Chapter 14
“There’s a large bathhouse on the first floor of every dormitory! Wash up and be ready for bed by 10 PM!”
The moving armors echoed Gibbles’ command throughout the dormitory.
“Ugh, I can’t even move…”
“I’m hungry and exhausted.”
“Wouldn’t it be better to just sleep even if we’re a little dirty?”
“Come on, give me a break. My maid used to wash me.”
The upper-class students were completely worn out from everything that had happened today.
Still, some students dragged themselves toward the bathhouse to wash up.
Dormitory Bathhouse – First Floor
The walls of the dormitory’s bathhouse were lined with fountains connected to the water pipes, pouring out crystal-clear water. But the water was as cold as ice.
Those who touched it gasped in shock.
“Eek!”
“It’s—it’s freezing!”
The water was so cold it made their hands go numb after just a brief touch. And they were supposed to bathe in this?
Some students protested.
“A-Are you serious? We’ll catch a cold washing in this!”
[This is a magic school! Just heat the water with magic!]
Gibbles responded bluntly.
“But you haven’t even taught us anything yet…”
At that moment, Baroness Vulem, who was standing beside Gibbles, stepped forward holding a lantern.
Her words were conveyed through the moving armor.
This was originally planned for tomorrow, but I’ll give you a quick one-point lesson today.
Baroness Vulem taught them the water-heating spell that was supposed to be covered the next day.
Normally, I would thoroughly explain the classification of magic, mana manipulation, incantations, and so forth. But that would take too long.
Fortunately, the water-heating spell uses a simple mana operation. Its activation phrase is very well-constructed.
But time kept ticking.
The 30-minute maintenance window was tight.
Some students began to regret not just going to bed dirty.
Now then, let’s learn the activation phrase. Infuse your wand with mana and shout ‘mul-depyo!’
The students looked baffled.
“That’s ridiculous. If magic were that easy, no one would struggle with it.”
“…I didn’t bring a wand.”
“I haven’t even bought one yet.”
Fortunately, a few students had brought their wands.
“I mean, I brought one… but are these professors insane?”
Those students tried the incantation.
“Mul-depyo?”
Of course, it didn’t work well.
[Because the activation phrase is so well-structured, pronunciation must be perfect for minimal mana use.
Otherwise, you’ll need to forcibly control the mana to compensate for poor spell formation.]
A rough pronunciation couldn’t control the flow of mana properly.
Most students couldn’t even infuse their wands with mana.
However, a few students who had studied ahead succeeded in casting the spell.
As some managed to heat water with magic, the others looked on with envy.
“U-Um, can you help me too?”
“Ah… well…”
Technically, heating water was a basic-level spell that any beginner mage could easily perform.
It required little mana.
While raising water to boiling was different, warming it to near body temperature was a simple feat for novices.
But unfortunately, all of them had just had their life energy drained by a succubus queen.
It was like trying to jog on a treadmill after a blood donation.
Even if they managed to heat some water, it was far less than usual. Trying to heat water for others might’ve knocked them out.
“It feels like they’re deliberately tormenting us…”
The students trembled, feeling the professors’ malice.
Euros Dormitory – Girls’ Bathhouse
Only two students had successfully heated water so far: Sendia Aspinal and Mari of Astraea.
“Ugh. It’s… so cold.”
“Miss Aspinal, could you help us too?”
Some students who were acquainted with Sendia brought their washbasins, hoping she’d share.
But Sendia had no intention of helping.
*“No joke, I barely warmed mine. How am I supposed to help others?
If I overdo it today, there’s no telling what kind of hell tomorrow will bring.
As long as I can wash, that’s enough.”*
She told everyone:
“I’m sorry. After being drained by that succubus, it’s hard to heat even enough for myself.
Oh, right. Why not ask the Duchess of Betelgeuse? Surely, she—huh?”
To their surprise, Idnia was already sitting in the bathtub.
As if the freezing water didn’t bother her at all, she soaked herself calmly.
“Wait, what… huh?!”
A student who absentmindedly touched the water recoiled.
“It’s cold.”
“A-Are you alright, Duchess?”
Everyone was stunned to see Idnia bathing so casually in what felt like bone-freezing water.
“I’m fine. If it’s too cold, try wiping down with a wet towel.”
“But that’s freezing too!”
Even wiping their bodies with a damp towel was unbearable.
Just dipping a towel into the water was chilling.
“Ah, right. Miss Mari, can’t you do something with your divine magic?”
The students who had gathered around Idnia now turned to Mari of Astraea.
Mari was sweating nervously.
“It’s possible… but hard to control.”
She hadn’t succeeded with the spell Baroness Vulem taught.
Instead, she was using a holy flame from divine magic to heat the water.
Because she only had divine magic and no knowledge of general magic, this was her workaround.
It consumed a lot of mana, and if misused, the boiling water could cause a steam explosion—precision was essential.
With many students asking and her own energy drained by Sadia the succubus teacher, Mari was barely hanging on.
“I-I’ll try my best…”
“U-Um…”
Despite shivering, the students couldn’t bring themselves to ask for her help, seeing her struggle.
Still, no one stopped her either.
So Mari kept trying, using her unstable divine magic to heat the water.
But holy flames were made for combat, not everyday use.
Trying to get the temperature just right was a disaster waiting to happen.
One misstep and there could be a steam explosion.
“Enough.”
Unable to watch anymore, Idnia stepped in to take control.
“It seems Miss Mari is also too drained to use magic properly.
Let’s rest for today and use wet towels instead. We’ll wash properly tomorrow.”
“But it’s too cold…”
“Um, Miss Aspinal? Could you at least heat enough water for a towel?”
Some students asked Sendia again.
But she groaned theatrically.
“Oh dear, I think I’m dying. M-My heart… ohh…”
“……”
It was clearly exaggerated, but no one could force her while others watched.
‘How annoying. That slacker probably has enough strength left.’
‘Should we ask Miss Mari again?’
‘But she was using such a reckless method…’
‘Using combat spells to heat water is dumb. It’ll explode.’
While everyone debated, Idnia reached out her hand.
“Bring me your towels. I’ll warm them and return them.”
“Huh? But…”
“I can’t use water-heating magic either, but I have my own method. It’s just… not something I can show.”
“O-Oh, Duchess…”
“Please wait over there. Don’t follow me.”
Idnia took the towels and disappeared behind the fountain, into a blind spot out of everyone’s view.
Moments later…
She returned with warm, steaming towels.
“Huh?”
Everyone was stunned.
“Ow—hot!”
“Whoa! Th-Thank you, Duchess!”
“How did you do that?”
“Ah, it’s a family secret… but it’s not something I can show just yet.”
‘I didn’t lie. In fact, I told the truth.’
Idnia had activated her Emperor’s Aura technique, using her aura to heat and wring the towels, even drying her own hair with the residual heat.
