126th
precursor
126 ? Prelude #3
“Carry the supplies!”
The next day, the site of the Mars Guild, which was almost completely restored, was in an uproar.
“When are the other priestesses coming? I want to hear their prayers before we set out!”
“That’s right! If this keeps up, I’ll die!”
This was because there were many people visiting the Mars Guild – or more precisely, the Temple of Struggle – due to the upcoming cult suppression war.
Luna and I did not come here today as a guild member, but rather to find the temple building to pray for victory in the war.
Among the countless crowds of people, Hippolyta, wearing red, long, flowing armor, was seen placing her sword on people’s shoulders as if she was baptizing them.
“I, Hippolyte, priestess of Mars, invoke the protection of the warrior god upon you, Thormus…!”
There was a long line of people waiting in front of Hippolyte, and just looking at it was quite frustrating.
“Hassan, let’s stand over there too!”
So I was thinking of just turning back, but Luna kept urging me to wait in line, so I had no choice but to wait at the back of the line.
I think that when you have a girlfriend, you’ll have a lot of experiences like waiting in line to find a good restaurant. I wonder if that feeling is similar to what I’m feeling now.
So is Hippolyte a good restaurant? I just made this up myself, but something feels strange and lewd, and Juji is moved.
But I thought it would be rude to think of another woman while next to Luna, so I turned my thoughts to Luna, who was looking around.
“But there are really a lot of people. Is this even effective?”
“It is a national rule that people going to war pray to the temple of Mars or the temple of Minerva.”
National rules. I almost laughed at the words coming out of Luna’s mouth. Luna often imitates the words I blurt out without thinking, feeling it strange.
From the beginning to the national rules, Luna is trying to absorb the stories of my homeland like a sponge. Of course, Luna thinks it’s a dialect or a local dialect of the Samaritan region.
“What effect does prayer have?”
“It is better to prepare for anything and go to war than to go into battle doing nothing!”
“Well, what the-.”
I immediately think about the punitive battle that will take place tomorrow.
war.
army.
What the fuck.
I say that my memories from when I lived on Earth are slowly wearing away.
However, if there is one memory from Earth that I will never forget until the moment I die, it would be the things I did in the military, like a gangster.
Gangwon-do, a land of cold and hot, ice and fire.
Honestly, even if I remember the events of that time, I don’t want to remember them. In a way, that place was like another world. Sipa. Where in Korea does it snow until May?
Anyway, after finishing his difficult military service and returning to school, he falls into this world one day and spends his youth as Elfriede’s slave.
Mobilization warrant.
Now I have to go to the military again.
Shit, war is bad.
But I am Hassan, a foreigner who is not even from this world.
They are even trying to conscript foreigners living in the city and use them in the punitive war that will be taking place tomorrow.
What is this shocking thing? Does this mean that the city is in such dire straits?
This time, I felt dizzy because I might experience a really naked battlefield.
It’s a whole other level of adventure than simply beating the heads off goblins or exploring dark mazes in an underground labyrinth.
Thinking back, I already feel so nervous that my mouth feels parched. The anxiety I had been ignoring was making my legs tremble unsteadily.
Luna mutters as she shakes her legs excitedly as if her luck is about to run away.
“I wish there had been a temple of Mars or Minerva in Ideopa. If they had prayed for protection before going to war, the men would have returned alive.”
“ah-.”
Come to think of it, Ideopa was said to have a significantly small number of men due to the constant wars between tribes. So it was said that the island was mostly made up of women, and that boys were considered precious.
Anyway, Luna showed her devotion by making self-defense talismans and totems from the night before she received the warrant until the morning, and now she was praying at the temple of war.
Compared to what I know, it felt like mothers who are passionate about their children’s education are trying everything they can think of before the college entrance exam.
Of course, I was anxious too and couldn’t stay still.
Shit, this is a savage, barbaric battlefield. It must be filled with soggy mud that you can’t even imagine.
When I was living in the city of Calcutta as a slave, I saw soldiers returning from a war with a nearby city.
They were all wrapped in bandages here and there, with body parts cut off. They were the ones who came back with faces that were exhausted from the battle they had won, so they were vivid in my memory.
As I was recalling those tired eyes I had seen back then, Luna started pounding my shoulder with her fist.
“Hassan, it’s our turn soon.”
When I came to my senses, the long line in front of us was now only a few teams long.
It feels awkward and strange to see Hippolyte’s face on such a public occasion, rather than during a regular mission or private meeting.
“Daughter of Temona – Velukamoni. May you be blessed with a burning spirit and the protection of victory!”
So the woman who had been kneeling in front of me got up from her seat, and I soon stood before Hippolyta, whose expression was clearly tired.
Hippolyte asks while wiping the sword she used in the ritual with a white cloth.
“A warrior who goes to war. What is your name?”
“This is Hassan from Samaria.”
“Hassan of Samaria, kneel here… Wait, Hassan, Hassan? No, Hassan!?”
Beep beep beep.
My ears were ringing at Hippolyte’s scream of surprise.
Mars, the god of strife, is said to occasionally let out a loud roar at his enemies, causing them to lose their will to fight. Hippolyta, who claims to be his daughter, also seems to be roaring loudly.
“Ahem, no… Hassan! Why on earth are you here?”
After a while, Hippolyte cleared her throat and asked in a quiet voice. The look of bewilderment was clearly written on her face.
“I’m going to war tomorrow.”
“Oh my god, you’re going to war. What kind of a guy without citizenship would go to war? Just leave him alone. You’re really going to die.”
The priestess of Mars, the god of strife, had been warning her to die before the war. I don’t really believe in superstitions or things like that, but something felt off.
“I don’t want to go either. The warrant has arrived. They say that if I refuse, I won’t be able to stay in the city.”
“Show me where it is.”
At Hippolyte’s words, I took out the letter that had flown in last night from my bosom.
The warrant came in two pages, one more than the first one I read.
The second chapter is written in a fairly elegant style, and it tells you when and where to gather and join the unit. Of course, there are other stories written besides that.
Let’s kill the cultists. The cultists are my enemies. Our Sodomora has been developing for decades. Some cultists have invaded Sodomora.
It seems that writing down the urgent reason why the heretics must be punished will be effective in boosting the morale of the participants.
Of course, what I looked at more closely was the main content written further down.
All conscripts will be granted citizenship and the right to participate in the National Assembly. – Enya Sardic.
Hippolyta returns the warrant to me, asking if I’ve read it all.
“Samaritan, I thought you didn’t care about things like citizenship.”
“… I wish I could receive it.”
They’re giving me citizenship.
I, Hassan of Samaria, am working as an adventurer, but since I am only a Bronze Tier player, there are few social systems I can utilize.
For example, I can’t use the bank right now, damn it.
Since they can’t open an account at a bank, they have no choice but to carry around heavy bags of silver coins that clank.
Or maybe I should just hide it somewhere that no one knows about. But if I hide the money, I’ll worry about someone stealing it, and I won’t be able to get anything done.
If things don’t work out, I’ll get scolded, saying, “Hey, you little punk, aren’t you doing your job properly?” and eventually, all these negative things will create a synergy and I’ll lose my job and eventually my money.
Sval, citizenship.
In addition to simple banking services, you will also gain the right to use medical facilities at slightly cheaper rates, or the ability to call the Coast Guard in case of emergency.
I never thought I would be able to obtain citizenship until I reached the Silver Tier. Perhaps participating in this expedition will be an opportunity to live a comfortable life.
Of course, that’s only if you survive the battlefield.
“I see why you came to fight. That fool Enya must have come up with a plan. Minerva’s great warriors only use tricks like this.”
“Hippolyte, please give protection to Hassan!”
“Huh, um, ah, I see. By any chance, Knoxdotty, are you going to join the fight too…?”
“No. Hippolyte, are you going to war?”
“I wanted to do that. I lost the lottery and ended up defending the city.”
Hippolyte doesn’t go to war. Morale suddenly drops dramatically.
Well, who would go to war if there weren’t any warriors like cannons firing Svalbard swords?
“Well, don’t worry too much. If the Count’s daughter goes out in person, Hassan, your chances of survival should increase a little.”
“Is that so?”
“But even so, there’s a 50% chance that you’ll die. They say that the mountain you’re targeting this time has the cult magician Anxious. He’s dangerous. A magician who’s got his hands on the magic of hell. How horrible.”
At the mention of the cult wizard Anxious, I remembered the day I snuck into the meeting place of the guys pretending to be Pluto’s cultist.
The four cultists who had settled there were Schizo, Somnia, Anxious, a wizard with a long staff, and the one called the captain.
Could it be that the magician Anxious is hiding in this mountain vegetable?
I also knew very well how powerful the wizards were. Elfriede, who had been my master and had been torturing me, was a magician.
“A powerful wizard is worth a battalion of trained soldiers. Anxious, even though he has fallen, was once an assistant professor at the Magic Tower. The more he touches forbidden knowledge, the more dangerous it becomes.”
“So, what should I do?”
“I should just die.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“Or else run away. Hassan. I, Hippolyte. I can cross your name off the list of fallen soldiers.”
You’re saying that they’re going to erase my name from the list of veterans? Is this some kind of high-ranking official’s backing chance that I’ve only heard of?
I wonder if there is a more true god of war than this.
A strategy to win without fighting! Hippolyte seems to be the daughter of Mars, the true god of war. Hippolyte has a magnificent chest.
I trembled with emotion as I thought of the broad chest beneath that sturdy-looking armor. So that’s why people talk about school ties and regional ties. It was a good thing I joined the Mars Guild.
“Thank you so much for your words, Lady Hippolyte.”
“But, there’s no way a hot-blooded Samaritan would run away from a battlefield. Is that what I’m saying?”
“…How about giving it a try?”
“Words that don’t make sense are just a pain in the mouth. Samaritan, your eyes are already filled with the desire for war. I’ll pretend that I never said anything about erasing you from the list. That was my slip of the tongue.”
“Yes, yes…?”
“I never knew you would have such a thirst for battle. You remind me of my father Mars. You have the eyes of a lion looking for a hot battlefield. The bloodshot eyes in your black eyes are really cool.”
I touched my face, wondering what kind of eyes I had. I couldn’t sleep last night because I stayed up all night preparing for war with Luna.
Hippolyte seemed to have mistaken that for something odd.
At that very moment, screams erupted from behind me.
“I paid the rent! Let’s hurry up and finish this!”
“There’s more to see here than just this! Rusty weapons need to be replaced, and armor needs to be put together!”
Perhaps because the conversation with Hippolyte was so long, the patience of the people waiting in the back row must have worn thin.
Hippolyta cleared her throat after coughing a few times.
“Hassan, I will ask for your protection as well. Joe, a special protection. It is a task that requires quite a bit of preparation, so please come back later in the evening.”
[Work Review]
The Hassan Iz Free Day event that took place from midnight to 6 PM on the 26th has ended…!! Hassan is no longer free…!!
Thanks to everyone’s interest, I, Geuldobi Michuri, was able to become number one on Tube for a very short time…!!!
The upper air… I’ve smelled it, so now Michuri is going back down to the basement…
Swoosh.
Hiooooo-!!!
