Chapter 437: A Mother's Magic Touch (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 437: A Mother's Magic Touch (3)
Seo Jeong-hee's awakening brought about a historic meeting far sooner than anyone had expected.
“Hello, Ma'am! My name is Han Ju-yeon.”
“Oh my, Hunter Han Ju-yeon! I've only seen you on TV. You're so beautiful in person!”
“Hahaha, you're too kind. You're the beautiful one, Ma'am! You have to tell me your secret!”
Han Ju-yeon, known as one of the world's foremost buffers.
And Seo Jeong-hee, who had awakened as a buffer in a completely different way.
“I hear our Do-jin has been in your care a lot.”
“Haha…! In my care? Do-jin and I are practically family.”
Both women’s nerves sharpened at the words the other had chosen.
‘Our Do-jin?’
‘Practically family?’
The two, quick on the uptake, realized it at once.
‘Could this woman also be…?’
‘Could this person also be…?’
That the person before them had a deep relationship with Kim Do-jin in some way.
Both were struck with considerable shock.
‘What is he thinking, getting involved with an S-rank Hunter…?’
The shock Seo Jeong-hee felt was relatively minor.
After all, she had already heard about it from her daughter, Shin Yu-jeong.
Unlike her, however, Han Ju-yeon's shock was not something she could easily shake off.
Was it because she didn't know Kim Do-jin had another woman besides her?
Of course not.
She had realized long ago that he had other women.
No, even if she hadn't wanted to know, she couldn't have avoided it.
‘The scent is so strong.’
How could she not know, when he would sometimes show up reeking of another bitch?
But she didn't mind.
Well, to be precise, it bothered her a little, but there was nothing she could do.
‘The more ways there are to tie Do-jin… my brother-in-law… to that body, the better.’
She couldn't tear apart the family of her beloved sister and nephew.
That was the greatest patience she could muster in her life.
But now, a situation had arrived where she no longer needed to exercise such patience.
Her brother-in-law, who had cherished his family so much, had for some reason stepped outside the fence.
Whether he was thrown out or had run out on his own accord, she didn't know.
She couldn't know the exact reason, but one thing was certain.
‘Now, I don't have to hide my feelings anymore.’
There were no longer any obstacles blocking her heart.
In fact, they had already crossed the line.
They had spent so many hot nights together she had lost count.
They were the happiest of days.
And yet, a part of her heart was always anxious.
The thought that he might suddenly leave to find his original body.
She was afraid of being trapped in that suffocating life of the past.
So she was always thinking.
‘I have to tie him down.’
About how to bind him to that body.
Then, a thought occurred to her.
If the connections he made as Kim Do-jin became precious enough to completely overshadow the ones he made as Son Si-woo, wouldn't she be freed from this anxiety?
With that single thought, she erased her possessiveness.
Because now was a hundred, a thousand times better than those days when he was utterly unreachable.
For that reason, she tried not to interfere as much as possible.
No matter who he formed a bond with, or what other woman he pulled into his embrace.
As long as his feelings for her remained steadfast, she thought it didn't matter.
That's what she had thought…
‘But still, not this!’
No matter how many times she thought about it, it didn't make sense.
He had clearly been in a relationship with Shin Yu-jeong as well.
Doesn't that mean one man has taken both a mother and her daughter?!
“Oh my, I've kept my guest standing outside for too long. Please, come in!”
“Ah, yes…”
After glancing at Seo Jeong-hee, who went inside first, saying she would bring tea, Han Ju-yeon turned her head. She glared resentfully at Kim Do-jin, who was standing behind her, and then shrieked.
“Y-y-you… pervert!”
“…No.”
Han Ju-yeon spat out only that word before following Seo Jeong-hee and slipping into the house.
Left alone in the entryway, Kim Do-jin thought to himself.
“…It's not like she's wrong.”
Why is she suddenly attacking me with the truth?
Unable to find an answer, Kim Do-jin gave up thinking and stepped inside.
* * *
Just as expectations were soaring that the team's—or rather, the guild's—power would grow immensely with the appearance of the buffer known as "Bapsim," a thought suddenly crossed my mind.
“Wait a minute.”
Our guild already has Ju-yeon, who is considered one of the world's strongest buffers.
“…What if their buffs don't stack?”
I couldn't discard either of them.
That was a given.
One was already an S-rank, and the other had more than enough potential to reach S-rank.
To throw away the synergy that would come when both of them became S-rank buffers in the future?
“That's absolutely not an option…!”
That was why.
The reason I had invited Ju-yeon to the house.
To find out whether their buffs would stack or if they would conflict, leaving only one active.
I had no idea why I ended up being called a pervert by Ju-yeon in the process, though.
After a light tea time, we began the experiment immediately.
Jeong-hee entered the kitchen and confidently presented a dish: beef stew.
Hearing that an S-rank Hunter was coming to the house, she had agonized over what she could make with beef before finally settling on this dish.
“Wow, it's beef stew!”
“Yes. I worked hard on it since I heard you were coming, Hunter Han Ju-yeon. I hope it tastes good… haha.”
“It looks delicious already! And it smells amazing!”
“Please eat before it gets cold.”
“Yes, thank you for the meal!”
Ju-yeon took a spoonful of stew and brought it to her lips.
At the same time, I scooped up some stew from the plate in front of me and put it in my mouth.
The deep flavor and savoriness, achieved through long hours of simmering, felt like it was warming my entire body.
As I was savoring the taste, a message appeared.
[You have consumed ‘Slow-Simmered, Heartfelt Beef Stew’.]
[Until your satiety fades, HP Recovery Speed will increase by 20% and HP will increase by 5%.]
The HP increase was an effect added as her proficiency with ‘Beef’ reached the ‘Practiced’ level.
Both Jeong-hee and the rest of us had worked tirelessly to raise the proficiency from ‘Novice’ to ‘Practiced’.
Eating beef for all three meals a day was harder than you'd think…
Jeong-hee asked Ju-yeon with a tense expression.
“How is it…? Is it to your liking?”
Ju-yeon's eyes widened as she gave a thumbs-up.
“It's absolutely delicious…! And to get such a great effect from eating delicious food, this is amazing!”
An exclamation of awe burst out.
I know Ju-yeon well, and that was 100% genuine.
Well… in a way, it was to be expected.
Her already excellent cooking skills were enhanced by the ‘Bapsim’ trait, bringing the flavor to another level.
It wasn't written in the description, so I hadn't known, but apparently, as the proficiency with an ingredient increases, it's not just the buff effect that gets added—the depth of flavor she can draw out also changes.
Her beef dishes, having reached the ‘Practiced’ level, were already so incredible that most decent restaurants couldn't even compare.
That's why I'm looking forward to it.
What kind of taste will it have when she reaches the levels above it, ‘Expert’ and ‘Mastery’?
I wonder if I'll actually start seeing the universe, like in those old cooking manga.
But it was still too early to celebrate.
“Now it's your turn, Ju-yeon.”
“Ah, right. I came here for an experiment today, didn't I…? Just a moment!”
Having momentarily forgotten her original purpose in the blissful taste of the beef stew, Ju-yeon regained her focus and softly chanted an incantation.
A brilliant light poured forth.
As Ju-yeon extended her hand toward us, the light enveloped our bodies completely.
[The effect of the divine magic ‘Light of Life’ now imbues your body.]
[HP Recovery Speed increases by an additional 50%, and HP increases by an additional 20%.]
A buff, similar to the one from the beef stew but incomparably superior, wrapped around my body.
As I moved, every single movement felt light.
My whole body was filled with the vigor one only feels at full health.
In fact, just looking at the message window gave me a partial answer.
“Seeing as it says ‘additional’ increase, I think they stack…”
“Seems like it, right?”
When receiving a buff from only one person, the word ‘additional’ isn't used.
This seemed to mean that a new buff effect was added on top of an already active one…
To find out in more detail, I stood up.
“I'm going for a quick run.”
If I drain some stamina and compare the recovery speed, I'll know for sure.
I immediately left the city center and ran relentlessly along a nearby mountain path.
One lap, two laps, three, four…
After climbing the back mountain about thirty times in a short period, I slowly started to get out of breath.
“Hoo… this should be enough.”
My breathing was slightly ragged.
I closed my eyes and observed my body's inner state.
My rapidly beating heart soon returned to its original calm.
The same went for my heaving lungs and chest.
Peace was restored in less than three minutes.
With this, I was certain.
“They stack.”
It wouldn't be a dream for our guild to rise to the number one spot in the world.
I quickened my pace to share this welcome news.
As I retraced my steps and was about to pass the police substation near the house…
“And you call yourselves police?! You bastards!”
A scream-like accusation pierced my ears.
I turned my head to see a woman who looked to be in her mid-to-late forties raising her voice at the substation.
“Is filing a missing person report all you do?! You should at least pretend to go out and look!”
A missing person report.
Did someone disappear?
In response to her continued accusations, a police officer opened the substation door and spoke in a troubled tone.
“Ma'am, we'll be heading out to search soon, so could you please wait at home? Okay?”
The middle-aged woman, as if frustrated, beat her chest with her fist and yelled at the top of her lungs.
“My daughter is missing! What kind of mother in this world can just sit still at home?!”
Hmm.
She had a point.
“I told you, ma'am. We're short-staffed right now, so we can't send many people out.”
But the police officer seemed just as aggrieved.
Indeed, the number of officers at the substation, including the one outside, was only two.
Finding the missing daughter was important, but they couldn't just leave the substation empty.
“Please just wait a little longer, okay? We'll do our best, Ma'am.”
At the officer's repeated pleas, the middle-aged woman reluctantly bowed her head.
“Please… please find my daughter, I'm begging you…!”
“Oh, Ma'am…”
First angry, then pleading.
Watching the woman's emotions shift from moment to moment made my heart ache.
“…I used to be like that, too.”
It wasn't a disappearance, but when Seo-yeon's body grew weaker by the day, I think I was similar.
My nerves would fray easily, and I'd lash out in anger, but then I'd go find someone who had something good for her health, grab them by the leg, and beg, paying two or three times the market price to get my hands on it.
And when even those elixirs brought no improvement, the despair was overwhelming.
“Blood ties are a strange thing.”
It was truly a mysterious thing.
Just the fact that they were born of my blood made them so precious that I wouldn't regret giving my life for them.
Perhaps that was why.
“Where exactly did your daughter disappear?”
I couldn't just pass by the woman screaming in despair over her missing daughter. I ended up meddling.