Hunter Kindergarten, Dolphin Class! - Chapter 75

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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 075

 

I learned this time that humans are animals that move more by instinct than reason.

 

Right after realizing that what I thought was a giant wall was actually a pile of dirt that had come flowing down, the first thing I did was run somewhere.

 

“Tae-jae!!”

 

Among the people fleeing in panic, I see a child standing there with a blank expression.

 

I stretched out both arms and pulled the child tightly into my embrace.

 

I quickly scanned the surroundings, but there was no suitable place to take shelter.

 

Screams and urgent voices burst out from all directions.

 

“Everyone get away!! Run right now!!”

 

“What the hell is all this. Damn… That’s the B District Mine over there!”

 

“If you don’t want to die, everyone run!”

 

“Hii, hiiek!! Where, where should we go?!”

 

I have to move.

 

‘If I get swept up in that, it’s over.’

 

Without thinking, I just ran in the opposite direction. People also started running away from the approaching earth and debris.

 

I moved my legs desperately trying not to worry about the pile of dirt that seemed ready to pour over my head at any moment.

 

However, no matter how much of an Awakener one might be, they’re too slow to avoid dirt rushing like waves.

 

Ah.

 

Too late.

 

The moment I thought that.

 

“…!”

 

Suddenly, with pain that felt like my waist would break, one of my legs buckled and I lost my balance.

 

‘Ugh!’

 

At the same time, intense pain struck my ribs and my breathing stopped for a moment. Then in an instant, my entire body was lifted into the air and slammed somewhere.

 

-Thud!!

 

My shoulder and back, mercilessly slammed into the bare ground, trembled finely.

 

“Ah…”

 

It hurts like hell. Really…

 

My head hurts, my shoulder hurts, my back hurts, my legs all hurt!

 

I stayed still like I was dead for a while, clutching my shoulder. Then when I felt somewhat better and lifted my head, I could finally tell where my body had been slammed.

 

…It was like being inside a tunnel, a dark and gloomy space.

 

Lights attached sporadically to the walls flickered with dim light.

 

A musty smell full of moisture lingered at the tip of my nose.

 

I was blankly looking around when a sudden thought made me raise my voice.

 

“Tae-jae, are you okay?!”

 

Fortunately, even while being slammed to the ground, my arms holding Tae-jae didn’t let go.

 

“Yes… I’m okay.”

 

Hair that was close to blonde in its light color messily burrowed into my embrace. Only after hastily examining Tae-jae’s face and body thoroughly could I finally relax.

 

He doesn’t seem to have any problems?

 

…Really, thank goodness.

 

As I helped the child stand up and barely got up from the floor myself, a human figure approached from nearby with an urgent voice.

 

“Are you alright?”

 

…It was Lee Gyeon.

 

I raised my gaze to look at his face, faintly visible in the lighting.

 

‘Why is this guy here too…’

 

It was a sight that made me sigh involuntarily.

 

Pat pat.

 

“…You’re bleeding from your eyebrow.”

 

“Ah… I think I got injured while rolling on the ground.”

 

When Lee Gyeon tried to roughly wipe the blood with his hand, I was startled and threw him the handkerchief I had in my bag.

 

He took the handkerchief and quickly stanched the bleeding from his torn eyebrow, speaking rapidly.

 

“How is your physical condition?”

 

“My back and waist are throbbing, and my legs are shaky… Fortunately, Tae-jae is fine.”

 

“That’s considerably better than what I was worried about. What a relief.”

 

I see. It feels like my spine is completely wrecked, but apparently I’m in quite good condition. How fortunate indeed.

 

As I looked at him while patting my back, Lee Gyeon turned his head away with an awkward expression and began explaining the situation.

 

“It seems… this was caused by Elumis’s rampage.”

 

Elumis? That supposedly gentle fairy monster?

 

“I’m not sure how it did it, but it seems to have intentionally caused a landslide in B Section. For now, I succeeded in moving people to this A District Mine…”

 

This is the A District Mine?

 

Wait a minute.

 

“How did you move people here?”

 

I definitely don’t remember seeing Lee Gyeon while being chased by the pile of dirt.

 

“I slightly changed the position of the signpost. Judging that people fleeing would instinctively try to move as far away from the landslide as possible rather than toward the Mine… I had no choice but to take such measures.”

 

So he caught people trying to pass by this Cave like a fisherman with a fishing rod?

 

Now that I look, Lee Gyeon was holding a metal ring large enough to fit around an adult man’s waist and a rope connected to that ring.

 

“This Mine crosses the direction of the landslide, and as you can see, it can accommodate many people and is sturdy.”

 

Indeed… The dirt had stopped flowing into the Mine, and even with nearly 20 people, it felt spacious enough.

 

‘Now I understand.’

 

So we survived thanks to Lee Gyeon’s quick actions.

 

But…

 

“How do we get out of here now? If my eyes aren’t mistaken, that completely blocked area looks like the Mine’s entrance…”

 

The Mine entrance was completely blocked with large rocks and dirt. It was sealed so tightly that human strength couldn’t break through.

 

“Teacher, are we going to die?”

 

Tae-jae, who had been quietly listening to my words, looked up and asked.

 

“…Wh-why would our Tae-jae think that? Teacher believes the adults outside will work hard and rescue us. Let’s definitely go outside together with Teacher~”

 

Please, definitely.

 

Please don’t say such things so cheerfully. Teacher is scared.

 

“Nam Tae-jae, it will take time, but we can get out. I put in an emergency rescue request, so people will come soon.”

 

Lee Gyeon’s confident tone strangely reassures people.

 

But apparently not Tae-jae.

 

“Then if people don’t come, we’ll die, right?”

 

“Nam Tae-jae, you won’t die.”

 

“Mister, I’m okay. Everyone dies eventually. Grandmother said it’s a blessing to live comfortably without pain and then die.”

 

“It’s not a blessing… No. You’re right.”

 

I think Lee Gyeon just grabbed the back of his neck.

 

Lee Gyeon looked at me like someone whose energy had been completely drained.

 

“…If you rest a bit and wait, you’ll be able to get out soon.”

 

With those words, he moved to where the other people were gathered.

 

I could feel the murmuring voices of the people gradually quieting down as Lee Gyeon’s explanation continued.

 

I looked at the back of Lee Gyeon’s head, covered in dirt and dust, and thought.

 

‘Are all the field hunters at this company like this?’

 

They all seem calm somehow, and don’t show emotional sides to others unless absolutely necessary.

 

‘He must be confused inside too.’

 

Anyway, since he said it was okay, I sat down on the floor. I placed Tae-jae on my lap and took out the carrot juice I had in my bag and put it to his mouth.

 

‘I think I’m more shocked than Tae-jae, but food is the best for comforting kids.’

 

As I let out the sigh I’d been holding and caught my breath lightly, I began to see the people Lee Gyeon had fished out one by one.

 

‘The atmosphere isn’t as chaotic as I thought?’

 

I thought it might become pandemonium with confused people, but everyone was calmer and more rational than expected.

 

Probably thanks to the relief of being alive and Lee Gyeon’s calm, confident explanation.

 

Thus, an atmosphere of looking out for each other continued overall, and in the end, all attention was focused on the one child…

 

I found myself suddenly surrounded by a crowd of people.

 

“Oh my, our Tae-jae isn’t even crying and is so brave!”

 

“Grandmother said you never know how life will flow. Sister, I don’t cry over things like this.”

 

Our kid is quite brave…

 

“Little kid, did you come with your dad? But you don’t really look like your dad.”

 

“He’s not my dad. He’s our teacher. The only thing Teacher and I have in common is that we’re handsome.”

 

Please don’t look at me like that. I didn’t teach him that…

 

The adults, without exception, took turns caring about Tae-jae’s mood and condition.

 

They emptied their pockets to give him snacks, and even took off their outer clothes to place them on the child’s shoulders.

 

Watching that heartwarming scene, I tried to quietly rest and wait as Lee Gyeon had suggested.

 

Of course, Tae-jae was busy in many ways.

 

Because he had to treat the injured who had gotten minor wounds during the evacuation process.

 

“Aunt, it hurts here. Can Tae-jae blow on it for me?”

 

“There~ Next patient, please come.”

 

Tae-jae’s hospital was bustling with patients. So I inevitably became both a nurse and a desk receptionist.

 

“Teacher, this mister is shaking his head too much and I can’t concentrate.”

 

“Sir, please stay still. Yes, yes, lean down a bit more… Person in the back! Please wait just a little longer.”

 

Thanks to Lee Gyeon’s quick judgment, the people who were at the A District Base Camp where we were could evacuate without major injuries.

 

Moreover, since even minor wounds disappeared with Tae-jae’s ability, the atmosphere could only become more relaxed.

 

“You’re a teacher at Ocean Kindergarten? Oh my, I thought you were Tae-jae’s father!”

 

“No wonder, I was wondering why you looked so young.”

 

“What did I tell you. He didn’t look like someone who got married because of an accident. Hurry up and pay me fifty thousand won.”

 

Somehow, it feels like I came family camping and I’m chatting with people from the neighboring tent.

 

However, even in this rather harmonious atmosphere, there’s one person who’s uniquely serious.

 

‘That man doesn’t even rest.’

 

Already, for 30 minutes.

 

Lee Gyeon can be seen among the people, staring intently at the blocked cave entrance while checking his watch.

 

‘Would the situation have been different if I had brought Nabi?’

 

With those big hands digging out that dirt, it would probably be quick.

 

I rarely felt regret about Nabi’s absence.

 

…Ah, where did Nabi go, you ask?

 

When I said we weren’t going to kindergarten today but to the underground dungeon, suddenly for some whim, he stubbornly insisted he absolutely wouldn’t go.

 

 

It’s not like he’s going through puberty, but being so stubborn was really a first.

 

I eventually couldn’t overcome Nabi’s firm stubbornness and entrusted Nabi to Kwon Hae-seong with a request.

 

 

I saw Kwon Hae-seong take Nabi away with a determined expression, so I’m reassured… I’m not reassured.

 

Leaving him with that guy makes it even worse.

 

‘Should I have left him with Yu Jin-chae instead?’

 

…No, if Nabi decides to come out of the doll, no one there could handle it.

 

For now, as a precautionary measure, I set a customized condition: ‘If you behave quietly for today, I’ll buy new snacks.’

 

‘Let’s think of this as a patience test opportunity.’

 

Just as I was trying to suppress that uneasy feeling and return to chatting with people.

 

From inside leading to the mine, footsteps that seemed to belong to multiple people could be heard.

 

***

 

Exactly 30 minutes later.

 

The situation changed rapidly.

 

The harmonious atmosphere where everyone looked out for each other had completely disappeared.

 

If even one person moved wrong, it would be a situation on the verge of a fight breaking out.

 

I desperately covered Tae-jae’s eyes while glaring at the opponent standing on the other side.

 

Are they insane.

—————
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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