44 Toilet and Magic
Back at our inn, we got our room's key at the receptionist along with an explanation.
"Please go up the stairway there, your room is number seven in the right passage. Please do take your time."
I followed after Aryl going upstairs.
The passage is quite wide. With doors to the rooms intermittently spaced on the sides. You could tell how spacious the rooms here from that alone.
'This must be it', she said and opened a door with the key.
My brain couldn't process the scene beyond the door.
"Isn't it too spacious? No, I guess it's right for seven silver coins?"
It's a room from a resort hotel.
Coming across [This] everywhere I go just deepen my conviction.
But that wasn't all.
There's another door inside the room, opening it revealed...
"Toilet... A western style at that... Where am I again...?"
And then another shocking thing.
"Bathtub... Why... What the heck..."
Toilet in my village was a personal bucket. There is no such thing as bathtubs. You wipe your body with a wet towel.
My mind went blank recalling the life I led thus far.
Someone spoke to the frozen me.
"Fufu, I knew you'd be shocked! You don't see this anywhere, do you? Can you guess what that is?"
(I know it so well, it's circled back to cluelessness. I mean, it's always been there since birth in my past life.)
I couldn't speak right from the confusion.
"Just... what..."
"Recently... let's see, around 20 years ago was it? They invented waterworks, see. You get clean water for daily life by making use of it."
(That would be before I got reborn in this world... but how... that's just weird...)
"But it hasn't propagated to farming villages and common people houses for now. The country is gradually introducing them, but for the time being only high class inns have them installed."
(Timing-wise, it's like the civilization level in this city took a huge leap... No wait, I guess not? Ancient Rome... But this is.)
<TLN: Catch the latest updates and edits at Sousetsuka .com >
Aryl's explanation isn't over yet.
"This is called a toilet seat, you sit on it and do your business. Then by pushing that button there, water will come out and clean the bowl. The filth then gets passed through something called a sewer, it then flows to a facility that collects them all."
(That's like modern days... but then how do they process...)
I keep listening what exactly sounds like water and sewer services from my past life.
Trying not to interrupt Aryl as she proudly gave the explanation.
"And what do you think happen at the end?"
A sudden quiz.
I asked back 'Naturally'.
"How do they deal with the smell and filth? It's gonna turn into pollution if left as is right? So you can't just send the water to rivers."
Aryl-sensei taught her student the shocking truth.
"Civil servants clean them up. I heard they're paid well. Apparently, you can't work at that facilities unless you know [Purification Magic]."
My thought process stopped.
(Of all place, magic here!? And purification at that!?)
"I had an opportunity to visit one such facility with my master a while ago, it was really amazing. The sewage just turned back to clean water."
(Purification magic way too good... How does that work anyway...)
"Thatsamazing."
I could only said that back.