Was Happy Being a Despised F-Rank Healer, You Know? - Chapter 69

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

10. I Found a Strange F-Rank. (4)

 

I sat on the bed and organized my bag.

 

The sensation of the mattress slightly sinking was transmitted all the way to my fingertips.

 

I took out the potion bottles one by one to check them and counted them again.

 

I carefully examined even the scratches remaining on the glass bottle surfaces and the condition of the stoppers.

 

Nothing was broken.

 

The amount consumed was also within the expected range.

 

‘Still, I didn’t use much this time.’

 

Even as I thought that, one corner of my heart felt strangely uneasy.

 

Normally, it should have been more chaotic.

 

What happened inside the dungeon was clearly not at a level that could be passed off as a simple final evaluation.

 

Yet no one brought up that story.

 

The professors were like that, and so were the management staff.

 

Even among students, dungeon talk gradually stopped coming up.

 

Yuhan Seong left immediately after leaving only a brief greeting on the last day.

 

Yu Hee waved her hand lightly as usual, saying her parents came to pick her up.

 

Hyun I-seo just nodded silently, saying he had training scheduled during vacation.

 

Hae-sol looked at me once and moved his lips as if trying to say something, but in the end said nothing.

 

“Have a good vacation.”

 

That was all.

 

I also nodded and briefly accepted it.

 

As I left the dormitory door, I looked back once more.

 

The school building was neat as always and had a face that said nothing had happened.

 

It was quiet as if the dungeon and monsters were all just exam questions.

 

‘Right.’

 

This is the right way to get through it.

 

Let’s not stand out unnecessarily.

 

The goal for this vacation is to spend it quietly.

 

I decided not to go straight home.

 

I knew there was a boarding house for students who stayed near school during vacation, and that seemed more convenient this time.

 

All I had for luggage was one bag.

 

I selected and packed only the absolutely necessary items from what I used in the dormitory.

 

I also packed one small box of potion materials.

 

The boarding house was about two bus stops away from school.

 

The building was old but well-maintained, and traces of students coming and going were left everywhere.

 

Shoes were neatly placed in the entrance, and part-time job postings were pinned to the wall.

 

“You’re here for short-term, right?”

 

The landlady asked that as soon as she saw my face.

 

She had an expression familiar with dealing with students.

 

“Yes. About a month.”

 

“There’s a room available. Meals are on your own and laundry is shared.”

 

I nodded.

 

That was enough.

 

***

 

The room was small.

 

It was a space with just one bed, one desk, and one closet.

 

The furniture was pressed against the walls, so even the slightest movement made you feel the edge of the space.

 

The window faced the alley, and sunlight seeped in briefly only in the afternoon between the low buildings.

 

When I put down my luggage and sat on the bed, the mattress slowly sank down and supported my body weight.

 

Only then did the tension that had been hanging on my shoulders ease just a little.

 

When I was inside the school, it always felt like gazes were attached from somewhere, but inside this room was quiet.

 

There was no noise and no sign of people, so even my breathing could be heard clearly.

 

‘Vacation is vacation indeed.’

 

I took out a notebook from my bag.

 

It was a thin notebook where I organized potion mixing records.

 

I spread the notebook on the desk and checked off what I used and didn’t use in this dungeon in order.

 

Each time I turned a page, traces of smeared ink and hastily written memos caught my eye.

 

There was no waste.

 

There was no consumption that greatly deviated from the plan.

 

However, there were many exceptions.

 

Variables that shouldn’t have occurred were left between the records.

 

‘This must be because of the final dungeon.’

 

I thought that and convinced myself.

 

I decided not to dig deeper.

 

Right now, stabilizing my life was more important than analysis.

 

That evening, I had a simple meal at a convenience store near the boarding house.

 

I hesitated briefly in front of the display case and chose what I could eat fastest.

 

The part-time job would start in two days.

 

Dungeon by-product processing team.

 

The condition explanation felt much more realistic than when I saw it on the school bulletin board.

 

Low danger level.

 

Non-combat.

 

Instead, smell and physical strength required.

 

‘It’s fine.’

 

I muttered briefly to myself.

 

On the way back, my fingertips were a bit cold.

 

Winter had come faster than expected, cold enough to make my nose tip chilly.

 

When I entered the room and closed the window, the outside noise was cut off completely.

 

I leaned against the wall and stood for a moment, then quietly exhaled.

 

I hoped this vacation would pass quietly.

 

I just needed to work, organize, and tinker with potions a bit, then it would be over.

 

At that time, I really believed it would be like that.

 

***

 

The first day of work came sooner than expected.

 

The morning air was still cold.

 

As I left the boarding house door, I checked again whether my gloves were properly fitted.

 

The by-product processing facility was on the outskirts of the city.

 

It was some distance from the formal dungeon entrance and was mainly a place where corpses and damaged remnants gathered.

 

As I entered inside, the distinctive smell was the first thing I noticed.

 

It was a smell of blood, soil, and mana mixed together.

 

“You’re the new guy, right?”

 

The manager spoke to me first.

 

He was a middle-aged man, and his face was steeped with the fatigue characteristic of someone who had been on-site for a long time.

 

His voice was blunt, but his attitude wasn’t bad.

 

“Yes.”

 

“There’s nothing dangerous. Instead, you’ll need to get used to the smell.”

 

I nodded.

 

It was already within my expected range.

 

The workshop was more systematic than I thought.

 

Byproducts were separated by type, and processing areas were divided according to residual mana levels.

 

What I was assigned was the outermost area.

 

It was corpse disposal where dangerous elements had already been mostly removed.

 

‘That’s a relief.’

 

I quietly began working.

 

I held a knife, separated joints, and cleaned up useless parts.

 

It was work that required a lot of hand strength, but the movements were familiar.

 

It wasn’t much different from preparing potion ingredients.

 

After a few hours, I sensed someone at the workbench next to me.

 

Even without looking up, I could tell it was someone using a knife with the same rhythm.

 

“Your hands are quite steady for a first-timer.”

 

It was a familiar voice.

 

Only then did I turn my head.

 

“Gong Seo-yun? Why are you doing this kind of part-time job? Hmm, do you need potion ingredients?”

 

“I’m not making potions, but I have other uses for them.”

 

Gong Seo-yun responded with a grin.

 

“More importantly, watching you work, Hali, I think you’ll get good at this quickly. As expected, you’re not even afraid of monsters. You’re really built for dungeons.”

 

What kind of curse is that!

 

Anyway, seeing him change the subject, it seemed like I shouldn’t pry, so I smiled back and continued working while making idle conversation.

 

I moved, separated, and sorted corpses.

 

The supervisor checked on us periodically, but there were no major problems.

 

Around lunchtime, we were given a brief break.

 

We ended up sitting at the same table.

 

I took a sip of water.

 

That’s when I caught a faint smell from Seo-yun’s bag.

 

It was a familiar smell.

 

‘It seems like monster corpse.’

 

And not processed byproducts, but relatively fresh ones.

 

‘Ah, come to think of it, Gong Seo-yun had a younger sibling in the original story.’

 

I pretended not to notice and looked away casually.

 

After the break ended, work resumed.

 

This time we were moved to a deeper area.

 

Here, the job was packaging separated byproducts.

 

Seo-yun set aside some parts with practiced movements.

 

The supervisor saw this but said nothing.

 

‘He’s a contract worker.’

 

It was a system where he took byproducts instead of money.

 

This wasn’t an uncommon arrangement here.

 

Near the end of work, Seo-yun spoke quietly.

 

“Do you… know how to handle this?”

 

What he pointed to was a relatively unusual part.

 

Raw meat with inconsistent mana reactions that might even still be alive.

 

“I can manage it in emergencies.”

 

“Then let’s work together next time too.”

 

There was definitely a request mixed in those words.

 

I hesitated for a moment.

 

‘This could get complicated.’

 

The episode involving Gong Seo-yun’s sibling comes after graduation. I wasn’t sure if getting involved in related matters now would be a good direction.

 

But at the same time, another thought occurred to me.

 

If these byproducts were in a meaningful state, then his sibling might still have hope at this point in time.

 

“If the timing works out.”

 

Seo-yun nodded.

 

His expression said that was enough.

 

On my way back to the boarding house after work, I checked my bag again.

 

The emergency potions were still there.

 

I hadn’t needed to use them yet.

 

‘I thought the vacation would pass quietly since I found a boarding house without Jin Hali’s family knowing.’

 

The feeling that it might not be so quiet—is that just my unfounded worry?

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————