Chosen By The Lover's Constellation-Chapter 26: The Highest Bidder, Part One

{Enverna}

Waking up after her first night of drinking was... strange. It was, simultaneously, the best and worst sleep she ever had.

Lianna wasn’t in bed with her. A fact that made her feel quite grateful, after the embarrassing way she acted.

She could recall it all as vividly as though the moments were happening right before her. Including when she made the decision to sleep with no clothes on.

Her face was as red as the sun burning outside.

[What was I thinking!?!?] 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Her memories were cut off after the moment she got in bed. But, naturally, she couldn’t help but worry about whether she’d actually gone to sleep or whether she simply didn’t remember what happened after.

[... No, no, no. Nothing happened. Surely, nothing happened... Right?]

At that moment, trying to focus on literally anything else, Enverna went and looked out the window to see how far up the sun was.

[Must be around 8. Ah... What happened last night doesn’t matter. I need to train.]

As she turned around she spotted a note resting on the bed that she hadn’t noticed before. Picking it up, she read:

[I went to go check out the Watchful’s library! I’ll try to bring back some lunch with me once I head back. Hope you like nachos~]

Picturing the girl saying this with her usual upbeat energy, Enverna couldn’t help but crack a smile. She was somewhat worried, though.

[Is it really wise to be out on your own after what happened? I hope she’ll be alright.] Folding the note, Enverna went to get her workout clothes. [In any case, I should get some training done.]

A while later, Enverna was standing in the living room in sweatpants and a sports bra. Both of which were items Lianna had recommended.

[I suppose this is comfortable... Though, I would feel a little exposed if Lianna saw me like this.]

The TV was on in the background, a news anchor’s voice filling the air as Enverna got started, stretching first.

She didn’t manage to do much, though, before there was a knock on the door behind her.

[Lianna?]

There was a brief moment of hesitation but, soon, Enverna swallowed her pride and walked over to the door, not wanting to keep her roommate waiting.

When she opened it she was shocked to find that it was not Lianna standing there, but someone different.

A lady in a brown coat, with big glasses and a notepad in her arms.

"Greetings!" She called out. "You must be Enverna Alteri."

In an instant, that mask of confidence Enverna had been trained to put on and off at a moment’s notice fell over her visage.

"I am. And, who might you be?"

"My name is Layla. I am a member of the Shields of Saren guild. I’m here to extend a formal invitation to you."

"An invitation to what?"

"The Player’s Gala."

From her coat’s sleeves, she produced a tiny envelope. Enverna took it and got ready to close the door before Layla followed up with:

"I would like to discuss the invitation with you in more detail, though. Maybe we could go for some coffee together?"

She couldn’t simply deny it without any thought.

But, she did have one question to ask.

"Is this invitation also being extended to my roommate?"

"Uh... Who would that be?"

"Lianna Velcross," Enverna replied. "I’m sure you’ve heard of her on the news."

"Uh..." The look on Layla’s face made it clear she had. "That’s-"

"If she doesn’t go, I don’t go," Enverna stated quickly, moving to close the door.

"H-Hold on," Layla giggled awkwardly. "I’ll ask the guild and, ehm, get back to you on that. But, still, I would like to go over why we’re inviting you before I go."

Hearing that, Enverna nodded.

"Sure. Let me change."

Sometime later, Enverna was sitting across from Layla at a coffee shop that was different from the one Lianna had taken her to.

Her roommate’s good tastes, however, were highlighted by this place. The coffee here tasted awful.

Layla took a sip from her mug before asking:

"Are you familiar with The Player’s Gala?"

"No."

"It is a yearly event where Players from all over Telvan gather together. Networking is done, business deals are conducted, and friendships are made. All while the general public gets to gawk and stare at their saviors."

"Doesn’t sound like the sort of place one would invite a suspected murderer."

That casual statement on Enverna’s part made Layla’s brows shoot up.

"I figured you’d be happier to receive an opportunity to repair your image."

"I am ecstatic about it," Enverna replied coldly, "I just want to know why I, and my roommate of course, are being offered it."

"Of course. Well, it all comes down to something rather simple..." She put her cup down and clasped her hands together, smiling politely as she said, "publicity."

Immediately, Enverna understood. How could she not? Most of her family’s actions day in and day out over the last year revolved around gaining attention. Getting eyes on Enverna.

"I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, ’all publicity is good publicity’, right? Well," Layla tilted her head. "Admittedly, we’ve had a lower number of players confirming that they’ll be coming to the gala this year than normal. It is understandable, of course, with so many Fiends running around lately. Some Players see it as an opportunity to gain power by getting rare items. This has led a large number of people to skip this year’s gala. And, look, we agree that gaining power is more important than ever these days, and we want to bring that opportunity to the Gala, through an auction."

Enverna leaned back in her chair.

[An auction of System-generated items?]

"That may not be enough, though," Layla suggested. "So, we’d like it if we could provide people with a different incentive to come. Perhaps to stop someone else from gaining power, perhaps."

"... Someone like a suspected murderer, for example."

"Yes," Layla confirmed. "I’m sure you can imagine that Players come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and each have their own personalities. Some of them will come to the auction to, figuratively, hunt you down. Some will come to form alliances with you. And... We may even be able to tempt a Constellation’s Follower to come as well."

"Who?" Enverna’s curiosity got the better of her.

"Athene," Layla replied quickly. "The Judicator’s Follower. A woman with an incredible sense of justice, having you at the gala would basically guarantee that she attends the event. And, well, that would mean more publicity. All of this means we could make the gala the success it should be! With your help, of course."

Enverna clapped slowly.

"Wow. That sounds wonderful... For you. I have to be honest with you, though. I do not think I or my friend would gain too much from this. Networking is fine, but given that I am not actually a murderer, the kind of people who would want to establish a connection with me are not people I would like to get to know."

Meeting that Constellation’s Follower did sound enticing, were it not for the fact that the woman would likely want to kill her if she was as righteous as Layla indicated.

"Indeed," Layla nodded. "Alas, I came prepared." She slid another envelope toward Enverna. "One, we would pay half the cost of any items you successfully buy from the auction. Two, we would give you a security detail to ensure no one actually hurts you. Three, we would give you an opportunity to voice your thoughts on our social media and repair your image that way. And, four, we will give you another invitation to a different event. The Exploration of Kaelen."

Enverna raised a brow.

"The details for that last one are in this second envelope," she said, pointing down at it. "My personal phone number is there as well. Please, consider our offer."

---

{LIanna}

Lianna’s trip to the library had already been very productive.

She came here intending to learn more about the other Constellations, so she could see if she could find anything out about whatever godlike figure Jack followed.

In particular, Lianna had been interested in learning about the more obviously evil-sounding ones.

[The Scoundrel, The Tyrant, The Demon... If I had to pick a Constellation that would go out of its way to murder Players, it would be one of them.]

And so, Lianna had gathered up any and all books she could find that talked about them, three in total, and was now going to walk out of the library.

A quest, however, interrupted her.

{Greet the girl pretending to sleep behind you}

{Reward: 10 RP}

[Huh?] Lianna tilted her head. [I didn’t see...]

As she turned around, though, she immediately noticed the person in question.

"...!" The short, grey-skinned girl Lianna had bumped into before. The girl from her class.

She was sitting on the ground in the corner of the library, her knees folded up to her chest and her head buried in her arms. Of course, just a moment ago, she’d been peeking up at Lianna, but as soon as Lianna saw her she tried to pretend she hadn’t been doing that.

[Huh... She doesn’t look like she wants to talk, but... This is 10 easy points, so, yeah...]

On that note, Lianna walked over.

"Hey... Mel, right?"