Was Happy Being a Despised F-Rank Healer, You Know? - Chapter 194

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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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19. And the Pinwheel Turned (12)

I’d suspected that man wasn’t the head of the organization.
‘I was confused at first when they called him master, but Erich and the lion didn’t call him an Other World Entity, so.’
True, the sheer weight of his presence felt heavier than our class’s S-rankers, which was unusual.
But knowing in advance that a Dungeon Boss was involved, it wasn’t shocking.
‘Lee Hae-sol. Do you have Barrier reserves left?’
That’s when Han Seong’s voice came through.
Huh, he sounds angry…!
But with thirty seconds running out, I couldn’t push Lee Hae-sol beyond his limits.
‘Han Seong, he’s struggling right now.’
‘…Yeah, it doesn’t look like it’s going to work.’
Without hesitation, Han Seong responded to what Lee Hae-sol and I said.
‘Then I’ll do it.’
…What?
‘Mana—I can channel it through the Teacher’s vegetation.’
‘What? How did you know that?’
‘Yu, Yuhan Seong?’
Seo Jeong-u and Jeong-u reacted reflexively, but Yuhan Seong said nothing more.
Then, moments later.
‘…I can hold it for a minute.’
And I felt a thin membrane wrap around my body in a single layer.
Lee Hae-sol’s Mana.
‘Lee Hae-sol.’
If that one minute accounted for protecting me, meaning one minute was all he could spare, I’d meant to ask him to pull back. But Erich stopped me.
[Just accept it.]
‘No, now isn’t the time for this.’
[That’s exactly what we should say, Contractor. Get your head straight and listen. Do you understand what he meant when he said you’d lose one or two?]
Seconds were slipping away.
I wanted to send an escape signal to the kids immediately, but the man standing practically pressed against me, observing me intently, made it hard to find the right moment.
I was anxious, but I couldn’t silence Erich’s words.
‘What does that mean?’
[It means Nari is definitely going to be one of those you lose!]
‘…What? No, I get that, but then what about the other one?’
[Anyone who rushes forward to save Nari will definitely die. So if they just listen to Nari, they can survive.]
[Tsk. Don’t trust it. To be precise, they *might* survive. They could end up in a state of complete incapacity.]
Several of the kids drew sharp breaths.
He was speaking so everyone could hear.
‘That won’t work. Is there any other way?’
[This place isn’t a Dungeon, but it’s structured like one. That man is probably set up as the Boss here. There’s no way an Escape Route will open unless we kill him. …I didn’t think he’d build such a conspicuous place like this.]
[There’s exactly one other method—escaping to Nari’s Dungeon—but opening and closing that Door takes time. You should be prepared to lose one or two even while you’re getting in……]
[Unless one of you stays behind to hold him off.]
‘Could you two help?’
When I asked desperately, they answered.
[Of course, that’s on the assumption that we’ll both do our absolute best, Nari.]
[I need your body to move.]
Did the lion know?
That his tone and behavior right now were different from his usual self?
Normally, he’d be frantic over not being able to suggest a way to make it work.
Something had clearly bothered the lion, or there was something else preventing him from focusing on us.
‘I see.’
I carefully shared that faint sense of dissonance with only Class 8 before speaking to the lion.
‘I’ll stay.’
[……]
The lion fell silent, his face still smiling.
Looking at that reaction, I understood.
He was angry with me.
The moment I grasped that, the lion’s thoughts and emotions flooded through our connection.
It’s natural to want to give something to a friend. But if Nari risks her life for her friends, what then? What if this keeps repeating? And this time, it wasn’t even something that started because of friends. Your sense of danger is too weak, our Nari…….
From wanting to kill Nari’s family—the ones who made her this way—to finding the gaze looking through that Boss intolerable.
‘I don’t know why Jin Hali’s family suddenly came up, but the gaze part bothers me.’
In fact, just moments ago, looking at the eyes of this “master” observing me, I’d recalled a gaze I’d felt before in the Final Dungeon.
But now that earlier sense of déjà vu felt completely different, as if it had been a mistake.
‘Lion, could it be… that this “master,” or rather, this being registered as a Boss… is sharing eyes with an Other World Entity?’
The moment I voiced the most plausible hypothesis, the lion lowered his head, his mouth pouting slightly, then hugged me tightly from where he was cradled against me.
[…That’s it!]
No matter how threatening the man in front of me was, escape shouldn’t have such a high risk factor.
But if an Other World Entity was watching, then 100% escape became impossible—I understood that much.
When I shared this information, the kids’ presence grew oddly calm. Not trembling, but steady.
Lee Hae-sol spoke.
‘Thirty seconds left. Hali, you decide.’
Why do they leave decisions like this to me in moments like this?
I thought it was my responsibility—entering this place, planning recklessly. I just chose not to dwell on it now because self-blame wasn’t helping.
But the kids were different.
Ah, was it because of my Dungeon? The Escape Route through my Dungeon was the most viable right now, after all.
[I can draw its gaze for about forty seconds. But if a variable appears and that cursed Other World Entity interferes, I might dissipate sooner and the Door might close earlier!]
‘Call Han-i.’
[……!]
It was then that the “master” observing me, as if gauging something, spoke.
“Destroying evidence would be most advantageous. …But this is awkward to handle that way……”
Snap. Yellow lightning shapes flickered and vanished repeatedly from the purple Mana gathered at the man’s fingertips.
As I took in the sight, I urged the lion.
‘Now.’
Not only Class 8 was here. The direct line members of the Yoo Clan were with us too.
I couldn’t bear to see those kids die.
So what was the best choice right now?
‘When I went to Han-i, the scenery changed in an instant. That must be Han-i’s trait.’
The handsome, tall gentleman who’d called me master—the second Boss, Han-i.
Getting into his space had been as simple as grasping the Memory Umbrella’s handle.
[B-but if you do that, your body will break apart!]
‘I won’t die though, right?’
[That’s…!]
The lion struck his chest.
‘Sorry, lion. I’ll call him.’
[It would be slightly safer if I call him…. Come forth, Han.]
The brief moment needed to forge a Provisional Contract with Han-i.
Someone needed to buy us that time.
‘Everyone.’
The moment I called our class and the direct line, they all started volunteering.
Startled by the unexpected words, but only for a moment.
Yuhan Seong spoke coldly.
‘I’ll do it.’
Honestly, if Yuhan Seong left alone or took a few of them with him, it would be possible. But he wasn’t doing that.
It also meant he recognized Class 8 as allies in clearing the Annihilation Dungeon.
…Though affection probably played a part too.
‘How many seconds?’
Unlike the lion, whose anger seemed to be fading and returning to his usual demeanor, Han Seong remained furious.
Though I still wasn’t sure if he was angry with me.
‘Three seconds.’
Lee Hae-sol’s Transparency mist probably had about that much time left anyway.
As if waiting for this, Lee Hae-sol spoke.
‘Five seconds until Transparency kicks in.’
The “master” continued muttering.
“No, wait. Now that it’s come to this, I should walk away with some other result……”
I had no idea why he was talking to himself like that—like a doll that couldn’t keep his thoughts inside his head.
‘Three seconds.’
The moment I called out Han, as if hearing the sound of my heart, Han-i’s presence felt right within reach.
And the instant Yuhan Seong moved, our time slowed.
Two seconds.
‘Now—everyone grab the Memory Umbrella’s handle that appears in front of you!’
‘Got it.’
‘Okay!’
The Provisional Contract with Han-i came through faster than expected.
[Master. If you permit, I shall proceed with a Provisional Contract. When I sleep, only my unconscious shall be at your service. It is a contract that cannot be maintained for long, but it shall not inflict irreversible damage upon your body.]
Han-i, about twice as large as the lion but adorable compared to his first massive form, made the offer in a gentle voice.
‘Okay.’
[Yes, then……]
In an instant, searing pain enveloped my entire body.

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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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