Chapter 89
Chapter 89
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 89
Chapter Title: Hassan's Day Off
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Pricking your finger when you have phlegm buildup is a folk remedy that's widely known in Korea.
They say that lightly pricking the right spot with a sharp needle or finger acupuncture lets out the old congestion along with black blood in one go.
Honestly, I have no idea if it actually works, but any Korean's probably tried it at least once.
"Hassan…! Oh, no!"
But in this world full of all sorts of folk remedies and superstitions, it seemed like no one even had the concept of pricking a finger.
Luna could do nothing but tremble at the sight of the needle in my hand. Did she think I was going to hurt her?
"It won't hurt at all. No need to be that scared."
Her reaction was kind of pitiful, but also fun to tease, so an ambiguous smile crept onto my lips.
"It's just lightly poking the tip of your finger with the needle. You've pricked your own finger to draw blood for curses and stuff like that."
"Th-that's different!"
Of course, there's a huge difference between psyching yourself up to poke your own finger and having someone else do it.
Anyone who's experienced it knows—it's way scarier when someone else does it.
The fear of a sharp needle is pretty intense.
But if I dragged this out, Luna's pain from the congestion would just last longer.
So I gently stroked her arm up and down, massaging it lightly to draw the blood downward.
"I-it's really okay, right?"
"I told you it is. I even sterilized the needle with a candle flame. If you're scared, turn your head the other way."
"Uh, o-okay…."
Luna turned her head away with a swish as I said. But the fidgety girl soon looked back at me with a teary face.
"It's scarier not looking…!"
"Yeah, that makes sense. Then I'll prick it real quick."
"Eek!"
"I haven't even done it yet."
"R-really…?"
While Luna was flustered, I quickly pressed the needle into the Ten Xuan point at the edge of her thumbnail with just the right pressure.
Sure enough, blackish blood bubbled out from her thumb, which had been flushed red from the pooled blood.
"Eek! Blood, blood! Black blood's coming out!"
"That's the blocked energy breaking free."
"Really?"
Of course it was bullshit.
Just tying off your arm for a while keeps fresh blood from circulating, so it naturally darkens.
But seeing your own black blood makes even bullshit like that sound convincing.
"Feel any better?"
"Y-yeah…! Now that you mention it, yeah. My stomach hurts less!"
Luna's expression brightened, like the indigestion had improved a lot after pricking her left thumb. But no "cured indigestion" message had popped up in my view yet.
Guess I have to prick all ten Ten Xuan points?
"Alright, now that you know it doesn't hurt, let's do the rest."
"…Hic!"
I grabbed Luna's squirming arm firmly and pricked all the dark spots on her other fingers too.
Ding-.
『Treated Luna Knox Doty's Acute Indigestion.』
『Karma Value + 10』
『Current Karma Value: +214』
And just like that, the Karma Value popped up safely. It'd been tough grinding it out, but now it was over 200.
Two more level-ups incoming—fuck yeah, I'm gonna get so strong.
"Huuuh…. Hnnngh… Eeeek…."
But Luna, whom I'd thought would recover right away, started trembling like she'd been electrocuted. It made me a little uneasy.
I'd massaged with my palms before, but using needles to cure a status ailment was a first for me.
Any side effects?
I cautiously asked Luna.
"What's wrong? You okay?"
"It feels like new mana is flowing through my whole body. Hnnnngaaa…!"
Luna trembled for a bit, then curled up like she'd been shot in the gut and flopped over.
She even rolled into a ball on the soft deer hide, twitching and spasming.
"Eek, hic…!"
Her reaction scared the shit out of me. This was definitely not from the finger pricking. Fuck, did I mess up?
I froze, not daring to touch her body, unsure what to do.
"Huuuuh…."
Luna let out a deep sigh like she'd just had some profound experience, then sprawled limp on the deer hide.
"…Hey, Luna. You alright?"
"I thought I was gonna die. But the stomachache's totally gone. What did you do? Hassan, you know stuff besides massages?"
Her eyes looking up at me from the floor were surprisingly moist. Maybe from the weird sensation.
"Besides massages, just basic acupuncture."
"Acupuncture…? What's that?"
Luna seemed to know nothing about it.
Of course, I couldn't claim to be an expert either. All I'd done was stick some long acupuncture needles into a practice model a few times.
Acupuncture was too hardcore and niche for a health center kid—my dad hadn't taught me much. Something about how screwing it up could cause big trouble.
Anyway, this was the first time I'd seen spots big enough to prick with a needle, so I was pretty dumbfounded.
Guess my manual dexterity talent demanded a broader horizon than I thought.
After that whole needle-pricking fiasco, we put out the dim light and covered up with the old blanket again. Then something wriggled toward me.
"Luna, what?"
"Huh? I didn't do anything."
"Isn't this your finger here?"
Something thin and pointy—like a nail—was crawling lightly over my arm, tickling so bad I almost laughed.
"Don't lie. Your hand's touching my arm."
"I'm serious, it's not me."
Swish.
Luna pulled both hands out from under the blanket.
"See? Both my hands are here."
"Tch, then what the hell is this?"
Puzzled, I lifted the blanket. And holy shit—eight eyes stared back at me, nearly giving me a heart attack.
"What the fuck! It's a spider!"
Kyung, kyung!
It was a ridiculously colorful rainbow spider. Kyungkyung, was it? Anyway, that little bastard was stuck to my arm—I wasn't kidding, I freaked the fuck out!!
"Shit!"
I didn't slap it off with my palm because I knew Luna doted on the thing.
"Get it off! Hurry! I fucking hate spiders! Eeeek!!"
"W-wait! Hold still!"
Only then did Luna transfer the spider from my forearm to her hand.
"Forgot to feed you, huh? Sorry, Kyungkyung."
Kyung!
Once it was off me, the tension drained away like a logjam breaking, my blood calming down. Fuck, that was terrifying. My heart was pounding like crazy.
"You really hate spiders, Hassan. More than cultists or sword fights."
"No, fuck, those at least have two legs each. More than six legs is a no-go for me. So, like… can't you put it somewhere out of sight or…"
I stopped mid-sentence, about to suggest dealing with it somehow.
I vaguely remembered hearing that couples living together often fight over one person's pet.
I hated spiders, but no need to pick a fight over it.
Luna seemed to read my mind and persuaded me slyly.
"But it catches mice and stuff. If rats chew holes in the jars or leather bags, it's hard to make potions."
"Yeah, well, if that's the case, nothing I can do."
It was her house. I'd have to go along with it.
Still, it kinda hurt that she seemed to like that Kyungkyung more than me.
Fuck, I'd known her longer than that thing, hadn't I? Catching a few mice and getting all the love.
Was I seriously jealous of a spider right now? Thinking that made me feel ridiculous and bruised my pride, so I pretended it was nothing and lay back down, turning away.
"Anyway, let's sleep."
"Okay."
Luna fed it some dried meat, released it, and burrowed back under the blanket. Since I'd turned away, she pressed her body way too close to my back.
The warm heat against my back felt kinda nice.
"Hassan, you mad about Kyungkyung?"
"Nah, not mad."
"Then why'd you turn away."
"I always sleep on my side like this."
Swish, swish.
Then something thin and pointy touched my arm again. This time, definitely Luna's hand.
"Kyungkyung wants to get to know you, Hassan."
Swish, swish.
Her fingers tickled me like spider legs.
Rustle, rustle.
Mimicking a spider with her fingers was funny and weird.
"Kyung, kyung!"
She even did the wolf spider's bark. It was so childish of me to sulk like that—I burst out laughing.
"Alright, I get it. My bad."
I rolled onto my back normally, and Luna turned away from me toward the ceiling too.
We fell asleep staring at the same ceiling.
* * *
I dreamed spiders were wrapping around my neck. The creepiest, most heart-stopping nightmare ever.
"Tch."
Trying to calm my racing heart and sit up—
My body wouldn't budge, like a lump of lead was pinning it down. Sleep paralysis?
No way—me, of all people, getting sleep paralysis? What the hell?
I'd never had it before, so I had no clue what to do. Should I just go back to sleep?
But I was scared of another nightmare, and letting go felt like sinking into deep, dark ocean—unpleasant.
So I tried to wake up fully.
I remembered hearing you can break it by tensing a body part.
Hnnng-!
Tensing my pinky—
Swish.
A faint movement on my stomach let me barely pry my eyelids open.
Emerald eyes looked down at me.
"..."
Of course, it was Luna.
She was sprawled on my stomach, gazing at me.
What the fuck was going on? My mouth wouldn't open, fingers wouldn't twitch—like my whole body was crushed under lead.
What should I do?
Why was she on my stomach?
Right then—
Lick.
Luna stuck out her tongue and licked my cheek. Like a dog or cat licking its owner's face.
The warm, soft sensation scrambled my brain. But my body still wouldn't move.
Lick, lick.
Luna kept licking my face.
"..."
She even muttered something in a language I'd never heard.
Was I dreaming? Was my subconscious showing me this weird shit because I'd been thinking pervy thoughts lately?
Maybe just let go and wait for morning.
Squeeze.
Sudden pressure on my neck jolted me. Luna had gone from licking my face to biting my nape!
Crunch.
The pain was so vivid it screamed reality.
The weight and pressure vanished—my mouth and hands were free.
"Grraaah, Luna! What the hell are you doing…!"
Too shocked, I grabbed her shoulders and shook. Luna jolted like she'd been caught.
"H-Hassan, you're awake…!?"
"No, what the fuck? Why'd you bite my neck?"
"Uh, w-well…."
Luna hemmed and hawed like a kid caught doing something bad. She had been—the sort of thing you don't do to a sleeping person.
"What the hell was that for? You've been saying your body's felt heavy in your sleep lately— that was you, huh."
"Th-that's… s-sorcery…."
"What? Sorcery?"