Koyuki, the Necromancing Foxkin

CHAPTER 360: A Bath

"It's a shame that we don't have a bath with us." I said, as I contemplated ways to get clean.

"There is always the river." Helena suggested.

"It's freezing out here! That water is way too cold!" Cassie protested.

"We could form a tub made from ice." Hatsumi proposed.

"And then what? Throw hot water in it? That would melt the tub." Cassie said.

"Actually, if you create the tub with an ongoing spell you can use mana to keep it frozen. It would be like blocking an ongoing attack against the tub." Helena pointed out.

"You would also need to keep the water warm." Cassie added.

"It should be doable though. We have enough people with a water affinity to maintain a tub. We can save mana by using river water, so we don't have to create it first. We use enough to form a large tub, then fill it with more and let Cassie boil it. Kasai can even help! We can use a joint casting for the ice tub to share the mana cost." I suggested.

"Hm. I guess that would work." Cassie agreed.

"We do not have any bathing clothes." I pointed out.

"We could use some magical mist…" Helena mused.

"Or we could bathe in our underwear. We have spares and it will dry, especially with some fire magic. Or over an actual fire." Skadi suggested.

"My mother would have a fit if she knew I took a bath in my underwear in front of a bunch of mercenaries." Cassie giggled.

"It's not very noble like." Skadi agreed.

I shrugged. "They can't see inside the tub and we would jump in quickly. Also, it is already getting dark. Unless we create a lot of light they will have trouble seeing anything."

"Let's do it!" Helena said.

Helena was our expert when it came to ice magic. While everyone with a water affinity could learn ice spells she had specialised in them. Her control and efficiency was better than mine and I was happy to let her take the lead. I mostly supplied more mana as we performed a joint casting to create a large round tub made of ice, right next to the shore.

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"Why did you make it so big? You could fit like eight people in there." I guessed.

"Maybe I went a bit overboard… I had one of the hot spring tubs in mind when I cast the spell. But hey, we are not lacking in mana, especially if we cast it jointly." Helena said.

"Aehm, what are you doing?"

I turned around and found Egon standing there, looking at the tub.

"The ladies are creating a bath to clean after their sparring session. Do not worry, we shall still provide security. The caravan will be perfectly safe. However, I would ask you to give the ladies some privacy and stay near the main fire." Kaito explained.

Egon seemed to ponder that, then he shrugged and left. I think I heard him mutter something like: Nobles…

We continued with our project and Cassie used her magic to heat the water. Kasai helped with her flaming breath, she was rather helpful for a cat. As I thought that I looked at Nyx, who was lazing around.

Once our bath was finished we striped down to our underwear and jumped in. Kaito and Hatsumi were on watch while Garm and Rose were next to the bath, as were the cats. The hot water felt really nice. A bath after a good workout was heavenly.

"I am unsure how I feel about a tub of hot water." Garm's left head said. "Perhaps it is my affinity but I do not think the cold is uncomfortable right now." The right head added.

"What about getting clean?" Rose wondered.

"Being dirty is not very fashionable, I will grant you that." Garm said. "However cold water would be good enough to clean my fur. Right now it is not very dirty, is it?" His right head turned around to inspect his body.

"Hot water is actually better at cleaning since it can dissolve dirt more easily." Cassie added.

"Huh. Interesting." Garm mused.

"You can join us if you want to, Rose. The tub is big enough. You too, Garm. I think we can even fit you in here." Helena suggested.

Rose pondered that. "What if we are attacked? Should I not be on patrol?"

"We have Kaito and Hatsumi, the goblins, Frank, Bob and Chariot to keep watch. The cats are close too. Besides, we can still use magic in our underwear. Fighting like this would not be ideal but we are hardly defenceless." I pointed out. "We need to find a good middle ground between paranoia and carelessness."

Rose hesitated a bit longer, then she undressed and joined us as well. "Huh, this is nice."

"Wait, is this your first bath?" I asked.

"A hot bath like this? Yes, this is my first. Normally I just shower at the academy. Vampires don't sweat like normal people and we do not suffer from the same diseases." Rose replied.

"Bathing is not just to clean yourself, it can be a rather pleasant experience as well. You are so going to join us when we visit the hot springs!" Helena announced.

Rose nodded. "I would like that. Garm, you should join as well!"

"I remain unconvinced." Garm replied, while sitting next to our tub. "However, some people in this caravan could use a bath. There is this one merchant, his wagon is doused in some form of perfume. I can only assume he is desperately trying to cover his lack of bathing."

"Maybe he is selling the stuff? We don't know what they are transporting." I pointed out.

"Perhaps but then he should ensure his bottles are properly sealed." Garm replied.

"I didn't smell anything when we patrolled." Rose added.

"My nose…" Garm's left head paused. "My noses…" Garm's right head continued. "...are a blessing and a curse."

"What about the smell of undead, like the goblin zombies?" I wondered.

"We keep them in good condition so their smell is not a problem. Honestly, even corpses are not necessarily that bad. The smell of death is less revolting than some things people put on their skin." Garm stated.

"I suspect your being an undead yourself has something to do with those preferences." Helena theorised.

"Probably." Garm agreed.

We enjoyed our bath a bit longer before we got out. Then we released the spell and let the water flow back into the river. It was nice, unfortunately we would not be able to do the same thing tomorrow. This was our last day next to the river. Theoretically we could conjure up the water but it would require quite a bit more mana. Then again, maybe it would be worth it. Or maybe we would settle for something simpler. One thing was sure, magic made life a lot more convenient.