#505 The Hot Spring Ryokan’s Completion

Thus, after various trials and errors...

The hot spring ryokan is complete!

“What a fantastic ryokan this is!”  

The exterior is a rustic Japanese-style ryokan—an ideal style for a facility like this.

It’s a six-story wooden building with a scale as large as a hotel designed to accommodate many guests. 

“They sure put a lot of effort into building it.”

“We have accumulated a lot of know-how in Japanese-style architecture since we built your lodging, My Lord. Then, there was also Orkubo’s Castle. We built this ryokan with the intention of putting everything we have learned up to this point to the test!” excitedly says Orkubo.

He and his other orc brethren really love building. 

“Allow me to show you inside where the bathhouse is.”

“Oh!”

The furnished baths are nothing short of opulent.

“Both an open-air and indoor bath?!”

“We used the farm’s bathroom as a reference when we built them. We orcs brainstormed together to create variety!”

I see an open-air bath, a large regular bath that can accommodate many people, a jacuzzi, an herbal bath with various medicinal herbs prepared by Platy, a lie-down, and a sit-down bath.

Orkubo wasn’t exaggerating.

“I think this is severalfold fancier than the bathrooms at the farm!”

“We have done our best to satisfy you by putting all the skills we have to use, My Lord!”

Orkubo and the others always give their all, huh?

Thanks to them, this ryokan turned out even better than I had imagined.

There’s the ping-pong set I made up in the playroom and onsen tamagos and manjuus in the souvenir shop.

And then...

“What is this pile of clothes...?”

“Lady Batemy brought them here. I believe they’re called yukatas.”

So, Batemy did make yukatas, after all!

She was so hell-bent on not making them, saying they had a disgraceful design, but in the end, she still made them... I guess Batemy is what you call a tsundere.

“Please don’t get the idea!!!”

Oh, the person herself has appeared.

“As a tailor, I simply fulfill the requests I receive from my clients! It would be a nuisance to have my garments known for disrupting public morals, so I’ve come up with a solution!”

“A solution?”

“Please look at the obi!”

As in, the obi that comes with the yukata?

“This obi has a magic spell that won’t make it come undone on its own...!” 

“What?!”

“This obi, which Belena has researched, is imbued with a power similar to a curse. No one other than its wearer can remove it! No matter how much you force it or how hard you move, the knot will stay tight!”

So... That scene where the obi comes undone for whatsoever reason and the ladies shriek in embarrassment will never happen?!

“There’s more! The yukata itself has a similar curse on the collar and hem!”

“You really just owned that they’re cursed!”

“The yukata will never fall off thanks to this curse! No more thighs showing through the exposed hem or breasts showing through the disheveled collar! —it’s absolutely safe and secure!”

Batemy...Do you even realize that you’ve invented something extravagant again?

Very well then. Let’s put this yukata to the test!

I changed into a yukata, put on the obi, made sure my collar was in place, and then...

“Orkubo, let’s have a match!”

“Yes, My Lord!”

I played three rounds of ping-pong with him.

“Woah! My clothes are still in place!”

Even after long hours of exercise, the obi didn’t loosen, nor did the collar move an inch.

It was as if I had just put it on.

By the way, I lost the ping-pong match. It was a 2-1.

Orkubo is strong.

“With this, public morals will be preserved. This ryokan will be filled with a pure and bright atmosphere!”

That sounds sad... Not.

I don’t think that way.

“I’ve prepared 200 yukatas at the moment; all cursed not to come undone on their own! Belena really worked hard on them!”

“Isn’t that a one-sided burden on her?”

I designated our humanized automatons to be the inn’s employees.

They’ve gained experience in customer service during the farm expo, so I can entrust the job to them with peace of mind.

Now that we have everything we need, all we have to do is open for business!

“Let’s all work hard and let as many people as possible enjoy the hot springs!”

“WHOOOOO! RELAXATIONNNNN!!!”

Our slogan is “Relaxing at full throttle!”

On second thought, I think that’s ironically tiring.

“But we can’t just open for business just like that.”

After all, this inn is located deep in the mountains, far from the heart of the city.

If you are looking for a place with hot springs and a quiet atmosphere, it will inevitably be remote.

Still, if we continue to operate as is, we won’t be recognized by the world. They wouldn’t even bother batting an eyelash on us...!

“First... We have to do some advertising!”

“So, we’ll let the world know about this hot spring ryokan?”

That’s right.

“We’ve got the basics of advertising down, thanks to the farm expo! We can try all kinds of methods!”

“We can ask Pandemonium’s help or can ask Aileron to draw posters for us.”

Everyone naturally came up with the best solution and headed for it without my guidance.

What reliable allies.

I feel as if both the farm and its inhabitants have grown through the various experiences we’ve all been through.

I’d like to shed tears of joy, but it’s too early for that.

“You’ve proposed wonderful ideas, but think about it.”

“YES?”

Batemy and Orkubo tilt their heads in confusion.

“Yes, we need publicity, and I think your ideas are great. But we have to deal with this on a case-by-case basis.”

“Which means?”

This hot spring ryokan is built for people to relax and soak in the hot springs.

If that’s the case, the people we want to come here first and foremost are those who are exhausted from their daily routines and need this hot spring more than anything else!

“We should also target our advertising activities to reach our target audience!”

“Oh! As expected of Lord Saint!”

I want this hot spring ryokan to be an oasis, a temporary refuge for those tired of the daily hustle and bustle.

“So, who would you say is the most tired person in the world?”

“I guess it would be the Demon King, wouldn’t it? He seems busy with political affairs every day.”

I suppose he’d be the first person to come to mind, and for a good reason.

I thought so too, and in fact, I had already approached him.

But he firmly declined.

“He said he wants the people to take the lead in making them feel at ease and that his turn can wait till later.”

“I knew Lord Zedan would say something like that.”

He was just showing off how benevolent he is as a ruler.

If the Demon King is off the list for now, who else can we think of that needs some healing? 

“What about Lord Belphgamilia?”

“Anyone but him, please.”

“Oh, right.” 

If anything, I wish he’d move his body around more.

Belpgamilia aside, there’s something I’d like to try.

“Orkubo, could you lead your orc team for me?”

I want you to advertise at a specific place. 

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ack, sorry for the lack of updates the past two days. unlike the usual circumstances, i was on a plane bound to the UK during the weekend. i haven't completely adjusted to everything yet (jet-lagged, sleep-deprived gaijin attending classes first thing in the morning). i intended to do the pending chapters today but already felt my eyelids closing on me as i desperately tried to "proof" this one. if time permits tomorrow(or rather, later), you'll see 2 more chapters, if not, please rest assured you'll still get 5 chapters for this week. ;-;

in other news, accdg to syosetu, light novel V12 is officially releasing on the 27th.