Chapter 30
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: Gift
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University hospital ward. The innermost room among them.
A four-year-old child, Seo Ji-yeon, lay on the small bed.
"Hng..."
Cold sweat poured down like rain over the pale face of the child wearing an oxygen mask. Every time she gasped for ragged breaths, unstable mana waves rose around her like shimmering heat haze.
Congenital Mana Rejection Syndrome.
The greatest incurable disease of this era, where the body rejects mana instead of accepting it.
Seo Yi-hyun held his daughter's skinny hand while gazing down at the small potion bottle in his other hand.
'The gift from the Owner.'
It was what Choi Yuna, representative of the Normal Operations Guild, had said just moments ago. She had offered this silver potion, promising to solve the biggest problem weighing on Seo Yi-hyun's heart.
Seo Yi-hyun's hand trembled faintly.
The nation's top medical team—not to mention S-rank healers—had declared it impossible to resolve at the root. Could one small vial of potion really work a miracle?
But he had seen it. The unshakable conviction in Choi Yuna's eyes.
It was the gaze of someone who already knew the approaching future.
"Please..."
Muttering like a prayer, Seo Yi-hyun carefully uncorked the bottle. He gently lifted the child's head and trickled the silver liquid between her parched lips.
Gulp.
The faint sound of the liquid sliding down her dry throat echoed through the silent room.
And then.
Srrk—
Like spring snow melting away. The mana waves raging wildly around the child settled down as if by magic.
"......!"
Seo Yi-hyun's eyes filled with shock.
It was an unbelievable sight. The child's furrowed brow from pain slowly relaxed, and her erratic heartbeat began to steady.
A faint flush of color returned to cheeks that had been deathly pale.
It was the child's peaceful expression, unseen for years.
Seo Yi-hyun sank to his knees without realizing it. He bit his lip to stifle the sobs bursting forth, but he couldn't hold them back. Years of pent-up despair and relief crashed over him at once.
At that moment, a faint movement stirred on the small bed.
"...Daddy..."
The child's lips—dry as cracked earth in a drought-stricken field—parted ever so slightly.
Seo Yi-hyun's heart seemed to stop.
He pulled her into his arms and wept openly. Hot tears soaked her patient's gown.
"Ji-yeon...! Ji-yeon...! It's Daddy! Can you hear Daddy's voice?"
Choi Yuna, standing guard at the room door, watched quietly before speaking.
"It looks like a miracle, but it's not a full cure in one dose."
Her calm voice pierced into Seo Yi-hyun's ears.
"One bottle per week, steadily. Until the child's body fully adapts to mana."
"......"
Seo Yi-hyun turned to her with a dazed expression, not even thinking to wipe away his tears.
"It doesn't matter."
A week, a month, or a lifetime. As long as it saved his daughter.
His voice was soaked with tears, but firmer than ever.
"I'll do anything. Whatever the Owner demands."
His gaze held absolute trust that went beyond mere gratitude. Seo Yi-hyun gently brushed back the hair from his child's forehead, then rose to his feet.
"Owner-nim..."
He bowed deeply toward Choi Yuna.
"I want to express my thanks directly. Is even a call impossible?"
Choi Yuna hesitated for a moment. She could too clearly picture what that so-called Owner was up to in the workshop right now.
But she couldn't ignore Seo Yi-hyun's desperate eyes.
"...Understood. I'll connect you."
"Master."
Chun-sik, wearing my baggy t-shirt like a dress, sat on the workbench chair swinging her legs.
"Alchemy. Fun, but internet more fun. Want internet."
"No."
I said firmly. I had zero intention of handing the tablet back to the kid who'd picked up bizarre speech patterns from Hunter Gallery.
"First memorize all of basic materials studies, then we'll think..."
"Don't bullshit."
"......"
Now she even reads my expressions. She's gotten awfully sly since becoming human.
I ignored her pouty glare and spread open the textbook I'd copied from Alchemy Gallery in front of her.
That was when it happened.
Vrrr—
My smartphone buzzed, the screen showing Yuna's name along with "video call."
Yuna, who'd gone to meet Mr. Seo. And a video call.
Not hard to guess what had happened.
'...But showing my face is kinda...'
I was about to hit decline when I spotted Yuna's message below.
[Mr. Seo insists on thanking you personally. What do you say? Camera off and voice modulator are fine, he said.]
'That far, huh...'
It felt burdensome, honestly. But I couldn't just coldly refuse.
With trembling hands, I taped over the camera lens, cranked the voice distortion filter to max, and hit accept.
On the screen appeared the man I'd only seen in his resume photo. He was in a crisp suit, but the deep dark circles and bloodshot eyes betrayed how much he'd agonized until now.
He bowed politely toward the camera.
[...Greetings for the first time, Rabbitfoot-nim]
A low, solemn voice flowed from the speaker. There was a faint tremor at the end.
[I'm Seo Yi-hyun. You gave my daughter... my daughter new life. This grace... this grace for life...]
He choked up, unable to continue.
I knew intellectually what emotions he must be feeling upon learning I'd treated his daughter. But facing that raw gratitude head-on left me stunned.
I swallowed dryly, cleared my throat with effort, and spoke.
"Ah, uh... y-yes. N-nice to meet you."
That was when it happened.
[What in the world is this!]
[Mana waves completely stabilized!]
Urgent shouts erupted from the smartphone.
[How could a CMMS patient normalize in just minutes...!]
The pounding footsteps of excited medical staff swarming from the corridor blasted through the speaker, echoing all the way to the workshop. The hospital scene turned into pandemonium in an instant.
As Seo Yi-hyun backed away in panic, Yuna stepped forward to block them.
[This is our company secret. Stand down.]
Yuna's voice was low, but the pressure it carried was immense. The medical staff's resistance evaporated in an instant. Civilians couldn't withstand a hunter's presence.
"......"
Watching their reaction sparked a sudden realization.
'Come to think of it, selling that potion could rake in a fortune.'
A disease where everyday mana acts like poison—a condition even ordinary people knew about. I heard patients were still steadily appearing.
On impulse, I spoke up.
"Uh, R-Representative-nim."
[Yes! Rabbitfoot-nim. Please speak.]
Even amid the chaos, Seo Yi-hyun reacted instantly to my voice. Tension laced his tone without a hint of disruption.
"Th-the potion your daughter drank... could we try selling it...?"
[......]
Silence fell for a moment. Seo Yi-hyun's eyes visible on screen sharpened in an instant. Keen acuity seeped into pupils still wet with gratitude.
[Commercialization, I presume.]
The choked emotion from moments ago was gone without a trace.
[Of course, Rabbitfoot-nim.]
A reply without the slightest hesitation flowed from his mouth.
[This moment is golden time. We'll leverage the authority of these eyewitness medical staff to secure trust in the potion.]
"Ah... y-yes..."
[I'll prepare the perfect stage for successful sales and establishing the new company's image. Just leave it to me.]
It was just something I'd tossed out there.
"L-leave it to you..."
Overwhelmed by the crushing atmosphere, I could only hit the end call button like I was fleeing.
Seo Yi-hyun slowly lowered the disconnected tablet.
The desperation in his eyes was long gone. In its place burned a sharp sense of responsibility to repay the opportunity given to him.
"Assigning a task right after hiring."
The corner of Seo Yi-hyun's mouth curved faintly upward.
"A kind of test, perhaps. I must deliver results you'll be satisfied with."
Seo Yi-hyun's work was swift and precise.
After receiving the data from Yuna, he first secured an official medical opinion from the on-site staff stating the CMMS had improved.
And the next morning, the related information leaked to the media exactly as planned.
“Incurable disease ‘Congenital Mana Rejection Syndrome’—path to treatment opens? New company ‘Rabbitfoot Company’ announces bold ‘humanitarian aid.’”
[...Yes, breaking news just in. Yesterday afternoon, a miracle occurred at Seoul S University Hospital: a 4-year-old girl suffering from Congenital Mana Rejection Syndrome dramatically improved...]
[...The on-site medical staff are unanimously calling it a medical miracle. The developer of this treatment has been revealed as the new company ‘Rabbitfoot Company’...]
[Rabbitfoot states the potion will be priced in the tens of millions per bottle considering its value, yet they've simultaneously announced a bold policy of fully free aid for patients unable to afford treatment due to economic hardship...]
Every news channel in Korea and every internet community erupted in frenzy.
[You gave our child a miracle gift... thank you so much... sob...]
That evening on the main news, an interview with a family who had received Rabbitfoot's aid aired.