The Former Empress Roughly Hides Her Abilities - Chapter 486

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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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Yeo Joo Saves the World
Part 3, Episode 90

“I suppose I should be grateful I didn’t have to see him like this while I was awake.”
I muttered under my breath, watching Sa Ma Young’s entire body—face included—wrapped meticulously in bandages.
To be precise, Sa Ma Young wasn’t asleep from the aftereffects of his severe injuries; he was under due to Seo Yu Baek’s skill and medication.

“Why do you keep—ugh—telling me to sleep, hm—”
“As recovery progresses, the pain will only intensify. For the sake of faster treatment, this is better.”

The attending physician explained it as a kind of side effect that accompanied the awakening of nerves that had been completely burned out.
The clash between Sa Ma Young, who hated sleeping, and Seo Yu Baek, who questioned why anyone would court such suffering, naturally ended in the doctor’s victory.
But after Sa Ma Young’s re-awakening to SS-rank, Seo Yu Baek’s S-rank skill had become completely ineffective, so they’d had to resort to medication in the end.
Watching Sa Ma Young slip into sleep with visible reluctance, I felt an inward wave of relief.
At least I didn’t have to witness his suffering anymore.
Beep-beep-beep—
A soft electronic chime broke the silence of the hospital room.
It was an alarm I’d set.
He probably wouldn’t wake at this volume, but just to be safe, I silenced it quickly and sat in the chair beside the bed.
“Time really does fly.”
An hour had passed already—the alarm had come around again.
On my first day of hospitalization, I’d spent considerable effort finding the optimal frequency for using my Body Healing skill without triggering the System’s warnings.
But by now, holding Sa Ma Young’s hand each time the alarm sounded had become second nature.

[ Using skill ‘Body Healing’. ]

“Hm—”
The moment I activated the skill, Sa Ma Young let out a low moan and shifted restlessly.
Even in sleep, the pain seemed significant.
“Should I call a nurse…?”
But while I was considering it, fortunately his whimpers subsided.
Soon all I heard was the deep, steady rhythm of peaceful breathing.
Half-reassured, I instinctively tried to study his expression, though it was pointless.
“There’s nothing to see anyway.”
The bandages wrapped carefully from head to toe made that impossible.
The special patches applied for skin regeneration required the wrappings to stay in place, so however unsightly, it couldn’t be helped.
Seo Yu Baek had modified Trauma Treatment Potions to create them, and he’d mentioned they worked particularly well on Hunters who suffered extensive burns from fire, poison, or other hazards within Gates.
“It must be healing properly, right…?”
With the bandages hiding everything, I had no way of knowing how much progress was being made, and that frustrated me.
“Hm.”
Each hour, after I cast Body Healing on Sa Ma Young, I’d feel this hollow emptiness settle in.
The reason wasn’t entirely clear, but it felt like helplessness.
That the only way I could help someone who’d ended up like this trying to save me was so limited.
‘Feeling down? How about we go grab some of that tteokbokki from last time, Yeo Joo?’
If he could see me now, Sa Ma Young might have said something like that.
I was staring blankly at his bandaged face when there came a sound.
Knock, knock.
The hospital room door opened with a gentle knock.
“How’s Hunter Sa Ma Young doing?”
“Oh, you’ve come?”
I stood to greet my visitors.
Behind Association President Ji Jung Hwi, who’d asked about Sa Ma Young first, I could see Kang Han as well.
“No change. The sedative is working well, and as for the skill’s effectiveness… we’ll find out in a few days when we unwrap the bandages.”
“Is he sleeping properly, Yeo Joo?”
At Kang Han’s question, I could only manage an awkward smile.
“Well, as much as possible.”
Since I need to cast Body Healing every hour, I honestly can’t remember when I last got proper rest.
“Still, Chung Soo’s herbal medicine tonic is working wonderfully.”
“You seem to have lost quite a bit of weight.”
Kang Han’s voice carried concern, his green eyes reflecting it deeply.
“But Guild Master, haven’t you too? At this rate, you’ll cut your jawline. Are you at least eating properly?”
Ever since we emerged from the Gimpo Gate, Kang Han’s complexion had been noticeably dark.
I wanted to ask why, but between caring for Sa Ma Young, I hadn’t had the chance to press the matter.
“I’m doing my best, truly.”
Kang Han answered while subtly avoiding my eyes.
It was clear he was just getting by on protein shakes and energy bars.
Under normal circumstances, I would have launched into a nagging tirade about eating properly.
But since I wasn’t eating well or sleeping well myself, I could only muster a bitter smile.
To change the subject, I turned to Association President Ji Jung Hwi and asked,
“Have you found Hunter Shin Tae Jung yet?”
“Not a trace. It’s like he vanished into thin air.”
The Association President clicked his tongue in frustration.
After escaping the Dungeon, I’d been occupied getting Sa Ma Young transferred to the hospital and completing his admission procedures, while Kang Han and the other Hunters had been busy with press interviews and official statements.
It was Guild Master Shin Tae Muk who first noticed Shin Tae Jung’s disappearance.
When he contacted the Association President saying he couldn’t find Shin Tae Jung anywhere, the Association President led his affiliated Hunters back into the cleared Gate to search personally.
But no one found Shin Tae Jung.
Since then they’d been combing through Gimpo and the Seoul Metropolitan Area, but today too seemed to be coming up empty.
“Could he have died during the chaos?”
“That would be preferable, but when we can’t even find a body…”
The Association President trailed off, but it wasn’t hard to infer what came next.
Shin Tae Jung was very likely alive somewhere.
“This is really unsettling.”
We should have bound him and turned him over to the Association.
My intuition about this felt decidedly off.
“I saw Guild Master Shin Tae Muk’s press conference yesterday too.”
At my words, Association President Ji Jung Hwi let out a heavy sigh.
“That man’s like a ghost—uncanny.”
Not just because of this disappearance either.
Guild Master Shin Tae Muk had held a press conference about Shin Tae Jung yesterday.
And what he revealed was nothing short of shocking.
“The real Shin Tae Jung apparently died in a traffic accident as a child, and this impostor had been impersonating him for over ten years.”
“The photographs showed similar features, but I have no idea who he really is.”
Kang Han spoke with frustration, his brow slightly furrowed.
But I had no insights either, so I just shook my head slowly.
This had never been covered in the novel.
That Vice Cult Leader Shin Tae Jung was actually not the real Shin Tae Jung at all.
“We’ll continue interviews centered on Gimpo where the Gate opened, and we’re considering issuing a warrant. We can’t let someone like that roam free.”
Having said that, Association President Ji Jung Hwi patted my shoulder encouragingly and left the room first.
Kang Han asked me as I rubbed at my tired, bloodshot eyes.
“You’re not going home today either?”
“The caregiver’s room here is quite comfortable. Besides, even if I went home now, I don’t think I could rest easy anyway.”
“…I see.”
With a heavy nod, Kang Han looked at both Sa Ma Young and me with complicated eyes before following the Association President out.
Despite two of us being there, the hospital room felt solitary once more.
Not wanting to fall into the melancholy from before, I stretched broadly and gathered my things.
“I’m going to grab something delicious to eat!”
The sleeping man wouldn’t hear me, but perhaps in some long dream, I might make a brief appearance.

* * *

Ten days after clearing the Gimpo Gate.
I had become a regular at the cafe on the first floor of the Awakened Healer Hospital.
“This is our new sandwich and cookie—why don’t you try them, Healer Yeo Joo?”
“You’re giving me so much! What should I do?”
“Ha ha, I’m a supporter of the Justice Guild! This is how I show my fan support!”
“Well, since you’ve already prepared it, I’ll gratefully enjoy it. But really, you don’t need to do this next time! Okay?”
Despite my protest, the cafe owner simply smiled and didn’t promise to stop.
After stopping by for a single coffee, I’d ended up with a hefty bag of desserts, so I changed course from the elevator toward the hospital park.
The weather was nice, and it seemed like a good time to have lunch.
“Oh, these are selling well.”
After finishing my meal quickly with the warm coffee and perfectly paired sandwich, I headed back up to the ward and saw the medical staff I’d grown fond of over the past ten days.
I exchanged warm greetings with them and opened the hospital room door with a lingering smile.
“…What?”
Sa Ma Young was gone.
He’d definitely been in bed when I left to get coffee.
Even if he’d been taken for tests, they’d said that since he was unconscious, his guardian had to accompany him at all times.
So where had they taken him?
As I turned in panic to rush back to the medical staff I’d just spoken with—
Click.
The restroom door opened, releasing billows of steam.
“Where’d you go and come back so late?”
Sa Ma Young, dressed in a thick hospital gown, was toweling his hair and smiling at me.

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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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