Chapter 59: Rurin's Lair (1)
Rurin’s lair was being constructed smoothly.
With winter approaching and the weather getting colder, the dwarves had already completed over 80% of the work.
So, I thought it was a good time to start using the completed rooms. I began to inspect the lair while walking around.
The dragon’s lair is mainly divided into two floors: the first and second floors.
When you enter the lair from the restaurant, you first come upon a massive hall. The hall features a grand staircase leading to the second floor and a large entrance that leads further into the first floor. That large entrance is the pathway to the dragon’s main chamber.
The first floor has a spacious room where Rurin can transform into her dragon form without any issues.
This is the dragon’s main chamber.
Although Rurin has mentioned she dislikes staying in her dragon form when she’s with me, this is still the most basic part of the lair.
The large room where the dragon can reside is made entirely of marble, with a huge carpet laid across the floor.
A massive, ornate chandelier hangs from the ceiling, glittering with embedded jewels. However, since it’s primarily the dragon’s chamber, there isn’t much else in the room.
Beyond the dragon’s main chamber is the spot where Rurin and I once dug through the hill to cook ramen. That area, where we discovered an underground water source, has now been turned into a bathhouse.
A grand hot spring bath.
Technically, it’s not a hot spring, but rather a large bath filled with water heated magically from below.
“Ooh, this place feels nice. It’s cold outside, but it’s warm here!”
“Yes, indeed. This is the finest bathhouse, utilizing all the technological prowess of us dwarves!”
The young dwarf, who had guided us to the bathhouse, introduced it in his awkward human language.
“Hmm, I like it. So, could you step outside for a while? I want to take a look around, and it might take a while. You can go attend to other tasks.”
“Ah, understood!”
The young dwarf, intimidated by Rurin, maintained a 90-degree bow as he quickly retreated from the bathhouse.
In the center of the bathhouse is a large, circular main bath. Surrounding it is a bamboo forest, illuminated by magical lights.
The ambiance is perfect.
Below the large main bath are two smaller baths. One contains cold water, and the other is an herbal bath.
The herbal bath is infused with a precious herb called “Berara,” one of the most expensive medicinal ingredients in this world, known for promoting blood circulation and making the skin smooth and radiant.
Generally, the skin of a dragon in its polymorphed human form is influenced heavily by the texture of its original reptilian scales, which can be rough and porous. However, Rurin, being a young dragon and having spent most of her time as a reclusive dragon in her lair, had relatively good skin.
“Rurin, this is the herbal bath. It makes your skin much better…”
Splash!
Rurin jumped into the herbal bath before I could finish my sentence.
“Phew! Really? Then I’ll live here!”
“No, if you stay too long, your skin will wrinkle and actually get damaged, Dragon.”
“Then should I drink it?”
With a curious expression, the dragon began drinking the herbal bath water, so I had to pull her out.
“Ugh, it’s bitter… doesn’t taste good.”
She frowned at me, completely soaked like a drowned rat.
“It probably won’t be effective if you drink it. Herbs usually have two types of effects: those that work when ingested and those that work when applied. So, save it for your skin, not your stomach.”
“Is that so? Even if it had an effect when eaten, I wouldn’t want to eat it!”
“Geez.”
Leaving the dragon to her own devices, I began walking around the footbath. A path was laid around the main bath, the cold bath, and the herbal bath, with various-sized stones embedded in the floor to provide acupressure. It’s great for blood circulation.
But it was incredibly painful. Did we place the stones too closely?
“Ah!”
Rurin, who had followed me, stepped on it for about a second before jumping out.
For once, I empathized with her reaction. I couldn’t last much longer either and quickly stepped off the path.
Maybe this needs some adjustments? It was too painful. Or could it be a sign of a health problem? I pondered for a moment but decided to drop it and stepped into the main bath.
The central main bath was hot. And wide. The herbal bath was lukewarm. There were noticeable differences in temperature.
As I entered the main bath, Rurin followed. At first, she dipped her feet in, surprised by the heat, and quickly stepped out. After a moment, she dipped her feet again, and once she acclimated, she slowly entered. She then immediately moved next to me and splashed water.
Whenever she laughed, the diamond earrings I had gifted her a while back would sway and sparkle. With her hair tied up, the earrings stood out more than usual, exuding a mysterious charm. Every time Rurin smiled, they seemed to shine even brighter.
“You… huh, this is hot. Ugh.”
“Can’t you see the steam rising from the water?”
“I see it.”
“If you open your pores here and then move to the herbal bath, it’ll feel even better.”
“Oh?”
Rurin, who was about to sneak out because it was too hot, re-entered the bath and submerged herself.
“By the way, do dragons care about skincare?”
“It’s an era where skincare is important, even for dragons. Scaly ones don’t look good.”
Rurin nodded as if it were the most obvious thing.
What an era we live in.
Following my advice, Rurin moved to the herbal bath. She seemed to care about her face, submerging it repeatedly.
Overall, if I were to rate the bathhouse, I’d say its size and design were excellent. The dwarves were indeed trustworthy workers.
After enjoying the bath for a bit, we climbed up to the second floor, dripping wet.
The first room on the second floor is the wardrobe. Rurin and I entered the wardrobe.
The design was inspired by high-end modern fashion stores. Though it’s called a wardrobe, it resembles a giant clothing store. The clothes we’ve collected so far don’t quite match the vastness of the room.
I took out a large towel and draped it over Rurin’s head. The towel completely covered her body, with only her legs visible—it looked a bit comical.
Taking advantage of her obstructed view, I quickly dried myself off and changed clothes.
“That’s the underwear I washed for you!”
“When was that? Ages ago!”
I failed. Before I could get my pants on, the dragon removed the towel and began laughing.
“It was just the other day!”
It wasn’t the other day. But that’s dragons for you—their sense of time is off. For a creature that lives thousands of years, a year feels like yesterday.
“Why are you drying your hair so haphazardly?”
“I don’t know.”
Rurin handed me the towel. She knew exactly what she was doing—acting all innocent, but clearly planning to have me do it for her.
*swoosh swoosh*
Well, I might as well do it.
“You did shampoo, right? Your black hair is part of my memories, so you should take good care of it.”
“You did it, so why are you asking?”
“True.”
After carefully drying her hair, I dried her body too. In moments like these, she remained still. Just stood there. It’s nothing new; it’s been like this for ages.
“Pick an outfit.”
“Having only four outfits was one problem, but now there’s a new dilemma. Hehe, I’m rich in clothes now!”
Rurin seemed quite excited as she wandered around, picking out clothes. Around her, a small creature called a Bellaria, a monster from the Northern Plains, moved about.
The Bellaria was tasked with maintaining the wardrobe.
It regulates temperature and humidity to keep the clothes in optimal condition. This creature dislikes both extreme dryness and dampness, so it naturally maintains the perfect conditions around itself.
If you can make it obey, it’s a very useful monster.
After Rurin got dressed, we left the wardrobe and headed to the pantry. There was something to do here as well.
“Rurin, could you cast a time-stopping spell over this room? The area is a bit large, but with all the mana from your dragon orb recently, I think it’s doable, right?”
“Is that so? I’m not sure, but if you want, I’ll try!”
Rurin closed her eyes and began to concentrate. Seeing Rurin in such a serious state isn’t a common sight.
I quickly stepped out of the pantry. Soon, the entire room was enveloped in a blue light.
Stopping time, even for a dragon, isn’t an easy spell. Beads of sweat began to form on Rurin’s forehead.
Still, she showed no signs of giving up. Time passed. The strenuous effort continued for over 20 minutes.
“Phew! Hehe, it’s done!”
Around the 30-minute mark, Rurin wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve and exhaled deeply. Now, the vast pantry was frozen in time.
We could now retrieve the ingredients at any time, always as fresh as the day they were stored.
“Oh wow, that’s impressive! Thank you.”
“You! If you’re grateful, come here!”
Rurin spread her arms and shouted. She wanted a hug.
In this situation, there’s nothing else to do but comply. After all, she had succeeded in a difficult spell without a single complaint.
I hugged Rurin head-on. When I patted her back, she wrapped her arms around me and stomped her feet in excitement.
“Now we can store all sorts of seasonal ingredients here. Hehe.”
“I’m not particularly interested, but I suppose that’s true!”
After holding Rurin for a moment, I let go. She whined, but there’s still a lot of work to do.
“Stop your silly antics and follow me. Checking out the rest of the lair comes first.”
Next up was the distilled spirits room. It’s just as important as the pantry.
The reason the spirits are stored separately from the pantry is that distilled spirits, like whiskey, actually benefit from aging.
Whiskey, the most famous of distilled spirits, develops a deeper flavor and richer aroma as it ages.
This room is filled with many oak barrels. Summoned from the modern era, these barrels are among my treasures. They contain aging whiskey.
Some of these were already aged for 100 years, 80 years, or 50 years when I summoned them.
The longer it’s aged, the more gold bars are required for an equivalent exchange. Regardless, they’re treasures worth the price.
Aside from this, the second floor has various other rooms. There are sizable rooms for both Rurin and me, separate from the main chamber, a treasure room, and several others.
Since construction is still ongoing, there will be another day to explain in detail. I took one of the oak barrels and went back up to the restaurant.
The purpose of my inspection of the lair, which is now 80% complete, was to get this oak barrel.
If you soak Uba in top-quality aged whiskey from this oak barrel, the flavor becomes incredibly luxurious. The whiskey softens the Uba beyond recognition, infusing it with a unique aroma.
The price of the whiskey used to soak the Uba far exceeds the value of the Uba itself—a truly extravagant indulgence, you could say.
“Rurin, tonight’s dinner will be a truly delicious barbecue.”
I told Rurin, who had worked hard casting the time-stopping spell. Her eyes sparkled with curiosity about what this “truly delicious barbecue” would entail.
