Chapter 104
Chapter 104
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 104
Chapter Title: Nymph Cultist and Pluto's Underground Labyrinth
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Paranoya, the nymph cultist slumped in her prison cell, slowly spread her thighs apart to either side.
Was there any sight more primal to stir the senses? Any sturdy man’s gaze would inevitably lock onto that spot.
“What did you just say…?”
“The favor you did saving my life is immense. You even sucked the spider venom out with your mouth—a dangerous act—to rescue me… So, I’ll give you what I’ve guarded like my own life, my comrade.”
I couldn’t comprehend what this bound cultist Paranoya was trying to say. There hadn’t even been a venomous spider to begin with.
What exactly was she planning to give me?
Wondering if she’d hidden some treasure between her legs, I sneaked a glance, but of course, there was nothing there.
“H-Hey, are you saying you’ll give me your virginity…?”
“…”
Paranoya merely swallowed dryly and said nothing more.
Was that silence…
A sign of affirmation?
Shit, what the hell was going on? Some vile trap from the cultist?
“This was something I’d saved preciously to offer to the Son of Death… B-But right now, this is all I can give.”
Her words made my face burn and blood rush southward, straining against my pants.
What man could refuse a meal laid out like this?
Plenty, actually.
Men who already had lovers.
I already had my precious Luna.
Moreover, Paranoya’s hygiene after so long in prison was downright filthy. Embracing a woman like that would surely infect me with some nasty disease.
Had she been a bit cleaner, I might’ve seriously agonized over it. Dumb and foolish cultist or not, she was cutely formed, true to her nymph name.
After weighing it all, I had no choice but to decline Paranoya’s offer.
“Paranoya, you don’t have to do that.”
“R-Really? Hoo… Th-Thank goodness. You’re broad-minded, comrade. I was short-sighted…”
Paranoya let out a sigh of relief, apparently trembling in fear deep down. Losing her virginity to a stranger must’ve terrified her.
“Someday, when we get out of here, I’ll repay the favor, comrade. Look forward to it.”
“Sure.”
Paranoya still clung to hope of escaping this underground prison. Holding onto optimism in such a hopeless situation was a bit odd.
Suspicious of some hidden scheme or cultist plot, I probed casually.
“So, you’ve got a way out of here?”
“H-Heh, not entirely. Those dumb dogs of Mars made me an offer. Convert, and they’ll release me as a free woman.”
Convert, and they’d release her?
From my perspective, I wondered if they should let a cultist go so easily.
“They really said that?”
“Yeah, some high-ranking guy said it, so it must be true. Pureblood nymphs like me are in demand everywhere—they want me as a comrade. B-Betraying Lord Pluto? As if.”
“Hmm.”
“B-But pretending to convert… Lord Pluto might forgive that, right? It’s not real conversion, just faking it… might be okay…”
What a half-baked little cultist.
* * *
A week buried in the scents of books and potions.
Just as boredom set in, wondering if something fun might happen…
“Samaria’s Hassan, is Luna Noxdoty present?”
A messenger from the Mars Guild came looking for me and Luna.
“Hassan, what’s up?”
“No idea.”
Had guild work resumed? Eager for some cash and a chance to swing my rusty club at some fools, I got my hopes up.
I’d apparently grown addicted to the sensation of clubbing things without realizing. Even bashing goblin skulls would do—I headed to the guild with faint excitement.
Amid the rubble of the ruined guild building, I spotted some fairly renowned adventurers gathered.
Among the unfamiliar faces, the only one I knew, Hippolyte, approached us.
“Ah, you’re here.”
“What’s this about, Hippolyte? Calling us all like this.”
“Haah, ahem, uhum.”
Hippolyte flinched at Luna’s question, shoulders jerking in panic. She soon exhaled a small sigh as if it were nothing and spoke.
“N-Noxdoty. Ahem. It’s nothing major. I called you as witnesses for the conversion ceremony.”
“We’re attending a conversion ceremony? Really? Wow!”
Luna jumped in delighted surprise, as if it were unbelievable.
She looked so thrilled that I couldn’t help poking her side with a finger.
“Luna, what’s a conversion ceremony?”
“No idea! But it’s gotta be good! Shh!”
“I-I see.”
“Urgh…”
Hippolyte, watching, groaned and kindly explained.
“A conversion ceremony changes the sworn patron deity of one’s faith. For misguided cultists, it requires the presence of at least five Silver Tier adventurers.”
Silver Tier adventurers.
Looking around as Hippolyte spoke, I saw folks like the Giant Hammer Fragment group and her, all wearing silver necklaces.
They all looked like heavy hitters. Shit, to reach Gold Tier someday, I’d have to compete with guys like these.
Their gleaming gear, bulging muscles, and chilling staves made me shrink a bit.
I’d grown rapidly lately, but compared to these Silver Tiers, I still had a long way to go.
Turning from them, I calmly asked Hippolyte.
“But why call us for this conversion ceremony?”
“You played a big role in subduing the cultist, so I summoned you as special observers. It’s no big deal—just sit there, no pressure.”
“I see. So who’s converting?”
“There they come.”
That’s when I turned my head.
Clack, clack, creak, creak.
A small wooden cage on wheels appeared among the adventurers.
And locked inside, bound in rags, was none other than the nymph cultist Paranoya!
Shit, what the hell.
Caged like a monkey in some sleazy zoo, even I was stunned.
A conversion ceremony—had she decided to convert? Had long imprisonment broken her spirit?
Then, a balding one-eyed man, Baltma, scowled from his chair and stood before the cage like a zookeeper.
“Here stands Demeter’s daughter, Paranoya, before the gods and witnesses. Today, Paranoya renounces her faith in Pluto and vows to live as a faithful servant of Lady Vesta, goddess of the hearth.”
Murmurs.
As Baltma finished, the adventurers and observers filling the space whispered to each other.
Luna, sensing something, whispered to me.
“I thought it was someone else—it’s that cultist we met at the logging camp. Hassan, why’re you sweating so much? Hot?”
Luna fanned my forehead, where sweat poured like rain, even blowing cool air.
The day was warm, but the sweat wasn’t just from the heat.
“Paranoya, do you vow to live henceforth as Lady Vesta’s faithful servant?”
Baltma asked the caged Paranoya, who hesitated, unsure.
“Th-That’s…”
“If you won’t speak quickly, we’ll send you to Prison City. Know what happens to soft nymphs like you there?”
“Wh-What happens?”
“Heh, no idea. Go find out and tell us. If you have time to write letters, that is.”
“Hiii…”
Did Baltma’s threat work? Paranoya trembled like a mouse among massive hounds, at a loss.
Who could see a vile cultist in that? At this point, Shit, who’s the real bad guy?
“Paranoya, do you swear? This is your last chance.”
Baltma asked the cage again. Paranoya squeezed her eyes shut, as if making a grave decision.
“I-I swear! I swear!”
“Good. Now curse Pluto, you bastard.”
“Wh-What? No one said I had to say that!”
“If you truly want to convert, it’s not too much.”
“Grrr…”
Paranoya’s eyes darted anxiously, scanning faces. Her pumpkin-orange eyes met mine.
“Kuuh…”
Then she shrieked as if resolved.
“P-Pluto, you bastard!”
I don’t know what passed through her mind upon eye contact, but her voice boomed like thunder.
Who’d think such a tiny nymph could roar like that? Her clear vow drew satisfied smiles from those around.
“Good. One final trial remains.”
“Wh-What? Mars’s dog—no, Baltma! This is way off the deal! I did everything you asked! Release me now!”
Paranoya growled in disbelief. Hippolyte, arms crossed in the corner, listening silently, stepped forward.
“Convert, Paranoya. You’ll join tomorrow’s labyrinth expedition and plunder Pluto’s ruins. Prove your conversion and apostasy that way.”
“M-Me, plunder ruins!?”
“Yes. Pluto’s labyrinth is akin to his temple. Steal an artifact from there and present it—we’ll then grant you freedom.”
“I-I can’t do that! Lord Pluto will curse me!”
“That’s not my problem. And don’t get ideas— a brutal warden will accompany you.”
“Grrr…”
Paranoya gnashed her teeth in injustice. But Hippolyte spoke firmly, unconcerned.
“Departure at dawn tomorrow. Destination: the East-rank labyrinth risen in Kalan’s swamp. I’ll now call the assigned personnel.”
Rustle.
Hippolyte unrolled a scroll from her bosom, scanning the text before shouting.
“For this East-rank labyrinth conquest, we’ve selected promising stars from the guild. Called adventurers, receive your seal from me! First: Aiden’s Little Beast, Didier!”
“Haha, what an honor. Knew I’d be picked.”
A small-statured man emerged from the crowd at Hippolyte’s call.
Iron plates wrapped around his compact frame, wielding a hefty double-bladed axe—he looked the part of a fierce warrior.
Seemed skilled, but his necklace marked him Bronze Tier.
“I’ll give those labyrinth monsters a taste of my axe! Goblin bastards who ate my leg—you’ll pay!”
Wondering why the rage, I noticed his left leg was a wooden prosthetic.
A one-legged guy still adventuring well. As I thought indifferently…
“That’s the one-legged Didier who soloed a basilisk?”
“Looks more polished than I thought.”
“He might promote to Silver this year.”
Whispers praised the one-legged dwarf Didier. Whatever, he seemed impressive.
“Ahem, quiet. Second: Karintos’s Crystal Division, Belmina!”
“Hmph.”
At the name Belmina, a blue-robed woman stood and took the small seal from Hippolyte. Her long sky-blue hair gave a cool impression.
But she looked frail. Holding a slender rod, probably a mage?
The “rod” was pathetically thin compared to my club—like a magic wand.
“Graduated runner-up from the Ivory Tower?”
“Wields ice magic freely, they say.”
“Ice magic? Not fire-level, but high attack spell, right? Still Bronze Tier?”
“She’s climbing steadily now.”
Unlike my stingy assessment, the blue-haired mage earned high praise. Mages were elite, after all.
Graduating from the so-called Ivory Tower magic academy meant starting at Silver Tier baseline.
“And third: Shaman of Superstition and Violence, daughter of Ideophe, Luna.”
“What!?”
Luna leapt up in shock, never expecting her name. I was equally baffled—what the hell?
Weren’t they assembling an Avengers team of labyrinth powerhouses? Tossing Luna in felt like dropping a Pomeranian among muscle-bound pit bulls. She’d get crushed!
“R-Really me…?”
Luna rose hesitantly, taking the small seal from Hippolyte.
“That’s the girl rising scary fast lately?”
“Her Karma Value jumps three or four in months.”
“Prettier than rumors. Thought she’d be a burly barbarian woman. She could rival Lady Elle.”
“No, the count’s daughter is still…”
Rumors about Luna had spread. Who’d think the goblin-beaten crybaby would earn recognition?
Didn’t I raise her?
Pride swelled just then.
“Now, the labyrinth expedition’s party leader. No need for much intro on this man.”
Murmurs hushed at the announcement.
“This man single-handedly crushed Pluto’s champion, bare-handedly subdued the rampaging witch’s envoys and crocs.”
Tension and silence hung.
Hippolyte declared.
“The party leader is Jupiter’s Scion. Soul Hunter of the Black Wasteland. Great Warrior of the Silent Gods, Zigres!!”
Zigres? Shit, who’s that?
“Also known as Samaria’s Hassan! Young warrior, you lead this labyrinth expedition!!”