Mushoku Tensei Redundancy (LN) - Volume 2 - Chapter 4.5

Chapter 5:

Hot Springs

NO TRIP TO THE mountains was complete without a dip in a hot spring.

We headed into the inn town, carving out a path through the throng of beastfolk who swamped us at the sight of Leo, until we reached our inn. 

After taking a tour of the town, we met up with Talhand the dwarf, whom I’d asked to be our guide. That night, once the kids were in bed, we headed out to a ­tavern for an adults-only shindig.

We stayed there one night, then headed out early the next morning with Talhand leading the way to the hot springs. I’d heard that monsters appeared in hot spring areas, but they were closer to the town than I’d expected. What looked like a natural valley that beautiful, milky white water had bubbled up to fill was actually the hot spring, hemmed in by a wall built to keep monsters out. Looking back the way we’d climbed, we could see the town far below. 

The bath itself was spectacular, open-air, and allowed mixed bathing. There weren’t many people and no other humans. Almost everyone I glimpsed was a dwarf, halfling, or some sort of beast. Hot spring culture wasn’t a thing for humans or elves. In the case of humans, only nobles ever bathed in hot water.

So, it was fairly sparsely populated—but there were men. Women, too, but that wasn’t the point. Was it really all right for me to expose the naked bodies of my wives and daughters to the eyes of strange men? Definitely not. Not to mention, I had someone else’s woman with me: Elinalise was here. Sure, she’d once been a sexy stripper who’d set the adventuring world ablaze, but now that she was with Cliff, was it really all right for me to lay eyes upon her sexy body? 

Nope, no way.

For that reason, I’d come prepared with bathwear. They were simple tunics made from dark fabric. Despite not being waterproof, they offered the natural comfort of a swimsuit. Design credit went to Aisha Greyrat.

“Big Sister Aisha, there’s a waterfall over there!”

“Oh? Where?”

“There, Aisha, over there!”

“Hey, Mama, wait up—!”

Aisha was with Eris, Arus, and Sieg, who were all excited to visit a hot spring for the first time. They waded through the water, exploring the large baths. The dark color of the fabric meant that it didn’t go see-through, but it still clung to their bodies when it got wet, accentuating every line of their figures. Aisha and Eris wandered here and there, their bodies on full display. Eris probably hadn’t noticed, but Aisha—wasn’t she embarrassed? Well, whatever. So long as the important bits were covered up, it was fine. It’s only embarrassing if you feel embarrassed. I hoped they wouldn’t make trouble for the other bathers, though. Even a place like this had an etiquette to follow.

“Hey, Blue Mama? Have you come here before too?” Lucie asked.

“Yes, I did. A very long time ago,” Roxy answered.

“Tell me!”

“Oh, all right. It was when I’d just left the Demon Continent, after finally graduating from being a fledgling adventurer…” 

Roxy, holding Lily in her arms, told Lucie old stories while Clive listened nearby. I wondered if his face was so pink because Lucie was beside him in her thin clothes.

Clive, my lad, it’s a bit soon to be having those sorts of thoughts. Your dad and I aren’t going to let you have a romance this young.

“This is our Lady Savior then, O Great Sacred Beast?”

“Woof!”

“Oh, my!”

Lara and Leo were surrounded by beastfolk. Lara wore the same dull expression she always did, but I saw an undercurrent of annoyance in it. Understandable. This had been going on ever since we entered the inn town.

“Tell me if you get too hot, Miss Chris,” said Lilia. “I have drinks ready.”

Chris just made a grumbly sound. Lilia had placed Zenith at a footbath and was watching Chris. At first, Chris had come into the water in my arms, but she didn’t seem to like the hot water because she’d gotten out straight away. Now, she was clinging tight to Zenith. Ah, well! It was probably fine.

“Ahhh, it doesn’t get better than this!”

“I’ve never had dwarf alcohol before. It’s pretty potent, huh? Tasty, though…”

Meanwhile, Sylphie, Elinalise, Cliff, Talhand, and I were drinking together in a circle in a corner of the bath. Our drinks were a secret dwarf brew I’d picked up back at the inn town, chilled with ice. I’d never tasted anything like it. I couldn’t have guessed what it was made from, but it was damn good, light on the nose with a crisp finish and lingering floral notes. The chilled drink washed through my flushed body before gently warming me from the inside.

“Rudy, hey, pour me another one. I don’t mind if my husband is the one plying me with alcohol.” It hadn’t taken Sylphie long to get drunk. She was leaning on me, a glazed look on her face. She was always so cute like this, but she kissed our kids with that mouth! We’d have to make sure this stayed between us.

“Coming right up,” I said.

I was soaking in a hot spring, my arm around the waist of a beautiful woman as we shared a delicious drink. It really didn’t get better than this. This was heaven.

Or so you’d think.

See, I kept getting these chills.

Really persistent chills.

I knew where they were coming from, too. The source was the man quietly sipping his drink directly opposite me: Talhand, a former member of Paul’s party, Fangs of the Black Wolf, from back in the day. Even now, he was still active as an S-rank adventurer. A real get-it-done type.

I had no reason to doubt him as a gentleman. If he tried to pull anything, I could handle it. I had also interviewed him thoroughly to be sure he wasn’t one of the Man-God’s disciples. Of course, I hadn’t spotted Geese. That bastard had lied through his teeth when I questioned him, then cheerfully torn a hole in our lives. Knowing that, I couldn’t completely trust Talhand, but if I started thinking like that, I’d have no friends. I’d decided that I would trust him.

That left the question, what was bothering me? When Talhand looked at me, it sent a shiver down my spine. It had been like this on the road to the hot springs too. While the kids rode in the carriage, the rest of us acted as guards. Eris took the lead in front along with me and Elinalise, Talhand walked directly behind us, and Sylphie and Roxy brought up the rear. As I walked, smoothing out the road with earth magic so that the carriage could pass comfortably, I kept getting chills, only to look around and see Talhand watching me. 

I mean, okay, we were walking in the same direction. Given that I was right in front of him, it wasn’t surprising that our eyes met when I looked behind me. I even wondered if I was just extra on edge because we were taking the kids through an area where monsters sometimes showed up. But he was still watching me now, and I was still getting chills. It just didn’t make any sense. 

In the end, I couldn’t take it any longer and asked, “Um. Is everything all right?” 

“Why d’you ask?”

“You’ve been staring at me a lot since we got on the road…”

“Oh, that. I was just thinking how much you remind me of Paul these days. Couldn’t tear my eyes away.”

“Of my dad?”

“Aye. Seeing you walking side by side with Elinalise brought back some old memories.” Talhand stroked his beard, his tone wistful. “Elinalise, Ghislaine, and Paul’s backs in front of me, the sound of Geese and Zenith’s voices behind me…exploring labyrinths with the Fangs of the Black Wolf…” 

I wasn’t so sure about the resemblance, but I couldn’t see my own back, so what did I know? Why exactly did his stares give me the shivers, anyway? It was unusual.

“You’d best watch yourself with that dwarf, Rudeus,” said Elinalise, her head resting on Cliff’s shoulder. “He goes for men as well.”

“Eh?” I said before I could help myself. 

Talhand looked sulky. “Don’t say things like that. You’ll give him the wrong idea.”

Honestly, why did Elinalise’s mind always go straight to sex? That dirty elf.

Talhand continued, “I only go for men.”

That dirty dwarf! But, wait a minute. Was that what the chills were? Did Talhand have designs on me?!

I belong to my sweet Eris, so no touching! She’ll cut you clean in half! 

Without thinking, I clung to Sylphie, trembling. She gave Talhand a fierce, protective look.

“Relax, lad,” said Talhand. “I don’t go for married men or men who aren’t inclined to it.”

Oh, what, he had morals? Well, when I considered it, he just had slightly different preferences from other people. His dating pool was different and smaller, that was all—nothing that weird about it.

“You still ogle men’s butts, though, don’t you?” Elinalise said. She was teasing, but Talhand frowned.

“A man can’t help but appreciate a nice behind,” he told Elinalise, then said to me, “You understand, don’t you?”

I did understand, of course. Just now, I’d been staring at Eris’s butt as she waded around the bath. Uh oh, Eris looked this way. She didn’t get a chill, did she? Oh no, she covered her chest! She did!

Ah ha, but you’ve fallen into my trap! You’re covering the wrong weak point!

“I was telling the truth when I said you reminded me of Paul and the old days,” said Talhand. “But, well, if it bothers you…”

“Oh, no, if it’s just nostalgia, knock yourself out.”

“Ha ha ha. I do apologize.” Talhand smiled, then picked up a bottle. “Now, how’s about another round?”

“Don’t mind if I do.”

There was no accounting for taste. If he said he’d behave in a virtuous way toward me, there was no need to distrust him. No harm in looking without touching. Though, if he started making comparisons between us, I would come out the loser. Talhand was a musclebound bear of a man!

All of a sudden, Elinalise said, “You know, I didn’t expect you to agree to guide us.”

“Now what do you mean by that?” Talhand replied.

“Well, you’ve been avoiding returning home, haven’t you? This hot spring is within dwarf territory. It’ll be a nuisance for you if you run into anyone you know, won’t it?”

It sounded like Talhand had some of his own stuff going on. Come to think of it, out of all Paul’s former party members, he was the only one I didn’t know that well. I hadn’t taken an interest.

There was a long pause, then Talhand said, “Hmph. Back when we were traveling together, you said you could never settle down with just one man. What happened?”

“Living life changes you.”

“That’s how it is for me. I thought now was as good a time as ever to settle things.”

“Oh, my! How manly.”

“I don’t want your flattery. Looking at all of you made me see what a total disgrace I am, running away from my own family for so long. That’s all.” Talhand downed his drink, a sour look on his face.

“You’re going home, then?” I asked.

“You could say that.”

“Hey, Rudeus?” Elinalise said, a question in her voice.

For a moment, I couldn’t understand why, then I realized she was saying this was the perfect chance to ask him. I wondered if I should, though, given whatever was going on with his family. No harm in putting out feelers, right?

“Actually, Talhand, I was planning on going to see the Ore God,” I said.

“You are?”

“Yeah, and…I mean, only if you’re open to it, but I’d be really grateful if you could pass along the message that I—uh, the Dragon God’s follower—would like to meet him.”

I didn’t know what sort of pull Talhand had back home. It might be an imposition to make him be my go-between. I’d tread carefully.

Talhand grumbled. “Thing is, he’s not the friendliest guy.”

Orsted had said that too. The Ore God was difficult to deal with and harder to win over. He was fond of alcohol, jewels, and ores and metals fit for smithing, but flashing a few shiny presents at him wouldn’t be enough to get him to agree to an alliance.

“Even if I ask him, he may not say yes,” Talhand said.

“Do you know him?”

He nodded, scowling. “You could say that.” 

Could it be that they were related? Maybe I should have asked Orsted while I was home, during our meeting.

“I’m not going to demand anything. I know you’ve got your own stuff going on.”

“Indeed.” Talhand said it thoughtfully, then downed another drink. He let out a sigh that stank of alcohol, his face flushed. Then, he gave me a smile. “Mind if I think on it a little?”

“Not at all. I’m sorry to put this on you.” I was about to bow, but Talhand picked up a bottle and turned the mouth toward me. Seemed like he wanted me to stop apologizing and drink. I let him fill up my cup.

After getting out of the bath, we headed back to the inn town. I had the family wait at our lodgings, then went out with Roxy, Talhand, and Elinalise to find a place to set up a teleportation circle. I’d carefully selected companions who were used to traversing mountains and forests. Eris had wanted to come too, but I’d asked her to stay behind to guard the family. 

The four of us set off deeper into the mountains, just a little beyond the hot springs. The best spot for a teleportation circle was somewhere remote. Ariel said she wanted to create teleportation gates to connect the major nations, and the plans for that were in the works, but it was still a long way off. The first step was to lift the ban on teleportation magic, but because I didn’t know yet if it would come to fruition, I set up my own personal circles in areas people didn’t frequent. If we went too high, we’d risk ending up in blue dragon territory, so we stayed within the bounds of where people ventured.

“Around here should work…” 

Once we found a good spot, it was time to construct a building. I would structure it after the dragonfolk ruins with four rooms, one of which would have a hidden staircase that led down to where we’d set up the teleportation circle. I had Roxy and Elinalise keep watch outside, then used earth magic to dig a hole into the ground and began to carve out the room. 

Talhand helped with the interior and the size specifications. This wasn’t an easy place to find, but the circle was going to link up to the office—on the off chance someone stumbled across it, we’d have a problem. Therefore, we dressed it up like an ordinary old ruin but also put a treasure chest in a corner of one of the front rooms to keep travelers from delving deeper. We also set it up so people could rest there, giving it a vibe that said, “Just a ruined rest stop for travelers from days of yore, nothing to see here!” That was why I needed Talhand’s help. 

As expected, a dwarf knew how to work with his hands. He used a super-hard chisel I’d made to carve the stone, giving the whole room an antiquated look. By the time the sun set, it looked like it had been standing there for a hundred years.

“Amazing work,” I told him. “This’ll fool everyone.”

“Pfft. There’s no moss or mold. Anyone who knows what to look for will see through it.”

Oh dear. It seemed the craftsman wasn’t fully satisfied with his forgery. But no one was going to walk up right this minute, so by the time anyone found the place, it ought to be authentically grubby. It wasn’t like anyone would maintain it.

“Come to think of it, it’s a bit late to ask, but is it even okay for us to just throw up a building here? This is dwarf territory, isn’t it?”

“The dwarves believe the mountains belong to the gods, and buildings are our offerings to them. Anyone can build anything they like. It won’t be a problem.”

So, that was how it worked? In that case, maybe we should have built the whole thing above ground. Putting the entrance underground felt like there was something to hide in there, but the work was done, so there was no point worrying.

“If you’re done, let’s get moving,” Talhand said.

“Just one minute.” The last thing I did was to activate the magic circle, then test the teleportation. Once I’d made sure that it was definitely dropping me at the office, I came back.

“All okay,” I said. Talhand was silent. “You’re welcome to use the circle if you ever need to, Talhand.”

He shook his head. “No thanks. I prefer to walk.” 

Ah, well. The teleportation circle was complete, so it was time to go home.

The next day dawned. We decided to leave the inn town early that morning. This was where we’d part ways with Cliff and Talhand. While they stood to the side, the rest of us piled into the carriages and said goodbye.

Cliff would spend the day looking around the church, then head back to Millishion after that.

“You be good, Clive,” Cliff told him.

“I will, Dad!”

Cliff didn’t want to part with his son. It wasn’t like they’d be apart for years, but it was always hard saying goodbye to family. He continued, “Be sure to apply yourself to your studies and your sword work. Oh, and don’t make the girl you like cry. Be nice to her.”

“I-I don’t have a girl I like!”

“Then be nice to all the girls you think you might like. Understood?”

“Yes, Dad…”

Cliff gave Clive a pat on the head, then turned to me. “Rudeus, I’m counting on you to take care of Elinalise and Clive for a few more years.”

“Don’t worry, I know. You do your best, Cliff.”

“Yeah.” He stepped back as if no further words were necessary, and he wasn’t worried.

I hoped I was worthy of that sort of trust. At least Elinalise had it together, so I wouldn’t need to do much. I could at least offer guidance to Clive so that he grew up into a good man, just in case he did ask for Lucie’s hand when he came of age—though I had the feeling I might do more harm than help. I’d settle for lending a hand when he got into trouble. That should be enough.

Next, I went a short distance away where Talhand was talking to Elinalise and Roxy. Talhand was also going back to Millishion for the time being. He had some things to prepare before going to the dwarves. Whether those things were physical or emotional, I couldn’t say.

“Thank you, Talhand.”

“Aye.”

“I hope it goes well…with your family and your hometown.”

“Hmph. I can’t say I’m happy having Paul’s son fussing over me…” Talhand muttered. Then, he looked down at me, like really stared. I had the feeling he was especially focused on my crotch.

“I had a thought this morning. If you showed him that one thing, that might actually be enough to convince the Ore God to meet with you.”

“What thing?”

“The black, hard thing you showed me yesterday.”

“The what?!”

A black, hard thing around my crotch?! Could it be that the Ore God was gay too?!

Hold up. Mine wasn’t black. I was pretty sure it was plenty hard, though. It was, right? Not that I’d ever compared it with anyone else’s.

Roxy, stop blushing and say something. “It’s mine” or whatever!

“Talhand, when all you say is black, hard, and thick, we don’t know what you mean,” said Elinalise. “Speak more plainly.”

“I never said anything about thick. You know. The stone thing Rudeus made with earth magic. Ore, rock, metal, I don’t rightly know what to call it…”

Stone! He meant stone. I had made a lot of black stone to build with yesterday—really hard stone, to make sure it’d be sturdy.

Ooh, Roxy’s blushing. What did you imagine, hmmm? Ooo, Roxy’s embarrassed…

Not that I’d imagined anything different.

“If you’ve got a sample, I could take it to him. What do you say?”

“Can do!” Then and there, I used earth magic to fashion a rod out of stone. It was black and hard and thick. Naturally, it was also heavy. At fifteen centimeters, it probably weighed more than ten kilograms. With some gold plating, you could probably fool someone into thinking it was the real thing, but it was much, much harder than gold or platinum, so the deception wouldn’t last long.

“Will this work?” I asked.

“That’s the stuff. Could you do me a few more?”

I made him five more bars which he took, smiling at their weight. Five bars were seriously heavy, but Talhand was a seasoned adventurer.

“Safe travels,” he said.

He was about to turn to go when Roxy stepped forward. “Take care of yourself, Talhand.”

“You keep yourself healthy too, Roxy.”

“I will.”

Talhand smiled at her, which Roxy returned as she bid farewell to her friend.

With that, our family holiday came to a close. I guess I spent all of it working, but I still thought it had been a good trip. I hoped it would be a worthwhile experience for the kids’ enrichment that would lead to them becoming excellent, contributing members of society, and… Wait, that didn’t sound like me at all.

I hoped they’d all grow up happy.