Was Happy Being a Despised F-Rank Healer, You Know? - Chapter 134

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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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16. Strange Omens (11)

“After hearing what Yu Hee said, I started thinking I was too weak.”
[If you’re going to be weak anyway, why not make explosives instead of a potion that puts you into a comatose state?]
“Even if I make explosives, how well do you think I could actually throw them?”
Erich fell silent.
Then Lion sent over a thought.
[Nari, with that combination, it wouldn’t just be a comatose state—you’d actually enter a temporary state of death! And if that happens, our connection could weaken, which is….]
I flinched.
[…Did you just flinch?]
[…You knew this would happen when you made it?]
I spoke quickly.
“It’s only for emergencies. Emergencies!”
[…Suddenly bringing this up now?]
“I told you. After hearing what Yu Hee said, it seemed necessary.”
[Where in that sinister one’s words did you find justification for making something like this?]
Erich was unusually sharp today.
“I just got the sense that Yu Hee’s situation might be more precarious than she’s letting on.”
[That much you saw correctly. And?]
“So I thought about what might happen. Yu Hee said she’d die if she wasn’t the successor, right? …But if they wanted to kill her, there’d be no need to do it within the family. That’s when it occurred to me.”
[Hmm.]
“What if I became a hostage or something?”
[…What?]
Erich’s voice took on a bewildered tone.
The small Lion, who manifested without being called, tilted his head in confusion.
[Nari, why worry about such things? We won’t let the situation come to that!]
“I know. I trust you, but this is just preparing for emergencies. The worst case.”
[What problem could you possibly solve by needing to enter a comatose state?]
Erich asked, his voice still confused.
“At least I’d lose my value as a hostage.”
[…?]
[…?]
Both of them fell silent for a moment, then shortly after.
Shouts erupted from both sides.
[Why does your thinking always have to be like that! That’s incredibly stupid and foolish……!]
[Nari, if you’re going to use that, you must summon either me or one of the other two and keep us in your bosom while you do it. Do you understand? Promise me! Please!]
[I don’t like it, but let’s do what that one says! Hurry!]
“Yeah, okay, got it.”
I had to promise multiple times that I wouldn’t use it except in the absolute worst scenario, and if I did, I’d definitely summon one of Baridegi’s bosses first and keep them close so I wouldn’t be defenseless while pretending to be dead.
‘I hope there’s no need to use it.’
But as the weakest member with close ties to Yu Hee, I was likely the highest priority target anyway.
There was no choice but to prepare for faking death.
A future-knower’s sigh grew deeper still.
***
Narin Academy was currently in the midst of festival preparations.
Since first and second years kept their classes intact, students could participate in the festival at least once.
But the main actors were second and third years.
For first-year students whose festivals came during their first year, participation was more for the experience.
Even so, experience-level participation yielded considerable gains.
For Hunters, recognition was built first through ability, and second through popularity.
If you happened to catch the eye of outside figures during the festival, you could build recognition before even becoming a second year.
If you didn’t show results by second or third year it would mean little, but it was better than nothing.
Of course, only classes other than Class 8 paid attention to such matters.
“How would Hayan look? Put on a black wig and she’s Snow White.”
“We’re doing Shimcheong, not Snow White, though?”
“I’m going as the White Dragon!”
“It’s not the White Dragon, Hayan. It’s an Underwater Dungeon, remember? If Shimcheong hadn’t fallen into the sea, we wouldn’t have chosen an underwater dungeon in the first place. Anyway, if we’re making the boss into a dragon, it should be the Blue Dragon…… Sorry, guys. That was a mistake.”
Watching Class 8’s students wince and retch at the comment, Yu Hee quickly apologized.
They all did.
For now, nobody wanted to think about the Annihilation Dungeon. Especially not at a first-year festival where they could focus relatively well on enjoying themselves without worrying about scouts!
“Honestly, I was just planning to coast through this, but now it actually looks fun.”
“Even so, you know we can’t change the theme now?”
“That’s why we’re reassigning the roles.”
Kids will be kids.
Unlike the last meeting where they’d hastily decided on a class theme out of fatigue from dungeon breaks and rising dungeon ranks, everyone was enthusiastic now.
As the whole school officially entered festival preparation mode and excitement began to fill the air, it seemed like everyone had gotten a fresh breath.
“This should be fun.”
The festival I’d experienced in high school in my past life was, for someone introverted like me, just an odd experience.
Lots of people, discovering spaces prepared with surprising care, but not really feeling the urge to jump in and enjoy it?
But this was a Hunter’s world.
If Awakeners who wielded magical skills were preparing a festival to really have fun, there’d be plenty to see.
I recalled the subway stations I’d seen on the day I enrolled.
These aspiring Hunters, determined to indulge—or rather, to pursue self-actualization—gave me high hopes for the occasion.
“But why are you reassigning the roles?”
Since I’d returned to the classroom late because of shop operations, I’d missed the beginning of the meeting.
“We were trying to sync up practice times, but everyone turned out to be surprisingly enthusiastic, so we figured while the mood was good, we might as well settle everything now. That’s when we decided instead of rotating morning and afternoon roles for different people, we’d keep one person per role and add more roles so we could practice more.”
“Ah, so as the two teams merged into one, you decided to reassign the roles?”
“Yeah. I mean, what we decided on back then was really half-assed—just whatever Yu Hee picked randomly anyway—so changing it doesn’t matter.”
As I-seo and I whispered back and forth, Yu Hee looked over with a grim yet cheerful smile.
We quickly straightened up.
Yuhan Seong glanced at me, and I saw the corner of his mouth twitch up slightly before falling back down.
I remembered him—he’d come to me separately last evening and summoned Magpie, and through Magpie’s memories he’d come to know my past without my telling, so he apologized.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t intend to find out something you didn’t tell me.”
It seemed what he’d wanted to confirm was about Erich.
“You can never let your guard down around a Demon Sword. If that’s difficult for you, then the people around you need to do it instead.”
His plea for understanding came wrapped in courtesy so meticulous, and a countenance so clear, that they bore no resemblance to the late-game Yuhan Seong I couldn’t even imagine.
Genuine people, it seemed, brought joy simply by being near.
The Yuhan Seong from the original work left the impression not of someone sincere, but of someone weathered by hardship, worn thin by trials.
‘His late-game personality was completely psychotic.’
By the original’s final arc, he’d become so nihilistic he loathed the very word justice.
Yet he still entered the final Annihilation Dungeon to save the world, though it was less an act of justice and more because it was his only life’s goal—he couldn’t escape it.
How could one easily abandon life’s meaning?
And yet that desolate shadow, that wore-thin figure, showed not a trace in him now. Not even a hint.
‘There’s so much to be grateful for.’
Yuhan Seong had been consistent from the day we first met until now.
I was grateful for his kindness toward me, of course, but most of all, I was grateful that this Infinite Regressor showed signs of growing attached to this cycle.
In the original work, Yuhan Seong remained skeptical throughout this final cycle.
The chances of failure were high again.
Could I really trust anyone besides myself?
And yet he moved forward precisely because change was necessary, harboring no great expectations for the team at all.
Only the conviction that having others would be better than being alone.
That fundamental tone was maintained from beginning to end.
In a world teeming with Hunters who were little more than beasts, why were these kids so righteous?
Deliberately.
In a world where moral standards could easily blur, even that was so.
It was a thought that struck me afresh each time I saw them.
I recalled too his fine brow, which had seemed somehow more twisted when he heard my answer that I didn’t mind, that it was fine.
Now seeing it smoothly relaxed, I found myself admiring his perfect profile as he turned away.
Then, turning my head back, my eyes met those of Isang Hee, who was staring at me with a murderous glare.
Oh, startled.

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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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