42nd time
Pluto’s black star
042 ? Pluto’s Black Star #1
I was quite flustered by the sudden attention focused on me.
It was because I had a slightly timid side that made my face flush and I felt extremely embarrassed when a mat was laid out like this.
“What, what am I?”
When I asked in confusion, Cassandra came towards me, stepping lightly on the mud. Then she put her hand on my shoulder and spoke to the people around her.
“Hassan of Samaria is the one who has received the grace of light more than anyone else here. His prayers may reach the silent high places of Hyphos.”
Cassandra’s words spread the commotion like spilled ink.
“That guy had grace?”
“The god of light is famous for not bestowing grace.”
“But there is no way that a priestess of the Delphi Temple of the Sun would lie….”
“Quiet.”
What instantly silenced the crowd, who were about to become noisy with their own different words, was a single quiet word from Hippolyte.
Hippolyta pushes her way through the crowd of adventurers, including the Sword Maidens, and stands face to face with me.
Sval, people in this world don’t know what personal space is and just close the distance between us like this, so sometimes I get really flustered.
“Can you do it?”
“That, that….”
How can you look someone straight in the eye like that?
As I looked down into those eyes, I remembered what had happened the day before at the spring and felt blood rushing to my lower body.
“If you succeed in this task, I will offer a promotion to Bronze Tier to Engineer Baltmar.”
Shit, a promotion?
“Let’s give it a try.”
Promotion to Bronze Tier!? At those words, fireworks and fanfares start to go off in my head.
I thought I would have to roll for another half a year to a year with Iron Tier, but things are going better than I thought, and it makes me feel a chill down my spine.
“Well then, try it. Say a prayer.”
So I ended up praying a strange prayer surrounded by adventurers.
Everyone was looking at me with a mixture of half anticipation, half interest, and half suspicion, and I was so nervous that my mouth was getting dry and my palms were getting wet.
“The prayer of the blessed Samaritan. I too am a little hopeful.”
Hippolyte urging me on. However, as I have mentioned before, I have almost no experience with religious activities.
Even if I were suddenly asked to pray, I wouldn’t know how to start. The only things that come to mind right away are the rituals and the bows that I performed four times a year. Shit, should I even do that?
“Hey, then, could you spread out the food here? Just unpack a few of the things you have.”
Hippolyte nods at my question. Soon, a group of girls appear here and there and reluctantly place the food in their packages in front of me.
I felt it was a bit odd to just leave the food on the wet ground, so I took out my crocodile skin and placed a handful of dried fruit, dried goods, and freshly caught crocodile meat on it.
If you call it a ceremonial table, you can call it a ceremonial table, but if my father, who is picky about formalities, saw this, he would have been angry and spit on it, because it was so haphazard and there was no suitable style.
My father was said to be the eldest son of a fairly large family, so he was always very passionate about these ancestral rites matters.
Anyway, I stood in front of the altar. I stood neatly in front of it and bowed twice toward the wet floor.
Twice? Since I’m a god, I have to do it three times? Shit, let’s do it one more time.
Iron Flute-.
“What are you doing?”
“I don’t know, me either. Let’s try the Samaritan way of praying.”
“It feels quite primitive.”
“That’s the ancient way.”
Among the bustling adventurers, Cassandra’s quiet voice stands out like an awl in a pocket.
“In ancient times, before the temple was completed, they say that they offered food and offerings like that and then prayed. Burning offerings and making burnt offerings was part of the daily life of ancient people.”
“Indeed, this is the old way.”
“So, let’s see what happens now.”
… … .
After bowing three times toward the simple offering table, I and the crowd surrounding me fell into an awkward silence.
All that could be heard was the fog surrounding me and the cries of birds somewhere.
Some time passed, but there was no sign of the fog clearing.
Well, that would be natural.
I, too, have been ignoring the fact that I have been feeling confident due to recent events, but I don’t believe in the god of this world and I don’t remember ever praying!
Shit, this is so frustrating. If nothing happens like this, won’t I get beaten up?
While I was worrying like that.
“Hassan of Samaria. Brother. How about offering some praise or praise?”
Cassandra spoke to me from behind, and I felt as if I had been lowered down a rope from a pit.
“Praise?”
“Yes, a brief praise is fine. Do as much as you can. You can also recite a spell. Like the Samaritan dialect.”
Praise God? But nothing comes to mind. I’m not the type to praise others with words. Hallelujah… Shit, religions are different.
All I could say was a ridiculous prayer or incantation like “Long Live Chaos” or something.
Shit, you have to lose to get what you want. It doesn’t cost money to get ripped off.
“Tae, long live the sun-!”
It was at that time that I shouted such a rather comical and awkward praise.
Deering-.
『You can borrow power by consuming 200 task points.』
Hassan’s current task number is 217.
“yes.”
“no.”
Oh my gosh! Something is appearing! And it’s a type of font I’ve never seen before. There are even two options, yes or no, that are appearing.
When I heard that I could borrow power by consuming task points, I felt a strange sense of hope and foreboding. But I had to spend 200 points. I couldn’t tell if that was too much or too little.
“Nothing happens?”
“I thought you were lying?”
However, I moved my hand, thinking that I could no longer hesitate in front of the people who were gradually giving me suspicious looks.
If I do well, I’ll reach the bronze tier. Damn, I’ll get promoted too! More money! A more comfortable life!
Deering-.
When I move my hand and press the “Yes” item, the letters disappear with a slight artificial noise, like pressing a mobile game button.
What on earth is going to happen now? – That moment when I was feeling slightly tense.
Whoosh-, bang-!
Something flew through the fog and brushed my face and stuck to the ground. At the same time, the fog that had been wetting the surroundings tore away in a short moment as if evaporating in all directions, revealing a bright sky.
What the hell is that flying in?
No, would it be correct to say that it flew in and hit me? The speed and weight were beyond imagination, so much so that I thought it was a meteor or missile that hit me.
In fact, the ground right next to me was quite hollowed out, as if something of considerable mass had crashed into it. And in the middle of it, burning and blazing, was-.
“arrow…?”
Who said it? I think it was Luna. As Luna said, it was an arrow.
Instead of feathers, the arrows are dazzling with sparks and golden light. It’s a very surreal scene.
But soon, with a “whoosh” sound, it disappeared into the air like a flame that had burned all the fuel.
“Wow, shit, the fog cleared in an instant!”
“It’s not just the fog. Look at the ground. The mud has completely dried up!”
“What!? What just happened! I didn’t see it! I heard a loud noise!”
The adventurers looked at each other’s faces and opened their mouths wide, chatting about the strange weather anomaly. Hippolyta, who was looking into the sunken floor, spoke.
“The food and leather that had been spread on the floor disappeared. It seems that the god of light took the offering. Instead, the floor there has caved in. And this heat-.”
Hippolyta knelt down where the arrow had come from and swept the floor with her palm.
The priestess, who was kneeling next to him and feeling the floor, also added a few words of response.
“No matter how many burnt offerings I offer, He remains silent. Who would have thought He would grant such a miracle all at once… . Ugh, ugh, ugh, ugh…”
Cassandra, who had been speaking nicely, suddenly starts shaking and convulsing.
“Eugh, ugh, huh, huh!”
What the heck? Are you having an epileptic seizure?
In this world where it’s easy to suffer from a mental illness or two, it’s not strange to suffer from a strange disease.
Even if she were a priestess who wore rather old-fashioned clothes and seemed to eat only good things.
“Priestess of Delphi. Why, why are you doing this? Why are you doing this!?”
However, it seems that Hippolyte was unable to remain calm when she was shaking as if she was very sick.
The guy grabbed Cassandra’s delicate shoulders and shook her back and forth, acting as if she was about to burst into bubbles.
“Wake up!”
“Th, ugh! Si, the oracle-!”
“A trust?”
“… The sun rose from under the earth and rose high above the earth for three days and three nights. It shone brightly on the high mountains and in the deep seas, so that there was no darkness on earth… But the sun went down again to the earth, destroying its light and its blazing crown by a long-standing covenant…”
* * *
It was several dozen minutes later that Cassandra regained consciousness after mumbling incomprehensible words and losing consciousness.
“Ugh, ugh-.”
A woman wakes up behind me, groaning as if she has a hangover. Soon, she realizes that she is being carried on the back of a dark man without any clue as to what is going on, and screams in surprise.
“What the heck is going on?”
“You lost consciousness so I had to carry you. Now that you’re awake, come down a bit. You’re heavy.”
It’s honestly quite uncomfortable, like having to carry an extra load after losing a game of rock-paper-scissors.
At first, I was secretly happy because I thought I could carry a woman who looked gentle. But after walking several kilometers carrying all my luggage under the scorching sun, I couldn’t be happy at all.
“Am I out of my mind…? Rather, I’m sorry for showing such a disgrace.”
Cassandra got off my back and shook her body once. Then she quietly spoke to me.
“Hassan of Samaria-. After this request is over, if you have time, I suggest you visit Delphi. It seems like the God of Light has some intention for you.”
“Delphi?”
Where is Delphi? People say that it is the city where the headquarters of the religious sect that believes in the sun god is located.
In this world without cars or buses, moving from city to city requires a lot of determination. It’s not for nothing that the words journey and expedition come into being.
“As a mere mortal, this is all I can tell you.”
Cassandra distanced herself from me after saying those words, so I couldn’t ask her anything else.
“Ugh, ugh, ugh-.”
At that moment, Luna stopped next to me and stopped walking.
“what’s the matter?”
“Oh, I think I sprained my ankle. There’s a rock there.”
This kid, who used to walk well even in the mud, is twisting his ankle on dry ground.
There were times when I was having so much fun riding a trampoline, or so-called bang bang, that it became difficult to walk when I came down to the ground.
It may be that the feet, accustomed to mud, were unable to adapt to dry land.
“Ah, it hurts-.”
“Hey, suck it. Look where it is. It doesn’t look like there’s any problem on the outside.”
Since my hands can cure even strange diseases, wouldn’t it be easy to cure something like a sprained ankle? So I first placed my hand on Luna’s wrist.
“Hey, my feet hurt, but why do my arms…?”
“Just stay still.”
Deering-.
『Luna Noxdotty Lv. 8
Status: Curse of Nox》Curse of Erebor》Mild Growing Pains》
Ankle sprains didn’t come to mind. Are there diseases that come to mind when you think of the condition and diseases that don’t? This is an area where more research on ability is needed.
“Should I rub it to make it feel better?”
Of course, even without the help of my skills, I know a basic massage technique that can help cure a sprained ankle.
I was about to reach out to Luna’s ankle as she sat there. Then Luna suddenly blocked my hand.
“Uh, it’s a little embarrassing to touch ankles in front of people….”
“ah-.”
Come to think of it, I guess the idea was that feet weren’t meant to be touched by just anyone. If I touched such a secret place with so many people around, the gossip would only get louder.
Sukdeok-Suguk rice cake-.
“The Samaritan prayer method is effective….”
“Put the food on the floor and lie down repeatedly… .”
Since the strange ritual incident earlier, people have been keeping their distance from me and whispering among themselves.
“What’s going on there?”
Hippolyta stopped and looked back, perhaps sensing something strange about the halt in her steps.
“Hey, what’s the problem?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
“We’re behind schedule. The fog has cleared and the ground is dry, so we should be able to proceed without any problems.”
And then they start walking again. There really is no such thing as a merciless march. Hippolyta, who is in the lead, walks at a pace that is almost like running, so it is quite difficult to keep up with her.
“Luna, what do you want to do? Should we just rest here and go?”
“Oh, no. That can’t be. I have to get promoted to Bronze Tier….”
And then Luna started limping again. She looked so pitiful that I asked her.
“Then should I carry you?”
“Is that okay? I’ll owe you something then, Hassan.”
Luna, as if she had been waiting for me to bend down, wrapped both arms around my neck and carried me up. The weight of the bag he was carrying was added to the weight, so it was quite heavy.
Maybe it was because my stamina had gotten stronger recently, but it didn’t feel that heavy. Luna didn’t eat well to begin with, so her body was thin and light.
Molkang-.
However, I felt something very warm and soft against the front of Luna’s back, which was constantly being pushed toward my back, perhaps because of the weight of her bag.
Also, the smooth and soft flesh is transmitted without any filter to the palm of my hand that holds Luna’s buttocks to lift her up.
“It’s not heavy, is it…?”
“No, it’s okay.”
“But it’s hot. I’ll blow some wind for you instead.”
Phew-. Phew- It’s quite special that the wind blows on the back of my neck. But, why on earth does my body get hotter?
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I’m holding my breath again… Ugh!!
