༺ Nemea’s Cat (5) ༻
Damn it, I’ve never thought that I’d meet my demise by being bitten to death by filthy rats. Maybe I wasn’t cut out to be an adventurer after all.
This fucking damned world. Will I ever be able to go back to the earth where I lived? How will I even do it? Just when I seriously started contemplating these questions…
…
A gentle melody suddenly began flowing out from somewhere in a rhythmic flux and in that instant, as if the stop button of the rat swarm had been pressed, all of the menacing rats suddenly froze in their spots.
Slowly, the filthy vermins started backing up one by one, and then, they disappeared in some corner of this god-damned place in the same fashion that they had attacked us — in a swarm.
“… I thought I was going to get ransacked.”
I was only able to calm my rapidly beating heart after they all had hidden back somewhere in the shadows. Looking around, I could see Luna and Marco crouching on the ground, shuddering in fear, maybe waiting for their eventual demise.
“Oi, all the rats are gone, you guys can wake up now.”
Only then did Luna lift her head and look around.
“I-I thought I was going to die. I guess my heart-felt persuasion using my soul-speak ended up working on them.”
“I can’t believe we just got attacked by rats! Mint should be avoided at all costs from now on inside here. Whew, that was such a close call!”
“Is everyone okay? Make sure to check your bodies for any rat bites.”
The party got up at my words and we began checking each other’s bodies for any injuries and bites. Although our clothes were thoroughly ruined we didn’t seem to have been injured at least.
I don’t know why it happened, but I was very glad that it did. We were incredibly lucky that the rats had escaped, when they did, otherwise, this gloomy place would’ve turned into our graves.
. .
Then, I heard that gentle melody again and turned my head in its direction. It was probably a tune produced by a wind instrument.
Step- Step-
At the same time, I felt someone’s presence, approaching us. Soon, someone’s shadow was reflected by the light of my torch.
The first thing I could distinguish about the person was a dark gray-colored robe.
Underneath the robe, there laid pale white skin and thin lips that had a long instrument placed in between them. But, the most eye-catching thing about the unknown individual was the cleavage of her up-lifted chest area that was clearly visible from under the robe.
A woman? I got relieved for an instant, but, in the very next moment, quickly tensed up and prepared myself to unsheathe my sword again at a moment’s notice. No regular woman would casually wander the underground like this. She was definitely dangerous.
The woman, who had suddenly arrived before us, took the flute off her thin lips and uttered in slight incoherent speech.
“Fateful encounter. Thanks to Lord Mercury.”
Although a little inarticulate, the voice itself was very gentle and pure, matching the sound of the soothing melody she had produced from her flute.
I could feel the words laced with fatigue and dissatisfaction building inside of my throat disappear just by listening to her tranquil voice.
“A flute’s tune that controls rats! Y-You’re Hamelin, aren’t you?”
Instead of wondering what she was doing here, Marco opened his mouth and asked for her name instead. The gray-robed woman opened her thin lips and answered him with the same gentle tone.
“Such a nickname, have had. I’m Augeas, honored guardian shepherd of the…”
“Damn, I never thought I’d get the chance to meet the Hamelin! This is such a great honor! My name is Marco, Aksa Marco! I’ve lost count of the number of months I’ve been wandering this underground hellhole in search of you!”
Marco began babbling non-stop, at the woman in front of us, while foaming from his mouth like a cockroach that had just consumed boric acid.
Although he had been overwhelmed by the rats and nearly died a few moments ago, he got excited and heated up like nothing of the sort had ever taken place in the first place.
Seeing Marco’s great enthusiasm at meeting her, I became somewhat interested in this woman too…
“Hamelin the flutist! Can you tell me the secret of music that can charm rats!?”
“Divulge secret, I can not. I felt, familiar feeling.”
I could feel her gaze from under the robe be directed at me.
Flash-
At that moment, her bewitching red eyes, which were twinkling from under her dark robe, met mine, and a creepy feeling shot straight up my back. My knees momentarily lost all their strength and I nearly fell down. Damn it…
I’m not able to pinpoint what it was, but something was telling me I shouldn’t get involved with this woman. Only a few people in this world could make me feel like this. None of them was good news for me, however.
This woman too was probably one of them, meaning bad news for poor old Hassan.
Controlling rats with just a flute! I can’t imagine how such a thing could be possible unless you sold your soul to the devil.
“A familiar smell. Nemea’s friend. Aren’t you?”
My vigilance that had been raised lowered down a little at the mention of the name — Nemea. Because, I surmised that, the name of the witch that had tasked me with finding her cat was probably Nemea, the name the flute-bearing woman spoke of.
“Oh, y-yes. T-Thank you for saving us.”
“Amazing karma. But unripe, still. Two? No, three or more. Warrior of the gods. No, just a toy. Poor thing…”
The woman with the flute began mumbling incomprehensible words to herself. Soon, she clicked her tongue, turned back, and began walking. Then she said, without turning back to look at us who were very confused by her incomprehensible behavior.
“Follow me. Cat you’re looking for. I have.”
Then she continued walking away just like that. Whether we were overwhelmed by the situation or because of her weird atmosphere, we didn’t know, but we couldn’t take off our feet from the ground and just stared at each other blankly, not moving a single inch from our spots.
I was seriously thinking about what to do when Luna interrupted, voicing her unease about the matter.
“I-I have a bad feeling about this.”
“Sister, is this your opinion as a shaman?”
“No, that woman’s breasts are too big. They look so big despite being covered with a robe. She must be a monster disguised as a human. Exactly like that witch who commissioned us this task.”
“Damn it, you still haven’t given up on that.”
Even though I dismissed Luna for her incoherent logic, I too was unsure about whether it was safe to follow this woman or not, although for different reasons.
Well, that uncertainty didn’t stay for long. The dismal sounds of the rats beginning to squeak again along with a cold wind brushing along our napes made the decision easier for us to take. Soon, we all followed her simultaneously as if our backs had been pushed by some unknown force. Fear — should be an apt name for that, I guess.
* *
“Oi, can we really follow her, Marco?”
The woman showed no signs of stopping even after walking for so long.
I lost count of how many times we had circled this winding underpass, I can’t tell where we are even with the help of the map now. We were completely lost in this damned place.
I obviously couldn’t help but worry and asked Marco again.
“Oi, big nose, you seemed to know that girl, are you sure she’s reliable?”
“It would be hard for you to find a musician or a bard in Sodomora that doesn’t know her. Her story is somewhat of an urban legend or akin to a ghost story. I never thought we’d meet this way.”
Why are you talking about a legend when I’m asking you if she’s trustworthy or not?
“In any case, she’s a great musician!”
What can I say? It reminded me of how my sister, a fan of idols, ditched studying at night to attend a concert.
That day I had to uncaringly listen to the ramblings of that blabbering little cunt until I fell asleep from boredom and annoyance. Marco was acting just like my sister from back then.
He was acting crazy after meeting the idol he had always admired. There’s no way someone in this state can make a sound judgment.
“Unbelievable! How could that woman shapeshift into a human…”
It seems that once again I was the only sane person in this ragtag group of lunatics.
Even if all he did was just nagging, in a way, the old-fashioned Plato’s stories would at least be somewhat helpful, something these rascals were incapable of. I never thought I’d miss that decrepit old man.
“Nemea’s cat. It’s inside.”
The woman suddenly stopped, so we shut our mouths and stopped alongside her.
The flutist woman stopped at a dead end blocked by a cage, akin to an underground prison, and then slowly caressed the rusty iron bars with her slender fingers.
Sweep-
It was kind of weird to look at — the way she caressed the bars, was almost erotic. Wasn’t this sexual harassment?
“So, you’re saying the cat is inside? Are you sure?”
“Yes. Different from Nemea Erimantus. Always tell the truth. Sometimes truth more smelly than lies. Ugly.”
I have no clue what she was talking about but it seems Nemea’s cat was over there. I think I could even hear it if I attentively listened with my ears perked.
“There, go. Check it out yourself.”
The woman broke the lock with a bang. Even though the lock was rusty and corroded, still, breaking it with your bare hands… How incredibly strong!
“Anyway, let’s hurry up and get done with it. You said your name was Oygayas or something? In any case, thank you.”
“It’s Augeas. Hamelin enough, if find Augeas hard.”
“Well, let’s get to work then. Oi, let’s go.”
I felt impatient at the mere thought of elongating my stay with this freaky woman, so I quickly went through the gap in the cage’s frame.
“W-wait for me!”
“I’m coming too.”
I could feel the woman’s red eyes placed on my back, an unflinching gaze directed at me, until I finally disappeared around the corner.
She was looking at me with a gaze that felt like it could stab holes in me, did I do something wrong? Was she mad at me for calling her gay? 1He called her Ou-gay-us. Hence the reference.
Or maybe she was angry because I had cut her favorite rats in half back then? That’s all I can think of right now.
Not being subjected to her piercing gaze anymore, after turning around the corner, I finally let out a sigh of relief.
“Huh, wow, that was laborious.”
“L-Look there! It’s white fur!”
Then, Luna began screaming, in that high-pitched tone of hers, while pointing at something on the floor.
I looked at the ground while touching my nigh-deafened ears after Luna’s scream. There, I could see a few handfuls of long white hair lying on it.
“Sister, let me check.”
Suddenly, Marco knelt on his knees and picked up a few twigs. He then sniffed them and took out his tongue to lick and taste them. It was a pretty disgusting thing to witness.
“It’s cat fur. It must have been starving for a long time. It’s malnourished.”
“Hey, that’s very intriguing. Can you really tell that by just tasting it?”
“Cats are good for pain in the muscle joints, you can use their fur to make comfortable pillows or furniture to regulate the pain. Also, you can make good musical instruments out of their fur. She must have been cute when she was still among us — the living. Thank you kind beast, your final gift will not be forgotten. Ho, there are some strands here too. Hehe, it’s good that I had tasted the fur, now I can make a comfortable pillow out of them with this residual fur. I’ve struck gold!
I can say for sure.
This is hell.
Maybe I actually died a long time ago after falling into a manhole or being hit by a stray flying rock. That’s probably why I was in hell right now. There’s no way I could describe my current situation otherwise. I was about to lose everything if the cat is dead as Marco described.
Kareureuk.
As if to lift my mood, which was gradually falling into despair, and sweep the depressive thoughts away, the incoherent cries of some kind of animal resounded from deep inside the hallway.
Not only that I could also feel something trudging toward us with light steps on the wet murky floor of the hallway.
“Wow, it’s a cat! Look over there, Hassan! It’s a white-furred cat! It’s probably Whitey!”
Luna shouted excitedly and pointed at a spot in the dark, she seemed to have a rather good vision. Shortly after that, I could finally see a dazzling figure, boasting long white fur coming over. Definitely a cat…
A… big… cat.
“Brother, isn’t this cat a little too big? Am I dreaming?”
“D-Damn it!”
Kareureureug!
It was the size of a small-sized car, more akin to a lion or a leopard than an ordinary house cat.
Such a fierce beast running toward us made the blood run out of my face and I felt I wasn’t too far away from wetting my pants, then and there.
“Damn it, r-run away!”
“That would be for the best!”
“Hi-Hiik!”
“Oi, what are you doing Luna? We have to get the hell away from here.”
Luna froze like a rat in front of a cat. I had no choice but to forcefully grab her shoulders and shake her to make her come to her senses.
She just turned white and began trembling. Even after my relentless shaking, she still seemed out of it. Damn it, should I just abandon her? Just when I began thinking about it…
Swoop-
With the sound of something sharp cutting through the air, my body was flung into the air, hitting the floor in the next moment.
Crack- Clatter-
At the same time, the package I was holding exploded in all directions, scattering all kinds of junk and debris on the floor. Damn it, my 1 silver package!
“How dare this bastard ransack my belongings…”
I adjusted my posture while full of rage. In front of me, a giant cat, rather a damn lion, was growling at me with a mouth so wide open that I thought it was a cave entrance. The eerie darkness inside didn’t help much to dismiss those thoughts.
Kareureuk!
“I can do it!”
Damn, I can’t, these fangs were the size of my forearm.
Gyargh!
Nervously, The lion began stirring, with its claws, through the remains of my torn package as if searching for something.
Kyaargh!
Well, the sight of it turning around and scratching at the ground certainly didn’t look normal. It seems even animals suffered from mental deficiencies in this world.
Anyway, this lion bastard being busy was the perfect opportunity for us to escape without having to fight it.
“Oi, wake up! We have to get away!”
“W-WE can’t Hassan! We have to bring him with us!”
“Damn it, that’s right. How the fuck are we going to do that?”
Dealing with wild beasts was something I’d rather not do unless you gave me a K2 rifle with plenty of 30-round magazines. Only then could I do something about it by showering it with a continuous barrage of bullets.
“Oh man, damn it, we can’t deal with this! No human can, let’s just give up!”
“N-No! I think I know what’s wrong with it!”
Luna pointed at the floor with her finger while discouraging me from running away.
“It’s that grass! The insect repelling herb! It’s probably that! Cats go crazy about it!”
Luna pointed at the grass on the ground that had been removed from the underground-waterways exploration package. My eyebrows narrowed in lack of understanding of the matter at hand.
“As expected, sister has a way to get us out of this predicament! Hail the sister!!!”
“Hassan! I’ll try to burn the herbs, s-so, in the meantime, deal with the cat!”
Luna fearlessly began reaching out toward the place where this white wild beast was raging about. The lion in the form of a cat, then began nervously swinging its paws at her.
Kaak!
“Hiik-“
Kang-
I could hear the sharp sound of metals colliding along with Luna’s scream. I felt a sharp pain in my raised left arm and gritted my teeth in immense suffering.
“Fuck, I won’t last for long too! Argh-!”
I began to crumble under the onslaught of the claw attacks that would have surely severed my arm if not for my trusty 5 silvers armor.
At that very moment-
Ding-
[Stats] Name: Nemea’s Whitey
Level: 15
Condition: Dirofilaria immitis (Heartworm) 》 Diabetes 》 Asthma
Red spots began to appear on the slightly stained, white, and neat fur of the lion-cat.
Another chapter that was very fun to translate, I just can’t get enough of their antics lol. What do you think about Hamelin?
As most probably noticed she’s inspired by the flutist of Hamelin. A german urban legend about a musician who could lure rats away with his magic pipe. I remember watching a cartoon version of it when I was younger. Anyway, it’s kinda interesting lol. See you guys next time and don’t forget to review the novel if you have the time.
Footnotes:
1He called her Ou-gay-us. Hence the reference.
