Chapter 50 – 50. Proposal
#50. Proposal
“Are you experiencing any discomfort, patient?”
“My head and solar plexus hurt too much.”
“That’s because your guardian hit you for about 30 minutes earlier.”
“…”
The doctor and nurse looked at me with pitiful eyes, but I was genuinely wronged.
Who would have guessed that Choi Hye-na would say she was my wife there…
“Let’s start with another thorough examination.”
“…Yes.”
I was escorted by the nurse to the examination room, and for a while, I went in and out of huge machines, undergoing tests I had never heard of before.
After about an hour of testing, I was heading to the examination room when I ran into Choi Hye-na again in the hallway, wearing a sulky expression.
“…I was wrong.”
“Hmph.”
Thankfully, no fists flew.
Choi Hye-na’s back as she led the way into the examination room looked no different from usual.
Only then was I relieved and able to enter the examination room.
“Thank you for your hard work with the tests.”
The doctor with the familiar face greeted us in the examination room, which we entered in an awkward atmosphere.
Contrary to his friendly appearance, he was actually the hospital director.
Why is such a person examining me directly? The foolish question disappeared the moment I thought about Choi Hye-na sitting next to me and her background.
“First of all, being rescued from the gate and then sleeping for four days seems to be due to using too much mana in a short period.”
That was something I had expected as well.
No matter how quickly I can replenish mana compared to other wizards thanks to the app’s buff, my body’s durability is ultimately not much different from other wizards.
Continuously recovering more than the appropriate amount of mana could actually be harmful.
“Would you like to take a look at this first?”
The doctor took something out of the drawer.
It was a blue model that looked like a nervous system.
“This is patient Kang Hyun-woo’s mana circuit.”
“What the hell, give it back.”
Thwack!
“Sorry. Could you continue, please?”
“Ahem… According to the test results, patient Kang Hyun-woo’s mana circuit is generally very weakened. As I explained earlier, it’s partly due to using so much mana in a short period, but it also seems that the mana circuit hasn’t fully settled in yet, since you haven’t been a wizard for very long.”
An X-ray image that looked like a scan of my body appeared on the monitor on the desk.
“As you can see now, the mana circuit is very weakened, so it’s best to refrain from using magic for the time being.”
“…”
“Answer me.”
“…Yes.”
I had no choice but to yield to Choi Hye-na’s threat.
If you take away magic from a wizard, what’s left for me?
I felt like I had lost my identity.
“You don’t have to worry too much. Your recovery is so good that your mana circuit will be even stronger than before in just a week. You can think of it like a newborn’s bones being soft.”
I left the examination room after hearing the doctor’s not-so-helpful consolation.
Perhaps because it was a VIP ward, there was no one in the hospital hallway.
In an instant, only Choi Hye-na and I were left alone.
I felt like the awkwardness was piercing through the ceiling.
“…Don’t you have anything to say?”
Choi Hye-na was the first to speak.
“…Sorry?”
I quickly apologized because I thought I would have to be hospitalized for another week if I got hit again, but Choi Hye-na’s reaction was lukewarm.
As if it wasn’t the reaction she wanted.
“Th… Thank you?”
I was living luxuriously in a private room in the VIP ward and receiving treatment from the best medical staff.
It was a luxury that would only be possible with a loan, given my current bank balance.
“…I’m leaving.”
“Huh?”
As if that wasn’t the answer either, Choi Hye-na made a very sulky voice and left.
Even though she clearly has an experience multiplier of 3 people per 1 spirit, I still don’t understand women’s hearts.
***
Just because I regained consciousness didn’t mean I could be discharged immediately.
It was due to the doctor’s opinion that I should be hospitalized for at least a week to monitor my progress, but I didn’t really have any complaints.
First of all, perhaps because it was a VIP ward, the nurses were all exceptionally beautiful.
I’ve never been on one, but I wondered if the flight attendants of major airlines were like this. Thanks to them, my eyes were entertained every time I got a shot or had a test.
Besides, the hospital was almost like a hotel, with such good facilities that I even occasionally thought it might be nice to just live here.
While I was taking a break that was no less than a staycation, someone came to visit me.
“I heard everything from Hye-na.”
It was Grandma Choi Young-ok.
“I sincerely thank you for saving my granddaughter.”
Her unusual polite language felt like it contained respect for me, not just simple courtesy.
“Yes, well…”
I didn’t act humble, saying it wasn’t a difficult task or that I did what was natural.
It was undeniable that I had suffered a lot to save her, and I didn’t want to diminish my own merit in such a situation.
“Would you formally visit our family after you’re discharged? We have many things prepared for our benefactor.”
“I’ll look forward to it.”
After finishing the business more briefly than expected, Grandma Choi Young-ok left.
Was it consideration for the patient?
Anyway, now that everyone who was coming has come, I decided to enjoy the rest of my staycation and lay down on the soft hospital bed.
The meals were also very satisfying, unlike what you’d expect from a hospital, and I felt good thinking that this kind of life would continue for a while.
But my good mood was shattered the next day by an unexpected person who came to the hospital room.
“Nice to see you?”
“…”
It was Han La-el, the Master of the Gray Magic Tower, who came to visit me.
“What brings the Tower Master here…?”
Strictly speaking, I’m also a wizard belonging to the Gray Magic Tower.
It was like the head of a broadcasting station visiting a low-level staff member who had just joined the company a few days ago because they were hospitalized.
Swallowing hard and sweating coldly was not something I could control.
It was a conditioned reflex, it was instinct.
Moreover, her dark eyes, which made it impossible to guess what she was thinking, confused me even more.
“What do you mean what brings me here? Of course, I came to visit you.”
I knew that wasn’t what I was asking, but she came out like that, so I didn’t know whether to call her brazen or admire her as a great socialite who knew how to hide her purpose well.
“First of all, let me thank you.”
Even though I was flustered, I had to do what I had to do.
I bowed politely.
“If the Tower Master hadn’t helped me, I probably would have died there. Thank you so much.”
Of course, I could have escaped with the matching app.
If Han La-el hadn’t saved me, I would either be in the underground dungeon by now or by Iris’s side.
Of course, meeting Iris after a long time would definitely be a good thing, but it was clear that I couldn’t even guess how much time it would take to develop the strength to clear a B-class gate on my own.
As someone who already had a lot to do on Earth, I couldn’t possibly welcome such a situation.
“You don’t have to worry about it. I only worked for a price.”
“Still…”
“Okay, okay, don’t worry about it anymore! I even bought you some energy recovery drinks on the way?”
I received the box that Han La-el handed me. At that moment, I thought that even the Tower Master was the same, buying Bacchus when visiting someone in the hospital.
“…?”
The moment I checked the box and its contents, I couldn’t help but doubt my eyes.
“Tower Master…? What is this…?”
“Hehe, it’s holy water I received from someone I know. A bishop made it himself, so the effect will be certain.”
That wasn’t what I was asking.
Why is there holy water in the box that you handed over as if you were giving Bacchus?
Holy water refers to water containing divine power.
It is specialized in purifying evil things related to magic, and if I had just one bottle of holy water during the Wendygo possession this time, I could have taken the Wendygo out of Choi Hye-na’s body without having to have sex all night.
‘You’re giving me this as an energy recovery drink?’
Well, it will recover my energy!
It would be stranger if it didn’t work, since it’s water with divine power embedded in it, which is used to treat wounds.
Moreover, the stronger the divine power of the person who made the holy water, the higher the price skyrockets, and if a priest-level priest made it, the price per bottle would definitely be so high that it would be difficult to even mention.
“…”
But there are 8 bottles of that.
No matter how much of a Tower Master she is, this level of gift would be burdensome for just a hospital visit, right?
But the person who gave the gift doesn’t seem to care at all.
“I’ll return this.”
I bowed politely and handed her the box containing the holy water.
The sweeter the fruit looks, the more danger follows.
I saw this as not just a simple gift, but a poisoned apple.
“You can take it.”
“No, it’s too much of a gift for me.”
“Hmm…”
Han La-el, who had received the gift back, just stared at me endlessly with eyes and a smile that I couldn’t tell what she was thinking.
What is it? Is she giving me grief for rejecting her gift?
In a way, it’s a gift from the company president, so even if it looks like a poisoned apple, should I just accept it?
‘…Should I take it back now?’
I don’t know because I’ve never had a social life except for part-time jobs.
“Then how about we do this?”
Just when my complicated head was about to explode, Han La-el handed me a piece of paper.
I glanced over it, but no matter how I looked at it, it was a contract form.
“Actually, I’m interested in Hyun-woo.”
“…I have two girlfriends.”
“Really? But do you know that the man that many women covet is a really attractive man?”
“…”
This woman is not ordinary.
Never get caught up in the other person’s pace.
“It wouldn’t be bad to be in a romantic relationship with Hyun-woo, but the content I’m proposing now is different. Would you like to take a look at the contract?”
With a slightly uneasy heart, I looked over the contract again, and the contents were like this.
Han La-el (hereinafter referred to as ‘A’) and Kang Hyun-woo (hereinafter referred to as ‘B’) enter into a research cooperation agreement as follows.
1. Contract period: From xxxx year xx month xx day to xxxx year xx month xx day.
2. Workplace: Han La-el’s personal workshop (adjustable)
3. Work content: Physical examination and research cooperation to find out the source of B’s special talent
4. Working hours: Can be agreed upon by both parties
5. Wage: A must accept B’s desired conditions as much as possible.
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“Research cooperation agreement?”
“Why would I spend my precious time saving Hyun-woo?”
“…Wasn’t it because of Choi Young-ok’s request?”
“Well, that also has a certain percentage, but the decisive thing is that Hyun-woo’s past actions moved my interest.”
Han La-el handed me a document she had taken out from somewhere.
It was my elementary school report card.
“A child who was judged to have no talent in the magic test he received in the 5th grade of elementary school created a circle in just one week 9 years later, and reached the 2nd circle again in one week. If I wrote a novel like this, wouldn’t I be criticized for lacking coherence?”
That was something I was also acknowledging.
That’s what I thought, so how much more would the Tower Master think?
“What do you want?”
“It’s the same as in the contract.”
Han La-el handed me back the box of holy water that I had handed her.
“I want to study Hyun-woo.”
So much so that it doesn’t matter what method it is.
Very rarely, a blush appeared on Han La-el’s face.
