Chapter 116

116th Episode: Deep Night, Tiny Moon, and the Stranger

“How do you think…?”

Luna asked me this out of the blue right before sleeping.

Is it because she’s been drinking? She seems to be saying and doing things that she normally wouldn’t. Indeed, she drank more than usual today.

“Hassan, how do you feel about me?”

“Uh…”

Luna isn’t the type to usually ask such questions. While I’ve heard that girls tend to ask such things to their boyfriends to check the level of affection, Luna has never done so even though we’ve been together.

It was completely unexpected, leaving me tongue-tied.

“Why can’t you answer right away?”

Her face seemed quite disappointed.

“Um, you don’t normally ask this kind of question.”

My stammering explanation was the only response I could offer.

I wanted to say “I like you,” “I love you,” but the embarrassment made me hesitate. Phrases like these, often heard in dramas and media, were surprisingly hard for me to express.

Even if unspoken, does she already know how I feel? Or is it human nature to want to hear such things out loud?

Seeming to accept my clumsy excuses, Luna tilted her head curiously.

“You’ve never asked such questions before…?”

“That’s right, Luna. You must be drunk.”

“Ah, yeah, I think I am drunk. Then… what do we usually do?”

Was it a result of alcohol-induced short-term memory loss?

“We just… you know, eat together, do housework, feed Keng Keng, and sometimes I massage your feet.”

“B-b*tt-! That indecent act-!”

Luna suddenly screamed, surprising me. My half-reclined body shot upright.

“Luna, why are you suddenly like this? Looks like you’re more drunk than I thought. Let’s just sleep.”

I wondered if her helmet had a curse, as her behavior was oddly unsettling tonight.

Realizing her mistake of shouting, Luna cleared her throat a few times.

“Ahem… never mind. You… you do massage my feet, right? Hmm. My feet are hurting, and I can’t sleep… Aaaah, it hurts so much…”

Luna shyly extended her bare feet toward me, lying down. With her slurred speech, it was evident that her feet really hurt.

Given the fatigue from the dungeon exploration combined with the alcohol, it wasn’t surprising that her feet would ache.

It was a novel experience for me that Luna asked me to massage her feet, making me feel a bit curious and slightly more awake.

Slurrr.

I rose from the covers and looked up at Luna, who stood there awkwardly with her feet outstretched.

Goooo.

Her helmet gave off an intimidating presence, making her seem almost like someone else.

Does concealing one’s face truly transform the atmosphere? Perhaps, I should consider wearing a helmet or hat to change my impression in the future.

“Hurry up… there isn’t much time… Luna wants you to massage… Dehet, just like this…”

“Alright, got it.”

Did Luna normally talk like this? Earlier, I thought her behavior had sobered up while carrying the nymph, but it seems she’s prone to tipsiness after all.

Her cuteness was exaggerated by the alcohol. Should I perceive it as cute or strange?

Though preferable to a tantrum…

“Alright, it’s not such a hard task. Let me hold your feet.”

“Haaa…”

She had small, arching, and adorable Greek-shaped feet, with her second toe longer than her big toe, and a very delicate ankle.

While I’ve seen her feet several times, the sight always gives me the same fluttering feeling.

In my opinion, Luna had beautiful feet.

Had there been a competition for the most beautiful feet, she would’ve easily placed among the top three.

Nevertheless, her feet were abnormally cold today, unlike their usual warmth, as if she had been directly exposed to an AC draft all day.

Was it due to alcohol affecting her circulation?

The icy sensation reminded me so much of Elpride, who suffered from chronic cold hands and feet, that it made me furrow my brow.

“Whew… Y-yeah, I can’t handle it.”

Yet, Luna suddenly seemed reluctant to let me touch her feet.

“What’s gotten into you now?”

“Huh, well… Just… hurry up and finish.”

“Alright, let’s get some sleep.”

First, I warmed her cold feet with the friction of my palms on her soles, heels, the Achilles tendon, and calves.

“Haaa… Ahaa… Haaa…”

As always, Luna started trembling with her thin jaw and shoulders, unsure how to handle the sensation underneath her imposing helmet.

Even with that helmet on, the person inside was unmistakably Luna—her reaction remained unchanged.

“Hmm… Ahhh, Is this how you usually massage…?”

“Yes, every time. The first step is to warm the skin and awaken the nerves, followed by applying pressure to the pressure points.”

“Haaah, P-pressure… Aaaah!”

As my fingers pressed firmly against her sole, Luna let out a loud squeal under her mask.

It may have been just my imagination, but her voice sounded unusually high-pitched today, making me jump. Was it because the alcohol dulled her awareness of her volume?

“Luna! Be quieter; we might get complaints.”

“M-m-complaints? Ah, yes, I’ll… I’ll try to. J-just… wait… AAAH!”

She jittered and shuddered, retracting her feet from my grasp.

Her feet, previously so cold, started to warm up, even sweating a little. Luna pulled her feet away.

“Stop it! That’s not a massage!”

“If that’s not a massage, what is it?”

“I don’t knowee! Ahh… it feels like… some pent-up karma being released…!”

Luna shivered like a jelly, emitting a soft melting sound—clearly enjoying the sensation. As her masseur, it was quite fulfilling to know my hands brought her such pleasure.

This made me proud. With this skill, I might be approaching my father’s acupressure level.

“Haa… My legs… they feel weak… Nggh…”

Thump.

As Luna collapsed, I held her calves, focusing on her shins, thighs, and the famous Sanyinjiao acupoint just above her inner ankle.

The Sanyinjiao point.

It’s called that because it’s where three Yin meridians intersect: the spleen, liver, and kidney meridians.

In ancient Eastern medicine, Yin was considered the defining trait of women, as opposed to Yang, which defined men.

For women, the Sanyinjiao point is often described as a cheat code.

Its acupressure benefits range from general wellness to aiding childbirth for pregnant women. The claims seem a bit exaggerated.

But in my mind, the Eastern medicine points were perhaps just over-packaged nonsense.

“Not… not that spot! N-no! Haaaa… My belly! Something strange is happening down there…”

Given Luna’s recent menstruation issues before our next dungeon journey, she was understandably low on energy. So, I carefully worked on pressing and smoothing the Sanyinjiao acupoint with my thumb at an appropriate pressure.

“How does it feel, Luna? Are you feeling less tired?”

“It’s… not about tiredness. Something feels… strange. All this pent-up karma is flowing out…!”

I don’t know exactly what she means by “pent-up karma”, but her enjoyment makes it worthwhile for me.

Maybe, continuing to gently massage her feet, we could develop some romantic ambiance and enjoy a warm night together?

I softly caressed her toes as if petting the feathers of a bird, creating a tender moment.

“Haaah… stop it! That’s enough!”

As warmth slowly returned to her cold feet, subtle sweat beads appeared. Then Luna withdrew her foot from my hand, tucking both under a deer hide.

“That’s enough of that nonsense! Stop right now!”

“We’re not even done yet, are we? But if you say that’s enough, then so be it. Usually, you’d receive massages for more than half an hour.”

“THIRTY MINUTES!?”

Luna trembled and reacted strongly to my claim. After clearing her throat, she spoke in a calmer tone.

“Hmm… well, I’m quite satisfied with your work. The massage is done. Instead of massaging feet, don’t you think… there’s something better we could do… the usual way?”

Something better than massaging? A few ideas came to mind immediately.

“Do you mean it?”

“…Yes. It seems something has come to your mind. The things we used to do under the covers, away from prying eyes, in the dark of night…”

“Under the covers…”

“Much more private things… like making babies. Mating. Pairing. int*rcourse.”

With her face hidden by the mask, Luna seemed emboldened to list such explicit terms, which made me feel awkward.

“You’re tipsy. We’ve never done those things before. We’ve just made a lot of moai statues, though.”

“Hmm, we haven’t? Are you sure?”

“Our vow of chastity remains unbroken. Why do you ask now?”

“Yeah, that’s right. It must have been my mistake. So… what do we normally do?”

Luna questioned her past actions as though she had Alzheimer’s—though this question had come up earlier. I wasn’t cold-hearted enough to scold her for asking again.

“What do we usually do?”

This prompted me to reflect on our daily routines.

“Well, just the same thing every day. Eat, work, sleep, rest, clean the house, do laundry, clean.”

While saying this, I couldn’t help but wonder if this was truly all we did. On days without quests, life seemed to follow this simple pattern. I would read encyclopedias, and Luna would prepare for the shop’s opening. It was a rather pleasant way to live.

“Anyway, let’s go to sleep. There’s a lot of cleaning to do tomorrow.” Yawn, I’m so sleepy!

They say mismatched sleep schedules can cause both partners to suffer. Is this an example?

Tock. The ball rolled out from under Luna’s mask.

“Hotan, Luna is a good girl.”

Luna eventually reached the point of praising herself. Quite an unique drunk behavior. Unsure how to respond, I thought for a moment as Luna added a few more words.

“You know, I just want Luna to live life seeing only the bright side.”

“Everyone wishes to live that way.”

“To bask in the sunlight, to feel the blowing winds. To observe the falling leaves and snow.”

Sashak.

Luna rambled on about incomprehensible things before slipping under the covers, apparently intending to sleep with her strange skull helmet on.

As much as she might cherish her new item, sleeping in that must be uncomfortable. It reminded me of my little sister in elementary school, who would insist on sleeping in her new clothes.

Soak, soak.

Her breathing gradually steadied, signaling sleep. Listening to her breathing, I too felt quite tired and simply drifted off.

*

“Hassan, what is this?! An Onyx! There’s an Onyx rolling around the floor!”

Early morning. Upon waking up, Luna was already shouting.

“Ugh, what?”

“Look at this! Onyx! It’s perfectly round and incredibly black! Where did it come from?”

In Luna’s hand gleamed a small bead-sized gemstone, black as a black hole.

“Hmm, this is incredible… it’ll make a fine eye for the mask… had such a good dream, and now this wonderful stroke of luck at dawn… Shet…”

Whatever it is, Luna’s happiness settled it. Her cheerful voice in the morning was quite delightful.

Rubbing my eyes awake, I yawned and stretched my limbs.

“If we put this in an eye mask, what difference does it make?”

“Equipment with gems embedded in it becomes much stronger!”

“Is that so?”

It felt like those pay-to-win game systems. Reflecting on it, the wands, staffs, and pommeled swords of mages often had gems embedded—possibly for enhanced efficacy. Exactly how gems made equipment better was unclear to me.

Is it similar to the tough uncles who embed beads in their jewelry as a form of equipment enhancement? Perhaps adding gemstones to my own club could be effective.

Anyway, after this energetic morning routine was over,

Descending to the first floor, there was no sign of Paranoi. She must have gone out earlier?

“That nymph escaped!”

Although curious where she went, my interest only lingered briefly before redirecting.

My gaze fell on a mysterious goddess statue nestled amid some jars—an idol crafted to resemble Nox.

I approached it and blew gently, removing the dust.

To this, Luna, feeding the Keng Kengs nearby, added an unexpected statement.

“Hotan cares for Nox too? Are you also a follower of Nox?”

“No, that’s not it. Luna, I’m just asking out of curiosity—don’t you ever wonder about your parents?”

“I DON’T HAVE PARENTS!”

Luna’s response was immediate and almost automatic, leaving me slightly taken aback.

“But, Luna… you didn’t just appear in the world alone, right? You must have had a father and a mother who carried you for nine months.”

“Hmm. I suppose so.”

“Wouldn’t you want to see them? If you did, what would you say?”

“Hmm, why are you asking this?”

“I mean, no one knows how life may turn out.”

“Hmm, I’ve never thought about that… parents… Hmm, uuhmm…”

Luna’s face became unusually serious, as if deep in thought. Then, speaking in a small, intimate voice—as though imparting a deep secret—she began.

“I’d ask why they abandoned me. Even though the elders cared for me, I still felt envious seeing kids living with their parents. Sometimes, I wondered if I shouldn’t have been born.”

“Is that so?”

I was surprised to learn that the cheerful Luna had such thoughts. Feeling awkward for asking, the wooden statue of Nox before me seemed suddenly somber.

“But now, every day is fun! If I hadn’t been born, I wouldn’t have experienced all these interesting things! So first, I’d thank them for bringing me into the world!”

Tuck. Roll roll roll.

At that very moment, something rolled down to the floor again.

“Wow! Another Onyx! Hassan, there must be a vein in our house!”

What is the meaning of parents and children?

Contemplating the statue that kept dropping gems and the naive Luna who happily collected them made me think.

Having turned away for so long…

Thoughts of my parents began to stir within me, evoking an indescribable emotion. Though dad is one thing, I do miss mom quite a bit.

Mom.

Mother.

My mother, Kim Chunja.

Are you well?

Your unfilial son Hassan is suffering quite a lot in this strange world.

Still—

“Hassan! Onyx is rolling everywhere! Shet!”

Still, I’m managing okay these days.

“Seems there was something valuable in this land after all! It was a good decision to buy this place, even at the cost!”

…Or was it?

[Author’s Notes]

As mentioned earlier… On June 27th, Saturday…!! The entire story of our ongoing work, “Illegal Stay in Another World,” will be offered free of charge!

An emotional event…!!!

All thanks to our wonderful readers who have enjoyed and commented!

To all of you who have caught up with this current episode, Mucho has cast this deep-night voodoo spell for a restful sleep…!

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