The Tone-Deaf Healer Kills with a Song - Chapter 140

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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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Tone-Deaf Healer Kills with Song – Episode 140
“Senior?”
My lips were trembling with disbelief, and Jung Hwan-jae nodded in confirmation.
Jung Hwan-jae had appeared before my eyes.
He’d rushed all the way from Korea to the United States, tearing open a Subspace Arena passage just to see me.
Without a second thought to any plans or future considerations—simply because I said I wanted to see him. And because he wanted to see me too.
It took a moment for me to process what was happening right in front of me. I’d never even imagined something like this could occur in my life.
My lips were still trembling when he blinked.
“I say this because I suspect you might doubt, but I’m neither a phantom nor a monster.”
“Monsters can’t open Subspace Arenas like this, and they don’t have a magnificent handler like me.”
Lucy interjected with a playful tone, suddenly poking his face out from the hem of Jung Hwan-jae’s clothes.
It really was Jung Hwan-jae.
What if I’d been thinking about him so much that I’d conjured up an illusion myself?
As if to dispel such worries, he directly affirmed that wasn’t the case.
“It’s me, Jung Hwan-jae.”
Without time to think further, I closed the distance and pulled him into a tight embrace.
“…Ye-ah?”
Just as his sudden appearance had caught me off guard, my embrace seemed to surprise him beyond measure.
His hands, initially stiff and uncertain, carefully wrapped around my waist.
“Were the dungeons you explored with Liri really that difficult?”
“No…”
“Or was it the time difference in the United States, or the food not agreeing with you? Should I go back and bring some kimchi?”
“Gochujang would be nice too, but that’s not really the reason…”
It wasn’t the food, the time difference, or the dungeons.
Nike had treated me well, and life in the United States wasn’t particularly difficult.
Since I wouldn’t be staying long before returning, there was no need to worry.
And having grown up and thrived in harsh environments, adaptation itself was never an issue for me.
As I simply negated every possibility, Jung Hwan-jae stumbled over his words as if even more confused.
“W-well then, what’s wrong? Is it because I recklessly went toward Ragnarok and you’re still upset with me…?”
“…”
“Really, is that it? Ye-ah, did I hurt you because of that?”
Jung Hwan-jae began reading my expression, misinterpreting my silence.
Honestly, I felt a bit mischievous about making him worry more, but I understood his heart.
Just as I worried about him, he worried about me just as much, if not more.
“I’m doing this because I missed you. I missed you so much.”
“I see, so you missed me after all. Wait, what?”
“I said I missed you. But now that I’m seeing your face like this, I realize I missed you even more than I thought.”
It was an embarrassingly straightforward thing to say. Perhaps because of that, my voice came out somewhat gruff.
I was making myself say such things out loud. I was hopeless, but Jung Hwan-jae really had no sense of mood either.
Only then did Jung Hwan-jae fall silent, as if finally understanding what I meant.
I didn’t need to lift my head to confirm it. His face had to be flushed quite deeply.
And mine was probably no different.
“Is it surprising to hear such words?”
“Rather than surprising…”
“Rather than surprising?”
“I’m so happy I don’t know what to do with myself.”
He spoke in a voice that seemed to be forcibly suppressing something, then bowed his head deeply.
Jung Hwan-jae’s forehead touched my shoulder.
Before I knew it, I’d taken on a posture that seemed to be comforting him. My nose was barely three inches away—who was comforting whom here?
But my hand reflexively patted his back.
“I’m happy too.”
Green light flowed from my fingertips.
It wasn’t a skill activation but a natural transfer of mana.
I knew that channeling through the ring would produce far more refined power, but right now I wanted to give him raw mana like this.
Mana is the soul of its owner.
I wanted to convey directly how much I’d been longing to see him, what feelings I held in my heart, and what state my soul was in right now.
The power flowed slowly into his body.
“Thank you.”
It might have felt slightly uncomfortable without going through the ring.
Yet he accepted my mana as if delighted.
Perhaps he’d grown accustomed to my mana manipulation and abilities by now.
Either way, it was a truly wonderful moment.
“But senior, is it really okay to come like this so suddenly?”
“It’s not.”
It wasn’t Jung Hwan-jae who answered, but Lucy.
He seemed to have either not properly explained things to me or was thinking of another excuse, so he quickly lifted his head and glared at Lucy.
Lucy spun his doll body once in midair while chuckling.
“For starters, you’re crossing national borders, and if she comes here too, not just Hanttae but Korea itself would have no rank one hunter. How anxious would that be? It’s absolutely not allowed. Honestly, you should head back right away.”
“Should head back right away?”
So Jung Hwan-jae had to tear open space to see me and then cross that path again?
From what I’d heard before, opening a passage like this consumed quite a lot of mana.
He was currently under a debuff that continuously drained his mana.
Piercing such a long distance wouldn’t be easy at all.
“Couldn’t you sleep in my room tonight, recharge your mana, and then leave? You’re pushing yourself too hard.”
“No, sleeping in Ye-ah’s room?”
Jung Hwan-jae hastily pulled away from my embrace.
Watching him move frantically as if he’d touched fire, I tilted my head without thinking.
Had I just said something strange?
It wasn’t as if we’d never visited each other’s rooms to sleep before.
But Jung Hwan-jae now displayed a firm stance as if he could never allow such a thing.
“Who said anything about going back?”
“Huh?”
“What?”
It was Lucy’s single remark that shattered the current flowing between us.
Wearing an expression that seemed to say ‘these two are really something’, he shook his head slowly.
[Liri: Generally speaking, even for Hunters who have freedom with spatial movement, there’s a risk of punishment when crossing borders between nations without permission.]
[Liri: However, there are a few circumstances where such punishment can be avoided.]
[Liri: To be honest, citing such precedents in a situation like this is technically exploiting a loophole.]
‘Still, he’s a precious person who saved me, so please don’t hate him too much.’
[Liri: Since Ye-ah puts it that way, I suppose I have no choice but to go along with it.]
After grumbling a few more times, Liri explained the details.

* * *
“So you’re saying the Guild Master crossed the border in an emergency to protect Guild members?”
“There’s the purpose of protecting Guild members, and we also need to guarantee the safety of Korea’s top-ranked Hunters.”
The statements came from Dante and James in turn.
Jung Hwan-jae, whom I couldn’t believe was the same person who’d flushed before me moments ago, nodded with remarkable composure.
Dante pondered for a moment, then gestured for James to step back.
With only the three of us remaining, Jung Hwan-jae spoke.
“Additionally, we’ve discovered a common pattern: the Staff killers are primarily stationed at the locations where Ragnarok occurs.”
“Based on the information you’ve investigated, it appears that those committing Staff murders ultimately aim to kill others’ Staff to weaken them, while they themselves become the Dungeon itself to grow stronger. Is that correct?”
“Yes.”
There was no hesitation.
He appeared as though he’d come here solely for that very purpose.
As I inadvertently let out a sound of admiration, Jung Hwan-jae’s gaze turned toward me.
He smiled faintly, visible only to me, before looking back at Dante and James.
“The Staff killer that Nike is monitoring also appears to show similar circumstances, so I believed we needed to investigate quickly. Unlike Kim Kyung-hoon, the Hunter in Korea who still has time, there are many in the United States on the verge of fusion.”
“That’s true as well.”
“And it should be you who must first identify and track this matter at Nike.”
Jung Hwan-jae’s words were calm yet forceful.
Dante shifted his gaze to Jung Hwan-jae. Sharp eyes locked together.
“Why?”
“None of us like you, but.”
“That’s harsh.”
Without acknowledging Dante’s remark, Jung Hwan-jae continued.
“There’s no one among Nike’s upper echelon who would choose the latter over you.”

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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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