Hunter Kindergarten, Dolphin Class! - Chapter 18

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 018

 

The air feels light.

 

As I turn the Door Handle in my grip, it leads to yet another new space. Elation and tension mix together as adrenaline explodes.

 

Kim, the D-rank Spatial Movement Awakener who had become a fugitive being chased by BOND Field Team and Security Team, was feeling like death despite his racing heart.

 

‘Damn it!’

 

Because he was experiencing in real-time what it felt like to have his lungs torn apart.

 

“Huff! Gasp! Huff!”

 

As he turned the Corner, he heard the urgent sound of footsteps running from behind. And before those following him could spot him.

 

He would open any random door in the Hallway and enter….

 

-Creak.

 

-Click.

 

Structurally, this should lead to the Emergency Staircase…. But instead, a quiet and comfortable Break Room appeared.

 

‘…No one’s here.’

 

He didn’t know which department’s Break Room this was, but he noticed the latest Coffee Machine and snack packages placed next to the sink.

 

‘Let me catch my breath here for a bit.’

 

Having made his decision, Kim pulled over a nearby chair and plopped down heavily, catching his breath.

 

“Phew, damn persistent bastards.”

 

Just before being handed over to the Police, he had used the excuse of going to the Restroom and used his ability the moment he grabbed a Door Handle.

 

‘Thanks to that clueless guy forgetting about the Control Device.’

 

Thanks to that, he had successfully removed the Restraint Device and managed to escape.

 

Though he was still just going in circles inside the building….

 

Kim stood up from his seat, conscious of his slightly calmed heart, and approached the window area. The scenery outside was still the same.

 

‘Police are spread out everywhere.’

 

His legs ached. For the first time in a while, he tried to think of a way to escape.

 

Outside, Police were positioned everywhere, and inside the building, Field Teams and Security Team were running around trying to catch him.

 

“If I were just C-rank, I wouldn’t have to worry about this kind of stuff…!”

 

As a Spatial Movement Awakener, he liked his ability, but there was always a lingering regret.

 

D-rank.

 

C-rank and D-rank were only one grade apart, but in terms of ability usage range, they were worlds apart.

 

D-rank Spatial Movement absolutely required a medium called a ‘door’ to be able to move.

 

Moreover, there was the fatal flaw that even the Awakener himself couldn’t know where the space moved to by the ability would connect.

 

‘I’ve almost gotten screwed because of this more than once or twice.’

 

Also, the movement distance was so short that there were countless cases of just going in circles within one building.

 

Just like right now.

 

In other words, Kim’s ability, D-rank Spatial Movement, could be seen as an anywhere door with short movement distance.

 

…Damn, with so many restrictions, even escaping became ridiculously difficult.

 

“Did you see any suspicious person here?”

 

“A suspicious person?”

 

“It’s nothing major, but there’s someone we lost track of….”

 

Just then, voices could be heard from outside the Break Room.

 

“…!”

 

With his years of escape experience, Kim could now tell just by the sound.

 

‘It’s the Field Team.’

 

And matching his expectation, dark-colored hair was briefly visible through the opaque glass window on the Break Room Wall.

 

‘That crazy woman, I think.’

 

The woman who tracked him like a ghost. She would find him within ten minutes no matter where he went, so he could hardly rest.

 

‘Ah, how did she find me again!!’

 

Cursing internally, he carefully approached the Break Room door.

 

“No, I haven’t seen anyone. Should I help you look?”

 

“…Hmm, no. It’s fine. I think I just found them. Hmm? So you were there?”

 

This crazy…!

 

I quickly grabbed the door handle.

 

And before that crazy woman could open the door…!

 

“Hello, do we see each other often?”

 

A languid greeting could be heard from outside the door.

 

-Click.

 

“….”

 

Thud. Kim collapsed onto the floor.

 

The strength had left his legs.

 

“Wh, whoa….”

 

He had almost been caught. By a hair’s breadth, Kim had opened the door first, allowing him to escape.

 

‘Th, the door is properly closed.’

 

He checked the tightly shut door again and let out a sigh of relief. He had to be careful not to accidentally leave the door improperly closed, or they might follow him in.

 

Such a fatal mistake must never happen.

 

Before he knew it, his back was drenched in sweat. He immediately surveyed his surroundings.

 

“…Restroom?”

 

A clean restroom with soft lighting and classical music playing. Two washbasins immediately caught his eye.

 

‘Fortunately, no one’s here.’

 

He couldn’t sense any presence. Upon realizing this fact, his tense body instantly relaxed.

 

His arms and legs were all trembling. Still, he couldn’t just keep sitting here like this.

 

‘I always get caught when I let my guard down.’

 

Having learned this lesson from experience, he forced strength into his shaking legs and stood up. Then he turned on the water at the washbasin and dunked his head in.

 

Cold water ran through his dust-filled hair and dripped down below.

 

With the cold water soaking his head, his mind seemed to… be working a bit better.

 

‘How did the situation get so fucked up?’

 

It started with… that damn wanted poster.

 

He swore to heaven that he had absolutely never committed any crime worse than violence in his history.

 

‘Well, I did do some petty fraud, burglary, and occasional pickpocketing….’

 

But these minor crimes had accumulated to create the brilliant record of being a 10-time offender.

 

The Control Device that awakened criminals were required to wear had long been thrown away using his dazzling sleight of hand the moment it was put on….

 

‘Since the Control Device doesn’t work, they put out a wanted poster?’

 

Now if caught, he absolutely couldn’t avoid prison time. And if his prediction was correct, this time he’d face aggravated punishment and have to serve at least 3 years in Awakener Prison before getting out.

 

‘It’s better to leave Korea than go back there.’

 

“Ah, seriously…! I just need to hold out a little longer!”

 

He had to hide for a whole month until the ship that could smuggle him to China without being caught by police would depart.

 

During that time, he needed a place to hide and conserve his strength. So he had been taking shelter in a place that a dungeon broker had introduced as C-rank but safe….

 

Who would have thought he’d get caught by those BOND bastards the day before departure!

 

‘Why did those bastards come into that place anyway?’

 

Kim still didn’t know why those BOND bastards had entered the dungeon where he was hiding. These guys did all sorts of random things.

 

Unlike the police who just kept saying ‘Hey, Teacher!’, these BOND bastards started by smacking him in the head right away, giving him no chance to ask why.

 

‘When I came to, I was in this thug den!’

 

Even after being caught, these bastards’ behavior was brutal. They took turns interrogating him by slapping his face, making his cheeks swell up and knocking out several teeth.

 

“Field Team Ma, those sons of bitches!!”

 

Bang! He shouted the team name he had overheard and punched the washbasin in boiling rage.

 

Whether it was made of marble, his striking fist hurt as if it would break.

 

“Phew…. But still.”

 

Grin. Looking at himself in the mirror, Kim raised the corners of his mouth.

 

Since he had escaped, hope had emerged, hadn’t it.

 

‘It’s not over yet.’

 

Though the situation had gone to shit, it wasn’t hopeless.

 

If he held out desperately like this, he could escape when the police at the Main Gate let their guard down.

 

‘It would be even better if I stumble upon a door leading outside along the way!’

 

To hold out until then, he definitely needed to conserve his stamina.

 

It was the moment when Kim was thinking this and racking his brain for somewhere to hide.

 

-Click.

 

“Ah, there’s someone here.”

 

…What?

 

“Excuse me, but the Ocean Kindergarten children came for a field trip today. We’ll just use the restroom briefly and leave! Sorry, but please bear with us.”

 

The Bathroom Door suddenly opened and a pale man entered the restroom with a smile.

 

Kim panicked and tried to wave his hands dismissively.

 

However, that wasn’t the end of it. Behind the man came four bean-sized kids and one massive Big Guy, leaving him speechless.

 

“Wow~ This restroom is huge!”

 

“We could play ball here.”

 

“Cheonji, can we play ball here?”

 

“Hmm, if there’s no one around, maybe we could? Should I ask hyung?”

 

The restroom that had only classical music playing suddenly became noisy. Chattering children rushed in like a wave.

 

“Huh? There was someone here?”

 

In front of Kim, who was momentarily stunned at the Washbasin Area, appeared a little kid reeking of some foul smell.

 

What, what is this?

 

Kim stammered and tried to open his mouth to say something, but the children were faster.

 

“It’s an uncle! Uncle! Why are you here?”

 

“Noah, why would he come to the restroom? He came to poop.”

 

“Poop! Puhup! Uncle, did you really come to poop?”

 

Damn it.

 

Kim’s face reddened at the children mocking and chattering about him.

 

However, he desperately suppressed his anger. There was nothing more stupid than causing a commotion here and getting caught.

 

Endure it, endure….

 

Kim looked at the children approaching him and hastily nodded roughly toward the man who had been making excuses earlier.

 

Hurry up and get these brats out of here!

 

“Thank you.”

 

Then the man flashed a bright smile with relief and disappeared into the inner part of the restroom with the annoying children.

 

But.

 

“….”

 

Why isn’t this Big Guy following them and staying here instead?

 

“Access Card…. Could I check it?”

 

“Excuse me?”

 

Instead of following the man, Big Guy slowly approached the washbasin area and looked down at him. Then he demanded to see his Access Card.

 

From the moment their eyes briefly met, the persistent gaze had already taken on deep suspicion.

 

What’s with this kid?

 

“…Please show me your Access Card.”

 

“…I left it at my desk.”

 

Though hastily made up, a plausible excuse came out.

 

Before entering a life of crime, he had been a decent office worker at a respectable company. So, it wasn’t difficult to come up with something an ordinary office worker might say in this situation…!

 

‘Now, what can you do about it?’

 

Kim deliberately glared at Big Guy to show his displeasure.

 

But this guy wasn’t easy to deal with.

 

“Then…. Please show me your face.”

 

Thump thump. As Big Guy closed the distance, Kim pressed his Hat down firmly and lowered his head.

 

“Ah, why, why are you doing this…!”

 

“I’ll just check your face and make a judgment.”

 

Judgment? Who do you think you are!

 

This guy’s tone of voice has changed!

 

It was lower and more aggressive. For a moment, Kim felt an eerie sense of déjà vu from Big Guy’s changed atmosphere.

 

‘Wh-what is it… Like those thugs I saw at that place…’

 

“Wh-what are you?!”

 

Under the brim of his hat, he could see shoes getting closer and closer. The yellow apron, so mismatched with Big Guy’s build, created a strange discord that made it even more frightening.

 

“…I’m a kindergarten teacher.”

 

What?

 

At such an absurd statement, Kim almost involuntarily raised his head.

 

If that body was built just from some weightlifting, then every fitness enthusiast in South Korea would have a terrifying physique like that monster.

 

‘You should lie about something believable.’

 

Did he think everyone would believe he was a kindergarten teacher just because he put on an apron?

 

He didn’t believe it even though he had just seen four children calling this man Teacher.

 

That’s how completely incompatible Big Guy’s build was with the profession of kindergarten teacher.

 

As the standoff dragged on, a thought suddenly flashed through Kim’s mind.

 

‘Could this bastard possibly be…’

 

Yes, that would explain both the déjà vu and this build.

 

He admired his own amazing deductive skills as he concluded Big Guy’s true identity.

 

The company was in chaos trying to catch him. But his attitude seemed completely unaware of this situation, and his clothing didn’t match his appearance.

 

In that case, the answer was obvious.

 

A Field Team on an infiltration mission.

 

Even if this were true, there were many things that didn’t connect with the current situation, but he wasn’t the type of person whose mind worked well enough to examine such details one by one.

 

‘Now that it’s come to this, it’ll be hard to stay here any longer.’

 

Having made his decision, Kim raised his voice with veins bulging in his neck, shouting back loudly.

 

“Hah, really! Just wait! I’ll go quickly and bring my access card!”

 

He even added muttering about “What do you take people for-” at the end of his words as he slipped to the side and approached the bathroom door.

 

‘Okay, natural.’

 

Maintaining an angry expression until the very end, he placed his hand on the door handle.

 

“Noah, you didn’t poop a mountain, did you?”

 

“Hey! Puhup! I didn’t poop like that mister!”

 

“Why do you and Lee Seo-ra like poop so much?”

 

“…Um, Seo-ro, that’s because Noah and Seo-ra are still young. You have the latest birthday among us.”

 

Devilish little brats.

 

Still, the timing was good. Just then, the children and Young Man who had disappeared inside were walking back out to the washbasin area.

 

Hey, Big Guy, you do your job! If you’re going to pretend to be a teacher, do it properly!

 

“Now, let’s wash our hands~”

 

Kim smiled refreshingly and pulled the door handle without hesitation.

 

Instead of the clean, standardized modern hallway, a completely different place was connected.

 

A pitch-black passage. The place where not a single point of light entered – it was impossible to tell where it led.

 

‘Right, it has to be at least this much to hide a body.’

 

However, Kim wasn’t afraid of such darkness – rather, he welcomed it.

 

Darkness is familiar. Kim, wearing a satisfied smile, leisurely disappeared into the corridor.

 

 

However… he wasn’t alone.

 

The people who had disappeared into that dark corridor.

 

Being so frantic in his escape, he had ultimately made a fatal mistake.

 

…The bathroom door didn’t close properly.

 

Still connected to the Dark Corridor.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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