Player Who Became A Constellation [EN]: Chapter 45

The words stopped Alex, who had been muttering. Tears welled in his dry eyes.

The tears streamed down his cheeks, flowing endlessly.

“No! It’s possible. With magic… a plague like this…!”

“It’s impossible. They are already dead. These children.”

“……!!”

Alex shook his head in disbelief, then looked at the children inside the prison.

-Father! Father!

The children’s voices still seemed to echo in his ears. But that hallucination was drowned out by the screams of the children, now turned into monsters.

Not the whispers of children, but the cheers of monsters.

The reality he didn’t want to believe was forced upon him by those words.

Alex, drained of strength, collapsed where he stood.

Hiding his face with trembling hands, he cried out.

“I believed…! I believed it was possible. If I could save these children, I could go back to the old days. If I could just return to that happy time, I… I was confident I could do anything! I would have sold my soul to the devil to do it. But…!”

“I don’t know how you feel.”

“…….”

“I don’t know why you’re so obsessed either. But…”

Loki raised his sword.

“Release the children who cannot rest in peace because of your obsession.”

Alex closed his mouth.

Alex looked at the children who had become monsters.

Yes, he knew. He knew that what he was doing now was making things even harder for the children.

“But I can’t. I can’t forget the children. I’ve been running non-stop until now. But! Here…!”

“I didn’t say forget them.”

“…….”

“But don’t be obsessed either.”

Loki entered the prison. He cut down the wights [undead creatures] disguised as children, one by one.

The bound wights died.

Alex watched the scene with trembling eyes.

The cute children’s faces were gone. Only the end of hideous monsters remained.

“…Think of the children and live the rest of your life for them.”

All the wights were dead. Loki poured purification potion over the piled-up corpses of the wights.

“That is the path the children desire.”

The green liquid in the bottle dripped down and touched the corpses, turning them to ashes and disappearing.

“Otherwise, only emptiness will remain.”

Emptiness.

The word resonated with Alex so much.

He had worked for years, and the result of his efforts disappeared in an instant. The life he had clung to with hope had collapsed.

Nevertheless, he felt something that had been stuck in the emptiness of his heart was being released.

Feeling guilty, Alex couldn’t help but shake his head at the thought of ‘It’s a relief’ creeping in at the same time.

Serving the Constellation and training the mind and spirit is the duty of a clergyman. But Alex was reminded of how selfish and cunning a person’s heart can be.

A short time passed.

“……,”

Loki sighed softly as he watched Alex staring blankly into the air in a corner of the monastery’s reception room.

He had acted arbitrarily.

He could have moved more carefully, but the moment he saw the children who had become wights, he was overcome with a strange anger and acted on his emotions.

“Do you resent me?”

When Loki came up and asked, Alex stared at Loki with a blank look. After a few seconds, as if the meaning of the words had been conveyed, Alex said weakly.

“To be honest, I resent you.”

“You can resent me.”

“…I’m sorry. I hate myself for saying this, even though I know you’re taking on the role of the villain for this old man. It’s rare to see someone act like that, knowing they’ll be hated.”

“No.”

Loki was calm even at Alex’s blunt words. Seeing that, the resentment in his heart lessened a little.

“You’re kind. Thank you for accepting this old man’s grumbling.”

“…….”

He was silent at Alex’s words.

Alex ran his hands through his hair.

“Please. I want to have some time alone for a little while.”

“…Do so.”

Loki, who was far from comforting, left the room.

***

It was the next morning.

He was preparing to leave, but in fact, there was nothing to prepare.

Most of his belongings were in his inventory, and all he needed was Sialot’s belongings, but she didn’t have much to pack either.

He was going to say goodbye to Alex before leaving, but he hadn’t left his room since yesterday.

The shock must have been great.

‘…It’s none of my business now.’

It was when Loki was about to leave the monastery.

“Wait! Please wait a moment!”

Alex burst out of the monastery door, panting.

His eyes were not only red from crying all the time, but also stained with fatigue.

But he looked strangely relieved and held out a large bag.

“Take, take this.”

“……?”

“It’s bell peppers. I just picked them. I don’t know how they taste compared to others, but they’ll still be much better than what you ate before!”

Sialot’s mouth twitched slightly at the word bell pepper.

Loki accepted the bag.

Next, Alex handed a small bag to Sialot.

“Madam. This….”

“……?”

Sialot accepted it and sniffed it with her nose. The pungent smell made her nose wrinkle.

‘Medicine?’

It was also herbs that she had combined and made.

“I think you hurt your leg, so take it with you.”

Sialot was startled and looked down at her leg.

She was wearing boots that reached her knees, so it wasn’t easy to see. Furthermore, unless you looked closely, you wouldn’t have noticed that she was limping, so it was difficult to tell that her leg hurt. Yet, the fact that Alex knew meant that he had been paying attention to Sialot and observing her.

“It was a very excellent combination technique. I learned a lot from you.”

Alex said, looking at Loki, not Sialot.

He hadn’t seen Sialot make the herbs, and he thought he was a herbalist because he was holding the purification potion.

“No. This guy made it.”

Loki pressed down on Sialot’s head, and Sialot made a dissatisfied expression.

Her pride was hurt.

“Ah, is that so?”

Alex said that, but he didn’t really believe it.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, I feel refreshed after crying in my room all day!”

But there was a slight tremor in his voice, proving that he still had emotional pain.

“What are you going to do now?”

“I have to clean up.”

Alex was muttering, ‘All of that.’

Alex looked at Loki and took out a small token from his chest.

The token made of carved wood had a pattern engraved with the shape of [木] [wood].

It was a symbol symbolizing the Azellan Constellation.

Next to it was Alex’s name engraved.

“This is…?”

“You’re a Nord, right? Most people who wear animal masks are Nords. Besides, you don’t seem to have been on the continent for very long…. This is the meaning of conversion.”

“Conversion?”

At Loki’s questioning tone, Alex said as if not to misunderstand.

“Take it. In fact, there are processes such as memorizing the Bible and sprinkling holy water, but I’ll skip that because it’s just a formality. Besides, I’m a priest who serves the Azellan Constellation, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to force my faith on you. Among the words of the Azellan Constellation is ‘Respect all beings.’ I know that the Nords have their own Constellation that they serve. So I can’t do anything that ignores them. Take it. If you have that token, there will be no friction with the clergy.”

“…….”

It just so happened that Loki needed a token of conversion.

“Thank you.”

“Yes, please forgive this old man’s… disgraceful behavior.”

Alex bowed his head to Loki and Sialot.

“And… be careful on your journey. May the blessing of the Azellan Constellation be with you….”

***

Alex stared at the spot where Loki and Sialot had already disappeared. He was still feeling lingering emotions and regretful.

“Monk~!

Alex opened the door at the sound coming from outside the monastery.

There was a donkey and a cart, and on top of it was the general store owner Yuan and a woman who appeared to be his wife.

The woman was very beautiful and her belly was bulging as if she was pregnant.

“Yuan! What brings you here?”

Alex asked in surprise, and Yuan scratched his head.

“What happened to those travelers?”

“They left.”

“Ah, is that so? Hmm… that’s too bad.”

“Why is that?”

Alex couldn’t help but wonder. Why was Yuan so sorry that they had left?

“Actually, we’re thinking of going on a trip too.”

“Trip?”

It was a sudden story. Besides, a trip with his pregnant wife? Wasn’t that too dangerous?!

“It’s a bit grand to say, but actually, I’m thinking of going to the nearest city. I was thinking of going together if we had the same destination.”

“But… wouldn’t it be a little dangerous?”

These days are not good.

A civil war was taking place. Above all, there was a possibility of encountering monsters outside the town or city. It was a backwater village, so there were no signs of that yet, but it was affecting it little by little.

“It’ll be okay. I’m going to buy some goods that I’ve run out of, and I’m going to show my wife around the city.”

Yuan often went back and forth to the city. It had been over 10 years and there had been no dangerous incidents until then. The only unlucky thing that happened was that he was robbed by a thief the day before yesterday, but now there was almost no chance of meeting him again.

“Fortunately, other merchant group people are going with me, so there are mercenaries in charge of escorting us. It’ll be safe.”

“…I see. When are you coming back?”

“I’m thinking of staying there for about a month.”

“Is that so? Okay, be careful… Ah, wait!”

Alex took out a letter from his chest and handed it to Yuan.

“Can you send this on the way? I’ll give you the money.”

“Yes? Where… it’s going to the Holy Order’s Grand Cathedral. Yes, I understand.”

Yuan nodded and accepted the letter.

“Come back safely.”

“Yes, of course.”

Even Yuan had left.

Alex had a bitter expression.

He put on his plague doctor mask and leather gloves again.

He went down to the basement and cleaned up everything he had done so far.

‘Everyone’s leaving. Well, Yuan will be back… but I still feel bad. Should I leave this monastery and return to the Order at this opportunity?’

He still didn’t like it. But it wasn’t necessarily unpleasant.

Strangely, the Azellan Order was divided into the Saint’s ‘Black Faction’ and the Pope’s ‘White Faction’ to serve the Constellation.

‘…Should I go to see the Pope? That person will be able to save even more people.’

Alex was carrying all his luggage and holding a lantern when he came up to the laboratory.

“……!”

There was someone.

Not just one or two people.

Two men and one woman.

They were all wearing chain mail, and on top of that, they were wearing surcoats with a black pattern, [木] [wood], engraved on their chests.

Unfamiliar people were in the Worm Fest’s laboratory cabin.

The only familiar person was one.

It was a subordinate of the Vanguard Unit called ‘Black Judge’ who had gathered to destroy the Harness Empire 50 years ago.

He now appears to be in his early to mid-70s.

He was sitting in a chair with interest, putting his legs on the table, and reading a book slowly.

“…Amazing. Alex.”

“…Yuma.”

Alex called his name.

Yuma slightly folded the book and observed Alex’s appearance.

There was a leather bag on his back, and his eyes widened as if surprised by his appearance wearing a plague doctor mask.

“…I’m really surprised that someone who used to be a holy knight is researching to this extent. I wouldn’t have had any specialized knowledge in the first place.”

“…….”

Alex looked at the two men and women standing.

They were all in their mid-30s, but they were staring at Alex in a motionless posture. Besides, they had their hands on the hilt so that they could draw their swords at any time.

Alex took off his plague doctor mask. And he smiled with a kind expression.

“What brings you here? Yuma! It’s been a long time!”

He treated him as brightly as possible, smiling as much as possible, but he didn’t erase his wariness of the two men and women.

Yuma, who saw such Alex, smiled brightly and closed the book. He turned his head and handed it to the subordinate behind him, muttering softly.

“…Gather everything.”

At those words, the subordinates began to move.

They began to gather all the books and sample Worm Fests in Alex’s laboratory.

“Ha, haha! What are you doing? Wouldn’t it be hard to clean up if you do this?”

“Cleaning… don’t worry. I’ll make cleaning easy.”

Yuma snapped his fingers. Then the subordinate took out the candle in the cabin and threw it at the collected data to set it on fire.

The flames burned and the fire spread to the cabin, but no one cared.

Alex clenched his fist. He struggled to hold back the feeling that his reason would snap.

“…You’re doing useless things. Only clergy belonging to the Order can research Worm Fest. No one can do that without the permission of the Saint.”

“Isn’t every healer and herbalist in the continent allowed to research it?”

“The continental law has changed quite a bit.”

“Did the Saint send you?”

“The Saint sent us.”

Yuma emphasized ‘Saint’.

“Huh, does he need a weak old man?”

“We don’t need you. We just want to know.”

Alex asked, puzzled.

“Want to know? About Worm Fest?”

“No. The Order has much more information about that. What we want is….”

Yuma looked at Alex with an arrogant gaze, clasping his hands together.

“It’s about the whereabouts of the princess of the destroyed Harness Empire.”