Chapter 13
Part 2. The Healer Who Gives Without Holding Back (3)
Honestly, I had never actually fed it to anyone before, so I didn’t know how good the effect would be.
But thinking back to how Erich had, for once, not raised any objections, it probably wasn’t bad.
“I got permission from my homeroom teacher and have been practicing. I recently got some results.”
“Practice… so you were practicing crafting.”
Lee Haesol muttered quietly, as if he’d just realized something.
Somehow, I hadn’t been seeing him around. Had he been looking for me? Why?
He stared at the bottle for a moment, then spoke in a very small voice.
“Thank you. I’ll use it well.”
The corner of his lips, usually expressionless, lifted just slightly.
His eyes were normally somewhat cloudy, but now the shadows in them seemed a little lighter.
I awkwardly avoided his gaze and fiddled with the lid of the box.
Then another shadow stopped in front of me.
“Jin Hari.”
It was a voice that had already become familiar after hearing it once.
“Oh, Hanseong!”
When I turned around and greeted him cheerfully, his expression shifted slightly.
It was still his usual blank face, but somehow softened.
His chest rose and fell once.
It was obvious that Yoo Hanseong had also just returned from practical training.
I handed him a potion as well and said,
“I don’t really have any use for them, but they keep piling up. So I brought them out to give to people who need them.”
“Here?”
“Isn’t this the best place? It’s right in front of the infirmary.”
“That makes sense.”
Lee Haesol nodded lightly and murmured.
Yoo Hanseong stayed silent for a moment, looking between the infirmary, the empty box that had been used up giving potions to the seniors, and the box I was still holding.
“…Wait.”
“Yeah. I set some aside for you two as well.”
I smiled sheepishly as I said it.
Even though it was our first real conversation and things were a bit awkward, Lee Haesol applied the potion to his hand on the spot.
Oh. He didn’t even hesitate.
For reference, in this world, potions aren’t just for drinking.
You can apply them, throw them, spill them…
There are all kinds of ways to use them.
“How is it?”
Lee Haesol’s eyes widened slightly as he stared at the back of his hand where the wound had been.
Yoo Hanseong stepped closer and looked at it with me.
The sight of new skin forming instantly.
“…It doesn’t seem like a mid-grade potion.”
“Of course not. How could I make this many mid-grade potions? I can’t do that yet. It probably healed fast because the wound wasn’t deep.”
Meaning, I still had a long way to go.
‘I did manage one, though.’
Both of them looked at me as if they had a lot they wanted to say, staring in disbelief.
“…?”
I tilted my head and continued.
“It’s low-grade, low-grade. The very lowest tier, but it’s still a success. I can make lowest-grade potions well now. I could even do it with my eyes closed.”
I said proudly, smiling.
Lee Haesol’s brows, sharp as carved ice, twisted slightly.
He looked serious as he alternated his gaze between his hand and me, then muttered,
“Is it just my imagination?”
“What is?”
“…No, never mind. More importantly, I’ll pay you.”
I tilted my head, then shrugged and replied,
“I’m just sharing because I practiced.”
I said it casually, though of course I knew it was something I could charge money for.
“If you need more, you can—”
Before I could finish, Yoo Hanseong peered into the box.
Then he took in a very short breath.
“This one’s a different color.”
He pointed to a small pale-purple bottle with its cap on.
I reflexively pulled the box closer to my chest.
“Ah. That one is…”
The mid-grade potion I mentioned earlier.
Even if it was only D-rank.
I avoided his gaze slightly.
Feeling Yoo Hanseong staring straight at me, I smiled awkwardly and said,
“It is mid-grade.”
For a moment, both of their eyes seemed to light up.
Yoo Hanseong examined my face, then asked casually,
“Who are you giving this to?”
It didn’t sound like an interrogation, but somehow I felt self-conscious.
I cleared my throat and answered,
“I’m giving it to the teacher.”
“…The homeroom teacher?”
“Yeah. He let me use the workshop.”
Yoo Hanseong fell silent for a moment, staring at the mid-grade potion.
Then he muttered quietly,
“That’s not something you need to repay.”
His tone was strange.
It sounded like he was saying it wasn’t something to be grateful for.
Still, maybe he thought the act itself was appropriate, because he nodded slightly.
“Being grateful is still being grateful!”
Strangely, the two of them, who shouldn’t even be close yet, both let out small sighs at the same time.
It felt like they were misunderstanding something.
But before I could ask, Yoo Hanseong spoke.
“Alright. If that’s how you want it. More importantly, Jin Hari. Come talk to me for a moment.”
“Huh? Why?”
I glanced at Lee Haesol, who observed us quietly before nodding as if he’d reached a conclusion.
“I’ll head out first.”
“Ah, okay.”
“……”
Yoo Hanseong didn’t respond.
A moment later.
As soon as Lee Haesol left, Yoo Hanseong turned and walked ahead.
I secretly sighed and followed him.
“What is it?”
I asked in a whisper after catching my breath. Yoo Hanseong replied without turning around,
“There’s something I want to ask.”
Then he added,
“About your potion.”
I tensed up slightly.
Had something about it bothered him as a regressor?
Had I drawn too much attention instead of staying at a safe distance, or had I crossed into “needs to be dealt with” territory?
In a brief moment, countless worries passed through my mind, and my steps slowed.
‘Maybe it’s just because of the mid-grade potion.’
He seemed to accept it, though.
‘And it didn’t look like he wanted it.’
Mid-grade wasn’t enough to catch his interest.
Or was there something I hadn’t noticed?
At the end of the hallway, Yoo Hanseong stopped and slowly turned around.
A breeze slipped in through the window, brushing past his silver eyes.
Then he said,
“Do you… happen to know something?”
“…Huh?”
He said it was about the potion, but now this was completely out of the blue.
‘Wait, don’t tell me.’
I hugged the box tighter.
‘Is he talking about a future that needs a top-grade potion…?’
But then why would he ask me like that?
“What do you mean, know something? Weren’t you going to talk about the potion? I thought you were going to ask me to make you a mid-grade one.”
“If I asked, would you make it?”
“If I can, I would, but it’s hard to promise right now.”
When I said that a bit gloomily, Yoo Hanseong made a briefly incredulous face.
Then his expression turned complicated, and he let out a small sigh.
“The reason you were practicing potion-making so desperately from the very start of the semester.”
He spoke quietly, in a low voice.
“That’s what I was curious about.”
What kind of logic jump is that?
I tilted my head, but still answered honestly.
“The earlier and more you practice, the better…?”
“That desperately?”
“I’m weak, and useless. This is the only thing I can do.”
Saying it myself like this should help with image management.
As I said it calmly, Yoo Hanseong faltered.
“…You said you had a dream. Didn’t you think that dream was strange?”
A dream.
He must be talking about when I said I met the being that led me to Erich in a dream.
Why did the conversation keep jumping like this?
“Well, I did think it was unusual… Is there something else to it?”
“Hm.”
He paused, looking conflicted, then shook his head.
“No. I think I misunderstood.”
“Huh?”
“I’ve had a suspicious dream like that too. I thought yours might be the same. Sorry.”
At that point, I wiped away my confusion and smiled brightly.
“Oh, I see. That makes sense. It’s okay.”
“Thanks.”
He seemed ready to end the conversation there.
Then he hesitated and spoke again, looking slightly uncertain.
“Jin Hari.”
“Yeah?”
“That potion.”
“Yeah. Why? Want another one?”
“No, it’s the color.”
“The color?”
So it really was the color that caught his attention.
I’d felt it earlier.
“Purple-type potions are usually mental-type ones, right?”
“Yeah. You know a lot?”
I said cheerfully, but Yoo Hanseong didn’t change his expression.
Instead, he slowly reached out and tapped the top of the box.
The lid lifted just slightly.
“Was there a specific reason you chose a mental-type potion? It’s not exactly versatile.”
“Ah, well…”
