D-Rank Constellation Hunter… Stuck Without Internet! - Chapter 171

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

Side Story 1-1
-The Scheming of a Novice High Priest
“Se-um, you say this spot keeps aching?”
“Yeah, it does.”
My room in the peaceful Sungdo.
Ha Gyuhyuk lay sprawled across the bed, kneading my lower back with meticulous care.
A typhoon had been battering Earth for days now. Perhaps because of it, my body felt perpetually sore.
A divine form shouldn’t be capable of pain, yet this is what happens when you’ve lived long enough.
“No, get up there and step on it.”
“I-I-I couldn’t possibly step on you, Se-um. Never.”
“Come on, just step on me. Right now I feel this vague ache that won’t go away unless someone tramples it properly. You’re my High Priest, after all.”
The moment I deployed my trump card—”You’re my High Priest, after all”—Ha Gyuhyuk flinched.
He was caught between his reluctance to step on me and his duty as my High Priest to indulge my wishes.
“You won’t do it?”
“I couldn’t possibly stand on top of you, Se-um.”
“It seems like I’m getting bored, and that’s why these things happen….”
And just like that, Ha Gyuhyuk fell silent.
I thought the timing was perfect this time, but it turned out to be a complete dud.
Glancing at him with a frown, sure enough, his face had already grown forlorn.
Really now.
“Are you worried about that again? It’s fine.”
“I trust you, Se-um.”
“Then why?”
“What if those children end up falling in love with you….”
“I mean….”
What was I supposed to do about that?
Wasn’t the solution simple—just not give them my heart in the first place?
I blinked, rendered speechless.
“Fine. Just keep massaging.”
“Yes.”
Ha Gyuhyuk continued the massage, his spirits thoroughly dampened.
I’m a Constellation, for crying out loud.
If I don’t do this, we both starve together!
This absurd situation traced back to when this boy first arrived in Sungdo.
* * *
“You don’t need to memorize the geography of Sungdo or anything like that. Just get a handover from him about what a dedicated High Priest does.”
“Y-Yes!”
Until I saw Ha Gyuhyuk’s eyes burning with determination, I hadn’t sensed any problem brewing.
Once I placed Baek Han and Ha Gyuhyuk side by side, I finally grasped the source of the déjà vu I’d been feeling whenever I looked at them.
The two of them resembled each other quite a bit.
“Sungho, Constellation, don’t you think those two look rather alike?”
“Hmm… There are patches where their fur is a bit sparse, but they’re still quite similar and adorable, I’d say.”
“Patches where their fur is sparse…”
Of course, such remarks would mean nothing to species covered entirely in fur.
I’d started to ask a question tinged with species bias—whether the fluffier they were, the more beautiful they appeared—but stopped myself.
Baek Han seemed genuinely delighted that another High Priest had been placed beneath him, puffing out his chest with pride.
“First and foremost, our priority must be the satisfaction of the Constellations we serve. We must do our utmost to fulfill whatever they desire.”
“I’m actually quite good at that.”
“In truth, merely doing our best isn’t enough. We must actually deliver on it.”
Ha Gyuhyuk blinked slowly at those words.
As if trying to fully comprehend their meaning.
Tasha, standing beside him, continued speaking as naturally as ever.
“You two are no longer a Constellation and client—you’re now a Constellation and dedicated High Priest. In other words, you must obey Se-um’s commands absolutely and fulfill whatever Se-um desires.”
“I can do that. It’s what I wanted to do.”
Ha Gyuhyuk spoke in a dignified voice.
His bearing suggested he could accomplish anything I wished.
“Besides, Se-um’s client was skilled at all sorts of things even when human! I was worried that if Se-um commanded death, he’d actually die instead of just pretending!”
Franson spoke with cheerful candor.
After all the trouble I’d gone through keeping this fool alive, how could he make such jokes so carelessly?
When I fixed him with a sharp glare, he quickly fell silent, chastened.
“Still, becoming a High Priest feels different from devoting oneself as a client, I think.”
Regardless of what Franson said, Tasha continued speaking with a serious expression.
My Constellation, who sees far too much, seemed to have glimpsed many things she shouldn’t have this time as well.
“Tasha, why do you speak with such unease?”
“Because that’s what love is.”
“Don’t leave me with such cryptic words and disappear.”
Tasha shook her head gravely and walked toward her own room.
She’d apparently stepped away to give Ha Gyuhyuk and me time alone together.
He was examining my room within Sungdo with evident curiosity.
“Is this your first time here? You’ve only been to the lowest level before.”
“Yes… Is this Se-um’s bed…?”
“Yeah, honestly I don’t need to sleep, but I just habitually end up here anyway.”
Ha Gyuhyuk’s face flushed crimson for some reason as he gazed at the bed.
I gave him a light push onto it and climbed up after him.
Startled by my actions, Ha Gyuhyuk’s neck turned as red as his face.
“Weren’t you curious?”
“I was curious, but… Se, Se-um. This feels too close.”
“Just this? You sleep beside me every night—your bed is fine but mine isn’t?”
I gently cupped his chin and lowered my head, pressing my lips against his.
Ha Gyuhyuk still carried that warm body heat.
The moment my lips met his, Ha Gyuhyuk’s eyes squeezed shut as if he’d been waiting for this, his body trembling slightly. Even after I pulled away, his expression remained dazed.
“It’s going to take a while to adapt to the Constellation System. What should I do?”
“Ah, well… I’ll work hard to adapt.”
“Even as my personal High Priest, you’ll need to handle the basic duties of the Constellation System. Especially managing the clients of your assigned Constellation.”
“…Managing the clients of my assigned Constellation?”
Ha Gyuhyuk’s entire body went rigid as if someone had flipped a switch inside him.
But I still couldn’t figure out what was wrong. I stared intently at his flustered face.
“Se-um, is there another client you haven’t told me about?”
“Hm? No, not right now. But eventually, if you want to earn karma, you’ll end up taking on clients. It’s just that you’re bringing in so much right now that we don’t need to.”
Ha Gyuhyuk’s voice trembled with tension as he asked me.
The moment I heard those words, I understood what was wrong. And what Tasha had been worried about.
I nearly burst out laughing. After all, the only relationships he’d witnessed between clients and Constellations were tender ones.
“Are you… jealous right now?”
“…”
Ha Gyuhyuk’s eyes darted around before he chose silence.
Even he seemed to think the situation was embarrassingly absurd.
Ha Gyuhyuk usually only said he liked me, never asking me to like him in return. He thought of his own love as something he was ‘giving’ to me. When I stared at him, he suddenly reached out his hand.
My body naturally bent forward, burying itself in his embrace.
“Hm?”
The hand holding me trembled.
It was the same uncertain touch as the day he first held me.
Though he’d always been this way.
“But… doesn’t that mean I’m allowed to do this now?”
But what came from Ha Gyuhyuk’s lips was unexpected.
Allowed to do what now?
My mind suddenly stopped, and without thinking, I lifted my head.
His face was still flushed bright red, unable to meet my eyes, but he began speaking again, carefully and deliberately.
“Doesn’t that mean I’m in a position where I can be a little j-jealous if you meet another c-client?”
“You…”
“You s-said you l-loved me…”
Unable to finish his words, he pulled me close with force.
What am I going to do with this guy?
He worries when I do something with another client, feels jealous, and isn’t bold enough to be shameless about it. Yet he’s done his best to show me his feelings, even if he couldn’t say it all.
“You have to finish what you’re saying.”
“I think… I’m jealous.”
Being shameless takes skill too.
Even now, Ha Gyuhyuk couldn’t bring himself to firmly tell me not to take on other clients, only mumbling instead.
I lightly tapped his nose and sighed.
Even in this situation, Ha Gyuhyuk still couldn’t bring himself to firmly tell me not to see other clients, and just muttered about it.
He tapped his nose lightly and let out a sigh.
“Don’t worry. Have I ever said otherwise?”
“What?”
“No matter who I bring along, the seat beside me belongs to you.”
After witnessing him lean in with evident delight at those words, I thought the matter was settled.

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