Isekai Mahou wa Okureteru! (LN) - Volume 3 - Chapter SS1

Bonus Short Stories 

Felmenia, Bath Addict 

After putting his lab in order, Suimei left the room and could hear a melody with a light rhythm to it coming from somewhere nearby. 

“Hmm, hmmmh, hmhm!” 

Drawn towards the source of the sound, Suimei discovered Felmenia humming with a broad grin on her face as she left her room. 

“Menia, you look awfully happy. What’s up?” 

“Indeed, I was just thinking about taking a bath.” 

Felmenia hugged a towel to her chest as she declared her intentions. Seeing her in such high spirits, Suimei couldn’t help the bit of smug laughter that escaped his lips. 

“Oh yeah? So you really were just knocking it without trying it, huh?” 

“Yes. I never thought that a bath would be such a nice thing.” 

She didn’t deny it. Up until moving in with Suimei, she had never gotten into anything like a bath. The one she’d taken two days ago was her very first one. Before getting in, she’d stubbornly refused, but once she was actually in the water, it seemed she’d changed her mind about it. Pondering that, Suimei posed Felmenia a question. 

“If I remember right, it’s not typical to take baths in Astel, right?” 

“It is just as you say. Heehee, the people of Astel have been missing out on a third of their lives.” 

“It’s something I’ve been wondering about, but why is that?” 

Suimei had doubts as to why the people of this world hadn’t taken to bathing. Not only did a bath cleanse the mind and spirit, but it was certainly more effective than the sponge baths they favored. Bathing had a great significance to the Japanese, and though there was a period in the West where it fell out of favor, it was considered a pastime in many cultures. In general, anywhere civilization blossomed had bathing customs. But the only places in this world that had developed bathing culture were Noshias and the Empire. 

“Regarding that, it is related to an enormous war that took place several hundred years ago.” 

“A war from several hundred years ago...? I think Lefi said something about that once.” 

“Is that so?” 

“Yeah, something about a war that led to the Empire losing its power.” 

“Yes, the Heathen War. It was caused by the country where the self-governed state of the Saadias Alliance is currently located... Ah, Reiji-dono also seemed to have misunderstood this, but I should mention that the self-governed state is independent from the Alliance countries. After that war, the Saadias Alliance restored the ruined land as an independent state, which is how it came to be what it is today... Oh, I seem to have gotten a little off topic. I digress, but that was the Heathen War.” 

Facing Felmenia as she politely taught him all this, Suimei raised his hand like a student. 

“Excuse me, Sensei! How is that war related to bathing?” 

“According to literature and oral tradition, the tyrant who brought about that war cast a curse on water, or so it seems.” 

“A curse?” 

“It was several hundred years ago, so I am not all that familiar with the details, but it seems the wells and even the streams going into enemy nations were all cursed. Just touching them was enough to make you sick.” 

“And so the people became afraid of it. But a curse on water, huh?” 

“I do not know whether it conforms to the spells of your world, but to wreak that effect on the water in faraway countries, I suspect it would have to be infection or sensory resonance magicka.” 

“So why did the culture of bathing remain in the Empire? If I’m not mistaken, the Empire suffered pretty big losses from that war too...” 

“Bathing culture was strongly rooted in the Empire beforehand. It seems that, concentrating their efforts on facilities for their water supply, they were able to safeguard their traditions even throughout the crisis. In Astel, however, the people had a strong aversion to water in the first place. So since there were alternatives like sponge bathing, they naturally took that option.” 

“So that’s how the customs ended up different...” 

The water literally being cursed likely inflicted an incredible dread on the people back then. Even ignoring bathing, just drinking water could be a matter of life and death. And such fears are not easily conquerable. The people would’ve needed a strong affinity for bathing in the first place to get over something like that. Since baths were so nice, Suimei thought that much should be a given. At least, that’s what he thought as a man from Japan. 

“I’ve heard the saying ‘a stream purified by the church is clean, but all standing water is corrupted’ many times before.” 

“That’s quite interesting.” 

With that, Suimei let out a sigh of admiration. What Felmenia had just said was similar to feng shui’s way of thinking. As he pondered all this, he could hear the sound of quickly tottering footsteps approaching. 

“Suimei-kuuun!” 

It was Lefille. 

“Oh, Lefi. What’s up?” 

“Save meee!” 

Shouting for him in a not all too pressing manner, she showed up covered in cats. She had some hanging down from her arms and shoulders, and even some clinging to her legs. For a certain type of person, there would be no greater happiness than this. 

“I don’t know what to do. The cats you brought back are all too attached to people. Thanks to that, I’m all furry again.” 

“W-Well, yeah. Should I say sorry, or...? How do I put it...?” 

The cats that Suimei brought back all came with him after reaching a mutual understanding with him. They weren’t shy, and just as Lefille said, they were attached to people. So whenever Felmenia or Lefille were nice to them, they would end up something like this. 

Felmenia helped peel the cats off of Lefille. And using magicka to summon a brush, Suimei began brushing the cat hair off of Lefille. She trembled softly like it tickled. 

“Phew. Thanks, both of you.” 

“Don’t mention it. Now, it is about time that I...” 

“Are you going somewhere, Lady Felmenia?” 

“I was just about to take a bath.” 

Lefille then cocked her head to the side. 

“Didn’t you take one this morning, Lady Felmenia?” 

“Yes, I think I did.” 

“Huh...?” 

Hearing Felmenia admit to it, Suimei’s mouth hung open. Seeing this, Felmenia questioned him in a curious tone. 

“Is something the matter?” 

“It’s not really a big deal, but...” 

Seeing his face scrunch up, Lefille spoke up as if she meant to answer on his behalf. 

“I’m also very happy that you ended up loving baths, but if you go in day and night so often, your body will swell up, you know?” 

“But doesn’t it feel good?” 

“That’s certainly true, but there’s a limit to it, right?” 

Being admonished by Lefille, Felmenia went on to explain that she didn’t think it was a problem. 

“There are those in the Empire who bathe three times a day, so compared to that, I do believe what I’m doing is within the permissible limits. Besides, soaking in a bath is healthy and puts one in a good mood.” 

“Well, it is good for your circulation,” Suimei added. “It also facilitates your metabolism, so it’s good for your health. I’ve also heard that it’s good for your skin and—” 

“Really?!” 

“Is that true?!” 

“Huh? I mean, well, it’s just something people say.” 

With the two of them biting at that morsel of information so voraciously, Suimei faltered. It was true that was something people said, but when it came to the benefits of bathing, there were differing opinions on the matter. It was often claimed that just soaking in up to the hips was good for you, but more recently, Suimei had heard people question if long baths could give you a cold. There’d been no medical proof of that, however, so people were coming to disregard it. But still, it wasn’t like they knew everything there was to know about it. 

“Lady Felmenia, if you don’t mind, I would like to go in ahead of you...” 

“No, I will not yield. I will go first.” 

But the next thing Suimei knew, they were disputing who would get to take the first bath.