take you there now if you’d like."
"That would be great," Lucas smiled, feeling genuinely happy when he heard this.
"Right this way," the young woman motioned before leading the way.
As they walked down the hallway and descended the stairs, Lucas tried making some small-talk, quickly learning that this maid was named Lisa Kemp, and that, surprisingly, she was the daughter of a Baron.
When he learned that the ’maid’ who was showing him around and attending to his needs was actually a noble daughter, just like his Big Sister Eris, Lucas didn’t quite know how to react.
Even with his title as Celestina Balfour’s Disciple, Lucas’ social standing was technically lower than this young woman’s.
Lisa might be a maid now, but being born the daughter of a Baron was certainly more prestigious than being the son of a small town’s blacksmith.
Then, of course, there was the fact that she was an Eighth Step Vein Opening Realm Practitioner, proving that her Innate Talent was quite good.
With short brown hair and slight freckles on her face, Lucas wouldn’t exactly call her pretty, but Lisa was by no means ugly.
Status, strength, looks, Lisa had more than enough of each of these to live any life she chose, so why was she working as a servant?
When Lucas asked her this, Lisa just laughed and replied, "My father is a first-generation Baron who the current Count promoted a few decades ago. Since then, all of my siblings have spent a few years serving the Count as a form of thanks."
"Oh, that’s very noble for your family," Lucas commented casually, not quite understanding the complexities of the interactions between nobility, but at least agreeing with the idea of repaying favours.
"We’re here," Lisa announced when they arrived at a large pair of double doors.
Opening them, Lucas saw what he imagined was a changing room, beyond which there were some wooden shutters where steam from hot water seemed to be rising.
As he was wondering if there was running water, or whether it was brought in by workers like most other places he had seen so far, Lucas received a rather shocking question, "Do you need any assistance bathing?" ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
Turning to Lisa, and seeing the completely serious look on her face, Lucas gawked for a moment before hurriedly shaking his head, "N-No need."
"Very well," Lisa nodded and stepped back, "Please take your time. If you require anything, don’t hesitate to ask."
Nodding hurriedly, Lucas dashed inside, his cheeks burning slightly, and not from the heat.
Once the doors were closed behind him, Lucas stripped off his clothes, stored them on a nearby shelf, grabbed a towel, washcloth, and washbasin, then proceeded towards the back of the bathroom.
Before he could go too far, however, he halted in place, glanced over his shoulder, and exclaimed in fright, "Why did you follow me inside, Big Sis!?"
"Hm? Should I not have?" Allina Crest, who was now only wrapped in a towel, tilted her head in confusion.
While Lisa could be considered a little pretty, Allina was both tall and shapely, with long flowing hair and a stunning face. Her body didn’t have any excess fat, and although her muscles were well toned, she was by no means bulky and her curves were actually quite explosive.
In short, Allina was a cool, athletic beauty that still looked youthful while possessing a mature aura.
Lucas was too young to have any... physical reactions to such an attractive woman being practically naked in front of him, but thanks to his inherited memories, his mental age was much older than his body would suggest, causing all kinds of inappropriate thoughts to flash across his head.
Swiftly turning back around, Lucas covered his eyes and cursed to himself, Damn it! Am I an idiot?! Big Sister Allina followed me all the way to the bathroom, what else was I expecting her to do once we got here?!
As for Allina, she was genuinely puzzled right now. She could see Lucas was embarrassed, but she didn’t understand why.
Despite looking like she was in her late-20’s, Allina had turned 121 earlier this year. They might call each other big sister and little brother, but in her eyes, Lucas was nothing more than a baby while she was old enough to be his great grandmother. freewēbnoveℓ.com
On top of that, as a soldier, Allina had long gotten over the shame of bathing in front of men. When they were out in the field, training or fighting in the wilderness, cleaning oneself was a luxury, so when you had time, you didn’t waste it on things like modesty.
Of course, Allina wasn’t some kind of exhibitionist who enjoyed showing her body to members of the opposite gender. If she could bathe in private, or only amongst other women, she would, but if that wasn’t possible, or wasn’t convenient, she wasn’t flustered about it either.
As for being seen by a boy who wasn’t even old enough to perform a lower-body salute? What did that matter?
Concluding that there was nothing inappropriate about them bathing together, Allina tapped Lucas on his head and walked towards the nearby tub, "Hurry up. It would be rude if we showed up late."
Peeking through his fingers, Lucas was treated to the sight of Allina dropping her towel, revealing herself completely as she scooped up a basin of hot water and began pouring it over her head.
As the water cascaded down her back, Lucas couldn’t help thinking to himself, They’re even bigger than I thought... Wait! That’s wrong! Argh...
Scrambling his hair in frustration, Lucas did his best to ignore the landscape filled with glorious peaks and deep valleys before him and dashed over to the far side of the room.
Thankfully, the tub was nearly 5 metres wide, big enough for several people to fully immerse themselves in, and steam was wafting from the hot water, obscuring Lucas’ view somewhat. It wasn’t enough to hide Allina’s figure from him, but it did cover up the finer details, making it just a bit more bearable.
Splashing himself quickly with hot water, Lucas noticed some faint glowing lines at the bottom of the tub but didn’t pay them much mind, instead just focusing on finishing up quickly so he could escape.
Before he could start scrubbing off the dirt and dust of the day, however, Lucas realized he had forgotten something important, "I didn’t bring any soap..."
Frowning, Lucas was about to get up and look around the bathroom, hoping to find the more traditional Bathing Cream somewhere, when he suddenly sensed something flying over towards him.
Reaching up, he caught the object and was stunned to discover it was just what he was looking for.
Awkwardly scratching his cheek, Lucas looked up for a second and called out, "Thanks, Big Sis."
"En," Allina nodded nonchalantly, using another bar of soap she had presumably pulled from her Space Bag to lather her hair.
Seeing how calm and unbothered Allina was, even with him looking right at her, Lucas began to feel stupid for getting so worked up, but in the end, he couldn’t help lowering his head once more to avert his eyes.
