Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Luna and the Child-Making Date

023 ? <Luna and the Child-Making Date #3>

Luna hesitated for a long time before speaking in a barely audible voice.

“Uh, that… If it’s okay, could we form a fixed party together? At least until we both rank up to the same level…”

She then looked at me cautiously, as if extremely anxious, which made her appear rather pitiful. In that brief moment, I felt like I had a rough understanding of her intentions.

She lacks the ability to stand on her own. Of course, this doesn’t mean there’s any major flaw in her, but in this world of savagery, being merely average is almost the same as being incompetent.

“Hmm-.”

Certainly, I’m not someone great enough to take care of anyone else. After all, I can barely manage my own life since I’ve just recently gained freedom from being a slave.

Forming a fixed party means we’ll have to act together a lot from now on and this is a major decision that needs careful consideration.

I’m not so deranged that I’d pick a pink Chicorita as my starting Pokémon just because it’s cute and adorable! Do I really need to create my own hard mode?

“Still, this is quite-.” I began, but then my lower abdomen started rumbling violently, and I felt a pain as if my intestines were twisting, so I quickly shut my mouth. I suddenly got this overwhelming urge to dash to the toilet.

What is this? As soon as I shut my mouth, I feel a little better, but…

Could it be something I ate last night? I haven’t had alcohol in such a long time…

In this world, food is often made with unwashed hands; it’s a mess, so it’s not really surprising if I were to get sick. However, it has been years since I’ve experienced this kind of sudden lower abdominal pain. Clearly, something is off.

As I felt a bit awkward due to this unexpected lower abdominal pain, Luna continued.

“Can’t we? We promised yesterday. We agreed to both make a child together and form a fixed party. We even swore by the River Styx. It seems you don’t remember. I’m just asking if you forgot.”

“Did I swear by the River Styx to form a party?”

“Yup yup.”

I scrutinized Luna’s expression. Though she seemed extremely uneasy, like a discarded puppy, she didn’t seem to be lying.

d*mn, I never expected something like this would happen.

I murmured a barely audible spell that no one could hear.

“Bless chaos-.”

Ding.

『Name: Hassan Lv. 8

Strength: 3

Agility: 2

Vitality: 3

Skill: 247/147

Condition: Vow of the Styx

Blessing: Blessing of Chaos』

Somewhere in the last two years, I had experienced a level-up through a statue created by Luna. It was as though my stagnant growth over those two years had exploded into an evolutionary state.

In any case, what concerns me now isn’t my level, but the item that reads ‘Vow of the Styx.’

I’ve been puzzled as to why the words haven’t disappeared, despite having fulfilled the promise to create a bizarre totem with her.

I hadn’t expected there was another promise on top of that. Dammit, even if I was drunk, how could I have impulsively decided something as important as forming a party?

Could this odd lower abdominal throbbing, which makes my sphincter feel loose, be somehow related to the Vow of the Styx? Since childhood, I’ve been conditioned by my father to withstand strange diets, developing a robust digestive system that even stone soup couldn’t affect.

During my two years of enslavement in this world, I had never fallen ill once. If this sudden turn of events isn’t due to some form of curse, it’s certainly out of the ordinary.

d*mn, no matter what, a promise is still a promise and if I’m suffering from such a strange curse, the decision to form a fixed party shouldn’t be taken lightly.

Sarrr-.

“Ughhh…!”

It was nothing short of a life crisis.

I wanted to dash to the toilet right now, but I couldn’t muster the strength to stand up.

“You promised, Hassan, right? Surely you’re not going to break it? Horrible things will happen if you break the promise…”

Luna’s voice had become almost sobbing by this point. Watching her made me feel like I’d fallen into some sort of trap, but the pain in my lower abdomen was making my vision blur and my head spin.

d*mn!

“Alright, alright, let’s form the party.”

“Really?”

“Yeah!”

I shouted out of desperation. Simultaneously, the pain in my lower abdomen subsided surprisingly quickly, leaving no trace behind. Whatever it was, it was incredibly strange.

Still, it was a pain I didn’t want to experience again. If I had stood up to go to the toilet, I might’ve ended up soiling myself.

Being mocked as “Barbaroid” or “Samaritan” is tolerable, but I can’t handle being known as “Hassan the Shtter.”

Ding.

『Condition: Vow of the Styx has been resolved.』

『Skill Points +10』

Even without having treatment from a master, my condition seems to be recovering gradually as skill points accumulate. My knowledge seems to be expanding in an area I really don’t want to delve into.

I must not make promises lightly. And d*mn it, I’ll never touch alcohol again.

“Please take care of me, Hassan-!”

Whether she understood my turmoil or not, Luna smiled radiantly. Her white, even teeth showed as she smiled, and she seemed cute and cheerful, which was nice.

Still, I’m uncertain whether I can navigate the midst of goblins and other monsters with someone like her.

This girl seems to regard me as some kind of superhuman warrior, but as I’ve mentioned earlier, I’m just Hassan who barely makes ends meet since he was a former slave.

We shared the zenguri pie that Luna had ordered.

In this world, meals are more like tasks to rush through rather than something to be enjoyed. So, I shove the food into my stomach without even savoring it.

Who on earth thought of baking whole fish into a pie? Such an original idiot.

What kind of person would enjoy this and put it on the menu in the first place? Both the one selling it for money and the one buying it for money are truly barbaric cooking.

“It’s so delicious, Hassan! It’d be great if I could eat this every day!”

“Uh, yeah. You should eat more.”

“You’re such a good person!”

After my approval, Luna stuffed the zenguri pie into her stomach almost instantly. Watching her brings to mind the stray cats that used to wander around the front of my house.

Stray cats, uncertain when they’ll get food, seem to have a habit of shoving food into their bellies until they burst as soon as they see it.

Still, at least stray cat babies have a cat mother, whereas people like us, on the fringes of this savage world, have no one to take care of us, so we must eat as much as we can when we can.

“Do you really like it?”

“Do you want some? There’s a little left.”

“No.”

In any case, it was around this time when our evening meal was roughly finished. As I sipped on the cheap barley wine, I spoke to Luna.

“So, what we talked about yesterday was just making a totem and forming a party, right?”

“Mhm. Besides that, I told you why I started being an adventurer, right? Don’t you remember that?”

“Uh, yeah.”

“In Ideope, when you reach adulthood, everyone must embark on a journey outside the island. Only then are you recognized as a proper member of the island.”

Is it like a coming-of-age ceremony? All I understand is that to be recognized as a member, one has to leave their hometown and travel to a foreign land. It reminded me of the Mormon sect in my homeland that believes everyone must go through missionary work.

After all, those foreigners in suits teaching English while proselytizing, I recall they all had to go through overseas missionary training to be recognized.

As I was lost in those thoughts, Luna, now with a full belly and a new party member, started chattering like a parrot learning its first words.

“Our Ideope Island is cursed by the gods. Hardly any children are born, and crops fail to grow. Therefore, we all go on journeys to obtain Nox’s pomegranate seeds. It’s said they can be found somewhere in the underground maze. With them, our island will surely regain its vitality!”

“Hmm, a curse- you mean?”

“Since we’re now party members, I figured I could ask this… Have you been affected by any curses, by any chance?”

“Eh, uh? Not that I know of… I don’t think so.”

See that? She’s subtly avoiding eye contact, and it seems like she’s trying to fib. Knowing that this girl is already plastered with curses makes me only find her antics amusing.

Does she want to hide the fact that she has been cursed? I think it makes sense; after all, no one wants to hang out with a cursed party member.

Luna likely wants to hide any flaws she might have at all costs, doesn’t she? This is practically a toxic asset, isn’t it?

Anyway, since we’ve formed the party, I must help her succeed until she safely ranks up to the Bronze Tier.

Who knows when we might unexpectedly stumble upon a horde of goblins or get trapped in trouble like I did earlier? At times like that, it would be helpful if Luna can handle at least her part.

It’s based on the assumption that each member can handle their own portion; forming a fixed party can be quite advantageous.

My former owner and Silver Tier adventurer Elfrida used to manage what she considered a “party” of several worker bees like a queen bee.

Of course, those worker bees were all skilled Silver Tier adventurers, incomparable to Luna.

That said, forming a party with Luna isn’t entirely disadvantageous.

After all, doesn’t this little one have the rare talent of creating strange statues that enhance my abilities?

If anything, it’s better to keep her close.

And so, I kept my positive feedback loop running. Since my brain was starting to overheat a bit, I decided to change my approach and ask Luna.

“Hmm, well, Luna. Since we’ve formed the party, I should probably mention this… Actually, there is a condition.”

“Condition?”

“Right. If you don’t want to hear it…”

“I’ll do it!”

Hold on, d*mn it, are you agreeing before I’ve even finished talking?

“Let me finish this. It’s not mandatory if you’re against it. If you don’t want to…”

“I’m fine with it!”

“No, just – let me finish my sentence. Anyway, don’t misunderstand, okay? I need to touch your body a bit.”

“My, my body…?”

Until this point, Luna was confidently answering without even hearing me out, but now her pale pink twin tails were visibly trembling as she looked greatly disturbed. It’s natural for her to feel that way, isn’t it?

Even I would be startled and stammer if someone were to say, “Hassan, let me touch your body.”

But my intentions are clear. My purpose is straightforward: to release her curse and convert it into mission points.

Since we’re now party members, it would be advantageous for both our growth and level up if I were to lift the weakening curse that’s pressing down on her.

“Uh, the reason my blessing has… well… there’s a bit of a situation.”

“A-ah.”

The reddening Luna finally seemed to understand what I meant with a nod.

“…Do you mean that? The, why you did it to the innkeeper…”

The mention of what she’s referring to makes me realize something I don’t quite understand myself. But since she refers to it as something I did to the innkeeper, it seems someone was watching as I healed others when drunk last night.

This will move things along quicker; it’ll also help her understand I have no intentions of s*xual harassment.

“You got it. Let’s finish this tonight before you sleep, alright?”

“…”

Upon hearing this, Luna looked quite pensive.

Even though she knows it’s a treatment, handing oneself over to a man one hasn’t known for long isn’t something a woman can easily agree to right away.

So, I waited patiently for her response.

“Do we really have to? Or are you refusing to form a party otherwise…?”

“It’s necessary.”

“…Ah, I see. Then tonight before sleeping? Or perhaps right now…?”

“I prefer sooner rather than later.”

After answering casually, I started reflecting on my abilities and the healing capabilities of my Blessings as they stood.

I’d already lifted someone’s curse of two heads before, though at that time, my headache had rendered me somewhat confused, and even now, I didn’t fully recall what exactly I had done.

Since I’ve got such an opportunity now, it’s best to thoroughly investigate these abilities and their effects. Plus, by lifting Luna’s curse, I’d get both a higher mission point tally and an overall win-win situation.

As time passed,

I first secured a room and sat cross-legged on the bed.

Who would have thought in my lifetime I’d be renting a double room? Paying 20 coppers a night, d*mn, it’s ridiculously expensive. And yet, I couldn’t treat Luna in a 6-person shared room.

Anyway, I’ve already spent 30 coppers just at this inn alone today.

Since becoming a free man, I’ve had more opportunities to earn money, but I’m starting to reflect on how frivolously my spending has increased.

So, why isn’t she coming yet?

Luna said she needed to go somewhere to prepare. I wonder what kind of preparation might be required for something like this?

Perhaps here on the savage island of Ideope, there’s a rule like, “Pray before receiving a massage.”

In any case, I was waiting a bit anxiously when she finally came.

Knock, knock.

“Is that Luna?”

Uh, uh.

“Come in, the door’s open.”

Clickety, creek.

The cheap door handle mechanism sounded as the door opened.

On the other side, Luna stood somewhat timidly. The evening had passed, and the dim corridor with flickering candlelight cast her in a shadow that seemed like…

“God, why are you all wet?”

“I, um, washed myself at the well. I tried drying, but… does this not work?”

Hmm, your hair is wet, and there’s some water on your body, but it’ll do fine.

“Come in.”

“Uh, uh…”

Answering somewhat reluctantly, she closed the door and entered the room with a look as pitiful as a puppy being dragged to the health center.

At the same moment, the narrow room was suddenly filled with a strong floral fragrant scent.

“Mint scent?”

“I washed with mante oil. It’s also good for dental care…”

“Ah.”

Apparently, this is their version of shampoo and toothpaste combined. The refreshing, cool scent mixed with a pleasant sweetness made it quite tolerable to my sensitive nose. It feels good.

“Anyway, lie down on the bed on your stomach.”

Eek.

Luna shuddered greatly at my voice. She was about to cry, and began untying the accessories and cloth around her body one by one.

Flap, flap.

d*mn, what the hell is she doing?

“Wait, why are you taking off all your clothes?”

“Um, well, didn’t you say you’d do what you did to the innkeeper?”

As more of her skin was revealed, the more shocking realization struck me—what did I exactly do to that innkeeper?

[Author’s Note] To be honest, I’ve actually tried eating frog noodles before. They cost around ten thousand won for one, and oh, why oh why would anyone ever think to put frogs in noodles… sniff…

Nevertheless, G)MK, thank you so much for the coupon! I jumped about five centimeters off my chair in surprise! Eek!!

Also, to all those who have sent anonymous manuscript coupons, someday I will save them carefully and return their worth through the heroine illustrations!!

---