D-Rank Constellation Hunter… Stuck Without Internet! - Chapter 103

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

Chapter 103
“Welcome back.”
“Yeah.”
As I returned to the Guild Building, Dan Yibum, Kim Gyuwun, and Ji Chae-ah were waiting to greet me.
We had coordinated with the other guilds to send two representatives from each guild to the Memorial Hall.
Whether they were being mindful of appearances or acting in good faith, I couldn’t say—but they had sent those with the highest ranks and positions among those who participated in the subjugation that day.
Since Ha Gyuhyuk and I went as well, we had at least maintained some semblance of propriety.
Franson was there too, but he was essentially just a Constellation who happened to pass through, so it felt awkward to claim he belonged to any particular guild.
On the way out, it seemed I had received business cards from several people, but I would sort through them at my leisure.
“You must be exhausted.”
“There’s nothing exhausting about it.”
“….”
Kim Gyuwun’s expression was complicated.
Throughout his time inside the dungeon, he had been unable to maintain his composure and had suffered greatly.
It was an aftereffect experienced by those who had previously had their minds eroded for prolonged periods by things within dungeons.
Having witnessed firsthand creatures that needed to spend another two centuries inside before emerging, his anguish was understandable.
“I told everyone to go rest. Why are you still here?”
Ha Gyuhyuk spoke in a gentle tone.
“I was worried about the two of you… You haven’t even rested a day since clearing the dungeon.”
“There’s no need to worry about me. Just make sure your Guild Master is being taken care of.”
I adjusted my clothing and let out a sigh.
I had witnessed countless deaths of living beings. I likely would continue to do so.
Perhaps because of that, I no longer felt any emotional resonance toward the dead.
This time too, I had only offered assistance because Ha Gyuhyuk had wished for me to do so, not because I held any personal reverence for them as individuals.
“Are you grieving? They were already dead before you even entered the dungeon.”
It was an abrupt question.
Their faces bore the sincerity of mourning for the deceased.
At my words, they blinked with the pure curiosity of a child’s inquiry.
Among those who seemed uncertain how to respond, their lips trembling slightly, it was Kim Gyuwun who spoke first.
“I regret it.”
“Regret?”
“If I had moved faster, couldn’t I have saved them? If I hadn’t collapsed in that moment, wouldn’t fewer people have been injured?”
“Then if you could go back, do you think you could have done things differently?”
He flinched at my question.
He had likely agonized over this dozens, hundreds of times.
Whether he could make a different choice if placed in that situation again.
And because he knew, no matter how much he thought about it, that he couldn’t, he was now despairing and suffering like this.
I exhaled shortly.
“Resolve and enlightenment alone won’t change anything. You have to make the effort.”
“Effort….”
What effort you make is something you’ll have to figure out yourself.
Well, if you find your own path, I suppose I could lay down the road for you.
“I, I actually… was only able to enter the Dungeon because all of you were there! And because I was able to do it. Rather, I don’t think I could have done any better than this.”
Ji Chae-ah’s voice, following Kim Gyuwun’s gloomy words, was somewhat higher and faster.
What Ji Chae-ah lacked from the beginning wasn’t skill.
It was her anxiety about her own abilities and the low self-worth that made her underestimate herself.
Because there had been no one to acknowledge Ji Chae-ah as a person during all that time.
The problem was that even Ji Chae-ah, who had initially believed in her own worth, had come to distrust herself.
“But apart from my own personal growth, someone’s death just seems like a sad thing to me.”
“Even if they’re people you’ve never met.”
“Yes, even so. When someone sacrifices their life for another, they’re giving up time they could have lived, aren’t they?”
Ji Chae-ah spoke clearly and without hesitation even before me.
“I actually saw what Ulrim did before you two arrived.”
“If it’s something I did, what about it?”
“You, you made a jewel together with another Constellation.”
“Ah….”
It seemed someone had filmed it and passed it along even in that situation where people had died.
These humans these days are truly unpredictable.
“I’ll explain that later, so all of you go rest.”
I waved my hand dismissively.
Ha Gyuhyuk, reading the mood, disappeared with the other Guild Members.
If Constellations were using their power, the camera wouldn’t have captured it all anyway.
When I opened a window to check, the lens had simply turned white, and then it transitioned to the jewel falling.
And the words of the reporters who had witnessed the situation directly followed in succession.
[ 〔On the 11th, a joint memorial service was suddenly held to honor the victims of the SS-89 Dungeon.
It is known that representatives from Touch One, Venus, Alexander, and Hansung who participated in the conquest, as well as the Constellation’s incarnate body, attended the venue.
Additionally, the Constellations created a special artifact to remember the seven Hunters who were sacrificed first to protect the non-awakened, and gifted it to the bereaved families.
The mother of the victim…〕 ]
After that, it was like ordinary articles.
What kind of being that person was in life, what evaluations they received, and thus how precious they were….
The records of the dead are left behind by the living. And they will be remembered as sorrow and memories, sometimes as nightmares.
Are the deceased satisfied with the current situation?
If those they saved by exchanging their futures were evil people who torment others, would they regret it?
Was sacrifice unconsciously forced upon them simply because they were Hunters?
I closed my eyes and quickly retraced the record of the moment they died.
[ “All first-years, get into the Lecture Hall and hide!”
“Senior. Ah, no, sunbae. We, we want to help too! Please let us help!”
“Freshmen always listen to their seniors. Hurry up and get in!” ]
The Hunter whose school uniform was torn, bleeding profusely, was still trying to hide them.
It wasn’t because of a sense of duty as a Hunter.
Because I was even a single year older.
Though we never attended the same lectures, I thought I should take the initiative since we were both freshmen entering the same school.
Just a B-rank Hunter.
From that moment on, I must have already sensed instinctively that I couldn’t face him.
Only after witnessing their fear, their tears, and finally the contortion of their expressions did I stop dwelling on it.
It leaves a bitter taste.
Death truly is fleeting.
“Constellation.”
Dan Yibum, who had steadfastly remained in place, spoke to me.
He must have pretended to leave following Ha Gyuhyuk before trudging back here.
I knew all along that he was lingering nearby, this brat.
“I believe sending you then was the right choice, and I have no intention of hearing gratitude or resentment from you, so if it’s related to that, drop it.”
I raised my hand and drew the line firmly.
Dan Yibum stammered, confirming that what he wanted to say was indeed one of those things.
I couldn’t believe he’d managed to do something even I didn’t think he was capable of, and I was grateful.
Truly grateful that he believed in me.
Even though saying he wouldn’t accept my help might have seemed presumptuous, I was pleased to offer guidance.
That’s probably what he wanted to say.
“What you’re feeling, doing, and wanting to say right now doesn’t matter much to me. In fact, I probably already know even without you saying it.”
“….”
“But you still have a long way to go. Soon many more Constellations will enter this land, and you’ll have to compete against those backed by them.”
“Why must I compete?”
“Because not everyone will share your convictions.”
Upholding one’s convictions means being strong enough to overcome whatever stands in the way.
And the Dan Yibum I’m observing is still merely stubborn, not yet that resilient.
He can’t even escape his guilt by using the excuse of taking responsibility for his own choices.
“But you did well this time.”
I’ve been wielding the whip too much, so this time I’ll offer a carrot instead.
I tapped his shoulder and shrugged.
I intended to stop lecturing here, but I need to say one more thing.
Who knows what might happen with Constellation matters.
“And if you’ve developed feelings for me, abandon them. There’s no place for you. That won’t serve as compensation either.”
He visibly flustered this time.
Young ones really can’t hide their feelings.
“What? That’s…. You never mentioned conditions for the reward in the first place.”
I brushed his hair lightly and smiled brightly.
“It’s my prerogative, human. And you’re not my type.”

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