Hunter Kindergarten, Dolphin Class! - Chapter 32

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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 032

 

“Teacher! Is that lady dead?”

 

At Noah’s question that sent chills down my spine, I reflexively denied it.

 

“No. Absolutely not.”

 

And just to be sure, I brought my hand to the employee’s nose…

 

She… she was breathing.

 

Steadying my wobbling legs, I first spoke to Nabi.

 

“Nabi, let’s put her down for now.”

 

[ Why? Wasn’t she bullying you? ]

 

[ You said we shouldn’t bully friends. ]

 

…Should I be touched right now that this guy did this because he was thinking of me?

 

I shook my head weakly and spoke firmly.

 

“She wasn’t bullying me. It was just, a little awkward, that’s all. If Nabi and I want to stay here longer, we can’t get caught.”

 

And I raised my hand to pat the black forearm…

 

As if I was okay.

 

[ Really? ]

 

A voice that seemed unconvinced murmured above my head.

 

“Yes. Really.”

 

At my confident answer, the hand gripping the employee soon gently… lowered her to the floor.

 

I immediately checked on the employee who was now leaning against the wall.

 

And I came to a conclusion.

 

‘…She seems to have fainted?’

 

“Hah…”

 

That took ten years off my life.

 

I had even imagined being falsely accused of murder and going to prison.

 

Being dragged away while shouting ‘No, my monster friend did it!’ but receiving only cold reactions from people who wouldn’t believe me.

 

‘I’m glad it was just my imagination.’

 

I sighed and stood up from my spot.

 

…Now, I need to deal with this situation.

 

When I turned around lightly from where I was standing, Noah, who had somehow approached close behind me, raised his arm high.

 

“Hello!”

 

I wonder who taught him to be so cheerful with greetings…

 

‘I taught him that greeting.’

 

With a soul-drained smile, I knelt down on one knee again to meet Noah’s eyes.

 

“Hello, Noah. We’re seeing each other here.”

 

Noah up close looked quite different from his usual appearance.

 

Instead of his neatly slicked-back hair and tidy outfit…

 

He looked somewhat more free, even.

 

His hair was a mess and his clothes looked like he had thrown them on over pajamas before coming out.

 

I skillfully smoothed down Noah’s fine hair and neatly arranged his clothes as well.

 

After he had a neat appearance, we faced each other again.

 

Hmm… I should start with an explanation first.

 

“Well, first of all, that person is an employee here…”

 

I conveyed the content in the simplest way possible so Noah could understand.

 

I wonder if he understood well.

 

“Ah! So the alien friend stopped that lady from attacking Teacher?”

 

Right, hah… alien friend.

 

Since I had no idea how to explain Nabi, I ended up using that term.

 

Do you remember?

 

The lie I told Noah during drawing time in my early days at work.

 

The UFO drawn on Noah’s drawing paper and some scrawny green alien I saw, which led to the lie I quickly spun for the sake of building rapport.

 

 

I did my best to explain the unknown entity called ‘Nabi’ at a child’s eye level, but….

 

“Hello! Are you really Teacher’s friend from his hometown?”

 

Seeing Noah bouncing up and down in front of Nabi with curious eyes… I can’t help but feel conflicted.

 

With this, my strategy to avoid encounters between Nabi and the children as much as possible has also failed.

 

Suppressing my urge to cry, I looked at the two children I’m in charge of.

 

[ Friend. ]

 

“You’re really big~ Are you bigger than Hello T-Bot?”

 

[ Hello friend! ]

 

“Give me a ride too! Like that girl earlier!”

 

[ Nice to meet you! Me too! ]

 

The two of them aren’t having a conversation at all.

 

‘If anything, this is fortunate.’

 

It seems like Nabi can only have proper conversations with me.

 

 

As I quietly watched the two giving completely unrelated answers, this thought suddenly occurred to me.

 

‘Come to think of it, isn’t this the first time?’

 

The first time Nabi has revealed this form in front of other people since coming out of the Cave.

 

But somehow, unlike that time, there was no chilling smoke coming out and Noah was perfectly fine.

 

‘I thought the Employee fainted because Nabi revealed its form?’

 

Looking at it now, Noah is completely fine.

 

Unlike when he fainted in the Cave.

 

I slowly approached, picked up Noah, and asked Nabi.

 

“But why aren’t you making Noah faint?”

 

The question sounds quite strange, I admit.

 

[ He’s a friend! ]

 

Ah.

 

“Then what about that Employee?”

 

[ Not a friend. And she was mean. ]

 

Geez, she wasn’t being mean.

 

Anyway, I can see that you treat people differently based on your judgment of them.

 

“That person will wake up safely later, right?”

 

[ Yes. ]

 

“Then that’s fine.”

 

I gave a light affirmation and picked up the Bag. Then I held the Bag out toward Nabi, who was staring blankly at me.

 

“Alright, let’s go back in now.”

 

[ ? ]

 

“We need to finish looking around.”

 

[ ! ]

 

As soon as I finished speaking, the black hand entered the Doll like smoke.

 

The torn back was sewn up tightly again… and soon returned to the appearance of a pristine Doll.

 

[ Let’s go! ]

 

I’ve explained things to Noah, and I’ve put Nabi back in….

 

‘I should take care of the final cleanup before leaving.’

 

I took out the Whistle I had put in my pocket.

 

And without hesitation, I brought it to my mouth and blew air into it.

 

-Tweeeeeeet!!

 

 

***

 

A few minutes after I blew the Whistle, staff members in Police uniforms came and took away the unconscious Female Staff.

 

In the process, I had to naturally act like ‘just a startled and confused visitor.’

 

 

Moreover, the Dead End I had accidentally entered happened to be a blind spot where no CCTV was installed, so I was able to leave the area without much suspicion.

 

‘And I even got this by chance.’

 

I looked down at the blue Stamp pressed on the inside of my wrist.

 

Not in the shape of an Axe or Scissors.

 

But a Stamp that read [Arrest Complete 1].

 

Oh…

 

Since only one per Team could receive it, I had received the Stamp on behalf of our team that was paired with Noah.

 

‘Should I start moving again now?’

 

I took Noah’s hand and came back out to the center of the Street.

 

And I brought up something I hadn’t been able to ask until now because things had been so hectic.

 

“Noah, did you come here with your Mother?”

 

I was thinking it was fortunate that Nabi hadn’t been discovered by his Mother…

 

But quite some time had passed, and if she still wasn’t visible, had she gotten lost somewhere?

 

“No!”

 

“Hm? Then?”

 

Oh, don’t tell me she lost Noah?

 

Oh no, that would be really serious, what should I do.

 

However, the answer that flowed from Noah’s mouth next shattered even my worst imagination.

 

“I came alone!”

 

“Oh… So you mean to this Theme Park?”

 

“No! I came to the amusement park all by myself!”

 

What?

 

…I must have heard wrong just now, right?

 

Haha, I must have played too hard today if I’m hearing things…

 

Because if that’s not it, it doesn’t make sense.

 

Our Center child, our Noah!

 

Came here alone?!

 

 

“Alone… here?”

 

“Yes! Alone here!”

 

Looking down at Noah who was smiling brightly, I fumbled for my back pocket.

 

I need to contact someone right away…

 

“Wait a minute, Noah. Why did you come to the amusement park alone? No, how did you come here alone?”

 

“I took the Bus!”

 

“You took the Bus?”

 

“Yes! It was easy~ It’s all written at the Bus Stop in front of my Home! Huh… Teacher, don’t tell me you didn’t even know that?”

 

“No, that’s not what I meant…”

 

“Buses are there to be ridden.”

 

I blinked my eyes looking at Noah who was giving me advice.

 

Bus? A 7-year-old preschool child came to the amusement park alone by Bus?

 

Without even telling his parents?

 

…My mind is going blank.

 

 

***

 

Running away from Home.

 

Running away from Home, of all things.

 

I looked back and forth between my mobile phone and Noah with a dazed expression.

 

‘No, why isn’t the signal working either?’

 

Since it was linked to my Work Phone, finding Noah’s Mother’s contact information wasn’t difficult.

 

But the problem is that I can’t get through to anyone.

 

Just in case, I tried calling Kwon Hae-seong and hyung who should be at home, but the result was complete silence.

 

After trying a few more times, an incomprehensible message saying [Service Unavailable Area] even appeared.

 

What? In this cutting-edge 21st century era, at an amusement park near Seoul, it says service unavailable area?

 

I can’t understand it, no, does this even make sense but….

 

Nothing will change just by clutching my mobile phone.

 

‘Right. There are often places where signals get blocked well due to indoor structures.’

 

Having finished rationalizing it that way, I tried to calmly ask Noah.

 

“Your mother doesn’t know you came to the amusement park alone, right?”

 

“Yes, I came secretly without telling mom.”

 

“…Is there a reason?”

 

“She promised to definitely go to Neverland with me on my birthday…. But yesterday she suddenly said we couldn’t go. She said she had to go to the company.”

 

As Noah talked about it, he seemed to feel wronged and roughly rubbed his eyes with his sleeve ends.

 

I watched that scene for a moment before staring straight ahead.

 

‘Noah’s Mother said she belongs to BOND Production Department.’

 

Their workload must be no joke either. Even coming to work on weekends.

 

“But how did you think to take the bus alone? Did you really take it from the bus stop in front of your house?”

 

“Yes! When I looked at the route map at the bus stop in front of my house, it said ‘amusement park’ on the Bus Number 4 route map? So I took Bus Number 4! I’m really good at reading numbers.”

 

…You read numbers too well and that became the problem.

 

He even solved the money issue by bringing Mom’s Card that was left on the dining table.

 

“Cards are amazing! I just gave them this and they gave me churros and a headband too.”

 

No, they didn’t give it to you, you bought it, Noah.

 

I was wondering where that frog-eye headband on your head came from….

 

‘It was the result of Mom’s Card.’

 

I think by now Mother might have seen the card transaction history and learned about Noah’s runaway.

 

Having roughly figured out what happened, I quickly made a decision.

 

‘Sorry to Nabi, but I need to get out of here as quickly as possible.’

 

And I should try contacting Noah’s Mother again….

 

Oh, right, before that.

 

I unfolded the crumpled parchment note in my hand.

 

The last 6th hint note.

 

I had pulled it out from where it was stuck in a door crack of a nearby commercial building while exiting the alley.

 

When I opened the note, the word I had expected appeared as expected.

 

[ 2 People ]

 

Hmm… Well, I’m leaving anyway, and it would be a waste, so should I quickly drop by?

 

“Teacher, what are we going to play now?”

 

To the innocent child’s question, I answered with a refreshing smile.

 

“We have to find another criminal.”

 

For a runaway child, it would be right to find their guardian as quickly as possible but….

 

That runaway child’s birthday is today.

 

‘This much deviation should be okay.’

 

There’s a guardian here too.

 

“There’s another criminal?”

 

“Yeah, there’s another hidden criminal.”

 

Two murder weapons and two job clues and a time difference.

 

Decisively, there was even the hint of 2 people at the end.

 

We moved to the last location marked on the map.

 

If the unconscious female staff was a murderer who sold newspapers and killed someone three days ago with an axe, then this one….

 

Would be a serial killer who works at a barbershop and uses scissors as a murder weapon.

 

‘The core of the original movie was the identity of the serial killer from the beginning.’

 

The perpetrator of the murder case that occurred three days ago.

 

Two people who coincidentally committed the same crime against one target at different times.

 

One of them was a serial killer who had painted the streets of London with terror—that was the ending of the original movie.

 

While chatting and walking with Noah, we had arrived at our destination before we knew it.

 

[ John Barber ]

 

However, this time I didn’t open the door and go inside.

 

I simply grabbed a passing police officer, pointed my finger inside the door, and said this.

 

“That person is the criminal.”

 

Learning from the chase scene earlier, I completely blocked any approach to the criminal.

 

But at the same time, this was the only way to catch the criminal.

 

‘I just need to call the police first and rat them out.’

 

The police officer’s pupils shook mercilessly.

 

“Ah, um…”

 

I guess there hadn’t been anyone who just blurted it out like this before?

 

But it didn’t matter.

 

The police officer’s reaction from earlier had practically given me the answer.

 

“I’m certain. That person is the criminal.”

 

“…This is a first for me. I need to check the manual…”

 

“Don’t you just need to find and call them?”

 

“That’s true, but…”

 

“Then that’s settled.”

 

I confidently held out my forearm that already had a stamp on it.

 

Then… with a face that said he had no choice, the police officer stamped my forearm!

 

[ Arrest Complete 2 ]

 

Looking at the two neatly stamped marks, Noah and I faced each other and smiled.

 

[ Wow! We caught them all! ]

 

Nabi was satisfied too.

 

We headed straight toward the entrance of the theme park.

 

An employee who had been sitting with a bored expression suddenly stood up, saw us, and politely greeted us before asking.

 

“May I check your stamps?”

 

When I showed the two stamps on my wrist, the employee’s eyes grew wider and wider, then spoke with a voice filled with excitement.

 

“Wow! You got both stamps?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Congratulations! Most people only get one stamp and go home empty-handed. This is already the second time today! Here, take your gift.”

 

With that, they brought out a Green Onion Doll about Noah’s size from the storage room behind the entrance.

 

I held Noah in one arm and the Green Onion Doll in the other.

 

Then I walked out through the entrance the employee had guided us to.

 

The employee waved both hands in greeting and said to us.

 

“Thank you for your hard work. Welcome to Candy Fiore.”

 

I had heard that the theme park exit of was connected to the outdoor theme park in the Northern Area of Neverland.

 

I raised my head to see the clear sky that would soon unfold.

 

Then I stopped dead in my tracks.

 

What is this.

 

“Wow! It’s a world of snacks!”

 

[ Wow! It’s a world of snacks! ]

 

Because a completely different scenery from the photos I had found on the internet was greeting us.

 

I quickly turned around to look back at the entrance we had come through.

 

The smiling employee waved their hand as they closed the open door.

 

“Candy Fiore protects everyone’s innocence!”

 

And then whoosh—

 

disappear.

 

Both the employee who had greeted me with a smile and the entrance that led to ‘Candy Fiore’.

—————
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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