Hunter Kindergarten, Dolphin Class! - Chapter 28

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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 028

 

It’s a day that makes me realize just how exhausting it can be to simply get off work.

 

I set down the shopping bag full of clothes and my bag on the floor of my room and collapsed right there.

 

‘What a series of crazy events.’

 

Without even looking back, the things I experienced today were a continuous string of insane moments.

 

Not only did I get caught up in an Underground Dungeon with a wanted criminal, but I even had an unexpected celebrity experience.

 

Just in case someone might recognize me, I covered my face on the way home… Even I felt embarrassed by how I looked.

 

But these kinds of reflections are only possible because I’m alive.

 

I closed my eyes and slowly exhaled. I could feel my entire body, which had been stiff with tension, gradually relaxing.

 

‘Is working life normally this exhausting?’

 

Forget everything else, I just wanted to have these idle thoughts and fall asleep like this.

 

However, this small wish of mine was shattered by the sudden appearance of someone.

 

[ Hello there? ]

 

Every hair on my body stood on end. Forgetting my fatigue, I sat up with reflexive speed.

 

[ Sleeping? ]

 

Damn it, no.

 

I swallowed the saliva that had pooled in my mouth. Only after choosing my words several times was I able to speak.

 

“No. I have no immediate plans to sleep.”

 

Sleep was out of the question. From the moment this thing appeared, that was practically decided.

 

I tried to maintain as calm an attitude as possible. Still, the comfort of being in my own space meant I didn’t fall into a panic state like I had in the Cave.

 

[ Then let’s play. You said you’d play with me. ]

 

As I focused on the voice echoing in my ears and chose my response, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

 

‘Why… can’t I see the hand?’

 

Even looking around the room, I couldn’t see the form of this thing that I had seen in the Cave.

 

Just in case, I looked at the Puppy Doll attached to my bag, but I couldn’t find any particularly noticeable changes…

 

What’s going on?

 

“It seems like I can’t see your form.”

 

I’d appreciate it if you could interpret that as roughly ‘I can’t see you, so how am I supposed to play with you?’

 

[ Oh, do you want to see me? ]

 

That’s absolutely not it.

 

I’m just curious, that’s all.

 

But this thing didn’t seem to think that way and immediately took action.

 

[ Don’t turn around. ]

 

As soon as I heard those words, rustling sounds came from the bag I had placed behind me. A shadow figure was cast on the Wall by the sunlight coming through the window.

 

Rip, rip. I heard the sound of stitches being torn, and soon a black mass crawled out from the puppy shadow. It was like a snake leisurely crawling across the floor, or like flowing water.

 

Then, when I felt a chilling sensation on my back, I realized that it had attached itself to me.

 

‘This is giving me goosebumps.’

 

While trying not to be overwhelmed by that indescribable feeling, a force tugging at my hair made me lift my head slightly.

 

“Hah…”

 

Finally, I could see it above my head. More precisely, the black hand that was playing with my hair.

 

‘…It seems to have gotten quite a bit smaller?’

 

It wasn’t the intimidating size I had seen in the Cave. If I had to compare, it felt like something that had been as big as a house had shrunk down to about the size of a door.

 

Roughly comparing it to the Electronic Pad nearby, the Palm Entity seemed to be about the same size.

 

“What would you like to play?”

 

[ But why. ]

 

[ ‘Would that be good?’ ‘No. I have no immediate plans to sleep.’ ‘What would you like to play?’ ]

 

[ Doesn’t seem like friends. ]

 

Goosebumps rose on both my arms at the thing’s words as it perfectly mimicked my voice. But despite making me jump out of my skin, the intent behind the question was innocent.

 

‘It wasn’t a mistake. It’s exactly the same level as our Kids.’

 

Feeling that fact with my skin once again, my brain entered a calm lull, separate from my body’s rejection.

 

I nodded and gave the answer it wanted.

 

“…Then, is this better?”

 

Its words were awkward, but the intention was clear enough to understand.

 

Why do you keep using stiff formal speech? We’re friends who saved each other’s lives by speaking freely.

 

So regardless of fear or anything else, if I want to survive, I need to speak casually to this thing.

 

But I decided not to stop here and go one step further.

 

“Nabi.”

 

Haha, this is really something I couldn’t do with a clear mind.

 

[ Now we’re like friends. ]

 

Is that so.

 

…Well, if even you’re satisfied, I guess that’s good enough. Please, maintain that feeling for a long time so you’ll forgive me even when I make mistakes occasionally.

 

[ I’m bored, play with me. ]

 

Now that we’ve sorted out the forms of address, it seems we’re back to the main topic.

 

I looked with distaste at the hand, no… at Nabi, who was still twisting and playing with my hair this way and that.

 

‘I need to think of it as Nabi too, or who knows what it’ll do if I slip up.’

 

[ ‘Then I’m more fun. I can do lots of things too. I can sing children’s songs, do Storytelling Performance, and I know a few funny jokes.’ ]

 

‘That urging is quite menacing.’

 

I chose to diligently overwork my brain to meet its expectations.

 

‘How should I entertain this mysterious friend Nabi of ours, who seems neither human nor Monster?’

 

Obviously, I had no plans to tell anyone about this friend’s identity and ask them to play with it or help me get rid of it.

 

…And for good reason, since this thing hadn’t been hiding its existence since the emergency center.

 

That was also why I had been hurrying to get Home.

 

This friend Nabi had been constantly talking to me from the moment I started conversing with the two team leaders.

 

Like this.

 

[ Wow. What’s that? ]

 

[ Clear? What’s clear? ]

 

[ Why? Why? ]

 

[ Going Home now? ]

 

[ Bored. I’m bored. ]

 

It kept asking in a curious voice, and I broke out in a cold sweat trying to pretend I couldn’t hear.

 

Just in case, I asked Lee Gyeon and Moon Chae-yeong if they could hear anything.

 

 

…Only perfectly normal reactions like that came back.

 

Finally, I came to a conclusion right there.

 

‘Let’s take this fact to the grave.’

 

I couldn’t point at the puppy keychain on my Bag and make a statement like a delusional patient: ‘Can’t you hear the sound from here? A crazy Monster keeps telling me it’s bored!’

 

I didn’t want to add fuel to my already grown reputation, and most of all, I was scared of what this thing that was talking to me in real-time might do.

 

Rather, quietly thinking of ways to get rid of this thing by myself seemed more realistic.

 

So in the end, I have to deal with this thing alone…

 

Based on Nabi’s speech patterns, its mental age is estimated to be 4-7 years old. But can we really say that such an unknown being finds interest and fun in the same things as ordinary children?

 

So actually, the method for dealing with Nabi was decided from the beginning.

 

The only way to consistently satisfy its interest while buying time to get rid of it.

 

…That is, to very slowly and gradually raise its dopamine threshold.

 

Playing too entertainingly from the start?

 

It would probably get bored frighteningly fast. Then it would demand more and more extreme things next time or the time after.

 

‘What if it later suggests playing Russian roulette with random passersby?’

 

Let’s not forget. That thing’s nickname is ‘aka. Only death brings eternal Rest!’

 

…So I’m thinking of dealing with this creature by carefully controlling this dopamine threshold.

 

‘Alright, let’s give it a try.’

 

Then for today, first… that would be good.

 

“Now, Nabi friend. Shall we play a guessing game with objects?”

 

I lifted the bag full of gifts from Manager Lee Won-woo and shouted energetically.

 

Ah, it feels like going to work again after getting off work.

 

 

***

 

I pulled out a cylindrical spray that I happened to grab from inside the bag. It seemed to be made of aluminum material, making it light enough to hold with one hand.

 

 

*Reason for disposal: It’s supposed to be hair growth spray, but damn, everything grows. Grass and trees grow too, it’s complete chaos. (After disposing of prototype, considering re-release after development process)

*Precautions: Liquid spray type, effects appear within 5 seconds of liquid exposure. Recommend thinking it over at least 5 times before use.

*Made by extracting the frequency of A-rank Plant Type Awakener Lee An-mi (Growth Acceleration).

 

Reading the disposal reason tagged below the product name, I could feel anger in the writing.

 

‘The idea of extracting a Plant Type Awakener’s frequency to make hair growth spray is amazing in the first place.’

 

I ignored it with cloudy eyes and held it up toward Nabi friend.

 

“Now, what do you think this object is for?”

 

The speed of head twisting slows down. It seems to be thinking quite seriously.

 

[ I don’t know. ]

 

“What did you see on the roadside on your way home today?”

 

[ Humans, buildings, cars, cats, flowers. ]

 

Oh, there’s some observational skills there. And only answers that are quite good for explaining came out.

 

“Right. This is mainly used on creatures with fur like humans or cats among those.”

 

[ Why? ]

 

“Guessing that is Nabi’s job.”

 

Now it’s really messing up its hair.

 

“How were the humans’ hair on the way home? Were they all the same?”

 

Got it. I’ll give you a hint.

 

[ No, some were long and some short, there was pink and yellow too. ]

 

“Right. Nabi’s observational skills are really good~”

 

Give some encouraging praise once.

 

“Which hair did Nabi like?”

 

I throw one more question that connects to the answer.

 

[I like the silky long pink hair]

 

“Oh, Nabi liked that hair too? There’s a beauty treatment called dyeing where you color your hair, and you can do it easily with that.”

 

[ Dyeing? Wow. You try it too. ]

 

“Hmm, but dyeing can be done easily, but growing hair takes some time. Nabi said you like silky ‘long’ pink hair.”

 

[Really? Why? Can’t hair grow quickly?]

 

“Yeah, hair takes a lot of time to grow as long as Nabi wants. And… human fur and hair might not grow when they get older.”

 

[ …Why? Really? Then what do we do. ]

 

The playful voice becomes much more subdued.

 

[ You, won’t yours grow anymore either? ]

 

No, I’m not quite that age yet.

 

[ What do we do, hair needs to grow. ]

 

The hand that was messing with hair calmly settles down and gently pats the crown.

 

It was a very caring touch, like planting seeds in the ground and covering them with soil.

 

I should cut it off here.

 

Speed is important in ‘guessing’ games. If you drag it out, children get bored quickly and drop out.

 

To capture their short attention spans, stimulation and speed are essential.

 

‘This one doesn’t seem to have good concentration either, already looks like it’s getting bored.’

 

However, Nabi still showed no signs of getting the right answer.

 

At this point, you might think that Nabi, who’s gotten annoyed beyond boredom, might send me to the afterlife.

 

…The scary thing is that it’s not entirely unrealistic.

 

But then…

 

Actually, there’s no need to worry about this kind of thing.

 

‘I never expected her to guess it right in the first place.’

 

So what do I do then?

 

Simple, I just tell her myself.

 

“But if you spray this, even hair and fur that seems like it won’t grow anymore will grow back!”

 

This game is ‘guessing’ not ‘must guess correctly’. So it doesn’t matter if the other person gets it wrong.

 

In other words, it’s fine whether they guess right or not.

 

As long as the fun of realization is satisfied in the process, the purpose of the game is achieved.

 

Just like this.

 

I rolled up the newspaper I had placed on top of the wardrobe and inserted it into the Hair Growth Spray nozzle. Then I sprayed it over the plant hanging by the window area.

 

-Hissssss.

 

‘I think my brother bought and hung this up, was it called Tillandsia?’

 

“We call this Hair Growth Spray. And this Hair Growth Spray is special, unlike other hair growth sprays, it can make plants grow too, not just hair and fur.”

 

I just need to roughly show the feeling of ‘growing’ and ‘raising’.

 

After waiting quietly for 5 seconds, the plant began to change. The leaves that had been wriggling started growing toward the floor at an insane speed.

 

‘Wait a minute, this is growing way too much?’

 

[ Wow. ]

 

I quickly tried to stop it from covering the entire floor and crawling under the bed, but it wasn’t much use.

 

I can hear delighted laughter by my ear.

 

‘Dramatic stuff is exactly what Kids like.’

 

But how am I going to clean this up?

 

Regardless, seeing Nabi pulling at her hair excitedly and enjoying herself… a tiny bit of satisfaction welled up.

 

To think the day would come when I’d feel satisfied from making a monster laugh – you really do see everything if you live long enough.

 

“See? Just like how plants grow instantly, it’s the same when you spray it on human hair or fur.”

 

[ You spray it too! Let’s grow your hair! ]

 

No, that’s a bit…

 

I even sacrificed the plant my brother gave me as a gift to show her.

 

I looked distastefully at the plant stems that had taken over the floor…

 

Then grabbed my Bag again and shook out all the contents onto the floor.

 

If I leave things as they are, she’ll spray it directly on my head.

 

“I’ll grow mine naturally! Shall we try guessing the next one?”

 

As all the items spilled onto the floor, the Discarded Products that I hadn’t been able to examine closely began revealing themselves one by one under the bright Fluorescent Light.

 

‘Were there things like this?’

 

Besides the products I’d seen in sketches in the Conference Room, there were several unfamiliar ones mixed in.

 

I crouched down and quickly scanned the tag names attached to the products.

 

 

This was the one Kang Sa-gwa said she coveted.

 

 

If there are no side effects, this could be quite useful during field trips and such.

 

 

‘What’s this, it looks like an mp3 player.’

 

While the product looks quite cute, its tag is the longest among the Discarded Products.

 

 

The pale blue old Walkie-Talkie looked like a toy at first glance. Four yellow dial buttons were attached above the handle part with the speaker.

 

‘I should read the instructions more carefully when I have time later.’

 

So, is this the last one…

 

This one’s the most unsettling of all so far.

 

 

The name is quite cartoon-like so you might let your guard down, but its appearance wasn’t like that at all.

 

‘It really looks like a Revolver.’

 

Gun, I mean. Gun.

 

I opened the revolver’s cylinder to check the bullets. Oh, there are 6 bullets.

 

The appearance and structure, and even the number of bullets – it looks real, doesn’t it?

 

But it’s not a real gun.

 

That’s because the bullets in the cylinder weren’t the type I knew. This wasn’t even confusing level.

 

‘…Cherry tomatoes.’

 

I took out the cherry tomato-shaped bullet and touched it directly – it felt like plastic. When I held it up under the fluorescent light, I could see liquid sloshing around inside.

 

Wow, whose idea was this.

 

“I can see why it was discarded.”

 

They all looked completely insane. I sighed and grabbed the S-Grade Luminous Light Sword, which seemed the most decent among them…

 

“Nabi friend?”

 

I called for Nabi.

 

But you know…

 

Why is there no answer? No, more than that, when did she become so quiet.

 

Nabi’s presence had disappeared from my room that had become a jungle. That wasn’t something to be happy about though.

 

‘The door is open?’

 

I hurriedly opened the half-open door and went out to the living room. The living room TV was playing an advertisement with a familiar melody.

 

-Dream country Neverland!

 

-Mysterious world of children! Our friends~ let’s meet in Neverland~

 

-Fun, exciting, and thrilling! To Neverland where there’s never a dull moment!

 

[ …. ]

 

I slowly approached the living room sofa. On the sofa sat a small puppy with fluffy white fur, facing the TV.

 

More precisely, it was the White Dog Doll that Nabi had been holding, though I didn’t know when it had fallen out of the bag.

 

-Rip rip.

 

The stitching across the doll’s back tore open, and from inside, a black hand appeared waving its arm. Then it pointed with its thin, long index finger.

 

At the TV that was still broadcasting the Neverland advertisement.

 

[ Let’s go there! ]

 

…And so the first step of lowering my friend Nabi’s dopamine threshold was smoothly falling apart.

—————
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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