182nd time
Get out of our yard!
182 ? Get out of our yard! #2
Brightly shining street lights.
Convenience store lights.
Neon signs in the city center.
It already feels like a long time ago.
As far as I remember, the streets of Korea at night were quite bright.
And if you go to the downtown area, which is usually present in every large city, you can easily see quite a few people walking around even late at night.
However, the evenings on the savage and uncivilized continent of Gaia were neither bright nor noisy, and the only noise was in an inn with many drunken guests.
Waggle waggle-.
This evening, everyone seemed to have come out onto the streets. Even though it was late at night, the downtown area was bustling with people pouring out.
“Wow, Hassan! There are so many people!”
Luna, who had been leading me by the arm, raised her voice under her skullcap as she looked at the people squeezing into the streets.
“But it’s really creepy, isn’t it?”
At Luna’s words, I also took a quick look around.
There were a lot of people walking around the streets, but their faces were all covered with unique masks, which made me feel a little uneasy.
Suddenly, I felt like he was going to pull out a dagger from his bosom and commit robbery. It was only natural for those suspicious people to feel this way, especially since they were wearing masks.
Since the festival takes place late at night, the crime rate is also likely to be high.
Among the bustling crowd, pickpockets with their faces hidden behind masks might be waiting for an opportunity to steal, and you can’t even imagine what might be happening in that dark alley.
Bam, bang.
“You just touched my butt! Then pay up, you little shit!”
“Fuck, who touched a guy’s butt! Huh? Did you just hit him?”
“I didn’t hit you!”
“…okay.”
In fact, in the central street where people were chatting and talking noisily, there were occasional sounds of screaming, shouting, and the sound of fighting with things breaking and rolling around.
Clank, clank.
Of course, there were guards with their faces covered by helmets walking around busily in all directions, but they seemed to be having a hard time because they were woefully inadequate compared to the number of citizens pouring into the streets.
“Okay, okay, line up. Origen of the Minerva Guild will direct traffic.”
Is it the Minerva Guild that is in charge of hosting the festival?
There are also quite a few masked adventurers walking around. Their only identification is their colored and silver dog tags.
There are really so many people.
What would happen if we just swept it all away with something like a bulldozer?
I’ve always wanted to bulldoze over crowds of people at festivals or crowded places.
But I think it’s not just me who thinks like that, it’s something everyone has thought about at least once, so I guess it’s natural.
It’s my personal opinion, but everyone has thoughts of wanting to bulldoze other people. They just don’t act on them.
Sval, when there are so many people, all sorts of thoughts come to mind.
I distracted myself from imagining the big wheels of a bulldozer.
“Luna, hold on to my arm so you don’t lose it.”
“Hassan, look at that! The wizard is performing!”
Unlike me, who was worried that I might lose Luna in this large crowd, Luna was busy holding onto my arm and pulling it here and there, shouting as if everything around her was new.
As we followed Luna through the crowd, we saw a fire show in full swing among the people surrounded by ice, using something like a torch to blow fire out of their mouths.
Hururuk.
Hururuk.
Oh, is that the guy who breathed some fire?
A woman with her upper face covered like a masquerade mask opens her mouth wide and exclaims, then holds up a torch, the flames going out with a crackle, leaving behind a trail of soot.
Seeing that, everyone was surprised and started clapping. Soon, some people started throwing coins at their feet, and the situation was filled with a jingling sound.
It looks like a street performance troupe. When the festival starts, there are so many things to see that it’s a feast for the eyes.
“Hassan, look at that! It ate fire! Is it magic? It must be fire-eating magic!”
Luna slapped my arm as if she was startled, but I was too busy picking up the coins that had fallen to my feet.
Ping-ping-.
The coin I threw at the performers rolled to my feet.
I stomped on it with my foot without anyone noticing, then pretended to tie my shoelaces and retrieved them all.
I think I found 3 Coopers.
They do the show and I make the money. It’s easy to make money.
Is it because I’m wearing a mask? I feel like I do things I wouldn’t normally do out of shame, or things that go against my conscience.
“Hassan, you ate fire?”
But Luna kept talking, perhaps because she was upset that I didn’t respond to her. It seemed like she found it quite strange that a person could eat fire.
“Is it magic?”
“Well, I don’t know if it’s a trick or real magic.”
“…Hassan, what are you doing on the floor?”
“I’m picking up coins right now. This place is full of coins.”
“how much?”
“I already picked up 3 coppers.”
“Ugh… Let’s pick up some more.”
So Luna and I diligently picked up coins between people’s legs.
It was quite dangerous because I would often get my hands trampled by the crowd, but after picking them all up, I was able to earn about 10 coppers.
Picking up money from the floor may seem petty, but I wasn’t the only one who saw masked people picking up money from the floor.
But no one seemed to care, perhaps because they thought the money that had fallen on the floor was just trash. Was this also part of the festival?
“Hehehe, I can buy some corn with this!”
Seeing Luna happy as she looks at the coins jingling, I think that men really need to earn money.
So Luna and I headed to a street stall to buy snacks with the coins we picked up from people’s feet. But the line was so long that we couldn’t tell when it would be our turn.
Were there this many people in this city?
Is it just me or is it just that it seems a lot more crowded than the crowds that walk through the market during the day?
“Luna, don’t you think there are too many people?”
“It’s a festival! People from other cities must have come too!”
Indeed, Luna’s words had some truth to them.
Since it was a large festival that lasted several nights, it’s understandable that tourists from other cities would flock to enjoy the festival, as Luna said, as well as merchants who took advantage of the opportunity.
Luna is smarter than I thought.
While I was admiring Luna’s wisdom, Luna continued speaking in an eerie voice, as if exaggerated, under her mask.
“And, there are many non-humans mixed in at this Sodomora festival.”
“There are non-humans mixed in?”
“It is said that the dead who cannot cross the river of the underworld due to lack of wages pass through this city of Sodomora during this period. So, to prevent them from harming the living, they wear masks so that the living and the dead cannot be distinguished.”
Could this be considered the origin of this strange festival?
I remembered what I had read in a book in the library about the origins of this city of Sodomora.
I stopped reading after reading only the first chapter because it was full of long titles and boring content, such as the history of the city of Sodomora and so on.
According to the records written there, it seemed that deep underground in Sodomora, there flowed a river of the underworld called Acheron.
It is said that several wizards built a city on the river’s ferry to utilize the magical power emanating from there, and that it gradually developed into this large city.
Now that I think about it, isn’t that saying that there’s a huge water vein flowing under the city?
I don’t know much about things like feng shui, but it’s clear that having water veins flowing downwards is not good for people.
Sval, let alone a simple water vein, but a river of the afterlife.
This is so damn ominous.
I felt like I understood why the Pluto cultists, who I rarely encountered in the city of Calcata, continued to be active and rampant only in this city of Sodomora.
* * *
“Oh, it was fun. Wasn’t it?”
The festival is said to continue until dawn.
Luna and I quickly became tired, so we watched some street performances and then headed back to the cabin.
Luna was already quite exhausted, having worked all morning and afternoon. I was also a little tired, having had a tough training session with Hippolyte today.
Still, I was satisfied because I had a lot of delicious snacks and saw a lot of things. However, since it was a festival like this, I wondered if Luna would be okay with going home like this.
“It’s going to last for four days, so let’s go see it again tomorrow or the day after tomorrow!”
It seemed okay because the festival itself wasn’t just for one day, but rather continued for quite some time. It seemed like the real attractions and events would start tomorrow, the second day.
“I have to finish work early before dinner tomorrow. Or, should I go home today and finish my assignment for tomorrow?”
Luna, who had just come out of the festival, was trembling as she thought about what would happen the next day. Luna seemed to really like this noisy, boisterous, chaotic, and spooky festival.
“Was it fun?”
“Yeah, yeah! This is the first time it’s been this noisy at night!”
Indeed, when people wander around late at night, they sometimes feel a strange excitement. Isn’t the magic of a dark night with a moon risen a real thing?
Especially since Luna is the daughter of the great being who rules the night, isn’t the feeling even more unique?
I wish I could go for a night walk with Luna often. Of course, that would be impossible in this city with its security.
Anyway, we returned from the noisy city center to the slums of Seomun.
The slums were incredibly quiet, almost hard to believe given the bustle just a moment ago.
Occasionally, in a dark alley, a group of masked people would huddle together in groups of three or four, and I would have to place my hand on the club at my waist for no reason.
Sval, they all look like robbers, it makes me really nervous.
Just try to rush in and you’ll be all set.
While he was spreading his vicious murderous intent towards the surrounding children, Luna, who was eating corn on a stick, spoke.
“I couldn’t even go near the festival last year. This year, it’s fun because I can try out different things myself.”
“Didn’t you see the festival last year?”
“I was hungry, so I just slept at night and did nothing.”
“I see.”
Luna, who had just come up to the city, said that she had been living in poverty, practically without any money.
So, in order not to burn calories, he would just sleep at night or make a little money by spinning rope in the barn.
You probably wouldn’t have the luxury of enjoying a festival.
Of course, now I am a business girl with an expected income of 1 gold per month.
He was also the ruler of the yard who knew how to buy traps worth 10 silver to protect his territory. Who would have thought that Luna would be this successful when they first met?
It’s a really new feeling.
“Luna, you’ve done really well.”
“Right? Now I have land, a house, and a workshop. I think I’ve accomplished most of what I wanted to do. Now I need to work hard to earn money and lift the curse on Ideophee Island.”
Luna had a goal.
And I think a woman running towards her goal is pretty cool.
This girl, who was a head or two shorter than me, somehow seemed to be quite large.
In a world where there are many people who are desperate to survive by barely making a living each day, how can you endure to achieve your goal by digging up and eating grass roots?
Could I have done it? I don’t think I could. I probably would have collapsed in less than a year. Thinking about it that way, Luna seemed pretty great.
So, on the one hand, I felt like I was a bit insignificant.
I am a typical example of an adventurer who lives hand to mouth.
Of course, Luna didn’t look down on me or anything. But as a man, I couldn’t help feeling a sense of entitlement.
There’s more to consider when it comes to a relationship where the two of you don’t match up. More importantly, why am I even thinking like this?
At that moment, I realized that I was immersed in too many thoughts. I wondered if Luna was also concerned about these things.
So, I suddenly wondered what Luna usually thinks about. What does the head with the sparkling pink hair underneath that hard bone helmet usually think about?
“Luna, what are you thinking about now?”
“Are you not thinking about anything?”
“I see.”
Luna seemed to have no thoughts.
Was I just being too sensitive? The night and the dawn make people this sentimental. When I get home, I should just sleep.
“Keungkeung, nothing happened, right?”
Woof woof!
So, when we entered the house, we checked to see if anything had happened while we were away, took a quick shower, and lay down on the blanket.
Bang, popang-pop!
The fireworks exploding outside the window were quite noisy, but it was also quite charming to lie down with Luna and watch the sky dyed in the fireworks.
Luna also seemed to have some feelings about that.
“It’s really luxurious to enjoy the festival while lying down. Isn’t it?”
Luna’s words brought me back to my senses, trying to fall asleep.
“what?”
“I never thought I would be able to lie down like this and watch the fireworks this year. If I hadn’t met Hassan, I would have probably gone back to the land of Ideophee.”
“Is that so?”
“Since I met Hassan, I feel like I’ve been strangely lucky with money. I guess black is my lucky color. Is it because I’m a believer of the night?”
I honestly didn’t know anything about lucky colors or money luck. Luna used to believe in such superstitions.
So, while I was sleepily contemplating what to say, Luna snuggled into my arms and said,
“Let’s definitely watch the fireworks together next year too.”
“okay.”
I felt so good. At least until next year, I could be a part of Luna’s new life plan.
So, I was slowly trying to fall asleep, with the sound of the fireworks as my lullaby.
Swish.
Luna pulled herself out of my arms and sat up.
“Want to drink some water?”
“no.”
Luna shakes her head at my question.
“Someone has invaded our territory. But that doesn’t seem to be the case. I don’t know. What is it? What could it be?”
“What is that-.”
I was about to ask what that meant.
Kaching-!
The elaborate mechanism worked, and the sound of metal interlocking loudly echoed through the garden. It was the sound of Luna’s bear trap being activated.
I felt sleep slipping away in an instant and had no choice but to jump out of bed.
“Sval, is that a raccoon? Is a raccoon here?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know. I have a strange feeling- Is it because I’m feeling strange?”
Luna seemed to be unconscious, perhaps because she was sleepy. So I got up and walked towards the window.
“Let me take a look. Just wait.”
When I peeked through the window, there was a crowd of masked weirdos swarming into the yard garden.
“There’s a skull and crossbones on the sign. I guess this is Naruto this year!”
“Let’s go in, everyone! We have to cross the river this year!”
What the hell are you talking about? What are you talking about?
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