I was transported out of the dimension where I just fought Aquarius, and previously the other Constellations in the blink of an eye.
The next I knew, I was in an expanse occupied by the other Constellations, and Aquarius appeared right behind me the moment I acclimated to my new environment.
"What'll happen to the sparring space?" I turned to ask Aquarius, who had apparently softened up to me after we concluded our fight.
She didn't say anything for a while, making me wonder if it was just my imagination that we had grown a little closer.
"D-don't address me so casually…" I heard her mutter, but it was barely audible that I might have misheard what she said a little slightly.
"The dimension will be erased since it serves no purpose anymore."
Rather than Aquarius responding to my question, it was Virgo. She was smiling broadly, but her eyes weren't directed at me.
Instead, she was looking at Aquarius.
"Thanks, Virgo." I responded casually, and based on her reaction, she didn't seem to mind at all.
I had already fought all of the Constellations at least once. While I wasn't their match in the slightest, I was able to understand and communicate with them more.
'I think I've pretty much gotten used to them, and the feeling is mutual.'
However, Aquarius still seemed to be stiff around me.
'She said I was impressive, but it seems I haven't reached her criteria just yet…'
Not that I cared or anything.
As long as I was able to achieve my desired result, I didn't mind one Constellation or two not liking me too much.
"How was your match?" Virgo asked, her smile broadening for some reason.
Once again, she didn't seem to be looking at me. I didn't know whether to respond or not, but I decided to do so anyway.
"It was as expecte—"
"None of your business! You saw everything, didn't you?" Aquarius' voice overshadowed mine, causing her words to spread within the multicolored expanse.
For a moment, silence ensued and only the faint echoes of her declaration filled the air.
I didn't know where it was coming from, but I was sensing some level of awkwardness—perhaps even tension too.
"Huhu… sure I did. In any case, it's finally over."
Virgo's face as she uttered those words seemed to contain more meaning than she was letting on, but I wasn't too versed in understanding Constellations to decipher what she meant.
Her pure maiden-like face seemed to be hiding some sort of scheme… or maybe I was just reading some meaning to it.
'No other Constellation seems even moderately interested, so why is Virgo being so persistent?'
I didn't think I would ever find out.
However, in order to quickly alter the course of tension that was currently hovering above my head—between Aquarius, who stood behind me, and Virgo, who was a small distance in front of me—I decided to change to topic of discussion.
"How are they faring… my friends?"
My question seemed to work like Magic, and instantly, the tension vanished from the rooom. Instead, the other Constellations even began to speak up, and the massive screens they were all staring at came into view.
Almost like windows appearing in hin air, each of these screens displayed one of my friends undertaking whatever challenge the Constellation gave them.
A total of thirteen screens depicted each individual and their trial or training, and as I looked at some of the screens, I had my own mixed reactions.
"What do you think? Do you have preferred candidates already?" I turned to the Constellations who were currently watching the trials.
Each Constellation had varying tastes—tastes different from mine.
From what I could see, while most of them were doing their best, they were quite weak. Perhaps it was due to my current level of power, but I genuinely felt they were inadequate.
'After fighting with each Constellation and losing every single time, I'm a bit worried that they won't find anyone impressive…'
Even though I made such a big deal out of my friends when I offered the Constellations a deal, I wasn't so sure any longer.
My only hope was for the Constellations to have less strict assessments concerning them.
"Virgo, Aries, and I have decided not to choose any new candidate from your friends since we already have Hosts among them." Leo was the first to my question.
I stared at Virgo and Aries, seeing as they nodded in agreement with Leo's statement.
"Oh? Any particular reason why?" I responded with another query.
"Well, some of us prefer to have one Host at a time, but it is generally accepted among us that a Constellation should not to have two Hosts who are closely linked or associated."
I could see a few reasons why they would decide on something like that.
'For one, Constellations are bound to have favorites among their Hosts. If two of their Hosts are friends, it could become clear who the favorite is… and that could cause issues for them.'
There was also the factor of skill. Certain Hosts were bound to be more skilled than others. If one Host was more skilled than the other, and they had the same Constellation, it could lead to unsavory emotions and terrible outcomes.
There were other factors involved, so I understood why they would abstain from choosing multiple Hosts in the same friend group.
'But that leaves another problem.'
There were currently ten people who were undergoing trials to be recognized by a Constellation. However, only nine Constellations were already without a Host among them.'
'In essence… one person might not get a Constellation.'
Unless, of course, such a person was outstanding enough to allow them to make an exception—which was highly improbable—I had to brace myself for the worst case scenario.
'It's out of my hands now, though…' A bead of sweat trickled down my face as I forced a smile on my face.
'Everything is up to you guys.'
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[A/N]
Thank you all for reading!
Who do you think will be left behind? Or do you think they will all be chosen?
I wonder…
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