Was Happy Being a Despised F-Rank Healer, You Know? - Chapter 144

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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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17. Treading Shadows (6)

‘I figured she’d bring up Jin Hali again.’
But she conveniently left out the actual matters that needed counseling.
Without hearing what really troubled her, the counseling was meaningless, and he’d fail to properly develop promising students—which is precisely why he’d kept attending to these sessions so dutifully, wasn’t he?
He’d expected more of the same, but what was this?
Choi Ji-hyeong’s brow furrowed faintly as he asked for clarification, and Goi-deun answered with an almost serene composure.
“I think a Saint has emerged in our generation. For the first time in two hundred years.”
…….
Choi Ji-hyeong’s expression shifted gradually from the bewilderment of someone hearing nonsense to a dawning recognition.
‘So the homeroom teacher really is no ordinary person, after all.’
Not every teacher would grasp such a statement immediately.
Everyone had their own field of expertise, and without genuine interest, few would delve deeply into ancient records.
For him to have connected “two hundred years” to a Saint—one of the earliest Awakeners—was itself remarkable.
‘They really do understand.’
For now, she hadn’t told Hali about this. But the rest of Yuhan Seong’s party already knew.
Jin Hali was a Saint.
Not in some exaggerated sense of kindness, but as the literal defining feature of her Awakening ability.
There were still a few ambiguous points, but nothing anomalous enough to undermine the evidence of her being a Saint.
If anything, her current state was more advantageous for survival than a Saint from two centuries ago—so there was no real problem.
Yet paradoxically, that was precisely the problem.
“I don’t think even Narin will be able to protect her.”
……Ah.
A sigh heavy with deep concern escaped him.
Choi Ji-hyeong wondered how things had come to this.
He’d expected that taking on a problem class would cost him a performance bonus—a year of minor frustration. Instead, before half the year had passed, he’d been swept into the eye of a storm commanding the world’s attention.
More troubling still was that he didn’t hate the situation.
Even now.
“So that’s what you wanted to consult about.”
“Yes. I thought it would help to ask for your cooperation.”
Look at that confident expression, as if his cooperation were guaranteed.
Choi Ji-hyeong found that look charming and, uncharacteristically, agreed.
“If we can gain the Principal’s goodwill, it’s not impossible for Narin to protect her.”
“No matter how famous she becomes, the Academy Principal wouldn’t simply…….”
Those who knew about Saints were a small minority with an interest in ancient Awakeners. But that minority was often composed of high-ranking officials.
Well, it was an age of Healer scarcity.
This had nothing to do with F-Rank Awakeners, for whom growth was nearly impossible, but Healers of D-Rank or above were reasonably well-treated, and anything beyond that was practically noble status.
A universal fact across the entire world.
A high-rank Healer alone could spark international wars or battles between global Guilds without anyone batting an eye.
But if she were a Saint?
“There are records about Saints indicating they could even resurrect the dead.”
Strangely, there were no records of extraordinary Healing abilities—only accounts of peculiar Mana. But one thing was crystal clear.
It was written that when a Saint awakens, she gains the power to resurrect even the dead.
Without question, that would generate effects exceeding S-Rank Healers.
The fallout from nations scrambling to possess such a Saint could literally erase countries from existence.
And this—a mere Principal could prevent it?
“……I was actually going to ask you to help me hide it.”
Of course, that would have been the first consideration.
Just as, with most of Class 8 ignorant of her Saint status, she’d protected Hali by keeping secrets as much as possible.
But Choi Ji-hyeong shook his head.
“Have you ever met the Principal?”
“No, sir. I haven’t.”
“Hmm. Then go back and tell him. The S-Rankers will understand immediately.”
……?
With that bewildered expression from Goi-deun, the counseling session ended.
“And I’ll handle the security footage here. From now on, try not to speak about what you know regarding Saints.”
Oh! Yes.
Mentioning the resurrection of the dead had definitely been a slip.
Goi-deun’s eyes snapped wide open. She bowed deeply and left the room.
***
Watching Goi-deun hurry away, Choi Ji-hyeong pushed his glasses up with a finger.
Then, with the usual composure of a routine consultation, he methodically dealt with all the security footage in the counseling room.
Though one of them was destined for the Principal.
‘This is serious.’
His decision to mention the Principal to Goi-deun immediately had reason behind it.
In the current situation, he couldn’t be certain how well Hali’s secret would be kept.
Choi Ji-hyeong knew his students well.
Isang Hee, who had no friends in class but several outside it, and students with many friends both in and out—they were all far more talkative than they realized.
Kids are kids, after all.
Secrets had a way of leaking out without anyone noticing.
Choi Ji-hyeong knew Hali was the type whose cover would eventually blow regardless, so he chose not to restrain her…….
‘There should have been time until graduation. Tsk.’
Quietly clicking his tongue, Choi Ji-hyeong waited for the Principal’s response while gazing down from the School 3rd Floor Window.
Below, in the 1st Floor Garden, he spotted a girl with deep purple hair sitting among the flowers, waving at something.
Following her gaze, he saw a classmate standing on the terrace of the indoor garden one level up, looking down at Hali in the outdoor garden.
‘That one’s got their share of peculiarities too.’
After confirming Jin Hali’s Mana level, he reflected.
Yuhan Seong had suddenly surfaced as S-Rank one day.
Among S-Rankers, none had such a stark disparity between past and present.
And there was almost no information about what Skills he used.
Except for the few he’d deployed in Dungeons.
He might tell Hali, but there was no pressing need to know.
Returning to the matter at hand—if Hali’s identity as a Saint were true, her best course would be to pretend to leave the Academy and accept the Principal’s protection.
That was far preferable to letting information reach the ears of Clan Leaders across families.
But the words had risen to his throat only to stick there, never reaching Hali. That was the problem.
It was because he knew how much Hali loved school.
“Tsk. What to do.”
He’d present the suggestion earnestly after the festival.
She’d reject it anyway, but it was necessary to instill some awareness before disaster struck.
At that moment, he didn’t know.
That after the festival, it would be far too late.
***
The Baridegi Dungeon’s second boss answered the call.
Not through the lion—but through the Dungeon Opening Ability, used to open a portal right there in my dormitory room.
“I thought the floor would collapse like it does when opened from outside.”
Murmuring blankly at the ceiling, the handle of the deep purple umbrella slowly spinning stopped and pointed toward me.
“……You want me to grab it?”
Was it my imagination?
It felt like the umbrella was smiling.
I rose slightly on my toes and grabbed the handle above my head with my right hand.
Instantly, the landscape changed.
***
Everything before my eyes was white.
It was spring that resembled a snowy plain.
White plum blossoms, baby’s breath, and white magnolias greeted me in quiet reverence.
The flowers, the pale leaves—everything welcomed me with warmth.
‘It wasn’t my imagination.’
It was extraordinary.
The sensation of plants greeting you.
And pondering the character of the being behind all of this.
Unlike the lion’s comparatively exuberant welcome, the second boss’s response was subdued.
I suddenly realized this flower field lay beneath the sea.
Where the sky should have been, the ocean stretched above.
The shimmering water rippled as a great blue whale glided by, exposing its pale belly, while bioluminescent fish and jellyfish moved in procession, embroidering the sea with light.
The waters above took on the hue of deep night, as if the creatures had transformed into stars and moons, yet everything around me remained bright as midday and serene.
I walked along the winding paths, drawing the cleanest, most refreshing air deep into my lungs with each step.
Whenever a fork appeared, I explored both directions.
Gazing across distances, wandering here and there, I lost all sense of time…….
It was a wondrous world.
The lion’s realm felt like a direct transplant of the old world I remembered and found comfortable, with only the detail that he dwelled in the Underworld Palace. But this place was the opposite—a collective manifestation of my imagination rather than my reality.
I felt a gaze upon me.
Then, turning, a massive and beautiful figure appeared—a scholar resembling a crane.
The tall, willowy scholar’s smile carried an air of comfort.
The scholar opened their mouth gently and called to me.
“I greet you, my Lord.”
……Excuse me?

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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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