Chapter 37

37th Chapter

Hassan of Samaria, the Local of the Swamp

037 ? The Local of the Swamp Hassan #4

Goblin.

I had encountered goblins before when we were cleaning the abandoned shrine. At that time, I had no idea about the battle that ensued, so I was caught off guard, easily succumbing to them.

To begin with, I started this day with a resolve that was different from simply killing and dealing with something.

Keeek, sissiit.

Keesh, sissiit.

Those bastards are sitting around, seemingly unaware of their impending fate.

The mud-covered morons. For all I know, they might be mocking me, muttering, “Look at this guy with three swords.”

sh*t, how dare these goblins mock the Three Sword Styles?

I can’t tolerate that.

“Demon’s lackeys, let me show you the hatred I’ve bottled up for days!”

With that, I drew two blades from my waist and charged at the goblins.

The muddy ground was somewhat bothersome, but for someone with strides more than twice as long as others, it was no problem for me.

“d*e, bastards!”

Swishhh-.

And with that, I severed the head of one goblin.

Kee-ek!

The crimson eyes of the goblins milling about upon seeing the rolling head on the ground widened in panic.

Of course, I was equally astonished.

Though there was some resistance from the bones, my longsword cleaved through the goblin’s neck like it was tofu.

Is this how easily living bodies can be cut down? This newly acquired longsword seems to be of good quality.

Or perhaps, with my physical strength at an impressive 4 points, I achieved this miracle.

Keesh!

Caaash!

“Who the hell did you call me a dog just now?”

I swung my sword again toward the goblins who were aiming cheap arrows at me. Though I have never trained in swordsmanship, I’ve only ever held rifles.

Whoosh, swishh, swoooosh!

Just using my physique and the reach of my longsword, I swung wildly, causing the goblins’ necks, shoulders, and arms to roll on the ground everywhere.

“d*e, sc*m!”

Keeeh!

What a joke, those goblins went down quicker than I thought.

Some fled while showing their backsides, but I have no intention of letting them go.

It’s either k*ll or be killed in this chaotic battle.

No matter how unbecoming or ridiculous it looks, if you don’t want to d*e, you must k*ll your opponent.

In such chaotic battles, there’s no room for style or respect for life.

“Just you wait, b*stard!”

Swishh-. Whoosh-!

Once all the goblins in my path were gone, I finally had the leisure to turn my head and see what the others were up to.

There, I saw others struggling with goblins clinging to their bodies, two each.

“Rene! Do something, Rene! You’re the best with the sword among us!”

“I-I’ll do what? Just swing it around or something!”

“Don’t touch that! Someone, beat this one!”

sh*t, what’s wrong with these guys? They’re Bronze Tier, right? They’re wearing splendid armor and swords but still getting taken down by mere goblins. They may be doing their best, but honestly, it’s disappointing.

Perhaps the Bronze Tier ranks have been greatly overestimated within me.

Because of this, my rating of the adventurer race as a whole is gradually declining.

“It’s time for my Silence Totem!”

Then, from somewhere, a determined voice from Luna resounded. I looked around again and saw Luna battling a goblin in a life-or-d*ath duel.

Luna pulled out a long, thick stick she had hidden in her cloak.

To be more precise, it wasn’t really a stick; the weapon looked more like a club or cudgel. The peculiar carved face shape engraved in it made it resemble a small scarecrow.

A Silence Totem?

Luna already impressed me a bit with her earlier performance, so I was halfway expecting something.

Keesh!

“S-shut up!”

Luna swung the stick right at the goblin, smashing its head.

The goblin collapsed and convulsed a couple of times but then lay still, silenced, without making even a small sound.

sh*t, so that’s the Silence Totem. It’s just a cudgel.

“Hassan! Behind you!”

At Luna’s shout, I snapped back to reality, spotting a goblin sneaking up behind me, rusted dagger in hand, ready to strike.

Keeeh! Shitass!

“Attack from behind? I’m not about to be slaughtered like this!”

I immediately swung my arm. However, for a goblin, it was surprisingly agile and dodged my blade, landing its dagger instead.

f*ck, I’m about to get wounded. As I became uneasy about this, a sudden sound ripped through the air.

Pew-.

A b*llet tore through the air, and the goblin’s head exploded like it had taken a bomb.

“Hassan of Samaria. Indeed, your reckless prowess is beastly, wildly swinging your weapons.”

“H-Hipolyte.”

“The story about slaughtering a hundred goblins is true, then? Pretty impressive for an Iron Tier.”

sh*t, you shot that goblin in the head with a pebble flicked by your fingers? What kind of magic missile is that? Absolutely terrifying.

The rating I had lowered for adventurers quickly rose higher.

No matter how much stronger I may become, there’s no way I can reach that level. Can we even call what she’s doing human?

Twenty adventurers slaughtered roughly forty goblins.

We retrieved trophies like fangs and crude scraps from the dead gobs. However, true to their swampy habitat, their belongings were mostly rusted knives and wooden arrows—hardly worthwhile for all the hassle they caused.

“Hey, sh*t. That one is clearly mine.”

“P-proof?”

“Proof? This clean slice from the left neck to the right side is the proof.”

One member of the Maiden of the Sword, extracting fangs from a goblin I cleaved in half. I glared at the guy and he immediately trembled, retreating step by step.

“Grr…”

“Go away. Who taught you to be a thief.”

As if he had a lot to say, the dude scowled, but then returned to his comrades without a peep.

sh*t, it reminds me of my younger sister. She’d covet someone else’s stuff and then get mad at them for their supposed wrongdoing—such a devil.

Anyway, we recovered forty fangs in total. Having personally butchered ten goblins, this was a good haul as it amounted to 40 copper coins.

Last time, I barely managed to k*ll five goblins with multiple injuries before collapsing. This time, even after cutting down ten, I’m only breathless with no injuries—none at all.

sh*t, you’ve grown, Hassan! Is this the power of level 9? Or perhaps the might of the Three Sword Styles!?

“Look, Hassan, I took down two! Whaaat! I feel like I’ve got too much energy. What’s happening?!”

Luna was happily pulling out fangs from the goblins’ mouths as she chattered. It’s strange to think that I killed ten goblins, but it’s even stranger that Luna took care of two.

Well, we did notice a talent for killing when she smashed a person’s head with a rock. Maybe one day she’ll become a famous murderer.

As we were finally wrapping up the collection of fangs from the bodies—

“Uhh…uuuh… Ah! It hurts!”

“The wound doesn’t seem life-threatening. It’s a through-and-through wound that missed vital organs.”

In one corner, Hippolyte assessed the condition of a wounded driver, diagnosing and issuing instructions.

“Report the casualties and trophies before nightfall.”

Truly, she commands like silver-tier royalty, handling affairs with efficiency and class. All this discussion about procedures and reports quickly bored me, and I turned my attention elsewhere.

Swish, squelch, squelch-.

“Gyaaah!”

That priestess practically jumped and crouched at my approach, like she had encountered some pervert.

And then she prostrated herself, bowing deeply before me.

“Sir, sir! I apologize for showing such an inadequate form. I didn’t expect you to appear suddenly…”

“…What?”

By merely approaching a woman, I feel a mix of bewilderment and inexplicable guilt.

What exactly is this bowing about? Is it a religious gesture? As I pondered, the woman rose, dusting off the mud and dirt from herself and said—

“Ah, I’m sorry. I mistook you for someone else. This kind of misconception happens often when one can’t see. Please don’t mind it.”

“Is that so? Then, would you mind moving your foot? There’s a goblin corpse beneath it.”

“Ah, is that so?”

Hehe, an unclaimed goblin corpse means four coppers! With that thought, I collected the fangs while the priestess watched me silently.

A while later, the priestess approached and spoke.

Ah, her ‘watching’ was more about my impression, as she claimed she couldn’t see.

“Hassan, is it? You seem like a remarkable warrior. However, isn’t it suspicious for goblins to ambush a broken wagon here in the swamp? Is it coincidence?”

“So, you’re saying the goblins set up some sort of trap?”

“It’s possible… given how rapidly the world is changing. It wouldn’t be surprising if goblins learned to dig traps.”

That’s Cassandra of Delphi’s priestess, feeling uneasy and surprised at goblins acting collectively and strategically.

For me, hearing that doesn’t really faze me much. After all, the very existence of goblins has always seemed strange to me.

It’s weird creatures like these, so it’s not surprising no matter how weirdly they behave.

“It’s good to camp here. The ground is firm enough here, a fine spot indeed, Commander. What do you think?”

“I’ll follow Hippolyte’s judgment. It will be dangerous to navigate through the mud as the night gets deeper. There’s a water spring close by, so we can clean our dirty equipment and bathe by turns.”

“Then, let’s set up camp here. Everyone, prepare for the night!”

Based on the advice of the two silver-tier adventurers, the wagons stopped in a spacious clearing where the belongings and people were unloaded.

“Abandoned shrine.”

Cassandra muttered, like she was talking to herself. How ironic that someone unable to see seems to know more about how the world turns than I do.

“Look, Hassan, the statues! Won’t breaking them reveal something inside?”

Then, Luna pointed at the statues of the shrine, corroded and damaged here and there. She must have remembered our earlier cleaning of the shrine.

“Don’t break them. It is a sacrilegious act.”

Cassandra discouraged Luna, who then hastily concealed her Silence Totem back inside her cloak. Me too, I sheathed the sword in my hand—it might really contain something inside.

In front of others, it appears breaking statues is prohibited behavior. Of course, destroying religious symbols isn’t something most people can just do unless they’re extremely disrespectful or come from an antagonistic faith.

“Statue of Ceres. Her scythe symbol. This is Ceres’ shrine.”

Cassandra traced the rough surface of the statues with her hands, and then the red-cloaked Hippolyte approached her to ask.

“Priestess of Delphi. We plan to camp here for the day. Are there any prophecies to share?”

“None in particular.”

“Good, we shall set camp here. Unpack and prepare for the night.”

Thus, after setting up quickly, we all gathered around small fires in small groups sharing the dry rations we brought along.

My share for dinner was an unbearably hard biscuit, so hard that it felt more like a rock than food. If you didn’t soak it in water, it could easily break your teeth.

It’s less of food, and more of a weapon. I even pondered whether if I hit someone with this rock biscuit, it would k*ll them.

“H-hard to eat.”

Even Luna, who enjoyed crispy pies and chocolate, showed difficulty chewing this rock-hard stuff.

“A few water bottles were lost in battle against goblins. Make do with dry food tonight.”

Crackkk-.

Watching Hippolyte bite into the hard biscuit as if it were chocolate made my jaw joints ache. What the hell kind of biting power does a human have, anyway? Is she a horse?

In this way, after enduring the meal that felt like losing some HP, Hippolyte gathered everyone with her booming voice.

“So, as the meal has more or less concluded, gather your attention. I’ll read out the guard duty roster we’ve drafted.”

sh*t, guard duty.

By good or bad fortune, I was assigned to the second watch.

I hate the second watch. Since it’s directly after the first watch, it interrupts sleeping, which is annoying.

Of course, it’s still better than Luna’s second watch, and even better than Malco’s.

“Malco-kun, looks like we’re sharing the same tent. We’ll have a fun night. Let’s share an all-men social evening.”

“H-hey! Mercury! Don’t put me to this test!”

Poor kid Malco. I’m d*mn lucky it’s not me in that spot. This is what happens when you don’t repay your debts on time.

“Wow, Hassan really builds tents well. The best I’ve ever seen. You’re at the same level as the Elder of Ideope, isn’t that right?”

I completed a small 2-person A-type tent. Though it wasn’t made with the best material and was pretty rough, Luna was thoroughly impressed.

“Completely cozy. No wind gets in. It makes such a difference draping a cloak outside like this. And this, it’s glowworms! Don’t you think? The tent feels brighter with these. I caught a few after dinner.”

Small glass bottles hung from the tent ceiling lit up with faint luminescence from unknown bugs.

“Hey, is it… alright for you to share a tent with me?”

“Well? Is there any problem with it?”

“Um, usually, women share with women and men with men, right?”

“I don’t want to be with the Maiden Squad members.”

It’s common practice for a fixed party to share tents. But some people, especially of different sexes, feel uneasy about it. Luna doesn’t seem to care much about that.

“It’s also spacious here.”

“Because I’m tall, it’s kind of… well, it’s natural.”

“The floor is so soft. It feels like an inn bed! Where on earth did you learn this?”

“From someone I knew who was very picky about sleeping places.”

“Somebody you knew? An old companion? A friend from your hometown?”

sh*t, can I call Elpride a companion? I couldn’t quite respond when Luna, yawning and stretching, suddenly lay flat on her back.

“Phew… so sleepy and tired. After bathing in the spring, I feel all lethargic.”

Her cloak shifted, revealing her pale skin. My eyes landed on slightly bloated belly and a round navel.

The memory of the soft warmth and fine texture I experienced in the past came flooding back, and I could feel my heart racing wildly, followed by a surge of heat rising to my face and lower body.

“Anyway, I planned to keep wearing the cloak you bought me but sleeping in it is uncomfortable. I’ll probably have to take it off when sleeping.”

Are you really going to take the cloak off!? You’re tempting me too far.

Unlike my struggle, Luna seemed completely unaware, giggling.

“I’m glad Hassan made the tent so well. My entire body hurt like crazy. The wagon was too hard, and my b*tt ached. Swinging the Silence Totem has made my arms and back sore, too.”

Luna poked and pressed her sides and upper arms while groaning with discomfort.

I stared at her white and smooth armpits when suddenly I blurted out without hesitation.

“Um… shall I massage them for you?”

“Huh?”

*

[Author’s Notes]

Dear readers, it’s me, Michuri. Ah, you might be asking why I’m crying again, but I just cannot help the tears whenever writing the afterwords! Hiiik!!

Anyhow, thanks to the TV exposure this week, the income for the first month of serialization looks decent enough. Of course, it’s all thanks to you amazing readers who indulge my story, Hoeeek!

As I mentioned in the first chapter, this work aims to be a good read among other interesting things to do in my spare time.

Because of that, I try to write without much pressure, aiming for a relatively light tone. You can consider it as both a hobby and a source of livelihood. Still, I’ll work hard not to waste your reading time. Hoo..

By the way, I’d like to frequently add more illustrations, as well as more interesting and charming characters.

Currently, Luna seems to be putting in a lot of effort alone, so I’d like to diversify a bit.

Most importantly, next time, I’ll make sure the rice cake I bake is nice and warm and delicious. As a rice cake-making disciple, I’m sure I’ll get struck by lightning someday. Hoo..

And yes, I always appreciate and read your recommendations and comments. Thank you so much for everything! Hiiik…

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