Pseudo Resident’s Illegal Stay in Another World
chapter-74

༺ The Descendant of Pluto (1) ༻

“She won’t be able to wake up for at least half a day, but it’s still better to put her on restraint, just in case.”

Still in shock over the words of Khalidur, we hurriedly moved the body sprawling on the ground.

Then, each of us took a thick rope and wooden stick out of our luggage, tied the Nymph’s thin body around with them, and hung her on the tree.

She looked quite pitiful as she was looking similar to the spitting image of a victim being dragged away by a cannibal tribe, but this woman was actually a terrible sorceress. So, we couldn’t let our guard down.

“W-We should also gag her mouth just in case she might cast a spell.”

Luna even picked up a small stick and stuck it inside the sorceress’s mouth, which was already forming bubbles.

Ding—

Some letters appeared in my mind when I checked the knot around her wrist to ensure that it was securely tied.

[Stats] Name: Paranoy Lv. 21

Condition: Unconscious 》 Curse of Slow Growth 》Loneliness 》Sugar Addiction

According to the information that appeared, Paranoy’s level was 21.

In other words, it was about twice as high as mine.

Hippolyte had said that someone’s level was not the absolute measurement of their abilities, but I was pretty sure I would, at the very least, have some difficulty in taking her down in a fight with this much discrepancy in levels.

“We’ve lost too much mana to the stompers. But you’re still pretty good at beating people. I heard that elf martial arts are similar to magic. It seems like that’s true.”

Renee said a few words as she sheathed her sword back in the scabbard. Hearing that compliment, Khalidur only patted his beard with a solemn expression on his face.

“It’s just one of the insignificant talents of this monk. There’s nothing to flaunt or boast about.”

Khalidur spoke quite modestly.

However, darting out like an arrow and accurately hitting someone’s nape looked like quite a sophisticated skill even to someone like me, an outsider when it came to martial arts. I almost thought this baldy was John Wick.

When I peeked at his information, there was a question mark beside his level status.

Perhaps, Khalidur was actually an extremely strong adventurer?

In other words, I couldn’t ignore my growing suspicions that this old man was deliberately playing around with us newbies by pretending to be a beginner.

Then again, he said he came from Alfheim to catch Elfriede. Elfriede was a powerful witch, in her own right, so it was fitting that the pursuer sent to capture her was likewise as strong as her if not stronger.

Thus, the request to catch the sorceress was quickly ended by the Khalidur’spolearm technique.

Reeeee—

The stompers we encountered on the way back were just shaking like motionless trees, but they did not attack or hinder us.

I wondered if it was because their control tower, Paranoy— the sorceress, had been caught by us or if there was another reason behind it. But I could only wonder about it because no one could ever tell me the answer.

After walking for about a quarter of a day, we returned to the office, and Joseph, the office director, welcomed us while drinking sap tea leisurely.

“You managed to capture her! The Queen of the Stompers! You don’t know how much suffering we have endured while considering revising the labor law because of this terrible nymph bitch enticing the trees to go on strike!”

“We’ll report this punk to the Mars Guild and imprison her.”

“All right, all right. This beaten-out nymph is honestly none of my business. Muahaha, fucking stompers, everything has come to an end. Now it’s time to work overtime without pay all week, you motherfuckers.”

The way he rubbed his palms in anticipation of what would happen in the future was no different from the way typical villains would do. Luna opened her mouth to speak to him.

“Do the stompers work?”

“Of course, they are excellent employees. They pull weeds day and night for no pay. As a reward, we take their useless lives and turn them into planks, beautiful houses, and furniture. That’s how we coexist.”

The concept of coexistence that Joseph, the lumberjack, had seemed very different and twisted from the norm. Should I say that I felt like I knew why the stompers in this lumber yard were so angry?

Honestly, though, it was none of my business.

“As expected, any problem will be quickly solved if you ask the adventurer guild! You guys did a great job! You will get paid by the guild! I’ll get all of you some extra wood, so take it if you need it.”

“Wood!”

Luna literally squealed in excitement at the mention of the word ‘Wood’. Well, we came to this lumber yard to earn money and buy wood cheaply in the first place, so her excitement was justified.

So we returned to Sodomora after receiving the limited amount of wood that the carriage we rode could carry.

* * *

From collecting the mushrooms to getting wood, my luggage became heavier than before I came to work for the quest. But my heart was so much at ease that I felt like I was floating unfettered above the clouds…

The commission reward this time was 40 silvers. If we divided it into quarters, each person would get about 10 silvers. Then the money I now had summed up to about 44 silvers, if I sold more mushrooms and several more things that I collected on this quest, it seemed like I would get nearly 50 silvers.

Wow. I had 50 silvers now? It was very exciting to have such a huge amount of money.

With that money, even if I couldn’t get a whole-body full-plate armor, I still could buy a breastplate with a wide range of iron plating, at least, right?

In this world, with no laws regulated about the possession of long swords, everyone had one hanging around their waist. The probability of being stabbed in the chest itself was quite significant. So, having armor that could reduce that probability was very important.

Above all that, there was a widespread perception among the masses that the adventurers who wore armor were highly skilled individuals, so they would definitely earn more money.

Getting achievements and collecting guild contributions would help me get promoted to the gold tier.

So, my progress was going very well. I felt satisfied with this situation for now.

“What should I make with these planks? A bed? A chair? A desk? No, no. Of course, I should make an amulet mask first.”

Luna was also delighted to see the wood she had obtained from our recent quest. Although we surprisingly still had a lot do, this could still be considered a success, right?

Anyway, as I was thinking about what I had obtained from the quest and the things I needed to get soon, I could already see the high walls of Sodomora.

“You cannot enter the gate after the sun has set. Show me your pass first.”

However, perhaps because the horse was unable to speed up due to the heavy luggage, the return schedule was delayed more than expected, and the gate on the west side of Sodomora was already tightly shut off.

“You must be kidding me.”

Renee got out of the wagon and began to argue with the guards.

“We should still have two hours until the gates close down? Why is it so early today?”

“Order of the Earl. The security was strengthened a couple of days ago when cultists from Pluto’s cult raided the gate. Didn’t you read the official letter yesterday?”

“Motherfucker, I was away from the city since the day before yesterday, how could I know about the official letter that came down yesterday then, huh?”

“Oh, come to think of it, that’s also true. But there’s nothing we, guards, can do, we just do what we’re told.”

The guard expressed the hardships and sorrows a civil servant like him must face. Even if we complained to him, the tightly closed rampart gate was unlikely to open today.

“This situation is almost going me crazy. Should we camp in front of the castle gate then? I really want to wash up.”

Renee poked her tongue inside her mouth while looking like she had a plan and was full of energy to cause some havoc. At that time, however, Khalidur, who had been muttering to himself for a while – I didn’t know whether he was casting a spell or muttering a prayer by himself – suddenly rose to his feet.

What was he going to do in this situation? Was this fucker going to hit the guard’s nape as he did to that nymph?

However, after the performance he showed us back in the cave, I couldn’t help but look forward to what he would do. Yet, Khalidur had a very normal conversation with the guard.

“We are carrying a cult priest inside our carriage. I think taking her inside as soon as possible would be the safest and wisest choice.”

Then, he even secretly slipped a round-shining silver coin to a guy who seemed to be the head of the guards.

“A cult priest?”

The eyes of those guards under their helmets became wide-opened at the mention of the “Cult Priest.”

Soon, they even checked the things inside our wagon, and these people began running around busily while murmuring among themselves.

We stared at them with a slight expectation on our faces that this situation could be resolved as we wanted. Soon, our wish came true. After someone shouted, ‘Open!’, the tightly closed rampart door was pulled up along the pulley.

Thanks to Khalidur’s proper judgment and timely intervention, we could avoid camping outside the castle today.

“It was a pleasant meeting. This monk is thinking of leaving for Kalkata city now.”

Khalidur planned to part ways with us without even mentioning the after-party to celebrate our success in the quest. I thought that he was trying to chase after Elfriede, who was probably in Kalkata right now.

So I asked him.

“What would you do after finding the fugitive elf?”

“That’s something I won’t know until then. But since she has committed a great crime, we probably will give her an equivalent punishment. With that—”

Khalidur only bowed his head toward us at the end of his sentence and disappeared in the distance at a rapid pace.

If we only looked at his gait alone, he looked like he was simply taking a relaxed stroll. Yet, his speed was so fast that it seemed like he was running. So, in no time, he had already disappeared among the crowd.

“He was such an amazing bald man. I think he also has very high skills. Why is he still at the bronze tier?”

I was unable to answer Luna’s question. Renee chimed in a few words while I was thinking of how to answer that question.

“Probably, he doesn’t feel the need to go up any further in the ranks. His name is Khalidur, right? I wonder who will win if he fights with Hippolyte.”

If Renee, who usually trained under the great warriorress, Hippolyte, even said the same thing as I had been thinking of in my mind, it seemed that Khalidur, who could overpower the sorceress, was indeed stronger than your average adventurer.

“Then I’ll take this sorceress to the guild. It’s too bothersome to have an after-party and I don’t want to get in the way and ruin your fun. So, enjoy.”

The party leader, Renee, took on the troublesome task of delivering the sorceress to the guild, so Luna and I had some free time for ourselves in the evening.

I wanted to sell the mushrooms and medicinal herbs in my hold, but it was already pretty late, so I thought all the stores would be closed by now.

So, I decided that I should first move all the luggage in the carriage to Luna’s cabin.

I gave the horseman an additional 50 coppers and asked him to pull up the carriage in front of the cabin so that we could move all the planks inside.

After putting in all the logs inside, the cabin that was initially already cramped now really had no room to step on. Was there even any space to put furniture in the first place?

I wasn’t sure what kind of blueprint Luna had drawn up in her mind. But honestly, this place would be packed after we put just one desk and one bed inside. So, I wondered how we could even put pots and a furnace in such a place.

“Luna, this place is indeed too small, isn’t it?”

“Hmm—”

Luna didn’t say anything in response. Perhaps she was troubled by my question. Soon, she opened her tiny lips as if she had gotten an idea and asked me back.

“Shall we make a second floor then?”

“A second floor? Can we do that without any permission first? Isn’t there any law that prohibits this or something like that?”

“Is there a law like that where you lived before, Hassan? There’s nothing like that here though. This is my land, so I can do whatever I want with it.”

Since there was nothing in the law against building a second story in the cabin, there was nothing better than a duplex to utilize space. We also had a lot of wood, so it seemed like we had enough materials to make the second floor.

“By the way, Luna, do you know even how to build a two-story building?”

“I absolutely know nothing about that! How about you, Hassan? Do you know something about it?”

“I don’t know either.”

“Uh, really? Then what should we do—”

After discussing what to do for the whole night, we decided to hire a dwarf called Benjamin through the guild the next day. He was a bronze-tier adventurer and an experienced carpenter.

“So, you want to make a second floor? I think you also already have all the materials. It probably will only take a day to finish. But it’s going to be quite expensive. I’ll commission 10 silvers to do this task.”

Damn, he wanted 10 silvers for the payment? Yet, while I was wondering why his labor costs were so high, Luna had already taken action.

“Here, 10 silvers!”

Luna handed over all the 10 silvers she received from the Lumber Yard quest to Benjamin, the carpenter.

I was often confused when it came to Luna. Sometimes she would do something like this… generously spending all her money as soon as she got hold of some, then there were times when she even went as far as to write her name on a copper coin to keep it safe. I was seriously unable to decide just who the real Luna was…

No, it seemed that it was my fault to judge Luna by my poor standards in the first place.

I had lived with my little sister for about 20 years, and every time I saw her, I always felt like she was a completely different person. So, of course, there would be many things that I didn’t know and understand about Luna, who I had just met recently.

“All right, now that I have gotten the 10 silvers in advance… I could definitely put some of your strength to use, Samaritan. Do you mind helping me? We’ll be done sooner that way.”

“I’ll help you, too!”

Therefore we helped Benjamin, the carpenter, expand the cabin to the second floor for the whole day.

* * * *

“I will also repair the first floor as a bonus service. If you pay an additional fee later, I’ll apply the surface with plaster too.”

Building supports, building walls, and building new roofs.

We had done a lot of construction today, but maybe because of Benjamin’s excellent skills, the cabin’s second floor was built in less than a day.

Damn it, there was a reason he asked for 10 silvers from us. Indeed you wouldn’t starve anywhere if you had such skills under your belt.

“Wow, this is really the second floor. I always wanted to live in a two-story house! Now we can put a bed and a drawer on the second floor!”

After checking the finished second floor, Luna was overjoyed and her mouth was wide open. When I brought the cleanly washed deer skin and laid it on the floor, the second floor felt quite cozy. So I was pretty satisfied with everything.

Having only the cabin’s first floor in this slum environment actually made me slightly uneasy.

Although the first floor had been heavily repaired, only a single wall separated the interior of the cabin and the street. Not only that, but the lock was also not of great quality, so anyone could break in anytime if they so wished.

However, if we set the bedroom on the second floor, even if an intruder broke inside, we would still have time to prepare ourselves because there was a gap before they went from the first floor and reached the second floor.

“There’s a window here, too! Wow, the view feels different when I look down from here. Now I have become the owner of a two-story house!”

Luna was looking outside while stretching her waist out of the window and peeking at the elevated view.

While standing behind her, from my point of view, I could see her protruding buttocks sticking out through the thin cloth of her skimpy attire. That sight was enough to make blood rush into my lower body. I thought that my sexual desire had gotten a bit too strong these days.

I was finding it increasingly harder to hold myself back after discovering how warm and soft Luna’s body was. On top of that, Luna’s reaction was always so cute.

But if I snuck behind her and touched her, even Luna would probably get angry, right?

Knock— Knock—

At that moment, someone knocked on the first floor’s door. The sudden knocking was rather surprising, and I quickly came back to my senses.

“What’s that? It seems like someone is here.”

“W-Who is it?”

Luna must have been shocked as well after hearing the sudden knock.

“Didn’t someone just knock on the door?”

I shut my mouth at Luna’s question and tried to sense the presence of any individual that might be downstairs. However, no signs or sounds were heard after the knocking on the wooden door.

Was that the wind we heard or what? While we were thinking about that—

Knock— Knock— Knock—

There was a knock on the cabin’s first-floor door again.

To be exact, there were three knocking sounds that were done in a rhythmical pattern. I even got some goosebumps when I heard the regular intervals of the sound.

It was already late in the evening, so it was natural to be nervous if someone knocked on the door when we were already getting ready to sleep.

“Someone must be there. Are you expecting anyone tonight?”

I thought Luna might have told someone else about her workshop when I wasn’t aware of it. Perhaps it was one of Luna’s acquaintances? But did Luna have an acquaintance in the first place?

“Visitor? I can’t think of anyone in particular. What’s happening here?”

But Luna shook her head and negated my words. It turned out that Luna didn’t have any friends either.

Then all I could think of was maybe Benjamin, the carpenter, might have left some of his tools and had returned to fetch them.

“What should we do, Hassan? Shall we open the door to see who’s here?”

“I’ll go down to check it.”

“Then let’s go down together!”

Thus, we went down to the first floor and stood in front of the door. Did this visitor feel our presence?

Knock— Knock— Knock—

Someone was knocking on the door again.

“Ahem, hmm, who’s is it this late at night?”

I yelled at whoever was outside of the cabin in the most threatening voice I’d ever used.

It was a kind of voice that if a part-timer spoke this way in his part-time job, someone would file a complaint against him immediately.

Of course, it was just a surface trick, like a cat threatening its enemy by puffing its fur, but my voice gave a sense of distance to express, “Get lost if you’re going to say useless things.”.

Then suddenly, I wondered if I was too scared, or if I was showing an excessive amount of anxiety for no particular reason.

“T-That was kinda scary, Hassan..”

I became more anxious because Luna somehow also started shaking while hiding behind me. I was now ready to draw my sword any time, so I asked again through the door.

“Who is it? I’m asking you one last time or else.”

Schizo.

At that time, an unexpected answer came from behind the door. Schizo? Who the hell was Schizo?

However, what should be said was that the voice was quite heavy as if it had been altered. It made me frown.

It’s me, Schizo. Comrade, is this the meeting place? You said it’s located in the slum, in a shabby wooden house around the corner, right? It’s such an excellent hiding place.

I turned to look at Luna’s face in response to the question that came from outside. Luna then shook her head as if she had never heard the voice before.

“You must have misunderstood something. This is not an appointment place for anything, so please go away now. I’m not your comrade.”

No way, I can feel the profound magical power of Tartarus from here. It is dark and ominous, like a primordial hell pit, akin to nighttime darkness.

Squeeze—

Luna held my sleeve tightly. I shouted loudly in a really angry voice because I thought Luna might get all freaky again.

“Hell, this is really not the place! If you don’t scram from this place quickly, I’ll show you the taste of my blade! This is just a family home, for fuck’s sake!”

That’s strange.

At the end of that remark, the man, who identified himself as Schizo, hid his traces far away with the sound of his heavy footsteps slowly receding into the distance.

A few minutes after, when we could no longer hear the sound of the heavy footsteps of the shady individual, I carefully unlocked the lock and opened the house door.

However, as usual, I could only see the back alleys, garbage rolling around, and the scene of rats running all over the place under the moonlight, but no human shape in sight.

What the hell? There were all kinds of fucking strange people in this world, huh?

Was it because the house was in the west slums? When we made a lot of money later, moving to a shopping complex in the south would be a good idea.

“No one’s here. I guess he probably only misunderstood this place as somewhere else.”

After searching around the house, I finally spoke to Luna with relief.

Luna, whose emerald-colored eyes were shaking in fear till now, also sighed in relief after hearing that.

“Whoo, I got scared for some reason. I would have been in trouble alone without you, Hassan.”

“It’s because this place is a slum, so the security is not good. We need to pay more attention to the locks and security. Or…”

I wanted to ask her something along the lines of, “Or should I live here with you?” but I couldn’t speak those words out loud. What if Luna refused? Because of this thought, I didn’t finish my sentence.

A man would dream about living with a cute girl at least once in their life. We could open our eyes together in the morning and close them together at night.

And, of course, when we were together in the same place, we could do many raunchy things too. I wanted to have sex with Luna again. Luna was really warm and soft when she was in my arms.

“Well, then, Hassan, you can sleep here today. It’s also already so late—”