༺ Lions Are Prideful (3) ༻

Pitter— Patter—

I twisted something that looked like a faucet, or a valve that was attached to a pipe, and a stream of water began pouring down from the ceiling.

The room was cramped like a telephone booth.

I received a barrage of cold water, devoid of any form of warmth, directly on my face and body.

But the temperature of the water wasn’t really a bother, so, this was more than good enough. I can’t believe this store had a private shower. Money truly is great.

Anyway, after being showered with the cold barrage of water from head to toe, the sewer stench that seemed to be latched onto my body disappeared along with the embarrassment and excitement that were clouding my judgment. All in all, I felt very refreshed in more ways than one.

“My friend~ Shall I scrub your back~?”

The gentle voice of a woman resounded from behind the door. I hurriedly let out some gibberish sounds in embarrassment.

“I-It’s okay!”

“You’ll find scented candles in the corner~ Wipe every nook and cranny of your body, okay~? The most important thing in cooking is preparing the ingredients, after all~”

The witch chuckled with a “Fu~ Fufu~” sound. I don’t what that laughter meant but it was very witch-like, at least it sounded like that to me.

They were called witches because they couldn’t be understood by normal humans after all.

“Sigh…”

No matter how much cold water fell on me, I couldn’t calm down a bit now. My heart kept pounding like a large speaker with a loud woofer connected to it.

I was taking a shower in a stranger’s house! This is simply unreal!

How can someone not be nervous or excited in such a situation?

If such a person existed it was either a eunuch or some kind of Buddhist monk. And unfortunately or rather fortunately I was none of these.

“Hurry up and come out~”

“Uhm, I-I’m nearly done washing everything!”

After rubbing all of my body with these scented candles or whatever that the witch pointed out, I rinsed my body one last time with the cold barrage of the shower water, then began drying myself with a cloth lying nearby.

I saw Nemea’s red-stained pupils in the dark as soon as I stepped out of the shower, and my knees almost buckled up from the fear those eyes evoked in me.

“Great~ The smell is finally gone~ You’ve done well~”

“W-Where are my clothes…?”

“You won’t be needing them~ Come here~”

The witch’s slender fingers grabbed my arm and dragged me somewhere, and seated me on a chair.

The power with which she dragged me behind her was so strong that it was hard to think of it as a woman’s power, I couldn’t offer any resistance as she made me sit on a chair, like a little girl playing with her doll.

Was I actually weak? I couldn’t help but feel ashamed despite the fact that it was probably because of her magical powers. Even the elven witch, Elfriede, had the strength of a gorilla despite her thin arms.

Maybe only people with strong physical prowesses were given the title of witch? My overworked brain could only come up with such a stupid answer.

“Great~ Actually, it would have been better if I could have cooked it a little bit more, but~ Well, it is what it is~ The wait is unbearable already~” 1[1]: Nemea is treating Hassan as an ingredient for her experiments, hence the use of the word cook here.

The witch who had suddenly disappeared somewhere reappeared just as fast with a large pair of scissors in her hand. They were huge.

They were actually so huge that they needed to be held by two hands. They looked so terrible, their edges with such a sharp glint, that I began wondering if a human hand could be cut with these blades.

“Um, uh, w-what are you trying to do?”

“I really wanted to do this from the first time I saw you~ At the time, I wasn’t sure~ Don’t worry~ It won’t hurt if you stay calm~ It will hurt only if you struggle~”

Why is she bringing the scissors close to my head and neck? Damn it, is she going to behead me? I felt an urge to move my body and run away in that instant.

However, my body didn’t fall off the chair no matter how much I struggled as if I had been glued to it. Damn it, did she use glue on the seat? Some kind of magic glue that would hold you in place without even letting you know of its presence? What kind of primitive and powerful trap is this?

I was like a mouse stuck in a sticky mouse trap. My palm that was placed on the armrest couldn’t move too. The witch then spoke leisurely from behind me.

“You won’t be able to lift a finger~ This chair is a legendary relic~ Ever heard of the Chair of Forgetfulness (I’ll add some trivia in the translation note)~?”

“L-Legendary relic?”

I could see a lot of gold coins, no, bags of gold coins glimmer in front of my eyes at the mention of a ‘Legendary relic’. Damn, how can I have such fantasies in this kind of predicament? Has my mind gone down the drain from greed!? Calm down, Hassan!

“Yes, once you sit up on this chair you won’t be able to get up unless someone picks you up~ Weak-willed people usually lose consciousness after just sitting on it~ Is it because of your blessings that you still look fine~?”

Snip— Snip—

At that moment, I felt something sharp cutting my hair. I felt a shiver run down my neck, my whole body trembling violently from fear.

“S-Since you’ve wanted to do this from the first time we met, was the quest a bait to catch me?”

“Yes, it was~ You’re a Samaritan that has been blessed~ Where would I be able to see something so rare again~? Any witch would covet you~ You’re all mine now~!”

“S-Somebody help me!”

“Are you scared~? Why don’t you pray to the gods you believe in, my friend~? Well, there’s no god here, though~ In fact, there’s no such thing as a god in this world in the first place~ They’re just a bunch of self-important and bitter idiots that give zero fucks about the mortals below~”

I-I’m screwed.

If there’s something I learned after struggling to survive in this barbaric world for two years is that everything here was deeply tied to beliefs and religions. You couldn’t separate those concepts from this world even if you tried to.

In a world where magic and superstition reigned supreme, where science and rational thinking were not developed in the tiniest bit, it wasn’t surprising for people to have faith in the great although questionable existence of God.

In my world, where people had gone to the moon, and we could communicate with people on the other side of the world using radio waves, religion still remained a powerful force to reckon with.

Hence. in this barbaric world, it wasn’t surprising to see that religion and belief themselves were no different than absolute truth.

It was simply unimaginable for someone to curse or insult the gods.

Some form of polytheism groups that insulted other gods in favor of their own gods did exist.

But no one denied their existence altogether. The general public would ostracize you, trample you, then wipe you out of the surface of this world if you even spoke something against them, much less deny their existence altogether!

This witch however was casually breaking such taboos as if it was nothing significant.

She’s more dangerous than I had previously thought her to be.

“My Samaritan friend~ Your hair is really black~ At this rate, you won’t have any choice but to be ostracized as a descendant of Pluto~”

Snip— Snip—

The witch continued to haphazardly cut my hair with her giant pair of scissors.

My hair, which used to reach my shoulders, was mercilessly cut, like I was an animal meant to have its fur trimmed, and they rolled down on the floor.

“Alright~ Now, it’s clean~ Your hair is a pretty good material~ Well, not just the hair~ The nails~ Toenails~ Blood~ Bones~ Flesh~ Nothing can be thrown away~”

“Hiik!”

“You guys are on the verge of extinction~ I’ll save you~ I’ll protect you~ Forever~ Forever and ever~” 2

[2]: This part is very vague. This is probably referring to him being a Samaritan, and that Samaritans are gonna go extinct, but the raws aren’t really specific about it. So, this could be a foreshadowing for something else… something important for the future plot.

My eyes frantically moved to look at all the flasks and beakers around me while the witch was muttering.

The blank eyes of the dissected frogs, snakes, and birds looked at me as if saying, “Welcome, friend. Welcome to the collection.” I won’t be your friend you dissected punks!

“Damn it, r-release me!”

“I guess you’ve finally got the picture of what’s happening~ You should have trained against the seduction of women, my friend~”

Click— Click—

The witch finally went on to cutting my nails with the giant and ruthless-looking scissors. This scene was so scary it made me want to close my eyes, not willing to look at the aftermath of my nail being cut with those terrifying scissors.

“The cuts don’t look good~ Should I just cut off your whole finger~? I’m just kidding~ There’s no way I’ll cut off the belly of the goose that lays golden eggs~ The nails are finally done~”

The witch who had just finished cutting my nails with her giant scissors disappeared behind my back in a flash.

I could do nothing but scream as I got frightened due to the sudden disappearance of the witch.

“W-What are you going to do to me, you damn witch?!”

“Oh, my~ How brave~ I won’t do anything to you~ I’ll just cut your hair like this from now on~ I’ll also clean off your nails and toenails~ I’ll also feed you well during that time~ All you need to do is to just quietly sit here~ Forever~”

I felt something approaching me and soon something soft touched the nape of my neck. It was the witch’s luscious lips, caressing that sensitive spot in the back of my neck.

“A life of ostracization is tough~ I know it fully well~ Won’t it be hard to make ends meet~? I’ll let you live without working another day for the rest of your life~”

The witch’s voice, akin to a devil’s whisper, caressed my ears, promising me a carefree life. A beautiful woman actually gave me a proposal to not work for the rest of my life.

Getting proposed to by a rich and mature beauty, and being taken care of by her at home. In other words, getting a sugar mama. It was the wet dream of many men out there.

Come to think of it, wasn’t this on my bucket list? Damn it, this is really tempting. However, I’d rather not stay sitting on a chair for the rest of my life! Even if it meant rejecting an offer that I yearned for.

“I-I’m unwilling!”

I declined the offers while internally crying tears of blood. I would have blindly accepted it if the situation had been different but I couldn’t in this case.

“Why~? Oh, I see, as someone from the wilderness, being stuck in a house must be rather hard for you~ I know what to do~! I’ll attach wheels to the chair and take you out for a walk every now and then~”

“M-My companions will doubt you if I disapp…”

Chu— Chuu—

Something soft and sticky began running along my ear, stroking it in its sticky goodness, before I could even finish my words.

It didn’t take long for me to realize that it was Nemea’s tongue and that my ears were now being playfully bitten and licked by her gentle tongue.

“Whoa…”

It was the first time I ever experienced something like this.

It was only then that I realized what it felt like to have your ears licked. It was akin to an exhilarating stream of electric current running through my spinal cord from top to bottom — from the back of my head to my tailbone, right above my buttocks.

She then whispered with her tongue still flicking in my ear.

“My friend~? How could there be such a thing in this world~? You’re naive for a Samaritan~ In this world, people have to live for themselves. Foolish trust is akin to a dagger stabbing you from behind~ Just like this~”

Thrust—

Something sharp and pointy was strongly digging into my shoulders.

“Ah—!”

A pain so strong struck me that a deep fear akin to being eaten alive colored my now despairing face.

In the past, Elfriede would sometimes get sick of whipping me and would bite my forearm, such a scene of the past flashed in my eyes right now.

Maybe this witch enjoyed biting and chewing on other people.

“Your skin is rather tough, just like leather~ It feels quite good to chew on it~ What else do we have here~”

The witch’s hands slowly ran down my shoulders and my chest, then descended along my belly. It was like a snake leisurely moving along a streamlined path to its prey.

“What’s making you so hard~? Pervert~”

“Hum, t-that…”

I felt shameful and embarrassed for getting hard in such a situation where I was bound and restricted.

I have to defend myself here, but, what kind of man would I be if I wouldn’t have blood rush down there after feeling the softness of her humongous chest touching the back of my neck or the pleasure of having my ears licked?

“I heard that Samaritans weren’t very well endowed down there~ But this is way bigger than I thought~ What a pleasant surprise~!”

Her snuggling fingers then wrapped around my lower body. I was so startled by the sensation that I almost jumped a few centimeters in the air but was unable to due to the restrictions of the legendary relic.

I finally understood why Finley and Luna made a fuss after I touched their feet. It takes great determination to face such a feeling of weakness and vulnerability.

“It’s good to be healthy~ It’s as hard as a rock~ Doesn’t it feel like a real stone statue~?”

Graaaab—

That witch grabbed my thing so mercilessly that I thought it was going to burst from her strong grip, it was so painful that I felt some tears were about to come out of my eyes.

“I-It hurts—!”

“Hmm~ Weird~ Wouldn’t it normally feel better if I held it~?”

Grab— Pull—

The witch just grabbed my shaft and clenched it tightly.

“Guaag!”

I couldn’t feel any better at this change of actions, this was simply bullying. A man’s body is delicate! Maybe some people would feel pleased with such rough treatment but not me! I wasn’t like those masochistic bastards.

“Maybe, the place is wrong~? How do you feel when I touch it here~?”

The witch then decided to take hold of my pair of precious marbles in her palms and tightly pulled them.

“Y-You’re ripping them apart! Damn it, stop! You’re really going to rip them off!”

“Hmm~ What~ You really don’t feel good~? What if I press it hard like this~”

“Damn it, this shit hurts so much, just kill me already! Uggh—”

The pain was no joke. If this was an attempt at torture, then it was a great success.

“How do I get it out~? Your semen~ Should I just cut it off~? Well, it won’t be too different from cutting the belly of the goose that lays golden eggs, I suppose~”

What, cut it off?

My mind blanked at such a ruthless and violent comment. It wasn’t even a matter of pain anymore. It was a matter of life and death for my little brother.

“Hum, huh, witch~ Would you let me say something?”

“How polite, my friend~ Great~ What do you want to say~? I’ll do my best as long as it isn’t about releasing you~”

“E-Excuse me, if I may, could you use your mouth at least?”

Too lazy.

We are Recruiting! 『We are looking for more Korean Translators, for more details please join our discord server—』 Footnotes:

* 1[1]: Nemea is treating Hassan as an ingredient for her experiments, hence the use of the word cook here.

* 2[2]: This part is very vague. This is probably referring to him being a Samaritan, and that Samaritans are gonna go extinct, but the raws aren’t really specific about it. So, this could be a foreshadowing for something else… something important for the future plot.