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Chapter 101: Returning the Favour

While we listened to the merchant’s measures against the bandits, we finally arrived at the Elven settlement. Fortunately, there weren’t any bandit attacks on the way—which was natural, given how close to Raum we were—so we safely reached the hot spring district managed by Elves.

After thanking Bill’s group, we rushed inside the nearby inn. This trip was spurred by Cortina’s sudden idea, so we naturally hadn’t placed advance reservations. In the first place, this district was full of inns, so there was almost no chance that all the rooms would be taken.

Elves managed this settlement but some inns were managed by humans and other races too.

“Hello, do you have any free rooms? For two adults and three kids, and preferably a single room.”

We passed between strange earthenware animals and headed for the counter where an old man was smoking his tobacco, whom Cortina cheerfully addressed. She was already near forty too, but her actions and looks made her seem more like a teen, or in some cases, even younger than that.

“Sure we have… But a five-person room? We have a free four-person one, but it shouldn’t be a problem with three kids, right?” “Yes, that would be fine. I’d like to pay in advance for two nights and three days.” “It’s five silvers per night for an adult, and two for kids. For two nights, that would be 32 silvers. Though the meals cost extra.” “So you can prepare meals here?” “It would be one silver for lunch and three for dinner.” “We’ll be eating out in the morning and noon, so just dinner would be fine.” “Then that’s 15 for five, 30 for two days, so in total that would be 62 silvers.”

Cortina took the room in an experienced manner and received the key for it. True to being a place of comfort for the sightseeing area, the prices were more than double the normal. However, he wasn’t overcharging us by any means – that’s just how much we could expect from their service.

Our room wasn’t anything extravagant, but it was a clean and spacious room with a relaxed feel.

It had a peculiar floor with knitted grass and a washroom, as well as a balcony. There was a rocking chair opposite to it from where you could enjoy the backyard scenery.

We quickly dropped our luggage and sprawled comfortably on the floor. But Cortina didn’t find that quite satisfactory and suggested another idea.

“Now then, let’s not waste time and take a dip in the hot bath, shall we?” “Yaaay!” “Then I shall go make some tea—” “What are you on about? You are coming with us, Finia. This trip is for you.”

Finia was about to start tidying up the luggage and start preparing tea, but Cortina grabbed her by the nape of her neck and dragged her along.

“I-I will come later! There’s also Lady Nicole’s massage to take care of.” “You really are devoted to Nicole, huh? That’s not a bad thing, but you are having fun with us today.”

Cortina straight up denied Finia’s appeal who was putting me above everything else. I was in full agreement with Cortina this time.

And so, I also clung to her arm and dragged her. If I didn’t use my whole body, she could shake off my arm.

“Finia, let’s all enjoy ourselves together, okay?” “But Lady Nicole, I wouldn’t be able to take care of you like that…” “Then, let me take care of you today!” “Huh?”

She was far too serious about her work, and this wasn’t an exaggeration. If she didn’t take a good rest every once in a while, her body and mind would probably break down.

She was managing Cortina’s house on top of taking care of me, from meals to cleaning and laundry. And if that wasn’t enough, she started training the sword recently. Whenever she had free time she stood in front of the house and swung a fake sword in her maid uniform. She even became famous for that in the neighborhood.

Because of her hard work, her hands were gradually becoming all tattered, which Cortina healed every time she spotted it.

Cortina could handle simple healing magic so there were no problems, but if she wasn’t there, her hands would’ve probably turned similar to the gnarled hands of a man by now. Even I couldn’t bear to see her delicate hands turn so rough.

Because of the healing magic, they remained thin and delicate for now. But this meant that they were weak to friction and weren’t increasing their endurance. For the hand skin to become thicker, it had to be grazed, torn, start to bleed and then let it heal on its own.

If you exponentially increased your healing ability with magic, you wouldn’t be able to gain that excessive restoration that we define as toughness. Cortina hated that idea, however, so she healed Finia despite her attempts to deny it.

She was probably following the “Cute girls shouldn’t have rough hands!” kind of line of thought. I was in strong agreement with that too.

“Then to return the favor for everything you do, I’ll be the one massaging you today.”

I said that with the most innocent smile I could make, but it’s not like I had any ulterior motives… Well, maybe a bit… Only a little bit. Back when I died, Finia was just a little girl, but now, 10 years after my death on top of seven years since my reincarnation, she had already become a 22 years old beauty.

The Elves had their growth stopped right after they reached adulthood, so she remained looking like a 15-year-old girl. We always got into the bath together, so I knew just how deliciously fine and glossy her skin actually was. It would be unreasonable to ask me to banish such thoughts, I tried convincing myself.

Finia appeared a bit troubled but she finally gave in and timidly accepted my offer. Her expression seemed to be twitching, perhaps because she was trying all she could to suppress a gleeful smile forming on her face.

“T-There’s no helping it, then. If that’s what you want, if that’s what you really want, then I don’t have anything against it… And this is a good opportunity so I’d instead be happy if you do…” “Finia, your speech changed somehow.” “Ah.”

Oh well, that showed just how happy this hardworking girl was. My motives aside, she really did deserve that massage.