Chapter 92 (1/2)

Volume 1

Chapter 93

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-class establishment and he quickly came forward to greet us .

“Can I assist you in finding what you want?” He was very polite .

“Uh, can you show me some baths?”

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“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 .

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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 Japan 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 nobleman’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 .