Chapter 70

The Hunter of the Other World Who Is Being Misunderstood

“Ugh...”

When I stepped outside, a groan came from the crushed front seat.

My heart skipped a beat, but within seconds, I realized my concern had been unnecessary.

—Crack!

Seonwoo Yeon safely escaped by tearing off the warped front door that could no longer be opened.

“What on earth fell on us?”

The B-Class hunter asked the question the moment she emerged.

Unfortunately, I could not give her a clear answer either.

“I don’t know.”

It was a creature I had never seen before.

“Piyong! Piyooo~!”

We cautiously examined the monster crouched on top of the car.

It was a bird with a plump body and brilliantly colored feathers. Fortunately, identifying it did not seem difficult.

“Oh, this is a C-Class.”

The Association employee recognized the monster.

“Since there’s only one wandering around, it probably escaped from a nearby gate.”

As soon as she said that, Seonwoo Yeon sprang into action and began hunting the monster perched on the roof of the car.

‘I briefly forgot that Seonwoo Yeon is a B-Class Awakener. With that much mana, she shouldn’t be injured under ordinary circumstances.’

Earth’s creatures tended to use magic with zero finesse, so the amount of mana they naturally possessed largely determined the outcome of a battle.

In other words, the result of a fight between a B-Class and a C-Class was obvious.

‘Phew.’

Whoosh.

Seonwoo Yeon sent the monster flying away from the road to minimize the risk of casualties.

Assuming the Earthling would handle the situation without difficulty, I calmly began gathering my belongings from the back seat.

Let’s see.

My things did not appear to have suffered any serious damage.

“Are you finished already?”

After retrieving the green tea gift set, I turned toward Seonwoo Yeon as she quickly returned to the car and greeted the approaching Awakener warmly.

However, for some reason, her expression appeared strangely vacant.

‘Heuk!’

I tilted my head in confusion before belatedly noticing the problem.

Wait a moment.

That B-Class hunter’s right hand was completely covered in blood.

“Your fingers!”

I exclaimed in alarm as I looked at the Association employee’s trembling fingers.

Naturally, Seonwoo Yeon herself also seemed shocked. Her face pale, she hurriedly explained.

“Um, well... I didn’t expect it to use a long-range attack. It fired its feathers at me. Since it was only a C-Class, I thought it wouldn’t be a serious threat, so I let my guard down...”

No matter how resilient an Awakener’s body might be, a finger cut that deeply would not heal on its own.

“Do you need treatment? Do you have a healing potion?”

“I don’t. Even if I did, using one for this would be a waste.”

“Then what should we do?”

“We’ll have to go to the hospital. I’m not sure whether a healer will be on duty on a Sunday, though...”

After a brief discussion, we headed to the nearest emergency room.

***

How much time had passed since then?

Before long, we arrived at the hospital’s emergency department.

I looked down at the woman lying on the bed as Seonwoo Yeon let out a deep sigh.

“That C-Class monster must have caused trouble even before it encountered us.”

As she spoke, my eyes drifted toward her bandaged hand.

“Apparently, more than one person was brought in because of it.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Since the healer has to attend to the more critical patients first, your treatment has been delayed...”

Hearing that, I felt a brief surge of pity.

Poor hunters.

Unless they were exceptionally skilled at controlling their mana, they could not even visit an ordinary doctor because they might break the needles being used on them.

Ultimately, they had no choice but to rely on healing Awakeners.

Yet there were never enough of those healers, which meant they often had to wait all day.

‘Tsk, tsk.’

Feeling sorry for Seonwoo Yeon, I spoke up.

“Aren’t you thirsty? Would you like me to buy you some water?”

“Yes?”

“Tell me if there’s anything you’d like to eat as well. I saw a convenience store out front.”

Seonwoo Yeon’s eyes widened.

“I-It’s all right. Please don’t trouble yourself. Hunter-nim, you should go home first. I’m already grateful that you accompanied me all the way here...”

Even after hearing her say that, however, I could not bring myself to leave.

I bore some responsibility for what had happened.

‘If I hadn’t been distracted by the green tea set...’

Had someone with mana-detection abilities warned her properly, Seonwoo Yeon’s index finger might still have been unharmed.

A faint sense of guilt settled over me.

“I’ll stay until you’ve been treated.”

“You may have to wait for a very long time...”

“That’s fine.”

I took my wallet from my pocket and asked again.

“In any case, I’m going to the convenience store. Is there anything you need?”

Seonwoo Yeon murmured dazedly.

“Um, t-then... just some barley tea?”

Tea did not seem like much of an energy source, but if she grew hungry, she could decide what to do later.

“No, wait. I think I should go and get it myself...”

“Seonwoo Yeon-ssi should stay here. You never know when the healer might call for you.”

Leaving the Association employee behind, I stepped out of the emergency room.

***

Ddrang, ddrang.

After buying everything we needed, I headed straight back toward Seonwoo Yeon.

‘Huh?’

However, encountering a particular hunter changed the situation.

His presence was far too significant to ignore.

‘Jung Haseong?’

On my way back to the emergency room, I unexpectedly crossed paths with the top-ranked hunter.

As always, he wore an ash-colored coat, and his hair was slightly disheveled.

For some reason, he looked even more haggard than the last time I had seen him.

“Hello...”

I was about to greet him normally when I abruptly swallowed the rest of the word.

‘Oh! I decided I was supposed to act intimidating around him, didn’t I?’

Honestly, I felt a little sorry for him, but this hunter needed to be discouraged somehow...!

“Hey, Jung Haseong!”

Ah, whatever.

To remain consistent with the persona I had adopted before, I suddenly addressed him informally.

“What are you doing at the hospital?”

“...!”

“You never come here when someone tells you to take a break.”

Judging by the fact that no fist came flying at me, my intimidation attempt seemed to have succeeded.

I glanced nervously at Jung Haseong, who was sweating heavily.

That was when I noticed the medical receipt in his hand.

A medical receipt?

‘Huh? Did he really come here for treatment?’

I could not conceal my delight.

After all, it was much safer for a potential bomb like Jung Haseong to remain in a hospital rather than wander around somewhere it might explode at any moment.

“Haseong-ah, don’t tell me... Did you actually come to receive treatment because I suggested it last time?”

When I pointed at the medical receipt, Haseong hurriedly hid the document.

It appeared I had struck the mark.

“You made the right decision! Exactly. When you’re ill, you should go to the hospital.”

“...”

“Oh, and since you’ve already come, why not take the opportunity to rest by staying in the hospital for a while? You’ve been pushing yourself far too hard lately.”

I barely suppressed a grin as I subtly encouraged him to admit himself.

My plan was to isolate this S-Class hunter for a while under the pretense of worrying about his health.

However, perhaps my sinister intentions had been exposed.

‘Ack.’

Otherwise, Jung Haseong would not have been staring at me with such a terrifying expression.

Faced with Haseong’s stony glare, I hastily closed my mouth.

***

—Aren’t you obsessed with gates every hour of the day? You abuse your body without giving it a second thought. I think that’s an illness.

Kim Kiryeo.

How many weeks had passed since his confrontation with that mysterious Awakener?

Immediately after that conversation ended, Jung Haseong had gone straight to a nearby psychiatric clinic.

Was it because he had taken Kiryeo’s advice?

Of course not.

‘Spouting nonsense about something he knows nothing about.’

Haseong’s sole intention had been to prove that he was perfectly healthy.

If every examination returned a negative result, it would automatically prove that Kim Kiryeo had been wrong.

He wanted to silence that shameless impostor once and for all.

However...

“Hunter Jung Haseong. In my professional opinion...”

When he finally met with the specialist, he received a shocking diagnosis.

Severe anxiety.

Obsessive thought patterns.

To begin with, he was not an Alphaurian.

He repeatedly avoided both food and sleep, so how could his condition possibly be considered normal?

The doctor patiently explained the situation to him, but the conclusion remained the same.

He genuinely required counseling.

‘Are they only trying to force me into treatment for the money?’

Haseong rejected the initial diagnosis.

Because of that, he had recently begun visiting several different hospitals in search of additional opinions.

An S-Class hunter attracted as much attention as a major celebrity.

Naturally, such behavior would inevitably lead to speculative reports about possible health problems and other rumors.

However, the current Haseong had been mentally exhausted by relentless overwork and self-destructive behavior.

He no longer possessed enough emotional capacity to anticipate such an obvious chain of events.

‘This can’t be happening...’

So what conclusion had he reached during this latest visit?

To put it simply, even after consulting every doctor available to him, Haseong had failed to obtain the answer he wanted.

Modern psychiatry had consistently raised the same concerns.

Now he had no choice but to admit it.

The path he had been following was not the right one after all.

‘But if I stop working... what happens then? Wouldn’t that be wrong? Is taking a break really such a terrible thing?’

While struggling with those thoughts, he encountered the very person who had so harshly ordered him to visit a hospital.

How complicated must his feelings have been at that moment?

“Hey, Jung Haseong!”

“...!”

On his way out after receiving the final diagnosis, Haseong flinched when someone called his name without hesitation.

Before he knew it, he found himself quietly listening to Kiryeo’s words.

“Since you’re already here, why not take the opportunity to rest by staying in the hospital for a while? You’ve been pushing yourself far too hard lately.”

The instant hospitalization was mentioned, Haseong reacted negatively.

“If I did something like that, it would cause an enormous uproar.”

“Huh?”

“I only reduced my workload for a few days because of these medical appointments. Do you have any idea what kind of rumors are already spreading?”

What a waste.

Do you ever think about the people who will die because of you? How selfish.

Now that you’ve earned enough money, are you planning to abandon the dungeons?

Jung Haseong repeated the online comments he had read, one after another.

However, Kiryeo’s response was entirely unexpected.

“So what? That’s just how the internet is, isn’t it?”