Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: Swamp Native Hassan
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Problem.
In this world, what is cold yet warm, firm yet soft and squishy?
The answer is Hippolyte, soaked in stream water.
The Hippolyte wriggling in my arms had a fragility and softness that you’d never expect from a Silver-tier adventurer.
The pressure from her unexpectedly squishy breasts, and amid all that softness, the prominent hardness stabbing into my body—it had an overwhelming presence.
“Mmgh—!”
『Name: Hippolyte Heavensinger Lv. ?? 3
Status: Boiling Blood | Moonlight Allergy | Severe Menstrual Cramps | ????』
The thought that I needed to stop Hippolyte from screaming hit me just as my eyes quickly scanned the text floating in the air.
I thought I’d subdued her through sheer force and gotten stronger, but nope—she’d gotten weaker. Shit.
Level 3 was the exact same number as Luna when she was getting mauled by goblins. Meaning her strength, agility, and stamina stats were all at 1—your average adult level.
I had no idea why her level had dropped like that, but it was probably one of those status effects listed below.
Boiling blood? Moonlight allergy? No clue what those meant. But menstrual cramps? My little sister had those, so I knew all about it.
Whenever that time came around, she’d starve for days and turn sharp and vicious like a feral bear, nerves on edge.
Anyway, right when I was wondering what the hell was going on—
Crunch!
Hippolyte bit my finger, and I let out a small “Aak!” as I yanked my hand away.
“Hiek!”
Shit, my finger hurt like hell. No joke, I thought it was gonna come clean off.
Her jaw strength was like she was chomping through hard biscuits. Lucky it didn’t actually sever.
Still, it hurt so bad tears welled up. At least no blood.
“M-Me, trying to assault me? This body has already pledged its chastity to the goddess Diana of maidens and the hunt...! Don’t you know what happens if you assault a woman who’s sworn chastity? You moron!”
“No, ow, I wasn’t trying to assault you...!”
“You weren’t? Th-then what’s that massive thing standing at attention? That’s clearly proof of a man lusting after a woman’s body...!”
“Anyone gets like this seeing a naked woman. It’s a misunderstanding. Do I look crazy enough to assault a Silver-tier adventurer!?”
“So it is because of my, my body...!”
“No, that’s...”
Shit, I felt so wronged tears were about to spill. Where do I even start explaining?
“I heard Samaritans force marriages by secretly assaulting and abducting the opposite sex. Y-you were gonna do that too, weren’t you!”
“Nep!?”
Assault and kidnap for forced marriage? Didn’t they say Samaritan men value chastity or some crap?
Fucking Samaritans, saying one thing and doing another. Total psycho barbarians. No wonder they’re despised everywhere.
Might rethink calling myself a Samaritan from now on. Assuming I get out of this mess alive, that is.
“…Anyway, I’ll let this slide once, considering your heroics earlier today. It’s common for bloodlust to stir up lust too. Go cool your head with some cold water, barbarian.”
Splash—splash.
I half-expected some huge commotion, but Hippolyte straightened herself out, grabbed her clothes from the water’s edge, and vanished into the bushes.
She forgave the guy who tried to assault her? Does a Silver-tier adventurer even have that kind of mercy?
Or maybe it’s because she’s Silver-tier that she can afford such magnanimity? Worlds apart from Elfriede, who was same rank but narrow-minded as hell.
No, wait—my misunderstanding didn’t get cleared up. Fuck, I got pardoned for a crime I didn’t commit. Should I be happy about that?
I hurriedly chased after her, but she was nowhere in sight.
* * *
After all sorts of twists and turns, I made it back to the tent. There was Luna, sleeping soundly with steady breaths.
I’d just tap-danced on the line between life and death, and seeing her snoozing so casually made the noose of death feel truly distant for now.
I lay down facing the wall, back to Luna like she was, pressing our backs together. The small sensation of her back through our clothes tugged at my heartstrings a bit.
Little, fragile girls really know how to melt a guy’s heart.
Lost in such thoughts, I drifted off without realizing and woke to fresh morning air.
Something felt empty, so I opened my eyes—Luna was gone.
I geared up roughly and stepped out. A few people were already up, gathered in small groups with serious faces, talking.
“What a fucking asshole. How could he...?”
“Gutsy bastard. Didn’t even think about guild punishment?”
Shit, no idea what they were on about, but my chest stabbed with guilt, like my ass was on fire.
No, I’m innocent about Hippolyte, for real. But would anyone believe me...? She’s Silver-tier; I’m Iron-tier scum scraping the bottom. Our words don’t carry equal weight.
“Ahem, what’re you all talking about?”
I butted in casually, and the chatting guys went quiet for a beat. Shit, were they talking about me?
The fear didn’t last.
“Word is an adventurer bolted overnight.”
Not about me. Whew, relief.
“Pardon? Bolted?”
“Yeah! Cowards! Probably got cold feet thinking about facing those Pluto cultists head-on.”
Not me after all. Phew. As I sighed in relief, they piled on more.
“Jack Knife the Cyclops and One-Arm Cragg ditched during the night. They looked uneasy the whole time.”
“Don’t jump to conclusions yet. Wait for the pursuit team’s report. Commander Buser’s got some capable guys sweeping the area; something’ll turn up.”
The second dawn kicked off in chaos over two guys who vanished into the thick fog.
I’d worried my name might come up or Hippolyte might rat me out and get me castrated, but nothing like that happened. Lucky.
“What’re you staring at, Samaritan? Fell for moi, Rene?”
“Fuck off, as if.”
“Then quit ogling.”
The Sword Maidens ignored me too. If they’d heard from Hippolyte, they wouldn’t look at me like I was yesterday’s trash.
Where’s Luna, though?
I scanned the foggy haze for pink hair.
There—Luna emerging from the mist. In her hands, two hand-sized creatures dangled by their hind legs.
“Hassan, look! Witch toads...!”
“Hey, I was worried. Thought you vanished too.”
“Vanish? I went to catch these. Anyway, Hassan, witch toads! They’re super nimble and hard to grab, but I caught ‘em! Lighter than they look!”
Luna excitedly dangled fluorescent-bodied toads with black spots, wriggling menacingly.
Thok-.
Shit, what toad sound is “thok-”? If gods exist, they slapped this world together half-assed and kicked it around.
Anyway, lots of worries and tension, but her cheery voice lightened my mood.
“So yeah, they were hopping, and I hopped after ‘em and nabbed ‘em!”
“Y-yeah, good job. So what do they do? Potion ingredients or something?”
“Witch toads? Nah, useless anywhere. Just grabbed ‘em while standing watch ‘cause I was bored. Time to let ‘em go.”
And so Luna released the toads onto the weed-choked stone floor of the ruined temple.
They hesitated, then leaped impossibly high.
Dr-thok-.
“Sh-shit!”
But fuck, I didn’t expect them to lunge at me. Panicking, I shook them off; Luna thrust her palms toward me.
“H-Hassan! Don’t let ‘em touch bare skin!”
But Luna, pressing her palms to me, froze and shuddered.
“Hnngh...”
Thok-.
Kabi-.
The toads bolted like arrows. As I sighed in relief, red-faced Luna asked,
“…You okay?”
“Y-yeah. Shit, scared me.”
“G-good…. They’re poisonous. Touch your skin and it itches. I’m used to it, but...”
“Poison?”
I felt fine, but hearing that made my skin crawl. Nah, just imagination—they only hit my clothes, not skin.
“H-Hassan... Um, I was praying at dawn....”
As I checked for swelling or itch, Luna started to say something.
“The vanguard’s back!”
“Commander Buser’s returned!”
Cheers cut the fog as a half-naked man with a massive hammer strode through the tents. He spoke gravely.
“Found tracks from Jack Knife and Cragg. But the fog was too thick for more pursuit.”
“Hah, total runaways. Pussy cowards.”
“Fewer heads means bigger shares! Good news!”
“Quiet. Report’s not over. Last traces of the deserters—found this nearby. Everyone, look.”
Buser raised something high. His armpit bush assaulted my eyes—horrifying. Fuck, what a morning sight.
“What a vicious armpit!”
“Look at that hair. Human? Centaur much?”
“Guess the rumors of non-human blood in Commander Buser are true. His strength’s beyond human anyway.”
“No, not my armpit—look at this. In my palm.”
Eyes shifted to his palm: a small necklace or brooch-like trinket.
What’s that?
No clue. Just picked up some shiny trash to brag?
Yeah, I’d show it off too. Luna even showed off useless toads.
Everyone loves bragging about their finds.
“Th-that’s...”
Tension rippled among the adventurers. Not ordinary junk.
Hippolyte, armored and arms crossed silent till now, spoke.
“Plumeria emblem. Symbol of Pluto.”
“Yeah, high chance cultists are close. Stay sharp from today.”
* * *
“Sirs, carriages can’t go farther. Horses won’t budge. Whips don’t work.”
The coachman balked. Even whipped, horses stood firm in the swamp, unmoving.
Prff-.
I’ve been whipped; if they ignore it, they’re either lazy, exhausted, or defying a worse order.
Horses striking? Strong union spirit for beasts.
Fucked.
Ahead, fog so thick you couldn’t see a foot. On foot? Exhausting just thinking.
Splash-.
Hippolyte dismounted first, stroking the black horse’s long forehead casually.
“Beasts have keen instincts. They know something unpleasant lies ahead.”
“As a coachman, these ain’t that smart. Just hate trudging mud with heavy carts. I wouldn’t move either.”
“We’ll see. Everyone, off the carriages! We proceed on foot!”
Grumbling “Aw-,” adventurers dismounted.
Staying put wasted time, so we followed Silver-tiers, forming ranks and pushing into the fog.
But slogging mud where feet sank deep, vision blocked? Way worse than imagined.
Knowing cultists lurked amplified mental fatigue. Someone muttered,
“No telling what’ll pop out. Arrows and we’re dead—”
“Mucky ground, zero visibility. Hell’s basement, Tartarus.”
“Fuck, aren’t we already marching through hell since dusk?”
A couple jokes, but mood sank deeper. Only Luna unaffected.
“Nice weather. Reminds me of Ideophe. Damp, humid smell. Foggy, no sun. Sticky ground.”
Luna’s worldview’s way off from normal. Cultural thing?
“Shh—quiet. Something’s near.”
Front-leading Hippolyte halted smoothly. Everyone froze instantly.
What? Swamp goblins?
Gripping my twin blades tensely—
“Hyaaak—!”
“Urk!”
Screams as men vanished into deep swamp.
“Damn—too late. Draw steel!”
Errrgh....
From the swamp rose thick hides, long tails, sharp teeth—green eyes glowing.
“Fuck, crocodiles! Croc pack!”
[End of chapter]