The Owner of the Healing Therapy Shop Is Ranked 0th in the World - Chapter 66

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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 66

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The uninvited guest who appeared like the wind disappeared like the wind.

After that storm-like moment passed, a sudden silence descended.

Senior only sheathed his razor-sharp sword after confirming that Alice had completely vanished from sight.

The tension in the air that had been stretched taut instantly snapped loose.

He let out a short, heavy sigh and steadied his disturbed breathing, then turned around to check on me.

“Are you okay? You weren’t startled, were you?”

“Ah, yes. I’m fine. But Senior…”

I pointed at Senior’s feet.

A piece of bread that had been in his mouth when he was forcibly summoned, now lying pitifully on the ground.

It seemed he had been in the middle of eating when he was forcibly dragged here by the scroll.

“I’m sorry for causing you trouble because of me. What should I do about wasting such a precious scroll on something like this?”

At my apology, Senior paused for a moment, then glanced inside the open store.

Then he casually remarked.

“That worked out well.”

“Pardon?”

“I was just getting hungry. Mind if I add one more spoon?”

“Pardon?”

He picked up the piece of bread from the floor, threw it in the trash, and walked into the store as naturally as could be.

I followed him in with a bewildered feeling.

And so we ended up sitting across from each other at the narrow store table, sharing an unplanned meal together.

Inside the store, the fragrant aroma of kimchi stew I had just cooked for lunch was wafting through the air.

Along with freshly cooked white rice.

It wasn’t a fancy menu, but it was one I was confident about.

I observed Senior’s movements with a subtly nervous expression.

‘Should I have put in more meat? What if it’s too salty? Ah, if I had known Senior would be eating, I would have put more care into making it.’

Though my worries multiplied endlessly, Senior picked up his spoon without hesitation.

He took a big spoonful of the red broth and his eyes widened slightly. Then he placed chunks of tofu and well-fermented kimchi on top of his rice and continuously brought it to his mouth.

“Is it okay?”

“…It’s delicious. Really.”

“Really? I’m glad it suits your taste.”

“Did you make this yourself? Your skills are no joke.”

I could tell it wasn’t just polite praise by the speed at which he was emptying his rice bowl.

Only then did I let out a sigh of relief and burst into a beaming smile.

“I’ve had sensitive taste buds since I was young. Store-bought food had too strong a seasoning flavor, so I started making things myself one by one, and it ended up like this.”

Senior nodded slightly.

As a Hunter, he would understand nervous sensitivity, so he seemed to understand me.

“I just roughly got by with protein bars and such. Never thought about cooking. That’s impressive.”

“Impressive, hardly.”

It was praise after praise.

I felt embarrassed for no reason and kept picking up and putting down my water glass repeatedly.

My rice was steadily getting cold.

“It’s been really long since I had a proper meal. I was just eating bread and milk earlier too.”

“Didn’t you say Ean takes care of you?”

“He’s busy, and so am I.”

Something about Senior’s additional comment as he ate the stew broth made my heart ache.

Though he was the strongest Hunter protecting South Korea, he was someone who lived so intensely that he couldn’t even properly take care of his own meals.

I impulsively blurted out.

“Then please come visit often. I’ll cook for you whenever you come. I can’t guarantee the taste though.”

Senior’s spoon stopped in mid-air. He looked up and stared straight at me.

“Really?”

Though I hesitated briefly after my impulsive outburst, Senior’s reaction gave me more courage to answer.

“Yes! It tastes much better eating with someone than eating alone. But since I often don’t have ingredients, it might be kimchi stew every time.”

At my sincere answer, a very faint but definite smile spread across Senior’s lips.

He put down his bowl, not leaving a single grain of rice, and murmured quietly.

“I like that too.”

At that ambiguous answer—whether the object was ‘rice,’ ‘time eating together,’ or something more—my ears burned hot.

“…That’s a relief.”

Not even knowing what was a relief, I deliberately avoided his gaze and turned my eyes to his hands.

Long, firm fingers holding chopsticks in perfect form. His health condition suddenly came to mind and an unfiltered question popped out.

“By the way, how’s the numbness in your right hand? Has your mana poisoning level improved?”

“It’s gotten better. Current progress is 73% and it’s reduced by 10% as per the contract. As long as I don’t overuse mana and cause it to run wild, the level won’t increase further. Nothing hurts either.”

He clenched and opened his fist in front of me to reassure me.

“I’m still being careful about mental attacks. Though my head is much clearer than before.”

“I’m so relieved that it doesn’t hurt. It makes me happy too.”

When I smiled brightly, Senior fiddled with his empty spoon and said in a somewhat wistful voice.

“It’s a shame there isn’t much time left in the part-time job period.”

“I’m actually relieved about that. I want to stop making you do dangerous work.”

“You could keep making me do it.”

Right at that moment, as we were continuing our conversation in a warm atmosphere, a flashy hologram status window suddenly popped up in front of my eyes like a popup.

^[Good deed points calculation complete!]^

Come to think of it, there was also an item called good deed points.

I had forgotten about it since it only showed “calculating,” but it seemed the calculation was finally complete.

It appeared that points were calculated after clearing the main Quest.

Wanting to know what good deed points meant, I scrolled through the status window.

^[5,326,311 – 701,935 = 4,624,376 points acquired!]^

^[Points calculated from the number of people saved by ‘Novice Boss’ Yebichnna minus the number of failed cases!]^

“Number of people saved…?”

I narrowed my eyes at the tremendous array of numbers.

However, where my gaze was fixed was elsewhere.

‘Number of failed cases’

So that means the number of people who lost their lives because of the Maze Gate, people I couldn’t save.

“Seven hundred thousand…”

My mouth tasted bitter.

Just how many people had become stars in the sky.

With a heavy heart, I couldn’t move a finger, but the status window moved to the next stage regardless of my will.

^[Would you like to use all points to draw 2 ‘Random Boxes’?]^

Ridiculously, the only option was ‘Yes.’

Even before I could press the confirmation button, two gift boxes wrapped in tacky floral wrapping paper appeared.

It reminded me of the early days of my awakening.

Pop! Pop!

With cheerful sound effects, the wrapping was peeled away, and two items floated up into the air.

One was a [Short-term Part-time Work Contract] with gold-leaf borders, and the other was a [Store Remodeling Permit] with a hammer-shaped icon drawn on it.

I found myself muttering the names of the items without realizing it.

“Huh? Another part-time contract came out…? Does this mean I can hire one more person?”

As soon as those words left my mouth,

“…Part-time contract?”

When I reflexively looked up, I saw Senior sitting across from me, his expression instantly crumbling.

Gone was the peaceful face he’d had after enjoying the kimchi stew, replaced by a look of shock as if his world had collapsed.

“…You’re going to hire another part-timer besides me?”

Senior’s voice trembled slightly. He put down the chopsticks he was holding and stared at me with frightening intensity.

“Are you hiring backup staff because you’re not satisfied with me?”

“No, Senior! That’s not it – the status window just gave it to me…”

I waved my hands frantically in denial, but Senior’s eyes were already shaking with anxiety.

Senior bit his lip tightly and looked at me with trembling eyes.

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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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