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Chapter 18
Right after the Tokyo Gate was cleared, the maze gates that had appeared all across Japan were conquered as well.
Hundreds of thousands of citizens who had been swallowed by the gates poured out one after another through the exits.
Every broadcasting station in Japan aired the scene live.
Families reunited in joyful embraces, and civilians supported injured hunters as they walked.
The moving scenes spread across the entire world.
The remaining twenty countries that watched the broadcast couldn’t help but feel both envy and anxiety at the same time.
Even Japan, which cleared the gate only two days after its outbreak, had suffered massive damage. Naturally, they grew fearful of how severe the damage would be for whichever country received Korea’s support last.
“You should be grateful I’m letting this slide because Hyungtaek made it back safely.”
After confirming that Oh Hyungtaek had returned alive from the Tokyo Gate against all odds, Nara openly expressed fierce dissatisfaction toward the Japanese government.
Their failure to actively deploy hunters, their silence despite requests for additional healers, and the poor condition of the items offered as compensation—among many other issues.
Declaring that she would never forget this humiliation, Nara boarded the plane heading back to Korea.
“Noona, did I get famous in Korea?”
“What kind of question is that? Do you know how much hate I got from fans telling me to hurry up and save you?”
Hyungtaek burst into hearty laughter.
“Guess I should dress nicely for the press conference.”
At Hyungtaek’s playful remark, Nara let out a laugh as well.
He had been trying to cheer her up while she was still fuming.
Since she knew that, Nara relaxed her expression and leaned deeply into her airplane seat.
“Ugh, I’m not even looking toward the east for a while.”
“Please put on a pack and get some sleep, Guild Master.”
Kim Jinwoon, her secretary and vice guild master, handed a mask pack to Nara, whose fists were trembling with lingering anger.
“Mm, get me the mist from my bag.”
Nothing improved her mood more reliably than products made by Bitna. Nara took out the mist Bitna had gifted her and sprayed it until her face was thoroughly soaked.
“Hoo… I feel alive again.”
Nara exhaled thinly, her nostrils flaring.
“I’m going to sleep. Beautiful women need lots of sleep.”
After carefully putting on the mask pack, Nara closed her eyes and fell asleep. Jinwoon quietly placed a headset over her ears.
Please wake up, Director—no, Guild Master.”
“Mmm.”
“We’ve arrived.”
“Huh? Already?”
Still half-asleep, Nara entered the arrival hall.
“It’s Shin Nara!”
“Oh Hyungtaek is with her too!”
As expected, a crowd holding cameras and microphones charged toward her like monsters. No—there was even more frenzy than usual.
The moment she saw the reporters, Nara hurriedly put on her sunglasses. She couldn’t possibly show her bare face to reporters swarming like bees.
Flashes exploded from all directions, and a barrage of questions poured in.
But the questions were completely different from what she had expected about the gate or Hunter Oh Hyungtaek.
“Guild Master Shin, what’s the secret behind your glowing skin?!”
“…Huh?”
“Did you secretly get a skin treatment in Japan?!”
“What…?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected questions, Nara ended up answering none of them.
Leaving Hyungtaek to handle the flashes and questions, she exited the airport with a tired face and got into the car.
Out of habit, she immediately checked whether any articles had been uploaded.
Since she once dreamed of becoming a celebrity, she always checked photos of herself published in the media.
“Seriously, the world’s a mess and look at these headlines.”
[K-Hunter Shin Nara Shows Off Her Shimmering Skin]
[The Skincare Secret Behind the Hunter Who Shines Even at the Airport?]
Though her mouth grumbled in complaint, her eyes curved like crescent moons as she read the articles.
As if she had completely forgotten how she had just cursed the reporters for asking useless questions.
“Oh, they really did capture my skin well?”
Every photo showed flawless skin without a single bad angle. Her skin looked unusually radiant today—enough to understand why the reporters had asked those questions.
“Jinwoon, why does my skin look so good today? Where’s that mask pack from?”
“It’s the one you always use.”
Humming to herself, Nara checked her face in the mirror attached to the passenger seat.
At that moment—
“Uwaaaah!!!”
Nara screamed loudly, causing Jinwoon to slam on the brakes.
“Ah! What is it?! What happened?!”
Turning toward her angrily, Jinwoon saw Nara mumbling with a strangely blank expression.
“M-my… why is my skin this good?”
“…What?”
Jinwoon looked as if he’d just heard the most ridiculous thing imaginable.
After nearly giving him a heart attack, that was what she had to say?
As he tried to calm himself and start driving again, Nara suddenly shoved her face right in front of his nose.
“No, Jinwoon. Look closely. Seriously.”
Startled by the sudden closeness, Jinwoon quickly pulled his head back.
“Please stop doing this. I’m driving.”
“I said look properly.”
This time, Nara grabbed both his cheeks and pulled his face closer. Her blue contact-lens eyes were far too close.
“The freckles and blemishes under my eyes are completely gone! I even had smile lines here, but now they’re gone!”
“I… I don’t know. Weren’t you always like that?”
Jinwoon quickly escaped her grip. His ears were red as he stared straight ahead.
“My skin was always good, but not this good… this is weird.”
Tilting her head, Nara looked into the mirror again.
If it had only improved a little, she would’ve assumed it was because she slept well on the plane. But how could freckles and blemishes disappear overnight?
While rummaging through her bag for a hand mirror, her hand caught a small mist bottle.
“Hm?”
A bottle engraved with the name “Wihyang.”
Nara stared at it for a long moment, chewing her plump lips.
“No way… right?”
“Jinseo-ssi, hello.”
Professor Seong, summoned by Jinseo, hurried to the top floor of the Hunter Association.
Since she had only rarely been called directly into Jinseo’s room, she assumed something serious must have happened.
After quickly gathering her equipment, she carefully opened the bedroom door.
Jinseo stood before a massive window, his upper body bare.
“Yes, hello.”
“I was worried when you didn’t come for treatment that day. Then I saw the news that you suddenly cleared the Japan Gate—do you know how shocked I was?”
Professor Seong opened her bag and laid out various medical instruments.
“When I read the witness accounts, my heart nearly dropped. How could you release that much magic power? Did you forget how severe your paralysis symptoms have been lately?”
She spoke nonstop while arranging dozens of sharp acupuncture needles on the bed.
Professor Seong had awakened as a rare type known as an oriental medicine healer, having once been a traditional Korean medicine doctor.
“Please lie down. I’ll check your pulse.”
When Jinseo lay on the wide bed, Professor Seong placed her fingers on his wrist and activated her skill.
“Pulse Diagnosis.”
One second. Two seconds. Three seconds.
While quietly checking his pulse with closed eyes, Professor Seong suddenly gasped.
“W-wait a moment. Let me check again…”
Muttering in disbelief, her hands trembled as she examined his pulse again.
“No… this…”
Even after using the skill again, the result was the same.
“The poisoning symptoms… have improved. I can clearly feel it.”
The flow of qi, which had been stiff and blocked due to magic power poisoning, was now moving far more smoothly than before.
It was something that no healing technique, potion, or item had ever managed to improve.
Her wandering gaze met Jinseo’s eyes.
“You… received treatment from Bitna-ssi, didn’t you? That’s it, right?”
“Yes.”
Jinseo answered honestly. Bitna had already told him that Professor Seong knew.
“So it was real… haha.”
As if all her strength had drained away, Professor Seong collapsed into a chair.
“My lifelong wish… has come true. Thanks to Bitna-ssi.”
A shimmering liquid gathered in the corners of her eyes as she spoke.
