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Translator: penny
Chapter: 176
Chapter Title: Learning Aura, Hassan #2
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Antiope, who had been receiving a massage from me, soon grabbed my arm with her own palm and guided it.
"Here too."
She placed my palm on top of her pelvis and spoke.
"Press here too. Lately, that area's been aching a bit. It's actually so painful that even walking is tough."
Ding-.
『Name: Antiope Grimkeeper lv. ?? ??
Status: Crooked pelvis》 Double-headed dog's curse》 Irregular menstruation》』
In that instant, a bunch of text popped up. As expected of a Temple Knight who's reached the hero stage, her level wasn't visible, but the status section clearly showed some familiar phrases.
Crooked pelvis, huh.
It certainly seemed like Antiope's pelvis had an issue, just as she said.
Pelvic correction is a key point in realigning a misaligned body. So I placed my palm on her left pelvis—her buttock—and pressed down from above.
Hngh.
"Ugh, hngh, haaah-!"
Antiope shrieked and trembled all over.
Ding-.
『Healed Antiope Grimkeeper's status: Crooked pelvis.』
『Karma Value +10』
『Current Karma Value: 155』
Healing her condition with a single press. I could feel my acupressure and massage skills improving.
Antiope, too, lay prone and let out a shallow sigh, looking satisfied.
"Haaa... So refreshing... It feels like a weight's been lifted off my body...."
Srrrrk-.
Unlike the delighted Antiope, I grew anxious seeing the tattoos on her butt and thighs smudging under my palm.
So after pulling away from her grasp, I quickly wiped the ink—or whatever it was—off my palm onto my pant leg.
Now I'd have to aim for the perfect crime.
I worried what would happen if she asked for more and all the drawings on her body got erased. But the tattooed woman Antiope seemed satisfied, collapsing bonelessly as if savoring the afterglow of the adjustment.
"Honestly... I've never gotten anything like this even in the royal capital. It feels like manipulating the mana flowing through my body... You must know a lot about bones and joints?"
"I know a bit more than most."
"The cultists seemed knowledgeable about anatomy too. Are you one of them by any chance?"
"Nep...?"
"Of course, I'm kidding. Anyway, ah, so refreshing. Feels like being reborn. My body's a little languid, but just right. Like shedding the burdens on my back...?"
Antiope stretched out her arms and legs while prone, striking a Superman pose in flight.
Her movements made the now-erased tattoos on her back stand out glaringly. The drawings she'd carried on her back had all peeled away.
"Um, it's not done yet. Hold on...."
With no choice, I decided to use the ink on my hands. What had been drawn on her back originally? Something like a flower, I thought.
The details wouldn't come to mind.
A rough flower would do.
So I rubbed the ink from my fingers onto her back—schk-schk—and a painting began to take shape.
Not knowing what to draw, I roughly sketched a dandelion-like flower, the sun, and clouds. It looked like an elementary schooler's sketchbook.
Still, I put some effort into it.
Damn it. Better than nothing on her back.
"Hehe, that tickles. Anyway, feels good. Uwaaaah-!"
Soon, Antiope rose and stretched languidly.
She sat properly in front of me again, then patted her palm on her thigh.
"Come on, lie down here. Now I'll do something nice for you."
Lay my head on those soft-looking thighs?
For a moment, my mind reeled, questioning if I'd heard right. Resting on a woman's thigh? I don't think even Luna's let me do that.
"Hurry."
But Antiope's urging scared me, so I stopped overthinking and just laid my head down.
As expected, soft and wonderful thighs.
If I had to compare, Gold-tier thighs.
Sniff sniff-.
They even smelled nice somehow.
As I lay there, Antiope secured my head.
"Okay, I'm going to insert this thin stick into your ear, so don't move."
Soon, something thin and slender rustled as it slowly entered my ear canal. So the nice thing Antiope was doing for me was ear cleaning.
Getting your ears cleaned by someone else really feels amazing. Mom used to do it a lot when I was little. It's been forever since anyone's cleaned my ears like this.
Rustle, rustle.
"Surprisingly, nothing in there. How can someone's ears be like this?"
"Is that so?"
"Your ear canal's like a cave. Pitch black and empty. What, first time seeing ears like this."
I've always been the type where waste doesn't build up much on my body. So I rarely needed to clean my ears.
"Roll over to the other side."
"The other side?"
Her words startled me briefly. My head was currently turned outward on Antiope's knee.
Turning to the other side meant inevitably facing inward toward her knee. That would put Antiope's body right in front of my eyes and nose.
But Hippolyte's little sister didn't seem to mind, so I casually flipped over as if it were nothing.
Right in front of my nose.
Her thighs spread in a cross-legged position, the thin fabric of her clothes, and the faint slit visible between—vivid as could be.
Truly amazing.
"This side has a little something. Stay still."
Rustle-.
Soon, the thin stick entered my other ear, but I paid it no mind.
"How is it? Feels good, right?"
"Yeah, it does."
"I'm good at handling long sticks. Ever heard of Javelin Antiope?"
"Honestly, no."
"You don't know Antiope, rank eight in the knight order? Getting a bit annoyed. Someone who doesn't know my fame."
Rustle, rustle.
The tiny stick probing my ear felt a bit stronger. Any more talk and she'd dig out my eardrum, so I stayed quiet.
"There, done."
After enjoying the thigh's softness for a while, Antiope removed the ear pick from my ear. Thanks to her, I'd gotten a great morning view and softness.
"But Sis isn't coming."
"Yeah."
Even after the massage and ear cleaning, Hippolyte showed no sign of arriving. Just as I pondered leaving, the door suddenly burst open—clunk.
Along with it, Hippolyte appeared, sweating in her usual training outfit of a short tank top and hot pants.
"Whew, sweating in the morning feels great."
"Sis, we have a guest."
"My guest? Oh, it's Samaritan."
Hippolyte then gulped down water stored in the house. Her throat bobbing was so fascinating I just stared blankly.
This house has so many wonders.
"Whew, feeling alive now. So, Samaritan, what brings you here so early?"
Hippolyte glanced more at her mirror reflection than me. As she tidied sweat-matted hair above her brows, I gave a suitable reason for coming.
"I came to learn Aura."
"Ah, you've finally made up your mind."
"For now, could I get training for just the first month? Is it okay to pay monthly?"
I pulled a pre-prepared gold coin from my pocket and placed it neatly in Hippolyte's palm.
"A gold coin."
Hippolyte's brown eyes seemed to flash oddly as she took it, but I figured it was my imagination and let it pass.
Hippolyte looked around, pondering where to put it, then simply tucked it between her breasts. With such large ones, they make handy pockets.
For a moment, I imagined slipping my palm or face between those breasts—how good it'd feel. Unbelievably so.
Thinking that made the barn incident from before feel dreamlike. Since it happened, I should've done more, explored more.
Swipe, swipe.
Lost in such thoughts, I watched Hippolyte roughly wipe her sweat with a towel and gesture with her chin.
"Come out. I'll explain in the clearing behind the house."
* * *
As Hippolyte said, there was a small clearing behind her house.
With a scarecrow set up and a leather sandbag filled with sand hanging—it seemed like a gym she used to warm up.
"Haven't seen this place in ages. Brings back memories."
Antiope, following me out, murmured nostalgically. Wondering why she came outside, it seemed she was just bored and tagging along for the show.
Hippolyte frowned at her little sister's back as she looked around.
"Antiope, your back.... What was the picture engraved on your back?"
"Probably fighting the Nephelti man-eating flower? I can't see my back well myself."
"I see, a flower."
"Why?"
"No, nothing."
Hippolyte seemed to notice the changed tattoo on her sister's back.
But figuring an indelible tattoo wouldn't fade or change, she let it slide.
Of course, pure speculation on my part.
Please let it be so.
As I trembled in anxiety, Hippolyte shifted focus from her sister's back and dragged the leather sandbag in front of me—rrrrk.
Screeech, screeech-.
The rusty wheels made a gruesome noise, furrowing brows. Scratches all over the leather suggested long use.
"First, let's check your level, Hassan. Hit this as hard as you can. With that club you boast about."
Checking my level.
Like a placement test?
As I drew the club from my waist, Antiope plopped down in the corner, arms crossed.
"She did this to me too. Memories."
Having an audience made me tense.
"Just hit it as hard as I can?"
"Yeah, do as you like."
"Hoo-."
I steadied my breath, then swung the raised club from right to left with full power.
Whooosh-.
My club cut the air and soon collided with the leather sandbag.
Bang-!
It burst with a crisp sound. Cr-rack—the torn leather spilled sand onto the ground, kicking up a dusty cloud.
"Whoa, not bad? Ripping Sis's sandbag. Took me two years. Not Bronze-tier strength."
Antiope gaped in surprise. I'd thought it sturdy, but apparently ripping it was impressive.
"Indeed, absurd strength. A blessed body. Samaritans really are...."
But Hippolyte tsked and frowned as if it were a problem.
"Isn't strong power good?"
"Of course. But strong physical strength will hinder learning Aura."
What? I regretted investing only in strength. What a trash build. Damn, no skill point reset?
I had to ask why strong strength hindered Aura learning.
"Why does strong strength make Aura harder to learn?"
"This leather bag is made from ogre hide. Titan's warhorse ogres have very tough skin—nearly impossible to damage without Aura."
Srrk.
Hippolyte knelt, sweeping fallen sand with her palm. She grabbed a handful and continued.
"Thus, impossible to tear without Aura. But you, Samaritan, did it with raw power."
"What's the problem with that? Strong power's good, right?"
"Naturally a problem. Those with strong power have no need to learn Aura."
"Huh?"
"Strong power solves many things. It stifles growth. Warriors with great strength are strong without Aura, so they don't bother learning it."
Hippolyte's words reminded me of Africa's black continent. Native Africans have exceptional physical prowess.
So much so they solve most problems with their bodies, feeling no need for progress, leading to slower tech development.
Hippolyte's point seemed similar.
What? So my all-in strength investment wasn't bad. Strength conquers all.
Next stat into strength too.
Perfect timing with over 100 Karma Points. Level strength to 13, bonus to 14.
14.
Surpassing Elfriede by far?
I imagined pinning Elfriede down with my strength, pressing her shoulders so she couldn't resist, forcing surrender.
Beating her with my club would be better.
Just imagining excited me.
Shing-.
Then Antiope drew her spear from her back and said.
"Cultist nearby."