D-Rank Constellation Hunter… Stuck Without Internet! - Chapter 182

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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 2-4
Of course, no Constellation could defeat Tasha through logic.
Even those who dared to challenge her would raise the white flag within a few exchanges.
“Ha….”
I despised anything that lacked logic.
When something was incomprehensible, it lingered as an unsettling weight in my mind, and no matter how hard I tried to resolve it, I always returned to square one.
‘Should I apologize?’
I pondered the question while cleaning the room with my thirty-fourth tentacle.
For reasons unknown, that Constellation had clearly worn an expression of hurt.
Regardless of intent, if someone had been wounded, an apology should naturally follow.
But how could I apologize when I didn’t even know what I’d done wrong?
I understood that Franson hadn’t received the answer he desired. But what did he actually want?
If there was a desired answer, then the question itself wouldn’t have been valid, would it?
The more I thought about it, the deeper the labyrinth became.
‘Perhaps I should set this aside for now.’
It would be better to first resolve the small doubt he had planted in my mind.
The question of how important it was that he was curious about ‘me’.
From that day forward, I traveled diligently and sought counsel from other Constellations.
“Sungho, I have a question.”
“I never imagined Natalia would ask me a question. What is it?”
“What context would prompt someone to inquire about another’s information—details one could discern without any real effort? Is it a basic form of social interaction?”
“When you say inquiring about someone else’s information….”
“For instance, what someone ate for dinner today, or the fate of a client. Furthermore, why would someone ask another a question when they already have a predetermined answer in mind?”
Sungho blinked, seemingly caught off guard by the barrage of questions suddenly unleashed upon him.
This Constellation had a tendency to abruptly throw such incomprehensible, higher-dimensional concepts at me.
After a moment of silence, as if considering, he continued.
“Perhaps they simply wish to be comforted and to converse?”
“Because they’re psychologically troubled?”
“Sometimes that’s the case, but other times it’s because they wish to grow closer to that Constellation.”
Friendship, affection, romantic feelings, intimacy—such things sometimes cannot be explained through logic.
Tasha, who had pursued only actions aligned with reason and truth for an immeasurably long time, fell silent for a moment.
Theoretically, of course, I understood.
It wasn’t as though I’d never encountered a being like Franson, one who sought predetermined answers from others.
But this was the first time someone had sought such answers from ‘me’.
The other Constellations had always regarded Natalia as little more than a sage dispensing answers rather than as a friend.
There were other scholarly Constellations of similar inclination, but they devoted their time more to solitary exploration of new worlds than to conversation.
For one like myself, who could discern a client’s nature and qualities at a glance, such concerns were irrelevant.
Everything seemed to push me toward tedium, so I began listening to the questions of other Constellations.
‘I thought they might possess somewhat different concerns or perspectives.’
At first, it had felt intriguing.
These were questions only a Constellation could ask.
But as time wore on, tedium crept back in.
Tasha knew she was steadily moving toward dissolution—her curiosity simply evaporating.
Yet she felt no particular urge to resist it.
Even if she were to vanish entirely, she thought, no one would wonder about her existence or feel she’d left anything of value behind.
“Then, as a Constellation myself, would you want to be friends with me?”
When Sungho heard the answer Tasha had finally mustered, his expression flickered with momentary confusion.
‘Hmm, did I really ask such a difficult question? Then again, until now, there hasn’t been anyone particularly eager to befriend me….’
“Do you think I’ve been approaching you all this time with no reason at all, just making conversation and pretending familiarity?”
“Huh?”
“You have a tendency to dismiss the goodwill of those around you far too casually. Since you’ve rejected every Constellation who’s come your way, most have given up trying to speak with you by now.”
This was news to her.
Sungho shook his head as Tasha’s expression shifted to shock—as if she’d never realized such a thing.
“So I simply assumed that was your nature. Many Constellations dislike socializing with others, after all. I let it pass without much thought.”
“I didn’t know….”
“They all acted subtly to avoid burdening you, so it’s hardly surprising. But how did you come to realize it this time?”
At Sungho’s curious expression, Tasha tapped the floor several times with her tentacles.
Where should she even begin this story? It felt oddly embarrassing somehow.
“I met a Constellation who was openly burdensome. Would it help if I put it that way?”
Though I’m still not sure if we can truly become friends.
* * *
“So I really don’t understand. No, I know there’s no malice. I know that.”
“Yes, yes, of course, Your Highness.”
Franson tore at his hair and sighed deeply.
Tears were already pooling on his cheeks, threatening to spill at any moment.
The Grand Duke gazed at that face—utterly unable to accept the situation—and exhaled a long sigh.
Though they hailed from different Servers, both had lived the lives of their respective clients: a prince and a loyal subject.
Perhaps for that reason, Franson often sought out the Grand Duke whenever he had troubles, and the Grand Duke willingly made time for him.
“That Constellation is renowned for being rational, is he not? I’ve spoken with him once before myself.”
“The Grand Duke has asked that Constellation questions too? But the answers were so cold.”
A high-maintenance Constellation indeed.
This beautiful prince—practically his son in age—had a tendency to play that contradicted his appearance.
Even now, wasn’t he on the verge of tears, wounded by the rational words that Constellation had spoken?
From the Grand Duke’s perspective, neither of their temperaments was incomprehensible.
What could one do when their innate natures were so fundamentally different?
“Then why do you go to such lengths and wound yourself trying to befriend that Constellation? You could simply not do so.”
“But… I worry I was too harsh that day, and besides, I don’t think there’s any other Constellation who would play with them besides me.”
The Grand Duke gazed quietly at Franson’s worry-stricken face and let out a short sigh.
“A tender heart is exhausting in so many ways, I tell you.”
“I know my heart is weak. It breaks easily, gets hurt easily….”
“I didn’t mean to say it quite like that.”
But Franson knew well enough where he stood.
It was easier to simply ignore Tasha most of the time.
Only after several centuries had passed and Se-um joined as a Constellation did he learn the word “meddling.”
“And honestly, just mechanically answering questions and passing time like some machine… it hurts my heart, I suppose.”
“Hurts your heart?”
“When I ask if they’ve ever been asked about themselves, they look at me like they don’t understand why that would matter.”
Deliberately drawing out information they already knew about themselves.
I believed that was the very foundation of socializing—a means of showing interest in one another.
Countless Constellations in this world had given up communicating with each other, living in isolation.
So there was nothing strange about this Constellation either.
“I simply can’t turn away from Constellations who catch my eye.”
“Which is why you suffer the consequences every time.”
The Grand Duke grumbled.
In truth, it wasn’t something unique to Constellations.
Whenever there was a chance to save someone, I would throw myself into it to rescue them.
This was why Franson was always short on karma.
Right after becoming a Constellation, I wandered through every Server, saving lives wherever I saw them.
Whether I had a client contract or not was irrelevant.
All that mattered was keeping them alive.
“In the end, what matters is that someone was saved. That’s where the value lies.”
“Then I fail to understand your current reasoning. Constellations do not die.”
I hadn’t wanted to hear such an objective response here.
“No, it’s not about saving or not saving… it’s just that I feel a bit of pity from one Constellation to another, and? That’s possible, isn’t it?”
“Crying at melodramas others want you to cry at, getting hurt by a passing breeze, feeling upset. How can I help being so tender-hearted?”
“What can I do about being born this way? What can I do about dying like this! I’m upset too!”
Franson finally broke down and wept.

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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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