Chapter 145
Chapter 145
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 145
Chapter Title: Hassan and the Long-Standing Grudge
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“Puhahaha!”
The fairy. Elfriede burst into loud laughter.
She didn’t care at all how her face looked, throwing her head back with her mouth wide open. It almost made her look like a hearty warrior.
However, after the atmosphere had frozen solid at the sound of her slamming down her teacup, this laughter felt out of place.
That was why everyone just blinked in stunned silence, wondering what the hell was going on.
Some might even be racking their brains, trying to remember if there had been anything funny in the stories just told.
After laughing for a good while, the elf finally wiped the tears streaming from her red eyes with her finger.
“Ah, sorry. I just couldn’t stop laughing. It’s been months since I laughed like this.”
It didn’t seem like she was trying particularly hard, but the innate grace of an Alfheim fairy made it look surprisingly elegant.
I could kind of see why so many adventurers had volunteered to become her slaves.
Of course, I had zero intention of going back to being her slave or anything like that.
With her laughter somewhat subsided, Elfriede spoke.
“Hassan? Was that guy like that? I thought he was a different person from the Samaritan I knew.”
“Ho, do you know Mr. Samaritan, adventurer from afar?”
At the innkeeper’s question, Elfriede’s red eyes quickly scanned the room. I hurriedly bowed my head, thinking our eyes might meet.
What the hell is this situation?
I wanted to get out of here right now. Or crawl into a rat hole.
“Do I know Samaria’s Hassan? Yeah, well, no one knows that bastard as well as I do. Truth is, he’s not that barbaric. He knows how to use a fork and knife.”
Murmurs rippled through the room.
“Not barbaric?”
“A barbarian who’s not barbaric? That’s like saying fish don’t live in water.”
“It’s a lie. I saw him tear into meat with his bare hands last time. Forks and knives? That’s not a barbarian!”
The inn shook like a wave at Elfriede’s words. Enjoying the reaction, she narrowed her red eyes into slits and added a few more remarks.
“I don’t know about him being a murderous demon who kills people. But he’s definitely an outrageous criminal. Everyone knows he came from the Deathros arena, right?”
“…D-Deathros arena?”
The innkeeper’s voice trembled as if he’d heard shocking news.
“Deathros arena…?”
“Is that true? If so… that explains why he fights so well.”
“If he’s from Deathros, then the rumor about being Cairo’s disciple must be bullshit. Those two places were total opposites.”
Murmurs spread.
The frozen atmosphere until moments ago warmed up like someone had splashed lukewarm water, as people chimed in to show off what they knew.
Even Luna, sitting in front of me, quietly asked me.
“Hassan, what’s the Deathros arena…?”
Sigh.
I never thought I’d hear that name from Luna’s mouth too. My chest went ice-cold, like someone was stroking my heart with a chilly hand.
The silver lining was that she didn’t seem to be interrogating me—she genuinely didn’t know and was just asking.
I hadn’t deliberately hidden it, but it wasn’t something I went around bragging about either—my past.
When I first came to this world, I didn’t start out as Elfriede’s slave.
The first ones to find me were the ruthless human hunters called Deathros.
They threw me into their arena and used me like a rabid monkey. I honestly didn’t want to think back on those days. There wasn’t a single good thing about them.
Not one good thing at all.
“Miss Elf, you mean that Deathros?”
“Yeah, there’s no other hellhole like it in the world. Hassan came from there. And he’s the one who—.”
“Shh, quiet down! Outsider!”
As Elfriede continued, someone in the inn shouted. Everyone’s eyes inevitably turned to the corner.
There stood a girl in a grayish robe, about fifteen or sixteen years old.
Her bright crimson bob hair gleamed with such luster it almost formed a halo at the crown of her head.
Pale white skin and short, pointed ears.
A nymph.
The convert nymph, Paranoya.
Paranoya stood rigidly in the corner of the inn, trembling.
“Hassan, looks like Paranoya was here first!”
“Y-yeah.”
Why the hell did Paranoya show up out of nowhere? I couldn’t understand it.
Swoosh.
“Hah.”
Elfriede’s brow furrowed as she saw the little nymph.
“I didn’t hear that wrong, did I? Kid, what did you just say?”
“If you keep slandering Sir Hassan like this, I won’t forgive you…! Sir Hassan is a barbarian among barbarians who doesn’t even know how to use a fork…!”
“What? Sir Hassan? Ha, what a weird city. All kinds of weirdos popping up. Must be the bad air.”
Creak.
Elfriede pushed back her chair and stood. She strode confidently to Paranoya, who had picked a fight with her, and looked down at her.
Their height difference was a full head.
The elf, like a goddess of youth.
The tiny ditch-water nymph.
Two races that might look similar or completely different clashed now over dominance of the continent.
Elfriede said.
“What are you? Wait, it doesn’t matter what you are. What’s your relationship with that Hassan guy?”
“Th-that’s something I can’t tell youuuu—.”
Paranoya’s words dragged out. The reason? The wicked, evil Elfriede had pinched her cheek and yanked it upward.
To use violence without mercy even on a child much smaller than herself. Elfriede really was a rotten bitch.
“It huuuurts—! Let go, let me gooo….”
“They say staves made from nymph bones boost mana output.”
“Eek! Th-that’s nymph hate speech…!”
The nymph panicked. She thrashed and screamed every which way. But caught by Elfriede, she couldn’t do much and ended up hoisted into the air.
Elfriede tugged at her cheeks or fiddled with her ears.
“Eek, eek, huek!”
“Wow, first time seeing a nymph up close. Cutest thing ever—way better than I imagined. Should I take her home and raise her? I’ve got spare collars.”
At this rate, Paranoya might get split into Para/Noya and turned into a stick.
“H-Hassan’s Paranoya’s in trouble! You gotta help!”
Luna banged on the table and called out to me. But honestly, I was scared.
The fear from two years as her slave hadn’t faded, even after a month of going through hell.
No one here knew better than I did how strong Elfriede was.
Someone like me would turn into a charred lump of ash if she so much as opened her mouth. To face her, I’d need someone like Hippolyte.
Sorry, Paranoya, but let’s hope nothing bad happens. That’s what I was thinking.
“Hueee, m-my arm’s gonna come off…! St-stop it…! P-please, uh, no, Sir Hassan, help meee…! Hueee!”
“What? Kid, why are you being such a wimp? I didn’t pull that hard. Now I feel like the bad guy.”
“Eeeeek!”
The nymph screamed like she was about to faint, while the elf yanked at her arms, ears, fingers. Then something darted swiftly between them.
“Stop it! I reserved Paranoya first! Respect the order!”
It was Luna.
Luna had leaped right in front of Elfriede.
Oh god, my worst fear had come true. I’d wrapped that ridiculous cloth around my head specifically to prevent shit like this.
This place really is hell. Reserved? What’s that about? Respect the order?
Too much info swirled in my head—I decided to stop thinking.
“What an interesting tavern. Keeps producing idiots who pick fights. Don’t they know how strong I am?”
With that, Elfriede glanced back at her companions.
“Kinda hurts my pride. Delphina, you did advertise us properly, right?”
“Yeah, but every place has its idiots. Elfi, isn’t this fun in its own way?”
“Fine, I’ll let her go. Off you go. Nymphs are rare, y’know. Can’t let bad people catch you.”
Elfriede dropped Paranoya with a flick—thud. Paranoya yelled, “Th-thank you…!” and hid behind Luna.
But hiding behind the world’s flimsiest breakwater wouldn’t improve things.
“What about you? You know that Hassan too?”
Swoosh.
Elfriede’s red eyes scanned Luna from head to toe.
“Bronze…? Interesting look, though. What’s with the bone on your head? Hiding your face? Insecure about your looks?”
Elfriede’s expression was utterly relaxed. The arrogance unique to top adventurers—she didn’t even see Luna as a threat.
But Luna, who had subdued Hippolyte and grown through various ordeals, seemed to have lost her fear and yelled loudly.
“I’m Luna, great daughter of the night! This isn’t to hide my face, it’s a talisman, you idiot!”
“What? Luna?”
Twitch.
Elfriede’s face twisted sharply. I knew that look—it meant she was genuinely pissed off.
That’s when her signature move usually came out: whipping frenzy.
Getting mad at Luna’s name? What the hell? I couldn’t understand. Then, her expression slowly relaxed.
“Suits you. Perfect fit. So you’re that Luna. You and Hassan seem like a great match.”
“…R-really? Thanks. You’re pretty too. Your hair’s so shiny. Hey, mind giving me a strand?”
Luna twisted her body, her skull rattle clattering. Probably not used to sudden compliments. But Elfriede raised her voice as if she’d heard something outrageous.
“Don’t thank me, loser. That’s not a compliment. I’m saying losers like you match each other!”
Slink.
Clearly furious, Elfriede drew a small black leather tool from her waist that resembled a flyswatter. It was a whip.
The whip that turned people into slaves. Was she about to go full whipping frenzy?
I could take hits from that thing all day. But Luna couldn’t. So, dragging my trembling legs and unresponsive body, I charged toward them.
“Another ally? Ambush?”
Thinking I was attacking, Elfriede braced herself.
But ignoring her, I got in front of Luna and shoved Paranoya and her behind my back. Thank god for my broad back, damn it.
“You—.”
Elfriede narrowed her eyes at me. Having spent two years with me, she’d recognize me just by my build.
So I figured there was no point hiding my face anymore and removed the cloth. The people who’d been silently watching the chaos murmured.
“There’s the Samaritan.”
“From Deathros arena, huh.”
“What happens now?”
“Dunno, let’s just watch. Innkeeper, more beer here.”
Everything buzzed and swirled chaotically. Amid it all, Elfriede’s red eyes fixed on me.
This was a bad connection.
A grudge so vicious that calling it a bad connection was an understatement.
“So you’re the famous Samaria’s Hassan?”
Elfriede asked, as if seeing me for the first time. But as she said, was there anyone in this world who knew me as well as she did?
She knew I wasn’t strong, that I was cowardly and timid.
So even standing tall before her like this, she’d know my heart was shrunk in fear.
“Doing well these days, huh? Even got little girls following you. Though they’re not as pretty as me, of course.”
Did Elfriede always praise her own beauty like this? No, she wasn’t that type.
Maybe it was my imagination, but today she seemed oddly confident in her looks.
Some time had passed since I split from that smug bitch. Even if she picked up some weird habit in the meantime, it wouldn’t be strange.
Still, I had to say what needed saying.
“…L-Luna’s prettier than you!”
“…No way. Don’t lie.”
“Not a lie. Luna’s got a better personality too.”
“…Stop lying!”
“H-Hassan—. So many people around—.”
Squeeze.
Luna grabbed my back, embarrassed at having her looks praised in public. Elfriede’s eyes narrowed even more.
But now that I was in front of Luna like this, I had no idea how to defuse the situation. Any bright ideas?
Whether she knew or not, the nymph hiding at the back—Paranoya—yelled.
“I believed in you, Sir Hassan…! Teach that wicked outsider a lesson…!”
“…Teach her a lesson?”
“Sir Hassan is the Samaritan who returned alive from hell—! The chosen great warrior! He can beat trash like her in one hit…!”
And she didn’t forget to shout at Elfriede.
“E-elf…! Get out of our continent…! Th-this land has been the nymphs’ since ancient times…!”
Spouting whatever she wanted. Elfriede’s face crumpled more and more.
My vision went dark. Elfriede spoke to me.
“Hassan, must be nice being so popular. But I’m not idle enough to deal with you lot. And you’re not worth my time.”
Elfriede had the pride of an expensive cat.
She usually ignored provocations from nobodies. Looked like that hadn’t changed.
Saved. I inwardly sighed in relief and said.
“Then how about we part ways amicably here? No need to see each other again.”
“But now I’m pissed for some reason. So come at me all at once. I’ll humor you.”
The fairy’s red eyes flickered like flames.