Chapter 420

420 To the City of Kings, Jeruite #2

Gloria, whom I had fought against, was a girl with steel-like toughness. Her skin and muscles were as sturdy as tightly wound steel wires. It seemed like even a needle wouldn’t penetrate her.

Sleek-.

Malang-.

But when I touched Gloria’s wrist, it was surprisingly soft. It was so delicate that it almost equaled that of the fragile Luna, making me suspect that this might not be the real Gloria but someone else. Of course, such a scenario was unlikely. She was probably just relaxing her strength. At level 45, she possesses the ability to freely turn her steel-like body on and off, much like I can lower and raise my level by pressing certain vital points. This is truly fascinating. What is her secret technique? Does it involve any special internal energy or breathing method?

I thought that if I investigate this body thoroughly, I might find a clue to fully control my body, which boils like magma. However, that isn’t the main concern right now. As I slightly removed my hand from her wrist, I asked her,

“Is there any kind of curse or illness you’re suffering from? Like, sudden bursts of anger that you can’t control?”

“…”

She didn’t answer. But based on my refined senses, developed through many experiences, I could tell that she wasn’t eager to discuss this topic. This means that what I suggested might be something she’s experiencing, something she’s had a lot of unpleasant encounters with.

In reality, she once mentioned losing herself. It’s a typical symptom of someone with anger issues or frontal lobe damage. My brain, which could almost match the wisdom god’s, was shouting that the cause might be the curses and hatred she has endured. Perhaps the real Gloria is the calm one, and that berserk warrior covered in hatred and fury was just a facade.

When this idea popped into my mind, it made so much sense that I was amazed by the explanation.

In that case, if the curses, anger, and hatred are resolved through acupressure, wouldn’t Gloria calm down? Wouldn’t we be free from the troubles that arise due to her attacking powerful people?

With that thought, I couldn’t sit still anymore.

I gently grabbed Gloria’s hand again and pressed the red spots on her palm with my thumb. Surprisingly, her hand was smooth and lacked any calluses; it was almost like the hand of a nymph.

Goo-ukk-.

But despite pressing her acupoints quite firmly, there was no sign of pain, showing that her resilience was undoubtedly sturdy.

“What are you doing?”

“Massage.”

“Massage? I thought for sure you were about to make me pregnant.”

“What?”

“Young Samaritan men and women don’t usually do much else when they’re alone. Besides, they said touching a defeated person like me.”

“Um-.”

How should I explain this? Gloria thought I was going to overpower her, and my explanation might have indeed caused some misunderstanding.

“Men all like that, right? The men who showed interest in me either had those kinds of intentions or wanted my strength. They pretended to be my brother to use me. But they were all fake.”

Gloria’s words painted vivid pictures in my mind. Her appearance was so soft that she hardly looked like a fierce Samaritan. If she hadn’t covered her head with leather and tattooed strange patterns on her face, she would have looked like any ordinary girl from the grasslands. Her exotic beauty would have certainly caught the eye of men in the Gaia Continent.

And as the legendary heroine, many people surely approached her with various intentions. Of course, they would have been crushed without exception. It’s unsurprising that regular men wouldn’t be capable of handling someone like her.

I recalled the face of an old friend.

Hassan, why did you leave your homeland, the Samaritan wilderness, and the comfortable pastures of our father?

Because I fell into a manhole cover. sh*t, my little sister wanted ice cream, and on the way back from the convenience store, sh*t, the manhole cover. Now that I think of it, it’s quite infuriating.

Still, Hassan, your words are incomprehensible. Anyway, it’s about leaving your hometown because of your younger sister, right? Actually, I’m the same. I have a family too. There’s a sickness involved.

Occasionally, there are seizures. A great fortune teller said it’s due to a powerful curse since birth. It’s so harsh to see children suffer from curses.

Curses, you mean.

There was no way to remove the curse even in the vast Samaritan lands. So, I came to this continent searching for it.

That was an old memory.

When those deep memories resurfaced, seeing the dark hair and eyes that resembled a certain someone, they jabbed at my frontal lobe as if awakening one by one.

So, the reason he left his hometown and younger sister was due to the curse she carried. Reflecting on it now, it seems that curse wasn’t fatal but was never completely resolved.

I have more than enough ability to remove the curse Gloria carries, which means she has finally discovered an antidote.

I gently grabbed Gloria’s hand again. Then I pressed the fiery red spots on her palms to release the curse. Every time the conditions were relieved, Gloria’s body began to shake as if in poor shape.

“Ow, ah, ouch-! It hurts-! No, no, I’m actually feeling pain…!?”

“Of course, it will hurt. You’ll have to endure it for a bit. People always say it hurts at first, but it will get better as we go on.”

“Ughh-a! What are you doing? It hurts! It really hurts-!”

When I was about to relieve the last status condition, 《Rage》, Gloria started thrashing around like a raccoon that had eaten poison.

As a result, the building seemed as if it would collapse any moment, shaking with the thunderous sounds.

“Stay still.”

Of course, my strength surpassing Gloria’s had already been confirmed that morning. I grabbed her shoulders and forced her to lie down while continuing the acupressure.

“Hii-aahh, o, opa-aahh-! Brother, help me- Opa-aaah-!”

As soon as she realized she was subdued by someone else, Gloria started screaming loudly in panic.

For someone who pretends to be a strong warrior, looking for her brother in times of crisis reminded me of my own younger sister who always called me whenever she got into trouble, making me somewhat irritated.

“Be quiet! Stay still! It’ll be over soon!”

“Opa-aahh-!”

Pat-pat, pat-pat-pa-.

I used my index finger to quickly press the acupoints from her shoulders to her chest and the sternum.

“Let me go! You’re fake-!”

But since Gloria resisted as if she were being assaulted, I had no choice but to press quickly and powerfully without controlling my strength.

“Haaaauuugh- Opa-!!”

The screams caused by the pain were so powerful that it was as if a bomb had exploded, collapsing the walls of the prison and shattering the windows and glass at the Mars Guild.

Klang, ching-klang, ching-!

It was undoubtedly her ultimate roar—clearly, Gloria’s ultimate technique wasn’t her great strength, agility, or steel-like stamina but rather a sound attack skill.

“Kueeu-d!”

In my ears, which were overly sensitive due to divine awareness syndrome, it was like a bomb had exploded nearby, and I involuntarily touched my ears to find them streaming with bl**d.

What the hell is this?

At that brief moment of loosened attention-.

“Get lost!”

Pak-.

“Gueek-!”

The knee blow to my sternum from the previously suppressed Gloria was powerful enough to send her flying out of the prison, disappearing.

A knee to the lower abdomen.

With the unexpected and intense attack, my vision spun around.

But finally, as the curse disappeared before my eyes, I found some reassurance. Somehow, everything was dealt with after all.

I wasn’t sure how the situation would unfold, but I felt a certain lightness in having repaid an old debt to my friend.

I too stepped out onto the streets, clearing the debris and broken walls, but I was surprised by the unexpected cold air.

It was because the early dawn darkness was now draped in a thick, white snow.

Snow?

I looked at the sandal footprints imprinted on the newly-fallen, pure white sheet.

I probably won’t meet Gloria for a while. It might even be forever.

*

Huuu-.

It’s extremely cold.

A week has passed since Thunderblade went to Sodomora, met with the nobles, and left. Autumn disappeared in the blink of an eye, and winter truly has come.

Sopak, sopak-.

Looking up at the sky where the snow began to fall, it occurred to me that I would spend yet another winter in the Gaia Continent.

Most likely, I’ll still be here next winter too.

Still, I believe this winter will be warmer than the previous one. With more people around, it’s lively and fun, and I won’t have to compete with vagrants every night to find shelter.

“Ladies, the season of coughing has arrived…! Nymphs hate winter…!”

Paranoi raised her hands high and shouted as the snow fell white on my shrine.

True to Paranoi’s words, the nymphs trembled in the cold. Doris has a cold and is currently shedding snot.

“Haeetch-! At this rate, Doris will become a nymph of cold mucus rather than honey… Has the master prepared warm cold medicine yet?”

In response, Luna arrived wearing animal skin coats and carried cups with warm steam rising from them.

“It’s cold medicine infused with the essence of fire! Try it!”

Doris drank it in one gulp.

“Aaah-! It tastes better than I expected…! Not like the usual sewer water…!”

“Speaking of sewer water, drink this and don’t catch a cold everyone! I added water from an elf who excels in fire magic, so it will warm you up.”

Luna handed the medicine to the shivering Doris and the quiet Ignor with a word.

She then suddenly looked at Paranoi who was gaping at the descending snow.

“Paranoi, what are you doing? You’ll catch a cold!”

“I’m storing snow in my storage…! Adding fruit syrup makes it very tasty…! I’ll eat it next summer when it’s really hot…!”

Saying this, Paranoi scooped up a snowball and threw it at someone’s head.

“Frigid attack…!”

Mostly, Elfride, sitting by the warm fireplace reading a book, was hit.

Pas-sook-.

“d*mn nymph brat-.”

Elfride narrowed her eyebrows after the sudden snowball hit. By the narrowing, her frustration was somewhere between medium and large.

“You’re done for.”

Ordinarily, Paranoi’s antics would have been forgiven, but her patience seemed completely broken today. She crouched on the ground and started molding a snowball.

Popok, podok-.

In an instant, a snowball as large as a head formed in Elfride’s hands. Judging from the shape, it appeared she had practice molding snowballs several times.

She was originally from Albrheim, a continent forever covered in snow. She must be friends with the winter fairies.

“Hyii-!”

Upon seeing this, Paranoi seemed to realize it was serious and started trembling.

Yet Elfride’s snowball didn’t care much about such pitiful looks and landed a massive snowball on her head.

Pas-sook-.

“Kueek-.”

Paranoi ended up being buried in the snow. Seeing this, Doris, who was sipping Luna’s warm cold medicine, became outraged.

“Foreign species attacking the native species…!”

“…”

She along with the silent Ignor gathered snow and started throwing it at Elfride.

It was a fight that decided the life and d*ath of creatures in this barren winter.

Of course, this was stopped by the arrival of Hippolyte.

“Am I the last one? I’m a little late. I was busy choosing what to wear that suits me in Jeruit.”

Her appearance differed entirely from the usual armor-clad one; she wore something like beast fur that made her look like a rich housewife in a department store.

“Since we’re going on holiday, let’s enjoy it.”

Hippolyte seemed to have the idea of going on holiday in the capital Jeruit. She was running tight schedules for Amazon festivals which had been delayed due to Bacchus’s decline and the lack of nectar, but once she caught up with her schedule, she chose to enjoy her holiday.

“Hippolyte is here too, so everyone’s here!”

The last Hippolyte’s arrival was noticed by Luna who was putting scarfs around the necks of the nymph choir and placing hats on their heads.

“Anyway, since everyone’s here, let’s go-! Nymphs, check if you’ve left anything behind!”

Thus, we boarded the few rented carts.

We decided to leave Sodomora for a while because we had business in the city of kings, Jeruit.

Luna said, “Who knows, my parents might be there. Besides, in the capital, there could be ingredients useful for obtaining nectar-!” for her reason to go.

Elfride had her own interest: “Isn’t the Shrine Knights headquarters there? I wonder if I can meet a certain guy named Natatos there.”

Hippolyte simply said, “I’ll take the rest this winter,” indicating that she just wanted to enjoy a holiday.

So let’s depart.

Pu-hi-hi-!

With the sound of the coachman’s whip and wheels starting to roll, we moved forward. I suddenly turned to look back and watched the horses’ footprints and wheel tracks left on the white snow.

Past that, far away, a dark shadow was quickly chasing the cart. It seemed like a beast, but its bipedal movement revealed it was human.

At that moment, Hippolyte whispered to me.

“You know, it’s been several days since something has been lurking around you. Should you either ask it to stop or invite it on board? Although I don’t think it intends to harm us…”

Hippolyte was disturbed by Gloria who had started to keep watch on me after the incident in the underground dungeon.

I felt the same way, but she acted like a wild beast, running away when I approached to talk, so I couldn’t do anything about it. She was too fast to catch.

If she has something to say to me, she should just say it.

Since we’re heading to a distant city now, she’ll likely give up chasing us midway.

[Author’s Commentary]

By the way, many readers seem to question why the citizens reacted so calmly when Hassan became a god.

This is due to my oversight…

The silence of the gods has lasted for about thirty years, and that has led to a generational change where the current populace understands the gods not as living entities but as just vague relics of faith in stories…

Therefore, unless they perform definitive miracles, the impact of encountering a god directly doesn’t feel particularly significant to them.

I had this setting in mind but ran out of time to incorporate it properly into the story…

I’ll try to weave in a short explanation or a paragraph-long episode soon…

And to apologize for making such clumsy explanations in the author’s note, I’m going to cast some sugar water voodoo on you!

The setting or any troubles and worries, they’ll dissolve like sugar in water—voodoo with sugar water!

So, the City of Kings, Jeruite

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