Chapter 176

176: Hassan Learns Aura

Hassan, who was receiving a massage from Antiope, soon had her grab my arm and guide it with her palm.

“Here as well.”

She placed my palm on top of her hip and said,

“Push here too. Lately, this side has been aching a bit. Actually, it’s been so painful that walking has been difficult.”

Ding!

『Name: Antiope, Keeper of the Pictures, lv. ?? ??

Condition: Crooked Pelvis』『The Curse of the Two-Headed Hound』『Irregular Menstrual Cycle』

At that moment, many words appeared. As expected from a Temple Knight who has reached the level of a hero, her level was naturally hidden, and instead, the condition section displayed some familiar words.

It certainly seems like Antiope has a problem with her pelvis, just as she said.

Correcting the pelvis is an important point in aligning a twisted body. Therefore, I placed my palm on her left pelvis, specifically the hip, and applied pressure from above.

Huh..

“Ugh, huuuuh, haaah-!”

Antiope let out a scream and trembled her body.

Ding!

『Antiope, Keeper of the Pictures’ condition, Crooked Pelvis, has been healed.』

『Mission Value + 10』

『Current Mission Value + 155』

Curing the disease with just a single compression. I can feel my acupressure and massage skills improving.

Even Antiope sighed in satisfaction, lying face down.

“Huuuah… It’s refreshing… It feels like the burden on my body is lifting…”

Slurrrk..

While Antiope appeared pleased, I grew increasingly uneasy as I noticed the tattoos on her buttocks and thighs, smudging under my palm.

So, I quickly distanced myself from her grasp and wiped whatever ink it was on my pants, rubbing it off hastily.

In this situation, there’s no option but to aim for complete crime.

I wondered what to do if she asked me to treat other parts of her body, resulting in all her tattoos being erased. But satisfied Antiope, the tattooed woman, seemed to be enjoying the aftereffects of the adjustment as she lay limp.

“Honestly… I’ve never experienced something like this, not even from the royal path. It feels like handling mana flowing through the body… You must know a lot about bones and joints, huh?”

“I know a little more than most people.”

“The Cultists also have extensive knowledge about bones, right? Aren’t you one of them by any chance?”

“Um…?”

“Of course, I’m just joking. Anyway, ah, it’s invigorating. It feels like I’ve been reborn. My body feels a bit lethargic, but it’s perfect. It feels like I’ve thrown off the burden on my back…”

Antiope stretched out her arms and legs while lying face down, extending her limbs as if Superman were flying.

As she moved, the tattoos on her back that had all been erased became embarrassingly noticeable. All the pictures she carried on her back had peeled off.

“Uh, it’s not completely done yet. Just wait a moment…”

Having no other choice, I decided to use the ink on my hands. What was the original image on her back? I have a feeling it was something similar to a flower.

I cannot recall the exact details.

Drawing a somewhat similar flower should suffice.

As I smeared the ink on my finger across her back, a picture began to form.

Not knowing what to draw, I ended up sketching a dandelion-like flower, the sun, and clouds. It was akin to a sketchbook of elementary school students.

Nevertheless, I put effort into it.

Tch. Still, it’s better than having nothing on her back, right?

“Hohoh, it tickles. Anyway, I feel good. Uwaaaah-!”

Finally, Antiope rose from her seat and stretched extensively.

She soon sat upright in front of me and tapped her thighs with the palm of her hand.

“Here, lie down here. Now, it’s my turn to do something nice for you.”

Place my head on her soft thighs and lie down?

For a moment, I felt dizzy. Could I actually lie on a woman’s thighs? Something I’ve never even experienced with Luna.

“Hurry up.”

But I was so scared of Antiope’s insistence that I didn’t think too much and simply placed my head down and lay there.

It was soft just as I had imagined.

To use a metaphor, it would be fitting to call them Gold Tier thighs.

Hnggg…

For some reason, it smelled good.

As I lay there, Antiope steadied my head.

“Now, I’m going to insert this thin stick into your ear. It’s best if you don’t move.”

Soon, a thin, slender object slowly approached my ear. So, the pleasant thing Antiope was going to do for me was cleaning my ears.

Indeed, having someone else clean your ears feels amazing. As a child, I often received this treatment from my mother. It’s been a long time since anyone cleaned my ears like this.

Sagrrk.. Sagrrl..

“Surprisingly, there’s nothing in here. Is this even possible for a person?”

“Is that so?”

“Your ears are like a cave. Completely dark and empty. This is the first time I’ve seen ears like this.”

I originally didn’t accumulate much waste in my body, so I didn’t need to clean my ears often.

“Try lying on the other side.”

“The other side?”

The mention of “the other side” briefly puzzled me. My head was currently turned outward on Antiope’s knee. To lie on the other side would inevitably mean turning toward her inner knee. This would place Antiope’s body directly in front of my eyes and nose.

But since Hippolyte, Antiope’s sister, didn’t seem to mind, I turned over in a way that appeared casual.

In front of my nose.

Spread thighs sitting cross-legged, thin fabric, and a slight glimpse of the rift in between were vividly displayed.

It’s truly amazing.

“There’s a little here on this side. So, stay still.”

Sagrrl..

After some time, the thin stick slowly re-entered my ear, but I wasn’t paying attention to it.

“Does it feel good?”

“Yeah, it does.”

“I’m skilled at handling long sticks. Have you heard of Antiope the Javelin?”

“To be honest, I haven’t.”

“You don’t know of the esteemed position of Antiope within the knights? This is a bit frustrating, isn’t it? For someone to not know of my reputation…”

Sagrrl.. Sagrrl..

I felt the strength of the small stick cleaning my ears slightly increase. Afraid that he would dig further if I said more, I decided to stay quiet.

“That’s it, we’re done.”

Just as I was enjoying the softness of her thighs for a while, Antiope removed the ear pick from my ear. Thanks to her, I enjoyed a pleasant sight and the softness from early morning.

“But, my sister hasn’t come yet.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

Despite giving a massage and cleaning my ears, Hippolyte didn’t seem to be coming anytime soon. I was just contemplating returning when the sound of the door opened with a clunk.

With that, Hipolyte appeared in her usual short jacket and hot shorts, dressed in training gear and sweating.

“Hmm, it feels good to sweat in the morning.”

“Sister, we have a guest.”

“My guest? Oh, there was someone, wasn’t there? Ah, it’s Samaritan.”

Hippolyte gulped down the water she had stored at home.

“Phew, now I feel like I can live a bit more. So, Samaritan, why are you here so early in the morning?”

Hippolyte focused on her reflection in the mirror rather than me. As she tidied the strands of hair stuck to her eyebrows, I briefly stared at her moving throat in amazement.

There are so many interesting things in this house.

“Hmph, now I can survive a bit. So, Samaritan, why are you here so early in the morning?”

To explain the reason for my visit here, I briefly stated,

“I’ve come to learn Aura.”

“Ah, I see. It seems you’ve finally made up your mind.”

“First, let’s discuss a month of education, and I can pay by the month, is that okay?”

Taking out a gold coin I’d had prepared, I carefully placed it into Hippolyte’s palm.

“A gold coin, eh.”

Though it seemed like Hippolyte’s brown eyes momentarily gleamed unusually at the sight of the gold coin, I decided it must have been my imagination, brushing it off.

Hippolyte looked around, seemingly considering where to put it, and then just shoved it into the space between her br*asts. So with br*asts like hers, you can use them like a pocket.

In that instant, I began imagining what it would feel like to dip my palm or face into that space. It would probably be unimaginably pleasant.

Thinking about that made me recall the barn incident from a while ago. It felt like a dream. If such an incident had happened, it would have been good to do a little more, a bit of this and that.

Swoosh, swoosh.

As I was lost in these thoughts, Hippolyte wiped the sweat off her body with a towel and motioned with her chin.

“Come on out, I’ll explain to you in the clearing behind this house.”

*

Behind Hippolyte’s house, there was indeed a small clearing as she had said.

There was a scarecrow set up, and a leather sandbag filled with sand was hanging above it. I understood that Hippolyte seemed to use the area like a gym to loosen up her body.

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen this place. It brings back old memories.”

Antiope walked out behind me, reminiscing quietly. I wondered why she was coming outside. It seemed like she just came out to watch out of boredom.

Hippolyte frowned as she watched Antiope looking around.

“Antiope, your back… What was the picture tattooed on your back?”

“Wasn’t it fighting the Nepenthe flesh-eating flower? I couldn’t see the back properly, so I don’t know.”

“I see, a flower.”

“What?”

“Not at all, it’s nothing.”

It seemed Hippolyte had noticed that the tattoo on her sister’s back had changed.

But probably unaware that an unmodifiable tattoo could be erased and altered, she decided to let it go.

Of course, that was my personal assumption.

Please, let it be that way.

As I worried like that, Hippolyte seemed to have lost interest in her sister’s back and pulled a leather sandbag to me.

The rusty sound of the wheels below made it quite scary, and the frown deepened. The scars all over the leather also looked like from longtime use.

“Hmm, let’s see your level, Hassan. Hit this with all your might. With the club you are boasting about, that is.”

Assessing one’s level.

Would it be similar to an orientation test?

As I held the club I had tied to my waist, Antiope sat down in a corner, crossed her arms, and watched.

The thought that someone was watching me made me somewhat nervous.

“So, you just hit it with all your might?”

“Yeah, do it as you want.”

“Hoo-.”

So after adjusting my breathing for a moment, I swung the club I had raised with all my might, from right to left.

Whoosh-

Just as my club sliced through the air, it collided with the leather sandbag.

Poof!

It instantly burst with a solid sound. The leather tore like a jagged piece, and sand poured down to the ground, creating a cloud of powdered dust.

“What is this, rather impressive? You’ve torn Sister’s sandbag, and it was only the second year before I accomplished that. It doesn’t feel like the strength of a Bronze Tier.”

At that sight, Antiope opened her mouth in surprise as if quite unexpected. I had thought the sandbag was fairly sturdy, but tearing it was quite a remarkable feat.

“Undoubtedly an absurd amount of strength. It’s a body blessed by the gods. Truly, these Samaritans…”

But Hippolyte clicked her tongue and furrowed her brow as if signaling a problem.

“Isn’t brute strength a good thing?”

“Of course, it’s good. However, strong brute strength will hinder in mastering Aura.”

Hmm? Was that true? I deeply regretted focusing all my investment into brute strength. Was I wrong for doing so? d*mn, is there no such thing as resetting skill points?

So, I couldn’t help but ask why strong strength makes it difficult to learn Aura.

“Why makes it difficult to learn Aura when you’re strong?”

“This leather sack is made from Ogre skin. The skin of the Titans’ war mounts, Ogres, is extremely tough, so it’s hard to damage without using Aura.”

Swoosh.

Hippolyte knelt on the floor and swept the fallen sand with her palm. She then grabbed a fistful of sand and continued speaking.

“Hence, it’s impossible to tear this leather bag without using Aura. But, you managed to do it with sheer strength.”

“Is that, such a problem? Isn’t having strength a good thing?”

“Of course, it’s a problem. Someone with great strength doesn’t necessarily need to learn Aura.”

“Huh?”

“Great strength can solve many things. Because of that, it hinders advancement. Strong warriors don’t need Aura, so they don’t put in the effort to learn.”

When Hippolyte said this, I thought of the African continent. The natives of Africa have extraordinary physical abilities.

They are so capable that they can solve most problems they encounter with their bodies. Hence, they don’t feel the need for advancement and the development of technology has been relatively delayed.

Hippolyte’s words seemed to be somewhat similar to that.

What, then does this mean that investing all into brute strength wasn’t necessarily a bad choice? Indeed, the might is strong enough to do anything.

For the next stats, I should also invest in brute strength.

Just in time, my mission points have surpassed a hundred. If I boost brute strength this time, it will reach 13; if the bonus hits, it will reach 14.

14.

If the brute strength value reaches 14, wouldn’t it surpass Elpride?

I imagined overpowering and felling Elpride with my strength. The image of firmly pressing down her shoulder so she can’t resist and making her surrender thrilled me.

Whipping her with the club would make it even better.

Just imagining it gets me quite excited.

Slurrr..

At that moment, Antiope drew the spear she had on her back and said,

“There are Cultists nearby.”

[End of Translation]

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