D-Rank Constellation Hunter… Stuck Without Internet! - Chapter 78

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

Chapter 78
[ Se-um: Did you know and help me? ]
[ Tasha: I just mentioned that people on Earth, especially Koreans, seem to regard tigers as auspicious omens~ ]
[ Se-um: But you helped me so thoroughly for just that. ]
[ Tasha: You must have investigated the rest yourself, right? ]
So she went through all that investigation just to help me.
The sheer goodwill left me dizzy, as if my head were spinning.
As I struggled to maintain my composure with furrowed brows, I felt Ji Chae-ah watching me carefully.
“Do you dislike tigers…? Or perhaps this is a bad omen.”
“No, it’s a good omen. I’m just surprised because I didn’t prepare it myself.”
“Even the Constellation didn’t know about this?”
“Right, completely unexpected.”
When I eventually return to Sungdo, I’ll have to thank Sungho directly.
I can’t exactly rush over to him right now and ask how he managed to help so perfectly at just the right moment.
A white tiger appeared in broad daylight in the city center, roared, and vanished—it was only natural everyone assumed it was the Constellation’s doing.
“What are people saying?”
“Most think the Constellation did it, and honestly, I did too….”
“Is that so?”
There was no need to clarify. If people believed that, I could simply let them.
As I shrugged indifferently, confusion flickered across Ji Chae-ah’s face.
“The Constellation did this?”
“No, I didn’t do it—someone else did, but I don’t mind the misunderstanding.”
“But Jang Deuk-sung is currently throwing a fit, claiming the Constellation is trying to undermine him!”
Ji Chae-ah poured out her indignation, saying she couldn’t bear his audacity.
Her face was flushed with anger at how unbearable it was for such a person to slander me.
I’m the one being insulted and undermined, yet I don’t understand why she’s reacting so fiercely.
Seeing her try to repay a debt she never incurred was both endearing and absurd.
“But in the end, Jang Deuk-sung did step down from his position. People have no interest in listening to him anyway.”
The public’s indifference alone proved his defeat.
Even if he attempts a comeback with every trick in his arsenal, he’ll never reclaim his former position.
He knows this too.
Once he falls now, he can never rise again, and even if he miraculously returns, few will remember the name Jang Deuk-sung.
“What if he retaliates against us?”
Dan Yibum, who had barely stopped his nosebleed, spoke in a heavy tone.
Looking at his face, I found myself laughing. I waved my hand once, wiping away the remaining traces of blood.
“Before he can retaliate against us, he’ll face retaliation from the guilds he wronged.”
Those individual groups may not be strong on their own, but when their power converges, everything changes.
When the anger of countless people focuses in one direction, its impact becomes a scale beyond imagination.
I shrugged.
“Besides, I’m simply removing him because he’s an obstacle in our path. I hold no personal grudge.”
“I do have grievances. Because of that man, I didn’t receive my overtime pay properly….”
Apparently, she exceeded the maximum overtime allowance for a month, so the remainder was converted to paid leave.
But with so much work to do, she never managed to use all that accrued leave before resigning.
“Do you want revenge too? If you’d like, I could arrange something for you.”
At my calm words, Ji Chae-ah hurriedly shook her head.
I was being sincere.
I could handle anything cleanly, ensuring nothing leaked to the outside world.
I could be a kind presence, but I was far from being a righteous person.
“You don’t want to?”
“I’d rather just watch while people from other guilds take their revenge. I don’t want to do anything directly myself.”
“Dan Yibum, you could transfer to another guild too, but you’re still stuck here either way.”
As I spoke in a composed tone, he stared directly at me.
He seemed amazed that I’d erased the nosebleed marks in one go, continuously touching his philtrum.
Even if my power came and went, he probably wouldn’t have felt much difference.
Dan Yibum responded a beat late.
“It’s fine. Unlike Ji Chae-ah, I would have had nowhere to go if the Hunter’s Association hadn’t accepted me.”
“So people who betray a colleague once just lose trust in the industry, huh?”
Everyone in the space flinched at my blunt words.
But Dan Yibum, the actual target of those words, simply nodded calmly.
He was accustomed to countless harsh words meant to wound him.
He wasn’t so fragile that my words would truly hurt him.
I hadn’t meant to wound him with that remark.
“Yes, it was Touch One that accepted someone like me. I was actually surprised that I didn’t even walk in myself—they offered me the position.”
“What’s there to be surprised about?”
“At first, I thought maybe there was such a talent shortage that it reached even you.”
Since I spoke directly to him, he’s coming back with a fastball too.
But honestly, that was true.
My heart ached, but I nodded quietly.
“But?”
“That may have been true at first, but now this place has become somewhere many hunters aspire to, hasn’t it? If I’d rejected the offer that came to me back then, this opportunity would never have returned.”
“Oh.”
I let out a small admiration without thinking.
Until now, I’d simply thought of him as someone who judged people shallowly based on their abilities.
But perhaps people truly are multifaceted.
“Besides, that person has long since exhausted their capacity as an association director, so they’re beneath my concern.”
“Ah, so that’s it?”
“Yes, I don’t particularly care to pay attention to someone whose abilities fall short of the standard.”
Maybe I’m just a one-dimensional person after all.
My thoughts were changing by the second when Ha Gyuhyuk beside me gently took my hand.
My gaze naturally turned in that direction.
“Why?”
“….”
Unlike his usual self, who spoke freely about whatever was on his mind, Ha Gyuhyuk seemed hesitant today, fumbling for words.
As if he didn’t really have anything specific to say.
But from the flushed embarrassment on his face and the way his gaze wandered uncertainly, I understood.
He was bothered because I wasn’t paying him attention.
Today seemed to be one of those days where controlling my expression was proving difficult.
“Tomorrow is the first day people enter the Training Ground, isn’t it? As Guild Master, shouldn’t you go check it out with me?”
“Ah, yes.”
“That’s what you were trying to say, right?”
“Yes!”
Ha Gyuhyuk nodded eagerly.
It was painfully obvious he’d been struggling to figure out a reason to summon me.
As I stood, Ha Gyuhyuk hastily rose and followed me out.
“The rest of you are free to leave for the day.”
“Guild Master, but what about Jang Deuk-sung….”
“If there’s any excessive defamation directed at the Guild or Se-um, our Legal Team will handle it separately. For personal insults toward me, just let them pass.”
Ha Gyuhyuk spoke so naturally.
Shouldn’t he have reversed how we’re being treated?
And we don’t even have a Legal Team.
Bewildered, I turned, but he gently pushed my back as we left the room.
“Yes! I won’t let anyone who slanders the Constellation live!”
Ji Chae-ah answered spiritedly, as expected.
Brushing her off would have been easy, but seeing her determination to drag me out anyway, I simply let myself be pushed along.
“You should focus on protecting your own reputation. Why would you sue people for insulting me? Besides, I’m not even human, so defamation doesn’t really apply to me.”
“Even so. It would show how important Se-um is to us.”
“Then what about you? Why are you saying it’s fine?”
I could always strike dead anyone who insulted me with lightning.
But he had only the law as practical recourse if he faced insults.
I was thumping my chest when Ha Gyuhyuk stared at me intently.
His dark eyes gazed at me so earnestly that I found myself falling silent without meaning to.
“Why….”
“We feel the same way. Just as Se-um wants to protect us, we want to help you. You told us to only receive, but….”
“You know better.”
“How could we live only receiving after becoming human?”
If repaying kindness were truly humanity’s purpose, the world wouldn’t be in this state.
As I stared back at him, Ha Gyuhyuk sighed.
“Even if everyone else in the world treated Se-um that way, I cannot. I won’t.”

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