Chapter 253

253rd Episode: Hassan Goes to the Auction, Part 1

Plip, plop —

What began as a few droplets soon turned into a torrential downpour.

It was as if a hole had been punched through the sky as the rain poured down.

This was the first rain since I arrived in the city of Sodomora.

The air, which had been heated to a crescendo by the summer night and various other factors, cooled and grew heavy, sinking towards the ground.

I tilted my head back, gazing up at the sky, feeling the stinging on my face and body wash away. Along with the pain, I could feel a mixture of emotions streaming down my face, mingling with the raindrops.

This is the end.

In many ways, this marks an end to many things.

Was there a better way? Unfortunately, I didn’t have the luxury to think about that. Regrets always come too late, as they always do.

I looked down at Elpride, the elf, drenched in the pouring rain. The soot that had clung to her was now washing off, revealing her pale face and hair.

“Hey, have you forgotten about me? It’s a bit humiliating,” a voice called out.

Turning my head slightly, I saw Hershi shaking herself off from behind my shoulder.

More accurately, it was the Goddess Venus speaking through her body.

Come to think of it, wasn’t it Venus, the goddess of this shrine, who intervened and delayed things earlier?

With so many events happening simultaneously, my thoughts were swirling, and I couldn’t focus.

Venus slowly approached me and gently stroked Elpride’s cooling forehead.

“Children cultivated to suit the taste of a deity, living and dying by their will, unable to even love. How pitiful.”

The Goddess of Love seemed to feel sorrow for Elpride whose breath had stopped.

“But, separately from all that, I must repay you, Zigress — for aiding the Venus Shrine. Consider it a repayment and also an investment in your future.”

“Repayment…”

I recalled the favor I was set to receive from the shrine’s holy maiden. They had promised something great, but circumstances kept us from meeting.

Receiving this favor directly from the shrine’s mistress herself, I couldn’t help but feel it would be extraordinary.

But is that what’s truly important right now?

Mere words fail me.

Noticing my silence, Venus continued:

“Even the wisest of men become like clumsy children when it comes to matters of the heart. Philosophers and scholars have their own theories, but even I, as the Goddess of Love, have much to learn about affection.”

“…”

“Zigress, you’re still a boy. But, soon, you’ll be stepping into the stage of becoming an adult. It’s like a butterfly shedding its old cocoon. You’ll transform too.”

Venus, using Hershi’s hand, kissed her own fingers.

Clack!

She flicked them, and something struck my chest like a small pebble, but it felt more like an arrow piercing me.

You have gained “Grace of Beauty and Love, which bestows a blessed glow on the skin.”

I could feel the new blessing imprinting itself within me. As the soot washed off with the rain, the charred scars on my skin were becoming apparent.

“Your wounds will heal, Zigress. And how they heal will depend on the steps you take.”

Venus looked up at the sky, where a motionless monk stood, seemingly lifeless.

“Kalidur, servant of a foreign deity, I have something to say to you. The feelings this girl, Hershi, has for you will be erased along with a few days of her memories as my repayment.”

“Is that so?”

“Forgive my presumption. Additionally, I can also ease your heart. Sometimes it’s better to forget together than to bear the burden alone. It’s my way of being considerate. What say you?”

Kalidur, who had been looking up until now, turned to look at Venus—more accurately, Hershi.

With rainwater streaming down his face, his expression remained cold and detached. He slowly opened his mouth to speak:

“I appreciate it, but I’m fine. This monk has only just started feeling alive…”

He managed a smile, awkward and mechanical like a puppet attempting to mimic human emotion. Despite the absurd baldness or perhaps because of the broom-like beard, it somehow exuded a sense of rugged charm.

As I mentioned before, most elves tend to be of remarkable beauty.

“Very well. I shall take my leave then. Hopefully, you’ll continue to make stories worth telling.”

With that, Hershi’s body collapsed onto the wet mud like a marionette with its strings cut. Her frail shoulders trembled with each breath.

Kalidur looked down at her and softly asked:

“Is it all over?”

For a moment, I hesitated, searching for what to say. But then I realized there was no point. So, I uttered softly:

“I don’t know.”

Who knows?

For me, life has always been a journey into the unknown. I would want to ask someone, but there’s no one to ask.

But one thing is certain — everything hasn’t come to an absolute end. Gently, I lifted Elpride, whose body was becoming unnaturally cold and rigid, onto my knee from the damp ground, drenched in rain as if she had just gone through a terrible ordeal.

Kalidur spoke casually:

“Who would’ve thought you’d personally end the witch Elpride.”

“I didn’t know either.”

Slowly raising my hand, I gripped her head and pressed her temples, recalling what I had done to Luna before.

“MUUUUAAAAAAAAAH!”

Elpride woke up with a thunderous scream.

“What… what is this?!”

Kalidur appeared surprised. He furrowed his brows, forgetting the serene expression he had just moments ago. From his perspective, this must’ve looked like reviving someone from the dead. But that’s not what it was.

All I did was use pressure points on Elpride’s chest, knocking her into a temporary d*ath-like state, the same method I’d used on Hippolyte’s armpits earlier.

“Ah, cough… cough…”

Elpride massaged her forehead, coughing and retching. Her movements felt like a sudden release of pent-up activities she had been unable to execute.

Soon, she lifted her rain-soaked eyes toward me.

But before she could say a word, many people surrounded us, encircling us.

“We’ve found the fairy! Secure her!”

“Be careful! She’s a witch who uses malevolent sorcery!”

“Prevent her from casting spells by gagging her!”

Long rods, resembling bug-catching nets, flew in from all directions, binding Elpride’s arms and legs one by one. Like a wild beast being captured, her body was restrained, and her neck was pressed into the muddy ground.

—

Splash-splash!

As if trying to release everything that had built up, Sodomora was being drenched with a heavy rain.

Until just a short while ago, the heat was stifling, but now I’m starting to worry whether this city with its poor drainage might end up flooding.

There’s no in-between, no in-between.

Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap!

The sound of rain hitting the cottage roof was akin to a barrage of bullets.

Despite my fears, thanks to the meticulous wax seal job done by the dwarf contractor, the cottage remained safe from water damage.

“This rain reminds me of Ideope’s rainy season.”

By the window, Luna muttered under her breath as she stared at the now pitch-black sky, completely engulfed in dark clouds. It was so gloomy and humid that it was impossible to tell whether it was day or night.

“Ugh…”

“Why, Hassan? Do you need something?”

As I shifted my body, Luna turned her head towards me. Her pink hair, neatly tied into two braids as always, swayed from side to side.

“Do you want me to change your bandages?”

“N-no.”

Actually, I just had an itch all over. The salve-drenched bandages wrapped tightly around my body were making life pretty miserable. But this is entirely my fault. I shouldn’t pass on the recovery or aftercare to Luna because of it. This agony is something I deserve entirely to bear.

“Hassan, lately you keep coming back injured every time you go out.”

“Yeah, that’s kinda true.”

“You should stay home and manage household affairs! I can become a Gold Tier adventurer in your place!”

“Can you?”

I burst into laughter. Of course, it was absurd.

Swish.

“I’ll be working downstairs a bit, Hassan. Let me know if you need help.”

“Alright.”

Rising painfully from the floor, I made my way to the window. The world outside remained submerged in the cold rain.

After a few minutes or maybe much longer, I noticed a figure dressed in a robe or raincoat approaching and hastily shoved something into the mailbox in our front yard before disappearing.

It must be the mail carrier I’ve been waiting for.

As soon as the thought occurred, I dashed out the door faster than if my feet were on fire.

The rain slightly dampened my bandages, but I ignored it, eager only to snatch the item the mail carrier had left behind in my palm.

Back upstairs, I dropped it flat on the floor.

Letters written in ink blurred by the rain appeared on the paper.

“Arson incident in East Gate District last night — Temporary Conclusion Announced.”

“Thanks to the quick response of citizens and city law enforcement and firefighting authorities…”

“One treatment house entirely destroyed by fire. Other nearby homes partially damaged by smoke but thankfully intact. However, heavy economic losses due to the district’s strategic location. Fortunately, the sudden downpour minimized damages…”

“No fatalities, save for patients in the clinic that was the first arson target…”

The newspaper was filled with reports about the arson incident that happened last night. Naturally, it would be a major story given how the city sky turned pitch black from the smoke.

My eyes quickly scanned through the pages.

“The arsonist is said to be an adventurer from Calcuta named E, who has refused to make any statements.”

“The eastern district’s landowners, which suffered property losses, have jointly petitioned for the d*ath penalty. The spokesperson, K, owner of the East Gate laundry, demands an unmerciful verdict from the city’s judiciary…”

“City fire regulations: Are they effectively enforced? Some experts sarcastically remark that this disaster was inevitable…”

The name Elpride was mentioned everywhere in the newspaper.

There was no explanation as to why Elpride committed such a terrible act, only statements about complaints from those who suffered property losses and the like.

“E’s rampage was ended by the famous Samaritan adventurer, Hassan from the city of Sama.”

“The city watch assisted adventurer Hassan to arrest E, who attempted to set Venus Shrine ablaze.”

“According to Venus, one of the on-scene guards, it was a moment when anyone could have died…”

“Close associate P of adventurer Hassan reportedly said, ‘No doubt, Hassan used the 24th killing move, Ruthless Fingers…’ The authorities have opened investigations about the lethal move…”

Not surprisingly, the newspapers were talking about me as well, the bystander who was also at the critical scene. According to them, I was treated like a civic hero for apprehending the arsonist, Elpride.

It was quite an absurd story.

If Elpride lit the fire, it was I who actually pulled the trigger. In a way, I could be considered just as much a co-conspirator.

Even as I recover here wrapped in bandages, perhaps I too deserve to be locked in jail alongside Elpride.

However, I felt some sense of relief that Elpride had remained silent about the motives behind her actions. Perhaps even she couldn’t bring herself to confess to the embarrassing reasons that drove her to that act.

And the fact that I felt relieved about this made me a little ashamed.

WHOOSH!

Suddenly a gush of wind blew through the window, flipping the leather news pages.

Behind it, I found an eye-catching headline.

“Arsonist E’s trial commences tomorrow in the Central Citizen’s Park downtown. High attendance encouraged. In case of rain, the event will be moved to the indoor plaza.”

[Author’s Note]

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