Chapter 258

258th Episode

Hassan Goes to the Auction

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“Over there, put it down.”

“Here?”

“That’s right.”

I stacked the wood where the dwarven laborers pointed to. Drenched in sweat from my forehead and back, I was soaked and felt rather uncomfortable. But for some strange reason, knowing that I was able to lend a hand made my heart feel lighter with each passing moment.

“Is there more to move?”

“No, not really. But thanks to your help, I think we’ll be able to finish up before sunset.”

“sh*t, when we first thought we’d have to move all that cr*p by ourselves, I was like, ‘f*ck, this is gonna s*ck.’ Guess it’s lucky we got some help. Still, Galad over here makes loads of money but is cheap as hell, so it’s annoying.”

“Still, he’s got sharp ears. It’s better to keep quiet—we do work for the guy, after all.”

After a short break, the workers gathered in the shade and started laughing. Soon, they pulled out dried leaves from their belts and pouches, lit them up, and started puffing away.

“Phew, this feels better already. Hey, big guy, you want a smoke?”

“No, thank you. I don’t smoke.”

“Huh, that’s odd. Most adventurers I’ve seen were chain smokers, you know? Plus, they strut around like tough guys just cause they’ve fought a monster or two. Honestly, they’re kind of annoying.”

“Is that so?”

I found myself reflecting on the relationship between adventurers and ordinary laborers like these men. Excluding beginners, the earning potential of adventurers is generally high. Handling dangerous and exhausting work often results in commensurate pay, and their lavish lifestyles naturally follow. Some become arrogant due to their dangerous line of work, while others gain an air of superiority because of their wealth.

As a result, many ordinary citizens like these workers don’t hold adventurers in high regard. Even for me, I’ve always imagined silver-tier or above adventurers as people who flaunt their superiority. In my experience, that stereotype holds some truth.

When I first met Delphina and the Silver Rose team, I approached them with plenty of caution. Speaking of which, I wonder what that group along with the elves is doing now.

While I was deep in thought, one of the workers spoke up.

“Anyway, thanks to you, we’ve gotten a lot done. Our jobs here are paid work, but truthfully, no one likes restoring fire-damaged areas under this scorching sun.”

“Sorry about that.”

Without thinking, I found myself apologizing to the workers’ muttered complaints. The bearded dwarf laborer raised his thick eyebrows.

“What’re you apologizing for? This wasn’t your fault.”

“Well… If I had acted sooner before the fire started, I might’ve prevented it…”

With my clumsy confession, the smokers exchanged glances and then burst into laughter as if they’d heard some absurd joke.

“Where do you get such ideas? What could you possibly have done about it?”

“Exactly. If you ask me, you’ve done a good job already. Thanks to you, no one was hurt except the clinic staff. Because of this, we’ve got jobs, and even the nobles might loosen their purse strings. Fires like these happen every year anyway.”

Indeed, these rugged residents of a rugged world didn’t seem particularly fazed by the effects of arson.

“Still, you’ve made me smile on such a hot day, and you’ve given valuable help. I thought you’d be some over-the-top hero who eats goblin livers raw, but turns out you’re a regular guy.”

“I thought Samaritans were the types who kidnapped women…”

My heartfelt words seemed to resonate with them, and I could feel their regard for me rising. Despite the scorching heat, it was worth the effort.

Not just these workers, but many others must have suffered losses because of the fire. I can imagine they’re sweating profusely under this sun somewhere else right now.

I looked up at the still shining sun.

*

“Sir, please put some more strength into it! Your legs, your hips! Push with your lower body! Lower body, lower body!”

“No way, lady! This thing is heavier than you can imagine! sh*t, shouldn’t this millstone be pulled by an ox or something?”

“The ox ran away from the fire, didn’t it? From what I heard, Samaritan warriors are strong as oxen and fast as horses! So, come on, give it your all!”

“Uuuugh!!!”

I squeezed every ounce of my strength out, from my legs and all the way to my fingertips, working hard to turn the millstone in the mill.

Normally, this task would be done by animals like oxen or horses, but since the ox was spooked by the fires before and ran off, the mill owner was at a loss at first.

“Lower body, you said. Right, lower body.”

Lower body typically refers to everything from the soles of the feet to the hips and sometimes waist in human anatomy. Anyone familiar with physical fitness knows the lower body is crucial since most of the muscles in the human body are concentrated there.

Kalidur, the Elven monk, had emphasized strengthening the lower body for mastering techniques like footwork and qi control in combat.

This was like practicing footwork. Or, perhaps, it was.

Biting my teeth and focusing on putting strength in my lower half, I could feel every muscle in my body tighten, and my strength amplified as it coursed through me.

Thud.

Thud.

The grinding stone, which had been stubbornly immovable up until now, started creaking into motion. Finally, the grains began to grind.

Grrrr…grrrrrr…

“Oh my, it’s moving! It’s actually moving! This, this is incredible!”

Pufrin, the middle-aged woman who operated the mill, grinned with relief as she watched the grinding stone slowly come to life.

“We really need the supply ready for delivery today. With this, we just might make the cut! The baron’s really strict, but this’ll help. You keep it up!”

“Grrrrgh…”

My physical strength had reached supernatural levels. While not as remarkable in the presence of fierce fighters like Hippolyte, Antiope, Kalidur, or the Skeleton Knight, to these ordinary folks, my feat seemed genuinely astonishing.

Grrrr…grrrrrr…

I worked the grinding stone for a long time.

The initial start was brutal, making me feel like every vein in my head was about to burst, but once it started spinning, it somehow went smoother—either because I had built some momentum or had gotten the knack of it.

For about an hour, I turned the massive grinding stone.

“Gah—!”

“You’ve got quite the voice with you. That’s good. Hey, why don’t you work here and join our mill?”

“Uh, well…”

“Of course, that was a joke! Anyway, you’ve saved us! We weren’t sure how we’d cover immediate expenses until we got the compensation for the fire.”

“Do you have more grinding to do?”

“Plenty. We need to grind the required amount before we use the insurance money to buy a new ox. Rent in the East District is high, so we can’t afford too many delays.”

“Sorry, I should have paid better attention…”

“What’s with the apology? Blame the witch who started the fire. Seriously, you’ve helped so much, and you took down that witch too. I’m really grateful. Although I’ve got no cash to offer, I might be able to spread good words about you among people.”

“Well, I’ll keep grinding.”

Huff…

Grinding, grinding, grinding…

With the explosive power in my legs, grains were milled away. I couldn’t help but feel that through this task, I had reached the limits of my current strength value of 12. So this is what it’s like to compare myself to oxen or horses.

Also, this gave me some time to reflect on the potential of my lower body, something I hadn’t thought about since I haven’t had many opportunities to use my full physical capabilities recently.

“You’re getting the hang of it now! At this rate, we might get a week’s worth of work done in just half a day!”

Thus, within half a day, I managed to grind all the necessary grain.

The mill owner expressed her relief and gave me a bag of freshly ground flour as a token of appreciation.

The laundry shop, the mill… helping out with manual labor in fire-damaged areas like these felt like lifting some of the soot and ash from my own chest. Of course, someone might criticize that it’s just self-consolation, but at least doing something is better than doing nothing.

Through this, I also realized that this city is full of people living diverse lives, apart from just adventurers. Each day brought new stories and faces, making them seem more meaningful to me.

“Phew…”

Perhaps because I’d been energetically grinding in the mill earlier, the sensation of my feet touching the ground felt odd now. It was like stepping onto solid ground right after skating or removing heavy sandbags tied to my legs. Whatever it was, my body certainly felt unusually light.

Is this what it would feel like to suddenly use some advanced martial art technique?

With that feeling, I gave the ground a strong push and sprinted off. To my own surprise, I ran at quite a fast pace through the streets.

“Whoa—!”

“What is that thing?!”

The residents scrambled to get out of my way as I zipped past them, navigating through obstacles and people with great speed. My destination was the final place I intended to visit today, and the most important one.

Finally, I came to a stop and took a deep breath, furrowing my brow. In front of me was a makeshift tent erected with poles and cloth, a stark contrast to the comfortable clinic that used to stand here just a few days ago.

The clinic area, heavily damaged during Elfride’s rampage, still carried the faint smell of burnt material despite the rain from the past few days. Looking at the black ashes scattered on the ground, the vivid memories of that day resurfaced, tormenting my mind.

I really should’ve come earlier.

As I stood there awkwardly taking in the sight, a figure stepped out of the tent.

“Ahhh! Mr. Hassan!”

A familiar yet unfamiliar face—a young woman with short brown hair, dressed in the classic white, flowing robe of a healer. I vaguely remembered her.

Ah, she was the healer caught under that pillar I saved back then.

“Why are you here? Have you come to see the patients?”

“Oh, I was just passing through. How long until the clinic is rebuilt?”

“Yes, well… not anytime soon. It’s hard for dwarves to work in the summer heat, but the construction will begin tomorrow.”

“Is that so?”

I recalled the dwarves I had seen earlier repairing fences at the laundromat—all bearded, sweaty, foul-mouthed workers. I remembered hearing somewhere that rock dwarves, who mostly lived underground or in mine tunnels, were especially vulnerable to the summer sun. There were even rumors that dwarves turned to stone when they saw sunlight, though that’s just a rumor.

Why am I even thinking about dwarves now?

I had managed to come to the clinic as per my plan, but now that I was here, I didn’t know what to say or how to help. That made me feel uneasy, until the young healer spoke up.

“And I’m really grateful for what you did back then. I was too flustered to properly thank you before.”

“Grateful? For what?”

“You saved me from that pillar! I could’ve been completely burned. Despite the dire situation, you and others bravely entered the fire to save lives. By the way, did I say anything inappropriate during that time?”

She smiled sheepishly, clearly embarrassed, though truly, everyone was under extreme duress back then.

“Are the others okay? If I recall, there were quite a few patients at the clinic back then.”

“Thankfully, the first ones you rescued were the ones in the most critical condition, and they were transferred to another clinic in the East Gate. The rest were all rescued by the Silver Rose team.”

“Silver Rose team?”

“That’s right—the all-female adventurer party from Kolkata.”

Ah, so they were the ones who saved the people. Though I still wasn’t entirely clear why the elf hunting party showed up at the Venus Shrine during the fire. Maybe during the standoff between the elves and the Silver Rose team, the flames became more intense, forcing the Silver Rose group to focus on evacuating the civilians instead.

There didn’t seem to be much loss of life.

That thought brought some relief.

Still, the patients affected by the fire were still in an ongoing state of suffering. Just thinking about how these patients were being treated under the blazing sun with only rudimentary tents brought shivers down my spine.

“Is there anything I can help with?”

“Ahhh, you want to help? That’s really embarrassing, but if you insist…”

“You’re clearly busy, and I know clinics often need more male hands.”

I had worked short-term shifts helping Finley, a healer from Kolkata, back in the days I spent at the dungeon hub-city.

Though this clinic here in the East District, catering to the upper class, was more refined than the one in Kolkata, I imagined setting up tents would likely have multiplied the workload and added to the chaos.

“Well, if you really insist… Actually, I could use help. My senior healers were all called to the mansion, so I’ve been overwhelmed.”

“Called to the mansion? Isn’t the recovery of the burnt clinic more urgent right now?”

Was something really that dire? Looking around, the healer cautiously leaned in and whispered.

“It’s just… the viscount’s daughter is critically ill, and it’s caused quite the stir. Every healer and alchemist has been summoned to the mansion. Meanwhile, fires keep breaking out, and it’s like the entire city is falling apart…”

“Could you elaborate a bit more?”

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