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Chapter 17
The Healer Who Gives Without Holding Back
Those were a different kind of potion from the ones healers normally make.
Very rarely, when monsters are killed in certain dungeons, potions can appear among the dropped items.
Those potions are ones healers cannot create at all, so even strange things like a potion that makes hair grow were priceless enough to be sold for any price.
‘D-Did I make a dungeon potion?’
[Who knows. It just shares one overlapping trait. Still, it smells pleasant to my nose, so it’s definitely not ordinary. Especially for awakened ones affected by mana, the effect will be even better.]
Only then did Erich explain it casually.
‘You said I’d find out through Yoo Hee’s words, so why are you suddenly talking so much?’
[Tch. Seeing her up close, she doesn’t look like the type to tell you honestly.]
‘Yoo Hee?’
When I glanced at her, Hee met my eyes as if she’d been waiting.
She really looked like an angel…
That made the gap feel even stranger.
[Yeah. That one’s pitch black inside.]
‘No way. She’s not like that.’
I recalled her from the original story.
The assassin part was scary enough to make my F-rank heart shrink, but personality-wise, Yoo Hee was a pacifist. That contrast between her gentle nature and her assassin background was her charm.
After becoming Yoo Hanseong’s teammate in the original story, she was extremely devoted to the team.
But Erich, who didn’t know any of that, snorted.
“I heard you stayed in front of the infirmary all morning, Hari.”
“Yeah, I did.”
“You were handing out potions, right?”
Her tone was so gentle and friendly that I almost wondered if we’d always been close.
“You even gave some to us. Thanks.”
“Ah, no. I’m planning to sell them after a week anyway. So if you like them, buy a lot then.”
When I joked, Yoo Hee laughed softly.
As we walked down the hallway together, students greeted Hee—and at the same time, glanced at me.
It was a different kind of look than before.
‘Who’s that with Yoo Hee?’
That kind of feeling!
I screamed lightly in my head.
No, this is bad.
I didn’t need this kind of attention!
Looking close to Yoo Hee, who was popular with everyone, was actually a minus. She had a lot of intense fans.
When I tried to subtly pull my arm away, she must have noticed, because she tightened her grip.
With my pitiful F-rank strength, I couldn’t beat strength close to A-rank…
“Of course.”
Hee said quietly.
“I’ll buy them all.”
I blinked.
“…All of them?”
“Yeah.”
So… a regular customer?
[Hah.]
Hee pointed lightly near my cheek and laughed softly.
“Oh my. You’re happy, aren’t you?”
I carefully managed my expression and smiled calmly.
“Well, of course I’m happy. But you can’t buy all of them…”
Ugh.
Holding back the corner of my mouth, I spoke as if it couldn’t be helped.
One of my goals in selling potions was for Yoo Hanseong’s party—and students in general—to trust and use them.
“I’m only going to sell a few at a time so others who need them can buy them too.”
“Why?”
For a moment, it felt cold.
But looking again, Yoo Hee just looked a little sulky.
An angel making a sad face…!
Still, I had no choice.
“I’ll try to make as many as I can so I can sell more!”
When I said it with my fist clenched, Yoo Hee blinked.
She looked a bit dazed.
Then her expression turned strange, and she suddenly laughed.
“Ahaha, what?”
“If I make more, the amount one person can buy will increase!”
“Oh my. Hari, you…”
“Huh?”
“No, um…”
She looked oddly drained, but not unhappy.
As I tilted my head, Hee gently led the way forward and hummed.
“Alright. Then I’ll hold back. And I’ll wait patiently, so don’t push yourself too hard making them. Okay?”
Oh. That’s how she responds?
[Damn it… just as I thought.]
Letting Erich’s muttering fade into the background, I admired her again.
To people outside her circle, Yoo Hee was sometimes kind only on the surface.
‘Not pitch black like Erich says, but she could be cold inside.’
Her words sounded like concern on the surface, but to me—knowing her personality—they meant something else.
‘“I’ll wait, so work hard and roll around, potion slave.” That’s what it means.’
[For once, we agree!]
‘Heh. Nice.’
[What?]
Nice. Very nice.
To Yoo Hee, this meant I really had no value beyond potions.
My potions might be a little special, but they didn’t interfere with my goal.
Thank goodness.
I’d been so worried that my potion’s traits might raise my value beyond a simple F-rank.
If I stopped being just an F-rank, Yoo Hanseong would use me… and I’d probably die without even stabbing a monster once.
‘It makes me happy that she sees me as I am.’
[……]
Just then, Yoo Hee stopped walking.
We had arrived at the cafeteria.
We ordered two drinks and sandwiches filled with ham, vegetables, and bacon between tiger-faced bread.
After a while.
Sitting across from each other, we finished our sandwiches and began talking calmly.
“Actually, what I wanted to talk about was a contract offer.”
I just stared at her with my mouth slightly open.
“I’ve never seen an F-rank potion with effects this immediate. If it’s not just mine, then the quality is consistent too. I heard you practice manufacturing very hard.”
“Who said that?”
“I overheard Yoo Hanseong talking with Lee Haesol.”
So she eavesdropped…
“Are you close with Hanseong?”
Hee asked, tilting her head and fluttering her eyelashes.
“Uh… we kind of know each other.”
Yeah, that sounded right.
“I see. Anyway, if you’re that passionate about manufacturing, your skills will improve. Then you could make these kinds of potions at higher grades too, right?”
“Oh?”
“This is tempting too, but that looked incredibly valuable to me.”
“Ah… I see.”
I understood, but also didn’t.
“You didn’t just give them to our class. Even if people haven’t noticed your value yet because you’re F-rank, they soon will. I expected people to flock to you.”
Yoo Hee continued gently.
Her golden eyes sparkled like sunlight.
“By then, it would be too late. So I wanted to sign an exclusive contract with you.”
“Oh… ohhh.”
“But if that’s not what you want, I won’t push it. We’re in the same class anyway. Rather than a stiff contract, I want to be friends.”
She finished with a soft smile.
It was beautiful, holy, and gentle. Even her voice was pretty.
So basically…
‘You don’t want me as a slave, but you’ll wait beside me as I become more useful… right, Erich?’
[Exactly.]
‘I really like Yoo Hee.’
[……You’re just accurate.]
The ideal relationship I wanted had rolled right into my lap without any effort.
My eyes even welled up a little as I nodded deeply.
Yoo Hee froze mid-smile.
As if thinking, “You’re still smiling after all that?”
“Thank you!”
“…For what?”
“For everything!”
“…I’d like to know specifically what you’re thankful for. Hahaha.”
“You believe my skills will improve, you want to be friends, you praise a trivial F-rank potion, and you even bought me a meal today. My goodness. Hee, aren’t you an angel?”
Yoo Hee blinked.
The smile on her lips faded slightly.
Then—
“…Ah.”
She smiled more deeply.
“You said you work harder because you’re weak. I thought that was… really admirable.”
“Hanseong must be really close with Haesol. He told you everything we talked about!”
“…Did he really say that?”
“Huh?”
“No, um. Yeah, that must be it. They did look pretty close.”
You even eavesdropped on that, just to secure a slave!
Yoo Hee is way too cute.
[Are you sane?]
There was no more perfect way to treat an F-rank healer than this.
