D-Rank Constellation Hunter… Stuck Without Internet! - Chapter 188
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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 3-4
“Oh, this place is all training facilities!”
“Training facility franchise?”
“No, we expanded the branches so that Hunters below S-rank could train sufficiently, and branches 11 through 15 were created as places where underage Awakeners train to handle crisis situations!”
“Who came up with such a brilliant idea?”
“Chae-ah.”
Tasha answered the question I hadn’t even asked, eager to respond.
How did she manage to hold back from bragging about her client?
For underage Awakeners, participation in programs that allow them to handle crisis situations without rank restrictions is permitted.
The Hunter Association tried to establish such a program before, but it was shut down because no one volunteered as a mentor, I think.
“So who teaches them?”
“Dan Yibum.”
“Oh my, oh my, I absolutely didn’t think it would be him—why on earth would they make such a choice?”
I completely agree with Sellen’s sentiment.
How did Dan Yibum end up being chosen as an instructor?
If I had to pick one person at our Touch One who shouldn’t be around minors, I’d unhesitatingly choose Dan Yibum.
I don’t expect someone who treats adults so rudely to treat children well.
But then Franson cleared his throat beside me.
That attitude screaming “Ask me quickly!”
Honestly, when someone shows they want something that desperately, I’d rather not give them what they want.
But I am curious.
“…Do you know something?”
“It turns out Dan Yibum is surprisingly gentle with kids. Maybe he’s raised a lot of younger siblings. That’s why he’s incredibly popular. Instructor Dan Yibum, they call him.”
“Franson’s client is Kim Gyuwun, yet you seem interested in quite a few people.”
“…Taking interest is my right! And since when did Constellations only care about their own clients! We touch everything, poke everything, prod everything, feel everything!”
Of course, there are Constellations like that.
Franson is pretty much in that category too.
It’s true, but the wording is subtly… off?
Ji Chae-ah, thinking the same thing, was staring at Franson intently.
“…Anyway, that’s the situation. This Training Facility 16 was built in the most dangerous area among regions where Gates have been appearing frequently nearby.”
“Because the land is cheap? Are we in financial trouble?”
When I asked worriedly, Sellen, who had been quietly listening beside me, burst into laughter and fell backward.
I really did ask out of genuine concern.
If we were really in financial trouble, shouldn’t I crack the whip and have Tasha and Franson grind karma for us?
Ji Chae-ah, who had been stammering as if at a loss for words, finally managed to respond.
“The Touch One people decided to work in rotation for set periods. That way, they can rescue civilians when dangerous situations occur, and use it as a shelter too!”
“It seems like we’re gradually losing our identity as a Guild.”
Tasha assessed it coldly.
I agree. What kind of bizarre mishmash of an organization is this…
Well, I’m the one who gathered all these people together and created it.
It’s all my fault. All my fault.
“First, here’s the list of Hunters entering Training Facility 16. Would you like to take a look?”
Chae-ah unfolded a list, whether or not she sensed my turmoil.
‘Bella Dillon’
‘Eliana Grey’
“Hmm… I have no idea who they are.”
“Se-um, you’re really cold-hearted.”
Franson’s expression crumpled with hurt.
No, I genuinely don’t know them. How am I supposed to remember everyone who joined Touch One after Ha Gyuhyuk became High Priest?
“Those individuals are said to have received great kindness from you and the Guild Master.”
How many people have I helped? Countless.
At that moment, a familiar voice drifted from afar.
Kim Gyuwun, his dark circles even more pronounced than before, was approaching.
“Well, even if I don’t remember them, anyone willing to volunteer for such a dangerous place must be quite righteous.”
“That may be true. In any case, thanks to them, we should be able to open Training Facility 16 safely. Thank you.”
Kim Gyuwun didn’t greet me with pleasantries about how long it had been.
He spoke calmly, as if we’d seen each other yesterday, and conveyed the necessary information.
Franson was utterly smitten with his client and busied himself asking questions and fussing over him.
“Gyuwun, what on earth are you wearing!”
“Yes?”
“It’s absolutely terrible with your personal color! You just grabbed whatever was lying around! After I picked out so many options for you!”
“Clothes are just clothes, so——”
“Clothes make a person shine!”
“Even if you wore burlap, you would still shine, so I don’t find that very convincing.”
Franson sighed, his compliment completely ignored.
As he clutched his forehead, dizzy at the sight of his client still wearing that pilled garment, he was about to launch into a lecture when Kim Gyuwun’s question cut through.
“By the way, Constellation Se-um, where is the Guild Master?”
“He stepped down from that position ages ago, yet you still call him that.”
“Still, once a title takes root, it’s hard to change.”
Ha Gyuhyuk will probably remain the Guild Master to them forever.
Only when everyone here grows old and dies, and Hunters are replaced by new generations, will that change.
“He didn’t come today.”
“Is he very busy?”
Ha Gyuhyuk, who always followed me and remained within my sight no matter what, felt oddly absent.
It was certainly an absurd situation.
I shrugged and answered casually.
“He’s trapped somewhere I can’t reach.”
“Pardon?”
“If all goes well, he’ll be out in four days. If not, it’ll take about a hundred years.”
Sellen nodded gravely beside me.
“Sometimes there are problems that can’t be solved by magic or food alone.”
I couldn’t follow Sellen as she walked away briskly, saying she was going to eat the newly released spicy ramen, and the humans just stood there dumbfounded.
“W-what did you say?”
I shrugged at Kim Gyuwun’s stammering voice.
“The internet’s down.”
* * *
“Ha Gyuhyuk, if you’re bored, you could watch the server.”
“The server…?”
“Yes, with this kind of internet blockade, information can’t travel upward from below, but it can go downward. We can’t send messages or anything like that, but we can at least observe.”
The cause of this insane situation was revealed to be a collision in the Closed Server.
As a stroke of luck, it would be repaired within two to four days at most by Constellation System time, so we just had to endure it here.
But Ha Gyuhyuk was already experiencing withdrawal symptoms from separation anxiety after just one day.
Seeing how pitiful the rookie High Priest looked with dark circles extending all the way down to his core, Baek Han connected him to the observation server.
“If only they could connect Earth too… huh?”
Baek Han’s voice carried a note of confusion.
Ha Gyuhyuk’s head snapped up reflexively.
On the screen was Se-um, whom I had longed to see so desperately.
Sitting together with the other Touch One Guild members I had missed.
― Se-um, Tasha. Do you drink well? Actually, last time I didn’t even get to see you two drink. I ended up drinking it all myself. Do the Constellations get drunk too? Do they get rowdy when they’re intoxicated?
― Of course we get drunk. Franson over there is a lightweight. Honestly, it’s hard to expect Se-um to get drunk. In Korean terms, he’s a “word drinker.” Chae-ah, you should be prepared for that level.
Listening to Tasha’s words, Se-um laughed out loud.
There was something slightly boastful about it, and a confident gleam in his eyes as if to say ‘come at me.’
‘Our Se-um is good at drinking too? How can he be this perfect…’
This couldn’t be happening.
How could he be so perfect from head to toe?
Even his hair, beautifully braided and pinned up—whether Tasha the Constellation had done it or not—looked truly imperial.
I couldn’t even send a single message, let alone run to him and hand over a kingdom…
Baek Han, watching Ha Gyuhyuk from the side as if he might be sucked into the monitor at any moment, let out a sigh.
“Are you alright, Ha Gyuhyuk?”
“Yes, I’m fine…”
Though it really doesn’t seem fine.
One moment he looked happy, the next despairing; one moment joyful, the next melancholic.
How was I supposed to interpret that expression?
― I wish the Guild Master were here too.
Dan Yibum, who had joined late, muttered without even touching his glass.
Ha Gyuhyuk’s face grew gloomy again. Se-um’s face on the screen wavered slightly.
And soon a playful retort followed.
― This is a good opportunity to feel it. How much I’ve suffered raising you.
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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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