D-Rank Constellation Hunter… Stuck Without Internet! - Chapter 21

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

Chapter 21
I began to seriously reconsider. Perhaps Ha Gyuhyuk was far more cunning than I had initially assessed.
I wondered if he had deliberately done this, calculating that I would soften toward him out of affection.
I scrutinized the screen with suspicion, yet I could discern no such sinister intent in his expression.
‘Then again, if he possessed such cunning from the start, he would never have taken on work as a Dungeon porter. He would have pursued a path where his appearance could be better utilized.’
Perhaps he could have become a model for promotional campaigns by the Government Hunter Department during regular Hunter registration weeks.
Or he could have simply handled administrative work in a position where his face would be prominently displayed.
Even if the pay was modest, there were no shortage of workshops that would hire him as a front-facing employee based solely on his appearance.
Lacking the finesse for interpersonal dealings, he had chosen a profession that relied on physical labor instead.
Indeed, examining his past, in most situations he barely managed greetings, let alone small talk.
It was rather amusing to think that such a person could now conduct himself with cunning before me.
I exhaled a sigh and tapped the monitor lightly.
“Humans truly are fascinating creatures. Se-um, call me when the server expands. I’ll log in and take a look around myself. I’m going to explore another world for a bit.”
“Understood. If you find a place with decent Karma earnings, please let me know separately. It seems we’ll need substantial income to properly develop this world.”
“Don’t worry. I’m a Constellation with principles, after all.”
I gave Franson a casual farewell and turned my attention back to the screen.
His actions were so foolish and endearing that I nearly forgot to respond while watching the screen.
He stood there holding his notebook, staring ahead for tens of minutes, waiting for my reaction.
How many hours could he possibly stand like this?
I suppressed my morbid curiosity.
[ I thought you were afraid of me and deliberately avoiding contact. ]
[ I’m not displeased, so don’t worry. ]
Relief bloomed across Ha Gyuhyuk’s face as he saw my response appear.
The tension that had sustained his stubborn posture finally released, and his body crumpled.
Hunched over, bearing the exhaustion that crashed through his entire frame, Ha Gyuhyuk opened his mouth as if murmuring.
― Since I received your help, I thought you’d surely consider me presumptuous if I contacted you first. So I waited, but since you never reached out no matter how long I waited, Constellation…
[ You were worried? ]
― …Yes, yes. I thought that someone like me lacks skills and can’t even be helpful without protection. So I reasoned that it would be only natural if you abandoned me now, Constellation.
Though he thought it, his heart refused to accept it.
Clients like Ha Gyuhyuk typically learn resignation and abandonment first.
The moment their supporter disappears, even briefly, they agonize over what they did wrong and suffer from anxiety.
Conversely, some sink so low in self-worth that they resent the Constellation for forsaking them.
If they internalize it, that’s manageable, but once they express that anger, it’s over with the Constellation.
I’ve even seen a child develop such separation anxiety from a Constellation that they suffered insomnia while clinging to me desperately.
So I forced them to sleep and played with them in their dreams.
‘But this is the first time I’ve had a client submit a written apology.’
I thought I’d dealt with quite a few clients, yet there are still children who manage to surprise me.
I’m concerned about how tedious my next client will seem once this one grows old and dies.
[ So you’ll do your absolute best to meet whatever I demand? ]
[ I don’t want your best—I want your absolute peak. ]
Even if I were to call humanity’s greatest achievement my own, it would hardly satisfy me.
So this is merely meant to frighten you.
If you keep fidgeting like this because of me, and show me just a little affection like this, I’m willing to cherish you for the rest of Ha Gyuhyuk’s life and accept you.
I placed my finger on the monitor, mimicking the gesture of gently patting his head.
His expression grew serious at my words.
– I’ll try.
“Good.”
– Even if I can’t become someone useful or necessary to the Constellation, I want to become someone who interests you.
No matter how low his self-esteem had sunk, I found it remarkably humble.
Which is precisely why it’s endearing.
I listened to him murmuring into the empty air, his chin resting in his palm.
He could have communicated through the equipment, yet he chose to speak aloud alone in his room—such a sight only deepened my affection for him.
By human standards, he’d lived enough to navigate society and read the room among people.
Yet watching him stumble as though encountering the world for the first time was a rare spectacle I could only witness because I am a Constellation.
But the reason I chose him was because I saw the desire to move forward in his eyes.
After that, he seemed to secretly search for books on skill studies and such.
I saw it all, but I turned a blind eye.
If what he truly desires is to capture my interest, he’s conducting himself impeccably.
[ So you said you wanted to save people—but if I told you to harm them, would you do it? ]
When someone loves me this much, I should treat them well, yet why do I feel the urge to tease instead? Perhaps I’m simply not meant to be someone capable of taking responsibility for another.
Disappointment flickered across his face. It was clearly a question he hadn’t anticipated.
[ Don’t make that expression. I was joking. The more people you save, the better it is for me as well. ]
They say it’s not a good habit to be swayed by every word someone speaks, yet that was precisely his state now.
He wept at my words, then laughed.
If this were a lie, why would his face brighten so completely? I caressed the monitor once more.
The misunderstandings that had accumulated between us over these days seemed resolved, and now that I’d finished soothing him to a degree, it was time to move to the main matter.
[ Now that you know my power, and considering those in that dungeon, some of them have likely sensed the connection between you and me. ]
[ Rumors will spread in an instant, so be prepared. The time we spend alone together will soon come to an end. ]
[ You will truly have to face many things. There will be many situations you cannot accept by your own standards, and far fewer will resolve as smoothly as this. ]
I appended various warnings to the end of my declarative statements.
To be careful to such an extent, to always wear the equipment that could connect you to me in particular.
Should that equipment be stolen or taken by force, seek my aid immediately, even if our relationship is exposed.
Since my avatar cannot assist every time, exercise particular caution outside dungeons.
If it seems likely that someone would set a trap requiring my direct intervention in a dungeon, choose a dungeon of a very high rank instead.
Ha Gyuhyuk blinked at the flood of information, then nodded with a rather resolute expression.
– Then what can I do for the Constellation?
Here is a mere human, yet he keeps trying to do something for me.
I clearly told him not to think of giving me anything, only to receive.
I cannot scold a child who does this because he cares for me.
In truth, most Constellations have specific expectations of their clients.
[ Live long. ]
[ Live long and accumulate much karma. ]
Whether for mercenary reasons or simple affection, I hope you live long and accumulate much karma.
After all, no matter how impressive the client is, they possess power that doesn’t even amount to dust before a Constellation.
The gap between one who interferes with the movement of stars and one who dwells among them is truly this vast.
He wore an expression of genuine emotion—not mere flattery, but pure sincerity.
[ Because if you die now, there is no next for you. ]
I am struggling hard to create that next for you.
At minimum, I hope you survive until then.
Humanity’s greatest advantage is that they don’t know the future.
But right now, there are far too many mountains to overcome.
First, Ha Gyuhyuk is far too weak, and I am far too strong. I’m not boasting—compared to him, I am simply too magnificent a being.
I briefly excused myself from him and switched the screen. Toward Kim Gyuwun’s Guild.
All the S-rank Hunters inside the Dungeon belonged to that organization.
[ “You can directly interfere with Dungeon laws? You really saw that? Gyuwun, you answer.” ]
[ “Yes, that’s correct. I simply altered the clear conditions for the SA-rank Dungeon. The records about Constellations in the literature were not exaggerations.” ]
[ “But it seemed like the Constellation showed interest in someone other than our Guild members… Gyuwun, don’t keep secrets either. Answer me—what was that Constellation’s epithet?” ]
Kim Gyuwun, adjusting his glasses, wore an expression of distress.
Every person inside the Guild focused on him, then turned their gaze toward the middle-aged man seated at the far end.
That man, his expression clouded with displeasure, gnawed at his fingernails as he glanced around.
Kim Gyuwun, who had been forcing himself to remain silent, opened his mouth, unable to resist the pressure.
[ How troublesome… ]
[ Designated target: I impose a silent curse upon all SA-17 clear participants except Ha Gyuhyuk. ]
[ 12,000 Karma is consumed. ]
In the screen, he appeared to be in agony, clamping his mouth shut. Instead of breath, water droplets burst from his lips.
Moreover, the other Guild members who were about to speak experienced the same symptoms.
A silent curse.
A restriction where one must pay a price to speak certain words—humans have long called this the revelation of heavenly secrets.
But stripped bare, it’s simply classified information of the Constellation.
As everyone inside suddenly experienced the same affliction, the middle-aged man lifted his head and glared at the ceiling.
[ So he knows what I’ve done. Well, humans do grow hollow inside as they age. ]
– The Constellation watches this place. Constellation, hear us. You will surely choose the children of our Guild.
Trite.
Provocation is only provocation if it carries a threat—enough to make one scratch their chin.
This? Not even worth bothering to answer.
I typed out a message with an air of annoyance.
Then I switched to the broadcast screen.
The message I sent appeared in that space for all to see.
[ The Constellation of Spectation and Care graces you with its presence. ]
[ The Constellation of Spectation and Care declares it will surely remember your arrogant blunder. ]
Back to my screen.
[ If you wish, I shall gladly choose to become a stepping stone for my child. ]
I would change my opinion.
Humanity’s most fatal weakness has always been ignorance of the future.

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