Please Give Me A Kiss, Healer! Chapter 48

〈Ant Kingdom, Be Forever!〉

〈Moving-in Celebration Midnight House Candy Party Every Day〉

〈For participation inquiries, Gam124〉

They had only just arrived in the safe zone, but the Ant-Men were already creating a whole new world.

On one side, piles of dirt were stacked high, as if they were digging tunnels, and Ant-Men carrying stones passed by here and there.

Gam124, who had become the representative of the Ant-Men, greeted Jiwoo.

─ Human, no, land owner has arrived, gam?

Jiwoo really liked her new nickname.

‘Land owner! I’m a proper land owner now!’

Jiwoo’s eyes sparkled.

Things were messy since they had just moved, but after some time passed, she planned to casually collect rent from the Ant-Men.

“Gam124, do you like the new land?”

─ We’re still getting used to it, gam.

The Ant-Men lined up in neat rows, busily exploring the surrounding land.

The safe zone had forests and nearby water, so there was plenty of food.

There was also flat land for farming, so they wouldn’t have to worry about food later on.

─ It’s all thanks to you, human, gam. Please take care of us from now on, gam!

“I’ll be counting on you too, my treasures… no, my precious Gam-Gam friends.”

Jiwoo carefully looked over the area where the Ant-Men would settle.

It was a reasonable distance away from 〈Our House〉, so they probably wouldn’t run into each other often.

“Gam-Gams, is there anything else you need?”

─ There is one thing, gam.

“What is it?”

─ There’s nothing sweet here, gam. Candy or chocolate are special treats, gam.

Gam124 added cautiously, watching Jiwoo’s reaction.

─ We used to steal sweet things from humans, gam—no, secretly borrow them, gam…….

“Borrow them from humans?”

Jiwoo’s already round eyes grew even rounder.

‘Last time too… just where did the Ant-Men originally live that there were humans?’

It was clear the Ant-Men had lived close to the human world. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be craving candy and chocolate like this.

But humans living close to monsters? There shouldn’t be a place like that anywhere on Earth.

“Gam124, can you tell me more?”

─ Tell you what, gam? About the land we lived on, gam?

“Yeah. Humans lived there? Do you know the name of that country?”

Just as Jiwoo was about to hear more from the Ant-Man—

“Jiwoo.”

Without a sound, Kangwoo appeared behind her.

“Kangwoo, where have you been? I was looking for you everywhere!”

“I took a walk around the area.”

“For five hours?”

“Yeah.”

Kangwoo nodded and smiled brightly. Jiwoo immediately accepted it.

After all, he was someone who had entered the dungeon with her for her and her brother’s sake. There was no way he would lie now.

Right, if Kangwoo said so, then that must be it. With legs that long, even his walks were probably long.

Kangwoo stepped closer and lightly placed a hand on her waist.

“By the way, Jiwoo, Heeseong was calling for you.”

“Heeseong?”

“Yeah. Very urgently.”

Kangwoo’s expression was extremely serious.

Did something happen to her younger brother?

“I’ll go check on the hut real quick!”

Jiwoo ran off in a hurry, forgetting she had been talking to the Ant-Men.

When her figure had shrunk into a tiny dot—

Kangwoo’s gentle smile vanished.

The gaze he turned toward the Ant-Men before him was icy cold.

‘Is this all that crossed over through the rift?’

Kangwoo knew better than anyone the land the Ant-Men had come from.

It was the place where he had wandered and survived for the past ten years.

After ordering the frightened Gam124 to gather the entire clan, he finally let out the breath he had been holding.

‘I almost came too late.’

After Kangwoo paid a price to create a rift and crossed over from that land,

through that rift, beings began to crawl out little by little—from relatively kind ones like the Ant-Men to cursed, evil existences.

From that point on, the appearance of gates, which had once maintained a balance, began to go wrong one by one.

He traveled across the country to clean up the aftermath, but once a rift formed, it didn’t close easily.

Of course, Kangwoo didn’t care whether humanity on this Earth went extinct or not, but for Jiwoo, it would mean something very different.

She had always been kinder than anyone to those who entered her personal circle.

He still remembered how shocked he was when Jiwoo fearlessly touched an infected stray cat.

Without realizing she had almost been in danger, she smiled brightly, welcoming him as he suddenly appeared.

Kangwoo was uneasy.

Until now, he had stayed by Jiwoo’s side, dealing with approaching threats himself, but he couldn’t block everything forever.

He had to keep Jiwoo from becoming interested in that corrupted land.

To protect her, who was still weak.

And to hide the things he had done to come and see her.

‘If Jiwoo finds out everything, she will….’

His sunset-colored eyes trembled dangerously.

‘Sorry, Kangwoo.’

In his hazy memories, one scene remained painfully clear, like a knife-cut wound.

He never wanted to be abandoned by her again.

Even if it was for the sake of his younger self.

 

 

****

 

 

“The dungeon we’ll be entering is a gate that appeared in eastern Gyeonggi Province.”

After a storm-like weekend passed, it was now time for the Special Team 7’s pre-raid meeting.

Team leader Yoo Jaegyeong handed out the analysis materials she had received from the Association.

“In the documents I just gave you, there’s an analysis predicting the internal structure, so use that as reference. We’ll follow the standard formation. Cha Taepyeong, you’ll stand at the very front.”

“Leave it to me! Hahaha!”

“I’ll take the center. Hunter Shin Ilguk, stay in the rear and block surprise attacks from monsters.”

The meeting wrapped up in just a few minutes.

Jiwoo, who had been listening quietly the whole time, suddenly raised her hand.

“Team Leader Yoo Jaegyeong, then where should Nara and I stand?”

“Hunter Do Jiwoo? Hunter Do Jiwoo will….”

Yoo Jaegyeong trailed off, as if she hadn’t expected the question.

Oh Nara answered instead.

“Jiwoo, we’re healers, so when combat starts, we’re supposed to fall back and hide.”

“What? But—”

She was about to argue, but the collar of her clothes was trembling.

Oh Nara, who was gripping her sleeve, had gone pale.

When Jiwoo hesitated, the others chimed in.

“Haha, healers just need to wait safely somewhere and give heals after the fight’s over. So don’t be too nervous, hahaha!”

“That’s right, Hunter Do Jiwoo. It’s only a D-rank dungeon. Just think of it as a light outing.”

…But I’m not nervous.

Jiwoo had gone in and out of dungeons like her own home. Sometimes as dungeon labor, sometimes as a porter.

She had even come out of A-rank dungeons safely.

There was no way a mere D-rank dungeon could scare her now.

‘I knew what position healers usually have in a raid team, but still….’

Was this well-meaning consideration? She hadn’t expected this even in Special Team 7, the so-called remedial class.

“……”

Only Shin Ilguk, who knew the truth, looked at Jiwoo restlessly.

Seeing his gaze, Jiwoo decided to take it easy.

‘Well, whatever. It’s nice not having to suffer.’

Hanging around in the back, relaxing, and just healing at the end.

Wasn’t that the ultimate salary thief life she had dreamed of?

“Then Hunter Shin Ilguk, make protecting the two healers your top priority, and join the fight at an appropriate time.”

“…Yes.”

With Shin Ilguk’s drained reply, the pre-raid meeting ended.

After that, Jiwoo went to the lounge, lay down in a massage chair, and started eating snacks.

“Ahhh, this feels so good!”

The massage chair was a domestic product made by the major Daewoon Group.

A big-company guild really was different.

Even the benefits were on another level.

Her tightly knotted muscles slowly loosened, making her feel like she was lying on clouds in the sky.

While Jiwoo was enjoying this heavenly moment, she suddenly snapped back to her senses.

“Oh, right. I need to go to the support office later to rent a staff.”

Jiwoo didn’t have a staff right now.

She used to have one she bought secondhand cheaply from the hunter market.

‘Even though it was old and cracked, it still cost well over one million won.’

That one had broken recently while fighting the Ant Queen.

Of course, she could still use skills without a staff. But having one or not made a several-times difference in efficiency.

‘Even a standard-issue staff should be better than my old one.’

After all, it was a weapon made by the Daewoon Group!

“Alright, then shall I go rent a new staff?”

Jiwoo declared energetically.

And then—

“…Ugh, but let’s go a little later. My fatigue is just melting away.”

Brrrrr.

She leaned into the massage chair and closed her eyes.

Just as she was fully enjoying the benefits of a big company, her phone vibrated.

Shin Woohyuk

Hunter, could you come to the emergency exit?