D-Rank Constellation Hunter… Stuck Without Internet! - Chapter 48

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

Chapter 48
Sudden fame, popularity that doesn’t feel like mine.
It’s time to enjoy and savor all of it. Though Ha Gyuhyuk seems flustered.
“Ulrim, I’m afraid this is just too difficult for me…”
“I turned down all interviews and press inquiries, and kept everyone away from us. What else is the problem? No one will hear a single word of our conversation, so don’t worry.”
I know well enough that Ha Gyuhyuk isn’t worried about that.
No matter how much I’ve kept people away from us, there’s no escaping being the center of attention.
Every time I walk, I feel the sharp sting of countless gazes.
“It’s gotten to the point where I feel like all these people are watching us.”
“It’s not a feeling.”
“Pardon?”
“It’s not a feeling. Right now, everyone is watching where we go and what we do.”
Ha Gyuhyuk’s face went pale in an instant.
It’s understandable to be frightened. Usually, the only time he’d monopolized people’s attention was when he’d made some mistake.
People were ecstatic over the emergence of the world’s first SS-rank Hunter.
My information spread across the globe in less than three hours, and people scrambled to learn even a single detail about me.
‘But so many people claim to have seen me—why can’t anyone get a photo?’
‘Well… whenever they try to take a picture, the focus always blurs or some obstacle suddenly appears…’
‘And when they’re asked to draw my face, not a single person can remember it properly!’
‘It’s true!’
Even with all that effort, they wouldn’t have obtained a single worthwhile piece of gossip.
The person called Ulrim standing before their gazes doesn’t truly exist.
“They’re taking pictures of us right now, so get behind me if you don’t want your face to show clearly.”
“Huh?”
“Quickly.”
The moment Ha Gyuhyuk hid behind me, I subtly distorted their vision with mana.
This way, whenever others photograph us, some other condition will overlap and ruin the result.
My face is also covered with cognitive manipulation magic.
Even if they peer their hardest from beside me, the moment they turn away, they won’t remember exactly what I look like.
So far, only Ha Gyuhyuk and Kim Gyuwun have had that magic lifted.
“It’s really amazing how so many people are watching you, Ulrim, yet no one remembers your face, and they can’t even hear our voices.”
“Right, this magic wasn’t created by Earth’s system after all.”
Even if they gathered only those with the finest mana on this land, they couldn’t break through my cognitive manipulation magic alone.
The difference in rank is unavoidable.
If you’re unhappy about it, your only option is to stop the Landquake and become a Constellation yourselves.
“Still, if we’re calling ourselves a Guild, we should probably have a proper building.”
“A building?”
“Yeah.”
Well, if someone is suspiciously wealthy and an exceptional Hunter, people will like them even more anyway.
These days, there’s even a culture of people fandom-ing Hunters like they’re idols.
Hunters moonlighting as idols, hunters performing in musicals—there are all sorts of people juggling multiple careers these days.
Back in my time, once you became a Hunter, that was all you could ever do. The world has changed so much.
A filthy world where even Hunters have to work multiple jobs.
“But apparently, constructing even one building takes a minimum of two weeks.”
“Yes, even the Hunter construction specialists say that’s the baseline required.”
“I don’t have the patience to wait that long. I’ll just buy an existing one instead.”
Ha Gyuhyuk followed me with an expression of utter bewilderment.
His attitude screamed disbelief that he could possibly accept something like this, so I patted his shoulder a few times.
Back when I was sponsoring a client—the youngest daughter of a Duke—she simply ate soup cutely and received a marble quarry as a gift.
If I told him that story, he’d probably faint, so I kept it appropriately vague.
“The location… hmm, where would be good? Ah, right.”
Truth be told, I’d already marked a spot in my mind.
Besides, I’d already finished purchasing the building and was just putting on this show.
My Ha Gyuhyuk would probably become overly anxious and collapse if I didn’t do it this way.
I’ll admit I wasn’t sure if this counted as acting, but for my boy’s mental health, what wouldn’t I do?
“This place would be perfect.”
“That’s the building right next to the Taemyeon Guild…”
Despite laying all the groundwork and presenting it to him, he looked like he was about to pass out even more.
I gave his back a sharp tap to snap him out of it.
“What I’m giving you isn’t even one ten-thousandth of what I could do for you, so don’t make a fuss over every little thing.”
“Yes…”
“Get your head straight. Who do you think you’re backing yourself with right now?”
I turned to face Ha Gyuhyuk, my back to the building.
Every time I gave him something and he repeated this pattern of shock, awkwardness, and refusal, it made me worry too.
Should I give him this? What about that?
But that’s the kind of thing you only worry about between ordinary people.
Why should I, a Constellation, be burdened with such concerns?
“If the timid protagonist reaction keeps repeating, it becomes cringe. Get your head on straight—you’re a building owner now.”
I looked at Ha Gyuhyuk with an expressionless face.
As if demanding he make a proper judgment.
After staring back and forth between me and the magnificent building for a long moment, he finally seemed to make a decision and his expression shifted.
“That’s a better look.”
“I don’t intend to take for granted what you give me, but I understand now that I can’t keep trembling and being shocked every time like this.”
“Right. You’re the kind who understands ten things when told one, so I’m grateful. Go on in. It’s your building now.”
Technically, it’s a Hunter kindergarten where I’ll be raising the next generation.
I never thought I’d end up teaching humans in my lifetime.
Constellations do similar things anyway, so it should be fine.
I left Ha Gyuhyuk to handle the remaining paperwork and administrative tasks, then headed up to the rooftop.
The higher the place, the better my concentration.
[ “So you’re saying that’s where Ha Gyuhyuk the Hunter serves as Guild Master? Are you insane?” ]
I checked the current state of the Taemyeon Guild to assess the situation, and as expected, the Guild Master was fuming.
Kim Gyuwun stood before him with an expressionless face, bearing the brunt of that criticism and fury with his entire being.
[ Franson: How unfortunate… ]
[ Franson: Honestly, I’m not sure what Se-um thinks, but I feel sorry for that kid too. ]
Franson: *whimpers*
[ Se-um: I can’t take sides with all my clients. ]
There were certainly Constellations who found Kim Gyuwun’s narrative more compelling than Ha Gyuhyuk’s.
They had simply decided life and death according to their own choices, and not everyone could be on his side.
It was merely the personal relationships of humans, after all.
I zoomed in slightly on Kim Gyuwun’s face.
[ “Guild Master, let’s not make this any uglier.” ]
“What did you say?” ]
A considerable strategist and a talent coveted by all the upper-tier guilds.
Quiet by nature, but someone with a stubborn personality who would always speak his mind when necessary.
A man who had stood firm all this time, propping up the crumbling Taemyeon with unwavering loyalty.
“That’s right. No matter how important loyalty is, it can’t stand above conviction. That’s the kind of person you are.”
I tapped the image of Kim Gyuwun that appeared on the screen.
As if my mana had transferred through, he glanced around briefly.
Though there was no way he could see me.
Sure enough, he composed his expression and turned back to face the Guild Master.
[ “The era when greed alone could solve everything has already passed, Guild Master. Until now, I believed you were at least a person who understood shame.” ]
You’re mistaken, though.
Beings who haven’t lived even a hundred years often become so consumed by emotion that they deliberately turn a blind eye to the truth.
But eventually, they must open their eyes.
I kept Ha Gyuhyuk’s window open beside me.
My adorable client who meticulously processed my instructions, even numbering them.
I quickly shifted my attention away from Kim Gyuwun and followed Ha Gyuhyuk with my eyes again.
When I summoned a cup of coffee with mana in case he was tired, he jumped in surprise as if he’d seen a ghost—it was endearing.
Then he received it with both hands and bowed deeply, even bending his body toward the empty air.
“But Ha Gyuhyuk, it’s the other direction.”
I burst into laughter without realizing it.
In that moment, a crisp voice pierced my ears.
[ “I’ve kept my loyalty as much as I could. I think it’s time for me to leave this guild.” ]
“Kim Gyuwun, how could you… Do you have any idea how much money, people, and lives we’ve spent saving you!” ]
A trite threat. I closed my eyes slowly and opened them again.
[ “That’s not a debt I owe to the Guild Master. Well then, thank you for everything until now.” ]
Without hesitation, I closed Kim Gyuwun’s window.
I tapped Ha Gyuhyuk’s cheek as he sipped through a straw.
“I have no intention of paying off other people’s debts on top of my own.”
Watching what I do for my client, maybe I should reconsider this more positively.

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