Chapter 35
Chapter 35
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 35
Chapter Title: Reunion (1)
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A bewildering situation.
Before I could even grasp what was happening.
Channel 「Fringe Constellation」 [5/13]
Words abruptly appeared before my eyes.
[Elegant Left-Hander] ???
[The Emperor Who Abandoned His Country] So suddenly?
[The Curious Sloth] Wasn't the Orbital Elevator smashed? I thought we wouldn't be getting any newbies for a while~
Bizarre words floated before my eyes.
[Elegant Left-Hander] Looks like they caught the last ride?
[The Emperor Who Abandoned His Country] Or maybe the newbie is the one who smashed the Orbital Elevator?
[Elegant Left-Hander] If you were going to ascend, you should've done it quietly. Why'd you have to wreck a perfectly good Orbital Elevator?
[The Curious Sloth] Isn't it a bit much to jump on them when we're not even sure~~~
I couldn't understand what on earth was going on.
[Elegant Left-Hander] Newbie, say something?
[The Emperor Who Abandoned His Country] Can't speak because of the guilt.
Words continued to appear and disappear.
[The Curious Sloth] No~ they can't speak because you've all been piling on them~~
[The Emperor Who Abandoned His Country] Someone who managed to ascend is that weak-willed? Tsk. Tell them to go back down!
I desperately racked my brain to understand the situation.
[Elegant Left-Hander] How are they supposed to go down when the Orbital Elevator is broken?
[The Emperor Who Abandoned His Country] And they could just go down whenever they wanted when it was working?
One thing was clear: the ones writing the words flashing before me were the stars.
Elegant Left-Hander, The Emperor Who Abandoned His Country. I had encountered them both before.
They were undoubtedly the ones who had crammed their thoughts into my head back when Komlat was attacked.
[Elegant Left-Hander] You were the one who brought up the Orbital Elevator first, Your Majesty?
[The Emperor Who Abandoned His Country] Hah. I say one thing out of frustration, and you jump down my throat.
The problem was why I could see the conversation of beings high up in the sky.
[The Curious Sloth] Oh, come on~~ you're changing the subject again~~
[The Curious Sloth] Everyone, quiet~~
[The Curious Sloth] Let's welcome the newbie first, okay~~
Fortunately, there was someone there to answer my questions.
[The Curious Sloth] So, basically...
According to “The Curious Sloth,” it was like this:
A “Channel” was a place where a specific group of stars conversed with each other.
The “Fringe Constellation” was a group of non-mainstream stars, away from the center of the Empire.
The “Orbital Elevator” was the pillar of light I had seen when the Gaecheondan nearly forced me to ascend.
And “Messages” were the words I was seeing right now.
[The Curious Sloth] Oh, right. To join the conversation, you just have to think it in your head~~
[Perennial Squire (2nd Round)] Like this?
[The Curious Sloth] Yep. Just like that. But what's with your star name?
[The Emperor Who Abandoned His Country] This one's got another weird setup.
[Elegant Left-Hander] How come our channel always gets ones like this?
A sudden rebuke.
Rather than feeling offended, I just felt a sense of unease.
[The Curious Sloth] You'll learn all this naturally once you spend some time up here, but there's no harm in knowing it beforehand~~
So I asked.
[Perennial Squire (2nd Round)] Up here?
[The Curious Sloth] Yep. Where we are now. The Starstratum~
To the matter-of-fact reply, I answered without thinking.
[Perennial Squire (2nd Round)] I'm not in a place like that. I'm just down below.
[The Curious Sloth] Well, this is the lowest level of the Starstratum.
[Perennial Squire (2nd Round)] No, I mean, I'm really down below.
[The Emperor Who Abandoned His Country] Man, this one's really sticking to a weird character concept.
[Elegant Left-Hander] What, you're saying you're in the mortal realm or something, below the lowest level?
I immediately replied to Elegant Left-Hander's words.
[Perennial Squire (2nd Round)] That's right.
[The Curious Sloth] ?
[The Emperor Who Abandoned His Country] ?
[Elegant Left-Hander] ?
[Perennial Squire (2nd Round)] I'm on the surface.
The messages, which had been appearing and disappearing nonstop, came to a sudden halt.
Then, after a brief pause, question marks flooded the empty space.
Endlessly.
The sight of the air filled with question marks was enough to make me dizzy.
It was a long while before the stars calmed down.
I explained to them the circumstances of my near-ascension.
[The Curious Sloth] So you're saying the Orbital Elevator broke in the middle of your ascension??
[The Emperor Who Abandoned His Country] Then what is this kid? Not an Ascendant, but not not one either.
[Elegant Left-Hander] Not a star, but not just a human either.
After hearing my explanation, the stars spoke in disbelief.
[Elegant Left-Hander] An unbelievably huge accident has occurred.
[The Emperor Who Abandoned His Country] The folks in the upper echelons will flip if they find out.
The two stars conversed back and forth.
But for some reason, The Curious Sloth, who had been leading the conversation until now, was silent.
[Elegant Left-Hander] Can this even be fixed?
[The Emperor Who Abandoned His Country] Who knows. Not a problem for this emperor to worry about.
[Elegant Left-Hander] Let's report it for now.
[The Emperor Who Abandoned His Country] I suppose we should?
Just as the two stars, having reached a conclusion, seemed ready to take action.
[The Curious Sloth] Do we really need to report this to the upper echelons?
The Curious Sloth suddenly spoke up.
[Elegant Left-Hander] ...Ah!
[The Emperor Who Abandoned His Country] ...Oh!
The two stars exclaimed as if they'd just realized something.
Immediately after, a new message appeared before my eyes.
「The Curious Sloth」 has invited you to a private channel.
***
“Yaaawn.”
I couldn't stop yawning.
I hadn't slept a wink, pestered by the stars' messages all night long.
So much had happened overnight that I was beyond exhausted.
But I had no complaints.
The reward I received was more than enough compensation for a single night's sleep.
The three stars had agreed to hide my existence.
But their reason for doing so was absurd.
Because they were bored, because it seemed like it would be fun.
That was their entire reason.
In life, they were knights of such high caliber that they could reach for the heavens, and upon ascending, they became guardian deities who watched over the mortal world.
For such beings, their actions were incredibly frivolous.
But I soon came to understand.
Considering the case of Roman, who had ascended right before my eyes, it wasn't so hard to believe.
Besides, I'd heard their explanation that life up there was boring to an extent unimaginable for a mortal.
They said that even perfectly normal Ascendants quickly became like them after spending time in the Starstratum.
Of course, I couldn't believe every word they said.
In any case, contrary to their frivolous behavior, their abilities were real.
The proof was right before my eyes.
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【Barisada (☆☆☆)】
*A very special armament crafted by the kind gardener and noble sorcerer, □□□□, from the most beautiful flower and the branch of the oldest tree in the garden of Orgagna.
It was given to the knight Ruggiero and used to end the life of knight □□, the sworn enemy of □□□□.
However, □□ ascended at the moment of death, and the sorcerer □□□□ also ascended to complete their revenge.
*Contaminated by the creator's vengeful will, it has lost its original beautiful appearance. It is now one with a specially crafted crossbow, which Paladin Gunther's squire, Yan, personally helped to modify.
*Can pass through objects to attack a target.
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Information about Barisada—the legacy left by the sorcerer Grendel, and the medium connecting the Faceless Witch to the world—was scrolling before my eyes.
It was thanks to the boons I received in exchange for cooperating with the stars' amusement.
From The Curious Sloth, the boon of 「Pathological Curiosity」, which allowed me to grasp the essence of objects.
From Elegant Left-Hander, the boon of 「Ban on Hand Discrimination」, which allowed me to use my left hand as skillfully as my right.
From The Emperor Who Abandoned His Country, the boon of 「Stiff Knees」, which prevented me from yielding to anyone's status.
And so, I had obtained a total of three boons.
It was a pretty good deal.
For a while, I amused myself by using the 「Pathological Curiosity」 boon on various things.
Soon, I grew tired of even that and spent another long while dozing off.
“Are you still at it?”
Gunther, who had disappeared somewhere early in the morning, had returned.
“Master. Did you take care of your business oka—yaawn.”
“Tsk. If you're that sleepy, you could have just laid down and closed your eyes for a bit.”
“How can a squire sleep when his master is wide awake?”
“Since when did you start treating me with such reverence?”
After a moment of meaningless conversation, I asked him.
“So, where did you go, anyway?”
“I was on my way back from the guild.”
“You should have taken me with you.”
“Try saying that after you've picked the sleep out of your eyes.”
Gunther chided me, then mentioned in a passing tone.
“Still no word from the Cradle. I thought we would hear something by today.”
“Ah.”
Only after hearing his words did I remember the Cradle.
With the Gaecheondan, the Fringe Constellation, and everything else that had happened overnight, I had completely forgotten about it.
“I'm thinking of going to the guild again later.”
“Why go to all that trouble? Anton will send someone if there's news.”
“You talk as if it’s someone else’s business.”
He was saying I should at least pretend to be excited at a time like this.
“I'll do that when we get the approval.”
I shrugged at Gunther, who was shaking his head, saying my reaction wasn't very childlike.
I was too old on the inside to get my hopes up for something that hadn't happened yet, only to be disappointed.
And now that I had the boons from the stars, my desperation for the Cradle wasn't what it used to be.
To be honest, I already felt like I was halfway to being a knight.
But I couldn't tell Gunther any of that.
Keeping it a secret was one of the things the stars had demanded in exchange for their boons.
Anyway.
After chatting idly for a while, Gunther began to prepare to head to the guild again.
“I'll go with you.”
“So you say, but it seems you're not entirely without expectations.”
Seeing Gunther openly showing that he expected me to be excited, I lifted my chin.
It was my way of saying, ‘Stop talking nonsense and let’s just get this over with.’
“You used to have a cute side when we first met.”
Gunther grumbled under his breath and left the room.
I followed after him.
We crossed through the city streets, where reconstruction was still in full swing, and arrived at the guild office.
“S-Sir Gunther!”
Anton made a fuss when he saw us.
“They're here! They've arrived!”
“Oh! Is it news from the Cradle!”
Anton shook his head vigorously at Gunther's question.
“Not the Cradle! An investigation team from the Imperial Palace just entered Komlat!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the office door flew open.
“This is the Freelance Knight Guild of Komlat.”
The voice from beyond the door sounded strangely familiar.
Even so, it took me a while to recall who it belonged to.
A voice that, unlike usual, sounded not just friendly but downright servile.
The lord of Komlat, Gordo, opened the door and stepped inside.
“Oh!”
His face visibly brightened upon seeing Gunther and me.
“Perfect, you're all here!”
He had been cold to us ever since we refused his offer, but today, for some reason, his face was full of delight at seeing us.
“Ahem.”
Just then, a cough came from behind him.
“Ah! Please, come inside!”
Gordo startled at the simple sound of a throat being cleared.
He bowed his head as if he had committed a grave sin.
His attitude was peculiar as he stepped aside from the door, his hands neatly clasped.
But as it turned out, there was a reason for it.
*Step.*
A man entered the office with his hands clasped behind his back.
*Thud!*
The moment I saw the crest emblazoned on his clothes, I dropped to my knees.
“This humble commoner greets a sky of the Empire!”
I thought I heard a sharp intake of breath from beside me.
“W-We greet you!”
“We greet you!”
A step behind, Anton and Gunther knelt at the same time.