༺ Hassan — The Swamp Local (7) ༻
Question.
What is cold yet warm, firm yet soft at the same time?
The answer is Hippolyte’s wet body in the cold lake.
The struggling body of Hippolyte was desperately toiling in my arms and looked somewhat fragile and soft, completely different from how a silver-tiered adventurer should be.
Her big lumps of fat, that were pressing on my chest, were softer than anything I’d ever felt before, even softer than Luna’s elastic derriere. Her beautiful pink nipples that were sticking out were firmly piercing my chest, sending chills throughout my body and arousing my little brother.
“Umb-!”
Level: ?? → 3
Condition: Boiling Blood 》Moonlight Enervation 》Severe Menstrual Cramps 》???? 》
Just as I was moving around to stop Hippolyte from screaming, a familiar format of letters abruptly appeared in my vision.
I thought I was overpowering Hippolyte using my own strength but it turned out that she was now in a weakened state, damn it. There goes my delusions of superiority….
Level 3 was the same level as Luna who was getting beaten up by those frail goblins during the temple cleaning quest. It also meant that her Strength, Agility, and Physique were all at 1 currently. It was the level of a regular person.
I have no clue why her level decreased so much, but it must be because of one of the aforementioned conditions she was suffering from.
Boiling blood? Weakening due to moonlight? What even are these? I at least knew what menstrual cramps were since I had a little sister.
My sister’s mood during that god-forsaken time would be as sharp as that of a bear who had been starved for a few days.
Just as I began wondering why Hippolyte had stopped making any sound and showed no signs of struggle anymore…
Chomp-
The tanned-skinned warrioress suddenly bit my palm, resulting in me letting her go while screaming out in pain.
“Aaargh!”
Damn, my fingers hurt so much. I thought they were going to get cut off, no joke!
Hippolyte’s jaw was strong enough to eat the hard-as-brick bread as if it was soft chocolate. I was most probably fortunate to still have my fingers left intact.
It did still hurt to the point of bringing me to tears though. At the very least, it’s not bleeding. That’s a plus point in my books.
“Y-You were trying to assault me. I already swore a vow of chastity to Diana, the God of Maidens and Hunting…! Don’t you know what happens when you assault a woman who pledged a vow of chastity? Stupid idiot.”
“No, Sigh, I didn’t mean to assault you…!”
“You didn’t mean to assault me? Then why is that guy so fucking big? It’s obviously a sign of a man being greedy for a woman’s body…!”
“This is a normal reaction after seeing a woman’s naked body. This is a misunderstanding. Do you think I am crazy enough to assault a silver-tier adventurer?”
“As expected, i-it happened after you saw my body…!”
“No, that’s not…”
Damn it, this is so unfair. I wanna cry. How should I even begin to explain this?
“I heard that the Samaritans kidnap and attack members of the opposite sex secretly to marry them. Isn’t that what you were trying to do with me!?”
“What?!”
They assaulted and kidnapped members of the opposite sex to marry them? Didn’t I hear that male Samaritans cherished their chastity a lot? Fucking hell!!!
These Samaritans are little fucking bastards, stupid mongrel bitches. Of course, they’d be despised everywhere if they were the type to pull off this kind of heinous shit.
I’ll have to reconsider referring to myself as a Samaritan from now on. Well, I’ll think about it more after dealing with this precarious situation first.
“… Anyway, I’m going to let this one slide on account of your great performance today. It’s not uncommon for people to experience greater libido after a day full of slaughter. Cool your head with the cold water here, you savage. And from now on, try not to assault women this way or the consequences would be unimaginable…”
Chapak- Chalpak-
I thought she would create a commotion. Instead, she just quickly got herself together, got out of the water, picked up her clothes, and disappeared through the thick foliage.
She just forgave a man who tried to assault her? Did such a merciful silver-tier adventurer even exist?
Or was she actually broad-minded because she was one? Still, there was a big difference in the way Elfriede and Hippolyte handled this kind of situation despite them being of the same rank. So, I could not draw up any concrete outlook on the nature of silver-ranked adventurers. I needed more examples and data.
Wait, I didn’t actually solve the misunderstanding now, did I? Damn, I fucked up. Was I supposed to feel joyful after being forgiven for something I didn’t even do?
I quickly tried to follow Hippolyte, but I couldn’t see her visage anywhere.
**********
After a bout of prolonged searching but with no conclusion, I took a bath in the cold lake water and finally reached my tent. The first scene that greeted me was the visage of a sleeping Luna, exuding calm and even breaths. She must be deep in slumber after the massaging session.
I had just been tip-toeing on the line between life and death. But, now, looking at Luna sleeping peacefully made me realize I had finally reached what I could call my safe haven, and so I could finally relax my strained mind.
Like Luna who was facing the wall, I laid down beside her, facing the other wall while putting my back against my sleeping companion. Our backs touched, and I could feel the softness of her small back from beyond her clothes. I was nearly moved to the point of tears from the feelings that sensation evoked in me.
Predictably so, the heart of a frail and vulnerable girl was the most surefire way to sway a man’s heart.
I ended up drifting to the realm of sleep without even realizing it while immersed in my thoughts, waking up later with the fresh air of dawn.
Waking up, the first thing I noticed was that Luna wasn’t sleeping beside me. She must have gotten awake and gone out to freshen up. It made me feel oddly empty inside, not feeling her presence in the cramped-up tent.
I got out of the tent after loosely wearing my armor and haphazardly sheathing my swords. I could already see people outside, talking in groups of two or three. They had a grim air about them.
“Such a bastard. How did he have the balls to do that?”
“How reckless. Did he not consider the possibility of being punished by the guild?”
Damn, what the fuck is happening. All traces of sleepiness disappeared as I felt my mind get overwhelmed with nervousness. I felt a sudden prick in my chest as my heart started beating a mile a second from fear and anxiety.
I’m really innocent in the matter that transpired with Hippolyte. But would anyone really care? It was the words of a mighty and charismatic silver-tier adventurer against those of an iron-tier nobody like me. Our words didn’t have the same weight and impact. It just couldn’t compare…
“Uhm, what are you guys talking about?”
I joined their conversation trying to sound as casual as possible. The two men, hearing my interjecting words, suddenly stopped talking and focused their angry gazes on me. Damn, were they really talking about me?
I couldn’t help but feel a little scared.
“An adventurer ran away during the night.”
Whew-
They were actually talking about someone else. A sigh of absolute relief leaked out of my mouth, but I hurriedly recovered and answered in a tone of mock astonishment.
“What? He ran away?”
“Yeah! That coward! He must have been scared of facing the pluto cultists, right?”
They weren’t talking about me. Holy shit! That’s good, great even… The men continued with their rant as I inwardly became happy that last night’s incident was in the dark, still.
“Asymmetric eyes Jackknife and one-armed Krag both ran away in the dark of the night. They did look nervous during the day.”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself, it’s too early to conclude that they ran away. Let’s just wait until the search team comes back. Lord Destroyer is scouring the surrounding area with adventurers competent in scouting, they’ll definitely find something, I’m sure of it.
And thus started the second day with chatter about two guys that presumably ran away.
I was worried about Hippolyte changing her mind and revealing to everyone the events that transpired between us last night, but nothing of the sort happened, fortunately.
“What are you looking at, Samaritan? You’re in love with this Renee now, are you?”
“What the fuck…! No, not a chance.”
“Then look away and piss off.”
Even the fierce Sword Maidens were ignoring me. There’s no way they’d treat me like this if Hippolyte had told them anything.
Wait, now that I think about it, where the hell’s Luna?
I looked around the mist for any signs of her pink twin tails.
Soon, I saw her appear from within the fog while holding two creatures as big as her palms from their legs in both of her hands.
“Look at this, Hassan. It’s a shaman toad…!”
“Oi, I was worried about you. I thought you ran away too.”
“Run away? Nah, I just left to catch these. That aside, Hassan, look, it’s shaman toads! I couldn’t catch them before since they’re so fast. But I could today, my body has become much lighter than it previously was, I’m sure of it!”
Luna’s hands were rapidly moving around, shaking the slightly fluorescent and black-dotted bodies of the frogs.
Croak-
Fucking hell, what kind of frog croaks like that? If gods really existed in this world, they clearly half-assed in its creation and were probably just messing around.
Anyway, I couldn’t say that this morning was the most stress-free of days, but listening to Luna’s cheerful voice made me feel a little better at the very least. Her presence is really refreshing to the mind.
“Anyway, they were jumping around a lot so I had to run and jump a lot too to catch them!”
“Y-Yeah, great job, Luna. So, what’s their effect? Can you make an elixir with them?”
“Elixir with shaman toads? Nah, these little guys aren’t used in anything anymore. I just caught them because I got bored during the night watch. I’ll let them go now.”
Luna then released the toads she had just caught.
The two toads landed on the mossy stone of the abandoned temple, and looked back as if hesitant about their next action. But then they abruptly jumped high.
Crroak-
“D-Damn it!”
Even though they jumped rather high, never did I think they would try to jump on me like this. Luna hastily spread her palms and shouted as I embarrassedly tried to shake these little rascals off.
“Ha-Hassan, don’t let it touch your skin!”
Luna, who brought her palms close to my body, suddenly flinched and stopped moving.
“Huu, Huuuuh…”
Croaak-
So close…
The toad bastards suddenly rushed somewhere else. Luna then asked me with a face full of crimson blush as I sighed in relief.
“… Are you alright?”
“Y-Yes. Damn, that was really surprising.”
“T-That’s a relief… Their skin is poisonous, so, your skin would have itched had you touched any one of them. I’m personally used to it, that’s why it’s not a problem for me but for anyone else…”
“Poisonous?”
Although I was feeling okay just now, I suddenly felt a bit itchy. It was probably just me, just some psychological phenomena. They never went into contact with my skin and only touched my clothes.
“Ha-Hassan… Uhm, I’m gonna do my morning prayers…”
Luna was trying to say something to me while I was checking for any swollen areas on my body, but she got interrupted by the nearby commotion.
“The advance party is back!”
“Lord Destroyer is back!”
A half-naked man holding a gigantic hammer in his hand was walking from between the tents and let out a roar that cut through the fog. He then opened his mouth and informed us of the situation in a serious and heavy tone.
“I found the footprints of Jackknife and Krag but the fog was too thick, making further pursuit impossible.”
“Ha, so they really fled. Fucking cowards.”
“It’s not really that bad if you think it through. Fewer people mean a bigger share of the rewards for us!”
“Quiet. I’m not done with our findings. This is the only thing they left. I found this nearby, check it out, everyone.”
Lord Destroyer then lifted something up high in the sky. I could see his armpit hair because of that movement of his arms. Fucking disgusting, bleach my eyes. Why are you showing us this terrible sight so early in the morning? My disappointment is immeasurable, and my day has been ruined. (Lol)
“Those armpits look hideous!”
“Look at that fur. Is he a human or a centaur?”
“I heard that Lord Destroyer was from a mixed race, it seems that the rumor was true. Makes sense as the prowess he showed until now was far from normal for a mere human.”
“Don’t look at my armpits, useless bastards. Look at what I have in my palm.”
I then rested my gaze on his palm. There, I could see something like a necklace or maybe a brooch, I didn’t know the distinction. It was hard to describe from there as I wasn’t the best at descriptions, to begin with.
What’s that?
I had no clue what it specifically was. Is he bragging about finding something pretty on the ground?
Well, I might have done the same if I had found something that pretty. I’d do it at least once in my life. Even Luna showed me her toads after she caught them, didn’t she?
It was human nature to want to show off what you have gained to others. Everybody likes to brag…
“T-That’s…”
Contrary to my carefree thoughts there was a strange tension permeating between the adventurers. It seemed this brooch or whatever the hell it was, wasn’t an ordinary object.
At that time, Hippolyte, who was wearing full armor, folded her arms, and closed her mouth in contemplation before speaking out in a deadly serious tone.
“A daffodil mark, the symbol of Pluto.”
“Yes, it’s highly likely that there are cultists nearby. We need to double our vigilance from now on.”
**********
“Lords and ladies, we can’t go any further by carriage. The horses aren’t willing, they won’t go any further even if I whip them to death.”
The driver of the carriage expressed his disapproval to go forward. He wasn’t lying, the horses weren’t walking forward and just silently hoofed, without budging a single bit, after every whip.
Brrrrg!
I could guess how they were since I’d been whipped before too.
Whipping was of no use if you really didn’t wish to do something, if your very soul was against it, or if your own body’s stamina was failing you.
Sometimes getting whipped was miles better than doing something you were ordered to.
Anyway, the horses were currently on strike. They strongly, and with utmost vigor, refused to do any more useless labor.
We were thoroughly fucked up.
The fog around us was so thick that we could only see an inch ahead at best. I didn’t even want to try imagining how hard it would be to walk without a carriage in these dreadful conditions.
Splash-
Hippolyte was the first to get out of the carriage. She gently stroked the long neck of the black horse and casually spoke out.
“Animals have great senses. They always know if they’re about to face something they wouldn’t want to. Basically, they can sense danger ahead.”
“As their owner, I don’t think these guys are very smart. They simply don’t want to drag such a heavy cart through the mud. I wouldn’t want to move too were I in their place.”
“Well, we’ll eventually find out. Everyone gets off the cart! We’ll walk from now on!”
The remaining adventurers got out of the cart, silently grumbling along their descent.
Of course, sitting on a stationary cart was a waste of our time, so we lined up and moved forward in the fog under the instructions and careful guidance of the silver-tier adventurers.
Walking with my feet completely submerged in the mud was a worse experience than I had imagined it to be. As if that wasn’t bad already— dismal fog was surrounding us from all sides, completely blocking our vision.
And because we were wary of the presence of cultists around us, even our minds couldn’t relax due to tension, an unsettling aura settled between us adventurers.
“We won’t know if something is going our way. We could all be killed by simple arrows…”
“We can’t even see the ground well because of the fog, it’s like we’re staring at Tartarus— the deepest depths of hell.”
“Damn it, maybe we unknowingly have fallen into hell in the evening.”
Some adventurers were joking like that, but it did nothing to alleviate the atmosphere, if anything it became much gloomier. Luna seemed to be the only carefree one among us as she was smiling at the scenery.
“The weather is nice, it reminds me of Ideope. The musty and damp smell, the sunlight obstructing fog, the muddy ground. It’s really similar to my home!”
Luna’s values seem to vary a lot from the ordinary populace. Was this what multiculturalism was all about or something like that?
“Shh… Be quiet. Something is roaming nearby.”
At that moment, Hippolyte, who seemed to be having it the easiest among us suddenly stopped walking. The other 20 or so adventurers soon stopped too.
What the hell will it be? Swamp Goblins?
With tension filling my body, I tightly grabbed the two swords sheathed at the sides of my hip.
“Aaargh-!”
“Ooogh!”
Some of the adventurers suddenly disappeared in the fog with a horrible scream.
“Damn it… too late. Draw your swords everyone!!!”
Arghrgrgrh…
Soon after that, a green-eyed creature with thick-ridged leathery skin, a long tail, and sharp teeth appeared from the swamp.
“Damn, it’s a crocodile! A swarm full of swamp crocodiles has appeared! Shitttttt!!!!”
The misunderstanding wasn’t even cleared, rip. And this quest is cursed lmao, they can’t catch a break lol. Thanks for reading and see you next week lads!
22/20/22 (hehe funni date) edit: Well, things happened lol. I was super busy this month, I should have a little more time during the next few days. Seggs with Luna is soon btw.
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