Chapter 397

Here is the translated novel in English without any comments:

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397 Moon and Hill and the Sorcerer #3

Luna said that the island where the Tatari Tribe lives is full of raccoons.

Big raccoons, as large as humans.

“If you wear this, you can use the voodoo magic of animal mimicry! Pretend to be a raccoon and infiltrate the hill island!”

So Luna handed us a few raccoon pelts she had brought. The pelts were in good condition—smooth, undamaged brown fur.

Elpride’s face twisted as she took one.

“This is ridiculous. You call it animal mimicry voodoo, but it’s just wearing a pelt?”

“If it were just wearing a pelt, it wouldn’t be voodoo! You have to act like a raccoon too!”

“…”

At Luna’s words, Elpride made a disgusted face.

Standing before Elpride, Luna roughly stripped off her long dress and the crown of duck feathers she had been wearing, then slipped her arms and legs into a raccoon pelt with buttons on the belly.

She looked like one of those old-fashioned animal pajamas—pretty cute, actually. Then again, Luna was naturally pretty, so anything she wore would look adorable.

Srrrk.

Finally, with a raccoon-like hood over her head, Luna dropped to all fours and started moving around.

She took a few steps forward and backward.

“Keng, keng-keng!”

She even let out a few barks. The darkness of the night made her look unmistakably like a raccoon.

“Alright, this should be enough! What are you all doing? Hurry up and put yours on! They’ll wake up in about ten minutes. We have to get out before then!”

Under Luna’s urging, Elpride reluctantly stuffed herself into a raccoon pelt too. Luna then turned to her and said:

“Now walk on all fours and bark occasionally. Don’t bark too much, or we might get caught!”

“…”

Even though she was wearing the raccoon pelt, Elpride clearly had no intention of making a fool of herself.

I spoke up.

“It doesn’t fit me.”

The raccoon pelts Luna brought were just the right size for her and Elpride. If I tried to force myself into one, it would probably tear.

Luna sighed.

“Hassan, you already have fur, so just pretend to be any animal! The important thing is having a furry body. Chrome’s eyesight isn’t good, they say.”

Chrome seemed to be the name of the monster perched atop the hill.

“Doris, if people wake up and look for us, tell them we went out for a quick drink! Keep an eye on things so nothing goes wrong!”

“House owner, be careful…! I’ll stick a little bee on you—if there’s danger, send this one flying into the sky…!”

Doris placed a bee the size of a fingertip on Luna’s back. I wasn’t sure what good sending it into the sky would do in an emergency.

But bees communicate through pheromones, so maybe Doris could sense if Luna was in danger—a scientific thought crossed my mind.

Thinking about it, Doris’s bees were quite useful as a temporary communication system.

So this is the Nymph of Honey Water.

I seriously considered whether I should evolve Paranoi, the Nymph of Ditch Water, who had no special abilities to speak of.

Luna had the Nymph of Honey Water by her side.

Hippolyte had the Nymph of Tear Water, each helping with chores or offering various abilities. So why did I…

No, I shouldn’t think like this.

By now, Paranoi was surely working hard in her own way.

Clearing my thoughts, I turned to my companions.

“Let’s go.”

“That’s the hill island.”

Luna, standing on the shore, pointed toward our destination with her finger. Under the dim moonlight, the steep-sloped island looked like a massive rock shadow.

Sssss—

The wind blowing from the hill island was eerie and chilly.

The air was so cold that if Luna and Elpride hadn’t been wearing raccoon pelts, they might have shivered.

“Try not to cause a commotion on the island. The Tatari Tribe kids are terrifying. If we get caught, things will get messy.”

Luna briefed us on what to watch out for on the hill island.

“Watch your step for traps, and don’t touch anything carelessly. That should be enough. And once we start climbing Moonrise Mountain, try not to make any noise!”

An infiltration, huh?

When was the last time I did something like this?

The Pluto Cultist meeting and the Thieves’ Guild.

That’s all that came to mind, and neither was a good memory. Both felt like walking a tightrope where my head could’ve rolled at any moment.

But this time, I had companions—much more reassuring.

Drrrrk—

Luna pushed a long, narrow boat lying nearby and brought it to the shore. It suited the name “canoe”—probably was one.

Elpride, Luna, and I boarded it, then rowed toward the dark, shadowy hill island about a hundred meters away.

As we did, I thought it necessary to objectively assess our combat strength, so I grabbed Luna and Elpride’s wrists one by one.

Ding—

[Name: Elpride Desmund Lv. 37 → 38

Strength: 12 → 13

Agility: 12

Stamina: 13

Traits: Sadism》Separation Anxiety》Atheist》

Status: Cold Hands and Feet》Irregular Menstruation》]

Ding—

[Name: Luna Noxdotty Lv. 29 → 32

Strength: 8 → 9

Agility: 13 → 14

Stamina: 8 → 9

Traits: Frantic》Gluttony》Nocturnal》

Status: Voodoo Obsession》Grudge of the Raccoon》]

Since the last time I checked, everyone had leveled up quite a bit—must’ve been accumulating karma well.

Elpride’s strength stat increasing was impressive, but what really stood out was Luna’s growth speed.

Level 32?

She must’ve gone through a lot on the island this past month.

But what’s this “Grudge of the Raccoon” status?

No idea what that could be.

Lost in thought, we had already gotten quite close to the so-called hill island. Only about twenty meters left to land.

Flicker, flicker.

But when unfamiliar lights and torches suddenly lit up in the bushes of the hill island, I sensed something was off.

The Ideope Archipelago was at war due to resource shortages. Naturally, the Tatari Tribe would have guards patrolling the shores.

Then Luna threw a blanket over us and whispered:

“Stay quiet now. I need to talk to the guards watching the hill island.”

Of course, Luna, who had lived here a long time, knew the dangers and concerns better than I did.

She planned to negotiate with the Tatari Tribe guards to resolve the issue.

Was she going to bribe them?

Splash—

Luna jumped into the sea, swam, and landed on the island alone.

Her figure disappeared into the bushes, followed by rustling sounds and faint voices.

Sssss—

I focused all my senses on hearing. My ears, sharpened by divinity, rivaled a bat’s radar.

So I could pick up Luna’s familiar voice.

”Let me through today. I just want to gather some helmet flowers and hashish plants on the hill island.”

”Luna, Chrome ordered tighter security today. His pet Orthos came back injured, and he’s furious. So today’s tough.”

”Can’t you make an exception? I’ll give you one health bead. A pill. It’s rare stuff. You know how good it is, Naru—you’ve tried it before.”

”One pill… for thirty minutes, I might manage.”

”Huh? Last time, one pill got me an hour.”

”Times have changed. If you want to dock a boat in my area, it’s two pills per hour now. I’m risking my life here. Gotta make it worth it.”

”Ugh, fine. One hour then. Oh, and the guys in the boat? They’re just here to help gather herbs today, so don’t mind them.”

”Yeah, whatever. Just don’t cause a scene. If caught, don’t say my name. And don’t forget to wear the raccoon pelts.”

”Got it, Naru! Thanks!”

Rustle.

With that, the conversation seemed to end, and Luna waved at us.

I rowed the canoe to shore and finally set foot on the hill island.

Luna apparently had connections in the Tatari Tribe.

From the sound of it, she often sneaked onto the hill island like this to gather materials or trade her potions and health beads.

Luna returned and whispered:

“We’ve got an hour. But they’d never guess we’re heading to Moonrise Mountain. So we have to move fast!”

The Tatari Island was utterly barren.

Most of the bushes were prickly thickets, the ground was swampy, and the trees were infested with venomous creatures like centipedes and vipers.

Grotesquely twisted trees had mushrooms clinging to them like parasites—red or purple, sickly colors that looked like they’d twist your guts if eaten.

I used to think the jungles of the Crescent Moon Island, where the Nox Child Tribe lived, were harsh. But compared to this place, that was paradise.

The cultist voodoo priest Somnia, once a member of the Tatari Tribe, had scolded Luna for living on a rich, fertile island, ignorant of the world’s hardships.

Now I understood what she meant.

Girls living on this desolate highland island had no choice but to be fierce. They had to raid other tribes to survive.

“Ah, Hassan, watch your step there. There’s a thin wire. Step on it, and a trap will fall from above!”

At Luna’s warning, I snapped out of my thoughts and looked down. Just as she said, a thin rope was taut beneath my ankle.

Looking up, I saw a spiked wooden plank dangling ominously overhead.

If I had carelessly stepped on that rope, that gruesome thing might have taken out our whole group. The thought sent a chill down my spine.

After walking cautiously for a few minutes, Elpride spoke up, unnerved by the unnatural silence.

“No animals, no people. Not even those ‘silver-stalkers.’ Something’s wrong, isn’t it?”

“This is a path no one usually takes. Naru from the Tatari Tribe told me about it.”

“Can we trust this ‘Naru’? What if they betray us or lead us into a trap?”

“They’re an old friend. I was an outcast in the village, so I got along better with kids from other tribes. Naru and I—our names are similar, so we became friends fast.”

“…”

Elpride fell silent, and the surroundings grew even quieter. Only the chirping of insects broke the dark stillness.

We began climbing the mountain in that silence.

”Day after day, guard duty. Ugh, exhausting.”

Of course, it wasn’t all quiet.

Moonrise Mountain seemed to be an important stronghold or sanctuary for the Tatari Tribe, given the number of patrolling members.

Most were lean, muscular girls wearing skull masks—reminiscent of Antiope and Hippolyte, like Amazons.

Grrrr—

Though what they held on leashes would’ve sent the real Amazons, Hippolyte and Antiope, into a rage.

Dogs.

Or rather, patchwork golem-like dogs stitched together from various creatures. Those must be the silver-stalkers.

Having fought Somnia in the underground waterways, I knew how terrifying those undead stalkers could be.

”Grrr, keng, keng-keng!”

”What’s with the barking?”

”Probably raccoons. This mountain’s crawling with them. Dogs bark at them all the time.”

”No, this sounds different. I’ll check it out.”

Rustle—

Footsteps approached through the bushes. Luna, still on all fours, wobbled forward and let out a cry.

”Keng, keng-keeng! Grrr!”

An impressive raccoon impression.

…I wouldn’t know.

I’ve never heard a raccoon bark.

Either way, Luna gave it her all, and it must’ve worked because the approaching footsteps stopped.

”Huh, just raccoons.”

”Stupid raccoon brats. Their meat’s tasteless, and they’re noisy at night. Why’s this island overrun with them?”

”Right. I heard the Crescent Moon Island has wild boars. Some scouts who infiltrated said they caught one and were dancing at a festival today.”

”A festival? Pisses me off. We’re stuck gnawing roots every day. Ugh. I wanna get off this d*mn island. Maybe things’ll be better on the mainland?”

”Shh, what if Chrome hears? His eyesight’s bad, but his ears are sharp. Don’t talk about leaving the island carelessly—”

”Keng, keng-keng, keng-keng!”

”Shut up, mutt!”

Rustle, rustle—

The footsteps faded away. Only then did we release the tense breaths we’d been holding.

Getting caught would’ve caused a real uproar.

Luna whispered:

“We’re almost there. Just past that cave up ahead. It leads to the summit of Moonrise Mountain.”

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