Volume 3 Chapter 8 Interlude - Camera？ First, It's The Bath!
Randy decided to make a camera, but he didn't really have any materials except for a lens──he thought he might have a telescope somewhere. For now, he was working on expanding the bath he had announced the other day.
When he said he was going to expand the bath, it wasn't like there was an extra room available. So, they decided to build a small shed like a separate building and connect it with a walkway.
Randy drew up the plans, and with the help of Liz and himself, they started to bring it to life. He imagined it like the private hot springs he had seen in his past life.
Since yesterday, he had been getting materials from Harrison and the others, and that afternoon, they prepared for plumbing work. Then today, they quickly built it from the morning of their day off, and it looked like a small retreat.
"It has a strange vibe, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, it feels cozy in this shape."
The building, which mixed Japanese and Western styles but leaned more towards Japanese, was a calming sight for Randy. It was completely out of place, but since it was hidden from the street by a backyard, there was no problem.
As they passed through the retreat, there was a small changing room and a door leading to the bath. They hadn't added anything unnecessary, but Randy thought it would be nice to have a tatami floor for resting later.
Unaware of Randy's ambitions, Liz and the others opened the door to the bath.
"Wow. This is... too fancy."
"Yeah, it really is."
Liz and Rita looked back at Randy with wide eyes after seeing the bath. They might have sensed it when he was crafting the bathtub, but seeing the finished product was beyond what they had imagined.
Randy and Harrison had set it up as a men's bath since they couldn't send women to the separate building... but the bath, transformed by Randy's vision of a hot spring from his past life, was far more impressive than any existing bath.
It was simple, but the bathtub and floor made of hinoki wood were spacious enough for 2 adults to fit comfortably.
And it wasn't just spacious.
Next to the bathtub was a sliding door, and when opened, it revealed a tall enclosure and the blue sky above. At night, you could enjoy the moon and stars while soaking in the bath.
As a former Japanese person, Randy wanted to pay special attention to the bath. However, the detailed design seemed a bit excessive to the two girls.
"This luxurious bath is unfair for just you and Mr. Harrison."
"You're not wrong."
Randy smiled wryly, but he didn't show any signs of scolding Rita. In fact, he was even happy that Rita, who had been so shy, had completely blended in with Victor.
That said, it was also true that he couldn't just back down and say, "Okay, fine."
"Listen up! I'm still your boss!"
Randy puffed out his chest and made a proud face, but...
"The boss is not you; it's the lord."
"Whose side are you on?"
Randy raised his eyebrows at Harrison's logical statement. But in reality, as Harrison said, their true boss was Alan, their father.
"I just need a bath to wash off the sweat."
Harrison shrugged, and Randy stomped his foot, saying,
"You don't get it, Harrison. Imagine coming home completely exhausted and getting into a small bath where you can't even stretch your legs."
"Umm..."
"But look at this bath!"
Randy jumped into the bathtub to demonstrate.
"I can stretch my legs easily, and I could even lie down!"
"If you lie down, you'll drown!"
"Shut up! It's just an example!"
Randy snorted and then changed his expression to a grin, pointing at the side of the bathtub.
"I'm planning to put a refrigerator here soon."
"A refrigerator? You mean that magic tool that keeps things cold?"
Harrison tilted his head, but in this world, refrigerators were large, and putting one here would just be in the way.
"What if we made it smaller and kept some fruit wine inside?"
Randy grinned again, and Harrison finally understood Randy's idea. While soaking in the tub, if he opened the door, he could see the starry sky above. Sipping chilled fruit wine or ale while looking up at the stars...
"...That sounds great."
Harrison, who was completely worn out, said, "I knew it's best when the young ones use it," as he tightly linked arms with Randy.
"What are you talking about! We get tired too, you know!"
Rita puffed out her cheeks, but behind her, Liz was smiling wryly.
"Rita, I understand your point, but letting women take a bath outside──."
"But it's just the backyard! It's all fenced in. Plus, there's a waterway and a wall right beyond that!"
Rita showed no signs of backing down, and Randy thought to himself that Victor was too much of a bad influence, feeling frustrated with the maids at his home. Rita wasn't like this when she first arrived...
(Those guys──)
...They probably told her that if you don't speak up, you'll lose out or something like that.
The discussion was going nowhere, but an unexpected solution came from an unusual place.
"Um... why don't we just make another one?"
At Liz's exasperated words, the 3 of them clapped their hands at the same time.
"Bird-brained subordinates are all bird-brained!"
Ellie, completely exasperated, made a comment that made Randy hold back a retort. Normally, he would want to fight back here, but for now, he had to hold it in. After all, he needed Ellie's help from now on.
It was already past noon. Randy took a deep breath, thinking he couldn't waste the rest of the holiday.
"I have things to say, but... for now, great magician, it's your turn──."
"You don't think of me as just a handy tool, do you?"
Ellie, frowning but still teleporting, seemed to be looking forward to the bath after all.
"Huh? You came back at a weird time."
As Alan stood there in confusion...
"Emergency!"
"──It's an emergency."
"──A situation!"
...3 people rushed past, and Liz gracefully curtsied, smiling wryly, saying, "I'm sorry for the trouble."
Once outside in the backyard, Randy gave instructions to Harrison while also holding an axe in one hand, heading back up the hill...
"Keith, what should we do? We won't get kicked out of the house again, right?"
"I've heard renovations are allowed."
"That's true."
Ignoring the exasperated looks from Alan and Keith, Randy was generating wood at an incredible speed, telling Harrison, "Just trim the branches and pass them over here!"
"Alright, this should do it. Let's head back!"
At Randy's command, everyone grabbed the lumber, barely managing to say goodbye.
"See you! I'll come back slowly next time."
Randy waved his hand.
Harrison and Rita gave a polite nod.
Liz smiled wryly and curtsied.
As everyone was enveloped in light, the mansion became quiet again, as if a storm had just passed.
"Now, what should we make next?"
"It seems like it'll be fun."
"Watching the kids grow up is a joyful thing, right?"
"Absolutely."
The smiling adults gazed at the remnants of the lively atmosphere for a while.
Far away, Randy and the others, unaware they were being watched, hurriedly built a new annex under the crimson sky. They were just flipping the design of the one they had already made.
Liz created the pillars, walls, and plumbing.
Harrison and Rita extended the plumbing.
Randy assembled everything with sheer strength.
By sharing the partition wall, they saved even more time, and in an astonishingly short period, they completed a new annex that was a mirror image of the original.
The entrances were side by side.
The changing room inside was the same.
And when they passed through the door leading to the bathroom, there was a bathtub that seemed to be back-to-back with the men's bath.
"We managed to finish it before nightfall."
Normally, this would take months of work, but magic is a convenient thing. It was built at such a crazy speed, and it was even twice the size of the original.
Coincidentally, the 4 exhausted people and Ellie nodded to each other, agreeing to take a bath.
They filled the completed bathtub with water, heated it with the power of magic stones, and by the time the bathroom was filled with steam...
"Whoa! This is how a bath should be!"
...Randy shouted as he was the first to jump into the men's bath.
He hurriedly washed himself all over and then jumped into the eagerly awaited hot tub──
"Ahhhhh..."
──He let out a voice like an old man, but that couldn't be helped. Even though it was a holiday, they had built 2 annexes from morning till night. No matter how much magic there was, there was no way they wouldn't be tired.
"Hey, it would be nice to make a small garden inside the fence."
Randy opened the sliding door and couldn't help but mumble this, but to his surprise, he heard Liz's response from the other side of the wall, saying, "Let's make it!"
Maybe it was because the top of the dividing wall was slightly open to save materials, but it seemed like they could talk between the men's and women's baths.
Randy hadn't meant to open it for that reason, but he thought, "This could work," and replied, "Yeah, that's true."
Liz's voice and the sound of her scooping water echoed into the men's bath. The cheerful sounds made Randy smile without realizing it.
"Baths are the best!"
"Yes. It adds more fun to our daily routine."
Imagining Liz probably laughing, Randy nodded with a smile.
"Right. Let's talk like this again tomorrow."
"Then, should we let Harrison and the others go in first?"
Randy shrugged, and Liz agreed, saying, "Sounds good." Some might say it's strange for the master to let the servants and guards bathe first, but they were the only ones here.
They should just do what they want.
They didn't know about rules or restrictions. This kind of free thinking is what moves the world forward.
"Liz... tell that old ear to stop being shy and join the conversation."
"You're such a fool. I can hear you."
Even while throwing playful insults, Ellie sounded somewhat happy, and Randy sank deeper into the hot water with satisfaction.
"Ahhh──this feels amazing!"
"Don't make a voice like an old man, but... I'll agree this time."
"Right?"
That day, it goes without saying that the 3 of them ended up getting a bit too hot.
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