Chapter 192
Chapter 192
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 192
Chapter Title: Hassan, Necromancer of the Black Star #3
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In my opinion, no matter where people are, they find their own ways to have fun.
The flood of entertainment and stories on Earth back that up.
Maybe humans are just built not to tolerate even a little boredom.
To me, who lived amid the dazzling lights of the 21st century, the civilization of this backward Gaia Continent was honestly shocking and horrifying.
Forget the subpar facilities and infrastructure—even the food was mostly bland without any seasoning.
Rats crawling everywhere, ignorant humans.
Truly ignorant, loudmouthed, violent humans....
But it wasn't all bad.
As I said earlier, people always find ways to enjoy themselves no matter where they are.
So, among the few things that made life on this Gaia Continent bearable, if I had to pick one I liked, it might be the night sky sparkling with countless stars.
The clear, refreshing sky, free of industrial gas pollution or fine dust, glittered with uncountable stars at night.
If you draped a deep blue curtain and sprinkled tiny droplets of mercury across it, that's exactly what it looked like.
I lack the talent for fancy descriptions, so I have no way to explain the scene properly.
Anyway, the important thing is that for someone like me, who only ever saw the dim moon peeking through city buildings and concrete, this night sky felt new every time.
The two moons hanging in the sky were still utterly alien.
Was that distant universe out there the same one Earth was in?
Was Earth among those twinkling stars?
Such thoughts always flooded my mind. When I camped alone under the night sky, I'd really let my thoughts wander.
"Hassan, there are so many stars!"
Of course, right now Luna was lying beside me.
Crackle, crackle—.
A straw mat spread out in the yard.
Beside it, bug-repelling herbs burning in a small fire pit.
On a deep summer night, we lay there gazing at the same sky.
Suddenly, I got curious.
This night sky was incredibly wondrous to me, born and raised in a city, but to Luna, it must be completely ordinary. Did she find the night sky and shining stars wondrous and majestic too?
"They look like sugar—they're pretty!"
Even in Luna's eyes, the stars floating in the sky seemed beautifully sparkling. Well, Earth's history is full of records waxing poetic about the beauty of the night sky and the cosmos.
Was beauty something that transcended eras and worlds?
As I quietly watched her emerald eyes glimmering under the moonlight and starlight, Luna asked, still staring at the night sky.
"In your hometown, do you have constellations?"
"Constellations?"
Constellations. The only ones I knew were the Big Dipper, Orion, and Cassiopeia.
And not because I was interested—I just picked them up naturally after over a year of military service in the clear skies of Gangwon Province.
"I know a few, but the night sky here's different."
"Yeah? Could be. The sky from Ideophe looks the same as here, though."
Luna laughed like she couldn't understand. I was thrilled that my story made her laugh.
On the other hand, I couldn't imagine what face she'd make or what she'd say if she learned I wasn't from this world, but an outsider from another.
No need to tell her.
Even if I did, she might just think I was teasing her with a lie. It could even create awkwardness between us.
Truth be told, I was pretty happy with the current state of our relationship or distance. That feeling of knowing each other but not quite.
Not too close, not too far—just the right amount of tension. Of course, I wanted to know more about Luna, but part of me was scared.
Luna, with all her secrets.
If I learned them all, maybe she'd have some unbearable secret origin, and she'd end up drifting away from me. That vague anxiety lingered in my chest.
Some might call it needless worry, but I'm naturally full of fears and anxieties, so I couldn't help it.
"Hassan, you're thinking useless thoughts again."
As I was lost in thought for a while, Luna spoke up again. I turned my head to see her watching my face from the side.
"Too many thoughts give you a headache. You need to learn to empty your mind sometimes. That's why we look at the stars."
"Got it. But is just lying here looking enough?"
"You really know nothing, huh. If you don't know how to read the stars, I'll teach you. A hero's gotta be able to read the sky at least—."
Whoosh.
Luna raised her finger high toward the night sky. With her straight index finger, she pointed at the stars and said.
"See that brightest star over there? The one twinkling super bright."
Her finger seemed to point at something, but to me, they all just looked like twinkling stars.
"Where?"
"There, that really big bright one—."
She explained again, but they all looked the same to me. Better to just pretend I saw it.
"That big one, right? What about it?"
"If you connect that big star to the even bigger one next to it, then link eight more to the side, doesn't it look like a spider?"
"A spider?"
"That's the Wolf Spider constellation! Looks like Kyungkyung, right?"
I never expected to think about spiders while stargazing, so a chill ran down my spine. Wolf Spider constellation? Not even Crab, but Spider?
"And next to it, over there, the Balloon constellation.... Then along the Milky Way—."
Luna seemed to have encyclopedic knowledge of the night sky.
I had no clue what was what, but her hand moved like a teacher marking stars on a blackboard.
I said to her.
"You're really good with constellations, Luna."
"Of course. After coming to Sodomora, I looked at the stars every day. No voodoo practitioner knows the night sky like I do."
"Yeah?"
I felt proud of Luna for knowing so much about stars, but also a bit puzzled. Didn't she say she looked at them to empty her mind?
After arriving in Sodomora, did she have so many thoughts she needed to clear her head every day?
I imagined Luna, wandering the city without anyone to rely on, gazing up at the night sky every night. What was she thinking then?
It nagged at me, so I asked casually, like a snake slithering by.
"You looked at the stars a lot in Sodomora?"
"Yeah. But thinking about it, I saw a lot in Ideophe too. Every day, I'd climb the hill near the village and look at the night sky like this."
"Yeah...?"
"Strangely, looking at the night sky calms me down. Just me? Never happened to you?"
"Hmm, now that you mention it, kinda."
"Right?"
Luna fell silent after that. Was she immersed in the night sky's beauty, or lost in thought? I couldn't tell.
Looking back now, Luna was pretty deep. She seemed chatty, but she never delved into her own story.
We were alike in that way.
So I could vaguely sense that Luna, who resembled me, was wrestling with her own worries and thoughts right now.
Then she spoke up.
"But lately, I haven't had much chance to look at the night sky. Been too busy."
"So that's good?"
"Dunno. But—it feels good. A life without needing to stargaze. Sounds good, right? They call this ambiguous expression or whatever."
"You could be a bard."
"If I were a bard, I'd starve to death."
Luna giggled to herself, clearly pleased with her own words. Right then.
Swoosh—.
The stars above started spinning like fireworks exploding. Even to me, who'd seen all sorts of things in this world, it was a grand, spectacular sight.
"Hassan, look! The stars are pouring down. Star rain!"
Luna said it like she was entranced. And sure enough, following her words, it really felt like stars were showering down.
What kind of meteor shower has that many? Was it even meteors? Star rain fit perfectly.
"...Shit, it's like festival fireworks. Right?"
"Totally."
"I wish every day was like today."
I didn't say it out loud, but I agreed with Luna. I hoped days like this would last forever.
But.
Tonight was special—.
So romantic and cool.
Maybe we could get a little closer?
With my heart pounding, I steadied myself and slowly moved my hand.
Slowly, brushing through the prickly straw, my hand finally rested on Luna's small, warm hand.
"...."
Luna said nothing. But her slightly ragged breathing suggested she was pretty surprised. I took her hand.
Slide—.
We'd been through a lot together up to now.
But I'd never felt my heart about to burst like this. And among everything we'd done, this was the most thrilling, dizzying sensation.
Holding hands was such a big deal.
Luna and I held hands and silently gazed at the sky. I didn't know what to say, and anything would feel awkward.
So unintentionally, I stayed quiet.
Luna must have felt the same—her chattering mouth went still, only soft breaths escaping.
But as the silence stretched, our clasped hands drew even closer.
Squeeze.
Under the showering stars.
Smoke rising from the campfire toward the sky.
In the small yard alive with chirping crickets.
Our own modest festival, just the two of us.
"...."
As I calmed my trembling heart for a while, I heard steady snoring from Luna's nose.
I glanced over—Luna was asleep, eyes closed. It was late, so she must have been tired. Falling asleep like this...
Should I wake her, or carry her upstairs and tuck her in? I hesitated a bit.
What to do.
I'd just decided to carry her upstairs when.
Flutterflap—.
Loud wingbeats echoed from somewhere, and fairly large birds flew into the yard. What? Balloons? I heard balloon chicks were from the main planet.
Caw.
Startled, I sat up and saw pitch-black birds perched in the yard, digging up the potato field. They pecked the soil with sharp beaks, eating potatoes.
Caw—!
Damn, they'd just wrecked the field we'd finally fixed?
No way.
"Get out, shoo!"
Furious, I flapped my hands to chase them, but the black birds ignored me and kept ruining the field.
Like hell—these intruders in our garden with Luna. Unacceptable.
I was about to stand fully to catch one when.
Flutterflap.
Suddenly, countless noisy wingbeats enveloped the hut.
Soon, something like a black cloud blanketed the hut and yard. Looking closely, it was—incredibly numerous crows.
Fuck, not locusts—a crow swarm.
"Luna, Luna, wake up! Our farm's getting destroyed!"
I shook her to wake her, but Luna was out cold, deep asleep.
Screwed.
As I agonized over how to handle this alone.
The crows circling the hut suddenly slammed their heads into one corner of the yard, spurting blood.
Thud, thud thud.
Kreee!
Screee!
Several, then dozens crashing headfirst, scattering feathers and screams.
It was honestly terrifying and gruesome—I forgot my panic and reached for the club at my waist.
Something's coming.
Something huge beyond my imagination was about to happen.
I could vaguely sense it.
"Luna, wake up. Don't sleep now!"
I braced myself while desperately trying to rouse her.
Right then.
『The child—.』
The tangled mass of crows twisted eerily, forming a rippling shadow figure.
The shadow from countless crows swelled endlessly, looming over me—two or three heads taller than me.
A giant, you could say.
"You...."
I gasped at the unexpected giant.
Black hair fluttering like crow feathers and wings, a starry night-sky dress so long it trailed the ground.
Languid purple eyes tinged with deep, deep black.
Her beauty, blending all that, was statuesque.
So stunning it was almost frightening.
Yes.
This was a beauty that inspired fear and awe.
My mind flashed to ghosts—no, this was a goddess.
She opened her mouth and spoke in a chilling tone.
『The child—. Luna will not wake now. She has fallen into Somnus's deep slumber.』
Swoosh—.
Just her speaking sent an unnatural chill through the summer night, bone-freezing cold. In this world, only one being emitted such icy aura.
"By any chance... Lady Nox?"
[Author's Note]
Mother-in-law... no, mother-in-law...
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