Hunter Kindergarten, Dolphin Class! - Chapter 26

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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 026

 

This is BOND’s emergency center, famous for being the busiest in the Republic of Korea.

 

Fortunately, I was able to lie on the most secluded bed even within the frantically busy emergency center.

 

I looked at the IV drip inserted in my arm and let out a sigh.

 

“Phew….”

 

Somehow I survived.

 

‘I thought I might die without any way out.’

 

I recalled what had happened just a few hours ago that passed by in an instant.

 

…Right after we escaped from the gate, the thick iron door opened and people came pouring in.

 

Witnessing an unexpected scene, they began asking me all sorts of questions as I was the only one who looked fine.

 

 

It was then that a blanket was thrown over me as I was just staring blankly at the barrage of questions coming all at once.

 

 

At one word from the man who threw the blanket over my head, the surroundings became eerily quiet. Then I felt people withdraw in an orderly fashion and things gradually getting organized.

 

 

The low bass voice was now directed at me. The man’s shoes I saw from under the blanket were the same black combat boots that Lee Seo-hyeok had been wearing.

 

After that, I just nodded roughly or mumbled in response to the man’s questions and followed behind him.

 

The moment I walked up from underground to the emergency center on the ground floor, I felt intense gazes penetrating through the blanket, but even these disappeared like ghosts with a few words the man threw out.

 

And so now I am….

 

‘Lying here comfortably with my legs stretched out.’

 

After treatment, they said there would be a light interview-style situation investigation, so I just had to wait.

 

-Swish.

 

Right on cue, it seems that situation investigation is about to take place.

 

I raised my lying body and checked who was coming in while drawing the curtain.

 

‘…That person is.’

 

A woman with dark blue hair…. Probably Lee Seo-hyeok’s direct superior.

 

She’s also the person who pointed at the kidnapper bastard in the corridor and asked if I knew him.

 

And that person following behind is the man who covered me with the blanket.

 

“Are you feeling a bit better?”

 

“…I think I’m okay. Except for some aching and stiffness.”

 

I even made a show of rolling my shoulder once as a courtesy in response to the woman’s question.

 

From what I heard, CEO Baek Cheonhyeong, who received the news late, called all the healers and medical staff in the building to the emergency center.

 

‘Thanks to that, even minor wounds disappeared without a trace.’

 

They said everyone else was also safely treated and sleeping soundly, so there was nothing more to worry about.

 

I brushed over my palm where there had been scratches from tearing the rope. It was in pristine condition with even the small scars from childhood completely gone.

 

‘It feels somewhat awkward though….’

 

The ability is quite good though.

 

“That’s a relief. The healers were also surprised because your hands were in such a mess. Did you scrape your palms against wire or something?”

 

…It was that bad?

 

I was so out of it that I couldn’t properly check even once.

 

‘Come to think of it, something kept flowing from my hands, so thinking it was sweat, I hastily wiped it on my clothes.’

 

Looking back now, that must have all been blood.

 

I looked down at the hospital gown I had properly changed into and barely held back a sigh that was about to come out.

 

Going home from work in blood-stained clothes…. Not easy.

 

“But it’s fortunate that you’re completely healed now.”

 

“Yes, it really is fortunate.”

 

I forced a smile and exchanged formal greetings with these two before the full-scale situation investigation.

 

As a result, I was able to learn their names and positions.

 

The woman was Moon Chae-yeong, team leader of Field Team Na.

 

Lee Seo-hyeok’s direct superior, as I had heard.

 

The man is Lee Gyeon, the leader of Field Team Ga.

 

This one has quite the presence.

 

“I wanted to formally greet you when I saw you again, Teacher, but things turned out this way.”

 

“I suppose it’s hard to say the current situation is good, even as empty words. Haha….”

 

The conversation led by Moon Chae-yeong exchanged quite a lot of information for what was supposed to be formal greetings.

 

Of course, thinking about it quietly, it seems like these two only provided me with insubstantial information while extracting all my important details.

 

‘Well, even so, my important information is just what’s written on my resume, so it probably doesn’t matter.’

 

The conversation with Moon Chae-yeong naturally shifted to what happened today.

 

Meanwhile, the man called Lee Gyeon, who had been standing silently beside us, just listened quietly to Moon Chae-yeong’s words and occasionally chimed in.

 

“The dungeons in the underground of the BOND building are mostly filled with ones that have been verified as safe in advance. However, among us, there are special management targets that exist separately even among these safety-rated dungeons.”

 

“These dungeons are classified when specific anomalies are discovered.”

 

“Yes, especially the dungeon that you ‘accidentally’ entered, Teacher—even though years have passed since the gate appeared, no monster presumed to be the boss has been found, which has puzzled everyone.”

 

“But it was cleared.”

 

“Yes, yes, as this guy said, the fact that the dungeon was cleared is a bit of a problem right now.”

 

I was concentrating while thinking about the efforts of the two trying to explain things easily, when suddenly my head tilted at the strange story.

 

“…It was cleared?”

 

I suddenly remembered what Kwon Hae-seong had said before entering the gate.

 

 

Even though I don’t know much about this world, there’s one thing I know for certain.

 

There’s only one way to clear a dungeon.

 

That is, to deal with the boss inside the dungeon.

 

When you deal with the boss, the gate door automatically closes and the dungeon disappears. And Kwon Hae-seong and I never even thought of attempting to execute this plan.

 

How could two civilians possibly deal with a boss?

 

Moreover, we didn’t even know that the boss of that dungeon had been missing for years.

 

“So right now, it’s actually chaos outside. A boss that we couldn’t even catch a glimpse of for 3 years was discovered….”

 

“Not only was the person who discovered it a civilian, but they even dealt with it, so everyone is shocked.”

 

I squeezed my facial muscles and raised the corners of my mouth, pretending to be calm.

 

“…That can’t be right. We didn’t even see the dungeon boss, and more than that, some strange….”

 

That couldn’t be right.

 

What we—no, what I saw wasn’t so much a dungeon boss as…. something beyond that.

 

‘No matter how little I know about monsters, that wasn’t it.’

 

I felt it instinctively. Not just me, but anyone who saw that thing would feel the same way.

 

That you couldn’t simply call that thing a monster.

 

My throat was dry. As I fell silent for a moment in thought, Moon Chae-yeong and Lee Gyeon continued adding explanations.

 

“The rating is completely different before and after clearing. It was definitely confirmed as a safety rating when we brought it in, but when we checked the Wave Measurement Device after clearing, it was far exceeding the danger rating.”

 

“Danger rating only applies to A-grade and above dungeons. Therefore, the fact that you returned alive, Teacher, can only be explained as a miracle.”

 

“….”

 

If what they’re saying is true, does that mean that giant hand thing was the dungeon’s boss?

 

Then, I made some ridiculous friendship with a dungeon boss?

 

“Are you very surprised? It’s too early to be surprised yet. Right now, all sorts of ridiculous rumors are circulating internally.”

 

Moon Chae-yeong scratches the back of her head and laughs awkwardly.

 

What is that supposed to mean now?

 

“Right now inside the company, there’s a rumor going around that you single-handedly beat up the dungeon boss and cleared it, Teacher…. Unfortunately, since many people witnessed you walking out of the underground dungeon on your own two feet at the time, the rumors seem to have spread in an exaggerated way.”

 

Lee Gyeon said there were rumors updated on the company community and recited them one after another, which I listened to quietly.

 

Some of the rumors were light enough to laugh off, while others were so inflated that you couldn’t listen to them with a sane mind.

 

To summarize and explain the most frequently mentioned rumor among these….

 

Actually, I’m an incredibly high-grade Awakener who lied about my rating and got hired as a kindergarten teacher, and ‘accidentally’ entered a dungeon with a criminal, where I beat up the boss monster with my bare hands to rescue the children, and while I was at it, I also caught the criminal to serve justice…. Stop, let’s stop thinking about this.

 

It seems like people here have read too many novels.

 

They’re talking about those power fantasy things, right?

 

“Just in case, I’m asking, but is this content true?”

 

Lee Gyeon asked with a serious expression.

 

‘Would that be true?’

 

I only just found out whether that kidnapper bastard really was a criminal with a record.

 

In the end, I opened the cap of the water bottle on the side table and stuck it straight into my mouth.

 

My insides were burning and driving me crazy.

 

 

***

 

When Kim opened his eyes, what he immediately faced wasn’t the worried faces of medical staff.

 

…Damn police bastards.

 

A police officer he’d seen often was looking down at Kim with a pleased smile.

 

‘What’s he looking at so disgustingly pleased about…!’

 

Coming to his senses, he immediately jumped off the bed and ran, but was caught right away.

 

This time, both his wrists had restraint devices firmly attached, and a control device around his neck.

 

‘Damn! Damn!’

 

Kim cursed inwardly as he resisted with his whole body against the police trying to drag him away.

 

Then, he suddenly shouted at the person sitting quietly on the bed next to him, watching him being dragged away.

 

“Hey! Nam Tae-jae! Please save me…! You remember how I carried you and ran like hell in that dungeon, right?!”

 

Nam Tae-jae nodded while swinging his feet that didn’t reach the floor.

 

“Yes. I remember.”

 

That’s right, exactly!

 

We went through that hardship together!

 

Kim cheered inwardly and spoke urgently.

 

“Right! So please ask this police mister here for me! You can ask for leniency or something like that, can’t you? I did something good!”

 

Everyone in the hospital ward looked at Kim pathetically. To make such a request to a child when he had no one else to ask.

 

And such an absurd request at that.

 

Everyone there, staff and all, felt sorry for the young child who had been through such an ordeal. Just as they were about to speak up on behalf of young Tae-jae and scold the man.

 

“No. If you did something wrong, you should be punished.”

 

Firm.

 

The child’s eyes were solid and unwavering as he shook his head.

 

“Hey! Do you even know what I did wrong?!”

 

People’s momentary confusion passed as they all focused on the child’s answer.

 

What would that little kid say?

 

“I don’t know. But mister’s face is telling me.”

 

A short index finger pointed directly at Kim’s face.

 

A face bruised here and there, swollen and puffy.

 

Anyone could see it was a beaten face.

 

“You got beaten so badly you became ugly, but you never once told me it hurt.”

 

“…So, so what’s that supposed to mean?!”

 

“When you get hurt without doing anything wrong, your heart feels sad. So you keep saying it hurts. But mister never once told me it hurt.”

 

“That’s!”

 

Kim naturally knew the crimes he had committed up until now.

 

That’s why he had silently endured whether BOND bastards beat him up or the police gave him hell. But the child had keenly read this tiny speck of conscience in his actions.

 

Kim, at a loss for words, just gaped his mouth. Meanwhile, the child climbed down from the bed with a calm expression and approached him.

 

One step.

 

Two steps.

 

And finally, close enough.

 

Two pale little palms settled onto Kim’s bumpy, bruised face.

 

-Saaaaa.

 

Soon, a warm and gentle energy enveloped Kim’s entire face. The pain that felt like being pricked with needles and the throbbing sensation… disappeared.

 

Looking at him with his dumbfounded expression, the child smiled brightly.

 

“All done.”

 

Only then could Kim understand.

 

‘This little kid here, he’s quite a high-grade healer…’

 

However, rather than the fact he had just realized, different words came tumbling out.

 

“Huh… Why are you only doing this now after all that fuss?”

 

“I was worried you wouldn’t reflect if I did it first.”

 

“This cheeky little kid?”

 

“Mister, it went just like I said, didn’t it?”

 

“…What did.”

 

“Everything you set your mind to came true. You and I did it together!”

 

 

‘He definitely said that.’

 

The kid, still lacking any manners, patted Kim’s shoulder. It was neither fast nor slow.

 

“Now you just need to set your mind to it too, Mister.”

 

“Say something that makes sense. Looking at my current state, how can you say such things, you damn kid.”

 

“Yes. It’s coming out.”

 

Kim felt a surge of emotion for a moment, but it was different from usual. Not the hot, unpleasant feeling that had been boiling in his chest, but something more lukewarm that made his face flush.

 

“…Hey.”

 

“It’s Tae-jae.”

 

“Right, Nam Tae-jae.”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Take care.”

 

Though it was a farewell while kneeling on the floor, completely lacking in style, Kim was satisfied.

 

After all, it was a ruined life.

 

Wouldn’t it be okay to have a farewell like something from a B-grade comedy movie?

 

Kim smiled at another person for the first time in a long while.

 

“Yes, and Mister.”

 

“What.”

 

“Make up with your younger brother.”

 

“…We’ll see.”

 

“Mister.”

 

“What now! I need to go!”

 

“Mister, your stubbornness is like an anchovy’s tiny liver? That’s exactly what you’re like.”

 

To Kim, Nam Tae-jae remained a cheeky little kid until the very end.

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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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