WTAW 07

Chapter 7 

The Beginning Chapter

〈7〉 My First Night. In Another World.

After picking up Goda, who had been chatting with other adventurers in the guild’s dining hall, we came to their lodging—a two-story terrace house near the guild.
It looked like an old apartment building you might find in a Japanese downtown neighborhood.

When we went upstairs and opened the door, the room turned out to be a two-room unit with a small kitchen—just one gas burner and a sink—and a toilet with a shower.
Inside, it was surprisingly spacious.

In isekai stories, you often hear about worlds with underdeveloped infrastructure, but this place had a proper water supply and sewage system.
That alone already made for a pretty comfortable lifestyle, I thought.

Apparently, though, the water came from a river upstream, and sometimes the filter—or rather, the debris net—would break, causing tiny fish to come out of the tap or clog the showerhead.
That’s… honestly kind of scary.

Still, having a shower and even a bath in another world—wasn’t that pretty rare?
At least, from what I’d read in Mom’s collection of fantasy novels.

“By the way, this shower only gives cold water.”

Wait, what?

As I was still in my clothes and unpacking, they started explaining the plumbing system to me.

“See, the hot-water tap here is only for people with a fire magic attribute.
For us, when we turn it, nothing comes out. So, we usually have to heat water in the kitchen and carry it here.”

“I see.”

Saying that, I touched the faucet with the little red mark, one of two taps positioned about shoulder height.

Zaa—

Huh? I only touched it, didn’t even turn it!

“Kyaa!”
“Uwah—sorry!”

I let go in a panic.

“It’s fine! But wait—hot water actually came out! Shunsuke, you’ve got the fire attribute!”

Ah right, my status earlier did say ‘all attributes’.

“Then stay right there, Shunsuke!”

Alyssa dashed out of the shower room.

“Huh? Hey, wait—what about me? I’m all wet and cold here!”

Before I could complain further, I heard the sound of clothes rustling—flap flap flap—and then Alyssa came back in completely naked.

“Now I can finally have a warm shower♪”

Wha— I’m right here!
I instinctively covered my eyes with my hands.

“You too, Shunsuke!”

Before I could react, Alyssa started pulling off my clothes.

“W-wait, Alyssa-san!”
“It’s fine! Hands up—like this!”

Oh, they use the same “banzai” pose here, huh…

If I resisted, I’d just end up touching her in all sorts of places, so I gave up and let her undress me.

Then came a shocking realization.

Apparently, her leather armor had been compressing her figure—she was actually quite well-endowed.
A short but curvy woman.

Meanwhile, my “little buddy” had become smooth and tiny.
Major shock.
Well, I already noticed that back in the toilet earlier, but still.

She handed me the hot-water tap. It gradually grew warmer, and then I adjusted it with the cold-water tap until it was a comfortable temperature.
Seems like this shower only runs as long as you keep pressing it.

There was no soap. Instead, she sprinkled coarse salt on me—some even got into my mouth with the water. Salty!
Then she scrubbed my back with a loofah-like brush.
Ouch—that stung against my small, delicate body.

“That hurts!”
“Endure it, endure it. Ahh, but this hot water feels so nice.”

After she finished washing me, she said:

“Sorry, but keep holding the hot-water tap a bit longer, okay?”

My arm was getting tired from holding it down constantly, but I nodded.

I was allowed to cover my waist with a towel and kept my eyes closed so I wouldn’t see anything while serving as the “human water heater.”

Even without soap, Alyssa smelled really nice through the warm steam.
In this situation… it was probably for the best that I was a kid right now.

After Alyssa got out, I had to do the same for Urisa and Goda.
By the end, I was a little dizzy from the heat.

No matter how much you scrub Goda with a loofah, though, his natural body odor doesn’t completely go away.
Not like he stank, but he definitely had that strong “guy smell.”
He said he was Urisa’s cousin, but… were they even from the same gene pool?

“Urisa’s brother can use magic too, but only wind.
Haven’t had a hot wash like this in ages—thanks, man.”

Goda’s broad grin made me smile back.
Glad to be of service.

Afterward, I changed into an old pair of pajamas I’d brought from my pouch and drank some cool water.
Urisa asked me:

“You kept the hot water running the whole time—aren’t you tired?”

Hmm.
Maybe the adrenaline from today’s craziness was still going strong, because I didn’t really feel tired.

“Tired? I don’t really know if I am.”

“I see.
Kids don’t realize how tired they are until they’re about to collapse.
So rest before you feel it, alright?”

He patted my head again—gentle this time, unlike when we first met.
It felt a bit ticklish, like an older brother looking out for me.

“Okay, thank you.”
“Also, you can talk more casually, you know. But I guess you’ll get used to it soon enough.”

After that, they let me sleep in the room Alyssa normally used alone.
She almost made me her body pillow, but since it was a bunk bed, I managed to escape to the top bunk and hide under the covers.

As I closed my eyes, I half-hoped I’d wake up to find it was all just a dream…
and half-hoped that I’d still be here when I opened them.

Despite everything, I must’ve been exhausted—because even in a strange bed, I fell asleep instantly.

And that’s how my first day in another world came to an end.