dangerous creatures. The lucomo wasn’t exactly the epitome of safety, but she decided to stay with the monster she knew rather than take her chances with the monsters she did not.
Diana grunted in frustration and sprinted after him. To her surprise, he had gotten far ahead in the short amount of time, but he looked at her sidelong, one eyebrow going up in silent mockery that she was slightly out of breath. She was tempted to scowl at him but smoothed out her expression, determined not to appear ruffled by his rudeness.
She made sure to keep pace with him. Concentrating on her steps, she was surprised when he stopped without a word. It took her a moment to realize that the lucomo was no longer with her. Frowning, she turned back and glanced at him and discovered the silvanus standing beside a narrow entrance. His lips were ticking up at the corners, and Diana felt her cheeks heat with embarrassment. She hated the fact that she was caught trying too hard, and his smile was all the more knowing and condescending for it.
Gritting her teeth, she turned on her heel and slunk back to him, conscious of the fact that her face burned hotter the closer she got to him. She was certain that, by the time she stepped past him into the chamber, she was beet red right up to the roots of her hair.
“I will be waiting out here for you,” he called in after her. “There are two running streams. The one on the right you cleanse yourself in, and the one on the left you relieve yourself in. Creatures that live at the depository consume and convert wastes into nutrients for the palace grounds. Be certain that you use the correct spring.”
“Got it,” she mumbled.
Although her tone was sour, she was rather impressed. Whatever the Eternal Forest was, it appeared to operate in a sustainable manner. It seemed that whatever magic and creatures existed in this world were far superior to human technology that had failed to be even a fraction as clean.
The springs were easy to differentiate from each other, outside of being on opposite walls. The spring for cleaning was the purest water she had ever seen, whereas the water for relieving herself had a greenish hue. She suspected it was recycled wastewater, but it was odorless. On closer inspection, she was certain that the color was due to a heavy concentration of plankton floating in the water tumbling down the side of the wall.
After relieving her bladder, she turned to the clear spring and eyed it. It wasn’t big enough to submerge herself in. She wondered if there were a bathing pool elsewhere. At least she could sponge bathe. There was a small tower nearby with piles of clean towels. She imagined that it was a common room used by all those who dwelled within the palace, and was grateful that the lucomo was standing just outside. She felt certain that he wouldn’t allow anyone to enter while she was occupying the room.
Or, at least, she hoped that was the case.
Grabbing a small towel, she stripped off her gear and the thick clothes she wore for hunting and ran the towel under the pleasantly warm water. If she wasn’t mistaken, the water felt like it came up from a hot spring. It even had the slight sulfur smell she associated with them. Thank the gods it wasn’t cold water. She didn’t know what the limit was on conveniences in this world, but she was grateful that bathing in frigid water wasn’t something that she was going to have to immediately face. At least not while she was in the palace. Though she bemoaned the lack of a tub, she made quick work of washing herself, and grimaced as the cloth turned gray from all the grime she washed away.
Humming a tune, she scrubbed herself clean. She hated to put the dirty clothes back on, but was conscious of the fact that the lucomo was waiting impatiently outside of door by the irate growls he let out every now and then. She wasn’t sure if they were directed at her or someone attempting to access the cleaning room, but she rushed through dressing and hurried out all the same.
His eyes ran over her, and he stepped away from the wall he had been leaning against. His tail snapping behind him as he glowered at a peculiar male with a flat face and oversized pointed