Shampoo

Michael walked into the kitchen house, where most of the maids were busy cooking something over the fire. The moment they spotted him, their faces lit up with warm smiles, and they immediately greeted him.

"Young master, we made your favorite beef stew!"

"Would you like to eat some now, young master?"

"Young master…" 

Beretta walked over to Michael, eyeing him suspiciously. She quickly noticed that he was wearing the same mischievous grin on his face as he had when he showed them the faucet. But this time, it was even more suspicious since his hands were hidden behind his back. Clearly, he was hiding something.

"Hehehe… I just wanted a little feedback on my new project."

The moment he said those words, the maids immediately stopped what they were doing, eager to offer their help to the young master.

"Oooh! What is it, young master?"

"Does it have something to do with what you bought last night?"

Michael nodded and finally revealed what he had been hiding behind his back—the bar of white soap.

And immediately, a pleasant floral scent filled the air, reminiscent of flowers, wafting from the strange bar in his hands.

"This," Michael declared, "is called hand soap. It is used to clean your hands, body, and pretty much everything."

Michael walked over to the faucet and let the water run over his hands. Then, as he rubbed the soap, a thick lather immediately bubbled up, covering his entire hand.

They knew what a soap was, but the one in the young master's hands was completely different. It smelled better than perfume and was also a lot bubblier than even the most expensive soap available on the market.

Michael then rinsed the lather off his hands and held them before the maids.

"See?"

One of the maids, too curious to resist, took Michael's hands and sniffed it herself. The moment she did, her eyes widened in delight, and she immediately fell in love with the lingering scent on his hands.

"Oh my god! Young master, this is even better than cologne! How does it still smell so good even after you washed it off?"

The rest of the maids surged forward, eager to smell it, too, but Michael stopped them.

"If you want, why not try it for yourself?" he said, giving them a bar of soap.

The next instant, chaos erupted as the maids immediately scrambled to be the first ones to use the soap. But eventually, all of them got a chance to use the soap.

"This cleans my hands so fast," one of the maids exclaimed. Normally, she would have needed at least ten minutes to scrub the coal stains off her hands. But with this soap, it had barely taken a minute to get rid of everything. 

Not only that, but even her hand smelled refreshing!

Seeing the maids immediately falling in love with his creation, Michael felt a burst of satisfaction. Finally, with soap and water, there was a real standard of cleanliness in this household.

"To thank you for all your service, I have prepared these for all of you," Michael announced before he began walking outside and returned with a large rucksack.

One by one, he handed each maid a bar of soap and a vial filled with a strange blue liquid.

As expected, the maids immediately squealed with excitement once they received his very generous gift. They were so excited with the bar of soap that they almost ignored the strange liquid in the vial he had given them along with it.

"Young master, what is this?" one of the maids asked, holding the vial up in the light.

"That's called a shampoo," Michael explained. "Just use it on your hair during your shower, and you'll see the effects for yourselves."

One of the maids popped the cork from the vial and smelled the 'shampoo' liquid. The scent was as, if not better, than the soap. The essential oils in the shampoo were much more concentrated in it, giving it an even richer fragrance.

All the maids exchanged glances, their eyes gleaming with a competitive fire.

Then, silence.

After a few tense seconds, one of them finally had enough and shouted,

"I'll take a bath first!"

After that, the maids all rushed to say the same.

"Me too!"

"I said it first!"

"You've taken a shower this morning!"

"No, I haven't. You're the one who uses the shower every day!"

What followed was a flurry of arguments amongst the maids, but in the end, a good half of them immediately dashed off to their dorms, eager to try out this new soap and shampoo that the young master gifted them.

Meanwhile, the rest of the unfortunate remaining maids were forced to continue the work in the kitchen house.

After a while, the maids returned from the dormitory, all smelling as if they had just been frolicked through a field of flowers. Not only that, their skin seemed to be glistening under the light, free of all the dirt and imperfections, as though it had been meticulously scrubbed off.

Even they couldn't help but touch their arms and faces, marveling at how smooth their skin became after using the soap.

But perhaps the most striking difference was their hair. It cascaded in silky waves, voluptuous and lustrous as if coated in honey. The usual tangles and split ends had all disappeared, leaving it looking healthier than ever.

The other maids would have praised the soap, but they immediately rushed back to the dormitory, eager to try it for themselves.

Meanwhile, the freshly bathed maids turned their attention to Michael, showering him with praises for his generous gift.

"Young master, if you give these to any lady, then I'm sure they'll marry you on the spot!"

"Yes! The young master will be the most sought-after man in town with this."

Michael, however, wasn't thinking about girls and romance. His mind, carrying the wisdom of his past life, was far older than his body.

Right now, he was focused on increasing the standard of living in this place, starting with the mansion. Now that he was done with water and proper sanitation, his next course of business was a little bit more complicated.

This world still measured time with the help of sundials, hourglasses, and candles.

For his next project, Michael intended to create the first mechanical clock!

Since it was purely made out of gears and metal workings, it was well within his current capabilities. Of course, he still needed to master his 2-star [Metal Bend] spell to achieve the kind of precision needed for this kind of project.

[Metal Bend]

— ★★

— Fire and Earth element

— This magic allows the user to manipulate and shape metal telepathically. The strength of the spell depends on the material used and the caster's level of mastery of the spell.