Chapter 52: Hassan - Sodomora's Rising Star (3)

༺ Hassan - Sodomora's Rising Star (3) ༻

Even breathing felt cumbersome and the only thing I wanted to do was to lie on the ground. But, I was somehow able to stand up again, using my sword as a clutch by stabbing it into the ground.

The fear that I would be mocked for the rest of my life, if I were to keep lying on the ground and fainted on the spot, was so powerful that my body started moving on its own.

It didn't matter if I were to be mocked back when I was a mere slave under Elfriede.

However, as the free man that I now am, there was no way I was going to let myself get reduced to a mere laughing stock for these motherfuckers. Such prideful and reckless thoughts brought strength to my body again, enabling me to stand in front of that woman.

"Whoo..."

"Just... keep... laying... down. It... feels... better... to... lie... down, right? You... have... done... more... than... enough... already."

Out of breath after blocking all my futile attempts at breaking her defenses, Hippolyte's voice became more sparse, making it hard to understand them.

How long has it been since the last time I was held down by violence like this? I think it was around middle school... I stole my father's wallet and got a good beating after I got caught.

No, I could recall something even more recent. It was back when I arrived in this world, I was captured by hunters, mercilessly beaten until I lost consciousness, and forcefully enslaved. Of course, my life of slavery was the last thing I wanted to think of right now.

Damn, that time, I was still able to stand up after all the pummeling my body went through. But what about now? Can I really win this bet? Screw it. What should I do?

It happened when I was gasping while my mind was filled with hesitation about my next course of action...

『Looks like you're in a tough situation. Want some help?』

A clear voice that spread out like ink on a blank sheet of paper, resonated in my ears.

It was the voice of a male, brimming with a confident note and a clear tone. It sounded similar to a loud bursting noise or a lion's roar.

『Since it seems hard for you to answer, just nod your head.』

I don't know what this was about. But, after coming to this world, I had already a plethora of events that went beyond my understanding and reason itself.

So, was something akin to magic is being used on me this time around? Wait, could it be... Could a wizard be hiding inside this crowd?

Whatever was actually happening, it was an offer that I had nothing to lose by accepting in such a desperate situation. Sadly I didn't have the energy to think about anything complicated right now, so I just shook my head slowly, denying the offer.

『Did you just refuse without even thinking about it? Why is that?』

Was he seriously asking me why? Did the guy think of me as a fool who would accept such a convenient and dubious offer?

As I've mentioned before, I believe in the fact that there is no such thing as a free lunch, especially in this barbaric world. Each favor has a hidden intention behind it, so most of these scheming bunch attempt to disguise it under the veil of goodwill.

Also, that man, whoever or whatever he was, just used magic to deliver his voice straight to my ears. I'm sure that he will ask for something big as recompensation.

Rather than being manipulated by that kind of person, fighting fair and losing is way better, in my opinion.

Having settled that matter, I was about to take a step...

『What an interesting lad.』

With those words, the voice slowly faded out, and soon everything began gradually going slower and slower before... finally, everything stopped.

The sand blowing with the fluttering of the wind, the clamor of people, flying birds, and falling leaves were all hardened in the middle of the air as if they were frozen in place.

The same thing happened to my body as well.

Only my eyes and thoughts were left out of this phenomenon. It was an unbelievable situation that went beyond all sense of reasoning, no matter how much I pondered and looked around.

Damn, what even is this? Is this some new kind of pre-death premonition? Does this damned world have such a ridiculous concept too? While I was immersed in such thoughts...

Whoosh— Thwack—

An object, or perhaps a person, freely falling from above lightly landed in between Hippolyte and me.

The first thing I could see was the fluttering of a red cape, immediately following it was the image of brown hair that was let loose, and a helmet worn on a head. Under the helmet resided caramel skin that seemed to be almost glowing under the sun.

In this suspended world, a man wearing what seemed to be a set of impenetrable armor was looking at me, grinning widely as though to show off his pristine white teeth. It was a very cheerful smile, but somehow I felt a chill crawl up along my spine at that sight.

『It's indeed nice to see you up closer. First, I'd like to thank you for choosing me instead of Minerva. Minerva was outraged due to that. Anyway, consider this as my way of giving you a gift for choosing me.』

With a swift move, the man held the knot on the side of the frozen Hippolyte's armor.

Twang—!

He pulled the knot like it was a grenade pin, snapping Hippolyte's armor.

Then, he spoke again, 『This is actually against the laws of Olympus, so I'll leave right now.』 After the word, he jumped again and disappeared out of my sight.

The fluttering red cape disappeared alongside his presence. At the same time, the world, which had been frozen still, slowly began moving as though someone had finally supplied it with the once-lost energy that was required for it to run again.

Starting at a snail's pace, the movements of the world gradually accelerated, until it finally recovered its original speed.

Twang— Clatter—

At that moment, the armor wrapped around Hippolyte, as she was standing in front of me, fell off, leaving her copper-colored skin exposed for everyone to witness.

"Wha- What!?"

I reached out to Hippolyte with all my force, not wanting to waste the opportunity her momentary shock gave me.

I don't even know what I am doing at this point, but I knew that I had to take advantage of this opportunity.

The suffocating pain running through my body and the aftermath of my actions were the last things on my mind. Such an opportunity wouldn't present itself again.

"O-oh, my God."

I could feel Hippolyte covering her body, freezing on the spot, and clicking her tongue. Her inability to adapt to this sudden situation rendered her fully immobile.

It was the first time I saw her always fiery eyes waver. At the same time, she used one hand to cover her chest area and held the other one toward me as if trying to catch me.

The conflicting actions of someone who was both a woman and a warrior were clearly showcased in this.

"Where did you-?"

Hippolyte was trying to stop my palm from extending to her waist, but her hesitation, a result of her inner conflict made it impossible for her to do so.

Damn, I got it!

With my right hand, I could grasp the belt around Hippolyte's waist. Now, all I had to do was pull as hard as I can and everything would finally come to an end.

However, as I was about to snatch the object that would decide my victory, my wrist was caught by a firm iron grip. Holy fuck, I thought someone tied a noose around my wrist but it was just Hippolyte's hands instead.

Clench—

Moreover, the iron grip was applying so much pressure that I felt like my hand was about to break then and there and I was left with no choice but to scream out in agony. What the fuck was going on with this ridiculous grip of hers?

This was exactly the sort of feeling you'd get by having your arms squeezed to mush by a fucking machine.

"Ughh... arghh!"

Due to this, my hand, which was holding onto Hippolyte's belt, also lost all of its strength. She then twisted my arms, making me fall to my knees right on the ground.

"Just surrender. If you keep struggling, your bones will be crushed to powder."

Shit, my bones will be crushed? Even though there is the miracle of healing magic, can it heal back the broken bones which have been crumbled into pieces? It will be a tremendous loss to become a disabled man in such a world where people cannot even dream of pensions or welfare for the disabled.

"I- I surrender! I surrender! Eugh!"

"Phew."

Only then did Hippolyte let go of my hand with a small sigh. Damn it, I felt like I was going to tear up due to the tremendous pain I felt in my throbbing arms. It hurts a lot, god-fucking-damnit. I hope it's not broken.

Fortunately, after checking for a bit, it didn't seem to be broken or cracked. However, if Hippolyte had put some more strength on that ridiculous grip of hers, my arm would have literally been broken to pieces.

Throb, throb.

Was this fucking real? How could a person have such a grip? It seemed like her muscle density and physique may be structurally different from ordinary people like me.

"Phew, I have been unusually acting a little out of it. That really caught me off guard. However, it's your loss. Still, you were the first to be able to even grab my belt. You should feel proud of this accomplishment."

Clank— Clank—

Hippolyte picked up her armor lying on the ground and immediately put it back on her body. However, when she noticed the abnormally torn knot, creases formed on her forehead.

In the next moment, she glared up at the sky with a deep frown etched on her face.

* * *

"It doesn't look like anything is wrong."

Daphne, the receptionist, evaluated me by looking at my swollen arm with a red handprint covering the swollen part.

I was amazed at the fact that a person's handprints could remain like this for such a long time.

Damn it, who the hell did I even decide to compete with? This is why men should be mindful of their schlongs. Nothing good could ever come out of thinking with their lower body.

However, along with my throbbing arm, the throbbing of this dastardly dick of mine was not even showing any signs of calming down anytime soon. It's been in this situation from the moment I had seen Hippolyte's mesmerizing bare skin and hints of her beautiful bosom earlier.

Damn you, dickhead, why don't you calm down a little?

Anyway, I had completely and utterly lost. Meanwhile, I had a strange experience in the middle of the fight.

What the hell was that? I don't remember what happened because I was so out of it back then. All I remembered was that it was a very significant event.

Daphne spoke again as I was lost in my thoughts.

"Anyway, you managed to grab Ms. Hippolyte's belt. That's an amazing feat you did there. You can add one more line to your lifetime achievements."

Can I really add just that to my lifetime achievements? This somehow reminded me of the bulletin board posted by the adventurers to promote their names.

Something like『Hassan: Hippolyte's belt toucher.』 Was it really okay to add such absurd things to the bulletin board?

"Is that such a big deal?"

"Think about putting your head into a sleeping lion's mouth and returning safely. Wouldn't that make you want to brag? Whoo..."

I imagined putting my head in the lion's mouth as Daphne explained. Indeed, if it was to that extent, it could be a story worth sharing while drinking out with friends.

"It's just as great as that. It'll help your career as an adventurer."

"Ah-ha-ha. By the way, when will the next request come?"

It wasn't that long since I had returned from the previous expedition, but I was still hungry for more money. I didn't have a home in this world, after all, and living from one inn to another was terribly cumbersome.

It was ridiculous to have to pay every time you wanted to have a good place to sleep.

I want to quickly make money and then get a house of my own. It would also be good to get promoted to the silver tier, that way I will be able to have my own space and permission to start my own business.

I was considering opening a small health center with Luna if I were to get such a space. Luna was good at making alcohol with bee ingredients or concocting an elixir.

Meanwhile, I could give massages to customers and get paid for that. I think we will have good chemistry in working together.

We'll have about ten children. I'm not the one giving birth anyway, so the more the better.

However, I am a little worried whether Luna, who has such a petite figure, will be able to give birth to so many children. Shall we compromise and reduce it by half? How about five? Seems doable.

"Mr. Hassan, that's a disgusting look you're giving there. What are you thinking about?"

Damn it.

"Ms. Daphne, can't you just keep your opinions to yourself and not just throw them out like that?"

"I also want to do that, but your expression is just that much disgusting. So, I had no choice. Anyways, it'll take a while until the next request. I have some things that need to be dealt with first. Whoo..."

Daphne sighed again. She has been sighing like this for a while already.

I think I already vaguely know that she's suffering from an excessive workload. In that case, it's no wonder that she might feel mentally burdened. But this time it felt a little different.

"Are you feeling sick?"

"What? Oh, I'm just feeling a little bloated. Maybe it's because I only sit and work for the whole day. I feel like my stomach wasn't able to digest the pheasant meat I ate for lunch very well."

"Oh, indigestion. Can you show me your hand, then?"

"Huh? Hand? Why?"

Daphne's eyes couldn't become any fiercer. I was worried that there might be another mishap as I had previously suffered a lot due to her misunderstandings.

Still, it was regrettable to miss the opportunity to get task points.

"I-it's nothing weird. You know that I have a blessing, right?"

"Oh, right. There are a lot of bastards who try to touch my hand using several such excuses. So, you should stop doing this kind of thing, too."

After that, Daphne's hand reached out toward me. Although her thin and long hands were very beautiful, her palm was surprisingly rough and unsophisticated.

"I've felt this before but... Have you ever wielded a sword or a weapon before, Ms. Daphne?"

"Oh? How did you know that? Did you do a background check on me? Stalker!"

"D-damn it!"

"Haha, I'm just kidding. That's right. I used to be a bronze-class adventurer. However, I couldn't wield a sword anymore because I had seriously injured my shoulder. I've been recognized for my abilities, so I ended up working here like this."

"Aha..."

Is it similar to a military mutual aid association for disabled soldiers?

Learning that people who got injured while working as adventurers will be given other work opportunities like this is somehow surprising to me.

Anyway, I put my fingers on Daphne's wrist. Then, like last time, letters appeared in my mind, along with a tinkling sound.

[Stats] Name: Daphne

Level: 6

Condition: Indigestion>Excessive Sweating>

Ah... While looking at those letters, I thought they kind of reminded me of something. Last time, Daphne also had the word "Indigestion" but this was the first time I saw the excessive sweating condition, however. She must have gotten that disease somehow since the last time I checked her condition.

"Mr. Hassan, I have a question. What do you find out when you touch my wrist like this?"

"It's about sensing the pulse. It's just, how to say this? Think of it as reading the flowing karma through your body by sensing your pulse. Uh, can I press the palm of your hand?"

"Try it, then."

Anyways, I quietly grabbed the thick flesh between her thumb and index finger and pressed on it with some force using my thumb.

This is called the Hegu acupoint. Pressing it when you have an upset stomach will improve the blood circulation of the body. This method is super effective to help relieve digestion issues.

If it was only a palm massage then I think there was no need to worry about it being thought of as an illegal medical practice. I think I won't get subjected to a Stone Festival just for doing this.

Later, I should spare some time to find out what was qualified as a medical practice in this world.

Squeeze—

"Uh, uh, oh, it hurts!"

"I didn't press it that hard, but seeing that you feel so much pain, it must be because your blood circulation and energy flow are clogged up."

Squuuueeeeeze—

I kept pressing that part. Actually, it's better to stimulate this part as strongly as possible, even if it hurts. However, Daphne began to twist as if she could not bear it anymore.

"Ugh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh... I-it feels so weird! This is sexual harassment! Ahh... O, ouch!"

What the heck was this? This was such an unexpected reaction. So, I was taken by surprise and immediately dropped her hand.

Ding!

『Daphne's Indigestion has been healed.』 『Task points + 10』 『Current task points: +47』

"Burrrp-."

Daphne's pale face turned beet red as she began burping nonstop.

"What, what? What is this...?"

This was supposed to come out sooner, but what can I say? Life was truly lifing :devolving:.

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