Chapter 436: A Warm Bath
"These are your clothes. Take your time, and make sure you warm up properly. Now then, Agnes, Nami, I’ll leave it to you. Please make them cute."
"Got it!"
"Okay!"
Smiling and waving, the girls took their hands and led them along.
"This is the bath. Big Brother Qiong Xing built it. It feels amazing!"
Before she knew it, even her clothes were being removed, but it was not rough at all.
It felt more like being invited to come play quickly.
It was strange, but also a little comforting, to realize these girls did not feel any hostility toward beastmen like them and she did not know how to process that feeling.
"Big Sister, shall we go?"
"Y-yeah."
She reached out to her equally confused older sister, trying to steady her uneasy emotions.
Even her usually strong willed sister had not adapted to the situation yet and seemed quite flustered by being treated kindly by girls younger than herself.
But if what he said was true, then even as slaves, they might be allowed to cleanse themselves, so they followed along and entered.
First, their bodies were scrubbed clean, then their hair was washed while being told to keep their eyes closed, and before they knew it, their entire bodies were sparkling clean with a pleasant scent.
Unlike before when they were roughly doused with cold water, the warm water gently poured over them now seemed to loosen their bodies.
"The bath is nice, right!"
"Big Brother Qiong Xing really understands women’s feelings."
"He’s a man, right?"
"Y-yeah."
He had a very beautiful face, but the strength in the arms that had carried her was undeniably male.
"He made my hair pretty last time."
"He taught me how to make a flower crown."
"...Are you really sure he’s a man?"
"U-um, yeah?"
Her confidence was starting to waver.
"Oh, he even brings his babies here sometimes, so you should ask him to show you later, Kira. They have cute ears like yours."
"Ears? Huh? You mean like these ears?"
"Yeah! Hui is a lion beastman!"
"..."
"..."
They no longer understood anything.
Every time someone spoke, something unbelievable came out, yet none of them seemed to be lying.
It might have been the first time in her life she had felt this confused in just a single day, she thought, as she sat in the warm bath.
...
"Welcome back."
"Welcome back, Leander."
Leander returned with several rabbits and birds hanging from his shoulders.
On his chest, Hui was fast asleep, secured in a baby carrier.
"Good work today. Are you injured anywhere?"
"No."
Qiong Xing had expected as much from Leander, but seeing that neither of them was injured brought him relief.
"Sorry. Since Hui was with me, I couldn’t get anything big."
Normally Leander would go after larger game like deer and other sizeable prey, but this time, because he was carrying Hui, he had managed only with small traps.
At first, Qiong Xing had told him there was no need to go hunting, but Leander insisted, saying the children and Qiong Xing would be hungry waiting, so he had asked him to go.
Qiong Xing tried to thank him and take the game, but Leander said he would go outside to butcher it himself. Qiong Xing stopped him and gently kissed his cheek.
"Thank you for working so hard, Leander."
"I’ll do anything for Qiong Xing. Hui might wake up soon, can you take care of him?"
"Yes."
Qiong Xing gently patted Hui’s sleeping head while saying "welcome back," careful not to wake him.
Since Leander was preparing the meat, Qiong Xing thought he might as well prepare the fish as well, and just as he was about to strap Hui to his chest—
"Ars."
"What?"
He called out to Ars who had also been tidying up the things they had bought and Ars dragged a chair over.
When Qiong Xing tapped the chair and told him to sit, Ars tilted his head as if he did not understand, but obediently sat down anyway.
"I need to prepare dinner, so could you watch Hui for a bit?"
"Huh? Me?"
Qiong Xing smiled and handed Hui over.
"Wait, why me?"
"Is that a problem?"
"It’s not, but I’ve got to help with the food too..."
Qiong Xing smiled again at Ars’s protest.
"If it’s not a problem, then please."
Then he called out to the children playing outside and asked them to help as well.
"It’s dinner, it’s dinner!" the growing children shouted happily as they ran over.
"Leander is cutting the meat right now, so once it’s seasoned, can you grill it little by little?"
"Okay!!"
"Okay!"
"Okay!!"
Since Leander was here, meat would not be a problem.
Qiong Xing filleted the fish as well as he worked, though not as skillfully as Albe, and dropped it into the miso soup.
"...I didn’t do anything."
"You did a lot. I’m very grateful that you looked after Hui."
Of course, Hui could have been laid down on a bed or sofa, but Qiong Xing had deliberately entrusted him to Ars for Ars’s sake.
Even though he must be tired, Ars never properly allowed himself to rest.
"If you’re curious, could you taste it for me, Ars?"
The usual miso soup would already be good, but this time fish had been added as well, so it should have an even richer flavor.
When Qiong Xing scooped some with a spoon and brought it to Ars’s mouth, Ars who is slightly embarrassed still drank it and admitted it was delicious.
"It tastes a little different."
"Right? I added a lot of things, so please eat plenty."
Mao had already prepared all the necessary dishes, so everything was ready.
"Big Brother Qiong Xing! We’re done!"
"It feels all fluffy!"
The two children came running back from the bath in high spirits.
Qiong Xing caught them as they rushed in and, as requested, used magic to dry their hair.
"Wow, that’s fast!"
Seeing how happy they were, the girls who had been watching from nearby were also called over, and he dried their hair one by one.