Hunter Kindergarten, Dolphin Class! - Chapter 46

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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 046

 

To think I’d even get kidnapped after everything else.

 

Ironically, I wasn’t panicking or flailing around anymore. It was thanks to the tumultuous experiences I’d gone through these past few days.

 

I maintained what felt eerily calm even to myself as I stared at the person sitting across from me.

 

‘I wasn’t seeing things wrong from the shock.’

 

The person in front of me was definitely Yu Jin-chae from Jellyfish Class.

 

For some reason, her outfit was different from the casual clothes she usually wore.

 

A white dress shirt with black slacks.

 

It was as neat as someone dressed for an interview or important presentation.

 

‘But right now, her outfit isn’t what’s important.’

 

I let out the breath I’d been holding and spoke.

 

“So this really is a kidnapping…”

 

“Yes! I was really shocked, you know? Someone I knew suddenly appeared like ta-da~”

 

“Just to be sure, Teacher, you didn’t kidnap me…?”

 

“Hehe, as you can see.”

 

“Right, of course not… There’s no way that could be it.”

 

Yeah, what would be the point when we’re both tied up together.

 

Yu Jin-chae, who was grinning cheerfully, wasn’t in much better shape than me.

 

Her wrists were restrained behind her back as she sat in a chair, with iron chains wrapped around her entire torso.

 

‘Seriously… Are they insane?’

 

Irritation suddenly surged up. But even in this situation, my survival instinct was still working, making my mouth move dutifully.

 

“Do you have any idea where we are?”

 

At that, Yu Jin-chae glanced toward the tightly closed iron door and smiled wryly.

 

“All I know is that we traveled by car for over 2 hours to get here. The kidnappers put something like a sack over my face, so I couldn’t see outside, let alone get a look at their faces.”

 

There was a hint of anger in her voice. I nodded.

 

“I was knocked out right away, so I don’t know anything either. Oh, do you at least know why we were kidnapped…?”

 

Roughly speaking, within my range of thinking, it was probably human trafficking or organ trafficking. I didn’t know if these kinds of crimes were still prevalent these days…

 

Yu Jin-chae was silent for a moment as if lost in thought, then lightly shook her head.

 

“No. Um… But I do remember what the kidnappers were chattering about during the trip. I’m not sure about other things, but this was certain.”

 

Her sharp chin pointed at me once, then pointed at herself once.

 

“I don’t know the reason, but the kidnapping targets were already specified. The two of us, like this.”

 

“…What?”

 

What does that mean?

 

A kidnapping with pre-specified targets?

 

I’m not some chaebol’s son, and there’s nothing they could extort money for through hostage negotiations.

 

I’d rather they say they mistook me for someone else.

 

“First of all, the fact that they kidnapped me mistaking me for Team Leader Moon Chae-yeong would be the answer. They were chattering among themselves that after Moon Chae-yeong, they needed to kidnap one more man, but I never thought that would be you, Teacher…”

 

But instead, this was supposedly a kidnapping caused by a misunderstanding. A kidnapping that happened because they mistook her for Moon Chae-yeong from BOND.

 

Fine, even if I concede a hundred times that they chose a large corporation’s team leader as a kidnapping target.

 

…But why me, exactly?

 

‘If they thought about my salary, that idea would disappear completely.’

 

If money wasn’t the purpose, it would be even stranger. What else do I have that they could take besides a few pennies?

 

But there was something even more incomprehensible than this.

 

“But… I think it would be difficult to mistake you for Team Leader Moon.”

 

Moon Chae-yeong with her short dark blue hair versus Yu Jin-chae with her blonde hair reaching down to her waist.

 

Moreover, to mistake Yu Jin-chae, who appeared to be in the early 160cm range, for Moon Chae-yeong, who I remembered being over 170cm tall…

 

‘It’s not like the kidnappers are blind – how could they not tell the difference?’

 

Yu Jin-chae seemed to understand my question and replied with a mischievous laugh.

 

“Ah~ That’s because of my ability. Due to certain circumstances, I was temporarily transformed to look like Team Leader Moon Chae-yeong.”

 

Oh, right.

 

‘Teacher Jin-chae’s ability was Body Transformation.’

 

During the kindergarten fire incident, I remembered asking to identify teachers with necessary abilities and hearing about this.

 

But… what kind of circumstances could there be for her to be in someone else’s appearance.

 

Instead of explaining those circumstances, Yu Jin-chae briefly described her B-rank Body Transformation main skill and ended with a deep sigh.

 

“It’s not really an ability that helps much in physical fights or combat situations. That’s why I mainly trained separately in Close-Range Combat.”

 

I was getting tired of asking why anymore.

 

I wondered where exactly a kindergarten teacher would use Close-Range Combat skills…

 

My already drained brain continued to quickly reach conclusions.

 

Right, let’s think positively. At the very least, it would be helpful in this kidnapped moment. Yu Jin-chae seemed more advantageous for survival than myself, who doesn’t even go to the gym in front of my house.

 

I barely managed to hold onto my fading consciousness and threw out one last question.

 

“Were you also kidnapped on your way home from work, Teacher?”

 

Since they said contact had been cut off since last night, it was a reasonably logical deduction.

 

“…What? Oh, yes, yes! I was really startled! On my way home, suddenly whoosh!”

 

‘As expected.’

 

Those kidnapper bastards.

 

Messing with people getting off work is really not right.

 

I felt my head getting hot and gritted my teeth before speaking with determination.

 

“Let’s escape from here first.”

 

I absolutely had no intention of dying in this musty place without even knowing why.

 

After all the hardships and adversities I’ve overcome to live until now.

 

“Uh… Of course that’s a good idea! But both you and I are tied up, and if only my body were free, I could do something.”

 

Looking at Yu Jin-chae speaking with a troubled face, I turned my dust-covered palms forward and showed her by brushing them off.

 

‘You don’t need to worry about that.’

 

And as naturally as flowing water, I pulled down the iron chains tied around my torso and stood up from my spot.

 

-Clang clatter

 

Yu Jin-chae, who had been staring blankly at the iron chains falling to the concrete floor, opened her eyes wide and shouted.

 

“My goodness, how did you undo all of that?!”

 

Looking at her with her mouth agape, I was slightly flustered.

 

‘Actually, I undid the restraints a while ago.’

 

The kidnappers must have lower intelligence than expected – they only took my mobile phone and left my bag right next to me.

 

Maybe they just ignored it thinking it was a bag used by kindergarteners.

 

I picked up the yellow bag from the corner and slung it over my shoulder. Then I walked behind the chair where Yu Jin-chae was sitting and knelt down on one knee.

 

“I learned from a friend who has expertise in this kind of thing. Lock picking, untying ropes… you know, that sort of stuff.”

 

“It’s not a bad friend, right? What kind of person knows how to pick Awakener-Exclusive Restraints?”

 

…These were Awakener-Exclusive Restraints?

 

I had no idea.

 

Nabi just touched them with her finger and they split in half.

 

‘I’m not going to get caught lying, am I?’

 

While talking with Yu Jin-chae, I carefully took out the candy I had put in my back pants pocket and waved it toward Nabi.

 

Then I used all sorts of hand gestures and body language to successfully ask for help.

 

‘I never knew communicating without saying a word would be this difficult.’

 

Anyway, so even now, Nabi’s help was continuing behind Yu Jin-chae.

 

Only after Nabi had cleanly sliced through Yu Jin-chae’s iron chains did I give Nabi a lollipop and whisper quietly.

 

“Good. Well done. Let’s keep doing it like this.”

 

[ Good! Well done! ]

 

I bumped fists with Nabi just like that.

 

Right, good. Let’s try escaping, what the hell.

 

I’ll make them clearly regret messing with office workers getting off work.

 

***

 

Two days ago, a personal request came to Yu Jin-chae from BOND. Having left the company and working as a freelance hunter as a side job, she accepted it for the quite decent daily wage.

 

A very simple and comfortable request – just getting a few interviews with Moon Chae-yeong’s face, the team leader of Field Team Na.

 

‘It’s a sweet deal. I just need to memorize the script they gave me in advance and recite it.’

 

Moon Chae-yeong, who became a national hero after handling the EX-grade Dungeon incident, could safely be considered the hottest Hunter in the Republic of Korea right now.

 

Her interviews and articles pouring out daily had already become routine, filling up the internet completely.

 

‘But the problem is that our Team Leader Moon isn’t really suited for dealing with the media.’

 

Moon Chae-yeong rarely gave reporters the answers they wanted. She only answered based on facts and evidence. If she couldn’t give an answer, she chose to keep her mouth shut rather than speak in roundabout ways.

 

Due to her poor way with words, the company could only beat their chests in frustration. It was no different from throwing away opportunities to improve the corporate image for free.

 

That’s why they asked me.

 

‘Team Leader Moon isn’t the type to memorize a script even if they gave her one.’

 

Anyway, everything was fine.

 

I successfully completed the interview disguised as Moon Chae-yeong and got paid too.

 

After that, all I had to do was return to my comfortable home and everything would be over.

 

But I got kidnapped.

 

The kidnappers came driving a car identical to the vehicle BOND had provided…

 

By the time I got in the car, it was already too late.

 

Whether there was a Strength Enhancement Awakener or not, I was suddenly pressed down by force and restraint devices were immediately put on my wrists.

 

From the moment Yu Jin-chae realized the restraint devices were on, she immediately relaxed her entire body.

 

Any further resistance would be meaningless.

 

‘What kind of bastards kidnap people in times like these?’

 

As if completely giving up, she calmly regulated her breathing and assessed the situation from the casual conversation the kidnappers were having.

 

‘One driver, two guys on either side of me.’

 

All three seemed to be Awakeners.

 

Moreover, one of them apparently had a skill that forcibly suppressed abilities.

 

‘I was startled when Moon Chae-yeong’s shell almost came undone suddenly.’

 

After that, she devoted all her energy to somehow maintaining Moon Chae-yeong’s form.

 

So rather than wasting energy in pointless places, she held her breath to watch for the right timing.

 

And finally, while getting out of the car and moving indoors, she took advantage of a moment when surveillance was lax to pull something off.

 

She used the Temporary Watch provided by BOND to send an emergency request.

 

-Track my location, I’ve been kidnapped

 

-Send someone really strong

 

The spelling was off due to voice recognition, but… they’re not idiots, they’ll understand well enough.

 

Sure enough, as soon as she sent the support request, the kidnappers tried to take away her watch and mobile phone first.

 

‘Good thing I got the message out before they took it.’

 

Attempting to escape alone by her own power was also one option, but that was a backup plan.

 

That’s because…

 

‘The way things are going, this isn’t an ordinary kidnapping.’

 

Before they put the sack over her face, seeing them hold up photos to identify her made her certain.

 

‘It’s a targeted kidnapping.’

 

The fact that they specifically targeted Moon Chae-yeong for kidnapping could only mean these were guys whose guts had spilled out of their bellies.

 

‘Since I’ve been kidnapped anyway, let me investigate this thoroughly and hand it over to BOND.’

 

It was a conclusion she reached thinking of old ties and the small compensation she’d receive.

 

However, the support personnel she’d been waiting and waiting for never came… and her kindergarten colleague appeared before her eyes instead.

 

And unconscious at that.

 

So returning to the present…

 

Yu Jin-chae was grinning from ear to ear, but inside her head, her ego had already split into more than five parts and was in complete chaos.

 

‘What the hell is going on?’

 

-Moon Chae-yeong? We caught this woman, and there’s one man left, right?

 

‘The remaining man was Na Hwi-yeon?’

 

The purpose of the kidnapping was becoming even more mysterious.

 

Very occasionally, there were cases where foreigners would force meetings with major Hunters from domestic Hunter Companies to request deals or make threats, so she had dared to predict this was that kind of case…

 

‘Why a regular kindergarten teacher?’

 

This would naturally disrupt her plans.

 

Yu Jin-chae could only watch helplessly as the plans she had carefully laid out crumbled one by one with Na Hwi-yeon’s appearance alone.

 

“Is there no one outside?”

 

Watching Na Hwi-yeon knocking on the thick iron door, Yu Jin-chae was secretly trembling behind him.

 

‘This is driving me crazy.’

 

Now it was getting scary….

 

‘I’m really going insane.’

 

And how did he even untie that?

 

-Let’s escape from here first.

 

Watching Na Hwi-yeon say that while magically removing the Restraint Device and Iron Chains….

 

That’s when she understood what it meant to fall backward from shock.

 

‘He’s an Awakener, but only D-rank! How can a D-rank Tamer untie Awakener-Exclusive Restraints with just hand skills?’

 

Even his hastily spat excuse lacked sincerity. He said he learned it from a friend, but did that even make sense? Moreover, when she glanced at the Iron Chains that had fallen to the floor, the chain’s cross-section was cut as straight as if measured with a ruler.

 

‘Being that calm also doesn’t make sense!’

 

She narrowed her eyes and quietly stared at his round back of the head as he now pressed his ear against the door like any Field Teams would.

 

Now she really had to make a decision.

 

‘Still, he’s a civilian for now…. I’ll quickly knock him out and go out alone to somehow solve this….’

 

Just as she nodded her head after reaching a conclusion through intense internal conflict.

 

-Creak.

 

“Teacher, the door is open.”

 

Ta-da.

 

“…!”

 

Na Hwi-yeon opened the half-torn Iron Door and called Yu Jin-chae with a proud face.

 

…She unconsciously stepped backward.

 

He really is just a regular kindergarten teacher, right?

—————
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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