Chapter 288
Chapter 288
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 288
Chapter Title: Delphi, To Delphi #3
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A few hours after departing from Sodomora.
Paranoia, who had been dozing off and mumbling nonsense upon waking, suddenly let out a loud "Ah!" as if something had just occurred to her.
"In my dream, I saw another Samaritan in a vast field...!"
She seemed to believe that the strange dream she'd had was something that would definitely come true.
Well, people in this world had long placed special significance on dreams.
I only had a superficial knowledge from liberal arts classes—Freud, Jung, and all that—so I thought of dreams as expressions of the unconscious.
But to the people of this world, who revered such superstitions, dreams were like spiritual windows or frames.
They believed whatever appeared through that square frame held profound meaning.
For example, there was this one time, right before some incident blew up. Luna and I were sleeping late one night when she suddenly woke up with a rustle.
Luna waking up in the middle of the night was unheard of, so I jolted awake in surprise too. But what really threw me was what came next.
Hassan, you cheated on me with another woman!
And then she bit my arm. It hurt.
I had no idea what she was talking about, so I asked for the details. Apparently, in her dream, I'd secretly met another woman behind her back and been cold to Luna.
What the hell? Getting bitten over a dream infidelity? Back then, I just figured she was unconsciously anxious about me and let it slide.
But damn, thinking about it now, was that some kind of prophetic dream?
What even are dreams?
Suddenly, even I started to doubt it.
As I pondered that, Hippolyte, who had been sitting silently in one corner of the carriage with her arms crossed, cracked her eyes open lazily.
"You saw another Samaritan in your dream?"
"She was amazing...! Said she was someone's little sister...! Oh, I can't remember anything else...! I forgot...!"
"Hassan, didn't you say you have a little sister? Could she have left the Black Wasteland and come to the continent too?"
Hippolyte seemed to think the Samaritan with the sister mentioned in Paranoia's dream was my sibling. Of course, that was impossible.
My little sister wasn't even a Samaritan from the Black Wasteland.
Her falling into a manhole like me and ending up in this world? Oh, shit. That'd be horrifying in its own way. Not something I wanted to imagine. The one good thing about coming to this world was not having to see my sister's face.
Why the hell am I even thinking about this?
Paranoia's nonsense was polluting my mind.
"Luna, got any candy?"
"I've got about ten pieces of hardened honey. Already want one?"
"Sounds about right."
"Hmm—."
Luna hummed uncertainly, glanced at Paranoia—who looked unwell—then nodded reluctantly.
"Can't be helped. I could use a nap myself anyway."
With that, she rummaged through a large bundle and pulled out a round, hefty candy.
It'd probably take Paranoia at least half a day to lick that with her tiny tongue. Meaning she'd be quiet for that long.
"Candy... so good...! My nausea feels better...! Th-this is the taste of 10 coppers per piece...!! Paranoia's eating something expensive...!!"
"Yeah, eat it nicely then. No biting."
Maybe I should catch some shut-eye too.
It was a long journey—over a month. Might as well enjoy the leisure and take a nap for the first time in ages. I closed my eyes.
*
*
*
I opened my eyes to find the outside world bathed in sunset.
The sky was a riot of reds and oranges, like someone had set it ablaze. We'd left in the morning, and now the sun was setting—all we'd done was chat or sleep in the carriage.
After all my hard labor and training, this day of leisure felt nice, but sitting in the same position had left my whole body stiff and aching like hell.
Rustle—.
My eyes landed on Elfride, who had woken up at some point and was now staring at a map.
She'd said she'd come to Delphi with us, but once inside the carriage, she barely said a word—like a wary wildcat.
It couldn't be helped; Elfride was shy around strangers whether she realized it or not.
She got along fine with Luna after sparring for days, but things were awkward with Paranoia and Hippolyte, so she kept quiet.
Of course, that wouldn't last. After a month together, they'd warm up whether they liked it or not.
No need for me to play peacemaker or force bonding. Still, I was curious about the map she was looking at, so I asked.
"Where are we now?"
"Near Dragonscale Village."
Village outskirts, huh. Come to think of it, Hippolyte—the expedition veteran—had mentioned we'd stop at some village tonight to rest the horses.
A satellite village near the massive city of Sodomora, I supposed?
It felt novel since settling in Sodomora; this was my first overnight outside the city.
Then a voice came from the driver's seat.
"...We'll reach the village soon."
It sounded like scraping the bottom of hell with a pitchfork—chilling. Probably Max, the veteran driver dispatched by Mercury Transport.
I'd thought he was the silent type since he hadn't spoken once, but his voice had a spooky edge.
He only spoke when necessary, like a machine. Made me wonder if he was even human.
"Most long-haul drivers end up like that," Hippolyte said. Apparently it was normal.
Makes sense. After driving horses down roads for a month straight, you'd get quiet, maybe even neurotic and gloomy. As long as they could handle the carriage, it was fine.
As I thought that, we'd arrived at the village entrance. They'd crudely stacked tall trees like a palisade—impressive enough.
It was getting dark with the sunset, but the village seemed bigger than I'd expected. Over a hundred households? Small town territory.
"Halt. Everyone out of the carriage, please."
At the guard's command, spear in hand, we all disembarked. After half a day cooped up, my stiff body screamed in relief.
"What's your business in Dragonscale Village? State your identities."
"I'm Hippolyte from Sodomora. We'll borrow your roads and stables—and a meal if possible."
Hippolyte pulled a golden necklace from inside her breastplate and showed it to the guard. He gawked at the hoof-shaped gold medallion in awe.
"Oh, a gold badge. Trouble brewing? Hope it's not monsters nearby."
"Just heading to Delphi for an oracle."
"Good to hear. With goblin packs showing up lately and a Gold Tier adventurer here, I thought the worst."
The guards spilled even unasked details, waving us through. That gold necklace was handy.
If I'd arrived alone late at night, I might've rotted in a cell until identified.
"Go on in. Folks with nymphs aren't bad sorts."
"You know your stuff...!"
Nah, it was Paranoia, not Hippolyte.
With that brief exchange, our carriage finally entered Dragonscale Village.
"Bigger than I thought!"
Luna stretched languidly. Twilight dimmed the view, but it was clearly a large village at a glance.
Torches lit every street, not too dark. More people out at night than in Sodomora, even.
Good security?
Nymph!
A nymph's come to the village!
People whispered about Paranoia, eyeing her curiously. Was she that rare to them?
Anyway, seeking stables and an inn, we soon spotted a massive campfire in the village center.
Blue flames danced in a cauldron taller than me, spitting embers. Like an Olympic torch.
Felt like a tourist spot; my travel fatigue eased a bit.
"Whoa, blue fire! Amazing!"
Luna exclaimed in shock. I was too, but Hippolyte explained, gazing at the huge brazier.
"Legend says a hearth dragon once perched here. This is its flame. Blessed by the Hearth Goddess Vesta."
"Ah, so this village is under the hearth domain...!"
Paranoia chimed in knowingly for once. Right—she'd converted from Pluto worshiper to Vesta devotee.
But that was all she said.
Hippolyte frowned slightly at the flames, adding oddly,
"But it's smaller than last time. Used to blaze so high you could see it from outside the city. Even up close, less heat now—."
Swish—.
She even thrust her palm right into the vivid blue fire.
I was fucking shocked.
Blue flames—aren't they hotter than normal? Like super saiyan fire or something.
Sticking your hand in casually?
The pain of burning my hand recently flashed back; I nearly yelled.
But Hippolyte looked unfazed.
"Not hot. Cold, actually. Losing heat. Something's wrong."
"The fire's cold?"
Luna, hearing this marvel, fearlessly extended her hand toward the brazier too. She yelled soon after.
"The fire really is cold! Feels weird! Won't catch either!"
"For real?"
Emboldened by Luna, I tried it too.
Sizzle.
A cool sensation, like an air conditioner breeze, tingled from my fingertips to my scalp.
Fall was here, but nights still felt warm—this chill was refreshing.
Cold fire.
If I could snag an ember and store it right, cool summers forever. As I pondered seriously, Hippolyte spoke.
"Elf. You're a powerful fire mage. I've never seen one as strong. You know flames well. What do you make of this?"
Fair point.
All eyes turned to Elfride.
But she stayed three steps back, fiddling with her staff like she couldn't care less.
Luna said it.
"She's scared of the fire right now!"
Did that hit home? Elfride, feigning indifference, furrowed her brow.
"No, I'm not."
"A flame elf scared of fire...? As ridiculous as nymphs fearing water and candy...!"
Nymph Paranoia piled on gleefully.
"Quiet!"
Elfride ignored Luna but snapped at Paranoia, furious.
To prove her innocence, she strode right up to the eerie blue flames and slowly extended her bare palm.
Swish—.
But just before touching, her hand hesitated. Pupils shaking, shoulders trembling, breath ragged.
"Better stop," Hippolyte said, grabbing and lowering Elfride's hand.
"The road ahead is long. No need wasting energy here on day one."
Elfride clicked her tongue, "Tch," and slipped her glove back on.
Clearly, she wasn't herself. Luna and Paranoia exchanged glances but stopped teasing.
Awkward silence lingered. As I thought to head to the inn, someone approached.
"Ooh, a real nymph in our village...! Finally, finally, our worries can ease...!"