Chapter 268

Episode 268

Entrance of Fall 268 ? Entrance of Fall #4

Luna, who had been pricking me with a needle for quite some time, screamed with an angry look on her face.

“Let’s go to Lady Juno’s shrine. We’ll go to Lady Juno’s shrine to ‘treat’ Hassan’s philandering, and after that treatment, we’ll go to the Delphi shrine and get engaged!”

After that, she shouted something loudly, but not much of it reached my ears. My arms and legs felt as if they were being pierced by a giant needle, making it hard for me to focus.

It must have been because of the straw doll Luna was pricking with the needle. I don’t understand the principle, but it seems that the curse and voodoo were, in fact, real.

It became painfully clear that even from a distance, Luna was improving the efficiency of her voodoo.

It seems that while I was busy with various responsibilities, Luna was steadily improving her skills under the guidance of Nemea.

It’s commendable, but also painful.

“Uwaaah-.”

“Nemea told me! A man’s philandering must be treated at Lady Juno’s shrine. If we just let Hassan go, other girls will have all the good times, and I’ll have to spend every night crying alone. I, I can’t stand to see that!”

Luna even got me, who was writhing on the table, back on my feet.

Ding.

『Name: Luna Noxdotty Lv. 26

Strength: 8

Agility: 12

Stamina: 6

Tendency: Restless》 Carnivore》 Nocturnal》

Condition: Lion’s fascination》 Mania》 Immersed in voodoo》』

Words floated into my view as my wrist accidentally touched Luna’s. Has she raised her level this much already?

Sure enough, good bloodline means fast growth. The conditions that are floating there are something I’ve never seen before.

Fascination? Mania? Immersed?

None of them seemed to be good.

“Hassan, let’s go together-.”

Grabbing my wrist, Luna led me out of the office.

Just then, we encountered Elpride, who was preparing to leave for the day. The moment Elpride’s face came into view, Luna frowned as though she was just as angry as before.

“You-.”

“Aah-.”

Elpride seemed to have noticed Luna as well.

They looked at each other silently. Even though I’m no longer being pricked, my chest and stomach still feel prickly.

Of all people, these two meet like this again when they really didn’t want to.

“….”

“….”

They silently stared at each other. As time passed, Luna’s frown deepened while Elpride maintained an unusually calm expression.

Luna was the first to break the silence.

“Hello.”

“A, uh, yeah. Hello.”

Elpride stumbled over her words, clearly not expecting such a normal greeting from Luna. It’s not common to see Elpride stumble over her words, so it feels quite rare.

Of course, I was a little startled as well. I thought they might immediately pull each other’s hair and start fighting any moment now, but it seems my worries were unfounded.

Nevertheless, it’s still too early to relax.

“Good thief kitty. B-.”

Luna, who had just exchanged pleasantries, stuck out her tongue at Elpride in a mischievous manner.

Luna actually enjoys taunting. Since she defeated Hippolyte, she’s been doing things like dancing provocatively to provoke people, or conducting summary executions on monsters she’s already defeated. The way she’s provoking Elpride shows that for some reason, Luna has come to see Elpride as an enemy.

Upon seeing this, even Elpride’s calm expression furrows slightly.

“Thief cat? Me?”

“Yup!”

“Haha. If I’m a thief cat then you’re a raccoon that grabs things from the ground.”

“Raccoon!?”

Luna’s voice shook in genuine shock.

“Ah, how can you say something so mean!”

Luna trembled as if she had heard something truly terrible. Come to think of it, did Luna not like raccoons?

She used to set traps in the yard without hesitation when raccoons came and ate all the potatoes.

“Hurry up and apologize to me!”

“No, you called me a thief cat first.”

“But it’s true!”

“Huh? No, if you think about it-.”

Pfft!

Veins bulged on Elpride’s white forehead. This indicates that Elpride’s anger is fluctuating between mild irritation and medium rage.

However, Elpride, aware of this intermediate rage threshold, seems to be cautiously observing both me and Luna as if testing the waters.

“Well, that’s enough. What’s the point of saying such things here? I don’t get upset about trivial matters like this anymore. I’m the master of my own emotions.”

“Thief kitty!”

“Huh? No.”

“Thief kitty!”

“Do you not have enough vocabulary? Is that all you know?”

“Thief kitty!”

“No! Raccoon! Wild raccoon! Rabid raccoon!”

Luna and Elpride finally began glaring at each other and growling.

The scene around them was crackling with mana, their animosity reaching a level that wasn’t ordinary. Now, neither Luna nor Elpride seemed to care that I was standing beside them, their energies solely focused on each other.

“Ears! Critic!”

Suddenly, Luna used words beyond “thief kitty,” uttering something that Elpride detested the most.

That moment, I was jolted with surprise, wondering how Luna knew the term “critic.”

Had I mentioned it in front of Luna somewhere?

I can’t recall it happening, but it wouldn’t be strange if I had said it in my sleep a few times since I occasionally dreamt about Elpride’s nightmares when I get pins and needles.

“Ah, critic? Where did you hear that? You shouldn’t say that.”

Veins bulged on Elpride’s forehead. This is the definite peak of medium rage. As mentioned several times before, from this stage onwards up to great rage, Elpride’s fires and whips can come out and lash out fiercely.

However, Elpride had no whip or flames in hand this time. Knowing that fact, Luna opened her mouth with a victorious expression, as if delivering the final blow.

“Critic!”

“You told me not to say that!”

In the end, Luna and Elpride lunged at each other.

“Here-!”

Where did her promise to not get angry go? Elpride’s hand swiftly stretched out to grab Luna by the collar.

But Elpride’s fist only cut through the air, because Luna, showing the reason behind her confident taunts, elegantly backflipped and widened the distance.

At the same time, she didn’t forget to kick Elfride’s jaw with the top of her foot, a move resembling a backflip kick.

“Gyeek-!”

Unaware of Luna’s counterattack, Elpride let out a rather painful sound as she threw her head back.

“It’s different now than it was back then!”

Luna took a stance I had never seen before.

Her legs spread wide, bending her waist down, her hands planted on the ground, and her head looking up—a pose that could be likened to a wild spider.

I’d heard that most martial arts draw inspiration from various places, but Luna’s movements seemed to bring out something even more primal—a sight that was quite bizarre.

Come to think of it, Luna did have a talent for martial arts or dance. Once, while fighting monsters, she evaded attacks with acrobatic-like movements that were surprisingly agile.

Is it like the Indian ancient martial art, Kalaripayattu?

“Who would have thought I’d be revealing my skills known as the swamp spider of Ideope. You won’t regret it-!”

What is this Ideope spider nonsense?

While I was feeling perplexed, Elpride also assumed a stance.

While Luna’s kung-fu seemed dynamic, akin to something that sprang wildly from nature, Elpride’s posture resembled the disciplined and controlled martial art of Kalidur.

Elves, without exception, were said to be martial arts experts.

This was akin to a prevailing misconception in the continent, like foreigners asking if all Koreans are good at Taekwondo. However, Elpride’s bare-handed combat skill was quite remarkable, contrary to what you might expect from a mage.

Elpride said,

“I don’t want you to think this fight will be the same as the last one. You might end up bruising that cute nose of yours.”

“TA-HA-YAAT!”

Instead of responding verbally, Luna jumped high into the air with an eerie war cry.

Hadn’t Luna’s agility already surpassed 10? With her explosive agility combined with her strengthened strength, she leaped like a wolf spider lunging at its prey.

PSHOOOSH!

Luna’s arms and legs aimed straight for Elpride’s face as she soared into the air.

Being trained in martial arts by Hippolyte and the Skeleton Knight, I could predict that Luna would attempt to entangle Elpride’s head with some ruthless armlock.

Luna was truly a spider and an octopus. After all, isn’t a beast exactly the hunter or predator that vastly surpasses human physical capabilities?

Goodness, I had no idea she could do this. However, Luna’s attempt was thwarted when she lost her momentum due to a casual strike by Elpride and collapsed to the floor.

“Eek!”

Tension rose as I wondered what would happen next, but there were no further incidents. At least in bare-handed combat, Luna was no match for Elpride. The difference in levels and experience was clear, so it seems there was nothing that could be done.

Luna was neither a spider nor an octopus, just Luna.

Elpride grabbed Luna by the armpits and easily hoisted her up.

With Elpride’s firm grip, Luna simply struggled to break free.

“Now, say that you’ve lost. And apologize for calling me a thief kitty.”

“No way! You apologize first for calling me a raccoon!”

But even with that humiliation, Luna’s resolve was incredible. Even in this clearly losing situation, she refused to back down.

Did this change Elpride’s mind?

“Alright, I’ll apologize.”

Elpride lowered Luna gently onto the floor, her face rubbing against Luna’s belly as punishment.

“Wha-what?”

Behind the works of PotatoServer, Kadeom, Geieok, Cheryllyn, Hyunshinji, Studentsshi, Yuedel, Hairedinbalbaloss, Panpier, Chaekmoji, and Minnal of the Royal Donation Coupon! Thank you for the donation coupon.

Additionally, thank you to those who sent original fee coupons, those who recommended and commented. Thanks to your support and the service of nymph friends, the main hall of the Nymph Foundation, the Sun Palace, has been completed!

Starting tomorrow, the foundation will begin its regular activities!

---