That evening, Saki returned covered from head to toe in leaves and spiderwebs.
Seeing her, Elsa immediately pointed her toward the hot spring.
"Saki-nee, go to the spring first."
Elsa even prepared a change of clothes and brought them to her.
"Ahhh, I feel like a new person."
Inside the water, Saki stretched her arms and legs out comfortably.
"Are you tired, Saki-oneechan?"
Hanna was in the bath with her.
"Yeah, I'm exhausted. I know it's because I'm usually cooped up in my room, though."
Saki gave a wry smile.
"That's bad for your health, you know?"
"I know, but..."
At that moment, Elsa joined them.
"Ignoring what's good for you is a bad habit of yours, Saki-nee."
"H-Hey, Elsa. Where are the twins?"
"I left them with Jin-nii."
"Kufu."
"?"
Elsa, who had just rinsed herself off and stepped into the tub, tilted her head, confused by Saki’s laugh.
"Even though you've started calling Jin 'Dear,' you still call him 'Jin-nii' when you're talking to a third party."
"Ah..."
Realizing what Saki meant, Elsa’s face turned bright red.
"Hmm, in that case, should it be 'my husband'? Or 'the master'?"
"H-Hanna-chan!"
Having even Hanna chime in, Elsa turned beet red right down to her shoulders in the water.
"Ahaha, Elsa is as innocent as ever."
Saki wore a soft smile, as if she were watching something truly heartwarming.
Meanwhile, Jin was bathing the twins with Reiko's help. They were using the communal footbath located just before the changing rooms.
He had filled a large washbasin with hot water and was letting them soak. Having done this back at the orphanage, he was quite practiced at it.
"There you go, Yuu. Does that feel good?"
"Daa."
When bathing babies, the water must never be too hot. Though Jin personally loved hot baths, he was strictly careful about that one rule.
Once Yuu was finished, it was Mio's turn. He didn't try to bathe both at once; the risk of an accident was too high.
Jin thought to himself that he’d like to soak in the bath together with them once they were a little older.
While he was wrapping them in towels to dry them off and prevent a chill, Elsa and the others emerged from the women's side.
"Dear, thank you for your hard work. I'll take over now, so please, go enjoy your bath."
"Oh, thanks. I appreciate it."
Swapping duties with Elsa, Jin hurried toward the dressing room.
"Ahhh, this is the life."
Jin stretched his body out in the hotter section of the Kaina Village hot spring.
Rock, the leader of the village men, entered shortly after. His son, Mario, was with him. Conveniently, Reiko had already stepped outside.
"Oh, if it isn't Jin."
"Ah, Jin-niichan!"
"Hello, Rock-san. Hey there, Mario."
"I ran into your wife outside. Those twins have gotten pretty big, haven't they?"
"Thanks to everyone’s help."
"Jin-niichan, I'm going to be allowed to go along on the hunt next time!"
Mario was already thirteen. In Kaina Village, adulthood began at fifteen, so thirteen was the age when boys began learning various adult tasks as a preliminary step to coming of age.
"Is that so? Do your best. But be careful out there."
"I will!"
After chatting about various things while leisurely soaking, Jin stepped out of the spring to find the sky beginning to turn crimson. Elsa had already taken the twins back home.
His skin still glowing from the heat, Jin walked slowly back toward the Martha residence, cooled by the evening breeze. Reiko followed quietly behind him.
"Hey, Jin!"
"That voice... is that Goose? Hey!"
It seemed Goose Minakata had also arrived in Kaina Village.
"Did you come to pick up Saki?"
"Haha, there's that, but I also just felt like relaxing here tonight."
Goose laughed, his face tanned from the sun.
"My research on the vegetation in the northern Klein Kingdom has reached a stopping point, too."
"Congratulations."
In his capacity as a naturalist, Goose had been compiling data on the flora of the northern Lauren Continent. To ensure his safety during these trips, Jin had assigned Land 501 to accompany him.
"Good work, Land 501."
"Yes, Master."
"Jin, Goose found an interesting plant!" Saki said, approaching to report.
"Oh?"
"Look, this."
Goose held up a large wild yam.
"A wild yam!"
"A wild yam?...Ho ho, so you know what this is, Jin?"
"Yeah, in the world I came from..."
Jin explained its properties to Goose.
"I found the vine and had Land dig it up... I see, so it's edible!"
Jin scrutinized it with Analyze just in case, but there was no toxicity; it was definitely a wild yam.
"It looked like there were plenty more growing back there."
"I see. Let's try making some grated yam soup with this tonight."
"Grated yam soup?"
"Yeah, leave it to me."
Long ago, during his orphanage days, Jin had eaten wild yam once.
"Let's see, first I burn off these root hairs..."
He singed off the fine hairs over a flame.
"Then wash it."
He washed away the dirt with water. If done in reverse, the root hairs would absorb moisture and wouldn't burn off properly.
"And then, I grate this with a grater... wait, I don't have one. I'll just make one... Forming."
Jin proceeded to shape a grater out of some nearby mithril silver.
"Reiko, Elsa, please prepare some dashi stock using kombu, katsuobushi, and soy sauce."
"Mm."
"Understood."
Since wild yams are very viscous, the paste needs to be thinned out with three to five times its volume in dashi. Jin transferred the grated yam into a mortar and ground it carefully, gradually adding the stock.
"All right, give it a try."
"Let's eat!"
"Mm, this is delicious. I'm surprised there's a tuber you can eat raw like this."
Indeed, the wild yam is one of the few tubers that can be safely consumed raw.
"Oh, it's good."
"Onii-chan, this is tasty!"
"Kufu, what an interesting texture."
"Oh, by the way, Saki—if you leave it around your mouth, it'll start to itch."
"Eh!?"
Wild yams contain calcium oxalate, which forms tiny, needle-like crystals. These needles can prick the skin, causing an itchy sensation.
However, it isn't an allergy, so there was little cause for concern. If it did get itchy, wiping the skin with diluted vinegar or lemon juice would dissolve the crystals and provide quick relief.
Fortunately, no one in the group seemed to have a specific allergy, and they all finished off the grated yam soup with great relish.