Please Give Me A Kiss, Healer! Chapter 92

Jiwoo returned to the underwater dungeon and immediately noticed the change.

It was thanks to the item she had obtained after accepting the Black Dolphins as part of her household: Black Dolphin’s Tattoo (Grade B), along with its equipped effect.

Item

Black Dolphin’s Breath (Grade B)

Grants underwater breathing. You are unaffected by water resistance.

A small tattoo automatically appeared just below Jiwoo’s ear. Even underwater, she could breathe without any trouble, and she could move freely through the water.

The trip here had taken a long time because she’d been trapped inside her shield, but the return journey was quick.

The Black Dolphins escorted Jiwoo as her golden shield sliced swiftly through the current.

“Thanks. You should head back now too, Dol3!”

─ Call for us again whenever you need us, dol!

The third of the twelve Black Dolphins.

The one named Dol3 flicked its tail and disappeared in an instant.

Once she was alone in a suitable spot, Jiwoo checked to make sure no one was around to see her before slowly returning to the island’s southern shore.

The southern beach looked just as peaceful as before, with gentle waves rolling onto the sand.

The only difference was that Shin Ilguk and the seaweed they’d laid out to dry were nowhere to be seen, and the seaweed was scattered all over the place.

“Why are the clams all over the ground?! They’re covered in dirt now! Seriously!”

Ilguk, honestly! Doesn’t he know food is precious?

Grumbling, Jiwoo picked up the scattered shellfish. Then she suddenly realized how unnaturally quiet it was.

“…Where did everyone go?”

A wave of unease washed over her. She couldn’t let the peaceful scenery fool her. This was still a dangerous dungeon where enemies could appear at any moment.

Jiwoo immediately went on alert, raising her staff.

Using her detection skill, she searched for every nearby presence.

Soon she found a familiar person hiding inside one of the tents.

“Nara?”

“…J-Jiwoo!”

Oh Nara was alone. The moment she spotted Jiwoo, she rushed over with tears welling up in her large eyes.

“Nara, what happened? Why are you here by yourself?”

“I-It… the main team contacted us. Two more Krakens appeared. The dungeon… the dungeon’s rank has changed…”

It was shocking news.

This dungeon was already a high-level B-rank dungeon.

If it had undergone a dungeon mutation…

‘A… it might even have become an S-rank dungeon.’

Instinctive fear gripped her.

Jiwoo bit her lip and checked her condition.

Her mana had recovered enough to cast several more skills, and she wasn’t injured anywhere.

‘Please… don’t let it be an S-rank mutation.’

With their current strength, the raid team couldn’t conquer an S-rank dungeon.

Conquering it? It would be a miracle just to survive.

Jiwoo took a bandage from her inventory and wrapped it around her hand and staff so she wouldn’t accidentally drop it.

“Nara, hurry and get ready. It’s late, but we still need to join the others—”

She stopped mid-sentence.

Oh Nara took a step backward, avoiding her gaze.

“Nara?”

“…I’m not going.”

“What?”

“I-I said I’m not going.”

Her terrified eyes met Jiwoo’s for a moment before dropping to the ground.

Jiwoo frowned.

“What do you mean you’re not going?”

“I mean exactly what I said. I’m staying here at camp.”

Unlike her usual timid self, Oh Nara stubbornly stood her ground.

“Even if I go, I’ll just die without accomplishing anything! Healers like us can’t do anything!”

Her voice rang through the campsite like a scream.

Jiwoo, stunned for only a moment, quickly understood the situation.

At first, she’d assumed Oh Nara had simply been unlucky and missed joining the reinforcements. Everyone must have been rushing around, so perhaps no one had realized she’d been left behind.

‘But now that I see it…’

Jiwoo clenched her fists.

With the camp completely empty because everyone else had gone to reinforce the front…

“…You ran away, didn’t you, Nara?”

She had abandoned her team.

She’d slipped out of the reinforcement group and hidden in the camp to save herself.

Oh Nara lowered her head.

Jiwoo realized her guess had been right.

“I-I was so scared. My body wouldn’t move. All I could think about was running away.”

“…Honestly…”

Jiwoo couldn’t bring herself to continue.

A hunter assigned to a raid team hiding because they were afraid to fight?

That wasn’t just neglecting one’s duty—it was something far worse.

Oh Nara nervously bit her nails and avoided Jiwoo’s eyes.

With a sigh, Jiwoo spoke.

“It’s human to be overwhelmed by fear and run away.”

Hearing what sounded like comforting words, hope flickered across Oh Nara’s face as she looked up.

But Jiwoo’s next words froze her solid.

“But no hunter would want someone like that on their team.”

“I’m no different.”

“…I-I was hurt… I still haven’t fully recovered…”

“You were the one who decided to enter this dungeon. If you were still recovering, you shouldn’t have come. Team Leader Ko confirmed everyone’s condition several times before we entered.”

“T-Then what are we supposed to do?! This is an A-rank dungeon… maybe even S-rank! What can healers like us possibly do? The best thing we can do is stay hidden! Doing nothing is helping!”

“Don’t say ‘us.'”

“I don’t think that way.”

“I don’t want to be lumped together with you.”

Jiwoo’s words were sharp.

Each undeniable truth made Oh Nara’s shoulders tremble.

“B-But you’re only an E-rank healer! What do you know? You have less dungeon experience than I do, and you’re a lower rank…”

“Why does rank matter? Whether you’re E-rank or A-rank, your job is still to support your teammates. If you run away and hide like this, your rank means nothing.”

Oh Nara couldn’t argue with a single word.

She pressed her lips together as if holding back tears before speaking quietly.

“Even if you go now, it’s already too late. The northern shore is too far away… The others left a long time ago. By the time you get there…”

She left the sentence unfinished.

Everyone had already analyzed the previous raid records and the Kraken’s combat ability during the strategy meeting.

Their current force was only barely enough to defeat a single Kraken.

Now there were three.

Forget clearing the dungeon.

They might not even survive.

“D-Don’t go. Stay here. Even if you go, you won’t be able to do anything. You’re only the weakest kind of healer.”

After speaking, Oh Nara cautiously watched Jiwoo’s reaction.

With an unreadable expression, Jiwoo slowly nodded.

“You’re right.”

“If I were still an E-rank healer… I really wouldn’t be able to do anything.”

At that moment, countless golden lights gathered in midair.

The sparkling particles shone brilliantly before taking the shape of a giant creature.

Snow-white feathers.

Eyes that gleamed like precious jewels.

It was a White Bird.

─ Master, did you call for us, chirp?

“AAAHHHH! M-Monster!”

The first one to react was Oh Nara.

She screamed and collapsed onto the ground.

Jiwoo wasn’t surprised at all by the White Bird’s sudden appearance.

After all, it had been summoned by her own skill, <Homeowner’s Guardian Squad>.

“White Hawk 31, I have a favor to ask.”

“Could you take me to the northern shore?”

─ No problem, chirp.

The White Bird lowered itself before her.

Jiwoo grabbed hold of White Hawk 31’s feathers and climbed onto its broad back.

“I’m heading out, Nara.”

The moment she settled in, the White Bird soared into the sky.

Left behind alone, Oh Nara remained sitting on the ground, staring blankly upward.

Jiwoo launched gracefully into the air.

Unfortunately, one thing was far from graceful.

“AAAAAAAHHHHH!”

Riding a White Bird with no saddle whatsoever was absolutely terrible.

Jiwoo clung desperately to its feathers.

White Hawk 31 spoke with obvious displeasure.

─ Master.

“We’ve arrived, chirp. You may get down now.”

“Huaaah… already?”

It hadn’t even felt like a minute.

Flying through the sky at nearly fighter-jet speed, the White Bird landed in a clearing.

─ A battle is taking place nearby. It was safe until now, but if we get any closer, we’ll be discovered.

After climbing down, Jiwoo dismissed her <Homeowner’s Guardian Squad> skill and sent the White Bird back.

She ran in the direction White Hawk 31 had indicated.

Before long, she spotted hunters locked in combat.

They were members of the Osan Guild.

Among them, she recognized a familiar face.

“Oppa Chulsoo!”

“Jiwoo?”

Kim Chulsoo was blocking a monster’s attack with his shield.

The instant his concentration wavered, a rat-like monster—a Rat Man—slashed its sharp claws across his forearm.

“Urgh!”

“[Shield!] [Heal!] [Heal!]”

Jiwoo hurried over while rapidly casting her skills.

Several unconscious Osan Guild hunters lay scattered around him.

Fortunately, only one Rat Man remained.

Together with Kim Chulsoo, Jiwoo quickly finished it off.

“Whew… You saved me. Thanks, Jiwoo.”

“No need to thank me! Just wait a second, Oppa. I’ll heal you again after I finish treating everyone else.”

They couldn’t leave until the unconscious hunters woke up.

After healing each member of the Osan Guild, Jiwoo sat down on a nearby rock.

Kim Chulsoo handed her a canteen of water.

“Thanks.”

“So how did you end up here all by yourself?”

“Uh… well… I got separated. I was with the support team, but before I knew it, I was alone.”

It was a hastily made excuse, but Kim Chulsoo accepted it without question.

There wasn’t really any reason not to.

“So your side had the same problem. Our healer disappeared too… sigh…”

“Your healer disappeared?”

“Yeah. I think they got separated during the fighting, just like you.”

Unlike Special Team 7, which had two healers, the Osan Guild relied entirely on a single healer.

They had already been worried because they couldn’t reach them by radio.

Then they ran into a group of Rat Men and were forced into battle.

“Without healing, we kept getting worn down. I never realized how important a healer’s role really was.”

“I hope your healer is okay.”

“What else can we do? We can only hope.”

But they both knew the truth.

The chances of a healer who got separated during battle surviving unharmed were practically zero.

Kim Chulsoo then told her about the last transmission they had received from the East Sea Guild.

The message reported the appearance of the second and third Krakens, the dungeon mutation, and a request for reinforcements.

“When we got the message, everyone was scattered around, so we decided to regroup separately at the northern shore.”

“I see…”

“But Jiwoo, what were you doing that you missed the transmission?”

“Huh?”

‘Uh-oh…’

Jiwoo blinked guiltily.

After meeting the Black Dolphins, she’d turned off her communicator in case someone used it to track her location.

“M-My communicator broke! It keeps working and then stopping!”

“Really? That’s the first time I’ve ever heard of one breaking.”

For hunters, communicators were lifelines.

They were built to be incredibly durable.

Kim Chulsoo narrowed his eyes.

“Let me take a look. If it’s broken, maybe I can fix—”

“Ack! Oppa! Look over there!”

“Hm?”

Desperately trying to change the subject, Jiwoo pointed at the first thing she saw.

There happened to be a large bush nearby.

“T-That bush! Doesn’t it look suspicious?”

“I don’t really see anything strange.”

Jiwoo got up and walked over.

She planned to grab a random leaf and say something like, ‘Look, bug bites! Haha!’

“Oppa, look carefully. Right here—”

Before she could finish speaking, a system window flashed before her eyes.

System

Pet Skill [A Long Journey to Find My Master (Grade F)] has activated.

A tiny yellow foot suddenly popped out from the bush.

“…There’s a little yellow foot sticking out of the bush…”

“…AAAAAH!”

Her mind instantly went blank.

‘That tiny yellow webbed foot is definitely…’

─ Nyanyak! This great Dongshik has arrived, nyak!

AAAAAAAHHHH!

Dongshik, you idiot!

Why are you here?!

Panicking, Jiwoo tried with all her might to hide him.

But it was already too late.

“M-Monster?”

Kim Chulsoo had already spotted Dongshik.

He immediately raised his shield and shouted,

“Jiwoo! Get over here! It’s dangerous!”

“N-No, Oppa…”

“Do Jiwoo! Get over here right now! Put that monster down!”

─ Nyanyak. Juuuu, what’s with that guy, nyak? He looks like someone Kangwoo wouldn’t like.

“Kangwoo? Who’s Kangwoo?”

“Uh… he’s… someone…”

A very handsome.

Very dangerous.

…Someone like that.

Jiwoo trailed off.

Kim Chulsoo’s attention shifted completely to Dongshik.

“So that’s your summon?”

“Yeah.”

“Hmm. Well… other than being a talking penguin, it doesn’t seem all that special. It doesn’t even look dangerous.”

─ What do you mean not special, nyak?! If we’re talking about this great Lord Dongshik, I’m the Guardian and Mediator of the Safe Zone—nyaaawk!

Jiwoo quickly clamped his beak shut.

‘No, no. The Safe Zone is top secret.’

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Kim Chulsoo.

She just wanted to keep information about her abilities from spreading as much as possible.

“Jiwoo, so… you still haven’t reported your second awakening to the Association?”

“N-No… things just sort of happened…”

“Good. Don’t report it.”

“You’ll just end up getting dragged into the Emergency Disaster Team.”

“Huh. You’re saying the same thing everyone else does.”

Just how infamous was the Emergency Disaster Team if everyone she met warned her about it?

Was it really such a terrible place that being a criminal would almost be preferable?

At first, she’d only been afraid of it.

Now, she found herself a little curious.

‘Still… that’s a relief. Everything worked out without any major problems.’

The source of the problem—Dongshik—needed to be sent back before the Osan Guild hunters regained consciousness.

Naturally, he didn’t go quietly.

─ I’m absolutely not going back, nyaaak! Pet-guins deserve the right to rest, nyaaak! We demand rest, nyaaak!

Dongshik foamed at the mouth as he resisted.

With the Ant Men, the White Birds, and now even the Black Dolphins joining the household, the Safe Zone had become overflowing with work.

‘Sigh… the house is a complete mess.’

Once this dungeon was cleared, the first thing she’d do was organize <My Home>.

Grabbing Dongshik by his flapping wing, Jiwoo whispered,

“Dongshik, I need you to do me a favor.”

“There’s something only you can do.”