The Owner of the Healing Therapy Shop Is Ranked 0th in the World - Chapter 54

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Owner of the Healing Therapy Shop is World Rank 0

Chapter 54

Right after Senior’s press conference ended, the news screen immediately switched to the briefing room at the Government Central Office.

The one who stepped up to the podium was the Hunter Association president.

With the large Taegeukgi flag behind him, he stared directly at the camera with a face filled with determination.

[The South Korean government solemnly declares that we will no longer tolerate WHP’s unjust pressure against Hunter Gangjinseong, the hero who saved humanity.]

President Maeng Seokwoo’s resolute voice from the screen echoed throughout the store.

After the US Gate conquest, WHP had tried to arrest Senior again, but the Korean government had been protecting him under the pretext of his injuries.

But now that Senior had proven he was in good health, it was obvious that WHP would start using force in earnest.

So the government had made the first move, staking the nation’s prestige on this bold strategy of ‘protecting the hero.’

[Hunter Gangjinseong single-handedly conquered the 22 mazes that had driven humanity to the brink of death. Everything that happened in that process was a desperate struggle for humanity’s survival, and we guarantee his innocence. If WHP makes an issue of baseless suspicions, we will consider it a direct challenge to South Korea.]

Watching the screen, I clenched my fists tight.

“…Finally doing something proper.”

This was the same country that had stood back and watched while Senior bled going through the gates.

It was a bit annoying that they were now talking about ‘hero of humanity’ and ‘innocence,’ but still, the fact that Senior wouldn’t be misunderstood as a criminal anymore made my chest feel like a weight had been lifted.

I was still frustrated that if they had acted sooner, Senior wouldn’t have had to fight that lonely battle alone, but relief filled that space instead.

I pressed the remote to turn off the TV.

“Ugh!”

Just then, a sharp pain shot through my palm.

“It’s been hurting since earlier…”

Perhaps from overexerting myself making items, my palm kept tingling.

Thinking it would get better if I massaged it before bed, I dismissed it as nothing serious and picked up my phone.

After the official statement, the Hunter Community was practically about to explode.

Senior’s name was dominating the real-time search rankings, and next to it were all sorts of posts about the ‘items’ Senior had mentioned and about Shinnara.

I sat at the workshop table and scrolled down on my smartphone screen.

Every time my fingertip touched it, the Hunter Community bulletin board updated in real-time, pouring out new posts.

[Breaking] Gangjinseong’s secret to conquering 22 mazes was ‘items’… Made by Shinnara?

[Free Board] Wow, the person who made the items Gangjinseong used this time was Shinnara? Isn’t this game-breaking? lol

Not only the news but most of the community posts were about the ‘items’ Senior had mentioned and about Shinnara.

‘Somehow it seems like there’s more praise for the item maker than for Senior.’

I couldn’t reveal that I had made them, but the fact that the things I created had supported the world’s strongest hunter, and that result had amazed the entire world, was both embarrassing and gratifying.

But on the other hand, if my identity were ever revealed, even by the slimmest chance, the thought of having to receive all that attention from so many people made my hair stand on end.

As I kept scrolling down, my finger stopped in front of one post title.

[HOT] Doesn’t Gangjinseong have a girlfriend? (Feels like a legendary post)

‘Girlfriend?’

My heart dropped with a thud. Without realizing it, I clicked on the post as if entranced.

Did you see how he looked straight at the camera when Gangjinseong was being interviewed today?

Usually he’s like a guy who could shoot lasers from his eyes, but during that last interview, his gaze was pure tenderness itself. Am I the only one who felt this?

It seemed like he was talking about his girlfriend when he mentioned the goddess of luck??

This can’t be explained unless it’s love.

The comment section was already a battlefield.

└For real, his eyes were like a beekeeper’s lol

└No way… Kang Jin-seo should remain everyone’s public treasure ㅠㅠ

└Stop with the delusions already. Aren’t you tired of it?

My face flushed hot.

Very few people knew that I was the subject of that interview, but the weight of the words ‘girlfriend’ was beyond imagination.

‘Senior and me?’

After imagining it briefly, I shook my head vigorously and slammed my phone shut.

“Senior’s just like that because he’s a good person.”

I tried to calm my pounding heart and tightened my apron strings firmly.

‘No idle thoughts, let’s work!’

* * *

A penthouse at the top of a skyscraper in New York, USA.

World Rank 1, Edward was glaring at the large screen in front of him as if he could bore a hole through it.

On the screen, the Korean Association president was continuing his announcement to foreign reporters with a resolute expression.

[The South Korean government solemnly declares regarding Hunter Gangjinseong, the hero who saved humanity… If baseless suspicions are made an issue, this will be considered a direct challenge to South Korea.]

-Arrogant…

Edward ground his teeth and let out a rough breath.

He couldn’t stand that Jinseong, who had fled to Korea with the excuse of injury, seemed like a cowardly rat to him.

No, more precisely than running away, it seemed like he had treated him as ‘not even worth dealing with,’ which tore his pride to shreds.

-He had to return home due to injury recovery and is ready to respond to a ranking battle anytime? Ha!

He crunched the ice in his glass and muttered lowly.

-How dare he trample my reputation with his silver tongue…

Just then, a secure communication connected and Chairman Jang Dohun’s hologram appeared.

[Edward Hunter, public opinion is protecting Gangjinseong. If we leave it like this, the ‘hunter killer’ suspicions will be buried soon.]

Edward shot Jang Dohun a cold look.

-Chairman Jang, that evidence you mentioned, is it really solid? The evidence that Gangjinseong hunted hunters. You’re not making up something that doesn’t exist to incite me, are you?

Jang Dohun smiled with a fishy grin.

[Even if that were false, evidence can just be fabricated, can’t it? Just like we’ve been doing. What’s important is making the whole world believe Gangjinseong is a potential murderer.]

-A potential murderer.

[Have Edward Hunter pressure headquarters to issue a recommendation for Gangjinseong’s hunter license suspension. ‘Refusal to cooperate with investigation’ will be sufficient grounds.]

-License suspension. That’s good talk. Perfect for bringing down that arrogant bastard’s nose.

Edward’s lips twisted.

It didn’t matter what Gangjinseong was doing hiding in some rat hole in Korea.

He just needed to make him fall into being a disgusting criminal so he could never challenge his authority again.

[He said he wouldn’t avoid a ranking battle, but seeing how he’s hiding in the association and not showing himself, he must be suffering side effects from reckless mana absorption. If Edward Hunter refuses a ranking battle now, that suspicion will turn into certainty.]

At Jang Dohun’s cunning instigation, Edward downed his whiskey in one gulp with satisfaction.

-Good, I’ll make it official. If he doesn’t respond to the ranking battle schedule within 7 days, I’ll hand him over to the International Hunter Tribunal on charges of ranking manipulation and murder suspicions and recommend license revocation.

Edward sneered at Jinseong’s face on the screen as if trying to compensate for his shattered pride.

-Gangjinseong, the time you’re revered as a hero will be the last festival of your life. Enjoy it to your heart’s content.

After the call ended, Jang Dohun returned his forced smile to its original state.

“He’s so hard to manipulate I could die.”

He quietly looked down at two knights standing face to face on the chessboard.

He picked up one of them and roughly knocked down the other knight, taking its place with the fallen piece.

“One of them has to break eventually. That’s the only way the picture I want will be complete.”

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