144th
Long-standing feud with Hassan
144 ? Hassan and the long-standing feud #2
At first I thought I was seeing things wrong.
There are quite a few elves on this continent of Gaia. For example, the tight-fisted monk Kalidur that I know is also an elf.
Not only him, but the elves are also interwoven throughout the society of the Gaia continent.
In fact, in a large city like Sodomora, it wasn’t that hard to find an elf while walking around the market. It wouldn’t be strange to find one or two elves in a tavern where people gather.
Unlike the nymphs of the continent, who are rare in number, the alien elves are cowardly and numerous.
Anyway, among so many elves, wouldn’t there be quite a few with white hair and red eyes?
I don’t think Elfriede is the only female elf with sharp cat-like eyes and arrogant lips.
“Oh, being popular is a problem, Elphie. It seems like our fame is starting to spread in Sodomora. Is it because my promotion here and there at the party venue was effective?”
But damn, it really was Elfriede.
Albino elves are special color-switching individuals among the alien fairies. Elfriede is a rare shiny Pokemon among elves! There can’t be more than two of them.
If we’re talking about Carp Kings, should we say that it’s like the incredibly rare Golden Carp King? Of course, Elfriede is closer to the ferocity of Gyarados than Carp King.
What the hell.
I never thought that Elfriede would appear in Sodomora, the comfortable place where I settled down, and in the inn I often frequent.
So I was frozen at the entrance, unable to bring myself to go inside the store.
What should I do? I want to just turn around and leave, but Luna looks at me with a puzzled expression.
“What are you doing? Let’s go in. I guess Malko isn’t here yet.”
“Oh, uh, yeah.”
But today, strangely, I couldn’t refuse Luna’s words.
Today, for some reason, I felt like I had to listen to everything Luna had to say and treat her especially well.
So, I was wondering what to do. Then I remembered that I had an extra towel in my waist pouch.
A long, rough cloth used for many purposes.
If you wrap that around your face, wouldn’t it create a turban similar to those worn by sandmen in the desert, hiding most of your face?
So I did that. Luckily, they still don’t seem to know about me.
“Hassan, why are you covering your head like that? Do you have a headache?”
But then suddenly Luna called my name and I was so startled that I almost jumped up like a cat that had been startled from behind.
It’s not enough to just cover your face.
The name Hassan is definitely a bad name. If my name were to reach that elf’s long ears, something terrible would surely happen that I could never imagine.
Fortunately, the female adventurers sitting at the central table were laughing and chatting amongst themselves and had no interest in me.
I quickly grabbed Luna’s waist and positioned myself in the corner, at an angle that would be out of sight from the center.
“If we sit here, Malko won’t be able to see us.”
“That guy is fine for now.”
“More than that, Hassan, why are you speaking so quietly?”
“… That, that. From now on, I might end up getting involved with the Thieves’ Guild. I’m also getting involved in the subjugation of the Thieves’ Guild. So, that, what is it… .”
“So, what Hassan means is that he’s preparing to quietly infiltrate or something?”
Luna opened her eyes wide and asked me back. Infiltration? I don’t know what infiltration is, but I decided to nod for now.
“Yeah, that’s something like that. It’s about hiding your identity.”
“Sigh… Infiltration… It seems kind of cool. That’s why you hide your face and speak quietly. Should I hide my face too…?”
Luna wore a helmet made of a cow skull hanging from a string on her back. It was quite strange to wear a helmet made of a beast skull.
This slum inn is filled with even more bizarrely dressed kids, so this one doesn’t really stand out. In fact, the cow skull looks more ordinary than the pink hair.
Anyway, I was glad that Luna understood, even though she misunderstood on her own.
I told Luna.
“That’s why. How about we change our names and call each other today?”
“name?”
“Yeah, what should I say… like a nickname…”
“You want me to make up a fake name? Like Diomedes and Odysseus who sneaked into Troy-!”
“What, what, who?”
“I also know the story of the Trojan War.”
I don’t know what it is, but it seems like there’s a lot of talk about stealth action in this world. What about the Trojan War?
Come to think of it, there was a huge war between this kingdom and another kingdom about 10 years ago. Are you talking about that time?
Anyway, the situation that Luna was misunderstanding was something that could be helpful to me.
“Yeah, we’re going to decide on a fake name.”
“A fake name. I wanted to try it once. Ugh… Then I’ll decide first. I, um, I…”
Luna muttered excitedly, deciding on her own nickname without even ordering a meal. After a while, she shouted softly.
“I suddenly can’t think of anything when I try to decide…!”
“Oh, I see.”
I was originally a person who had a hard time deciding on a nickname.
So, whenever I spent a long time deciding, I would always end up with a bunch of ‘This nickname is already taken’ messages, so I would just make up something random.
Luna also seems to be the type that takes a long time to decide on a nickname.
“Then should I decide?”
I said to Luna, who was thinking for a long time. In fact, what’s important now is not calling Luna’s name falsely, but rather that Luna doesn’t say my name is Hassan.
“Please give me a name?”
“Okay, I’ll decide.”
“That, that’s right… Giving them names. Something feels strange. Like they’re lovers…”
But Luna’s reaction was more embarrassing than expected, as she twisted her body. It was hard to see because her face was covered with a cowhide, but I think her face was also blushing.
Come to think of it, we give each other nicknames.
Aren’t I trying to do what popular couples do?
Thinking about it that way, I also felt very embarrassed.
“So, what’s my name?”
“Uh, um, what do you like?”
Shit, but when I suddenly thought about it, nothing came to mind. So I just blurted out the names that came to mind.
“Chikorita.”
“What is that?”
“There, there. It’s, cute. Soft and… .”
“Soft? Have you touched it? Is it a girl?”
“No, I haven’t touched it. It’s like an animal. Well, I don’t know how to explain it. Anyway, I like it, Chikorita.”
“Chikorita… .”
Luna seemed to be counting the number of Chikoritas, the nickname given to her, in her mouth. I hope she liked it. Honestly, what else would suit Luna better than Chikorita?
If you only look at the color, something like Yadoran is okay. But Yadoran is a bit much for a cute girl.
“Then try calling me by my nickname.”
Luna, who had been mulling over Chikorita for a while, spoke to me.
“Tch, Chikorita.”
But this is the first time I’ve realized that calling someone a nickname can be so embarrassing and cringe-worthy.
It didn’t feel like this when I called Elfriede Kanpro. Is it a difference in affection?
“Hmm-. I guess I should quit.”
But Luna seemed to lose interest quickly, as if she didn’t like the nickname given to her.
“why?”
“It seems like you’re calling someone else, not me.”
“That was the original pseudonym.”
“Still, I don’t like that. I wish Hassan would call me by my name.”
“Well, well, if that’s how you feel, then there’s nothing I can do about it.”
“Then, I’ll give Hassan a nickname! Since Hassan has black hair, how about Blackie?”
“No, I think that might be a bit much.”
“Then, since your skin is yellow, you’re a yellow dog?”
I’ve felt this way for a long time, but Luna’s naming was a bit intuitive. Wolf spiders bark so they’re called ‘Warp’. I’m black so I’m called ‘Blackie’. My skin is yellow so I’m called ‘Yellowie’.
So I ended up ordering the menu before I could even decide on a nickname, and the food arrived.
As always, a few pieces of meat floating in a muddy broth, and crusty bread to dip in the broth. A typical breakfast for 5 coppers.
Even while eating like that, my eyes keep looking towards the center of the table.
“San, where do you keep looking?”
San- seems to be a nickname Luna gave me. It’s just a half-cut version of my name, but I guess it’s enough of a camouflage.
But when I actually heard that unfamiliar name from Luna’s mouth, it felt a little strange because it really felt like Luna was calling someone else, and it felt like Luna was with another man.
If we can just get through this, let’s stop using nicknames.
Anyway, I pretended not to know anything and coughed. Luna turned around. The skull on the guy’s head made a rattling sound.
“That’s Delphina from Silver Tier. The girl with short hair.”
Luna also happened to spot the group I was looking at.
“Wow, a Silver Tier adventurer team. I heard that high-ranking adventurers are usually very stubborn and don’t stick together well. It’s amazing to see them like this. There are a lot of amazing people.”
I can almost see Luna’s eyes shining beneath her skull, probably surveying the people sitting at that table.
Delphina, with short blonde hair and a sharp sword.
And a female monk wearing blue robes, holding a stone staff and wearing a long crown on her head.
Another woman with pigtails wearing a red China dress with lots of side slits. Is this woman a fighter?
And finally, there’s the albino elf, with his long staff on his back and his very striking leather trousers.
It was surprising that Elfriede, who always reigned like a queen bee with a group of men, was throwing a party with only women.
They are all high-ranking adventurers, so they earn a lot of money and are well-groomed, which seems enough to attract attention and interest.
In fact, the guests filling the restaurant on the first floor of the inn are each glancing toward the table in the center and whispering among themselves.
Luna was no different.
“Hassan, look at that. It’s a white elf. This is my first time seeing a white elf.”
Luna seemed so surprised that she forgot to call me by my nickname. Well, Luna isn’t that meticulous that a hastily made setting would suddenly stick in her mouth.
“It’s pretty. The eyes are red. It looks like a rabbit. Rabbit tastes good.”
“Ahem, I see.”
“Did you know that? Female elves are naturally gifted with magical powers, so they are all excellent magicians.”
“Really? Anyway, let’s stop talking about elves.”
I had an ominous feeling that if we continued talking about elves like this, they would turn around and come closer.
“… A white elf. A white snake, a white toad, a white spider. White… Anyway, it’s said that white things are born with special powers. I wish I could get at least one hair.”
I felt a bit uncomfortable with the whole situation where Luna was interested in Elfriede. Is this exactly what it’s like for a current girlfriend to be interested in an ex-girlfriend?
I don’t know, I’ve never had a current girlfriend or an ex-girlfriend, sval!
When you’re so restless.
“Hey, boss-!”
Delphina at the central table raised one hand and called out to the innkeeper. Everyone sitting at the table watching their movements felt their eyes immediately drawn to her.
I’m curious too. Are you going to calculate and leave? Please do so.
That’s what it was.
The words that came out of the party leader Delphina’s mouth were completely different.
“Hey, that thing. That thing.”
Delphina lifted her finger and pointed to something like a nameplate in the corner of the store. A long wooden board with letters carved into it. Was there something like that in the store?
So when I was wondering, Delphina said.
“Is it true what it says there? This is a store that Hassan from Samaria frequents?”
What the heck?
I quickly turned my gaze to the nameplate, wondering what it meant.
I saw writing on it that said, “The food from our store’s nymph wings is very effective and helps to recover from fatigue, and is highly regarded as a favorite food of Hassan of Samaria.”
Shit, what is that? When did they make that?
The smiling innkeeper.
“Do you know Hassan of Samaria? He’s the rising star of adventure in Sodomora these days.”
“Is that so? That’s what they say, Elphi.”
Delphina opens her narrow eyes and looks at Elfriede in the corner. Elfriede is just sipping the water in her glass.
Delphina said.
“Tell me more.”
“It seems that strong adventurers are attracted to the rumors of strong adventurers. Good. No one knows that guy better than I do. Speaking of Hassan, they say he is so skilled that he can catch a lion with his bare hands and skin live crocodiles!”
“Huh-.”
“I heard that you achieved an extraordinary feat in this war by defeating the descendants of the Titans in a single-handed duel! Wow, I actually have a good eye for people. I knew that guy would become this famous. Isn’t it true that you have to eat and drink at our restaurant to exert so much strength?”
“I see. Then do you know anything about that man’s past? Where he was, what he did, and how he lived before coming to this city?”
“The past? The past. I don’t really talk about the past-.”
As the innkeeper stroked the beard growing on his chin, someone else eating in the corner said:
“They say he was a terrible murderer. He was banished from the Black Wilderness because he killed too many of his own kind!”
The other side also says something to that effect.
“I also heard that you participated in the Argo Expedition.”
“I also heard that you are the hidden disciple of Queiroz.”
So, when you and I were trying to take advantage of the opportunity to chat with high-ranking adventurers and make small connections,
widely-.
There was a sound of a glass being slammed on the table.
It was Elfriede.
She was left alone in the inn with a suddenly silent expression on her face.
“Puhhahahahaha-!”
Soon he opened his mouth wide and burst into laughter.
[Work Review]
As a side note, adventurers in the Gold Tier can have… up to n spouses…
I will lead it well… without any abandoned heroines…!!! Everyone, don’t worry!!!!!
