Chapter 98

Episode 98

A Visit and Hassan’s Club

098 ? A Visit and Hassan’s Club #4

Rustle. Rustle. Thud.

Hippolyte tied her belt around my eyes, making sure the knot was secure several times.

“There. Now this should be reassuring.”

I couldn’t see a thing. But because of that, my other senses—like hearing and smell—seemed to sharpen. The faint, distinctly feminine scent from Hippolyte’s belt, wrapped around my eyes, was so intoxicating it nearly made me dizzy.

Then, while I was still disoriented, rustle, rustle—something came undone and slipped off with a sound.

Spat.

Almost immediately, the distinct sound of something with the weight of a person settling onto the soft deer hide reached my ears.

“A-Alright. Let’s try this now.”

From Hippolyte’s voice, I could roughly gauge her position.

A massage while blindfolded? This was a strange and impressive experience in its own right, d*mn.

Tap, tap, tap.

My hands groped blindly through the air before sinking into something soft and warm.

“H-Hyaaah!?”

At the same time, Hippolyte let out a startled scream.

“W-Where are you touching, you pervert!?”

“W-Where did I even touch!?”

“Guh, y-you idiot. My foot is here.”

Swoosh, slide.

Something flat and warm touched near my chest. It was definitely Hippolyte’s foot, radiating noticeable heat.

I grabbed her foot with my hand.

“…Then I’ll touch it a little.”

“Ughaaah…”

Though I couldn’t see, her foot felt distinctly feminine—slender, soft, and slightly damp.

Slide, slide.

Her ankle was thin, her toes long. This was her right foot.

I expected the foot of a warrior to feel rougher, but it was surprisingly smooth. Did Hippolyte meticulously care for her feet, just like other women in this world?

“I’ll touch a little more. I need to get a proper feel for it…”

“….”

Her nails were trimmed neatly—not too long or sharp—and the only oddity was that her big toe was slightly longer than her second toe.

Her body temperature was noticeably high, likely due to high metabolism, and the faint dampness from sweat made it strangely enticing. Well, she had been wearing shoes earlier, so it made sense.

Sniff, sniff.

“…I-I’ll strangle you if you sniff me. Breathe through your mouth.”

“Y-Yes, ma’am…”

Under Hippolyte’s stern order, I was forced to breathe through my mouth. A part of me felt a little disappointed, but I focused on memorizing the feel of her sole.

Gently, gently.

First, I traced her foot with my fingers to imprint its shape in my mind. I slid my fingers between her toes, stroked her with my thumb, even lightly scratched the arch with my nail.

“….”

I listened carefully for any reactions, but to my surprise, she made no sound. Unlike Luna, whose soles were sensitive, Hippolyte’s seemed different. If I’d done this to Luna’s feet, she’d be moaning like a cat in heat by now.

Curious, I explored further up her foot until my thumb found the Taichong pressure point—the spot between the big toe and second toe where the foot divides.

I pressed firmly.

“…Ngk.”

This spot always provoked a strong reaction. Plus, it was easy to find even while blindfolded.

Press, press.

“…Hggk.”

A faint m*an escaped Hippolyte’s lips. Fueled by this, my confidence surged.

I took the momentum and pressed into various other pressure points like Yongcheon. When else would I get the chance to press a warrior’s feet like this?

“Ngh… Huh…”

As if rewarding my efforts, Hippolyte’s muffled sounds of pleasure grew louder. With both thumbs, I stroked firmly from her heel to her toes, and her leg trembled.

“Hngaaah…!”

Maybe because of the sweat on her soles and my hands, my fingers glided effortlessly over her skin and pressure points.

Stroke, stroke.

“Haaah, hyaaah…!”

“Does it hurt?”

“N-No, not at all. Ahem. Enough playing around. Now try that massage thing with the stick you mentioned.”

“Ah.”

I had been so engrossed in toying with Hippolyte’s feet that I’d forgotten the original purpose.

Fumbling for the club, I rolled its rounded end along her sole.

“Hnn, haaahh…”

Even Hippolyte, who had been holding back moans from my hand massage, now melted unfiltered into sounds of pleasure.

“How is it?”

“T-This… feels surprisingly good. Like… the fatigue is just… melting away… Hnnngh…”

Honestly, relieving foot fatigue alone can take away half the body’s exhaustion. Feet endure so much ab*se in daily life.

Given how active Hippolyte was—being a Silver Tier Adventurer who took on all sorts of tasks—her body must have built up fatigue without her even realizing it.

And in a world where concepts like massage and rest were scarce, her exhaustion had no way to escape, accumulating deep within—especially in the soles, the foundation of the body.

“Haaah, mm, ngh… kuh! W-Well, like I said…”

“The other one’s still left.”

I grabbed her left foot just as she tried to pull away and repeated the same process—pressure point massage followed by the club roller.

Slide, press, roll.

“Ngh, haaah… hnnn!”

Each time, Hippolyte’s soles grew hotter, her breath ragged as if struggling to endure.

Was she so far gone she couldn’t even act tough anymore?

“How’s my massage skill, Lady Hippolyte?”

“Hng… ngh…”

Slowly sliding my hands up from her foot, I kneaded the soft muscles of her calf.

“Hyaah! Ahh…!”

Her leg twitched violently under my grip, every muscle tensing beyond control.

Ding—

A strange, artificial chime sounded, but with my eyes covered, I couldn’t see any floating text.

Should I peek under the blindfold?

As I considered it—

Bark, bark, bark-bark!

A loud barking suddenly erupted from downstairs.

There were no dogs in this cabin—it had to be Luna’s pet wolf spider, Keng Keng.

“W-What was that!?”

Hippolyte flinched, rustling about.

Rustle, rustle.

After some hurried sounds of knot-tying, the blindfold loosened from my eyes.

Finally free, my vision adjusted—revealing Hippolyte’s face, flushed deep red as if about to burst. Were those tear stains at the corners of her eyes?

Bark, bark-bark!

“Something’s downstairs.”

“Probably the wolf spider.”

“Right. Why’s it barking all of a sudden?”

“I… don’t really know either.”

Frankly, I still didn’t understand why a spider that barked like a dog even existed. Asking why it barked was beyond me.

Maybe it just barked because it felt like it.

“Ahem. W-Well, you’re better than I expected, Samaritan. Seems you have at least one useful skill.”

While the barking continued, Hippolyte straightened her clothes and hair, exhaling deeply to compose herself before speaking calmly.

“But it’s… unpolished. Probably from a lack of mana control. Like this, it’s only half-baked. I’ll have to… personally guide you in the future.”

“You’ll teach me massage?”

“Yes. Once a week—”

As Hippolyte spoke—

Bark, bark-bark!

Keng Keng’s barking grew even louder, followed by a click— like a lock disengaging.

Hippolyte and I fell silent simultaneously, as if we’d made a pact. The air grew heavy with tension.

Creak. Clunk.

Bark!

“Why’s Keng Keng barking so much? I’m home, Hassan!”

The front door opened with a bright voice—Luna had returned.

Rustle, rustle.

As the sound of shoes being taken off downstairs reached me, I frantically scanned the room.

Hippolyte, just as panicked, hurriedly moved aside before I lay back on the deer hide, pulling a blanket over myself.

Pat, pat.

“Hassan, you waited for me, right?”

With the sound of Luna’s bare feet climbing the stairs, her shimmering pink hair came into view, followed by her beaming face.

But then—

“Hmm?”

Her smile vanished, brows furrowing.

“Huh? Hippolyte’s here? Since when?”

“N-Noxdotty! I was just… waiting for you. I only just arrived myself.”

Hippolyte sat cross-legged beside me, arms crossed, acting as if nothing had happened. I kept perfectly still, playing along.

I wasn’t sure why we were doing this—but it felt necessary. Hippolyte must’ve felt the same.

“Why are you sweating so much, Hippolyte?”

Sniff, sniff.

Luna’s nose twitched.

“I, uh… did some exercise while waiting. Ahem.”

“Hmm.”

Roll, roll.

Luna’s emerald-green eyes darted around, scrutinizing the room.

When her gaze swept over me, my legs went numb—I nearly yelped. Why was my heart racing? I hadn’t done anything wrong.

“Hey! The pottery’s broken!”

Luna suddenly dashed inside, pointing at the floor with a pout.

“I worked hard on this!”

Clatter, clink.

She picked up the shattered clay fragments, glaring. It must’ve been what Hippolyte broke earlier.

“Hippolyte, you broke it! How could you break someone else’s stuff!?”

“I-I’ll pay for it. How much?”

“3 Silver!”

Hippolyte’s brow twitched.

“That’s absurd. A shoddy clay pot isn’t worth 3 Silver.”

“3 Silver!”

Hippolyte left, citing the need to fetch money.

“I made 3 Silver! Woo!”

Relieved, I exhaled as Luna cheered. Being trapped in a small space with both her and Hippolyte had been nerve-wracking.

Maybe Hippolyte had also felt awkward and used the money as an excuse to leave.

“3 Silver! I earned money without even working today!”

“W-Wasn’t that pot important to you?”

“Nah, I just picked it up from the trash. Don’t tell Hippolyte, though.”

Luna pressed a finger to her lips, shushing me.

To think she’d gotten 3 Silver for trash pottery. Was that really okay?

Anyway, Luna squirmed with glee before suddenly pausing, thoughtful.

“Wait… why was Hippolyte even here?”

“S-She said she had something to say about, uh… potion promotion.”

“Oh, that. So… you two were alone until now?”

Luna’s usually cheerful eyes now stared coldly at me. That unreadable expression was scarier than her usual smile.

I flinched like a deer cornered by a hunter.

“W-Well, Keng Keng was here too.”

“Oh, right!” Luna’s expression brightened. Just as I sighed in relief—

“So… what did you two talk about while I was gone?”

“N-Nothing much. Just… something about Cultists being taken to the prison city. That’s all.”

“…If you’re lying, I’ll bite it off.”

“Wh-What are you gonna bite?”

“Hassan’s club.”

She said it so casually. What did she mean, bite my club!? Why would she bite that!?

Pat, pat.

As Luna headed downstairs, I thought the ordeal was over—until she returned holding the multicolored wolf spider Keng Keng on her palm.

A giant spider on her hand.

“Wh-Why!? You know I’m scared of spiders!”

“Exactly. Anyway, Keng Keng, did Hassan do anything weird with Hippolyte?”

Bark, bark!

Luna frowned at the spider’s response. I felt both baffled and wronged.

“H-Hey, what are you asking it for?”

“Wolf spiders are smart. If you raise them with love, they understand a few human words.”

“Even so—”

“Fine, let’s do this: Keng Keng, if Hassan did something bad behind my back, bark. If he really did nothing with Hippolyte, howl.”

Luna was convinced something had happened. Using an animal to punish me? Really?

“Hey, it—it can only bark! It’s a wolf spider—”

“Shh. Quiet, Hassan.”

Slide.

The wolf spider’s eight red eyes fixed on me. Eight eyes staring into my soul!

Its massive fangs twitched, tension building as if it were about to howl any second.

Low growl…

“Hassan, I told you to be quiet.”

Tch. Not buying it.

Seriously, my fate hanging on a spider’s response? I never have good luck with spiders.

Hooooowl.

[Afterword]

Gasp…!!*

Globby Michuri is holding her breath…!!!