Chapter 8 : Association President (2)

“Nothing.”
“Excuse me?”
“I can’t give you anything, Han Sion-nim.”
To the both of us, utterly baffled, Hong Yuon began her lament.
“I can’t give you a huge salary, a signing bonus, or good conditions. Our higher-ups have decided that since you’re young and from an orphanage and a Scavenger background, they don’t need to invest much in you. They figured that if we sign you before the guilds do, we can tie you down to the association with conditions that are no different from a pushover’s.”
“I’m 27, so I know a thing or two…”
“I know. I also know that you’ve lived a rough life and you’re not an easy opponent.”
“Then why are you telling me this?”
She pushed her blood-red hair behind her ear and smiled.
“Don’t come to the association.”
It was a simple reason.
But coming from the association president, it was also a complicated one.
“I don’t want young talents to be played by those old folks up there. Politics, it’s really tiring. If you have political ambitions and want to push me aside to become the association president and wear a gold badge, I won’t stop you, but you don’t seem like that kind of person.”
“But at first, you definitely said you wanted me to come to the association…”
“Pikku!”
That’s right! You did! You acted like you were going to give me good conditions!
When I said that, Hong Yuon smiled wryly.
What, was she eavesdropping from outside?
As I roughly guessed so, she winked and continued.
“Let’s just say it’s a politician’s circumstances. Anyway, it’s fine now. Did you understand what I meant by not coming to the association?”
“I understand. I had no intention of coming anyway.”
“Excellent.”
Hong Yuon sat back comfortably with a satisfied expression.
Then she continued in a slightly lighter tone.
“And this is a personal request, but I hope you don’t join certain guilds.”
“Are they low-quality guilds?”
“Yes.”
Hong Yuon stood up for a moment, rummaged through some documents, and then placed a few papers with guild information on the desk.
“Crow, Roberta, Genion, Manwol… it’s best not to even look at these.”
“You must have a reason for saying so, but are they low-quality but not to the extent of going to jail?”
“There’s enough suspicion to send them to jail. It’s just that there’s no physical evidence. I don’t want our S-rank to join these guilds and give them power. Of course, they know what I think, so they’ll offer exceptional conditions…”
“Wait.”
Han Sion interrupted.
“This is not within my authority.”
“It’s your business, so how can it not be your authority?”
“Constellation-nim.”
Eh? Me?
I made a stupid face at Han Sion’s sudden call.
Han Sion, who didn’t see me become a fool in an instant, piously placed his hands on his chest, closed his eyes, and then spoke in a voice full of faith.
“May I join a guild?”
He’s talking as if he’s asking a magic conch shell.
I thought so but didn’t answer.
I felt that if my will was conveyed ‘honestly’, it would be distorted again, and I was sick of the misunderstandings that would arise from it.
When there was no answer after a while, my contractor sighed and said.
“There’s no answer.”
“Uh… do you usually leave such decisions to your Constellation?”
“No, the Constellation-nim usually says nothing. But since I’m an S-rank Awakener, I thought I might get a little more attention…”
Are you worshipping an idol?
A little more attention?
I’m sitting on your lap right now.
But Han Sion, who didn’t know this, sighed deeply and looked depressed.
“Since there’s no answer, I’ll think about it for a bit.”
“O-okay. Just keep in mind what I said.”
Hong Yuon, realizing that he was no ordinary madman, stuttered and tried to see Han Sion off.
To be fair, he’s a bit of a burden for me too.
As I was about to say goodbye, I noticed Hong Yuon’s gaze was fixed on me.
“Excuse me.”
“Yes?”
“May I speak with this child?”
Excuse me? With me?
Even though I’m a jellyfish right now?
“It won’t take long.”
“Then I’ll also…”
“No, just the two of us.”
“What to a monster… No, our Pion is smart, but it’s not at a level where it can converse.”
I’m at that level, you know?!
“Pikku! Pikkuk! Piiiiiiyak!”
When I got angry, Han Sion was more flustered than ever before.
It was probably because he had never seen me this angry.
After trying to soothe me for 3 minutes, Sion, with a dazed face, gave his permission.
“I’ll be waiting at the door.”
“Go ahead. Pion, let’s go.”
“Pikku.”
A private meeting with the association president.
I wasn’t scared.
As I said, I was a jellyfish now, and for difficult questions, I could just tilt my head?
And that was it.
So, after entering the association president’s office, until Hong Yuon suddenly cast a soundproof magic and bowed deeply to me.
“I am honored to meet you, Constellation, Silent Calamity-nim.”
“…Pikkuk.”
That was a hiccup just now.
The other person, the other person sees me as a person.
She’s trying to have a conversation.
I have to answer her.
As soon as I thought that, the world began to spin.
The fact that she had noticed my identity as a Constellation was secondary!
I froze on the spot and had no choice but to listen to Hong Yuon’s words.
“I have become able to sense the flow of mana from the system, though I’m still inexperienced. But I saw the flow of rewards, presumed to be from a scenario, being divided and sent to the two of you.”
Her eyes sparkled.
“And my connection with my Constellation has been severed. It’s the same for all the eyes watching this place. You must have covered their eyes as a scenario reward. This is something impossible for an ordinary contractor and a monster. Unless one of them is a Constellation.”
No? I didn’t do that.
Covering their eyes, I’d never heard of it.
Then wasn’t it possible for Hong Yuon to tell me not to join the association because their eyes were covered?
Just then, the system appeared, not with its usual mechanical tone!

[Speedy-System’s Explanation Time!]
‘What is this?’

[The Constellation, Silent Calamity, disliked the eyes of others so much that you have activated the passive stigma, ‘The Ruined Veil’.]
I’d never heard of this before.
In the first place, I didn’t even know I had a stigma.

[Originally, the passive stigma was also blocked by the beginner mode, but it was unlocked with the success of the first scenario! Oh, the beginner mode is not completely unlocked, but ‘partially’ unlocked. Please check the stigma section later for ‘The Ruined Veil’!]
Then it disappeared with a pop.
As I floated in the air silently, Hong Yuon asked with a slightly nervous face.
“Constellation-nim?”
Well… I knew the whole story now.
‘I reaped what I sowed.’
I had spread the veil, and that’s what ultimately gave me away.
Hong Yuon probably didn’t have eyes to see until the veil was spread.
But… even so, there was no place to retreat.
Should I pretend to be a jellyfish?
But that would only make Hong Yuon feel awkward and would be of no benefit.
‘Hong Yuon must have something she wants to talk to me, a Constellation, about.’
Then I have to answer.
Cold sweat is breaking out and the world is spinning, but sometimes, you have to endure.
I recall the sensation of my neck being cut again.
The cool blade, the sound of cells separating from cells inside my body, the delayed pain, the darkening vision…
I made up my mind.

[Do you want to deactivate minimal mode?]
It was then.
A translucent veil with white embroidery descended from the Azure Sky.

“Good choice.”

[A starlight veil has been delivered from the Azure Sky!]
With the chime of the system window, my vision, which had turned white, returned.
I felt a light weight on my head, and at the same time, my vision was translucently covered.
Puzzled, I checked and found it was a white veil.
‘What is this?’
But wearing it made me feel at ease.
As I was about to just leave it on, the system appeared as if frustrated.

[Starlight Veil: Myth]
A top-grade veil made from the thread woven by the spider that connects the Milky Way on the first day of the universe. Only 3 exist in the world, and it has the effect of calming the mind.
Myth? Is it good?
Not knowing how amazing it was, I dismissed the system window.
It didn’t matter if the administrator who gifted me this veil from the Azure Sky was frustrated.
When I blinked and looked ahead, I saw Hong Yuon’s baffled face.