Here’s the English translation of the provided novel excerpt, adhering strictly to the given glossaries and without additional comments:
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Episode 9
Hassan is Now a Free Man
009 – <Hassan is Now a Free Man>
The receptionist, who had disappeared somewhere, returned just as I was starting to feel bored, left alone at the counter.
“Mr. Hassan, which shrine do you worship at? Which of the Twelve Gods do you serve?”
As soon as she sat back down, the receptionist abruptly asked me that. Which shrine do I worship at? It reminded me of a blind date asking where I go for religious events.
“I don’t go to any shrine.”
The only “worship” in my life was when I attended church in the military because they handed out cannabis. If I dug deeper into my memories, the only other time was when I followed a friend to a local church for Christmas presents.
Of course, those had nothing to do with actual faith.
If I had to think of any other religious acts, it’d be the ancestral rites and grave visits I was forced to do with my father, who had an obsessive fixation on them during holidays.
Not that I felt any gratitude toward grandfathers or great-grandfathers I’d never even seen.
I only did it because my thick-muscled father made me. If I refused, I’d get beaten badly and lose my allowance.
But hey, that’s something any Korean would do, right?
As I was lost in thought, the receptionist’s face turned as red as a ripe apple before—
“Huh?! You don’t worship at all?!”
She shrieked loudly.
“You don’t go to any shrine? Then how do you receive blessings? That doesn’t make sense!”
She looked at me like I was lying. Well, I couldn’t blame her for being confused.
The world I’d been stuck in for the past two years was a dark age where primitive superstitions and religion were deeply intertwined with daily life.
People offered sacrifices or devotion to the gods they served and received corresponding blessings or divine favor in return.
Give and take.
It was simpler to understand than the profound salvation or enlightenment preached by Earth’s religions. But in my case, I hadn’t given anything to any god—I’d only taken. No wonder she was baffled. Honestly, even I was puzzled by this newfound ability.
…And I even had two of them. There was another suspicious blessing, one so dubious it wasn’t even registered.
《Blessing of Chaos》?
That sounded downright terrifying.
“You don’t serve any god? That’s impossible. Then, do you at least know what this blessing does? Knowing the god’s name is the surest way to infer an ability’s effects.”
“Ah, about that— Could you give me your hand?”
“My hand?”
At my question, the receptionist clutched both hands to her chest and eyed me suspiciously.
“Why do you need my hand? Y-You’re planning something perverted, aren’t you?! You filthy Samaritan b*stard!”
Seriously?
Even I’d feel weird if a stranger like Hassan suddenly asked for my hand. But was calling me a “filthy Samaritan b*stard” really necessary, d*mn it?
Still, I’d grown numb to insults about my appearance. My feelings weren’t even hurt anymore.
“You were curious about my blessing, right? Just give me your hand—”
“Where do you think you’re touching me in this chaos?! I see right through your flirting just because I’m a little pretty!”
I really wanted to punch this b*tch.
This was the third time I’d seriously considered hitting a woman—after my younger sister and Elpride. But I couldn’t, of course.
Clang—
Swoosh—
I could feel the shrine guards, armed with swords and gleaming armor, watching us closely. If I let my anger take over and lashed out, I’d be dragged away by those brutish bastards. Ugh…
“It won’t hurt or do anything weird. Just give me your hand.”
“Hmph! Fine, go ahead then.”
With a mix of suspicion and curiosity, the receptionist hesitantly extended her right hand toward me.
I decided to swallow my anger. I didn’t want to make this bizarre situation worse.
Thump.
Her pale hand, now in front of me, had more scars and calluses than expected for a receptionist.
Then again, in a world where everyone had to earn their keep, soft and pretty hands were rare. This was normal.
“I’m just going to hold your wrist for a sec.”
Worried she might scream “s*xual harassment,” I nervously warned her first. Then, I lightly placed my index finger on her wrist, peeking out from her white cotton shirt.
I made sure the contact was minimal.
Would this even work?
Ding—
『Name: Daphne Lv. 6
Status: Indigestion》』
Luckily, just touching her wrist was enough.
Huh. Neat.
“…What are you doing?”
“Ms. Daphne, are you having trouble digesting your food?”
“H-How do you know my name?! And how did you know about my indigestion?!”
“This is my blessing—”
“I get it now! You’re a stalker! I’ve felt someone following me for days! It’s you, isn’t it?! Guards! Guards! Grab this b*stard! Hurry, before he runs!!”
Swoosh, clang, clang.
“H-Hueeeeh—?!”
“No, seriously, I just found out today. I don’t even know who she is, and this is my first time in this city.”
“D-Don’t lie! You touched me all over!!”
Slap!
“Guh—ack!”
Daphne, the receptionist, mercilessly struck my cheek as I sat tied to a wooden chair. The sheer force of her slap stung so badly even I teared up a little.
“f*ck! That hurts!”
“You dare curse after what you did?!”
Slap! Slap—!
In the secret dungeon beneath the shrine, the crisp sound of strikes continued. By now, my face was so hot it could probably fry an egg.
As I entertained that stupid thought, the woman kept yelling.
“Who are you? Did the Minerva Guild send you? Why are you stalking and harassing me?!”
Daphne had completely lost it. Being subjected to her hysterics for no reason was driving me insane too.
“Geometry! Guaaah!”
“Y-You b*stard! What gives you the right to squirm?! Showing your true colors now, you filthy savage!”
“Daphne, that’s enough. Your voice is carrying all the way upstairs.”
Clang—
Just then, someone entered the cramped dungeon. Judging by how the guards stiffened, this was someone important.
“So this is the Minerva Guild spy? Pfft, what a giant. Doesn’t seem the type.”
“He’s a total creep! A filthy Samaritan b*stard! Beat him to a pulp!”
“Got it, got it. You can go now. We’re busy upstairs.”
“You rotten b*stard!”
Slap—!
After one final slap, Daphne scurried out of the dungeon.
Only once she was completely gone did the man turn his gaze to me.
An eyepatch over his left eye. A receding hairline forming an M-shape. A bushy amber beard. Scars littering his face.
Though dressed in plain leather clothes, he exuded an aura of experience and ruggedness.
He was a head shorter than me, but the sheer intensity he radiated reminded me of my father.
“So, you’re the Minerva Guild spy? And Daphne’s stalker?”
“Sob… I don’t even know what the hell that is.”
I loudly protested my innocence.
Women could ruin a man’s life with nothing but tears and accusations—even back in my world, full of cameras and evidence. In this barbaric world? Forget about it.
“I heard the gist from the guards. You groped Daphne’s hand, they said.”
“No, no, I swear I didn’t! I just barely touched her wrist with one finger! I’m fucking innocent!”
“Yeah, you seem it. Untie him.”
At the man’s order, the guards quickly loosened the restraints and chains binding me.
Oh—
This should be normal, but in this world, normalcy was rare. I was stunned.
“You believe me?”
“No, why would I trust a backwater savage like you? But I don’t trust Daphne more than I don’t trust you. She’s… special. Mentally. Blessed by Chaos, you could say.”
I had no idea what that meant, but being freed was a relief. Rubbing my sore wrists, I frowned. Those bastards had tied me so tight my skin was raw.
“Anyway, come to my office, Hassan. Your innocence isn’t fully proven yet. If you’ve got grievances, we’ll sort them out.”
The one-eyed man’s office was tucked away in a corner of the guild.
A spacious room in a secluded spot, cluttered with junk, taxidermied beasts, rusted armor, and dusty old books.
“Office” was too generous—it looked more like a warehouse.
Maybe it was one.
“Have a seat.”
I looked around. The hell? No chairs, just junk everywhere. Where was I supposed to sit?
So I cleared a flat crate and perched on it. It creaked and wobbled, but it worked.
“I wouldn’t sit there if I were you. That crate holds something cursed as hell.”
Tch.
I wasn’t one to believe in superstitions like “don’t write names in red ink,” but curses in this world were real.
Like the 《Curse of the Two Deaths》.
So I ended up sitting on the bare floor.
“Hassan, average stat over 2, total stat 7. A blessed Samaritan. You don’t serve any god, right? Really, no shrine at all?”
His lone brown eye bore down on me. The pressure reminded me of Elpride’s scolding.
“This paper never lies. You are blessed. It happens sometimes—elves, Samaritans, odd outsiders like you.”
Shhk—
The man crouched and extended his forearm toward me. It was less an arm and more like a thick beam or pillar, sturdy enough to be called a structural support.
I could feel its solidness without even touching it.
“W-What?”
“Heard you can get info by touching someone’s arm. Don’t tell me it only works on women?”
Ah—I understood. He was giving me a chance. That worked for me.
Of course, if I failed, that arm would probably swing straight at my head.
So, tense, I placed a finger on his forearm.
Ding—*
『Name: Valtma Lv. ??
Status: Hangover》 ???》 ???》 ???》』
What the hell? Question marks?
I was just as confused as the floating symbols. Was this normal? Aside from his name, there was barely any info.
“What, not working? You weren’t lying, were you?”
Still suspicious, the one-eyed man—Valtma, apparently—cracked his knuckles.
![[TS] The Protagonist is Conquered](https://i3.wp.com/novelhitam.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/1743806812-5548-TS-The-Protagonist-is-Conquered.png?resize=85,105 "[TS] The Protagonist is Conquered")
