Quoted By:
"She took me to a local bathhouse. Can't say I blame her, the road is hard when travelling on foot."
Yuki is not so sure, "Oh, are you certain?"
"Yes, I distinctly remember getting into a goemonburo"
"I see, how generous of her."
As you follow your feet, it soon becomes apparent that you are walking in the footsteps of your own ghost. This time however, when you are not sure of your step Yuki does not comment. Instead, he asks a passer by where you may find the closest bathhouse.
"A bathhouse? We are in a bathouse right now young man, no need to spend your coin. A wise man makes use of nature's bounty"
"I will take your advice for myself, but I am afraid this rain is not enough to wash away the edge off my companion"
He looks you over, and silently agrees, before pointing out the closest place. He has never been inside however, so he can't speak to its quality. Calling it 'always overbooked'.
If the Bathhouse is so good as to be overbooked, it doesn't look it from the outside. The only notable deviance from the surrounding architecture is the space it has created for itself. Pushing back all the other buildings with a large fence that should give it plenty room to breath. The fence is much too large to peek over, as one would expect from a bathhouse. the Inside follows what the outside has already established. A flower pot here, a tapestry there, its all quite what you expect from your regular bathhouse. Ten mon for an adult, more for privacy.
The head man raises his eye brow when you enter, and watches you closely. He turns his nose slightly upwards, as if ready to turn you away. Until Yuki introduces himself, and explains his rank and station. Unlike the old man at the Sake den, this man seems to become quite nervous at the prospect of an imperial investigator entering his establishment. He quickly bows and introduces himself as Genko, and is even quicker to ask if <span class="mu-i">he</span> is under investigation. Yuki laughs and waves his fears away.
"Oh no, nothing like that. I'm just no longer able to stand the smell of my companion. I would like to buy a bath for him." Genko is of two minds, you can see by his face and his carefully chosen words that he would rather have you gone. On the other hand, he is unsure as to the wisdom of denying Yuki entry. Yuki cuts through his halfhearted excuse making with a subtle ultimatum.
"Oh, by the way I notice your sign says ten mon for an adult."
Genko turns around to look at it, as if he is unsure what the sign even says.
"As part of the Tempo reforms initiated by the shogunate, the price for an adult, at a public bathhouse, is fixed at eight mon. Unless this is a private bathhouse, in which case I would inform you that you must present the official documents signed by the Daimyo openly. I wonder, what else may be out of place here..?"
