D-Rank Constellation Hunter… Stuck Without Internet! - Chapter 135

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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 135
Ha Gyuhyuk, who had been the one to request this meeting, stared at Baek Han with an awkward expression.
It didn’t feel as oppressive as I’d expected, and his approachable appearance certainly helped.
“You said you’d prefer to meet in Sungdo, but I never imagined you’d actually come here.”
“That boy was a client Se-um and Franson personally sought out.”
“Yes, he seemed to have no particular ambitions, so I didn’t think he’d actually come to Sungdo. Perhaps physiognomy really is just superstition after all.”
“That child said he wanted to watch until his world crumbles.”
“Oh….”
A Server that Sungho the Constellation had preserved by expending all his karma.
So it should be safe for the next few hundred years or so. Other Constellations will come and go through it as well.
But that doesn’t mean destruction will never arrive.
It is the fate of all stars in the world who have not ascended to the position of Constellation or High Priest to meet death.
So that boy Baek Han must mean he wishes to witness the end of such a world before vanishing.
He’ll disappear before long, having gained little benefit from becoming a High Priest.
“Time flows faster in that Server compared to Earth, doesn’t it?”
“That’s right. By Earth’s standards, probably about one day equals one year.”
Then at most, by Earth’s reckoning, that boy will vanish from Sungdo in about three years.
During that time, I suppose he wants to be at peace. I understand Sungho the Constellation’s good intentions.
“Could you tell him that we’re grateful for him indulging our child’s stubbornness?”
“Indulge? That boy said he’d be truly delighted if he could be of help to Se-um, and asked to be called upon anytime.”
“That kid, what have I even done for him….”
“To him, you’re no different from a savior who rescued his world.”
Though technically it was Tasha who discovered him.
I should buy Tasha a meal sometime later.
Then she’d probably laugh and say something like, “If you’re satisfied, then I’m fine too.”
Anyway, my small friend is so kind and affectionate.
― So if I understand correctly, you wish to become a Constellation by earning merit in combat, Client Ha Gyuhyuk?
― If there were a more peaceful method, I would prefer that. But this place always faces new threats.
Two pale-haired children sat seriously discussing Constellations.
I glanced at them, then turned my head away again.
“To be honest, I’m not sure this will be of much help. Ha Gyuhyuk is accumulating karma by rescuing humans trapped in Dungeons.”
“Baek Han has, since that day, built tombs for all the yokai who were sacrificed and tends to them faithfully every day.”
Thus he provided a foundation in their collapsed Divine Shrine where new yokai could be born.
When the Divine Shrine’s master’s tomb finds rest, and someone tends it with sincere devotion, a new yokai is born, or so they say.
Well, the principles governing that world aren’t really my concern.
“There’s no element that could provide assistance at all. The underlying principles that compose the world are different, after all.”
Actually, if there are ten thousand Constellations, there exist ten thousand ways to become a Constellation.
Clients seek help from them, but ultimately the only thing we can say comes down to fundamental principles.
‘Accumulate virtue.’
Even the Constellations themselves cannot provide a definitive answer on how to accumulate virtue.
So while I understand Ha Gyuhyuk’s feelings, I worry he might be disappointed.
“Baek Han was concerned too. He said his words wouldn’t be of any help at all.”
― I don’t understand how I came to be recognized as a High Priest. I was simply diligent. I believe anyone could have done what I did. In fact, there were others who helped me, or who tended to those graves with even greater devotion than I did.
“That’s always the problem.”
“The relativity of karma.”
“Yes.”
To the client’s eyes, B’s sacrifice seems more noble than A’s, yet the actual karma accumulated is greater for A.
They cannot accept that truth.
Because the moral standards by which karma is judged always rest upon that world’s own morality and ethics.
‘A accumulated more good deeds, yet B is offered a seat as a Constellation simply because of lingering attachment to revenge.’
That’s the conclusion they reach.
I placed my hand on the monitor and exhaled deeply.
“Perhaps they think life as a Constellation is a reward for their existence?”
“That would be it.”
In that moment, I even pressed my forehead against the monitor.
I don’t particularly resent my life as a Constellation either. I enjoy and find satisfaction in far more than I did when I was human.
But eternity is tedious.
The moment I realize that the reason I became a Constellation is a yearning that will never be fulfilled is utterly despairing.
And then I accept it.
That this is simply how things are.
Perhaps because I’ve already accepted it so completely, I’m turning away from the window that shows loneliness might disappear.
Because I’ve come to believe something impossible has occurred.
― How is your day as a High Priest?
― Compared to other High Priests, it’s quite leisurely. Sungho the Constellation is incredibly compassionate. He occasionally even shows me Earth where Ha Gyuhyuk, my client, resides!
― Really?
― Yes, though he said he wouldn’t create a client.
I closed my eyes as I listened to Ha Gyuhyuk’s voice.
If that child’s reason for becoming a Constellation is me, then should I disappear, I would have to remain in the Constellation System eternally.
“Human emotions are far more fleeting than Sungho the Constellation imagines. Like fire, aren’t they?”
“Do they extinguish easily?”
“Yes, they burn brightly for trivial reasons and extinguish for trivial reasons as well. I know this.”
That an eternity sustained by such meager emotions is utterly dull.
Only I can understand this world. Because only I know what human emotion truly is.
So I wanted to stop Ha Gyuhyuk.
You will soon cease to love me.
You won’t even need eternity to realize it.
At the end of this fleeting moment, you will regret choosing eternity because you loved me.
Because you are human. Humans are always like that, and I was no exception.
“So perhaps it would be better if you died as a human instead….”
It was a murmur that escaped without my knowing.
Sungho Constellation gazed at me.
“At first, I wanted to make that child into a Constellation, and then I didn’t want to force this tedious existence upon them. But now, I’m not sure anymore.”
“Are you worried that one of them might end up alone?”
“Yes, and even if they’re together, I worry that the child’s heart might change.”
Then they could become lonely again.
At some point, I had unconsciously decided this.
Ha Gyuhyuk’s love belongs to me.
So it must not change before I disappear.
Yes, in the end, I’m worried about becoming lonely again myself. Not about that child’s eternity or anything like that.
― Ha Gyuhyuk, sir. The lives of High Priests and Constellations are truly long.
― Ah, I know that too. Because they’re eternal. You don’t die, right?
― No, Constellations and High Priests die too. We live, so to speak, in order to die.
Baek Han’s gentle voice reached my ears.
Huh?
The worry that had consumed me vanished in an instant. I lifted my head and looked ahead.
Ha Gyuhyuk was staring at Baek Han with a bewildered expression.
With an expression that seemed to say, ‘Your Constellation didn’t even explain that to you?’, Baek Han explained gently.
― Everyone living in Sungdo has something they couldn’t achieve in life. It could be a goal, or an unresolved emotion. And once that is resolved, they can die.
― …Then I…
― I cannot tell you what the Constellation desires. It would violate the rules.
Baek Han smiled softly, as if he already knew what Ha Gyuhyuk was about to ask.
Then he rose and bowed respectfully toward him.
It seemed he had learned Korean-style greetings before meeting Ha Gyuhyuk.
― I hope we can meet again in Sungdo.
‘I hope we can meet again in Sungdo.’
It was the way my voice sounded. Despite the situation being inappropriate, I laughed.
As I stood up, Sungho Constellation pointed to my forehead.
I had been pressing it against the monitor, and it seemed a red mark had formed.
I rubbed it roughly and sighed.
“Thank you, Sungho Constellation. I will overcome this crisis myself.”
“If you need help, feel free to call on me anytime. Se-um.”
Sungho Constellation smiled gently at me, turned away, and disappeared into the distance.
The moment I was left alone in the Monitoring Room, a message came through as if on cue.
― Se-um.
My child had found out.

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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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