Was Happy Being a Despised F-Rank Healer, You Know? - Chapter 74

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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10. I Found a Strange F-Rank. (9)

 

Actually, magic stone powder was also an essential item, so it was something you could buy from anyone when you ran short.

 

It’s also quite a useful material when making potions.

 

But the magic stone powder that Gong Seo-yun showed me was a bit unusual.

 

Powder this fine was hard to come by.

 

There were probably people who secretly siphoned some off from the disposal facility, but no one openly talked about it.

 

After pondering, I asked in a very small voice.

 

“While working?”

 

As if he understood the omitted words ‘are you siphoning it off,’ Gong Seo-yun’s eyebrows moved very slightly.

 

He immediately shook his head.

 

“It’s not like that.”

 

“Then?”

 

He checked the surroundings once more.

 

And spoke very quietly.

 

“When I assist in somewhat dangerous situations, I receive it as a byproduct.”

 

“Instead of money?”

 

Gong Seo-yun nodded.

 

“Yeah. I receive it instead of certain byproducts.”

 

I found that statement even stranger.

 

Receiving it as a byproduct meant that byproduct was essentially money.

 

But why would a student need that.

 

If he was going to make potions, magic stone powder alone would suffice.

 

There was no reason to take parts of monster corpses.

 

‘Hmm, seems like something I don’t need to know.’

 

It felt like it would be dangerous to find out.

 

I organized my thoughts that way internally and adjusted my gloves again.

 

I didn’t want to pry too deeply for no reason.

 

As if Gong Seo-yun read my expression, he didn’t say more about the byproducts and continued talking about the magic stone powder.

 

“Anyway, let me know if you have any left over. I’ll buy it.”

 

“Okay. Got it.”

 

Work began.

 

I moved and sorted containers.

 

Some tissues were slimy and some exoskeletons had an unpleasant texture when grabbed.

 

The smell was stronger than expected.

 

The scent of cold blood wouldn’t disappear and lingered at the tip of my nose.

 

People moved with adapted faces, but I found that somehow frightening.

 

The sight of them adapted to an environment where death was right beside them.

 

Because adaptation can also dull one’s vigilance.

 

I had no intention of dulling my vigilance.

 

So I followed the rules even more thoroughly.

 

‘Originally, supporting characters like me lose their lives getting caught up in small matters.’

 

An F-rank Healer at that.

 

I’d probably be about as vulnerable as a baby deer in this world.

 

As lunchtime approached, the line stopped briefly.

 

People gathered to one side and drank warm water.

 

I sat in a corner and opened my water bottle.

 

That’s when Gong Seo-yun sat next to me.

 

He was holding a small bag in his hand.

 

Inside the bag was a piece of black tissue.

 

More precisely, it looked like flesh, but it was a piece that strangely retained mana.

 

I didn’t say anything.

 

Gong Seo-yun didn’t say anything either.

 

He carefully tucked the bag inside his jacket.

 

That motion was too practiced.

 

Only then did I understand a little.

 

This meant it wasn’t something done just once.

 

It was something repeated, and repeated for someone’s sake.

 

Gong Seo-yun spoke very quietly.

 

“Hali.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Do you have time after work today?”

 

I took a sip of water.

 

I had time.

 

It was vacation after all.

 

But time also meant danger.

 

Having a lot of time made it easy to get entangled in things.

 

I decided to answer as safely as possible.

 

“Why?”

 

Gong Seo-yun lowered his eyes briefly.

 

And spoke very shortly.

 

“I have a favor to ask.”

 

As soon as those words ended, my spine became very slightly chilled.

 

Favors always bring danger.

 

But favors sometimes bring money too.

 

And I needed money.

 

I smiled.

 

“I’ll hear the favor first.”

 

Gong Seo-yun nodded.

 

***

 

After lunch ended, the line started moving again.

 

Along with the sound of metal containers scraping the floor, people’s breathing became short again.

 

I rotated my wrist once and tightened my gloves again.

 

My fingertips felt slightly swollen, but this much was fine.

 

This kind of work originally involved overworking your hands.

 

Gong Seo-yun returned to the line on the opposite side from where I was looking.

 

But his gaze occasionally turned toward me.

 

It was a checking gaze.

 

Whether I would run away.

 

Or whether I was someone who would grant the favor.

 

I found that a little amusing.

 

I wondered what reason I had to run away.

 

What I disliked were dungeons, and this part-time job wasn’t a dungeon.

 

Of course, the smell was as awful as a dungeon, but still, there was an exit here.

 

If needed, I could wash my hands and leave.

 

Dungeons didn’t allow that.

 

By the time work was ending, the sun outside had already sunk low.

 

The lighting inside the disposal facility was always bright, but when you opened the door and came out, the winter light clung to you completely.

 

The air was cold, and my breath came out white.

 

People each took off their work clothes and scattered, and I wrapped my scarf around again.

 

Gong Seo-yun was waiting in front of the entrance.

 

He had thrown a coat over his work clothes, and maybe because his shoulders were broad, the coat looked more solid.

 

In his hand was a thin plastic bag.

 

Black tissue showed through from inside.

 

Whatever it was, the very fact that he was taking this home was already not normal.

 

Gong Seo-yun spoke.

 

“Hali.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Do you have time today too?”

 

I deliberately nodded my head slowly.

 

If you accept too readily, people make more requests.

 

You have to delay appropriately, set conditions, and give the feeling that you’re in control.

 

That was safe.

 

“How far?”

 

Gong Seo-yun hesitated for a moment.

 

He had an expression like he didn’t expect me to ask this question.

 

But soon he nodded.

 

“Not far.”

 

“What do you want me to do?”

 

Gong Seo-yun pressed his lips once.

 

And said very quietly.

 

“Food.”

 

I blinked.

 

“Are you hungry?”

 

Gong Seo-yun shook his head.

 

“What I meant is, it’s not for me to eat.”

 

He stopped speaking.

 

That silence sounded even clearer in the cold air.

 

I didn’t ask more either.

 

The moment I ask, I become someone who needs to know his circumstances.

 

That was dangerous.

 

But I had already come this far.

 

And the plastic bag Gong Seo-yun was holding was too obvious.

 

This wasn’t a simple snack request.

 

I smiled.

 

“Okay. But I don’t like scary things.”

 

Gong Seo-yun looked at me.

 

His eyes wavered for a moment.

 

It meant he knew this was something scary.

 

“Scary things… I don’t like them either.”

 

He said.

 

“I’ll protect you, so don’t worry.”

 

It was a strange atmosphere, but I decided not to ask anything special.

 

“Let’s go.”

 

We walked to the alley behind the disposal facility.

 

The path was shorter than expected.

 

Gong Seo-yun deliberately avoided the main roads.

 

He only went on roads with few people.

 

That was more suspicious, but at the same time understandable.

 

Because others would find it strange if they saw.

 

At the end of the alley was a building like a small warehouse.

 

There was a lock on the old iron door.

 

Gong Seo-yun took out a key and opened the door.

 

When the door opened, a fishy smell wafted out from inside once more.

 

It was different from the disposal facility’s smell.

 

It felt more like raw flesh, more alive.

 

I instinctively stepped back.

 

Then Gong Seo-yun immediately said.

 

“I won’t ask you to come inside. Just here.”

 

At those words, I felt a little relieved.

 

I didn’t want to go inside.

 

Gong Seo-yun carefully set the plastic bag down on the ground.

 

And opened another small cooler bag.

 

Inside were not bone fragments, but relatively organized pieces of flesh.

 

They looked prepared, but the person who prepared them didn’t seem like a professional.

 

The knife work was clumsy, and some blood remained.

 

I looked at it and slowly drew in a breath.

 

“Who eats this?”

 

Gong Seo-yun nodded.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“A person?”

 

Gong Seo-yun smiled briefly.

 

It was a very short laugh.

 

Rather than laughter, it was the reaction of being caught at something you didn’t want discovered.

 

“A person, but not only a person.”

 

He said.

 

“So they have to eat this.”

 

I finally understood.

 

Among Academy students, there are cases where dietary habits change due to monster contamination or curses.

 

That sometimes appears on the news too.

 

Usually they’re quarantined.

 

And after quarantine, they’re sometimes treated as missing.

 

The fact that Gong Seo-yun chose this instead of quarantine meant the target was someone very close to him.

 

“Who is it?”

 

Gong Seo-yun didn’t answer.

 

Instead, he pointed very briefly toward the inside of the warehouse with his finger.

 

Through the gap in the door, I could see cloth covering something darkly.

 

That cloth moved very slightly from time to time.

 

I couldn’t tell if it was breathing or a body stirring.

 

The back of my neck went cold once again.

 

And I asked.

 

“So what’s the favor you want from me?”

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