D-Rank Constellation Hunter… Stuck Without Internet! - Chapter 34

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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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Chapter 34
“I wanted to make a good impression on you.”
A sigh escaped me unbidden.
When showing my face to Ha Gyuhyuk, I hadn’t wanted to appear at my absolute worst—at least not in the worst possible circumstances.
Yet look at me now. I’d managed to present myself in the worst possible way during the worst possible situation.
‘Clients generally dislike authoritarian displays. They prefer warmth and someone who meets them at their level.’
I recalled Franson’s earnest advice on the matter.
I’d boasted that I was naturally good at adapting to clients’ temperaments, so there was no need to worry about such things.
I’d ruined it.
I should never have been so careless.
Unforeseen problems arise in any situation.
I should have thought ahead and prepared accordingly.
“…Did I perhaps frighten you?”
It was obvious that softening my voice now would have minimal effect.
Though I was cautiously gauging his reaction, Ha Gyuhyuk showed no sign of speaking easily.
He appeared to be wrestling with some profound concern far deeper than I’d anticipated.
No matter how much you deliberate and hesitate, you cannot undo a client contract once it’s been made.
Even if there were a way, I wouldn’t grant it.
It won’t happen.
“Ulrim.”
“Yes?”
He’d made me anxious by saying nothing at all until now.
Only now did Ha Gyuhyuk seem ready to speak.
Seeing his expression, I straightened my posture without thinking.
How long had he taken to prepare whatever bombshell he was about to drop?
I was nearly ready to curse him with memory erasure on the spot when Ha Gyuhyuk continued.
“Thank you for saving me. And I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what?”
“I should have waited for you to arrive, but I couldn’t wait and went outside, causing all this trouble…”
So that was it.
When he apologized, I’d imagined all sorts of things.
I’d half-expected him to say something like, “I don’t think I can continue with you, Ulrim.”
But Ha Gyuhyuk, oblivious to my assumptions, continued muttering about something entirely different.
That if he’d only been more careful, I wouldn’t have had to attack humans or have my appearance exposed.
He even expressed regret that he’d been so looking forward to meeting me, yet had managed to ruin the entire situation.
Honestly, the first meeting I’d envisioned wasn’t like this either.
I’d hoped for something more dramatic and touching.
“You worry a lot.”
“Pardon?”
But regardless, this wasn’t the time to say such things to someone so downcast.
I’d never been kidnapped before in my entire life.
And after experiencing a direct threat that such things could happen to me again in the future, no less.
Ha Gyuhyuk did well.
I’ve never seen a client react so intensely before.
I opened my mouth with a bitter smile.
“Human lives never go the way you want them to. I know because I’ve experienced it myself.”
I never knew my life would flow this way, and I never expected to ascend to the status of a Constellation.
Humans are such that even if I’m living peacefully here today, the moment I close my eyes and open them again, I could be facing death.
I’ve witnessed countless cases where someone you loved becomes an enemy you want to kill the very next day.
“But.”
“Why are you making such a guilty expression? I’m not angry. After all, everyone makes far worse mistakes as they live.”
By the standards of Constellations, I’m still nothing but a novice.
But by human standards, things are quite different.
Having endured countless trials and witnessed the passage of time and the cycles of life, I’ve learned many things.
I cannot deny that this has made me regard the lives of short-lived creatures as trivial.
But that much arduous time has passed through me.
“Truly, something like this is nothing at all.”
I stretched out both hands and cupped Ha Gyuhyuk’s cheeks.
As my avatar’s body temperature touched his face directly for the first time, his eyes widened in surprise.
This body possesses the same body temperature as humans, and if you place your hand on the chest, you can clearly feel the heart beating.
Even if someone pierced through this body and extracted the heart, it would remain intact, but the form itself is certainly human.
“Is it strange? That I have the same pulse flowing through me as you, that my voice comes out, and that I possess a similar temperature?”
“Actually, it’s more that this is the first time I’m hearing Ulrim’s way of speaking directly like this….”
“Ah.”
Then I remembered.
The Sungdo chatting protocol.
Until reverse filtering was applied or an avatar was sent down, Sungdo forcibly applied filtering to Constellation communications.
It transformed their speech into something very grand and solemn, supposedly to maintain the basic authority of Constellations.
“Does it feel very unfamiliar?”
“It’s, it’s certainly new.”
“Well, I suppose it would be.”
In truth, I think such a system itself is one of the least helpful things, but they were adamant.
No matter how casually I send messages, there are no exceptions.
What Ha Gyuhyuk received must have been refined into a solemn tone.
“The Constellation of the Entangled Apocalypse’s Finalizer is tracking your whereabouts.”
Something like that.
When in reality, what I actually sent was probably something like “Where do you live?”
“So you don’t like this way of speaking?”
“No, I like it.”
Ha Gyuhyuk quickly grasped my hand, seemingly worried that his actions might have displeased me.
He didn’t even seem to notice his cheek being pressed firmly against my palm as he caressed the back of my hand.
“To be honest, I’ve been a bit uncertain about all this until now.”
“Uncertain about what?”
“What if I actually died, and this is the path to the Underworld, but I’m just deluding myself into thinking I had good fortune in my life before dying?”
“Why would you imagine something so absurd?”
“Well, by ordinary standards, I wouldn’t expect a Constellation to choose a D-rank Hunter.”
I started to point out to him that those ordinary standards were set by none other than you humans, but stopped myself.
I shook my head slowly and met his gaze.
“I promise you. Nothing will dare to touch you. Who would be so disrespectful as to lay hands on what’s mine? I’m a Constellation.”
If other Constellations deliberately tried to harm Ha Gyuhyuk, then I couldn’t guarantee his safety in that scenario.
But naturally, if they attempted such a thing, that Constellation wouldn’t escape unscathed either.
I could already line up Constellations who had suffered my retaliation.
I was different from those Constellations who casually sought out clients.
I always wanted to make them into another Constellation, helped them accumulate maximum karma, and gave them genuine affection.
“I’ll make your life the greatest among all humans.”
“The greatest among all humans?”
“Because you’re the human I chose.”
“So really, I’m… happy.”
“There were various complications, so it took time to descend this far, but everything will work out smoothly now.”
The Server will expand, and connecting with the avatar I’ve already sent down will become even easier.
I pressed his cheek firmly.
Though not particularly plump, his skin was remarkably soft.
“Even if our first meeting was somewhat rough, I haven’t actually killed anyone, and even if someone did die, that wouldn’t be your fault.”
“….”
“I remain skeptical about the philosophy that all life possesses equal value, but if you hold that as your conviction, I respect it.”
And if we assume that all life should be respected in such a way,
then Ha Gyuhyuk should receive the same treatment as humans, whom humans themselves value most highly in this world.
Though humanity’s society seemed to have no such intention.
Fortunately, I possessed the power to make it so.
And my desire to make him happy overflowed.
I am a god.
An omnipotent god who descended to this land solely for Ha Gyuhyuk’s sake.
A god gazing upon a human, willingly bending at the waist to meet him at his eye level.
“What do you want to become? The strongest Hunter? A possessor of wealth no one could covet? Tell me your standard for happiness.”
“I….”
“Constellations are like this too, but humans all have different standards for happiness. If you wish for something grand like world peace, we’d need to reestablish the criteria for peace first, so tell me in advance. I’m not asking you to decide right now.”
Ha Gyuhyuk fell silent, seeming to ponder for a long while.
My words apparently sounded like I was urging him to answer immediately. When I gently withdrew my hand, he carefully grasped me.
“Ulrim, I….”
“Yes.”
“We need Ulrim.”

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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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