The Former Empress Roughly Hides Her Abilities - Chapter 498

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

Yeo Joo Saves the World
Part 3, Episode 102

She wasn’t the type to shy away from cameras or lack confidence.
But live broadcasting without editing was something else entirely—a different beast altogether.
“Um, hello. I’m Yeo Joo, a Healer. Thank you for having me today.”
As she greeted them with a slight awkwardness, the PR staff member grinned and waved her on, as if to say “keep going.”
“But I’m not sure what you want me to keep—”
“Could you introduce the Hunter who came with you?”
“Ah, this one?”
That made sense.
I reached over and pulled Jang Su Ho’s arm closer—awkward and stiff as he was, standing beside me.
Well, I’d tried to grab his arm, but it was so thick and solid that I’d ended up just grabbing his sleeve instead.
Not that it mattered.
“This is Jang Su Ho, my personal bodyguard Hunter. Why don’t you introduce yourself, Hunter?”
“Why’d you suddenly switch to formal speech? That’s scary.”
“Because we’re live, you idiot. Right now… um, how many viewers are watching anyway?”
It was a weekday afternoon, so there couldn’t be more than a thousand or so, I figured.
That’s what I’d been thinking when I asked.
“Hold on, Healer! Oh my, we’re already at forty thousand and climbing!”
“Forty… forty thousand viewers?!”
What in the world.
Terrifying.
Before I knew it, I’d stepped behind Jang Su Ho.
Since his S-Rank re-awakening, Jang Su Ho had been growing taller and more broad-shouldered, as if he were experiencing a second adolescence—he made for a perfect screen.
“Why so many? Shouldn’t everyone be at school or work right now?”
“We just passed fifty thousand! There was the Justice Project announcement this morning, wasn’t there? That’s how hot the Justice Guild is right now!”
“Hot… well, we don’t really need to be hot. The Berserk Rescue Squad is basically like the emergency response team, you know. Anyway, thank you all for your interest.”
“Thank you.”
I bowed and nudged Jang Su Ho with my elbow; he followed awkwardly, his head dipping down.
Come to think of it, we’d been standing near the emergency room entrance the whole time.
Not wanting to block foot traffic, I moved toward a corner where a fixed camera was set up, saying, “Let’s head inside. Or rather, shall we?”
“The comments say how cute Healer Yeo Joo looks being nervous!”
“Cute… yes, thank you for being so kind.”
Being called cute at my age felt nothing short of mortifying.
“Ugh.”
During the transition, I sighed quietly.
The problem had started when I eagerly agreed to do a live broadcast as part of the Berserk Rescue Squad’s promotional activities.
Live broadcasts, no matter how many times I did them, never seemed to get easier.
The appearance of five cameras had certainly put me on my back foot.
But waiting for me at the prepared setup was a savior.
“Master!”
Moon Na Rin, who’d been chattering away nonstop at a pre-positioned camera, jumped to her feet the moment she spotted me.
“I beat Lee Dan Woo at rock-paper-scissors!”
“Oh really now.”
They say kids these days don’t get awkward in front of cameras.
Moon Na Rin was certainly nothing like the stiff and hesitant Jang Su Ho and me.
“Good work, sprout. It’s nice to see you, especially today.”
“Hehe. By now, Lee Dan Woo is probably rolling around with a stomachache.”
“You two really do love volunteering, don’t you?”
“It’s more fun when we do it with you, Master!”
Moon Na Rin beamed and leaned against my shoulder. The Association Staff member suddenly thrust something at us.
“What’s this?”
“We picked out a few questions for people who just learned about the Berserk Rescue Squad this morning. Would Moon Na Rin be willing to ask them?”
“Ooh, I love stuff like this!”
Moon Na Rin cheered and quickly took the cue cards.
“So the first one is…”
The questions the PR staff had prepared didn’t stray far from what I’d expected.
They were questions about how the Berserk Rescue Squad—the “Berserk” team for short—actually operated.
I explained each one carefully so people could understand easily.
I wanted as many people as possible to take an interest in and remember the Berserk Rescue Squad.
“The last question is this one: ‘I heard that Healer Yeo Joo founded the Berserk Rescue Squad. What’s the reason?'”
“The reason?”
What had it been again?
I’d been planning it for so long that the details were fuzzy.
“Because I could?”
The world’s apocalypse in that timeline had been caused by one thing above all: Hunter Berserkers.
High-ranking Hunters who couldn’t overcome the Berserk state all died off.
But then I gained the power to stop that Berserking, and I even made connections—useful ones.
Association President Ji Jung Hwi and Seo Yu Baek, director of the Awakened Healer Hospital.
So I’d simply devised a more effective way to prevent Berserking beforehand using Purification Potions.
But I wasn’t about to stop my answer at “I did it because I could.”
“Like the Association President and our Guild Master said this morning, Berserking is a side effect of conquering Gates, right? It’s a complication that happens when Hunters risk their lives closing Gates. I hated how it was treated like a contagion.”
I glanced at Jang Su Ho, who stood quietly behind me, before continuing.
“Dark Addiction and Berserking are dangerous, sure. Especially for high-ranking Hunters—they can lose their reason and attack those around them. But it’s sad when Hunters who’ve already sacrificed so much going into dangerous places are treated like dangerous beasts just because of Berserking.”
“Ahem.”
Jang Su Ho let out a small cough.
He’d clearly picked up that I was speaking with him in mind—him, who entered dungeons practically in a constant state of Berserking because of his Berserker trait.
“Why are you saying stuff like that in front of everyone…”
His face reddened, and I could hear him muttering something under his breath.
The PR staff member watched us with warm eyes, then nodded with a slightly more serious expression.
“I think we were just scared for no good reason. Hearing this, even I feel like I need to reflect.”
“That’s because it was all like that before our Master showed up, right?”
Moon Na Rin lightened the mood with her playful tone, preventing things from getting too heavy.
“Now we have our Master, and we have Purification Potions too!”
The way she puffed out her chest proudly, it was like she was saying, “This is the kind of person our Master is.”
“Anyway, I’d be happy if the Berserk Rescue Squad could change public perception about Berserking. With just one phone call, Hunters don’t have to go through a dangerous and painful process.”
“But I have a question, Master!”
Moon Na Rin raised her hand eagerly, like an attentive student.
“What is it, sprout?”
“You make these Purification Potions yourself, right?”
“Well, more or less.”
I averted my gaze awkwardly.
“I don’t make them alone, though. I just help Director Seo Yu Baek.”
Like donating blood, for example—a truth I could never speak aloud—which I swallowed silently before answering.
Moon Na Rin nodded in understanding.
“So these Purification Potions can’t be churned out by the ton?”
“Churned out?”
“Yeah! Like, so much that no Hunter ever has to worry about Berserking—ton after ton!”
“That’s probably… not going to be easy.”
That would require me to bleed ton after ton, wouldn’t it?
“It’s a shame. If Hunters could just take one bottle a day like a vitamin supplement, that’d be perfect.”
“Haha.”
I really needed to change the subject.
I was just about to ask the PR staff member if there were any more questions when it happened.
Beep-beep-beep! Beep-beep-beep!
An unfamiliar electronic alert sounded, and a red light flashed on the monitor sitting near where we were.

Citizen Report: A homeless person appears to be Berserk ]

But the nature of the report was deeply troubling.
“A homeless person is Berserk?”

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