< You have unilaterally broken the ∞ contract. >
< You will die in 12 days and 21 hours. >
⋮
Some 1s are greater than 2s. This is a story about rarity.
A gem that exists only once in the world is more precious than one that exists twice. Because it's rarer.
Time is the same. A terminally ill person would value today more than billions, but to someone who lives forever, “today” is utterly worthless.
That’s why the “Constellation of Eternity ∞,” who lives forever, doesn’t try. Doesn’t crave. After all, nothing in life has any meaning to her.
However, because the humans she makes connections with will eventually die, the Constellation of Eternity tries to grant as many of their wishes as possible.
Once, the Constellation of Eternity ∞...
Helped many people.
Like a pushover.
‘......And then, about 800 years ago, she suddenly disappeared. That’s the setting, anyway.’
I met “Song Qian,” the “Constellation of Eternity ∞,” at a quiet teahouse. She had lived 4,000 years, but appeared to be an ordinary woman in her thirties.
“So it’s you. Dante Hiakapo.”
She gave a light nod and sat down across the table.
“An honor to meet you, Lady Constellation.”
“You brought a bomb.”
She gestured toward Adele, seated at another table.
A bomb, huh......
“Can I ask something?”
“Yes.”
“How did you know how to contact me?”
The method for contacting the Constellation of Eternity ∞ is quite simple.
Once certain conditions are met,
You just have to call her name.
But “Song Qian” was a name she changed to 800 years ago, and now nobody knew it.
But I do.
“I know how to contact you because I am the spirit of the System⧉.”
The term used to refer to players.
There was no need to lie to Song Qian. Eternity ∞ is the Constellation closest to the System⧉.
“...But the System⧉ is supposed to be the only star without a spirit.”
“There’s one per world.”
“And that’s you?”
“As you can see.”
“......”
Song Qian tilted her head diagonally. ‘Rare indeed....’ After satisfying her curiosity, she got to the point.
“Let’s talk requests. I’ll remove the punishment for your contract breach.”
“I’m grateful for your effort.”
“No effort at all... You probably know, but to be precise, I’m not removing it. I’m indefinitely postponing the timing of the punishment. Forever.”
She snapped her fingers, and the status window changed.
< You will die in ?? days ?? hours. >
That was all.
The matter of death surrounding me and Rebecca was resolved this easily.
“Then you can leave now. If you ever try to ask for a favor again, I’ll change my name. Just know that.”
With that, Song Qian dismissed me.
I stood and bowed. Then I paused for a moment.
Player interactions with the Constellation of Eternity ∞ were usually just like this.
But ever since I first read her backstory, I had always been curious.
“Song Qian.”
“Please don’t use my name. Why?”
“Forgive the rude question... but don’t you want to die?”
“...How rude.”
“I apologize. If it’s uncomfortable, you don’t need to answer.”
“......”
Song Qian sat there with a sulky face for a long while, then slowly opened her mouth.
“...It’s cowardly. ...Why do the stars force maturity onto creations, and yet allow themselves to remain as children.... If I had known that maturity would rot the mind, if I could have stayed a child too, how wonderful that would have been...”
After muttering incomprehensibly,
She added,
“...Why. Do you know how I can die?”
I turned my head and looked her straight in the eye.
“I do not.”
“You’re lying... aren’t you?”
“Who knows.”
“......”
Song Qian twisted her lips.
“...Fine. Can I ask you something too?”
“Yes.”
“In the fight against Bomiteka, was the stigma you used the ‘Cross Star†’ or ‘Lightbringer⁺₊⋆’?”
“It was the ‘Cross Star†.’”
“That one’s a [forbidden] stigma, right?”
She was talking about 『Stigma Imprint I』.
“That’s correct.”
“...You should be careful. Agion⁺₊⋆ vaguely sensed your stigma and apparently got really pissed.”
“He must’ve mistaken it for Lightbringer⁺₊⋆.”
“Right. I mean, his master barely gives him anything that big. And then you just go ahead and use it out of nowhere? It’s not just Agion. Other constellations will be watching you more closely now. Some might even come after you.”
“......”
I was already aware of that. But hearing it directly made my internal tension tighten a little more.
I should be cautious.
“May I ask just one more thing?”
“Sure.”
“Why did you call her a bomb?”
I glanced sideways at Adele.
“A feeling like... someone who shouldn’t exist twice?”
That was all she said.
“I’ll see you again.”
“......Let’s not. I don’t want to grow attached.”
That was the end of my meeting with the Constellation of Eternity ∞.
***
< ⧉ The [Hotfix] will begin in 12 hours and 30 minutes. >
The day the hotfix notice appeared, I was in the royal palace. In a lavishly golden building, there was a brief merit award ceremony.
Originally, it was supposed to be much grander, but King Hiaka III had suddenly left for official business. According to the 【Script】, the king seemed to be having health problems.
【 Eunuch Bakuem: ‘His Majesty has gone to the hospital again...’ 】
【 Eunuch Hibel: ‘That’s the third time this month. Is this really okay...?’ 】
Meanwhile, I was granted two things during the ceremony.
“To Senior Professor Dante Hiakapo, we award twenty million Hika in gold and the right to own property in the central capital district.”
My main character now had a massive fortune.
“To the war god and commanding general, Lord Abeltus, we award thirty million Hika and a hereditary title of [Sub-Baronet of the Capital].”
And my alt character now had both wealth and nobility. In other words, he was now an aristocrat.
Honestly, this was jackpot of jackpots. [Corruption] already exists anyway. If I want to avoid death, I have to keep fighting and winning. And Hiaka continues to give me generous compensation each time.
“Wow, Professor, you better treat us!”
“Maybe I will.”
Once again, I had brought Adele as my assistant. After I suddenly disappeared with Ran for a week and returned, Adele’s expression had been a bit off.
– You both vanished so suddenly, I was worried.
That voice felt like a warning sign for something dangerous.
The better I treated Ran,
The more anxious Adele became.
Like a fuse burning down on a bomb.
So I decided to keep Adele close for the time being.
Ran said she was happy she could now focus on her thesis.
Thus, [Hell Difficulty] was going smoothly.
When I returned to the Academy, Dean Shaman Kreutz called for me.
“Professor Dante.”
“Yes.”
“Have you heard the news? The Empire has begun strongly supporting papers and ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) research about ‘foreign mana.’”
With that, I immediately understood.
“...I see.”
I had already suspected it would begin soon.
Though the “Betting Table” had barely progressed, another major storyline was starting simultaneously.
「 Main Story 3: Paradigm 」
This was the beginning of the world’s official acceptance of the concept of “demons.”
As a cadet, this was something the story naturally introduced.
But as a professor, I now had to be the one to explain the “demons” to this world.
“So, Professor Dante, would you be willing to select a paper for the Empire’s announcement on ‘foreign mana’?”
“...You want me to select one?”
I was confused.
“Why, don’t want to? If you don’t want to pick, why not just write and research one yourself?”
Even if I didn’t, plenty of professors were already uncovering the truth through the stars. The fact that Bomiteka’s name was revealed proves that.
But I could be sure of one thing. If I don’t reveal it, humanity will never reach the conclusion of what “demons” truly are.
That’s just how this world was built.
“...Not yet, I think.”
“Fair enough. You’re a busy man.”
If I were to write a paper on demons, I’d need much more time and resources.
“But Dean, if it’s about choosing a paper to represent the Empire, isn’t that the job of the senior professors?”
“Hohoho. Normally, yes. But you’re a special case, aren’t you? That monster Bomiteka, and the matter with Professor Toxin... You’ve encountered ‘foreign mana’ more than anyone.”
From professors to assistants, to interested cadets—
There’d be at least a hundred papers pouring in.
And I’d have to choose just one of them.
That’s what this meant......
“Understood.”
At the time, I didn’t think much of it.
I already knew a good portion of the truth about demons.
Choosing a decent paper wouldn’t be hard.
Or so I thought......
“Professor, Professor. Could you help me?”
When I returned to the mansion, Adele called for me.
“Is it about your research?”
“Yes, yes. Could I ask you for a sort of mid-term review?”
“I don’t know your curse very well, but I’ll take a look.”
I headed into Adele’s room. It was my first time entering, even though we lived under the same roof. It was much messier than I expected.
“So embarrassing~ Looks like a pigsty, right?”
“Very researcher-like. Is this the curse you’re studying?”
“Yes, yes.”
Various beakers and plastics lay on the table. Sheets with drawn magic circles were also visible.
I examined her research. As I had seen before, it was related to Curse Number 66, the 『Curse of Annihilation』.
Basically, the 『Curse of Annihilation』 can only be used on inorganic material and only activates upon contact.
“Hmm... Here. I’m a bit worried about the circuit in section 18?”
Adele took out a grimoire covered in circuits and formulas and began explaining various things to me.
In the meantime, I decided to use a bit of a “Star Fragment.”
Star Fragments are universal currency. You can learn [Abilities], increase [Stats], and in small fields, even gain academic insight.
< Awakening │ You have selected to understand the [Lv.8] grade [Curse] 『Curse of Annihilation』. >
< Cost: 23 Star Fragments. Would you like to invest? >
< Investment complete. >
It felt as if text flew from afar and slammed into my brain. At the same time, information surged forth like a flood. From the origin of the curse. Its applications. Its weaknesses. The research process and the obstacles it encountered......
Now, I had reached the level of “knowing almost everything” about the 『Curse of Annihilation』.
“The circuit’s unusual.”
“Ah, is it...??”
Adele tensed up.
It was because the professor was evaluating something she had poured her entire heart into researching.
“...Assistant. What did you say this research was about?”
“The Curse of Annihilation?”
“More specifically.”
“Um, I’m trying to apply the mechanism commonly known as ‘piercing barriers with a curse’ to the Curse of Annihilation.”
“......”
At that moment, I was standing next to the desk, leaning over with one hand on it.
I turned my head to look at Adele, who sat beside me.
Adele was shaking a flask, but perhaps sensing my gaze, she turned her head too.
And so, we looked at each other for a moment.
“...Why?”
“No reason. May I look a bit more closely?”
“Yes, yes.”
Adele—
just now—
told a small lie.
This wasn’t research on using a curse to “pierce barriers.”
It was research on using a curse to “pierce divinity.”
“......Impressive.”
Adele’s eyes widened.
“Huh? Really...?”
“Yes. It’s progressing well. Your matrices are clean. No short circuits in the circuits. The curse language is refined to a high degree.”
“Wow, I’m so happy~~! Oh, and I was thinking of trying to add other elements soon?”
Then, Adele quickly activated the “Crystal Orb” and began typing ‘Black ArXiv,’ the paper archive platform, into the search bar.
It only took a moment.
And I saw her “recent searches.”
[ One-way ticket to Kreutz ◀ ]
What the hell.
A one-way ticket to Kreutz?
“With this part here—”
There’s no way something like a one-way ticket exists, given the current state of Hiaka and Kreutz relations...
‘Ah.’
It happened instantly.
Electricity surged through my mind.
The 『Curse of Annihilation』 research targeting divinity.
The “Death List⧉” used nine times in secret from Ezekiel.
[One-way ticket to Kreutz]
Song Qian’s comment about “someone who shouldn’t exist more than once.”
Above all, the mention of another version, “2.1.5.”
‘This person named Adele, who shouldn’t exist in this world, used the Death List⧉ to search for someone. She’s researching the Curse of Annihilation. And she looked up a ticket for a Kreutz airship.’
The sense of entirely unrelated elements being drawn into one point.
So I activated an ability.
⋮
『 World Forgery: Time Forgery [60 seconds / 60 frames] 』
⋮
“Adele.”
I called her.
“Yes, Professor.”
Adele spun her chair to face me.
“Are we still friends?”
“...Oh my.”
Adele’s gaze softened.
I didn’t know what kind of friends held hands like this, but Adele reached out, gently touching the tips of my fingers with hers.
“...Yes. We’re friends.”
Then she slowly stood up. Maybe she was about to hug me like last time.
I spoke first.
“I want to know just one of your secrets.”
“Mm~ It’s good to get to know each other.”
Maybe it was the space. Or the proximity. But Adele lowered her voice, and it became strikingly clear.
“...What part of me are you curious about?”
The hand touching my fingers turned into a full hand clasp. But my question wasn’t quite what Adele expected.
“Who do you want to kill?”
Click.
Adele’s expression and hand froze.
Back when I was studying the Glass Butterfly technique with Gray and had contacted Adele—
When her voice disappeared on the other side of the Crystal Orb.
She must’ve had this exact expression.
“......”
Adele let go of my hand. The tension drained. Her previously soft gaze became more lifeless than Ran’s. My precious 60 seconds were draining fast.
“Adele, you—”
“Professor... I don’t know what you’re talking about. I think there’s a misunderstanding...”
“Who knows.”
You can’t tell from voice or silence—but her expression gave it away completely.
Because—
“...Can’t a friend ask? Who you want to kill so badly. Is it something I shouldn’t know?”
My words cracked her expression, and she began to look as if she was truly about to die.
“......”
Trembling eyes.
A more trembling jaw.
Then, barely moving lips.
“...If you do know...”
Adele said.
“...Are you going to become an accomplice?”
And then, the room around us—the one we had been speaking in—collapsed.
“Ah! Found it. Found it. This one, Professor.”
It was at that moment. Adele offered me something. A new research paper being developed in the Empire about a “new reagent.”
It was a demon curse ingredient.
“This?”
“Yes, yes. I’m thinking of adding it to the research.”
“Ah, that one...”
I nodded and ended the conversation vaguely. Then left the room.
And immediately contacted Ezekiel.
– Golden Rat? What’s going on?
“Dean. Does the Department still have the Death List⧉?”
– We haven’t returned it yet. Why?
“I’d like to use it once. I just want to find one person.”
– A person?
I laid out a few conditions.
“She’s from Kreutz. A high-ranking cleric. Female. Probably in her twenties.”
– Hmm. There are tons of clerics in Kreutz†. That might not be enough to narrow it down. Anything else?
Anything else...
“Please try searching with the name ‘Adele.’”
– Adele? Isn’t that your assistant’s name? That spy-looking girl...
“Yes. Even so, please.”
I didn’t know if it would work.
But I had a strong intuition.
– Hmm. Got something. Adele Muang. 25 years old. Senior cleric of the Kreutz Virgin Church......, ...oh!
And my prediction hit the mark.
Ezekiel’s voice dropped.
– ......Professor. Come to my office immediately.
I rushed to Ezekiel’s office.
There, he projected a video in the air for me to see.
A high-ranking female priest from the Kreutz Kingdom’s Virgin Church.
Adele Muang, captured on video.
At the same time, I realized who Adele wanted to cast the 『Curse of Annihilation』 on.
“...Surprising, isn’t it?”
Indeed.
It was astonishing how identical they were.
In the footage, a woman in cleric robes looked exactly like my assistant Adele.
“Surprising.”
Same gentle aura. Brown hair. Green eyes. Even the beauty mark under her eye was identical.
Even the voice was exactly the same.
– Yes. It’s all thanks to the grace of the Holy Mother~
Only difference was that this other Adele lacked warmth. It was footage of her speaking to broadcast personnel—her demeanor was soft, but her expression stiff.
“...Face, name, height, build, age, and gender—all those being the same could be coincidence. But including the beauty mark, even her uniqueness matches. That’s no coincidence.”
“......”
“In my understanding, this must be interpreted as magical inevitability.”
“By magical inevitability, you mean...?”
“My guess is that one of the two is a replicated person. Like a kind of ‘doppelgänger.’”
And at that very moment—
A tip⧉ suddenly appeared before my eyes.
⧉ Tip: Adele Muang is the cleric of the ‘Hero’s Party’.