Chapter 18

18th Episode

The Waters of the Styx River Flow Proudly

018 – <The Waters of the Styx River Flow Proudly #1>

A single candle flickered in the small room. The air around was thick with the smell of mold and dampness, and that’s where I opened my eyes.

Is this a tavern room?

Looking around, I could see a reasonably spacious area. A desk, a chair, and on it, a small flickering candle. It was a typical scene that could only be from a private room at an inn. Who would’ve thought I’d indulge in such luxury? Sleeping in a private room, no less.

The bed wasn’t just some hay stacked up with a tattered blanket thrown on it; it was a properly thick mattress that made my body feel like it was melting into it.

That’s why it took me quite a bit of time to finally sit up.

The first thing I checked after managing to get up was my pocket.

This was a habit of mine — checking to make sure the money I’d gathered last night hadn’t been stolen or misplaced. In a world full of pickpockets and thieves, this precaution was essential for everyone.

The bundle contained 10 silver coins and 40 copper coins. It seemed slightly less than before, probably used to pay for the inn room.

Next, I checked my fingers, toes, and whether any of my teeth were broken or if there were any wounds on my body. Thankfully, everything appeared fine.

Now, my thoughts moved on to the next question. Just when did I come here and fall asleep? I tried hard to recall my last memory, but it all went dark after drinking with Luna. My consciousness must’ve faded. That bluish drink Luna served must’ve been quite potent.

I drank so much that I passed out. Lucky for me, I didn’t lose all my money or get hurt.

“d*mn it, I’ll never touch alcohol again.” With that thought, I gathered my belongings from the inn room and stepped outside.

Walking down the stairs, I headed toward the now familiar first-floor lobby. Unlike last night, the place was rather quiet, with a chill ambiance. Some people sat at the tables, hastily consuming breakfast.

“There he is, isn’t that Mr. Samaritan?”

A bald man cleaning dishes and cups with a dry rag noticed me and greeted me. I dimly remembered this man being the tavern owner, but I couldn’t help but question how we had gotten to the point of recognizing each other like this.

“You did great with my shoulder. The pain’s much better now, and I don’t feel any more aches at all. Sit down, I’ll serve you breakfast.”

“…”

Not knowing how to respond, I quietly followed the bald innkeeper’s instructions and sat at the nearest empty table.

The chair was backless and rigidly uncomfortable, making me feel like my rear might flatten from just sitting. Still, the unease I felt wasn’t entirely due to the chair.

“Look over there, that’s the guy from yesterday. That scary expression. He’s terrifying.”

“Did you hear the bard’s song last night? They sang about him slaughtering 50 goblins by himself, apparently.”

“Indeed, he looks as terrifying as the rumors say.”

Voices whispered and murmured around me. It seemed some strange rumors were spreading about me. By the sounds of it, Malco probably played a part in this, though neither Luna nor Malco were anywhere to be seen, so I couldn’t get any clarity on the matter.

“Here’s your breakfast. It’s included in last night’s private room fee, so you don’t need to worry about the price. As a service, I added a bit more meat.”

While I was pondering the situation, a bowl of morning soup was placed before me. The large bowl, similar to a cauldron, was filled with a thin broth. As the innkeeper had promised, there were indeed generous portions of vegetables and meat floating in it.

It looked tasty.

My stomach rumbled despite the nausea from the hangover. I picked up my spoon and began eating slowly. The soup was bland due to the lack of seasoning, but hunger pushed me to continue until I’d devoured the entire bowl.

With my stomach full, my head began to clear a little. As my thoughts settled, my current situation began to make a bit more sense.

To summarize: Last night, I finished an assignment and indulged in excessive drinking as a celebration.

When I woke up this morning, the innkeeper and some strangers were gossiping about me or giving me a strangely familiar vibe.

Though I wasn’t sure what exactly happened last night, the innkeeper seemed to think I had treated his shoulder.

Curious, I muttered quietly, just loud enough for myself to hear:

“…Long live Chaos.”

I furrowed my eyebrows as a response came to me:

ding.

「Name: Hassan Lv. 8

Strength: 3

Agility: 2

Stamina: 3

Craftsmanship: 227/247

Status: Oath of Styx

Blessings: Blessing of Chaos, Amateur Craftsman」

What the hell? It feels like something’s seriously changed here.

First off, there’s the change in my task numbers. Judging by the increase of 20, it seems like I unknowingly helped someone with insomnia or sore shoulders.

What was most concerning, though, was the status section — the unfamiliar words I saw there.

Oath of Styx?

What’s that supposed to mean?

I didn’t have a good feeling about it. Almost everything I’ve seen in the status section so far has involved negative aspects like curses or back pain.

This Oath of Styx likely doesn’t mean anything good either. Is it some kind of curse, perhaps?

The thought of curses made me recall the near two years I spent dealing with a particularly nasty one, causing involuntary contractions in my lower body. I instinctively felt a nervous chill run through me, and my palms grew cold.

Though my morning condition suggested it might be something different from that curse…

I couldn’t figure it out on my own, so I decided to casually bring it up with the bald innkeeper who had been watching me this whole time with a pleased smile and occasional winks.

“Uh, I wanted to speak about what happened last night…”

“Ah, no worries. No one will care or even know. It shall remain a secret for life. I swear this by the name of Bacchus, the god of taverns and revelry!”

Whatever I was about to say, the innkeeper interrupted and finished the story on his own. Even as I tried to ask more questions, he remained stubborn in dismissing them, saying things like, “There’s nothing more to say. Don’t worry about it.”

“d*mn it, I’m the one who’s worried here.”

I wondered if perhaps I had developed red spots somewhere on my body, like when I’d been cursed before, so I stripped down in my room and checked carefully, but there was nothing visible.

“Aah, Mr. Hassan.”

After the sky brightened a bit, I went to the Mars Guild. I stopped by to return the wooden token and collect my reward while sitting across from Daphne.

“I’ve heard everything from Mr. Platan. You know how he’s not one to praise others easily, right? But apparently, he even said you’re someone worth watching.”

It seems Old Scholar Platan had spoken about me to Daphne. Though honestly, I don’t recall doing anything praiseworthy or impressive enough for an old man like him to notice.

If anything, it might’ve been the few nods of agreement I gave during our conversation or the fact that I took a good beating from the goblins.

Anyway, I collected my reward of 30 coppers. With that taken care of, I decided to casually ask another question tied to why I came here in the first place.

“Did anyone else besides Platan come by? Maybe Malco or Luna?”

If I wanted to know what happened last night at the tavern, there’d be no better people to ask. That’s why I’d come directly to the guild.

“They left early this morning after collecting their payment.”

“Do you know where they went?”

“Hmm, I can’t really keep track of people’s private lives. Is there a problem?”

Daphne’s gaze on me sharpened slightly. Though her question seemed friendly, her look felt more like a meticulous examiner sizing me up, ready to evaluate my conduct for future reference.

“Ah, no, there’s no problem.”

“In fact, I was worried about you after sending you off. It’s good to see your arms and legs are intact. I’m just glad everything went smoothly for you.”

“Speaking of cleaning jobs, would there ever be any real danger to arms and legs? Anyway, that’s not the most important thing right now…”

“Ms. Daphne, I have one more question. Do you know anything about something called the ‘Styx’?”

“Isn’t it the river in the underworld that flows deep underground? Why do you ask?”

“And what about something like an Oath of Styx or something similar…?”

“Ah, well, you’d likely get more information faster by checking the library rather than listening to me. Since you can read, I can provide you with the title of a book you can borrow.”

Daphne tore off a piece of parchment and wrote something down before handing me a small wooden token tied to her keychain.

“A library pass. Usually, I wouldn’t hand them out like this, but you’ve done me a favor or two. Since you now have some free time until the next commission is available, it wouldn’t hurt to learn more about common knowledge around the continent.”

I took the piece of parchment and the wooden token as Daphne encouraged me with a final remark: “You’ll be meeting many people in the future, after all.”

“With this one book, I’ll become knowledgeable about the continent?”

The book title sounded a bit odd, but given how most things and people here tend to be strange, I decided not to think too much about it.

I arrived at the library sometime after lunch. Navigation through the city was surprisingly unhelpful since the signs and direction markers were so poor that I ended up wasting a fair amount of time wandering around.

I might need to memorize the layout of this city sometime soon when I have the opportunity.

Still, is this really the library?

Having been previously impressed by the guild building doubling as a shrine, I had some expectations for how the library would look.

Instead, it appeared to be more like a run-down warehouse or perhaps an alleyway secondhand bookstore.

Walking through the entrance, I found a reception desk or counter where a gaunt, pale man glanced at me. His grayish hair and ashen complexion made it hard to tell if he was young or old. His voice carried a faint wheeze as he spoke.

“This isn’t a place where anyone can walk in as they please, you barbarian.”

A “barbarian” was, to be precise, an old-fashioned and condescending term used by refined individuals to refer to someone uncivilized. Clearly, the librarian was a well-educated individual. Even so, no amount of refinement makes an insult into a compliment.

“I have a library pass.”

I handed over the token I had prepared beforehand and discreetly surveyed my surroundings. Rows of scrolls and old books lined the shelves. The exterior may have been shabby, but the interior was relatively well-organized and impressive in its own way.

“Did you steal it?”

“No, I received it from Ms. Daphne at the Mars Guild. You can verify it if you wish.”

“Alright, then wait a moment. Is anyone around?”

“Mr. Erimanthos, it’s my turn to watch today.”

“Ah, Isophos. Go visit the Mars Guild for a moment. Check with receptionist Daphne for verification…”

d*mn, why does everything I do lead to accusations of theft and constant verification? Living as a barbarian in this world really comes with a lot of unnecessary hassle.

…

…

“Alright, verified. Seems legitimate. So, what book are you here to borrow? Learning to k*ll people is better done in the wilds than in a library, you know?”

The librarian smirked as if quite pleased with his clever remark. Yeah, sure, buddy.

“Do you have a book with this title?”

Showing the librarian the note Ms. Daphne had given me, his eyebrows furrowed heavily.

“Wait here.”

He disappeared into the rows of shelves, returning shortly with a thick, hardcover tome that looked monstrously heavy.

Just at first glance, it seemed like it could crush someone’s skull if he hit them with it. How in the world did this emaciated librarian carry such a weighty book? It’s nearly as though the book carried the librarian instead.

“The loan period is one week. Swear on the name of Minerva not to damage or mar the book; if it’s ruined, you’ll have to pay its value.”

“How much is it?”

“23 silver.”

“Geometry!”

“Ah, this isn’t a geometry book, though?”

“Nevermind, it’s nothing.”

d*mn it, 23 silver? That’s more than I have!

In this world where printing technology hasn’t advanced, books are a luxury only available to wealthy and educated individuals who can read. With each one handmade, high prices are inevitable.

So, I had to handle this thick, heavy tome as if it were royalty itself, with utmost care. I’d get the answers I needed as quickly as possible and return it right away.

That’s how I experienced my first library loan. Walking back out onto the streets, I leaned against the shade of a park tree and spread out the book cautiously.

Just by opening the cover, I almost felt myself nodding off. Perhaps it was the two years I spent avoiding books, reading, and studying that left my brain unprepared for such dense text.

Stay awake, d*mn it. Drooling while sleeping would be embarrassing.

With the financial concerns in mind, I woke myself up and first flipped to the table of contents. The entries were listed alphabetically from ‘g’ to ‘h’.

I needed to find information on the Styx River. Si, Si, Si…

「Styx: One of the rivers said to flow in Pluto’s deep underworld. It’s told that beneath the waters of the Styx lie the lingering spirits of countless deceased and various monsters.

To gods and humans alike, the Styx holds immense significance. Vows or oaths sworn by it are binding even to the gods, incapable of being broken.

Modern organized theologians often dismiss this as purely symbolic, but many accounts exist of individuals suffering terrible fates for breaking oaths to the Styx. Whether these are simply superstitious overlaps remains widely debated.

A famous figure associated with the Styx is the goddess Styx and…」

The entry for the Styx River spanned over sixteen pages of dense writing. Going through it all likely wouldn’t help me much, so I extracted the key points:

The Styx River symbolizes the serious nature of promises and oaths.

Now that I think about it, I vaguely remember seeing something similar in one of the mythological cartoons I watched as a kid.

It seems an oath tied to the Styx has been impressed upon me, meaning I must have promised something to someone.

[Author’s Note] Hassan’s familiarity with Greek and Roman mythology extends about as far as remembering a scene from a childhood cartoon where Hercules suckled on Hera’s breast… which is about as far as mine goes, haha!

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