WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈

Chapter 334: The Constellations’ Auction (1)

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1.

Right after slaying a Constellation.

Let's digress for a moment.

I'm not sure if this is the right time to bring up such a story, but what does it matter?

I had the right to blabber on as I pleased.

So… long, long ago, back when dinosaurs roamed the Earth and selling tobacco targeted at them was quite profitable, it was said that every stationery store had a 100-won gacha machine.

During this era, gachas enthralled children.

Of course, I wasn't even born at that time, so I know little about the gacha craze.

But I do wonder if the older generation was captivated by gachas to the extent that, as time passed and dinosaurs became extinct, they started gacha-ing on their cell phones. I harbored a highly reasonable level of suspicion even from my distant childhood.

Why bring up gachas all of a sudden?

Of course, there's a perfectly logical reason.

[The Eyes Dwelling in the Labyrinth's existence becomes faint.]

The moment I sliced through the massive serpent in a straight line.

"Kieeeek!!"

From within the body of the snake, that is, from inside the severed halves of the snake's body, a very small snake, barely distinguishable from an earthworm, popped out with a 'pop' sound.

"......."

Hmm.

Slicing through a gigantic snake only to have a much smaller snake spring out.

At that moment, I was reminded of gachas that pop open to reveal a toy inside.

Why? Just because.

[The Eyes Dwelling in the Labyrinth manifests.]

The snake that crawled from the serpent's corpse fit neatly in my palm. Sorry to keep comparing it to an earthworm, but it looked as though even a slightly larger earthworm could shake it down for money.

However, its scales resembled waves.

Even on that millet-grain-sized body, its distinct reversed eyes blazed with intense color.

"Hmmm..."

In the end, I could only mutter logically.

"Could you be... the true form of Hisimet Cretsu?"

"Kieeeee-!!"

The earthworm-sized snake cried out pitifully.

[The Snake Dwelling in the Labyrinth cannot hide its outcry of indignation.]

The snake, bending its body, repeatedly hit my palm with its upper body, seemingly trying to express its [injustice] to the greatest extent possible.

If I had seen this scene alone, I might have felt a bit sorry for it.

"No way, seriously? This earthworm is 'The Eyes Dwelling in the Labyrinth'? Amazing."

However, a natural-born aggro magnet from the Constellations was coiled around my neck.

"What do we do with this one, huh? What should we do? If it goes in front of its followers in this form and shouts, [I am the Constellation that governs all secrets! The Eyes Dwelling in the Labyrinth!], instead of gathering faith, the faith it has gathered so far would fly away like a wild bird, wouldn’t it?"

"You bastard...!"

"Bastard? Did you just call me a bastard? You still have not come to your senses! Maybe I should quickly summon the Apostles and order them to give this god some proper nourishment. Calling the Apostles should not be too difficult, should it? Hmm? Hmmm? If I press here, does it trigger an alert and open communications...?"

"Y-you, honored one...!"

On my palm, the thread-thin snake shed tears drop by drop.

It seemed quite upset.

"Please don’t reveal this form to my followers... I beg you! Please!"

"Hmm."

I scratched my cheek.

-Hey, Kim Zombie.

Meanwhile, the Guardian Spirit spoke softly.

-Calm down a bit.

'I haven’t gotten excited, have I? I'm just the same as usual.'

-The same, my foot. You flared up because your friend was insulted. You would have better luck fooling a ghost than fooling me. Though I am a ghost.

The Guardian Spirit sighed.

-My, my. There’s no one as emotional as this guy, honestly. Nobody knows that. He just lives and dies by his emotions, sigh.

"......."

Right.

As much as I hate to admit it, the Guardian Spirit's banter worked.

It worked a lot.

"Hmm."

I gently touched the handkerchief once.

The emotions and the desire for revenge that had been heightened by the recent fight calmed down in an instant.

By the time I nodded my head, I had completely returned to my normal state.

'Thank you. I've calmed down.'

-There you go.

'Yes. Now that I'm settled, hmm. Let's see.'

[The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains laughs uproariously at this scene!]

[The Lonely Seeker slams their desk in shock at the scene before them.]

[The Incarnation of Love and Lust laughs, saying it has been ten years since they laughed this hard.]

First, I need to deal with them.

"Excuse me, but from now on, I would like to have a conversation only between Hisimet Cretsu and myself. There might be discussions about strategies for conquering stages and such, which could be considered military secrets. I am very grateful for the interest shown by the various Constellations, but I kindly request that you withdraw for today."

Fortunately, the Constellations immediately complied with my polite request.

[The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains withdraws.]

[The Incarnation of Love and Lust requests that this scene be recorded on video as they withdraw.]

[The Lonely Seeker disappears, unable to stop laughing no matter what.]

Good.

The outsiders have been dealt with.

Now it's time to get to the main topic.

"Hisimet Cretsu."

With a voice devoid of any emotion, I was able to bow respectfully to the small snake on my palm.

The snake seemed a little flustered too. If a thread-thin snake could wear an expression, it would probably be awkward embarrassment.

The thread-thin snake spoke.

"Hi-Hisimet Cretsu... whose power lies in secrets and revelations. The Constellation that governs labyrinths and mazes. O, King of Death. The Heaven that Gathers Wails."

"Yes."

I nodded.

"As you said, my name is Kim Gong-Ja. I'm a novice who has only just become a Constellation. I have a few questions. Do you have a moment?"

"…Ye-Yes, of course. Speak."

Hisimet Cretsu shrank on my right palm, visibly tensed.

I sighed once more and said.

"Why did you try to attack me? And in alliance with Mutia, no less, launching a surprise operation?"

"...For much the same reason as that bastard. Because of you, she can no longer indiscriminately grant the wishes of humans who pray for reincarnation. Her authority has been reduced to the ridiculous form of requiring your permission. That is no longer a Constellation, much less a god."

The small snake god's lament, of course, was also directed at itself.

"The two most common wishes my followers make are: [Please let me know that bastard's secret]. [Please ensure that no one knows my secret]. From my standpoint, both wishes are equally important. 99% of the reason why my followers rely on me and send me their faith is because of those wishes."

"Did a problem arise then?"

"Indeed. All because of you!"

The thread-thin snake howled.

Again, it was a thread-thin snake.

No matter how fiercely a thread-thin snake howled, it had no force at all. Its only effect was a breeze weaker than the one brushing my hair.

"…Keuk."

Realizing this, the snake made an aggrieved expression and began to mutter softly.

"I provided my followers with the finest security. Apart from me, Hisimet Cretsu, no one could touch a follower's secrets. But then..."

"Ah."

I realized.

"The Trauma Penalty? Don't tell me that's what caused a security breach?"

"Er... ... ... ...Yes..."

The thread-thin snake struck its head against my palm. Bonk. Bonk. It was not apologizing to me, but inflicting a self-imposed head-knocking punishment as it regretted its foolish judgment.

"Thanks to you, essentially everyone's past can be uncovered! No secret can stand before you. They’re like a treasure chest that requires a bit of effort to open. And in your hands, you have a golden key that can unlock any chest!"

"Indeed."

"I can no longer guarantee [perfect secrecy]... On the 50th floor, while you exposed my Apostle's entire past through trauma, none of the security barriers or systems I had established functioned at all. They were utterly useless!"

I see.

I nodded.

"Your power has been irreparably damaged."

"Exactly! And, as I said before, it's all your doing!"

"I said the same thing to Mutia. It was you who created [Returner’s Winding Clock] with such a structure in the first place. You made it lightly, thinking it would be fun, didn't you?"

"Ugh..."

"This is poetic justice. You were arrogant and careless, living without considering how your deeds might return to you, until at last the returning arrow pierced you in the back of the head."

A classic theme in myths.

"Consider it a blessing to have been defeated by such a divine cliché. It was destined to end this way from the start."

"Kuueeeee… Kieek..."

As I stroked the small Constellation-turned-snake with my finger.

"Is the discussion roughly settled?"

Thump.

"It has been quite a while since I saw the egg of a Serpent God. This is fascinating. Strictly speaking, it is not the egg but its contents. So that is what the inside of a completely sealed Eclosion Gu looks like. Huh."

[The Staff of Time Immemorial].

One of only six pillars in the tower.

"Mage."

"Yep. I was the judge for this duel, so I should rightly determine the winner and loser. Congratulations! The winner is the King of Death. The loser is 'The Eyes Dwelling in the Labyrinth.' This result is irrevocable and engraved in the tower. I, as one of the pillars, guarantee the outcome of the two of you."

"However," the mage added, closing one eye.

"I'm also the pillar responsible for floors up to the 70th floor. So, within the 70th floor, I can arrange the stages quite freely."

A slight premonition of unease crept in.

"Wait. By free arrangement, you mean...?"

"Simple. A tenant can leave with the deposit if they want, or leave without it. The landlord will not stop a tenant from leaving, and will not stop one determined to move in."

Thump.

The mage tapped the air with the staff, and a hologram unfurled.

A cartoonish map of the 61st to 70th floors.

My face was drawn on the 61st, 62nd, and 63rd floors, along with the fox coiled around my neck. Our faces were caricatured, somewhat comically.

The 64th, 65th, 66th, 67th, 68th, 69th, and 70th floors were different.

Faces I had never seen before reigned as the masters of the stages.

"Now."

The mage did a little shoulder dance, staff in hand.

"For exactly six minutes from now, free trade is allowed from the 64th to the 70th floor~."

The mage's playful words were filtered through an emotionless message and echoed throughout the tower.

[Free trade is now possible from the 64th to the 70th floor.]

[The time limit is 06:00.]

[Tenants and prospective tenants, please feel free to trade.]

"......."

What exactly was happening?

As I stood dumbfounded, staring at the hologram the mage had created, unable to comprehend the situation.

[The 64th floor stage is up for auction.]

[The manager of the 64th floor, ‘The Righteous Nine-Tailed Fox,’ promises to hand over the stage management rights to anyone who wishes, with no need for a deposit, monthly rent, or anything!]

Huh?

I wasn't sure how the trade between Constellations worked, but from my human perspective, that seemed like an incredibly unreasonable deal.

[‘The Righteous Nine-Tailed Fox’ shrieks that if it can escape that King of Death's path, it will gladly hand over the stage management rights for free!]

That was how I realized the cause of this bizarre phenomenon.

[After floor 64 comes floor 65.]

[The 65th floor stage is up for auction.]

[The manager of the 65th floor, ‘A Goose is Still a Goose When Flipped,’ flaps its wings and flies far away!]

[The 66th and 67th floor stages are up for auction.]

[The manager of floors 66 and 67, ‘The Rubber Duck that Oversees the Ocean,’ deflates itself and sinks deep into the sea!]

The cause of this unheard-of stage tenancy auction race was none other than me.

Kim Gong-Ja.

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