Chapter 419: Sabbatical Month (2)

After finishing what was essentially a date-like expedition in a dungeon with Min-ah.

My steps naturally led me not to the exit, but to the ‘Company Treatment Room’ on the first floor of the company building.

It wasn’t that I was visiting because I was injured somewhere; it was actually the opposite reason.

Because I was visiting to perform the ‘Company-affiliated Healer duties’ I’d been carrying out every time I came to work for the past week.

“I’m here for work~.”

“Ah, hello, Sung Taekyung-ssi.”

Technically, I had already clocked in according to the company’s standards, but performing healer duties within the company was a separate task.

The company employee who received my greeting welcomed me by name, and as usual, I prepared for the additional work of treating other hunters in the company treatment room.

Deciding to take on the company-affiliated healer duties involved some important calculations on my part.

As the world’s only male Awakened hunter, it was time to start laying the groundwork for my future activities.

And one of the most important aspects of that was making my presence known throughout the company without causing any friction.

There was no better way to gradually make my presence as the sole male Awakened individual known while building casual friendships with the company’s hunters.

I briefly recalled the conversation I had with the President a week ago about working as a company-affiliated healer.

“You want to work as a temporary healer affiliated with the company?”

“Yes. Since the company operates its own treatment room, I thought my healing abilities might be helpful there.”

“It would be a great help. This is a time when healers are in high demand. Although, fewer hunters are getting injured in dungeons these days too.”

“So, is there a spot for me in the company treatment room?”

“Whether there’s a spot or not, there’s no one filling it right now. Actually, if you’re okay with it, I’d like to ask you.”

As expected, it seemed the President had been considering assigning me the role of company-affiliated healer.

I don’t know if the reason she didn’t assign it before was concern for my safety or something else.

“What are your desired working hours and duration?”

“For now, I’m thinking of working two hours starting from 5 PM on days I come to the company. I plan to work at least three days a week until mid-February, before Sky Shield fully resumes its activities. I’ll probably do a quick dungeon run in the morning and start my healer duties from 5 PM.”

“So you’ll be tending to the kids’ injuries for about two hours before you leave. Since most injured people return from dungeons around that time anyway, that’s not bad.”

“And although it might sound strange since I’m the one suggesting this, it will be difficult for me to set regular working days due to various schedules.”

“That’s a shame, but given the urgent situation, I’ll accommodate your requested hours. However, please report to the treatment room staff every morning you come in. At the very least, you need to let the kids know whether the treatment room is available that day.”

“Yes, I understand.”

Whether the company’s own treatment room is available or not significantly impacts the hunters’ dungeon raid progress.

Receiving treatment externally costs a lot of money in various ways, but using the company’s own treatment room drastically reduces the out-of-pocket expenses to around 10%.

For hunters, whose daily lives are uncertain, financial burden is naturally a significant issue, and reducing that burden positively affects dungeon raid progress.

For example, it could even motivate them to push one step further in their raids, accepting a little risk of injury.

In other words, whether the company’s own treatment room could be operated or not was closely tied to the company’s overall revenue, making any available recovery personnel extremely valuable, especially in a situation like this where there were no applicants.

Even if it meant the treatment room’s operating days were irregular.

The President, who had reluctantly accepted my proposal, nodded quietly and continued speaking.

“On another note.”

“Yes.”

“Why are you suddenly offering to work as a company-affiliated healer? Is it for the money? Or out of a healer’s sense of service?”

The President was probing the true intentions behind my sudden offer to work as a healer affiliated with the company.

While the income from this temporary position wasn’t entirely irrelevant to my decision, the primary reason for my healer activities stemmed from something else I could gain from the work itself.

Instead of giving a vague excuse, I clearly stated my reasons for wanting to work as a healer.

And for some reason, I felt an atmosphere around the President that made me think, ‘I really shouldn’t lie to her.’

“Financial issues are part of it, but the main reason is my personal desire to build friendships with other hunters.”

“Don’t you like your current party and want to switch?”

“It’s not like that. As the company’s only male Awakened hunter right now, there are still many suspicious eyes on me, aren’t there?”

“That’s true.”

“But if I treat the injuries of as many hunters as possible in the treatment room, it should help dispel the suspicion many other hunters have towards me. They can’t exactly call me a fraud or a snake right to my face after receiving healing treatment from me.”

“Hmm.”

“So, honestly speaking, it’s closer to my personal ambition than money or a sense of service.”

By experiencing the healing process firsthand, it would become impossible to doubt my Awakened abilities themselves.

Moreover, the act of healing itself inherently makes the recipient feel grateful, making it a good way to foster goodwill.

Essentially, I was saying I’d take on the company-affiliated healer role to build positive public opinion among the other hunters.

President Seo Ok-hee, upon hearing my words, nodded and gave a slight smile.

“I like your honesty. Most guys would be busy trying to hide their true intentions.”

“Thank you.”

“Could you possibly start working in the treatment room today? Even if it’s just for an hour if you’re busy.”

“Actually, I came in today expecting this might happen, so I was prepared to work.”

“Alright. Then I’ll put up a notice saying the treatment room is available today. Take these papers I’ve written out to the treatment room staff on the first floor and mention that I sent you.”

“Understood.”

President Seo Ok-hee handed me a few papers from the table, along with her signature.

These included a temporary employment contract for the interim healer position, and other documents like a work authorization letter from the President.

“Take these down, and they’ll handle things from there.”

“Understood.”

“Okay, I’m counting on you.”

That was exactly a week ago, when I bowed to the smiling President and left her office.

And now, here I was, working as a temporary healer in the company treatment room, tending to the injuries of other hunters for a short while before heading home.

“Are there many people waiting today?”

“Well, there are about twenty people waiting right now, and considering those who might come later, it seems like it’ll be more than yesterday.”

“It seems like the number is increasing little by little each day.”

“Opportunities to be treated by a male Awakened like you, Sung Taekyung-ssi, aren’t common. Everyone’s curious about how a male Awakened heals, and perhaps word has spread from other hunters who’ve received treatment over the past few days.”

Given the nature of hunters who engage in activities with small groups in addition to their regular party duties, rumors within the same guild spread like wildfire.

It was only my fourth day working as a company-affiliated healer, but it’s highly likely that about half the hunters who came in late January already know I’m working in the company treatment room.

Even though the number of hunters who had personally received treatment had only just surpassed triple digits yesterday.

Initially, some people had turned away, distrusting a male healer, but now, most accepted my healing abilities without much suspicion.

These days, quite a few colleagues even recognize me within the guild and greet me first.

I can feel the company’s opinion of me gradually shifting in a positive direction, so starting the healer work was definitely the right choice.

Well, it’s not like there haven’t been annoying hunters occasionally while doing this job.

“Treatment finished, Jung No-eul-ssi. Next time, be careful not to get caught in your colleague’s fire magic.”

“…It’s like it never happened. At first, I was a bit skeptical about a male healer, but I didn’t expect you to heal burns this cleanly.”

“Thank you.”

“By the way, when do you get off work? I’ll wait, so if you’re free, maybe we could grab a meal after you’re done…?”

“There are still others waiting, so please make way if possible, Jung No-eul-ssi.”

“…Alright.”

S-rank hunter Jung No-eul walked out of the treatment room door, forcing a composed expression.

Although her retreating figure looked a little lonely, I had to deal with this situation firmly, without leaving any room for ambiguity.

If I entertained all that flirtatious persistence, a task that should take two hours could easily stretch into three or four.

Regardless of whether it was an opportunity to build connections with an S-rank hunter, it was wiser to firmly reject her for now.

Fortunately, being a company-affiliated hunter implied a certain minimum standard, so most hunters possessed basic etiquette.

I hadn’t yet encountered anyone who caused a scene demanding why I wouldn’t meet them.

After about an hour and a half of dealing with hunters one by one and casting recovery spells in the treatment room.

As I was mechanically processing the incoming injured individuals while waiting for my remaining 30 minutes until quitting time, two figures entered the room simultaneously, opening the treatment room door.

My mouth, habitually about to remind them to wait their turn, stopped naturally the moment I saw who they were.

-Click.

“One at a time, please wait your turn…”

“Han Jin-ah, and Han Seon-ah.”

“Oppa, we’re here!”

“Hello, Oraboni.”

“…Ah, it was you two.”

Han Jin-ah, and Han Seon-ah.

They were my proud younger sisters, now quite capable of taking care of themselves.

Well, even though they weren’t my biological sisters.