The Price of a Prayer
"Uh...?" A dumbfounded sound escaped my lips.
No joke, the object that struck the outer wall of the Pantheon had actually exploded.
Rumble...
Part of the building collapsed.
"Hmm... Could the reagent mixture have been flawed? The explosive yield is rather lacking compared to my calculations... How embarrassing to show such a display to the Constellation."
The woman muttered nonchalantly, scribbling something down in the notebook she held.
"No... Wait... The Pantheon..."
Watching the scene unfold from behind the screen, I was actually the one who was more shocked.
Regardless of my shock, she hoisted the heavy launcher onto her shoulder with a grunt and began to walk away. But before she could take more than a few steps, she ran right into guards armed with spears.
"Hey, you! Stop right there!"
"What were you doing here?"
"My, my... You gentlemen appear to be mere low-ranking guards of the watch, yes? Do you truly think it wise to address me in such a manner—me, who is *to be* the incarnation of a Supreme-grade Constellation?"
"Huh?"
She had mumbled something in the middle, but she definitely seemed to claim she was the incarnation of a Supreme-grade Constellation. The moment they heard those words, the guards hesitated.
"Excuse me, but... might we ask which Constellation you serve?" one of the guards asked cautiously.
"The Seeker of Supreme Knowledge, of course. Surely you gentlemen have heard the rumors? You know, the one who was recently promoted from the lowest grade to a Supreme-grade Constellation. To be precise, one could say He has finally reclaimed the position befitting His true stature..."
"Huh?"
Another dumbfounded sound escaped my lips. What on earth is she talking about...?
"We deeply apologize, but a terrorist act was just committed against the Pantheon... We are by no means forcing you, but could you perhaps assist us with our investigation for a moment?"
The guard's attitude turned polite in an instant. They couldn't be sure if she was truly the incarnation of a Supreme-grade Constellation, but if she was, there was no telling what would happen if they treated her poorly. If a formal complaint reached the captain, they might be fired on the spot.
"Mmhmm, I would love to assist you, but my Constellation has tasked me with urgent business, so I am rather occupied. Alas, perhaps next time..."
Just as the woman naturally tried to turn around and leave—
"Hold it right there."
A group of soldiers and a knight emerged from the back of the alley.
Unfortunately for her, the knight was an incarnation. Constellations can perceive whether a mortal has signed a contract, and if so, with whom.
The knight shouted, "I have received a message from my Constellation! That woman has no contract with any deity! Arrest her at once!"
"Well, this is unexpected..." the woman muttered, spinning around to make a hasty escape.
"Catch her!"
"Crazy bitch! How dare you impersonate an incarnation? And of a Supreme-grade Constellation, no less?!" the soldiers yelled in disbelief.
"When did I ever say I *was* an incarnation?! I said I was *to be* one! Furthermore, I am destined to be my Lord's very first incarnation! Are you prepared to face the consequences of treating me this way?!"
"She's completely lost her mind..."
Naturally, the moment she attacked the Pantheon, she had made enemies of almost every constellation. Any hope of signing a contract with a decent deity was long gone.
On top of that, impersonating an incarnation was viewed as a direct insult to the gods, an act most constellations utterly loathed.
Finally, she didn't even seem to possess the talent or ability that would tempt a deity to overlook her crimes. In short, she was just a lunatic.
Lacking any semblance of physical stamina, she was already panting heavily after only a few steps. Yet, even in her desperate flight, she clutched the heavy launcher tightly to her chest as if it were her most precious treasure, groaning under its weight.
"You're under arrest!"
"Eek! Careful with that! That is my graduation thesis!"
Flailing her limbs, she was dragged away in a pathetic display. Even to the very end, she screamed toward the heavens:
"O Seeker of Supreme Knowledge! Your devoted follower, destined to be your first incarnation, is being dragged away! Strike down these ignorant fools with divine retribution...! Ow! Do not strike my head! If you damage my genius intellect, will you take responsibility?!"
I stared at the screen with my mouth agape until the very end.
"Seriously, what was that...?"
When I checked the Pantheon through the screen, it was in much better shape than I had expected.
Perhaps the sheer shock of an explosion occurring at the Pantheon had made it seem worse, but the outer wall wasn't heavily damaged when I looked closer later.
In the first place, the mysterious projectile had struck one of the small annexes attached to the Pantheon, merely collapsing a portion of an outer room.
The explosion itself had been relatively small. Perhaps, as she had claimed, the reagent mixture really had been off.
Regardless of the scale of the blast, however, she was dragged off to the dungeons of the Imperial Guard.
After screaming the entire way, she had been beaten like a dog on a hot summer day until she finally shut up... yet, surprisingly, even while locked in her cell, she continued to run her mouth, grating on the guards' nerves.
Watching her, I couldn't help but marvel at her resilience in a completely different sense.
The guards no longer beat her. Of course, this wasn't because they believed her claims of becoming the incarnation of a Supreme-grade Constellation... but simply because her execution was already a done deal.
All that was left was to decide whether to hang her or burn her at the stake, and whether to make it a public execution or carry it out quietly.
Regardless of how intact the Pantheon was, committing an act of terror within the imperial capital was a capital offense. To make matters worse, the target was the Pantheon, a crime that directly provoked the constellations.
On top of everything, she had impersonated the incarnation of a Supreme-grade Constellation while trying to escape. At this point, if anyone tried to spare her, they would face a mountain of protests from the deities themselves.
Unless she actually was the incarnation of a Supreme-grade Constellation, the Imperial Guard had no choice but to execute her.
Granted, no one had died in the incident, and the Pantheon was mostly fine. So, if I—the very constellation she had impersonated—stepped in and officially made her my incarnation, they wouldn't dare execute her, but...
Why on earth would I do that?
It was certainly impressive that she had created such a weapon in a world where military technology was limited to swords, spears, bows, and at best, mechanical crossbows or catapults.
But there's no way in hell I'm making a lunatic like her my incarnation.
No joke, just the thought of it gave me a headache.
Having been betrayed by my first three incarnations, I had spent days carefully deliberating to find a proper, reliable successor.
And that thing is supposed to be the first incarnation of my new life as a Supreme-grade Constellation? Not a chance.
Of course...
"Why... Why is there still no response? I avenged Him against the Pantheon, and I even showed Him my invention... Why? Is He too busy...?"
"Or... could it be... could He truly... have no interest in me...?"
...Seeing her sit on the cold stone floor of the cell, murmuring like that, did make me feel a tiny bit sorry for her.
Especially since she probably knew she would be executed in a few days. Seeing her slumped powerlessly on the ground, tears streaming down her face with a look of utter betrayal...
Wait, why does she look betrayed? I've literally never given her a single response.
Judging by her reaction, she must have genuinely believed I would sign a contract with her. In any case, while I was lost in these thoughts, a knight clad in armor entered the cell to conduct an interrogation.
"Hey. Lift your head."
The woman stared back at the knight with hollow eyes.
Name: Aisha
Occupation: Graduate Student, Alchemy Department, Selon Academy
Status: Commoner
Family: None
"It is indeed..." the woman, Aisha, nodded weakly.
Whack!
The knight struck Aisha over the head.
"Ow!"
"Watch your tongue. Show some respect to your interrogator. More importantly... there was no mention of an eye injury in your records. What's with that eyepatch? Is it supposed to be a disguise?"
Sneering, the knight ripped the eyepatch off Aisha's face.
"Uh...?"
Beneath the patch was a gruesome, poorly treated wound caked with dried blood. Her eyeball was completely gone.
"Ugh... What happened to your eye?"
"Well... those bastards at the Pantheon demanded an utterly exorbitant fee for their prayer rooms. It just so happened that there was a place in the capital's back alleys buying organs for quite a handsome sum, so I sold one to raise the funds. After all, one eye is more than enough to conduct my research, haha!"
"You are absolutely insane... More importantly, I can't believe organ traffickers are operating so openly in the capital's slums. Where was this place located?"
The knight shook his head in sheer disbelief. I was doing the exact same thing.
Why would you sell your own eye, you crazy bitch?!
After continuing the interrogation for a while longer, the knight prepared to leave.
"In any case, you've caused an absolute disaster. Do you have any idea what you actually blew up?"
The knight pointed a finger toward the ceiling.
"The place you bombed was the private prayer room of the Ruler of Serpents and Darkness inside the Pantheon."
Huh? That name sounded familiar.
"A private prayer room built entirely from the donations of his faithful! You completely demolished it, along with the Constellation's sacred statue inside!"
The knight clicked his tongue.
"Do you understand? He is a mid-high grade Constellation, and there are even rumors that he might be promoted to a high-grade Constellation soon. You destroyed his sacred statue, so it's only natural that he's absolutely furious. I heard this directly from his incarnation. At this point, if we don't execute you, that Constellation will probably come down to kill us all himself."