The Magical Hunter Girl Decorates the Dungeon! - Chapter 38

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

The Magical Girl Hunter Decorates the Dungeon! Episode 38
“That’s right. You there, elementary schooler?”
Haecho, dressed like a pirate, turned her head sharply toward Iji.
“Getting grabbed on your way back from the bathroom is rough, isn’t it?”
‘This unnie scared me at first.’
But as I watched her…
‘She’s kind of like a kids’ play center attendant.’
There were staff members like that sometimes. The kind the parents hated, but the children followed around adoringly.
Iji nodded vigorously.
“Yes. My teacher said the same thing. She said if my friend takes too long in the bathroom, I should let her know right away! Because a bad person might have grabbed them… Oh, not that the suit man is a bad person!”
Haecho burst into laughter.
“Right. For sure, he’s not a friend!”
The Vice Chairman sighed deeply and shook his head, turning to Hyunji.
“Hm… so you really saw nothing on the second floor.”
“That’s correct.”
“I understand. I apologize for wasting your time. Please go.”
“Iji, let’s go.”
Hyunji merely nodded and left the Security Office. The intimidating-looking security guard pressed a candy into Iji’s hand.
Haecho gave a thumbs up.
“Go on in, squirt! You’re cute!”
“Yes, take care!”
And at the front of the Lobby.
The security checkpoint they’d passed on the way in made Iji a little nervous.
‘What if the butterfly gets caught?’
The Rainbow Butterfly they’d received as a Dungeon Reward—supposedly EX-rank, no less.
Hyunji pulled Iji forward without knowing her worry.
“Come on.”
“Oh, o-okay!”
Iji squeezed her eyes shut and stepped forward—
The machine stayed silent.
‘We made it through!’
Now it was time to return safely to the Lawn.
“Oh? Isn’t that Eun… Eun Yuri Hunter and Junseo coming?”
“Iji, where were you!”
Junseo waved his hands wildly.
Iji ran toward him feeling like a thief fleeing from the police.
Hyunji explained what had happened inside to the Public Relations Department staff member.
The staff member immediately apologized with such a deep bow he looked ready to bore through the lawn with his head.
Judging by the speed of the apology and the staff member’s affiliation, the higher-ups at the Association must have had plenty to upset them.
As a working professional, Hyunji felt both irritation and sympathy in equal measure.
The staff member said he could cancel the photos and interview if she wished, but—
Iji immediately shook her head.
“I want to keep going!”
‘Everything today was so much fun!’
And more than anything, the distant future beckoned to her.
‘EX-rank legendary Hunter Iji! Is it true you were featured in Hunter magazines back when you were little?’
‘Oh, that’s embarrassing. Yes, it’s true. I remember holding my sister’s hand and running around this very lawn like it was just yesterday… I miss it.’
It would certainly be a cherished memory for adult Iji to reflect on.
‘It was an outing with my sister, too!’
The happy time passed in a flash.
After parting ways with Junseo’s group and heading home, evening had already fallen.
Her sister finished eating and collapsed into sleep immediately.
Iji was tired too, but her mind was racing. Experiences brilliant as three films were sparkling in her head.
‘Right, Isa!’
The white-haired man had sent a congratulatory letter to her parents, supposedly.
Taking advantage of her sister’s sleep, Iji slipped into the master bedroom.
Since her parents had passed, the master bedroom served as a storage room—it looked like a jungle.
‘The letter should be around here somewhere?’
Iji opened the drawer where the photo albums were kept. Faded papers were usually kept there.
‘Mom, Dad, I’m sorry for the invasion of privacy!’
Beneath several albums, her sister’s old report cards, faded wedding invitations and envelopes,
A card with a daisy drawn on it caught her eye immediately.
Congratulations on a new birth
‘This is it!’
Inside the card, a handsome script written in brush pen filled the space.
Kim Yeonju and Shin Jeseok. I am grateful to the two of you for allowing me to form this bond.
Above all, I am delighted that I may bless Iji’s path ahead.
March 6th. This child, born on the day of the daisy—a modest yet resilient flower—will grow up healthy.
I guarantee it. Rest assured.
All my hopes to you…
-Isa-
Some of the sentences were hard to understand.
But Iji’s lips curved upward as she finished reading.
‘The man really did know Mom and Dad!’
The joy didn’t end there.
Daisy was Iji’s birth flower, and it was the flower that had graced the first congratulatory letter she’d ever received.
‘When I awakened as the Magical Girl, I thought I’d just been given a pretty flower name. But it was the perfect fit.’
The System must have known Iji’s destiny too.
As Iji set down the card, buoyed with excitement, a small notebook below caught her eye.
Maternal Record Book—Mother Kim Yeonju
She’d heard of it before. A mother’s diary kept when a baby is born.
Iji opened the Maternal Record Book out of curiosity.
Iji (female)
20XX March 6th, 22:30 Birth
Weight: 2.91kg
‘Like a puppy’s weight!’
Did Mom think of me that way too?
A few pages in. The pages where Mom had started writing by hand…
‘Huh?’
I wasn’t dreaming. I gave birth to the child, and we came home together.
I check every three minutes to see if the baby is breathing.
I dozed off for a whole thirty minutes today and woke up in a panic. Unluckily, nobody was home, so my heart nearly stopped. Fortunately, color has returned to Iji’s face. She looks like a normal newborn.
Pediatric visit in the neighborhood. Not even a scheduled checkup, and the doctor keeps asking why I keep coming when there’s nothing wrong. I wanted to keep hearing “nothing’s wrong.”
Something feels off.
For dozens of pages, the Maternal Record Book was filled with worry about Iji.
Like this, it seemed…
‘I became something for Mom to worry about.’
Like the handwriting in the notebook, Iji’s hands trembled too.
But on the final page of the Maternal Record Book.
A single Polaroid Photo caught her eye.
Hooray! One hundred days!
Behind a large cake with a topper, Mom and Dad beamed as brightly as sunflowers, hugging Iji close between them.
Below the photo. Mom’s neat handwriting marked the end of the notebook.
Iji learned to smile. So I will smile too.
‘Mom…’
In the photos left at home, Mom and Dad were always smiling.
So Iji had always thought her parents were people who were always happy.
But perhaps, deep in their hearts…
Her chest felt like it was being pricked with needles.
Still, before closing the notebook, Iji raised the corners of her mouth as wide as the parents in the photo.
Smile. Just like Mom chose to smile.
After tidying the drawer,
Iji called for Grimoire in her room. She had a lot to report.
“Grimoire.”
[Iji—ugh! What is this place?]
Grimoire’s cry echoed stuffily from under the blanket. Iji made an excuse.
“I was afraid you’d get angry the moment I let you out, so I called you from under the blanket! We’re home now, so you need to be quiet.”
[So you knew I’d be angry, huh? You went and fought alone without me! At least you succeeded, so I suppose that’s something!]
“I was trying to protect you, Grimoire…”
[What good is that if you get hurt! Hah… First, get me out of this.]
Iji carefully lifted the blanket.
Grimoire’s face, creased like a mask, was revealed. After grumbling to himself for a while, he finally got to the point.
[Tell me what happened.]
“So you see…”
A dungeon suddenly appeared, and I saved Mom and Dad’s friend. He really was their friend. His handwriting was cool. The Hunter Association suit man was bad. My sister was cool when she got angry. The pirate-looking Hunter unnie was cool too…
After listening patiently to everything, Grimoire focused only on what mattered to him.
[You got an EX-rank item from a dungeon you didn’t even know how to break?]
“Yeah. It’s… uh, wait. Where did it go?”
Iji rummaged through her bag and knocked it over. Only a coin purse and stationery from the Association tumbled out.
[Don’t tell me you lost an EX-rank item?]
“I definitely put it in here! Where did it go?”
No wonder the Association’s detection machine had stayed quiet.
While checking if the bag had a hole,
[Hm? Iji, turn around for a moment.]
“…Huh?”
Behind her. A circular, rainbow-like shape was hovering in midair, spinning round and round.
A mechanical voice sounded.
[Owner confirmed]
[Loss Prevention Mobile Convenience Mode deactivated]
Soon the rainbow fell into Iji’s hands.
It was the Rainbow Butterfly pendant, its wings rotating at incredible speed as it flew.

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