Chapter 82

Chapter 82: Pluto’s Descendant

I remembered that last night Luna had been on top of me, looking down at me.

Now that I think about it, it feels like a dream, or maybe I imagined it in a hazy state of mind. But at the time, it was scary enough to give me chills.

“What did I do?”

But Luna only asked me as if hearing it for the first time. She genuinely seemed not to know.

Does she not remember? Was it just something she did while half-asleep? Or maybe it was really just my imagination.

“If you don’t remember, that’s fine.”

“Actually, I had an amazing dream last night. I was swimming in a huge pile of gold coins! Do you think this could be a premonition? I’ve heard that when one masters voodoo, they sometimes have prophetic dreams!”

Luna chattered away to herself for a while before asking me, as the morning went on.

“What is Hassan planning to do today? I’m going to try making potions here. I’ve already bought the materials; it’s just a matter of putting them together.”

“I don’t have any particular plans.”

Assuming the words of the Nymph Cultist Paranoi were true, today would be the day of the cultist’s assault.

Daphne from the Guild had advised us to stay quietly inside to avoid confusion.

Indeed, after the cultists had attacked the shrine, the number of people out on the streets had noticeably decreased.

Though Silver-tier adventurers like Hippolyte managed to repel one attack, even Hippolyte had been injured, and the Guild building had been completely destroyed, showing just how fearsome the cultists were.

In this situation, low-tier Bronze adventurers like me and Luna had nothing to do but stay safely inside the house, trembling in fear.

“We should just stay home.”

“If you have nothing to do, that’s great! Let’s boil some herbs together!”

Luna shouted happily, delighted that there was something to do at home.

I also had no strong objection to helping Luna, so I took on tasks like peeling the odd-shaped plants that looked like turnips.

Crunch, crunch, grind, grind.

I even took on the job of crushing unknown bones into small pieces.

It wasn’t particularly difficult work. The feeling of creating something and the sense of helping Luna gave me a certain sense of fulfillment.

“Hassan, you’re surprisingly good at this. In Samaritan, men do household chores, right? Looks like that’s true!”

Luna marveled at how skillfully I prepared the ingredients, clearly impressed. I guess it was thanks to the various tasks I had learned growing up with my father.

“Just, well, I learned a few things from my dad.”

When I thought about it, my father, while managing to survive through makeshift means, was actually quite resourceful. He did everything — from household chores to cooking. He was a housebound man.

“I’d like to meet Hassan’s father sometime! Sounds like an interesting person!”

“Our father?”

At Luna’s words, I pictured introducing her to my parents.

Introducing a girlfriend to my parents — it’s actually something I’ve wanted to do once.

My father would probably be very proud, wouldn’t he? He used to eagerly ask when I would find a girlfriend.

d*mn, I inherited too much from my father and ended up being too manly. Of course, there’s Luna beside me now.

In fact, Luna is a remarkably beautiful girl, someone you’d be proud to introduce anywhere. My parents would definitely like her if they met her.

My younger sister might scold me, wondering how a guy like me could end up with someone like her.

“What if your parents dislike me?”

“That won’t happen. I’m more worried about your parents disliking me.”

“It’s fine. I don’t have any parents.”

“Ah, that’s right.”

Didn’t she just drop a self-deprecating joke there?

Of course, Luna must not have realized it, but hearing it made me a bit embarrassed. It felt like the shrine of Lord Nox on the first floor was creaking in a mood as if it was irritated.

“I said something inappropriate. Sorry.”

“It’s okay. Anyway, aren’t you going to visit your hometown at some point, Hassan? Can you take me with you then? I’d like to visit Samaritan too. I hear it’s a vast wilderness without a single tree!”

“My hometown?”

At the mention of “hometown,” I thought not of the savage-filled wasteland of Samaritan but of the beautiful blue planet Earth.

The overcrowded Earth with its population of 7 billion — could I really return there? And if I could, could I take Luna with me? I don’t know.

And if there were a way back, what if I had to return alone, without Luna? What would I do then?

Before, I would have gone back home without looking back, but things have changed.

“If it’s too much trouble, you don’t have to introduce me to your parents.”

“No, it’s not that. I just don’t think I can go back to my hometown. This place is my home now.”

Crunch, crunch. After chatting idly for a while, the grains I was grinding with the millstone had all turned to powder. I carefully poured them into a jar and covered it with leather to store it properly.

“It goes so fast with two people working together! It would have taken me the whole day if I’d done it alone.”

Looking at the jars filled with peeled ingredients and ground materials, Luna looked quite satisfied.

Actually, considering Luna’s clumsy skills when carving totems, if she had done all this alone, it might have taken more than a day; maybe even until tomorrow!

“If only we had an oven, I could boil the medicine right here. It’s a shame.”

Thinking about it, she sang joyfully in her own little way, murmuring about wanting an oven or a fireplace. Why couldn’t she just start a fire?

“Can’t you make an oven?”

“We’d need the city’s approval if it exceeds a certain size, since there’s a fire risk.”

True, this world doesn’t have good firefighting facilities. If fires broke out, they would easily spiral out of control, especially since most buildings are made of wood.

Though it seems chaotic, there are still certain laws and rules enforced here. So, the world operates in its own way, I guess.

“In that case, I should borrow an oven from the bakery next door!”

Saying that, she mixed up all sorts of ingredients, added water, and then lifted the heavy jar with surprising strength, though her wobbly posture suggested that it might be too much for her.

“Should I do it for you?”

“Really!? If you do it, I’d be so grateful! Put a lot of firewood, and boil it quickly with a strong fire! That way, the ingredients inside will dissolve well!”

You mean just boil it on a high fire? Sure, easy for me. Now, though I may be pretending to be a barbarian, I’m actually the son of the Health Center owner. I know how to boil and extract juices.

“I’ll take care of it.”

“Ah, well, then I need to make the special potion ingredients, so please don’t come in for now, Hassan.”

Special potion ingredients?

I don’t know what that means, but maybe Luna has some special recipe she wants to keep secret from me.

Is it like a trade secret or something?

Luna seems to want to keep it secret from me, and since I don’t particularly care about such things anyway, I just nod and take the jar into my arms and head out onto the street.

*

After wandering around for quite a while because I didn’t know where the bakery was, I finally found it after nearly exhausting my stamina.

It wasn’t really a bakery so much as it looked like a dark sundries shop, making it hard to identify.

“May I help you?”

The bakery owner was a stocky woman in her early forties.

Her brown hair was cut short enough to resemble a man’s, and she tied an apron over a thick arm that looked devoid of fat but full of muscle, giving off a vibe that made me think I’d lose if we ever fought.

She looked more like a blacksmith than a bakery owner.

The very fact that she operates a food stall in this poverty-stricken and vagrant-filled area shows that she could easily handle even the toughest ruffians.

“Um, can I borrow the oven for a moment?”

“To boil what’s inside that jar?”

“Yes.”

“Are you friends with the pink-haired young lady? I’ve seen you two walking around together.”

I don’t know this woman at all, but she seemed to know me.

Of course, anyone would take a second look at a pointy, Samarian-looking fellow with a pink-haired woman hanging around the streets.

“Cost is just for the firewood used. Be mindful as the price varies by weight.”

“Yes.”

I bought 20 copper worth of firewood, initially wondering if it was too much, but the woman assured me it was the right amount.

I placed the jar on what looked like a metal stand and applied heat, worrying all the while that the jar might crack from the heat, but fortunately, it didn’t.

Tss, tss – As I sat watching the logs burn for some time, the quiet atmosphere grew boring, and the bakery owner struck up a conversation.

“What’s your relationship with that young lady? The pink-haired one.”

“Just a colleague.”

I hesitated about what to tell her but ended up saying we were just colleagues.

Luna is a woman bound by a vow of chastity, and in this world’s norms, it is highly frowned upon for such women to have a lover.

Of course, while there are groups like the Maidens of the Maiden who enforce these vows, it is impossible to catch every violation.

“That’s right. That young lady is kind-hearted. She may be a bit simple, but she’s not someone who would betray others. I’ve known her since she first came to this city.”

“Ah, is that so.”

I felt oddly uneasy, but the owner didn’t seem to notice as she kept talking.

“She’s beautiful, gentle, and graceful like the goddess of spring—it’s a joy to look at her.”

“That’s true.”

I inexplicably felt happy when the bakery owner praised Luna’s beauty.

Luna really was so charming that some people passing by would turn to look at her.

As I thought about Luna’s face, the bakery owner continued speaking.

“In recent times, where gods are silent, a young lady who so faithfully upholds her vow of chastity is quite rare. Of course, there are groups that try to enforce these vows, but they can’t catch everyone.”

“I see.”

“A person could easily find a good partner and live a comfortable life, yet she chooses not to— that’s pretty remarkable. You’ve boiled that long enough; let it cool before you take it away.”

At the owner’s words, I stirred the firewood with a long fork to extinguish the flame.

To check if the ingredients had dissolved properly, I peered into the jar and saw the bubbly boiling liquid inside.

The color was not at all clear; rather, it was a thick, milky-brownish hue.

It smelled herbal and slightly bitter, though it was bearable. I could barely imagine the taste, though it probably wouldn’t taste pleasant.

“A young man like you shouldn’t have bad intentions for such a pretty girl. She needs to be taken care of well.”

“I… understand.”

That was the end of our conversation. It seemed the bakery owner was worried that I might harm Luna and make her suffer. Although, perhaps it was a bit late…

When the contents of the jar had cooled down enough, I took it back into my arms and returned to the street, which had gotten quite dark.

Since it was well-known that the cultists would be around today, the streets were nearly empty. Those who were out moved quickly to disappear into the shadows.

Although I thought nothing would likely happen, I hurried back worried about Luna being alone.

Clank, crunch.

“Ah— O Star of Darkness in the Night, you’re here as expected, fellow.”

Just then, when someone called my name from behind, I turned around to see an enormously tall man standing over me.

He was wearing a full plate armor, looking impenetrable and robust. Its matte black color made him seem like a shadow hovering above the ground.

This place, a quiet western slum littered with garbage, was no match for his imposing appearance.

As I explained earlier, wearing armor with a lot of steel plating is proof of exceptional skill.

The full plate armor he wore wasn’t just a piece of iron; the design emphasized sharp angles, and the helmet sculpted like a dragon’s head resembled that of a turtle ship—it was quite impressive.

Crunch.

Additionally, the monstrous object slung across his back looked more like a steel slab than a sword, almost questioning the title of being a “sword” at all.

The man spoke again.

“Time is running out. We should hurry, or we’ll be late for the gathering.”

In an instant, my whole body bristled with chills running down my spine. I’d heard this voice somewhere before—a deep tone echoing like the sound inside an icy cave.

This man was probably the one who came to Luna’s cottage that day and knocked on the door. His name was Schizo, wasn’t it?

I could easily imagine how my fate would have turned out if I had opened the door that day. Perhaps both Luna and I would have been mercilessly torn apart.

There was no way I could imagine defeating this giant iron mass no matter how much I racked my brain.

“Now, let’s get going. Everyone is gathered and waiting. Today, the first territory of Lord Pluto on earth will be established in Sodomora.”

“Everyone is gathered…?”

In response to my question, the man murmured something unbelievable.

“Three Silver tier members and one Gold tier. That’s a sufficient number.”

Indeed, regardless of what they were up to, it was a formidable lineup of ranks.

---