That evening, Seo Munhyeok left Sua with Geumyi and went to the hospital alone with Haran. They were there to meet Jun’s attending physician and the hospital director.
“You must have already heard the general explanation from Geumyi.”
“Yes, yes…. She said that a Hunter newly recruited by Eclipse helped him….”
“Um, just as we promised Hunter Seo Munhyeok, we haven’t told anyone. Please don’t worry and speak freely.”
It was, in its own way, a business meeting. Dressed neatly from head to toe, Seo Munhyeok introduced Haran to the two men, who were visibly nervous and flustered.
“This is the new Hunter I mentioned earlier, Hunter Pyo Haram of our guild.”
The moment Seo Munhyeok finished speaking, Haran stepped forward and held out his hand.
“Good to meet you. I am Pyo Haram.”
The polite offer of a handshake paired with his decidedly impolite way of speaking made both the attending physician and the hospital director flinch in confusion. Seeing that, Seo Munhyeok quickly whispered,
“Mr. Pyo Haram. Your manner of speaking. Your manner of speaking.”
“I’m Pyo Haram.”
Haran immediately corrected his speech. It was the ‘natural polite speech’ Geumyi had briefly taught him before they came here.
Even that sounded somewhat strange, but fortunately, it did not cause any major trouble. After hesitating for a moment, the hospital director took Haran’s hand and lightly shook it.
“Ah, um…. You must be from abroad.”
“Something like that. I am not from around here. No, I’m not.”
“…I can tell.”
Once the awkward introductions ended and the actual negotiations began, the atmosphere relaxed somewhat. That was because Seo Munhyeok, rather than Haran, was leading the discussion.
“Hmm, so this gentleman possesses a special skill.”
“Yes. Mr. Pyo Haram reawakened during the recent anomalous Gate incident in Seoul. He has not yet reported his reawakening. That is why….”
“Ah, I see. So that is why you want a confidentiality agreement….”
“All we ask is that you help prevent information about Mr. Pyo Haram from spreading. Even if rumors do eventually spread, we would prefer that it happen after he reports his reawakening.”
“Of course. If he is willing to examine the other patients, we will do anything….”
The negotiations proceeded without a hitch. After examining the patients suffering from Mana Hypersensitivity Syndrome, Haran promised to awaken and treat them in order of urgency.
In return, Seo Munhyeok and Haran requested a confidentiality agreement.
The hospital asked whether that alone would truly be enough and encouraged them to name any financial compensation or other conditions they desired.
However, Haran firmly shook his head.
“I do not want to take money for saving people.”
“……!”
An angel! He’s an angel!
The attending physician and the hospital director looked deeply moved. In truth, Haran had only made that choice because accepting money would burden him with an unnecessary sense of responsibility.
“Now, sign here…. Yes. That will do.”
“Thank you very much, Hunter Seo Munhyeok, Hunter Pyo Haram.”
“Until the reawakening is officially reported, we will protect Hunter Pyo Haram’s identity with absolute secrecy, no matter what!”
There had been a slight misunderstanding, but in any case, Seo Munhyeok and Haran managed to achieve the result they wanted.
A short while later, the two left the hospital after being respectfully seen off by the hospital director and the attending physician. As they walked, they spoke quietly.
“Among the Mana Hypersensitivity Syndrome patients you examined earlier, how many possessed the aptitude to become a ‘mage’?”
“Only about five percent. They will all awaken, but it will be difficult to expect much from their abilities.”
“Hmm. If there are two or three….”
When Haran spoke of ‘aptitude to become a mage,’ he meant those capable of becoming at least B-class mages, healers, or buffers. That was precisely why they had offered to go to the trouble of treating the other patients as well.
Thinking of the future, it would benefit them if the number of capable Hunters increased.
“For now, understood. Starting tomorrow, I’ll leave the other patients in your care as well.”
Of course, Haran would be the one doing all the work. Seo Munhyeok smiled with his brows drawn together, as if apologizing.
Haran abruptly thrust out his hand in front of him.
“You should pay me for my labor.”
“Ah.”
So he wasn’t going to let it slide after all?
Seo Munhyeok awkwardly shifted his eyes in confusion. They had never discussed any payment for Haran’s labor.
While he was wondering what and how much he should give him—
“Hand it over. My payment.”
Haran demanded it boldly while Seo Munhyeok merely moved his lips without speaking.
“I deserve at least twenty bungeoppang.”
“…….”
Seo Munhyeok’s expression instantly went flat as he stared at Haran.
* * *
“…What is all this?”
“Hello, Hunter Gi Taebeom!”
“…….”
“Ah, I’m Sua. I’m Uncle Pyo Haram’s niece, and I’m six years old.”
The next day, in the Eclipse Guild’s lounge, a small child sitting quietly and doodling on scrap paper introduced herself in a clear voice.
It was Taebeom’s first time dealing with such a young child, so he hesitated, unsure of what to do. He barely managed to nod before turning to look at Jihan.
Meeting his gaze, which demanded an explanation, Jihan smiled without a care.
“The Guild Master dropped her off this morning. Along with these bungeoppang.”
He left a child here? No, more importantly….
“Bungeoppang?”
The table was piled high with white paper bags, creating quite a presence. Inside were bungeoppang that had gone cold and soggy.
“He said everything from here to there belongs to the new guy who came yesterday, so we have to leave it alone. He said we could eat the three bags over on this side.”
“…All of that?”
Seo Munhyeok had bought a total of seventy bungeoppang. Since each bag contained ten, nearly forty of them had been set aside for Haran.
That was twice the amount Haran had originally demanded.
‘Does he replace his meals with bungeoppang…?’
Then he’ll lose muscle.
As Eclipse’s official fitness fanatic, Taebeom worried about the muscle mass of a man he had not even spoken to yet.
He was frowning and opening the window to let out the thick sweet smell when—
“We’re back.”
The lounge door opened, and someone stepped inside. It was Seo Munhyeok and Haran, who had gone out early that morning after leaving Sua behind.
“Uncle!”
Sua, who had been doodling to relieve her boredom, beamed and ran toward Haran.
“Wait. Don’t run at me. You’ll fall.”
“Huh? I won’t fall!”
“No. I mean I’ll fall.”
“Ah.”
Screech!
Sua slammed on the brakes and stopped right in front of him. Haran lightly patted the head of the giggling child.
“Guild Master, you’re back? But where’s Geumyi? Did you leave her there?”
“Yeah. She said she wanted to talk to Jun for a while.”
Seo Munhyeok and Haran had gone to the hospital.
Under the attending physician’s observation, Haran had first treated Jun, then awakened two or three other patients whose conditions were just as urgent as Jun’s.
Calling it treatment made it sound simple, but in reality, it was closer to grueling labor. He had to manipulate each patient’s mana individually, untangling twisted sections and opening blocked passages.
“Ughhh… I’m dying…. This is abuse of the Great Archmage….”
“Sit over there and rest for a while.”
As a result, Haran had already exhausted all his stamina first thing in the morning and looked completely wilted.
Had the attending physician not been present, he would have simply grabbed Seo Munhyeok’s hand, drained his mana, and used that instead.
‘Next time, I should tell them not to let anyone but that bastard inside.’
He had no desire to make things difficult for himself when there was an easier method available.
While Haran made that decision, Seo Munhyeok dragged him over to the sofa, sat him down, and handed him a bag of bungeoppang.
“What is this? They’re completely cold.”
“Just eat them.”
“You expect me, after working so hard, to take this cold lump of flour and be satisfied?”
“…I didn’t exactly say it like that.”
Something between a sigh and a laugh escaped Seo Munhyeok’s mouth along with his excuse.
Haran suddenly held out his hand toward him.
Since there was already a precedent, Seo Munhyeok immediately understood what he wanted.
Although he groaned reluctantly, Seo Munhyeok had no choice but to take his hand.
The mana circulating throughout his body was soon drawn into Haran. Warm steam began rising from the bag of bungeoppang in front of him.
“Wow…. What type of magic is that? It doesn’t seem like it’s simply fire-type.”
Jihan approached him with interest and asked. Taebeom also watched the scene with curious eyes while pretending not to care.
Eating the now warm and crispy bungeoppang, Haran raised his brows.
“What type? There is no such thing.”
“Excuse me?”
“I simply designated the bungeoppang as coordinates and turned back their time.”
“……?”
Jihan turned to Seo Munhyeok as though asking what the hell that was supposed to mean.
Seo Munhyeok shook his head.
“Just assume something like that exists. Anyway.”
He looked at Haran, who had begun sharing the bungeoppang with Sua, and smiled awkwardly.
“Things were hectic yesterday, so we skipped the introductions. Introduce yourselves now. This is Hunter Pyo Haram. He’ll be working with our guild from now on.”
The guild only had three members to begin with. Since Geumyi was absent, only Taebeom and Jihan were present.
When their gazes focused on him, Haran swallowed what he had been chewing and introduced himself.
“I am Pyo Haram. I was an E-class healer, but after dying and waking up, I reawakened as a Great Arch—no, an A-class magic-type Hunter. My system window identifies me as a multi-type mage, and I can use anything that requires mana.”
His explanation sounded somewhat mechanical because he was reciting the self-introduction he had prepared in advance with Seo Munhyeok.
In truth, Haran did not have a system window, but if he wanted to report his reawakening to the Hunter Association, he needed to pretend to be an ordinary Hunter.
For that purpose, Seo Munhyeok had copied his own system window onto a sheet of paper, then fabricated the detailed information to match Haran’s abilities.
Haran’s part of the task had ended once he memorized it word for word.
“Can I call you Haram hyung? How old are you?”
Instead of Taebeom, who was naturally quiet and shy around strangers, the sociable Jihan cheerfully asked him questions. Thanks to him, the atmosphere became lighter.
“You may call me whatever you like. I am twenty-nine—no…. Twenty-five? Six? …years old. Hmm, is that right?”
The confidence in his voice faded.
Age had not been included on the system information Seo Munhyeok had told him to memorize.
When Haran became confused and failed to state his own age accurately, Jihan tilted his head.
So how old was he, exactly?
The precise answer came from Seo Munhyeok.