Chapter 11 - Isn't There Anything You Can Do?

Translator: Roshi

I read through the contract one more time, carefully, and signed it.

It wasn't like the Management Bureau would try to pull one over on me.

But contracts were something you always had to handle with caution.

Kim Jun-o and Kim Young-min were on pins and needles, worried I might change my mind.

Clatter, clatter.

"Young-min, stop bouncing your leg. You're distracting him while he reads."

"Yes, sir."

The tension was suffocating.

Having thoroughly reviewed the contract, I nodded and picked up the pen.

Once I signed here, I would officially become a hunter under the Management Bureau.

Scratch, scratch.

Jeong Shin-hu.

I wrote my name out in neat block letters.

The moment I did, Kim Jun-o's and Kim Young-min's faces lit up.

"Thank you, Hunter Jeong Shin-hu-nim! We look forward to working with you! Ah, when I say that, I absolutely don't mean it in a way that puts any pressure on you."

"Haha, sure. I look forward to working with you too."

"If there's anything you need, please don't hesitate to reach out. Even things not listed in the support provisions, just say the word and we'll take care of it, whatever it is."

"You don't have to go that far..."

I had signed under absurdly generous terms, sure.

But that didn't mean I planned to abuse my privileges.

Nothing in life comes free.

If I happily accepted everything they offered, what would happen later when the Bureau came asking me to handle just one dangerous Gate?

They said I had no obligations, but the more you've received, the harder it is to say no.

So things like free comprehensive health checkups for my whole family, I'd enjoy those without worry.

Everything else, I'd stick to things that were mutually beneficial.

For example.

"Then could you settle these Mana Stones for me today?"

I'd have the Mana Stones obtained from slaying monsters appraised at the preferential rate specified in the contract.

The Bureau benefited because they got to acquire Mana Stones, a precious resource.

I benefited because I'd get paid more than selling them elsewhere.

"Of course! Young-min, get the equipment out."

"Yes, sir."

Kim Young-min pulled a small device out of his bag and held it up to the Mana Stones.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

He scanned them one by one like scanning barcodes, and information like rank and purity came up.

Once the weight was measured on a scale, the appraisal was done.

Between this and the detector, the technology really was impressive.

It seemed to advance more every day.

"I'll transfer the payment right away."

When Kim Jun-o tapped away on his phone, a notification soon popped up on mine.

Ding.

[Mana Stone Settlement Deposit: 5,801,933 won]

"Wow."

Nearly six million won earned from taking out a few Trolls.

Well, technically I wasn't the one who took them out.

Was making money always this easy?

I really needed to buy Cer lots of good food.

"If they'd been larger or had higher purity, you would've gotten even more."

"Ooh."

"Trolls tend to have relatively low purity, so if you take down other monsters, your profit margin would go up."

Gulp.

For a moment I was tempted, but I quickly came to my senses.

'That's the devil whispering.'

They lure you in with how easy the money is, and before you know it, you're taking on bigger and bigger risks.

I absolutely was not falling for that.

"Hmm, I'll have to think about that..."

"Hahaha. Of course. I was just joking."

But why did his eyes seem to betray a hint of disappointment?

"Well then, we'll be heading out. Oh, if you happen to have the Mana Stones from clearing the B-rank Gate as well..."

"Those are at home. I'll have them settled another time."

"Ah, then just let us know and we'll come to you. Or you could hand them over when we come by for the Emission Gate inspection."

"I'll do that."

"Sure thing. Well then."

Kim Jun-o and Kim Young-min bowed deeply at a full ninety degrees and left.

Kkiing!

"Yeah, Cer. I'm counting on you to watch the Gate."

Kim Jun-o waved back at Cer, who was cheerfully greeting him.

And just like that, once the Bureau staff left,

"Is it done? Did you sign?"

Hunter Kang Ye-ri peeked her head in through the door and asked.

"Yeah, I did. The terms were too good to pass up, and... Cer seemed like he wanted to."

Kkiing! Hunting is fun!

He wasn't running wild since they were indoors, but even at a glance, his tail was wagging and his mouth was stretched wide with excitement.

"I see..."

But for some reason, Kang Ye-ri's expression looked a bit glum.

"Is something wrong?"

Was she disappointed because she'd wanted to recruit me to her guild but couldn't?

"I thought it was strange how well Cer understood words and how smart he was, and then I realized it's because he's a Contract Beast. I'd been thinking I'd love to have a dog that smart too, but... it was just a fantasy."

"Oh."

I felt a little bad for no real reason.

But Kang Ye-ri soon flashed a grin.

"Well, it's fine. When I think about it, being a hunter means you never know when something dangerous might happen, so keeping a dog wouldn't really work."

She was worried that if she never came back from a Gate, her dog would be left all alone.

"The fact that you even think about that says a lot. Plenty of people bring pets home without a second thought. If you ever do decide to get one, you'd be a wonderful guardian."

"Thanks. I'll hold off on getting one for now, but I'll come visit Cer every now and then instead."

Kkiing! Come play anytime!

Kang Ye-ri gave Cer some pets, said goodbye, and left.

'You never know when something dangerous might happen as a hunter, huh...'

She was right.

Anything could happen inside a Gate at any time.

All the more reason.

"Let's hunt safely, okay? Got it?"

Kkiing!

And today, since I'd made money from the Mana Stones,

"Tonight, we're having meat!"

Kkiiing!!!

*

"Hmm. It really is slowly shrinking."

The commotion was over and work still had to be done, so I'd only been poking my head out for quick looks every now and then.

Just as Kim Jun-o had said, the Gate that had released monsters was shrinking, as if entering a dormant period.

Based on the cases so far, it would stay shrunken for at least a few days, then gradually start growing again.

Once it reached a certain size, it would stop, and monsters would emerge, apparently.

The problem was that there was no way to know the exact timing of when monsters would come out, or precisely which monsters would appear.

When I asked whether the same monsters always came out, apparently sometimes they did and sometimes they didn't.

So basically, nothing was certain.

It was a new type of Gate, after all.

Nothing to be done about it.

'At least they said there's never been a case where a Gate that was spawning C-rank monsters suddenly spat out an S-rank...'

In any case, the only real indicator was that once the Gate grew large enough, something was probably coming soon.

Fortunately, Cer could pick up the scent and head out early to deal with it.

'But that means I'd have to keep Cer stationed nearby.'

The thought of sleeping comfortably at home by myself while leaving Cer alone at the clinic didn't sit well with me.

On top of that, what if, in the slim off chance, some incredibly powerful monster appeared and Cer got hurt or something happened?

Just in case, I needed to be right there beside him, armed with my heal and Absolute Shield.

Only then could I rest easy.

'Should I set up a cot at the clinic or something?'

But then, if I thought about having to do this irregularly, every few days at the shortest...

'Hmm. Should I just move somewhere near here?'

I had originally moved somewhere that required a bit of a walk on purpose, after hearing that there should be some distance between work and home.

But since I worked so comfortably at the clinic, the awkward distance to my apartment was actually more of a nuisance.

Too close to justify driving.

A little too far for a comfortable walk.

I didn't ride a bike out of habit, so that option never appealed to me, and I'd just been walking.

Taking this opportunity to move closer to the clinic didn't seem like a bad idea at all.

'While I'm at it, I might as well get a bigger place too. So Cer won't feel so cooped up.'

All I had to do now was guard the Gate and the money would come in on its own, so this much of an investment was worth it.

Come to think of it, the lease on my current place was about to expire anyway.

I'd stop by a real estate office on my way home and look into it.

"Ssaem, you have a patient!"

"Coming!"

Anyway, work was work.

"Doctor, our Huni seems to have been having trouble walking lately... Do you think there's something wrong with his legs?"

"Let me take a look."

This patient was a Dachshund.

He seemed weak; he didn't even try to bite when I touched him.

"Restoration."

Flash, whoosh!

[Restoration skill has been used.]

[EXP increased by 1.]

As the light seeped in, life returned to Huni's eyes, and he let out a bark and leapt down.

"Oh! He's perfectly fine now, Doctor!"

The guardian's face brightened.

Huni licked my hand, then burrowed into his owner's arms and wagged his tail.

I smiled and, based on the information I'd received, gave my explanation.

"There was barely anything wrong with his legs. He had a herniated disc, meaning a spinal issue, which made it look like he was limping on his hind legs."

"His spine?"

"Yes. In simple terms, it's a slipped disc. Dachshunds have long bodies, so their spines need the most care. Does Huni tend to eat a lot?"

"Oh, yes. He does have quite the appetite... But I didn't think he was really getting fat or anything."

I shook my head.

"With naturally stocky breeds like Dachshunds, even when they put on a lot of weight around their back and belly, it doesn't really show. You'll need to put him on a diet."

"Ugh, but the way he eats is just so adorable... You, um, you mentioned you can cure diseases, so... obesity can't be treated?"

I spoke to the guardian, who was looking at me hopefully.

"Unfortunately, no. Feed him in moderation and make sure he gets moderate exercise. Until he loses the weight, be careful about jumping or going up and down stairs."

"Okay, understood. Thank you, Doctor!"

The guardian bowed and left.

'Hmm. So obesity can't be cured, huh.'

Calling it obesity, but really it was just a case of eating well and putting on weight.

The diseases caused by it could be treated, sure.

But obesity itself couldn't be cured.

'Then again, the criteria here really are vague.'

If eating too much isn't considered an external factor, then isn't arthritis caused by too much physical activity equally hard to classify as an external factor?

'Well, it's not like I can do anything about it either way.'

I'd just use the skill first and see.

This works.

This doesn't.

All I could do was categorize as I went.

After all, anything that was clearly an injury or illness had never once failed to be healed.

I spent the afternoon seeing patients like that.

Ding!

[EXP increased by 1.]

[EXP increased by 1.]

...

[Bonus EXP of 100 earned for 10 successful Restorations!]

I racked up a decent amount of EXP too.

Wasn't it about time for a level-up soon?

On my way home, I'd sneak in some Restorations on any wilting plants I came across.

I'd already been going at it in the park, and now the flowers and grass were all lush and vibrant.

I could probably moonlight as an EX-rank gardener.

Anyway.

"Time to clock out!"

Kkiing!!

"Aw, our Cer. You were so well-behaved the whole time I was working. Such a good boy."

I showered the patient Cer with pets for being so good while waiting.

Kkiiing! Pant, pant.

Since there was no chance of monsters pouring out of the Gate for the next few days, I could sleep at home without a worry.

I packed Cer's Comfort Toy into my bag.

Since we'd decided on meat, I stopped by the butcher shop first.

"Welcome in!! Pork belly and pork shoulder at great prices!"

Slabs of red meat were lined up in a gorgeous display.

Kkiing?! What is all that, Master?

Cer looked absolutely blown away.

His mouth hung open with an expression that said, Is this heaven?

Pant, slurp!

He barely caught the drool that nearly hit the floor, slurping it back up just in time with his tongue.

"We can't eat all of that. You have to pay money to buy a little bit at a time from here."

When I explained, the butcher laughed heartily.

"Hahah! Does he actually understand when you explain it like that?"

"Of course. Our Cer is incredibly smart. Isn't that right?"

Kking!

"I'll start with 2 kg of pork belly, and..."

Since I didn't know Cer's preferences yet, I bought a reasonable amount of various cuts.

Then I stopped by a real estate office to look into moving.

'Come to think of it, there was a nice newly built officetel near the clinic.'

From what I remembered, it was pretty popular when it first opened, so I wasn't sure if there'd be any units available...

With that in mind, I opened the door and stepped inside, only to find there was already a customer there.

"I'm telling you, my child nearly died because of the Gate right in front of our building. It hasn't even disappeared, so how are we supposed to walk past it every day...? I can see it from our window, for crying out loud. Isn't there anything you can do?"

"Well, the thing is, as long as there's time left on the lease, we'd need someone willing to move in, so..."