Chapter 89

89th Episode

Hassan’s Holiday

089 – Hassan’s Holiday #2

When someone is feeling bloated, pricking their fingers is a well-known traditional remedy in Korea.

It’s said that if you lightly prick an appropriate spot using a sharp needle or acupuncture needle, the stale bloating along with dark bl**d will instantly subside.

Honestly, I don’t know if it really works, but any Korean would have experienced it at least once.

” Hassan…! Ah, no!”

However, in this world where all kinds of folk remedies and superstitions run rampant, there seems to be no concept of pricking one’s hand at all.

Luna could only tremble as she saw the needle I was holding. Did she think I was going to hurt her?

“It won’t hurt at all. Don’t be so scared.”

Her trembling form looked somewhat pitiful, but on the other hand, it was rather amusing, creating an ambiguous smile on the corner of my lips.

“It’s just pricking the tip of your finger with a needle. You’ve done something similar when you cast curses, didn’t you? You pricked your finger and let the bl**d out.”

“That, that’s different!”

Of course, there is an immense difference between willingly pricking your own finger and having someone else do it for you.

Anyone who has felt it knows that it’s genuinely scary when done by someone else.

The fear of a sharp needle is indeed strong.

Still, if we let time pass like this, Luna’s discomfort from bloating was sure to only worsen.

Thus, I gently massaged her arm, caressing it up and down, to encourage the bl**d to move downwards.

“Is, is this really okay?”

“It’s fine. I sterilized the needle over a candle flame. If you’re scared, you can turn your head the other way.”

“Uhh… uhmm…”

Following my words, Luna turned her head away with a swift movement. But unable to stay still, she soon looked back at me with a pained expression.

“It’s scarier when I don’t look…”

“Okay, so I’ll just prick it slightly.”

“Aah!”

“It hasn’t even been pricked yet.”

“R-really…?”

At her flustered reaction, I carefully applied the right amount of pressure and quickly pressed the needle into the Ten Xuán points under her fingernail.

And immediately, rather dark bl**d gushed out in droplets from Luna’s thumb, which had been flushed red with stagnant bl**d.

“Kyeet! bl**d, bl**d! Dark bl**d is coming out!”

“The blocked energy in your body is being relieved.”

“Is that true?”

Of course, it’s a lie.

It’s natural for bl**d to turn dark if the circulatory system has been restricted for a long time.

But seeing one’s own dark bl**d can make even baseless claims like this sound convincing.

“Are you feeling better?”

“Uh, yes! Now that you mention it, my stomach feels less painful!”

Luna brightened up, indicating that releasing the bloat from her thumb had significantly improved her condition. But to me, the signs of bloating had not completely disappeared.

Perhaps all ten Ten Xuán points need to be pricked?

“Since you know it doesn’t hurt, let’s do the rest.”

“….kyeet!”

With that, I firmly held the squirming Luna’s arm and pressed the needle into the spots on her fingers where discolorations had appeared.

Ding.

“Luna Nymph Dottie’s acute bloating has been treated.”

“Mission progress +10”

“Current mission progress: +214”

The mission progress numbers popped up before my eyes. It was more difficult to accumulate than I expected, but the numbers had now surpassed 200.

Thinking that this will allow for two more level-ups made me extremely happy. Hss, you’ll become super strong.

“Huuu… huuuuu… uhh…”

But Luna, who I thought would recover immediately after her bloating was treated, started trembling like a person who had been electrocuted. I began to feel a little worried.

Though I have experience massaging with my palms, I’ve never used needles to cure status abnormalities before.

Perhaps there were some side effects?

So, I cautiously asked Luna.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“Aah, mana is flowing through my entire body anew. Huhuuaa…!”

Luna shivered for a while, then curled up like she had been shot in the stomach and collapsed.

She even curled up her body on the soft deer skin and began to shudder in convulsions.

“Uhh, hick…!”

Her reaction made me panic. This was clearly not a normal reaction to pricking her fingers. sh*t, something went wrong?

When I was at a loss and didn’t know what to do, hesitating to touch Luna’s body,

“Huuuu….”

Luna sighed as if she’d had an incredible experience and slumped onto the deer skin.

“Hey, Luna, are you okay?”

“Z, I thought I was going to d*e. But the bloating in my stomach is completely gone. What, what did you do? Hassan, do you know how to do more than just massages?”

Her eyes were very moist as she looked up at me from where she lay. It might be from the strange experience she just had.

“Besides massages, I can do simple acupuncture.”

“Acupuncture…? What’s that?”

Luna seemed to have no idea what acupuncture was.

Of course, I couldn’t say that I knew a lot about acupuncture either. All I’ve done was stick acupuncture needles into a human model a few times.

Acupuncture was too hardcore and manic for my father to teach me when I was at the health center. He always warned that inserting needles carelessly could cause serious problems.

In any case, this was the first time I had seen the tiny spots appear that could only be pricked by a needle, so I was quite amazed.

Perhaps the talent for dexterity that I possess requires a broader understanding than I thought.

After the commotion of pricking fingers with needles was over, we turned off the dim light and covered ourselves with the old blanket again. Then, something came creeping towards me.

“Luna, why?”

“Huh? I didn’t do anything.”

“Isn’t that your finger here?”

It was thin and pointed, possibly with nails extended. It was ticklish as it moved gently across my arm, making me want to laugh.

“Don’t lie. Your hand is touching me.”

“It’s not me!”

Suruuk.

Luna held out her two hands from outside the blanket.

“See? My two hands are right here.”

“Hhuh? Then what is this?”

Out of curiosity, I pulled back the blanket. And there, before my eyes were a truly shocking eight eyeballs that made me nearly faint.

“sh*t! It’s a spider!”

Gueng, Gueng!

It was a spider with iridescent colors. It was Keng Keng, wasn’t it? Anyway, realizing that thing was hanging onto my arm freaked me out!

“sh*t!”

The only reason I didn’t swat it off with my palm was that I knew Luna was quite fond of this little creature.

“Get it off! Quickly! I hate spiders! Hiiiek!!”

“Wait! Stay still!”

Realizing too late that it had probably come out because I forgot to feed it, Luna transferred the spider on my forearm onto her hands.

“I forgot to feed you, huh? I’m sorry, Keng Keng.”

Gueng!

When it finally detached from me, I felt as if a blocked force had been released, and calm returned to my bl**d. Hss, I was genuinely terrified. My pounding heart wasn’t calming down.

“Hassan is unusually afraid of spiders. Fighting with the cultists is scarier, but…”

“No, hss, at least they have just two legs. It shouldn’t exceed six legs. So, anyway, can’t you somehow… put it somewhere out of sight?”

Stopping midway, I paused, recalling somewhere that when couples fight because of the other’s pet, it often strains their relationship.

Even though I dislike spiders, it wasn’t worth creating a fuss over this.

But Luna, perhaps aware of what I was about to say, said subtly to persuade me:

“Still, it helps catch mice. If we have too many mice, they’ll make holes in our jars and leather sacks, making it hard to make potions.”

“Yeah, well, if that’s the case, there’s nothing to be done.”

This is Luna’s home after all. I should just follow her completely.

Still, I felt somewhat hurt to think that Luna cared more about Keng Keng than me.

Hss, but isn’t it kind of funny that I’ve known Luna longer than this guy. Catching mice doesn’t mean getting all the attention.

Am I, really, jealous of the spider right now? Thinking about that made me laugh at myself for being silly and feeling my pride bruised, so I turned my back and lay down.

“Anyway, let’s sleep.”

“Okay.”

After feeding the spider some dried meat and sending it off, Luna burrowed back under the blanket. Perhaps because I had turned my back on her, she got much closer to me than usual.

The warmth of her body pressed against my back felt nice.

“Hassan, are you mad because of Keng Keng?”

“No, I’m not mad.”

“Then why are you turning your back?”

“I always sleep on my side like this.”

Swish, swish.

Then, something thin and sharp started touching my turned arm. This time, it was undeniably Luna’s hand.

“Keng Keng wants to be friends with Hassan.”

Swish, swish.

Luna’s fingers moved over me as if tickling me.

Rustle, rustle.

It was funny to see her imitate the spider with her fingers. It was amusing and strange.

“Gueng, gueng!”

Soon, Luna began mimicking the growl of the wolf spider, making me burst into laughter and laugh at myself for sulking like a child.

“Alright, I get it. It’s my fault.”

Lying down straight as usual, Luna, who had been leaning towards me, also turned and faced the ceiling.

We eventually fell asleep together, staring at the same ceiling.

*

I had a nightmare where spiders wrapped around my neck. It was truly one of the scariest nightmares ever, truly spine-chilling.

“Hsss.”

Just as I was about to calm my racing heart, my body wouldn’t move at all, as if a heavy chunk of lead was sitting on me. Was I under a spell?

I had no idea what was happening, and having never experienced this before, I was clueless.

Should I just go back to sleep? But I worried about having the nightmare again.

The sensation felt like sinking into the dark depths of the ocean, making me feel quite terrible.

So, I decided to wake up.

I recalled something heard somewhere—it’s possible to escape from a spell if you exert force on any part of your body.

Huuu—!

While focusing my strength on my right pinky finger,

Suruuk.

I somehow managed to slightly lift my eyelids due to a faint movement I felt on my stomach.

Then, emerald eyes looked down at me.

“…”

It was naturally Luna.

Luna was laying on my stomach, gazing down at me quietly.

Puzzled with what exactly was happening, I couldn’t open my mouth or move a finger—felt like a huge weight was pressing on me.

What should I do?

Why is she on my stomach?

I was just thinking that when,

Click.

Luna’s tongue darted out, and she licked my cheek. Like a dog or cat licking their owner’s face.

The warm and soft sensation momentarily confused my mind, yet my body showed no signs of moving still.

Click. Click.

And Luna kept licking my face.

“. . .”

She started muttering something in a language I’ve never heard before.

Could I be dreaming right now? Am I just dreaming strange things because my subconscious has been indulging in too many inappropriate thoughts lately?

I thought of just letting go of consciousness and waiting for morning, when,

Gooouuk.

Something strongly pressed against my neck, shocking me. After licking my face, Luna had bitten my neck!

Chomp.

The sensation was vivid enough to remind me that this was all real.

Then the oppressive heaviness and pressure on my body disappeared, and my mouth and hands regained their freedom.

“Geuuuh, Luna! What are you doing…!”

Overwhelmed, I grabbed her shoulders and shook her. Luna twitched as if startled.

“Ha, Hassan, you were awake…!?”

“No, what are you doing? Why are you biting my neck?”

“T, that…”

Luna hesitated like someone caught in mischief. Indeed, what she did was bad. It’s not a good thing to press down and bite someone while they’re sleeping.

“Why are you doing this? You’ve often complained about feeling heavy lately while sleeping—surely it was your doing.”

“The, the… sorcery…”

“What? Sorcery?”

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