I Became The Only Healer In The Academy [EN]: Chapter 63

63

The woman who returned to the association immediately reported to the vice-chairman.

The events of the day, and Sung-hyun’s response to them.

Even the power of In-hwan and Sang-yeon, which she hadn’t considered important.

“What, what did you say?!”

The vice-chairman stared blankly into space, his mouth agape, seemingly in disbelief.

“Is there a problem…?”

“Ah, no. You can go now. Report if anything else happens.”

“Yes, I understand.”

As soon as she bowed slightly and left the room, the vice-chairman swept everything off his desk onto the floor.

His head began to throb with rising anger.

‘How?’

How could Sung-hyun, a hunter from another country, know the secret of that gate?

It didn’t seem possible that he had been tipped off by someone.

In the first place, only the chairman and the vice-chairman knew the secret of that gate.

‘…Could it be the chairman?’

But that was also unlikely.

The chairman had no contact with Sung-hyun, and judging from his usual remarks about Sung-hyun, he had no intention of cooperating at all.

He would sooner send assassins.

‘Could it be… could it be purely luck?’

He deciphered the secret of the hidden gate by luck and even solved it.

“It’s like he already knew…”

But Japan had invited him directly, so it was hard to be certain.

“So, all of that was luck?”

As far as the vice-chairman remembered, the gate demanded a sacrifice.

The first time they visited, it requested a sacrifice, and the next day, after selecting a suitable person, they visited again, but it didn’t accept the sacrifice, citing nobility and a spirit of sacrifice.

“He designated himself as the sacrifice while covered in monster blood…”

Could a normal person even offer themselves as a sacrifice in the first place?

Unless there was a premise that everyone would die otherwise, it was hard for the vice-chairman to understand.

“What…should I do…?”

Usually, such gates were related to the abilities of the hunter who cleared them, unlocking new abilities they needed.

That meant Sung-hyun might have unlocked an ability related to healing.

He could go and ask right away, but the vice-chairman decided to consult with the chairman first.

Just as he finished making his decision and was about to call the chairman’s office, the chairman’s secretary answered the phone instead.

“Hmm? Why are you answering the phone?”

“The chairman is temporarily away.”

“Did something urgent come up?”

“His daughter had another seizure.”

“…Of all times… I see.”

The chairman was away tending to his daughter, whose chronic illness had relapsed, and the vice-chairman hesitated for a moment before getting up.

The chairman hurriedly opened the hospital room door.

A luxurious private hospital room, the sunniest and warmest place on the top floor of the hospital.

“Haa, haa…”

Only the heavy breathing of the doctor and patient could be heard in the room.

“Ah, you’ve arrived.”

“How is she? How is her condition?”

“Fortunately, she’s past the critical point.”

The doctor’s expression seemed even more grim than the last time he saw him, and the chairman swallowed hard.

“…Is there no progress?”

The doctor didn’t answer the chairman’s question and lowered his head.

“…I understand.”

“Well, she’ll regain consciousness soon, so if there are any problems while you’re talking, please call us immediately.”

The doctor left the room, and soon after, the patient regained consciousness.

“Haa… Uncle…”

“Oh, yes. Are you okay?”

“Haa… Yes…”

Her expression was already strained just from answering, and the chairman bit his lower lip.

This chronic disease was incurable even in Japan, which had developed a device that could compress 10 years into 1 year [referring to advanced medical technology or research facilities].

The side effect of forcibly unlocking abilities.

Originally, this patient was an ordinary person who had not unlocked any abilities.

She lamented her fate, and eventually, the chairman obtained a drug that forcibly unlocked abilities.

“You’ve come.”

“Ah, you’ve arrived.”

The old man, who had brought porridge on a tray, probably having made it himself for his daughter, approached with faltering steps and looked at his daughter, who was gasping for breath.

“Eat up. You need to eat well when you’re sick.”

“Yes, Dad…”

The woman, supported by the chairman, grasped the spoon with trembling hands.

She didn’t even have the strength to lift the spoon, and she kept spilling the porridge she managed to scoop up.

“…”

Perhaps feeling sorry for herself again, the woman pursed her lips and clenched her hands tightly.

But the result was the same.

“But the doctor says there’s progress. Let’s just bear with it a little longer.”

The old man said reassuringly.

His expression was so sincere that even the chairman, who had just heard the answer from the doctor, began to wonder if there was progress.

“Excuse me…”

A voice was heard from outside.

“What is it?”

“The vice-chairman has come to see you.”

“The vice-chairman?”

The old man looked at the chairman with a puzzled expression, and the chairman also wore the same expression, not knowing what was going on.

“Let him in.”

As soon as the old man finished speaking, the vice-chairman came in and bowed.

“I’m sorry. I had something to tell the chairman.”

“V, Vice-Chairman! Even so, at this place…”

“I’m fine. The vice-chairman must have come all this way because it’s important.”

“Then, Chairman, if you’ll excuse me for a moment…”

With the generous permission, the vice-chairman let out a sigh of relief and tried to call the chairman out.

“I think I can forgive the mistake you made today if I listen in as well.”

As expected, he wasn’t someone who would easily let things go.

“I, I’m sorry. Then I’ll speak after the young lady has finished eating.”

“Do so. I’ll be waiting outside.”

“Yes.”

The vice-chairman bowed slightly and left the hospital room, and the chairman stood up abruptly and bowed deeply.

“I’m sorry! He’s not usually like this…”

“It’s okay, how urgent must it have been for him to come all the way here. And you, take your time. Things won’t work out if you rush.”

The table was already covered in porridge.

“I’ll bring it again.”

“…It’s okay. I don’t need to eat it anyway.”

“…Do as you wish.”

“Then go and have your conversation. It seemed urgent.”

At his daughter’s words, the old man stood up and looked at the chairman, saying.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes.”

When they came out of the hospital room, the vice-chairman was sitting in a chair, shaking his legs.

“You, it’s rare to see you like this. It must be really urgent.”

“…I judged it to be quite urgent.”

“Let’s go.”

When they entered the room right next to the hospital room, a quiet and pleasant room appeared.

Naturally, the old man took the seat of honor, and the chairman and vice-chairman took their seats on either side of him.

“So, what’s the matter that brought you all the way here?”

The chairman demanded an explanation.

The vice-chairman wasn’t someone who didn’t know these basics [referring to social etiquette].

“First… I’ll explain about that gate.”

“Wh, gate? Don’t tell me… Wait a minute…”

“I have to tell you.”

At the vice-chairman’s firm expression, the chairman stopped trying to dissuade him.

The vice-chairman first informed the old man of the secret of the gate that had been opened.

“To think there was such a secret… But is there a problem with that gate?”

“Do you happen to know a hunter named Kim Sung-hyun?”

“Kim Sung-hyun? Kim Sung-hyun… Ah, you mean the hunter with the healing ability?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Of course I know him, isn’t he the one who lowered our prestige ranking?”

There was no animosity in his words.

But he couldn’t be sure if that would be the case after hearing what he was about to say.

“Kim Sung-hyun found out the secret of that gate… and even solved it.”

“Wh, what did you say?!”

The chairman was trembling with anger, and the old man said with a hardened expression.

“In the end… a good thing happened to a Korean hunter, and the one who overturned the prestige ranking at that.”

The only sound in the room was the old man tapping his fingers on the table in a steady rhythm.

“So, I came to see the chairman to discuss how to handle it.”

“That’s certainly urgent. When does Kim Sung-hyun return to Korea?”

“He leaves in two days.”

The chairman silently watched their conversation.

He never had any good feelings towards Sung-hyun in the first place, and hearing this made his stomach churn.

“Even if he did it unknowingly, shouldn’t we at least take the minimum benefit?”

“So, do you have anything in mind?”

“Potion… Have you heard of it?”

“…”

The old man’s expression began to waver slightly at the word ‘potion’.

In fact, he wanted to ask Sung-hyun to treat his daughter, but considering the relationship between Korea and Japan, he didn’t think he would accept.

Even if he did accept, he might demand a huge price.

“In exchange for taking the secret of the gate, I’ll request the young lady’s treatment.”

“Treatment…”

The old man couldn’t answer easily.

If his daughter was really cured.

He couldn’t even guess what kind of emotions would arise.

“I’ve already sent someone. If he has any intention of talking, he’ll come here.”

As soon as the vice-chairman finished speaking, someone knocked on the door from outside.

“May I come in?”

“Vice-Chairman! Without even consulting me…!”

“There was no time.”

“…I’ll go out.”

The chairman frowned deeply and stood up.

When he opened the door to leave the room, Sung-hyun was waiting in front.

“…”

“What did you just say?”

When Sung-hyun asked what he had said to him, the woman who had brought Sung-hyun looked at Sung-hyun with a slightly troubled expression.

Soon, Sung-hyun nodded, and the woman said cautiously.

“Th…that he should move…aside…”

In an instant, a thick vein popped out on the chairman’s forehead, but since there were people waiting inside the room, he reluctantly moved aside and said.

“You, be careful.”

Sung-hyun didn’t think he needed to listen and ignored the chairman’s words and entered the room.

An old man and the vice-chairman were waiting in the room.

The atmosphere itself didn’t seem very bright.

“I’m Kim Sung-hyun.”

“Mr. Kim Hunter. The person here is the former Prime Minister.”

“Prime…Minister?”

Sung-hyun was a little taken aback by the unexpected figure, but he took a breath because the eyes looking at him didn’t seem hostile.

“Please sit down first. It won’t be a long conversation, but I think I need to tell you something important.”

As Sung-hyun sat in the chair where the chairman had been sitting, the vice-chairman got to the point.

“First… I won’t ask how you knew the secret of that gate or how you knew the solution.”

‘So, they knew.’

“Even if Mr. Kim Hunter did it unknowingly, it is a clear fact that the country has suffered a loss.”

The vice-chairman waited for Sung-hyun’s words, but Sung-hyun didn’t say anything and stared at the vice-chairman.