I watched my friends enter the tavern, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I wandered around, observing the buildings as they transformed from simple cottages into fully constructed houses. The crude stacks of rocks held together with some kind of mortar were replaced by bricks and a more structured form of the same mortar.

As I strolled toward the center of town, where the markets were, I could see how the city was organized. On the outskirts, where the tavern stood, were simple farmers' houses. Closer to the market were the homes of traders and shop owners, and beyond the market, the residences of aristocrats and royalty. There were no walls or checkpoints, but it was clear where everyone fit in.

The market was bustling at this hour. Stalls sold fresh produce, the sound of the blacksmith’s hammer rang out, and the smell of freshly baked goods filled the air. It was almost noon, and the market district was clearly busy all day long.

Children were running around, playing some kind of tag game, laughing and crying out for their mothers when they inevitably fell and scraped their knees. One of those children fell right next to me, tears in his eyes, as I crouched down.

“Are you okay?” I asked, casting a healing spell to mend the wound.

“Yeah. Thanks, Mister,” he said, wiping the tears from his eyes. “You’re strong. This shirt looks heavy.” He tapped on my armor.

“Yeah, it’s heavy. But I bet if you eat all your vegetables, you’ll be stronger than me,” I said with a smile.

“Yeah!” He got up, flexing his arms. “Grandpa says so too. I’m already really strong!”

“I can see that!” I chuckled. “What’s your name, young man?”

“Johnny.”

“Nice to meet you, Johnny. I’m Doc.” He shook my hand before running off to join his friends.

“Thank you, sir,” a woman’s voice came from behind me.

I turned to see a young woman, in her mid-20s, carrying a vine basket filled with fresh produce. Her blonde hair was braided, and her face was sun-kissed with freckles. “You’re welcome… For what?” I asked.

She giggled. “For taking care of my little brother. I’m Ashura, Johnny’s sister.” She tilted her head slightly.

“Oh, it was nothing. Really.”

“It’s unusual for adventurers to offer help to us commoners, so it was something. How can I repay your kindness?”

“Are those… apples over there?” I pointed to a red fruit in her basket. She smiled and handed me the apple. “We’re even,” I said, taking a bite. It was bitter, the texture all wrong, and I schooled my face to hide any reaction.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

We stood in silence, watching the children play. She glanced at me from time to time, as did I.

“I…”

“I…” We spoke at the same time. “Please, you go first,” I said.

“Doc, why are you here?”

“I’m sorry?”

“I mean, adventurers aren’t unusual in Jhorn, not even in the market district, but you don’t seem to be from around here. So, why?”

“I don’t know.” I sighed. “You could call it a calling or a summons, but my party and I don’t know what our goal is.”

“I see. And your god called you? I must say, I’ve never seen this symbol in any adventurer’s gear before.”

I looked at the obelisk on my shield and shook my head. “No, not my god. It seems to be someone higher than him.”

“I, for one, am glad they sent you, Doc. If your party is as kind as you, I’m sure the people of Jhorn and Kethlen would be pleased to have you around.”

“Thanks, Ashura. That means a lot.” I gave her a genuine smile, though it was tinged with sadness.

“I must go. Johnny will be all dirty when we head home, and we need to find an empty bathhouse.”

“Bathhouse?”

“You’re really not from around here,” she laughed. “Public bathhouses are like indoor lakes. We pay a small fee to bathe.”

“Oh, I know what bathhouses are,” I said, standing up with a new sense of determination. “I just didn’t expect one here. Where is it?”

She pointed me toward the nearest bathhouse. We said our goodbyes, and I set off to take a bath.

It had been a long dream of mine to visit an onsen in Japan, but I never had the chance. Where I’m from, public bathhouses are just at truck stops when you don’t have any other choice. I needed to see with my own eyes how a medieval bathhouse looked—or rather, how a fantasy medieval bathhouse looked.

The smell of sulfur was pungent, like rotten eggs. Steam from the hot springs escaped through the front entrance, and I could feel my skin tingle with excitement. It was a legit onsen!

“Two coppers,” a bored-sounding female voice called out from inside a booth. She was probably reading something while keeping an eye out for newcomers.

“Sorry, miss, how does it work? I pay the two coppers and enter? Is there a locker room or something? Is it gender-specific or unisex?”

“Just pay the fee…”

I dropped the two coins in the slot and entered the bath. At first, it looked like the other houses, with stones piled up and crooked doors, but it was warm—really warm.

The room I was in had three other doors besides the one I entered through. Above each door was a plaque indicating the gender of the respective halls. Where I expected to see "Mixed," I found "Children." It made sense—mothers had to bathe their children, and there was no need for them to interact with other guests.

I peeked into the male room and saw the pool of steaming hot water rippling from an artificial waterfall at one end. There was no locker room in sight, so I did what any Westerner would do in this situation—I got naked inside the bath room.

I was alone, so it wasn’t embarrassing. I was really excited as I dipped my feet into the water. It was hot, but not enough to burn me. The warm water embraced me, and all the stress from the day before melted away. I was in heaven for a few seconds—until I opened my eyes.

A tall man was standing next to me, in all his glory, with a physique that looked like something out of a comic book and a face like a Greek god. I suddenly felt very self-conscious—until he spoke.

“Hello, Doc,” he said in a high-pitched voice, the kind you’d expect from a child. It didn’t match his face or physique at all.

“Uhmm… Have we met?”

“Not in this form, no,” he said, sitting next to me. “Last time, I was a rooster. Or, how did you put it? A cock.”

I stared at the man’s face for an uncomfortable amount of time, noticing the two orbs instead of his irises, and then it dawned on me. I was taking a bath with my own god.