Pre-Bath – Prologue
My name is Touya Houjou. My name may sound cold when written in kanji, but I’m just an ex-high school student with a heart as warm as a bath. I was summoned to a parallel world as a Hero of the Goddess.
“How’d it get like this again...?”
We had escaped from Hadesopolis and were currently making our way through an underground tunnel heading east toward Hephaestus. Apparently that was the closest stop from here. Our information source was the black-haired girl keeping watch behind us from the carriage. She looked about middle school... no, elementary school age. Her elegant facial features complimented her porcelain skin. She had suddenly appeared after I uprooted a black grave marker.
“You... you won’t bully me?”
“...No, we won’t bully you.”
She was the Goddess of Darkness and had appeared before us with teary eyes.
So why was a goddess traveling with us, you ask? Well, a lot of things happened leading up to the current situation. I gazed at her face from the side as I recalled what events had conspired since then.
“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! I apologize, so please forgive me!”
The girl materialized sitting down hugging her knees, but then jumped up and started bowing repeatedly as she apologized. We were stunned, but tried calming her down so we could hear her out.
“Um, so, who exactly are you?”
“Oh, I’m sorry for not introducing myself. My name is Rakti Loa. I’m the Goddess of Darkness.”
“So you’re the goddess after all, huh...” I had figured as much since she looked exactly like the girl in my dream, yet I could barely believe it, even after hearing it from the goddess herself.
“I’m sorry for being such a worthless goddess...”
“Uh, it’s okay, you don’t have to be so self-deprecating.”
While trying to soothe her, we learned that the black grave marker had kept her sealed away. Clena, who knew quite a bit about such matters, said that the first sacred king had used a few trump cards during his battle with the demon lord. The black grave marker being one of them. Of course, we brought it along with us since it’d be useful against demons.
That aside, why had the goddess been sealed away and not the demon lord? There was definitely a story behind that.
During the final battle between the first sacred king and the demon lord, the demon lord had attempted to conduct some sort of ritual inside his castle. The first sacred king had thrown the grave marker like a lance to stop the ceremony. But the grave marker had missed and landed dead center inside a magic circle. That shot had sealed away the power source of the magic circle—in other words, the goddess. Her memories were a blank ever since.
“The first sacred king was in the wrong there no matter how you look at it.”
The demon lord had fallen into a slumber after being defeated, and the surviving First Great Demon Generals had escaped with their lord in tow. Had the first sacred king not missed, however, the demon lord would have been properly sealed. That in itself was hard to believe, but it got even crazier from there on out.
“Um... what’s become of my country now...?” The little goddess timidly asked with upturned eyes.
I felt sorry for her and almost wanted to keep it a secret, but the truth should have been obvious once she took in her surroundings. She became speechless after I told her the country had collapsed, and then she started crying.
“I knew it, I’m a worthless goddess after all! I’ll just crawl into a hole and be sealed again!”
“Wait, was that how you got sealed originally?!” I hoped it was a figure of speech.
On another note, the reason Hades became the “void” was because it lost its blessing from the Goddess of Darkness. Meaning it was because the first sacred king had missed his mark. The goddess wasn’t at fault at all.
On top of that, the Goddess of Darkness wasn’t just the goddess of demons, but of demi-humans such as lycaons and sand lizardmen as well. Demons were just a subcategory of demi-humans.
According to Clena, during these 500 years the Goddess of Darkness had been sealed, all of the demi-human nations under the Olympus Alliance had been taken over by humans. That fact had been hidden just like the existence of Hades, and the process had been carried out in the shadows by the sacred family and the temple of light. You could say it was just the course of history, but I felt as if my initial impressions of the battle between the hero and the demon lord had been turned upside down. The events could be considered post-war, assuming the eradication of the demi-human nations had been carried out not by the first sacred king, but his next of kin. If the Goddess of Darkness also ruled over demi-humans, they couldn’t have left the demi-human nations be. From the perspective of the sacred family and the light temple, at least. It made sense that the chain of events would lead to the eradication of the demi-human nations. The first sacred king probably hadn’t sealed the Goddess of Darkness on purpose, but the events after that were carried out so that the sacred family and the light temple wouldn’t lose power. That was the conclusion we came to, at least.
On a more personal note, we learned from Rakti that Clena’s father was indeed a demon. She did, in fact, have half-demon blood. We didn’t know who exactly her father was, but the most likely suspect was still the Dark Prince, the demon lord’s son. Clena could very well have been the granddaughter of the demon lord.
Clena was surprisingly collected after hearing that. It was something she had suspected all this time, so finding out the truth actually lifted a weight off her chest.
Also, we confirmed that the curse Goldfish had unleashed on me in his dying moments was indeed the Goddess of Darkness’ blessing. A person would normally transform into a demon after being blessed. In my case, however, the blessing from the Goddess of Light prevented me from transforming, and the blessing from the Goddess of Earth protected me from its backlash. I wouldn’t be transforming into a demon just yet, thank goodness.
“Would the demon transformation be completely subdued if I received blessings from the other goddesses?”
“I think so, yes. Also if you received the blessing from the head temple of sister Earth... I mean, my power would be nothing compared to all my big sisters combined... ahahah...” The Goddess of Darkness started laughing vacantly for some reason. She must have gone through a lot as the youngest sister of all the goddesses.
I looked over at Clena, who nodded at me with a docile expression. We’d finished exploring the desert kingdom, our main destination. Next was visiting all the head temples of the various goddesses and receiving their blessings. The remaining ones were the goddesses of fire, wind, and water, but I also needed to redo my Goddess of Earth blessing at her head temple.
“U-um, I’m just a worthless goddess, but... let me atone for everything I’ve done!”
“A-atone?”
“Yes, please take me along with you! I’ll do everything I can to serve you! I can be of assistance to you!”
“Whaaat?!”
We hadn’t been planning on leaving her here in the first place, but how far offtrack did her mind go to think a goddess should serve a human? While I was still stunned by her suggestion, she spoke again.
“Sir Touya, was it? Until you receive the blessings of my sisters, I can at least make sure you don’t transform into a demon!”
I see, so that was what she meant by serving.
“But I know that’s not enough! I’ll do anything, so let me serve you!”
“What do you mean by that?!”
She was completely willing to serve us in any way possible.
“Well then, would you be able to fight with us?”
“This body is only a tem
porary one, so I don’t have an ounce of fighting power in me...”
Rulitora proposed a suggestion, but the goddess shook her head. She could only do so much in her current form. Right now, she could only be a servant, like Roni was for us. I wondered if it was okay to treat a goddess that way, but she seemed perfectly fine with it, so I said no more. It wouldn’t be so bad to have her tag along as long as she agreed to it, so I accepted her proposal.
“Please call me Rakti!”
“A-alright, Rakti.”
She gave me a cute smile after I said her name. Maybe she was happier being treated like a normal girl, since she disparaged herself so much as a goddess. I was happy enough treating her that way as well.
We wanted to rest ourselves before leaving Hadesopolis. I took Rakti’s hand and led us away from the area. Her hair sure was long, though. Her nails, which were resting in my hands now, had also grown out. Apparently they had continued growing while she was sealed. They were kind of short for 500 years’ worth of growth, in that respect. And as I was lost in thought, Rakti tripped over her own hair.
“Kyah...!”
“Whoa there.” I immediately reached my arm out so that she wouldn’t fall.
I couldn’t let her keep walking like this. I ended up carrying her in my arms the rest of the way.
“I-I’m sorry... I wanted to repay you, but I’m just being a bother...”
“Don’t worry about it. You’re part of the group now, Rakti.”
“But...”
“You can assist Roni as part of your service, but friends should help each other out, right? You’re one of us now, Rakti.”
“...Thank you!” She looked a little embarrassed, but she smiled at me like a blossoming flower.
I should make sure we cut her hair and nails during our break so that she wouldn’t trip again and lose her smile.
“Rakti, would it be okay if we cut your hair and nails?”
“Oh, yes, that’s fine.”
“Alright, have at her, Roni.”
“Got it!”
I opened the door to the Unlimited Bath, letting Roni inside. She emerged, grinning, with a pair of scissors, nail clippers, and a nail file in hand. Recently, Rium and I had been letting Roni cut our hair in addition to Clena’s.
“Oh, I have one request... would you mind collecting the cut hair and nail clippings?”
“Hm? Sure, no problem.” Roni laid out a sheet on the bathroom floor according to Rakti’s request.
Roni took care of Rakti’s hair and nails while the rest of us gathered our belongings for the road ahead. Rakti scampered out from the bathing room, without the risk of tripping this time. She had wanted to keep it long, but just short enough to not get caught in it.
“Um... does it look weird?” she asked timidly. She looked a little happier now, thanks in part to her newly cut bangs.
Haruno looked similar to her with her black hair, but she was on the pretty side, while Rakti gave off a young and cute vibe. I wasn’t sure if I should be thinking of a goddess like this, but I wondered if she and Haruno would look like sisters if they stood next to each other. I really wanted to line them up now.
“You look great.”
“R-really...?” she smiled, blushing.
I unwittingly smiled back at her. She had such a soothing atmosphere about her. I couldn’t help but be drawn in. Before being a goddess, she was just a little girl. A shy, crybaby girl who I just had to protect.
Right, I should treat her like a normal girl just like Clena and the rest. Well, she was a bit of an odd one. We’d be protecting her from now on.
Rakti trotted back into the bathing room, maybe embarrassed after being stared at so much. She started kneading her cut hair together like it was a ball of dough or clay.
After a while, it started losing its form and became a solid black clump. She tightly gripped the clump inside her palms, and a black light started seeping out from between her fingers. She opened her hands, revealing a crystal sphere the size of a fist within. It was black and gave off a glossy luster, but was completely opaque. It was a black crystal... no, a dark crystal. That term came to mind.
“It’s not much, but... please accept it.”
“What is it...?”
“I crystallized a portion of myself to create a dark spirit stone. Now that you have the blessing of darkness, you will be more susceptible to malicious spirits. However, this stone shall grant you protection from them.”
“I see... thank you, Rakti.” So this was to protect me after I gained the blessing of darkness. In that case, I should go ahead and accept it.
It was very light in my hands, almost as if it weighed nothing at all. She called it a spirit stone, but it might not have been a literal stone. It was a little too big to carry around on me, so I placed it on a cushion inside the wooden-floored room. It was an offering, in a sense. I should buy a red cushion and a pedestal for it once we reached Hephaestus.
“By the way, Roni. Did you shampoo her hair after you cut it?”
“No, I figured I’d best leave that to you, Sir Touya.”
“In that case, why don’t we take a bath together now? I’ll wash your hair for you, Rakti!”
“Look forward to it! Touya is the best of all of us at washing hair!”
“The best?! O-okay then! Please take care of me!!” Rakti gave us her biggest smile yet.
“...I won’t let you take a step farther.” Rium muttered, clinging to my waist.
Rakti noticed her presence and they both stared at each other for a while. They looked like two kittens trying their hardest to intimidate each other. I should put them in the bath together. I patted both their heads, then left them to Clena and Roni as I started prepping the bath.
Oh yeah, I had invited Rakti to bathe together pretty casually, but she didn’t seem bothered by it at all. I glanced back at her, and she looked really happy.
She slipped out of her black dress in one go. Her underwear was all black, too. My eyes were captivated by her porcelain, almost transparent-looking white skin.
“Here’s a yuamigi. Cover yourself up a bit.”
“Oh, thank you!”
Well, it’d be a little more pleasing if she showed the slightest bit of embarrassment. She said her body was a temporary one, so maybe she had little sense of shame about it as well. In any case, I started by washing Rakti’s hair.
“P-please be gentle.” She seemed a little frightened, but couldn’t keep a smile from forming on her face in anticipation.
“Don’t worry... it won’t hurt as long as the shampoo doesn’t get in your eyes,” I said, which made Rakti’s shoulders tremble. I hadn’t meant to tease her, but her reaction made me feel like I did something bad.
“Just make sure you close your eyes, okay?” I soothed her in the gentlest voice I could muster, and Rakti squinted her eyes shut. She was like a little kid trying her best. It was such an adorable sight.
I poured warm water over her head, then washed her hair carefully and thoroughly. She leaned back on me, feeling relaxed from having her head massaged. She was getting suds all over me, but I was happy to be spoiling a cute little girl like her. She really did have a tiny back, though. I felt like I gained a new little sister as I continued washing her long, shiny black hair.
After we finished washing our hair and bodies, we all soaked ourselves in the cedar wood tub. In the past, the bathtub was so small that it could barely fit two people. But with the Goddess of Earth’s blessing, the tub had grown large enough to fit all of us with room to spare. It might grow even bigger after gaining more goddess blessings.
I was lost in thought as I leaned back inside the cedar wood tub, staring at the girls in their yuamigi. I could tell a lot about them from how they were sitting. No, I didn’t mean in that sense, though the water made the cloth a little transparent.
The one closest to me was Rium, who clung on to me, leaving zero distance between us. She was incredibly shy, but once she opened her heart to some
one, she proactively sought physical contact with them. At first, she would only stare at me from the side of the tub like she was some cat I was babysitting, but she soon closed the gap between us.
She was like this with everyone in her party and not just me, but in this party, I was the one she was closest to. That made me happy.
However, if Haruno came into the picture, she’d have to choose between Haruno and me. She had no parents and instead lived with her teacher, who was like her grandmother. Haruno and I might have seemed like parents to her as well. I wanted to sleep with all three of us in the same bed like a family one day.
Roni was the second closest to me. She sat right between Clena and me. She was at just the right distance to assist either of us if the need arose. She was a servant by nature, but she purely enjoyed helping others on top of that.
Despite that, it was adorable how she closed the gap between us when she had me wash her hair or back. There was a side of her I could only see when she put her servant role aside.
Clena sat to the other side of Roni. She had a complex about her fleshy figure, but that wasn’t all.
“Clena, aren’t you a little too far away?”
“You’ll start saying weird things if I get any closer.” She said, then flipped her head away from me.
“Saying weird things,” not “looking at me weirdly.” They sounded similar, but there was a subtle difference. What she referred to as weird was simply me complimenting her, though.
By my standards, she had nothing to worry about. I honestly preferred her plump breasts. I told her as much, and that I thought she was cute, but I think that made her all the more bashful. I wasn’t intending to look at her with lewd thoughts in mind... Well, maybe that wasn’t entirely true.
Thinking back on it now, she must have been thinking about the circumstances surrounding her birth as well. However, we confirmed here in Hadesopolis that she was half-demon. There were still a few things shrouded in mystery, but for now, a weight had lifted off her chest. Our relationship might start changing after this, so I needed to keep an eye on her all the more. I had received the blessing of darkness, so I’d become her comrade in a sense.
The Chaotic Stone Sauna Page 1
