Lake Kingdom Dungeon Zone 5. Hot Springs Facility.
Commonly referred to as the Lake Kingdom Water Park by the dungeon spa enthusiasts.
Flash!
We entered this place, filled with the smell of sulfur and misty steam, through a teleport gate.
This is a spot where simply soaking in the baths rejuvenates stamina and magic power, along with providing minor buff effects.
While it lacks dramatic healing effects or miraculous benefits, it still offers a simple form of recuperation.
We've often placed injured troops here between stages to aid in their recovery.
After enduring fierce battles, it seemed like a good idea for everyone to take a thorough soak together.
Since the facility can only be used once per stage, I decided to gather all the heroes under my command and bring them here this time.
Rumble...
"Wow, there are quite a lot."
I was amazed seeing the heroes crowding the hot springs facility lobby, each carrying towels and change of clothes, slowly gathering in the lobby.
It struck me anew how diverse my heroes were, spanning all ages and genders.
"Lord. What should we do with these?"
Director Aider naturally found himself among the throng of heroes. He had brought a large cart filled with boiled eggs and honey water, pulling it along.
I had ordered it. Since it was around lunchtime, I thought it would be nice to eat those after bathing.
"Leave it in the communal hall inside the facility. We'll gather there after our bath and eat."
"Got it."
Inside the hot springs facility, there was a large hall built like a lecture hall.
Since we planned to gather there after our bath to discuss further plans, Aider had the eggs and honey water delivered there.
It seemed like everyone had arrived. I looked around at the heroes awkwardly lined up in the lobby and shouted.
"Is everyone here?"
"Yes~!"
The response came back more languidly than usual. Whether from exhaustion or relaxation, everyone's voice lacked strength. It was indeed time for a rest.
"Some of you may have heard, but from today, we're on vacation!"
"Wow!"
"There might be those among you wondering how we could take a vacation with continuous monster invasions. But for now, set aside those thoughts and let the hot springs melt away your worries. After the bath, we'll have a proper discussion over boiled eggs in the hall about what to do next. Got it?"
"Yes~!"
"Good, then let's go! Go and wash away all the fatigue, headaches, toothaches, back pain, and even the belly fat!"
At my command, the heroes dispersed into the men's and women's baths.
Given the heroes hailed from various parts of the world, their bathing cultures differed, as did their bathing equipment. I found this quite interesting to observe.
Some brought soap, others sponges, some a sturdy towel, and then there was...
Squeak squeak squeak.
A hamster...
"...?"
I was taken aback trying to identify who brought a hamster cage, when Damian, blinking innocently, came into view. His face bore a look of pure innocence, as if asking what the big deal was.
"Damian, this friend is...?"
"Oh, this is Pudong!"
I know its name is Pudong, but why bring it to the baths?
"Pudong has been moving less like his old self since he got older... Last time we were here, I noticed there was a sand bath inside. I thought Pudong might feel better after a sand bath."
"Oh, so you brought him for a bath too."
"Yes. Hamsters don't do well with water baths, but they enjoy sand baths. I thought if we picked a clean spot, it would be nice for him..."
Sure, the stamina and magic power regeneration buffs would naturally benefit him as well.
Despite being in a dungeon, the plump hamster lay comfortably in its cage, seemingly unbothered by its surroundings. I examined Pudong's tiny eyes.
"Hamsters usually live for 2, 3 years, right?"
"Yes. Pudong is a little over 2 years old now..."
"He doesn't look it, but he's quite the seasoned hamster, isn't he, Pudong."
Pudong, you need to listen to your owner and stay healthy, okay?
Anyway, Damian carefully carried the cage containing Pudong into the men's bath.
Around him, muscular men gathered, unsure what to make of the hamster cage, chanting 'Pudong!' 'Pudong!' before joining Damian... You guys might as well take a sand bath like the hamster.
I chuckled and turned away, only to see...
"..."
This time, a cage containing a person... no, a stretcher carried by Kuilan caught my eye.
Naturally, the person on the stretcher was Yun Ariane, with people from the Ariane Kingdom sending sharp glances towards Kuilan.
"What are you doing, Kuilan! Return the princess at once!"
Kuilan met the Ariane Kingdom's people's glares without backing down.
"If you take Yun and escape northwards as you are, it would cause trouble."
"That's not our intention! And why would you bathe Princess Yun? Are you planning to take her into the men's bath?!"
"...It's not possible to take Yun into the men's bath."
Kuilan, after a moment of silent contemplation, seemed to make a resolute decision and declared firmly.
"No choice then. I'll have to enter the women's bath..."
"That's preposterous-!"
I couldn't help but shout, hitting Kuilan on the back of his head.
Such a privileged... ah, no, an act against public order and morality cannot be allowed! Scold!
Eventually, as a compromise, female priests from Crossroad agreed to look after Yun. They would give her a bath in the hot springs and help clean her.
"Assisting with a patient's bath is something we've done to the point of exhaustion, so please don't worry."
The head of the order and the high priest of Crossroad, Rosetta, smiled kindly. Aside from racking up heresy points, she's a commendable priestess, trustworthy enough to be relied upon.
But a problem arose. As soon as Yun was separated from Kuilan, her complexion turned deathly pale, as if she were having a nightmare.
Moreover, she began to shiver as if she were cold.
"She really must like you..."
"Ugh..."
Looking up at me as if incredulous, Kuilan groaned and then suddenly started to stroke his body with his hands. What's he doing?
After a moment, Kuilan's hands were filled with fur that had come off his body. Is he really shedding like a dog breed?
"Here, a ball made of fur. With this."
Kuilan skillfully rolled it into a fluffy silver-gray fur ball and tucked it into Yun's arms.
As she hugged the rolled-up fur of Kuilan, Yun's face relaxed into a smile. She's really unconscious, right? Not just pretending to be sick?
After such a harrowing process, Yun was surrounded by several priests and vanished into the women's bath on a stretcher. Hopefully, a hot steam will revive her spirits quickly.
"..."
After Yun disappeared into the entrance of the women's bath, Kuilan also turned and vanished into the men's bath.
Now, not many people remained in the lobby. Only Lucas and Evangeline stayed by my side until the end.
"Hehe, but it feels good to be out together like we're on a trip!"
Evangeline, who had sneakily taken a good number of eggs intended for after the bath, said with a bright smile. Just look at the pieces of egg all around her mouth.
I was about to scold her, but then I pondered the words she had just thrown out.
'...Are we really here for a trip?'
The primary reason for visiting this hot springs facility is its effect of regenerating stamina and magic power. There's no need to come all the way to the dungeon for a bath if it's just about cleaning oneself.
In essence, the visit to this hot spring is still for a functional purpose, an extension of the routine we repeat between stages.
'Even calling it a vacation, we don't fully relax and enjoy ourselves...'
I remember Evangeline once talked about going to the sea together the first time we came to this hot spring.
If we only decided, we could go to the sea, the mountains, the valleys... We could pack lunches and go on picnics.
But we don't have the peace of mind to do so right now.
After saving the world from destruction... Could I then go to the sea and play with these kids?
"..."
As I tried to imagine a future as unclear as the steam filling my vision... I gripped my towel and stepped into the bath.
"...Let's also clean ourselves."
"Yes, my lord."
"I'll just finish eating this. Yum."
With that, Evangeline cracked open another egg and popped it into her mouth.
Eat in moderation, you belly fat!
***
Upon entering the men's bath, the first thing I saw was indeed.
Muscular men rolling around the sand steaming area with Pudong, all smiles on their faces.
"..."
I pretended not to see them and walked into the bathing area, the steam was so thick I couldn't see anything.
'Everyone must be really stressed, huh...'
If rolling around with a hamster helps them mentally recover, then it's probably for the best. Hmm...
'Huh?'
At the entrance of the bath, Zenis and Hannibal stood awkwardly, looking embarrassed.
Zenis's body bore the unique scars of an inquisitor, and around Hannibal, water spirits were laughing and spinning in circles.
This awkward father and son duo seemed to be visiting the bath together for the first time.
I approached them from behind and lightly slapped their backs.
"Ow! Prince?!"
"You two. Scrub each other's backs. Go."
"Scrub... our backs?"
"The culture of scrubbing each other's backs isn't here, huh. Anyway, it's hard to wash your back alone. Sit there and splash each other with water at least."
I... or rather, a memory from my childhood as RetroAddict.
I don't have many happy memories with my father, but the memory of coming to the bathhouse together and scrubbing each other's backs remains precious.
He was always difficult to approach, but his hands were gentle as he meticulously cleaned my back.
Such trivial memories can become precious later on.
Prodded by me, Zenis and Hannibal reluctantly sat in front of a washstand and soon started awkwardly splashing water at each other, laughing awkwardly.
As Zenis applied soap to Hannibal's head and scrubbed hard, Hannibal let out a scream that was somewhere between pain and joy.
I laughed at this warm scene, then turned my head,
"..."
"..."
To find men emitting a dark aura as if from hell.
In the hot bath, Dearmudin, with his long beard wrapped around his neck like a scarf, was soaking with a gloomy expression.
Next to him, squatted Nobody, with Chain submerged up to his chin in the bath, staring blankly into space.
And... Kellibey, whose skin had mostly healed thanks to his dwarf resilience, was still unable to enter the bath and sat crouched on the floor.
These gloomy uncles were watching the scene of Zenis and Hannibal washing each other's backs with distant eyes.
"...Now that I think about it, I've never gone to the bath with that guy Kellison."
Kellibey murmured gloomily,
"...I, too, have never spent time with those children outside of magic lessons."
Dearmudin also uttered a line full of regret.
Nobody and Chain also sighed deeply in the hot bath, only bubbling sorrowfully.
"Those old guys..."
Even after forcibly dragging them to the hot springs to melt those stern faces, their expressions were frozen stiff like ingredients stored too long in a freezer.
The atmosphere was so gloomy that Torkel, who was scouting for a private bath with his helmet under his arm, startled and shuddered at the sight of us.
"...Sigh."
Suddenly irritated, I strode up to these gloomy uncles in the hot bath and-
Whoosh!
Scooped up water from the bath with my hands and splashed it right in their faces!
"Kyaaa?!"
"My eyes! I can't see anyway, but my eyes!"
Chain and Nobody collapsed, screaming,
"What is the meaning of this, Prince Ash?! Ah, it's hot!"
Dearmudin yelled out, his beard soaking wet.
"You're insane! I've got burns, I've got burns!"
Kellibey frantically rolled on the ground to avoid the hot water.
After a moment of furious water-splashing, I laughed menacingly and unclenched my fists.
"This won't do. Looks like we need to have some recreation time this afternoon."
"Re, recreation...? What's that...?"
To the uncles staring at me with eyes wide in terror, I laughed devilishly.
"I just planned to clean up in the hot springs and announce the schedule for what's coming next, but I've changed my mind."
If you're all going to be this downcast even during our vacation, I'll forcibly lift your spirits!
'It's neither the sea, the mountains, nor the valleys, but who says we can't have fun right here at the local bathhouse!'
Clenching my fist, I made up my mind. Alright, change of plans!
"Let's call it... the Dungeon Retreat!"
I'll show them the taste of a hellish K-retreat!
From the very first day of vacation, let them all chant that they're dead, everyone-!