Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Constellation Gallery EP.25
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The woman stammered, her face flustered.
"Wh-what do you mean by accepting a party...?"
"I mean, accept the party invite..."
Huh? Didn't the party limit just increase?
What's going on? Could it be that you can't even invite non-Awakened people?
'Huh? In that case...'
If my guess was right, I'd have a way to identify Awakened from non-Awakened from now on.
A massive gain.
Of course, I'd need to expand the party limit first.
"Sorry. Looks like I can't accept it right now."
She blinked at me, staring blankly.
She probably had no idea what I was talking about.
"Sorry about that, so hand over the bag. I'll carry it."
"I'm fine! I should handle my own stuff."
"Quiet and hand it over."
I reached out my hand.
"Wasting stamina lugging that around is more of a hassle for everyone."
She hesitated for a moment but eventually glanced at me cautiously and slipped off the bag, handing it over.
I took it casually and tossed it straight into my Inventory.
"Wow... It's still so amazing no matter how many times I see it. Where does it go? Can you bring it back out?"
I met her eyes.
And said with a serious face.
"No. Can't take it out anymore."
"What? Give me my bag back!"
"Just kidding. It's a lesson not to hand your stuff to strangers lightly."
She let out a sigh of relief after hearing me.
*
We arrived home and I opened the door.
The door was intact as usual, and the inside hadn't changed since I left.
On the first day of the apocalypse, my home was waiting for me just as unchanged.
"Come on in, make yourselves at home."
"Thanks, excuse me!"
Lee Tulip fumbled with her shoes.
"Keep your shoes on."
"Huh?"
"With things like this, you need to be ready to move anytime."
Lee Tulip and the guide woman stood at the entrance, faces conflicted.
"Feels like my mind is strongly objecting for some reason."
"Yeah. My head gets it, but my body won't listen."
"It's just a space you'll abandon tomorrow anyway, so do as I say."
I crossed the living room with my shoes on first, and only then did they hesitantly slip theirs back on and follow.
Lee Tulip made a noise with every step.
"Ugh... guilt. We'll be living among the dust like this."
"You'll miss this time, trust me."
The guide tilted her head at my words.
"Why? We stocked up on food, so can't we just hole up here safely?"
I sat on the edge of the bed and chuckled.
"No, you can't. Even locking the door won't make anywhere safe. You don't even need monsters—a looter's axe would smash this door easily."
Lee Tulip clamped her mouth shut.
Beside her, the guide asked with an anxious face.
"Then other places would be even worse, right?"
"Exactly, so start thinking about it now."
Then the guide stared at me intently and asked again.
"But what happened to you?"
"Huh?"
Her gaze swept over my body.
Short curtain skirt and bulletproof vest.
"Oh, this?"
The guide nodded.
"I've had way too much going on. It's exhausting."
"...You do look it."
"I was kidding."
Even after my words, the guide kept her serious face.
"You seem a bit weird."
"Uncle is weird, yeah."
"Good thing there's a doctor here—no need for the dentist."
"Ah, seriously..."
While Lee Tulip recoiled in disgust, the guide kept spilling her curiosities.
"And you're carrying a shiny sword unlike when I first saw you... You really are a demon, right? This contract is a deal with a demon or something. Right?"
"Uncle's a god, not a demon."
"......Neither."
I was making a dumbfounded face when.
"Oh, right, Uncle! I got sponsorships when I treated those people earlier!"
Lee Tulip beamed proudly.
I pondered as I listened to her excitedly list the sponsorship details.
Specific actions bring sponsorships.
It might not just be simple charity.
Probably inducing the behaviors they want.
Holding the gold we crave hostage.
"Congrats. Looks like your good deeds got recognized."
Lee Tulip nodded proudly at my offhand remark.
She saw it as simple recognition.
But I thought differently.
Reinforcing behavior with rewards.
This was basic conditional reflex training.
Give a dog a treat for a specific action, and it'll repeat it.
Sponsorships were just the carrots the Constellations used to tame us.
'Come to think of it, I got them too.'
When I killed the thugs.
When I made them kill each other.
Massive sponsorships came for those actions.
In other words, the Constellations wanted me to keep doing that.
"Well, anyway, it's a good thing, so keep it up."
If her good deeds could draw sponsorships as a fundraising method, no need to discourage it.
Then something occurred to me.
Constellation Gallery.
When she was treating others, this post was up.
I'd brushed it off back then.
Figured it was nonsense since I didn't get it.
But now, what did "walking the path of light" even mean?
What was light?
The source of life that makes vitality bloom.
The act of healing someone, infusing life force into them.
That could be "light" to them.
'But why post about it?'
No way...
I narrowed my eyes at Lee Tulip.
'Lee Tulip's Constellation... isn't who I thought?'
I sighed and turned to the guide.
"Anyway, read off those contracts you got."
"Oh, there are more than I thought. Want the whole list?"
"......That many?"
She nodded with a puzzled face.
'Did they flock because of Lee Tulip?'
Well, not bad. More options.
The guide read them one by one.
"That's all."
I crossed my arms as I listened to the contract details.
I could confidently narrow it down to two Constellations.
One Who Counts the Stars Ascending Mount Ki
「I am the one surviving chaotic times, bearer of stratagems that pierce confusion.」
「When light is unseen, I carve the path, and before impenetrable barriers, I summon winds. Yet I am no mere tool. As you demand of me, so must you satisfy me.」
「Become my Incarnation, and I shall reveal the optimal choices. But the choice remains yours alone. Follow or reject my counsel freely. However, remember: even I cannot save you from wrong choices.」
Blacksmith Who Devours Flames
「I am the one who hammers all with the heart of fire. The hand that wields tools is the root of civilization, the hand that grips weapons the start of survival.」
「I have never once stopped. Never once let go of the iron. Become my Incarnation, and my flames shall be yours.」
「Yet what meaning has a famed sword to one who cannot wield it? A mishandled weapon hastens the end of the world.」
One screaming strategist.
One screaming blacksmith.
The first Constellation's epithet didn't click, but after the contract text, I had a rough idea.
Probably Sima Yi if not Zhuge Liang.
Having a strategist Constellation was hugely appealing.
My decisions so far might've been more efficient.
But there was a problem.
Not knowing exactly how much "strategic advice" entailed in intervention.
A strategist would be great, but too smart and they might use me.
They stress "loyalty," but true absolute loyalty? Who knows.
'There's the "party" safety net, but strategists...'
Means they could exploit system loopholes to target me.
'The blacksmith, though... any such worries?'
Right now, I needed efficient weapon and armor crafting more than brainpower.
Info I could dig from Constellation Gallery or ask directly if urgent, but gear crafting was different.
"I'd go with contracting the Blacksmith Who Devours Flames."
"This isn't one of those sell-your-soul things, right?"
"No idea. But it's definitely better for survival."
The guide seemed resolved.
"How do I contract?"
"Just accept it."
"I mean, how do I..."
"Hit the accept button or just sincerely think 'I accept the contract'!"
Lee Tulip cut in for me, explaining the method.
A well-trained subordinate beats ten Constellations.
"But mess up and it's really bad. If you accidentally contract the wrong one, we can't take responsibility."
The guide gulped at my threat.
She stared into space and took a deep breath.
Soon, the air shifted.
Different from when Lee Tulip contracted.
A thick heat spread through the space.
Eerie part was it wasn't skin-stinging heat, but the heavy warmth of stepping into a blazing forge.
The guide's body bathed in red glow.
Faint at first, it clarified into intense crimson spreading across her skin.
Like molten iron in a bellows-fired furnace, her veins tinged with fine red energy.
"Whoa..."
Lee Tulip admired in hushed awe.
A few seconds later, the light faded, the glow on her body cooling dimly.
"Tulip, was yours similar?"
"Really?"
Her face said she couldn't believe it.
I turned to the guide.
"Alright, now you should be able to join the party for real, right?"