"Is it really okay if I live in this city?", asked Norm-san with a bit of worry.
Norm-san thought, maybe in this city, elves might be treated differently.
"Don't worry, there are many races living in this city and everyone respects each other," said Norm-san's husband, trying to reassure her.
——
They finally left the place where they had eaten and immediately looked for an affordable inn.
At last, after quite some time searching, they found one.
A small but rather compact two-story house. The first floor was a shop selling local food from the city.
Then, on the second floor, there were about 5 bedrooms that could be used as an inn.
"You guys almost came too late, luckily you booked a room right away," said the receptionist there.
She said that 4 out of the 5 rooms had just been reserved by other people.
And fortunately, Norm-san's family still managed to get the last remaining room.
After the receptionist handed Norm-san the room key, the three of them went straight to the room they had booked.
——
The room was small, and there was a faint strange smell.
The bed was just one, and it couldn't possibly hold the weight of two people. The floor was a bit dusty, as if it hadn't been cleaned for a long time.
There was a small window on the wall not far from the bed, and when they opened it, they could see the street below.
Norm-san's child stuck his head out the window to see what was below.
"Waaah~~", it seemed that Norm-san's child quite liked it.
Norm-san and her husband immediately put down the bags they carried, their backs now feeling like they were about to break apart.
"Be careful there!", said Norm-san, warning her child not to fall.
"Norm, they said under this building there's a small bathhouse," said her husband.
"Really? Probably just a lie," said Norm-san, still unconvinced.
Her husband immediately opened his bag and took out a small towel and a change of clothes.
"Wanna prove it?", asked Norm-san's husband, sounding a little challenging.
Without thinking, Norm-san immediately grabbed her change of clothes as well as her child's.
Her husband gently held their child's head, and invited him to go.
"We're gonna take a bath soon, you know," said her husband, almost teasing their child.
"B-bath!? I wanna go!", their child immediately got excited.
——
The window was closed slowly, then they left the room, not forgetting to lock the door.
"We already brought a change of clothes… if it turns out there isn't one, you'll be in trouble," said Norm-san, warning her husband.
Her husband only gave a small smile, slightly panicked.
He had only heard about the bathhouse beneath this building from the people downstairs.
When they first arrived here, he heard there was a bathhouse under this house.
And maybe it was true, or maybe it was just a rumor.
The three of them arrived at the receptionist's desk in a bit of a hurry.
——
"May I help you?", asked the receptionist.
"U-um… is there a bathhouse under this building?", asked Norm-san's husband nervously.
He swallowed his saliva, and so did Norm-san.
"Yes, there is~ I was just about to tell you, but you already knew, huh?"
"On the first floor there's a small staircase near the stairs that go up to the second floor," continued the receptionist.
"Thank you!", said her husband.
"Y-yeah…", the receptionist was a little surprised at Norm-san's husband shouting.
——
They immediately went down to the first floor using the stairs.
To be safe, Norm-san held her child's hand as usual so he wouldn't fall while going down the stairs.
When they reached the first floor, they turned around and looked for the stairs going down.
The stairs were right below the ones they had just come down.
"I thought it'd be harder to find…", said Norm-san, relieved.
The stairs weren't wide at all, only enough for one person to pass through.
Its height was also quite low, and adults had to stoop a bit when going up or down.
——
Once they reached the bottom, it really was a bathhouse.
There were separate rooms for men and women.
"Well then, see you later," said Norm-san, waving to the two of them.
"Yosh, let's bathe!", said Norm-san's husband to their child.
——
Before entering the bathhouse, there was a room to put the clothes they wore and brought.
It looked like a locker and there were a lot of them on one rack.
Norm-san looked at the other racks, and there were only a few towels and clothes on them.
"Pretty empty, huh?", muttered Norm-san as she began undressing.
After that, she wrapped a towel around her body, then entered the bathhouse.
The place wasn't too big—just having Norm-san and two other women soaking already made it feel full.
One was an old woman, and the other seemed around Norm-san's age. Because the atmosphere was too quiet, Norm-san felt a little awkward and couldn't fully enjoy the bathwater.
——
"Miss, you're an elf, aren't you?", a voice reached Norm-san's ears.
She turned and saw the old woman speaking to her.
"Yes," answered Norm-san softly.
"Huh, you're an elf!? I thought your ears were just decoration!?", said the other woman.
Norm-san was a little surprised by the two of them suddenly striking up a conversation.
"No, I really am an elf," replied Norm-san.
"You already have a child, don't you?", said the old woman.
"Really!?", said the woman around Norm-san's age.
Norm-san nodded slightly.
"Yes, my child is still small… but can you really tell just from looking at my body that I already have a child?", said Norm-san, a bit confused at how they knew she was a mother.
"Just instinct," replied the old woman.
"So, how did you end up in this city? Even though there are many elves here, I've never seen one like you," she continued.
"I'm from the elf village near the outer forest of the city," replied Norm-san a little awkwardly.
"No need to be so serious," said the woman around her age.
"In this city, we all respect racial diversity. Even if you're from a strange race, you'll still be accepted here!", she continued.
The old woman nodded slowly, agreeing with what the younger woman had said.
"By the way, are you two on your own?", asked Norm-san.
And after that question, the three of them kept chatting as if they forgot the time.
They talked about family, food, clothes, and even topics that could be considered "adult."
——
Meanwhile, Norm-san's husband and child were waiting outside.
They sat on the floor, feeling very bored since Norm-san was taking so long and still hadn't come out.
The two of them had bathed without doing anything else—just undressed, entered the bath, got out, then put their clothes back on.
All that was done in just about 4 minutes, since they were the only ones in the men's bathhouse.
And also, Norm-san's husband enjoyed the bath so much that he forgot to talk with his child.
The child was the same, he felt his father was too tired, so he didn't want to disturb him.
Now, they just sat waiting, daydreaming, and lost in their own thoughts.
The child imagined what would happen if he became a hero and could save many people.
Meanwhile, the father… instead of thinking about money, his mind wandered to his wife who was bathing…
——
That night, the three of them slept huddled together on the bed, their child lying on his father's body, while Norm-san pressed herself against her husband.
Even though the bed was designed for one person, with some adjustments… it might just hold.