Chapter 116
Chapter 116
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 116
Chapter Title: Deep Night, Small Moon, and the Stranger
-----------------------------------------------------------------
“What do you think of me?”
Why was Luna asking something like this right before bed?
Was she doing or saying things she wouldn’t normally because of the alcohol? She had drunk more than usual today.
“Hassan, I asked what you think of me.”
“Uh, um...”
Luna wasn’t the type to ask questions like this normally. I’d heard that girls often ask their boyfriends how much they love them.
Since Luna had never asked even once despite living together, I’d thought she was insensitive about that kind of thing. Anyway, it was a completely unexpected question, so I couldn’t answer right away.
“Why can’t you answer immediately?”
She seemed pretty disappointed by my reaction.
“Ah, no, I mean, what do you mean ‘what do I think’? You don’t usually ask stuff like that.”
I could only stammer excuses.
I like you, I love you. I’d heard those words plenty in dramas and media, but saying them myself felt so embarrassing and awkward that I couldn’t get them out.
I thought my feelings were getting across fine without words. But did people want to hear it out loud anyway?
Maybe my excuses worked okay, because Luna tilted her helmeted head.
“I don’t usually ask questions like that...?”
“Yeah, Luna, you must be drunk.”
“Y-yeah, I guess I am a bit. So what do we usually do?”
Was the alcohol causing short-term memory loss?
“What do we usually do? Just eat together, do housework, feed the pups. Other than that, I massage your feet.”
“F-feet!? Such an indecent thing—!”
Luna suddenly shrieked, startling me so much that I half-sat up from where I’d been lying down to sleep.
“W-why so sudden, Luna? You must be more drunk than I thought. Let’s just sleep.”
Was there a curse on that skull helmet? I felt a bit worried seeing Luna act so differently from usual.
Then Luna seemed to realize she’d yelled in the middle of the night and cleared her throat a few times.
“Ahem, it’s nothing. Feet, right, you massaged my feet. Hmm. Then massage my feet like usual. They hurt so I can’t sleep. ...Ahh. My feet huuurt....”
Luna shyly extended her bare sole toward me as I lay there. Her speech was oddly slurred, so her feet must really hurt.
Well, after trudging through the labyrinth, drinking, and dancing without sleep, her soles had to be sore.
But her asking me to massage them felt strangely novel, leaving me with an oddly intrigued feeling. The drowsiness had lifted a bit too.
Ssshh.
I sat up from the bedding and looked up at Luna, who stood there blankly holding out her foot.
Whoooosh.
Maybe because of the skull helmet, she had this intimidating presence that made her feel like someone else entirely.
Did just covering the face change the vibe that much? Maybe I should try wearing a helmet or hat to switch up my first impressions.
“Hurry. Time’s short.... Luna wants you to massage them. Hehe. J-just do it.”
“Alright?”
Had Luna always talked like that? I thought the drunkenness had worn off while carrying the nymph. Guess she gets a certain kind of buzz from drinking.
A cutesy buzz. Was that supposed to be cute?
Better than rowdy, at least.
“Alright, nothing to it. Gonna hold your foot now.”
I grabbed Luna’s sole extended toward me.
“Haaah....”
Small and dainty, with a hollow arch and second toe longer than the big one—a classic Greek foot. Even her slender, thin ankle.
I’d seen it several times before, but it always felt fresh and heart-fluttering.
In my opinion, Luna had beautiful feet.
If there were a pretty feet contest, she’d have top three locked in unless something crazy happened.
Unlike the usual faint warmth, though, her soles today were ice-cold, like someone who’d stood in front of an AC vent.
The alcohol messing with her circulation?
It reminded me of Elfriede’s chronic cold extremities, making me frown for a second.
“Haaah, n-no, this won’t do.”
But unlike usual, Luna seemed reluctant to have her feet touched and tried to pull back.
“Why now?”
“Hnng, j-just... hurry up then.”
“Yeah, gotta sleep soon.”
First, to warm her chilled feet, I rubbed the tops, soles, Achilles tendon, and calves with my palms to generate friction heat.
“Haa, hngaaang, haa....”
Just like always, Luna fidgeted helplessly, her thin jaw and shoulders trembling.
Even with that overbearing helmet, the contents were still Luna—her reactions didn’t change.
“...Aaang, hn, w-were they always massaged like this?”
“Same every time. Heat the skin to wake the nerves, then press the pressure points.”
“P-pressure...ang! Aaaah!”
Pushing up firmly on her sole with my fingers, Luna let out a noise loud enough to echo under the mask.
Maybe it was my imagination, but her voice seemed at least twice as loud as usual, startling me too. Did the alcohol make her unaware of her volume?
“Luna, keep it down or we’ll get complaints.”
“C-complaints? Ah, y-yeah, got it. I’ll t-try to be quieeet...aaah!”
Twitching and shuddering hard.
I knew her soles were sensitive like an exposed weak spot, but today she seemed extra exaggerated.
Or maybe because she’d kept her sandals on, her feet were even more sensitive?
I recalled an old tale I’d heard somewhere.
A monkey that ran barefoot got shoes, lost its calluses, and couldn’t go without them anymore.
Maybe Luna’s soles, already sensitive, had gotten softer and more tender from wearing shoes.
Still, the fatigue from all that walking was real.
“Gonna do it harder now. Better for relieving fatigue and the buzz.”
“H-harder? Haaah...!”
To draw out toxins too, I pulled her toes long, smacked the soft yet firm sole with my palm, putting in full effort.
“Aaang, ang—! S-stop thaaat. Th-this isn’t a massage...!”
“If this isn’t a massage, what is?”
“Dunnooo, ngh, the looong pent-up k-karma’s coming ooout....”
Shivering Luna sounded like she was melting in relief. Someone happy from my touch? As the son of a back-alley acupressure guy, what could be more rewarding?
I could probably go toe-to-toe with Dad on skill now.
“Hn, my leegs are gooing liimp.... Ngkuuut...!”
Thud.
I grabbed her collapsing calves, pressing hard on her shins, thighs, and the Sanyinjiao point above the medial malleolus.
Sanyinjiao acupoint.
Yes, Sanyinjiao. Acupoints are divided by yin and yang properties.
About a hand’s breadth above the inner ankle on the tibia, where three yin meridians intersect—hence Three Yin Intersection.
Like ancient Eastern medicine defining men as yang (day energy) and women as yin (night energy).
Obviously, this point was like a cheat key for women.
Its effects ranged from regulating menstruation to easing childbirth—piled with all sorts of plausible claims.
Almost suspiciously overpromoted.
I’d always thought acupoints were just fancy packaging for pseudoscience.
“B-but th-there nooo... nooo. Haa, n. Aaang.... My belly, looower belly feels straaange—!”
Seeing Luna writhe like she might pass out from pleasure, it seemed legit effective. Daughter of the Night goddess Luna—named after the moon.
Who had stronger yin energy than her?
She was a lump of yin compared to Dad’s shady anion germanium crap!
“My looower belly’s throbbing, y-you bastard.... Kh. Kraaah, haaang, aaah—!”
Plus, she’d suffered badly from her period right before the labyrinth.
For the drained Luna, I pressed Sanyinjiao extra diligently, kneading firmly.
With just the right pressure, thumb pushing up.
“Luna, how’s that? Fatigue easing?”
“N-not fatigue.... Looong pent-up k-karmas, hnng, i-it’s all coming ooout!”
No idea what “long pent-up karma” meant, but seeing her enjoy it made me happy.
If I kept massaging and built a steamy, romantic mood, maybe we’d have another hot night?
With those naughty thoughts, I gently stroked her toes and sole like birds preening each other’s feathers.
“H-haaah. S-stop! Stop it!”
Just as warmth spread through her once-cold sole and smooth sweat beaded up, Luna slipped her foot from my palm.
Then she stuffed both soles under the deer hide?
“...Climbing all over as you please! We’re done!”
“Haven’t even started properly. That enough? You usually get over thirty minutes.”
“Th-thirty minutes!?”
Luna shuddered in shock at my words. She cleared her throat a few times, then spoke in a soft, refined tone.
“Ahem, L-Luna is satisfied with your touch. Massage is done. So, instead of feet... want to do something better? Like usual.”
Something better than feet? And we’d done it usually? A few things came to mind.
“F-for real?”
“...Yes. Remembering something? Things in the dark night, huddled under blanket curtains away from eyes.”
“Under the blanket...”
“Even more intimate.... Like making babies. Copulation. Mating. Intercourse.”
Emboldened by the mask? Her listing lewd words embarrassed me deeply.
“You’re drunk and delirious. When have we ever done that usually? We’ve made plenty of moi.”
“Hnng, really? We haven’t...?”
“Can’t break the purity vow. Why pretend not to know now.”
“Right, yeah. Must’ve been my mistake. So what do we usually do...?”
Luna asked about our routine like she had dementia. Didn’t she ask earlier? But I wasn’t cold enough to chide her.
“What do we do—.”
I reflected on our daily life.
“Nothing special, same every day. Eat, work. Sleep. Rest when resting. Clean, laundry, sweep.”
Even as I said it, I wondered if that was really all. Seemed like it on non-quest days.
I read encyclopedias, Luna prepped the shop. Pretty fun days, actually.
“Anyway, let’s sleep. Got backlog cleaning tomorrow, lots to do.” Yawn, so sleepy.
They say lovers living together suffer if sleep cycles don’t match. Was this it?
Tok. Roll roll.
Then something round rolled from under Luna’s mask onto the floor. As I squinted to see what.
“Hassan, Luna’s a good girl.”
She finally praised herself. Weird drinking habit. How to respond? As I pondered.
Luna added a few words.
“I want Luna to see only bright things in life.”
“Who doesn’t want that?”
“Bask in sunlight freely, feel the breeze. Watch falling leaves and snow pile up.”
Rustle.
Luna rambled incomprehensibly and slipped under the blanket. Planning to sleep with that weird skull helmet on?
Even if thrilled by the new item, sleeping in it? Reminded me of my elementary sister throwing tantrums to sleep in new clothes.
Snore, snore.
Even breaths came from under the mask soon. Something nagged me, but hearing her soft breathing made me tired too, so I slept.
* * *
“Hassan, what’s this! Onyx! Onyx rolling on the floor!”
Early morning. I opened my eyes to Luna already up, making a racket.
“Wha? What?”
“Look! Onyx! Perfectly round and super black! Where’d this come from?”
In Luna’s hand sparkled a bead about a knuckle-sized. True to her word, black as a black hole.
“Whooo, amazing.... Perfect for an eyeguard.... Good dream brought morning luck.... Whew....”
No clue what it was, but her joy was enough. Hearing her bright morning voice was pure bliss.
Yawning and stretching wide to wake up, I asked.
“What happens if you socket it in the eyeguard?”
“Socket gems in gear to make it stronger!”
“Oh?”
Gems in gear like pay-to-win games.
Come to think, wizards’ wands, staves, fancy sword pommels always had gems.
Not just decor—boosted effects? But how gem socketing improved performance eluded me.
Like rough guys studding knuckles with beads. Kinda gear enhancement too.
Yawn, wonder if socketing a gem in my club would work.
Anyway, after the noisy wake-up.
Down on the first floor, no sign of Paranoya. Up and gone already?
“That nymph bitch ran off!”
Curious where, but curiosity didn’t go further, so my attention shifted.
My gaze went to the mysterious goddess statue in the narrow corner among jars.
Approaching the wooden one modeled after Nox’s likeness, I blew hoo to dust it.
Seeing that, Luna feeding the pups added unexpectedly.
“Hassan tending Nox too? Becoming her follower?”
“Nah, not that. But Luna, just curious—don’t you wonder about your parents?”
“My parents are gone!”
Her reply shot out instantly, no delay. Like an auto-responder, startling.
“No, but you didn’t pop into the world alone. You’ve got a dad somewhere, and a mom who carried you ten months.”
“Hmm. Probably.”
“Don’t wanna meet them? What would you say?”
“Dunno. Why ask?”
“Life’s unpredictable.”
“Hmm, never thought about it. Parents.... Uuuum, umm....”
Luna looked unusually serious, lost in thought. Then, like sharing a huge secret, she whispered.
“I’d ask why they abandoned me. Elders cared for me, but I envied kids living with parents. Made me think maybe I shouldn’t have been born.”
“R-really?”
Bright Luna harboring those thoughts. Felt bad for asking.
Nox’s statue before me looked kinda gloomy too. Maybe just mood.
“But now every day’s fun! If I hadn’t been born, I’d miss all this fun! So first, thanks for having me!”
Thok, roll roll roll.
Right as Luna finished. Something rolled to the floor again.
“Wow, whew! Another onyx! Hassan, there’s gotta be a vein in our house!”
What are parents and kids?
Gazing at the gem-dropping statue and oblivious joyful Luna, I pondered.
I’d ignored it long, but now I missed my parents’ faces, an indescribable feeling. Dad aside, really missed Mom.
Mom.
Mother.
My mom, Kim Chun-ja.
How are you?
Your unfilial son Hassan’s suffering balls in this weird world.
But—
“Hassan! Onyx dropping everywhere! Whew!”
But these days, getting by okay.
“See, told you this land had something! Bought well even if pricey!”
...Or not.
-----------------------------------------------------------------