The Magical Hunter Girl Decorates the Dungeon! - Chapter 110
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
The Magic Hunter Girl Decorates the Dungeon! Episode 110
At the end of an alley where old houses leaned crookedly on either side—a world where the word “reconstruction” never existed.
On a rusted iron gate hung a flimsy wooden plaque reading “House of War Veteran,” thick with dust.
The moment the ATK Guild members saw the words “War Veteran,” their minds went blank. It felt like being suddenly bludgeoned with corny jokes.
But asking Geum-hui if she was serious—
What if that talented person really was here?
‘Does she look like someone who’d make such pointless jokes? I’d flip this whole thing.’
That might be how it would go.
The two guild members stepped over the threshold anyway.
In the center of the narrow concrete yard that greeted them stood an elderly woman shriveled like dried squash, and when she saw Geum-hui, she broke into a grin. In her arms she carried a watermelon she’d just fished from a basin of water.
‘Geum-hui’s here? Perfect timing. I just had a craving for watermelon.’
‘Grandmother, watermelon again? How did you manage to carry something so heavy?’
‘The fruit seller brought it by for me. Come in, you boys, sit down. I’ll slice it up in a jiffy!’
The two ATK Guild members exchanged glances and looked around.
A house so small that everything was visible from where they sat.
No other person appeared. Only men’s boots tucked beneath the porch and a walking stick hinted at someone long gone.
When the elderly woman returned after washing the knife,
As one guild member accepted the watermelon she offered, he asked with a slight note of awkwardness.
‘Um, is this the warrior we were referred to—the one we’re looking for?’
‘That’s right. A 6.25 War Veteran.’
‘Is there… anything else about you?’
‘What else do you need? Should I have fought at the Battle of Chingshan-ri or something?’
‘No, that’s not it. What we’re here to ask you about—’
‘Someone who couldn’t tell people, who sacrificed for others, who doesn’t brag about himself. I remember all that.’
‘The last part might be true, but… you’re in a situation where you can’t talk to people?’
Geum-hui glanced back at the elderly woman, who had returned by then.
‘Auntie, why don’t you tell them what happened? These fellows work for a pretty successful company, and they’re out looking for heroes to meet and get advice from.’
‘…Well, never mind. Nothing to tell. These days, the real heroes are the people running companies.’
The elderly woman seemed to have already realized that the two guild members had come to the wrong address. Yet her drooping eyelids, which curved gently downward, held no hint of disappointment.
‘Eat all the watermelon before you go. It won’t be as good as those rice cakes you brought last time, but I made sure to pick one that’s really sweet.’
‘Ah, yes. Thank you… But if you were a veteran, why couldn’t you tell anyone?’
‘Because people wouldn’t believe me. They said the war was only fought by men. If a woman followed soldiers to the battlefield, what was she but… unmarriageable, they’d say. Back then, that’s all you’d hear.’
‘…’
‘As the world got better, they started calling out women soldiers too when honoring war veterans. But to be recognized as having participated, you need proof to show. I hid or threw away everything I had.’
It wasn’t the kind of moment to apologize and leave.
One guild member began gnawing through a massive quarter of watermelon down to the white flesh, while the other managed a word of sympathy.
‘You must have gone through so much.’
‘A lot, yes. But time passed, and a civil organization made me this plaque calling me a war veteran, and now people like you come visit.’
‘…’
‘Is there anything I can do for you, since you took the time to come? I’m not sure if I have anything helpful to say, but…’
There would be nothing.
The ATK Guild members knew it. The right thing to do now was to admit they’d come to the wrong place and back away.
Jang Geum-hui didn’t seem to realize what she’d gotten wrong. Now if she said, ‘Actually, we were trying to contact the Warrior of Justice—the hunter who does transformations—but you misunderstood. Let’s be honest now. Can you guide us properly instead of talking to this grandmother?’ she’d get grabbed by the collar rather than any further guidance.
But she didn’t know what to say either.
When the two guild members’ eyes were wandering uncertainly through the air,
The elderly woman laughed softly and brought out an envelope from her room. It was a Department Store Gift Certificate she’d sent over in a box of rice cakes.
‘Looks like you came to the wrong address. It’d be better if you go find the greater warrior you’re looking for. Take this. It’s not a small amount.’
Geum-hui clicked her tongue.
‘Why are you giving it back? Just spend it and blame me. That’s what you were going to do—get yourself some new clothes.’
‘I’m worried that if I wear new clothes and have my portrait taken, people won’t recognize me. I’m fine with what I have.’
‘…’
‘I never got a medal, but now that it’s the twenty-first century, there are people who take your photo for free, and people who lower the price of funeral shrouds. The world really has gotten better, hasn’t it.’
The elderly woman smiled broadly.
‘I’m not sure how you ended up coming here, but thank you so much for eating watermelon with me. I don’t get many chances to eat watermelon if visitors don’t come around.’
In that moment, the two ATK Guild members couldn’t help but have the same thought.
* * *
“So they said they were looking for the Concrete Warrior, and I took them to exactly the right person, but their reaction was so terrible. Did they expect some old man to show up? It was mortifying.”
“…”
“Still, after eating all the watermelon, they left her with a Hair Dryer as a gift and kept insisting she take the gift certificate. At least they had some conscience.”
“They were decent people.”
“Who knows. They seemed clueless at first, but then they got Grandmother’s phone number and later called to say they’d support her with a refrigerator.”
“…”
“They were good people, I guess.”
Si-heon silently searched the ATK Guild website.
In the “Press Release” section, which usually contained only news about acquiring legendary-grade weapons or setting new speed-clear records for in-house dungeons, a new article had appeared.
ATK Guild Social Contribution Campaign
—Let’s Find the Concrete Warriors Before It’s Too Late
‘Anyone seeing this would think they’ve all taken some weird drug together.’
Well, as long as it helps society a little, that’s good.
There was something else bothering him.
“Grandmother. Do you know what the Warrior of Justice is?”
“What is it?”
“Lee Ji sometimes calls herself a warrior when she transforms.”
A look of realization broke across Geum-hui’s previously stern mouth.
“Huh, I think I’ve heard it before. So those guys were looking for Lee Ji? How did they know?”
“From the hunter community… Grandmother, I noticed you do look up information on your smartphone, but do you not use the hunter web community?”
“What’s the point of looking at things that disappear when you close your phone?”
Their thinking was different. Si-heon swallowed a moment of confusion and moved quickly to more productive ground.
“Ah, right. Well, let’s talk about the guild then. First, we need to decide on a guild name.”
Both Si-heon and Geum-hui’s eyes turned directly toward Lee Ji.
Why?
After confirming that no one was behind her, Lee Ji looked flustered and asked back.
“Me? But there are only two of you here.”
Si-heon shook his head.
“Asking me to name the guild is like asking me to name some stray dog my son picked up on a whim.”
“It’s your stray dog from the start.”
“Anyway! How about you?”
“I let my husband name our own child.”
“Then you should think about it.”
Lee Ji nodded with a determined expression.
“Understood. I’ll give it the most beautiful name in the world!”
Her serious face soon turned toward the Flower Field. She seemed intent on looking at beautiful things to come up with a beautiful idea.
Geum-hui watched her round back fondly before—
She turned to Si-heon with the expression of someone looking at a student who wouldn’t listen.
“But why did you decide to make a guild in the first place?”
Si-heon answered as flatly as a recording device.
“I mentioned it before. An arena will apparently be opening soon.”
“That’s the reason you need to join a guild. Give me a reason that actually suits you. Be honest.”
“…”
Si-heon exhaled sharply. Well, maybe this was something he’d had to say eventually anyway.
“The entity in charge of dungeon bidding is GEG Develop. They’re the ones who contributed to fragmenting my soul.”
“What? What happened?”
“That is…”
The sound of Si-heon gritting his teeth was like the crunching of bone.
Yet his explanation was as dry as if he were forcibly suppressing his emotions.
A C-rank Dungeon owned by GEG Develop had become rapidly unstable.
Si-heon, who did whatever the association asked of him at the time, was given the task of assessing the danger level of that dungeon and handling it.
Of course, he’d planned to enter the dungeon alone…
“But they told me to take one of their employees with me. They said if the dungeon turned out to be safe but the hunter destroyed it on his own anyway, what then?”
“The bastards talk like they’re introducing themselves. …Doesn’t sound like a wrong assumption, though.”
“Actually, it’s not. Of course, I refused—”
But GEG Group had clung so hard to the association.
In the end, someone was waiting at the site to follow Si-heon. Apparently some team leader level.
“You took them?”
“I coaxed them to the outskirts saying let’s have a cigarette, and the moment he lit his, I threw myself into the dungeon alone.”
“I’ve never seen anyone else actively play solo like you do.”
“But right before the gate closed, he came running after me like something was wrong? From that point on, I knew something wasn’t right.”
To be fair, Si-heon probably seemed just as wrong to that man…
But Geum-hui didn’t feel the need to say it. Either way, Si-heon had been swept up in an irreversible incident, and one thing was certain: he’d lost everything.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————