The Magical Hunter Girl Decorates the Dungeon! - Chapter 47

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

Magic Girl Dungeon Builder! Episode 047
‘A waterway? ……Ah, is this it?’
Moss-covered pebbles crunched beneath her feet.
On either side of the damp gravel path stood gentle banks where reeds grew, making it clear this was a dried riverbed.
Iji climbed the embankment first and surveyed her surroundings. Upstream, pebbles were stacked high like a dam, while downstream the gravel path stretched on for considerable distance.
‘It might even be bigger than Cheonggyecheon!’
Meanwhile, along the outer edge of the embankment, coniferous trees grew thick as a natural fence. Thorny brush tangled between them so densely that entering the forest looked nearly impossible.
So it seemed the work area of this dungeon was the gravel field itself.
‘But there’s no one here.’
It must not be harvest time for Magic Stones yet.
Theoretically, that was convenient.
“Mm……. Transform.”
With no one around to watch her do it, she transformed quickly, then called Grimoire and her friends again.
Geumhui slipped once on the wet pebbles, while Siheon landed gracefully and, seeing Iji now in her Magic Girl form, broke into a warm smile and spoke.
“Iji really is adorable! And according to what the locals say, water will come pouring down from upstream in about thirty minutes.”
“So we need to build up a barrier to hold back the water, right? Like beavers!”
“You know about beavers, smarty? But you don’t have to be industrious at all.”
Where Geumhui pointed, Iji could see a massive pile of pebbles stacked dam-like.
“When the water comes down, that collapses too, and if you just wait, the water naturally subsides. Just add a little dirt at the end and the dungeon clears.”
“That’s super easy! Oh, then the rewards must be pretty small.”
“The factory owner isn’t after clear rewards anyway.”
Right—Magic Stones!
Iji looked around. But all she saw was reeds and an abundance of pebbles.
“I don’t see any Magic Stones.”
“The Magic Stones here hide inside the pebbles. Look at them carefully. Just like how you can see black bean colors peeking through red bean paste in bean cakes, you’ll see pebbles with bright colors shining through.”
Iji crouched down in the gravel field. She focused her eyes with the same seriousness she used when sorting bean cakes during Chuseok.
Looking closely, between the gray pebbles, she could indeed spot them scattered sparsely—beautiful colors like sky blue and chick yellow shining from within.
“Oh, they really are here! Pebbles holding something beautiful!”
“Those pebbles contain Magic Stones. But you can’t use them as-is—they get stacked at the factory and workers carefully scrape away the outer layer of gravel.”
“The Magic Stones that grew Siheon in the Alice Dungeon weren’t hidden like this though…….”
“Those were high quality and sold expensive. Thanks to that, you all bought a lot of equipment.”
‘Siheon really was like amazing fertilizer!’
While Iji marveled at this internally, a modest objection came from beside her.
“I wasn’t eaten.”
“Oh, then you were decomposed……?”
“……Never mind. Anyway, the thing to do is make this bastard repent the moment he wakes up, right?”
Siheon gave the Supervisor sprawled on the ground a light kick.
“What exactly did this guy do wrong? I need specifics to render a judgment in court.”
Geumhui stepped forward.
“I’ll explain. Ah, it’s a complicated story, so Iji doesn’t have to listen.”
“No, I want to hear it!”
‘I’ve learned lots of difficult words from talking with Grimoire!’
Iji sat confidently beside the two of them.
And she lost from Geumhui’s very first sentence.
“The victims were mostly hunters who came in under Subcontract Agreements. Just collecting Raw Stones from the dungeon.”
‘Subcontract…… what?’
“You know dungeons aren’t covered under the Serious Accident Punishment Act, right?”
‘Serious Accident……?’
“The problem is the victims were basically forced to do factory work. They contract cheaply just to gather Raw Stones, but then when they bring the stones back, the owner demands ‘How do you prove this stone has a Magic Stone in it? You do the cutting yourself.’ They won’t pay otherwise.”
“There are always people trying to get something for nothing. Trash.”
“But is it easy for beginners to handle factory cutting machines? Lots of people get hurt doing it, and the employer shrugs by saying ‘These are just dungeon contractors. They got hurt in the dungeon’ to dodge responsibility…….”
I can’t follow anymore!
Iji was still grappling with “Subcontract” when Siheon waved his front paws dismissively.
“Hey, you’ll give yourself a headache. Stop thinking and go play.”
“Yes…….”
She’d made the uncle concerned about her.
Iji became dejected and sat down by the Stream Bank.
The gravel field, a few pebbles holding Magic Stones glimmered. Some shone in particularly dark colors, apparently containing high-quality Magic Stones.
‘If I find good ones, could I help with the hospital expenses?’
While Iji hunted for pretty pebbles like she was playing spot-the-hidden-picture,
someone called out to her from beside. It was Grimoire.
[Your expression isn’t good. Did Rabbit’s manner of speaking bother you?]
“……It’s because I’m being stupid for not understanding.”
[What? That’s a difficult legal concept. It’s natural you don’t understand!]
“But still…….”
[Rabbit can only show off her skills because of you. No matter what anyone says, the person doing the most important work is you—so have confidence.]
“…….”
[I mean it.]
Grimoire orbited around her head in circles. It looked like Grimoire’s own way of trying to pat her head, and Iji found herself laughing softly before she realized it.
[Why are you laughing?]
“Because I’m grateful.”
[……Ahem. Well, well then.]
“And…… could you explain what the adults were talking about later, in a simpler way?”
[So you really want to understand?]
“Yes. If I’m someone pursuing justice, I can’t explain what I’m doing. That wouldn’t be right.”
[…….]
“I really, truly love being a Magic Girl…… and I don’t want to do it poorly.”
The Magic Girls Iji had watched on screens so far weren’t perfect beings.
Sometimes they cried, sometimes they made mistakes. They fought with their allies.
But in one thing, they never retreated.
“When I’m helping people…… I want to be cool without shame. Like a true Magic Girl.”
[……All right.]
Grimoire leaned forward gently and touched Iji’s head. For just a moment, she seemed to feel warmth.
[I’ll explain it simply soon. Ask me anything you don’t understand, anytime.]
“Thank you so much!”
[But I’m curious about something. How did you find the dungeon entrance earlier?]
“Oh. Should I tell you?”
Before she knew it, Geumhui and Siheon had come closer to her side.
Iji explained.
“A patient mentioned before that everyone had to wait a long time outside the dungeon. But he said people smoke a lot while waiting.”
“There are always people like that.”
And indeed, here too she’d encountered several staff members smoking.
“But you can’t bring cigarettes into a dungeon. So when it was time to deploy, I thought everyone would head for the gate while tossing their cigarette butts in the opposite direction.”
“Ah. So—”
“Yes. I picked the door where cigarette butts were scattered in a fan pattern.”
An open lot where all sorts of garbage lay scattered.
But in front of one door, cigarette butts were spread out like a magic barrier, catching the eye unmistakably.
“That’s it!”
“My goodness, our Iji. Smart as a whip too.”
Geumhui patted Iji’s head. Meanwhile Siheon covered his face with his paws.
“I’m not a smoker, but…… as an adult, I feel a bit ashamed…….”
“Why don’t you do volunteer trash cleanup work once you get your body back!”
“I’d rather not.”
“Why not?”
“Why not……?”
That last question wasn’t Siheon’s answer.
The Supervisor was regaining consciousness. His eyes wavered.
“Why…… am I in a dungeon…….”
Iji rushed forward and called out urgently. Everything has its proper order.
“I brought you here! I am the justice-pursuing Magic Girl, Daisy!”
“……Is this not a dream? Am I dreaming?”
“You’re not dreaming!”
It would have been difficult to accept as reality when faced with a rabbit, a bear, a flying book, and a Magic Girl.
Siheon stepped forward.
“I wish it were a dream? We confirmed you broke about five laws running that factory of yours, you son of a bitch.”
“……What?”
It was the kind of remark to jolt even a sleeping man awake. The Supervisor’s eyes widened.
Siheon looked at Iji for a moment.
His eyes said: ‘It’s your turn to speak.’
Iji shook her head. This time wasn’t her turn.
Siheon didn’t waste more time.
“I’m here on behalf of the hunters hurt working in your factory. Want to take a beating first or talk first?”
“What kind of crazy rabbit……no, no. Bear sir, put your paw down. Huh? Wait just a moment!”
“Where am I supposed to hit the Supervisor? I was just going to give him a hug. Let him feel what those people caught in the machinery felt.”
“Kyeeek……!”
The Supervisor immediately turned and ran. But Siheon closed the distance with overwhelming speed and nimbly tripped him, sending him tumbling down into the dry streambed.
Siheon looked down at him and spoke.
“The hour of judgment has come.”
Geumhui’s mouth moved. The words “Court of Siheon” were too faint to hear, but the Supervisor sensed it from the magical pressure radiating from Geumhui alone.
A terrible skill was coming.
“Wait, wait! I’m just middle management! I only follow orders from above!”
“…….”
“Even if you take me out, someone else will just—”
“Then we’ll take them out too. First though, who’s the boss who only recruits trash like you to manage?”
“Ah.”
“Call them all.”

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