Player Who Became A Constellation [EN]: Chapter 41

The meal concluded.

Loki dabbed his mouth with a handkerchief, while Sallett, seated beside him, remained motionless with her head buried on the table.

Alex, clearing the dishes, smiled at the pair.

“Was the food not to your liking?”

“…I’m just a picky eater,” Loki mumbled.

He couldn’t bring himself to criticize the meal directly.

But admitting it was delicious would only guarantee an even worse meal tomorrow.

After offering the vague excuse, Alex smiled gently. “And what about the young lady?”

“…I’m not,” a muffled voice replied.

Alex glanced at Sallett.

Still face down, she merely turned her head slightly to look at Alex and muttered, “I’m not his wife.”

“Is she your younger sister, then?”

“Neither.”

Sensing the unpleasant tone, Alex looked at Loki, puzzled.

Loki paused, considering his words.

Calling her a slave would invite unwanted misunderstandings, and he struggled to find a suitable explanation.

“She’s a traveling companion I met along the way. I couldn’t bear to leave her stranded on the roadside.”

“A refugee? Ah, I understand! There are so many wars these days… You’re very kind. Most people turn a blind eye to what they can’t handle.”

“She’s just a temporary companion.”

Sallett frowned at Loki’s words but remained silent.

Alex returned with a lantern.

As night descended and the three moons rose, the interior grew so dark that visibility was limited to the immediate vicinity of the windows.

“I’ll prepare the rooms. How should I arrange them? Would you prefer a single room, or separate ones?”

Alex offered this arrangement with Sallett’s comfort in mind. She looked up, nodded, and stated, “Separate.”

“Understood.”

The room was simple, furnished with only a large bed, a small shelf, a mirror, and a potted plant.

Loki, surveying the space, noticed a study and smiled with intrigue. “You have books.”

“Yes, I’m quite fond of them.”

“What kind of books are they?”

“Mostly old ones – theological texts, materials on herbs, and historical accounts of diseases on the continent.”

“May I read them?”

“Of course! Feel free to read as much as you like,” Alex replied with a welcoming smile.

***

On a continent where magic was highly developed, tools imbued with light magic were commonly used to illuminate the night. However, such devices were typically found only in noble estates, royal palaces, or grand cathedrals.

In this secluded monastery, even candles or oil lanterns were considered a luxury, and Alex had taken those away, leaving the room in near-total darkness.

Sallett removed the hood she had been wearing.

Dark elves possessed the ability to see clearly in dim light, as if it were late dawn, unless they were in complete darkness.

The room was clearly visible, but its eerie atmosphere made her uneasy.

The room was quite spacious, containing about eight beds.

Dolls were scattered on a display case, and boxes of children’s toys were neatly arranged in every corner.

The moonlight filtering through the window illuminated the dolls. Their smiles, with mouths stretched wide, were more unsettling than cute, creating a sense of unease.

‘…N-nothing much. It’s just… too big to use alone.’

Suddenly, a black shadow flickered behind Sallett.

Tap, tap – a knock sounded, sending goosebumps down her spine.

“……?!”

She whirled around, only to see the leaves of a tree shaking and hitting the window.

“Wh-what? I thought…”

She instinctively took a step back.

Then, something bumped into her back, causing her to freeze and turn around.

A large, dark shadow loomed over her, its head bowed.

“……!”

Sallett’s ears perked up, and her body trembled.

She remained frozen for three seconds before realizing it was just a robe hanging on a coat rack. She tried to regain her composure, snorting.

“Hmph! It’s nothing! Well! There’s no way there would be a ghost… ?”

-…What are you doing?

“……?!”

Ifrit, who had been summoned without her knowledge, sat on the bed with his arms crossed and asked. Sallett covered her head and sat down, trembling.

She glared at Ifrit with tearful eyes.

“Wh-what! Why do you appear like that?!”

-…I always appear like this?

Ifrit tilted his head, confused by her reaction.

Sallett couldn’t help but feel resentful at the contrast between her terror and his nonchalance.

She jumped up and glared at Ifrit.

“What’s going on?”

-I was bored, so I came to see you.

Ifrit shrugged at Sallett’s dissatisfied expression.

-What do you take me for? I’m on a different level than other low-level spirits. The middle realm is just a playground for me.

Sallett looked at Ifrit and crossed her arms.

In a way, she seemed to be mimicking him.

“So… the great spirit came all the way here to scare me on purpose?”

-I didn’t intend to… but it’s fun, so I’ll do it a few more times.

“…….”

Sallett barely managed to suppress the urge to shout, ‘Please don’t!’

Ifrit looked around and glanced at Sallett.

-…It doesn’t seem like that person is threatening you. That old human doesn’t seem like he’ll pose a threat either… Well, judging by his reaction, he seems interested in you, so if you keep traveling with him, he might protect you.

“…….”

-But don’t get too close. The more powerful they are, the more fickle they are. You never know when he’ll abandon you.

“…We’re only together for a short time.”

-Yes, if you’re with him, humans won’t be a threat.

“Humans aren’t a threat to me in the first place.”

-Huh, you say that, but weren’t you scared of that old man?

“…….”

He was referring to the first time Sallett met Alex.

Sallett closed her mouth tightly.

She had indeed been frightened by Alex. Until now, she had avoided close contact with humans, and when she couldn’t, she had relied on the divine artifact [Charm].

However, in front of Alex, she felt intimidated for some reason and found herself at a loss for words.

Sallett realized how pathetic she must have seemed when she thought back to that day.

‘What kind of….’

-So what kind of revenge are you going to take?

“…….”

Sallett was speechless as she looked at Ifrit, who seemed to have read her mind.

She wanted to argue, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak.

Ifrit jumped off the bed.

Perhaps because he was only the size of a palm, he didn’t appear dignified at all. Nevertheless, he pointed at Sallett, who was much larger than him, as if he were lecturing her.

-Listen carefully. You don’t have the power to take revenge. Hatred? Resentment? Just bury them. Forget them. Don’t dwell on the past! Your desire for revenge will only lead you to ruin.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’m going to keep going.”

-You’re the one who’s ridiculous. Honestly, if that person hadn’t saved you, you would have already become food for the wights [undead creatures]. No, even if you escaped from them, the ending would be even more terrible. Your plan was to seduce humans and make them yours, right? Do you think that will succeed? Humans are not weak. They are vicious and cunning. They will capture you by any means and make you their plaything.

“…….”

-You don’t even have a chance to take revenge. Keep that in mind.

With that warning, Ifrit disappeared.

Sallett bit her lower lip. Her nails dug into her skin as she clenched her fist. Feeling a stinging pain, she shed tears of resentment.

‘…I know that.’

To be honest, she knew it was impossible. Nevertheless, she couldn’t stop.

‘Otherwise… I have no reason to live, right?’

She still couldn’t forget.

That day filled with screams and despair.

The only reason she lived so desperately now was for one thing: revenge.

***

Ting-! Ting-! Ting-!

Sallett, exhausted from crying, opened her eyes.

Wiping her swollen eyes with the back of her hand, she sat up and looked out the window.

There was no light.

The moonlight that had illuminated the night was obscured by the falling rain.

Lacking even the slightest illumination, it was difficult to see anything, even with the vision of a dark elf.

Ting-!

“……?”

She tilted her head, her silver hair cascading down.

Ting-!

A clear bell rang outside.

At that moment, thunder roared.

With a majestic sound and a flash of light, Sallett flinched and covered her head with the blanket. Despite her fear, she listened to the ringing bell.

‘What is that sound?’

Curiosity overcame her fear.

Sallett cautiously opened the door with a tense expression.

The long corridor of the monastery stretched before her.

The end of the brick-built corridor was swallowed by darkness and could not be seen.

The tree branches, swept up by the wind, struck the window glass, sounding like knocks and creating a gloomy atmosphere.

Ting-!

The sound came from the end of the hallway. A faint red glow began to appear at the far end.

Sallett froze as she recognized the source of the bell.

A figure wearing a long robe stood there.

Adorned with a large bird-beaked mask, carrying a lantern in one hand and a bell in the other, the figure walked with the hem of its long robe sweeping the floor.

Ting-!

The sound echoed with each step, startling Sallett.

The bird’s beak mask turned its head and faced her.

Whoosh-! Whoosh-!

The eyes behind the glass membrane covering the mask’s eye area stared at Sallett, and its breath was ragged.

At that creepy sight… Sallett couldn’t even think of screaming and fled into Loki’s room.

“……?”

Only Alex, the monk wearing the bird beak mask, tilted his head in confusion.

***

Even under Loki’s questioning gaze, Sallett hid under the blanket and pointed towards the door with her other hand.

“Th-there’s a ghost….”

“…A ghost?”

Loki was intrigued.

On this continent, not only magic but also the undead derived from that magic existed.

In the case of Loki’s undead legion, their very existence was composed of magical power, making them like ‘living beings’ with self-awareness, so it was difficult to classify them as typical undead.

Therefore, Loki was curious about the nature of the undead here.

‘Come to think of it, I’ve only encountered wights as undead.’

The first being Loki met upon arriving on the continent was a wight. It was a monster similar to a zombie, but more powerful and with a higher mortality rate due to its infectiousness.

However, there were many strange things about wights.

‘Rather than a dead creature, it felt like it was alive.’

It felt as if a dead body was being forced to move.

‘No, this is not the time to think about that. You just said ghost, right?’

“Where is that ghost?”

“I-in the hallway…!”

Loki closed the herbal book he was reading, opened the door, and looked outside.

At the end of the hallway stood a figure wearing a bird beak mask.

The figure noticed Loki, scratched his head as if embarrassed, and bowed.

Loki tilted his head at the gesture.

‘That’s the monk? Then the ghost is…?’

He looked around, but there was nothing else.

Loki closed the door and looked at Sallett.

“…Did you have a nightmare?”

“N-no… Th-there’s definitely… something….”

Sallett became tearful without realizing it.

Loki’s actions, as if he hadn’t seen anything, only strengthened her conviction.

‘There was definitely something!’

She didn’t realize that what she had seen was the monk, Alex.

Loki nodded.

“I understand. Then….”

“……?”

“Sleep here tonight.”

“……!”

Sallett’s eyes widened as she looked at Loki, who spoke without any apparent sincerity.