Chapter 22
Chapter 22
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: Luna and Baby-Making Date
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Curse, curse, curse, curse….
The words that appeared when I grabbed Luna's wrist sent chills racing down my spine.
How could she have so many curses? At this rate, forget voodoo or whatever—wouldn't she herself become an idol or totem in her own right?
But hold on a second. In a situation where lifting curses builds up my Karma Value, and I can use that Karma Value to level up…
Luna might as well be a massive gold mine.
"W-Why are you like that, Hassan? Your face looks scary—."
I must have been frowning without realizing it. Luna hunched her shoulders slightly, looking a bit scared. Her cheeks were even flushing a little—my expression must have been that frightening.
"Uh, um…."
I found myself growing curious about the curses on Luna. But I hesitated over whether to just bluntly ask, "You have a lot of curses, huh?"
Maybe it was because of that mishap with Daphne on the day I joined the Mars Guild as an adventurer, but I'd developed this subtle fear deep inside about prying into other people's info.
What if Luna reacted like, "How did you know I have curses?! Pervert!" and slapped my cheek?
Even if not, casually reading someone's info and blurting it out was invading their privacy—no one would like that.
If someone suddenly grabbed my wrist one day and said, "Hassan, you jerked off to SEX-005 last night, didn't you?" I'd probably flip out and somersault into the air from shock.
Everyone else would be the same. That's what reading someone's info was like.
As I wavered over how—or even if—to bring it up, Luna slyly pulled her cloth-wrapped hand away.
"W-We don't have time for this. The rental time on this barn is running out."
With that, the floating text vanished from my sight.
"Anyway, thanks, Hassan. I'll wash the cloth properly and give it back later."
With those words, we each grabbed a wooden block again and resumed carving with our daggers.
But ever since our hands had touched earlier, a strange silence clung to my body like sticky goo, making everything feel stuffy and uncomfortable. All I could hear was our breathing and the sound of carving wood.
Scrape—scrape.
It did let me focus even more on the task.
This was already my third block. Luna was still on her first, so once I finished one more, this bizarre workshop session would be over.
Even after finishing a request together and sharing drinks last night, there was still this awkward gap between us—and this silence only amplified it.
"So, what are these totems for once they're done? You carry them around?"
I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. My voice echoed louder than expected in the cramped hut, startling me.
Luna's hands froze for a moment.
"Like I said yesterday, I'm giving them as gifts to people."
"Gifts?"
"Yeah, well… I tend to cause trouble without meaning to…."
Her tone sounded uncertain. She knew she did dumb stuff and inconvenienced people. That alone qualified her as an intellectual in this world. Smart girl.
"If I give them something like this, maybe it'll help a little next time we meet on a request…."
I nodded with a casual, "Hmm, I see." There were all sorts of ways to survive as a low-rank adventurer, it seemed.
"Who are you giving them to?"
"Hassan, you don't remember anything from yesterday, do you?"
A sharp gaze from Luna of all people—piercing.
This was a fork in the road for me. Play dumb and pretend, or come clean? I chose one.
"Honestly, my mind blanked out at some point."
"Then you don't remember me telling you why I became an adventurer?"
"Nope."
"I figured as much! Anyway, one's done! Phew—."
Luna held up her carved totem triumphantly. It was palm-sized.
The shape resembled that ominous black statue I'd seen before—like an elephant and octopus mashed together and stomped flat.
If the goal was maximum creep factor, it was a success.
"What do you think? I did a good job, right, Hassan? I worked hard to make it look just like your face!"
What the fuck? Was this high-level trolling? My face looked like that? I'd thought I was some ancient god or sacrificial idol for a false cult. No wonder she'd kept glancing at my face.
"This one's for you, Hassan."
"Uh, uh, yeah—."
When was the last time I'd gotten a gift from a girl? Excluding family like Mom or my sister, the only thing that came to mind was the humiliating iron chain necklace from Elfride.
So, shape aside, just receiving something from a girl felt refreshingly novel.
"Thanks anyway."
As I took the wooden statue—
Ding.
『You have acquired [Bad thieving hands quirk from exposure to cursed item].』
『Chaos Blessing nullifies the quirk.』
Cursed item? Quirk? Nullified?
I had no idea what it meant, but my head felt like it was tangled in geometric knots, and a scream slipped out involuntarily.
"Ow, shit!"
"Y-You're that happy about it? It's kinda embarrassing…."
Luna, oblivious to my state, blushed like a chaste bride on her wedding night, fidgeting bashfully. This bitch—giving me a cursed item on purpose?
I narrowed my eyes and scrutinized her. Was this girl trying to curse me to death? Or an accident? I needed to figure it out.
"W-Why are you staring like that?"
Luna's face flushed pink like her hair, showing no clue about the disaster she'd unleashed.
If this was intentional, and all an act—she'd be one creepy, evil girl.
Fuck, why this bolt from the blue?
As I gripped the statue tightly with that thought—
Ding.
『You can spend 100 Karma Value to strengthen one stat by 1.』
『1. Strength +』
『2. Agility +』
『3. Vitality +』
"Ooh!"
*
Luna and I finished the last models, packed them carefully into a bundle, and headed out into the street. I'd made four; she made one—for a total of five totems.
I kept the one she made, and hers were for Malco, Platan, receptionist Daphne, and the nymph-wing innkeeper.
Bustle, bustle—
The inn we hit at dinnertime was as crowded and chaotic as any evening tavern.
"You're back, Samaritan. Heard you got into a scrap in the park? You've toughened up nicely in half a day—your gear, your sword, all of it."
Fuck, word spread here already? This world had no internet, but gossip flew fast.
Anyway, I handed the middle-aged innkeeper one of my wooden statues and said lightly,
"The pink-haired girl here is gifting it."
"Huh? A gift? Looks kinda funky—my wife might actually like it. Thanks anyway, miss."
With that, Luna and I sat across from each other at a corner table.
"Um, can I really order anything…?"
Luna asked hesitantly.
"Yeah, as long as it's under 10 coppers. My treat."
"Helping with baby-making and now dinner too? I'm so shameless…."
Luna's eyes welled up as she fidgeted, deeply touched. But I brushed it off like it was nothing.
"You helped me earlier too. You released those bugs I was gonna sell. Just pick one."
Of course, it wasn't just payback.
To learn about that wooden statue's mysterious effect, buttering her up with bribes was most effective! The 10 coppers I'd squeezed from those thugs earlier would go to good use here. Shame.
"Really? Then—."
Only then did she relax, scanning the menu board with half-lidded eyes.
"What to eat~. Hmm~."
She couldn't hide her excitement at a free meal, her mood visibly lifting.
I gazed at her profile, lost in thought for a moment.
My conclusion: Luna's wooden statue granted a quirk while letting you burn Karma Value to level up—a truly wondrous item.
Seemed tied to whatever voodoo or shamanism she used.
Since I'd learned levels didn't come easy, her ability was pretty appealing to me.
Thanks to my other boon, Chaos Blessing, even the risk—the quirk itself—got nullified.
Still, jumping to conclusions from one test was unwise. Could I get her to make me another?
"Hawaiian pizza, mint chocolate, and jelly pie—shit! Too many choices! What to pick? …Hassan?"
"Huh? Yeah. Picked already?"
"No, still deciding. Hmm."
"Just pick anything."
Food here tasted like crap no matter what, so agonizing was pointless. Fuck, it was all revolting.
"Alright, ordering! Hey!"
As we waited for the food after ordering, I asked,
"Can you make those statues anytime? The totems."
"Moai? No, not till my Karma builds up more. They cost Karma to make."
Karma. One of those weird settings people here whispered about among themselves. I vaguely got it as my Karma Value—or like game XP.
Luna explained,
"At my level, once every two months. Maybe three if it's slow…."
"Once every two months?"
"Usually, exploring ruins or praying at temples builds that much. I finish a request about once a month, so it lines up."
Requests meant guild quests. So, roughly two guild requests built enough Karma for one statue?
Even bottom-tier Iron adventurers did one quest a week, from what I knew.
Once a month felt too low. When I asked why, Luna mumbled in a shrinking voice,
"My voodoo often backfires, so no one wants to party with me. The few who do are perverts…."
Ah, I got the picture. Luna wasn't helpful for requests—especially tough adventurer work.
She was just a pretty totem. Even charitably, a cute Chikorita with no substance.
If someone asked if I'd party with her? Even I'd hesitate.
Her only gigs were probably shrine cleaning or odd jobs. Those weren't daily, so one request a month made sense.
My deductions clicking together felt refreshing.
"But can you survive on one request a month?"
"No way. After paying 20 silvers for guild fees, I starved hard. Ate roots, tree bark. That was four months ago. I can barely afford one meal a day now."
Luna's eyes reddened, recalling it. Her slim figure wasn't from training or dieting—just hunger.
I didn't know her exact hardships, but she'd had it rough. That explained her frenzy for bugs, insects, mushrooms, herbs—not just shaman quirks, but survival desperation? Made her a bit pitiable. I knew hunger's pain well.
"So, more frequent Karma gains mean more statues?"
"Yeah! More requests mean better pay and real voodoo mastery. Raising spiders or snakes from eggs could help in fights. They underestimate me, but I'll flatten their noses someday!"
Muttering creepy appetite-killers like spiders and snakes, Luna sneaked peeks at me.
"…Hassan, you're strong, right? Crushed goblins, smashed those adventurers' heads…."
"No, I didn't kill the adventurers."
Sending live guys to jail as dead ones? Nah.
"Oh? Well, anyway. You're definitely twice as strong as average…. So, could you maybe look out for one more person…?"
Luna squirmed like her back itched out of reach, thoroughly deflated. As I watched her thin lips for what came next—
"Um… if it's okay, wanna form a fixed party with me?"