D-Rank Constellation Hunter… Stuck Without Internet! - Chapter 174

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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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Side Story 1-4
[ You have logged into the ‘Eio95’ Server. ]
“This is the newly opened server this time.”
Ha Gyuhyuk continued to regard me with a worried expression. I wasn’t such a fickle Constellation.
I pulled him close and settled him naturally onto my lap, then leaned in toward the monitor.
“S-Se-um….”
“What’s the matter? You’ve sat on my lap countless times before. Or would you prefer facing each other like last time?”
At my words, his face flushed crimson and he bowed his head deeply. I was amazed steam wasn’t rising from him.
After running my fingers through his hair a few times, I activated the server.
“This place is quite different from Earth. Let’s start by taking in the scenery.”
As I tapped the screen, Ha Gyuhyuk barely lifted his head to gaze upon it.
This newly opened server was, if anything, like a science fiction world that Earthlings might imagine.
Advanced technology of various kinds dominated the landscape, and robot-like lifeforms inhabited it.
They conversed in an incomprehensible language, laughing and weeping.
Ha Gyuhyuk observed the world with curious eyes, as though his earlier embarrassment had never existed.
I wrapped my arms around his waist and peered over his shoulder into the world.
“You’ve never seen anything like this before, have you?”
“No….”
“In novel terms, it would be science fiction.”
The Hunter World had developed considerably with the emergence of the System, but it likely couldn’t compare to this genuinely advanced world.
“This robot… no.”
“Just call them lifeforms or potential clients.”
I corrected his phrasing.
Now that I’d become a High Priest, I needed to stop perceiving lifeforms through ordinary human sensibilities.
Ha Gyuhyuk nodded, his face flushing with embarrassment.
“Yes, I apologize.”
“You’ll adapt gradually. When I first became a Constellation, I even called other Constellations monsters.”
Only now did I truly appreciate how much consideration and compassion from other Constellations had brought me this far.
Some things were permitted precisely because I was an equal Constellation.
But Ha Gyuhyuk was a High Priest, so he needed to be even more careful with his words and conduct.
“Of course, if anyone ever troubles you, I’ll overturn everything from that point onward.”
I adjusted the screen while resting my face against his shoulder.
Hundreds of millions of potential clients scrolled rapidly across the display. Ha Gyuhyuk’s eyes frantically scanned through the names.
“This is….”
“Surprising that you can read it all, isn’t it?”
Becoming a High Priest means transcending into a higher existence.
Even if physical changes aren’t immediately apparent, they become evident in situations like this.
When data flowing this rapidly becomes easy to read and comprehend, and you realize your eyes don’t strain at all, the transformation becomes undeniable.
“Since this feels natural, I couldn’t understand why you couldn’t transcribe about sixty thousand sentences.”
“Ah….”
“And that damned Server too.”
Though it’s in the past now, the heat still flares up inside me whenever I think about it.
Earth’s absurd Server and my antics became a running joke throughout Sungdo.
Difficult-to-access Servers have existed since ancient times, but there had never been a Constellation who threatened an ignorant Constellation and caused a commotion trying to break through one.
After living for so long and with so many Constellations in existence, surely there must be at least one other being who acted as recklessly as I did?
“…Se-um, why did your expression suddenly turn angry?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Just thinking about how much I suffered back then. Anyway, that’s not what matters—did you see that list I showed you?”
“Yes.”
Ha Gyuhyuk seemed to sense my reluctance to discuss the matter further and smoothly pivoted the conversation.
I’m hopelessly weak to his docile demeanor.
The moment I saw him obediently comply like this, I found myself thinking, ‘It was worth all that effort and hardship for someone like him.’
If he weren’t the kind of person to inspire such feelings, I wouldn’t have been so desperate to keep him by my side.
“What do you think?”
“Ah, so you’re asking what I specifically think in the context of what we were discussing…?”
“Among those client candidates from earlier, are there any that catch your eye?”
Ha Gyuhyuk’s expression turned serious for a moment.
He’d read through hundreds of millions of data points, but it seemed his ability wasn’t yet sufficient to extract data from them and make comparisons.
Perhaps I was asking too much of him from the start.
I wasn’t comfortable with this sort of thing initially either.
“Look carefully. These are the ones I’ve been paying attention to.”
With a gesture of my hand, dozens of client candidates were instantly filtered out.
I’ve been doing this for centuries, so it comes naturally to me.
“That many?”
“This is how we narrow it down. You’ll need to see many more going forward, so get used to it.”
Generally, a High Priest doesn’t choose client candidates based on personal preference.
But Ha Gyuhyuk was an exception.
Whatever clients I recruit in the future, I’ll examine and verify them together with him.
I’m confident he’ll come to appreciate this.
“So we need to narrow it down to just one person here?”
“If I decide to select a client here, then yes. Now, what do these client candidates have in common?”
I’ve said it many times—I have absolutely no talent for teaching.
My patience is extremely limited, to say the least.
If Ha Gyuhyuk couldn’t come up with the answer immediately, I would have gotten excited and told him the answer myself.
But my client was clever enough to produce the answer quickly.
“They have talent.”
“What kind of talent?”
“Talent that hasn’t manifested yet.”
Potential.
A privilege granted to all Constellations—though I can’t discern a client’s qualities as clearly as Tasha can.
Their capacity for growth.
“Constellations typically prefer clients who’ve already achieved clear success or are obviously strong—it guarantees a baseline. That’s the appeal.”
“I see….”
“But I’m not interested in clients with guaranteed success. Even if it means taking on some risk, I’d rather choose someone worth cultivating.”
Ha Gyuhyuk’s expression grew peculiar at the word “cultivating.”
Perhaps he was remembering our first meeting.
“My criteria for selecting a client has always been consistent. I consider how far they could grow with my help. Sure, there have been failures, but my success rate is quite good.”
“Then I….”
I knew that question was coming.
I shook my head deliberately. Perhaps it wasn’t the answer he was hoping for.
“You didn’t show much potential. At best, you might scrape into B-rank? That was my assessment based on your own abilities.”
If I gave you wings, you could jump straight to S-rank, but you chose the harder path of relying on your own effort.
Even as I told him directly that he didn’t seem particularly promising, he didn’t look upset.
“So I’m an exception among all the clients you’ve chosen?”
He even perfectly anticipated what I wanted to say.
I nodded awkwardly.
I’d hoped he’d understand, but I didn’t expect him to be this perceptive.
“You were an exception from the start. I chose you because of the books scattered throughout your room.”
And that sense of kinship—being born on the same Earth, struggling through a difficult life without ever truly enjoying it.
That understanding, something others from different worlds could never have given me, left me no choice but to select you.
“You were special from the beginning. My decision to enter Earth was chance, but you’re the one who kept me from leaving so quickly.”
I’d practiced this, steeled myself, but I don’t know why it feels so embarrassing to say out loud.
It feels like I’m bringing up something awkward and cringeworthy.
I glanced at Ha Gyuhyuk cautiously, and he was completely absorbed in my words.
His face was flushed with joy, as if merely hearing me speak brought him happiness.
With him looking at me like that, I couldn’t just brush it off now.
“I understand what you’re trying to tell me, Se-um.”
“What do you think I’m trying to say?”
“That I’m different from your other clients.”
His voice trembled slightly, embarrassed to say such a thing himself.
“How am I different?”
“…You love me.”
“That’s right.”
Very much.

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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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