Bathtime

Mune and Kitsu led while Nova and Sir Fluffles trailed behind.

They seemed to have a fun time looking at all of the palace.

The palace was a huge place, the hallway looking like it was built for giants.

If they looked down the hallway, they would see an endless amount of doors and at least one decoration between each of the doors.

『Hmm… Nice place! Wonder if I know anyone here...』[Mune]

『How could you? This place is huge!』[Nova]

『Haha, true. I'm sure we'll get lost in no time.』[Mune]

Mune's comment only made Nova more concerned.

『Exactly! What if Sir Edwin returns?!』[Nova]

Mune raised an eyebrow.

『Sir Edwin?』[Mune]

『He's like a knight, right?!』[Nova]

『...I guess, you're right. Anyways, the old man should know where we are. If he didn't want us going out, he would have told us explicitly.』[Mune]

Nova was speechless.

『...I guess you're right?』[Nova]

『Of course I am, so let's just go around. I want to see what royal food tastes like.』[Mune]

They wandered about, completely in awe at the infrastructure of the palace.

『Was this place built by giants or something? It's huuuuuge!』[Mune]

『...I'm just more concerned about how much everything here costs...』[Nova]

He eyed the vases and expensive looking items.

『...Probably a fortune. Best not to get too close to those, Nova.』[Mune]

He lurched away from the expensive looking decorations and just kept following Mune closely.

Sir Fluffles flew around quickly.

『Nova, Nova! Look at the pretty-!』[Sir Fluffles]

『Woah, wait!』[Nova]

He quickly grabbed Sir Fluffles by the tail, closely preventing him from knocking over a vase.

『...Oopsie. Sorry, Nova.』[Sir Fluffles]

Kitsu and Mune looked back, staring at the both of them before Mune broke.

『...Pfft. Don't get too carried away, you two.』[Mune]

Kitsu seemed to nod in agreement.

『Yip.』[Kitsu]

They turned around and started to walk off again.

Nova held Sir Fluffles under his arm, trying to keep up with them.

...

After a while, Mune and Kitsu slowed down their pace.

『...What's that smell?』[Mune]

He sniffed the air, and made a disgusted face before turning to Nova.

『H..Huh? If you think I farted or something, it isn't me!』[Nova]

He shook his head.

『No... When was the last time you gave your familiar a bath?!』[Mune]

Sir Fluffles seemed shaken to be the sudden topic of the conversation.

『...Hmm...』[Nova]

He sniffed the air for a moment before suddenly retching and falling to the floor in pain.

『Nova! Are you alright?!』[Sir Fluffles]

『Sir… Fluffles… you're… smelly.』[Nova]

His fur seemed to be covered in a layer of dust, dirt and mud, whereas his wings and tail were covered in some kind of sticky, crusty, mucousy material.

He sniffed around for a bit before moving his little paws around in protest.

『...Sir Fluffles smells fine!』[Sir Fluffles]

『...No, you don't. We're doing back, right now.』[Nova]

Mune nodded his head as well.

『Right. We can go on a walk later. Can you pop open an Area?』[Mune]

『I can try.』[Nova]

He snapped his fingers smoothly.

『Area.』[Nova]

A black portal ripped forth the space in front of him, but it seemed different from normal.

『Ah?』[Nova]

The Area crumbled into black crystals that floated up to the ceiling before fading.

『It… didn't work?』[Nova]

『Hmm… You said that Area didn't take too much mana, right?』[Mune]

『Right… Oh!』[Nova]

Mune nodded his head.

『The mana in the palace gets soaked up unless you have some special permissions or item, most likely. With the low cost of your spell, it would be impossible to stabilize it without you constantly pouring mana into it.』[Mune]

『...I guess we'll walk, then?』[Nova]

Mune nodded before turning around.

『...Wait, which way did we come from?』[Mune]

Nova was speechless.

...…

After a while, they managed to find their way back to their room, just as Sarena and Freyana were stepping out.

『Huh? Where are you two coming from?』[Freyana]

『A short walk. Don't worry about it.』[Mune]

『Is that Sir Fluffles? Why are you holding him like that, Nova?』[Freyana]

『His body is too big for how hyper he is, so he kept almost knocking things over.』[Nova]

『Ah, wait! Can I play with-』[Freyana]

Nova and Mune had already slunk into their room, leaving the two of them there.

『...What was that about?』[Sarena]

...….

『NOVA, NO!』[Sir Fluffles]

Nova held Sir Fluffles above a bathtub filled with warm water.

Though Sir Fluffles let his tail sink cleanly into the already dirty water, his paws paddled around through the air, as if attempting to swim.

『It's… just water. You'll be fine.』[Nova]

『Nova! My fur is water resistant! It won't do anything!』[Sir Fluffles]

『It'll take the mud and grime off! Just behave, alright?! 』[Nova]

The moment he tried to lower Sir Fluffles down, his wings would start to beat around, causing Nova to have trouble lowering him, as water splashed in every direction..

『NOVA! NO!』[Sir Fluffles]

And thus, the cycle would repeat.

Out of frustration, Nova had the idea of just putting water on him.

He quickly splashed water on Sir Fluffles, who stopped struggling then.

『...It's warm…?』[Sir Fluffles]

『Of course it is.』[Nova]

Sir Fluffles stopped flapping his wings around, allowing Nova to finally put him into the water.

『Warm water feels nice, Nova!』[Sir Fluffles]

『Of course. Did you think I was going to use cold water?』[Nova]

『My tail always feels warm, so I don't really notice the temperature. Sorry, Nova!』[Sir Fluffles]

『It's fine, let's just get you clean.』[Nova]

The moment he hit the water, it had turned gray and gross.

『...I really need to give you baths more often...』[Nova]

『As long as I get snacks, I don't mind.』[Sir Fluffles]

Nova took out some shampoo, but wasn't sure if it was good for summoned creatures or not.

He opened the top of the container and gave it a whiff, releasing a fruity, floral scent.

『...Fluffles, can you give this a smell and tell me if you think this is good for you?』[Nova]

He sniffed it before touching it with his paws.

『....I think so! It smells yummy.』[Sir Fluffles]

Nova nodded before rubbing the shampoo into Sir Fluffle's fur, and taking some body wash for the tail and wings.

『Don't eat the shampoo, though. It tastes bitter.』[Nova]

『Okay!』[Sir Fluffles]

He unplugged the drain, letting all the muddy water drain out before continuing to shampoo Sir Fluffles.

『How do you feel about eating some beef after we go home?』[Nova]

He started to shampoo under his ears, causing Sir Fluffles' tail to wag back and forth.

『Like a steak?! I want some! Those are tasty!』[Sir Fluffles]

『Then, let me see if I can make a tasty one.』[Nova]

『Huh? Freyana's cooking is always tastier though, you know?!』[Sir Fluffles]

Nova's eyebrows knitted as he started to shampoo more aggressively.

『Hey! I can cook tasty food too, you know!』[Nova]

Sir Fluffles span around in protest.

『Nova! You'll ruin my fluffy fur!!!』[Sir Fluffles]

Nova kept laughing as Sir Fluffles visibly became cleaner.