Chapter 56

56th Episode

A Midnight Confrontation

“By any chance, do you know a woman named Luna?”

The guards who stopped me in the street asked this. Until that moment, I had been scared, thinking they were about to conduct some sort of random inspection on me or even arrest me for some illegal activity I supposedly committed without noticing.

However, the mention of Luna’s name from the guards’ lips was undeniably unnerving.

“Luna? Does she have pink hair?”

“That’s right. She’s a Bronze Tier adventurer from the Sodomora Mars Guild. I heard she’s in a party with someone named Hassan of Samaria – is that you?”

“That is correct, but what on earth is this about…?”

“There’s no time for explanations. First, we need you to accompany us to the guard station.”

And so, under what could be called either escort or surveillance, I headed towards the guard station located in the West Gate area.

Luna, the person who seemed least likely to be mixed up with armed soldiers, was the one whose name was being talked about by these people. What on earth was going on?

I wanted to ask, but all they did was deflect with, “You’ll find out all the details when you arrive.”

Am I walking into some strange trap disguised as the guard force? Such thoughts crossed my mind for a moment until I soon reached the guard station.

Guard stations, much like the West Gate, North Gate, and South Gate, serve as regional outposts spread throughout the city. Their function is quite similar as well.

Squeak, clang-.

Swoosh-.

As the iron door of the office opened and I stepped inside, hulking men with menacing builds, wearing armor and handling weapons, turned their gazes toward me. One of them asked the guard who’d come with me,

“Is this the guy?”

“It’s a Samaritan. We found him in front of the library. Did the victim do anything?”

“She quieted down a bit after we gave her some food, but I lost my jerky I was saving for drinking.”

The guard said this while pointing towards an iron cage set up in a corner of the office.

Following where he pointed, I saw someone small and delicate curled up, leaning against the cold wall. The way they sat on the ground with knees pulled up was oddly reminiscent of a large egg or sphere. However, the distinctive pink twin tails were unmistakably Luna’s, and seeing them brought a surprising sense of relief to my eyes.

“Luna, what are you doing there?”

What? Luna in a holding cell? It was a situation I’d never imagined, so I couldn’t help but exclaim in shock. Hearing my voice, Luna slowly lifted her head.

“…Hassan?”

“Yeah, it’s me! What are you doing here? Why are you like this?”

“Hassan! Listen! I’ve been scammed! All my remaining money was stolen from me! I’m completely broke now!”

Luna, with her face flushed bright red, shrieked loudly. She claimed that all her money was swindled, but what exactly did that mean?

At any rate, it was the first time I’d ever seen Luna this angry. Even though she was huddled in a cage, I recalled her past behavior and realized she couldn’t calm down and was puffing indignantly.

“…Watch out for the deer!”

Shifting my gaze away from an agitated Luna, I had no choice but to ask the guards in the station what exactly had happened.

“Uh, officers, why is Luna in the cage?”

“She was too worked up, so we isolated her until she calmed down. Our station doesn’t have a proper isolation room, so we used the cage.”

“But how could you lock her up like some kind of criminal?”

“Well, this little body packs quite a punch. It was no easy feat calming her down. She seems a bit calmer now. Maybe you, sir, could go in and soothe her?”

Clank, clank-.

“Huh!”

As the guard began to unlock the cage door, Luna started trembling violently, clearly terrified.

She looked much like a wild animal becoming feral after being abandoned by humans – pitiful and yet somewhat comical. Abandoning a pet is, without a doubt, an extremely cruel crime.

Still, I carefully squeezed through the opened cage door.

“Hey, what’s going on?”

“T-they ran off with the money…!”

“What? Who ran off with the money?”

“S-some deer took off with my 5 silvers!”

Deer stole 5 silvers? The more I listened, the more jumbled and confused my mind became.

It seemed that both Luna and I were excited, which was likely making it difficult to explain and understand the situation.

So, I thought it was necessary to calm down the crying Luna. I patted her back gently with one hand and placed the other hand on her wrist to check her status.

As I softly touched her small wrist, characters appeared.

「Name: Luna Noxdotty Lv. 8

Strength: 2

Agility: 5

Stamina: 1

Abilities: Frantic Squirming, Fondness for Delicious Food

Status: Cursed by Nox, Cursed by Erebore, Slight Irritability」

Irritability?

This newly developed irritability among various curses was something that caught my eye quite strongly. Could her overreaction have been due to this?

Therefore, I pressed her pinky finger with my thumb.

Specifically, this point is about 2 cm above her pinky nail – the Xiaochong acupressure point.

I remembered that pressing this part could have a calming effect when someone was startled.

Though giving her some kind of tranquilizer like Chingshin pills would help, it turned out not to be necessary as Luna, after a moment, started shivering her whole body.

“Ugh…! Hmm…! Ah…!”

「Luna Noxdotty’s mild irritability has been cured.」

「Achievement Points +10」

「Current Achievement Points: +67」

Ah, it worked.

“Phew…”

I sighed and asked the calming Luna,

“Better now? Have you calmed down?”

“…I, I have to use the restroom for a moment….”

*

So, this all happened earlier that morning.

After we parted ways, Luna told me that she had been busy cleaning and fixing up the shack she’d found for herself.

It apparently took her the better part of the morning just cleaning and purifying the old, abandoned barn she’d come across.

“The cleaning was all done, but the holes in the walls and ceilings were really bothering me. So I decided to buy some planks, but I lacked the money….”

Luna, reminiscing about that moment, hesitated. We sat quietly at a table tucked into the corner of the station, discussing the matter.

“I only had around 5 silvers left. To buy the lumber, I walked around trying to find a deal anywhere. Then, someone appeared who said they’d sell the exact pinewood planks I wanted for 5 silvers?”

Apparently, Luna was directed towards the South Gate, where an elderly man had a large pile of planks, according to him.

Since Luna usually operated in the poor districts near the West Gate, the terrain near the South Gate was naturally unfamiliar to her.

And because the South Gate faced a long stretch of forest, her expectations were somewhat met, though she was skeptical, figuring there might be wooden planks cut and stacked in the forest.

Anyway, Luna and the seller went through the South Gate of Sodomora and ventured quite deep into the woods.

Living up to its reputation as the “Deer Forest,” many stags with elongated necks were seen throughout the area.

Amid this sight, Luna mentioned how deer would occasionally gather around her, playfully licking her palms, shoulders, and even her face.

“However, one of those bastards grabbed my money pouch and ran off! The man took off running with them too! It’s clear they tricked me!”

Although her agitation hadn’t subsided, Luna raised her voice again.

“So, what you’re saying is that a man and some deer colluded to deceive you, leading you to a secluded spot, then stole your money and ran away?”

“No kidding! It was definitely a deer! And when I tried to chase after them, they were just too fast. I lost all my money like that… and then the guards locked me up after I reported it.”

“This young lady made quite the commotion. She looked as pretty as spring girl Kore, but her temper was nothing ordinary, certainly fitting for a Bronze Tier adventurer, huh?”

“Ah.”

I roughly understood why the excited Luna ended up in the cage.

Just as I was feeling a bit uneasy about finding something to say, a guard wearing a bronze helmet, who had been listening to our explanation, spoke up.

“Hassan of Samaria, it seems this incident involves the South Gate Deer Scam Gang. We’ve heard reports of people having their money pouches stolen by deer.”

d*mn, what the heck is a “deer scam gang”? It’s as if the bandits of this bizarre world are conducting research on how creatively they can sucker people out of their money.

Regardless, while I was lost in thought, the guard continued,

“The total losses from these scammers add up to more than 100 silvers. That’s considered a rather serious crime. But these guys are crafty, and they haven’t been caught. Hassan, I’ve heard you’re strong enough to catch a lion with your bare hands, right…?”

A lion? What lion? It suddenly brought back the memory of when I pulled Nemea’s Cat out from the underground waterways – that incredibly large cat.

Because of the tales Malco spread everywhere, it seemed like my feat was now being exaggerated into capturing a lion.

“That story… well, whatever. Let me explain this complicated situation…”

I was about to clarify when it dawned on me that I shouldn’t lie to the guards responsible for maintaining order and capturing criminals.

“The guy who can catch a lion by hand should have no issue with a deer, I figure. With that in mind, how about you take on this task as both a favor to your teammate and a job commissioned by the guard station?”

“Job?”

I was surprised hearing about a job commissioned by the guard station. Institutions that issue quests aren’t just limited to the guild buildings adventurers belong to.

Public offices like city guard stations, which handle public safety, and even shrines, issue individual quests to adventurers.

According to Elpride’s colleagues, quests dispatched by public institutions often had low pay and high difficulty.

Shrine quests, for instance, often forced “service” work rooted in religious devotion, and the remuneration was shockingly low.

It sounds like slave labor at a low price but remains highly sought after by adventurers nonetheless.

Why? Because adventurers who take on these public or shrine quests are recognized as skilled.

Besides, taking public quests significantly boosts the adventurer’s guild ranking in terms of contribution.

I understood it as, “Jobs with low pay but high ranking experience value.”

Back in my days as a slave, I used to wonder if I’d ever become an adventurer capable of receiving official quests. Now that it was happening, it felt slightly surreal, almost too much to comprehend.

“So, are you in or out? 50 silvers is quite a chunk of change.”

The bronze-helmeted man asked again. The chain mail armor he wore rattled slightly, and beneath the T-shaped holes of his helmet, slightly tired blue eyes fixed their gaze on me.

I felt fear despite not committing any crime. Both guard stations and police stations can evoke a sense of dread even in innocent people.

Then the bronze-helmeted man added a few more words.

“The budget isn’t high enough. But if you complete this successfully, it’ll include contributions towards the guild, as well as opportunities to frequently interact with our West Gate guard station.”

It sounded like doing this well would establish a small connection with the official public office, including guild contributions. And there was no reason for me to refuse.

Not to mention, there were other compelling reasons.

“My… my money! Those deer…!”

Seeing how utterly devastated my party member, Luna, was, I couldn’t just sit idly by.

Worse yet, she had been conned out of 5 silvers, which was a significant sum. If it had been me, I would’ve yelled and maybe couldn’t sleep, I was so furious.

“Alright. Let’s do it.”

“Good answer, friend. I’ll fill you in on some details about the deer scam gang and their possible hideouts. Also, I’m not sure how capable our Samaritan friend is, but you should stay cautious.”

“Be careful…?”

“The guy used to be a famous Bronze Tier adventurer and also a hunter, which explains his unparalleled skill in eliminating traces and stealth. It’s likely he uses some kind of grace or blessing to control the deer as domesticated animals.”

So, he has special blessings, huh.

And maybe, just maybe, a bit of caution might be warranted.

[Afterword]

Emraym, Shimang, Kadeom, Haengnigun, Gancheopotion, Vurgil, Calypso – thank you all so much for your support!!!

I truly appreciate you using the support coupons…!! I am also incredibly grateful to those who sent me the manuscript fee coupons ㅠㅠ….

Today, in honor of this, there will be a triple update!!!

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