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chapter 6
[First Trial]
[Acquire Contractor Qualification:
Reclaim one of your stolen rights.]
[Reward List:
-
Become a Contractor of the Constellations
-
Unlock the Constellation Shop feature
-
Receive 1,000 diamonds as a congratulatory reward]
As Iona read through the message in a trance, her gaze stopped at something.
Constellation Shop.
“Could it really mean I can use diamonds there?”
A golden message appeared before her, murmuring softly.
[Constellation ‘Master of Lies’ praises you as a clever human.]
“…I don’t really trust that because it’s from Master of Lies.”
[Constellation ‘Master of Lies’ pats its chest, claiming it did not just lie.]
“I haven’t even seen this Constellation Shop with my own eyes, so I don’t really know what’s good about it either.”
So it’s interactive.
Suppressing her surprise, Iona provoked.
“How am I supposed to trust you when I don’t even know who you are?”
[Constellation ‘Serious About Punishing That Adulterer’ says softly, ‘We are already your enthusiastic supporters.’]
[Constellation ‘<Urgent> Husband Broken into 14 Pieces, What Should I Do?’ is busily searching for something.]
[Constellation ‘Master of Lies’ fusses and lists all the good things about the Constellation Shop.]
[Constellation ‘Cat-Head Enthusiast’ advises that you can get what you need from the shop.]
[Constellation ‘Revenge Service Industry #1’ reaches into its pocket and pulls out diamonds.]
‘Serious About Punishing That Adulterer.’
‘<Urgent> Husband Broken into 14 Pieces, What Should I Do?’
‘Master of Lies.’
‘Cat-Head Enthusiast.’
‘Revenge Service Industry #1.’
Now she could somewhat distinguish them.
Of course, these were not their real names. They were probably chosen to best represent themselves.
Setting aside what they were, what exactly did they want from her?
Even her husband, the person closest and supposed to support her, had put a price on her—so why would they help her for free?
Iona was no longer a fifteen-year-old girl naively lost in dreams. Life’s bitterness had turned her into an adult who measured practical benefits.
“Everything comes at a price. I wonder what your price is.”
[Constellation ‘<Urgent> Husband Broken into 14 Pieces, What Should I Do?’ drops a booklet titled “Tips for Beginner Contractors” by mistake.]
Thump.
A light appeared in the air, and something fell at her feet.
Looking closely, it was the same booklet she had seen mentioned in a previous message.
Carefully picking it up, she flipped the cover.
But nothing was written inside.
Next page, the page after that—also blank.
“Hm, it’s empty?”
As she murmured, a silver message appeared.
[▶ SSS-Class Artifact: Booklet Handwritten by a Constellation]
[Unlock Condition: 100 diamonds per page]
[Place your hand on the page you wish to unlock and request it.]
With the diamonds she had, she could unlock a few pages.
Half in doubt, Iona placed her hand on the first page and spoke.
“I want to see what’s written on this page.”
Shaaa.
A warm wind blew from somewhere, wrapping around the book. Then, after a moment…
Where the page had been blank, words began appearing, scratching themselves onto the paper.
“A Constellation is a high-dimensional being.
They are above even high-level beings such as dragons.
For your curiosity, humans are low-level beings.”
That was the first paragraph.
“A Contractor is a low-level being personally chosen by a Constellation.
They are beings that the Constellation carefully watches and tends to. To define it roughly, it is like a human who happens to find a stray cat in the neighborhood and gives it food.
If the cat is pretty, wouldn’t you want to brag about it to your friends?
In the same way, the Constellation enjoys the Contractor’s life and fills their long, tedious immortal existence with meaning.”
In a way, it could have felt unpleasant.
It literally meant she was being treated like a pet.
But Iona thought differently.
‘If these Constellations are like gods, being favored by a god isn’t bad. It’s actually lucky.’
Besides, there was no one around her.
No one to share her heart with, no one to lean on.
In such a situation, having beings unconditionally on her side—how could that be bad?
“So I am lucky. I don’t really need to do anything. Cats are supposed to be full and warm, after all.”
[Constellation ‘Master of Lies’ is impressed by your shamelessness.]
[Constellation ‘Cat-Head Enthusiast’ happily notes that a cat’s plump belly is a virtue.]
[Constellation ‘<Urgent> Husband Broken into 14 Pieces, What Should I Do?’ honestly says they want to see your life.]
“My life… isn’t much. But that is a cat’s virtue as well.”
[Constellation ‘Revenge Service Industry #1’ speaks solemnly.]
[We wish to see lives that overcome hardship. Lives where the guilty are punished. Or lives where the wronged succeed in revenge. Show us that.]
That was exactly what she intended to do.
Standing alone amidst enemies, wielding no sword, she was going forward.
Iona took in the last lines of the page.
“Diamonds are the Constellation’s currency.
Contractors can receive diamonds as support and exchange them in the Constellation Shop for items or artifacts, or even purchase random boxes.
They cannot be immediately converted to cash, but the shop contains many currencies, gold coins, and even real gold bars, so it is possible to liquidate them.”
“A sort of toy store… for favored pets?”
[Constellation ‘Cat-Head Enthusiast’ applauds your understanding.]
She wanted to see the next page, but diamonds were precious.
Now, only 520 diamonds remained.
If these could truly be converted to money, conserving them was wise.
“How do I receive diamond support? Do I show the scenes you want and get an allowance?”
[Constellation ‘Master of Lies’ grins.]
[Right. We don’t have infinite diamonds either. If it’s fun, we support. If it’s boring, we’ll go find another cat.]
So they hadn’t adopted her.
A boundary was drawn, but she didn’t feel hurt.
It was clearer this way.
“You said ‘channel,’ right? If what I show is boring, will it be disconnected?”
[Constellation ‘Master of Lies’ shrugs.]
[We already assigned you a suitable genre. If it fits, we won’t leave. We are watching because we want to see it.]
Genre.
The label attached to stories about human life, such as novels or plays.
Iona silently tried to digest everything.
Then she opened her eyes and looked sharply into the void.
She seemed more confident than before.
“Then give me more generous support. I’ll show a story worth being told for a thousand years, so place your bets on me.”
[Constellation ‘<Urgent> Husband Broken into 14 Pieces, What Should I Do?’ is pleased with your resolve.]
[Constellation ‘Revenge Service Industry #1’ says revenge is about momentum.]
[Constellation ‘Serious About Punishing That Adulterer’ advises you to grow your channel.]
“How can I grow the channel?”
The paladins outside would probably think she had lost her mind.
Muttering to herself with no one around.
But Iona needed help.
And one lesson from her past life was clear: she had to make things work in her favor, no matter who—or what—it was.
[Constellation ‘<Urgent> Husband Broken into 14 Pieces, What Should I Do?’ says you just need to become famous.]
[You are already popular among the Constellations. Everyone is watching you. They are debating whether to subscribe to your channel.]
“Because I’ve come back to life?”
[Constellation ‘Master of Lies’ interrupts.]
[Yup. Honestly, I came in curious too. Which madman poured a hundred billion just to save you?]
