I Became The Only Healer In The Academy [EN]: Chapter 175

Seonghyun was making something simple.

Fried rice with whatever leftover side dishes were available.

It wouldn’t be something anyone would call delicious, but it wouldn’t be bad either.

And Seonghyun knew exactly what kind of flavors Yein, in her age range, would like.

Something spicy.

Since she had been treated to a chef’s cooking, she was likely served dishes that considered both health and taste.

But Seonghyun wasn’t thinking about any of that.

‘I’m going for an insanely stimulating flavor.’

No house is without seasoning.

The ingredients being stir-fried next to him were already infused with plenty of seasoning.

Inhwan, who was watching Seonghyun cook, approached with a puzzled expression as the dish gradually took shape.

“What, fried rice? Isn’t that too simple a menu for your confidence?”

“Isn’t it enough if it tastes good?”

“Hmm…”

Inhwan picked up one of the ingredients Seonghyun had stir-fried and frowned.

“Ugh, I think it’s too salty.”

“That’s because you’re only eating that. Don’t interfere and just sit down. You won’t be able to say it’s bad either.”

Not with flashy hand movements, but with a sincere touch, he began to spin the frying pan.

“Oh… the smell is decent?”

“I know, right? Seonghyun must be good at cooking.”

Though she didn’t show it, Hayeon was also the daughter of a large corporation’s chairman [a person who presides over a company].

Of course, she knew what she was eating without even asking.

“Hmph, anything smells good when you fry it, right?”

Now that she had her own philosophy about cooking, Yein pouted and dismissed everyone’s opinions.

Still, she didn’t deny that it smelled good; her legs swinging back and forth excitedly, betraying her emotions.

“Alright. It’s done.”

After a long wait, the fried rice that Seonghyun had completed was served.

“…”

Inhwan, who was examining the fried rice in front of him, began to look back and forth between the rice and Seonghyun.

“This is… isn’t this too much?”

“What is?”

Instead of answering, Inhwan lifted the bottom of the rice with a spoon, showing it only to Seonghyun.

Then, quite a few blackened grains of rice appeared.

“Is this right?”

“I don’t think it’s wrong. Should I eat it then?”

“Ha… never mind. If I get cancer from eating this, you’ll treat me, right?”

“Of course.”

“What is it? What are you two talking about?”

Yein, without even eating her rice, listened to their whispering conversation.

“Ah, no. Just saying it’s better than expected… something like that.”

For some reason, Inhwan felt a little strange that persuading Yein in this situation was entirely his responsibility, but he swallowed the question, thinking it was proof that he was close to Yein.

“Your brother made it with all his effort, so you can’t spit it out even if it’s bad, okay?”

“I’m not that kind of person?!”

“That’s right. We were also surprised at first; she eats everything in front of her without missing a single thing. Even vegetables that she might not like, she doesn’t have any preferences.”

As Inhwan said, Yein had never left food behind until now.

At least, if it was in front of her, she would eat it all, no matter how full she was.

Because she knew better than anyone how precious the things in front of her were.

With an ‘ah’ sound, Seonghyun’s fried rice entered Yein’s small mouth.

The way her lips moved and her cheeks puffed out reminded them of a squirrel, and the three of them were watching Yein, forgetting to eat.

“How is it?”

“Hmph… it’s edible!”

Yein’s eyes were sparkling as she said that.

As if this was the first time she had such a simple but stimulating taste.

“Alright, let’s eat too. You and Hayeon, you know you can’t leave any, right?”

“Okay.”

“Of course.”

Inhwan and Hayeon also picked up their spoons at the same time, and they finished all the food in front of them, as if it tasted better than they thought.

Only the quiet clattering of spoons hitting the plates was heard.

There was no conversation, but everyone in this place didn’t find this silence awkward.

“Yein finished eating?”

“Yeah. I don’t leave food.”

“Good job. Are you forgiving your brother now?”

“…I don’t know. I want to sleep now. I’m sleepy. Take me to my room.”

“Okay. Let’s go.”

Seonghyun smiled and took Yein’s hand as she reached out her small hand.

“Hey, Seonghyun.”

Inhwan whispered so that Yein couldn’t hear.

“What?”

“Brush her teeth.”

“Huh?”

“Tell her to brush her teeth.”

Seonghyun chuckled and naturally took Yein’s hand, leading her to the bathroom.

Yein, who was about to fall asleep from drowsiness, realized that she had arrived at the bathroom and looked at Seonghyun with betrayed eyes.

“Eek…”

“Haha, you have to brush your teeth before you sleep. I’ll do it for you.”

Even recalling the time before the regression, it remained only as a faint memory.

With a strange smile on his face, Seonghyun brushed Yein’s teeth himself, recalling the memory of brushing his younger sibling’s teeth.

“…can’t leave…”

“Huh?”

“…until I wake up… don’t leave…”

“I understand.”

“Pro…mise…”

Yein hooked her finger with Seonghyun’s and fell asleep right there.

Seonghyun picked up Yein, moved her to her room, stroked her face for a moment, and left the room.

“Seonghyun. I actually had something to say.”

“Something to say?”

“Yes, it’s about Yein, so I was wondering when I should say it, but since you met Yein today, I was wondering if we could talk for a moment if you have time.”

Seonghyun, knowing that Hayeon also knew about it, readily nodded in agreement.

“If it’s about Yein, I should know too. What’s going on?”

Inhwan and Hayeon exchanged glances, and then Hayeon began to explain in detail.

“Yein has been having nightmares constantly since some time ago.”

“Nightmares?”

Nightmares.

Something that commonly appears in children of this age.

It was something that appeared frequently not only in children but also in adults, so Seonghyun looked a little puzzled.

“You might be wondering about the word ‘nightmare.’ Both Inhwan and I felt the same way at first.”

“How long has she been having nightmares? Could it be that she’s been having them for a very long time…”

“No, it’s not that. Well, it might seem like a long time, but I think it’s been about three months.”

“You should have told me sooner. I would have used Purification [a magical ability to cleanse negative energy].”

At Seonghyun’s words, they both fell silent.

They were not people who didn’t know about the existence of Purification, so Seonghyun’s question grew even bigger.

Why hadn’t they told him? If it was a situation where they couldn’t tell him, had they taken her to the hospital?

“The fact that you didn’t take any action means that it wasn’t a situation where you could, right?”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“Honestly, it would be stranger if people like me and Hayeon couldn’t take action.”

Indeed, if the two of them were determined, they could directly call a specialist from a hospital.

“So, what’s the reason?”

“The content of the dream is… strange.”

They weren’t the type of people who would believe in superstitions.

Dreams, including the memories from before the regression, had never appeared in a meaningful way to the existence of a Hunter [a person with supernatural abilities].

‘Or… was there a Hunter I didn’t know about?’

“Has Yein had contact with another Hunter?”

“No, I can say for sure that’s not the case. Even when Yein is outside, her every move is reported to me and Hayeon in real time.”

“Ha… so, what is the strange content of the dream?”

Hayeon, who had hesitated for a moment, answered only after making eye contact with Inhwan once again.

“You keep appearing, Seonghyun.”

“…Me?”

“Yes.”

The fact that Seonghyun appeared itself would have been a good dream for Yein, but if they were calling it a nightmare, it meant that something had happened to Seonghyun in that dream.

“At first, she said it wasn’t a nightmare. She went on trips with Seonghyun who appeared in her dream and had ordinary and happy content.”

“…”

“The problem is after that. Yein ran into Inhwan’s bedroom crying.”

“I’ll explain this. Yein, who ran in like that, told me while crying.”

Even Inhwan, who was full of playfulness, had a pretty serious expression right now.

Inhwan, who had maintained a hardened expression, slowly opened his mouth.

“To save you.”

“…Me?”

“Yes. You.”

Seonghyun is a Top-Rank Hunter.

As these two know well, the measure of his strength was to the extent that it could not be tied up within the word Top-Rank Hunter.

“But there’s a bigger problem.”

“A bigger problem?”

“That day, I felt mana [magical energy] from Yein, who was crying and begging me to save you.”

“…Mana?”

Ordinary people usually develop their abilities after becoming adults.

Yein is still far too young.

It meant that the ability that only appears to those who show the qualities of a Top-Rank Hunter had manifested.

“Yes. I was panicking at the fact that I felt mana rather than the content of the dream, but Yein kept begging me to save you like that. Until I answered that I understood. The moment I answered that I understood, Yein went back to her room. As if nothing had happened.”

“That means…”

“That’s right. Sleepwalking. And mana was not felt from Yein’s back as she returned like that.”

His head was getting more and more complicated.

Then all those moments when Yein came to Inhwan were all sleepwalking, but the problem was that the mana disappeared when he told Inhwan the content and got the answer he wanted.

“No, no way…”

Then there is only one answer.

The short time that Yein was in a state of sleepwalking.

That short time was the time when Yein used her ability.

“I explained the content to Hayeon right away, and as a result of discussing it together, only one answer came out. Yein has an ability related to dreams.”

“…”

Seonghyun recalled the question he had deeply buried again.

Yein was a Believer who had faith in Seonghyun.

However, Seonghyun is not included in the target group of ordinary people who are not Hunters.

‘Yein was already a Hunter from then on.’

However, the mana she had was almost 0, so she was no different from ordinary people.

“Like you are now, me and Hayeon couldn’t believe it at first. We just thought it was a coincidence. After explaining that, Hayeon spent a few days with us at our house, and after coming to me for the first time, Yein has been doing it every day without fail…”

It was then.

Yein, who should have been fast asleep by now, came out with a pillow in her arms.

And Yein’s eyes were tightly closed.

“Ye, Yein-ah?”

Yein, who was standing still in that spot, slowly moved her steps.

And at that moment, tears began to fall from Yein’s closed eyes.

In this moment where they couldn’t do this or that.

Unlike before, Yein was moving her steps slowly, and the closer she got, the more severe the tears became.

Such Yein was heading straight for Seonghyun.

Finally, Yein, who had arrived in front of Seonghyun, opened her closed eyes, looked at Seonghyun, and said.