Chapter 209
Chapter 209
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 209
Chapter Title: Newspaper Villain
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Waggle, waggle.
A decent crowd had gathered in the yard shared by Luna and me. Thanks to them, I could see my potato field—planted with so much care over the past days—getting trampled here and there.
Ever since the yard got a bit bigger, it felt like this kind of thing was happening more often.
Thump, thump.
The unfamiliar visitors pounded on the cabin door, ignoring the ruined potatoes. Sometimes they shouted at the closed windows above it.
"Is anyone in there?"
"Come out and talk to us!"
What the hell was going on? Customers for the workshop? But the vibe didn't quite match.
Puzzled, I lifted my head. Through a slightly open second-floor window, I locked eyes with those emerald-green pupils peering outside.
No mistaking it—it was Luna.
Luna, with panic in her gaze.
We didn't exchange words, but her expression and eyes screamed, "Hassan, what do we do!" She looked a little scared, too.
Well, anyone would freak out if a mob showed up at their lone house, banging on the door and yelling.
With no choice, I opened my mouth.
"Who are you people? This is private property. If you're coming in, at least pay up."
Muttering it with my voice low seemed to work. I felt the stares shift from Luna and the cabin to me.
All that attention in an instant.
I'd thought I was getting used to people's hot gazes lately, but damn, my spine still tingled in a situation like this.
"And who might you be?"
The rough-looking faces eyed me curiously. Since they didn't recognize me, maybe they weren't connected to adventurer work?
Right then, someone piped up.
"Black hair, Mars Guild Bronze Tier necklace. You're Hassan of Samaria, aren't you?"
"Oh? Looks like it."
"Hassan of Samaria, what brings you here?"
"There's only supposed to be one woman in that cabin. Fixed party, huh? You two living together or what?"
"Living together?"
"That sounds juicy!"
They swarmed like crows spotting weakness, chattering nonstop before I could get a word in, whipping out notepads and scribbling furiously.
"Who are you people to pull this crap here?"
"I'm from the Melkers Merchant Group's daily paper in Sodomora. I'd like your take on this incident—"
"No, I got here first. I'm Ferdich from the Banadis Merchant Group, weekly opinion editor. What's your relationship with the woman living here—"
Suddenly, they mobbed me, all talking at once. It was chaos, but from what I caught, they seemed like weekly or daily paper reporters?
I'd dealt with this after wiping out that goblin horde, so it clicked quick. But they weren't here about the goblins this time.
"Tell us your thoughts on the potion controversy!"
I had no clue what the potion controversy was.
But probably some issue with Luna's potions blowing up behind our backs.
The thought of trouble for Luna made my vision darken, anger bubbling up on the other hand.
So I faced down the reporters hogging the yard—more like vultures scavenging for gossip—and said my piece, firm as I could.
"I'll say this once, so write it down good."
"Got it, taking notes!"
"Ready!"
I felt their quills and pads aimed at my face.
They looked like seals waiting for fish from the trainer's hand, eager for what I'd say.
I told them:
"This is private property. Get out now, or I'll snap your spines in half."
* * *
"Aw, those little shits. Trampled the hell out of everything."
The yard was a wreck after the crowd ebbed away like the tide.
Trampled dirt everywhere, plus Luna's carefully set traps smashed to bits.
Just when it was starting to look nice, visitors or raccoon-like bastards come and trash it. Pisses me off.
Should I get a dog?
A massive pit bull chained in the yard—nobody'd dare trespass then.
My very own pet shotgun pit bull.
Musing like that, I replanted the potatoes, burying them neat. A few weeks of farm work, and it was second nature now.
"Grow good this time."
I murmured it like a spell, patting the soil flat with my palm.
Click, creak.
The lock unlatched, and Luna peeked out from the narrow door gap.
"…Hassan, are they gone?"
"Yeah, seems like it."
"Ugh, what the hell is all this…."
Luna trembled like she was terrified. Her face was ghost-pale, soul drained—enough to make even me pity her.
She glanced around.
Only after confirming everyone was gone did she step slowly into the yard.
Too flustered to think straight, she padded barefoot through the dirt, sandals forgotten.
"The yard's ruined!"
"Yeah."
"Hassan, do you know what's going on? They said something about my potions—my potions having problems!"
Had she overheard the reporters from inside? It wasn't like I had zero clue, so I felt awkward as hell.
"Hassan, you know something. Tell me the truth!"
She looked so desperate for real, I had no choice but to show her the weekly paper I'd seen before.
It was full of crap about Luna's potions being sacrilegious, bad for health, that sort of thing.
"What… what is this? Hassan, you knew about this and didn't tell me? Ugh, sacrilegious ingredients? This is total slander…!"
"Well…"
I'd hidden it to spare her feelings. But Luna blew up at me for keeping it from her. If I flipped it around, I'd have been pissed too, right?
No real defense with a mouth full of nothing.
Making excuses like "I didn't want to hurt your feelings…" would just look pathetic, so I stayed quiet.
Anything I said now, and she'd explode.
Maybe she sensed it, 'cause she started to say something but clamped her mouth shut.
"…"
"…"
Luna and I sank into brief silence.
We'd had plenty of wordless time together since meeting, but never had it felt this long, this stifling.
This wordless gap between us felt like bars on a cage, making the distance seem wider.
In that moment, I realized it.
Luna and I—who'd seemed like we'd never fight—were fighting right now.
I got why couples crazy in love still argue, hurt each other, even break up in the worst cases.
Of course, this was my fault.
Should've just told her straight. Sure, I'd meant to protect her feelings, but that was just an excuse now.
Better apologize.
But my mouth wouldn't move. I'd thought of her, damn it. How'd it go this wrong?
If I thought about it, weren't the rude trespassing reporters—or that potion master badmouthing her—the real culprits?
The silence dragged, fogging my brain.
Suddenly, fear hit: if we kept this up, some irreparable rift might form between us.
"Luna, about that…"
Gratitude came easy usually. But sorry? Stuck in my throat.
Not pride, just… lodged there, wouldn't budge.
As I hemmed and hawed,
Luna, who'd been steadying her breath, spoke first.
"I think I got mad for a sec. You didn't tell me to spare my feelings, right? If I hadn't been scared of the papers, this wouldn't have happened. My bad."
"…No, I'm sorry."
"From now on, tell me straight, no hiding. I'm not so weak I'll collapse from stuff like this! Misunderstandings happen all the time."
"…"
No more lies or secrets with Luna from here on.
That's what I resolved.
"But printing baseless crap like that in the paper! Potion master? Who the hell is that? I'm going to confront them!"
Luna, genuinely furious, bolted for the yard edge.
But dusk was falling, dinner and night soon, so I calmed her down.
In the end, she hit the sack early.
For all her bold "I'm not weak!" talk, the bad press hit her hard.
Unable to hold it in, she curled under the blanket, sniffling.
"Why pick on me… I just wanna live my best…"
People who shine draw envy and jealousy—it's natural.
Someone slandering her meant, in a way, she was succeeding on the right path.
But I hadn't wanted her to see this, so I'd hidden it.
Now I was pissed at the baseless reporters.
I stroked her back through the blanket till she calmed and slept, her breaths turning to soft snores.
Then I decided: tomorrow, I'd hit the newspaper and those reporters.
* * *
"Hassan, another… another paper came…"
Early morning.
Luna shuddered at the leather newspaper in the simple mailbox, scared to check it.
"I'll read it."
"Tell me the truth this time."
"Got it."
No sugarcoating from now on—straight honesty with Luna.
Vowing pure, honest love, I unfolded the leather paper.
Sodomora's Golden Count offers bounty for daughter Enya's chronic illness treatment.
Bainar Merchant Group and Alchemist Guild collab launch—new Vitality Potion in production!
Mass Mitchuri herd rampage in Kalan plains. Farmers devastated by crop damage.
Sodomora vein depletion nearby. No alternatives? Civilians groan under resource shortage.
Front page had no Luna or potion story—half relief, half tension—I flipped another page.
Workshop selling stamina potions shuts out approach, refuses interview!
Famous adventurer H involved with fake potion makers?
"Oh, shit."
"Hassan, what does it say? Who wrote what now?"
Luna clutched her face with tiny palms, near screaming. For her, I read the page aloud in detail.
"Ideophe's stamina potions on sale locally. Taste awful, effects nonexistent. Selling this is outright fraud—"
"Hassan, that's too much! Is that what you thought all along?"
She smacked my back with her palm. Ow.
"No, no, not me…! The article says it. Here, it claims your potions are blatant fraud, false advertising, and Sodomora's Alchemist Guild will respond strongly."
"Alchemist Guild!?"
Luna yelped in disbelief.
No wonder.
The Alchemist Guild was pros gathered for potions, elixirs, brews.
I rarely dealt with them—no big injuries, Luna's potions covered me.
But adventurers and city folk bought firebombs, heals from them—their influence was massive.
If Luna was a mountain spring-water vendor, the Guild was Coca-Cola.
Big corp.
Yeah.
This was like a megacorp targeting Luna as she built her street stall empire.
Someone scheming?
So Luna and I headed to Red Potion Merchant Group, publishers of the morning paper. What we heard in their reception room was a shock.
"That article came straight from the Alchemist Guild. We get funded by them, so we print what they say. We're a potion-distribution outfit—name's Red Potion, after all."
The ferret-mustached half-human handling their publishing looked genuinely helpless.
"We can issue a correction if you prove it's untrue. So, uh, put down that club? You're scaring me, can't talk straight."
Sure, his compliance was probably thanks to me looming behind with a massive club drawn.
Luna, teary-eyed from the talk, spoke up.
"You'll correct it if I prove my potions aren't fake?"
"Yes. Alchemist Guild wants ingredients, materials, process details. That'll wrap it clean. Maybe even turn out better. But hey, you two a couple? Spill for a story."
Luna flushed red suddenly.
"…W-why's that matter!"
"Love stories sell like hotcakes. Heh heh."