Chapter 337

337 Sultan Hassan’s First Step #2

Sodomora, one of the largest cities in the kingdom.

When the great monster Typhon, who sought to overturn the world, was finally struck by Jupiter’s lightning and let out his final scream, it is said that many earthquakes, faults, and rifts appeared on the ground.

Among these rifts was one that connected the underworld, also known as the netherworld, to the realm of the living, Sabasegye. Sodomora is said to have been built near such a rift.

It was constructed at the intersection of rivers flowing through the land of the living, commonly known as the ‘Crossing of the Living Realm.’

Mages began to gather above this rift to utilize the netherworld’s magic that rose from the crossing.

As word of the overflowing magic spread, the area grew into a village, and eventually a large city, thanks in no small part to the tales of the nearby abundant gold mines.

“About fifty years ago, ever since the Titan War led to the advancement of necromancy, things escalated quite explosively.”

Inevitably, Sodomora was closely tied to Pluto, the god who presides over the underworld and its veins, in many ways.

As Sodomora grew larger and larger, the Plutonian faith naturally became even more powerful, to the point where its number of followers rivaled those of Jupiter, the kingdom’s main deity.

“Imagine skeleton miners who need no wages, rest, or food working in the mines. It was only natural for wealth to accumulate among Pluto’s followers and priests.”

The single-eyed Baltma, the head of the Mars Guild, looked up into the air.

His gaze seemed to recall a distant past instead of the makeshift tent office where he sat, drinking venomous snake liquor out of fear of a marital obligation.

Baltma continued speaking.

“Using that wealth, Pluto’s followers secured important positions throughout the kingdom. Perhaps that was the problem. Their excessive rise in power incited a backlash from the established factions.”

“So, the followers of Pluto were suppressed?”

“That’s right. However, the real reasons were quite more complicated. As you might have already heard, my real name is not Baltma but Vincent Friedrich.”

Friedrich.

There would be few in this kingdom who don’t recognize that name. It’s a royal title bestowed directly by Jupiter, and only the royal family can use the name Friedrich.

In other words, this one-eyed middle-aged man, who drinks venomous snake liquor while trembling at the thought of an obligatory spousal defense fight, is actually royalty.

“Uncle, were you a member of the royal family?”

“Yes, the current king, Thunderblade, is my younger brother. Not many know this, as most have either died or been killed, but it’s a secret.”

The king’s brother?

I had thought this man was unusual, but now I knew he was extremely high-ranking. If the king’s brother held a position like a duke, wasn’t he the highest-ranking noble I had ever seen?

I didn’t understand why such a person was leading the non-official Mars Guild.

Of course, even the head of a guild was an impressive position, but wasn’t it more proper for the king’s brother to live at the royal castle in a large mansion, enjoying a life of leisure?

“So, why are you here, doing this?”

At my question, Baltma scratched his partly balding forehead with his fingers, wavering like he was hesitating to answer. After a pause, he sighed strangely and spoke.

“It’s the words of the Plutonians. Those who held high ranks were either demoted to low positions or mostly killed. Some converted, like me.”

“Ah.”

“Needless to say, there was no longer any path to advancement.”

I recalled the banquet at the Delphi Marquis’ house. Most of the guests there were said to be followers of Pluto.

They must have greeted me because they hoped to rise again, believing a new opportunity to regain their former positions had arrived.

They surely thought that I would elevate Pluto’s influence and save their positions as his believers.

Of course, whether I could do that or not was another matter, but as long as the symbol of me existed, it was enough to bring them comfort.

“…”

While I was deep in thought, Baltma remained silent. I could sense that this man was deliberately withholding something.

The king’s brother.

In this patriarchal world where the firstborn son takes precedence, this title signifies a claim to the throne.

What’s more, there must be complex reasons why the former High Priest of Pluto abandoned his name and his identity to lead the unofficial Mars Guild.

“So, is that why you’re now the leader of the cultists?”

I remembered how the Plutonian cultists attacked Sodomora and demolished the Mars Guild. Reflecting on it now, I wondered what exactly that was all about.

Leading the Mars Guild, which was broken by the cultists, and then investing a lot of money to fix it — I didn’t understand what the ultimate goal was.

No wonder some of them are complete idiots.

Failure has its reasons.

At my question, Baltma pulled out a pipe from somewhere, tapped it, ignited it, and placed it in his mouth, breathing out a sigh.

“It’s not the leader; it’s just the bloodthirsty followers of Pluto who are trying to overthrow the kingdom. Most of them are imprisoned now in the prison city. The Plutonian faith is bound to eventually fade. I thought that—”

He paused.

His one remaining eye pierced me, and I could sense some subtle resentment there — real resentment, no doubt.

“Your existence has completely ruined everything, Hassan. A son of Pluto? The Great Duke of Hell? Seriously, I never imagined such a being was real.”

“Wasn’t that prophecy spreading openly among the cultists?”

I thought of the conversation I had with Ski zo, the great sword warrior and holy knight of Pluto.

They had fully believed without a doubt that Pluto’s son would transform the world into hell.

Even as their lives were ending, they showed fanatical loyalty to this belief to the very end.

Their unwavering faith in the prophecy chilled me to the bone, and in retrospect, it does seem that they were right.

The guy with the great sword and I were both doing something quite foolish, and I’m thankful that guy is in jail. Now, seeing each other face-to-face would be awkward.

However, Baltma had a different take on the prophecy.

“That prophecy? I made it up. To encourage the persecuted followers of Pluto to quietly bide their time and preserve their lives. It was just a story I concocted.”

“Swear, is that true?”

“Slowly forgetting was our role. But now you’ve appeared as Pluto’s son — pouring oil onto the dying embers is all you’re doing.”

“I understand. Could you at least stamp this recommendation? I’m quite busy…”

He stared at me as if I were some kind of pest. That’s probably how he truly felt, though when I finally handed him the recommendation, he signed it begrudgingly.

Vincent Friedrich.

His large signature on my paperwork made me feel exceptionally good.

You could say that I had finally collected all the badges from the gym leaders of each region to become the Pokémon Master I longed to be.

Two weeks after arriving in Sodomora from Delphi, I had finally reached the point where, as the gods of Haipos had foretold, I could build my temple.

I was incredibly happy. I was opening a health center with the name of a temple so I could absorb all that merit.

At last, I was reaching my initial goal: setting up a health center in this world to level up. It was the first time I had planned something so meticulously and nearly achieved it all, and I found it to be a tremendous sense of accomplishment.

*

I was feeling pretty good until just moments ago, but now, as the time of building my temple approaches, I am feeling my mouth dry up and cold sweat runs down my face.

With every step I take, my heart pounds wildly, and the world spins around me dizzily.

“Hoo-.”

My breathing is erratic; I’ve been in a state of over-breathing for quite a while now.

My fear is mounting because every step I take brings me closer to Luna’s cottage.

I remembered how the adulterous relationship with Hippolyte ended in a spectacular crash. This time, I decided it would be best to honestly tell Luna about my affair with Elpride.

“Master Hassan, are you really intending to tell the truth? You might get killed by Lady Luna!”

Paranoi kept scaring me from the side.

“Lady Luna might hammer stakes into your heart! Or maybe she’ll come to you while you’re asleep, armed with scissors, and… it will be a castration voodoo ritual!”

“Shut up, you!”

With the horrible sounds Paranoi was making, I had no choice but to cover his mouth.

Though it was already familiar, his peculiar paranoid tendency to ramble had never been more unsettling today. Honestly, those things might actually happen.

This is serious. But neither can I avoid it nor run away from it. Hiding would just make it worse. Swear, I have no choice but to confront it like a real man.

Ting Ting.

Finally, the wind chimes in the modest yard began to ring.

“Aah! Somebody’s here! The owner! Let me check!”

A figure bustles about, opening the door and appearing in the yard. It was Doris, the nymph of honey water with her honey-colored hair.

It seems she has fully transformed into Luna’s errand girl. Wasn’t it said that nymphs normally associate and serve gods or children gods?

Just as Paranoi serves me, Doris has effectively become Luna’s dedicated maid. Of course, that’s not important right now.

“Is Luna inside, Doris?”

“She’s inside! And for you, Nymph of ditch water! The Nymph’s Club of Vestra Goddess has decided to go on an autumn outing! They’ve prepared plenty of cookies and candies!”

“Is that true?… This seems to be a problem I can’t avoid anymore…”

The Paranoi kid. After terrifying me before, he’s now gleefully thinking about the autumn outing. He’s awfully cold-hearted.

“Hm.”

Anyway, the important thing right now isn’t Paranoi’s or the nymphs’ autumn outing, but my impending confrontation with Luna and facing the truth.

So, after taking a deep breath, I said to myself, “What? Am I going to d*e anyway?” and stepped inside the cottage.

There, I saw Luna’s back as she was busy pouring water into a pitcher.

“Hey, Luna.”

“A, Hassan! How did it go? Did you master the spell?”

“Yeah, like, well… Light Vesel…”

I showed her the orb floating above my palm as she greeted me with surprising enthusiasm. Luna jumped up several inches in the air, thrilled by the sight.

“Hassan can use magic now too!”

“I also received all the recommendations to build the temple. Now we can build a temple, but…”

“That’s amazing! But why do you look so glum? Is something wrong?”

“Um, Luna, it’s…”

Hmm, how should I put this. But if I retreat now, my dream of becoming a Sultan of necromancy will fly away. So, I decided to tell her straightforwardly.

“Luna, I slept with Elpride.”

“What, WHAT…?”

Crush.

The sudden wrinkling of Luna’s forehead feels like time paused.

Chhhoo!

I can feel a very cold chill spreading around me. I’ve felt a similar sensation somewhere before — yes, when the goddess Nox manifested through Luna’s body, this strange atmosphere enveloped me.

What is this? Is Lady Nox appearing? Swear, I messed up. Thinking this, I was relieved to see that Luna remained in control of herself.

“What did you do with Elpride?”

“S, s*x.”

“When?”

“Yesterday…”

“Sorry, Luna. I have no excuse. I have nothing to justify my actions.”

I pressed my forehead and both hands to the floor in a complete bow. This is undoubtedly a sign of complete submission and disgraceful surrender. My fate is now entirely in Luna’s hands.

“…”

But Luna silently approached me on bare feet, circling around me, and even sniffed the air near me as if to verify the smell.

“How can someone smell so bad from just one night?”

“Uh, is that right?”

I didn’t think my scent of Elpride was so strong; I’d washed myself several times already, but Luna seemed to pick it up.

“Hm.”

Luna continued to circle me. Doris, who overheard this, suddenly shrieked.

“This guy lives with you romantically but still strays to other women! He’s worse than a honey thief or a bear that steals honey! Absolutely terrible!”

She was condemning me. Her anger was quite menacing, as if it were her own hurt. She must find it intolerable that I’ve caused harm to Luna, whom she serves.

Caius, the son of the Mountain Deity, who Doris served as well, also had her standing up fiercely against his enemies when he was in peril or facing injustice.

So, I turned my gaze to Para noi, my companion nymph.

Perhaps this was the moment for Para noi, who might become a duchy on the burning fires of hell someday, to defend me and increase his stakes.

“Can I, Lady Luna, say a word about this situation?”

At that moment, Para noi actually spoke.

“Master Hassan is indeed a bad guy…”

But I was reminded once again that this guy was a traitor who always switches sides to be with the winner.

“To dare to stray from Lady Luna, your lover, is truly an act I cannot tolerate as a woman…”

“Hm.”

Para noi’s words caused Luna’s forehead to wrinkle even more. I felt a shiver running down my back. Despite being nymphs, they’re all women. Here, there are three women.

Grrrr! Keng Keng!

Even Keng Keng the female seems to be my enemy now. I’m surrounded by adversaries, with no one to help me. I’ve messed up everything.

Is this it, the end of everything?

Then Para noi spoke again.

“But, how about Zeus and Neptune who proudly claim to be gods? Aren’t they constantly cheating on Juno and Salacia despite all that grandeur? They’re so busy spreading their progeny everywhere…”

“What?”

“Their sons are even worse! Look at Triton; he has thirty wives but still lusts after even more women! Compared to them, Master Hassan is like a gentleman…”

“What’s this nonsense? What’s going on with all this?”

Unexpectedly, by raising her voice, Para noi seemed to have made Luna increasingly annoyed. But Para noi, seizing the opportunity, went on.

“The gods of Haipos think it’s natural to stray. But Master Hassan, the Great Duke of Hell, is different!”

“In what way? In the end, he strayed too.”

“No, he’s different!! Even though there were plenty of opportunities to touch other women, he’s still enduring humiliation and seeking forgiveness from you, Lady Luna!! Such treatment was not even extended to Juno, the Goddess of Family!!”

Para noi was now like a fervent orator, passionate and fighting for equality. This guy, who speaks so well, was unknown to me. His voice was crystal-clear, and his message struck home.

“Master Hassan is apologizing to Lady Luna, not anyone else! Because in his heart, Lady Luna is the most precious and the first one, isn’t she?”

“Is, is that so?”

Is it working? The wrinkles on Luna’s forehead are gradually smoothing out!

“Ultimately, Master Hassan being surrounded by various women is the destiny of one who is fated to lead — it’s unavoidable. So, Lady Luna, instead of persistently pressing him, you need to fight! To protect your position!”

“To, fight… to protect the main seat?”

“Yes, Lady Luna! If you let go of Master Hassan, the jackals waiting below will just have a feast!”

“They have nothing to lose anyway… But Lady Luna, you have much to lose…! If you continue like this, you might lose everything!”

“What should I fight, what struggle are you talking about?”

Just then, it hit me that this guy was actually a member of the cult who convinced tree monsters called ‘Stomp’ to go on strike.

In the end, moved by Para noi’s eloquence, Luna completely smoothed out the wrinkles on her forehead and helped me up from the ground.

Then she said,

“Well, Para noi, since you defended Hassan, take one honey punch for him.”

“Let’s cut to the chase, Lady Luna — castrate him…”

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