The Meaning of the Bet
'I guess this worked out somehow.'
The look in her eyes was entirely different from before we made the bet. Those eyes, which had looked no different from a corpse's, finally possessed a spark of life. For some reason, it was almost terrifying, to the point where I couldn't even meet her gaze.
'Did I do something wrong?'
It was Yoo Seora who had accepted the bet in the first place. And I had won it fair and square. Her final attack was so formidable that even I wouldn't have been able to block it had I made the slightest mistake.
'Well, Overload was always that kind of skill.'
As mentioned before, Sung Yu-rang had poured a total of twelve attempts into perfecting Yoo Seora's swordsmanship build. But there was a reason why her journey to become the next Alan Flake had ended at twelve. While it couldn't be called a practical, standard build, the endeavor had yielded some fruit.
'The so-called Broken Sword Yoo Seora.'
It was an extreme build that treated holy relics as mere consumables. Normally, using Overload in multiple increments made it nothing more than a subpar imitation of other heroes' abilities, burdened with the penalty of durability consumption. However, the moment one channeled the entirety of Overload into a single strike, it transformed into a vicious enhancement trait with the highest damage multiplier in the game.
An absolute, fatal strike that was impossible to block even if you saw it coming. Although it carried the fatal flaw of consuming one holy relic per strike, from a tactical standpoint, that wasn't a major issue. Trading one holy relic to eliminate a single Demon King was a remarkably cheap bargain.
'The only problem is...'
In the end, the proper conditions had to be met. It was highly doubtful whether the Demon Kings would simply stand by and allow her to strike once they realized the sheer destructive power of her blow. Creating such an opening was impossible for Yoo Seora to achieve on her own.
'Ultimately, she's someone who needs a leader.'
Furthermore, Yoo Seora's motivation was also an issue. Her goal was to revive her merchant guild; she had no particular reason to actively hunt down Demon Kings. Of course, persuading her wasn't impossible, but...
'I'm still not used to this.'
Up until now, I had mostly acted alone. There were those I had briefly traveled with, but those arrangements had always been temporary. However, persuading Yoo Seora here was a completely different story.
'It means I'll be taking her along as a companion from now on.'
She was undoubtedly a valuable asset. I just wasn't sure how to treat her. That was why I hesitated.
Glancing sideways, I caught sight of Yoo Seora. She was still glaring at me. Left with no choice, I offered a tentative apology.
"Alright, I get it. I'm sorry for hiding my swordsmanship skills..."
"My Constellation."
"Huh?" For a split second, I thought she was addressing me. I turned my head, only to blush and quickly look away. It seemed she still had things to say to her Constellation.
"I'm calling you. My Constellation." Or was she?
"Are you... by any chance, talking to me?"
Yoo Seora curled the corners of her lips upward. "Yes, that's right. You won the bet, so you're my Constellation now."
I could feel it in my bones—something was going terribly wrong. It was a sensation very similar to what I had felt when talking to Elsie in the cafeteria. 'Wait, this is bad.' Dealing with Elsie alone was already overwhelming enough, and now I was adding another one to the mix? I couldn't let that happen. I had to salvage this somehow.
"But the bet wasn't really about who becomes whose Constellation," I began, launching into a desperate explanation. "I wanted you to realize that having a Constellation isn't actually that important, Ms. Seora."
"And through the bet, I also wanted to show you that your own strength is far greater than you think. So, the actual outcome of the bet doesn't really matter."
In truth, I had proposed the bet without even being certain if I could block her sword. For all intents and purposes, the outcome was meaningless. However, it seemed such excuses didn't mean a damn thing to Yoo Seora.
"I know. But a bet is a bet, and the result stands," she replied. "You are my Constellation now."
But I couldn't back down either. If I yielded here, I could already picture the living hell that would await me.
"Then, as your Constellation, I command you. From this moment on, I am not your Constellation."
"But didn't you say a Constellation's commands carry no absolute binding force?"
I was doomed. Why did it always end up like this? I was constantly tripping over my own words.
"Fine. I'll be your Constellation. Let's just say that's the case," I conceded, throwing my hands up. Strictly speaking, it was true that I was half a Constellation anyway. Still, this dynamic wasn't ideal.
"But at the very least, could we avoid using the title 'Constellation'? It might cause unnecessary misunderstandings..."
"Then what should I call you?"
Well, what would be good? To break this awkward atmosphere, it seemed best to start by dropping the formal language.
"How about we start by speaking casually to each other?" It was indeed a bit awkward to keep using formal honorifics while being on the same team. In fact, some of the other team members had already dropped formalities with one another. So, it wouldn't be strange for her and me to do the same.
"Got it. So I can just call you Sung Yu-rang, right?"
It should have felt awkward, but her attitude was so natural and confident that the transition felt seamless. In fact, she was so self-assured that it felt almost bizarre. I was supposed to be the Constellation, yet I didn't feel like I held any upper hand at all.
"Yes, I mean... Great. You can call me that." If anything, I was the one acting awkward. Seeing me fluster, Yoo Seora burst into a fit of laughter.
'This isn't how it was supposed to go.' I tilted my head, trying to figure out how to handle this situation. Soon, Yoo Seora stopped laughing, her expression gradually turning serious. She asked,
"So, what am I supposed to do now?"
"What do you mean, what are you supposed to do?"
"You're my Constellation. Shouldn't you give me some advice on my direction or something?"
With that, it became crystal clear. I was the subordinate here. Not that I particularly minded, though.
"You saw it earlier. Your swordsmanship has plenty of potential. Just keep doing what you've been doing." Since I possessed the memories of a Constellation, playing the part came naturally to me. It even felt intuitive. The only difference was that my subject was now a real person, not a game character.
"My swordsmanship... I definitely know it's strong now. But can I really rebuild my merchant guild with just this?"
This was a topic that was bound to come up eventually. It was also a problem that absolutely had to be resolved if I wanted to recruit her as an ally. I understood her concerns. To revive a merchant guild, one needed the strength to protect the caravans from the frequent raids of Chaos Beasts. However, her Overload was far too inefficient for routine defense. But that was fine.
"Of course. Strong people naturally gather under a strong leader. Unless it's an exceptionally powerful enemy, you won't even need to step forward yourself."
"I suppose that's true." She stared at me. I wasn't entirely sure why she was looking at me with those eyes, but our conversation wasn't over yet.
"However, there is one prerequisite regarding those 'powerful enemies.'"
"A prerequisite?"
"The powerful enemies I'm referring to are the Demon Kings." I watched her expression stiffen.
"There's no need to be so frightened. If you only focus on your merchant guild, the Demon Kings won't have any reason to target you specifically."
"Then why are the Demon Kings even relevant?"
"Because even if you are safe, your merchant guild won't be. Actually, putting the guild aside, this entire world won't survive."
Yoo Seora wore a look of utter bewilderment. Admittedly, the scale of the conversation had suddenly grown incredibly massive. Even I felt that way sometimes. But without explaining this, I couldn't explain her role in it.
"It's going to be a somewhat long explanation. But before that..." There was one promise I needed to secure. It was a bit late, but necessary.
"I command you. You must never speak a word of what you have seen and heard here, including the fact that I know how to use swordsmanship." Whatever else happened, I couldn't back down on this.
For some reason, Yoo Seora had turned slightly pale. I had spoken with a bit of gravity, but I didn't think I had been that intimidating. "You understand, right?"
"Understood...!" She suddenly slipped back into formal speech. 'Whatever.' I didn't let it bother me and began explaining how the world was on the brink of destruction due to the Demon Kings.
Since my explanation was based on the knowledge Sung Yu-rang had acquired through the game, I didn't know every single detail, but the general outline was bound to be accurate. Once my rough, albeit imperfect, explanation was finished, Yoo Seora asked a question.
"But if they are so powerful that even you can't do anything about them, My Constellation, then what can I..." For some reason, her title for me had returned as well. Unlike before, there was no hint of playfulness in her voice. Deciding to address that later, I answered her question first.
"I'm not as strong as you think. I was only able to block your attack earlier because it was swordsmanship. If it had been any other type of energy, I would have been completely erased. The same would have happened even if you were holding a 3-star holy relic or higher."
"Hmm..."
"Don't look at me like I'm pathetic all of a sudden. You're the one who's abnormally strong. Besides, you'd still go down in one shot if you took an arrow to the head, wouldn't you?"
In fact, during our first mock battle, she had a record of being taken out instantly by one of my arrows. On the other hand, I was capable of deflecting ranged attacks to some extent using my Wind Authority.
"Anyway, to sum it up, I plan to stop the Demon Kings. If you help me, I'll help you rebuild your merchant guild." I did my best to explain why she should assist me. If she still wasn't convinced after all this persuasion...
'It would be a waste, but I'd have no choice but to ask the God to erase her memories.' Judging by what the Reality God had done, erasing memories of the Trial didn't seem too difficult. Given our contract, the deity would likely grant the request.
Fortunately, it didn't look like that would be necessary. Yoo Seora nodded with a serious expression. "Alright. It seems I don't have much of a choice, so I will follow your commands, My Constellation."
This was enough. Except for one thing. "But didn't we already settle the matter of the title and the formal speech?"
"Did we? But you really do feel like a true Constellation..."
"Still, no." Yoo Seora nodded dejectedly. With this, things were more or less wrapped up.
I spoke aloud to the empty air. "You can let us out now." As I said that, I added a silent thought. 'But before that, you and I need to have a little chat.' There was something I needed to settle with the deity.