Episode 14: Let’s take a bath!

　According to Fiona, it doesn't seem to produce anything like poisonous pollen, but it's best to wear a mask just in case. I'll be wearing full body protection so that it doesn't touch my skin. Wearing waders, I made sure not to expose any of my bare skin.
　Just in case, I attached a safety belt to my waist so that Fiona could pull me out through the stairs if I became paralyzed.

"Well then, shall we begin?　Let this filth be cleansed! "

　Fuooooghhh!　Flames erupted from the weed burner. Kerosene was used as fuel.
　Almost the entire surface of the layer is covered with the same hydra grass. It's about the same size as the dragon floor. In other words, it's about the size of a whole school gymnasium. It's going to be a bit of a pain to burn all the grass, but for the time being there are no problems.

"Mm-hmm. It burns just like normal. Or rather, isn't it rather flammable? "

　I don't have any experience burning grass with a burner, but it burns and disappears while wiggling around like dried fish flakes without much resistance.

　Yes. It's gone.
　When something is burned in a fire, smoke and ash will inevitably be produced. I thought I would have to do the work in several different sessions, but to my pleasant surprise, the grass burned up and disappeared without producing any smoke or ash.

"Oh, oh, oh?　Ohhhh! "

　It felt itchy, so I went back to Fiona.

"My body feels hot!　It might be poison! "
"No way!?　But you can move around just fine. If you touch the hydra plant, you'll be paralyzed immediately.”
"It doesn't feel that bad, but it's from the Labyrinth, and it might be different from the grass you know, Fiona."

　This is bad. Was it something that affected the respiratory system?
　Should I have been carrying an oxygen mask? I was careless……!

"Say, isn't that just labyrinth acclimatization?　Hydra grass is like a monster."
"Uh?　Eh?　A monster? "

　Come to think of it, looking closely, there are little stones scattered around where the grass has disappeared.
　So, does that mean I've gained experience points and leveled up?
　Speaking of which, the grass burner feels lighter than before!

"What should we do?　Fiona, do you want to give it a try?　It's easy experience, after all."
"That's fine, that's fine. It would be better if you could progress with your acclimatization, even if it's just a little. Maho, you're too weak."
"I guess you're right."

　I'm not strong enough to carry two 10-liter gasoline cans……
　Fiona can carry them with ease.

"Well then, I'll take your experience points! "

　The burner is on a roll!　I'll turn you all into soot!　
　Incidentally, the reason I didn't use an herbicide was because I was thinking of reusing this area as a crop field.
　Once I've used the herbicide, I don't know if it can recover. I want to reuse the soil.

　I used a lot of kerosene, but I burned most of the Hydra grass.
　Of course, I didn't wipe them all out and remembered to leave a few around a corner. In the future, there might be a monster that needs to be paralyzed……
　It's said that this is a grass with strong vitality, and if you leave it alone, it will never die and will remain forever. Maybe.

"Alright!　Let's move on to the next level! "
"……So easily…… Maho…… You're really reliable.……"

　I'm telling you again, it's not me who's amazing, it's the hardware store.
　Incidentally, Fiona was quick to pick up all the magic stones.

"Before we go to the next level, why don't we take a bath?　I've also been sweating, and I don't want any strange pollen on me."
"A bath?　Is there a bath here? "
"Yes, there is. There is no problem with heating it up. There are also throw-in heaters. The only problem is that the drainage is a bit of a problem."
"You're kidding!　I'm in!　I want in too!　Actually, I was sweating a lot and felt quite disgusting."

　Although things have calmed down somewhat now, it was a matter of life or death in the lowest level of the dungeon, so it certainly wasn't a situation where I could just relax and take a bath.
　Humans are strange creatures. If you can't take a bath, you just get used to it, and I was fine with it, but when I thought I could manage somehow, I suddenly started to miss the bath.

"Because of the drainage problem, it's not possible to do it inside the Hardware Store. It's really spacious, but let's prepare the bath in the parking lot! "
"It's kind of embarrassing, but okay. Looking forward to it."

　Fiona's a girl too. I wasn't very considerate either.
　We have water and electricity, so I should have prepared it earlier.

　The bathtub is a normal bathtub.
　I connected a hose and drew water from the tap, filling the bathtub in the middle of the parking lot to the brim.
　The throw-in heater was the thing that heated the gasoline when we defeated the dragon.
　I don't know what it was originally used for, but it's useful in situations like this.
　I can use a gas water heater, but I'm afraid to use gas for anything other than what's already attached. If it can be done with electricity, I'd like to do it with electricity as much as possible.

"Fufufu, Fiona. Let me wash your hair for you."
"My hair……?　Isn't that more than just adding perfume? "
"No way!　I mean, even though you hardly ever look after your hair, Fiona, I still can't understand how your hair is still so silky, but then again, you're from another world, so what do I know……? "
"I take good care of it!　Here, look. A comb."
"That's about the level of it, huh……?"

　On the contrary, I'm starting to think that shampooing might kill the cuticle's ethereal qualities, which are maintained even without doing anything.
　As the saying goes, too much of a good thing is bad……

"I have a special detergent for washing your head……?　You don't have to use it if you don't want to, Fiona……?　It might be poison, so……"
"Ehh～?　I'd like to use it since the opportunity arose. "
"Really?　You might regret it.　It might undo the magic of your naturally curly hair……"
"……Why are you scaring me like that……? "

　I mean, Fiona has a high chance of having something that modern people have lost……
　Well, there's enough shampoo and conditioner to last a lifetime, so that's fine.
　Above all, it feels good to wash things properly.

　So the water heated up, and we got naked and enjoyed a bath for the first time in a while.
　Why does it sound like we're entering together!?

　Because Fiona said she wouldn't enter unless I did……

　Also, while I was at it, I gave Pochi and Tama a good wash too. There are so many pet shampoos to choose from.

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