Chapter 182
Chapter 182
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 182
Chapter Title: Get Out of Our Yard! #2
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Brightly shining streetlights.
Convenience store lights.
Neon signs in the city center.
It felt like ancient history already, but as far as I could remember, Korean night streets were pretty bright.
And in every big city, if you headed toward the bustling entertainment district, you could easily spot people milling about even late at night.
But the evenings on the barbaric, uncivilized Gaia continent weren't that bright or rowdy—the noisiest spots were just inns packed with drunken patrons.
Wah-wah-wah.
Tonight, though, it was like everyone had spilled out onto the streets. Even deep into the evening, the central city center was a madhouse of surging crowds.
"Wow, Hassan! There are so many people!"
Luna, who had been tugging my arm along, raised her voice from under her skull helmet as she took in the throngs packed tightly on every street.
"But it's super creepy, right?"
At her words, I quickly scanned the surroundings.
Sure, tons of people were wandering the streets, but every single one had a colorful mask covering their face, which gave off an unsettling vibe.
It felt like someone might suddenly whip out a dagger from their pocket and start robbing folks. Hell, with all these shady characters wearing masks on top of it, this uneasy mood was totally understandable.
A late-night festival like this was bound to spike the crime rate.
Among the jostling crowds, pickpockets with masked faces might be lurking for an opening, and who knows what was going down in those dark alleys.
Crash, bang!
"You just groped my ass! Pay up, you little shit!"
"Fuck, who gropes a guy's ass? Huh? Did you just hit me?"
"I didn't hit you!"
"...Fine."
Sure enough, amid the boisterous chatter on the central street, screams, shouts, and the sounds of fights breaking out—furniture shattering and bodies tumbling—erupted now and then.
Clank, clatter.
Of course, guards with helmets covering their faces were scurrying around everywhere, but they seemed woefully outnumbered by the flood of citizens pouring into the streets, struggling to keep up.
"Alright, alright, form a line. The Origene Squad from Minerva Guild will sort out the traffic."
Was Minerva Guild handling the festival?
I spotted quite a few adventurers in masks patrolling the area too. The only proof of their identity was those matching bronze and silver badges.
Fuck, there were a shit-ton of people.
What if I just bulldozed right through 'em?
Ever since I was a kid, I'd fantasized about mowing down festival crowds or packed throngs with a bulldozer.
But hey, it wasn't just me—probably everyone has had that thought at least once. Totally normal.
My personal theory: deep down, everyone wants to bulldoze other people. They just don't act on it.
Damn, crowds really make wild thoughts pop up.
I shook off the image of those massive bulldozer wheels.
"Luna, hang tight to my arm so we don't get separated."
"Hassan, look! A magician's doing a show!"
While I fretted about losing her in the massive crowd, Luna clung to my arm and yanked me this way and that, exclaiming at everything like it was brand new.
We wormed through the masses following her lead, and in the center of a ringed crowd, a fire-breathing stunt was in full swing using something like a torch.
Whoosh.
Whoosh.
Oh, this guy's actually decent at spewing flames.
A woman with a masquerade-style mask covering the upper half of her face opened her mouth wide with an "ahh," took the torch in, and—sizzle—the flame went out with a scorch mark.
The crowd gasped in shock and burst into applause. Soon, coins started clinking at their feet as people tossed them in, filling the air with jangling sounds.
Looks like a street performance troupe. Festivals always overflow with spectacles like this—great for the eyes.
"Hassan, look! She ate fire! Is it magic? Magic that lets you eat fire?"
Luna smacked my arm in excitement, but I was busy scooping up coins from the ground.
Clink-clink-clink.
A coin tossed toward the performers had rolled right under my foot.
I subtly stepped on it so no one noticed, then pretended to tie my shoelace and pocketed it all.
That's 3 copper already.
They're the ones performing, but I'm the one raking in the cash. Easy money.
The mask must be doing it—feels like it lets you do stuff you'd normally be too embarrassed for, or even go against your conscience without a second thought.
"Hassan, she ate fire, you know?"
Luna kept yapping because I wasn't reacting, clearly fascinated by the fire-eating.
"Magic?"
"Dunno. Could be a trick or real magic."
"...Hassan, what are you doing on the ground the whole time?"
"Picking up coins. Ground's a goldmine here."
"How much?"
"Already got 3 copper."
"Shit... Let's grab more."
And so, Luna and I hustled through people's legs, snatching up coins.
It was risky—got my hand nearly stepped on a few times in the crush—but we ended up with about 10 copper.
Sure, scavenging coins might look petty, but I saw other masked folks doing the same here and there.
No one seemed to care, treating dropped coins like trash. Was this part of the festival fun?
"Hehe, this'll get us some corn!"
Seeing Luna beam at the jingling coins made me think, yeah, guys really need to bring in the dough.
With that, we headed to a street vendor for snacks using our scavenged coins. But the line was endless—who knew when it'd be our turn?
Were there always this many people in the city?
It felt way more crowded than the daytime market. Was it just me?
"Luna, doesn't it seem like too many people?"
"It's a festival! Folks must've come from other cities!"
She had a point.
A massive event spanning several nights would draw tourists and opportunistic merchants from afar. Made sense.
Luna's sharper than I thought.
As I quietly admired her insight, she continued in an exaggerated, spooky voice from under her mask.
"And they say non-humans mix in at Sodomora's festival."
"Non-humans?"
"Lost souls who couldn't pay the fare to cross the river of the dead are said to pass through Sodomora during this time. That's why we wear masks—to blur the line between living and dead so they don't harm us."
So that's the origin of this weird masquerade festival?
I recalled something from a library book on the origins of Sodomora.
It had a long, boring title full of dull history—I'd quit after chapter one.
According to it, deep underground beneath Sodomora flows Acheron, the river of the underworld.
Mages built the city above its ferry landing to harness the mana spewing from it, and it grew into this huge metropolis.
Thinking about it now, that's basically saying a massive leyline runs under the city.
I don't know feng shui, but water veins underground are bad for people.
Fuck, and it's not just any—it's the fucking river of the dead.
Super ominous.
No wonder Pluto cultists, rare in Calcuta, were always stirring shit specifically in Sodomora.
* * *
"Ah, that was fun, right?"
The festival supposedly ran till dawn.
But Luna and I were beat quick, so after checking out some street shows, we headed back to the shack.
She'd worked all morning and afternoon, draining her stamina, and I'd had a grueling training session with Hippolyte in various ways, so I was wiped too.
Still, tasty snacks and sights left me satisfied. But on a rare festival night, was she cool heading home already?
"It's on for four more nights, so let's come back tomorrow or the day after!"
Good thing it lasted several days—main events apparently kicked off on day two anyway.
"Gotta wrap work early tomorrow before evening. Or maybe finish tomorrow's quota tonight?"
Even fresh from the festival, she was buzzing about tomorrow. She really dug the noisy, rowdy, chaotic, creepy vibe.
"Fun?"
"Yeah! First time the night's been this wild!"
Fair. Late nights out can sweep you up in weird excitement. Does the dark moonlit night really have magic?
Especially for Luna, daughter of the great night goddess—must hit different.
Wish we could take more night walks together. Though with this city's security, fat chance.
Anyway, we made it back from the noisy central city to the quiet west gate slums.
Hard to believe it was rowdy minutes ago—the slums were dead silent.
Shadowy clusters of masked figures huddled in dark alleys every so often, making me rest my hand on the club at my waist.
Fuck, everyone looks like a mugger. Super on edge.
Come at me, and I'll smash you all.
As I radiated murderous intent at the shadows, Luna, munching corn on a stick, spoke up.
"Couldn't even get near the festival last year. This year, actually doing stuff makes it fun."
"No festival last year?"
"Was hungry, so just slept at night."
"I see."
She'd said right after arriving in the city, she was dirt poor, barely better than empty-handed.
To save calories, she'd sleep or twist ropes in barns for pennies at night.
No luxuries like festivals.
Now she pulled 1 gold a month in expected revenue—a businesswoman.
Domain lord who shelled out 10 silver on traps to defend her turf. Who'd have thought when we met?
Hits different.
"Luna, you've made it big."
"Right? Got land, house, workshop. Pretty much achieved what I wanted. Now just grind money to lift the curse on Ideophe Island."
She had goals.
Women charging toward theirs? Pretty damn cool.
This girl, a full head shorter than me, somehow looked huge.
In a world where many scrape by day-to-day, digging roots to survive for a dream?
Could I? Nah. I'd crash in under a year. Made her seem amazing.
Kinda made me feel small.
I'm the poster boy for hand-to-mouth adventurer.
She never looked down on me, but as a guy, the inferiority stung.
Unequal relationships have way more baggage than expected. Wait, why am I even thinking this?
Suddenly hit me: I was overthinking. Does Luna worry about this stuff?
Got curious what she ponders under that sturdy skull helmet, pink hair sparkling.
"Luna, what're you thinking now?"
"Nothing?"
"Got it."
She seemed blank.
Was I overreacting alone? Nights like this make you sappy. Better sleep it off at home.
"kyungkyung, all good?"
Woof-woof!
Home, we confirmed nothing happened while out, washed up rough, and hit the blankets.
Bang, boom-bang!
Fireworks popping outside were loud, but lying with Luna watching the sky light up felt poetic.
She felt it too.
"Lying here enjoying the festival—total luxury, huh?"
I snapped out of drowsiness.
"What?"
"Never dreamed I'd watch fireworks like this this year. Without you, I'd probably be back on Ideophe soil."
"That so?"
"Since meeting you, money luck's been weirdly good. Black my lucky color? Maybe 'cause I'm the night goddess's kid?"
No clue on lucky colors or fortune. She bought into superstitions.
Brain fuzzy from sleep, pondering a reply, she burrowed into my arms.
"Let's watch fireworks together next year too."
"Yeah."
Felt great. At least till next year, I'm in her life plan.
Drifting off to fireworks as lullaby—
Rustle.
Luna slipped from my arms, sitting up.
"Thirsty?"
"No."
She shook her head.
"Someone invaded our domain. Or not? Dunno. Weird feeling. What is it?"
"What're you—"
Sharp click!
A precise mechanism engaged—metal grinding loudly in the yard. Luna's bear trap springing.
Sleep vanished; I bolted up.
"Fuck, Tanuki? Tanuki got in?"
"Dunno. Feels off—. My imagination?"
She seemed half-asleep, out of it. I got up, headed to the window.
"I'll check. Wait here."
Peeking out—masked weirdos swarming our yard.
"Sign with skull mark, here. This must be this year's ferry spot!"
"Hurry in! This year, we cross the river!"
Fuck, what? Crossing what?