D-Rank Constellation Hunter… Stuck Without Internet! - Chapter 148

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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 148
“….”
Ha Gyuhyuk noticed my expression darken as if struck by a hammer blow.
“Se-um.”
“No, I just realized something suddenly. Let’s head back for now.”
Ha Gyuhyuk kept glancing at my mood before nodding.
Most other Constellations would send only their client back to the Server while remaining in Sungdo themselves.
But I wanted to return with him now. Though I had no idea what we would talk about.
“Se-um, wait a moment.”
As I walked toward the portal for our Server return alongside him, Franson urgently grabbed my arm.
“Ha Gyuhyuk, hold on.”
“Yes.”
Ha Gyuhyuk hesitated, reluctant to release my hand, before carefully letting go.
I gently brushed his hair and moved forward.
“Is there something you wish to tell me?”
“Ah, Natalia asked me to pass along a message to you.”
“Couldn’t she just send it through chat?”
“She said she couldn’t do it herself.”
“Chat doesn’t require a mouth.”
What kind of situation had arisen that made her unable to say it herself?
Tasha was a rational Constellation who could spit in someone’s face while smiling if necessary.
She didn’t hesitate to awaken me to harsh realities, and whenever I tried to escape from the truth, she would mercilessly drag me back by my hair.
What words could such a person possibly be unable to tell me?
Unease crept over me.
“Actually, I think it’s the kind of thing she should just say face-to-face, but she must have her own reasons.”
“You’re offering understanding and empathy without knowing anything about the situation.”
“Well, living in this world, there needs to be at least one Constellation like me. Anyway, I don’t really understand it, so I just memorized what I heard. Listen carefully.”
After claiming he’d memorized it, Franson pulled out a crumpled, creased piece of paper.
That’s not memorizing at all.
While I desperately tried to avoid making a pointless jab at him, he continued speaking.
“Let’s see. If you truly want to offer your client a choice, a Constellation’s questioning method won’t work.”
“Sometimes I think Tasha overestimates my intelligence. I don’t understand a word of this.”
“Hmm, show him the place where you died directly, and listen to what he feels. And when you have time, it wouldn’t be bad for you to watch that scene too and think about various things.”
“The place where I died?”
Was she telling me to take Ha Gyuhyuk to the Landquake Gate right now and show him?
Fortunately, Tasha apparently didn’t rate my intelligence quite that highly, as she seemed to have even numbered the steps.
“First, your client may have experienced considerable stress in Sungdo, so have him return today and rest. Then receive your reward, and directly show him the corpse of the human Se-um at the Landquake Gate.”
“Wasn’t this supposed to be all ages?”
“Show him all of that and listen sincerely to his reactions and thoughts. There are things that words alone cannot convey.”
I couldn’t quite grasp what Tasha intended with these instructions.
But that child would never lead me down a wrong path.
Throughout my existence, Constellation was the only one who always stood by my side and understood my life.
Just like when I made a contract with the human Se-um.
“But why couldn’t you discuss this face-to-face?”
“I don’t know, maybe he thought Se-um would make a huge fuss if he brought it up? Or maybe he just didn’t want to see Se-um?”
“I wasn’t asking Franson.”
“No, but you said it right in front of me…?”
I snatched the memo from Franson’s bewildered hands and turned away.
“Are you heading down now as well?”
“No, I feel like I’ve been stuck on Earth for too long, so I thought I’d check out some other Servers.”
“That’s true—it’s unusual for Franson to stay in one place this long.”
“Yeah.”
Franson was the type who naturally drifted between multiple Servers, gambling with his time and enjoying himself.
He’d simply stayed by my side for a while because I brought all manner of hardships and incidents wherever I went.
He’d used his interest in medical technology as an excuse to remain, but even he must have begun to feel the tedium creeping in.
“Thank you.”
“Huh? Suddenly? You’re thanking me for leaving Earth?”
It meant the complete opposite, but Franson looked flustered, his eyes rolling at the sudden gratitude.
This was the kind of Constellation he was.
A being who cared for others without intention, always looking after me and Tasha.
He filled in the emotional gaps that Tasha lacked, and whenever we grew tense, he would slip in and lighten the mood.
Perhaps he had never deliberately chosen to remain at my side.
He simply acted as his gentle nature guided him.
“No, that’s not it. Even if you’re playing elsewhere, you’ll come flying if I ask for help, right?”
“Flying? My wings are torn.”
“But you said once that if Franson ever had to save someone, you’d even reattach your wings.”
Franson frowned and laughed.
The torn wings on his true form had the effect of forcibly suppressing his power.
It meant that someone like him—a sinner in all but name—could not unleash his full strength even as a Constellation.
He had spent far too long atoning, and from my perspective, it felt sufficient.
But I could not control or judge his emotions for him.
“Can you really perform miracles if you reattach your wings? What’s your true power, Franson?”
“Resurrecting dead clients.”
He spoke words whose sincerity was impossible to discern, then grinned and gave my back a light push.
“Go on, the time of the living is not infinite.”
“I’ll gratefully accept the advice of one who atones even in death.”
I left the one who sought redemption even in the afterlife and approached the living.
Ha Gyuhyuk waited with a worried expression, then broke into a bright smile the moment he saw me.
“Ha Gyuhyuk, did you wait long?”
“No, thinking about you made the time pass quickly. I’m good at waiting anyway. I’ve always been the one waiting.”
That’s not it.
I had to wait quite a while myself, come to think of it.
But rather than argue the point, I simply pulled him close and dove into the portal.
“So what were you thinking about while you waited this time?”
I’ve learned how to converse with my client now.
I’ve even discovered that listening to his stories brings me more joy than sharing my own.
Ha Gyuhyuk chatters away with a smile as if there’s nothing more delightful than when I ask him something, and seeing that makes me happy too.
Even now, looking at that face—it’s no different.
“I was wondering what you might have been doing while I was competing in that Competition.”
“And what do you think I was doing?”
“Well… perhaps you were cheering me on?”
Ha Gyuhyuk was looking at me with an uncertain expression.
Even though I’d told him countless times that he’d done well, he seemed to carry guilt over his failures.
“If anything, I was worried rather than cheering. You could have actually died in there.”
“It was a space where I could have died?”
“For newly transcended beings like you, yes.”
The actual Constellations would probably experience nothing more than crude virtual reality if they entered such a place.
I deliberated for a moment before finally speaking.
“I’m sorry. I was blinded by the rewards and pushed you into danger without proper preparation.”
“No, Se-um. Please don’t apologize.”
Ha Gyuhyuk suddenly spoke with firm conviction.
“Even though I nearly lost you because of my greed?”
“You can use me however you wish, Se-um. And if the outcome doesn’t go the way you want, you can simply blame me for it.”
If someone had witnessed this scene, they would have called it a deeply devoted love.
But from my perspective, it was heartbreaking.
If I ultimately lose you, then all the countless efforts and time I’ve invested become meaningless.
Even the Constellation within me doesn’t understand.
“Instead, Se-um, please see me this way.”
“This way?”
“Yes, the way you’re looking at me right now…”
Ha Gyuhyuk gazed into my eyes for a long moment.
His words seemed caught in his throat, hesitating to emerge.
Just as frustration began to set in, his lips moved again.
“Because your eyes look similar to how I see you, it lets me indulge in a beautiful delusion.”
Eyes like his own.
I blinked slowly. We both understood what those words meant.
“It might not be a delusion.”

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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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