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Chapter 26 – Member of the Dimensional Management Bureau – Nero
Jang Youngho.
He was Grandma Yeongja’s younger son and the neighborhood big brother I was close to.
“Well, ‘big brother’ is a bit of a stretch…”
Honestly, calling him Uncle wouldn’t have been strange.
He was about ten years older than me.
He also got married quite late.
That’s why he had a child of Seojun’s age.
“Is this the first time since that day?”
“Yeah, how have you been?”
“Me? Same as always.”
We exchanged formal greetings.
Then, someone appeared behind Jang Youngho.
At first glance, she looked to be around my age. She greeted me from beside Youngho hyung.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Lee Jieun, Seojun’s mother.”
“Ah, I’m Heo Jin.”
She sounded polite even at first.
She also had a very sharp expression.
Did she look like someone who had devoted her entire life to research and scholarship?
Even the glasses she wore seemed meticulously chosen.
“I heard about it from my mother. I heard you saved Seojun…”
“I only did what came naturally. But let’s talk inside.”
I took Youngho Hyung and his wife into the house.
Then, I skillfully served them tea.
“Licorice tea. It’s good for people with accumulated fatigue and stress.”
“How on earth did you know about my physical condition?”
“It’s like an occupational hazard. Nothing too special.”
Youngho Hyung’s wife’s eyes widened at my words.
“Kekekeke! As expected of Mr. Heo’s son!”
“Is that so? I wouldn’t say that.”
“Mr. Heo could sense people’s conditions like a spirit, too. He really was an amazing man.”
Youngho Hyung especially looked up to my father.
Did I mention that when he was young, he saw my father as a hero?
At the funeral, he cried just as hard as we did.
“Jin has really grown up well. Truly.”
With that, Youngho Hyung and his wife stood up.
Then, they bowed their heads.
“Last time, Seojun was in serious trouble. He owes his life to you.”
“The child has improved so much. I can’t imagine what would have happened without you, Heo Jin.”
Their excessive politeness made me wave my hands dismissively.
“I’m relieved to hear Seojun is doing better.”
I was also relieved that Seojun was better.
What if a patient I treated got sick again?
Nothing would be more heartbreaking than that.
“It’s all thanks to you, Heo Jin. Seojun’s condition deteriorated so suddenly; it was terrifying.”
“The hospital said the same thing. They said the illness was completely cured. We really owe you a huge debt.”
The two of them kept thanking me repeatedly.
Seojun must have been very precious to them.
I don’t have children, so I can’t know for sure, but I had a vague understanding.
“It’s thanks to Seojun for enduring it well. He probably won’t suffer from the same illness again for a while.”
Upon hearing this, the two showed relieved smiles.
Then, the sister-in-law pulled something out.
It was none other than a meat set!
It was a top-grade beef set.
As the beef set appeared,
“Beef!”
…came the sound.
Of course, they couldn’t hear it.
“It’s not much, but please accept it.”
“Oh, no, this is too much…”
“Everyone in the village knows how much you love meat.”
“Was it really that obvious?”
I accepted the beef set, hiding my smile.
“I went to Hoengseong and caught it myself. I hope it suits your taste.”
“Thanks, I’ll enjoy it.”
“Ah, and I hope you won’t misunderstand.”
“Huh? What misunderstanding?”
“I couldn’t possibly repay you for saving Seojun with just beef, could I?”
With that, the sister-in-law pulled out a business card.
I took the card and immediately examined it.
Printed on the card was a familiar corporate name.
[Somang Pharmaceuticals – Vice President Lee Ji-eun.]
[T/N: Somang means "hope" in Korean.]Seeing the name, I was stunned.
“You’re the vice president of a pharmaceutical company?”
“Yes, it’s a small company, but still.”
“My father-in-law owns Somang Pharmaceuticals. When we were dating, I had no idea!”
Youngho Hyung, you really hit the jackpot with that marriage!
Getting a wife who looks at least ten years younger was a good start.
Then she turned out to be the daughter of a wealthy family.
Anyone seeing this would think you’re the protagonist of a web novel.
“I want to properly repay you for saving Seojun. If there’s anything you want, please tell me.”
A Wish Ticket, no less!
The vice president of a pharmaceutical company gave me a Wish Ticket.
Receiving that Wish Ticket made me think.
“Should I try distributing my own medicine?”
It was one of my long-held aspirations.
* * *
Actually, I’ve always wanted to distribute my own medicine.
What kind of medicine was it?
“Because it was like a miracle drug.”
Miracle drugs are medicines with unbelievable healing power and potential.
My medicine had tremendous healing power.
For certain diseases, at least.
What if such a medicine were distributed?
“The number of people suffering from disease worldwide would decrease.”
Initially, I planned to achieve this through the Awakener Marketplace.
However, the awakener marketplace had problems.
First, ordinary people couldn’t use it.
Second, a single Awakener could hoard it all.
“Please speak freely.”
What if I borrowed the power of the sister-in-law right before my eyes?
Medicine distribution became possible without any difficulties.
This meant that my long-cherished dream project was finally becoming a reality.
But there was one problem.
“Revealing my true identity is risky.”
The two probably know I’m an Awakener.
They must have noticed when the traditional doctor treated the endocarditis.
They’ll pretend not to know until I tell them myself, though.
However, I wasn’t just any Awakener.
Recently, Hua Tuo has been quite active.
“I know I’m famous.”
That’s why I’m cautious.
Should I reveal that I’m Hua Tuo?
What’s my decision?
“I’ll think about it some more and let you know.”
I put the decision on hold immediately.
This problem doesn’t need to be solved right now.
“Tell me when you’re ready.”
“Yeah, right! If you want a setup date or something, even now…”
“You keep quiet!”
Youngho Hyung’s wife slapped his back.
The sight was so endearing that it made me laugh.
“Youngho Hyung, how long are you staying here?”
“Well, you see? I feel like I haven’t been able to pay Seojun any attention lately.”
“You’re not planning to stay long, are you?”
“Of course! I’m planning to take a nice, long break for about a month!”
“I’m practically a parachuter myself, so I set up a proxy before coming.”
[T/N: Here, "parachute" means a person who gets power, position, or wealth through family or social connections, not personal achievement.]They’re taking a whole month off for their son.
It showed just how much they cherished him.
“So, if there’s anything you want, just say the word.”
“Haha, thank you.”
“By the way, vacation, huh? Finally getting off the battlefield!”
“What? You were an Awakener, Hyung?”
This was news to me.
Youngho Hyung never talked about himself.
“I’ve been one for quite a while. Didn’t your brothers tell you?”
“Uh… I assumed you were just a support guy.”
“You little brat! What do you take me for?”
Youngho Hyung snorted.
Then, flexing his muscles, he declared,
“This big brother of yours is a top-tier A-rank Awakener. Look at this!”
“Really?”
“Yeah! I’m scheduled for the S-rank promotion exam soon!”
Things were going better than expected.
An S-rank exam?
There weren’t even twenty S-ranks in all of South Korea.
Though if you counted S-rank villains, there were probably way more.
“So, if anything happens, contact me immediately! Kwahahaha!”
“That’s quite reassuring.”
An S-rank Awakener connection.
This will definitely come in handy later.
Like when harvesting vegetables.
Even trolls need vacations, after all.
“Ah, and do you need any medicinal herbs?”
“Medicinal herbs, you say?”
“Well, since you’re in the countryside, I thought sourcing herbs might be difficult for you.”
That’s true.
If I hadn’t had my herb garden, sourcing herbs would have been incredibly difficult.
It would have been incredibly difficult.
But I had pretty much every common herb at my disposal.
“Should I tell them what I really need?”
The two of them had already picked up on it to some extent.
So, I casually mentioned it.
“Do you handle Regeneration Herbs, too?”
“Regeneration herbs?”
At that, the sister-in-law’s eyes widened.
And no wonder—regeneration herbs are rare-grade medicinal herbs.
Only an Awakener can use them as ingredients.
Was that why?
“Of course. I’ll send Regeneration Herb here periodically.”
The sister-in-law smiled as if to thank me for telling her.
Meanwhile, Youngho Hyung—
“What? You two, why are you suddenly smiling?”
He tilted his head as if he couldn’t understand the situation.
* * *
After that, we passed the time chatting about little things from the past.
After a while, the two said they were going to see Seojun and left.
Seeing them go, Nureongi cheered.
“Beef! More beef has arrived!”
“Are you that happy about it?”
“Of course! Eating beef with the young master is the finest in the world!”
Nureongi’s expression made me chuckle.
But that lasted only a moment.
“Hey, didn’t you have something you wanted?”
Nak-yong asked.
“How did you know?”
“I could tell just by looking at you that you had something on your mind. But you didn’t say anything.”
“It was too important of a matter to decide on the spot.”
“Indeed, being cautious isn’t a bad thing.”
This wasn’t a decision to be made lightly.
Revealing my true identity required careful consideration.
Of course, I knew those two wouldn’t reveal my identity to anyone else.
But being cautious couldn’t hurt.
“Still, they seemed like perfectly decent people to me.”
“I agree.”
“I understand your caution, but sometimes you have to learn to trust others.”
He was right.
Constantly doubting everything wouldn’t get me anywhere.
“Well, I trust you’ll handle it well.”
Nak-yong gave my shoulder a light pat.
I nodded in return.
“Young master, what on earth are you talking about?”
“Nothing at all.”
Nureongi tilted his head at me.
I stroked his head.
“Yeah, maybe I’m being too cautious.”
But I definitely think not choosing then was the right call.
It wasn’t something I could decide on the spot anyway.
In fact, taking time gave me a chance to think it through.
“Young Master, I always respect your choices.”
“So you’ll always be on my side?”
“Indeed. Even if the whole world turned against you, I would stand by you.”
“Do you really think that day will come?”
It’s hard to imagine a small-time guy like me having the world turn against me.
“Anyway, young master, don’t feel burdened by your choice. You will surely make the right one.”
“Hehehe, suddenly Nureongi looks pretty cool.”
“I’m always cool! Hehe!”
Nureongi’s words gave me strength.
I stroked Nureongi’s head once more, grateful.
Then—
[Yakseon's dimensional gate connects to another dimension.]That message appeared.
“Another patient?”
“Let’s go!”
Nureongi and I immediately headed for the gate.
The gate was already rippling.
But something felt different this time.
[A guest is arriving from another dimension.]Usually, a message would appear saying that a patient was arriving.
Today, however, it was a guest, not a patient.
I tilted my head at that message.
“Ah! Come to think of it, I completely forgot!”
Nureongi said this while clapping his hands.
“What do you mean?”
“This time, it’s not a patient coming through the dimensional gate!”
“Not a patient?”
I was flustered by this.
Pats!
Someone began to appear from the dimensional gate.
“Who is it?”
The figure that appeared was very small.
About the height of Nureongi?
It had fluffy black fur and the familiar appearance of a certain animal.
“…A cat?”
I muttered that the moment it appeared.
[A visitor from the Dimensional Management Bureau has arrived.]
[Nero from the Dimensional Management Bureau has arrived.]That message popped up.
Simultaneously, the cat that had appeared through the dimensional gate called out to us.
“Tenant! I’m here to collect the rent, meow!”
[T/N: Is it Theo’s subordinate? LOL]
It was the rent that Nureongi had mentioned.
It seemed the day had finally come to pay it.
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