While he wasn’t happy to say they had unlimited water, any competent system shouldn’t use the same filters for grey water and drinking water. With the huge system he had found, there was no chance they would be able to contribute enough to either stress the system or feed it, however it worked exactly. He would still be cautious of drinking water, but he wasn’t afraid of long showers anymore.


    Especially since there was no dirt or other detritus that came from outside. It was just them and the future soap.


    In fact, his over-excitement in finding the water system was pretty much centered around all the long hot showers he could now take to relax. Padding into the bathroom, he went to the showers after taking a quick pit stop. Holding everything in for however long he had been down there was rough. He might have a gamer bladder, but if he wasn’t on severe rations he wouldn’t have made it.


    The dual assault of not having to hold it anymore and the hot water from the shower was almost too much. He had barely noticed that he had company. As the hours of exploring washed out of his muscles he finally looked to see what the girl was doing. In hindsight, probably not a great move for his brain.


    At first he thought she was feeling herself up. Though his tiredness made it take a second, he eventually realized she was probably doing what he had shown her the last time. He hadn’t really intended to have this be another shower lesson, but if the girl wanted to be clean he wasn’t going to stop her. He got some soap from the dispenser, briefly wondering how much of that they had, and rumbled a bit in his chest to get her attention. No words, just noise. When she looked at him, he held out his hand and let the soap fall into hers when she reached for it. She seemed a lot more inquisitive this time, so he let her play and went back to staring infinite existence in the face. As the last of the knots left his muscles, he sighed and started soaping up. He wasn’t really sure what was down on the other level but better safe than sorry.


    He didn’t really think soap was necessary for a rinse job when he had only been on this level, which was the reason he hadn’t rationed the soap, but until he had more information it was best to be safe where the other level was involved. He had no doubt that if one of them got sick they would both be down before long.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    His deep shower contemplations were interrupted by a rumbly but high-pitched voice calling him ‘Moose’ and a hand rubbing his side.


    Scratch that, two hands.


    Hmm, this was going exactly like his last little lesson. Had he not managed to show her the wonderfulness of a good shower? Knowing that all work was bad for the body, he decided to show her there was more to a shower than soap and scrubbing. The girl seemed to have ignored her hair, likely because he hadn’t covered that topic the first time, hers being much longer and therefore in more need than his.


    A little more soap and a quick check to make sure it wasn’t still dry anywhere and he soon was scrubbing away at the girl’s scalp with his fingers. Unfortunately for him he had forgotten how the girl reacted to head rubs. He was reminded soon enough when she basically melted into him and did her best to follow his hands with her head. His plan once again completely derailed by his lack of foresight, he had to switch to using one hand to rub her shoulder and the back of her neck while the other made sure all the soap was gone and turned off the water.


    She still seemed to not like the air dryer much, but his hands rubbing her head again to dry her hair seemed to counteract the dislike. Enough so that they were both basically dry when they left the bathroom. Though he found it a little harder to walk with the girl doing her best to ensure his hand and her head remained connected, they managed to both make it back without incident.


    Sitting down on the bed didn’t help much. Once he became stationary the girl tried to get both hands working again and basically draped herself on him in the effort. In an effort to rest his tired fingers and get back the use of at least one hand, he maneuvered his mostly liquid companion into a position he could rub her back. This seemed to have the unexpected side effect of hitting her off switch as she went limp pretty quickly.


    Having regained the use of his hand, and a bit of mobility seeing as the girl was lying on the bed and not him, he picked up her other book to take a look. It seemed promising, though there were no pictures on the page he looked at, so it would have to wait for him to finish his other translations. Setting the book back down and retrieving his notebook he set to work.


    ‘How terrible would it be if it had just been a trespassing notice.’