Player Who Became A Constellation [EN]: Chapter 115

115. A Player Who Became a Constellation

The morning sun rose, illuminating Lost.

Destroyed buildings.

Injured people.

The war was over, but its traces remained.

The remaining Node forces helped with the recovery efforts.

Ronians cast various gazes upon them.

Fear and displeasure, mixed with respect.

Some saw them as invaders who had attacked Ronia.

Others saw them as heroes who had saved Ronia.

However, it was clear that the treatment of the discriminated Node people would change with the end of this war.

“What’s wrong?”

At Loki’s question, Cellut blinked.

The royal capital of Ronia.

Ronians wore expressions of shock at the devastation of the war.

Among them, some still clung to hope, running the ruined inns.

Loki settled in such an inn, leisurely observing the royal capital of Ronia.

The dark elf girl who appeared before him stared blankly at Loki.

Perhaps… it was the first time she had seen Loki in his ‘human’ form, without the crow mask or the jet-black armor.

“Ah!”

Only then did Cellut, startled by Loki’s words, stammer and bow her head.

“I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For acting… rashly.”

Loki hadn’t expected Cellut to be in the royal palace.

And to shoot Ash with a bow….

“Well, if you wanted to settle your score with that guy, it’s not my place to interfere.”

Ash wanted Cellut and had ties to the Holy Order.

Loki didn’t know the history of the continent, but he knew about her bad blood with the Holy Order.

She had enough reason to participate in the war.

Besides, the arrow that pierced Ash’s eye.

With her skills, she could have easily pierced his head, yet she only pierced his eye and subdued him alive.

In other words, she intentionally didn’t kill him.

‘She must be thinking of us.’

She had even considered that killing King Ash would cause diplomatic problems.

“However, tell me in advance next time.”

“I thought you would exclude me from the battlefield….”

“As I said, you’re free to do whatever you want.”

Loki said that and turned his head.

“Waaaaaaah!”

“Long live Prince Eron!”

Cheers erupted.

Citizens gathered on the streets, and they saw King Eron, whom they had crowned, marching with his soldiers.

Not everyone welcomed him.

-…Damn Ronia royal family.

-Those bastards should have died….

Naturally, there were those who resented the endless power struggles of the royal family, which had sacrificed their families and left them living in poverty.

Their resentment and hatred would not easily subside.

Since the royal family was the cause of all misfortune, it would not be easy to win back their hearts.

‘It depends on what Eron does about it.’

“So… what are you going to do now?”

At Cellut’s question, Loki looked at her.

What was she talking about?

“The Holy Order.”

“Do you want to take revenge on them?”

Cellut nodded. Then she shook her head.

“That’s right. Ah! Or maybe not.”

“……?”

“I want to destroy the Holy Order. But… what about you, Loki?”

Cellut had heard some stories from Ruran.

It didn’t seem to be public knowledge yet, but the Holy Order had created the Plague Worm Fest [a devastating biological weapon].

And they had used it to destroy the Hannes Empire.

Loki had even used that fact to cause a civil war in the Holy Order.

She heard that friction between Asgard and the Holy Order was inevitable.

If a war were to break out, she wanted to help Loki in any way she could.

“Well….”

In fact, not only the Holy Order but also the Kron Empire was a problem.

The emperor of the Kron Empire had been assassinated, so there was no knowing how they would react.

The Holy Order was distracted by the civil war, but what about the Kron Empire?

What if the next emperor invaded to avenge his father?

‘Hmm, well….’

Loki turned his head and looked at Eron.

‘Ronia will suffer.’

The fastest route from the Kron Empire to Asgard was through Ronia.

That meant the flames of war would engulf Ronia again.

At that time, Ronia might really be destroyed.

“The Kron Empire and the Holy Order both have many problems.”

“…….”

Loki pondered for a moment, then glanced at Cellut.

“Do you happen to know anything about the Kron Empire?”

“…A little.”

The former Hannes Empire hated the Holy Order and the Kron Empire the most.

The Holy Order labeled other races as heretics and oppressed them.

The Hannes Empire extensively hunted other races as slaves.

“Really? Then….”

Loki smiled at Cellut.

“Won’t you come with me?”

“……?”

Where to?

Cellut tilted her head instead of asking, and Loki continued.

“The Kron Empire.”

He happened to have business there.

***

“…Oh! It seems the elders and lords are doing a good job.”

In the guest room of Lost Palace, Aum was reviewing reports from Asgard.

‘Now that the lords know how to do their part, there won’t be any problems with exchanges.’

Asgard’s power had been demonstrated throughout the continent due to the war with Ronia, and the Holy Order was distracted by the civil war, so many foreign envoys were trying to contact them for trade.

It wouldn’t be bad to trade with them.

‘With this, the economic and diplomatic issues will proceed smoothly… huh?’

Aum frowned.

The document in his hand contained an unexpected report.

‘Drug addiction?’

It was that an unknown drug was being distributed in Asgard.

“At this time? What happened?”

Aum examined the report in detail.

It was originally a potion used for pain relief.

However, if a small amount of additive was mixed into the potion, it would transform into a dangerous drug.

‘…Rage Mushroom.’

It was a strategic item of the Kron Empire.

Aum also skimmed through the data he had received from Ronia.

If consumed, it induces hallucinations and illusions, dulls pain, and grants great strength at the cost of rampaging.

The report stated that the Rage Potion had spread to Ronia as the Kron Empire’s army entered.

And now it had reached the northern lands.

‘Is it the work of black market dealers?’

Perhaps greedy merchants had distributed it in Asgard.

“Ugh… this is driving me crazy. How did these guys smuggle it in?”

The inspection is thorough at the Frozen Barrier.

There might be corrupt individuals among the Node forces, but considering Loki’s anger, there would be few Node people who would do that.

‘Then did they bypass it by sea?’

It’s impossible to patrol the entire island. They must have slipped through the cracks.

‘But we can’t ask the Kron Empire for cooperation.’

Since Emperor Kashar had been killed, the empire would not be willing to cooperate.

Rather, they might have intentionally released the Rage Potion into Asgard.

‘I need to ask Loki.’

Aum got up from his seat and arrived at the room where Loki was staying.

He knocks.

When there was no response, Aum opened the door and entered, puzzled.

The room was empty.

And a note on the table.

Aum looked at the note with a puzzled expression, and veins popped out on his temple.

[I have some business to take care of, so I’ll be away for a while. Take care of Asgard.

…I won’t forget the gift.

-Loki]

***

“…Are you okay?”

The carriage rumbled.

The wheels of the carriage, which had been rolling, now passed through green grass and entered a sandy wasteland.

Cellut, still not used to it, stared blankly at Loki’s bare face.

Loki, holding the reins in the driver’s seat, nodded.

“Aum is a capable guy. He’ll take good care of Asgard.”

“That’s not what I mean….”

Cellut shook her head.

What she meant was, shouldn’t the ruler of a country be constantly traveling outside like this?

As Loki was called the King of the Node and also called a Constellation, his absence would surely be felt.

“It happens often.”

“…….”

“And it’s not like I’m going to play, is it?”

“Is there a reason to go out?”

“There are diplomatic issues… and I need to bring education staff and talents to Valhalla Academy.”

What did that have to do with going to the Kron Empire?

“I heard that the Kron Empire can buy talented people as long as you have money.”

Cellut nodded.

Once a slave, she knew that fact.

Masters of swordsmanship, strategists, or artisans and artists.

Even fallen nobles and royals were sometimes sold as slaves.

Of course, it would cost astronomical sums to buy them….

Soon, Cellut recalled Loki’s palace and realized that it was a completely unnecessary worry.

“We need to find talents and also talk to the Kron Empire. About the emperor’s assassination.”

“Are you going there yourself?”

For the ruler of a country to visit an enemy country in person?

Other royals would be horrified if they heard about it.

“What does it matter? I can take a breather, see what the Kron Empire is like, and trade with them.”

‘…You just want to play.’

Cellut had somewhat grasped Loki’s tendencies.

-‘What kind of person is Loki?’

Cellut had asked Cancun before.

And she had answered….

-‘…He’s like a mischievous child.’

At first, she didn’t know what it meant, but now Cellut seemed to understand.

“It’s… unheard of for a ruler to step out like this.”

“Well, who knows? Maybe there’s someone who hates sitting and doing paperwork as much as I do.”

Cellut shook her head.

She asserted that it would be difficult to find such a person, at least among humans.

***

-‘Brother, are you crazy?’

A camel pulled a baggage cart, passing through a sandstorm in the desert.

The wheel part of the baggage cart was shaped like a sled.

-‘You must be crazy. A country’s emperor, instead of running the country, is only thinking about going out to play!’

-‘…That’s not it, Sharin. This body is not going to play. Besides, you should speak properly. This body is not the emperor but the crown prince.’

He told his sister that.

-‘You idiot, since the emperor is dead, shouldn’t the crown prince become the emperor? If you leave your position now, your other siblings will start a civil war, saying, “Oh! My brother, my brother has left his position!”! Especially the lords are all going crazy, saying they’re going to become independent and establish their own countries…. Do you really want to end up like Ronia??’

She was a sister who spoke very fluently.

To that, Crown Prince Karma explained why he came to the imperial palace and why he would go to the border area of the Kron Empire.

-‘But before becoming emperor, there’s something I need to fix.’

-‘What is it? You idiot brother!’

-‘Indeed, you are my real sibling.’

Karma, moved by his sister’s heartfelt words, said.

-‘Rage Potion. I’m going to cut off its distribution.’

Crown Prince Karma had long wanted to cut off the root of evil that was corrupting the Kron Empire.

Now that his father, Emperor Kashar, was dead, this was his chance.

-‘What does that have to do with your amusement?’

-‘Sharin, you’re naturally dropping honorifics.’

-‘…Am I?’

He was wearing a crude mask made of carved wood, which his sister had made for him recently.

-‘When I had it investigated, it was full of distorted or missing information. It seems there are those who don’t like me cutting off the drug.’

-‘…….’

-‘This is an opportunity. If I do well, I can get rid of the forces hostile to me in one fell swoop. So, if something happens to me, you take this empire-.’

-‘You’re full of it.’

Karma smiled as he recalled her words.

He often thinks of his precious sister whenever he travels alone.

Later, I should replace the bedroom with a water bed so that she falls into the water when she tries to sleep.

The sight of her looking like a drowned rat would make her look ridiculous.

‘A brother who instills a sense of alertness that there are traps under the bed. Advice from a blood relative to prepare for assassins. Isn’t he a great brother?’

Karma was chuckling as he imagined childish pranks.

“Huh?”

Across from him.

A broken carriage can be seen in the sandstorm.

“It would be difficult to pass through this desert with those wheels… are they travelers from another country? Besides-”

There were black figures around him, with large bodies and weapons.

They were orcs, a different race with black skin.

Even worse, they were Black Orcs, known for their violent nature.

‘They’ve been attacked.’

Karma reached out towards the baggage cart.

He grabbed a long spear.

A man was seen reaching out from the carriage and taking out a girl.

“…Kron Empire citizen?”

No, that’s not it.

The man’s skin color is different.

It’s white skin.

The girl seemed to be a citizen of the Kron Empire, but judging by her long ears, she seemed to be a dark elf.

‘Is she a slave?’

Anyway, this is also a connection.

It would be good to save them.

Kron’s Crown Prince Karma headed towards the strangers, Loki and Cellut.