Hunter Kindergarten, Dolphin Class! - Chapter 42

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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 042

 

Saliva and dirt crumbs fell from between the Principal’s lips.

 

However, he was forcing himself to smile.

 

And doing his absolute best at it.

 

“De… Delicious. I’ll give it 9 points.”

 

Was deducting 1 point his petty revenge?

 

In any case, Seo-ra finally looked satisfied and nodded as she stepped back.

 

But that was only the beginning.

 

“This is Sweet Potato Stem Stir-fry. It has my Grandmother’s Secret Sauce in it. Please, enjoy it.”

 

A plate topped with Tree Leaves and Grass Roots was placed on the Table.

 

Tae-jae gulped nervously like a chef waiting for his dish to be evaluated.

 

“It’s savory and well-seasoned, very delicious. I’ll give this 10 points as well.”

 

Despite my generous evaluation, Tae-jae waited unwaveringly for the Principal’s assessment.

 

And the Principal faced another ordeal.

 

“I, I too!… I’ll give it 10 points with Teacher Na Hwi-yeon-“

 

“No. Principal, please chew it thoroughly once more.”

 

In the end, the Principal could only escape from Tae-jae after actually chewing the Grass Roots several more times.

 

Watching the Principal busy spitting out Sand that had gotten into his mouth while going “ptui ptui,” I thought to myself.

 

‘What to do… what comes next is actually the bigger problem…’

 

Just then, Seo-ro placed a Plate on the Table with a thud.

 

On top was Fried Rice mixed with Dirt and Flower Petals.

 

“The fluffy Rice is delicious. 10 points.”

 

“The Rice is very warm and the seasoning is just right…”

 

The fact that he was still glancing at the Director in the midst of all this was really…

 

‘In a way, that’s incredible mental fortitude.’

 

Anyway, I couldn’t help but smile at the amusing situation.

 

The Principal, on the other hand, looked like he was dying.

 

“Principal, open your mouth.”

 

The Principal, who had been clumsily pretending to eat, was caught red-handed by Seo-ro.

 

Moreover, Seo-ro was in a severe state of “no” syndrome, so nothing the Principal said got through to him.

 

“I ate it. Really!”

 

“No. You didn’t eat it. Say ‘ah.’ Ah-“

 

“…Look, look? How about it? I ate it, right?”

 

“Hmm… You still didn’t eat it. I don’t see any traces of Fried Rice in your mouth.”

 

Of course he was right.

 

It wasn’t real Fried Rice to begin with.

 

Even so, Seo-ro’s insistence was unwavering.

 

After that, the Principal had to eat about three spoonfuls of dirt Fried Rice and get confirmation each time.

 

‘He’s about to cry.’

 

I could see the Principal’s eyes getting increasingly moist.

 

He couldn’t cry yet though.

 

The biggest mountain was still ahead.

 

Namely, Noah.

 

“Try it! It’s Special Kimchi Stew! Ta-da!”

 

“Noah, you should say ‘please try it’ to adults.”

 

Tae-jae’s gentle correction probably wasn’t registering in the Principal’s ears right now.

 

‘The visual is incredible.’

 

Rose Petals floating on top of Muddy Water.

 

In the middle, a sprig of Herb was also floating like a final highlight decoration.

 

I picked up the Toy Spoon without hesitation once again.

 

“I can taste the perfect seasoning and flavor. 10 points!”

 

Completely fooled by my perfect deception, Noah stuck out his thumb in satisfaction.

 

“10 points! Thank you!”

 

Hmm… I wonder if this one will go smoothly.

 

The Principal picked up the spoon with trembling hands. As he scooped up a small amount of water, droplets splashed slightly due to his hand’s vibration.

 

“…Delicio-“

 

“No! You didn’t eat it! Principal, you didn’t eat it! I saw everything!”

 

“No, I put it in my mouth, I’m sure…”

 

“That’s not true! I saw it clearly!”

 

Scary.

 

Noah cut off the Principal’s words like a knife and glared back at him.

 

The Principal’s eyes, looking down at the muddy water, were gradually filled with frustration and despair.

 

‘Anyone would think he received poison.’

 

I looked back and forth at them and let out a small sigh.

 

Should I stop here?

 

I think I’ve had enough revenge by now.

 

Some time had passed, but I hadn’t forgotten when the Principal got drunk and spouted nonsense in front of the twins.

 

When Lee Seo-hyeok was transported to the emergency center and we returned to the kindergarten with the twins.

 

 

The words he babbled while pointing at the twins.

 

“…Ah, the taste, the taste is, well…”

 

“Noah, the Principal seems full now. How about giving Noah 10 points for forfeit?”

 

At my sudden interruption, Noah pursed his lips like a duck, as if pondering.

 

After several seconds of silence…

 

“Alright! He could be full!”

 

He gave a hearty response.

 

The last was Cheonji, who suddenly declared forfeit… And so the Dolphin Class Challenge Gourmet Club came to an abrupt end.

 

The Principal left with a face that was neither smiling nor crying, and the Director followed him, sparing no praise.

 

“How can you pretend to eat so well? No, both you Teacher and the Principal seem like masters of acting!”

 

Since the Director had seen me pretending to eat while throwing the food away, he naturally misunderstood that the Principal had done the same.

 

‘Mm, that’s a good misunderstanding.’

 

After confirming the two had completely disappeared, I gathered the children who were just about to enter the kindergarten.

 

Now, as dismissal time approached.

 

‘They’ve had enough fun, so I should say something now.’

 

I knelt down to meet the children’s eye level.

 

“‘No’ and ‘I don’t like it’ aren’t bad expressions, right?”

 

Question marks appeared on the children’s faces at the sudden question.

 

“There’s no sentence more precious than expressing your own feelings. But friends… It’s better to use such negative expressions only when really necessary.”

 

“Why?”

 

“It’s fun though!”

 

Yes, it would be fun.

 

After habitually saying ‘yes’ or ‘I like it!’ every day, how refreshing would it be to say completely opposite words like ‘I don’t like it’ or ‘no’?

 

But…

 

“That way, when our friends really dislike something or don’t want to do something, Teacher can sincerely accept that and act accordingly.”

 

Unlike positive expressions, negative expressions lose value the more they’re consumed.

 

Try having someone who says everything is good every day suddenly say ‘I don’t like it.’

 

The sincerity would feel completely different, wouldn’t it?

 

‘Well, this is just my personal view, but…’

 

Anyway, what I want to say is to have ‘prudence in words.’

 

I don’t know how well the children will interpret this message though.

 

“Do you understand?”

 

“Yes yes! Teacher!”

 

“Then, is it okay to do it once a day?”

 

“Lee Seo-ra, you’ll forget and do it twice.”

 

“Yes, actually I didn’t find the ‘no’ game fun.”

 

“…That’s a relief. I found it a bit difficult too.”

 

Only after seeing Cheonji, who had looked troubled all morning, finally speak with a relieved expression did I quickly wrap up the situation.

 

“Now, now. Let’s wash our hands and have snacks~”

 

Hmm.

 

I hope it was just unnecessary worry.

 

***

 

Time passed quickly and dismissal time approached.

 

I was seeing off the children from our class at the entrance when I learned the full story behind the ‘no’ disease.

 

“Mom!”

 

“My little prince! Did you have fun playing today?”

 

“No!”

 

“Huh? Why? Why? Wasn’t it fun?”

 

“Actually… it was fun!”

 

“What~ You scared Mom.”

 

The ‘no’ disease was… a kind of game played between the mother and son who had grown closer after the Neverland runaway incident.

 

To surprise Mom, we suffered all day today.

 

Noah, you’re really a filial son.

 

After that, the parents who came to pick up their children all had similar reactions.

 

“Older Brother!”

 

“Hyung!”

 

“Did you have fun playing today?”

 

“No!”

 

“No.”

 

“Why? You didn’t break anything again, did you?”

 

“No! We didn’t break anything!”

 

“Right, we were well-behaved today.”

 

“Okay, that’s good then. Let’s go home and eat.”

 

The twins too.

 

“Grandmother~”

 

“My little puppy~ Did you eat well and behave?”

 

“Yes, the meal was delicious. But no.”

 

“…What do you mean no?”

 

“Don’t you know? Noah said to just say no.”

 

“What’s that about. That’s strange.”

 

Tae-jae’s situation was also… okay.

 

‘If there’s a problem, it would be these two brothers.’

 

For some reason, Baek Cheonhyeong had appeared at Cheonji’s dismissal time.

 

Seeing Baek Cheonhyeong standing properly by the somewhat cramped entrance shoe rack, I bowed my head.

 

What’s going on, when he usually just sends the driver every day.

 

“H-Hyung!”

 

Cheonji, who had been quietly helping me see off the other children at the entrance, shouted with a surprised face.

 

“Are we going home together today?”

 

“Yes, it’s Father’s birthday today.”

 

“Ah… I see.”

 

“…”

 

“….”

 

…What’s with this silence.

 

Cheonji glanced around nervously before cramming his feet into his shoes.

 

Baek Cheonhyeong, who had been quietly watching him, opened his mouth.

 

“Today….”

 

That’s right!

 

Ask him what he did today, ask if he had fun.

 

“…did you have a productive day?”

 

…What did he say?

 

Is that a question to ask a kid?

 

But then, Cheonji hesitated at this hopeless question….

 

“No.”

 

That’s what he said.

 

A hint of expectation and tension flickered across Cheonji’s eyes.

 

I caught sight of the child’s hidden feelings in those eyes.

 

Ah.

 

‘My worry wasn’t unfounded.’

 

Unlike the other children who said it easily as a joke, Cheonji particularly struggled with saying “no.”

 

It wasn’t because he had no interest in this kind of play like Tae-jae, nor was it just because of some moral conscience that stirred his heart.

 

‘It felt more like he found it difficult simply because he hadn’t done it much before.’

 

If expressing refusal itself is difficult, I really need to watch carefully.

 

Moreover, Cheonji, who had been beside me, had also seen all the pranks that the four friends had played on their guardians.

 

‘It seems like he has some expectation for a reaction.’

 

At least, it would be fine if Baek Cheonhyeong just treated him kindly.

 

I held my breath and looked back and forth between the two.

 

Baek Cheonhyeong needs to say the right thing here….

 

“No?”

 

I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them.

 

Baek Cheonhyeong tilted his head sideways and questioned Cheonji back.

 

“What do you mean no.”

 

Wow, excuse me.

 

That’s too scary.

 

Sure enough, Cheonji’s face turned pale white.

 

“No, no…. Just, uh, it was fun.”

 

Then he slung his bag over his shoulder and hurriedly bowed to me.

 

“Teacher, goodbye.”

 

“…Yeah, Cheonji, see you tomorrow.”

 

I watched the child’s back as he ran to the car like he was sprinting, then faced Baek Cheonhyeong who was looking at me with an expressionless face.

 

This guy really.

 

He’s terribly bad with words. It would be fine if he was just a little kind, but is that so difficult?

 

“The interview isn’t yet, right?”

 

Baek Cheonhyeong, who still remained in place instead of following Cheonji, asked me.

 

From the context, he seemed to be asking about the EX-grade Dungeon situation interview, so I nodded.

 

“Yes, Team Leader Moon Chae-yeong said she’d contact me later.”

 

“…Mm, I heard Team Leader Na is in charge.”

 

“….”

 

“….”

 

What.

 

“Aren’t you going to follow?”

 

I looked up at Baek Cheonhyeong, who stood there as if nailed in place even though he had finished saying everything, and asked.

 

If you have something to say, go ahead…

 

“Your ability is Tamer, right?”

 

Why is he suddenly asking that?

 

“Yes, D-rank Tamer.”

 

“Have you ever thought about taking the test again?”

 

“Are you talking about a reexamination?”

 

Suddenly?

 

Awakener examinations become ridiculously expensive starting from the second time.

 

First time is 50,000 won, second time is 500,000 won, third time is 5 million won.

 

‘They say it got expensive to prevent people from trying it randomly without reason.’

 

But a 10x markup is excessive.

 

And I, well…

 

I already had a history of taking the second examination, a retest.

 

The day after I discovered the Status Window, I rushed to the Seoul Awakener Examination Center with high hopes.

 

Back then, I spent 500,000 won with tears in my eyes, worried there might be something wrong with my health.

 

“…I have no intention of taking a reexamination.”

 

But now he wants me to take a third retest?

 

Even during the second examination, the results hadn’t changed anyway.

 

So I have absolutely no intention of throwing away 5 million won in cash.

 

“Is that so? That’s unfortunate.”

 

Baek Cheonhyeong said that and left through the entrance with an attitude that didn’t seem unfortunate at all.

 

‘What was that, so anticlimactic.’

 

His words had made me unnecessarily worried, so I returned to the classroom with an uneasy feeling.

 

And there…

 

Some bear cub that looked like it had caught a contagious disease was sitting there.

 

What is this now?

—————
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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