Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Nemea's Cat
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Sodomora's west gate slum district.
The client who named me was supposed to be there. But I'd been in the city less than a week, so there was no way I had any connections worth mentioning.
I also wasn't someone with such a standout presence that I'd warrant a named request, so no matter how much I racked my brain, I couldn't figure out who'd given me the job.
"Wow, there aren't many guys in Iron Tier who get named requests. Hassan, you're amazing as expected!"
Unlike me, who was left scratching my head, Luna was carrying on like she'd been the one to receive it.
I'd gotten the request, yet she was the one overflowing with confidence—it was almost comical.
"So who is it? Doesn't say who? What kind of job?"
"Just the location."
The parchment from Daphne only listed the client's address, payment split, and a signature—nothing more detailed.
It was pretty unfriendly, but that was par for the course in a society without proper systems. Complaining wouldn't help.
A job where I didn't know the details or even the client. And yet here I was, trekking down unfamiliar streets, all because of the number on that parchment.
『Base pay: 2 silver. Additional pay possible depending on job duration.』
Two silver.
Two silver coins!
Whatever the job was, a base pay of two silver was nothing to sneeze at. Passing it up would be idiotic.
Two silver meant two hundred copper—a massive sum.
For someone like me who'd dropped five silver on protective gear, the idea of incoming living expenses was thrilling enough to make my heart race.
"Um, so... Hassan. W-we're a fixed party now, right? There's something I forgot to mention..."
Luna, walking beside me, was hemming and hawing like crazy.
Every time she got like this, something shocking usually followed, so I couldn't help but tense up. Shit, what now?
"Why."
"It's important... D-don't get mad or misunderstand. I'm talking purely business from here on—no personal feelings."
"Why's your tongue so tied up? It's fine. Just say it."
"...I think I forgot to mention our profit split—"
"Oh."
Now that she brought it up, I realized I hadn't given a single thought to how we'd handle party earnings. I'd just assumed it'd naturally split evenly, like guild requests.
"I-I'm good with forty percent..."
"Forty percent?"
I'd vaguely figured it'd be fifty-fifty, so her meek voice caught me off guard—a little surprising, even hard to believe.
"Forty percent? You sure?"
"Th-then thirty..."
Why was she dropping it lower?
"Even for me, anything under thirty percent would be a b-bit tough..."
She looked utterly servile, fidgeting and glancing at me nervously. It flashed me right back to my days as a slave under Elfriede.
That wicked witch would've cracked the whip without mercy in a situation like this, but I was a twenty-first-century civilized guy. I had zero interest in turning into the same breed of illiterate elf.
"Okay. Deal. Thirty percent."
"R-really? Shit! You promise thirty percent!"
"I'll throw in a little extra depending on how you perform."
"W-what? Extra...? Y-you're lying! Who'd fall for that!"
Shit, even my good intentions got me side-eyed. A little unfair, but that's how this world worked.
Anyone handing out free favors was almost always scheming something, so suspicion came first.
In a world where dinner was tasteless slop every night, people were stingy with their hearts too. Acts of service or unprompted kindness were rare as hell.
"Swear it on the River Styx, Hassan!"
"What?"
Shit. Did she want me to relive that hellish gut pain? The "Shitter Hassan" title, which I'd finally shaken off, felt like it was creeping back up on me. Goosebumps prickled my neck.
"Th-that's... Do we really need a Styx oath?"
"Well... Invoking the gods' laws lightly could bring down divine punishment. B-but Hassan, if you go back on your word..."
"Won't happen. We're a fixed party now. Gotta have some trust."
Sure, yapping about trust without a contract felt kinda culty and iffy. But in this setup, I was the one calling the shots.
Luna had no choice but to go along with what I said.
Not that I planned to lord it over her or stiff her on pay.
I just hated making promises. Promises had to be kept, so I avoided them like the plague and kept things vague instead.
Anyway, that settled the profit split—for now.
Luna kept hemming and hawing with suspicious "Hmms" and "Ahs," but she didn't press further.
We were almost at the client's spot, circling the area, when—
"Um... do you like me or something...?"
"Huh?"
The question blindsided me. I couldn't stop the baffled grunt from slipping out.
I could already picture the dumb look on my face, so I forced my expression neutral and steadied my voice before firing back.
"What'd you say?"
"I just wondered if you... like me. O-otherwise, why treat me so nice?"
"Uh."
It'd been since elementary school that anyone asked me something like that. My brain started overheating—I had no clue what to say.
Had she mistaken my basic human decency for something romantic? I'd never seen that coming, so yeah, I was flustered.
What do I even—
Before I could figure it out, Luna piled on.
"B-but Hassan, I might not be able to return your feelings..."
What the hell? I hadn't even confessed, and she was turning me down? Zero confessions, one rejection. My KDA was tanking into absurdity—it felt like a straight-up humiliation.
"I-I'm sworn to chastity to the Night Mother Nox. I can't be with men or... anything like that..."
"Oh."
I'd heard about chastity vows before.
People swore lifelong purity to beg favors from the gods—or to give thanks after receiving them.
I'd only heard rumors, though. Never seen one up close.
"So you swore chastity to Nox?"
"Y-yeah... Anyone who touches me gets her punishment. Probably..."
She answered with zero confidence.
Judging from last night, this girl might be the daughter of some freaky entity called Nox. Like a mom policing her kid's virtue or whatever.
Made sense how a ditzy girl prancing around half-naked hadn't gotten snatched or sold off yet.
Parents were always strict with daughters, after all. My folks had my little sister under curfew lockdown. Seemed universal—let boys run wild, but daughters got babied.
Shit, thinking back, even my dad—who fed me all sorts of weird crap—doted on my sister like crazy. Classic doting dad, genius son vibes.
"Anyway, looks like a misunderstanding. We'll talk it out properly later when we've got time. We're here."
Having someone to chat with made the long trek feel short. We'd arrived before I knew it, and that familiar street vibe had my brows furrowing—
Creak, creak.
A wooden sign swaying in the wind. Painted on it: some weird flask or bottle of potion. And I knew this place.
"Welcome, friend~"
The woman who pushed open the rusty door wore a pointed hat framing blazing red hair—and sported breasts like giant watermelons.
One look at her, and no one would ever forget.
"Didn't know when you'd show, so I've been waiting~. Come on in~."
***
"Sit anywhere~. I'll bring tea—no, two cups. Just wait~."
The witch Nemea vanished into a dusty corner piled with junk.
Clink, clink—loud noises, like she was prepping tea just like she'd said.
I leaned back on a long bench covered in some mystery beast's hide. Unease gnawed at me, a floaty feeling I couldn't shake. I just blinked.
"H-Hassan. Look..."
Ever since facing the witch, Luna had been trembling silently beside me like a meerkat frozen before a lion.
Now that the witch was gone, she finally darted her eyes around, scanning the room.
"...Snakes everywhere."
She was staring at glass jars—pretty transparent and clean by this world's standards.
Snakes floated inside, suspended in some liquid. Alcohol? Special chem? My nose wrinkled on instinct.
Reminded me of the snake wine that filled every corner of the house back home.
"Whoa, snakes! A three-headed one! Those are super rare!"
Luna's eyes sparkled like a kid raiding her uncle's room on holidays. She pressed her face right up to the glass, fogging it with her breath.
Hiiiiss—.
"I-it's alive!"
The freakish snake inside twitched, and Luna let out a joyful shriek. At this rate, she'd cause an accident. I hissed quietly.
"Hey, sit still!"
"B-but these are amazing! I've never seen anything like it. Who is that woman? Your friend for real?"
"No idea. Get over here and sit. Now...!"
"Y-yeah..."
She slunk back meekly and plopped her light butt on the bench. Right on cue, the witch reemerged from the corner, tray in hand.
"Made you wait~. My own recipe~. One each~."
She handed us wooden cups from the tray. Inside: some ultra-suspicious liquid bubbling like boiling lava.
Blub, blub.
Fluorescent color to boot. Looked like it'd wreck your health. Even I wasn't chugging that lightly.
No way this was normal tea. I'd survived this world too long to guzzle witch handouts without question—
"Whoa, delicious! What is it? It tingles like crazy in my mouth!"
Luna had already slammed hers. Shit, the girl had no fear. How the hell had she made it this far in one piece?
"Not drinking, Hassan? Mind if I take yours?"
"Yeah. Drink it all."
"Ooh, shit! This is awesome!"
"Kid's a fan, huh~. Latest invention of mine~. Friend hooked me up with some hydra blood—finally neutralized it. Tossed in pepper and whatnot~."
"H-Hydra blood? That stuff's real...?"
Luna, who'd just downed two shots no problem, finally clocked the ingredients and turned pale. The witch chuckled.
"No worries~. I corrupted the divinity down to harmless levels~. Anyway, cute pink hair~. Not a local color~. Where you from, kid? Mind if I draw a little blood~?"
"Hic!"
Luna shuddered like a bristling little animal and hid behind my shoulder—peak food-chain bottom dweller.
"Joking~. Cute kids make me wanna tease~. Adorable little thing~."
"A-anyway. I heard you put in a named request for me."
Time to steer things back to business—away from the tongue-flicking witch. Lingering in this otherworldly health spa knockoff was torture.
"Yeah, friend~. New in town myself—don't know many folks~. Figured I could trust you~."
"So what's the job? The paper only had the pay."
"Nothing tough, so relax~. Just need you to track something down for me~. My pet cat—the white one's gone missing~."
"You want me to find this white cat?"
"Quick on the uptake—love that, friend~. That day you groped me all over~. Must've left the door open. Bolts the second I look away~."
"What'd Hassan grope?"
"She hates starving more than anything~. No clue how she's holding up. But I got a hunch where she is~. Loves dark, damp spots~. Only one place fits~."
"No, seriously—what did Hassan grope? I'm dying to know..."
"Well~. Might be a tad mature for a kid~."