I Became The Only Healer In The Academy [EN]: Chapter 224

224

At that moment, Padron had received all the reports regarding the slums.

“The Pilgrim did that?”

“Yes. It seems it was Anatoly’s unilateral decision, and he later knowingly overlooked it.”

Thanks to his recently enhanced power, he received the report late, but he heard all the necessary details.

“That punk, doing things he wasn’t even told to do.”

Contrary to his words, Padron wore a faint smile, causing his secretary to ask, bewildered.

“Sir?”

“No, it’s nothing. You may go.”

“Yes, I understand.”

There was one fact that many people didn’t know.

Padron wasn’t from the slums, but he was from an area near the slums.

So, he naturally became close to the people in the slums, and his childhood friends were also from the slums.

He didn’t have a special sense of belonging to the slum area, but he had more of a bond than others who had no connection at all.

“But why did a Gate appear in the slum area? It’s a region with a low concentration of mana.”

It was an unresolved question, but Padron decided not to worry about it, as he could ask the Saint when he met him again someday.

“Padron, Kabulski is here.”

“Kabulski? Why all of a sudden?”

“He says he wants to meet you and tell you in person.”

“Tell him to come in.”

Not long after Padron’s permission was given, Kabulski entered.

“What’s going on?”

“Greetings. I have something to tell you.”

“What is it? Sit down first.”

His attitude was as if he were addressing a secretary, but Kabulski sat down in the seat Padron indicated, as if he was already used to it.

“You came all the way from Russia?”

“That’s right.”

“Tell me.”

“First of all… the Pilgrim was Kim Sunghyun.”

“Is that so?”

Kabulski was surprised by the reaction that showed no surprise at all.

Sunghyun was clearly a close figure to Padron, but he didn’t question the fact that the Pilgrim and Sunghyun were the same person.

“Aren’t you surprised?”

“Huh? Oh? Ah, yes?! The Pilgrim was Kim Sunghyun?!”

There were one or two strange things, but now was not the time for Kabulski to upset Padron, so he continued with his explanation.

“…Yes. Anyway, what does it mean that he hid his identity when he was recognized as Russia’s top Hunter, took all the support and other unfair advantages that came with it, and then revealed his identity when he was deemed useless?”

“What does it mean?”

“He, he mocked Russia! There’s no denying that he’s a great Hunter, but it’s no different from insulting a great nation like Russia!”

Padron stared at Kabulski, who was getting all worked up.

Why would Kabulski suddenly come all the way here to bring this up?

“What did you two talk about?”

“What…”

“You wouldn’t have found out on your own, would you? Kim Sunghyun must have told you. That he is Kim Sunghyun, not the Pilgrim.”

“That’s right.”

“Is that all? It’s not, is it? You were already upset about hiding his identity, and he must have asked you for something, so you ran to me like this.”

“Th, that is…”

Kabulski felt as if his mind had frozen at Padron’s completely unexpected reaction.

He knew that he had a good relationship with Sunghyun, but he didn’t know that it was so deep that he would show such hostility towards him.

“Tell me properly. You came to me to ask for something, and you must have received some kind of request. You know that I have a decent relationship with Kim Sunghyun, but that doesn’t mean I’ll turn a blind eye.”

“He asked me to continue doing the things he wanted to do as the Pilgrim. But now that he has thrown away the mask of the Pilgrim, there’s no need to listen to it, is there?”

Kabulski’s words made sense, but if what he wanted as the Pilgrim was to create a new education system to improve the level of Hunters, there was nothing else.

‘Ha… not that he’s an idiot, but really…’

Kabulski sighed deeply as his brow furrowed.

“Kabulski.”

“Yes.”

“You idiot.”

“…Yes?”

“What exactly did the Pilgrim ask for? Isn’t it the new education system that is being created and established in Russia right now?”

“Th, that’s right.”

“Is that a harmful existence to Russia?”

“…”

Kabulski didn’t answer right away.

As Padron said, it was helpful, not harmful at all.

“But not only Russia, but other countries are also adopting the same system. Of course, there will be shortcomings, and in that case, the Pilgrim, no, Kim Sunghyun, will naturally increase his influence, won’t he?”

“Kabulski.”

“Yes?”

“What is Russia to you?”

“It is the most prioritized existence above all else.”

“Then what about humanity?”

Kabulski couldn’t answer Padron’s question.

Russia, which Kabulski loved, could not exist without its people.

Padron stared at the silent Kabulski and said, looking at the door.

“I think the answer is out. Leave now.”

“P, Padron…”

“Get out. If you have any sense left.”

“…”

Even though Kabulski didn’t leave, Padron got up from his seat and approached Kabulski.

“Ah, I understand! I, I’ll go!”

He had to be grateful that Padron didn’t grab him by the collar and throw him out, so Kabulski left as if he were running away.

“Ha… the fact that such an idiot is a key figure in the association is truly…”

Padron, who was looking at the place where Kabulski had left, clicked his tongue and soon turned his head.

—————————

The date of the press conference requested by Sunghyun was three days after the conversation with Kabulski.

The sooner the better, but being too fast becomes hasty.

The moment Sunghyun finished the press conference, the number of people who worshiped him in the areas where he had been active as the Pilgrim would increase.

If that happened, a new window related to numbers would naturally appear, and if a new window appeared, it was clear that other changes would occur in the existing Gates.

“Everything is ready. Pilgrim… no, Hunter Kim Sunghyun.”

Anatoly’s attitude, which had become much more polite than when he first faced the existence of the Pilgrim, was one of the people who was most pleased that the Pilgrim was Sunghyun.

“I understand.”

“There will be nothing to worry about.”

Perhaps he thought that Sunghyun’s serious expression was a worried expression, Anatoly was trying to reassure Sunghyun.

“Yes. Everyone already knows about the good deeds you did in the slum area. The video was originally taken with the intention of informing people how serious the situation in the slums was, but it seems that the image of the Hunter healing the slums was more impressive than that.”

He already knew all of that, so he was able to act this quickly, but Sunghyun responded with a faint smile instead of an answer.

“You have to go now.”

“Yes. Let’s go.”

Following Anatoly’s guidance, they arrived at a place where many reporters were already waiting.

Silence enveloped the place until Sunghyun found his seat.

Soon, Sunghyun sat down and calmly began to speak.

“Nice to meet you. I am Kim Sunghyun, who was the Pilgrim.”

There were no major problems at the conference.

Rather, it was flowing like any other ordinary interview.

The biggest reason was that even the reporters already had a favorable impression of Sunghyun because he had healed the slums.

Of course, there were those who didn’t.

“Ask your questions.”

“Thank you. Hunter Kim Sunghyun. You obtained the position of Russia’s top Hunter as the Pilgrim. Then you received all the support and cooperation you could receive from Russia. Does the fact that you have revealed your identity now mean that you no longer need Russia’s support and cooperation?”

“If you want me to return it, I can return it, but I have no intention of doing so. While working as Russia’s top Hunter as the Pilgrim, I fulfilled all the obligations that came with it. Even parts that were not obligations.”

Indirectly mentioning the slums, the reporters had nothing to refute.

It was neither an obligation as Russia’s top Hunter, nor was it the result of a single Hunter’s unilateral actions.

“…Then why did you hide your identity and become Russia’s top Hunter in the first place? If you had come as Kim Sunghyun, it would have been impossible, so there must have been a reason why you had to become Russia’s top Hunter.”

It was a sharp question in its own way.

But the moment he told the truth about this question, Russia’s image would surely plummet, so Sunghyun couldn’t tell the truth.

“I won’t deny it. There was a reason why I had to.”

“What is that reason?”

“If you were to pick a powerful force among the forces most opposed to the United States, wouldn’t it be Russia? I thought that Russia also needed to adopt a new education system.”

“Isn’t that Hunter Kim Sunghyun’s own point of view?”

“I actually saw the effect and felt the need. Russia will feel the same way.”

“What does that have to do with the reason why you had to become Russia’s top Hunter?”

He felt like he was at a hearing rather than a press conference, but he didn’t feel particularly unpleasant.

Because he could answer all the questions.

“I am known as a Hunter who has a deep relationship with the United States. In that situation, how deeply would Russia accept it if I asked them for something? So I created a new existence called the Pilgrim and set it up to have similar abilities.”

“To introduce your system to the forces gathered around Russia?”

“That’s right. Was that a sufficient answer?”

“…I understand.”

The reporters also knew that excessive pressure would be counterproductive, so they didn’t continue with other questions.

“It was an answer that could raise questions, but this was a necessary thing.”

“May I ask why?”

“The sudden changes in the Gates that have been happening since the past, what is needed here is not the quick response of the Hunters. It is our change to match this change.”

He didn’t bring it up at this place, but they would soon, or rather, soon feel it.

Sunghyun’s will left as the Pilgrim was the right thing.

The conference ended like this.

Sunghyun’s attitude of being confident even after deceiving Russia was negatively received by a very small number of people, but his appearance of solving things that had to be done and things that didn’t have to be done received the support of many people.

This wasn’t the end.

One of the purposes that Sunghyun first acted as the Pilgrim.

[A person with faith has been added.]

… …

The moment when the faith that he had in the Pilgrim returned to Sunghyun.

And at the same time, whether a certain unknown standard was met, a new window appeared.

[The owner of the Level 2 Gate wants to meet you.]

A different window than ever before.

It was a window saying that the owner of the Level 2 Gate was trying to meet Sunghyun directly.