Chapter 324

Sung-Woon decided not to dwell on the fact that he had won anyway, as it would only annoy Hegemonia and make things more troublesome for him. Besides, Sung-Woon actually liked settling scores with Hegemonia. The only issue was that the fight between these two wouldn’t end with their agreement alone.

"...Hey, Hegemonia," Crampus said.

Hegemonia glared at Crampus as if she already knew what Crampus was about to say.

Crampus continued, "You lost last time. Since Nebula won three times first, doesn't it mean it doesn't matter whether you win or lose against Nebula during this sabbatical? Or are you acknowledging your defeat in the last five matches and proposing a new challenge?"

"Are you saying I lost?" Hegemonia stood up and put her foot on the table. "Come to my Colosseum right now, Crampus. You'll have to take responsibility for what you just said."

"Hegemonia," Eldar said. "Please take your foot off the table first."

Hegemonia, after looking back and forth between Crampus, Sung-Woon, and Eldar, took her foot off.

Then she clenched her fist and shouted at Crampus, "Why aren't you answering!?"

"Hey, Hegemonia. It's you who needs to answer, isn’t it? The sabbatical was made for all of us to take a break. How can others rest if you keep noisily insisting on challenging Nebula wherever he goes?"

"Follow me outside right now!"

Hegemonia attempted to raise her foot again, and Eldar next to her grabbed her, while Ovenwave, continuing her meal in the corner of the table, marveled quietly at Hegemonia's astonishing dynamics.

Crampus then turned and faced Sung-Woon. "Nebula, you also need to be firm and decisive, or she won't stop bothering you. Isn't the problem that you're too accommodating when she consistently challenges you?"

"Sorry about that."

"Sorry or not, everyone acknowledges that the Constellation of Games has beaten the Constellation of War. So you can say there's no need to fight anymore. Let's take it easy and rest during the sabbatical, please."

"But I can’t avoid a challenge that comes at me."

"That's exactly the problem."

Wisdom, who was next to them, said, "Crampus, I admit Hegemonia can be noisy, but isn’t it hard to say their fights only bring trouble to the Hall of Myriad Stars? The contests during the last sabbaticals varied greatly, but ultimately they led to strategic achievements and became intellectual assets for the Hall of Myriad Stars."

"That's...a good point, but...." Crampus asked, "Wouldn't we have won even without them?"

Wisdom's large Kepler-Poinsot dodecahedron head began to spin. "We would have won without them, yes. But we've only encountered five worlds so far. Compared to the infinite possible worlds, we haven't even stepped off the starting line. Among the enemies we'll face, there will surely be those as dangerous as us, if not more, so we must keep racing endlessly."

As Crampus pondered how to counter Wisdom's argument, Lunda raised her hand.

"I have a complaint too."

"What's your complaint, Lunda?"

Wisdom asked, to which Lunda replied, "If it's really that important and valuable, why do only the two of them get to compete?"

"Hm?"

It was Wisdom who expressed his confusion, but the other Constellations also turned their attention to Lunda.

Lunda continued to say, "It's not like the two of them are protecting the worlds alone, right? Think about the second last strategy, where the gate Nebula was protecting got destroyed with an incredibly low probability, causing chaos."

"Sure, it was a one in a hundred thousand chance, but it was bad luck."

"At that time, because there were preparations for follow-up, Nebula just laughed it off, saying, 'If it failed at this probability, it can't be helped,' but what if such probabilities repeat several times, someday in the future? Then the rest would have to lead the game in a scenario where Nebula has been defeated, right?"

"I understand, Lunda. But Nebula said he doesn't plan to force the Constellations on what to do during the sabbatical. Practicing the game is not the only way to win. Our interests and characteristics, even what we thought were insignificant flaws, might lead us to other possibilities of victory that we hadn't known."

"I'm not saying to force playing games." Lunda slammed the table, imitating Hegemonia. "I’m just saying I want to play too."

At that, Sung-Woon and Hegemonia looked at Lunda.

"What?"

"With you?"

Lunda forced a smile, but her temples twitched. "Can you stop with those dismissive remarks?"

Wisdom said, "Well, according to the Sanctuary, this sabbatical will be long enough, so there's no reason for those two to object."

Sung-Woon nodded, but Hegemonia shook her head.

"How dare you try to come in between us...."

Lunda quickly interrupted Hegemonia. "I think not only me but other Constellations also have the right. I don’t think I’m the only one who wants to challenge you two. We should also consider the opinions of those who aren't here tonight."

"What do you think, Nebula?"

Upon Wisdom's question, Sung-Woon rested his arms on the table and interlocked his fingers.

"I accept the challenge."

"There's no need to take it so...seriously, is there? Although it’s preparation for the next world, it's still a sabbatical. The main goal is to rest, and it's fine to enjoy some leisure if possible."

"I take all games seriously." Sung-Woon glanced at the other Constellations seated at the table and then, ignoring Hegemonia who started to get annoyed as the duel of just the two of them was being disrupted, said to Lunda, "So, Lunda. Do you have any game in mind?"

"Of course."

"What is it? I think I have an advantage in most games."

That was true. As gods and now as Constellations, all players had become beings of greatness incomparable to their distant human past. Each Constellation had the power and capability to wholly govern a world. Yet, when it came to games, it seemed far-fetched to beat Sung-Woon.

‘But I have a plan too.’

Having planned this for a long time, Lunda had a game in mind that she could win against Sung-Woon.

Lunda snapped her fingers, creating sunglasses, and put them on while saying, "Mafia."

***

A week ago, at the Hall of Myriad Star’s gymnasium, Lakrak asked, "...What is the Mafia game?"

Lakrak seemed as if asking nonchalantly, but the tip of his tail wagged slightly, indicating he was interested.

In the gymnasium, with the Hall of Myriad Stars' towering triangular towers in view, Lunda answered the anticipated question, "It's a party game from Earth. Actually, there are similar types of games, and although you might not have played them, I know there were similar ones in Avartin called by various names like Lupus in Tabula, Among Us, and so on...."

Lakrak blinked and then asked another question. "What’s a mafia?"

"Do I need to start from there?"

"Yes."

"Well, how should I put it, it's a group that engages in violence...."

"Are you talking about warriors?"

Lunda cleared her throat. "No, not like an army that follows the orders of a king or a republic, but a group that commits illegal acts independently."

"Oh, you're talking about a gang of thugs. Ruffians. Loitering around doing nothing but causing trouble in the fields."

"Um...similar. But it's not just that, it's the name for large criminal organizations that the state power can’t get rid of. They extort protection money from local merchants or smuggle goods that are illegal to trade."

"Do they just let that happen on Earth?"

"Well...there were similar things in Avartin. You wouldn't have seen them during your lifetime though."

"Hmm."

Lakrak nodded as if he roughly understood; everyone tended to think based on their own life experiences. Lakrak, who often looked down at Avartin from the Hall of Myriad Stars whenever he had the time, seemed to have a hard time understanding the concept of allowing such violence-oriented organizations to exist, as he had never allowed anything similar during his time.

Lunda continued to explain, "Anyway, the game is divided into two teams, the Mafias and the citizens. The Mafias are hidden in a small town, and while the citizens have to identify the members of this criminal group, the Mafias need to eliminate the citizens one by one.

The game progresses through cycles of day and night, with the Mafias killing a citizen each night, and during the day, the hidden Mafias and citizens vote to hang and kill someone suspected of being a Mafia. If the person suspected of being Mafia receives a majority of votes, they are executed."

Lunda paused to check if Lakrak understood the rules.

"Hm, what a brutal game. I can’t believe people play such a game with lives at stake."

"No, people don’t actually die."

Lakrak's wagging tail slowed down.

Lunda hurriedly said, "Nebula will probably play."

"I don’t really understand even after the explanation, but it seems fun."

His tail resumed its normal speed. While it was good that Lakrak regained interest, it would be problematic if he played the game without understanding it well.

Lunda said, "You can ask anything you’re unsure about."

"Why don't the citizens set up night watchmen?"

"...Uh, well, those are just the rules. When it becomes night, they irresistibly fall asleep."

"Are there no warriors? I don't know how many citizens there are, but if there were warriors with valiant souls, surely a gang of ruffians daring to commit such treachery wouldn't be able to carry out their will."

"Well, um...there can be other roles, but no warriors."

Lakrak snorted as if displeased.

Lunda continued, "Nebula said he had played it with his friends. Such types of games seem unrelated, but apparently, he was good at it."

"Friends?"

"Ha, I knew it. You also thought Nebula had no friends, didn’t you? But when he was an athlete, he used to play with his teammates in the dormitory...."

Lakrak interrupted with a serious voice, "Lunda."

"Yeah?"

"Life is lived alone. No one can live it for you. If you rely only on friends, what will you rely on when you have none?"

"...Is there a need to deny the value of friends though?"

Lakrak laughed. "Did he find it fun?"

"Of course. Why would he bother making time to play it if it wasn't fun? ...Any other questions?"

Lakrak crossed his arms and asked, "What are the goals of the Mafias?"

"What?"

"If it's a group generating illegal profits, they wouldn't want to attract the attention of state authorities. So, isn't it because they are plotting something in that village that they still resort to killing?"

Lunda looked up at the sky for a moment. She could see the towering triangular towers and the countless sparkling worlds above them.

Afterward, Lunda successfully explained the Mafia game to Lakrak after spending quite some time.

"...What do you think, does it seem fun?"

"It doesn't seem like a game I would be good at."

"No, that's okay. I understand."

People usually only liked the games they enjoyed.

"Explaining it like this won't make it seem fun. It would be good to try it once. Or should we call the others and try it?"

Lakrak understood who Lunda was referring to as the ‘others.’

The Hall of Myriad Stars tried to avoid hierarchy as much as possible, but some regarded the Constellations and their Apostles in high esteem and willingly revered them. This was the case even though the Divinity, or more precisely, Presence known as a passive skill from the era of the Pantheon, had now disappeared.

Moreover, despite having been through several worlds, the members of the Hall of Myriad Stars were overwhelmingly from Avartin and many of them regarded the Constellations as gods.

In any case, the Hall of Myriad Stars was a bureaucracy. Wisdom, having confirmed that religious perspectives hindered efficient work, suggested that the Constellations refrain from directly interacting with beings other than Apostles, and this was agreed upon by consensus among the Constellations.

Therefore, the ‘others' referred to by a Constellation were Apostles who could play with the Constellations. And usually, the Apostles were busy with various tasks, research, or training, so rest was better without the Constellations.

Lakrak said, "There's no need for that. If necessary, I won't turn down the game."

"'If necessary,' you say."

Lunda and Lakrak glared at each other suspiciously. Lunda thought Lakrak was sizing her up.

Of course, Lunda had her reasons for suggesting they play this game, but without knowing Lakrak's true intentions, Lunda was unsure how much to share with him. If after hearing everything, he still refused, that would just be abject failure.

‘But Lakrak is needed for this plan.’

Meanwhile, Lakrak simply glared back at Lunda because she glared at him, and for no other particular reason.

"Lakrak." Lunda placed her hand on Lakrak's shoulder and said. "Let's work on something together."