D-Rank Constellation Hunter… Stuck Without Internet! - Chapter 35

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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 35
“What did you say?”
Let me be clear—I didn’t fail to understand Ha Gyuhyuk’s words just now.
To be precise, I understood them far too clearly, which is why I’m asking him to repeat himself.
After all the years I’ve lived, surely I can comprehend the meaning behind words like “I want to be by your side” or “I need you.”
How many clients have passed through my hands over the years?
Among them, there were naturally those who harbored romantic feelings.
“Ulrim… I need you. That’s all. I’m not asking for anything or trying to request something from you.”
I understood his true intention with perfect clarity.
When I first saw him, I thought he was a terribly lonely soul.
He faced irrationality he couldn’t choose for himself, and no one ever taught him how to overcome it.
The designation of D-rank Hunter was so easily imposed upon him as his ceiling.
What a marvelous condition for eroding one’s self-worth.
“Ha Gyuhyuk, you are a profoundly lonely spirit.”
“Would my loneliness become a… a negative factor for you, Ulrim?”
Even in this moment, he was watching my expression carefully.
It was a defense mechanism common to those who had been easily despised whenever they expressed emotions like loneliness or suffering.
“I don’t feel displeasure regardless of what emotions you carry. It’s a human emotion, after all.”
“A human emotion…”
“Yes, a human emotion.”
Perhaps something I no longer possess.
The source of that subtle discomfort and kinship I felt when I first saw him might have been this very thing.
I’ve witnessed countless instances of loneliness, yet why do I feel such tenderness specifically toward him?
It must be because we share the common ground of once being human.
“Don’t gods experience loneliness?”
“Perhaps not, but every god carries emotions with different names.”
Just look at Franson and Tasha, for instance.
It seemed best to end this conversation here and shift to another topic.
I couldn’t allow myself to be swept into a heavy atmosphere during this landmark first meeting with my client.
After all, future interactions might become awkward as a result.
I snapped my fingers lightly.
“Ah, ah…”
“Well then, shall we talk about something else from now on? First, let’s change our location.”
In truth, I don’t need gestures like snapping my fingers or stomping my feet to demonstrate my power.
But if I don’t show that I’m “about to use my strength” this way, clients invariably react as though they’re being dragged into some calamity.
Some of them even refuse to believe I possess any power at all without such gestures, convinced I’m fabricating lies.
“Ulrim! This is…”
“Calm yourself. It’s just the sky. And no matter what you do here, you won’t fall to the ground.”
“What? Is… is this really the sky?”
“Would I show you a fake?”
The scenery shifted in an instant.
I had simply wanted to converse comfortably and discuss our plans moving forward.
So I moved to the sky—a height even ordinary aircraft rarely reached.
Yet I overlooked the fact that standing above the Korean Peninsula with it beneath one’s feet would be a terrifying sight for any ordinary human.
Korea sparkled beautifully each night when viewed from above, which was precisely why I had come here intentionally.
“Well, if you’re curious, shall we take a tour around Earth?”
“Ah, no, that would involve crossing borders, which is essentially… illegal entry.”
“…I have no nationality.”
“Ah, then just you.”
“Please, could you stop ruining the mood?”
“My apologies.”
He immediately backed down.
Apparently, walking through the sky was a foolproof strategy that any client would enjoy.
I made a mental note not to let Franson off the hook for that tip.
“…Just asking to be sure, but you don’t have a fear of heights, do you?”
“No, I don’t have anything like that…”
Then a certain possibility suddenly occurred to me.
The obvious fact that even without acrophobia, being suddenly brought to this height would inevitably plunge someone into terror.
Humans could die from falling at even a fraction of this altitude—that was true.
I had simply forgotten the concept of death, having lived so far removed from it.
“Hmm, I think I’m realizing this rather late, but should we descend now?”
“Ah, no!”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m not sure, but if I can’t endure even this, then I don’t deserve to stand beside you, Ulrim…”
There was no need to worry about qualifications over something so trivial.
Ha Gyuhyuk seemed to malfunction whenever he spoke with me.
Yet he had been confident when dealing with other high-ranked Hunters inside Dungeons.
He had quite an endearing side.
I let out a short laugh and moved forward.
“Now, watch carefully from here on.”
“Yes? What should I—”
His question about what to watch carefully didn’t continue long.
With each step I took, violet light blossomed from the ground as if fireworks were bursting beneath my feet.
As it spread in all directions, it formed various shapes.
The forms of Earth, constellations, the Hunter Association, and countless other things appeared and vanished repeatedly.
“Now, let me explain Constellations properly. You and I have entered a client contract, but we are not equals.”
It’s essentially an unfair contract.
I’m sorry to say this from the beginning, but it’s the truth.
Even if he wished to escape from me, I had no intention of ever breaking this contract.
Yet Ha Gyuhyuk nodded earnestly, showing no dissatisfaction whatsoever.
“Then that makes you the superior party and me the subordinate, doesn’t it? I think it’s good to have a clear hierarchical relationship.”
I had skimmed through some of his past, but there was no need for him to act so accustomed to servile contracts.
I paused for a moment before continuing.
My words had stuttered slightly before resuming.
“And we Constellations—we typically use a currency called Karma.”
“Karma? As in… karmic debt?”
“Exactly. We convert and utilize the accumulated deeds from before we became divine. Just as you said, if you end up saving many people, you too will become a human who has accumulated Karma.”
But I omitted the part about how one could only use that Karma after becoming a Constellation in death.
Every Constellation harbored the desire to elevate their client into a Constellation themselves.
However, by regulation, we could not force such a thing upon them.
It was one of the few constraints imposed upon Constellations.
“Y-yes…”
“Don’t think about why I chose you, or what you might be able to do for me.”
“Pardon?”
He, who had been nodding obediently until now, widened his eyes in surprise.
“I am a god.”
At that very moment, the wind began to blow in reverse.
Naturally, I was controlling it. He instinctively curled his body at the shift in the air.
“Believe my words, think no deeper than what I say, and interpret no further than what I demand.”
“…Yes.”
“There is only one thing I ask of you.”
To live long.
To live, and to accept what I give you.
* * *
“So this is the home you went out of your way to find and furnish, even though you live alone, because you wanted to be here with me.”
“…”
“You didn’t know when I’d visit, so you’d often leave your training in the Dimensional Space to sweep and clean this empty room yourself, didn’t you? You even brought in a few pieces of furniture.”
“…”
With each word I spoke, Ha Gyuhyuk’s face grew increasingly flushed.
I was deliberately teasing him, of course.
Whenever I saw my client so clumsy at everything, I couldn’t help but want to tease him.
But the desire to tease something cute must be a common sentiment among all Constellations.
It was Ha Gyuhyuk’s fault.
“Come on, let’s go to sleep.”
I walked over confidently and lay down on the bed where Ha Gyuhyuk always slept.
I lay on the soft edge and patted the space beside me.
I thought this was what he wanted, but Ha Gyuhyuk’s face flushed crimson in an instant.
As I waited with a smiling expression, he deliberated for a long while before finally curling up on the edge of the bed as if he might fall off at any moment.
“Why? Come closer.”
Without waiting for a response, I grabbed his waist and pulled him toward me.
He, larger than my Avatar form, had come into my embrace. I felt his body grow taut with tension through my fingertips.
“U-u-u-Ulrim, Ulrim…”
“Shh, there, there. You’ve been through so much today.”
Before his lips could move, I cast a sleep spell instantly.
Unable to utter a word, his body sank into deep slumber. I laid him down gently and whispered softly.
“Sleep well, my human.”

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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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