Healing Bath

Two days had passed since the day we hunted for food, and Mythria is mostly back to her old self. I would notice her occasionally stepping outside the house for some fresh air, looking far into the distance with a melancholic look. My guess was that she was contemplating life, and what she should do going forward. I mostly just watched her, because there are things that I just can’t help with, no matter what I do. This was one of those things where only Mythria would be able to truly give an answer to. If it’s an answer that didn’t come straight from her, then it would all be meaningless.

Questions about the purpose of life, why the World, and the Universe was made like this, compromising, and eventually accepting that everything is just part of the natural order of things takes time. I was once like her, so I know how it feels to go through that phase. Back when I was newly appointed as a Protector of this World, I would often do everything in my power to support everyone. I wouldn’t allow even the slightest trouble from falling onto the people, but guess what? It only made everyone dependent on me. In the end, I was only satisfying myself. Because it feels good to help, I help. Because it feels bad to hurt another and to see another getting hurt, I do my best to come to anyone and everyone’s rescue. Although at the end of the day, I really was the only one who benefited from the things I did.

Getting to the point, I would like to provide Mythria all the time she needs to settle herself. I wouldn’t get in her way, nor will I try to directly help her. But there are things I want to do to give her just a slight push.

“Hey, wanna come take a bath somewhere open for a change of pace?”

The house I built is at a greatly elevated ground, located near the edge of the island. I specifically built it there so that I could watch over the whole island with ease. I and Mythria were both outside enjoying the remaining beauty of nature confined within the island. An imaginary question mark appeared on top of her head.

“But we already have a bath here, right?”

“Yeah, as I was saying, it’s just for a change of pace. Just so we can do something a bit unique compared to usual.”

I told her with a thumbs up. Perhaps if I acted a bit excited, she’d also feel motivated.

“Alright!”, she energetically exclaimed. I told her to prepare her change of clothes and towels, because our venue is more or less an hour away. In the forest where I taught her how to forage, an artificial pond that has water containing high-purity mana exists. It is at the core of the forest, where the trees are fewer and the sun can penetrate the soil. Situated on a circular area, it’s a good way to relax while listening to the sounds of nature. The pond isn’t deep enough to swallow my body whole if I stand on the ground. The water level is about as high as my upper chest, but it’s an entirely different story for Mythria as she’s quite small.

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“Waaahhh…! What a large body of water! This is much larger than our bathtub. About two, three… no…. Ten times larger?!”

Large, huh. I’m glad she’s making such a big deal out of it, but really… The size of the pond isn’t quite that amazing. The high-purity mana compounds are what’s truly noteworthy. Well, she’s making adorable expressions, so I guess I’ll let her be.

“Feel free to bathe in the pond. Just don’t drown yourself.”

I turned my back against her, having decided to roam around the forest as she enjoyed her bath, but she came running at me with a panicked expression.

“Whaaat?! I thought we were going to take a bath together? Come on, join me. Join me!”

“I’m pretty sure I never said anything about bathing together.”

“Just so we can do something a bit unique compared to usual… Is what you said!”

She annoyingly put a thumbs up as she copied me from gesture down to the tone of speech. She even copied my smile.

“I did say that, but I never said anything about taking our baths together. You go first, and then I’ll take mine later.”

She pulled on my clothes hard enough that she actually managed to pull me back, or well, actually… It seemed like she was strong enough to throw me into the pond. Not like there was that much distance between me and the body of water, but she was surprisingly strong when she put her mind to it.

So she isn’t just magically strong. She’s also physically competent, huh?

“Heh heh! Now that you are soaked, there’s no more reason to hold back, right?”

She let out a wide smile of satisfaction and victory, before proceeding to take her dress off. I reflexively looked away. An automatic reaction I have retained from when I was still human out of shyness. Interestingly, it is something I have never lost even as the years passed me by. It might also be a result of me not having seen a single person in the last few hundred years or so, add the fact that even though my body is immortal, some of my human instincts are still intact. It’s also possible that I wasn’t really reacting out of emotion, but out of moral conduct that I have kept from when I was human.

Going back to the current situation, Mythria was being too quiet, so I decided to ask her,

“Hey, get in on the water already. What’s taking you so long? It feels great, you know?”

I eyed her for a bit and was surprised about the fact that,

“Why are you taking your underwear off?! Keep it, keep it on! Don’t take it off, we are out in a public bath here!!”

“Eehhh?! But aren’t we supposed to take everything off while we are bathing? Also, you say public, but there’s only the two of us here.”

For a moment, I was worried that she’d notice the fact that she’d never encountered any other person besides myself. I’m not exactly hiding the fact that we are the last remaining semblance of intelligent life on this World, but explaining what happened is still going to be a massive bother to me.

“Yeah there are two of us here. That’s enough reason to not go completely naked!”

She gave me a pout before eventually giving up the idea of going completely naked. She slowly submerged herself in water, giving a surprised “it’s cold!” at first. She then came close to me, tugging at my clothes.

“At least take off your top. What’s the point of bathing if you’re going to keep your clothes anyway?”

“Huh? I can take my baths however I like, right? Why are you so fixated on being naked?”

I have to wonder about this girl’s common sense. She gets incredibly shy about an embrace, but she thinks nothing of seeing someone naked, and being seen naked herself?

“Because that’s how you are supposed to bathe!”

“And who decided that?”

“U-umm….”

She put a hand on her chin as she tried thinking hard, but nothing came up.

“I don’t know! Ehehe!”

I let out a massive sigh, before telling her to just go and relax.

The high-purity compounds of mana living within the water on this pond has the ability to heal physical injuries over time, and even for those who don’t have any injuries, it’s still a great way to care for one’s skin. On top of that, it has the added effect of enhancing one’s cognitive abilities as well as making one feel more relaxed and in a brighter mood. In short, it’s an all-around healing water. What’s more, the mana concentration within the island is constant, so it doesn’t matter how much one bathes, the water will never run out of mana. It also never gets dirty. How cool is that?

Fifteen minutes in, and it was finally quiet. Truth be told, the physical effects of the pond don’t work on me, but that’s because my body is always at peak state, so there’s nothing to heal anyway. My mind, however, is a separate matter. While the brain is a physical organ managing all of the functions of the body, the soul, which is the core of every living being’s existence, is where the personality resides. Since mana is a form of energy that affects all things physical and immaterial, the soul which resides within the brain can benefit from mana-rich baths. In short, it makes me feel great to bathe here. I’m sure Mythria feels the same, given her look of absolute satisfaction. I just hope she doesn’t fall asleep, as she seems to be wanting to shut her eyes.

“It’s pretty amazing, right?”

I spoke to her to try keeping her active. She nodded,

“I might get too fond of this blublublublublub”

And there she goes playing with the water.

“Glad you like it!”

We fooled around the pond for a whole hour before deciding it’s time to get back home. That day was one of the best I’ve had in a long time, and seeing Mythria happy also made me feel satisfied. I’ve done my part, so the rest is up to her.

That night, Mythria came knocking at my room. Of course, I let her in. I even had her sit on my bed. I wondered what she needed for a moment, but then she started a question.

“Are we the only people here?”