Bath Time

“You all have a strange smell all over your bodies. Aren’t you planning to take a bath?”

The uncle frowned as he caught the unpleasant odor of dirt mixed with unwashed hair that had clumped together over time.

One of them hadn’t bathed for a year, another only once every few months—the smell was already quite strong.

Out in the wild, it wasn’t too noticeable, but once indoors, the out-of-place stench became obvious.

“Alright, uncle, can we borrow your bathroom?”

Eugene shamelessly asked.

He had no intention of entering a public bath with this smell.

He could already imagine that the moment he stepped into the bath, the water would instantly turn murky.

It might even scare other bathers into throwing up.

As for Luna, she didn’t mind at all the terrifying sight of her dirt spreading through the water like ink.

With her carefree personality, if everyone else fled in horror, she would probably feel delighted and happily take over the entire bath by herself.

Allen, on the other hand, didn’t want to go to a public bath.

She felt uncomfortable bathing with others.

Even though her emotional intelligence was low—almost to the point of being dull—she still understood what kind of awkward scenes might happen in a public bath.

She was afraid she wouldn’t be able to handle it.

After all, she was a hero…

And deep inside, she still resisted this body of hers.

Even though she had changed a lot recently, going into a women’s bath was something she firmly refused.

It was like a boundary.

If she crossed it, she feared she would never be able to go back.

I am Allen… I am a hero…

This is only temporary… just temporary…

I will definitely find a way to return.

She often told herself this when she was alone.

It was her hope—distant, even a bit pitiful and laughable—but she didn’t dare let it go.

Because she knew that if she did, she would no longer be herself.

This was her final bottom line…

An absolute boundary that could not be crossed.

She felt lost, unsure of what path to take in the future.

When she relied on others, they left.

The small amount of wealth she had just begun to accumulate vanished along with the upheaval in her family, like a dream dissolving into nothing.

Even now, thinking about it still brought a sting of pain.

Did even Kalyana betray her?

She once doubted whether it was real.

But when Alex appeared wearing that church uniform, she finally gave up hope.

It felt like her heart, which had only just begun to warm, was torn out again by their cruelty and cast into an icy abyss.

She no longer wanted to cry.

She had already cried enough for the Leonardo family.

Now, she no longer needed to grieve for them…

Because she was now someone without a name or identity.

The pain in her heart was slowly transforming into a kind of power.

A burning desire for revenge was beginning to consume her mind.

“Of course you can. I didn’t expect you to have money to bathe outside anyway.”

The uncle replied casually.

Looking at them, they resembled poor refugees fleeing famine.

Helping people to the end—that was his principle.

If he could help, he would.

Indeed, none of their clothes looked normal.

Eugene wore a worn-out white shirt and pants made of cheap linen.

It was inexpensive, but full of flaws—no warmth, no wind protection, and rough against the skin.

It was actually a church prison uniform, though they wouldn’t know that.

Now it was so worn it looked like scraps clinging to his body.

Allen wore a linen outfit too, but hers was new, much better than Eugene’s since she had only recently been imprisoned.

If one had to describe their group—it was two prisoners and one person without an identity.

“I have money! A lot of money!” Luna declared loudly.

The uncle looked at her worn dress and old leather boots.

She looked like a fallen noble fleeing hardship, clinging to her once-beautiful silk dress out of pride.

“I don’t believe you.”

He said bluntly.

He opened the stove and began adding firewood to heat water.

Boiling water was urgent—chatting could wait.

“You don’t believe me?” Luna asked.

“I don’t.”

“Really don’t?”

“Really don’t.”

“Really, really, really don’t?”

“Stop! Enough! I’ll lose sleep at this rate!”

The uncle quickly cut her off.

He didn’t want to waste time arguing with a dirty girl.

At least if she cleaned up and dressed properly, she might sound more convincing.

Bang!

A bag hit the table.

The uncle instinctively looked toward the sound.

It was a dirty sack, seemingly filled with metal.

…

Silence filled the air.

The atmosphere became awkward.

“Don’t tell me that’s gold coins…”

He said in shock, his expression darkening.

“Yes!” Luna answered boldly, as if they were nothing but dirt.

This traced back to the piles of wealth in the Demon Castle.

Coins were scattered everywhere among the bones in the flower fields.

They only got in Luna’s way while digging soil, so she would casually toss them aside.

But Allen, seeing the coins at night, would collect them one by one into a cloth bag, smiling happily.

Why?

Because she had never seen so many coins before.

During her studies, she always lacked money, so she developed a habit of valuing every coin.

“…Ah.”

The uncle fell silent.

The bag looked full—at least a hundred coins.

It felt like a slap to his face.

A hundred gold coins meant years of tireless labor for him.

This wasn’t some fallen noble—

It was clearly a clueless rich young lady traveling around!

He suddenly realized something.

Ah… so this journey was meant to teach her about the harshness of the world.

But looking at her worn dress…

Apparently, she hadn’t learned much yet.

When he opened the bag—

Clink.

It felt like another slap.

These weren’t ordinary gold coins.

They were sacred coins of the Ostan Empire—worth ten times more.

An enormous fortune.

Did she bring her entire dowry on this journey?

Was she looking for a partner along the way?

He glanced at the dirt-covered Eugene…

Then at Allen…

People these days are truly crazy…

Traveling with immense wealth and picking a partner on the way…

“Hahaha…”

He laughed awkwardly.

“There were originally 150, but I spent 50 on that carriage…” Luna said helplessly.

“You spent fifty sacred coins on that broken carriage?!”

“Yes.”

“Eh?!” Allen exclaimed in shock.

The world really was dangerous.

A brand-new carriage with a fine horse would cost at most fifty gold coins…

Back in Gran, Allen only spent about one gold coin per month.

“The water’s ready. Who’s going first?”

The uncle held his forehead, not wanting to think anymore.

“Allen and I will go first.” Luna said immediately.

Eugene nodded—no objections.

She was his boss, after all.

What difference did it make if he bathed later?

He lay down on the wooden table to rest.

Two days ago, thinking he would die, he hadn’t slept all night.

The short time he fainted wasn’t enough rest.

Now, he just wanted to sleep peacefully.

Their accident had been caused by fatigue.

“Eh?! Wait, wait!”

Allen suddenly snapped out of her thoughts.

She had been reminiscing about her school days in Gran.

“That means bathing together?!”

“I don’t want to! I’ll bathe alone!”

Allen blushed and refused immediately.

“We’re both girls, what’s there to be afraid of? It saves time too, and we can scrub each other’s backs~” Luna teased.

“But… but… I…”

Allen wanted to explain, but couldn’t find the words.

The uncle was still questioning life.

Eugene had already fallen asleep.

Allen didn’t know Luna, but Luna knew everything about Allen.

To Luna, Allen was like a blank sheet of paper.

She simply wanted to see Allen’s reaction.

Teasing her like this felt incredibly satisfying.

Allen couldn’t explain, couldn’t reveal the truth, afraid of being seen as a monster…

All she could do was blush and be dragged along.

From this perspective, Luna’s plan was very successful.

Allen was too scared to speak.

“I… I’ll go alone…”

Before she could finish—

Luna suddenly hugged her tightly, lifted her up, and carried her in a princess carry.

This was too embarrassing!

Being carried like this by another girl!

Allen shrank like a soft white mouse, burying her face into the crook of her arm to hide.