<h4>Chapter 324</h4>


    Sung-Woon decided not to dwell on the fact that he had won anyway, as it would only annoy Hegemonia and make things more troublesome for him. Besides, Sung-Woon actually liked settling scores with Hegemonia. The only issue was that the fight between these two wouldn’t end with their agreement alone.


    "...Hey, Hegemonia," Crampus said.


    Hegemonia red at Crampus as if she already knew what Crampus was about to say.


    Crampus continued, "You lostst time. Since Neb won three times first, doesn''t it mean it doesn''t matter whether you win or lose against Neb during this sabbatical? Or are you acknowledging your defeat in thest five matches and proposing a new challenge?"


    "Are you saying I lost?" Hegemonia stood up and put her foot on the table. "Come to my Colosseum right now, Crampus. You''ll have to take responsibility for what you just said."


    "Hegemonia," Eldar said. "Please take your foot off the table first."


    Hegemonia, after looking back and forth between Crampus, Sung-Woon, and Eldar, took her foot off.


    Then she clenched her fist and shouted at Crampus, "Why aren''t you answering!?"


    "Hey, Hegemonia. It''s you who needs to answer, isn’t it? The sabbatical was made for all of us to take a break. How can others rest if you keep noisily insisting on challenging Neb wherever he goes?"


    "Follow me outside right now!"


    Hegemonia attempted to raise her foot again, and Eldar next to her grabbed her, while Ovenwave, continuing her meal in the corner of the table, marveled quietly at Hegemonia''s astonishing dynamics.


    Crampus then turned and faced Sung-Woon. "Neb, you also need to be firm and decisive, or she won''t stop bothering you. Isn''t the problem that you''re too amodating when she consistently challenges you?"


    "Sorry about that."


    "Sorry or not, everyone acknowledges that the Constetion of Games has beaten the Constetion of War. So you can say there''s no need to fight anymore. Let''s take it easy and rest during the sabbatical, please."


    "But I can’t avoid a challenge thates at me."


    "That''s exactly the problem."


    Wisdom, who was next to them, said, "Crampus, I admit Hegemonia can be noisy, but isn’t it hard to say their fights only bring trouble to the Hall of Myriad Stars? The contests during thest sabbaticals varied greatly, but ultimately they led to strategic achievements and became intellectual assets for the Hall of Myriad Stars."


    "That''s...a good point, but...." Crampus asked, "Wouldn''t we have won even without them?"


    Wisdom''srge Kepler-Poinsot dodecahedron head began to spin. "We would have won without them, yes. But we''ve only encountered five worlds so far. Compared to the infinite possible worlds, we haven''t even stepped off the starting line. Among the enemies we''ll face, there will surely be those as dangerous as us, if not more, so we must keep racing endlessly."


    As Crampus pondered how to counter Wisdom''s argument, Lunda raised her hand.


    "I have aint too."


    "What''s yourint, Lunda?"


    Wisdom asked, to which Lunda replied, "If it''s really that important and valuable, why do only the two of them get topete?"


    "Hm?"


    It was Wisdom who expressed his confusion, but the other Constetions also turned their attention to Lunda.


    Lunda continued to say, "It''s not like the two of them are protecting the worlds alone, right? Think about the secondst strategy, where the gate Neb was protecting got destroyed with an incredibly low probability, causing chaos."


    "Sure, it was a one in a hundred thousand chance, but it was bad luck."


    "At that time, because there were preparations for follow-up, Neb justughed it off, saying, ''If it failed at this probability, it can''t be helped,'' but what if such probabilities repeat several times, someday in the future? Then the rest would have to lead the game in a scenario where Neb has been defeated, right?"


    "I understand, Lunda. But Neb said he doesn''t n to force the Constetions on what to do during the sabbatical. Practicing the game is not the only way to win. Our interests and characteristics, even what we thought were insignificant ws, might lead us to other possibilities of victory that we hadn''t known."


    "I''m not saying to force ying games." Lunda mmed the table, imitating Hegemonia. "I’m just saying I want to y too."


    At that, Sung-Woon and Hegemonia looked at Lunda.


    "What?"


    "With you?"


    Lunda forced a smile, but her temples twitched. "Can you stop with those dismissive remarks?"


    Wisdom said, "Well, ording to the Sanctuary, this sabbatical will be long enough, so there''s no reason for those two to object."


    Sung-Woon nodded, but Hegemonia shook her head.


    "How dare you try toe in between us...."


    Lunda quickly interrupted Hegemonia. "I think not only me but other Constetions also have the right. I don’t think I’m the only one who wants to challenge you two. We should also consider the opinions of those who aren''t here tonight."


    "What do you think, Neb?"


    Upon Wisdom''s question, Sung-Woon rested his arms on the table and interlocked his fingers.


    "I ept the challenge."


    "There''s no need to take it so...seriously, is there? Although it’s preparation for the next world, it''s still a sabbatical. The main goal is to rest, and it''s fine to enjoy some leisure if possible."


    "I take all games seriously." Sung-Woon nced at the other Constetions seated at the table and then, ignoring Hegemonia who started to get annoyed as the duel of just the two of them was being disrupted, said to Lunda, "So, Lunda. Do you have any game in mind?"


    "Of course."


    "What is it? I think I have an advantage in most games."


    That was true. As gods and now as Constetions, all yers had be beings of greatness iparable to their distant human past. Each Constetion had the power and capability to wholly govern a world. Yet, when it came to games, it seemed far-fetched to beat Sung-Woon.


    <i>‘But I have a n too.’</i>


    Having nned this for a long time, Lunda had a game in mind that she could win against Sung-Woon.


    Lunda snapped her fingers, creating sunsses, and put them on while saying, "Mafia."


    ***


    A week ago, at the Hall of Myriad Star’s gymnasium, Lakrak asked, "...What is the Mafia game?"


    Lakrak seemed as if asking nonchntly, but the tip of his tail wagged slightly, indicating he was interested.


    In the gymnasium, with the Hall of Myriad Stars'' towering triangr towers in view, Lunda answered the anticipated question, "It''s a party game from Earth. Actually, there are simr types of games, and although you might not have yed them, I know there were simr ones in Avartin called by various names like Lupus in Tab, Among Us, and so on...."


    Lakrak blinked and then asked another question. "What’s a mafia?"


    "Do I need to start from there?"


    "Yes."


    "Well, how should I put it, it''s a group that engages in violence...."


    "Are you talking about warriors?"


    Lunda cleared her throat. "No, not like an army that follows the orders of a king or a republic, but a group thatmits illegal acts independently."


    "Oh, you''re talking about a gang of thugs. Ruffians. Loitering around doing nothing but causing trouble in the fields."


    "Um...simr. But it''s not just that, it''s the name forrge criminal organizations that the state power can’t get rid of. They extort protection money from local merchants or smuggle goods that are illegal to trade."


    "Do they just let that happen on Earth?"


    "Well...there were simr things in Avartin. You wouldn''t have seen them during your lifetime though."


    "Hmm."


    Lakrak nodded as if he roughly understood; everyone tended to think based on their own life experiences. Lakrak, who often looked down at Avartin from the Hall of Myriad Stars whenever he had the time, seemed to have a hard time understanding the concept of allowing such violence-oriented organizations to exist, as he had never allowed anything simr during his time.


    Lunda continued to exin, "Anyway, the game is divided into two teams, the Mafias and the citizens. The Mafias are hidden in a small town, and while the citizens have to identify the members of this criminal group, the Mafias need to eliminate the citizens one by one.


    The game progresses through cycles of day and night, with the Mafias killing a citizen each night, and during the day, the hidden Mafias and citizens vote to hang and kill someone suspected of being a Mafia. If the person suspected of being Mafia receives a majority of votes, they are executed."


    Lunda paused to check if Lakrak understood the rules.


    "Hm, what a brutal game. I can’t believe people y such a game with lives at stake."


    "No, people don’t actually die."


    Lakrak''s wagging tail slowed down.


    Lunda hurriedly said, "Neb will probably y."


    "I don’t really understand even after the exnation, but it seems fun."


    His tail resumed its normal speed. While it was good that Lakrak regained interest, it would be problematic if he yed the game without understanding it well.


    Lunda said, "You can ask anything you’re unsure about."


    "Why don''t the citizens set up night watchmen?"


    "...Uh, well, those are just the rules. When it bes night, they irresistibly fall asleep."


    "Are there no warriors? I don''t know how many citizens there are, but if there were warriors with valiant souls, surely a gang of ruffians daring tomit such treachery wouldn''t be able to carry out their will."


    "Well, um...there can be other roles, but no warriors."


    Lakrak snorted as if displeased.


    Lunda continued, "Neb said he had yed it with his friends. Such types of games seem unrted, but apparently, he was good at it."


    "Friends?"


    "Ha, I knew it. You also thought Neb had no friends, didn’t you? But when he was an athlete, he used to y with his teammates in the dormitory...."


    Lakrak interrupted with a serious voice, "Lunda."


    "Yeah?"


    "Life is lived alone. No one can live it for you. If you rely only on friends, what will you rely on when you have none?"


    "...Is there a need to deny the value of friends though?"


    Lakrakughed. "Did he find it fun?"


    "Of course. Why would he bother making time to y it if it wasn''t fun? ...Any other questions?"


    Lakrak crossed his arms and asked, "What are the goals of the Mafias?"


    "What?"


    "If it''s a group generating illegal profits, they wouldn''t want to attract the attention of state authorities. So, isn''t it because they are plotting something in that vige that they still resort to killing?"


    Lunda looked up at the sky for a moment. She could see the towering triangr towers and the countless sparkling worlds above them.


    Afterward, Lunda sessfully exined the Mafia game to Lakrak after spending quite some time.


    "...What do you think, does it seem fun?"


    "It doesn''t seem like a game I would be good at."


    "No, that''s okay. I understand."


    People usually only liked the games they enjoyed.


    "Exining it like this won''t make it seem fun. It would be good to try it once. Or should we call the others and try it?"


    Lakrak understood who Lunda was referring to as the ‘others.’


    The Hall of Myriad Stars tried to avoid hierarchy as much as possible, but some regarded the Constetions and their Apostles in high esteem and willingly revered them. This was the case even though the Divinity, or more precisely, Presence known as a passive skill from the era of the Pantheon, had now disappeared.


    Moreover, despite having been through several worlds, the members of the Hall of Myriad Stars were overwhelmingly from Avartin and many of them regarded the Constetions as gods.


    In any case, the Hall of Myriad Stars was a bureaucracy. Wisdom, having confirmed that religious perspectives hindered efficient work, suggested that the Constetions refrain from directly interacting with beings other than Apostles, and this was agreed upon by consensus among the Constetions.


    Therefore, the ‘others'' referred to by a Constetion were Apostles who could y with the Constetions. And usually, the Apostles were busy with various tasks, research, or training, so rest was better without the Constetions.


    Lakrak said, "There''s no need for that. If necessary, I won''t turn down the game."


    "''If necessary,'' you say."


    Lunda and Lakrak red at each other suspiciously. Lunda thought Lakrak was sizing her up.


    Of course, Lunda had her reasons for suggesting they y this game, but without knowing Lakrak''s true intentions, Lunda was unsure how much to share with him. If after hearing everything, he still refused, that would just be abject failure.


    <i>‘But Lakrak is needed for this n.’</i>


    Meanwhile, Lakrak simply red back at Lunda because she red at him, and for no other particr reason.


    "Lakrak." Lunda ced her hand on Lakrak''s shoulder and said. "Let''s work on something together."