D-Rank Constellation Hunter… Stuck Without Internet! - Chapter 69

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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 69
We decided to end the dungeon conquest here.
Tasha and Franson returned to Sungdo, saying it had been fun, while we headed toward the Touchone Building.
“Guild Master!”
And there, standing like a fixture before the door, I encountered Dan Yibum.
His expression—clearly that of someone who’d been waiting for us—was plastered with worry.
“A strange Gate appeared inside the dungeon, and after everyone else escaped, we heard that you and the Constellation didn’t make it out.”
Apparently, the escape Gate never opened, and the area around it had been cordoned off.
From the look of things, he’d ventured all the way there himself.
Only after checking on Ha Gyuhyuk several times did he finally turn his gaze toward me.
The distance he’d kept from me earlier dissolved—his face now brimming with concern.
“I don’t need checking on.”
“We heard there was friction with another Constellation inside the dungeon. That person attacked other Hunters….”
“That conversation should be with me, the Guild Master.”
I’d merely been listening, yet he seemed to have mistaken my expression for displeasure.
Ha Gyuhyuk blocked Dan Yibum’s path, regarding him steadily.
“You two are quite tall, aren’t you?”
In my true form, those two should fit in the palm of my hand, yet standing here like this, I felt like a well.
“What are the other Hunters doing at the moment?”
“Hunter Kim Gyuwun is working on a report, and Chief Ji Chae-ah—or rather, Hunter Ji Chae-ah went to the Hunter’s Association to verify documents.”
Since Ji Chae-ah and I had worked at the same association, his titles still hadn’t adjusted properly.
Ha Gyuhyuk nodded and turned back to me.
His expression seemed to ask, “What will you be doing from now on, Se-um?”
Indeed. Right now, I couldn’t think of anything I particularly wanted to do.
“I’ll rest until the results come in.”
Once conclusions were drawn about this situation, not just Touch One but the entire nation would be turned upside down.
Or would it be just the nation?
The world itself would be overturned.
* * *
〔A peculiar form of Gate was discovered in a recently conquered S-rank Dungeon. Cases of Gates appearing within dungeons are extraordinarily rare…〕
One of the Hunters inside the dungeon had apparently recorded footage through a System camera.
The bizarre Gate and the screams of people.
Due to the nature of System recording, audio wasn’t captured.
Even if the file had contained audio, one of the four Constellations present would have manipulated it anyway.
As a result, only Ha Gyuhyuk’s figure—pulling an escape stone from his inventory and displaying it to others—was laid bare without filter.
〔Who is this Hunter Ha Gyuhyuk?〕
〔Ha Gyuhyuk’s past traces—the “Transporter Race” issue surfaces…〕
〔The first Constellation-wielding Guild: ‘Touch One’〕
People marveled at his virtuous deed and began reassessing Ha Gyuhyuk anew.
As if they’d discovered a precious gem, they rejoiced—despite him having always been this way before they ever knew.
“Se-um, you seem to be in a good mood.”
“Yeah, I’m happy seeing you finally get the recognition you deserve.”
Regardless of whether they’ve only now come to understand Ha Gyuhyuk’s worth, my mood is excellent.
I should admit that his refusal to listen to me back then ultimately turned out to be helpful.
Those who received escape stones from Ha Gyuhyuk rushed to post messages of gratitude.
“I’m in a good mood, but why do you look so troubled, Ha Gyuhyuk?”
When I teased him as if to say my good mood bothered him, Ha Gyuhyuk shook his head.
Sitting beside me and brushing my long hair, he looked both content and deeply worried.
“You said it yourself, Se-um. The clash between Constellations inside the Dungeon wouldn’t have been recorded.”
“That’s right.”
Probably the trouble that Constellation caused at the entrance and Franson’s assistance.
Along with Ha Gyuhyuk nearly dying and my own outburst toward him—none of it would have been documented.
“But you can’t silence people’s mouths.”
“No, you can’t control that.”
“However…”
Besides our six and one Constellation, there were fifty-three people who entered that Dungeon.
It was unlikely they all harbored goodwill toward us.
He carefully began braiding my hair.
With his touch, I suddenly felt drowsy. Perhaps it was from lying in bed with him every day lately.
I almost felt human.
“Ha Gyuhyuk, why don’t you try thinking positively?”
“Yes?”
“Wow, even gods get cursed at. That’s the thought.”
Even though I’m a god who could end a human with a single finger.
Yet humans curse even those with such power.
So even if I’m cursed by someone, I shouldn’t be too wounded by it.
“Historically, whenever trouble befalls humans, it’s always gods who bear the brunt of their curses.”
“Ah…”
“Of course, you don’t need to tolerate it when someone curses you. You’re not a god.”
I turned my head halfway to look at Ha Gyuhyuk.
He gazed back at me, carefully holding the braid he’d woven so far to keep it from unraveling.
He continued speaking with a faint smile.
“Naturally, I’ll be watching. But if anyone curses you, tell me immediately.”
“Tell you?”
“I’ll bring divine punishment upon them.”
I spoke it as a jest, but I meant every word.
People will curse me for favoring a human regardless of what I do, so I might as well openly show favoritism.
Ha Gyuhyuk, having beautifully braided my hair, rested his forehead against my back.
“My Ha Gyuhyuk, what is it now?”
In this position, I couldn’t stroke his hair or scratch his chin.
I simply offered my back to the mirror and gazed at my reflection.
Add a single ribbon and I’d be from the Joseon era; twist it up with a tiara and I’d be an Emperor.
I was marveling at Ha Gyuhyuk’s dexterity when his voice reached me.
“I want to be able to resolve things for you too, Se-um.”
“There’s nothing that could happen to me.”
At worst, my karma would deplete and I’d fall into poverty.
When I spun around sharply, Ha Gyuhyuk’s upper body, which had been leaning forward, tumbled into my embrace.
I caught him properly before he could fall, cradled his head, and gently swept my hand across his back.
“My dear Ha Gyuhyuk, I keep telling you to simply receive, yet you ignore this one thing even when you listen to everything else. Just live a long life, that’s all.”
He hesitated uncertainly for a moment before wrapping his arms around my waist.
How much time had passed?
Still, we simply held each other and caressed one another.
“How long?”
“No matter how long you live… it won’t be long for me.”
Even if you lived a hundred years, it would be nothing but a fleeting moment to me.
And this too is a path already foreseen.
“Se-um, what happens to the Constellation?”
He murmured still with his face buried in my chest.
Every client asks me this question.
They all desire such power, seeing only the beautiful aspects of this position.
“It depends on how many human lives you’ve saved.”
“Saved?”
“It’s not simply about keeping them alive. It’s about whether you’ve opened a future where they can accept their lives as lives.”
Suppose I started a war and saved the citizens of an enemy nation who were being exploited.
But if those people ultimately became slaves or objects of discrimination in my nation, then that doesn’t accumulate as karma.
“Do I need to save many?”
“You need to save very many. Very, very many.”
The words “you just need to clear Landquake” rose to the tip of my tongue.
Enough lives to meet even those I’d need to be reborn several times to encounter after my death.
As I whispered in a gentle tone, he lifted his head and looked at me.
When our gazes locked in the center, laughter spilled from me unbidden.
“Why, now that you hear it, does it suddenly feel daunting? Do you want to become a Constellation?”
“No matter how long I live, it will only be a moment to you, Se-um. So I want to become a Constellation.”
“That’s too long a time just to see me. Once you become a Constellation, you can’t even die when you want to.”
Take Tasha’s case, for instance.
Tasha became a Constellation because she didn’t know all the world’s knowledge, driven by that thirst for understanding.
In other words, she must continue her existence as a Constellation until she has mastered all the world’s knowledge and judges it sufficient.
Because of this, there are almost no Constellations who can end their existence.
It can’t even be called a life in the first place.
“It’s fine.”
“Live a hundred years, and you’ll see things differently.”
Look at me.
At first, I was determined to turn my client into a Constellation, and now I’m the one holding her back.
Affection always leads to this.
Ha Gyuhyuk blinked and lifted his gaze to meet mine.
“What could he be curious about this time.”
“How did you become a Constellation, Se-um?”

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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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