Sorry for the delay. This chapter is a lot longer than ones in the past.
The Adult Bath Opens for Business
The night that we visited the men’s bathhouse.
“Kuu…….Mistress…….”
Ellis was thinking calmly as she tasted Reeve.
“It would be counterproductive to show off Reeve who is popular amongst women.”
“Aah…….Ellis……..”
Ellis was thinking calmly as she tasted Frau.
“Most of the townsmen have known Frau since she was little, so it might create a few problems.”
“It’s embarra.s.sing Ellis……”
Ellis was thinking calmly as she tasted Claire.
“Claire and I make a good pair, and we do better at looking cute from a distance.”
“Ellis, there nyan…….”
Ellis was thinking calmly as she tasted Katie.
“After all it would be best to leave it to Katie. The balance with her equipment is good.”
And so a fresh new morning came about.
Breakfast today was everyone’s favorite of pancakes with Claire’s homemade ice cream as a topping. When everyone had finished, Ellis gave out orders to have everyone try out their experiments as she went to town alone.
Ellis first met up with Maria at the Merchant Guild, and they visited a luxury clothes shop. Ellis asked the manager to rework an outfit she had brought with her while Maria ordered an extra just in case of an emergency.
The two then headed to the men’s bathhouse. The Merchant Guild’s Nicole came with them from this point on.
“Well then let’s do the recruitment drive. Nicole, thank you for your help.”
“I understand. Leave it to me.”
As Nicole had already been informed of the situation by Maria the previous day, preparations had already begun.
Ellis and Maria would be in charge of recruiting the new talent, and their first stop was in the back alleys behind the bathhouse, talking to the ‘pros’.
“Hey you. Have you ever thought about getting a cleaner and safer job?”
Even the street workers knew who Maria was. After all, she was the chairperson in charge of the entire city, but they were scared nonetheless. Because their “work” was illegal and not done through the Merchant Guild.
Until now their work was overlooked as a “necessary evil” by the Merchant Guild, so they had pa.s.sive approval. But Ellis had other ideas.
“Look. Ms. Maria has no ill intentions here.”
Ellis tried to put the ladies’ worries at ease.
“Why don’t you try going for a safer work environment?”
A little later, Flint of the Workshop Guild came directly to the bathhouse to plan for the building’s renovations.
“Flint. I would like you to remodel the bathhouse like this.”
Flint looked at Ellis dumbfounded. Were these really the types of plans an 8-year-old would come up with?
“Are you sure about this Maria?”
Flint looked over towards Maria, but she only nodded and confirmed the plans.
“If you say so, then let’s do it.”
And so Flint also jumped on board Ellis’s plan.
Meanwhile, in the room at Ellis’s mansion dubbed Claire’s Design Office, Claire was doing some work alongside a female craftsman from the Workshop Guild.
“Claire, what is this?”
The female craftsmen looked over the strange design before her and couldn’t make heads or tails of it. In response, Claire threw a steamed cake into the craftsman’s mouth.
“It’s a tool to make these.”
As the fluffy and sweet taste spread throughout her mouth, the craftsman’s interest rose, and she quickly got started on work.
The remaining three–Reeve, Frau, and Katie–were also busy with their experiments. While Claire left to grab some materials, they were brainstorming ideas. While Claire was building her device, the other three were hanging wisteria baskets with a fishing rod–going out, returning, sighing, and rejoicing.
Claire was getting a little impatient at such a sight.
She also had to come up with a few ideas.
Two days pa.s.sed like this in a flash.
During this time, Ellis had given the alley workers a “devilish special lesson,” and made Flint carry out the remodeling at a rapid pace.
And then the day that Katie’s special order equipment was finished.
However, Claire was too busy constructing tools for Ellis while Frau and Reeve were busy conducting their own experiments. n.o.body could go with her to pick them up.
So Katie went crying to Ellis.
“Ellis, please go to the Workshop Guild with me.”
“Uhm.”
“Please don’t say that.”
Ellis hadn’t spent a whole lot of time with the others since she had given them their homework, and while a fire had been lit under her b.u.t.t since she had started making progress on her plan, she did not want to turn down a request from Katie–someone she has relied on so heavily. Also, if she helped Katie out here, it would make things convenient later on.
So Ellis decided to kill two birds with one stone and grabbed the outfits from the dress shop after going with Katie to the Workshop Guild.
Flint welcomed them both when they arrived.
“Ah, today Ellis is with you.”
“h.e.l.lo master. I heard about your plans from Claire.”
Flint let loose an evil smile when he heard Ellis’s words and answered without hesitation.
“To keep our feet on the ground, I’ll have Theseus distribute the goods to the other Adventurer Guilds throughout the country. No one will ever know that they came from Warren.”
“As expected of you Flint.”
The old man and little girl simultaneously exchanged a villainous smile and laughed.
One more thing.
“Since the men’s bathhouse will be reopened starting tomorrow, I’d like to thank you for all your hard work.”
“There’s no need. It was an easy job.”
That’s right. Starting tomorrow, the men’s bath would emerge in its newfound glory.
While Ellis and Flint were talking, a blacksmith brought out the Brave Ripper and Katie’s new modified leather boots.¹
“I went ahead and changed the laces on the boots to gold string in order to match the color of the Brave Ripper.”
Flint didn’t seem too happy about such a useless modification and grunted next to Ellis, but Katie looked pretty happy admiring the golden lace on the white boots.
Then the smith gave Katie a few instructions.
“I was somehow able to recreate the retractability function of the claws. Could you try them on and tell me if the weight distribution feels right?”
“I will put it on immediately.”
The short pants Katie was wearing were the same ones she had worn the day before. They complimented her new long boots that went up to her knee while her monochromatic white color made the Brave Ripper’s gold color stand out all the more. The gold lace accent on the boots likewise added a splash of color that brought out a perfect blend of white and gold.
“Hou.” Flint couldn’t help but be impressed by the appearance.
“It’s quite pretty…..” The smith was a little more vocal about his admiration.
“Well then, I will try it out now.”
After taking a second to check the weight on both her arms and legs was fine, she tried extending the claws on at her fingers and toes.
“Uwa, fiendish…..” This time it was Ellis who was caught by surprise.
The Katie who was a splendorous beauty before had disappeared, and she had turned into quite the heinous looking existence. There were five sharpened nails coming from her fingertips, but the construction looked amazing.²
Instead of normal blades, the nails had a more conical shape that ended in a point similar to a pyramid. Rather than cutting an opponent, it would more likely scoop out their flesh.
With the nails out, Katie tried out some of her Cat Fighter moves and swung a few combos. Her increased speed and smoothness of movement was apparent to even Ellis’s eyes.
“They’re good and light.”
While Katie was happy with her movements just now, it had left a cold chill on her three person audience. Ellis, Flint, and the blacksmith all swore in their hearts to never make this girl angry.
With their business there finished, Ellis left the Workshop Guild and headed over to the dress shop to pick up the revised outfit she ordered. While she was there, she went ahead and confirmed the status of the order Maria had placed as well.
“Because it was an emergency, I mostly re-sized some ready made goods, but I finished everything you needed in time.”
The shopkeeper flexed her arms in triumph, and Ellis was overjoyed at the news.
“That’s great!”
Apparently all the preparations were going well.
Meanwhile, Katie felt a sense of foreboding looking at the package Ellis had just received.
“What is that?”
“A little fun for tomorrow.”
Ellis gave a not so subtle grin, and she made Katie hold the package.
When Ellis and Katie finally returned to the mansion, they found Reeve, Frau, and Claire lying on top of the table with their stomachs full of experiments. Ellis and Katie panicked at the situation and quickly started eating up the leftover experiments themselves. As a result, everyone skipped dinner that night.
Once all the experiments had been eaten up by Ellis and Katie, the five headed over to Lily Garden to take a bath.
“Since I am going to go help Maria in the morning, we will start off with an early breakfast tomorrow. I will distribute everyone’s outfits for the day at that time, so be sure to enjoy them!”
Reeve was the only one who had a bad feeling about the words, “outfit for the day,” but since the other three seemed to not notice, she decided to keep quiet for now.
“Yosh. Time to bring up the mood. I will be singing Reeve No. 1 ‘Dawn of the Knight.”
From there on, the “throat boast tournament” went on inside the bathhouse late into the night.
Then the next morning came.
Indeed, everyone had eaten too many steamed cakes the night before, so Frau prepared a small breakfast of just some fruits for everyone. It only took a few minutes for breakfast to be finished, and Ellis ordered everyone to gather in the living room. It was there that she handed out everyone’s “special outfits,” and she told all of them to change immediately.
It turn’s out Reeve’s bad feeling was spot on.
Yeah. What they were handed was the set of maid wear that they had worn at the Marsfield Art Contest. Of course ap.r.o.ns and maid headbands were included as part of the set.
Reeve and Frau’s long skirts that reached their ankles were the same as last time. Because Reeve’s skirt squeezed tightly around her legs, it contrasted with Frau’s skirt which spread out more extensively–enhancing their physical characteristics and making them both look elegant.
Ellis and Claire’s skirts cut off at the knees with white frills sewn on the edges. It created a cute impression that was very different from Frau and Reeve.
“Miss. What kind of joke is this?”
“To be wearing this again…”
“Hey Ellis. Did you shorten the length of this?”
To the three’s complaints, Ellis only had one thing to say.
“If you have any complaints, you can always wear that.”
Ellis stuck out her thumb over her shoulder to Katie who had sloppily thrown on her adjusted outfit.
“Why am I the only one wearing a mini skirt!?”
Katie’s maid wear had been cut short to the extent that even her thighs were visible. A few heavy ruffles had been sewn in as well tailoring the skirt to be more fluffy and lifting. While everyone else had sleeves that reached their wrists with white cuffs, only Katie’s had those removed showing off her shoulders. White frills had also been sewn there. Her white tail stretched out of a hole tailored to overlay cloth at waist height. In short, both her arms and legs were completely exposed.
“Put on your equipment.”
“Alright.”
Katie obediently followed Ellis’s instructions and slipped on her gauntlets along with the tailored boots that she had just received from the Workshop Guild.
“Hou.”
“Oh dear.”
“Uwa.”
Everyone was unconsciously taken back by the appearance.
By wearing the equipment, the skin exposure was reduced. The knee-length boots stretched up her slender legs emphasizing the area between her thighs and knees. The gauntlets likewise went up to her elbows showing off the upper arm creating a contrast between the gauntlet’s golden color and her white fur.³
Her appearance was lovely, elegant, and beautiful.
But it wasn’t just that.
“Start a performance.”
“Nyan.”
Following along with Ellis’s instructions, Katie’s cat fighter show began.
The four girls watched her move breathlessly. Even Ellis who knew what it would be like was shocked at just how much more wonderful it looked than she expected.
Katie’s moving limbs flowed smoothly and effortlessly in the short maid wear, and her moves that cut through the air as if she was dancing gave the perfect picture of fearlessness.
After finishing off one round of moves, Katie stopped and shyly murmured to Ellis.
“You can see my panties this time.”
“Show them. Or rather, wear misepan.”⁴
“I don’t have anything like that.”
“Oh. Then you’ll just have to make do with white panties.”
“Nyaaan.”
As a result, everyone understood what Ellis’s intentions were with Katie’s mini-skirt. Three individuals thanked Katie for her sacrifice in their hearts before thanking their own luck that it wasn’t them.
Now that Ellis’s group was ready to go, they all began walking to the men’s bathhouse that was being reopened by the Merchant Guild. Naturally, the appearance of the five ladies in maid clothes gathered public attention as they walked down the street.
“Uwa, it’s Warren’s Jewelry Box!”
“What, What, What is with that wonderful appearance!?”
The rumor that the five were walking around in such attire quickly spread out across the city to every guild.
“Milady Frau is walking around in maid clothes!”
In the adventurer guild, all the men immediately made their way into the city.
“Katie is exposing herself in an awesome mini-skirt!”
Even in the Thieve’s Guild, the men quickly ventured to the city’s alleys and back streets.
“Claire is walking around in a tremendously cute outfit!”
In the Workshop Guild, a rare half hour break was carried out.
However, the highlight was the last one.
“Reeve is wearing a rare set of clothes nearby!”
“What was that!?”
“Arrange an emergency carriage immediately!”
Reeve mobilized not only the Merchant Guild, but also every rich woman and housewife in Warren.
Fufufu. It’s all going according to plan.
While Ellis was smiling evilly, the party arrived at the men’s bathhouse just before the opening.
A few guests were accompanying them as well.
As soon as they had arrived, they all quickly hid themselves inside the bathhouse.
Ellis went ahead and checked the inside of the bathroom and confirmed that Flint had properly adjusted the facility. Meanwhile, the former street prost.i.tutes and the girls who had been forced to wear maid clothes continued to wait for the bathhouse to open.
“It’s finally here.”
Some of the women started to look a little anxious when Ellis had returned from her inspection. Ellis had the girls go through a few basic gestures that she had taught them as a sort of final confirmation and to ease their tension.
Until now, these were women who could only live by engaging in prost.i.tution in the dark. But now Ellis had given them the safety that comes with working for a proper organization, and they would do just about anything she says because of it.
“Well then, let’s go!”
At Ellis’s signal, the women moved out.
“Welcome to the men’s private bathhouse, Master’s Hideaway!”
The attention of all the men that had gathered from Ellis’s parade was taken by the bright calls of the emergent women. They were all beautiful ladies wearing matching maid uniforms to what Warren’s Jewelry Box was wearing, and each one reached out towards them, inviting them in with full smiles.
Here, one courageous man stepped forward.
“Can I take a bath?”
To the man’s question, all the women breathed in at once.
All together now.
“Welcome back! Master!”
While releasing such a shout, the man was directly led into the store by one of the maids.
The receptionist behind the counter also greeted the man with a loud, “Welcome home master!” and a large smile.
“Ah, Aah, How much is it?”
“The bathing fee is 1 thousand ril. There are also perfume oils, soap, and towels, so just say what you need.”
After the man had received his key from the receptionist, the guide woman, who had not yet let go of his hand, guided him to the changing room.
“Well then please excuse me.”
The guide woman finally let go of the man’s hand and disappeared as the man entered the changing room.
The man tried taking a look around the store as he took off his clothes. He felt that it was a good, clean environment. The lighting was a little dark, but the indirect lighting was easy on the eyes and was comfortable.
After leaving the key to his locker with the receptionist, the man stepped into the bathhouse and was surprised at how different it looked now.
The man followed the signs lined up on the walls and first headed towards the rinsing bath. Sitting down in front of it, he scooped out the hot water and began to rinse off his body when a signboard posted on the opposite wall stopped him in his tracks.
“Back wash・1,000 ril. Soap cost separate.”
“Shampooing · 1,000 ril. Perfume oil subst.i.tution.”
“A little nice thing · 10,000 ril.”
“Very nice thing · market price.”
The man immediately returned to the reception desk to confirm what was written on the wall with the receptionist. The receptionist greeted the man with a glossy complexion that was slightly different from the bright smile she had earlier.
“The bulletin is real.”
“Then what is a ‘little nice thing’ and a ‘very nice thing’?”
Ufufufu.
The man was just getting more and more excited by the receptionist’s suggestive smile.
“The little nice thing will be offered in a part.i.tioned room at the back of the bathhouse. The very nice thing will be given in a private room at the back.”
“No, I would like to know the content of the services.”
Then the receptionist again let out a small laugh before giving a small wink.
“Our store is called the Master’s Hideaway. The services waiting for you are what you would imagine a master should be catered to.”
The services could not be put into words, yet the man listened intently to everything the receptionist said.
The man took a second to gather his bearings and calm his heart. He purposely convinced himself while speaking in a calm tone.
“Okay, then I would like to try a ‘little nice thing’ today.”
“Certainly. A wise decision.”
The man once again returned to the changing room and paid out the fee of 13 thousand ril to the receptionist which included the cost of the soap and perfume oil. After all the charges were taken care of, the woman who had escorted him before came up from behind and whispered in the man’s ear.
“Are you fine with me serving you?”
Aah.
“Aah, I’ll leave it to you.”
“Which do you prefer, a maid outfit or underwear?”
Aah aah.
“Well then, um, underwear.”
“Certainly.”
The guide immediately appeared in front of the man. She was already wearing nothing but glossy black underwear.
“Follow me then.”
The man was guided to another hot pot located at the back of the bath. Each seat was cordoned off by a wall, so the state of each seat was not visible to the other seats. When the man took his seat, his whole body was carefully wiped down with soap as his hair was washed with perfume. The guide’s hands covered every inch of the man’s body while he was continuously stimulated by the rich chest that was resting on his back.
“Is anywhere itchy?”
Aah aah aah.
“Actually…”
The man tried to work up his courage, but he couldn’t say it. There was a place that was so itchy it hurt, but it was in an unspeakable place right below his naval.
“Ufufufu. I understand…”
The guide woman leaned further on the man’s back.
The guide woman’s breath gently tickled on the back of the man’s ear.
The guide woman’s hands slid down the man’s chest heading closer and closer to between the man’s thighs.
And a little nice thing.
Aah aah aah aah.
“Well then, please take your time.”
The man who had finished his little nice thing felt rejuvenated and bright after having his whole body cleaned off and sufficiently enjoyed relaxing his whole body in the soaking bath.
“This is heaven.”
After being completely fulfilled with the steaming hot water, the man took the receptionist’s recommendation and drank a chilled fruit juice. The taste and temperature were perfect. He put his clothes back on in the dressing room feeling better than he had his whole life.
When he came back out, the guide woman was waiting for him next to the reception desk already dressed back up in her maid uniform.
“This is an opening day service.”
As she murmured such, the guide put both her hands on the man’s shoulders and quietly kissed his cheek before once again whispering in his ear.
“I will be waiting for you to come back.”
The courageous man stepped out from the bathhouse as its memorable first customer. The men who were too nervous to go in gathered around the emerged warrior and bombarded him with inquiries about the store.
But the man with new, glossy skin would only answer with one phrase.
“It’s heaven.”
Soon, other men began entering one after another, attracted by hands gesturing them inside.
“How is it?”
Maria could not respond to Ellis’s smile.
Certainly with this, men who only want to take a bath and men who are looking for a good time could both enjoy using the bath. The more customers who use the facility and enjoy it, the more stories that will spread and bring in more new customers. With that, Maria understands it quite well.
But can she let such a store exist?
Maria who grew up without any real inconveniences had a psychological disgust with Ellis’s proposal. But the answer is obvious in a way.
For women, those who offer such ‘happy times’ in this store can at least guarantee that their customers won’t renege on their promises, and it provides a sanitary environment for them rather than some dirty alley. Besides, Ellis had told the ladies over and over again until she was blue in the face.
“In this store, even with a ‘very nice thing’, any real acts are absolutely forbidden.”
So Ellis eliminated the unwanted pregnancies from street prost.i.tution.
Maria did not think that this was the correct decision, but there is the fact that street prost.i.tution had been seen as a necessary evil for awhile. It would be better to at least offer some protection for these women at least.
“Then to peel off the noisy ladies from the store, I will be borrowing the Merchant Guild’s hall as promised.”
Ellis confirmed with Maria first before leaving with Reeve. Maria, who had been told about what was going to happen previously, went ahead to grab the best seat amongst the audience seats in the hall.
When Ellis returned to the crowd gathered around the men’s bathhouse, she began talking to all the woman who had started making a fuss towards the maids lined up in front of the shop.
“Today, we would like to apologize for any inconvenience created by the opening of the men’s bathhouse. We are holding a limited women only ‘Reeve live concert’ for free at the Merchant Guild’s hall right now. Would you guide them?”
“OK got it. Everyone who wants to come, gather around me!”
This was an unexpected gift for the women gathered around. It was a great opportunity to take a walk together with Reeve all the way to the Merchant Guild. Moreover, it was a super rare maid servant dressed Reeve.
While all the women in the crowd calmly gathered around her, and as if she was the Pied Piper of Hameln, Reeve led the women away.
The remaining men who were being held back by the gazes of the gathered women picked up their courage and decided to enter the bathhouse. In the blink of an eye, long lines were formed in front of Master’s Hideaway.
“Now let us go to the hall as well.”
Ellis gathered Frau, Claire, and Katie to leave as well, but before they could, a voice called out to them.
“What? Are you not going to show us the bath Ellis?”
The one to call out to them was Theseus, the Adventurer Guild Master.
“You sure can say some funny things in front of you daughter.”
Frau’s face became as red as her hair from her anger, and her eyes filled with absolute disgust.
“Oh Katie, those are some cute clothes you have on.”
Standing behind Theseus was Baltis, the Thieve’s Guild Master.
“It’s a little embarra.s.sing.”
Katie’s cheeks were died red at having her skirt pointed to, and she tried pulling on it as if that would make it longer.
“Well Claire, is that an image change? You look nice.”
The Workshop Guild Master Flint also popped out his head.
“Please don’t.”
The sudden praise from her teacher left Claire’s cheeks red as well, but she felt it was unnecessary.
“Did you uncles come here to sweat as well?”
Ellis, who did not have any guardians to come embarra.s.s her, felt a little leeway and giggled at the embarra.s.sed expressions on the three girls.
In such circ.u.mstances, Baltis approached Ellis and bent down to talk directly into her face.
“The women working at this store were originally under my guild’s protection even though they are now affiliated with the Merchant Guild. They paid us for our protection. Do you understand what I mean?”
In other words, the women who work for this store had belonged to the Thieve’s Guild.
The world isn’t just those with power. Being able to do whatever they want, Warren’s Jewelry Box is abnormal in that regard. This is because each member has their own individual strength that is further augmented by Ellis’s ability. Women who do not have such power usually have no other option than to seek asylum from someone with power.
“I understand. I’m not running a charity either.”
Ellis was able to talk to Baltis with an atmosphere as if such worries were beyond her.
“But our actions may make us look like a charity as a result.”
“Is that so.”
After all, this girl is interesting.
Baltis once again became interested in Ellis.
1. The author always just referred to Katie’s foot claws as just footwear, so I called them shin guards because I couldn’t come up with a better word for them. Now the author is using boots, and I’m here slapping myself for not realizing that was an option.
2. A little j.a.panese lesson for you. The word the author used here was エグイ which is j.a.panese slang. It means amazing, but a closer definition would probably be something like gnarly or radical.
3. I’m pretty sure the author made a mistake in this chapter as they often refer to the Brave Ripper as covering up both arms implying that there are two gauntlets. In previous chapters, there was only one gauntlet, and that trend stays true in later chapters as well.
4. I can’t find an English equivalent to this. They’re underwear that you can show usually made for idols or waitresses with short skirts. I have no idea how they’re different from regular panties.