Was Happy Being a Despised F-Rank Healer, You Know? - Chapter 167

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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. He Who Opens His Eyes (6)

Chai Ri, the lead reporter for Byeolrak, was a beauty with deep gray hair and yellow eyes, possessed of a C-rank Truth Skill.
Of course, her publicly known attribute was lightning, and her skill was the Lightning Armor that wreathed her body in electrical force.
That wasn’t wrong, exactly, but the signature skill that had elevated her to the rank of vice-guild master at Byeolrak was the Eye of Truth.
The rank was low, and proficiency didn’t increase with rising mana, so she’d abandoned hopes of ranking it up long ago.
Still, the Eye of Truth remained remarkably useful, even at C-rank.
For a journalist, anyway.
And the reason she had volunteered to be here today stemmed entirely from her faith in this skill.
“Man, it’s been ages since I’ve been at Narin.”
“Ah, you came from Narin in your second year, didn’t you?”
“Yeah. I only got to experience the festival once back then. That class sure has had good fortune.”
“Geez, of all things. Why do you dislike those kids so much? They’re just students.”
“When did I ever say I disliked them?”
“You do dislike them. You mock them every time they come up.”
Her junior reporter, known for being blunt to a fault, shot back without hesitation.
Chai Ri let out a scoff and denied it.
“It’s not that I dislike them—I’m suspicious of them.”
“But those kids haven’t committed any crimes or anything…….”
“That’s what we don’t know.”
Inside Byeolrak, ten elite journalists including Chai Ri had gone into emergency mode.
Well, Annihilation had started, after all.
What struck them as odd was that people seemed to believe everything would pass safely, as it had before.
‘Annihilation gets stronger each time it appears,’ she thought.
And yet the ones who’d cleared it for the first time were still kids who hadn’t even gotten their Hunter Licenses.
At first, she’d wondered if they should set up emergency shelters.
But from the information she’d gathered faster than anyone, those kids were… well, they weren’t kids.
That’s where Chai Ri’s suspicion had begun.
“Even if they’d committed crimes, they’re kids capable of clearing the Annihilation Dungeon, so shouldn’t we support them? So don’t tell me I dislike them. I’m not looking to be hostile.”
“Isn’t that exactly what you don’t know?”
“Why, what?”
“Not every truth that can be revealed should be revealed.”
“Whoa, that’s not something a journalist should be saying?”
“If you can’t understand that in the hunter world, that’s a problem.”
Her junior reporter, brought along to assist with video management, was unusually serious and sharp today.
“Tsk, I get what you’re saying, so drop it. You’re being weird today—what’s wrong?”
“Get your priorities straight. You know those strange people who snuck in?”
“Oh, right.”
Byeolrak, though it dealt in classified information, was currently preparing in every way to become the first information guild.
Thanks to that, they held a wealth of undisclosed data…….
One piece was information about outsiders entering the Narin Festival today.
Likely no one in the world knew those details better than Byeolrak.
Chai Ri’s expression, usually sharp and mischievous, grew serious for the first time.
“Those guys? I worry about plenty of things. You think I’d stand by while they cause trouble under the guise of reporting?”
“Really?”
“Of course. What kind of person do you take me for?”
She almost wanted to counter with memories of certain incidents that could almost be called a record of failures, but her junior reporter simply kept quiet.
No matter how fearlessly they moved around as journalists, preventing them from interfering with stopping Annihilation was not an option.
That’s why she’d spoken seriously, even steeling herself for a scolding—but this much should be enough.
‘They’re just kids, after all.’
Chai Ri was someone who pursued truth and would stop at nothing to find its evidence, but when her subjects were minors, she made protecting them a higher priority than truth itself.
That’s why, when coming here, she’d chosen Chai Ri—the more cautious senior—over the impulsive reporter senior also available.
Going by the compiled information, there was no way the Festival Dungeon would run safely. So having a capable assistant became essential during reporting. It was for this reason that the junior reporter had been given choice of partner.
The junior reporter chose Chai Ri, and was able to enter successfully as the reporter assigned to Class 8.
And Chai Ri, for her part, had made up her mind to uphold propriety.
Of course, she didn’t share every suspicious detail with her junior.
Well, that was obvious, wasn’t it?
This was hers alone to keep.
If things went well, she might just end up covering all future Annihilation Dungeon reporting herself.
If that happened, her already solid position as vice-guild master would be assured, and she might even eye the next guild master position.
“Hmm-hm.”
“…… Don’t smile like that. It’s unsettling.”
“Right, anyway—you remember what I said earlier, yeah? Don’t approach Class 8 until I give the signal. Got it?”
“Why not start from the beginning?”
“Aren’t you from Narin?”
“No, I’m from Mirinae.”
“This festival isn’t just a recreational event—right now is when everyone’s busiest. You have to wait until their class events finish, or you’ll draw unwanted attention.”
“I see…….”
So she was being gentle with them after all.
What was funny was that she often wasn’t aware she was doing it. The junior reporter stifled a laugh and nodded with renewed reassurance.
Chai Ri was right.
Everyone was too absorbed in their own class preparations to notice much.
Class 8 was no different.
***
Beyond the Door of Divine Fate lay verdant nature.
“…… Wow.”
We forgot all our worried concerns from moments before and gasped in amazement.
From what we’d heard, after passing through a bit of that vast natural expanse, an open field would appear—the heart of the Festival Dungeon.
The field had areas with bare earth and areas with grass, they said.
And there were various temporary structures and stages set up beforehand.
We could hardly wait to see it.
Since first-years entered last, we had to wait for the second and third-years to go ahead.
Still, even watching the seniors march in armed with costumes and props was entertainment enough.
“When do the outsiders arrive?”
“2 PM today!”
“So the morning slots are all just Narin people?”
“Yeah, looks like it.”
We heard excited chatter back and forth.
And amid that festive scene of cheers and excitement, there were some moving quietly.
Ten of the Class 8 students stood at regular intervals apart from one another.
Some held hands, but front to back they maintained distance—always.
That’s right.
Each of us had one direct member of the Yoo Clan assigned to our back or side.
From the entrance itself, even considering the teachers’ gazes…….
The atmosphere felt unusual enough that just an Invisibility Coin didn’t fully settle our nerves.
The calculation was that even if a faint anomalous presence leaked through, it would pass unnoticed if they entered with a student.
We’d pass through the dungeon entrance, walk a bit, then separate at the plaza entrance where the festival properly began.
It was Yuhan Seong who’d proposed this.
“Of course, I and Hali, whose presence is faint, should be excluded. The other two will need to handle two each.”
He’d been in a foul mood since handling the task of diverting Isang Hee’s attention until the show started, but when making this suggestion, he seemed almost pleased.
After assigning two each to Yu Hee and Gong Seo-yun, he gave orders to practice expanding their aura, then turned crisply away.
It was supposedly part of training the pre-S-rank pair, but why did it look so satisfying?
At any rate, since the reasoning held up, Class 8 entered in an awkwardly staggered formation.
‘Noona, so we just hide well until the outsiders leave, right?’
Yu Seop poked my shoulder once and asked in silent gesture.
It was an Assassin’s Silent Communication—soundless and invisible to anyone watching—and once I’d learned it, wasn’t hard to replicate.
‘Yeah. Even if you get hungry, just eat what we brought. Got it?’
When he asked me to drop the formal speech, I did right away. Yu Seop chuckled oddly for some reason, and Yu Bin nodded seriously as if I’d done the obvious thing.
Yu Seop laughed again at my words, then asked something pointless.
‘What if we get sleepy?’
‘Just sleep all you want without being discovered.’
‘What if we get caught sleeping?’
‘Unlikely to happen with you all, but if something that ridiculous actually occurs, Han Seong will claim you’re an acquaintance and get you out.’
‘Can’t I say I’m your acquaintance, noona?’
‘That comes later. It’s forbidden at the Academy. Got it?’
‘Yes, ma’am.’
And then, and then.
All sorts of random questions came.
‘Are you nervous?’
That thought crossed my mind, so I answered each one carefully.
Even though they’d probably memorized everything through the day before and reviewed once more when we’d all gathered just before.

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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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