บท 34: A Dip In The Bath

Since they had plenty of time to go to the treasury, Albrecht and Anastasia decided to freshen up in the meantime.

The house where the chieftess resided was huge and palace-like, so it was a given that there would be two huge baths. Albrecht was guided to one and Anastasia to the other.

'It feels like I haven't taken a bath in eternity.' Albrecht muttered to himself as he sank into the huge pool of warm water. It was like dipping into an onsen, and it greatly relaxed him.

Yukina knew that the bath was big enough for two, so she didn't hesitate to go out and dip with Albrecht. She was decent enough to keep her clothes, otherwise, Albrecht would've fainted in a pool of blood.

"W-w-what are you doing?" Albrecht hissed as he dipped his entire body deeper into the bath.

His reaction wasn't because Yukina was taking a bath with him, but because there was a good chance that someone might see her.

"Whoa~ it's big." Yukina let out, admiring the sheer size of the bath. In her estimate, her snake partner, Seniva, would definitely fit in her even if she was in her usual snake form.

(Albrecht had never seen Seniva in her human form, so he assumed that she was just the Adamantium Goliath Snake he defeated).

"Of course it is! Now get back here!" Albrecht ordered, but Yukina wasn't listening.

She was having a good time in the bath, and the comfortable warmth of the water soothed her soul.

After a few minutes, Albrecht gave up trying to coax Yukina. 'This was one of the few times where she could relax. I guess I should let her.' Albrecht said to himself. He'd just bring her back inside the ring if a vampire comes in.

'Ah~ this is heaven,' Albrecht mused like an old man as he let his body droop on the warm water. It took him great effort to not fall asleep.

—

Anastasia was right outside the bath, and she hesitated to go in since Albrecht might get the wrong idea.

Then again, Albrecht had done enough for her family. Not only did he prevent the village elders from appointing Hunter Whitelock, but he also promised to cure her mother's sickness. That sentiment alone was worth its weight in gold since no one else attempted to do it.

At the risk of his own life, he tried to save the Whitelock Tribe and keep the chieftess's position. The least she could do was wash his back.

Mustering every ounce of her courage, she pushed the door open and bashfully announced what she sought to do.

"Let me wash your back, Albrecht!" She called out, her face turning beet red as she did so.

As soon as she opened her eyes, she realized that there was another person in the bath. Yukina.

"Ah-" Albrecht's voice was cut short as he froze in place.

"Eh?!" Anastasia exclaimed

There was a brief pause before the three of them realized what was going on. If Albrecht didn't clear this up, piles of misunderstandings would occur!

"WAIT! IT'S A MISUNDERSTANDING!" Albrecht slightly panicked. Without thinking, he raised his voice as he stood up, blatantly revealing his third leg in front of Anastasia and Yukina.

"Kyaa~!" Anastasia exclaimed

As for Yukina, she let out an 'ooh' as she covered one of her eyes.

—

In the end, Albrecht managed to explain the situation. However, Anastasia was still mad at him.

She wasn't mad because of Yukina's presence, but because she wasn't invited while Yukina was allowed to dip in the bath with him.

With an intense glare, Anastasia pointed at the line of showers on one side of the bath.

Albrecht had no idea what she was about to do, but he wanted to appease her so he went there and sat on one of the stools under the shower.

Not a word escaped Anastasia's mouth as she grabbed a scrub. She started washing Albrecht's back.

'Is this some sort of punishment?' Albrecht asked, but he didn't dare speak.

One minute passed, and Anastasia finally found the courage to speak. "Thank you... thank you for doing all you can for our tribe. We... we've done inexcusable things to your race and yet you were merciful enough to spare and save us."

"Not yet, we haven't cured your mother's sickness so don't thank me just yet." Albrecht pointed out.

"Even then... I still want to thank you. No one else wanted to help us. That's why we decided to invade your land and try to gain approval from the High Elders." Anastasia explained. She pursed her lips since her excuse for their mass killing was so low. But they didn't have any other choice. If they didn't do anything, then the Whitelock Tribe was bound to die soon and fade into the background.

"Let me guess... you wanted to join the Inner Circle, right?" Albrecht's lips tilted into a smile. "You got scammed, Ana. There's no way those in the Inner Circle would let you join. You'd need to at least annihilate one race or something to join the Inner Circle."

"What?! But that's..." Anastasia stopped speaking. Now that she thought about it, the Inner Circle never really gave a specific requirement.

Only now did she realize that the Inner Circle had no intention of letting anyone else join their close-knit group.

"You did it for your people... you did it for your mother. Your killing wasn't justified, of course, and you have your entire life to pay for your crimes." Albrecht continued.

"In a way, you're the same as Yukina. She too killed an absurd amount of people... but in turn, her entire race was annihilated and she's the only one left... along with her partner."

"In a way, all these needless killings need to be stopped." It was an obvious statement, but Albrecht had no idea how to go about it.

Before Albrecht could continue dwelling on his thoughts, Yukina stepped forward, and she began scrubbing his front. Albrecht let out a scream before he jumped into the bath.

"What are you doing?" He yelped, clutching his third leg so it would stop poking the towel wrapped around his waist.

—

By the time they finished the bath, Walterford and the vampire maids were waiting right outside. They could only imagine what happened inside the bath but based on the things they heard, they couldn't help but get the wrong idea.

In any case, they didn't speak a word about it as they directed the two towards the treasury (Yukina returned to the Soul Ring after taking the bath)

"Right this way, young miss, young sir," Walterford elegantly gestured as he led the way to the treasury.

The treasury was located underground, and it was guarded by two Iron Golems who wielded an oversized ax. Albrecht marveled at the sight of the two statues standing menacingly on both sides of the treasury entrance.

"The Treasury Key, please," Walterford, reminded. If they didn't pull out the key in ten seconds, the Iron Golems would activate, and everyone in the village would be alerted of the breach.

Anastasia pulled out the key from the secured box and inserted it into the keyhole of the large door.

An array of Zecian Aura appeared as the key was inserted, and it dissipated into thin air before the door to the treasury opened.

"Let's go," Anastasia beckoned, grabbing Albrecht by the hand and dragging him inside.