Despite making a statement that made one doubt their ears, Choi Gang-hu remained as nonchalant as ever. He even tilted his head slightly, bringing his rolled-up forearm a bit closer while leaning against the bed’s backrest.

“What do you mean by that?”

Ryu Seo-ha wanted to demand what kind of nonsense this was, but as always, his lips automatically softened the words.

“The tongue would be better, but I suppose that would be too burdensome.”

“No, I mean… what do lips or tongue have to do with…”

“Genitals, neck, chest, stomach, ears, lips. Aren’t these the most sensitive parts of the body?”

They were all areas with a high concentration of nerve cells, thus easily receptive to stimulation. Areas prone to ticklishness even from slight touches. Naturally, they would react more sensitively to magical power as well.

“I suggested it thinking you’d be more reluctant to rub other places. I won’t force you if you don’t want to.”

“…Are you sure it’s helpful? You said the magical circuit’s shape and path differ for each person.”

Choi Gang-hu, who had paused for a moment, grinned and shrugged his broad shoulders lightly. It seemed like he had just heard a soft click of the tongue.

“They say imitation is the mother of creation, don’t they?”

After pondering for a moment, Ryu Seo-ha looked down at the forearm still extended towards him. Strong yet delicate muscles were beautifully defined.

Slowly lowering his head, he placed his lips near the protruding wrist bone. Indeed, he could feel the flow of magical power several times more finely than with his fingertips. It felt like touching deep ocean currents with his lips.

Suddenly, he felt the urge to trace the shape and size of the entire magical circuit flowing through Choi’s body. That would be a great reference for creating his own path.

“You can move if you want.”

Gently stroking the back of Seo-ha’s half-lowered head, Choi Gang-hu gave permission in a languid voice. As if enchanted, Ryu Seo-ha followed his words and slowly slid his lips towards the back of Choi’s hand.

“Go up.”

He hesitated for a moment at the large hand gently caressing the back of his neck, guiding the direction. Obediently changing course, he moved up along the large tendon of the forearm. The unobstructed flow felt even more massive.

“There. That’s the first knot.”

He could understand the meaning of those words immediately without a long explanation. The magical circuit was designed to guide the magical power inside the body to circulate along a set path. It was like building a highway through a jungle.

The knot Choi Gang-hu mentioned was a kind of rest area concept. It’s about distributing a certain amount of magical power to various parts of the body to increase the response speed when casting skills or characteristics. Like storing oil at a gas station.

“The second is here.”

Ryu Seo-ha slightly raised his eyes to look at Choi Gang-hu, sensing the movement of an arm that wasn’t offered to him. He saw a hand pointing to the collarbone exposed through the disheveled shirt, uncharacteristic of Choi.

“Would you like to experience this too?”

The voice whispering seductively snapped him back to his senses. What on earth was he doing? Like a cat fleeing from a kiss, he hurriedly got off Choi Gang-hu’s lap, detaching his lips as if burned.

“Next time. I’ll think about it on my own first.”

While he didn’t feel averse to physical contact, he hesitated to get too close to Choi Gang-hu.

Status: Remaining lifespan 20 days 16 hours 11 minutes

Because he might not be able to handle it in the future.

As he slightly distanced himself and turned his head, he saw the ending credits rolling on the screen. He heard a low sigh brush past his ear.

“More importantly, about participating in the IHL tournament.”

Choi Gang-hu narrowed his eyes and sighed again at the obvious change of subject. Still, he nodded generously as if to say go ahead.

“I’ll go. On the condition that you allow the observer you secretly attached to me.”

Choi Gang-hu’s expression became subtle at this calm declaration.

“Come to think of it, I heard you defended me.”

He could see the corner of his mouth twitching slightly. Like when he faced Choi Junwan. Now that he looked, it seemed he was trying to hold back laughter.

The black eyes looking down at him exuded a sweet scent as if dipped in honey. Enough to make his heart feel like it was sinking.

“Didn’t you admit with your own mouth that it wasn’t surveillance, but protection?”

That was because he couldn’t let Choi Junwan find fault with him. How shameless. Despite trying to refute internally, his heart was still beating fast.

“You did attach someone to me without telling me, didn’t you?”

“Hmm.”

“I appreciate your intention to protect me, but that’s an invasion of privacy. Above all, now that it’s been discovered, it’ll be difficult to continue without my cooperation.”

“Is that a threat, by any chance?”

“Yes.”

Ryu Seo-ha firmly uttered an answer he wouldn’t have dared to say when he first met Choi. It was thanks to the vague fear he had felt almost disappearing.

“Surely this isn’t all the cards you’re holding. I thought you said you were confident you could persuade me.”

While tilting his head as if disappointed, Choi Gang-hu’s eyes melted softly as if seeing the affection of a beloved pet. The ticklish gaze was troublesome as it kept making his heart open up.

There was something he had thought of as a negotiation card beforehand… Suddenly, he had the intuition that an emotional appeal would work better than rational persuasion.

“I really want to participate. Can’t I…?”

He asked plaintively, drooping the corners of his eyes. Leaning his upper body forward, he placed one hand on the mattress where Choi Gang-hu was sitting. Deliberately thinking sad thoughts, his eyes quickly welled up with tears.

“…You can.”

Huh?

While he was taken aback by the surprisingly easy permission, long fingers suddenly approached and gently stroked Ryu Seo-ha’s eyes. The teardrops that had gathered at the corners of his eyes were wiped away.

“Why are you crying? Over something like this.”

He hadn’t even cried properly yet. With the next lines he had prepared evaporating from his mind, he just sat there blankly.

“You can do whatever you want.”

“…Really?”

“In return, keep in touch with me regularly.”

To think the only condition he attached was keeping in touch. It felt strange. He felt like if he opened his mouth now, nonsense would spill out.

Ryu Seo-ha, who had obediently nodded, didn’t push away the large hand stroking his head and closed his eyes quietly. Thinking this much should be okay.

❖ ❖ ❖

S-class Healer Ryu Seo-ha confirmed to participate in IHL tournament as medical staff!

Director Hwang Munseok of Each Country Affairs, “Express deep gratitude to Hunter Ryu Seo-ha for willingly stepping forward”

Editorial: How much does the quality of hunters possessed by a country contribute to raising national prestige?

The very next day, news articles poured out. It was probably a ploy to form public opinion inescapably. After all, high-ranking hunters are always followed by spotlights no less than top celebrities.

Serial disappearance case, mystery finally solved?

K, who disappeared on the 17th, “I don’t remember anything”

Returned missing persons confused about memories, presumed effect of mental-type skills…

Although buried under the festive atmosphere ahead of the IHL tournament, news of the missing persons’ return was also covered, albeit briefly. While their memories and minds weren’t intact and their fingers and toes had been cut off, there were no fatalities.

“The schedule is tight, so we’ll have to move straight to the airport. Have a good trip.”

Right after signing the pledge accompanied by a lawyer, Ryu Seo-ha had to get up immediately as Chairman Choi Geum-cheol said. Due to the late confirmation of his participation, the date to join the delegation was urgent.

The pre-determined departure date was today. Ryu Seo-ha, who didn’t refuse Choi Gang-hu’s offer to take him in a limousine, was able to arrive at Incheon Airport quickly.

The airport, remodeled with dungeon-derived materials, looked even more majestic from the exterior. On the other hand, the floating population had noticeably decreased at a glance. It was due to the skyrocketing travel costs.

“Looks like we came too early.”

The departure lounge he was guided to was empty. Even though there was only about an hour left until the plane took off.

There was supposed to be a pre-event for the national delegation in Yeouido, but it seemed the ceremony was taking longer than expected. It was good that he had refused in advance.

He went through the boarding procedures first. Unlike before, the duty-free area wasn’t separately divided, so Choi Gang-hu could stick close by.

“Thank you for bringing me.”

He bowed slightly, meaning he could leave now, but Choi just nodded back, seemingly having no intention of leaving.

“Why do you have so much luggage?”

Choi Gang-hu asked, lightly gesturing with his chin towards the 24-inch carry-on luggage he was pulling instead.

“You could just request anything you need from the staff.”

“Ah… I packed some consumable items. Just in case.”

There are hunter malls at the destination too. But it was more comfortable to pack things himself. He wasn’t used to subordinates preparing necessary items for him, nor to asking others for favors.

“More importantly, aren’t you busy?”

“I’ve taken care of most things before coming.”

Those “most things” probably involved at least tens of billions of won. Can a newly appointed guild master keep leaving his post like this?

Although Ryu Seo-ha, who left early every day until the second day of work and was going abroad from the third day under the pretext of a business trip, wasn’t in a position to say anything, he was slightly worried.

‘…He’ll manage.’

Although he seemed careless at a glance, Choi Gang-hu wasn’t a person who handled work sloppily. Rather than worrying about him, it was better to mind his own business. Glancing at his watch, Ryu Seo-ha logged into his mobile banking app.

Today was the day to deposit interest on the debt to Go Young-hoon. If he doesn’t deposit the specified interest rate to the designated account in the pledge between 12 PM and 2 PM on the 20th of each month, he’ll receive a penalty.

-Automatic transfer? Nonsense. I’m setting the date and time on purpose to make you nervous. Feel the greatness of the creditor in person every time you send interest.

It was due to Go Young-hoon’s malicious intent. Even if the debtor changed, the designated deposit account and time specified in the pledge wouldn’t change. In other words, he had to follow the set contents unconditionally until the debt was fully paid off.

He wanted to find a new debtor and cancel the contract or pay off the principal at once, but it was difficult at the moment. Finding the owner of a secret Swiss bank account is a challenging task.

Even if he found them, the down payment received from Fromhell had to be set aside as an advance payment for treatment by the S-class healer in the Czech Republic. Although Chairman Choi Geum-cheol promised to arrange it, the money had to be prepared on his own.

In the end, for now, he had no choice but to just deposit the interest and postpone the situation. This is why contracts should be made carefully. Shaking his head at his past self who had no choice, Ryu Seo-ha transferred the interest to the designated account.

Bzzt.

And somehow, at a coincidental timing, a vibration sound was heard.

“…?”

Turning his head, he saw Choi Gang-hu sitting next to him, frowning and covering his phone as if to hide it.