Herald of Steel

"My lord! My ladies! Welcome! Welcome!"

As Alexander and his group approached the grand bathhouse, he was quickly greeted by the supervisor of the place.

He was a portly fellow of quite a consideration proportions, fair skinned with flaps of folded fat ringed around his neck and cheeks that almost hid all the meat.

He was dressed in a luxurious blue and gold dress, and as he walked down the large number of marble carved steps to meet Alexander, the young pasha feared the wobbling man might lose his balance anytime and start coming tumbling down.

Fortunately, that tragic accident was avoided and the sweating man hurriedly bowed in front of Alexander,

"My lord, my name is Claude! It is an honor to meet you, sire!"

Alexander had of course arranged for a guide before coming here, to get an interrupted tour of the whole place with sufficient commentary, and Lady Miranda recommended the man before him.

"It is a pleasure to meet, Mister Claude. Lady Miranda has greatly praised your ability."

The large man broke off into a toady smile hearing this, nodding his head until the flaps on his cheeks were 'dancing',

"Yes, yes, praise the lady. We opened the bathhouse as soon as we got her message." before he turned slightly bitter, "Yet… as you can see the people started to enter before we could stop them."

But that facade was quickly replaced by a cordial invitation as he gestured Alexander to follow, "Please! Please! Let us not stand outside my lord. Come! After you!"

And on the way upward, he expounded on the mishap, saying that bathhouses like this were usually opened from lunch to dusk. So by the time he hurriedly opened it upon getting word from Lady Miranda, it was already close to the regular opening times.

And in a world without clocks, people just assumed this was the scheduled time.

"Haha, it's okay, I do not mind. In fact, I am quite interested to see how the people use the place."

Alexander naturally brushed aside the tip toeing man's concerns and soon they entered the large complex.

It was as spacious as one would think while looking at it from the outside, and adorned all over with various intricate relief sculptures and friezes, depicting both scenes of daily life and of mythological figures.

More specifically, the lower half of the walls were colorfully painted with pictures of both men and women drinking, bathing, exercising, playing, etc. while the upper halves were seen having gods of various animal and anthropological nature and men clad in magnificent gold and silver armor fighting various divine wars.

It was perhaps no Sistine Chapel, but even Lady Nanazin and Lady Parthia, who was visiting upon the former's insistence would agree the work was world class.

And both these queens were no strangers to magnificent works of art or architecture.

As for Alexander, he too was too impressed by the scale and the vibrant colors, not only was this a testament to the artisans' skills but also of the Margraves family's riches.

Because to paint such a huge canvas in such detail- well paint was not cheap in this time period- in fact, some colors could be said to be quite the luxury.

And neither was it very waterproof.

So given they were inside a bathhouse with steam rising from many places, Alexander was sure everything had to be re-painted regularly to make it appear as bright and colorful as it did.

Now, although he was impressed by the scale of the paintings, one thing that struck him was what those paintings depicted, for all the men and women in the lower half of the pictures were fully nude in whatever activity they were doing.

Now this was not too uncommon in the ancient time, but what really bothered Alexander was the fact that even their genitalia was shown in great detail, to the point he thought perhaps some of the artisans worked a bit too long to get a man's organ just the right girth or a woman's slit's just the right color and texture.

Worse, he could see many small children accompanying their parents into the bath at this time, in full view of such images.

This was in no way appropriate.

So Alexander instantly decided if he were to build a bathhouse in Zanzan, it would be void of such lurid images.

'I will replace them with natural scenes of plants, animals, rivers, mountains, etc, or even various types of calligraphic art.' He noted.

At that moment, he heard Claude chime while gesturing towards a man dressed in a very simple, servant's robe behind a counter near the entrance,

"My lord, this is the payment counter. The entrance fee is 2 copper pennies for men, 1 for women, and free for children!"

Copper pennies were the smallest denomination of currency Sybarsis used.

For context, a loaf of bread cost around 2 copper pennies, while the daily salary of a day laborer was around 20 to 25 copper pennies.

"Oh? That's quite low is it not?" So the small quoted number quickly caused Lady Nanazin to chirp curiously from the back.

And seeing such a beautiful, regal woman willing to talk to him, the ordinary Claude felt immensely flattered.

Thus quickly flashing his most charming smile, he excited nodded,

"Yes, my lady it is. In fact, we operate the bathhouse almost on a loss here…. well based on only the entrance fee that is."

"Ummm… you see, the Margraves lord who built the bathhouse claimed that its main purpose was not to make a profit, but act as an amenity for the people, to help them relax and enjoy life.

'Both the rich and poor should be able to use my bathhouse wherever they like!' He had proclaimed. So the prices are always kept as low as possible. It is actually more symbolic than an actual price. We even offer it for free during holidays and celebrations."

From Claude's explanation, Alexander understood these bathhouses were treated more like modern day parks and stadiums, meant to keep the populace happy and content with entertainment.

Profit was secondary.

While by this point, Claude seemed to have gotten over his nervousness over addressing such a high ranking and beautiful woman like Lady Nanazin and kept excitedly adding to his answer,

"It was originally 1 copper piece for both men and women. But a few years it was raised to 2 for men. They are the majority of our customers."

"But even that is hardly enough to cover just our wages, forget paying for the heating facilities and other maintenance. Most of our money actually comes from the drinks and food we serve as well as the rent of private rooms. Many nobles like to meet with their friends and family there, away from the crowded common baths."

"As for any shortfall even after that… well Lady Miranda has been a great patron of us. It is a great shame she could not be here."

Claude did not forget to add that last bit of flattering at the end.

"Lady Miranda is a bit too busy… we have won a great victory and she is busy carving her winnings." Alexander nonchalantly added the excuse, although the real reason was that the lady was in her last stages of pregnancy and it was really not suitable for her to make such an adventurous journey.

But Claude did not need to know that, instead learning that the lady in question was getting more powerful, let out an ever more fawning smile, praising both her and Alexander for their great achievements.

In this man's mind, sucking up to your boss was the fastest way to rise up the ladder.

At this point, Alexander tried to pay the fee for his and his entourage's entrance, but seeing this, Claude first became frightened and then nearly tearful.

"My lord, please… this… you cannot! Did I do anything to offend? Please forgive me! Please, give me another chance…" He started crying almost incoherently, to the point that Alexander thought the man was going to get down on his knees and start begging.

He really could not see what the big deal was, but to Claude, letting someone as noble and powerful as Alexander was too mortifying to even consider.

In Claude's mind, this was how things simply worked and he would never dare to accept Alexander's coin.

While the young pasha was also adamant about not having anything for free.

He at last managed to convince the man by claiming, "Okay, okay, take this as a tip, a gift for showing me around."

Following this unnatural event, Claude led the group into the true interior of the place and Alexander found the place strangely designed like how a modern bathhouse would. Enjoy new adventures from empire

Or perhaps it was better to say, that modern bathhouses were designed like their ancient counterparts.

The main bathing facilities were placed in the center of the building, occupying almost the entirety of the space, leaving only small corridors to the sides, which were dotted with many doors, leading to various external rooms.

And these rooms were the first choice of Claude's visits

"My lord, please through here. As you can see, these lead to several exercise rooms, massage parlors, gymnasiums, and even a few gardened courtyards. The men usually love to work up a sweat before a bath, or meet over a cool drink after."

Let us say no to piracy! Don't take part in a crime! Don't patronize thieves!

Please come Here!

=>Link to the original site:

/book/herald-of-steel_24388579605084705

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!