27th
The Nemean Cat
027 ?
As I came out of the store, the street was still brightly sunny.
I can’t see the time so I’m not sure, but judging by the tilt of the sun, it’s probably around 2pm. Or maybe not.
“May Mars bless you, my friend. And the little one too.”
The witch Nemea waves to Luna and me as we leave the shop. Then she closes the door and goes in without giving us a chance to respond.
It felt like I had put my hand in a lion’s mouth and escaped safely, so I was breathing a sigh of relief.
“Hassan, you can’t trust that woman.”
Luna, who had been quiet since being teased a lot by Nemea, opened her mouth for the first time in a long time.
Judging by her frown and pouty lips, it seems like she wasn’t very happy with her first meeting with the witch.
I asked.
“why?”
“That woman, she’s really suspicious. She’s not an ordinary person. She could definitely be a terrifying monster in disguise!”
Sval, what is this?
“Why do you think so?”
“Her chest is as big as a person’s head! Even in our Ideophee, there’s no one with chest that big. So she must be a bad person.”
I don’t know what algorithm they use to make a woman with big breasts = a bad guy, but I think it might be natural for Luna, who even shows a little bit of Asperger’s symptoms.
“Hey, but he’s the one giving us our money right now, so there’s no need to criticize him like that.”
Even though I was quite a distance away from the store, I was still scared that a witch might come in.
Since she calls herself a witch, it’s possible that she’s eavesdropping on our conversation through some strange sorcery I don’t know about.
“Anyway, I don’t have a good feeling. Can’t we just give up on this and do something else?”
“Hey, is the 2 silver commission your friend? Is it easy? You haven’t starved yet.”
“But… .”
“Are you just saying that because you don’t like that witch?”
“… .”
When I scolded Luna, she immediately shut her mouth.
There are so many things I want to say, but I can’t put them into words, so I can’t say them. Or maybe I’m just so upset that I don’t even want to say them.
My younger sister also tends to keep her mouth shut when she gets angry.
Like a turtle inside its shell, with its tongue hidden, it is like a wall. It is like a fortress that bounces off any words.
In my experience, it’s best to just leave them alone in this situation.
So I didn’t say anything else and just walked along in silence.
This situation is a bit uncomfortable, but I guess you have to raise them strongly so that they don’t get used to being coaxed and comforted and end up getting upset and whining at every little thing. That’s what it is.
Anyway, we had decided where we had to go. The witch said that the cat or something she had been raising would be in the underground sewer.
As for the underground passage, it was a place I was familiar with because I had been there when I was a slave. When I was saving money on lodging and sleeping outside, I had even tried to sleep in the damp underground passage.
Of course, it was the city of Calcata, but Sodomora or Calcata would have had roughly similar aqueducts.
It would be damp and smelly, full of lepers and vagrants in rags, with bleary eyes and sullen laughter. If you’re going to search such a place, you’d better be fully prepared.
“Hey, you said you’ve been in this city for a few months. Do you know of any general stores around here?”
“… .”
I tried to talk to Luna, thinking that maybe she had gotten over it by now, but she didn’t say anything and just glanced at me.
If she were my younger sister, I would have hit her on the head with a hammer. She’s annoying. It’s a little annoying. – When I start to feel a little embarrassed.
“I’m over there.”
Luna reluctantly opened her mouth in a crawling voice, as if she had read my discomfort.
*
Ruth’s General Store
The sign says so.
Just-.
As I opened the door, the high-hanging alarm bell rang and made a noise. The first thing I saw was the air covered in dust. And beyond that, all sorts of odds and ends were visible. Indeed, it felt like a general store.
If I were to find something to compare it to, it would be something similar to a hole-in-the-wall store or a stationery store in front of an elementary school that I would see once or twice in my neighborhood when I was very young.
“Who are you?”
A middle-aged man with thick muscles asked as he trudged out from inside the store. The necklace hanging around his neck was a square plate with a slightly blue tint.
This is the same rank badge of the Adventurer’s Guild.
I don’t know if he’s the store owner or a clerk, but is he also an adventurer?
Luna introduced me to a good place. A place like this can recommend items I would never have thought of.
“What do you need?”
“I’m going down the culvert. Can I see some torches and food?”
“Ah-. I see. It’s an underground waterway. I heard there are a lot of people heading there these days. That’s why I prepared it here.”
A middle-aged man of bronze tier handed me a heavy package the size of a military uniform. It was quite swollen and heavy, and seemed to contain various things.
“From torches to firewood, dry goods, water, bandages, herbs to repel bugs… Anyway, it has everything. There’s nothing unnecessary. I swear on the name of Mercury.”
“Can you loosen it up a bit?”
“You can try to open it, but when you put it back in, you have to do it yourself.”
“Then just a moment-.”
Wow! Wow!
The package he opened with the store owner’s permission contained, as he had said, various items that looked necessary.
In Calcutta, you can’t let your guard down because there are these rascals who sell packaged goods with stones in them, but it seems like there’s nothing like that in Sodomora.
“How much is it?”
I asked as I repackaged the package.
“Just give me 50 coppers.”
50 coppers? It’s more expensive than I thought.
“You think it’s expensive now, don’t you? But there’s a reason for the price. If you pay just 10 coppers more, I’ll buy you a raincoat.”
“Friendship?”
“Yeah, this Sodomora underground waterway is poorly managed, so water and murky water drip down from all directions. If you go in that outfit, you’ll get soaked. Especially the girl with the pink hair-”
The shop owner glances at Luna.
“You can’t go in there without shoes. If you buy sandals, I’ll sell the two raincoats and sandals together for 50 coppers, along with the bundle, for 1 silver.”
Shit, 1 silver? Is it true that the money I receive for this request is 2 silver, but 1 silver is being taken out as reserve funds?
I felt like I was being cheated and couldn’t do anything, when the store owner spoke as if he was driving a wedge in.
“Don’t regret it later, and listen to me. You guys are the Mars Guild, right? The only guild that accepts Samaritan is the Mars Guild. I’m from there too. That’s why I’m giving it to you cheaply. I usually raise the price by 10 coppers to other kids. Since we’re members of the same guild, I’m giving it to you cheaply.”
“hmm-.”
However, as I was hesitating and unable to make a decision, Luna spoke to me in a very small voice.
“Hassan, I don’t need sandals. I just like my feet bare.”
I don’t know if she’s saying this because she’s concerned about her finances or because she really likes being barefoot, but I agree that Luna needs sandals.
In any city, the sewers are not sanitary enough to allow people to walk around without shoes.
And since the feet can be called the second heart, you must take thorough care of their health.
“Ha-. 1 silver. Good.”
“Okay, that’s a good idea. And I don’t know why you’re going down there. If you find anything useful there, bring it to me. I’ll buy it for you.”
So I paid my hard-earned money of 1 silver and bought the Sodomora underground water exploration package, two sets of raincoats, and Luna’s sandals.
It was called a raincoat, but it was just a hood attached to something that was either a poncho or a giant umbrella.
Most clothes that cost less than a silver penny are of this type and are so shoddy that it is a luxury to complain.
“how is it?”
I put on a rag-made raincoat and asked Luna. Luna frowned slightly and said nonchalantly.
“You look like a murderer.”
What the fuck.
“Hassan, what do you think? It’s a bit long, but-. Don’t you think I look stupid?”
What is a little too small for me is long enough for Luna to reach her feet.
It was quite funny because she looked like a little child forcing herself into adult clothes. It was a shame that most of her usually exposed body was covered, but there was also something reassuring about it.
Well, Luna’s outfit has some parts that draw more attention than necessary. It’s easy to cause trouble or get involved in an incident, so it’s better to hide it appropriately.
“It just suits you. Do the shoes fit well?”
Even if you call them shoes, they are just sandals with laces attached to thick leather plates, but even if they are nothing more than that, the difference from bare feet is enormous.
Luna said, looking down at her feet.
“It’s a little stuffy, but I like it. But you didn’t have to buy it for me. Th, thank you, Hassan-.”
I felt quite taken aback by the words, “Thank you.”
Even though I’ve been living for half a century, I’m still not used to it, knowing what kind of expression to make when someone compliments me or expresses gratitude to me.
“Pay me back later.”
So, as I was saying that, I was feeling awkward and regaining my appetite.
“It’s cute. It reminds me of my younger days. My wife and I used to explore and survey all sorts of places together. Here, take this. It’s a groundwater map issued by the Sodomora government office. They sell it for 5 coppers, but I’ll give it to you as a service.”
Service? Damn, I never thought I’d live a day where I’d receive favors for free from others. This place is doing good business.
I need to memorize the store name.
*
“Look at this, Hassan! It’s a puddle! It’s comfortable because you have shoes.”
Scratch- Scratch-.
Luna was running around in the mud and standing water until her sandals, which she had just bought, were completely soaked. Seeing her running around like that, even with her long raincoat on, she was no different from other kids.
“Hey, then there’s no point in buying shoes.”
“Oh, really? Hassan, you’re smarter than you look.”
Is this a problem with intelligence? I feel like I’m being teased rather than praised.
Anyway, after running around like that for a while, Luna finally started walking quietly next to me.
It seemed as if she didn’t know what to do because she was so happy that she didn’t even remember the times she had been so upset after leaving the witch’s house.
My impression upon seeing it is that it is only a medical opinion that he is suffering from ADHD as well as Asperger’s. Could this also be cured by slapping him like Daphne?
So I was seriously contemplating whether or not I should slap Luna on the cheek, and if that happened, that scary Nox would pop out again.
“Look here, go here, Hassan-.”
Luna, who was walking briskly down the back alley, muttered quietly as if she was completely discouraged.
On the floor that the guy was looking down at, there was a round hole in the middle of the road, emitting dark, damp air.
According to the general store owner, there was an entrance here that led down to the underground sewer.
Woohoooooo-.
The strange sound of the wind coming from inside sounded like a deep underground wailing. If you listen closely, you can hear the real cries of animals or people screaming.
The cisterns in Calcutta were dirty, but they didn’t feel like this. Shit, do I really have to go in here?
Then Luna looks blankly down at the black hole and speaks softly.
“… Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.”
“What is that?”
“It’s an inscription written on Pluto’s underground ruins. It’s said that there were places connected to Pluto’s labyrinth through underground water since ancient times. Could this place be one of those places?”
After saying that, Luna takes a deep breath.
You act like you’ve stepped into the gates of hell when you’re just going down an underground sewer, and that makes me even more nervous.
“You said the cat’s name was Whitey, right? If I call it here, will it come out?”
“Hey, no matter how much I don’t want to go in there, isn’t that a bit far-fetched?”
“You never know. Whitey, Whitey, are you in there? If you are, answer me!”
Luna shouted into the room and listened, but there was no answer.
“This is strange. Why isn’t it coming out?”
“How can you come out when I call you like that? You’ll understand if I speak to you in cat language, you idiot.”
“Is that so? Heeeeeeeeeeeeeee!”
Shit, can I have a party?
[Work review] Previews, recommendations, coupons, comments!!!! I always receive them with gratitude..!!!!
