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The younger sibling of the protagonist is resurrected as a Constellation, Episode 9
Due to the continuous noise, I had no choice but to ask again.
“What? I can’t understand you because there are parts I can’t hear well in the middle.”
⌈&◆.⌋
The fox kindly repeated it, but I still couldn’t hear. Instead, I lightly covered my ears from the pain of the noise ringing in my head.
The fox, seeing my action, thought briefly and tapped the floor with its tail before speaking.
⌈First, should I call this home? If I do this, even the baby can hear!⌋
“You call this home? Fox, your home?”
Startled by the word ‘home’, I asked, and the fox nodded in response.
I was sure I had moved into the dungeon where Kim I-gyeol entered.
“But the system told me this place is a dungeon?”
I pointed to the system window glowing in the air.
Although the letters were heavily corrupted, it was marked as ‘dungeon’.
⌈hm, it is my home… but I don’t know why.⌋
The fox muttered, apologizing for being unhelpful. Its ears, which had been perked up, had already drooped.
Its mentality is like a pufferfish. Is it because it’s still a baby?
When I gently scratched under its chin to signal that it was okay, its large ears slowly perked up again.
“I’m curious about one thing, can I ask?”
⌈Anything!⌋
I had acquired skills in two instances.
First, the Unique Skill that appeared in the system window when I first awakened as a Constellation.
And second, the skills <Immovable Stillness> and <Emotional Assimilation> that were unlocked when I completed the contract with Kim I-gyeol.
I didn’t know why the Unique Skill and the newly unlocked skills were separated, nor why the skills suddenly appeared after contracting with Kim I-gyeol.
I thought the reason would be written in that damned book, <Read This and You Too Can Be a Constellation!>, but the book had only shown me one sentence.
If the baby fox, which had shown me noise similar to the book, might know the reason.
Constellation ‘Nobility Returned from Death’
Contractor: Kim I-gyeol (D)
Skills: <Immovable Stillness>, <Emotional Assimilation>
Unique Skill: ……
I brought up my status window again and asked the fox what I was curious about.
“I have a Unique Skill and regular skills. I don’t know what the difference is.”
The fox’s expression changed subtly.
⌈You have other skills besides the Unique Skill? Why?⌋
What am I supposed to do if you ask me that?
The fox rolled its eyes, trying to find a reason.
As if its head wasn’t spinning well, the fox hopped out of my arms and spun around in place.
Unable to find a reason at all, the fox looked utterly perplexed.
⌈Seriously, why?!⌋
If I knew that, I probably wouldn’t have asked. I just gave an awkward smile.
⌈I only have Unique Skills. Probabilistic Inference, Moment of Prudence…⌋
It tapped the floor with its front paws and rattled off its Unique Skills.
After hearing about five, I cut it off, thinking if this continued, there would be no end.
“Uh huh, I see. So normally, you’re supposed to only have Unique Skills?”
⌈Yes!⌋
What on earth are these ‘skills’ that even a Constellation doesn’t know about?
I don’t know about <Emotional Assimilation> since I haven’t used it, but when <Immovable Stillness> is activated, I feel my emotions calm down.
However, it doesn’t activate indiscriminately. There’s probably a condition, but I don’t know exactly what it is.
I wish the system would clearly tell me, but it tends to be a bit arbitrary.
Look at it being quiet now. I shouldn’t get my hopes up.
Since even the fox I had expectations for didn’t know, it seems I’ll have to look into it further later.
“Phew…”
Now, it was time to find Kim I-gyeol, whom I had temporarily forgotten. I had spent more time than I thought talking with the fox.
I turned my steps, which had been heading towards the door.
Every time I took a step, the sound of a tail sweeping the floor following me caught my attention.
I approached the fox and crouched down. I met the fox’s silvery-gray eyes.
“Fox, I’m going to go find my contractor now. Do you want to come with me?”
⌈Gasp, yes! I want to go with the baby!⌋
The fox, who had been hopping around, followed me. I looked at the fox for a moment, then opened the door.
Well, I tried to open it.
I tried turning the doorknob and pulling, but it didn’t budge. It was firmly fixed, as if the door had been glued to the frame.
As I grunted, struggling with the doorknob, the fox approached and examined the door.
Taking its eyes off the door, the fox looked at me and asked.
⌈You said this place is a dungeon, right?⌋
The sudden, unexpected question caught me off guard.
I nodded hesitantly. The fox’s face seemed somehow troubled.
⌈I appear as a monster to the baby. By any chance, am I the boss?⌋
“That’s right. Fox, they say you’re the boss monster.”
As if understanding, the fox nodded and trudged over to its basket. It went inside, coiled up, and wrapped its body into a round ball.
Hiding its face in its tail, the fox spoke calmly.
⌈Then it’s right that it doesn’t open.⌋
“Why?”
⌈Because it’s the boss room. People can open it and come in from outside, but they can’t go out. It only opens when the boss dies.⌋
The fox’s voice was calm, but a hint of sadness emanated from within it.
⌈So the baby has to kill me.⌋
The fox spoke to me in a tearful voice. It was a voice resigned to death.
Even though we met today for the first time, I had already grown fond of it. I couldn’t just leave it to disappear like this.
“Isn’t there another way?”
⌈Not that I know of…⌋
The fox drawled weakly and rubbed its body against the basket. Because of that, the fur that had fallen inside the basket got tangled on the fox’s body again.
I sat down next to the basket and groomed the fox’s fur. It wasn’t severely tangled, so it soon returned to its original state.
‘…Returns?’
Suddenly, a brilliant idea came to mind.
“What if you return to your original state?”
⌈Huh?⌋
“You are a star.”
I explained my idea to the fox.
Even in the攻略 window that popped up whenever I made eye contact with the fox, the location of the core wasn’t shown.
Probably because there was no core to begin with, so it couldn’t tell me.
If the fox returns to being a star and the boss monster naturally disappears, wouldn’t this place, which was the boss room, also be able to return to being a normal room?
The fox, understanding my thoughts, pointed out what I was missing.
⌈You mean purification? But that’s the Goddess’s ability…⌋
Ignoring the fox’s muttering, I hurriedly opened the status window.
I remembered seeing a suitable skill while looking through the Unique Skill list.
This one wasn’t it, that one wasn’t it either.
There were many skills, but the one I was looking for wasn’t visible.
“Oh, there it is!”
<Fair Judgment (S)>.
A skill that provides the target with an opportunity to live a new life based on their good or evil.
If the target is evil, they are annihilated; if good, they get the chance to return to their original form. However, an additional explanation stated that the scales determine good and evil.
The target is placed on the left scale, and the ‘weight of good and evil’ is placed on the opposite side. In that state, if the target goes down, they are good; if they go up, they are evil.
That wasn’t the end. There was also a warning that even if the target is good and gets a chance to live again, if they commit evil acts, their life will be taken.
I hesitated at the skill, which could potentially take the fox’s life.
“I don’t like this…”
I muttered to myself and looked through other skills, but nothing was suitable. That skill was the closest thing to purification among what I had.
⌈Baby, what’s wrong?⌋
The fox, reading my hesitation, spoke to me. In a hesitant voice, I confided in the fox about this situation.
⌈Why hesitate?⌋
The fox, after hearing my story, asked with wide eyes. At its incomprehensible expression, I just blinked.
Seeing my constantly changing expression, the fox let out a short sigh. It felt more affectionate than pitying.
A reddish light emanated from the fox’s body. I watched the mystical sight, unable to close my mouth.
“What are you doing now?”
⌈Using my ability! Because the baby seemed to be worrying too much.⌋
With those words, the fox closed its eyes. As I watched by its side, the light gradually faded.
Returning to its original form, the fox spoke firmly.
⌈Good and evil are simpler than the baby thinks.⌋
Though it was a simple statement, it was exactly what I, wavering back and forth, needed.
Just worrying like this won’t clear the dungeon. Gaining courage, I confirmed the fox’s intention.
“You’re really okay with this? You’ll be alright too?”
⌈Of course! It’ll be fine.⌋
Having received a positive answer, the only thing left was to activate the skill.
I placed my hand on the fox’s head. The soft fur touched my palm. I stayed still like that for a while.
I had only ever granted a Unique Skill to Kim I-gyeol; this was my first time using one myself, so I was worried about whether I could use it properly.
The fox, watching me, chuckled.
⌈A baby is a baby after all. So cute!⌋
