“Ahem! Excuse me for a moment.”
Just as I was enjoying a dreamlike rest, my face buried in Lillian-sensei’s ample chest, an uninvited guest arrived.
It was Instructor Maxim, his face covered in scars—yet he somehow seemed like someone who had never once stepped foot inside the infirmary.
“Lillian-sensei? What brings you to the infirmary?”
“Oh, Instructor Maxim? What brings you here?”
“Well… I heard that Kim Sunghoon had regained consciousness, so I came to have a brief discussion with him.”
“Hmm? But I haven’t reported that to the administration office yet… Don’t tell me you have listening devices planted in the infirmary?”
“N-no! Absolutely not! It’s just that Headmaster Dragos has been keeping a close watch on Kim Sunghoon’s condition.”
“Ah, I see. So Headmaster Dragos must have been watching with his dragon’s eyes. Well, in that case, I can’t argue. I’ll step aside for a moment so you two can talk—but keep it short. Kim Sunghoon’s condition is still not great.”
With that, Lillian-sensei left the room.
The moment she was gone, Instructor Maxim immediately dropped to one knee and gave a short yet weighty apology.
“I’m sorry. This was all my fault. As the chief instructor, I should have prioritized the students’ safety above all else.
But I was too complacent, trusting that the Hermit’s Flooded Forest was a sealed-off space.
I have no excuse, even if I had ten mouths to speak.”
“Hmm…”
I was annoyed that my peaceful time with Lillian-sensei had been interrupted, but to be fair, it was hard to blame Instructor Maxim for this incident.
Even after playing Pantheon of the Constellations thousands of times, I had never once encountered a scenario where a Grade 2 Devil Doll appeared during the school trip event.
This was such an unprecedented situation that instead of having one person take all the blame, we needed to analyze why this had happened in the first place.
“It’s fine. More importantly, could you explain what happened after I lost consciousness?”
“Thankfully, Iris managed to defeat the Grade 2 Devil Doll, Facefish, so no additional casualties occurred.
However, Philip, who had already been sacrificed to the Devil Doll, was confirmed dead, and his funeral has already been held.
Additionally, it was confirmed that a portion of the Hermit’s Flooded Forest had been contaminated by demonic energy, so it’s been temporarily closed for purification.
To be honest, I was planning to resign from my position as an instructor to take responsibility for this incident.
But Headmaster Dragos told me, ‘If you’re going to resign, at least catch the culprit first.’
So I’m investigating the matter in every possible way.
You’re still severely injured, so I won’t ask you to talk much, but—did you notice anything suspicious?
Even the smallest detail could help.”
“Well… I was just watching Iris fight from the sidelines, so…”
The problem wasn’t that there was nothing suspicious—it was that there was too much.
How did a Devil Doll manage to be summoned inside the sealed-off Hermit’s Flooded Forest?
How did Philip, a mere low-rank dark magician, manage to cast a Dual-Element 4th-Tier spell like Fire Fist, something only intermediate elemental sorcerers could use?
Even if Philip had somehow become an undead, it still shouldn’t have been possible for him to use magic he had never learned in life.
“Now that I think about it, I have a question as well.
According to the upperclassmen, the school trip used to be an individual competition rather than a team event.
To be honest, I personally benefited the most from this rule change, but do you know why it was changed?”
“That was Professor Shiroko’s proposal.
She argued that we’re not demons who throw students into a survival match and only use the strongest survivor.
Instead, she suggested that pairing students up would also help cultivate their cooperative abilities.
It was a reasonable argument, so we accepted it.
Since this rule change had nothing to do with the recent incident, we plan to keep it for next year as well.
Though, we do need to adjust the balance when top-ranking students team up.”
“I see… Professor Shiroko, huh…”
The puzzle pieces were slowly falling into place.
Professor Shiroko, a specialist in dark magic, was one of the most multi-dimensional NPCs in Pantheon of the Constellations.
Depending on the story branch, she could become either an ally or a traitor working for the demons.
But she wasn’t someone I could just brand as a villain.
Her character arc was far too complex for that, so I had to be careful with how I approached her.
To be honest, I wasn’t completely convinced that she was behind this incident—I just thought there was a high probability she was involved.
That said, I couldn’t just accuse her outright without evidence.
If I stormed into Headmaster Dragos’ office and demanded an investigation on Professor Shiroko without proof, I’d probably get obliterated by a dragon’s breath attack and trigger a bad ending.
After exchanging a few more pointless pleasantries with Instructor Maxim, I sent him off and lay back down on my bed.
It had been a while since I last activated my connection to the Constellation.
But just as I was about to do so, Iris entered the infirmary right after Maxim left, almost like they were tag-teaming their visits.
This meant I got to watch myself pretending to be asleep.
“So, you’ve arrived, Nameless King. You were silent for a while, so I thought you might have been angry about my reckless actions.”
Do you think a Constellation would sulk like a human?
I was simply resting after consuming too much Karma in the last battle.
“I see… My apologies for causing you trouble. Looking back, I should have followed your advice. If I had, Kim Sunghoon wouldn’t have been injured so badly.
I’ve been visiting the infirmary every day for the past week, reflecting on my foolish actions over and over again.”
He’s not someone worth that much effort.
Just express your gratitude properly once when he regains consciousness, and that will be enough.
While it’s commendable that he willingly acted as a disposable meat shield despite having no abilities, you must remember that your excessive attention could be more harmful than helpful to that fragile human.
It wasn’t just empty words.
The mere fact that Iris had partnered with me during the school trip had already put me on Stella’s radar.
And it wasn’t just Stella—from the perspective of Iris’ fan club, my very existence was nothing more than an eyesore.
The more interest Iris showed in Kim Sunghoon, the deeper their hostility would become, potentially escalating into outright bullying.
For now, things were quiet since I was seriously injured and under Headmaster Dragos’ watchful eye.
But if Iris were seen supporting me somewhere on campus?
Ugh.
The mere thought of it was horrifying.
“I will heed your advice, Nameless King. However, even if he lacks abilities, I want him to know that his spirit of sacrifice was not in vain.
Aside from me, everyone else believes that Kim Sunghoon was injured because he got in the way rather than because he protected me from a fatal attack.”
It wasn’t heroism that made me act—it was simply because the Nameless God, 1602, had all-in invested in Iris.
Still, I didn’t stop her from showing her appreciation.
Like Instructor Maxim, she knelt before me, took my real body’s hand, and began to pray.
It was a bit awkward to watch from the Constellation’s perspective, but I didn’t dislike it.
Getting my ribs shattered somehow led to a stroke of romantic luck.
“…Not that I’d ever do it again.”
***
“So you’re the so-called Lucky Guy I’ve heard about.
They say you had absurd luck, got paired with Iris, and won first place without lifting a finger.
With luck like that, shouldn’t you refuse the first-place prize on your own?
Do you really think you deserve to set foot in my lair?”
“Well, rules are rules. Surely, someone of Headmaster Dragos’ stature wouldn’t go back on her word, would she?
Unless… you’re just reluctant to part with an extra reward since two prizes are being given out instead of one.”
Zzt!
Lyn Dragos fixed her reptilian slit pupils on me, their glow shimmering ominously.
Her massive tail quivered, making her irritation all too obvious.
Even if I had lucked my way into victory, there was no way in hell I was giving up a once-in-a-lifetime chance to enter Lyn Dragos’ lair and pick a treasure—just to avoid looking shameless.
I’d already simulated the best possible loot selection while watching Iris choose her prize, so there was no way I was backing down.
“Haaaaah! This is infuriating. I can’t believe I have to hand over one of my precious treasures to some half-baked nobody who hasn’t even formed a Constellation contract.”
“You say that, but I know you love all your students equally, regardless of their ranking.”
“Ghhkk! You little brat just has to get the last word in, huh? Fine, you win.
Here, take this lair key and get going.
You have one hour.
Just remember—overthinking leads to bad choices.
Not that it matters, since a half-baked nobody like you won’t be able to tell the difference between treasure and worthless junk anyway.
Just grab something and get out.”
“No way. This is a rare opportunity, and I plan to use every last second of that hour.”