Please Give Me A Kiss, Healer! Chapter 45

Ji-woo felt like she’d just been hit hard over the head.

“A-ah… right. Hee-seong is half awakened now, after all.”

Before, no matter how sick her brother was, there was nothing she could do. All she could do was cry and wait to reach the hospital.

‘But now, I can help.’

Ji-woo took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

As she activated her healing skill several times in a row, Hee-seong’s complexion visibly improved.

Finally able to relax, Ji-woo’s strength gave out and she sank down beside him.

‘Did dungeon sickness relapse? They said he was completely cured.’

To check his condition, Ji-woo used another skill.

“[Holy Eyes!].”

Status

Name: Do Hee-seong
Race: Human
Awakening Type: Butler Candidate
Condition: Extremely weak
*The effect of the temporarily obtained skill Sturdy Body (C) is wearing off.
Time remaining until Sturdy Body (C) ends:

23:56:00

Ji-woo’s expression darkened at the final line.

‘If his awakening doesn’t finish, he’ll keep getting sick.’

In hindsight, it made sense.

The only reason Hee-seong’s body had been healthy was because of the temporary awakening.

Ji-woo looked at her brother, breathing unevenly.

And then she decided to try one last method.

Closing her eyes again, Ji-woo activated a skill.

“[Ji-woo’s Hands Are Magic Hands! W-with love, ho~♥].”

An S-rank skill that greatly amplified healing power. Ho~ I’ll do it for you♥.

With this skill, maybe—just maybe—she could cure dungeon sickness too?

The chant was embarrassingly awkward to say to her own sibling, but Ji-woo was that desperate.

If it meant her brother would get better, she could say it hundreds, thousands of times more.

After a brief silence, a notification window appeared in midair.

[Error: Unable to remove status ailment.]

“Ah… figures.”

Just as Ji-woo was about to cover her face in defeat, another notification appeared.

System

Tip: For a supporter, nothing is impossible! Try more diverse methods.

Nothing is impossible.

Those words flew straight into Ji-woo’s mind and lodged there.

Dungeon sickness was a mysterious incurable disease that appeared along with dungeons themselves.

It couldn’t be completely cured by healer skills—only slightly alleviated with rare byproducts obtained from dungeons.

That was why the medical costs had been astronomical.

‘But… you’re saying I can cure that dungeon sickness?’

As Ji-woo stared blankly at the notification window, Dong-sik smacked his beak.

—Juu, then what happens now?! Is Hee-seong not getting up?!

Tears dripped from Dong-sik’s black eyes.

They’d been fighting tooth and nail just earlier, yet he’d grown attached in no time.

“No. For now… if he just finishes awakening properly, he’ll be healthy again.”

—What did you say?! Then why are we sitting around like this?! Get up! Let’s go awaken him!

Dong-sik flapped his wings, declaring he’d clear away any stupid rocks himself.

But Ji-woo let out a sigh.

“To awaken, he has to enter a dungeon. But where am I supposed to suddenly find a gate?”

There was only one gate Ji-woo knew of.

The dungeon in Seongbuk-gu scheduled for Special Team 7’s raid next week.

However, entering a gate for purposes other than an official raid was strictly forbidden.

Last time, she’d been able to go in recklessly because an unidentified gate had appeared—but this time, the dungeon already had a scheduled raid, so that wasn’t possible.

There would probably be hunters dispatched by the Emergency Disaster Team guarding the area.

Publicly, Ji-woo was nothing more than an E-rank healer. There was no way she could break through that security.

‘Even if I have a hunter ID, there’s no way they’d let me in.’

Ji-woo’s face crumpled.

But she couldn’t just give up like this.

What on earth was she supposed to do…?

“Ji-woo.”

“…!”

A calm, composed voice rang in her ears, and Ji-woo realized it.

Ah. Right.

The Emergency Disaster Team leader is standing right next to me.

 

 

****

 

 

 

 

—Connections really are an amazing thing, nya.

Ji-woo couldn’t agree more.

Just a moment ago, Kang-woo had made a phone call somewhere, and right away a car was prepared in front of the house.

They got out in front of the gate, and entry was a complete free pass.

Ji-woo went through the gate first, and Kang-woo followed after, carrying Hee-seong wrapped tightly in a blanket.

As soon as they entered the dungeon, Ji-woo moved to the safe zone.

—Hee-seeeong, are you conscious, nya?!

“Ugh, my head hurts. Fish-head, keep it down.”

—You little punk! I was worried about you, and this is the thanks I get?!

The Hee-dong duo started pulling each other’s hair and fighting.

Before long, exhausted, they began snoring softly and fell asleep.

Ji-woo activated a skill toward the sleeping Hee-seong.

“[Holy Eyes!].”

Status

Name: Do Hee-seong
Race: Human
Awakening Type: Butler Candidate
Condition: Healthy
*By entering the safe zone, the effect of the temporary skill Sturdy Body (C) is activated.

The time limit that had been attached to Hee-seong was gone.

Ji-woo covered the sleeping Hee-seong with a blanket.

Right beside him, Dong-sik was sleeping too, stuck to him like a magnet.

‘He may be a penguin, but… I’m glad Hee-seong made a friend.’

—Nghh, that fish is mine, nya. Praise me, Dong-sik the Great, you uncivilized humans, nya.

…It’s fine, right?

After checking on the kids, Ji-woo stepped out of the shelter.

Stars glittered in the sky of the safe zone. Thanks to the full moon, it was bright despite being night.

‘This doesn’t feel like we’re inside a dungeon.’

At first she thought the safe zone simply existed within the dungeon, but as time went on, it felt more like a separate world.

Setting aside how enormous the area was, the sky here was wide open, with flowing streams and dense forests.

Ji-woo plopped down in front of the campfire she was warming herself by.

It was time to organize her plans going forward.

‘The Antmen are friendly toward me, so once it’s daylight, I can go get the seeds.’

If she looked hard enough, she’d find some way to bring the seeds back to the safe zone.

If all else failed, she could have Hee-seong live in the safe zone for a while.

Yet even after finding a possible solution, Ji-woo’s expression wouldn’t brighten.

Because—

‘Sigh… my heart feels heavy.’

As soon as she entered the safe zone, things she’d pushed aside came back to her.

—Dunno how long we can hold out, trapped in the ant nest, y’know.

The Antmen trapped in the ant nest.

Last time she’d visited, they said they were chewing through their food storage—by now, it was probably empty, and they were all starving.

Knowing full well the Antmen’s predicament, yet turning away and pretending not to see—it weighed on her.

Ji-woo hugged her knees and sank into thought.

Just then, Kang-woo, the professional lumberjack who’d gone to gather firewood, returned.

He approached quietly and sat down beside her.

“Ji-woo, why are you out here instead of sleeping?”

“…Just because. I couldn’t fall asleep.”

At her weak reply, Kang-woo looked at her silently.

The empty silence was filled by the chirping of insects.

After a long while, Ji-woo spoke again.

“…You know. Kang-woo, what do you think? About what the guild master said last time.”

“Hm?”

“That monsters are monsters. That there’s no such thing as a ‘good’ monster.”

When Ji-woo tried to help the Antmen, Shin Woo-hyeok had said this to her:

“If monsters starve to death on their own, isn’t that a good thing? It’s a peaceful solution that doesn’t spill a single drop of blood.”

“With my abilities, I could probably help somehow. But the guild master isn’t wrong either. Monsters are… monsters, after all.”

Even if they could communicate now, the other party was a monster—one that might someday attack humans.

That thought tormented Ji-woo.

After listening quietly, Kang-woo asked,

“What do you want to do, Ji-woo?”

“I… want to help them.”

Because I’ve received so much help myself.

She didn’t want to turn away from the Antmen, who lit up like children over a single piece of candy.

Ji-woo poured out her honest feelings.

Then she lowered her head deeply—and suddenly, a warm hand wrapped around hers.

“Then let’s go. Let’s help them.”

“…What?”

“Don’t overthink it. If it’s something Ji-woo wants to do, then it’s all right—no matter what it is.”

Even if it wasn’t, he would always stand behind her.

Kang-woo helped Ji-woo to her feet and brushed the dirt from her clothes.

As she was led along without really realizing it, Ji-woo spoke.

“But Antmen are monsters. If we help monsters, then—”

“Ji-woo, at first, you thought I was a monster too.”

“That was because of the system!”

“But what if I really had been a monster?”

“Well, that’s…”

She would have helped him.

In the end, Kang-woo didn’t harm people, and they could communicate.

“…But monsters can attack people, unlike you, Kang-woo.”

At that, Kang-woo tilted his head slightly.

“I can attack people too, if I want to.”

For a split second, a chilling aura brushed past her.