I Became The Only Healer In The Academy [EN]: Chapter 61

61

The restaurant Inhwan found was even better than he’d imagined.

It had a cozy and warm atmosphere that the hotel couldn’t offer, and the food was clearly made with care.

Originally, they planned to explore the city more after the meal, but after the incident with Takami, they knew they’d inevitably be followed.

‘Well, they probably already were.’

Fortunately, it was only the first day, so they still had plenty of time left.

“There’s a lot to enjoy at the hotel, so let’s explore the city tomorrow,” Sung Hyun suggested.

Inhwan and Sangyeon both understood what Sung Hyun meant, so they nodded in agreement.

They worried there might be more people like Takami, but thankfully, they didn’t encounter anyone else on the way back to the hotel.

The top floor of the hotel had many amenities to enjoy.

There was a bar, a club, a swimming pool, and a hot spring.

After enjoying themselves without drawing too much attention, the three returned to their rooms and gathered in the conference room before heading to their separate rooms for the night.

“The Japanese academy is definitely very different,” Inhwan commented.

He couldn’t forget the device he had seen earlier.

A device that could allow them to utilize ten times more time. [Likely referring to a device that accelerates training or research.]

“Why? Are you disappointed?” Sangyeon asked, giving Inhwan a slight glare. Inhwan scoffed and replied.

“Just between us, Japan invented something that even the United States couldn’t? I think there’s something wrong with that.”

Inhwan shrugged and continued with a slightly hardened expression.

“I don’t like that we’re the ones lagging behind.”

“Don’t worry. Our status is higher now,” Sung Hyun said carefully, having listened to their conversation.

“Should we go to the Japanese Gate?”

“The Japanese… Gate?” Inhwan asked, confused.

“Are you talking about the open Gates?”

“That’s right. Japan has open Gates, and they have far more than we do.”

One of the reasons Sung Hyun had accepted this trip to Japan without much hesitation was this.

‘I don’t know if that Gate is there at this time, but…’

He had heard about it before his regression, but the information, which he got through the media, wasn’t very detailed.

However, fragmented memories came to mind.

Like the miraculous performance in a major international soccer tournament long ago.

He didn’t remember the date of the game, but he remembered the winner, just like how he remembered the most important details even if they were fragmented.

Just like how a personal Gate had appeared in South Korea, each country had one of these unique Gates at least once.

‘If it exists, there won’t be a better opportunity than this.’

There were two open Gates nearby.

Among them, the special Gate that Sung Hyun remembered was about 30 minutes away from the hotel.

Unlike Korea, where a personal Gate was created separately, Japan’s was not a personal Gate.

“Are we going right now?” Inhwan asked, his eyes shining as if he found this more interesting than exploring the city.

“We need to get permission first. Even though we were invited, we still need permission to use an open Gate as hunters from another country.”

In the current situation where the Source Stone [A valuable resource or energy source] was deeply involved in daily life and many other fields, Gates were both a threat and a resource for each country.

Therefore, it was rare to grant hunting rights to hunters from other countries unless it was a special case.

“They’ll probably give us permission,” Sung Hyun said confidently.

He couldn’t forget the look in the vice-chairman’s eyes as he looked at him.

A sense of caution hidden within pure goodwill.

He seemed to have sensed something from the small disturbance with Takami.

‘I would have given permission too.’

The amount of Source Stone that three academy students could take was naturally limited.

If they could give up a little Source Stone and secure information that other countries didn’t have, it would be a worthwhile deal.

‘This is my deal.’

This is how you make a deal.

Make the other party not realize they’re at a loss, and even make them think they’ve tricked you.

“Then let’s get permission tomorrow and go right away. We can explore the city afterward,” Sung Hyun suggested.

“Perfect,” Inhwan agreed.

“Good,” Sangyeon added.

After the brief meeting, the three returned to their rooms.

As he was preparing for the hunt tomorrow, he received a call.

“Hmm?”

It was a call from Hayeon, who was taking care of Yaein.

“Did something happen?” Sung Hyun asked, worried that she was calling so late, and answered the phone right away.

“Hello?”

“Ah, Sung Hyun, it’s not that, but…” Hayeon’s slightly troubled voice made Sung Hyun even more nervous, and he waited for her to continue without pressing her.

“Yaein wanted to talk to you… I’m sorry to bother you when you’re tired.”

“Ah… I thought it was something else. It’s okay,” Sung Hyun replied, relieved.

He could hear Hayeon urging Yaein to take the phone, and soon the owner of that voice answered the phone.

“Oppa! How’s Japan?”

“Is that why you called?”

“Yeah!”

Sung Hyun smiled lightly at her innocent voice and began to tell her about his day.

Meeting important people, visiting the Japanese academy, and dealing with some bad people.

“So tomorrow… Hello?”

He checked because he hadn’t heard any exclamations for a while, and Yaein’s voice was gone.

“Sung Hyun? Yaein fell asleep. Thank you. You must be tired…”

“No, is Yaein causing trouble?” Sung Hyun asked.

“Yes, she’s a little bored,” Hayeon admitted.

As they talked, Sung Hyun felt like he had become Yaein’s father and laughed lightly before saying, “Please bear with her a little longer.”

“Don’t worry. Have a safe trip, Sung Hyun.”

After ending the call, Sung Hyun checked that it had been an hour since he started the call and threw his phone aside before closing his eyes.

The next day, as he had said the day before, Sung Hyun immediately called the Japanese Association.

“Hello?”

Although he called early in the morning, the woman’s voice was lively, as if she had been awake for a while.

“Hello, this is Kim Sung Hyun.”

“Yes! I know. What’s going on this early?” she asked.

“I was wondering if I could go to the open Gates in Japan.”

Surprised by his request to go to the open Gates, there was a moment of hesitation on the other end of the line before she replied.

“I can’t make that decision. Could you wait a moment? If you haven’t had breakfast yet, I’ll contact you before you finish.”

“Of course,” Sung Hyun replied. He didn’t expect to get an immediate answer, so he agreed and hung up.

The woman, who hung up the phone, had a slightly hardened expression and fell into thought.

‘What’s his angle?’

If it were another student, she would have thought it was a purely hunting request, but Sung Hyun was no ordinary person.

‘…Let’s report it.’

She had no choice, so she immediately headed to the vice-chairman’s office.

She knocked on the door, and a tired voice replied, “Come in.”

Opening the door, the vice-chairman, surrounded by a mountain of documents, greeted her with his usual expressionless face.

“What’s going on?”

“Hunter Kim just called.”

“…Hunter Kim? This early in the morning?” His expression momentarily hardened, wondering if there was another problem, but he soon relaxed and looked at the woman.

“He called to ask if he could use the open Gates.”

“He wants to use the open Gates?” The vice-chairman asked, surprised.

It was unexpected.

To go to the Gates even after coming to another country.

“Did he seem to have any other intentions?”

“I couldn’t determine that,” she admitted.

Of course, the Association had no choice but to be suspicious.

It wasn’t just because Sung Hyun was a special person.

It was standard for hunters from other countries, especially those who were quite prominent, to avoid such activities unless it was an official request.

Because their information would be exposed.

But Sung Hyun felt almost like he was deliberately exposing himself.

‘Is he stupid?’

Of course not.

‘Does he enjoy the attention?’

That was also definitely not the case.

“Give him permission,” the vice-chairman said.

“Understood,” she replied.

“But have all those who were secretly assigned to him stick close.”

At the vice-chairman’s words, the woman replied with a worried expression, “Would that be okay? There’s a slight difference between vaguely knowing and openly requesting…”

“Something like what happened with Takami yesterday could happen again, so we should say it’s a translator to prevent it in advance. It seems like you would be perfect for the job.”

“Ah…” she said, understanding.

The vice-chairman, who had put aside the documents he was working on, looked at the woman and asked, “Speaking of Takami, is the matter settled?”

“Yes, the academy initially protested, but they fell silent after hearing the details.”

The Association had justification, so Sung Hyun wouldn’t be able to refuse.

“What’s the result?”

“He was given a one-year suspension, as you initially said.”

“Tell Hunter Kim and have him go to the Gates together,” the vice-chairman instructed.

“Yes, I understand,” she replied.

The woman bowed slightly and left the room, prepared the documents detailing Takami’s punishment, and headed to the hotel where Sung Hyun was staying.

She was able to meet Sung Hyun right after he finished his meal, and she showed him the documents she had brought and said, “They said they would give permission on the condition that I go with you to the Gates.”

“Together?” Sung Hyun asked.

“Yes, because the incident with Takami wouldn’t have happened if there had been someone who could translate or someone from the Association.”

It made sense, and Sung Hyun nodded since he didn’t care who came along.

“And the documents I gave you are the results of Takami’s punishment.”

“Results?” Sung Hyun was a little surprised by the word ‘results’ rather than ‘progress’ for something that happened yesterday, and he checked the documents.

[1st year Aino Takami. 1-year suspension]

“1 year… suspension?” Sung Hyun muttered.

The documents, written in Korean so that Sung Hyun could understand, contained Takami’s name and the words ‘1-year suspension.’

He felt a little sorry for him as a fellow academy student.

But regardless, he had no intention of asking them to withdraw it.

“We apologize once again for yesterday’s incident,” she said.

“No, it was a good experience for me,” Sung Hyun replied.

He didn’t need to worry about Takami anymore, so Sung Hyun immediately called Inhwan and Sangyeon to the conference room.

“How did it go?” Inhwan asked.

“They said that someone will be accompanying us because of yesterday’s incident,” Sung Hyun explained.

“It’ll definitely be more convenient if someone accompanies us,” Sangyeon commented.

It was just past morning, and there wasn’t much to prepare to go to the Gates.

“When are you planning to depart?” Inhwan asked.

“We’ve finished our preparations, have you had breakfast?” Sung Hyun countered.

“Of course. I finished a long time ago,” Inhwan replied.

“Then let’s change our clothes and leave right away,” Sung Hyun said.

After about 5 minutes, all three of them changed and came out to the conference room, and without saying anything, they all headed straight for the Gates.

The Gate they were heading to was a Gate where monsters of about the 4th rank appeared.

In other words, for Sung Hyun, Inhwan, and Sangyeon, it was just a warm-up.