Chapter 298: The Colleague Sunbae Who Doesn’t Hate Me (4)

Compared to the previous expedition, the party hunt, which had become quite flashy, was over, and now it was time to dismantle the monsters and collect materials.

For reference, unlike other Crystal Spider nests whose bosses were A+ ranked Queen Spiders, the White Crystal Spider nest’s boss Queen Spider was S-ranked.

In other words, it was practically on the same level as the Kraken I risked my life to hunt on an island in Indonesia before.

Of course, back then, since we fought on land rather than in the sea, which is the Kraken’s natural habitat, we had a slight advantage.

Anyway, the fact that the nest’s boss was S-ranked meant, in other words, that the monster materials we could collect would be much more valuable.

Han Min-ah was the first to’s eyes sparkled brightly as she took a step towards the White Crystal Spider Queen’s corpse.

“Let’s dismantle it quickly before the materials spoil! I’ll take a look at how to dismantle the Queen Spider’s corpse first, so everyone else, one by one, towards the adult White Crystal Spiders….”

“Hold on a second, Han Min-ah.”

“Hngh?!”

Excited by the thought of getting a hefty performance bonus from the rare materials, I grabbed her tail to stop her as she was about to dash towards the Queen Spider’s corpse.

“Hey, don’t just grab, grab my tail anywhere!”

“Sorry, it’s just the part that’s easiest to grab.”

“Just because it’s easy to grab, does that mean you can touch it anywhere?!”

Does that mean it’s okay to touch it somewhere other than ‘anywhere’?

As I was interpreting her ambiguous words in my own way, Han Min-ah spoke again.

“…So, why?”

“It’s good to dismantle the materials while they’re fresh, but still, get some treatment before you go.”

“Ah…. You could use recovery spells too, right?”

“Your ankle got pulled earlier, right? Let me see it for a second.”

“Yeah……”

I carefully wrapped both hands around her right ankle, which she cautiously offered me, and channeled holy power into the injured area.

“How is it?”

“It was throbbing a little, but it feels okay now.”

“Are you hurt anywhere else?”

“…It’s nothing much, but I think my left elbow got scratched a little earlier.”

“Let me see.”

Looking at Han Min-ah’s left elbow, which she cautiously extended, I could clearly see a scratch mark remaining there.

It wasn’t an injury severe enough to be bleeding profusely, but it looked like the kind of wound that would have hurt quite a bit when it happened.

“Agh.”

After wrapping both hands around her injured area, I channeled holy power once more.

Carefully, so that no scars or marks would remain on Min-ah’s beautiful body.

“How is it?”

“Uh, yeah…. It seems completely healed….”

“Anywhere else?”

“…Not really.”

“You’re not saying there’s nothing when there actually is, are you?”

“There really isn’t, so don’t worry. Am I supposed to be your boyfriend or something?”

“Not a boyfriend, but maybe ball buddies?”

“B-ball what?! Crazy, are you really a guy? How can you be so shameless…”

Considering our relationship, I thought it was the most fitting word. Why does she need to be so embarrassed?

“Anyway, I’m going to examine the Queen Spider first, so go treat Jihee Unnie and Hye-eun, and come back. You’ll probably need your sword to dismantle that too….”

“Yeah, got it.”

After she quickly turned her head and I watched her approach the thoroughly roasted corpse of the White Crystal Spider Queen, I turned around and saw Hye-eun, who had appeared seemingly out of nowhere, standing behind me.

“…Looking good?”

For a moment, I felt an oppressive aura like a cold breeze running down my spine.

She had a bright smile on her face, but her emotions seemed far from joy or pleasure.

Well, who would actually feel good seeing someone they like chatting up another woman….

“Hye-eun, you’re hurt too, right? Let me see.”

Even though I quickly changed the subject to shift the mood, thankfully, Hye-eun didn’t press further and responded to my topic change.

“I’m not really hurt, but my hands feel a little stinging.”

“Your hands? Did you get blisters from the weight of the shield?”

“I’m not sure. Usually, even when holding heavy things during combat, my hands don’t hurt.”

“Then let’s take off your gloves first.”

After removing the gloves from Hye-eun’s hands, which she offered to me, her slightly reddened hands were revealed.

Her palms were bright red and swollen, as if she had suffered minor burns.

“It might have been caused by blocking the fire magic that Cha Yuri and I created together with your shield.”

“I see…. I guess I didn’t notice during the heat of battle….”

“It’s a minor burn, so I should be able to heal this much. Give me your hand.”

“Okay.”

Holding each of her ungloved hands, I poured holy power into both of her flushed palms.

Hye-eun’s reddened hands had soon returned to their original pretty apricot color.

“All done?”

“Yeah, seems like it’s all healed.”

“It’s a good thing you joined the Sky Blue Shield, Taekyung. It’s inconvenient to leave the dungeon and come back just to get treatment for minor injuries like these.”

“I’m glad I could be helpful.”

Indeed, the most helpful aspects of party activities were ‘recovery’ and ‘blessings’.

Everyone was wearing a blessing I bestowed, which significantly reduced the risk of getting hurt, not to mention.

Even so, any injuries sustained could simply be healed afterward with recovery magic once the battle was over.

It was a bit of a gamble, but honestly confessing my abilities to Cheon Jihee Sunbae was definitely a good choice.

“Anything else hurt?”

“Hmm…? I don’t think so.”

“Really? You’re not hiding an injury somewhere because you’re embarrassed, are you?”

“Hngh?!”

Hye-eun let out a cute cry as I suddenly grabbed her butt.

Because of the full-body suit, I could clearly feel her soft body beneath the fabric. Even the sensation of her firm, bouncy butt.

“W-wait, Taekyung! There are other people here!”

“Huh? I’m just checking if Hye-eun, you, are injured or not?”

“I told you I’m not hurt…! If you keep doing this, I’m going to get angry?!”

Well, Hye-eun was right, there were other people watching, so I decided to stop teasing her here.

It didn’t matter much if Cha Yuri or Min-ah saw, but for Cheon Jihee Sunbae, who had no relation to me, it would surely be an unpleasant sight.

Not exactly as a replacement, but holding Hye-eun, I lightly whispered in her ear.

“Want to come over to my place after work today?”

“Uh, yeah…?”

“It’s been quite a while since we last did it. You must be getting pretty horny by now, right?”

“……”

“Last time we broke it off because we got embarrassed. Let’s make up for that time and do it to our heart’s content.”

Nod.

I lightly patted Hye-eun’s butt as she nodded with a flushed face.

“S-stop it….”

“Start working over there. I’ll take a look at Cheon Jihee Sunbaenim’s injuries first, then I’ll get to work.”

“Okay……”

Hye-eun ran off towards the adult Crystal Spiders with a shy expression.

Seeing the smooth silhouette of her full-body suit made my lust surge again.

Tonight after work, it’ll be bedtime with Hye-eun for the first time in a while.

With such pleasant thoughts, I then walked over to Cheon Jihee Sunbae, who was already busy working.

“I’ll take a look at your injuries too, Sunbaenim.”

“…Huh?”

“You were fighting on the front lines bare-handed, so you must have gotten hurt. Let me take a look, just once.”

“Not necessary. I wasn’t hurt much. Wounds like this heal on their own if left alone.”

“What if you end up with a scar because of it?”

“I already have plenty, so one or two more won’t even be noticeable. Stop wasting time and start your work.”

I kind of expected this reaction.

The last time I saw her changing clothes in the conference room, her body was covered in scars here and there beneath her clothes.

As expected, Cheon Jihee Sunbae seemed like the type who didn’t care about minor scratches at all.

Of course, I didn’t intend to force someone who refused treatment, but just in case, I decided to subtly probe her.

“Wouldn’t it be better to get treatment for the sake of the person you like, Sunbae?”

“…I told you not to bring that up anymore.”

“Still… You mentioned last time that the person you have a crush on is someone close to you, right? If that’s the case, I doubt they’d like seeing more scars and marks appear on your body.”

“……”

“I’m not asking for anything in return for treating you. It’s better not to accumulate more scars from now on.”

Minor scars can be seen as a sign of ruggedness and act as a point of attraction for some men, but Cheon Jihee Sunbae already had quite a few.

If more were added, it would go beyond ruggedness and give an impression of savagery, so for the sake of her crush, it would be better for her to fight while getting proper treatment.

Seeing her reaction change the moment the topic of her beloved came up, it seemed even someone like Sunbae could become a fool in the face of love.

“…Just try touching me somewhere weird while you’re treating me.”

“I won’t, so hurry up and show me where you’re hurt. You were kicking quite wildly earlier, so I’m sure there must be a scratch or two near your foot.”

“……”

Cheon Jihee Sunbae silently extending her left foot for treatment was surprisingly cute.

…I hope it works out well.

With the person she likes.

Since she didn’t seem to want my help specifically, I couldn’t interfere with her love life itself, but I could certainly cheer her on in my heart.

“All done, Sunbaenim.”

“…Yeah, thanks for your work.”

After healing the minor scratches on her left foot and two fists, I immediately walked over to Cha Yuri.

“Cha Yuri-ssi, you’re hurt too, aren’t you?”

I approached Cha Yuri, who was using wind magic to clean the debris from the monster carcasses. She looked at me with a puzzled expression and shook her head.

“I’m not hurt. Besides, as someone in the rear guard, there’s no reason for me to get injured.”

“You can still get hurt even in the rear guard. What do you mean?”

“Anyway, healing me isn’t your job. You should go help the others with the dismantling…”

“If you’re not hurt, how about this instead?”

“What are you doing… Eugh, Hhyt?!”

I placed my palm over her clothes and channeled mana inside, and as expected, she let out a cute moan.

“It’s mana replenishment. You probably used up a lot casting that large-scale magic just now.”

“I don’t need… it! There’s no way mana can be replenished like that, Gahh…!”

“You don’t know if it’ll work unless you try.”

“How dare you… Hngh?!”

After finishing Cha Yuri’s ‘treatment’, I left her panting and began my own work.

Although Han Min-ah, who had been watching Cha Yuri and me, scolded me for not working properly.