Chapter 16

Chapter 16

First Mission. Achieved! Wrap-up… Successful?

016 – <First Mission. Achieved! Wrap-up… Successful?>

In the alchemy shop of the witch Nemea, there was a place that could be called underground. Upon lifting a flat door, a staircase appeared, emitting a musty smell of mold.

With a small lantern in hand, Nemea walked ahead, her footsteps echoing softly. I followed cautiously behind, trembling with unease.

It felt as if I were reaching into the depths of a spider’s web.

From the woman in front of me wafted a subtle, sweet fragrance, almost indistinguishable, like a scented candle. I wondered if this is what ants felt when walking in a line following pheromones.

“I haven’t had a chance to clean for a while—so it might be a bit messy.”

Finally, the woman arrived underground and opened a heavy metal door. A rusty sound lingered as it opened.

Just as I thought nothing was visible in the dark space beyond, the woman murmured a barely audible incantation.

“Barthama—”

Then, one by one, torches lit up the dark space with a flickering light. What soon appeared were tools stained with wood, metal, and bl**d.

“Um, I’m sorry, but I think I’ll leave without doing anything….”

They were clearly torture devices.

I had no knowledge about medieval torture tools, but the sharp spikes and gruesome shapes were enough for even a child to recognize them as wicked creations made for torture or m*rder!

Just as I began to back away slowly,

“Oh my—. You’re quite jumpy for someone of your size—. Don’t worry—. I feel the same way—. I want to dispose of those, but they’re too heavy for me to manage on my own—.”

Swipe—

The slender finger of the woman rested on my chest. The thin and delicate finger moved across my chest like a spider, then she chuckled softly.

“What a magnificent body—. You must be strong—? I hope you can use that overflowing strength, my Samaritan friend—.”

This witch seemed to expect me to move those tools in the underground. Did she perceive me as a capable laborer?

Indeed, I was larger than most beings in this world. After two years as a slave, enduring physical labor and starvation, I had developed solid muscles without an ounce of belly fat.

Of course, I was not special; anyone enduring two years of grunt work would either grow feeble or strong.

“Is it just moving them…?”

“A very suspicious friend—. Almost like a wild beast—. Yes, just move them outside the shop—. Someone collecting scrap will come to haul them away—.”

So it was a same-day service for half a day. Moving the items up from the underground would earn me 30 copper. The load didn’t seem too heavy, and if I just exerted some effort, I thought I could finish in about ten minutes, just as the witch said.

During my slave days and even back in modern times, I often earned pocket money lifting weights like this. 30 copper for a simple task completed in half an hour felt exceedingly generous.

So I started moving the wooden frames and iron plates to the shop’s front, feeling as if I were doing a side job for some cash.

Surprisingly, perhaps due to my strength score increasing by 1, it didn’t feel as heavy as I thought. Of course, the heavy loads were still incredibly heavy—some of them were just hunk of metal!

“Alright, that’s all moved—. Now I just need to wait for the cart—.”

Looking at all the items in front of her shop, the witch smiled lazily.

She said it cheerfully, but the already dreary alley in front of her shop had transformed into something even more unsettling with the torture machines scattered about.

“Here—. The cost of the bees and the goblin teeth. And the price for the sweat you’ve spilled—.”

The witch’s gentle hand extended a pouch filled with coins towards me.

After confirming with a clink that it contained 80 copper, I finally let out a small sigh of relief.

“By the way, friend—. Are you perhaps interested in fate and fortune? You seem like someone born under a mystical star—.”

“Fortune-telling?”

“Right—. I read fortunes and do light emotional work, sensing the power imbued in objects—. I can tell that your karma is unusual—. It’s fascinating—.”

“I won’t pay for it if it costs money.”

“Hehe—. Don’t worry—. Normally, I would charge, but your karma is so unique that I want to see it myself—. I won’t ask for money—.”

A fortune-teller that doesn’t ask for payment? How intriguing. I couldn’t help but wonder if this was a quack.

In reality, I wasn’t very fond of fortune-telling.

I also disliked cults, thinking that a certain cultist I met that day had caused me a lot of trouble in this world.

But as I gazed at her impressive chest, I found myself thinking I could care less.

So I sat on a chair on the first floor, placing a strange crystal ball in front of me and facing the witch.

“Now, first touch this crystal ball—. With both hands.”

Grab—

The round crystal ball felt just like a smooth, cold, hard sphere. I’d thought it might vibrate or produce some strange sensation like the statue I touched earlier, but thankfully or regrettably, it didn’t.

Swipe—

However, I was startled when the witch’s palm gently rested upon the back of my hand.

What is this?

It was so perplexing I wondered if she had never faced hardship in this barbaric world. Her palm was slender and soft.

As her hand glided back and forth on my skin, I felt a mix of confusion and an oddly delightful sensation.

Ding—

『Name: Nemea Lv. ??

Status: Chronic Fatigue》 ????》 ????》 ????》 ????》 ????》 ????》』

What the hell, why are there so many question marks?

Words appeared when my hand accidentally brushed against my left wrist. Like the one-eyed middle-aged man from the guild, there were too many question marks, and there were few elements I could confirm.

The question marks kept appearing. Is it broken? Or is there another reason?

“You’ve been blessed by a bothersome god, my friend—.”

“Oh—.”

Did she realize I had received a blessing? Perhaps she sensed some form of magical power. It wouldn’t be strange for this mysterious witch to have done something.

“However, what’s strange is—. Two… three…. No, four? I can’t tell—. At least two different gods seem to resonate within you—. This is impossible—. One seems rather unstable—.”

“What does that mean?”

“I don’t know—. It’s my first time experiencing this—. Normally, it’s impossible for two gods’ powers to dwell within a single human body—. Yet, you can manage that—. What are you, friend—?”

“Yes, uh?”

“Gods are often filled with jealousy—. They dislike seeing their champions associating with other gods—. Yet you… hum, I don’t know—. My reading might be wrong—. I’ve been fatigued lately, so it might not be accurate—.”

The witch’s palm swiped my hand away from the crystal ball. The text that had floated before my eyes faded away.

Fatigued, huh? It seems the item labeled chronic fatigue had some effect.

But what does it mean that it’s impossible for a single human to contain the powers of two gods? The blessings I possessed were two, and they definitely seemed to have been bestowed by separate gods.

“Um, if I could ask what happens to someone who receives blessings from two gods…?”

“Hmm—? Ah, it’s simple—. You receive support from several gods—. You might achieve great feats beyond imagination—. Or think of a frog being pulled by a child on both sides—. Its insides spill out—. Its bones crack—.”

With a languid voice, the witch described a gruesome fact. d*mn, having two rare blessings isn’t something to be solely joyous about. Wasn’t I screwed?

“Well—. Regardless, it’s fascinating—. My reading could’ve been wrong—. I haven’t been long settled in Sodomora—. So with everything piled up, it must be making me fatigued— yawn—.”

With a big yawn, the witch Nemea opened her mouth wide. It was a sight that might have appeared quite unsightly if anyone else had done it, but somehow the beauty made it seem endearing and human-like.

“…Um, I know a massage technique that relieves fatigue.”

Perhaps due to that opening, or maybe because of the skinship that had been ongoing, I gathered my courage and made a suggestion.

“Massage—?”

“Ah, yes. If you don’t mind, may I have your palm…?”

“My palm—? Hm—. Asking for my hand for a massage—. What a classic pickup line—.”

The witch’s eyes glimmered hazily. As a man usually subjected to cold scorn from women, I couldn’t help but feel remorseful, wondering if I had said something foolish in a heated moment.

What if she were to shout, “How absurd! Are you trying to m*l*st me!” like Daphne? The atmosphere would turn incredibly awkward. d*mn that Hassan, has he gone wild?

“Alright—. Well—. A palm is fine—. Just the right hand—?”

Oh my, angel!

Her slender palm extended toward me. I slyly gazed at it.

I had caught a glimpse of it while fiddling with the crystal ball before. There were red spots showing up on her palm.

Not just one, but several, which was a tad odd. Nevertheless, it confirmed that my feelings weren’t wrong.

“If you look closely, can you see something—?”

“Ah, just the usual….”

“In the land of Samaritans, they say there are shamans who read destinies from the lines on palms—. Are you one of those—?”

Is she referring to palmistry? Do Samaritans engage in such quackery? d*mn, my prejudices against the Samaritan wilderness seem to be multiplying.

However, it was sufficient information I could utilize.

“…Roughly speaking, yes. Now, let me touch it for a bit.”

“Oh my—. You’re going to touch? How naughty—. Then touch away—.”

I tried hard not to acknowledge it, but the teasing manner made my ears feel hot.

Maintaining my composure, I focused on her fingers and palm, threading my pinky and ring fingers between the section I could call the space between her thumb and index, and that between her ring and pinky finger.

According to my father, this position could be called the fundamentals of palm massage.

If I delved deeper, there must be some medical terminology or specialized massage jargon, but since I was a quack who had learned from my father, I wouldn’t know about those. I was merely mimicking him. I doubt my father knew much either.

“What are you trying to do—?”

“I’m going to press down now.”

Squish—

I exerted force to spread her palm, pulling it sideways, then pressed my thumbs into the area just above her wrist, where the thick flesh met and formed a slight indentation.

To my knowledge, this point was great for chronic fatigue. There were red spots present.

“Ha, hha—.”

Squish—

As I pressed down, the witch let out a soft whimper, and the spot I was pressing vanished, simultaneously swelling my pride. Indeed, my pride was swelling.

You might wonder why my pride grew, but I was in my prime and had been denied even the chance to touch myself for a long while.

So for my pride not to swell while touching the soft palm of an unfamiliar woman was quite strange.

“Your body feels so tingly—. It’s fascinating—. Is it Samaritan witchcraft? It feels different for a blessing—.”

“Can I—continue—?”

“Yeah, it doesn’t feel bad—. In fact, it’s rather exhilarating…. Ah—? ”

I pressed hard on the witch’s thumb, where the red spots lingered. This part is good for somewhere. Was it the feet? If the feet are tired, the whole body gets tired, so it’s not an exaggeration.

Squish, squish—

Just then, I stole a glance to see if it was working.

“My foot feels like it’s going to cramp—. Why is my foot tingling from pressing my palm—?”

Seems to be highly effective. I got into the mood and pressed down on the points where red spots had appeared on her middle and ring fingers, turning them around.

The witch’s body quaked, and she kept letting out delightful sounds like, “Haa—.” “Ahh—.”

Ding—

『You have healed Nemea’s Chronic Fatigue.』

『Task Score + 10』

By the time I had removed the last red spot, familiar words floated in front of my eyes.

But I thought I couldn’t let this opportunity slip away, so I continued to massage Nemea’s palm.

Her palm was soft, pliable, and warm; it felt as though it might break easily if I applied force, yet it was surprisingly strong—such was its allure.

Hehe, it felt good.

“Ha—. So fascinating—. I feel like the tumultuous magical energy is getting sorted out—. I’m done now, friend—.”

Perhaps due to believing she was free of fatigue, or maybe because my movements were too lewd, the witch called for a stop. d*mn, was I too blatant about it!

I couldn’t touch her longer like this, so I reluctantly pulled away my hand. The warmth from her palm still lingered on my hand, making it feel somewhat distant. Perhaps around 36.7 degrees Celsius.

“That felt refreshingly nice—. Hmm, invigorating—. I could get addicted to this feeling—. It’s been a while since I felt this—. But be careful, my friend—. Since Clepios was struck by lightning, unauthorized medical practices in shrines are forbidden—.”

“Is this kind of massage considered medical practice?”

“Well, that depends on how the gods judge it. A simple massage might be fine, but what you did didn’t seem simple at all. Do you understand the structure of the magical power flowing in the body—?”

Magical power? I can’t even feel magical power, let alone performing simple card tricks. So the witch laughed softly as she addressed my bewildered face.

“Anyway, if you find good items next time, come visit again—. I’ll buy them at a fair price—.”

Having thoroughly enjoyed massaging a pretty woman’s hand, shouldn’t I be the one paying? Worried she might ask for payment for touching, I quickly turned to leave.

As I exited the shop, I heard the witch’s gentle farewell behind me.

“Oh, by the way, today is a double full moon. Be cautious with light for a while, Hassan—. The week featuring a double full moon is not auspicious.”

“Huh?”

As I turned to ask what she meant, the witch was already shutting the door and going back inside.

What does that mean? Did I even tell her my name? I was too flustered to remember.

Looking up, I noticed the sun had set and the sky had grown quite dark. I should hurry to the bathhouse and then to the tavern where everyone was waiting.

But perhaps because I had just had such a shocking experience, I couldn’t recall the name of the tavern. Was it the Nymph’s Tail Inn?

[Author’s Note] There are still 5 more chapters to go… Your support and recommendations are always appreciated!

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