Chapter 36

36th

Hassan of Samaria, the Local of the Marshlands

036 ? Hassan of Samaria, the Local of the Marshlands #3

Early in the morning, a considerable number of people gathered and were buzzing around the west gate of Sodomora.

Most of them were individuals who received the same wooden token from the guild, members of the expedition heading toward Kalan Marsh. The total number of people was around ten to twenty.

Except for Luna, Malco the bard who somehow exists, and myself, everyone else were adventurers of Bronze Tier or higher, and their determined expressions and spirits exhibited their readiness.

Indeed, the composition of adventurers felt like the onset of true adventuring activities, and my heart began to race against the chill of the early morning breeze.

I had some experience tagging along on a large expedition while following Elpride; however,

that was merely as a porter and a janitor slave. But now, I too had proudly secured a place on this roster.

I felt that the day when I could live a human life through the grace I possess as a higher-tier adventurer was not far off. Today could be seen as the glorious first step toward that goal.

“Oh my, it’s Buseo! Buseo is apparently participating in this expedition—oh my!”

As Luna kept glancing at the impressive adventurers and repeatedly exclaimed “oh my,” she tapped my arm.

Curious, I turned my gaze and saw a muscular man wearing suspenders above his bare torso.

“Who is that?”

“Buseo! The owner of the narrative artifact, the hammer of Dalos! A famous Silver Tier adventurer from Sodomora!”

Upon hearing the term Silver Tier, I looked at the man’s neck, which was abundantly covered in hair, and indeed, amidst his thick pectorals, a small silver identification badge was glimmering.

“Buseo is thought to soon reach the realm of heroes. He’s a Gold Tier, you know.”

“Gold Tier?”

“His overall score is nearly 40!”

Does overall score mean level? sh*t, mine is only 9. Just how powerful would he be to be near 40?

Hmm, so that guy is someone that remarkable?

He just looks like a pervert to me.

d*mn, I made eye contact.

Feeling my b*tt tingle for some reason, I turned my head away and feigned indifference. At that moment, a woman appeared, parting the crowd while fluttering a red cloak, and stood on the platform.

“The task of exterminating the cultists in Kalan Marsh has been entrusted to me, Hippolyte, a Silver Tier adventurer from the Mars Guild.”

The moment Hippolyte appeared, the previously noisy area fell silent like a rabbit caught by its ears.

“If you just follow my instructions, things will go smoothly, as always.”

The sheer presence of the woman on the platform showed just how impressive she was, capable of commanding such a diverse group of unique adventurers with just her appearance.

“H-Hippolyte is here too. Hassan, this mission seems to be something out of the ordinary. Are we perhaps going to catch Cerberus…?”

Having two Silver Tier adventurers in the expedition team—despite my limited knowledge of this world’s context, I understood what that implies.

It suggested there might be many challenges beyond what a newbie like me can handle. In a world where resources are precious, manpower is not squandered lightly.

sh*t, and it’s Hippolyte of all people.

To think that I would be in the same space as the woman who was watching over me just the day before. To be honest, it makes me quite anxious and uncomfortable. I am weak against such strong women.

Regardless of my inner feelings, Hippolyte continued speaking from the platform.

“Our mission is twofold: to find and to k*ll. Let’s butcher those vile cultists without leaving a single piece of flesh!”

With an odd scream, something between a shriek and a battle cry, Hippolyte rallied the Maidens of the Sword, and their strange sounds echoed through the area.

It felt as if I was watching someone fervently praying in a fanatical tongue, and my mind was honestly a jumble.

Anyway, after her passionate speech, the group of around twenty was divided into pairs of ten each, placed under Hippolyte and Buseo.

“Ah, Samaritan, it’s a pity we ended up in different groups.”

A rugged-looking man spoke to me.

“Yikes!”

I felt my fur stand on end like a cat startled while eating. How could someone so large approach without a sound?

“U-Um, are you Buseo? Do you know me?”

“You’ll get to know me soon. Hehe. You, too, will learn about me better. Let’s get to know each other well.”

sh*t, what does he even know? Regardless, I feel incredibly lucky to be in a different group from this guy. To me, he seems like one of those scary types that are hard to describe.

“Well then, see you later. Group 2, board the carriage! Our cute Malco will sit beside me!”

“P-Please spare me!”

As I watched Buseo fade away along with the others, Luna tugged at my sleeve.

“Hey, hey, Hippolyte is coming!”

Indeed, it appeared Luna was trying to warn me of the imminent danger.

But it was already too late. No excuse to go to the restroom, the terrifying warrior stood right before me.

“Hassan of Samaria—so we’re in the same group. We will often face each other over the next few days. I look forward to working with you.”

“H-Hippolyte…! I-I look forward to working with you too!”

“I expect the reputation of a Wanderer to be worthy of the occasion.”

d*mn, I want to go home.

*

Clatter, clatter—.

Clatter.

The carts of this world, lacking well-laid roads or cushy tires, were nothing less than torture devices. They bounced around on the bumps, making it painful and bruising my rear end.

In fact, calling it a cart was a euphemism, as it was just a wagon without any comfort. I wish they had at least laid down some straw or soft blankets.

How do the others endure this?

As I casually shifted my gaze, the carriage was set up facing each other like a subway, allowing me to closely observe Hippolyte sitting across from me.

“….”

Hippolyte, with her arms crossed, had her eyes closed and didn’t move a muscle.

Is she sleeping? To be sleeping amidst this shaky chaos—truly a veteran of Silver Tier. I even felt a slight respect for her.

“How long until we arrive, Hassan? My b*tt hurts too much.”

Beside me, Luna was wriggling around uncomfortably, trying to find a comfortable position.

But realizing that no matter how she sat, it was just uncomfortable, she finally sprawled out in a haphazard manner.

“We should arrive by tomorrow morning.”

sh*t, she startled me. Wasn’t she asleep?

Taken by surprise at her sudden response, both Luna and I closed our mouths. Hippolyte, with one eye opened slightly, looked at us.

“Then bear with the pain. If it’s too unbearable, you can walk. But you’ll make the journey much longer by doing that.”

With that, Hippolyte closed her eyes once more. Out of fear that she might speak again, Luna and I opted to remain silent.

The carriage ahead, led by Buseo, was surprisingly noisy; meanwhile, our carriage sat in heavy silence, akin to a funeral procession.

Sriiing-… Sruin-…

The only sounds were the ominous noise of blades being sharpened.

“Hehe—. I’ll stab it right into the guts of those heathen bastards!”

The Maidens of the Sword continued their chilling, psychopathic murmurs, sharpening their blades. It was honestly unsettling.

Among the people in our carriage, the one who seemed normal was…

Swoosh-.

I directed my eyes toward the woman sitting next to Luna.

She wore a long, black dress that revealed not a hint of skin, a long veil on her head, and blindfolds covering her face.

Isn’t she hot? Furthermore, why is she blindfolded; is she trying to impose a self-restraining play? Perhaps she could be blind?

In any case, this woman in a black dress had remained silent, merely sitting still and swaying with the carriage’s rhythm, unlike the others.

Of course, the moment she spoke, I had no idea what oddity might come out, so I decided to withhold judgment for now.

Clatter— clatter.

Feeling a bit nauseous, I turned my gaze to look at the scenery.

Beneath the glaring sun, I passed golden fields ready for harvest and now entered the barren area that could be called a desolate wilderness.

Eagles soaring above and the remains of decaying, dead beasts.

The gasping of four-legged creatures, possibly jackals or hyenas, with burning red eyes peering from behind the barren trees was unpleasant, and I turned my gaze away when…

“So, Hassan of Samaria. How many people have you killed?”

No, after a long time of opening her mouth, why that question?

When I failed to answer instantly, Hippolyte opened her lips slightly once more to repeat the question.

“I heard you were exiled for killing too many people in the wilderness. To get exiled from the notoriously barbaric Samaria—did you k*ll fifty?”

“Um, not quite.”

“More than that? For a young man, this is quite impressive. It’s getting more and more interesting.”

I guess she doesn’t think about how far down it goes.

Regardless, Hippolyte seemed to modify her impression of me significantly after drawing her conclusion from her own question.

While I was fumbling for words in need of clarification, pondering how to explain or whether I even had to,

Clatter.

The carriage ahead that had been moving forward suddenly stopped, and soon our carriage followed suit.

“The wheel is completely stuck in the mud. The marsh has invaded this far. This can no longer be called a road.”

The driver of Buseo’s carriage clicked his tongue as he observed the wheel half-sunk in the road. Our cart had the same issue.

“Guests, please disembark!”

Splash-splash.

As I stepped off the cart, my foot sank deep into the squishy mud, leaving me feeling uncomfortable.

“Did it rain? Why is the ground so muddy here?”

Luna remarked, narrowing her eyes at the mud seeping between her sandals and toes.

The woman in the blindfold, whom I had been observing closely, chimed in.

“It’s a curse from the goddess of the season, Ceres. The Kalan region was under the worship of Goddess Ceres, so it’s strongly influenced by her.”

“Oh, I see. But who are you?”

“I’m a priestess from Delphi. My name is Cassandra.”

“Delphi means the priestess of light and the sun god, right?”

“For the most part.”

“I’m Luna, a voodoo priestess of Ideope, serving the goddess of superstition and night, Nox. I guess I can be seen as a priestess too?”

“….”

The woman who identified herself as Cassandra did not say anything further and fell back into silence. Since she claimed to be a priestess, it seemed she was likely on some sort of deep vow of silence.

Disregarded in her introduction, Luna also didn’t pursue further inquiries and merely tilted her head, staring at the soggy ground and the gradually submerging cart.

Amidst everyone’s grim expressions and discomfort, I leaned toward Luna and tentatively asked.

“Hey Luna, what’s the curse of Ceres?”

“Oh, I heard this from before I was born, about thirty years ago, a harsh winter engulfed the world. It lasted about two years, they said? I think that’s what she means. The frozen ground melted, causing many places to become this muddy marsh.”

Did winter last for about two years? Just hearing about it sends chills down my spine.

It’s a relief that I didn’t come to this world during that time. It must have been the worst for the homeless.

While I pondered the implications of a two-year-long winter, the driver of our carriage spoke up.

“It seems we need to put in some effort now. If we continue like this, we’ll have to abandon the cart. How about we push from the back?”

“That’s not something a warrior of Mars should do.”

“Hippolyte, we’ll handle it ourselves. You rest. Everyone, gather around.”

Thus, those who claimed to have some strength got behind the cart and exerted their efforts to free the wheel, sunk in the muck.

However, the very ground we stood on began to crumble, and our feet sunk up to our knees, making it very difficult to extract the wheel from the mud.

“Hey, Amazons. Put in more effort! You’re saying you’re a warrior group second only to the Spartans?”

“We are putting in all our strength! Tell that Samaritan b*stard to put in more effort! He’s pretending to try!”

“Hey, what do you mean by that? Don’t place the blame on me.”

sh*t, how did they know I was slacking off? Is it necessary for a Bronze Tier to be able to use such keen observation skills?

With no choice but to buckle down again, I put strength back into my arms and legs.

Hee-haw!

“Oh, oh, it’s moving! It’s coming loose! Push harder!”

At that moment, alongside the sound of a horse kicking vigorously, the deeply sunk wheel gradually began to emerge from the ground.

“We’re almost there! Just a little more—cough!”

The voice of the driver, who had been urging us forward while observing the situation, suddenly cut off sharply, like someone choking on food.

Cough, cough—after a few uneasy sounds, something fell into the wet muddy ground with a thud.

“The driver got hit by an arrow!”

With her face turning pale, Luna screamed. Just like she said, the driver was gravely wounded, with an arrow piercing through his torso and bl**d gushing out.

Kishihish.

Kishihish!

At the same time, figures began to pop up from everywhere, which had been thought to be marshland.

“G-Goblins!”

“Swamp Goblins, d*mn it!”

Amidst the panicked screams and the sounds of weapons being drawn, I somehow distinctly heard Hippolyte’s quiet murmuring.

“Looks like it’s time for the warriors to step up.”

[Author’s Note] Thank you very much to inno0822, Hoya [虎夜], honor7, Ghost, and Shimaling for the support coupons! And thanks to those who sent manuscript payment coupons as well…! I bow down deeply to all of you!