Player Who Became A Constellation [EN]: Chapter 57

57. A Letter Stained with Blood

Remembering Yuan’s wish, Loki placed the letter in Cancun’s hands.

“Send this to Asgard, but only if they choose to go there of their own accord.”

“Really?!”

Cancun clapped her hands, delighted.

“I knew Hoon would do that. You’re so kind!”

Loki shook his head, glancing at Cancun.

It was an Asgardian rule.

A measure to increase their population by accepting refugees.

“But I have no intention of protecting Asgard.”

Cancun looked disappointed but nodded.

They weren’t a charity.

They couldn’t save every refugee they encountered.

The best they could do was encourage them to return to their homes.

“Then, if you’ll excuse me for a moment…!”

Cancun, having received permission, approached the refugees.

She soon returned, her face downcast.

“…Most of them refused to go to Asgard.”

Loki observed the refugees.

They seemed devoid of hope, having lost their homes, possessions, and families.

With no one to protect or rely on, only despair remained.

Why did they refuse?

“The reason?”

“…They’re afraid of us.”

Despite being helped by the Berserker warriors, the refugees were afraid of them.

“Then there’s nothing we can do. I give up.”

“Yes….”

Cancun nodded.

Ash had been observing them, lost in thought about how to persuade them to help him.

“Hey.”

Startled by the sudden voice, Ash turned.

Salad stood there, holding out a medicine bag.

The bag contained bandages and wooden splints, not medicine.

“There are many injured people. I’m going to treat them, so help me.”

“…Why should I do that?”

“Aren’t these people from your kingdom?”

Salad gestured towards the refugees.

“Well, yes…. But it has nothing to do with me. It’s not even my jurisdiction…. It’s common for commoners to die. There’s no need to take care of them one by one-”

In the first place, this was a neutral area.

It wasn’t Ash’s concern.

Salad frowned at Ash’s attitude and glared at him.

“Trash.”

“……!”

“I was just asking you to treat them. You won’t even do that? They’re your own people? Humans are all the same.”

Seemingly disappointed, Salad turned away, and Ash followed her.

“Ah, no. I’ll help.”

“You said you didn’t want to earlier?”

“I didn’t… say I didn’t want to.”

At Ash’s words, Salad stopped and nodded in satisfaction.

She handed him the medicine bag, which he accepted.

“Everyone says they don’t want to leave here…. What are you going to do?”

Salad asked worriedly as she tended to the injured.

She had overheard Cancun’s conversation.

Having experienced the loss of her own home due to war, she sympathized with the refugees.

“What, what do you mean?”

Ash, standing beside her, gathered the courage to speak.

Salad pointed to the refugees.

“Those people. Everyone says they have nowhere to go. If there’s nowhere to take them, what will happen to them in the future….”

“A place to take them?”

Ash looked at the refugees.

They had lost their homes.

They had even lost their families, and there was nothing left.

That was also true for Ash.

‘It’s similar to me.’

Even so, Ash hesitated.

The same?

Ash’s fist clenched. His nails dug into his palm, drawing blood.

“Are you okay? Your hand…!”

Salad, surprised by Ash’s expression, stepped back.

‘No, it’s not.’

He released his hand and looked at Salad, who was staring at his tingling hand.

“If I provide a place for them to live, will you be satisfied?”

“What?”

Salad, who had been staring blankly at Ash, was speechless.

“I see. Then….”

Ash approached the refugees.

The refugees looked at Ash with suspicion and caution.

The high-quality clothing visible beneath the rags suggested he was of noble status.

“I have something to ask.”

The refugees were instinctively intimidated by his dignified voice.

“Please speak, sir.”

“I’ll ask. Do you have hope?”

“…….”

Their faces contorted.

How could he ask that now?!

“What do you have left?”

“S, sir. What are you suddenly saying…?”

“If you stay here, you will die. You will starve to death or be hunted by slave hunters.”

Salad frowned.

She felt that Ash’s approach, which only highlighted despair instead of offering hope, was wrong.

“How can you say that now!”

One of the refugees, unable to contain his anger, jumped forward and grabbed Ash by the collar.

“I’ll tell you what your situation is now.”

Ash stared directly at the refugee who held his collar and continued.

“You have no hope.”

“……!”

“But I, I can give you hope!”

“What do you mean….”

Ash felt the weight of their gazes.

Everyone in the territory was watching him.

From the mythical warriors who had slain monsters to the king of the Nodes, who despised him.

And Salad’s gaze as well.

Feeling their attention, he declared.

“I, Ash Ronia, declare in the name of the royal family! Your foundation, your family’s home! I will give you everything! After the war, your glory will be intertwined with my victory! Even if I fail and die, I will ensure you are allowed to live!”

“…….”

The refugees’ eyes widened in shock.

Royal family!

“A, a prince?”

“Could it be….”

“I, is it real?!”

There was no reason for a nobleman to lie in this place.

“W, we greet the Crown Prince!”

The refugees prostrated themselves.

The refugee who had grabbed Ash by the collar hurriedly released his grip and sat down.

“I will take you to the Roden Territory! I will provide you with a place to live there! What will you do? Will you follow me?!”

Not the frozen land full of unfamiliar environments, people, and monsters, but another city within the same country.

For the refugees, it was their last hope.

“T, thank you…!”

“We will follow the Crown Prince.”

“We will also follow you!”

The refugees spoke to him one by one.

The number steadily grew.

Even those who had intended to go to the frozen land came forward to follow him, with only a few exceptions.

They chose the prince of their country over an unknown entity.

Loki, witnessing Ash’s performance, clicked his tongue and muttered.

“He’s putting on a show.”

Aum almost burst out laughing at his words.

“…You’re too harsh. It’s clumsy, but he mustered the courage to say that. Isn’t he a new companion?”

“Companion?”

“He must have done that because he trusted Loki.”

Revealing his identity in this situation was a very dangerous act.

If he revealed his identity despite that, it meant he trusted Loki’s group that much.

“Do you think he trusts me and revealed his identity in this place?”

“Yes? Ah, yes. Isn’t that right?”

“He doesn’t trust me.”

Unlike his initial demeanor, Ash’s true nature was becoming apparent as time passed.

He was unconsciously looking down on not only Loki but even Salad.

“Shall I tell you the impression I got from that guy? He’s….”

Loki smiled wryly and looked at Ash.

“A bug.”

***

“Is that enough now?”

Salad didn’t understand the sudden question, but she remembered what Ash had said earlier.

She hesitated, distancing herself from him as if something were wrong.

“Ah, uh, yeah….”

At her single word, Ash smiled.

The dignified demeanor he had displayed moments ago was gone, replaced by an arrogant prince intoxicated by the impression he thought he had made on a woman.

Ash glanced at Loki and Aum, gauging their reactions.

Revealing his name and identity had been somewhat calculated.

He believed that revealing his royal status would prevent this unidentified group from treating him carelessly.

Loki’s actions would become more cautious, and he would apologize for his perceived rudeness.

But that was Ash’s delusion.

“It seems like you’ve caught a big fish. If he’s a member of the royal family, he’s a good negotiating chip diplomatically.”

At Aum’s words, Loki became interested.

“Negotiation? For what purpose?”

“It’s about the exchange with the Ronia Kingdom and the trust of the Holy Order [a powerful religious organization].”

“Oh ho! Why do you think so?”

Loki shared Aum Linia’s thoughts.

If Ash was a member of the royal family, he was valuable in many ways.

“It’s about capturing that prince and handing him over to West Ronia.”

Since he didn’t seem to be a companion, Aum spoke his mind honestly.

He suggested handing Ash over to West Ronia to expedite the end of the civil war.

If that happened, East Ronia would lose its leader, and the rebels would easily collapse.

And at the center of it all, the new nation of Asgard would gain recognition.

“The problem is the perception of our Asgard.”

Aum readily agreed with Loki’s words.

“That’s right. At best, they’ll dismiss us as an armed group that caught a traitor and declared the founding of a nation. If they find out that we’re a Node country [a country with advanced technology and unique abilities], they’ll call us a group of looters at best. If that happens, we’ll get nothing but ridicule, let alone a friendly relationship. The Holy Order will brand us a country of heretics.”

And the end result would be war. If that happened, it would only be ‘annoying’ for Loki and Aum.

“Then what should we do?”

Aum smiled kindly.

“Show overwhelming force.”

Aum presented a very clear answer.

At that moment, Ash approached Loki and Aum.

His eyes were filled with anticipation.

“I want to have a conversation for a moment.”

Aum glanced at Loki.

“You take care of it.”

That simple phrase carried multiple meanings.

It meant, ‘I don’t want to deal with it, so you take care of it,’ and simultaneously implied that he could either capture the prince and sell him off or choose another course of action through conversation.

“However, I can’t give up on the underworld [gathering information and resources].”

It also meant that he should extract information, even if it required torture, depending on the situation.

Loki turned and walked away, while Aum greeted Ash with a slight bow.

“I didn’t know you were a member of the royal family of a country.”

Instead of kneeling and bowing, he offered only a light bow.

Ash frowned at the gesture but took a deep breath and composed himself.

“I want to thank you for saving me and my people.”

“No. We just did what we had to do.”

“Is that so? Then… I want to repay you for saving me?”

Ash casually spoke informally and observed Aum’s face.

He scrutinized it, determined not to miss even the slightest reaction.

“Repay?”

“Yes! I want to invite you to the Roden Territory.”

Aum Linia smiled inwardly.

‘This immature prince is digging his own grave.’

Ash’s words were merely an ‘invitation’ in name, but in reality, it was a request for ‘protection.’

‘But I can see that his head is turning to some extent. Is he really a member of the royal family even though he looks like that?’

In the case of an ‘invitation,’ it didn’t necessarily mean escorting Ash. If that happened, even if information about the Berserker warriors leaked out, it wouldn’t be helping East Ronia, and they could easily enter the territory without facing opposition from West Ronia.

Also, if war broke out in the Roden Territory, the Berserker warriors would inevitably have to participate in the Ronia War.

Ash was aiming for that.

‘Of course, I have the feeling that he didn’t assume that we could side with the West instead of the East.’

It was possible to subdue Ash by force during the war and hand him over to West Ronia, but it wouldn’t look good.

‘It would be better to watch the situation a little more. Invitation… Even if we are invited guests, the Roden Territory will not treat us properly.’

If invited, they would definitely have meetings with important nobles of East Ronia. Also, in the process, the nobles would naturally ignore and look down on Loki and Aum’s group.

Aum couldn’t help but laugh at the future he envisioned.

He doesn’t even assess the power dynamics and acts rashly?

If that happened, it would provide the most appropriate ‘justification’ to capture Ash, the prince of East Ronia.

“That’s truly an honor.”