I Became The Only Healer In The Academy [EN]: Chapter 191

Inside the restaurant, several people glanced nervously toward the windows, their meals disturbed by the recent incident.

“Just sit for a moment. I’ll get your food ready soon.”

The middle-aged man spoke with the same smile as before, but this time, he limped slightly as he headed to the kitchen.

“He certainly doesn’t seem to be in good condition.”

“…I’m worried.”

Sung Hyun wanted to heal him immediately, but he felt something else should come first.

However, what mattered most to the middle-aged man wasn’t money, or even his health.

It was these moments he wanted to protect, even at the cost of both.

“Lich.”

“Yes?”

Sung Hyun usually added the honorific ‘-nim’ [a Korean suffix used to show respect] to names, so Lich looked surprised to hear his name called so plainly.

After all, aside from the middle-aged man, no one around them would address him without the honorific.

“Everything will be alright. If you keep looking so worried, it will only upset him more, you know?”

“Ah, you’re right. Thank you.”

Sung Hyun’s healing abilities far surpassed modern medicine, and with Sung Hyun’s presence, the middle-aged man’s illness would be completely cured by tonight at the latest.

As for money, both Sung Hyun and Lich had more than enough.

“Did you wait long? Enjoy your meal. Hunter Kim Sung Hyun, please enjoy your meal as well.”

“Thank you.”

The plate was the same size as before, but the variety of dishes was different.

It seemed he couldn’t even afford the proper ingredients due to financial pressure.

“It’s even more delicious than last time.”

“Haha! Is that so? I know I’m not a great cook, but I’m sure of one thing.”

“What is it?”

“That I’m better today than I was yesterday. Haha.”

The middle-aged man’s expression was sincere as he said that.

Although the taste was actually no different from before.

“Are you getting many customers these days?”

“It’s decreased a lot compared to before. With the Class 1 Gate periodically flooding nearby, people don’t come to this area very often.”

When the middle-aged man said ‘customers,’ he mostly meant homeless people or low-level Hunters who barely made a living, except for special cases like Lich.

Since all they had was their bodies, they would have stopped coming to a place where Mana Beasts, the biggest threat to them, were rampant.

‘It’s not just a matter of fewer customers for him.’

The fundamental reason he started running this restaurant was slowly disappearing.

The restaurant itself was on the verge of disappearing completely.

“Lich, you’re quiet today? Is something bothering you?”

“Ah, no. I was just wondering why I haven’t visited more often.”

“Haha, what can you do when you’re busy? I’d love to see you every day, but it’s better this way, with you coming occasionally.”

In the first place, coming to this restaurant every day would mean the situation wasn’t good, so Lich nodded silently.

“What time are you closing today?”

“I should stay open until at least evening. The number of customers has decreased, but it’s not like no one comes at all.”

The middle-aged man was the type to wait for anyone who came to his restaurant.

“Is that so? We happen to be free today, so we should relax here for a while.”

“Haha. I’m glad to hear that. It’s a bit difficult to walk around outside, isn’t it? Both Hunter Kim and Lich are famous people. This place isn’t bad for meeting secretly.”

“Uncle!”

The middle-aged man quickly returned to the kitchen after speaking.

That created a slightly awkward atmosphere, but it wasn’t uncomfortable, so both Sung Hyun and Lich finished their meals.

“I’ve only been here twice, but there are really fewer customers than before.”

“There’s no way we can do anything about this, right?”

“The only way is to subjugate the Class 1 Gate…”

But the Class 1 Gate nearby was impossible to subjugate at the moment.

In the end, they had to repeatedly prevent the flooding without any damage for a long time.

“Then how about this?”

“Is there another way?”

“It’s impossible to subjugate the Class 1 Gate, and it’s also impossible to prevent the periodic flooding without any damage, right?”

“Yes. Is that so?”

Sung Hyun didn’t get to the point and prolonged the conversation, so Lich became more curious and began to focus on Sung Hyun.

Thanks to that, his worry and pity for the middle-aged man lessened, and Sung Hyun, confirming that, began to talk about the main subject.

“We change the middle-aged man’s perception.”

“Change the middle-aged man’s perception…you say?”

Lich kept thinking about what Sung Hyun meant, but he couldn’t grasp the exact intention.

“Lich.”

“Yes, yes?”

“Do you know what I’m doing in Korea?”

“I know you’ve established a system for training Hunters. And at a considerable level. The Academy is focused on practical training, but you can’t completely ignore theory itself.”

“You know exactly what’s going on. Then do you know why I started this work?”

“Isn’t it because of the rapid changes in the Gates?”

Lich knew very well.

In fact, it would be strange if he didn’t know.

“That’s right. Rapid changes in the Gates. Aren’t you doing something similar right now, Lich-nim?”

“Yes. I definitely felt the need. We can increase the power of our Guild, and at the same time, the level of Hunters has risen…”

Lich, who continued to answer Sung Hyun’s questions, noticed something strange.

In a moment of inspiration, Lich stopped talking and stared at Sung Hyun with wide eyes.

“…Could it be…”

“That’s right. Isn’t it simple?”

The words were simple.

What Sung Hyun was saying was to do as he was doing.

If the level of Hunters started to rise little by little, the middle-aged man’s perception would definitely change.

It wasn’t that this place, this neighborhood, was too dangerous to visit, but that they could escape the situation where this restaurant was their only lifeline and live comfortably, having what they wanted and eating what they wanted.

Of course, that didn’t mean that everyone who came to this restaurant would be in a better situation.

But that was actually a better situation.

“Wouldn’t people express their gratitude to the middle-aged man then? Saying they were able to endure until now thanks to him.”

To them, Lich would be a benefactor who helped them escape a desperate situation, and the middle-aged man would remain a lighthouse that was their only support in such a desperate situation.

“If that happens, there will be countless benefits, not just for the middle-aged man. But I can’t do it like Hunter Kim-nim with my own power alone.”

He wasn’t talking about the size of the power he possessed.

Whether there were those who checked the power was more important.

But Sung Hyun could solve this problem.

“I promise the support of the Association.”

“The Korean Association?”

“No. The American Association. And I will also help.”

A very attractive offer.

He had some time to figure out what kind of person Sung Hyun was and what kind of person he was pursuing.

“I’ll accept that offer…”

“You’ve thought well. Let’s talk in detail after we treat the middle-aged man first.”

“Yes.”

Quite a bit of time had passed while talking with Lich, and it was almost evening.

And in line with this, Section Chief Cha spoke from inside the rift.

“I’ve identified everything.”

“…Just a moment.”

“Yes.”

Sung Hyun excused himself to Lich and went outside, where he heard everything from Section Chief Cha.

Where they were, how many there were, how long they had been doing it, and who they were related to.

“It’s not a big company, but it was also related to a place that has maintained its reputation. This redevelopment was the biggest thing they had undertaken, and it seems they used this method because this restaurant kept refusing.”

Section Chief Cha soon handed over documents related to the middle-aged man.

“You’ve identified it in great detail in such a short time.”

“Being inconspicuous has many advantages. As you can see, there are no problems with the contract itself. It’s too clean.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“And I brought this too.”

Section Chief Cha, who hesitated a little, brought things related not only to the middle-aged man’s restaurant but also to other restaurants, and it also contained information on what would be created by redeveloping this place.

“Ha, that’s interesting.”

As soon as they realized that the Class 1 Gate was periodically flooding, they immediately started the redevelopment plan.

The purpose of the plan was to create a landmark.

And the center of the landmark was none other than the Mana Beasts of the Class 1 Gate that periodically flooded.

Since they were Mana Beasts that were not easily seen, they would use them as a tourist attraction.

He didn’t like the idea of using Mana Beasts as tourist attractions, and the shops in the neighborhood, which were generally losing sales due to the flooding Mana Beasts, had no choice but to hand over their shops at low prices.

“For them, the Class 1 Gate’s flooding will look like a bonanza. Once a month. Also, Mana Beasts that flood on a fixed date. If you just give them to the Hunters who come to prevent the flooding, it won’t be difficult to use them as attractions.”

As Section Chief Cha said, this business was a one-time deal, but that one-time deal was a huge business that came once a month.

“But how did they proceed with the work so quickly?”

“The approval itself was approved as a business to prevent the flooding of Mana Beasts, not a tourism business.”

“…I don’t feel good.”

“Me neither.”

Sung Hyun checked all the documents he received, took only the middle-aged man’s documents, and handed them back to Section Chief Cha.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“Is there anything else you want me to do…”

“I’ll treat the middle-aged man later, and I’ll have to go somewhere for a while.”

“Are you going in person?”

“Yes. You said there are no legal problems, right?”

Extremely subjectively, Sung Hyun did not think that everything was good just because it was legal, and that everything was evil just because it was illegal.

The same was true in this case.

If the strong committed unfair acts against the weak under the name of legality, that was an evil act in Sung Hyun’s standards.

“Originally, the strong should talk to the strong. Right?”

“It’s questionable whether they can exist as the strong in front of Hunter Kim-nim…but you’re right.”

“Then I’ll call you again later.”

“Yes.”

Soon, Section Chief Cha disappeared into the rift, and Sung Hyun returned to the restaurant.

Quite a few customers had come in the meantime, but they only filled about half of the empty seats.

He probably wouldn’t get any more than this.

The evening that the middle-aged man had been waiting for had also passed.

The restaurant was now empty.

The same was true of this street itself.

Because the scheduled date of the flooding was not far off.

“Uncle. Let’s talk for a moment.”

Everything was finished, and Lich spoke to the middle-aged man first.

“Okay. Let’s do that.”

As if he already knew what they were going to talk about, the middle-aged man nodded and answered with a completely different expression than before.