Was Happy Being a Despised F-Rank Healer, You Know? - Chapter 165

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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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18. Who Opened Their Eyes (4)

I wondered if his behavior stemmed from the Lee family’s troubles or from some other reason not mentioned in the original work, and I called for Lion.
‘Lion. Lion!’
Lion, who had been unusually quiet, answered in a casual tone.
[Yes, Protagonist!]
‘What’s that door?’
[A door, you say…….]
‘It looks so similar. Just like the entrance to your domain.’
Though it had become less ornate and smaller than when we first made our contract, it was unmistakably similar.
[Ah, so that’s what you mean!]
Lion tilted its head and brushed against my hand as I held Lee Hae-sol’s, then answered cheerfully.
[It’s because that dungeon is connected to the Underworld that I govern!]
“……What?”
I asked again involuntarily, and Ha-yan from Class 8, who had been inching closer to me, suddenly stepped forward.
“What? Why are you like that, Hali?”
“What do you mean? The Festival Dungeon being……”
Part of the Underworld?
That had never appeared in the original work.
[Hmm. But Protagonist, something feels off.]
“What do you mean, what’s off?”
Sensing that I was conversing with Lion and that something unusual was happening, Ha-yan and the other Class 8 students around me went still and turned their gazes toward the Teacher.
They were being considerate, trying not to draw attention to me.
Our party members, who had been separated for a while dealing with the play and the Isang Hee situation, glanced over at us occasionally.
They seemed to be trying their best not to look, but the light in their eyes was unsettling.
No……. No, that’s not it.
Only Han Seong, Hyun I-seo, and Yu Hee were sending me those looks.
‘Seo Jeong-u is also acting strange.’
His reaction didn’t seem to be about the door itself.
He was wearing the same expression he always made when something wouldn’t work out during training in the Baridegi Dungeon regarding mana.
The way his head tilted suggested he was completely absorbed in that unsolved problem.
“Hali.”
That’s when Lee Hae-sol called me.
“What did it say?”
Looking at Lion.
Right then, Lion, who had been choosing words carefully, opened its mouth.
[……Do you remember the Azure Dragon Dungeon, Protagonist?]
‘I remember, but you were watching it the whole time?’
[Yes, of course. I was so anxious that something might go wrong with you.]
‘But why that dungeon?’
The first Annihilation dungeon that had transformed into S-rank in the Ongdalsam Dungeon—the Azure Dragon.
Called the Blue Dragon Dungeon overseas…….
[Can you recall how that dungeon manifested back then?]
[Damn it.]
I ignored Erich, who suddenly cursed to himself, and recalled that time.
“The Crescent Dungeon…….”
Yes, just as it had appeared in the original work, the Crescent Dungeon was essentially part of the Azure Dragon Dungeon.
They were organically connected, so that when the Crescent erupted, the Azure Dragon Dungeon would erupt in a chain reaction.
“Why are you bringing that up?”
What erupts at the festival is something that happens due to the influence of Annihilation, not something directly connected to Annihilation like the Crescent.
The original work made that clear.
[It’s just that I get a similar feeling to back then. Protagonist, I think it would be good to be a bit more cautious.]
Lion spoke in a somewhat quickened tone.
Without hesitation, I pulled out the Gold Coins I’d been saving up.
And calling out to Class 8, I shouted.
“Class 8, gather for a moment!”
People outside our class were marveling at the slowly opening entrance to Sinmyeong or making a fuss about their classroom booth matters.
So my actions wouldn’t seem too strange.
“We forgot a prop! Gold Coins!”
Huh? Gold Coins? That expression crossed the faces of the Class 8 students excluding our team, but I called them all over anyway.
“Hali, Gold Coins? Why?”
As Seo Jeong-u approached with the others, including Isang Hee, he showed a slight discomfort.
It was because mentioning Isang Hee was difficult.
Ignoring this, I spoke softly the moment Class 8 had all gathered.
“I have a bad feeling.”
“What?”
To everyone, including Isang Hee.
Isang Hee, dressed in the poverty-stricken Simcheong’s outfit with her school uniform on top, frowned.
“What, what is it? Why are you like this……?”
“There’s no particular reason. I just had a bad feeling the moment I saw it, and considering the recent state of the dungeons Class 8 has entered, I thought it would be good to be careful.”
It hadn’t been officially confirmed yet that the dungeons’ difficulty increases when Class 8 enters them, or that the dungeon environment becomes more dangerous.
The homeroom Teacher might suspect something, but that wouldn’t be certain either.
At best, they’d think there was just a slight tendency toward such things.
The problem wasn’t those people, but rather that even high-ranking officials who might have noticed that the Annihilation Dungeon pursues its Antagonist hadn’t stopped the Antagonist students of Class 8 from entering the Festival Dungeon.
‘Why didn’t I think that was strange until now?’
Now that I thought about it, Yuhan Seong’s face had seemed rather sunken throughout the festival preparations.
The moment I glanced at him without thinking, our eyes met as though he’d been waiting.
He sighed and nodded as if he knew exactly what I was thinking.
After receiving similar silent approval from our team members with a look, I faced the confused expressions of the others and Isang Hee.
Then, once everyone including Isang Hee had gathered in a circle, I bent slightly at the waist and distributed the Gold Coins to everyone while keeping them hidden.
“It’s a one-time-use skill, but if you break it apart, you’ll be able to move outside the dungeon.”
“……What?”
Isang Hee froze.
Ha-yan looked dazed.
The others were surprised too, but then they seemed to remember Lion and their expressions shifted to understanding.
“Ugh, but is it okay to just give something like this away?”
Si-hyeon asked in a trembling voice.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have any extra. So I can’t give more than one.”
“No, but you’re saving a life here! Don’t talk like that!”
Isang Hee opened her mouth to say something, then closed it. And she looked at us as if we were completely pitiful.
Our feelings were so transparent it was almost painful to watch.
“Ah, I’m giving this just in case, so don’t worry too much……. Our play will go well. Right?”
“That’s right. At least we should be able to secure decent audience response.”
“Anyway, Jin Hali. You worry so much. Thank you.”
As Yu Hee and Hyun I-seo spoke in turn, the slightly stiff atmosphere began to ease.
And through Lion, I informed the others, excluding Isang Hee.
That these Gold Coins actually contained the Teleportation skill, and that it would be Lion who would unconditionally move you outside the dungeon.
So if you think you’re dying in any situation, you only need to call for Lion, and you’ll be fine.
Since I couldn’t tell Isang Hee about Lion, I could only let her know about breaking it apart.
But in this episode, there wouldn’t be a crisis so sudden that Isang Hee wouldn’t even have time to break it apart.
Then Lion made a small sound and muttered so only I could hear.
[You truly are yourself, Protagonist. I couldn’t even imagine duplicating those Gold Coins like that.]
Normally I wouldn’t even think of duplicating reward items to this extent like it was some kind of exploit…….
Items are treated as treasures or dangerous bombs from the Other World, after all.
Even if I were to duplicate them, taking three coins like I did and multiplying them to the hundreds…… that’s genuinely impressive.
As I silently nodded in agreement, Lion let out a bright laugh and hugged my neck tightly in a cute way.
[You truly are my Protagonist!]
[Tch, could you not?]
But then I touched Erich, and he got irritated, though Erich, who had been showing strange reactions like Lee Hae-sol and Seo Jeong-u since earlier, didn’t escalate the argument further.
[Hey. Contractor.]
He merely warned me.
[Remember that thinking you won’t lose anyone is arrogance.]
I raised my eyebrows slightly and then lowered them, staying silent, and while the others tucked the Gold Coins into their pockets and dispersed into two groups again, I replied quietly.
“……I know.”
The door, which resembled the entrance to the Underworld but looked different in its finer details the more I looked at it.
Sinmyeong, the dungeon proposed as a possible precursor to Annihilation.
Finally, the door opened quietly and completely, and vast plains spread out beyond it.
Looking at Lee Hae-sol once more, despite the cold sweat trickling down, his expression and eyes were far more stable.
“Thanks, Hali.”
I heard that often from him, but spoken almost like a whisper, it sounded different.
“……It’s just that I got startled by a familiar feeling for a moment. So really, there’s no problem.”
“I see. Well, that’s a relief. But if you get dizzy or feel unwell again, you need to tell me or the others around you, okay?”
“……I’m always causing worry.”
“What kind of worry. And I want to worry about you anyway.”
I smiled and spoke, and Lee Hae-sol finally broke into his usual gentle laugh.
Then, quietly watching me laugh back, he loosened the fist he’d been clenching and interlaced his fingers with my hand that had been surrounding that fist.

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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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