Player Who Became A Constellation [EN]: Chapter 60

60.

“The Prince has arrived?”

“First Prince Ash…!?”

The nobles gathered in the Roden territory wore faces of shock.

For them, there was no ‘hope.’

They were considering ‘surrender’ from now on.

But with Prince Ash, it was still worth a try.

Moreover, surviving in the army camp swept by the plague, the Worm Feast [a particularly devastating outbreak]?!

It was nothing short of a divine miracle.

The nobles began to rack their brains about how to use his return to their advantage.

“Can we gather more soldiers?”

“If we plunder other territories or forcibly conscript the surrounding refugees, we can obtain not only manpower but also military funds…!”

They sought to find a way to ‘win.’ But it was still insufficient. He was just a prince in name only, not someone who could bring victory.

“How did the Prince arrive?”

At the question of a noble, the soldier who had just reported wore a bewildered expression.

“That is… he came with a strange group.”

“A strange group? Soldiers?”

If they were soldiers, he wouldn’t have called them a ‘strange group.’

“That is… strange monsters….”

The soldier trailed off.

“Monsters?”

The nobles tilted their heads.

The nobles followed the soldier’s guidance and headed to the castle gate of the territory.

Prince Ash and the refugee group were in front of the Roden territory’s castle gate, and the nobles looked down at them from above the gate.

The nobles had a glimmer of expectation about what kind of group Ash had brought, but their eyes soon turned to disappointment.

To them, they were literally ‘monsters.’

The refugees, stained with fatigue, were one thing, but who were those wearing black armor and strange beast bone helmets?

“Not only did we lose over a thousand soldiers, but now he brings these unidentified beings…!”

“And look at that! They’re refugees, aren’t they? I doubt they can even hold a spear properly.”

“One proper soldier is more valuable than ten useless refugees like that…!”

They clicked their tongues and shook their heads.

“And the Prince has a request.”

“A request?”

The soldier nodded.

“He asked for a banquet to be prepared.”

“A banquet?”

At this time?

Even though supplies were scarce, a banquet…!

“Still… doesn’t he look somewhat useful?”

At the words of a noble, the nobles on the castle walls stared at the Berserker warriors.

To them, the Berserker warriors not only looked fearsome but also seemed to possess some level of skill.

“Could they be mercenaries?”

“Who knows? Maybe they’ll be useful. Anyway, it’s the Prince’s order… prepare a banquet! But make it very small and simple!”

***

The castle gate opened.

Soldiers lined up, and the territory’s residents gathered around them.

The residents rejoiced at the Prince’s return and chanted Ash’s name.

“Long live the First Prince!”

“May there be glory in Eastern Ronia-!”

The residents stretched out their hands between the soldiers lined up as if drawing a boundary, cheering for the Prince.

Ironically, unlike the bright and cheerful atmosphere, the residents’ faces were awkward and heavy.

Loki closed his eyes and listened.

Amidst the residents’ cheers, very small voices flowed out.

“Damn it, when will this damn war end….”

“I thought the war was over because the cursed Prince died!”

“…Now we’ll be used as shields.”

“They’ve taken all our food and money, and now they want us to cheer? Cheering for the guy who starved us to death… crazy bastards!”

“……”

The residents were just following ‘orders.’

It was clearly a measure taken by the nobles of Eastern Ronia.

“The public sentiment here isn’t great either.”

“It seems so to me too.”

Aum agreed, chuckling.

“But it’s a good thing. It means the First Prince never had public sentiment to begin with.”

Their procession entered the castle.

The refugees were guided elsewhere by Ash’s command, and the Berserker warriors, including Loki’s group, were guided to the banquet hall.

Ash quickened his pace.

His face was dirty and exhausted, but filled with joy.

He moved quickly to meet the nobles without even dressing up, but the nobles were one step ahead.

They managed their expressions as they looked at Ash.

With elated faces, they spread their arms and praised the Prince.

“Oh! You’re alive! Your Highness!”

“How can you be so magnificent? You must have suffered a lot!”

“I heard you encountered the plague! But… what happened to the soldiers?”

The nobles asked the most important question.

Troops.

Not only the Prince but also the central nobles of the Eastern Ronia formation were positioned in Ash’s command of over a thousand troops.

If even a few of the nobles were alive, it would help in gathering troops.

Ash’s face hardened at the nobles’ question.

The nobles, noticing this, narrowed their eyes.

“…They were annihilated.”

“…I see. Still, it’s fortunate that Your Highness is safe!”

“It must be thanks to the blessing of Constellation Azellan [a deity or powerful entity]! Now that Your Highness has returned, we must prepare for a counterattack!”

That’s what they said, but everyone’s thoughts were different.

‘…He forcibly took the troops and even took the central nobles… Annihilated? You trash.’

‘If it were another noble, I would hold them accountable, but at this time, I can’t hold the Prince accountable.’

‘I’m going crazy.’

The nobles shook their heads inwardly. But with the feeling of wanting to grab even a straw, they opened their mouths.

“By any chance, you seemed to have come with others… who are they…?”

“Perhaps, are they your direct unit?”

“…Direct unit?”

They asked, imagining the absurd possibility that there might be replacement troops among the refugees.

The nobles tried to have some hope, but they only became more depressed at Ash’s following words.

“It’s nothing like that.”

‘As expected.’

‘I was a fool to trust the First Prince. I should have sided with the Second Prince….’

They sighed. It was in front of the Prince, but they didn’t even think of hiding it.

“But, I brought good people! Those with powerful strength!”

“…Powerful strength?”

The nobles recalled the strange group that had accompanied Ash.

“Are they the ones?”

“Who are they?”

Ash smiled and said.

“They are our hope!”

“Hope?”

“Those guys?”

“…He’s finally gone crazy.”

Someone muttered secretly.

Ash was startled and tried to find the voice, but all he could find were the nobles’ smiles.

Exaggerated smiles with hardened faces.

“I see! What kind of people are they?”

“Huh? Ah, that’s….”

Ash stared at the nobles with a dazed face.

It was a ‘formal’ question with a smile but no expectation.

It was as if they were acknowledging his status, but that was it.

They were the kind of people who valued status, not human worth.

Ash closed his mouth. And he smiled faintly, opening his mouth with difficulty.

“That’s… they’re… Nordics.”

“Nordic…?”

“…There were about 100 of them. All of them?”

Ash nodded without confidence.

Then the nobles’ faces brightened.

“Nordics!”

“Are you talking about that warrior tribe?”

“Ha! It’s hard to see Nordics these days… suddenly appearing in a group like that!”

“I’ve heard of them. One Nordic can take on two well-trained knights, right?”

“Then that’s a tremendous force!”

Ash’s face brightened at the nobles’ hopeful voices.

“Th, that’s right! And their skills are different from ordinary Nordics! They are from the new Asgard….”

“Then we must recruit them.”

“I see. Is it employment?”

“How much money should we pay?”

“If it’s a group, there must be a commander among them.”

“Then we can recruit him. We can give him money, status, etc., appropriately.”

At some point, the nobles were busy talking, leaving Ash behind.

Above all, the direction of the content was gradually flowing in a strange direction.

Ash carefully intervened with a strange sense of unease.

“…W, wait a minute!”

“……?”

When everyone looked at Ash, Ash didn’t know how to explain them.

Their terrifying power, the unidentified country that had them as citizens.

Ash had seen their prowess firsthand, but he had never seen the country behind them, so he didn’t know. Would it be explained if he said it himself? No, even if he explained it, would they believe it?

That wouldn’t be the case.

Then….

“H, how about meeting them first? Let’s decide after meeting them.”

He had no choice but to make them recognize them by confronting them directly.

At Ash’s words, the nobles looked at each other and nodded.

“I see.”

“If we act too hastily, things could go wrong….”

Ash sighed in relief.

“Then… let’s go to the banquet hall.”

“Yes, let’s do that. Before that….”

“……?”

The nobles pointed to Ash’s attire with their fingers.

“It would be better to tidy up a bit.”

“…I suppose so.”

Ash nodded heavily and turned around to walk away. There was no one following the Prince. They were just sneering at the Prince’s appearance.

Not only the nobles but even the maids and servants did not attend to him.

An unacknowledged Prince… that’s what he looked like.

***

“I was expecting a banquet….”

“What is this…?”

The Berserker warriors who entered the castle arrived at the banquet hall. But it was hardly a banquet, with simple food placed on a wide table.

And all there was to drink was cheap beer sold at inns.

That was it.

Even a lower-class noble’s birthday would have lavish decorations, gourmet food, dancers, musicians, and poets as a basic, but this was just a fancy way of serving supplies. It was far from being called a ‘banquet.’

The Berserker warriors smacked their lips and took off their helmets.

“Don’t complain so much.”

At Aum’s words, the Berserker warriors looked at him.

“Of course, these foods are trash compared to the food I make….”

‘…Isn’t it the opposite?’

The Berserker warriors all thought the same thing, but they couldn’t bring themselves to say it.

“But they prepared it with effort, right? Enjoy it to the fullest. Or should I cook for you? I brought some cooking ingredients….”

“…I will enjoy this banquet.”

‘…That’s what I said….’

The Berserker warriors glanced at Loki.

Healer Hoon.

The most powerful person after the Constellations.

And unofficially, a human referred to as the King of the Nords among the elders.

…That was the perception the Berserker warriors had.

How could they act carelessly in front of him?

No, before that, they wondered if it was okay to let the King eat such terrible food.

While the Berserker warriors were perplexed, Loki reached out and grabbed the food.

Some were meant to be eaten with bare hands, but most were made to be eaten with a knife and fork.

Especially the steak with sauce.

Loki grabbed the steak with his bare hands and lifted it up.

He put the steak in his mouth.

One bite, two bites, three bites, he devoured it ravenously, chewing and swallowing.

He even licked the sauce on his fingers clean.

“Hmm, it’s edible. But it’s greasy. I like spicy food after all.”

It lacked dignity.

His eating habits were too ordinary for a ruler of a country.

But the Berserker warriors’ hearts were lightened by the sight.

He didn’t say it directly, but they could tell that it meant to enjoy it with a light heart.

“Then….”

“Let’s eat!”

“Let’s drink!”

“Cheers!”

Everyone clinked their glasses.