Book 4: Chapter 31 (1/2)

Although Sumeria had no physical abnormalities, the damage to her brain was still grave.

「Hey, hey, you’re a good girl, aren’t you, nuro? So please come over here. Reiji has to create a new public bath and fill it with water.」

「No!」

「Look, come play with me until Reiji is free. Is it because I look different? Don’t be afraid, nuro.」

「NO!」

The red elder tried to humor Sumeria, but she stayed clinging to my back.

I told her to stay away since she might get hurt when I use magic, but she strongly refused.

Sumeria’s blond soft hair was messy, unkempt and overgrown when we returned to Dragonewt City. Kimidori Mama cut her hair and made her look presentable that night.

Her red eyes were big and beautiful due to her double eyelids and long eyelashes. And if it weren’t for her cracked lips and parched skin, I think she would look like a cute teenage girl around the age of 16 or 17.

Unlike the neat and beautiful Asha, Sumeria gives an overall soft and calm impression.

Her clothes were changed to a female dragonewt’s attire instead of her underground garment. However, dragonewts have a tail, so there was a hole near the butt area. It was sewn up in a hurry.

Sumeria seemed restless without a hood, so she was wearing a long towel over her head.

「Sumeria-san, why don’t you come play with me?」

「…………」

Perhaps because of her lack of memory, Sumeria, who had returned to a child stage, was wary of even Asha.

「…No.」

「W-Why?」

Asha was shocked when she was rejected.

For some reason, Asha looked shocked when I returned to Dragonewt City yesterday. When I explained to her about Sumeria’s situation, Asha said she will help me with whatever she can, with tears at the corner of her eyes.

「…You, enemy.」

「Enemy!? No, I am not an enemy~. L-Look, I am just a normal high elf who can juggle fireballs like this.」

Asha started juggling fireballs, but Kimidori Gorn-san and I became seriously wary.

「W-Well, for the time being, Reiji-san, why don’t you just give it a try, nu?」

「Y-Yeah… though, it seems like everyone decided to increase the number of public baths without asking me.」

「It’s your fault for introducing us to this in the first place, nu.」

「Uuh…」

I cast Water Magic at the empty pool while considering Sumeria who was clinging to me tightly from behind. Sumeria is shorter than me, but it’s only by a few centimeters.

From my outstretched hands, water poured into the pool in an arc – the morning sunlight created a small rainbow.

「Oh~」

Cheers rose from around the large public bath, which was already crowded with dragonewts.

As a matter of fact, it seems that the water stream was used to refill the water while I was away. But the stream is also a resource used for daily life, so when it was used to fill the pool in the public bath, there were other places which did not receive enough water, and that caused some problems.

I have to do something about it… We won’t be staying here forever, after all.

「O’ Flame.」

After I filled the pool, Asha heated the water with fire magic. She had already mastered control over the fire output, so the pool quickly reached the right temperature.

「Hell Yeah!」

「Let’s goooo!」

「Yohohoho, nuro.」

「Oh, these damn geezers! Aren’t you guys already hanging around in the public bath every day?!」

Kimidori Gorn-san scolded the elders for their selfishness, but the elders were floating around in the hot water without a care in the world.

「Gosh… we have to establish some rules, nu. Plan it properly so that all the citizens can take a bath in rotation.」