I Bathed with a Sulky Leo
“Give up, Leo. From now on, you will have to bathe regularly in order to stay clean.”
Leo looked at the floor sadly as she followed after me.
She had been playing so excitedly in the river. So why did she hate baths so much…
Was it because the water was hot? …It was certainly odd.
I took off my clothes in the changing room and entered the bathing area.
“Leo, I’m going to pour hot water on you now.”
I scooped up water with a basin and poured it over Leo.
She shuddered a little, but then closed her eyes tightly and tried to make it through this ordeal.
Once Leo was thoroughly drenched, I used a towel to lather up some soap.
Then I rubbed it against Leo and scrubbed the fur from her back to her toes thoroughly in order to clean off the dirt.
“…It’s quite filthy…”
Before I knew it, the bar of soap had turned black.
I had to wash away the dark suds with water and lather it again before washing Leo.
After repeating this several times, I finally finished washing her back.
…This was actually very tiring.
I continued to wash her until we reached the final part, which Leo hated the most. Her face… Well, it was mostly around her eyes and mouth.
I think she probably didn’t want the hot water or soap to get in her eyes.
And perhaps the smell of the soap was too strong when near her nose.
However, even if she didn’t like it, I still had to wash her.
“Leo. Stay still, okay? I’m going to wash your face now.”
She seemed resigned to her fate.
She let out a tired sigh and continued to lie on her back after I finished washing her belly. And like that, she closed her eyes and gritted her teeth.
I carefully washed her face so that the soap would not enter her eyes, nose or mouth.
…Leo. You have so much meat sauce around your mouth.
Even her nose was a bright red now.
Next time, I would have to warn her before eating food that would stain her fur.
“Look, Leo. All this red will ruin your cool face!”
As if in answer, Leo snorted loudly.
Like the other areas, I had to wash the soap several times before all of the dirt and color fell away.
“Now, Leo. We’re finished. You can stand up now.”
The moment that I had my permission, Leo sprung up with just the strength of her back, and did a flip in the air.
She then landed on the ground with a smug expression.
“Leo… It’s amazing that you can move like that…but you splashed water all over me…”
As Leo was still wet when flipping in the air, the water had hit me so that I was drenched from head to toe.
“Really, you have to be more careful. All right?”
Leo’s face looked very alarmed as if she was saying, ‘there’s more!?’
Before the bath, I had borrowed a brush from Ms. Lyra.
While I had removed the dirt and grime, I still needed to untangle the fur and brush out any dust that the soap hadn’t been able to remove.
Besides, Leo never had an issue with brushing.
“Alright, Leo. Sit down first.”
Leo listened obediently and sat down.
If anything, she seemed to rather enjoy being brushed.
Has she always liked it so much…?
…Ah…now that I think about it. She would sometimes lie on my lap while I brushed her. And she would get so relaxed that she would fall asleep.
And whenever I would pick up the brush, she would wag her tail and come close.
Only, I would usually take the brush to the shower room, so she would then turn sulky, which is what I remembered the most.
“Do you like that, Leo?”
As I gently brushed the fur on her back, Leo let out a sigh as if relaxing.
Unlike when washing her, she did not resist, and so it was a lot easier to do.
Well, actually, it still felt like heavy manual labor, because she was so big and there was a lot to brush.
And so it ended up taking a very long time.
Still, I had been able to get out most of the dust.
“Let’s rinse you off once more with hot water.”
Leo had clearly not expected to be subjected to the hot water once more, and let out an alarmed yelp. But I ignored it and picked up the basin.
After repeating this a few times, Leo’s bath was finished.
Now that she was clean, Leo shook her body in order to dry herself.
“…Leo… Don’t do that when I’m standing right next to you…”
Leo said apologetically.
Well, I could wash off later. And so I led Leo out of the bathing area.
Then I called for Ms. Lyra through the doors and asked her to dry off Leo with a towel.
Then I returned to the bathing area so that I could wash myself.
After all, I had not bathed yet.
And so I washed myself thoroughly with soap.
Then I rinsed it off and sat in the tub that was large enough for me to stretch out my legs.
It really could not be helped that I let out a sigh after sinking into the hot water.
Taking a bath was the best thing to do after exercise.
And washing Leo had been quite exhausting.
And so I enjoyed the water and relaxed while massaging my tired arms.