By the Grace of the Gods (LN) - Volume 9 - Chapter 20

Chapter 6 Episode 20: Hot Spring Cleaning, Part 2

Two hours later, the Sikum’s Pier and I had finished administering the acidic cleaner all over the outdoor bath and decided to take an early lunch in front of the cottage.

Our lunch, spread across a picnic blanket on the ground, consisted of the usual soup and rice balls prepared by Kai and Kei’s mother. The rice balls were packed with stewed fish, its powerful umami pairing perfectly with the rice.

As I was enjoying my lunch and the fair weather, I heard a voice coming from the mountain path we had climbed that morning.

I was wondering who would come this far up the mountain, when Lord Fatoma parted through some trees, followed by the two dragonewt guards. “Bfft! A rough trek as always... My!”

“Lord Fatoma?!”

“Sire?!”

“You showed them yourself, Pigu?”

“Of course. No one knows the way here better than I.”

“That much is true. And I did tell you to pick anyone you want. But think of your age... Oh, well. Seems I’m intruding on another meal.”

“No, Lord Fatoma. You’re not intruding... But what are you doing up here?”

“Hm. I simply couldn’t get this cleaning situation off my mind. I had to take care of some urgent business, but I came as quickly as I could. Do you think you can clean it?”

I showed him the tub and gave him the rundown.

“I see... There’s a substance that can melt that rock-like grime.”

“I had to make do with what I had today, but it works.”

“Sire, I’ve witnessed the experiment myself. He says the cleaner is soaked into fabric, which is sitting on the grime to let the cleaner sink in, but the surface of the buildup was already starting to melt.”

“After an hour or so, I’ll take the fabric off and begin the cleaning process.”

“How exciting,” Lord Fatoma happily walked out of the cottage.

We stepped outside to find the Sikum’s Pier and spotted the two guards, who looked rather uncomfortable with each other’s presence and weren’t talking to each other.

Lord Fatoma apparently noticed too. “I haven’t introduced them, have I? This is my guard and assistant, Sir Kichomaru. And the master of sumo, the traditional martial arts in the land of dragonewt...”

“Tairyuzan’s the name. An honor to make your acquaintance.”

“He is a certified yokozuna, the highest rank achievable for pursuers of sumo. In addition to guarding me, I have him coaching me in sumo.”

After the two bowed upon finishing their introductions, we moved on to introducing ourselves. I went last, after the members of the Pier. It all seemed to make sense now.

“So you are into sumo, Lord Fatoma.”

“Hm. I thought you were looking at me differently. You know of sumo, Ryoma?”

“I do. My grandparents were adventurers when they were younger, and they’ve told me stories. I didn’t expect to meet a real rikishi here, though.”

“I discovered sumo in my student years. One of my classmates was a dragonewt. Once he told me about the sport, I knew it in my heart. Pig beastkin will easily gain weight and keep it on, giving all of us a signature plump. But I hear that hopeful rikishi overeat on purpose to achieve this body type. What’s more, if we tried to train in the sword, for example, the first step would be to lose weight. Combined with our weight, overworking can often injure our knees, but sumo teaches training methods that are conducive to this body type. We pig beastkins were practically born for this martial art.” Lord Fatoma had always wanted to learn sumo since those days, and when he invited scientists and began importing crops, he also invited the yokozuna Tairyuzan. “Speaking of, Ryoma, can I ask you something?”

“Absolutely.”

“The bath was covered in fabric. I understand its purpose, but do adventurers always carry that much fabric around with them?”

“Well, most people wouldn’t, but I can use space magic, so it’s not a problem for me. Besides, I can use that fabric as bandages or to make my clothes, so I bought them in bulk at a discount.”

“Is that garment your own creation?” He pointed at my faux-down jacket in surprise, so I confirmed. “Interesting... On our return boat yesterday, we were discussing how warm your outfit looks. Apparently, there’s something similar in the dragonewts’ home.”

I turned to the pair of dragonewts. “Were you talking about the hanten? A short throw-over—”

“That’s right!”

“You know what a hanten is too? You know a lot about our homeland.”

“Thank you. I heard most of it from my grandparents, but I also have an acquaintance from there.”

“Fascinating.”

“Hm. He is the Barley Tea Sage, after all,” Lord Fatoma brought this up again.

“That title’s a bit too much for me.”

“Why not? You are very knowledgeable.”

“But Sire, when many hear the word ‘sage,’ they think of the Lady Meria. Perhaps a comparison between such a legendary figure is not one Sir Ryoma welcomes.”

“Hm. You may have a point there. I apologize.”

“Please, there’s no need.”

“And you said the cleaning will take a while longer?”

“Yes. I want to let the cleaner soak in some more.”

“Then I’ll come by later to check on the progress. I’m really looking forward to seeing your work.”

“Thank you,” I said.

Lord Fatoma and his guards left us, passing through the trees again. “Are they going to climb all the way down the mountain and walk back up?”

“No, I believe Sire has gone to visit the grave of his father. It was built on the top of this mountain, in accordance with his final wishes. Sire laments that he can’t come over often, so the cleaning job might have been the perfect excuse.”

“That’s good to hear.” The previous lord’s only indulgence was this hot spring, and he was also buried here? “He must have really liked this mountain.”

“Yes... Whenever he had the time, he would walk up this mountain. He even built this bath himself.”

“Wait... He did it himself? I thought he hired a builder.”

Pigu gently smiled, reminiscing. “He wasn’t the kind of person to spend money on himself. Whenever he could, he worked to make this path.”

“I’ve heard a little bit about that; it was a very arduous process.”

“Yes. He wasn’t the only one to consider building a path here. However, all of his predecessors were unable to build through the swamplands and overgrowth. But he spent his own money and got his own hands dirty... After tireless efforts, he finally paved a path up the mountain. On top of maintaining the manor, he even cleaned this spring himself every time he made the trek. He was frugal, through and through.”

I couldn’t argue with that, all things considered... I glanced towards the cottage and spotted the map on the wall through the open door.

“Is everything all right?”

“Well, I was looking at the hand-drawn map.”

“What about it?”

“It looks like a map of this land, but something’s strange about it.”

Why was there a map here, anyway? It was the only thing about the otherwise strictly functional cottage that seemed to stick out like a sore thumb. Not to mention that the map was framed.

“That is a hot springs map.”

“Hot springs?”

“Yes. This is not widely known, but there are mud pockets throughout Fatoma. If you look at the paths on the map, they are concentrated around those pockets. Some of the paths do not exist, so he must have drawn the map before making detailed plans. I imagine that he wanted to market Fatoma as a hot spring sightseeing destination once the paths were completed.”

“I see.” As I didn’t know anything about the mud pockets, I doubted it had to do with this odd feeling I felt from the map. I took a good look at the map again... To no avail.

“Isn’t it about time, Ryoma?”

“Yes. Let’s get back to cleaning.”

I wrapped some fabric around my face for a mask and wore cleaner slimes instead of gloves. After taking off the fabric soaked with the acidic cleaner, I used a pressure washing spell to wash away the cleaner. The water pressure helped peel off the crumbled buildup. This didn’t perfectly clean the surfaces, but that much was expected.

From this point, I asked the Sikum’s Pier to help me, providing them with what protective gear we could fashion, and having them re-apply the cleaner or scrape off what buildup was left.

“Hey! It’s a lot easier to get it off now.”

“Same with the tub.”

“Looks like it seeped in through these thin cracks.”

“It’s definitely weaker. I think we can smash them.”

They chiseled away large chunks, and I had my slimes work on some tough spots as needed.

After another two hours, we were completely done!