Hunter Kindergarten, Dolphin Class! - Chapter 38

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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 038

 

Right after emerging from the EX-grade Dungeon, I had somehow become a super rookie Hunter through interviews with the escaped citizens.

 

Thanks to them blocking the swarming reporters with their bodies, I was able to rest without any disturbance on a corner bench nearby.

 

‘Finally…’

 

I survived.

 

I really went through a lot.

 

I put my bag down on the bench and exhaled.

 

‘Let me rest for just a moment… Just a moment.’

 

I lazily leaned back and barely turned my eyes toward the White Dog Doll. The doll’s black pupils were fixed on the Candy Shop in the distance.

 

Just then, a bright voice could be heard with perfect timing.

 

[ Snacks! Let’s go buy candy! ]

 

…Ah, right. I promised to buy snacks.

 

I remembered promising Nabi that I would buy snacks when I asked about how to exit the dungeon.

 

“Alright. I’ll buy them for you.”

 

A chuckle escaped me.

 

Right, right, I have to buy them.

 

If I don’t, who knows if she might create a dungeon out of thin air and throw me back in.

 

I nodded and relaxed.

 

“Let’s rest a little and then go buy snacks right away.”

 

[ Okay, I’ll wait. ]

 

 

A pleasant breeze blows. As I force my drowsy eyes open and look around…

 

I could see the people who had been trapped in the Glass Bottle inside the dungeon lamenting while rubbing their swollen faces and bodies.

 

It seems to be a side effect of the syrup.

 

“I look like I got stung by a beehive…”

 

“It’s likely a temporary phenomenon. Probably, if you endure it for just a week, you’ll return to your original appearance…”

 

The dispatched healers took turns comforting the citizens who looked like they were about to cry.

 

“Gasp! I have to compete tomorrow! A bodybuilding competition…”

 

“What’s wrong with that? You look best right now. Hey young man, confidence is key in competitions!”

 

…That’s, that’s fortunate.

 

Since they say it might be a temporary phenomenon.

 

Across from the swollen people, I could also see people whose noses had grown long like tree branches, sadly touching their noses.

 

 

The woman who had been shouting about mobilizing all her connections asked as if she had just remembered.

-Relief Supplies: Pinocchio Lemon Jelly (1 jelly per person) Duration: 1 hour.

 

‘I’m sure it said the duration was one hour.’

 

When I told her exactly what I remembered, I saw the woman smile brightly and spread the news to others as well.

 

Even now, I could hear some people who heard the woman’s news saying things like ‘Damn, that’s a relief. I was looking up plastic surgery clinics.’

 

“It’s fortunate that no one was seriously injured.”

 

Just as I was feeling relief and my whole body’s muscles were relaxing.

 

“Teacher!”

 

Noah came.

 

Noah, who had wiped away his tears at some point, was standing in front of the bench.

 

I stroked the child’s eyes where tear stains remained and asked.

 

“Are you done crying?”

 

“Yes!”

 

“You did really well today.”

 

“What did I do well?”

 

“Just… everything.”

 

Not only in the Theme Park but also in the ‘Candy Fiore’ dungeon, the child didn’t lose his characteristic innocence.

 

Of course, it’s not that Noah intentionally tried to be bright…

 

‘I can’t deny that gave me strength.’

 

Really, if Noah hadn’t been there either, I would have started by crying in a corner for a while.

 

“Teacher did well too!”

 

“Hm? What did?”

 

“Just everything! Today was so much fun!”

 

Saying that, he carefully placed something in my hand.

 

“…?”

 

An orange liquid contained in a round glass bottle.

 

When I rolled it in my hand, it swirled with a mysterious color.

 

“What’s this?”

 

“It’s a potion I brought! I made this myself. It’s a Fatigue Recovery Potion. I made it exactly like Mom’s. I’ll give it to Teacher! I shared them with everyone else too.”

 

“…!”

 

A potion?

 

‘Ah… Come to think of it, he said he brought some when he ran away from home, right?’

 

I immediately recalled Noah’s basic information that was written on the first page of the manual.

 

[ Kim Noah ]

-Age: 7 years old

-Grade: A-rank

-Ability: Alchemy (Shows exceptional talent in Potion Crafting)

※ Regular checkup: Once every three months.

 

A Fatigue Recovery Potion made by an A-rank alchemist.

 

‘Regardless of the potion grade, this would cost quite a bit.’

 

Moreover, according to Kwon Hae-seong, Noah was already an alchemy prodigy being watched by the industry.

 

I accepted it in a daze. A faint smile formed as I felt some emotion between being touched and proud.

 

“Thank you.”

 

“Yes!”

 

After answering like that, I caught the child again as he was about to scurry away.

 

“Noah, you should take this. It’s a gift.”

 

The original plan was to buy something nice from the gift shop to give as a present, but…

 

I placed the large Green Onion Doll that had been sitting beside my bag into the child’s arms.

 

Noah, holding a doll as big as himself, looked at me with wide round eyes.

 

“…Ohhh?”

 

“Noah, happy birthday.”

 

Then his eyes gently crinkled.

 

Together with the Green Onion Doll he hugged tightly, Noah bowed his head deeply and went back the way he came.

 

‘By the way…’

 

I rolled the potion Noah gave me in my hand, examining it from all angles. Even to a layperson like me who didn’t know what it was, it clearly looked different from potions you could get in stores.

 

‘Is it okay for me to accept something like this?’

 

Since he gave it to me, would it be better to down it in one gulp?

 

Or should I save it for when I catch a cold later?

 

In the end, my mind leaned toward keeping it, and as I was putting the potion in my bag, someone in familiar attire walked over from a distance.

 

“Team Leader Moon.”

 

“Teacher.”

 

Moon Chae-yeong naturally sat beside me and leaned back against the bench with a thud.

 

“…I really, it’s been a long time. Getting this kind of hero-but-not-hero treatment.”

 

No wonder she looked strangely tired.

 

While I was frantically surrounded by reporters, Moon Chae-yeong must have been getting grilled by other reporters too.

 

“Enjoying it is also one way to handle it.”

 

“Wouldn’t enjoying it together also be a way?”

 

Wow, look at this mischievous person.

 

“I’ll pass. I realized through a certain incident that being a superstar doesn’t suit my constitution.”

 

Even days after leaving the BOND Underground Dungeon, I’d been like a hot potato, so I really want to pass on this kind of attention.

 

‘The rumor that the subject of gossip is a male teacher at Ocean Kindergarten spread quite accurately though.’

 

Because of this rumor, several employees who came to verify the facts apparently grabbed Kwon Hae-seong and Park I-deun and gave them a hard time.

 

‘Fortunately, I didn’t get caught though…’

 

“That’s a shame. If I became a superstar together with Teacher, it would probably be quite manageable.”

 

Don’t say things you don’t mean.

 

Your eyes are empty like someone who pulled an all-nighter.

 

“…I’m sorry to Teacher, but since this is Korea’s first EX-grade dungeon in a year, we’ll probably have to conduct a situational investigation in interview format.”

 

“…I expected as much.”

 

I didn’t know it myself, but this turned out to be a bigger topic than expected.

 

It was already surprising that an EX-grade dungeon suddenly appeared after a year, but it was cleared in just a few hours.

 

Moreover, only one confirmed hunter was involved in the dungeon, with the majority being ordinary citizens, so it almost became ‘another disaster.’

 

But since we avoided that, it’s probably causing even more of an uproar.

 

“In cases like this special situation, the Seoul Dungeon Management Center and major hunter companies all rush in to investigate together…”

 

“…”

 

Perhaps noticing my pale complexion, Moon Chae-yeong pats my shoulder.

 

“On someone’s advice, I used my connections and authority to arrange for exclusive investigation of just Teacher and Noah.”

 

“Thank you…”

 

That took ten years off my life.

 

But…

 

“Connections aside, you have authority.”

 

I’m not being sarcastic, but if you can persuade the Seoul Dungeon Center and other hunter companies, isn’t that really impressive?

 

“Yes, since I’m a team leader at the large corporation BOND, even without 1.5 billion in my bank account, they give me some degree of trust.”

 

Ah, sorry about the 1.5 billion.

 

“Haha…”

 

“Anyway, what I want to say is don’t worry too much. Except for the chaos caused by the citizens who entered the dungeon with you having conflicting opinions about Teacher, it’s not a bad situation.”

 

“Hearing that makes it impossible not to worry.”

 

“I don’t understand why opinions are so divided either… Some people say Teacher gave them jelly, and after eating it, their noses grew long, allowing them to escape the dungeon’s trial.”

 

“…”

 

This would be someone who was dragged onto the platform and selected as a believer.

 

“Others say they don’t know about jelly, but the dungeon suddenly gave obvious hints about noses growing long for some reason. Ah, they did see Teacher dancing passionately.”

 

“…”

 

This seems like someone who was below the platform but at a distance from me.

 

And I wasn’t dancing. I was cheering.

 

“Also… I know that Teacher was secretly fidgeting around doing something diligently, then caught people walking to the platform one by one and slipped them something like jelly. And… I also noticed that the situation flowed surprisingly smoothly after that.”

 

You saw everything but calmly chatted about it being ‘an unexpectedly sloppy dungeon’?

 

“But I think it worked out for the better.”

 

“(What exactly) worked out?”

 

“If opinions had been unanimous, Teacher’s personal information would be spread all over the internet by now. Probably with an article titled .”

 

“…Wow.”

 

That’s horrifying.

 

Don’t do it. Please don’t.

 

“But since everyone’s opinions don’t match like this, by now reporters and citizens who see this will think:”

 

“Think what?”

 

“Yes, things like ‘The shock must have been severe.’, ‘Is it PTSD?’, ‘Ah, this will be difficult to verify.'”

 

“Oh…”

 

“Then Teacher’s rumors will initially flare up but quickly die down.”

 

She says information with low credibility has trouble maintaining long-term interest.

 

“Is that good?”

 

“At least compared to me, who already has articles spreading about being the only A-grade awakener in the dungeon?”

 

“…That’s true.”

 

Then both of them laughed lightly.

 

For having barely survived death, isn’t this atmosphere a bit too lighthearted….

 

‘I don’t know.’

 

We’re alive, so that’s enough. Now I just need to buy lots of snacks and candy on the way home to tell Nabi about, and that’ll be the end of it.

 

I quietly got up from my seat and turned to look at Moon Chae-yeong as I asked.

 

“Do I need to undergo a situation investigation before going home?”

 

“No. Teacher and Noah are scheduled to be investigated separately at a later time, so you can comfortably go home. Oh, if you’re not feeling well, would you like to stop by the BOND Emergency Center on your way?”

 

“I appreciate the suggestion, but I’ll decline. I want to hurry home and lie down on my bed.”

 

Moon Chae-yeong dusted off her hands as she got up from the bench and pointed somewhere with her index finger.

 

“That’s the Theme Park Back Road. It leads straight to the Main Gate. It’s also a path I use quite frequently.”

 

“Thank you. I’ll be heading in now….”

 

Huh?

 

Something’s strange?

 

“….”

 

Suddenly my vision warped and I couldn’t see Moon Chae-yeong’s face clearly.

 

I thought it might be because I got up suddenly…. But there’s something on my nose.

 

I stood there dazed for a moment, then wiped around my nose with my hand.

 

Then, a warm red liquid came off on it.

 

Oh.

 

It’s blood.

 

“Teacher?”

 

-Beeeeeee

 

Tinnitus rang out and my ears felt stuffy.

 

“Are you okay? Teach-!”

 

My vision turned black from the edges inward.

 

My body collapsed.

 

“Wait a moment. Teacher-!”

 

The last thought I had before losing consciousness was this.

 

-Precautions from the SOL Jelly Store Phone Book.

-After use, unexplained bleeding occurs (nosebleeds/hemoptysis)

 

Ah, right. The precautions.

 

“But I….”

 

“Teacher!”

 

“I, I need to buy snacks for Nabi….”

 

And so I fainted.

 

Having broken my promise with my monster friend.

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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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