I Became The Only Healer In The Academy [EN]: Chapter 195

195

Sung-hyun demanded a reasonable price from the president and a promise to stay away from the neighborhood.

The old man’s debt would be settled, and he would no longer be harassed.

Moreover, the president’s original plan for a Class 1 Gate monster tourism business was completely scrapped, turning it into a business solely for protection.

That meant the surrounding buildings didn’t need to be demolished.

The stores the president had purchased would either return to their original owners or be sold off completely, according to their wishes.

The only land the president could use was what he already owned, or land acquired through agreements with the store owners.

Some would leave, taking the full price along with a bit of a gamble, while others, like the old man, would stay.

“I’ll head back to the Association first. If you need my help with anything, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Do you still have my business card?”

“Uh…”

Sung-hyun was momentarily taken aback.

He had received it quite a while ago, and he wasn’t interested in Sammy’s offer, so he didn’t even remember having it.

“Haha, it’s alright. Seeing Kim Hunter’s surprised reaction makes me think my business card has served its purpose.”

Sammy handed Sung-hyun his business card again.

“You can throw this one away too.”

“…I’ll keep it.”

Sammy smiled and returned to the Association.

Sung-hyun didn’t have any particular plans either, so he went back to the hotel to prepare for the Class 1 Gate subjugation.

After Sung-hyun returned to the hotel, the president showed up at the old man’s store.

He had been told not to show his face, but he had to take matters into his own hands to offer the proper price.

“Ahem… well, you see. There was a misunderstanding last time, and I couldn’t pay the proper price.”

“…”

The store owners looked at the president with considerable suspicion.

When they had met the president before, he had been discourteous and even rude, as if he didn’t need to bother with them. But in just a few days, he had completely changed.

“Ah, yes. So, how much…”

“I’ll match the market price before the Class 1 Gate outbreak.”

“Huh? Really? But why all of a sudden…”

“Well, something happened. There won’t be any other conditions or pressure, so you can choose as you please.”

The president took out the prepared contracts and handed them over.

The store owner stared at the contract for a long time before handing it back to the president and saying,

“It’s alright. You can go.”

“…You’re saying you won’t sell?”

“Yes. This is a place my grandfather protected since his time, and I’d feel too guilty if it ended with me.”

“…”

The president made a strange expression.

Even though there was a difference of more than three times the amount, they refused to sign the contract.

“Then why did you sign the contract last time…”

“Because I was scared.”

“Fear…”

They were feeling the same thing he had felt towards Sung-hyun.

In fact, he knew why they had signed the contract in the first place.

It was fear.

Before meeting Sung-hyun, he had even been quite proud of being the object of their fear.

Those who couldn’t even make eye contact with him.

Humans he could control and manipulate as he pleased.

But now that he had experienced it himself, he understood how they must have felt.

“If we were destined to be demolished whether we signed the contract or not, we had to sign it to protect our family, even if it was just a little. My two young daughters…”

“I don’t need to hear about your family matters.”

The president said stiffly, got up from his seat, and left the store. The store owner watched the president’s retreating figure.

Although his expression wasn’t visible, he felt that the president had felt something and changed.

In that way, the president visited all the places he had previously contracted with in just one day and finished the job.

About 1/3 of them said they would not sell the store and would protect it, and the rest thanked the president and re-signed the contract.

And the last place he visited was the old man’s store.

“Welcome… oh.”

The old man’s eyes turned cold as soon as he saw him.

But strangely, there was no fear in his eyes.

“Just a little more time to…”

“It’s alright.”

“Huh?”

“I said it’s alright.”

The president frowned at the old man, who didn’t understand what he meant.

“I said it’s alright, just keep doing business.”

“Ah… I’ll definitely pay back the money…”

“Just use it. Consider it gone.”

In fact, the president wasn’t a very generous person.

He had just happened to come across a large sum of money by chance, and he had jumped into the redevelopment project to climb to a higher position based on that.

‘This isn’t where I should be.’

However, the president was quick-witted.

Until then, nothing had stood in the president’s way, but as soon as he became a little more greedy, a huge wall appeared.

He would continue the business he was doing now, but to move even higher, he had to acquire things he didn’t have, and that method would be to take something from someone else.

Perhaps because he had encountered an impossibly high and huge wall from the beginning, the president’s will was completely broken.

‘If Kim Sung-hyun Hunter had made up his mind…’

It wouldn’t have been a problem for him to kill him.

But Sung-hyun didn’t kill him.

He didn’t make any outrageous demands, he just asked him to handle the work he had done, to deal with it himself.

As he was lost in thought while eating, the president realized that there was a big problem with the food and clicked his tongue and got up.

“And improve your cooking skills. What is this?”

After grumbling for a while, the president left the store.

“What… is going on?”

The uninvited guest who came just as he was about to close the store after dinner left an unexpected gift.

After finishing cleaning up the store, the old man sat alone at the empty, dark store table, lost in thought.

He had shown an unsightly appearance to Sung-hyun and Ritchie yesterday, and everything was resolved the very next day.

“I’m sure there’s a connection…”

One thing that bothered him was the president’s attitude.

The president’s attitude today didn’t seem like someone who was being forced to move by someone.

It was an attitude of giving from the heart, not following someone’s orders.

If he were in Ritchie or Sung-hyun’s position, he wouldn’t have done this much just by paying back the money.

This was completely changing a person.

“What’s the point of thinking more? I should just think that something good happened.”

However, one thing bothered him.

The president’s last words came to mind.

‘Improve your cooking skills. What is this?!’

“…”

The old man, who was about to go home, turned back to the kitchen.

A healthier body.

Disappeared debts and worries.

Although the number of customers had decreased, the old man’s heart was lighter because it was a problem that couldn’t be solved unless the Class 1 Gate disappeared.

“Let’s develop a new menu once…”

The old man, who had found and taken out all the expired ingredients, spent the night with a happy smile for the first time in a long time.

——————————————–

The day before the Class 1 Gate subjugation schedule.

Sung-hyun had dinner with Ritchie.

To keep the promise he had mentioned in passing last time, and to let him know how he had handled the old man’s affairs.

“…That’s how it is. You won’t have to worry about this kind of thing in the future.”

“You really… handled it perfectly. Rumor has it that the person has completely changed?”

“Strictly speaking, I didn’t change him. He found an opportunity to change himself.”

“Thank you. If it were me, I would have just paid back the money. Then the old man would have felt sorry for me. Even with guilt.”

Because Ritchie knew the old man better than anyone, he liked the way Sung-hyun handled it so much.

“More than that, it’s the subjugation of the Class 1 Gate tomorrow, but was there any special talk? The association is surprisingly quiet.”

“The association may not be much different from us in terms of understanding the Class 1 Gate, but we have overwhelming practical experience. They are entrusting everything to us, and the association is only providing support.”

“It will proceed the same as the last subjugation, right?”

“Yes. Until the boss appears.”

“Compared to the mutated Class 2 Gate at that time, what is the boss of the Class 1 Gate like?”

“I don’t… know.”

Sung-hyun tilted his head slightly, not knowing what he meant by not knowing, and Ritchie continued to explain.

“Before we could even confirm the appearance of the Class 1 Gate boss, we all got out.”

“You mean you got out…”

“That’s right. We ran away.”

For the world’s number one hunter to run away was no different from humanity running away.

“To be honest, when I first entered the Class 1 Gate, I thought I could subjugate the boss. The magic power emitted by the Class 1 Gate wasn’t as strong as I thought.”

Ritchie recalled the events of that day.

The moment the boss of the Class 1 Gate appeared.

“The Class 1 Gate that is currently open was not a gate.”

“It wasn’t… a gate?”

“Yes. The dimension that was blocking the magic power emitted by the boss of the Class 1 Gate caused a crack.”

“That’s a lot of magic power.”

Ritchie burst out laughing as if he found Sung-hyun’s reaction amusing.

“Puh. Anyway, we came out of the gate as soon as we felt that magic power. Everyone didn’t ask each other, but instinctively, we thought we couldn’t win.”

He seemed a little discouraged, but Ritchie smiled and said.

“But that won’t happen now. Things will be different if Kim Hunter is here.”

“Haha, I think I’m getting quite a bit of trust?”

“You deserve it. You’re an American hero, aren’t you? You saved the lives of a whopping 130,000 people.”

“Well, I won’t deny it.”

At Sung-hyun’s words, the two burst into laughter at the same time.

In the past, they exchanged artificial smiles to understand what kind of person each other was, what kind of hunter they were, but not anymore.

Now that they understand each other to some extent.

The smiles they share now are the first smiles with trust in each other.

“Then. Shall we head in now?”

“Yes. See you tomorrow.”

To prepare for the decisive battle tomorrow, Sung-hyun and Ritchie shook hands lightly and returned to their rooms.

And so, the next day.

The top hunters who will be the first to completely subjugate the Class 1 Gate gathered in one place.

Compared to the past, the same number of people, the same schedule, but just the fact that they will completely finish the subjugation has been added, and everyone’s faces were filled with tension.

With the chairman’s short speech, the Class 1 Gate subjugation, which is being watched not only by the United States but also by the whole world, has now begun.

“Good luck.”

With the chairman’s last greeting, the top hunters representing each country disappeared into the Class 1 Gate.