Chapter 19 - Cer Knows What's Good
Translator: Roshi
Kkiing!
Cer carefully entrusted his Comfort Toy to me, then trotted over to Jickan, wagging his tail in wide circles.
Jickan seemed surprised.
【This little one.... He shouldn't be a creature found in this Dimension.】
Kkiing?
Cer tilted his head as if to say, 'I don't really know how I got here either!'
I explained on his behalf.
"Well, not long ago he happened to appear through a Gate at our Animal Hospital. He was badly hurt, so I treated him and formed a Contract Beast bond."
【Happened to appear through a Gate, you say....】
Perhaps because Jickan's words were conveyed like Telepathy, transcending the language barrier, we were able to converse without any difficulty.
Come to think of it, it had felt the same way when I'd spoken with the Black Dragon and Serintia.
Like an automatic translator running inside my head, I suppose?
Anyway, Cer padded lightly over to Jickan and nuzzled his face into that lush mane.
Kkiing, Kking! So soft, hehe!
Jickan sat in a sphinx pose and let Cer nuzzle to his heart's content.
"Haha, sorry if he's being rude. Our Cer is just really friendly."
【It's fine. I can at least tell whether this child carries goodwill or malice.】
Kking!
"He really likes lions, you see. This is his Comfort Toy, too...."
When I showed him the lion plushie, Jickan let out a hearty laugh.
【You're saying this thing looks like me? Ha. No wonder he's been holding that in his mouth and staring at me this whole time.】
Surprisingly, Jickan was quite warm toward Cer.
Honestly, I'd been worried he might give Cer a hard time since he was a Hell Hound.
What a relief.
Kkiing!
【Haha, yes, well... cough.】
Kking?!
Jickan had been laughing along with Cer's antics when he suddenly flinched, and Cer froze, not knowing what to do.
【Don't be alarmed. You didn't do anything wrong.】
I nodded as well.
"He's also a patient who came here because he's hurt. I'm going to start treating him now. Can you step aside for a moment?"
Kkiing...! That's what was going on?!
Cer quickly backed away.
I rolled up my sleeves, more for show than anything, and approached Jickan.
"Then I'll begin the treatment right away."
"...You can treat him, just like that?"
Raymond asked cautiously, so I gave him a grin.
"Believe it or not, I've never failed to heal anything except humans."
And more importantly.
[This is a treatable subject.]
[A large amount of EXP can be obtained.]
The system was flat-out telling me it was possible.
'Hell yeah, another massive EXP haul!'
This time, all my EXP gain bonuses would be applied too.
I wondered just how much I'd rake in this time.
I walked up to Jickan and placed my hand on his mane.
'Mm, definitely soft.'
No wonder Cer liked it.
After a few gentle strokes, I pressed my hand down and activated my skill.
"Restoration."
A cluster of light flowed from my hand.
Whoosh!
Flash!
It poured into Jickan's body, sweeping the curse away clean and restoring him to peak condition.
Ding!
[You have obtained 13,083 EXP.]
[Restoration Lv.6 (Stage 2) effect slightly increases EXP gained.]
[You have obtained an additional 1,439 EXP!]
Oh!
That was even more EXP than when I'd treated Serintia.
Did that mean Jickan was stronger than Serintia?
Or that the wound Jickan had suffered was more severe?
Based on my healing experience so far, EXP varied depending on the subject's Rank and the severity of the injury.
[Skill 'Restoration' has leveled up.]
[Restoration Lv.6 → Lv.7]
[Skill 'Restoration' effect and proficiency increase slightly.]
[Skill 'Restoration' restoration speed and EXP gain increase slightly.]
The effects I'd gained in the Level 1 through 5 range all went up as well.
The new level-up effect that had appeared starting at Level 6 also increased once more.
Ding!
[Achievement: You have lifted the curse of the Dark Knight Lagar.]
[You have obtained 7,000 EXP.]
[Restoration Lv.7 (Stage 2) effect slightly increases EXP gained.]
[You have obtained an additional 840 EXP.]
On top of that, another Achievement unlocked.
The increased additional EXP gain from reaching Level 7 was reflected too.
'Dark Knight Lagar?'
That must have been the name of the boss from the S-rank Gate that had appeared in the US.
'This one gave less EXP than Serintia's, though.'
It seemed like lifting an S-rank boss's curse was treated as a lesser Achievement than curing a True Progenitor's Bloodlust without blood.
Well, that made sense. They'd said an S-rank boss had cast the curse, so if they'd found an Awakener with an S-rank Curse Removal skill, the curse could have been lifted without my healing at all.
Thinking about it that way, curing Serintia's Bloodlust was definitely rarer.
'But Serintia's Bloodlust can be cured simply by drinking blood, so was it judged as a less severe condition than a wound requiring S-rank Curse Removal?'
It was a reasonable interpretation.
Of course, analyzing it didn't really serve much purpose.
I was going to get whatever the Status Window decided to give me regardless.
The analysis was just for fun.
"The wound was quite a headache, actually. It had embedded itself deep in his abdomen, of all places. The curse was spreading, but, well, it's all healed up now."
For a regular animal, I would have prescribed lifestyle changes or medication or something.
But this wasn't exactly something my medical knowledge could address.
Telling them it was all healed up was about all I could say.
"Jickan...! Is he really better?"
Raymond approached Jickan as if he couldn't believe the curse had just been washed away like that.
【Indeed. I can hardly believe it myself. To be healed this perfectly.】
Jickan sprang to his feet and moved his body this way and that.
His movements looked incredibly light.
Kkiing!! Master, you're amazing!
Cer bounced up and down alongside the risen Jickan.
Hehe, what a cutie.
Raymond watched Jickan like that and let out a deep breath.
As if all the tension he'd been holding was finally draining away.
He let out a sigh of relief.
'As I thought, he really does care about his Summon.'
I wore a proud smile.
Whether it was an ordinary puppy or an S-rank Summon.
The satisfaction of healing a patient in front of a worried guardian was something else.
And on top of that, earning EXP and leveling up made it doubly satisfying.
Raymond soon lifted his head and looked at me with eyes noticeably different from before.
"Thank you so much, Hunter Jeong Shin-hu. No, 'thank you' doesn't even begin to cover it. I'm sure the Bureau already told you, but whatever you want, I'm prepared to offer it all as compensation."
"Hmm...."
Honestly, it wasn't like I hadn't thought about it.
But there was nothing I particularly wanted.
I could have demanded an enormous sum of money, but what would I do with it?
I'd just lose my sense of money.
The precious income I earned running the hospital and treating patients might start feeling meaningless.
If I'd wanted to make a fortune in the first place, I wouldn't have set up a small clinic out in the outskirts like this. I would have moved somewhere big and gone all out on advertising.
So I'd been mulling it over a bit.
But after meeting him in person today, one thing I wanted had come to mind.
"Please don't worry about the upper limit. Even if I have to sell everything I own...."
"No. I don't need money. Instead, I heard that your summoning skill has a location save feature, Raymond-nim. Can you save a location in Korea too?"
At my question, Raymond nodded with a look of understanding.
"So that's what you're after. Saving is possible, but given the distance, even if I set up a summoning window, it would probably only be about one hour per day at most. But don't worry. I'll need to get permission from my guild, but if you ever request Gate raid support, Hunter Jeong Shin-hu, I'll fly over on a private jet anytime."
"Huh? No. I was just asking if Jickan could come play with Cer."
"......"
"One hour is plenty. Would that be possible? I think we should hear what Jickan-nim thinks about this too, though...."
What I wanted was for Jickan, whom Cer adored and followed so well, to visit now and then to play with Cer.
Jickan smirked and nodded.
【Of course. I can do at least that much for a benefactor. If nothing else comes up, I'll stop by for a short while each day. Spending time with this little one seems like it would be quite enjoyable for me as well.】
When Jickan looked at Cer.
Kkiiing! Really?
Cer bounced up and landed with his face buried in Jickan's fluffy mane.
He looked absolutely overjoyed.
I was watching the scene with a warm smile when.
"I will carry out what you've asked. And I'd like to offer you a call-in right for Gate raids on top of that. Even that feels like a bargain compared to what you've done for us."
"Hmm, well, if you're offering, I'll gratefully accept."
With Serintia around, I wasn't sure there would ever be an occasion to call him, but.
The more insurance you have, the better.
If he was giving, I should take.
"Then let me save the location now...."
Just as Raymond was about to set the summoning point.
"Oh, wait a moment. Raymond-nim."
"Yes?"
"Could you save the location somewhere other than here?"
"I can, but where?"
"Follow me this way!"
And so, Jickan would now be able to visit our house every day.
*
Inside the private jet heading back to the United States.
Jickan, summoned once more, spoke up.
【That child, he's not one that belongs in this Dimension.】
"You mean Cer?"
【Yes. Either it was an incredible coincidence, or the one called Jeong Shin-hu possesses power far greater than it appears. One of the two.】
"Hunter Jeong Shin-hu?"
Jickan nodded.
What was remarkable wasn't simply that Cer had crossed over from another Dimension and become a Contract Beast.
Dimensions had distances between them.
Intertwined Dimensions, clusters on the opposite end, and clusters beyond even those....
For something to cross from there to here, it would have had to break through an extreme coincidence.
Or there would need to be an immense power governing the Dimensions.
Shin-hu was an EX-rank healer, true.
But in the end, he was only human.
There was no way he possessed such an ability.
It was a curious thing.
Jickan wanted to ask about it, but knowledge regarding the Dimensions was bound by Prohibition, so he couldn't speak of it aloud.
Giving this much of a hint to Raymond, a summoner, was the most he could manage.
【Strengthen your relationship with him. At the very least, it won't be a loss.】
Raymond didn't fully grasp the hidden meaning, but he nodded.
"Of course. He told us to come back anytime if we ever need treatment again. That alone is more than I could ask for."
With the location saved, they could send Jickan there whenever he was injured and have him treated.
It was an enormous advantage.
And on top of that, Raymond had a top-secret matter he hadn't told anyone else.
Namely.
'If Jickan dies, my skill is permanently destroyed.'
As a rule, it was best not to disclose an Awakener's Penalty.
Except in special circumstances, cases where it was outwardly apparent, or situations where revealing it would help with raid strategy.
It was obvious. A Penalty was essentially a weakness.
Raymond's Penalty was the permanent loss of his skill upon his Summon's death.
Normally, when a Summon suffered fatal damage, it would become unsummonable for an extended period depending on the scale of its power.
But if Jickan died once, that was it. He could never be summoned again.
'It's not losing my ability that scares me.'
That was frightening too, of course.
But never being able to fight alongside Jickan again, that was what terrified Raymond more.
He'd already earned enough money to retire.
But he wanted to keep fighting alongside Jickan.
That was why he'd been willing to give up his entire fortune to save Jickan.
Yet Jeong Shin-hu hadn't asked for a single cent.
He'd simply asked Jickan to play with Cer.
Naturally, Raymond had no intention of leaving it at that, which was why he'd offered the raid call-in right as well.
After a back-and-forth with Shin-hu, who kept declining, he'd also managed to press a modest sum into his hands.
As small an amount as possible so it wouldn't feel like a burden.
Going forward, he was prepared to grant any request Shin-hu might make.
'I really was lucky. In more ways than one.'
Raymond smiled and idly ran his fingers through Jickan's mane.
Mm, Jickan's mane really was the best.
Cer knows what's good.
*
The next day.
The news that Black Phoenix Guild's Raymond Phil had visited Korea to have his Summon treated began to spread like wildfire.
*****
Join our Discord for announcements or to report any mistakes.