Chapter 4: Taking a bath

After putting on her clothes, Mida walked out of the bathroom with a resentful look on her face.

“Hey! Stupid pig, by the way, why do you have women’s clothing at your house?”

She was wearing a light green dress adorned with little green leaves, the hem with flower-shaped lace reaching her thighs.

The snow-white lining slightly peeked out from under the skirt.

Her fair legs were clad in white stockings, and her jade-like toes rested in white slippers.

The outfit, originally prepared by Wei Bai as a backup from the Elven Palace, unexpectedly fit Mida perfectly.

“Uh, it’s from a distant younger sister of mine. She forgot to take it when she visited last time…”

Wei Bai made up an excuse.

He couldn’t possibly say he secretly brought it out from the Elven Palace, could he?!

Not to mention, isn’t it a bit weird for a grown man to carry around women’s clothing? And bringing something out of the Elven Palace himself was practically self-sabotage, right?!

At the time, worried that he’d have nothing to wear if he transformed into an elf again, he had casually grabbed a Bath Maid Outfit.

But later, he found that transforming into an elf also changed his clothes, making this outfit entirely unnecessary.

Besides, such a large-sized outfit didn’t even fit his elf body. The collar could have been worn around his waist.

“Fine, when are we leaving?”

Mida’s expression softened a little as she found a chair and sat down, asking Wei Bai, who was in the bedroom.

She then saw Wei Bai coming out, holding a neatly folded set of clothes.

“You’ve had your bath, but I haven’t.”

“Oh……”

Mida replied, turning her head away.

Seeing Mida looking a bit bored as she lay on the table, Wei Bai went back into the bedroom.

“Now what?”

“I’m getting you a book. You looked bored and dazed, so this will help you pass the time.”

Wei Bai walked past Mida and stuffed a book into her arms.

He wasn’t too worried about Mida wandering around out of boredom.

After all, his bedroom was small, and there wasn’t much to see.

But little girls were too curious.

If she touched something dangerous, it would be a problem.

Wei Bai glanced at the locked bedroom door, patted Mida’s head, and entered the bathroom.

“Don’t pat my head. I’m not a child.”

Mida protested, but her gaze was already firmly drawn to the book in her hands.

“Great Adventurer Granada? Isn’t this a fairy tale?! Hey! Are you treating me like a kid?”

Mida angrily waved her hand, but her body was honest as she opened the first page…

As the room outside gradually quieted, Wei Bai didn’t dawdle.

He poured water, ignited the fire, and finished everything swiftly.

This type of Fire Elemental Bath Magic Stone (Low Grade) was specially made for baths, and even when fully activated, it wouldn’t make the water too hot, instead keeping it comfortably warm.

However, Wei Bai was using defective ones, though even defective pieces cost several copper coins each.

At this moment, Wei Bai had an idea.

He took out a pendant and pressed it lightly with his finger.

The next moment, the information about the Fire Elemental Bath Magic Stone appeared before his eyes.

Name: Fire Elemental Bath Magic Stone (Low Grade)

Type: Magic Stone

Function: Releases fire element to increase temperature

Because it was too low-grade, it was expected that the Fire Magic Stone had no skills.

If it actually had a skill, that would be truly bizarre.

If a magic stone with the energy of a single silver coin—enough to fill a cart—could trigger skills, then mages would be obsolete.

Throw any magic stone and you could summon a fireball.

Everyone would be a great mage.

Playing with the magic stone in his hand, Wei Bai felt something was off.

Hm? Why is the water so cold today? Wait!

He quickly jumped out of the bathtub, already noticing some of his skin turning red from the cold.

At that moment, the pendant on his chest, which had been activated, dimmed again.

He threw in two more Fire Magic Stones and got back into the bathtub.

Now the water temperature was just right, his whole body relaxing as if his soul was being soothed.

He hadn’t expected that after the pendant was activated, it would absorb energy even faster than before.

In such a short time, it had drained all the heat from the bathwater and two Fire Magic Stones, leaving faint cracks on their surfaces.

But why hadn’t he noticed any changes when it was first activated before? Logically, his bloodline was also energy—wasn’t the principle of suppressing bloodline due to passive energy absorption?

There were too many mysteries about this pendant. It seemed he needed to spend some time researching it.

Wei Bai bathed quickly.

Before Mida could even turn a few pages of the fairy tale, he had already come out of the bathroom.

“Why did you finish so fast? Seriously, I barely got started reading…”

Mida muttered quietly, turning her head, her eyes gradually widening.

The boy had clean, short hair, and his handsome face was flushed from the bath, exuding youthful vitality.

“Dressed like that so late at night, are you going out to flirt with that little girl?”

Maybe even Mida herself didn’t realize her voice had a trace of chill.

“Tch, am I supposed to worry about romance just by walking down the street?”

Wei Bai, rare for him, played it cool.

“Oh.”

“Alright, let’s go. I’m exhausted.”

Without paying attention to the hint of disappointment in her voice, Wei Bai carried the sleeping Anthony—bird and perch together—back to the bedroom, slipped on his cotton slippers, and headed for the door.

Seeing this, Mida closed the book, placed it on the table, took a few steps, hesitated, and then picked the book back up, hugging it to her chest.

“What, got addicted to fairy tales?”

A smile appeared at the corner of Wei Bai’s mouth.

“No, it’s just…”

Mida stammered, her cheeks reddening.

“I’m just worried that Granada might die later on!”

“Oh, oh, it’s okay. I get it.”

Wei Bai chuckled teasingly.

In his eyes, Mida was always a child—only two years younger than himself, but mentally like a five or six-year-old girl.

“Aren’t you worried at all?!”

Mida’s face flushed.

As if to defend her last bit of dignity, her voice grew a little louder.

“I’m not a child. Why would I worry about that?”

Wei Bai found it amusing.

This little girl really took things seriously.

“Hmph!”

Mida huffed, turning away angrily, and followed Wei Bai out the door.

Dim streetlights illuminated the road, their magic-powered bulbs occasionally flickering.

Insects gathered under the lights, flying aimlessly, spending their lives chasing that bright spot above.

Because bathing had taken some time, by the time they returned to the streets, there were few people left—some hurrying home, others lying drunk by the roadside.

But there were exceptions: the city guards who patrolled every night.

Their well-crafted armor gleamed under the lights, spears upright, their tips glinting coldly.

After passing another group of guards, Wei Bai and Mida arrived at the largest tavern in Carvin City—the Feleiya Tavern.

The Feleiya Tavern never closed, not even after dark, open all night.

Every drunkard here was a seasoned brawler, and alcohol had become part of their lives.

There were also exceptions: some nobles, under the cover of night, came to Feleiya for a drink, to trade secrets, or to indulge their peculiar tastes.

As they pushed open the tavern doors, a strong mix of tobacco and alcohol hit them.

Mida, following Wei Bai, frowned and covered her nose in disgust.

This was why she had to come with Wei Bai.

In a tavern full of people, a lone girl would be like a sheep among wolves.

More importantly, she hated the tavern’s smell—a suffocating, repulsive odor few could stand besides chain smokers and drunks.

Wei Bai didn’t mind.

As an adventurer, he had frequented such places to exchange information, though he neither drank nor smoked, often ordering a glass of water or lemonade and leaving as soon as he got what he needed.

“Don’t like it here?”

Wei Bai noticed Mida’s reaction.

“Do you like hanging around here?”

Mida shot back instead of answering.

Wei Bai smiled and took a green pill from his pocket.

“Here, hold this in your mouth. Don’t swallow or chew it.”

He handed the pill to Mida and led her into the tavern.

Mida accepted the pill, glanced at Wei Bai, and put it in her mouth.

Instantly, a refreshing fragrance filled her mouth.

The previous discomfort and nausea vanished.

Even the smoky, boozy air felt fresher.

“What is this?”

“Mint Candy.”

Seeing Mida’s disbelief, Wei Bai added,

“It’s not like those with less than five percent content you find in the market. This is nearly fifty percent. I’m warning you, don’t chew it unless you want to lose your sense of taste for three days.”

Normal methods couldn’t produce Mint Candy with fifty percent content.

Even if it was made, it would be an unbearably pungent industrial-grade substance.

But to Wei Bai, it was no big deal. Human techniques might fail, but Elven ones wouldn’t.

With their affinity for and understanding of nature, elves could easily make these special Mint Candies to counteract the discomfort caused by impure air—so easy that even four or five-year-olds could make and eat their own.

“Oh, I get it.”

Mida felt the coolness in her mouth as her tongue licked the Mint Candy.

A chill mixed with a numbing sensation made her hesitate to bite down.

Seeing Mida’s little mouth move, Wei Bai said no more and led her to the tavern counter.

“Bartender, please give us two bottles of Sarani, medium quality. Thank you!”