I look at him in shock and bow a little.
"I’m sorry for not recognizing you, sir."
"Hahahaha! You did not need to bow your head, lad. I’m just a steward of this old dusty city. On the other hand, you are an heir of a noble family, a Grandmaster of the Gipan Kingdom, and the Verlagan Dynasty’s Savior."
"Oh, stop it."
"Hahahaha!"
The old man laughed at my blushing face because he said all of my titles in this part of the world.
"Anyway, co on. I will take you to the private pool the lord uses. This pool is using the sa water from the lake."
While we were walking to the pool, I asked the old man a couple of questions.
"Can I ask how the lake is so clean? Because of the location of the oasis, I thought the water was a little bit dirty or outright dirty, not like this."
"Ah! That is because the king ordered a group of priests to stay in this place and regularly purify the water so we could drink from this oasis. The priest will do their purifying duty once a week, but when there is a sandstorm, they will do it imdiately after the sandstorm happens."
"Oh! Is His Highness ordering a lot of priests to any oasis town and villages?"
"Yes. We are lucky to have a kind and considered king like our king."
I nod and continue.
"Last question. How many underground canals are needed to make the fruit garden and the farm work? If it is a secret, you do not need to answer it."
The steward rubs his chin and says.
"I don’t know how many canals there are, but I know at least seven underground water distributors use magical gems to push the water to other places. Not only that, but after watering the farm, garden, and ranch, the excess water will be put into a special place where it will be used once again for watering them. If the water is too filthy, the priest will be the one to purify the water so it can be used to water the garden once again."
"Ah, so you did not only use the water from the lake, huh?"
"Of course not. We are not that stupid. While the Gods bless us with this water, we know not to waste that blessing for excessive use. We use them when we do not need them and reuse the excess water we use."
The more I hear about it, the more I know that being a priest is an essential job in this part of the world. In the Gipan Kingdom, the priest is all about awakening talent and nothing else. Or at least that is what I’m seeing so far.
In this kingdom, the priest is the one healing, purifying, and awakening your talent. They are an essential part of the kingdom. It is an important cog that makes the entire machine work.
In the Gipan Kingdom, it is not like that. If the priest in this kingdom is an essential good for your everyday life, in the Gipan Kingdom, it is more of a luxury good like a luxury watch, car, and shoes.
Only the rich can get their service, and the poor need their long-life savings to buy their service. Of course, it is not like that for all of the priests. So of them are kind and charitable, but most of them are not.
They can heal, but just like their service of awakening your talent costs, it will cost you a lot of money.
That is why there are only a few priests and nuns in the Gipan Kingdom because they did not want to share their custors.
"Here we are."
I snap from my thoughts when we arrive in front of a massive building.
"This is the public pool and bathhouse, while the smaller building over there is the private pool and bathhouse the lord usually uses."
"Are you sure we can use this?"
"Of course. The Lord also let the other nobles use this. He also instructs to let you use his private bath, my lord."
"Really?"
"Of course. The king already sent a letter here to inform us that you are coming. If not for the ceremony, the Lord will be the one showing you around his city. On behalf of the Lord, forgive us for not welcoming you."
I shake my head and say.
"Don’t worry about it. We are more than happy to explore on our own. Also, please deliver our congratulations to the Lord."
"Thank you, my lord. I will deliver your word to the Lord."
"Good. Anyway, can we get inside?"
"Of course! Please follow ."
We get inside the building, and I can see a few servants cleaning the building. When they see us coming, they quickly stand to the side and bow as one.
"Welco, Steward, sir!"
The old man nods and says.
"Treat these people as if they are king himself. They are a special guest the king respects, and I want you to ensure they are welcod with the respect they deserve."
I can see the servant look at us in shock, but it quickly changes into a serious expression, and they speak at once.
"Yes, sir!"
The old man nods and looks at us.
"Please enjoy and ask the servant anything you want."
=//=
I release a pleasant sigh as I soak my entire body with cool water. With how hot it is on the outside, I decided to use the pool to cool down my entire body, and boy, it was the right decision. I can feel my entire body relax as the cool water washes my body.
Usually, I use warm water to relax, but with how hot it is, cold water is the right thing.
I snap from my thoughts when I hear soone walk into the pool. I look to the side and see Hilda, Silva, and Sonia walk inside the pool with clothes covering their chest and private area. Is this the version of a swimming suit of this world and era? Interesting.
"Oh? You are done with the massage?"
"Yes! It is wonderful!"
"En. They are great."
"I think they need to press their hand a little bit harder because I did not feel anything."
I smile a little at the answer from Silva, Sonia, and Hilda. Silva is the first one to get inside the pool and says.
"What about you? Are you also taking the massage or just swimming around in this pool?"
I look at Silva and say.
"I decided to relax in the pool while you three enjoy the massage."
"Really? So you just soak your body for the past hour?"
"That is about right."
I don’t like getting a massage, and I would rather swim in the pool than get a massage. I look to the side and see the servant get inside the pool with a basket of fruits and drinks. They place them on the nearby table, and one of them walks toward us. She bows and says.
"Please enjoy the pool, my lord, my lady. The fruit is the special fruit we pick from the local trees. Our city specializes in olive and lemon. Our lemon is known to have a little bit of a sweet and refreshing flavor as it is not too sour. As for our olives, we have big olives that are sweet and fragrant. It is a great fruit to eat while you are drinking. We also bring a bunch of dates we have, but sadly, it is not ti for dates to be ready, and we can only bring the ones we have in storage. We are sorry for that."
I shake my head and say.
"Don’t worry about it. We understand. They are not ready to be picked, and it is not because of your fault."
"Thank you for your understanding, my lord, my lady. If there is sothing you want, please call us."
"Of course."
I nod and see them leave us alone to enjoy ourselves.
=//=
After two more hours of swimming and playing in the water, we get out of the pool, clean our bodies, and leave the bathhouse. We walk to the inn and are ready to get dinner. It has been a great day for the four of us, and I’m glad to take this route.
This place is beautiful and comfortable if you ignore the hot air around us. Of course, that hot air will change into cold air soon enough as I see the sun about to set, and darkness will engulf the land.
"Ohhh~ Today is great! I want to visit this place from ti to ti."
I nod at Hilda’s words and say.
"I don’t mind. This place is great, but the journey to this place is rather hard."
"Urgh. Don’t remind of that. The desert is harsh. It is too hot in the day and too cold at night! Why can’t this place stay with one kind of temperature?!"
I chuckle a little as the three won start to rant about how the desert is sothing they cannot handle. It is really sothing to make the three of them agree to hate sothing just after a single journey.
They sohow agree to hate sand.
"Help! Help! Can soone help us?!"
I snap from my thoughts and look to the side, where I can see one soldier holding another one who is on the brink of death. I run toward them and kneel next to him before casting a healing spell on him. I use a mid-level healing spell to regenerate his arm and heal his other wounds.
After healing him, I looked at the soldier, who was not too injured, and said.
"What happened?"
"Monster! A group of monsters coming from the west!"
Reviews
All reviews (0)