Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Luna and the Totem-Making Date

022 ? <Luna and the Totem-Making Date #2>

Curse, curse, curse, curse…

The words that appeared when I grabbed Luna’s wrist sent shivers down my spine.

How in the world did she end up with so many curses? At this rate, not only will her voodoo or whatever fail, but she herself might turn into some kind of idol or totem.

But wait a second. If I can remove these curses, I can accumulate mission points, and use those points to level up.

Isn’t Luna like a huge goldmine?

“Why, why are you looking at me like that, Hassan? You’re scaring me-.”

I hadn’t realized I was frowning so intensely. Luna shrunk back slightly, her cheeks turning a light pink. It seems my face must look pretty terrifying.

“Ah, um…”

I became curious about the curses Luna carries. But I’m hesitant to ask directly – “You have a lot of curses, huh?”

The incident with Daphne back when I joined the Mars Guild as an adventurer made me wary of prying into people’s personal information.

What if Luna reacts with “How do you know I have curses?! You pervert!” and slaps me?

Even if that doesn’t happen, reading and speaking about others’ private information is an invasion of privacy, something no one likes.

Imagine if someone grabbed my wrist and said “Hey Hassan, I see you were doing s*x-005 times with your daughter last night?” I’d probably flip out too.

People’s personal information is private for a reason.

As I’m hesitating about whether to bring it up or pretend I didn’t notice, Luna subtly withdraws her bandaged hand.

“I, we don’t have time for this. The barn rental time is running out.”

The words that had appeared before my eyes disappeared simultaneously.

“Anyway, thank you, Hassan. I’ll wash the bandages well and return them later.”

With that, we both grabbed our pieces of wood and continued carving them with our daggers.

After my hand had touched hers earlier, an awkward silence filled the air, making me feel stiflingly uncomfortable. The only sounds were our breathing and the carving of the wood.

Crunch – crunch.

This allowed me to concentrate even more on the task at hand.

I’m on my third piece of wood now. Luna is still on her first, so once she finishes one more, this strange crafts lesson will be over.

Even after completing a job together and drinking last night, there’s still an awkwardness between us that makes this silence especially uncomfortable.

“So, what are we making these totems for? Are you going to carry them around?”

I blurted out the first thing that came to mind. The sound echoed unnaturally loudly in the small cabin, making me jump.

Luna briefly stopped her hands.

“As I said yesterday, they’re going to be gifts for people.”

“Gifts?”

“Well, I’ve inadvertently caused trouble for people… I know I’ve done some stupid things and been a nuisance…”

Her voice lacked confidence. Knowing she’s aware of her mistakes makes her seem quite wise in this world. Smart girl.

“I figured if I give them something like this, maybe it’ll help a little when we meet for jobs in the future…”

“Hmm. That makes sense.” I nodded appropriately. There are various ways of living as a low-tier adventurer, it seems.

“Who are you planning to give them to?”

“Hassan, don’t you remember anything from yesterday?”

A sharp gaze from Luna cut through the air.

At this point, I had a choice – to play dumb or tell the truth. I decided on one.

“In fact, I lost consciousness at some point.”

“So you don’t remember me explaining why I became an adventurer?”

“Nope.”

“Hmm, figured as much! Anyway, I’ve finished one! Phew-.”

Luna held up the totem she had carved. The small size fit in the palm of her hand.

The shape resembled the extremely ominous black statue I had seen before – like a combination of an elephant and an octopus that had been stepped on and squished.

If the goal was to create a form that induces discomfort, it was quite successful.

“How’s this? Did a good job, Hassan! Tried hard to make it exactly like your face!”

What the hell? Is this some sort of roast? Does my face really look like this? I thought I was some kind of ancient god or a sacrificial victim of false idol worship. Now I know why she kept sneaking glances at me.

“This one is yours.”

“Eh, uh, uhn…”

When was the last time I received a gift from a girl? Mother and younger sister don’t count as family. The only thing that comes to mind is when Elpride gifted me a chain collar.

Just receiving something from a young woman, regardless of its appearance, feels strangely novel.

“Anyway, thank you.”

As I received the wooden statue, text appeared before my eyes with a ding sound.

『You have gained an unusual habit of handling cursed objects improperly.』

『Blessing of Chaos negates the above.』

Cursed object? Strange habit? Nullified?

I don’t know what’s going on, but my head feels like it’s being twisted into knots, eliciting an involuntary scream.

“Whoa, shiii-”

“That, you like it that much? Suddenly feel embarrassed…”

Unaware of my state, Luna blushes and fidgets like a young maiden on her wedding night. You’ve got to be kidding – giving me a cursed object? Was it intentional?

I narrowed my eyes and scrutinized Luna. Is this girl trying to k*ll me with curses? Or was it an accident?

“Why, why are you staring at me like that?”

With her usual dopey pink hair, Luna’s face turned red, showing no signs of realizing the major calamity she just caused.

If this was deliberate and all an act, she’d be a truly despicable girl, sending chills down my spine.

sh*t, what kind of random bad luck is this?!

Just as I was gripping the statue tightly,

Ding!

『You can expend 100 mission points to increase one stat by 1.』

『1. Strength +』

『2. Agility +』

『3. Endurance +』

“Whoaaa!”

*

Luna and I finished making all the models and placed them carefully in a bundle before heading out. I made four, Luna one, so a total of five totems.

I decided to keep the one Luna made, while the ones I crafted would be gifts for Malco, Platan, receptionist Daphne, and the Tavern Owner with Nymph wings.

The inn we visited in the evening was bustling and chaotic as any evening tavern would be.

“Here again, Samaritan. Heard you got into a fight at the park? You’re looking quite the part already, with that armor and sword.”

d*mn, rumors spread fast here even without the internet.

Anyway, I handed the wooden statue to the middle-aged male innkeeper.

“This is a gift from a pink-haired girl.”

“Hmm? A gift? Looks like something my wife would like. Well received then, miss.”

With that done, Luna and I sat at an empty table in the corner.

“Can I really order anything…?”

The uncertain question from Luna.

“Sure, anything under 10 copper. My treat.”

“I’m getting help making babies and free food too… This is too embarrassing…”

Luna reddened her eyes in apparent deep gratitude, but I treated it as no big deal.

“You helped me earlier too. Released those bees and all. Just pick something.”

Of course, it’s not only out of gratitude.

To learn more about the mysterious powers of the wooden statues made by Luna, bribing her with food seems effective! The 10 copper I took from those thugs earlier will be well spent here.

“Is that so? Then…”

Finally relaxing, Luna lazily scans the menu on display inside.

“What should I eat… Hmm, so many options!”

Of course, the excitement of getting a free meal is impossible to hide.

I glance at her profile as she’s lost in thought.

The wooden statue made by Luna both bestows an unusual habit while providing the ability to consume mission points to level up – this was my conclusion.

It seems to be the effect of some mysterious voodoo or sorcery that Luna uses.

Since I know that leveling up isn’t easy in this world, her ability is quite enviable to me.

Additionally, thanks to my other blessing, the Blessing of Chaos, the risk of this strange habit seems to be nullified.

Still, it’s dangerous to jump to conclusions based on a single experiment. Can I get Luna to make another statue?

“Hawaii pizza, mentaiko chocolate, and cherry pie – shiit! There’s so much I want to eat! What to pick? …Hassan?”

“Uh, huh. Made up your mind?”

“No, still thinking… Hmm.”

“Pick something random.”

The food here tastes terrible regardless, so deliberating would be a loss. sh*t, everything’s absolutely disgusting here.

“Alright, I’ll order then! Excuse me!”

As we waited for the food after ordering, I asked:

“Can you make those statues anytime? You know, the totems.”

“Moai? No, I can only make them once I’ve accumulated more karma. They’re made by consuming karma.”

Karma. One of the unique settings people here talk about among themselves. I understand it vaguely as mission points or perhaps game character experience.

Luna continued:

“Right now, I can make about one every two months. Sometimes it takes three…”

“Every two months?”

“Generally, exploring ruins or praying at shrines gathers enough karma. Since I complete a mission about once a month, it works out to that schedule.”

She’s talking about guild missions. Can I infer that completing roughly two guild missions accumulates enough karma to make a statue?

Even a low-tier Iron-tier adventurer usually takes on a mission at least once a week.

But once a month? That seems rather infrequent. When I asked, Luna replied in a sheepish voice:

“My voodoo often causes unintended results, so no one wants to party with me. If they do, it’s just weirdos…”

Ah, I understand now. Luna isn’t very helpful when it comes to completing missions, especially the dangerous adventures of an adventurer.

To put it bluntly, Luna is just a cute totem. At best, she’s a Chikorita who’s pretty to look at.

If someone asked me if I’d want to party with Luna, I’d probably hesitate too.

So the only work she can do is probably menial tasks like cleaning shrines. There aren’t such jobs every day, so it makes sense she only takes a mission once a month.

The pieces are falling into place, making my head feel refreshingly clear.

“But can you really survive by only completing a mission once a month?”

“Impossible. I was starving after paying the 20 silver guild fee. I ate grass roots, chewed on tree bark… That was four months ago now. Actually, I barely eat one meal a day even now.”

Luna’s thin frame wasn’t from dieting for training or beauty, but from hunger.

I can see now the desperation behind her fixation on bees, insects, mushrooms, and herbs. It wasn’t just her quirks as a sorcerer, but her struggle to avoid starving to d*ath. Given that I know the pain of hunger well too, she seems somewhat pitiful.

“So, if there were more opportunities to accumulate this karma thing, you could make more statues?”

“Yeah! Solving more missions would earn more money and help me become a proper voodoo priestess. Instead of wild bees, I could raise spiders or snakes from eggs to help in combat. Everyone looks down on me now, but I’ll show them!”

Chattering on about spiders and snakes for a while, Luna then cautiously observed my reaction.

“…Hassan is strong, right? Crushing goblins flat. Bashing in those adventurer’s heads earlier…”

“I didn’t k*ll those adventurers.”

They’re alive and in jail, not dead.

“Right, right. Anyway, you’re clearly much stronger than the average person. Do you think… Do you think you could look after one more person?”

Luna was wriggling like someone trying to reach an itchy spot they can’t quite reach, completely deflated. As I watched her thin lips, waiting for what she might say next:

“Um, that… If it’s alright with you, would you form a fixed party with me?”

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