Day 101 of Banishment: Beauty and Health (2)
Building a bath was no small feat.
After all, Marylia needed a large enough container to hold herself, one that wouldn’t leak a single drop of water.
“Hmm... I feel like I’ve been through this before...”
Indeed, Marylia recalled a past experience.
“That’s right, I tried to make a container for soaking hides during tanning…”
Yes, Marylia had previously attempted to create something similar to a bathtub!
“... There it is.”
In the space that had turned into a makeshift storage area under her first roof, she found the enormous earthenware vessel she’d once made. Though it had split clean in half during firing, she had repaired it with mortar.
“... I can make this work!”
Without delay, Marylia climbed into the oversized pot. By sitting down and pulling her knees to her chest, she managed to fit inside. It worked!
“So, if I fill this with water and add heated stones… I can turn it into a bath.”
Deciding to give it a try, Marylia enlisted her golems to help fill the large earthen vessel—now repurposed as a small bathtub—with water.
“... It’s quite a hassle to fill it up, but with the golems, it should be manageable.”
Although a proper water supply would have been ideal, that wasn’t feasible just yet. Perhaps if she could construct a wooden trough, similar to the one used for collecting iron sand, she might be able to bring water closer to her home.
“Now, let’s add the heated stones…”
She began adding stones that had been heated in a fire, one by one, into the water to warm it.
“... Oh, this works surprisingly well.”
After adding about twenty stones, the water reached a comfortable temperature. Given the small size of the tub, overfilling it would only lead to spillage once she got in. This meant she didn’t need a large amount of water after all. A small tub had its merits.
“Well then, here I go… Ah, a bath! Finally, a bath!”
With excitement, Marylia carefully stepped into the tub and eased herself in.
“… Hmm. Yes, it’s a bit cramped, but… this is wonderful. Hehehe.”
She was utterly content.
The long-awaited bath rejuvenated Marylia’s spirits. She lathered herself with soap, washed her hair, rinsed off the suds and dirt with water she had heated separately, and even used the leftover bathwater to do some laundry.
“… I’m so glad I cut my hair short. If it were still long, leaving it wet would have been dangerous in this cold.”
Without towels, she used fabric from a dismantled petticoat—made of fine linen—to dry her body and hair. It worked well enough.
“After bathing, I’ll need to dry my hair by the fire. Should I build a separate bathhouse? But then, drainage would become a bigger issue…”
Bathing was enjoyable, but it also presented new challenges.
“… What should I do about the wastewater?”
Indeed, the question of where to dispose of the bathwater loomed large.
When empty, Marylia could manage to lift the tub on her own, but once it was filled with water, it became too heavy. While she could use her golems to transport it, the disposal itself required more thought.
“In Balthoria, they used to collect wastewater in a pond, let it sit for a while, and then release it. The dirt would break down, right?”
Simply dumping the water would pollute the nearby river. While the waste from one person wasn’t significant, dirtying the area around her base wasn’t ideal. She needed a plan.
“Okay, I’ll dig a pit for drainage, line it with clay, and connect it to the river with a channel. I’ll also add a dam to regulate the flow… Oh dear, this is starting to feel like an iron mining operation... Also, it might be better to build the bathhouse closer to the river. Ugh, this is a lot of work!”
And so, Marylia found herself overwhelmed by the sheer effort it took just to enjoy a bath.
Still, a bathhouse was essential. Without one, bathing in winter could be a deadly endeavor.
She also needed to install a fireplace to heat stones and dry her hair after bathing. The bathhouse itself had to be warm and comfortable inside.
Such was the life of Marylia—full of challenges, but driven by the determination to improve her living conditions, one step at a time.
“Let’s see, I’ll make it brick-built... and for the flooring, I’ll go with wooden planks. As for the bathtub…”
Marylia glanced at the tub and made her decision.
“… I’ll try adding a drainage hole.”
“It’s strange, isn’t it? Patching up a crack only to intentionally make a hole later.”
Thus, Marylia began to grind away at the unglazed bathtub to create a hole.
“Slow and steady. If it cracks again, that would be a disaster.”
Carefully, little by little, she worked. The unglazed bathtub was fragile and prone to breaking if too much force was applied in one spot. A methodical approach was key to success.
After alternating tasks with the golems to carve the hole, Marylia conducted a simple experiment.
With a hole in place, the tub could no longer retain water. When preparing a bath, this hole would need to be plugged.
“Alright, to plug the hole when filling it with water…”
Marylia scanned the area, her gaze landing on a slime that had just returned with a load of chestnuts. She promptly snatched it up, claimed the chestnuts, and said:
“I can use the slime as a stopper.”
She shoved it snugly into the bathtub’s hole with a squish!
The slime fit perfectly, plugging the hole successfully. As long as the slime was there, Marylia would have no trouble keeping the tub sealed during her baths. Thus, the slime officially became her bathing companion.
With that settled, construction of the bathhouse began. Fortunately, there were still plenty of bricks left from when she built her house, so she set to work arranging them to form the structure.
She paved the floor with bricks, coating them with mortar, and planned to add wooden planks on top later to make it warmer underfoot. The spots for the bathtub and drainage pipe were marked, and she dug a hole to create a basic filtration system. She also designed a fireplace and chimney and decided the door would be made just like the one for the food storage—tightly sealed with planks.
“Planks are wonderful.”
Marylia beamed as she watched the golems skillfully cut the planks for the floorboards and door.
Thanks to the iron tools she had crafted, working with wood had become much easier. This development meant she could now build proper doors!
“… I’ll replace the door on my house later, too.”
As winter approached, Marylia wanted to eliminate as much draft as possible to avoid freezing. Smiling at the thought, she ordered the golems to make an extra door.
Thus, on the 110th day of her exile, the bathhouse was completed.
It was a modest space equipped with a small tub, a fireplace, a little shelf for soap and linens, a stool, and a small table to relax while drying her hair. Though simple, its presence made a significant difference—having a bath was a luxury that could not be understated.
“Let’s put out two types of soap: rosemary and orange… Oh, this is so fun! Hehehe…”
Life on the island was monotonous, with no real entertainment. Merely surviving could drain one’s spirit, even if the body endured. That’s why a bath was essential—not just for hygiene but also for preserving her mental and emotional health.
Thrilled, Marylia gently removed the slime, which had been acting as the bath stopper, and released it back outside. The slime, unfazed, bounced away to presumably gather more chestnuts.
“Alright, the food supplies are coming along nicely too…”
Marylia checked the food storage while cheerfully thinking about the returning slime and its future harvest.
Inside the storage, bags of starch extracted from lily bulbs and the roots of Man-Eaters hunted in recent days hung neatly from the walls. Dried and boiled Man-Eater stems were also preserved.
Suspended from the ceiling were slabs of meat—thoroughly salted, dried, and smoked to remove all moisture. The sight of the hanging meat was both practical and awe-inspiring.
On the shelves were jars of food preserved in clay pots—chestnuts, pine nuts, acorn flour, and dried jujube fruits. Rose hips picked by slimes had been preserved in honey, while bottles of boiled-down orange and berry juices gleamed beside them. There were also bottles of salvaged liquor, barrels of wine, and, of course, honey.
“Thanks to the slimes, I’ve been able to gather so much!”
Smiling brightly, Marylia reflected on how indispensable the slimes had been to her food-gathering efforts, especially for securing honey.
“Well, I’ll keep gathering food to the very last moment…”
Spotting a slime bouncing near the storage, Marylia murmured, “Ah, I should catch it and retrieve more food,” while muttering to herself.
“… And perhaps the sand iron is piling up by now.”
Winter was drawing near.
Yet before the snow arrived, it seemed she would finally have her Iron Golem ready in time.
What do you think about this chapter?
