Chapter 36: Rest And Relaxation II
After entering the room, Mya stopped and turned around. “Would you like to have the same treatments, or would you rather have separate ones?”
“Uhm, I guess the same?” I replied, looking at Liz. “What do you think, Liz?”
“The same,” she answered with a blank stare.
Poor Liz looks so far out of her element that I almost feel bad for keeping it a surprise… almost.
“Splendid. Now, is Liz a nickname, or can we address you as Lady Liz?”
Liz’s face twitched at the question. “Just Liz is fine.”
“You are our esteemed guests. We couldn’t po-”
“Also, Luna is fine,” I interrupted her. “We aren’t nobles, just adventurers. Being called Lady Luna so much is getting tiresome.”
“Are you sure?” Mya asked reluctantly.
“I insist. You can leave all the pleasantries to the nobles.”
“Very well,” she nodded. “Shall we get started then? Lady Lu, ahem, Luna can sit down on this bench, and Liz can take the other one.”
While we did as instructed, Mia entered the room. Mya whispered something to her, which made her expression visibly happier. Mia walked over to Liz, while Mya came over to me.
“Do you want the curtains between you open or closed?” Mya asked.
“Open,” Liz answered instantly.
“Absolutely. Let's start with a relaxing massage to help loosen up your body. Would you mind both lying face down first, please?”
Both Mia and Mya started skillfully massaging our neck and shoulder areas, using some kind of aromatic oil. I turned my head and locked eyes with Liz, who appeared to be far less comfortable.
This is pure bliss for me, but it looks like another story for someone who is here with their real body. They must be finding all kinds of knots and tensions in her body.
“Do you frequent some other similar establishments?” Mya asked.
“No, this is my first time,” I replied.
“Remarkable,” she said while focusing on my left shoulder. “I can’t find any tension or knots at all.”
“Liz is tense enough for both of us,” I giggled while looking at Liz’s pained expression as she had trouble staying still.
“Don’t hesitate to tell me if you want me to apply less pressure,” Mia said.
“No, it’s fine,” Liz murmured.
She’s so cute when she tries to act tough. But shouldn’t the Elyxire I gave her last week have fixed all that? I guess all the training really did a number on her.
Mya continued her massage and moved to the lower back area. After thoroughly working the oil into my skin, she took six discs and put them on my back. A soothing sensation permeated through my skin.
“What are those?” I asked as I saw Mia do the same to Liz.
“They're magma shell pieces from a magma tortoise. They radiate warmth and activate the rejuvenating effect of the oil.”
Whoever thought of that is a genius. I want my own.
The combination of the magma shells and Mya’s technique while massaging my legs was absolutely sublime. While I enjoyed the massage to the fullest, I can’t say the same for Liz. It looked like it went well until it dawned on her that Mia had removed her towel when she moved to massage her legs, and she was now naked with a stranger touching her thighs.
Liz is a big girl. I’m sure she would have asked to keep the towel on if she wanted to.
When we were told to turn around for the second half of the massage, Liz had already given up and resigned to trying to enjoy herself instead of being embarrassed.
After the massage, we were guided to the magisalt sauna. Inside, there were six seats arranged neatly, three on each side of the room. In the center stood a pillar rising about a meter high, topped with a magitech device surrounded by tiny, glowing rocks. The entire pillar was surrounded by a protective grating. We sat down next to each other.
“We will come get you in fifteen minutes,” Mya said before closing the door.
“Did you enjoy the massage?” I asked.
“I’m exhausted,” Liz groaned.
“Why?”
“Because I was led into a strange house, told to get naked, and then had a woman I never met before find every knot and tension in my entire body.”
“Do you want to leave? It’s not like we are paying for this, so we can bounce if you don’t enjoy yourself.”
“It’s not like I didn’t enjoy it. I was just a bit overwhelmed,” she said, leaning her head against my shoulder.
“That’s good then.”
“By the way, what did you give the man that escorted us here?”
“A gold coin.”
“You gave him a small gold coin just for walking for two minutes? That’s enough for two days at the Blue Stallion Inn, you know? Four if you take the smaller room.”
“Ahem, no, it was a large gold coin.”
Judging by her facial expression, it looked like Liz wanted to say something, but instead just muttered, “Of course it was.”
“We are already staying here for free. I thought that maybe it’s customary to tip and we haven’t been doing it,” I tried to explain myself. “I don’t want them to think that I’m some uncivilized brute, okay?”
“By what logic would they think that you are an uncivilized brute?”
“Oh, you know, we are adventurers. Killing monsters and all that.”
“I don’t think they would think that. Many nobles are in the military. The magic institute here in the capital is also managed by some nobles, I think.”
“I see,” I pondered. “By the way, how high up the ranks is a Marquess?”
Liz held up her hands, fingers ticking off each title in sequence. “It's Baronet, Baron, Count... no, wait. Viscount comes before Count, followed by Marquess, Duke, and finally, King.”
“Would you say that I rank higher or lower than a Marquess?”
“Uhm, I’m not sure, but prob-” Liz went quiet and just stared at me. “What did you do?”
“What do you mean?” I replied as innocently as I could.
“Give me one good reason why you would ask if you outrank a Marquess that doesn’t involve you doing something to one.”
I thought for a moment. “So I know if I should bow when I meet one?”
“Would you ever do that?”
“No,” I smirked.
Liz frowned. “So, what did you do?”
“I may have insulted one. But it was just a little bit,” I tried to defend myself.
“Little bit?” Liz asked, her tone filled with doubt.
“Yeah, I, uhm, said the wrong name. It was an honest mistake.”
“Luna,” she frowned.
“Okay, fine,” I sighed. “He annoyed me, and he was short and pudgy, so I called him Marquess Blubber. I may have also threatened him and his guards a little.”
Liz looked at me, horrified. “You did what?!”
“He insulted me first.”
“When did you do this?”
“Earlier today when you went up to our room.”
“I take my eyes off you for a few minutes,” Liz muttered. “So, what did he do?”
“He wanted our room and demanded that they throw us out so he could have it, after a deep clean of course. We are filthy commoners, after all.”
“If only he knew,” Liz said and shook her head. “What happened after that?”
“I don’t know. I left after I did that.”
“So, what should we do?”
“Do we need to do something?”
“Shouldn’t we leave? What if he tries something?”
“I doubt it will be a problem. I made it quite clear to him and his guards that it’s in their best interest to let it go.”
“I sure hope so. I have heard that many nobles are prone to holding grudges.”
“It will be fine. We haven’t been told to leave either.”
“I guess there is no point in worrying,” Liz said as she stretched her arms above her head. “It won’t make a difference even if I do.”
“I will take care of it if anything happens,” I said reassuringly.
“That just makes me worry more.”
Mya came and fetched us after the fifteen minutes were up and led us back to the previous room.
“Did you both enjoy the sauna?”
“Am I supposed to have this tingling feeling?” Liz asked.
“Yes. It’s the salt that heals and revitalizes the skin. It’s one of our most popular treatments.”
“What kind of salt is it?” I asked.
“It’s from glowing salt snails.”
“Do you know what they are, Luna?” Liz asked.
“Basically, a salt rock the size of a fist with a snail under it. They live in caves near water and glow in the dark. I think they are poisonous, though.”
“The salt is dangerous to eat, but harmless when used in the sauna,” Mia replied.
“Now, Shall we continue with the next treatment?” Mya asked eagerly. Both Mya and Mia had innocent expressions, but for some reason, they almost made me feel uncomfortable.
When we came back to our room, we both toppled over on the bed.
“What the hell did we just experience?” I giggled.
“Remember that this was your idea.”
“Did you not like it?”
“I enjoyed most of it, but some parts were just plain weird.”
“I can agree with that.”
“That slime they put on our faces and whatever they did to our hair was great,” Liz said while stroking her fingers through her hair. “I don’t think my hair has ever felt this nice. But why did they make us sit in that mud?”
“I have no idea. I didn’t feel anything when we did that. But I’m more curious as to why they wrapped our feet with beeswax and herbs. It just felt sticky.”
“That’s only because your feet are already so soft,” she frowned. “It was really effective for me.”
“Oh? I will have to investigate later,” I said with a mischievous smile. “But that last one was just bizarre. If I hadn’t seen it on the list she showed us earlier, I would have assumed they were messing with us.”
“I never could have imagined that I would be getting whipped with kelp when you asked me to come to the capital with you,” she laughed. “I also can’t believe how good it felt…”
“It did feel way better than what I imagined. But did you see how much they enjoyed doing that treatment?”
“They were a bit eager to suggest that one. Maybe it’s not a popular treatment?”
“Either that or they just enjoy whipping people,” I smirked.
“Mya also seemed disappointed when you declined the acupuncture treatment.”
“I didn’t think it was a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“She said she used mithril needles to channel mana into your body. I didn’t think it would be good for you right now.”
“Couldn’t you have done it without me?”
“You think she would have been able to get a needle in me?” I asked and poked my arm.
“I don't know. It would have been funny to have them try.”
“Maybe next time,” I said and stood up. “I don’t know about you, but I could go to sleep. Getting pampered that much was strangely exhausting.”
“I think so too,” she said and held up her arms. “Undress me.”
“Didn’t you say you were the older one?” I sighed before pulling her up and helping her undress so we could go to bed.