Ssk— Ssk—
The hand of the receptionist lady, which was writing down the words, abruptly stopped. Then, as if losing strength in her hand, she let go of the pen and it rolled over on the table.
"... Mr. Hassan, when was the last ti you asured your stats? It's been about two months since you joined, so that was the last ti, right?"
Daphne wiped the sweat flowing down her forehead with a trembling hand.
"Um, sothing seems to be wrong. Can we asure it again? Try pricking another finger."
Daphne's reaction differed from what I expected, so I couldn’t stop myself from furrowing my forehead.
"... Uh, what exactly is the problem?"
"The change of stats you have… this can’t be obtained just within one or two months. With this growth rate, it's almost similar to how Ms. Hippolyte previously..."
Leveling up at the speed rate similar to Hippolyte. It was indeed so impressive that I could hardly believe it. Following Daphne's advice, I pressed several fingers on the pen.
Sssk— Ssk—
However, the results remained the sa.
"Your blessing also changed to ‘Shinning Hand'... Honestly, I think this is beyond my authority to properly examine."
Daphne acted as if she was holding back her words. But even so, her pupils were fixed on my changed stats, unable to take her gaze away from it.
"Mr. Hassan, just asking to clarify things, but are there any mbers of the royal family or descendants of gods among your family mbers? Or maybe you are the son of a renowned tribal chief from the Samaria Wilderness...?"
"As far as I know, there isn't."
"Both of your parents are still alive, right? Or maybe did you only have a single parent in so way since you were young..."
"Having a single parent?"
I felt a sudden chill assail the back of my head at her comnt, it really felt like she was cursing my parents here. Asking if I only had a single parent... I didn't expect to hear such an old-fashioned cuss in this world.
Of course, I believed Daphne didn't an it in that sense. But still, hearing it directly made feel quite strange.
"They are probably both doing well. It's been a while since I last saw them."
"Is there a possibility that they are not your real father or mother...?"
"Wait, what are you even trying to ask exactly?"
"It's part of the standard procedure, so I have no choice but to ask. Mr. Hassan, do you happen to be a demigod like Ms. Hippolyte?"
"A demigod? ?"
"Yes."
"Pfft—"
Suddenly, an inexplicable laughter erupted from deep within my belly. Had I ever heard such an amusing question in my life?
"Hassan, you must not forget to breathe while laughing."
I laughed until Luna patted my back to calm down.
"There's absolutely no chance of that happening, so you don't have to consider such things."
"Hmm—"
In response to my answer, Daphne frowned with a rather serious expression.
"As I thought, there are many things beyond my authority to determine. Mr. Hassan, how about going to Delphi?"
"Delphi?"
Delphi was the na of a city that I had already heard just recently. It was a city that served the God of Light, with a large temple of the sun that made it a famous tourist attraction.
I heard that even the priestess Cassandra, who was previously in charge of night watch with , ca from that region. She had invited to visit Delphi during that ti too.
"Why Delphi all of a sudden?"
"Many people go to Delphi to realize their divinity and receive an oracle. The Temple of Light also performs such duties."
"Ah, I see."
I didn’t understand what she ant exactly by receiving an oracle. Was it like getting a genetic test? Of course, as a native Korean, I didn’t need to take such tests.
But—
"Luna, what are you doing?"
"Shh, we need to be quiet. I'm trying to catch this fire bush cricket. If we make noise, it will fly away. Who would have thought there would be a fire cricket here... Holy shh— 20 coppers...."
Luna, who was now crouching on the ground of the tent, trying to catch an insect, seed like soone who could use a divinity realization or whatever Daphne said. I was quite certain that Luna was the daughter of Lady Knox, so this was essential for her to realize her identity.
Of course, I was not sure if I could just decide that on my own though.
Why was Lady Knox trying to hide Luna's true identity?
But to be fair, there were so many family circumstances in the world that you could not keep count of them even if you tried. So I thought there might be so circumstances in her family too, circumstances that I wasn’t aware of.
I shouldn't ruin or interfere with that by prying or being nosy.
But if Luna was acknowledged as the daughter of a genuine goddess, she would be able to receive considerable attention and treatnt from this world. So, why was she in such a state now, catching bush cricket when she should be treated like a bigshot?
The reason intrigued . There were still many things I didn’t know about Luna.
Because of these unknown factors about Luna, the resulting uncertainty could potentially affect our relationship, and it honestly made a bit uneasy.
"Daphne, see you next ti!"
Anyway, even though it had been a long ti since we did this process, the guild business finally ca to an end.
"If you plan to go to Delphi, let us know. The guild can cover so of the expenses!"
Delphi.
Luna and I were currently too busy to even think about going there, or fix an exact date. But it wouldn't be a bad idea to visit the city for sightseeing soday.
#
On a rare day off,
During this leisurely ti, there were quite a few tasks I had to take care of.
For example, I still hadn't received the reward for the commission to procure "Black Spring Water" for the Temple of Venus.
So, I decided to visit the Temple of Venus to enjoy sothing similar to a leisurely afternoon date with Luna. However, I was told that Venus’ Holy Maiden had so appointnts today and was thus not available at the mont.
Fucking hell! Was she trying to avoid the paynt while enjoying the benefits?
I was starting to feel worried now.
This was why you needed to be cautious when engaging in contracts that didn’t go through the guild first.
Though I initially did believe that there was no way the Holy Maiden, who was the head of the Temple of Venus, would cheat money out of adventurers, but…
Surprisingly, people in high positions often abused their powers without fearing the law or divine punishnt. Not to ntion this uncivilized world, it was also a common happening in my previous world.
"Hassan, look at this! A blue rose!"
Anyway, while I was feeling upset, wondering how to get the reward for our work, seeing Luna happily frolicking among the colorful gardens made feel a bit better.
The garden was full of various flowers, butterflies, and bees buzzing all around. The refreshing mist in the fountain, where the white swans were idling ford, a faint picturesque rainbow.
Amidst the bright sunlight, the cheerful Luna looked both beautiful and adorable at the sa ti. To exaggerate a bit, she almost looked like a fairy or rather a young goddess.
Munch— Munch—
But Luna had been continuously nibbling on sothing, which bothered a little. So, I decided to ask.
"Luna, what have you been eating?"
"Rose!"
"... Ah, I see. Are you hungry by any chance?"
"Ung, ung! How did you know?"
Luna laughed embarrassingly as she nibbled on the rose petals.
"Since you’re feeling hungry, how about going to eat sothing?"
"Sure!"
I had initially planned to have lunch with Luna. However, she ntioned that she was busy moving jars and the lunch date didn’t happen, unfortunately. So today, I just took her around without thinking about eating or anything.
People with experience in dating seed to be better at planning dates, but as soone who had never dated, I lacked the ability to arrange a date course. Damn it, I was such an idiot.
But at least Luna wasn't a picky eater or difficult to please, so I was a bit relieved.
"Let's stop by our house first! I have sothing to show you, Hassan!"
So, although I thought about going to an inn or a fancy restaurant with Luna, she wanted to visit her cabin instead.
What did she want to show now?
I was curious about what it could be as we headed toward Luna's cabin, a hint of anticipation inevitably started budding within along the way.
Then I noticed that her cabin seed to have expanded sideways. It looked like long wooden panels had been haphazardly attached to force an extension of the original space.
"What's that?"
"It's the bathroom. It took all morning to make that! It was really tough."
Luna patted her shoulders and arms as if she had worked really hard.
Knowing Luna's lack of skill in handiwork, I could easily imagine how much she struggled to realize this sizeable expansion.
"You made it yourself, Luna?"
"No, Paranoy did. I just watched from the side."
"I see. I thought you went through a lot of trouble."
I rembered Paranoy, who had been making elixirs with Luna every day on the first floor recently. She almost seed like a part-tir in this workshop. Now she had even handled this sudden expansion project.
I had underestimated the seemingly foolish nymph. She was surprisingly skilled. In my mind, I decided to raise my score for Paranoy by half a point.
I wondered if she got paid a fair daily wage or not though. Well, Luna and Paranoy probably had discussed it among themselves so I decided to stop thinking about that.
Anyway, it was a bathroom.
"Co inside and take a look!"
The bathroom could be accessed through the interior of the first floor. It was small but enough for about two people to fit in snugly.
Although it seed roughly made at first glance, surprisingly, the floor was well-installed with tiles and a full-fledged drainage system.
"Did you actually bring water pipes here? Didn't you say it requires a lot of paperwork and money?"
"I was able to get it at a cheaper price than usual! How does it look? Impressive, right? Maybe the Thieves' Guild's disbandnt led to a price decrease!"
I couldn’t help but wonder just how the disbandnt of the Thieves' Guild have a relation to the decrease in water pipe prices. However, I soon rembered that the Thieves' Guild, Hydra, had occupied the central area's underground water facilities and profited from it.
As a result, Sodomora’s sewage facilities were not well-maintained, giving off a foul sll like it was a city-wide sewer. Now that they were gone, the city might beco a bit cleaner.
"Turn this, and cold water cos out too! Hassan, you've never seen anything like this, right? It's called a faucet!"
Squeak— Squeak—
The faucet creaked as it turned, and water started flowing down from the iron pipe above.
Shhhh—
To think that in this world, where we were not even rich, we now had a private bathroom. It was indeed very fascinating.
Anyway, Luna having a bathroom in her ho was sothing that even I was very pleased about.
Cleanliness and hygiene were among the most important aspects of survival in this uncivilized world.
Now that I didn’t have to bother going to a distant public bath, it felt like my quality of life had definitely improved.
And perhaps, we might be able to do so occasional soft and tender things together while living together.
Just imagining it already made my shaft excited beyond asure.
As Luna seed to be in a really good mood, maybe I could buy so delicious food for dinner and set the mood to do sothing slightly naughty tonight?
Even though I hadn’t had dinner yet, I felt so good at the thought that it seed like my stomach was already full.
#
Nymph's Wings Inn.
Recently, the place was often bustling with guests. The noise beca even more intense during the evening when the inn and tavern business got into full swing.
I can still rember the shock I felt from eting Elfriede again at this place, I nearly fainted.
Since the rumor that the White Silver Roses adventurer group from Kalkata fled from the Thieves' Guild had spread already, their party was not seen showing up here anymore.
They probably withdrew from the public eye to avoid further losses. After all, reputation was still important for adventurers, so they would probably stay out of the lilight until the stories died down.
Or they might even disband the adventurer group.
Withdrawal and disbandnt.
It was just like how idol groups use those two options to cover up scandals. Most issues about adventurer groups in this strange world could also be resolved through those two options.
But whatever happened to them didn’t really concern .
"Have you made your choice?"
I kindly asked Luna, who seed to ponder over the nu for a while. Even though I said that myself, it sounded more cringe than I imagined it in my head. So, I was more than a bit surprised when I heard the words leaving my mouth.
Fortunately, Luna didn't seem to mind.
"Can I really choose anything?"
"Yeah, pick whatever you want. I'll treat you tonight."
"Holy shh! Hassan, is there sothing good happening today?"
"Nah, nothing special really."
"But, Hassan, you don't have money, do you?"
"We'll have so coming in soon."
After all, I was an adventurer who had subjugated the Thieves' Guild, Hydra. This ultimately ant I had won the duel against White Silver Roses. I might receive a decent reward from the Margrave of Sodomora for that achievent, right?
I couldn’t help but wonder how much money I would get.
Perhaps it could cover the cost of Hippolyte’s Aura training.
Luna and I ended up ordering each dish from the nu to taste them one by one. Even with all those orders, it wouldn't cost too much for two people, probably around 2 silvers at most. The cost-effectiveness made it quite satisfying.
"When I was shoot… swung the reinforced Silence Totem, all the thieves imdiately ran away! Hassan, you should have seen it!"
As alcohol was mixed with the delicious free food, Luna's face turned red, a look of imnse joy illuminating her visage. Today, she seed to be more intoxicated than usual.
Seeing her in such a good mood, I thought maybe when we got ho and took a bath, I could possibly touch Luna's chest if I played my cards right.
The soft and smooth chest.
If I did it well, maybe a happier Luna would even let lick it. Thinking about that instantly made my blood rush to my lower body with intensity.
Anyway, as the atmosphere and intoxication grew thicker, and the sounds of people chatting and drunken singing naturally filled the air…
Rattle—
Suddenly, soone opened the shop door and shouted.
"Soon, Baron Fleur will be passing by this inn! Everyone, please behave respectfully...!"
Baron?
If it was a baron, then was he a noble?
This place wasn't the wealthy eastern neighborhood, nor was it situated in the prosperous area of the western slums. How co a noble would pass by this dilapidated place?
The custors were all taken aback, looking at each other's faces in disbelief.
Clang— Clang— Clang— Clang—
Soon, the inn was filled with ard soldiers. Seeing how they didn’t bring any yellow flags or wore a coat of arms that symbolized Sodomora, it seed like they were rcenaries that a noble hired at their own expense.
"Put away your weapons—!"
"Get rid of anything sharp!"
"What's that pointy thing in your pocket?"
"Uh… that’s a bit."
"Oh."
They cast their glares around, acting assertively to secure the safety of the space surrounding their march.
Though it angered the drunkards who were enjoying their drinks and snacks, seeing those soldiers’ great numbers and the gleaming tips of their armored spears, the anger seed to have subsided on its own.
Swoosh—
A long, red carpet was laid out, and a man revealed himself as he walked on top.
The man was dressed entirely in black attire, wearing a wide-brimd hat that xican farrs often wore in my original world.
How could he wear black clothes in this scorching weather? He looked more like a grim reaper than a noble in that attire, and just looking at him already made feel hotter.
The innkeeper, who frowned as if asking what was going on, spoke up.
"B-Baron Fleur, I presu?"
The man, covering his face with a black veil-like cloth under his hat, responded.
"If you made a promise, shouldn't you keep it? My patience has reached its limit today."
"Well, t-that's...!"
The frantic gaze of the innkeeper eventually landed on , who was quietly drinking in a corner.
Upon seeing his anxious pupils, I just rembered that I had made an appointnt to et this nobleman nad "Baron Fleur". I had been too busy and had forgotten all about it. I didn't expect him to co in person like this.
The man, Baron Fleur, spoke again.
"Hurry and call that supposed healer. My daughter is suffering from an illness that must be treated imdiately."
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