D-Rank Constellation Hunter… Stuck Without Internet! - Chapter 102

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 102
A Joint Incense Hall was established for those who had given their lives trying to save others in that Dungeon.
No matter how noble their deaths might be called, death is still death.
It does not return.
“P-please, you’re a god. You’re a Constellation. Please save my child. I’m begging you, please….”
“Why did he have to step forward! Why! Why did he!”
In a place where wails and despair intertwined, the bereaved pleaded with me.
They rushed toward me, clutching at my clothes and screaming.
When the Guild members tried to restrain them, I raised my hand to stop them.
“Let them be.”
“But….”
“The sorrow of losing something cannot be compensated no matter what we do.”
Even so, they would understand.
No matter how much they cry out that their hearts are breaking, those they’ve lost will not return.
Yet because I am here, and because other Constellations exist.
They cling to us desperately, clinging to a thread of hope.
“I cannot resurrect the dead.”
Words like a verdict flowed from my lips, and the bereaved wailed as if screaming.
“Why! You’re a god! A god! Why can’t a god save even one person!”
They know too. That their anger should not be directed at me.
But does anyone even exist here to receive their fury?
Having sent their young child away, having no one to blame—that itself must be despair for them.
[ Se-um: I think gods are always the easiest targets to blame ]
[ Tasha: Se-um, are you alright? You don’t have to accept all of this. ]
[ Tasha: You know human resentment has no end. ]
[ Se-um: I know ]
[ Se-um: But look over there ]
Isn’t there a Constellation suffering far worse than me?
Franson, who had crammed Korean funeral rites with such dedication, wore black throughout the entire ceremony and mourned with genuine sorrow.
And he was actually shedding tears.
When his own client died, he merely clicked his tongue and moved on.
What could possibly be so sad about it?
[ Se-um: Did you grow attached to the dead children? ]
[ Se-um: Why are you crying like this ]
[ Franson: It reminded me of my older siblings who went first while leading the way ]
[ Se-um: You’re teasing me again, aren’t you ]
[ Se-um: Tell me you’re teasing ]
Franson: T_T
[ Se-um: I’m sorry ]
Indeed, he only moved after his siblings all died struggling desperately to resolve the plague.
It seems they saw the Hunters who bravely stood before them and were sacrificed overlapping with me.
Reincarnation across world lines is impossible.
But sometimes, moments like this make me wish it were possible.
I blinked and let out a sigh.
The bereaved families who had blamed me now sat collapsed on the floor, exhausted.
I crouched down to meet their gaze and opened my mouth.
“Is there anything left to blame me for? Don’t cry so much. You still have a long life ahead.”
“What use is a long life after sending off a child with such a bright future? If only I could….”
“You mean you’d rather die instead? What kind of talk is that.”
The attitude of those who’ve lost someone precious is always the same.
If only they could, they’d bear that cruel fate themselves.
They believe that if it meant saving that person, they could walk through any hellfire.
“Hah….”
I’m so jealous I could die. Someone actually mourning death like this.
I suppressed the childish emotions blooming softly in my heart and closed my eyes.
I’m conflicted.
Even if I show these people kindness, it won’t come back to Ha Gyuhyuk.
But he would want that.
“Se-um.”
His voice pulled me from my thoughts.
When I lifted my head, Ha Gyuhyuk was standing there.
Perhaps because of the black suit he wore, his white hair appeared even whiter.
He knelt down to meet my eye level.
As if it were unthinkable for him to look down at me from above.
“What.”
He lowered his head so only I could hear him.
When I brought my ear to his lips, Ha Gyuhyuk’s body trembled slightly.
Did he want to whisper? And why is he trembling when he’s the one who insisted on it.
“Is there no way to comfort their sorrow.”
“….”
To wear such a desperate expression while knowing it’s impossible.
He knows I cannot bring the dead back to life, yet he makes that face.
Bringing back the dead is an act that would completely shatter the world’s balance.
If I were to forcibly revive someone’s life, the backlash could erase the very existence of everyone in this space.
Are the dead ones worth bearing such a backlash.
Moreover, the Constellation would also have to endure great losses.
“That’s not possi….”
“Not a way to erase their sorrow. A way to comfort it.”
“Isn’t that the same thing.”
I blinked for a moment.
“It’s different.”
Ha Gyuhyuk is truly a virtuous person.
No one here resents him, and most of the bereaved are grateful to him for bringing back the bodies of the deceased intact.
Of course, that’s only because I told them it was Ha Gyuhyuk’s idea to retrieve the dead as well.
If I hadn’t known of Ha Gyuhyuk’s existence, I would have abandoned them without hesitation.
I exhaled a long breath.
When you put it that way, I can’t refuse you.
“Doing this won’t really benefit you or me, though.”
“…Is it that difficult?”
“It might be possible if you’re willing to serve as my slave for about a year.”
“I’ll do it.”
Ha Gyuhyuk’s expression turned solemn, as if he’d already resolved himself to that much.
I really can’t joke around in front of this guy.
There’s no way to truly comfort them.
The pain of losing someone precious forever would remain as a wound in the heart where the bleeding never stops.
But I also know that bleeding must never lead to the death of the heart itself.
I got to my feet.
[ Se-um: Franson ]
[ Se-um: I’m going to collect and return the karma of the deceased. Please cooperate. ]
[ Tasha: Anyway, Se-um is always too soft on her clients. ]
[ Se-um: You’re soft on your client too. ]
[ Se-um: You support and help even when she does strange things! How many times have I seen it? ]
[ Tasha: What can I do when my client only chooses to do strange things? ]
[Franson: I understand. ㅠㅠ]
Franson approached me with a tear-stained, disheveled face.
Of course, it only looked disheveled to me—to everyone else, it was simply a stunningly beautiful woman shedding tears gracefully.
Despite the situation being inappropriate, people’s gazes were drawn to Franson.
“This is my first time doing this.”
“I’ve done it a few times. I know the theory.”
“I see.”
The karma of the deceased.
When prospective clients who haven’t contracted with a Constellation perform good deeds that accumulate karma, the remaining karma is eventually absorbed by Sungdo.
The system that maintains Sungdo operates by collecting karma like this, not just from Constellations.
However, there are cases where a Constellation takes that karma before it’s absorbed.
Most don’t bother since the effort required to take it exceeds the benefits gained.
But in special cases like this, it’s different.
Various lights that had been suspended in the void took form through our hands, then solidified into objects and fell.
[ Karma is being absorbed. ]
[ This is karma from an uncontracted client. ]
[ Additional karma is being consumed. ]
I pour my strength into the karma of the dead—something I’ll never possess—and transmute it into material form.
Small objects tumbled into the hands of the bereaved.
Gemstones, each one a different color.
They stared at Franson and me in a daze.
“These were created from the good deeds the deceased accumulated in this world.”
To strangers, they were merely jewels, but those who truly loved them would understand what they held.
Their heartbeats, the words they’d spoken throughout their lives, the moments they’d lived.
Their hearts.
Even the final words they’d wanted to leave behind for those who loved them.
“It won’t stop until you die. Well… conversation won’t be possible, of course. Once you’re gone, it’ll become nothing but a simple stone.”
This is merely memory preservation.
An endless repetition of the past, unable to speak of the future.
Yet still, they clutched the gemstones and began to weep anew.
Ha Gyuhyuk gently took my hand.
After watching them for a moment, I added one more thing quietly.
“Live even one more day, if only to carry that forward. Memory is the burden of the living.”
I turned away and left without hesitation.
Behind me, Ha Gyuhyuk followed in silence, their sobs stretching endlessly.
Somewhere within it all, fleeting words of gratitude seemed to blend through.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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