The Tone-Deaf Healer Kills with a Song - Chapter 173

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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 173
‘Why did it take so long!’
“Has Liri returned?”
Jung Hwan-jae asked as if he could tell from my expression alone.
I nodded vigorously.
I had believed Liri would return someday, but with everything piling up now, I was inwardly anxious.
“I was worried the disciplinary action might only be lifted once I entered the Dungeon.”
The Assigned Staff Member said they’d always be with me, but in a calamity like Ragnarok, things could be different.
Jung Hwan-jae gently tapped the back of my hand as if to comfort me.
[Liri: I’m sorry, Ye-ah. The discipline is one thing, but I needed to prepare too.]
[Liri: Since a second calamity is coming to Earth, all the Assigned Staff Members who have contracts with Earth’s Awakeners are pretty busy.]
‘I understand. I get it.’
If their own Awakener is about to face a second calamity, any staff member would naturally be in emergency mode.
‘What kind of preparations did you make, Liri?’
[Liri: Since I didn’t know what you’d need, I prepared everything.]
What does that even mean.
Before I could even grasp the situation, my vision turned white.
“Huh?”
It wasn’t just visible to me—Jung Hwan-jae also looked flustered, and his grip on my arm tightened.
If something truly dangerous happened, he looked ready to pull me behind him entirely.
It took a moment before I realized what was falling were countless feathers.
When I usually asked to borrow power, Liri would drop just a single feather, but the momentum itself was completely different now.
[Liri: Mana recovery, automatic stamina recovery, protective barrier, clairvoyance….]
[Liri: And there’s all sorts of other things too!]
‘Is that why it took so long to send?’
[Liri: Yes! To transfer all this divine power, I needed separate permission.]
[Liri: And I had to increase my affinity with Earth, and convert all my knowledge into Earth’s language.]
True, borrowing power once and pouring it all out like this were completely different in scale.
Liri really loves me so much.
And feeling the weight and force of her power, it felt almost like being loved by a god.
‘It’s a bit overwhelming, honestly.’
[Liri: That’s too much!]
‘I was joking, but there’s some truth to it too.’
A feather tickled the tip of my nose. A short sneeze escaped.
“Is this Liri’s power.”
Jung Hwan-jae caught one of the feathers with the hand that wasn’t holding me and examined it.
And a faint look of surprise crossed his face.
What had mischievous Liri done this time.
Maybe she’d set it so that anyone else who touched the feather would get burned.
Or perhaps she’d configured the effect to activate only for Jung Hwan-jae specifically.
“The effect is reaching me too.”
My infinite distrust of the Assigned Staff Member had been betrayed.
I rolled my eyes awkwardly.
[Liri: ….]
Normally, she wouldn’t just send dots like this.
What do I do, she really seems hurt.
But wasn’t my suspicion justified?
As I desperately rolled my eyes trying to salvage the situation, a small weight suddenly struck my shoulder hard.
“Huh?”
“I tried so hard to treat the people Ye-ah likes well!”
The small snowman clung to my shoulder, pouring out her sorrow.
“Liri, I didn’t do that on purpose. That was a reasonable deduction.”
“I know, my usual behavior probably didn’t earn much trust….”
“….”
“Ye-ah, you should at least say something comforting in times like this!”
But Liri’s usual attitude of disapproving of Jung Hwan-jae was quite apparent.
It’s true she didn’t give him her trust.
I failed to smooth things over, and I failed to placate Liri with empty words.
I had no choice but to look at Jung Hwan-jae as if to say, do something.
“Help me.”
“…Me?”
Jung Hwan-jae wore a momentarily flustered expression, as if he hadn’t expected the turn to suddenly come to him.
Liri’s feather was still held carefully in his hand.
Liri crossed her small arms as if to say, go ahead and try to comfort me.
“Well, Liri.”
“Since you’re not Ye-ah, I’ll evaluate you really harshly.”
“Yes, so….”
I had momentarily overlooked that Jung Hwan-jae was even worse at talking than I was.
Does social aptitude and eloquence decrease the higher your ranking gets?
Just as he finally seemed to make up his mind and open his mouth, Liri stretched out her short arms and blocked his words.
“I have a question! How much do you like Ye-ah?”
“What?”
It wasn’t Jung Hwan-jae who asked back in confusion—it was me.
Why was the question of whether I liked him or not suddenly coming up? Of course I like him.
Of course…?
A thought that suddenly popped into my head broke something inside me.
Why is it obvious that he likes me? Because I like him? Because we’re in the same Guild?
“Ye-ah.”
“Wait a moment, I just realized something I’ve been avoiding….”
It was about my own feelings, not Jung Hwan-jae’s.
Can I say with certainty that it’s that kind of affection? Camaraderie? Friendship toward a friend?
No.
I wouldn’t attach such words to something that merely concerned me.
Unlike a philanthropist like Hwa-jon, I want to give more to those I care for.
Ideally, I’d save everyone, but even then, there are priorities.
It’s strange how Jung Hwan-jae shows tears whenever I’m in danger, yet I’ve never felt displeased by it.
How I find myself anticipating things whenever his heartbeat quickens for no reason.
Even in moments when I doubted myself, he believed in me first, and now he understands my worth better than anyone else….
My lips moved.
“I have a question. How much do you like me?”
The person I care for.
Truth be told, I already knew my own feelings.
But I lacked confidence.
I turned away because if he didn’t feel the same way, I feared even this relationship couldn’t be maintained.
I’d momentarily forgotten that nothing begins if you do nothing at all.
If I miss this moment, I might never be able to tell him.
“Really….”
Liri looked at me, then slowly shook her head before disappearing.
She either realized this wasn’t the right moment for her to be here, or she was graciously stepping aside for my sake.
Jung Hwan-jae’s expression, which had looked utterly flustered when Liri first asked, gradually softened.
As if he’d imagined and rehearsed this moment countless times.
“What kind of affection are you asking about?”
“Pardon?”
“Is it the affection of valuing you as my exclusive healer, or the attraction to the only person who can save me? Or perhaps something else entirely.”
He paused, as if there was still more he needed to say.
As if these words were difficult for him too. Or perhaps frightening.
But that hesitation became certainty for me instead.
We’ve exchanged our very souls for quite a long time now.
I felt I could understand what he was about to say without even hearing it.
Finally, Jung Hwan-jae spoke.
“The feeling that even if all those conditions disappeared, you as a person would be enough for me.”
Even if I lost my abilities as a healer.
Even if I could no longer compensate for his debuffs.
The feeling that being Yeom Ye-ah is sufficient and that I’m necessary to him.
How much I like him no longer mattered.
What I needed was the definition of that feeling.
“Is it love?”
I never imagined a day would come when I’d speak such words directly.
That I’d be able to meet someone’s eyes and say such things.
It takes courage to voice these words. Even more to acknowledge what your heart truly feels.
I looked into the eyes of the one who had made me brave.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Those eyes were speaking.
That voice was telling me.
Love.
“Because it’s you. There’s no other reason.”
I blinked slowly.
Even though I had practically forced Jung Hwan-jae to give me an answer, he wasn’t angry.
He didn’t ask what my heart felt.
As if conveying his own heart was enough.
Creative Technique (???) is ready to respond to your heart.
Growth Desire (???) is ready to respond to your emotions.
An exclusive song “Because We Are Each Other” has been added to the Valkyrie Network.
No.
Perhaps an answer wasn’t necessary after all.
Maybe just meeting his gaze like this was enough.
“Is it strange to ask something like this before clearing such an important Dungeon?”
“Not at all. I’m grateful that the moment to tell you has come.”
Even the casual conversation that followed.
I carefully turned my hand over and clasped his. Green mana flowed like waves.
“About the ring.”
“Yes.”
“I think it would be fine to move it to my left ring finger. Once all of this is over.”
Before Jung Hwan-jae could say anything, I looked at him.
“It’s not a death flag, so don’t worry!”

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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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