D-Rank Constellation Hunter… Stuck Without Internet! - Chapter 61

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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 61
“….”
“I know it’s sudden, but I just wanted to say it. Am I lonely too?”
What was that emotion I’d just felt?
The moment loneliness was mentioned, my chest seemed to flutter with an ache.
It felt as though some sorrow I’d thought long dead was stirring back to life, and the sensation made me feel nauseated.
“Se-um.”
“Yes?”
“May I call you Se-um?”
“You’re fine.”
I placed my index finger against his lips. In that instant, Ha Gyuhyuk’s body trembled at the strange sensation passing down his throat.
“It’s my power. You won’t die from swallowing it.”
I’d simply woven magic into the name Se-um so that to others it would sound like Ulrim instead.
The confidentiality contract everyone must uphold.
A name I’d granted to only this one person before me.
I would not permit even others to hear it.
I watched as he slowly swallowed my power. “You won’t die” really just meant you wouldn’t die—but it could still be dangerous.
Yet he obediently swallowed it simply because I had given it to him. I reached out and brushed his hair.
“Good job.”
“Yes…. Se-um, your name is beautiful.”
“Is it?”
A name that even you couldn’t recall who it belonged to when you heard it—what meaning could there be in calling it beautiful? A short laugh escaped me.
I couldn’t say whether revealing my name was the right thing to do.
Even if I’m impulsive by nature, I’d never revealed my name so readily before.
In three hundred years as a Constellation, Ha Gyuhyuk is the first client to ever learn my name.
“Yet you’ve never complained about being hurt by me like this.”
“You said it was training.”
“Then if it weren’t training but a genuine attack on you—would you get angry?”
“That, that is….”
It seemed he’d never considered such a question before, as his eyes rolled once.
This was naturally the moment he should respond, yet it had become something to deliberate over.
I shifted my body beside him and crouched down. Now I could look down at Ha Gyuhyuk more comfortably.
“I’ve thought about it.”
“Yes?”
“I think it would still be okay. Even if you said you would kill me…. I’d like to believe there would be a reason.”
“That won’t do.”
No—even if it were someone you loved, you mustn’t simply accept death with noble resignation if they tried to kill you.
I gave Ha Gyuhyuk a gentle flick on his forehead.
He squeezed his eyes shut, then cautiously opened one to look at me.
“If I ever tried to kill you, you must turn and run away that very instant.”
“But.”
“And call out to me. Se-um, please save me.”
A puzzled expression crossed his face.
He continued speaking, still wearing that faint smile.
“There’s no way the Se-um who would try to kill you exists, so that must be a fake.”
Even in the darkness, I could see Ha Gyuhyuk’s face flushed crimson with perfect clarity.
Ah, I was being rather romantic just then.
Moonlight poured through the window. Ah, I feel like I’ve seen this composition somewhere before.
My heart stirred again, and a wave of nausea washed over me.
There’s no reason I should be dying from some illness, so why is this happening?
“We’ll train here at the same time tomorrow. Understood?”
“…Yes.”
It was something I said just to somehow contain my racing heart.
Ha Gyuhyuk’s condition was far worse than mine.
His face, responding as if entranced by something, came into my view.
There it was again—that expression.
That face that looked like he truly adored me.
* * *
The matter of clearing the S-rank Dungeon.
The Hunter Association was thrown into upheaval, posting a recruitment notice for up to sixty participants.
Only B-rank Hunters and above could participate, but as an exception, those who had completed contracts with a Constellation were permitted entry down to C-rank.
It was a regulation clearly made with Ha Gyuhyuk in mind.
“This is clearly disrespecting Ha Gyuhyuk. Like, ‘You’re just a C-rank, what do you think you’re doing climbing up here?’ That kind of nonsense.”
“Please calm yourself, Constellation. Or rather, Ulrim.”
“When we’re alone, you can call me by whatever name you prefer.”
As I’d been fuming over the notice for nearly a month, Kim Gyuwun skillfully reined me in.
With his eloquent tongue, he soothed my anger.
The Hunter Association simply failed to recognize Ha Gyuhyuk’s worth, and this opportunity was the time to prove it.
I knew it was flattery, but listening to him made me think, well, isn’t that right?
“This time, I’ll show them. The Ha Gyuhyuk I’ve carved out, broken down, and refined stitch by stitch.”
“Carved out, broken down, and refined…?”
Kim Gyuwun flinched and looked at me.
He seemed desperately trying to process what kind of terrifying things I had done.
“Get your head straight. It’s not like that.”
“Yes.”
He quickly regained his composed expression.
“But who are these people among the participants?”
“Ah, these? I put them in to gather party members.”
Kim Gyuwun’s expression became anxious.
Ever since I revealed myself as a Constellation to the world, he wore this fearful look whenever I tried to do anything.
Like I don’t know what kind of trouble that Constellation might cause next.
He’s a Constellation who’s easily ten times my age, yet here I am….
“It seems you’re not from Korea.”
“Right, I won’t need to call their names, but you can just call them Sia and Jerry.”
He nodded without asking further questions.
Perhaps to avoid being surprised no matter who showed up, he’d been taking clarity pills.
With the dungeon clear drawing near, Ha Gyuhyuk had stopped his private lessons with me and was now training under Dan Yibum.
‘Yes, if I enter, it will likely hinder the clear.’
When I carefully broached the subject of sitting out this clear, he replied without the slightest hint of hurt feelings.
Still, since I couldn’t bring shame to the Guild, I asked him to let me help until we entered the dungeon, so I’ve been working as a training instructor.
After revealing that I’m a Constellation, his demeanor seemed subtly more formal.
Or perhaps he felt a distance between us.
Whatever he felt, I couldn’t stop that. I quietly sent a message through the Constellation channel.
[ Ha Gyuhyuk, what are you doing? ]
– Se-um, I just finished training and I’m heading to wash up.
[ Can I see you? ]
– Ah, no…. I’m sorry.
[ I see. ]
I thought that at this level of closeness, that much should be fine, but apparently not.
As I shook my head slightly in disappointment, Kim Gyuwun, who had been standing beside me, promptly refilled my teacup as if he’d been waiting for the moment.
That wasn’t my intention, though.
“Why are you standing next to me not working anyway? I appreciate it, but…”
“Ah, well, um…. Should I go work?”
He mumbled while his cheeks flushed slightly.
I can see it all, I can see it all.
“Go work. Are you going to end up staying late because you fell behind? We need to stick to 10 to 4 exactly.”
When I was human, I tried 9 to 6 once a day, and that was something I couldn’t do.
10 to 4 with a four-day work week is just right.
After being coldly rejected by me, he trudged off to his own workplace.
He didn’t even work on this floor in the first place, yet he kept coming up to refill my teacup, so I wondered what he was thinking.
I was even preparing to reject him if he threw out a flirting line.
“Youth, it’s youth….”
Back then, one wrong call in the early morning and you’d fall in love just like that.
I wasn’t like that, though.
As I handed over the report, I smiled without realizing it.
[ Tasha: Are you having fun? ]
[ Tasha: Why are you even doing client administrative work? ]
[ Se-um: Being here just feels good. ]
[ Franson: You left the karma factory running upstairs? ]
[ Se-um: Karma factory? I just created a few cost-effective clients in other worlds on the brink of destruction. ]
Commonly known as the Karma Factory. I create multiple clients across various worlds and provide only basic support.
Fundamentally, if I invest in order-aligned clients, I can gradually recover more than my initial investment.
I started right after recovering fragments of karma that day.
[ Se-um: I’ve always believed in avoiding such petty tactics, but there are moments when one must compromise their principles. ]
And I’m not abandoning them either.
Within budget, I provide whatever support is necessary without fail.
The karma I recover per person isn’t much, but with this diversified investment approach, it gradually accumulates to a reasonable amount.
That’s when Ha Gyuhyuk contacted me.
– Se-um, it’s almost time to leave work. Would you like to grab a coffee with me? You seemed to enjoy the one from last time.
I drained the remaining tea in my cup in one shot.
My avatar’s throat feels like it’s burning, but I can just manifest a new one anyway.
That makes twelve cups today, doesn’t it?
[ Yeah, I was thirsty anyway. ]
As this peaceful day continued, the date for clearing the S-rank Dungeon drew ever closer.

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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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