Chapter 39
Chapter 39
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 39
Chapter Title: Constellation Gallery EP.38
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He stared straight at me.
"
Of course, you're free to do whatever you want with your share, but hoarding it to the extreme and letting your energy drop creates problems for the whole community too."
"We..."
"If that attitude spreads, everyone will start hoarding, and we'll end up as a listless group."
I cut off his words about not planning to stick around here.
And pushed my own opinion forward.
"What happens if everyone's energy levels drop overall? It just threatens our survival."
Silence fell once he finished speaking.
I glanced around.
At some point, everyone else's eyes had turned toward us. Silent expectations. Subtle pressure.
"...That's a good point."
I smiled and handed back the food I'd received.
"I'll pass on this."
"Why?"
"I can't take shares meant for those working hard to keep this place running. We'll get our own."
Dohan and Ha-rin followed my lead, setting down their portions too.
In that moment, the man's eyes flickered subtly.
"Are you suspicious of us or something?"
The Constellation Gallery was filling up with worthless posts, and the man in front of me kept droning on.
"I get it. I was suspicious of everything at first too. The world crumbling before my eyes, people turning into beasts, betrayal from those I trusted. After all that, I couldn't trust anyone."
His voice no longer reached my ears.
Unaware of that, he continued.
"But I finally realized. Suspicion doesn't save us. The more we try to survive in endless distrust, the more we become beasts ourselves."
His eyes deepened.
It wasn't acting. That was genuine.
Eyes convinced they'd found true faith in this mad world.
'No, that's just how it looks.'
A Constellation's skill for agitation and emotional manipulation.
Even if it's acting, it's supposed to look real.
"So I made a choice. Not to live in vigilance and distrust, but to trust each other and join hands. If we don't, we'll perish soon enough."
Quiet breaths.
The air around us tightened further.
"We have rules. Protect each other, sacrifice for each other."
He added in a low voice.
"That's the only way humans can survive in this apocalyptic world."
A few people listening to our conversation nodded slowly. Already swayed.
Whether they were being manipulated or not didn't matter to me.
What mattered was that this guy was an incarnation, and this group wasn't trustworthy.
Definitely an incarnation, huh?
Hold on, One with a Hundred Tongues? Isn't that the first Constellation contract phrase I ever read?
'But why would they pick a guy like this as an incarnation here?'
The monsters in this area are insanely tough.
Even I couldn't slice them easily.
Without a Divine Message or something, they couldn't hunt Craftlers, and divine power supply would be tough.
Plus, with an agitation skill, it's unlikely a combat-oriented Constellation.
That makes it even weirder.
Not a ghoul area, so why here of all places?
'Some other way to supply divine power?'
Or is it targeting me after all?
I wanted to take him out, but no justification.
Everyone saw him as a good guy.
Couldn't do it with all eyes on us.
'I'm not some dark knight.'
Playing the villain to enact justice? Nah.
Play the villain for profit over justice.
'If I could grab him and absorb his skills... but the odds are too low.'
No need to stir up unnecessary trouble.
If the people here are happy with this, no need for me to interfere.
Best to just leave without getting tangled.
But if they touch my kids, then I'll kill him.
I swear, with a sword, not a gun.
"No suspicion. I was just gonna take the food and go, but after that good talk, I can't."
"......"
"Thanks for the kindness. Use the food for those who need it more than us."
I turned to Dohan and Ha-rin.
"Let's go."
Surprisingly, they let us go without a fuss.
'What?'
Their stares on our backs were annoying.
Glanced sideways thinking they might follow, but no movement.
Not exactly seeing us off, not on guard either. Ambiguous attitude.
'No way this is it, right?'
Ended too anticlimactically.
He's an incarnation, but not wary of me.
Does he not know I'm an Awakener?
Or not targeting me specifically—just incarnations popping up naturally?
'Then why contract with someone from this group?'
Something felt off no matter how I thought about it.
But I decided not to dwell.
"We should get moving too."
I turned to Dohan.
"Dohan. You can't keep going back and forth alone for food forever. Let's stock up big now."
He nodded silently.
Leaving the orphanage leaves it vulnerable; staying means food runs out.
Director going alone risks incidents like today.
So stock up as much as possible per run.
"Let's go."
On the way to gather food, we ran into the creature we'd been desperately hunting.
"Hard to spot even for a monster. Should I be grateful?"
Dohan instinctively shrank back.
But it was quieter than expected.
It saw us but didn't charge.
"Dohan. They don't move unless attacked first, seems like."
"Really?"
"Not certain. But stay ready. I'll tell you how later."
Then I charged first.
Easy.
The moment I thought that.
I doubted my eyes for a second.
Craftler's Rune Stone?
Did these drop too?
'Check info.'
'Raises to level 10? Useless for me.'
I quickly checked the Constellation Gallery.
I'd killed plenty of monsters so far, but first rune stone.
Thought it was luck, but gallery said 1 per 30.
'...Easier than I thought.'
But Craftlers aren't common.
Still takes time for guaranteed drop.
'Anyway... no effect past level 10, so early-game item.'
Can't raise my Vitality, and using as potion is insane.
Then Dohan stared blankly and said,
"Whoa... hyung... you're not human, right?"
Sounds like praise, but why the weird feeling?
"You can get this strong too. Not easy at first, though."
"Really?"
"Dead serious."
While Dohan's eyes sparkled, Ha-rin stored the Craftler corpse.
We entered the mart.
Guarded by monsters out front, more food left than expected.
"Pretty stocked, huh?"
"Yeah."
I pulled out Tulip's handmade bags, loaded them with food, and stored in Inventory.
Dohan gawked even more.
"Definitely not human.... You did the hammer like that too, right...?"
"Second part yes, first no. Stop saying that."
"Which? The not human part?"
"......"
This kid doing it on purpose?
A bit like Tulip. 1999 passive?
"Anyway, Ha-rin."
"Yes!"
"Your Vitality at 10 now, right?"
"Ah, yes!"
I nodded.
'So the rune stone's for...'