Helping Save Lives - 5
But resolve alone isn't enough to get everything done. Sua said she'd never been in a dungeon either, so right now, the only lead I had for scraping together any kind of info was Seohee.
"This is just a hypothesis... shit, don't take it as gospel or anything. Just think of it as a story floating around. I'm a hunter too, but I wasn't one who hit dungeons all the time..."
Han Seohee scratched her head.
"Dungeons keep respawning monsters nonstop. But even that has some kind of... limit? Or capacity, I guess."
"So?"
"When they pile up past the dungeon's capacity, that's when it happens. Rooms packed wall-to-wall with zombies, respawns going at a filthy fast rate."
The situation didn't look easy. It was definitely dangerous. Sure, I had to kill monsters to level up anyway, and stepping into a dungeon wasn't some grueling ordeal I couldn't handle. But Seohee's limbs were still limp and useless. Sua was sacrificing herself to keep it up, but holding out like this wouldn't be simple forever.
"Killing them one by one would be impossible, right?"
"Honestly? With your strength, it's not impossible. But it'd take forever."
I scratched my head.
"I'll push a couple more times... and if it doesn't work, I'll make a call."
"What kind of call?"
"Keep fighting. To the end."
Seohee tilted her head in confusion. I let out a hollow laugh. Long fights were boring, sure, but not something I couldn't do. If I had to, I could.
"Th-thank you! I'll repay this kindness somehow, someday, no matter what!"
"Yeah, I'd appreciate that. This isn't proper medicine, so head to a hospital if you can."
I handed them the fever reducers from one side of my carrier.
"S-such precious stuff..."
"Just raided a nearby pharmacy. No need to feel burdened—take it."
They were people. Living people, rare as hell in this world. All I could do was hope they'd survive a little longer.
"Uh, uh. No need to grovel on the dirty ground. See you around."
"Got it!"
I waved them off, then headed back into the hospital. Swallowed a pill that meant nothing to me and stepped inside. Shin Roa watched me with cold eyes.
"Got the stuff?"
"Enough. Just enough to show some sincerity."
I handed her the bags of snacks and chocolate I'd brought.
"The dungeon might take some time. Figure a week, to be safe?"
"...Not sure if you're overconfident or just half-assed and winging it. Whatever. Doesn't matter to me. Report back if you succeed."
"Of course. Then I'll be—"
"Before you go, there's something we need to talk about."
I sat back in the chair, flashing a relaxed smile at Shin Roa.
"What now?"
"Handing out meds in front of the hospital—isn't that bad for business?"
I tilted my head.
"I guess you could see it that way... but what do you do when someone's hurting right then? It wasn't even real medicine, just fever reducers."
Shin Roa let out a dry laugh.
"Didn't look like you got much for it."
"I need money too... but those folks were saving up to bring to you anyway, right? Taking it would be the real breach of etiquette."
In the first place, they probably couldn't pay much. I knew damn well making money in that dungeon wasn't easy. Let them pool what they could and offer it to Shin Roa for treatment, while I tossed them some fever meds to tide them over. That was the plan. No reason for her to get pissed about it.
"That's what makes it worse."
Something felt off. I couldn't pin down why she was mad.
"If you were selling it for cash, I wouldn't stop you. You didn't just grab those pills for free either, and I wouldn't meddle if you're hawking your own goods."
"...Then why?"
"Giving it away for free. People who should come buy from my hospital will start relying on your handouts."
"I won't be handing out pills forever."
"Oh, you'll get resentment for that. People don't hate those who never help, but the ones who usually do? Skip it once, and they eat shit."
"Noted. I'll think about it."
Something still felt off. Her motives weren't clicking.
She probably never planned to sell fever reducers anyway.
If money was her goal, she wouldn't come at my charity this hard.
"But this wasn't in our deal. What I do is none of your business."
"..."
"I can bring snacks even if they're not specified, but nitpicking every move I—huh?"
The door was cracked open. Through the gap, my eyes met a girl's peering in.
"Hey there?"
"H-hik..."
Shin Roa jumped up in surprise.
"Heea, I told you not to come out!"
"I-I wanna see a guy too. It's always just you..."
"He's just a customer!"
"You said if this oppa gets the item, I can get better! I gotta at least say thanks—"
"You can thank him after he brings it!"
I waved with a smile.
So that's her deal.
Truth be told, I knew there was someone else in this room besides me and Roa. Even with the door shut tight, there were rustling sheets, breathing, light seeping under. But I hadn't expected such a small, fragile girl.
"Hey there?"
"H-hi! Um... I'm Shin Heea, Roa's little sister!"
"Nice to meet you."
"Th-thank you so much for the chocolate! When I grow up, I'll repay the favor!"
Shin Roa's eyes sharpened.
"Heea, get back in there! You're not well—don't come out alone!"
"O-okay... Goodbye."
"Yeah, nice meeting you. See you later."
"Later?"
"Of course."
I waved with a bright smile. Heea weakly lifted her hand in a little wave, then shuffled back to her room.
"The dungeon boss drop... that's what she needs to be cured, right?"
Shin Roa's eyes sharpened again.
"That's why I didn't want you seeing Heea."
That had to be her weak spot.
"Hiding it now is pointless. Yeah, that's right. But don't think you can blackmail me with it. There are plenty of hunters—someone else will clear it if not me."
"No, just curious. How'd you know the boss loot was what she needed for treatment?"
"A skill. Medical one. Tells you the nearest cure when there's an untreatable illness."
"I see..."
I shrugged.
"Now I'm motivated to do this right."
"What?"
"Gotta hustle. For folks in the same boat."
Heea's body, from that quick glimpse, looked way too frail for normal. Stepping out of her room probably wasn't easy. No way she could fight or work—just living off Roa's food and care here. Like Seohee.
"Glad you see it that way. Thanks. Now get going. Work harder."
"Y-yes ma'am."
I got shoved out of the hospital and headed for the dungeon. Walking alone for a while, a hypothesis hit me.
"...Huh."
Shin Roa was a bitch, no doubt. But she didn't seem desperate for cash.
Maybe...
She was the type to push her customers. Demand more money, force them into risky dungeons. The party I'd seen had gone in to cure a sick teammate, and Seohee always griped about Roa being that kind. So I'd assumed she was just greedy.
But maybe the order was backward. If Heea was her sister, and Roa had been trying to cure her forever. If she knew the cure was that dungeon's boss. And if dungeons had monster limits like Seohee said. The more hunters who went in. The more zombies they killed. The higher the chance someone clears it.
The sequence flipped. Not sending people into dungeons to squeeze cash, but charging huge treatment fees because they needed to fight there.
"Kinda fascinating..."
Even for her sister, it wasn't purely good. Still sacrificing others to some degree. But I felt like I understood her a tiny bit more.
"Doesn't change shit right now, though..."
I pulled open the iron door, flicked on my flashlight, and stepped into the depths.
No time for daydreams. Time to work.