༺ Samaritan of the Black Rock Mountain (1) ༻
The Holy Maiden sat down in her private quarters, to be exact, in front of us— on the sofa directly opposite ours. Then she crossed her legs, which stretched out of her dress as it had fallen to the side.
There was gracefulness in her movements as if she had a certain innate elegance— like a noblewoman. I wondered if Luna would give off the same vibe as her if she were to do the same kind of movements.
Of course, Luna would probably look cute rather than elegant.
“The reason I called you to my private quarters is simple. You men are the warriors of Mars, the greatest among all men, and I am the woman of Venus. So, the only reason for us to gather here is of course… that.”
“I see, Your Holiness. Even though I don’t have any experience, I will do my best to please you.”
Marco tried to untie the knot around his waist and remove his pants. I was bewildered, wondering what this motherfucker was trying to do right now.
Then I realized that this place was not just an ordinary temple but a place responsible for providing pleasure to others. Damn! So, that was why the Holy Maiden called us to this private quarter, huh…
Did her title actually refer to ‘Holy Maiden’ or ‘Sensual Woman?’ The shock that I received from the cultural differences left me speechless.1Both words are written the same but have different hanja.
Swoosh—
In response to Marco’s attempt to take off his pants, the Holy Maiden crossed her legs in the opposite direction and changed her sitting posture.
“You have a very big nose. According to the legends, men with big noses have great self-esteem. But I hope I never have to verify that.”
“I thought the same thing as well. Well, in any case, I don’t have any experience.”
Marco quickly lifted his pants back up and tied the knot. This punk was surprisingly quite quick-witted.
“Alright, the reason I called you all here is not for that other reason but for the temple of Venus. We have a favor to ask of you.”
“Are you saying you have a request?”
As I asked, I heard a chuckle followed by the sounds of the tinkling of bells.
Looking at the various paintings hanging on the wall, I could notice a small bell hanging around the necks of all those depictions, indicating that her neck was trembling quite a bit right now.
“Yes, you’re right. Adventurers from the Mars Guild used to help us with certain tasks. However, ever since the building collapsed due to the Pluto cultists’ attack, everyone seems to have gotten busy. So, the request from us, the temple of Venus, has been pushed down in priority, I suppose.”
I was somewhat aware of the close collaboration between the Venus Temple and the Mars Guild.
However, I didn’t come here expecting to receive a request, so it was quite bewildering to get assigned a quest directly by the head of the temple— the Holy Maiden herself.
“Samaritan— you who are famous enough to have songs about your adventures that have reached even our ears and your exclusive minstrel, with that level of fame, I believe we can trust you enough to entrust this quest to you. Of course, I won’t ask you to do it for free.”
Swoosh—
Tinkle—
The Holy Maiden seemed to have inclined her head toward us. I was afraid to catch even the slightest glimpse of her face, so I bowed my head further and tightly closed my eyes shut.
And then, after the presence leaned back, followed by the tinkling noises of her bell, a small scroll was placed on the table.
Marco was the first to react upon seeing it.
“O-Oh my, it’s a ticket to the Venus priestess’ ball, isn’t it?! This can’t be! Even the noble lords can’t obtain such an elusive item easily, a lot of them ended up disappointed!”
Judging from Marco’s reaction, even though I didn’t know what a ticket to the Venus priestess’ ball was, it seemed like a very valuable item. Seeing his reaction, the Holy Maiden chuckled lightly under her breath.
“Just as I expected from someone with a big nose like you. And for you Samaritan, brave warrior by his side, I will offer this.“
She finally extended a small glass bottle toward me.
It was a very small bottle.
To be precise, it was a transparent glass bottle slightly larger than a thumb— filled to the brim with red liquid that gently swirled inside.
At first glance, it reminded me of nail polish or tint. But it didn’t seem to be anything like cosmetics; it appeared to be something slightly different.
I cautiously accepted the glass bottle and examined it from every angle.
“What is this?”
“It’s a fragrance made by extracting oil from the beak and feathers of male thunder mandarin ducks. It’s not a counterfeit that you’d commonly find on the market, it’s a genuine item that’s hard to obtain unless you have a status similar to mine.”
Male Thunder Mandarin Duck perfume?
Why did she reward me with something like that? This Holy Maiden seemed to lack an understanding of what people truly desired. I preferred money over such perfumes.
So, in the brief moment when I was seriously contemplating how to express my desire for money instead, without risking my head getting blasted by her, the Holy Maiden spoke a few more words followed by the tinkling sounds of her bell.
“Thunder Mandarin Duck. These animals are the symbol of Lady Juno, the goddess of marriage and family. Thunder mandarin ducks form a lifelong bond with a single mate, becoming a hundred-year companion… Do you know that this fact is actually not true?”
“W-What…?”
“Most people don’t know this fact. But the male ducks are actually very promiscuous. They always pretend like they did nothing wrong despite mingling with multiple females.”
“…I see.”
I suddenly couldn’t understand what this woman was trying to tell me. What did this thunder mandarin duck fragrance and this story have to do with me?
As I pondered over these somewhat complicated thoughts, she continued.
“Samaritan, you probably have a lover, don’t you?”
“Uh, w-what, uh? What did you just say?”
“Judging by your surprised reaction, I am certain now. Those who have a lover are the only ones who reject the chance to see the most beautiful face in the world.”
“I-Is that so?”
“Because if you were to see my face and then look at your lover’s face, she would appear as unimpressive as a squid, and even a thousand years of love would cool down once that happened. Hassan of Samaria, you, too, must be committed to your lover, which is why you declined my favor, right?”
I didn’t know what better excuse I could come up with. If I were to say that I was staring at the reflection of her panties on the floor, wouldn’t that Holy Warrior from earlier pop out and twist my neck?
So, I just nodded my head in agreement.
“Yes, something like that.”
“Exactly. This is something I prepared for someone like you. The fragrance of the male thunder mandarin duck has an excellent effect in erasing the karma that sticks to your body after getting close to a woman. With this, you can confidently pursue affairs without the risk of being discovered by your lover.”
So, this was an item that would erase the scent of perfume from women that stuck to my body, allowing me to avoid suspicion from my significant other. Or something along those lines, I think… At least, that was how I interpreted it.
Damn! I don’t need something like this.
Still, just in case, I carefully put the bottle in the inside pocket of my leather top to prevent the glass bottle from shattering. I will try using it later.
In fact, I had been thinking about how to cover up the fact that I had been to the temple of Venus, which was filled with the smell of these women’s perfumes and oils, to Luna, who had a very sensitive nose for these things.
Even Luna, with her innocent nature, wouldn’t believe me if I said that I only went for a firsthand experience of the religious activities that transpired at the Venus Temple.
If I dared to piss off Luna, who recently had grown increasingly strong, she might just tear my throat apart in anger.
Anyway, shit! This thing might actually work out well.
“So, what exactly do you want us to do by giving us something so precious?”
I always felt that there was no such thing as free favor in this world. If I received expensive items as compensation, it definitely meant that I had to do something difficult and challenging in return.
So, I was concerned about receiving this item that the Holy Maiden emphasized as rare and precious.
The Holy Maiden chuckled, the jingling sounds of the bells around her neck following soon after.
“What I just gave you was simply a gift. The proper compensation for the favor will be given after the completion of the quest. Sorry for taking too long to explain things to you. So, this is what I want to ask of you….”
The Holy Maiden extended a glass vial filled with black liquid toward us. The expression on Marco’s face suddenly became tense.
“…Your Holiness, is this by any chance Black Spring Water?”
“That’s right. You seem to know a lot about it for being a mere free-spirited wanderer. It’s an item that you wouldn’t come across very often unless you were one of the priestesses of Venus.”
“Well, hmm, okay. That’s true. But that spring water…”
“It’s located on a mountain where the energy of Pluto flows rather strongly. It’s a grim valley where the energy of death flows with an ominous current. That mountain is high and treacherous. There have been rumors lately about the emergence of cultists in that area.”
Goo-o-o-o-o-o—
I surely felt a piercing gaze directed toward my lowered head. It was a sharp gaze that felt like it could bore holes into my skull.
Shit! I hoped my head wasn’t turning into stone right now. I was actually getting a little dull lately because I didn’t have to use my brain.
“If you’re the one who defeated the schizophrenic Schizo, Pluto’s Holy Warrior, then this shouldn’t be anything difficult for you, no matter how exaggerated the story got.”
Fuck! It was obvious that it would be a fucking hardcore difficulty-level job, so just as I was about to refuse—
Thrust—
I almost let out a scream as something round and shiny was thrust toward my face.
“The reward is one gold.”
Hassan, the beggar.
As I stared at the sparkling gold coin, five hundred pheasant meat seemed to be flying around in my head.
I’m finally stepping onto the golden path.
Cuckoo-cuckoo—
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“Brother, it seems like we’ve received an absurd request, didn’t we? Dealing with the Black Spring is usually a job for bronze-tiered adventurers about to be promoted to the silver tier.”
Marco and I left the Venus Temple soon after our conversation ended. By now, the sun was setting beautifully and dyeing the sky in its radiant golden hues. I couldn’t believe this— a gold coin.
“To put it bluntly, it’s a suicidal task. In that valley—”
Gold always had a way of stirring someone’s heart. Just looking at it made me slightly hungry.
Bite—
I put the gold coin I received into my mouth and bit it slightly. Perhaps because of its high purity, a mark was immediately left on the coin’s surface after I bit into it.
Damn it! It is really gold!
I felt so freakingly happy because of the first gold I had earned in this world. Did Luna feel the same with her first coin?
Just like how I already had so many things I could do with just thirty silvers.
With one gold, I could do a thousand more things. What should I start to do with this money?
Damn it! Since it was so sudden, I couldn’t think of anything other than being able to buy five hundred servings of pheasant meat right now.
“Hey, Marco. What can you do with a gold coin? If I give you this gold, what would you do?”
“With one gold, you can make people bark like dogs. Ar-ar-ar-ar-arf. With two, you can even make them hop on one leg.”
“Damn, that’s fucking amazing!”
Being able to control people at will? This small gold coin could easily be considered a powerful magic item imbued with an obedience enchantment!
Damn it! I’d been suffering for two years as a slave just to barely save up thirty silvers. And now, just after about a month of living as an adventurer, I’d gotten my first gold coin.
Perhaps this was the prime time of my life. When I thought about all the hardships I had to go through for the sake of getting this gold coin in my hand, I felt that I really deserved this coin.
I have to show it to Luna.
“Well, brother, let’s meet tomorrow morning at the western gate. Hehe, I can’t wait to be able to witness the new and exciting stories you’ll show me that can help me produce some new songs.”
“Fuck yeah!!”
After exchanging a friendly greeting of my own with Marco and parting ways, I trudged towards the cabin where Luna would be waiting for me.
After digging up all those medicinal herbs for 20 or 30 coopers to save money, I wondered what kind of expression Luna would make when she saw this sparkling gold coin.
Just imagining her expression was enough to empower my legs to keep moving on toward my destination even though I was feeling short of breath.
Creak—
And so, as I opened the door and entered—
On the first floor, I could see Luna’s pink backside as she sat on what looked like a blanket on the floor, grinding grain into tiny millstones.
“Luna, I’m back!”
“Hassan, I thought you were studying. You were not in the library either. Where did you go? I even went to the library to go home with you, Hassan.”
“Well, um, that’s…”
As I was trying to come up with an excuse in a panic to respond to her cold reaction, Luna stood up from her seat and approached me.
And then, she sniffed heavily as if picking up on a scent.
Of course, I had expected this.
I had already received the thunder mandarin duck fragrance from the Holy Maiden of Venus in anticipation of such a moment.
The fragrance was like a mysterious magic that would conceal the trace of other women on my body!
But it was in my pocket right now!!
Damn it! I just remembered that in my happiness in receiving gold for the very first time and eagerness to show it to Luna, I had completely forgotten to sprinkle the perfume on myself on the way!!!
I’m such a a fucking idiot!!!!
Sniff— Sniff—
“A rose scent. What is this smell? Where have you been…? I might recognize it if I smell it a little longer… I can also sense a hint of dove…”
…Damn it!!
As my mind turned blank from the tension of this awful situation, I thought that I should try something, anything to get out of this predicament.
So, just like when I faced the Holy Maiden at the temple of Venus earlier, I furrowed my brows excessively and lowered my head while covering my eyes.
“Ah, it’s blinding! Luna, you’re so dazzling that I can’t look at your face!”
“What are you suddenly talking about? Is something wrong, Hassan?”
“Ugh, Luna, your face is so dazzling that I can’t bring myself to look at it! What actually happened outside…!”
“R-Really? I did try applying a little bit of powder with Paranoy earlier. I thought it was light enough that no one would notice it. But you could still tell it was there, Hassan. Is there anything else that looks different?”
In response to Luna’s question, I blinked my uncertain eyes and stared at Luna’s face.
Now that I noticed it, there indeed seemed to be a faint blush on Luna’s face. But it didn’t stand out much since her complexion was naturally fair.
But more importantly, she asked if it looked different anywhere else or not. I panicked heavily as I heard that.
“Oh, did you cut your bangs…?”
“That’s right! Even Paranoy couldn’t tell, but as expected, Hassan, you recognize everything!”
Feeling touched that I noticed the change, Luna wrapped her hands around my waist and pulled me closer. I wondered just how strong Luna could be, considering her small stature.
Tight—!
Perhaps it was because of the recent accumulation of karma, but I felt more suffocated than I imagined by her embrace.
“But still, that’s beside the point. Hassan, you went to the temple of Venus, didn’t you!? How dare you…!”
“T-The request… the gold… argh…”
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