The Saintess Who Purifies Both Body and Eyes
A throng of people filled our vision—Association staff, Hunters, reporters, and countless others.
Someone cried out as if screaming.
“They’re finally out! The first party to clear Nightmare difficulty has returned at last!”
“Kang Taegun Hunter, you say?”
“Han Yujin Hunter is safe too!”
As the plaza erupted in a roar of cheers, I surveyed the crowd before me.
It felt even larger than an army massed on the eve of war.
Han Yujin whispered softly at my side.
“Don’t say a word.”
I nodded at her thoroughly wise advice.
Then the reporter at the very front thrust a microphone forward and shouted.
“Hunter Kang Taegun! Is the rumor true that you subordinated the Nightmare difficulty boss?”
Had even that gotten out already?
Or was it nothing more than an idle rumor?
I glanced at Han Yujin, but she hurriedly shook her head.
Keep your mouth shut—that was the message.
Heeding her counsel, I sealed my lips tight.
A second reporter called out.
“Where is the subordinated boss monster now?”
I stayed silent once more.
A third reporter shoved a mic toward me.
“There’s also a rumor you gave the boss a new name—is that true?”
Han Yujin was still shaking her head.
After finally forcing our way through the throng and climbing into Han Yujin’s car, I quietly let out a breath.
Being surrounded by hundreds of reporters outside the Tower had worn me out more than being surrounded by hundreds of monsters inside it.
Her car was a black sports model.
The chassis sat low, and the engine growled like a beast of the forest.
The moment she settled into the driver’s seat and buckled her belt, she spoke.
“All right, we’re heading out.”
Vroooom!
The instant we pulled away with that distinctive sports-car roar, the reporters who spotted us opened fire with camera flashes and gave chase.
Han Yujin’s eyes flashed sharply as she called out.
“Taegun, hold on tight!”
“Understood.”
As she accelerated and tore through the city streets, I could feel the fighting spirit unique to a warrior woman.
Watching her race like a true alpha female, traffic laws be damned, I realized I was already falling for her more and more.
The moment she judged we had completely shaken the reporters, Han Yujin exhaled and spoke.
“Congratulations. Famous on your very first day of Awakening.”
Well, a pair of complete newcomers like Yujin and me had cleared the first floor of Nightmare difficulty—something no one in the world had managed before. Fame was only natural.
She looked at me with worried eyes.
“The Association’s summons will come soon. When they do, I’ll go with you and stay by your side.”
As if remembering late, she added,
“Ah, and right now we’re on our way to a healer I know well.”
She glanced at me again.
“If you go straight home in that condition, the aftereffects will be serious.”
A sudden question rose in me, and I asked her.
“Why are you being this good to me?”
When I turned to look, her ears had gone red.
“Got a fever?”
“N-no, I don’t!”
“Your ears look pretty red.”
“J-j-j-just focus on driving and stop talking to me!”
She barked the words and stomped the accelerator harder for no good reason.
With a thunderous engine roar the car shot forward with fierce momentum.
A short while later we arrived in a quiet luxury residential district of Gangnam.
Every house boasted high walls, broad gardens, and massive gates.
Each one looked like a small castle—places where, in my past life, chieftains or lords would have lived.
Han Yujin expertly guided the car into an underground garage and parked.
She cut the engine and said,
“We’re here.”
I unbuckled my seatbelt and spoke.
“So this is where that healer lives.”
She answered as she stepped out of the car.
“It’s the home of S-rank healer Yun Se-ah.”
“Yun Se-ah?”
I knew the name well enough by reputation.
“Yes. The best healer in the country.”
As she said it, she looked me over once more.
The torn shirt, the blood-streaked arms, the wounds that still had not fully closed—each one entered her gaze in turn.
Her voice trembled slightly as she added,
“We’re pretty close, so if I ask her, she should be willing to treat you too, Taegun.”
I thought for a moment.
If treatment was the goal, a hospital would have done the job.
But turning the car toward a hospital would only invite another swarm of reporters in no time.
Yujin must have decided this was the better way to dodge their eyes as well.
We left the garage and stepped into an elevator.
Unlike ordinary ones, this elevator had only two buttons.
It was clearly a private elevator for the residence alone.
When the doors closed, Han Yujin moved in close to me.
A half-step closer and a kiss would have been possible.
She spoke in a near-whisper.
“Se-ah is a little… peculiar.”
“How so?”
“She loves teasing people. She’s a good person, but… sometimes her pranks go too far.”
“I see.”
I nodded once and answered.
“Don’t worry. I have no intention of standing idle while my comrade is mocked.”
Han Yujin’s face flushed crimson again.
Ding.
The elevator doors opened onto a spacious foyer and living room.
Bright marble floors and paintings on the walls came into view one after another.
Soft light from a chandelier hanging from the ceiling bathed everything, and a fragrant floral scent brushed my nose.
It felt less like a house and more like a small, cozy palace.
A moment later, a woman appeared before us.
Dazzling blue eyes.
Radiant golden hair cascading past her waist.
Skin white and pure.
Dressed in a neat white one-piece dress, she looked like a goddess who had just stepped out of a temple mural.
Yet the most striking features lay elsewhere.
Her chest and hips were so violently voluptuous they rivaled Han Yujin’s own—hardly a contest of who was larger.
Come to think of it, she was of mixed European blood.
Her features were distinctly exotic.
A status window supplied her information.
Name:Yun Se-ah
Rank:S
Job:High Priestess of the Sanctuary
Epithet:Saint
Special Notes:Possesses the highest-level healing ability in the Republic of Korea.
Saint, was it.
A look that truly lived up to the epithet.
Yun Se-ah looked back and forth between Han Yujin and me and greeted us warmly.
“I heard about you from Yujin. But… I never imagined the guest would be this charming. Hoho!”
When I glanced sideways on instinct, I caught Han Yujin’s completely blank expression.
What is it this time?
The curiosity lasted only a moment.
Yujin recovered first, shooting Se-ah a mischievous smile as she spoke.
“My, is it because you knew a guest was coming that you’re all dressed up so much more than usual? How impressive. Hehe!”
Se-ah’s eyes curved playfully as she returned fire.
“My, I look like this every day. Who exactly are you mistaking me for?”
Perhaps Yujin had a point.
Looking at the carefully braided goddess-like hair and the overall presence, I could hardly tell whether I still stood on earth or was facing a goddess from the realm of the gods.
No matter how stunning Yun Se-ah was, maintaining that appearance every single day would be nearly impossible.
Even a true alpha male like me found it almost impossible to keep a blank face in front of her dizzying beauty—that said everything.
Meanwhile, Se-ah studied my body, covered in wounds, and spoke in a worried tone.
“Oh dear, looking at our guest’s condition, treatment seems urgent.”
She stepped closer, and from the deep valley of her full breasts a dizzying scent of skin drifted out.
It was a different fragrance from Yujin’s—one that set the heart on fire.
“Your name was… Kang Taegun, correct?”
I nodded once.
“My, and you’re the silent type too. I don’t mind this look at all.”
Beside us, Han Yujin made a dissatisfied goat-like bleating sound and coughed loudly.
“Ahem!”
Ignoring her completely, Se-ah beckoned me with a hand.
“Then, would you follow me to the bedroom? Ah, there’s no need to worry I might pounce on you. Everything I intend to do is strictly for the purpose of treatment.”
Leaving Han Yujin’s displeased glare behind, I followed Se-ah into the bedroom.
Before long only the two of us remained inside.
In a slightly excited voice she pointed to the bed and spoke.
“Then, would you undress and lie down here for a moment? Ah, of course, you may keep your underwear on.”
I felt a jolt inside, but as a true alpha male I boldly stripped off every piece of clothing right there except for my briefs.
Whoosh—!
Then I lay flat on the bed just as she instructed.
I heard Se-ah swallow a sharp breath, startled by my boldness.
The moment a flush of color rose on her flawless white skin, she looked so beautiful it was almost maddening.
She cleared her throat unnecessarily and spoke.
“Ahem! Th-then, I’ll… begin the treatment.”
Her lovely hand settled over the wound on my arm.
A pure, warm energy flowed from her palm through my arm and began to spread through my entire body.
The title of Korea’s greatest healer was no empty boast.
I could feel my whole body recovering at a rapid pace.
When she finally finished and lifted her hand, she whispered,
“Then, shall we begin a more… proper treatment from here? Hoho♥”
In that instant my heart began to pound with wild force.
