The Magical Hunter Girl Decorates the Dungeon! - Chapter 18

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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The Magic Hunter Girl Arranges the Dungeon! Episode 18
“I can beat the fourth graders,”
“…….”
When Shin Yiji fell silent, Kang Junseo read her expression and gritted his teeth before crying out.
“Fifth graders, no—sixth graders too, I can manage somehow……!”
“Stop it. That’s enough!”
“Did you want to fight?”
“That’s not it!”
“Then that’s enough.”
Junseo spun around sharply.
“I’m really fast at running and I’m good at throwing too. ……And I won’t do any more stupid things.”
“Stupid things?”
“I couldn’t do anything in the Dungeon, you know.”
‘Ah.’
He was still bothered by that.
“I’ll show you what I’m good at someday, for real.”
Toward Junseo’s back, who looked almost grim with resolve.
Yiji spoke honestly.
“I’ve already seen it, though?”
“Huh?”
“Just now, how you blocked those scary older kids. That was really cool.”
“…….”
“Like, middle-schooler level!”
The highest praise Yiji could muster.
Junseo stopped in his tracks.
Without a word.
‘Did I say something wrong?’
Was it the sunset?
Junseo’s nape seemed to have turned red.
‘Is he angry?’
Just as Yiji grew restless.
Someone entered the alley.
“Junseo! It’s about time for class, where did you go…….”
It was a tall man wearing a vest from the Children’s Basketball Class.
The man looked back and forth between Yiji and Junseo, then stepped backward as he spoke.
“Junseo’s busy, I see. I’ll come back later. I didn’t see anything—”
“No! Coach, I’ll catch the shuttle! ……See you!”
Junseo ran off beyond the alley without looking back.
Did his saying goodbye mean he wasn’t angry?
‘I really don’t get it.’
Meanwhile, the man called Coach chuckled and stood in front of Yiji.
“Ahem. Are you in the same class as Junseo?”
“No. We’re just in the same class.”
Grateful is grateful, sure.
‘But we’re not friends.’
Coach scratched his head awkwardly and stopped.
“The Basketball Class shuttle’s heading out right now. Want a ride if you’re going toward the main road?”
“No, my house is nearby.”
“Got it. Head home before it gets dark.”
Even so, the Yellow Bongo Van followed slowly behind until Yiji reached her apartment building.
After the van drove off.
Geum Grandmother, who had been sitting on a bench, waved as if taking her turn.
“You’re late again today. Something happen?”
“Um…….”
“If you met mean older kids, Grandmother will teach them a lesson.”
Grandmother held up a sturdy fist.
It was probably a joke, but Yiji answered honestly.
“Actually, I met some scary older kids.”
“……What kind of bastards?”
“It’s okay—a boy in my class called the police and drove them away!”
Geum Grandmother slowly lowered her fist.
“That boy has good timing.”
“I think he saw me on the way to his academy.”
“Sharp eyes too. Anyway, if anyone bothers you again, remember their faces and call me right away. Got it?”
“Yes!”
“And if you end up liking some boy, call an adult first.”
“What?”
“Go inside and eat dinner. Can you give your sister my regards?”
“Yes!”
As Yiji headed home with a spring in her step, she recalled what Grandmother had said.
Liking some boy?
‘There’s no such thing.’
Not in kindergarten, not in first grade.
Yiji had always been “the kind of girl boys don’t notice” to the boys around her.
‘The boys never even remembered my name.’
It would be the same in second grade.
Even if, by some twist of fate, someone did like Yiji—
‘Hmph, I’ll be too busy with Hunter activities!’

* * *
“I was so surprised when you suddenly asked to be dropped off, man. Nothing went wrong, right?”
“No.”
“But that girl from earlier…….”
Coach looked like he wanted to pry further into Junseo’s business.
But the other students didn’t give Coach any room to breathe.
“Hey, back row! I told you not to eat snacks in the van!”
“I’m only letting it melt in my mouth, right? I haven’t swallowed it, right?”
“I’m watching—if you swallow even a drop, you’re done!”
Once he was out of Coach’s focus.
Junseo replayed what had happened in his mind.
Shin Yiji.
A girl so forgettable that even after nearly a month into second grade, he hadn’t learned her name.
He’d first become aware of her on the basketball court at the Career Experience Center.
Whenever Junseo threw the ball, everyone’s attention turned to him.
‘Wow, look at Junseo!’
‘So cool!’
Even the instructors at the center had marveled.
But…….
‘Shin Yiji alone didn’t look like that.’
She’d clearly been watching, but how could he put it.
‘……There was longing in her eyes.’
That unsettled him so much that he kept seeking her out. Even in the moment the Dungeon Break occurred.
Then he came to his senses and found himself inside the Dungeon.
‘Shin Yiji helped me so much…….’
Yiji was a Hunter.
He must have misread her expression on the basketball court.
An Awakened One wouldn’t envy him.
And after that, something stubborn woke up inside him.
‘I probably looked really stupid in the Dungeon.’
He wanted to show her something cool at least once.
So when Yiji looked around cautiously and headed to a corner of the school, he’d followed.
During class, he’d even given a cool presentation.
He’d downed plain milk in one shot every time, without adding cocoa.
……Most of it had gone unnoticed.
But then, on the day he’d given up trying to look cool in front of Yiji and went to basketball class instead.
He’d ended up rescuing her from danger by sheer chance.
And more than that…….
‘You were really cool.’
He’d actually heard those words.
But the most confusing part was something else.
‘Why am I so embarrassed?’
His face had burned hot, far from proud.
Yet he wanted to hear her say he was cool again.
What on earth was this feeling?
Junseo buried his face between his knees.
A moment later, Coach shouted.
“Kang Junseo! You’re not sneaking snacks too, are you? Lift your head!”
“No! I, I’m not lifting my head!”

* * *
A shooting star streaked across the blue sky.
A veiled woman marveled at it.
“A magnificent trajectory. If ancient peoples had witnessed it, they’d have lamented that a hero had fallen somewhere.”
From the opposite side, a man in a pulled-down robe answered.
“Do you miss the age of humanity when superstition held sway?”
“Sometimes ignorance is more beautiful. Like when ‘we’ selected heroes by our own judgment alone.”
“Ah, I understand now. When I myself once chose a contractor by mere eloquence and they left their name in history…… I felt the greatest joy as a Grimoire.”
The man clicked his tongue and continued.
“I hear modern Grimoires only seek out Awakened Ones these days? Only the high-ranking ones at that.”
“True. Why do they fixate on those mysterious rankings that no one even knows who created?”
“Grimoires born after the Industrial Revolution have no real convictions of their own—no, wait.”
The man stopped himself and chuckled.
“We almost let a newborn hear our complaints.”
Nearly at the same moment, a bell rang out, and someone cried.
“Books of the Library, observe silence! Grimoire 1803 returns to record history!”
Grimoire.
A term for grimoires—texts of witchcraft that flourished in early modern Europe.
It had become the self-appointed title of those who dwelt here, in the “Library of the World.”
As silence fell over all.
A boy with pale sky-blue hair walked across the carpet.
Beyond his spectacles, eyes as beautiful as jewels did not shrink beneath the gaze of adults, but looked straight ahead.
At the end of the carpet.
A woman with scarred, earth-toned skin received Grimoire 1803.
“What have you come to record?”
“My contractor has succeeded in rescuing a Destroyed Soul by devising a Unique Skill Usage technique!”
The report was delivered with pride, yet the response was brief.
“I see.”
“The, the return of a Destroyed Soul is an unprecedented occurrence, and—”
“I know. I simply judged it not the sort of deed that warrants words of praise.”
Grimoire 1803’s eyebrows dipped slightly.
The scarred woman, First Book, spoke in a soothing tone.
“They say a Grimoire’s life purpose is to inscribe the contractor’s name in history. But that is not everyone’s duty.”
“…….”
“Spend your time in greater joy. Isn’t that what befits someone your age?”
“You needn’t consider my age. I have devoted ten years of my life to learning!”
“Nine years and six months, to be exact. That’s also how old you are.”
“…….”
“Anxious enough to round up a bit? But take heart. As long as humanity endures, our time too is eternal.”
With that, the audience called a record came to an end.
Grimoire 1803 finished his bow and turned to leave the carpet.
An older Grimoire called out casually.
“Did you have fun out there?”
“I wasn’t there to have fun.”
“Don’t be shy. Everyone knows you’ve been excited ever since contracting with your peer! So it’s just studying together?”
“……I have no obligation to elaborate.”
“Well, all right. Cherish your first contractor.”
The older Grimoire turned and chuckled softly.
Grimoire 1803 walked to his shelf with cheeks puffed indignantly.
All Grimoires are equals—so why do they all treat him like a child?
……But right now, a different thought troubled him most.
‘Cherish the contractor, they say?’
Of course I do!
Shin Yiji.
He helps with whatever she wants. Yiji is honest and clever as a contractor, so there’s satisfaction in assisting her.
It’s just…….
‘Every time, Yiji only seems to pay attention to that useless new friend of hers.’
Not that he’s jealous of such a trivial human or anything!
‘Especially Kang Junseo. What’s his deal?’

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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