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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Wjin
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When I opened my eyes, I was once again under that giant tree.
I looked around and, fortunately, didn’t see Yuseora.
Honestly, I had considered the possibility of being rejected, but thankfully that wasn’t the case.
‘She must be genuinely confident, or at least decided to act confident for now.’
Well, they were gods, so I figured they wouldn’t feel inferior to me.
Even if they couldn’t influence the outside world, they were still acting as absolute beings within their own ordeals.
Although I doubted whether they would be honest…
‘It doesn’t hurt to ask.’
I looked up at the giant tree with narrowed eyes.
Then, a voice spoke.
-What is it? Allen Blake.
“I have a question.”
-Do you want me to erase Yuseora’s memories?.
So that was possible too.
But there was no need to erase her memories.
My question was more important.
“The connection between all constellations and characters was severed last winter. Do you know anything about this?”
It didn’t matter to me since I wasn’t very dependent on Seo Yoo Rang.
But it was a different story for the others who relied on their constellations.
And furthermore…
‘The constellation system itself is suspicious in the first place.’
Coincidentally, all the characters I had met had constellations attached to them.
At first, I thought it was just a coincidence.
But as they say, repeated coincidences become inevitability.
‘It’s strange at this point.’
I was starting to wonder what the hell was going on.
And the only ones who might know were the gods.
Especially among them…
-I’m sorry. That falls under the jurisdiction of the God of Chains, so I don’t know the details.
The God of Chains.
I needed that guy.
Since he was the god who connected Seo Yoo Rang and me with the ‘Absolute Obedience’ ability, I expected him to be involved, and it seemed I was right.
“Then please call the God of Chains.”
But the unnamed god was silent for a while.
He seemed troubled for some reason.
After a short wait, the voice spoke again from the void.
-That would be difficult.
“Difficult… What do you mean?”
Until now, he had naturally appeared even in other gods’ ordeals.
Was there a reason he couldn’t come out now?
It was becoming even more suspicious.
-He has entered a period of rest after completing his work.
And work at a time like this?
That could only mean one thing.
“Are you saying that the ‘work’ is cutting off the connection with the constellations?”
-No, it’s not that. It’s the opposite, actually.
“The opposite… Do you mean that the disconnection with the constellations led to the work?”
-Yes… But I can’t tell you the details of the work because it’s not under my jurisdiction..
If it wasn’t cutting off the connection with the constellations, then what kind of work was it?
Considering his words from before, the work that made him, who seemed to have an important role, enter a period of rest must be quite significant.
But this unnamed god didn’t seem willing to tell me the details of the work.
“So when will this ‘period of rest’ end?”
Why was the connection with the constellations severed, and what was the content of his work?
Ultimately, the only way to find out was to ask the God of Chains himself.
I could only pray that his rest period wouldn’t be too long.
-I think it will take at least half a year for him to recover enough to briefly show himself to you.
Half a year?
It felt faster than I expected, but it was still a long time.
‘At least it’s fortunate that it’s within the period where I can freely use this place’s ordeal.’
My contract with this unnamed god was until I graduated from the Hero Academy.
Until then, I could enter the ordeal as much as I wanted.
-I’m sorry that I couldn’t be of more help. But one thing I can tell you is that it’s definitely work for the sake of this world.
It was a polite apology, unlike the other gods I had encountered so far.
But whether it was for the sake of this world or not was something I would judge after hearing it myself.
I said to him,
“Then let me know when the God of Chains wakes up and I enter the ordeal.”
I couldn’t force him if he said it was impossible.
I decided to back off for now.
It was a bit funny to use the expression ‘back off’ when I couldn’t do anything to a god, though.
-Thank you for your understanding.
Understanding my foot.
I stared at the upper part of the giant tree, where the God of Chains always appeared, and said,
“Then send me back now.”
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‘Damn it.’
I walked out of the lake, trying to organize my increasingly complicated thoughts.
“Seo Yoo Rang?”
Time wouldn’t have passed while I was talking to the god in the giant tree.
Therefore, Yuseora and I should have exited the ordeal almost simultaneously.
But Yuseora seemed to notice that my state was a little different from before I exited the ordeal.
“Did something happen?”
“No, nothing happened. I’m just a little tired.”
I tried to make an excuse.
Fortunately, Yuseora seemed to believe me.
It was more like she didn’t feel the need to doubt me rather than believing my excuse.
“Let’s hurry back. It’s late.”
It was way past curfew.
Especially since the ordeal was originally not supposed to be used by ordinary students outside of class hours.
I needed to hide our presence.
I took out Nightshade from my inventory.
Yuseora didn’t seem surprised by my actions anymore.
It seemed like she just accepted whatever I did now.
I held Nightshade in my right hand and held out my left hand to Yuseora.
“Can you hold my hand for a moment?”
I needed to be in contact with her for Nightshade’s effect to apply.
But for some reason, Yuseora, who had been calm until now, showed a slightly different reaction.
She seemed surprised.
Ah.
Come to think of it, suddenly asking to hold hands without any explanation could be misunderstood.
I hurriedly explained about Nightshade.
“This is a Sacred Relic that hides one’s presence. But you need to be in contact with me for it to affect you too.”
Only then did Yuseora seem to understand.
I added,
“Probably just holding my sleeve will do.”
Come to think of it, there was no need to hold hands.
As Yuseora grabbed my sleeve, I activated Nightshade’s effect.
It was easy to check if Nightshade was activated.
“Can you see me?”
She nodded her head curiously.
“Then it’s working properly.”
If it was only applied to me, I would have disappeared from Yuseora’s sight.
But if Yuseora could see me, it meant that Nightshade’s effect was also applied to her.
Now all I had to do was get back to the cadet dormitory within Nightshade’s duration.
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‘Seo Yoo Rang…’
The black-haired man walking in front of her, offering his sleeve.
Honestly, she had no idea what his true identity was.
‘A black-haired person from Sak, and also a holder of the Crow’s emblem.’
Of course, she had never heard of his name before.
Then he might be a distant relative.
‘But he uses the same swordsmanship as that woman named Elsie.’
She didn’t know what that swordsmanship was, but it didn’t seem like a common one.
Moreover, for some reason, she felt a similar vibe between the two.
Could they be related somehow?
‘Hmm…’
They probably weren’t related.
They might have happened to use the same swordsmanship by chance.
The similar vibe was probably just her imagination.
There was no way he could have a similar vibe to that crazy woman.
Because to her now, he felt like a human standing in a completely different place.
It was to the extent that it made all the aforementioned speculations about him meaningless.
‘What and how much does this person know?’
He could freely use the lake, which was not allowed for ordinary cadets.
He knew about her full power, which she didn’t even know about.
And he effortlessly blocked her all-out attack.
Of course, she might have been able to accept it up to that point.
He knew something about the true nature of constellations.
For some reason, he also knew about the future.
And quite in detail.
‘It’s like he’s a constellation.’
No, she didn’t want to use the expression ‘constellation-like’.
She had already been abandoned by her own constellation.
Besides, right now, Seo Yoo Rang’s power or knowledge that made him seem like a constellation wasn’t that important to her.
What mattered was Seo Yoo Rang’s attitude.
‘He was definitely sincere.’
She had felt it before, but he had quite a talent as a strategist.
If he wanted to deceive someone, he could.
In fact, she had been deceived by him this time, and he was currently deceiving the entire Hero Academy.
‘But…’
He would never deceive with the intention of harming others.
Even if he deceived, his purpose was pure and just.
Therefore, anyone who had seen his true self at least once would no longer be deceived by him.
‘No, if he deceives, they will willingly be deceived.’
Even if they couldn’t know the specifics of his intentions, it would never be a bad intention.
It would be to save someone, or even to save the world.
She wanted to describe him in one word.
‘Hero.’
Yes, that would be more fitting than a constellation.
The very being she had longed for since the day she lost her guild.
In her eyes, he had already reached that existence.
That was why when he held out his hand earlier, she couldn’t readily take it.
Of course, she was a little happy, but she still didn’t think she was worthy of reaching him.
Just holding onto his sleeve was the right place for her now.
‘Come to think of it…’
The school was silent at night.
Of course, this wasn’t a time when cadets were allowed to roam freely.
It was to deal with various unforeseen accidents that might occur.
‘Unforeseen accidents…’
She looked at Seo Yoo Rang’s sleeve that she was holding.
The cool night air, the sound of insects filling it, and her complicated thoughts gradually subsided as she began to be aware of the current atmosphere.
She felt a strange sensation.
“Wasn’t our next match the day after tomorrow?”
Suddenly, Seo Yoo Rang asked quietly.
She barely managed to pull herself together and answered,
“Yes, I mean, yeah. I think so?”
“You did well today. I’ll tell you the specifics of what to do next after tomorrow’s strategy meeting. Even though it was a virtual space, mental fatigue still remains.”
He seemed to be planning something.
She was certainly quite tired now, as he said.
And…
“We’re here.”
They finally arrived at the dormitory.
The time it took to reach the dormitory felt long when she thought about the complicated thoughts she had on the way, and short when she thought about holding Seo Yoo Rang’s sleeve.
“Hey, Yuseora? Nightshade’s effect is gone now. You can let go.”
“Ah.”
Only then did she release Seo Yoo Rang’s sleeve.
Seo Yoo Rang put the dagger he was holding into his inventory.
“Then, good night.”
Seo Yoo Rang said, waving his hand.
She felt a sense of disappointment, but there was nothing she could do.
She also waved her hand and said,
“See you tomorrow.”
Because he had told her today.
If she helped him, he would help her in return.
So as long as she was useful to him, there was still time.
‘I just need to become someone he needs.’
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