༺ Hassan — The Swamp Local (6) ༻
Two hideous-looking men were looking down at me with criticizing gazes as I got out of the tent after adjusting my messy clothes from all the sweat.
“Get here quickly, brother! Don’t you know that it’s common courtesy to arrive at your post slightly before the beginning of your shift? Why were you being so late?”
“Oh, I didn’t know, I’m extremely sorry.”
I bent my body slightly, it was with the intention that they wouldn’t notice the bulge in my pants that way. At the same time, it gave the impression that I was being apologetic for my lack of decorum. It was like killing two birds with one stone.
“Ah, Hmm?”
It seems that my sincere apology had done its trick since the two men looked at each other with a blend of embarrassed and blank expressions. They probably didn’t expect that a savage from Samaria like me would apologize to them in such a fashion.
“Well, that’s good, then. We’ll let it slide this time since you apologized so earnestly.”
The bronze tier adventurer coughed and then continued to speak in a level tone.
“There’s not much to do anyway. Just check if there are wild beasts nearby, and make sure the bonfire won’t run out of firewood. Oh, and…”
The middle-aged man suddenly paused, at the end of his explanation, he hesitated briefly before warning me in a whispery tone.
“The person who’s on the same shift as you is kind of… strange, so just consider it as working alone. Well, we’ll be going now. Don’t worry, the shift will pass in a jiffy if you just sit by the bonfire and hit up a conversation or two with your partner.”
“Next time, don’t forget to wake up early,” they shouted with their backs facing me. Soon, they disappeared into their tent.
I wonder who’s standing guard with me. The fact that the bronze-ranked adventurer duo warned me about them left me slightly unsettled.
With that thought in mind, I looked towards the bonfire that was set up in the very middle of all the tents, trying to find the identity of my shift partner. There, I was greeted with the sight of a woman basking under the warmth of the campfire, her whole body was covered in an assortment of black clothes.
I’ve already seen this woman before. In fact, I had even talked with her during the journey.
Her name was Cassandra, I believe. Cassandra, the priestess from Delphi.
Holy shit, she’s blind. Who’s the idiot that made a disabled person like her take part in the night watch?
It’s a really inhumane and barbaric system. Do these savages not even have the slightest bit of conscience?
“It must be hard for you, being on the night watch like this… Do you want me to take over for you? You can go and rest, I’m sufficient enough to keep guard.”
I approached the priestess and politely asked. The blind priestess just quietly laughed at my polite inquiry and shifted closer to the bonfire before speaking.
“It’s okay. The distinction between light and darkness is nothing to someone like me, who can’t even see anything. That aside, yours is the weirdest form of Karma I’ve ever seen. You look like someone I know, but I’m not really sure.”
“Someone you know?”
I still remember the incident when she mistook me for someone else and suddenly bowed to me in a subservient manner. How ironic for a blind person to say that she was confusing people up.
Was she distinguishing people by her sense of smell? Maybe she had developed enhanced touch and smelling senses since she couldn’t use her eyes.
Interrupting my thoughts, she started speaking again.
“I’m sure you know him too. He’s the one that brightly shines high above in the infinite sky. He who controls the light and the future of the world.”
“You mean the sun god?”
“Hahaha. The sun god, how blasphemous for you to refer to the great him as such. But yes, you’re indeed correct. Your karma looks and feels very similar to his. How could a savage that came from the wilderness have similar karma to the sun god? Intriguing.”
“About that, could it be because I’ve been blessed by the sun god?”
“Blessing? You’ve been blessed by Apollo? How could that be…..?”
Having said that, Cassandra abruptly reached out to me with her palms. I panicked at her sudden behavior and pulled back from her grasp.
“Wh-What?”
“Ah, I’m terribly sorry. Please wait, will you allow me to touch your face? It has become a habit of mine to touch anything I can’t see since I’ve become blind…”
“Th-That’s fine, I guess.”
Rustle-
Her soft and smooth palms touched my face. Her fingers were very cold, like frozen ice, very different from the temperature one would expect from someone basking near the warmth of a campfire for god knows how long.
Now that I think about it, her black clothes looked rather thin, like the light-wear rich women wore at night. Moreover, the cold night probably affected her blood circulation. Maybe that was the reason her hands felt so cold?
Well, even though her hands were cold, it didn’t feel bad by any means. She then scratched some of my facial hair, with her fingertips, while going through my cheeks and nose.
“You have a lot of hair. Weird.”
“I-Is that bad?”
“You must have received Apollo’s blessing not too long ago. Those that are blessed by Apollo… their hair tends to fall out and their forehead eventually starts shining like the bright rays of the sun.”
Damn, for real? Was my hair really going to fall off?
This is definitely the most terrifying thing I’ve heard in the past two years. Fuck, can I get rid of this blessing somehow? I don’t want to lose my precious hair!
I was reminded of the shiny head of the adventurer who had lost to my Santoryu sword style. Shit, now that I think about it, he did claim he was the son of the sun god or something.
Fucking hell! I need to stop that scenario at any cost.
“Can I stop that? My hair falling out, I mean.”
“It doesn’t always happen, of course. The influence of blessings can be hard for humans to endure and it’s usually expressed in their appearance… Hassan of Samaria… If you truly dedicate your heart and strong body to faith in the sun god, you won’t lose your hair, I promise you that.”
“I-I see.”
She then continued to grope my face for a while longer. It was starting to get rather uncomfortable, to be frank. She was infinitely close to stabbing my eyes or putting her fingers in my nostrils many many times, so much so that I had lost count.
Fuck, how long is she going to do this? I hope she washed her hands at least, otherwise, my face will become dirty.
“After touching you, I can say that it’s definitely different from him. Karma exists in different forms, his was very brilliant but yours… it’s like… like…”
The priestess didn’t speak anymore after saying the word “Like…” several times, like a stuttering parrot. Wasn’t it kinda vicious to just stop there? Was she indirectly asking me for money? Would she only tell me the rest if I paid her?
“It’s like?”
3 coppers were the most I was willing to pay for this, so I cautiously asked her again in a probing tone.
“Hmmm, like…”
The priestess seemed to be hesitating to answer. But soon, she reluctantly replied after taking a short pause.
“… Your karma is like a huge castle. However, with only the foundation being laid. To describe it clearly, it’s like a huge but empty bowl. What kind of life did you live? It’s like you’re not even a being of this world…”
“Hmm? Are you perhaps saying that I am broad-minded and generous? Your words don’t make sense otherwise…”
Was it perhaps because she couldn’t see? The senses of this woman named Cassandra were pretty sharp. I can’t believe she guessed my true identity by just touching my face. Is this magic, perhaps? Was she a witch too?”
“If you don’t mind telling me, can you really guess all of this just by touching me?”
“It’s thanks to my blessing. I also received a blessing from a lofty being when I was younger.”
“Aha… It makes sense now.”
“Of course, I don’t deserve such a blessing. I’m a sinner, after all. To I, who dared to directly look at the sun god, being blind was a very light punishment.”
Was her blindness a side effect of receiving the blessing?
My curiosity was piqued and I wanted to ask more. But seeing Cassandra close her mouth shut, I reluctantly stopped myself from uttering my queries. I didn’t want to tackle what seemed like a touchy subject to her.
If it was Marco, he would have questioned her without caring about her feelings. Let’s not be like that clumsy clown.
I kept gazing blankly at the campfire, not knowing if it was time to add more firewood or not. I don’t think I can hold on for another hour or two like this.
I somehow felt nostalgic, thinking of the earlier warmth and softness I felt from massaging Luna all over.
It was really supple. Luna was trying to say something at the end… I wonder what would have happened were we not interrupted by those adventurers.
It definitely did feel like something was going to happen in that steamy mood.
Just as I was immersed in my own delusional thoughts…
“Erm, please forget what I said earlier.”
“What?”
“I can’t even walk a few meters without tripping on a stone or a hole… It was presumptuous of me to act like I knew something about the subject of your karma. If possible, please forget it ever happened.”
“If that’s what you want… I will.”
Cassandra never spoke again after stating that. She just recited prayers in front of the campfire and sometimes added firewood to it.
This priestess of the sun god seemed to be finding joy in taking care of the small fire. Perhaps she was imagining it to be blazing around.
Maybe she wanted to set the whole place on fire. Everyone had an inner desire to set everything ablaze at least once in their lives.
I didn’t have anything to say to her either, so I just stood up and did simple stretching and gymnastics to pass the time.
I also checked our surroundings for any signs of wild beasts from time to time.
**********
As I was spacing out from the boredom, it was finally time for the next shift. So, I went to pass the baton to the next batch.
I stood in front of one of the tents of the Sword Maidens, where the people responsible for the next shift were sleeping.
I tried to get their attention by calling them out “Hmm, Rene, Tifa.”… Soon, two women wearing armor and holding weapons in their hands appeared from inside the tent.
Screech- Schwing-
“Yawn, It’s our turn already? You didn’t wake us up earlier than necessary, right?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Yaaaawn…”
The bronze-ranked women began stretching out. Looking at their appearance for the past few days, I couldn’t really call their rough skins and freckled faces pretty.
But under the moonlight like this, they looked very lovely. Even their rough and unkempt blond hair, which looked like a crow’s nest, was still worth looking at under the dazzling radiance of the moonlight.
Amazoness Rene, who looked like a country girl with her blond hair flowing down her back, asked with a sleepy voice.
“Anything unusual?”
“Nothing of importance.”
“Alright, that aside… Hassan of Samaria. Aren’t you a little too dirty? Why don’t you go wash up in the spring there before going to sleep? Even if you were originally a barbarian from the wildlands you should follow the customs of civilized people now!”
Fuck, never did I think I’d be lectured about being civil by a woman who was wielding a sword and shouting like a deranged beast.
Well, it’s not like they were wrong though.
As I had been rolling through the thick mud, during today’s intense battle, pieces of dried and putrid mud were staining my leather clothes and protective equipment.
I tried washing up in the spring earlier but the waiting line was so long that I just gave up on it. Since everyone is asleep now, this should be an opportune time to go to the spring and get rid of all of this filth.
My soaring little brother will probably be calmed down as well by the cool water. Damn it, how long are you going to stay up for? Little bastard, are you trying to rebel?
I then headed to the small stream next to the abandoned temple. I couldn’t help but be anxious at the possibility of a wild beast coming out of the odd fog surrounding the area, catching me off guard.
Still, I was able to walk with a confident gait. Killing ten goblins without much pressure raised my confidence in my abilities somehow.
Ripple-
I kept walking towards the sounds of the flowing water until I ended up facing something like a small lake or a brook.
The moonlight reflecting on the water alongside the beautiful flowers surrounding it made the sight of this brook extremely enchanting. It could mesmerize anyone with its ephemeral beauty.
It looked empty after a quick glance over, so I took off my clothes and tried to get in. But…
Ripple-
The water suddenly rippled and something appeared from under the water. Damn it, is it an ancient god this time? Or a human-eating water ghost?1A kind of monster that will grab your ankles and sink you.
This sudden development scared the living shit out of me.
Looking closely, however, I noticed that it was neither. It was actually a person. A tough-looking body with smooth tanned skin shining and moving graciously, full of vigor, under the moonlight.
But what caught my eyes the most was the medley of the large and puffy chest with firm-looking pink nipples sticking out, enchantingly trimmed midriff, wide pelvis, and the glistening wet brown bush peeking out from between the person’s thighs.
I-It’s…
I looked away in a hurry. Startled brown eyes with something akin to astonishment brewing in them met my gobsmacked gaze.
The woman then hurriedly covered her chest with her arms and plunged back into the water, shouting out in an enraged tone soon after.
“Y-You-!”
“H-Hippolyte…! I-It’s a…”
I was utterly fucked. She could blow up a goblin’s head just by throwing a pebble at it. I can’t believe I saw the naked body of such a woman.
I had to lay on my bed for several days after witnessing Elfriede changing, and subsequently getting slapped by her.
Elfriede was a relatively frail-bodied witch while this woman was a full-fledged female warrior that fought with her body. I think I will just keep spinning 720 degrees and then fly off who knows where if she slaps me right now.
“Why are you naked? A-Are you trying to attack me!!? Do you intend to molest this esteemed Hippolyte, daughter of Mars?”
“Well, I can explain it…”
“Explain it? That vicious-looking thing over there, dangling between your legs, is more than enough to explain everything. What’s more there to explain?”
Hippolyte pointed between my legs with her trembling index finger and shouted out. Indeed the object between my legs was ready for some vigorous workout.
But it wasn’t in that state after looking at her body. I couldn’t deny the fact that it had a little impact on making it a tad bit harder, but it was mostly because of the previous circumstances with Luna back in the tent.
“Pervert…! Were you waiting for the moonlit night to pull this off? You’re so wicked-! I’ll scream if you do anything to me!”
Hippolyte began breathing heavily with trembling breaths. Seeing her chest go up and down in a rapid motion, I felt I could vividly imagine the scenes of how her body would move and react if I were to have sex with her.
Shit, what if other people saw this scene? Weren’t the Sword Maidens, Hippolyte’s companions, just out there, keeping the night watch?
Being merely accused as a molester would probably be the best direction this terrible case could lead to if they were to discover this scene. In the worst case, they would most definitely mercilessly cut off my little brother and pierce my heart without even letting me plead my innocence; they would probably not even ask a question before taking action.
… Bleeding to death after having my schlong cut? I need to avoid that at any cost!!!
So, I dived into the water without wasting any more time and threw out my hands towards Hippolyte’s lips before she could start to scream out.
“Y-You, savage bastard! I-Is there anyone-!”
I can’t believe I am covering the mouth of an adventurer of the same level as Elfriede.
It was even more reckless and brave than a rat swaggeringly going in and out of a lion’s mouth, but I had no time to worry about that right now. I had to save both my and my little brother’s life, damn it.
“U-Umb!”
“Sh-shhh! Please, b-be quiet!”
“Uuuumb!”
Hippolyte ferociously tried to resist me with fierce actions, splashing water all over us in the process. She was recklessly swinging her fists, trying to shake off my hold, however, she was hitting me with a much weaker force than I imagined her to exert.
“Be quiet, I told you to be quiet…!”
It is said that men often exert mental and physical prowesses multiple times stronger than their usual capabilities in moments of crisis. Or perhaps this was my last hurrah before my impending death?
But, for some god-forsaken reason, I was confident I could do it. I felt like I could hold her down and stop her from screaming out.
Because I was actually overpowering Hippolyte right now! Was I always this strong?
“U-Umb! Umb!”
“S-Stay still, I c-can explain! Sh, sh, shhh..”
Splash- Ripple- Struggle-
“You need to calm the fuck down.”
Just as I forcefully grabbed the hand that was trying to resist me.
Ding-
Level: ?? → 3
Condition: Boiling Blood 》Moonlight Enervation 》Severe Menstrual Cramps 》???? 》
“Ugh-!”
Damn Hassan is acting so sus, fucked up with two girls in a single day, damn. Thanks for reading and see you next time, I guess lol.
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