Chapter 145: Hassan And An Ill-Fated Relationship From The Past (3)

༺ Hassan And An Ill-Fated Relationship From The Past (3) ༻

"Pftttt— hahaha—!"

Elfriede, the elf, laughed uproariously all of a sudden.

She didn't even care about how her face looked and simply opened her mouth wide, bursting into laughter that made her appear quite carefree, like your typical macho man.

However, her laughter didn't quite match the atmosphere that had momentarily frozen at the sound of her glass being put down.

As a result, people simply blinked in confusion, wondering what the hell had just happened.

Some might have even tried to recall if there was anything amusing in the recent conversation.

After laughing for a while, Elfriede wiped away the tears flowing from her crimson-red eyes with her finger.

"Oh, sorry. I laughed a bit too much. I can't remember the last time I laughed like this."

It didn't seem like a particularly noteworthy action, but due to the unique charm inherent to the elves of Alfheim, what Elfriede did appeared rather graceful.

It made me understand why many adventurers aspired to be Elfriede's worker bees.

Of course, I had no intention to retake that old job of mine at the moment.

Elfriede, after calming down her laughter by quite a bit, spoke up again.

"Hassan? Was he that kind of guy? I almost thought he was different from the Samaritan that I know of."

"Ah, do you know something about my Samaritan brother, Miss Foreign Adventurer?"

In response to the innkeeper's question, Elfriede's red eyes quickly scanned the inn. It felt like our eyes had met for a moment and I hastily lowered my head.

What the hell is going on here?

I wanted to leave this place quickly. Or maybe hide in a mouse hole and avoid this calamity.

"Hassan of Samaria. Did you just ask me if I knew something about him? Well, I guess not many people know him as well as I do. He's actually not as barbaric as you might think. He even knows how to handle a fork and a knife."

Buzz— Buzz—

"Not as barbaric, you say?"

"Calling a barbarian not barbaric? Isn't that like a fish not living in water?"

"That's a lie. I've seen him tear apart meat with his bare hands. He wouldn't be a barbarian if he knew how to use those forks and knives!"

Elfriede's statement caused a stir in the inn; as if the room itself was shaking. Elfriede, who seemingly was enjoying the reaction of the people, narrowed her red eyes and continued on.

"I don't know about him being a murderous killer, but he's certainly a heinous criminal. Does everyone know that he's from the Desros Arena?"

"...T-The Desros Arena?"

The innkeeper trembled as though he had just heard something quite shocking.

"The Desros Arena—?"

"If that's true... then it explains why he fights so well."

"If he's from the Desros Arena, then the rumor about him being a disciple of Kairos must be false. These two things are fundamentally incompatible."

Buzz— Buzz—

Each person threw in a word to show off what they knew about the illustrious arena as if the previous ice-like atmosphere had been splashed by warm water.

Even Luna, who was sitting in front of me, spoke in a quiet voice while directing her question toward me.

"Hassan, what is the Desros Arena—?"

Damn it!

I didn't expect that name to come out of Luna's mouth too. It felt as if a cold hand was going through my insides.

Fortunately, it seemed that Luna wasn't trying to interrogate me but genuinely didn't know anything about the place.

It's not like I was actively trying to hide it, but I also didn't go around boasting about my past either.

In the beginning, when I just arrived in this world, I wasn't immediately enslaved by Elfriede.

The first ones to discover me were the merciless human hunters known by the name of Desros, and they used me like an enraged monkey in their own arena. Nothing good came out of those days of despair and agony, and I honestly didn't want to recall any of it.

There was truly nothing good about those days.

"Miss Elf, when you say Desros, do you mean that horrible place?"

"Yes, no other place in this world is as dreadful. Hassan— not only is that guy from there, he was also the one to set it on fire—"

"S-Shut up, you foreign species!"

As Elfriede continued speaking, someone in the inn shouted at the top of their lungs. The sudden outburst drew everyone's gazes toward the corner of the inn.

There, stood a young girl, she was wearing ash-colored robes and appeared to be around sixteen years of age.

Her short scarlet hair had a glossy sheen to it, forming a halo-like ring on top of her head.

Her face was milky white, and she had short pointy ears.

It was a nymph.

It was the proselyte nymph— Paranoy.

Paranoy stood timidly in the corner of the inn with a trembling body.

"Hassan, looks like Pranoy came first!"

"Uh, um, yeah."

Why did Paranoy suddenly appear? I couldn't understand this sudden twist of events.

Slide—

"Ha—"

A wrinkle appeared between Elfriede's brows as she looked at the petite nymph.

"I didn't mishear, did I? Kiddo, what did you just say?"

"I-If, if you dare to plot against Mr. Hassan, I won't forgive you—! Mr. Hassan is the epitome of a barbarian who doesn't even know how to use a fork—!"

"What? Mr. Hassan? Well, well... This city is really strange. All sorts of weirdos are appearing after each other. It must be the air, I guess."

Rumble—

Elfriede pushed her chair back and stood up before confidently facing Paranoy, who had confronted her first.

There was a noticeable difference in height between the two.

A youth goddess-like elf.

And a petite, ditch-water nymph.

Whether they resembled each other or not, these two races had clashed with each other for dominance in this continent for quite a long time.

Elfriede spoke up first.

"What are you? Maybe... no, it doesn't matter what you are. What is your relationship with that punk Hassan?"

"I-I can't t-tell— hiyaaaaa—"

Paranoy's words trailed off. The reason was that the wicked and cruel Elfriede grabbed her cheek and pulled her upward using her hand.

To think that Elfriede, who was so much larger in size, would resort to violence against a much smaller child-like Paranoy. Elfriede, indeed, was a wretched bitch down to her very core.

"I-It huuuuurts. L-Let me go, please—"

"They say that staffs made from a nymph's bones can enhance the magical output of a mage."

"Hii-iiik! T-Those are nymphobic remarks—!"

The frightened nymph screamed and thrashed around, but since she was caught by none other than Elfriede herself, she could do nothing and was eventually lifted up in the air.

Elfriede grabbed Paranoy's cheeks and pulled her closer to touch the nymph's ears.

"He-hiiik! Hiiiiikkk!"

"Wow, this is my first time seeing a nymph. You're even cuter than I first thought. Should I take you home and raise you? I still have some spare leashes."

At this rate, Paranoy might end up separated into "Para" and "noy," and become a staff to be wielded by that wretched elf.

"H-Hassan, Paranoy is getting attacked! We should help her!"

Luna pounded on the table to urge me to take action, but honestly, I was too scared to do anything at the moment.

Even after experiencing so much in the past month, the fear that had been etched onto my psyche after slaving under her for two years had yet to fade away.

I knew better than anyone here how strong Elfriede truly was.

If she so much as flicked her finger at someone like me, I would burn up and turn into charred ashes. If I were to confront her, I would need at least Hippolyte by my side, wouldn't I?

I felt sorry for Paranoy, but I hoped nothing would happen to her in the end. That was my thought at that moment.

"Hiiik, m-my arm is sticking ouuuttt—! P-Please stop—! Lord Plu—, no, M-Mr Hassan, help meee! Hiiiiiik!"

"What? Hey, why are you being so dramatic? I didn't pull you that hard. Y-You're making me seem like the bad guy here."

"Hiiiik!" "

The nymph screamed as if she were about to faint while the elf held onto her arms, ears, and fingers. And in the midst of all that, something or someone quickly darted out between them.

"Stop it! I have claimed Paranoy first! Respect the order!" "

It was none other than Luna.

Luna sprang out in front of Elfriede.

Holy fuck! The thing I feared the most actually happened. The reason I put a silly cloth on my head in the first place was to prevent such a thing from happening.

This place was truly hell. But what did Luna mean by claiming Paranoy first and that Elfriede should respect the order?

There was too much information swirling in my head to handle, so I decided to stop thinking altogether.

"What an interesting tavern. These troublemakers keep popping up from every corner. It's probably because they don't know how strong I am, right?"

Elfriede turned around and glanced at her colleagues.

"It's a blow to my pride. Delphina, did you promote us properly?"

"Well, I did. But there are fools everywhere. Elfi, isn't this also entertaining in its own way?"

"Alright, I'll let it go. Here you go. Nymphs are rare, after all. They shouldn't fall into the hands of bad people."

Elfriede swiftly dropped Paranoy to the ground, causing her to exclaim, "T-Thank you!" and hide behind Luna's small frame.

However, it didn't seem like hiding behind the weakest-looking barricade in the world would improve the situation for her.

"And what about you? Do you also happen to know that Hassan?"

Ssk—

Elfriede's red eyes scanned Luna from head to toe.

"Bronze...? But you have quite an interesting appearance. What kind of bone do you have on your head? Are you trying to hide your face? It seems like you're insecure about your appearance or something."

Elfriede's relaxed expression was dripping with arrogance. Like the typical high-level adventurer, she didn't consider Luna a worthy opponent.

However, Luna, who had defeated Hippolyte and experienced various events, seemed to know no fear as she shouted out loudly.

"I, I am Luna, daughter of the Great Night! This thing isn't for hiding my face, it's an amulet mask, you idiot!"

"What? Luna?"

Frown—

Elfriede's expression twisted abruptly. I knew very well that it was the expression she made when she was genuinely pissed off.

Usually, Elfriede's ultimate move, whipping someone with her trusty whip, would come out at moments like this.

She got angry after hearing Luna's name. For what reason exactly? I couldn't understand. And then, her expression slowly relaxed for some reason.

"It suits you. You guys suit each other well. So, you're that Luna. You seem to go well with Hassan."

"...R-Really? Thank you. You look pretty too. Your hair is so shiny. Can I have a strand of it while we're at it?"

Luna spoke as she twisted her body and caused the bone helmet to rattle. She must have been unaccustomed to sudden praise like that. However, Elfriede raised her voice as if she had heard none of Luna's words.

"Don't thank me, you loser. This isn't a compliment. It means losers like you two go well together!"

Swoosh—

Clearly enraged, Elfriede retrieved a small black leather tool resembling a flyswatter from her waist. It was her whip.

It was the whip she used to beat people and turn them into her slaves. Was she really going to whip someone wildly with that hateful thing?

I, Hassan, could endure being struck by it any number of times. But Luna couldn't. That was why I forced my shivering legs and immobile body to move toward the two.

Hah? Another one? Some kind of ambush?"

Elfriede adjusted her posture, seemingly prepared to attack.

However, I paid no attention to her and approached Luna to hide Paranoy and Luna behind my back. Fortunately, I had a broad back, fucking damn it!

"You—"

Elfriede narrowed her eyes as she looked at me. After the two years we spent together, she, too, must have recognized me just by looking at my physique.

That was why I no longer thought I needed a cloth to cover my face. So I took it off and revealed my features to her. Some of the onlookers who silently watched this chaos started murmuring to themselves.

"So the Samaritan was here all along."

"And he's from the Desros Arena—"

"What's going to happen now?"

"I don't know, let's quietly watch the show. Innkeeper, bring some more beer here."

Amidst the tumultuous commotion and rumblings of the people, Elfriede's red eyes intently stared at me.

This was indeed an ill fate of mine.

It was an inescapable and wretched fate that not even the term "ill fate" could fully describe.

"So, you're the famous Hassan of Samaria, huh?" "

Elfriede asked in a tone that made it seem like this was the first time that we had met. But as she said, would there be anyone in this world who knew me as well as she did?

She clearly knew that I wasn't strong at all and that I was a cowardly and timid person.

Elfriede must be well aware of the fact that... even though I stood confidently before her right now, my heart was filled with trepidation and anxiety.

"So, you're doing pretty well these days, huh? Going around with petite girls. Of course, they're not as pretty as me, but still..."

Did Elfriede always have this self-assuredness about her beauty? No, she wasn't that kind of person. Not in the least.

Perhaps it was just in my head, but today, Elfriede seemed strangely fixated on her own appearance for some reason.

It had already been some time since I parted ways with this Bitchfriede. It wouldn't be strange if she developed peculiar quirks or habits during that time.

But I still had something to say to her.

"...L-Luna is far prettier than you!"

"...That can't be true. Don't lie."

"It's not a lie. Luna has a far kinder personality than you too."

"...I said, stop lying!"

"H-Hassan— There are so many people around—"

Tighten—

Luna grabbed onto my back tightly as if she was embarrassed to hear praise for her own looks in front of others. Elfriede's pupils got narrowed even more at that.

However, now that I'm standing in front of Luna like this. I can't think of any way to salvage this situation. Is there really no way?

Whether the nymph hiding at the very back knew about my circumstances or not, Paranoy shouted again.

"I believe in you, Mr. Hassan—! Please scold that wicked foreign species—!"

"...Scold me?"

"Mr. Hassan is the Samaritan who returned from hell! The chosen great warrior! He can defeat a scoundrel like you with a single blow—!"

Also, she didn't forget to yell at Elfriede to her heart's content.

"E-Elf—! Get out of our continent—! T-This land has always belonged to us, nymphs—!"

Elfriede's expression was becoming more and more contorted as Paranoy continued on with her blabbering.

I felt like the world was turning bleak before my eyes. And then Elfriede opened her mouth to speak to me.

"Hassan, it must be nice to be popular like this. But I'm not free enough to deal with you, and you're not even close to being my match."

Elfriede's pride was as great as that of a purebred cat.

She still wouldn't bother dealing with insignificant pests. It seemed that aspect of her hadn't changed a bit.

Thank goodness for that. I inwardly breathed a sigh of relief and spoke up.

"Well then, how about we part ways here on good terms? No need to see each other's faces anymore."

"But my mood has soured for some reason. So, let's just go all in at once. I'll give you a fair fight."

The red pupils of the elf flickered like maddened flames at this instant.