S-Rank Healer Gets Kidnapped First Chapter 35

The commotion caused by the explosion quickly died down.

It was because Kang Sihyeon and Jang Jeong-in had left, causing their skills to wear off.

“Why did I have to clean up everything around here?!”

Despite the situation calming down quickly, Na Ye-ri, who had worked herself to the bone cleaning up the aftermath, was completely exhausted.

“If there’s a Hunter guild nearby, you’re responsible for the safety of the surrounding area anyway. Besides, you’re a tank capable of using an area-wide shield, so of course people are going to come looking for you.”

“Who asked you for an answer right now? I’m just complaining. Complaining.”

Han Seongwoo and Na Ye-ri looked as though they were about to get into another argument.

By now, I was quite used to seeing those two bicker.

‘Finally, I can catch my breath.’

Even though I had seen Kang Sihyeon escape, I had secretly been worried that he might come back.

On top of that, the guild members had caused quite a commotion after realizing belatedly that he was from the Association.

They said they had been distracted by Jang Jeong-in, who had formally requested a visit. Then, they had immediately become furious upon learning that Kang Sihyeon had broken in without permission, and they had to be restrained. It had exhausted them in an instant.

While I was drinking lukewarm water to soothe my throat, the seat beside me sank.

“Nothing happened to you?”

It was Cha Seohae.

Seeing the serious look in his eyes as he checked my condition, I answered honestly.

“Yeah.”

I gave a brief answer, then hesitated before continuing.

“But I almost got caught in an illusion.”

“What?”

“What do you mean?”

Although I had been speaking to Cha Seohae, Na Ye-ri and Han Seongwoo were the ones who responded.

“Just what I said. He cast an illusion on me, but all that happened was that my mind became hazy for a moment. I was worried I was going to get caught, but then Kang Sihyeon touched my shield, and the vibration snapped me back to reality.”

“That was dangerous.”

At Cha Seohae’s words, Na Ye-ri nodded.

“You knew perfectly well about the weakness of Divine Protection, yet you still planned to fight Kang Sihyeon head-on? You really have some guts.”

“I was hoping Jang Jeong-in would come instead. What about you two? Where were you?”

“…Us?”

At my question, Na Ye-ri suddenly avoided my gaze.

“Come to think of it, your rank has changed.”

Han Seongwoo, who had been stroking his chin, joined in.

“One of the fatal weaknesses of mental-type abilities is that their rank restrictions are strict. If the user hasn’t trained enough, the chances of successfully using them against a Hunter of the same rank are quite low.”

“Oh? Then all Yeonhee needs to do is train her mental strength more.”

Na Ye-ri quickly added to his explanation.

He was right. Mental abilities had the advantage of working with a 100% success rate against targets of a lower rank than the caster. But when used against a Hunter of the same or higher rank, the result depended on the individual’s inner strength.

‘Which means if Kang Sihyeon calmly thinks back on what happened today, he might realize that my rank has changed.’

The thought that followed made me press a hand against my forehead.

‘I don’t intend to keep it a secret, but I never expected those two to boldly enter the guild like that. This changes things. What if they find out I’m an S-rank and come back with reinforcements?’

I hadn’t been particularly reluctant to reveal my rank before, but the Association had been far more reckless than I expected, and that worried me.

‘I’m also worried about the building collapsing or innocent guild members getting hurt.’

I remembered what had happened in the control room earlier.

There hadn’t only been guild members who wanted to chase after Kang Sihyeon. There had also been guild members who rushed over to check on me.

“Are you hurt anywhere?! We were training right next door and didn’t even know this was happening. I’m sorry!”

“I-I didn’t hurt you while I was under the illusion, did I, Healer? If you’re injured, let’s get you treated immediately!”

“When we heard someone from the Association had come, we should’ve stationed someone to guard the control room. We never expected them to cause trouble in broad daylight. I’m sorry we left you alone.”

Listening to their sincere concern calmed the anxiety that had been weighing on me.

I couldn’t bring myself to disrupt their peace again.

Even if a confrontation with the Association was unavoidable, unless a battle was truly inevitable, I didn’t want any of them to get hurt before then.

Knowing how difficult that would be, the more I thought about it, the more depressed I became.

Clap!

A loud clap suddenly echoed through the room.

I snapped out of my thoughts and looked toward the source.

Han Seongwoo was looking at me with a bright smile, his palms pressed together.

“Don’t worry too much. I don’t know what you were thinking about, but thanks to our hostage, we handled things just fine this time. So give your brain a break.”

“Yeah. If they’re human, they won’t be able to come right back after having to plan another operation.”

Na Ye-ri’s consideration was obvious. Her words were blunt, but she was trying to reassure me by making it sound like nothing serious.

“But…”

I hesitated over whether I should tell them what was bothering me.

I didn’t want to burden people who were trying to comfort me with another worry.

“Yeah. You can rest for now.”

Even Cha Seohae stepped in to stop me from worrying.

“You trained this morning, didn’t get to eat, and then immediately had to deal with Kang Sihyeon. Even if you want to find an alternative, you’re too exhausted. You’ll just give yourself a headache.”

“……”

“When your body is tired, it’s important to clear your mind, too.”

With all three of them saying the same thing, I couldn’t stubbornly insist any longer.

Instead, I nodded and relaxed my body.

I thought I had calmed down, but perhaps there was still tension lingering in me, because my shoulders felt stiff.

“So where were you?”

“…Huh?”

“You didn’t answer me earlier. Where were you two?”

Once I relaxed, I remembered the conversation from earlier and asked again.

Han Seongwoo had smoothly changed the subject earlier, and Na Ye-ri had seemed awkward the entire time. Something about it was strange.

“Ah… Do you think we can go now?”

“Hmm, I only came out halfway through, too…”

“Should we call?”

“Right in front of her?”

Na Ye-ri and Han Seongwoo subtly avoided my question and continued having a conversation that made no sense to me.

They had ignored my question twice, and watching them talk about something only they understood naturally made my expression stiffen.

‘No. There’s no way they would intentionally exclude me.’

I shook my head and quietly waited.

“Haa.”

Then Cha Seohae let out a frustrated sigh.

“Want to go?”

“Where?”

I awkwardly got to my feet at his question.

“To the welcoming party.”

“Welcome party? Did someone new join?”

I hadn’t even realized someone new had joined because I had been spending all my time on the upper floors.

“Wow, then we should hurry. We almost would’ve been late because of me.”

“That wouldn’t have happened.”

“Come on. Even if I’m a Healer, the main character should arrive last at something like this.”

I said that to Cha Seohae, who looked as indifferent as ever.

“Imagine the executives arriving late and stealing all the attention. Wouldn’t the new recruit feel upset? And you guys are executives, so you can’t even complain.”

“Hmm, I guess so. Then should we go first?”

Cha Seohae agreed with me and turned toward Na Ye-ri and Han Seongwoo.

The two of them suddenly found themselves under scrutiny and visibly panicked before sneaking glances at me.

Looking at them, I said,

“So you two were late because you were preparing the welcoming party? I didn’t know the Baekyang Guild was this close-knit. You even hold welcoming parties for new recruits.”

“Um, not really…?”

“How many places actually do something like this? The Association doesn’t even do it. I don’t know if roommates might do something like that, though.”

I smiled awkwardly as I recalled my days in the First Division.

The two of them, who had been strangely watching my reactions, slowly followed Cha Seohae.

I erased my expression and quietly followed the three of them as well.

After walking for some time, Cha Seohae suddenly turned around and said,

“You should come a little later.”

“Huh? Me?”

When I asked in confusion, Na Ye-ri and Han Seongwoo hurriedly added explanations.

“Yeah! Ah, well. Since Yeonhee is in charge of the new recruit, why don’t you bring them along?”

“Right. I think that would be better.”

“Me? I’ve never even met them before. Wouldn’t it be better if you guys went?”

The three of them were executives and had the final say over recruitment.

Yet they were sending me, someone who had absolutely no authority and had never even met the person before.

‘Besides, I only joined recently… This might just be me getting ahead of myself, but what if the guild members congratulate me even more when I enter with them?’

I felt too embarrassed to say that outright.

I was wondering how I could phrase it differently when—

“You said it yourself. If you come with us, the attention will be stolen and they’ll feel disappointed.”

“Huh? Yeah.”

“That’s why we’re going first. After we go down, take the next elevator and come to the thirty-seventh floor.”

“…Huh?”

“Cha Seohae!”

“Why would you tell her?!”

When I asked again because I didn’t understand, Na Ye-ri and Han Seongwoo took turns scolding Cha Seohae.

“It’s a surprise party! A surprise! Do you not know what ‘surprise’ means? Argh, there’s another frustrating person here just like Han Seongwoo!”

“Why am I being lumped together with her?”

Cha Seohae rubbed his ears, apparently annoyed by the two people shouting beside him.

The two of them surely knew that his ears were sensitive, yet they showed no mercy.

After enduring it for as long as he could, Cha Seohae finally snapped irritably.

“You did a terrible job hiding it and couldn’t even come up with an excuse. What are you going to do if she feels left out before the welcome party even starts?”

He said this while gesturing toward me with his chin.

Only then did the two fall silent.

Apparently, they had been worried about that too.

‘So they really can’t lie.’

More than anything, Cha Seohae’s answer was unexpected.

‘Was he paying attention to me? How did he know that I felt left out?’

I quickly pulled my gaze away from Cha Seohae.

There was something more important right now.

Putting their words together, the person being welcomed at today’s party was…

‘Me?’

 

***

 

“Congratulations on the Healer’s welcome party!”

Bang! Bang!

Confetti from the mini cone poppers showered down over my head.

“Thank you.”

I greeted them while brushing away the long strips of confetti obstructing my view.

The room was elaborately decorated.

Balloons, miniature lights, garlands, a cake, all kinds of food—it was a full-blown event.

I was grateful, of course.

But I was also completely bewildered.

I stood there awkwardly, unsure of what I was supposed to do.

Then the guild member who had set off the poppers muttered,

“Can I smear cake on the Healer’s face?”

I flinched at the decidedly unwelcome idea.

“Why waste food like that?”

“You don’t know anything. You’re supposed to put cream on their face and take a picture at times like this.”

“He’s making things up again.”

Fortunately, the two merely chuckled and joked around without actually doing anything to me.

“Phew.”

“What’s wrong?”

Cha Seohae bent down and asked.

Finally finding someone I could comfortably talk to, I lowered my voice.

“They said they were going to put cake on my face. I was scared they were actually going to do it.”

“Ahh.”

Cha Seohae nodded as if he understood.

“Don’t worry. That won’t happen. Blow out the candles.”

“Okay.”

I stared at Cha Seohae as he gave me a grin, then walked toward the cake.

“Whoo.”

After blowing out the candles, I lifted my head and saw countless guild members cheering for me.

I was grateful that they were welcoming me simply because I had joined the guild, even though I hadn’t done anything special.

It was my first time experiencing something like this, so I smiled awkwardly.

“Huh?”

A long arm suddenly reached out from behind me.

The arm pressed straight down into the white cake.

The fingers came back out covered in cream, then moved closer to me.

“…!”

A long horizontal line was drawn across one of my cheeks.

“……”

“……”

“…Pfft.”

Someone finally failed to hold back their laughter.

I wiped away the strange sensation from my cheek.

I looked at the slippery cream and laughed, “Haha,” before my expression turned serious.

“You. Get over here.”

It was on.