Pseudo Resident's Illegal Stay in Another World

→ 119 Sodomora, City of Pleasure, and the Goddess’ Holy Warrior (3) ←

There is a certain technique in wrestling called the Bear Hug.

Like a bear, the technique involves forcefully pulling the opponent in between your arms with all your strength, applying pressure to their side and waist to inflict intense pain.

Of course, since the person subjected to it won’t stand still, this technique is mainly used between individuals with a significant difference in physique or strength.

In other words, a huge Samaritan like me would usually be the one who was applying the Bear Hug technique, while the pathetic goblins would play the role of having their waists snapped in this passionate hugging technique.

Tightened—!

“Geeeek—!”

However, damn it all!! I was the one currently being subjected to this technique. I was no longer in the position of the ferocious Samaritan but rather a mere goblin-like creature at the moment!

As if the tight hug wasn’t enough to force all the air out of my lungs, the sharp blade-like ornaments all over the armor pierced my body here and there, and I had to taste the agony of being thrust into a medieval instrument of torture.

It was like a bladed flytrap that you could never escape from no matter how hard you tried.

Amidst this dreadful pain and torture, there was a strangely strong scent of roses.

“I-I’m going to die….”

The end of my life would be filled with roses— my death delivered to me in the arms of an unknown woman. Damn it! Some may call it a luxurious demise, but still, that wouldn’t be quite right.

As my vision began to blur slowly but surely due to the increasing pain—

“Stop it.”

Tap— Tap—

Tinkle— Tinkle—

A woman’s distinctive high-pitched voice echoed throughout the spacious temple, along with the resounding sound of high heels marching above the marble floor.

Perhaps her vocal range had been attuned to a special frequency as her voice alone remained remarkably clear even amidst the ensuing chaos.

The sound that followed soon after her words— is it perhaps the sounds of bells or chimes?

“That’s enough, Psyche.”

“Kreuhhh…”

The powerful grip that had been holding onto my waist loosened almost immediately. My vision which had been enveloped by darkness began to regain its light.

“Brother, are you alright?” Marco’s voice calling out to me grew louder and more frantic, allowing me to finally regain my senses.“

“Damn it!”

As strength returned to my body, I quickly stood up and adjusted my posture— ready to swing my club at any moment.

Who knows, maybe this Holy Warrior, wrapped in an armor of thorns and jagged blades, would change her mind and embrace me once more. Maybe she would even go mental and swing her mace at me like before.

However, unlike me, who had readied myself for such a situation, the pristine-white-armored Holy Warrior lowered her head like a reprimanded beast and staggered back a few steps.

The sound of high heels was gradually getting closer and closer and it was going in the direction of that woman.

Tap— Tap—

“It is the Holy Maiden.”

“Lady Venus’ champion has appeared personally. You’re lucky.”

As the sound drew closer, everyone around me kneeled and bowed their heads flat, even going so far as to grovel on the marble floor below.

Thud—

Not only that, Marco, standing beside me till now, even went as far as to lie down flat on the ground.

“Brother, what are you doing? Quickly, prostrate yourself and pay your respects! Never look at her face!”

He also didn’t forget to whisper that reminder to me. It was bewildering, but I wasn’t completely oblivious to what may be transpiring.

So, as the sound of the tapping of high heels grew nearer and nearer, I, too, chose to bow my head to the ground, joining in the act of reverence of the people surrounding me.

I could vaguely sense that the highest-ranking personage of the temple had just arrived. Whether in this world or the previous one, those in positions of power enjoyed having others lower their heads in deference.

Anyway, as I kneeled on the ground with my forehead pressed firmly against the floor—

Tap—

The sound of high heels approaching somewhere near me ceased, and once again, a chilling, prickly-cold voice echoed in the air.

“Holy Warrior Psyche, why did you act so recklessly? As a faithful servant of Lady Venus, it’s your duty to maintain your dignity.”

“Huuhhh…”

“You thought this man was a devotee of Pluto? Huh, as if that would be possible. This is the temple of love. How could a devotee of the god of the underworld, who knows nothing about love, enter this place?”

“Huuhhh…”

“But as it turns out, he was your lover? Huhu. As if that would be possible! That’s even more impossible. Your lover died a long time ago. He was imprisoned in Tartarus, in the depths of Pluto’s labyrinth. He no longer exists in this world.”

“Kreuhhh!”

“W-What did you say!? H-How dare you speak such impudent words to me! Psyche! I’m the representative of Lady Venus on these lands above! No one can speak to me in such a manner!”

What the hell was up with this bizarre conversation?

I wondered whether they were actually communicating with each other or if they were just putting on a play to tease and give me a hard time.

But since I didn’t have the courage to lift my head and look at these two women, I simply listened quietly with my head down.

Or, to be more precise, I just kept staring at the floor without thinking of anything else.

I could see a pair of high-heeled shoes of light pink hue along with an airy dress, with the same color scheme as the shoes, being reflected on the polished marbled floor— shimmering and reflecting the objects in the surroundings. Moreover, beneath the fluffy dress, I was able to catch a glimpse of the white calves peeking out…

And as I continued to trace the line along those white calves, I couldn’t help but notice the unexpectedly provocative black lingerie hidden deep within the dress.

Holy hell! Was this real? Was this really happening right now?

Various thoughts swirled and churned inside my mind, but I was soon startled by a booming voice, almost like an absolute command that couldn’t be questioned.

“Psyche! I command you in the name of Lady Venus! Return to your chamber immediately!”

“Kreuhhh!”

“Hurry! If you dare to defy me again, I will increase the weight of your armor! I’ll make you crawl on all fours!!”

“Hu, huuhhh…”

“Yes, a woman who crawls on all fours like the dragon teeth warrior, Spartoi, in front of people. Even with your short hair, don’t you think it’s going to be quite the ugly and repulsive sight?”

With that, the bizarre conversation came to an end. Then the clank-clang sounds of clashing metal gradually faded away into the distance.

Perhaps that Holy Warrior, Psyche, listened to the words of that strange woman in pink-colored high heels and returned to her chamber?

It was somewhat silly to judge someone’s mood based on the sound of their footsteps, but I could sense a certain lack of energy and a feeling of defeat being emanated from Psyche’s steps.

In any case, the disappearance of the thorny-armored figure was something I welcomed with open arms.

Of course, it didn’t mean that everything was resolved, but…

“Huft, I was enjoying a long overdue break. What is actually happening here? You, the one with black hair. You’re not a follower of Pluto, as the Holy Warrior claimed, right?”

Even though there were no eyes on the back of my head, I could clearly feel her chilling gaze directed at me. So I kept my eyes fixed on the floor and desperately tried to respond.

Perhaps this woman here was powerful enough to bring people to their knees and submit to her with her strength alone. If I made a mistake here or seemed disrespectful, it could spell endless trouble!

“What do you mean? A follower of Pluto? It’s ridiculous. Pluto, you fucking bastard!”

“…Ahem, even so, it’s quite audacious to utter such words towards one of the three principal gods. I must say, you are truly a brave warrior. Anyway, a black-haired Samaritan, huh… Could it be that you’re Hassan, the one that recently became the talk of the city?”

“W-Well, if you’re referring to Hassan from the Mars Guild, then yes, it’s me.”

“Oh my, you’ve made quite a huge contribution by capturing the cultists. To suspect someone like you of being a follower of Pluto was a great offense on my part and the Holy Warrior’s.”

Tap—

The sound of high heels echoed far more loudly than before in my ears. The woman was now standing right in front of me, her dress lightly brushing against my head, causing a tickling sensation to course through my skin.

However, my gaze remained fixed on the floor even in such a situation. Up close, I noticed that her lingerie was not only black but also adorned with daring laces!

“Brave warrior from the foreign lands… As a gesture of reward and my apology, I grant you permission to look at my face. You may raise your head.”

“Y-Yesh?”

Permission to see her face? I wondered just what kind of reward and apology that may be…

“Oh my, he is allowed to see the face of the Holy Maiden.”

“I envy you, you barbarian. Just by seeing her face, you can masturbate for three days.”

“Take a good whiff… The air that the Holy Maiden breathes out. Ahh….”

As people’s reactions began to subtly intensify further and further, I couldn’t help but feel puzzled by everything. I couldn’t believe this— being able to masturbate just by seeing someone’s face… Was she some kind of porn actress? What was going on here?

Then, a voice came from above my head.

“Don’t be embarrassed, feel proud instead. I am the representative of Lady Venus, the leader of the Three Graces. My beauty is unmatched among her creations, and you have the opportunity to witness it with your own eyes…!”

“I-I see.”

However, I still couldn’t muster the courage to raise my head and look directly at her face. My eyes continued to stare at the floor just as before.

The floor surprisingly revealed many things that I shouldn’t be privy to.

“It seems like you don’t dare to lift your head at all. Hm, you refuse to do so despite having such an opportunity. This brave warrior is really more shy than I thought. Fine then…”

Just as this woman, the Holy Maiden, was about to continue speaking, a commotion erupted from my surroundings. I thought I could hear the sound of something crumbling and collapsing. Someone among the crowd screamed, urging everyone to leave the temple.

“W-Wegge? Fuck, Wegge has turned into a stone! Damn it, he’s been completely petrified!!”

“You idiot! It’s because he dared to look at the Holy Maiden’s face without her permission! Everyone, close your eyes if you don’t want to turn into stone!”

Someone had just turned into stone? The horrifying words caused my schlong, which had gotten slightly bigger already, to return to its previous flaccid state.

My schlong knew about the curse that could transform a person’s body into stone very well— perhaps more than anyone else.

Wasn’t it like Medusa’s Curse, that forced me into servitude as Elfriede’s slave for all those years? The woman could cast such a powerful curse just by someone looking at her face! Shit, it was so fucking terrifying!

That was why… I couldn’t muster the courage – to raise my head and look at her face – even more than before.

“Looks like the temple was predestined to be chaotic today. The petrified person can be cured by purchasing the Holy Water from our Venus Temple. It’s only 2 golds per bottle.”

Two golds?

People had to buy the Holy Water, with a cost of two golds, to cure the curse?

Two golds. That was 200 silvers, and 200 silvers were equivalent to 20,000 coppers. It was a huge amount of money that was enough to buy a thousand servings of pheasants, worth 20 coppers per serving, that Luna loved to eat so much!

In my mind, I imagined thousands of pheasants fluttering around in front of me, creating a magnificent sight as their wings filled the skies above. Two golds were a large sum of money that could fill the entire sky for someone like me. Shit, just because they looked at someone’s face, two golds would vanish from their coffers!!

Lost in a dizzying bout of shock and bewilderment, I suddenly heard a voice from above my head again.

“You. Hassan of Samaria. I shall escort you to my private quarters. I will meet you there.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The temple of the goddess of love and beauty— Venus.

Inside, there was an annex resembling a small indoor garden.

From red to yellow, rose petals of unfamiliar colors adorned the surroundings of the garden, while colorful butterflies and white doves fluttered busily above them.

Coo-roo—

Coo-coo-roo-roo—

It was a beautiful place, but at the same time, it felt positively overwhelming— as if my mind would be swept away at any moment now. Hot damn! There were so many doves here.

A couple of them perched on my shoulder and head, seemingly unafraid of humans.

Coo-coo-roo-coo—

Peep-peep—

D-Damn it, these damn pigeons! Were they actually pigeons or parrots?

While I doubted whether these fucking creatures were indeed pigeons or not, Marco suddenly spoke in a solemn voice.

“Brother, are we really being invited to the Holy Maiden’s private quarters? I can’t tell whether this is a dream or reality.”

Sitting beside me on the sofa, Marco seemed bewildered by the current situation. He was like a new recruit of the army who had gotten a leave from his services, eagerly observing the world around him.

I then asked him.

“Hey, is Khalidur okay?”

The bald-headed elf— Khalidur had fought the monstrous Holy Warrior to protect me and ended up losing his conscience due to the grave injury he had gotten on his leg.

Given the extent of his wounds, I worried whether they could be treated in this world where medical technology was extremely underdeveloped.

“That brother has been taken to the Venus Temple’s priestesses to get treatment, so he should be fine. Brother, instead of worrying about that, why don’t you take a look at those paintings?”

I turned my gaze to the wall as Marco pointed. There, the walls were covered by strangely shaped paintings, lined up in a rather peculiar manner.

“Damn, just what the hell is that!?”

The paintings were bizarre and seemed to have sprung up from a strange joke. They really didn’t fit with the beauty of the architecture of this place.

In the frames, there were only depictions of a woman wearing an all-pink dress. However, most of the paintings lacked any depiction of a head or face.

Was this some kind of surrealistic art from another world?

Each painting was so eerie, filled with headless figures and egg-headed ghosts, that they sent shivers down my spine. Were those paintings made by some deranged artist? Just what the hell were those?

As I pondered with curiosity, furrowing my brows at the eldritch impressions of a woman in a pink dress, Marco glanced around to make sure that no one else was present and once confirmed— quietly whispered to me in a hushed tone.

“I heard a rumor that Venus’ Holy Maiden calls upon painters to depict her image as a hobby. But it is said that there was not a single artist skilled enough to paint her face.”

“Because they would turn into stone if they saw her face?”

“No, it’s simply because there were no artists capable enough to capture the beauty of the Holy Maiden. It is said that there are more artists who have broken their brushes and musicians who have smashed their instruments because of her otherworldly beauty than an entire battalion!”

Damn, to that extent? I became slightly intrigued by how beautiful she must be for people to make such a great fuss about her.

If I had known, I wouldn’t have looked at the reflection of her panties on the floor earlier. Instead, I should have looked at her face.

No, women were most beautiful when they held a sense of mystery in the first place. My choice was truly the right one.

Anyway…

“Well, how beautiful must she be for everyone to make so much fuss about her like that?”

“To the point where she claims to be the representative of Venus, the leader of the Three Graces, of these lands. But there must be a reason why she doesn’t listen to any criticism.”

“Hmm.”

“To be honest, I don’t know either. But they say that the Young Lady who received affection from Lady Minerva has an exceptional beauty comparable to the Holy Maiden!”

I had also heard of the mentioned ‘Young Lady’ before.

She was said to be the only daughter of a count who held the position of chairperson in the city council and was revered for his immense power in Sodomora.

She was rumored to be favored by the goddess of wisdom, Minerva, because of her beauty and intelligence… so much so that there was no one in Sodomora, nay, this whole kingdom, who didn’t know about her.

Because of this, people from this world would often praise a beautiful woman by saying, “She’s as beautiful as the Young Lady!” as a compliment.

Of course, since I had never met her before, I couldn’t know how noble and beautiful her face looked. But she was the person who gifted me the club and even gave it a name, so she must be a kind person.

When the heart was kind, the face would often appear more beautiful than it actually was. So, I believed that people might be exaggerating and praising her excessively. People from this world generally didn’t feel a guilty conscience about inflating lies, after all.

Just like how a large cat could become a lion in my case.

Anyway, while Marco and I were engrossed in our conversation full of tension—

Tap— Tap—

The sound of high heels started to echo from the distance.

Tinkle— Tinkle—

Accompanied by the sound of what felt like a bell that would usually hang from a cat’s neck. Marco and I instinctively lowered our heads as if that sound was an agreed-upon signal for this action.

Now I finally understood why she walked in high heels and why there was a bell attached to her neck.

It was indeed similar to the bell hanging from a cat’s neck— she was a freaking moving AOE curse. There was no other ultimate spell deadlier than this.

“Have you been waiting? I called you to my private quarters for a reason. There’s something I need to say to you.”