Chapter 93 (1/2)
Ch 93 -- Mukouda, Buying a Bath.
I headed for the Irario Company's store the next morning, accompanied by Fer. According to Lambert-san it was the only shop in the city that sold baths. His directions to get there were on spot-on but it was a big shop and not easy to miss regardless. I stopped to admire its impressive architecture for a moment before I went in.
A store clerk dressed in a smart uniform turned to greet us as we entered. His expression froze as he caught sight of Fer, not surprising for anyone first on seeing such a large monster. He recovered his aplomb quickly though as you might expect from someone trained to be a salesman in such a high-cla.s.s establishment and he quickly came forward to greet us.
”Can I a.s.sist you in finding what you want?” He was very polite.
”Uh, can you show me some baths?”
”Baths, certainly. Please come this way.”
It was pretty clear store-clerk-san didn't think I looked wealthy enough to afford a bath but he seemed fine with letting me look around. I followed him into an area of the shop at the back where there were a number of baths lined up on display. There were three sizes of bath, large, medium and small. The one I had seen in Lambert-san's house was a small-sized bath, it seemed. I thought about it and decided that a similarly-sized bath would suit me. Even stretching out by myself I'd fit nicely into such a bath.
”A small bath is enough...” I muttered, looking at the range of baths on offer.
”We have several such baths in stock so please take a look.” The store clerk overheard my comment and quickly directed my attention towards the small baths on display. He really knew his stuff, I thought to myself gratefully as I looked them over.
The first one was the cheapest, a simple pottery-brown-coloured one costing 300 gold coins. As Lambert-san had said, baths were quite expensive, even the most basic ones. The next bath I looked at was a deep green colour, a very relaxing shade but it cost 370 gold coins. A different colour made the price rise significantly. I asked the store clerk and he explained that making a large piece of pottery like a bath with a smooth uniform colour was very tricky and this resulted in an increased cost.
Although colored baths were more expensive, they were more attractive than the simple pottery-coloured one and since I had a lot of cash on hand I decided the green one would be on my list. The next one I examined was a pure white bath. It looked like a normal bath like the one I had back home in j.a.pan and it had an air of hygienic cleanliness about it. It cost 430 gold coins, even more than the green-coloured bath I had my eye on.
The clerk explained that this white-coloured bath was a new product, only recently coming on to the market. In order to produce the white colour a special material was mixed in with the clay. That material was rare and expensive hence the higher price for the finished product.
The next bath I looked at was a luxurious model with a floral painted finish under the glaze. It looked expensive but I was still surprised when I saw the price tag -- it cost 500 gold coins. It seems that it's harder to paint such decorations rather than simply colouring the pottery with a single colour and it takes considerable artistic skill to achieve an attractive effect. There weren't many craftsmen who could do such a fine job hence the higher price. I appreciated its looks but it was the sort of bath a n.o.bleman's home might boast to display his wealth and taste to others. I'd be taking my bath with me as I travel so such elegance would be pointless. I turned back to my first candidate, the deep green bath. Yosh.
”Excuse me but I'd like to buy this green bath.” I said to the store clerk.
The store clerk was a bit surprised that an ordinary-looking guy like me who just walked in off the street wanted to buy something as expensive as a bath with so little hesitation but he was a professional and rallied quickly.