Chapter 82
Chapter 82
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 82
Chapter Title: Pluto's Descendant
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I recalled that last night, Luna had climbed on top of me and looked down at me.
Now that I thought about it, it felt like a dream, or like I'd mistaken it in a hazy state of mind. But at the time, it had been so terrifying that chills ran down my spine.
"What did I do?"
But Luna just asked back as if it was the first she'd heard of it. It didn't feel like she was pretending not to know; she really seemed clueless.
Did she not remember? Was it just her moving in her sleep? Or maybe it really was my imagination.
"If you don't remember, then whatever."
"Actually, I had this super fun dream while I was sleeping. I was swimming around in a huge pile of gold coins! Think this could be a prophetic dream? I heard that when your voodoo skills level up, you start having prophetic dreams sometimes!"
Luna chattered on by herself for a good while from the morning, then asked me.
"What are you up to today, Hassan? I'm gonna make potions here. I bought the ingredients ahead of time, so I just need to whip 'em up."
"Me? Nothing in particular."
If we took the word of the paranoid nymph cultist, today was the day the cultists were supposed to attack.
Guild official Daphne had advised us not to cause any confusion and to stay quietly inside the house.
Sure enough, after the cultists' raid on the temple, the number of people out on the streets had noticeably dropped.
Silver Tier adventurers like Hippolyte had managed to repel one assault, but even she had been injured, and the guild building had been completely destroyed. The cultists' skills were apparently nothing to scoff at.
In a situation like that, Bronze Tier water adventurers like me and Luna had nothing to do but stay home, shivering and not getting hurt!
"Gotta stay home quietly, I guess."
"Awesome! Then help me make potions!"
Luna cheered, thrilled to have an extra pair of hands for her work at home.
I didn't have any strong objections to helping Luna, so I started peeling the shells off these weird radish-like plants.
Scrape, scrape, grind, grind.
I even took on miscellaneous tasks like grinding up unidentified bones into powder.
It wasn't hard work, and there was a sense of accomplishment in creating something and helping Luna out.
"Hassan, you're surprisingly good at this. They say men do housework in Samaria—is that true?"
Luna marveled at how deftly I handled the ingredients. It must've been the experience from helping my dad with all sorts of chores since I was little.
"Just picked up a few things from my dad."
Come to think of it, my dad made a living through odd jobs, but he had a ton of skills. He handled everything from housework to cooking. Total househusband.
"I wanna meet your dad sometime, Hassan. Sounds like a fun guy!"
"My dad?"
At Luna's words, I pictured introducing her to my mom and dad.
Introducing my girlfriend to my parents—something I'd kinda wanted to do at least once.
My dad would probably be over the moon. He'd nagged me endlessly about when I'd get a girlfriend.
Damn, I took after my dad so much—too manly-looking—that I'd always had crap luck with girls. Of course, now I had Luna by my side.
Truth be told, Luna was gorgeous enough to show off anywhere. My parents would love her.
My little sister might cuss me out, wondering how a total loser like me landed a girl like that.
"What if your parents hate me, Hassan?"
"Doubt it. I'm more worried your parents might hate me."
"It's fine. I don't have mom or dad."
"R-right, yeah."
No, self-burn!?
Luna probably didn't mean anything by it, but from my perspective, it was a bit awkward hearing that.
It felt like the statue of Nox on the first floor was creaking in anger.
"Did I say something dumb? Sorry."
"It's okay. But you'll go back to your hometown someday, right, Hassan? Can you take me with you then? I wanna see Samaria. They say it's a vast plain without a single tree!"
"My hometown?"
At the word "hometown," I didn't think of the barren wasteland teeming with savages called Samaria—I pictured beautiful blue planet Earth.
The overcrowded world of 7 billion people, Earth. Could I ever go back? And even if I could, could I take Luna with me? No idea.
Suppose there was a way back. If it meant going alone without Luna, what would I do?
The old me would've bolted back home without a second thought.
"I-If it's too much pressure, you don't have to introduce me to your parents or anything."
"Nah, it's not that. It's just... I don't think I can go back home. This place is my home now."
Rumble—.
As we chatted about this and that, the grains I'd been grinding on the millstone turned completely to powder. I scooped it into a jar, covered it with leather, and stored it properly.
"With two of us, it went so fast! Would've taken half a day longer alone."
Luna was thrilled seeing the processed ingredients transferred into various jars, shells peeled and all.
Her crafting skills were as sloppy as when she carved totems, so if she'd done it solo, it might've taken her until tomorrow, not just half a day.
"If we had a hearth, I could brew the potions right here. Too bad."
Now that I thought about it, Luna had sung praises for a stove or hearth before. Couldn't we just light a fire anywhere?
"Can't make a hearth?"
"Anything over a certain size needs city approval. Fire hazard."
Makes sense in a world without proper fire safety. A blaze could spread uncontrollably. Most building materials were wood, too.
Kinda chaotic, but there were laws and systems in place. That's how the world kept turning.
"Guess we gotta borrow the bakery's hearth next door!"
With that, Luna hefted the heavy jar filled with mixed ingredients and water. But she wobbled unsteadily, looking precarious.
"Want me to take it?"
"Really!? That'd be great! Load it with lots of firewood for a strong blaze—boil it all at once! That way the ingredients meld properly!"
Just boil it over high heat? Easy enough. Sure, I was disguised as a savage now, but I was the eldest son of a herbalist.
I had confidence in boiling and extracting juices.
"I'll handle it."
"O-Okay, then I'll prep the special potion ingredients. Don't come in for a bit, Hassan."
Special potion ingredients?
No clue what that meant. Maybe she had some secret sauce she didn't even wanna share with me.
Trade secret?
She seemed keen on hiding it from me, and I wasn't that interested anyway, so I nodded, hugged the jar to my chest, and headed out.
* * *
I wandered for ages without knowing where Luna's bakery was, nearly running out of stamina before finally finding it.
It looked less like a bakery and more like a dingy general store, so it'd been hard to spot.
"What can I do for you?"
The owner was a sturdy woman in her early forties.
Her brown hair was cropped short like a man's, and she wore an apron. Her thick arms were ripped with lean muscle—no fat—and she looked like she'd kick my ass in a fight.
Less bakery auntie, more blacksmith.
Running a food joint in a slum crawling with beggars and thugs proved she could handle any punk who tried something.
"Uh, was hoping to borrow your hearth."
"To boil that jar?"
"Yeah."
"You're that pink-haired girl's friend? Seen you two around."
I knew nothing about this lady, but she seemed to know me.
Makes sense— a pointy-haired Samaritan and a pink-haired girl strolling the streets? Even I'd glance twice.
"Price is just the firewood fee. Varies by weight, so watch it."
"Got it."
I bought 20 coppers' worth of firewood—thought it'd be too much, but she said it was just right.
I set the jar on an iron stand and heated it. Worried it'd crack from the heat, but luckily, it held.
Crackle, crackle—.
As I stared at the campfire for a bit, the bored bakery lady struck up a conversation.
"What's with you and that girl? The pink-haired one."
"Just colleagues."
I hesitated on how to describe it, then settled on colleagues.
Luna had taken a chastity vow, and in this world, a woman with one dating was heavily frowned upon.
Of course, fact was, she wasn't quite my girlfriend yet—just some ambiguous colleague.
"I see. She's a sweet girl. Bit dim sometimes, but not the betraying type. I've watched her since she first came to the city."
"Y-yeah?"
The awkward vibe made my neck prickle. But she kept talking like it was nothing.
"Pretty face, graceful limbs—like the spring goddess herself. Pleasure to look at."
"True that."
Her praise for Luna's looks lifted my spirits.
Luna really was pretty enough to turn heads as she passed.
As I pictured Luna's face, the bakery owner continued.
"In these god-silent times, a girl keeping her chastity vow that well? First I've seen. Sure, the virgin squad or whatever cracks down on breakers, but they can't catch 'em all."
"I see."
"She could snag a decent guy and live easy. Sticking to it anyway? Impressive. That should be boiled enough now. Kill the fire, let it cool, and take it."
At her words, I stirred the firewood with a long poker to put it out.
Peering in to check, bubbles roiled vigorously as the ingredients melded.
Not clear water—thick, murky brown.
Strong herbal bitterness hung in the air, tolerable enough. No idea about taste, but it didn't look appetizing.
"Young man, don't get bad ideas just 'cause the girl's too pretty. Gotta protect a girl like that."
"Uh... got it."
That ended the chat. She must've been fretting I'd hurt Luna. A bit late for that...
When the contents cooled enough, I hugged the jar and stepped into the darkening streets.
Everyone knew cultists were out today, so the streets were nearly empty.
Those around hurried out of sight. Worried about Luna alone, I quickened my pace. Probably fine, but better safe.
Clank, clatter.
"Ah, Kalan's Dark Morningstar. There you are, comrade."
A voice called from behind. Turning, I saw a massive man towering over me.
Full plate armor, rigid and tough-looking. Matte black, like a shadow on the ground.
Didn't fit the desolate, trash-strewn western slums.
As I'd explained before, heavy plate meant top-tier skill.
This wasn't just plated armor—the pointed, aggressive shape, the dragon-headed helmet like a turtle ship's prow—flashy as hell.
Clatter.
And that monstrous slab on his back—barely a sword, more a brutal iron hunk.
He spoke again.
"Time's almost up. Hurry, or we'll be late for the gathering."
Chills erupted over my body. I'd heard this voice before. Thick, echoing like in a frigid cave.
This was the guy who'd knocked on Luna's shack that night. Skizo, was it?
I could easily imagine opening the door then—me and Luna torn apart mercilessly.
No way my brain could figure out beating this iron giant.
"C-come on. Everyone's assembled and waiting. Today, this city becomes Lord Pluto's first domain on this land."
"Everyone assembled...?"
He muttered at my question.
"Three Silver Tiers, one Gold Tier. Sufficient numbers."