Celestine Incident - Ship 2 (3)
Hundreds of horn pillars stretched like taffy. Honestly, I never thought I could block them. I had already half-accepted my death. Swish! The sound of something being cleaved rang out. I reached up and touched my neck. Thankfully, it was still attached.
“Idel!” A familiar voice approached. I lowered the Caliper of Wisdom and slowly turned my gaze. A girl with a golden ponytail stood before me.
“Rustila?” Only then did I grasp the situation. The silver pillars on either side of Rustila were grotesquely bent. She had sliced them apart with her sword. As expected of the future Sword Saint—her skill was on another level. But how did she get here? She was supposed to be on Ship 2.
“……Are you okay?” At her question, I nodded.
“Thanks to you, I’m alive. Thank you.”
“No…… I’m the one who should thank you for staying alive.” Rustila looked straight ahead and swung her sword. The severed horn pillars crumbled completely with a crack.
“From now on, I’ll protect you.” Click. She adjusted her stance.
“What are you? Where did you come from?”
The Yoolds glared at Rustila. A chilling shadow flickered between their sunken eyes.
“An unforeseen variable. An unforeseen variable indeed. I clearly did not use any technique. And yet you dare interfere with my hunt. How utterly displeasing.”
I see. Now I understood why Enabet had suddenly vanished. The Yoolds must possess the Teleport skill. They used it to separate me from Enabet before immediately attacking me. But that still didn’t explain why Rustila had appeared. Had Instructor Isaac sent only Rustila down from Ship 2? That didn’t sound like him.
— The ‘God of Wisdom and Curiosity’ states that it used .
“……” So it was you. The unexpected result made me chuckle. At least this confirmed that Cartesia did not want me dead. In that case, maybe I could use this fact against her.
— The ‘God of Wisdom and Curiosity’ has discerned your intentions.
— The ‘God of Wisdom and Curiosity’ proposes temporary submission to the ‘Pure and Persistent God’.
No, it was similar to what I was thinking…… but slightly different. And demanding submission like that couldn’t really be called a “proposal.” That was an order.
— The ‘Pure and Persistent God’ has rejected the proposal.
Of course Vega would refuse. The ‘God of Wisdom and Curiosity’ snorted.
— The ‘God of Wisdom and Curiosity’ snorts.
Researchers holed up in their labs really had zero negotiation skills. A sigh escaped me without realizing it.
— The ‘God of Wisdom and Curiosity’ is displeased with your assessment.
I lightly ignored the message and counted the remaining Fron. Good—microtransactions were still viable for now.
— 1000 Fron has been paid.
— You have temporarily obtained the right to converse with the ‘Pure and Persistent God’.
The moment that window appeared, my consciousness was pulled elsewhere. Time stopped, and a pure white space unfolded. The brightness meant this was a constellation nexus. In other words, I had entered Vega’s domain.
“……Who are you?” A warm presence made me turn. There stood a woman weaving at a loom. Faint dust particles floated around her head in disk shapes. The moment I saw those dust disks, I understood. I immediately bowed my head.
“I greet the Weaver Star.”
“……” She asked with wary eyes, “Idel von Rheinland. Who are you?”
“I am a close friend of Rustila’s.”
“No!” A sharp voice pierced my ears. “That is not what I asked.”
“Then……”
“I thought you were being controlled by an Outer Deity. That is why I worried about you. It is our stars’ role to worry about the living beings of this universe.” She rose from the loom and continued. “But that was not the case. Now that we meet face-to-face, I understand. You…… have been a monster from the very beginning.”
“……” A long silence followed. I waited until Vega spoke first. Eventually, she said, “The situation is urgent, so I will ask only what is necessary. What do you want from me?”
“I would like you to form the lowest level of with my Outer Deity.”
Thwack! Something struck my head. It was a wooden shuttle used for weaving. “Have you lost your mind? How dare you even mention ?”
“I apologize.”
“If you are sorry, then never make such a proposal again.”
“But it is absolutely necessary.”
“……”
“Please reconsider. At this rate, both Rustila and I will be killed by that avatar.”
Thwack! This time, the loom’s dragon-head ornament flew at me. She was more violent than expected. She asked, breathing heavily, “What exactly do you intend to use for?”
Good. I had been waiting for that question. “I am going to teach Rustila .”
“, you say……?” Vega’s eyes trembled. She would know it too. Learning would greatly increase Rustila’s survival chances—not just now, but in the future as well. Her swordsmanship would evolve another stage. And very quickly.
“Yes. Once she masters and defeats the Yoolds, the contract will be immediately terminated.”
“……Then you would gain nothing at all.” I smiled faintly.
“Come on, there’s plenty I stand to gain.”
“Then what do you want as compensation?”
“Is there anything else?” I shrugged. “If I can see my friend’s smiling face, that is reward enough.”
“……”
“It seems our time is up.”
— The allotted time has expired. You have been expelled from the constellation’s domain.
My vision returned, and I was back in reality. The first thing I saw was a system window.
— You have successfully concluded a with the ‘Pure and Persistent God’ on behalf of the ‘God of Wisdom and Curiosity’!
It worked. I had succeeded in persuading Vega. As expected, only someone with experience issuing research assignments could pull this off.
— The ‘God of Wisdom and Curiosity’ is greatly shaken.
“Wh-what on earth is going on?” Meanwhile, Cartesia, who had been tricked, was in complete panic.
Ding! The status window chimed and updated.
[Contract Relationship]
Party A: ‘Pure and Persistent God (Alpha Lyr)’
Party B: ‘God of Wisdom and Curiosity (Sgr A*)’ — represented by ‘Idel von Rheinland’
— The ‘God of Wisdom and Curiosity’ stares blankly at the chain around its own neck. Vega had ordered Cartesia to submit. Yet when she came to her senses, she had become the subordinate? I would be angry too if I were her.
“……Hey, kid.”
— The ‘God of Wisdom and Curiosity’ expresses anger toward you.
— The ‘Pure and Persistent God’ protects you.
— Due to the effect of , the ‘God of Wisdom and Curiosity’ is in a state of submission to the ‘Pure and Persistent God’ and cannot make any attempt to negatively affect you.
Sorry, Outer Deity. Actually, no—I’m not sorry at all. You were planning to impregnate me the moment I failed the quest. So this is self-defense. I have nothing to feel guilty about.
“……Hah. I really didn’t see this coming. This is what makes it fun.”
— The ‘God of Wisdom and Curiosity’ feels curiosity and interest regarding what has happened to it.
— 2000 Fron has been sponsored.
A jingling sound echoed in my mind. It was the sound of the Outer Deity toying with its own shackles. It was about time to deal with the Yoolds. I stepped forward and said, “I’ll help.”
“No. Stay back, Idel. You might get hurt.”
“I’m still going to help.” Rustila tried to stop me, but I moved even farther ahead. Her resistance gradually faded. She was decisive against monsters, yet still soft toward her comrades. I asked, “Rustila, do you feel any different?”
“Different?” She tilted her head, then let out a small “Ah!” Yes—something had definitely changed. Rustila blinked and looked at me. I asked one more question. “How many can you use right now?”
“Still only two……”
“Can you use them immediately?”
“Well, it depends on my condition, so it’s tricky.” required at least two constellations. Rustila had only one, but if the Free Star helped, she could temporarily manifest . Even then, it was a gamble. Constellations that were not patron stars were capricious. Whether they helped depended entirely on their mood. In other words, to manifest with 100% certainty, one needed contracts with at least two constellations. And now—
— The ‘God of Wisdom and Curiosity’ is applying as a supporting constellation for ‘Rustila Kersil’.
Rustila now met that condition. “It’s fine. Just try using it.”
“O-okay.” At my encouragement, Rustila nodded. Rumble! The Yoolds hurled another silver pillar. It looked stronger than before. Rustila steadied her breathing and barely managed to cut it down. I looked down at the Caliper of Wisdom in my hand. “……If only I could drive this into that thing’s head.”
The Caliper of Wisdom. I had once used it to send Rustila’s parents flying. Because of that, Rustila already knew what this weapon could do. She nodded. “I’ll try to close the distance somehow. When there’s a safe opening, help me then.”
Whoosh! Rustila kicked off the ground and charged. Her figure flickered in sync with the flashing lights. With the suit’s assistance, she moved at a speed impossible to track with the naked eye.
“Fast. However……”
The Yoolds pressed their palms to the ground and bent their knees—a preparatory motion.
— The avatar ‘Yoolds’ has finished preparing to use on ‘Rustila Kersil’.
“……!” Using it right away was unexpected. Had they recognized Rustila as a threat? The Yoolds were excessively cautious. And that caution would become their poison. I quickly followed after Rustila.
“Annoying. Stay elsewhere for a moment.”
— The avatar ‘Yoolds’ uses targeting ‘Rustila Kersil’.
The activation time of was only one second. Meanwhile, the time it would take for Rustila to swing her sword and reach the Yoolds was physically about 1.1 seconds. “Hup!” In that 0.1-second gap, I landed a single effective strike.
— The effect of blocks .
— EX-rank conversion, has been activated!