The Magical Hunter Girl Decorates the Dungeon! - Chapter 79

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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 Decorates a Dungeon! Episode 79
Lee Ji glanced around, then asked in a low voice.
“I’ve heard that Do Hyeong-rang keeps secrets well. You’ll keep this confidential, won’t you?”
“Of course.”
“We’re colleagues, after all!”
“……Really?”
“Yes. You’re such a good colleague!”
Do Hyeong-rang sighed.
‘Am I being conned by this kid?’
Everyone knew that Jin Si-heon didn’t make colleagues. There was no way he’d treat a small child like this.
But what bothered him was that the child answered without hesitation, and her expression was bright.
‘In all my years, I’ve never met someone who knows Jin Si-heon and doesn’t trash-talk him.’
Well, a nine-year-old Awakener was new too, but he figured that was the Hunter Association’s problem to handle.
Do Hyeong-rang made a desperate effort to cut off his interest in the child’s personal affairs.
‘Why should I care about hunters’ private lives! My principle is to stay out of it!’
The most important thing was sincerity in cooperating with the craft.
The second most important thing was confidence that she wouldn’t misuse the equipment.
That was all.
“Ahem. Does the food suit your taste?”
“Yes…… Oh!”
Lee Ji suddenly stopped with her spoon. Her expression looked like she’d just made a terrible mistake.
“Teacher, can I go down to the first floor for a moment?”
“What’s wrong?”
“My grandmother came with me, but I forgot that she missed lunch……. If she goes hungry, she’ll lose weight!”
Lee Ji was flustered. By her expression alone, she looked like someone guilty of starving a puppy for a day.
‘I should say something.’
“Listen, little one. Your grandmother is an adult, isn’t she?”
“Oh, yes.”
“Then she’ll take care of herself. She already knows you’re eating up here with me, anyway. She won’t just starve while she waits.”
“……Is that so?”
“Yes. Don’t treat an elder like a child.”
“Still though. My grandmother will be lonely eating alone.”
…….
Do Hyeong-rang cried out inwardly.
What in the world is this tiny thing worried about—!
‘My own son! When I was working ten straight nights and dying, all he said was asking what would happen to him if his father collapsed before he got his allowance for the month!’
His ten-year-old grandson was no better. When Do Hyeong-rang fell during a soccer game with him, the boy got excited about his vicious sliding tackle hitting his grandfather, and only calmed down when his mother scolded him.
‘Are granddaughters naturally like this? Do they worry about their grandparents missing meals and whether they’ll be lonely eating alone?’
It was a new world.
In any case, he couldn’t leave Lee Ji worrying like this.
“Wait a moment.”
Do Hyeong-rang picked up the shop phone again.
“You there. Is the grandmother of the girl who just came up still around?”
[Yes, she is. Says if the conversation gets long she’ll head to the kimbap place next door.]
“I’m going to cover the entire first floor’s lunch sales today, so take new customers, and have someone eat with that lady, will you? If she’s tired of sashimi, she can have something else. I’ll cover that too.”
[What’s the occasion? How fun. I’ll order some sweet and sour pork.]
Click—the receiver went down.
“They said someone will eat with her downstairs.”
“Thank you so much!”
Lee Ji relaxed and bowed her head slightly.
“I’ve never met such a kind hunter before!”
…….
Do Hyeong-rang’s mind cleared completely.
What did it matter what his relationship with Jin Si-heon was?
‘As long as she thinks I’m admirable.’
“Yes, eat plenty. Do you eat raw fish?”
“I’ve never tried it…….”
“Do you eat cooked fish? Wait a moment. When the fish soup comes, I’ll cook all that raw fish and make you a delicious fish broth.”
“Yes!”
As they continued eating, the conversation shifted to practical matters.
What to make and how to make it.
Since Si-heon had written such a careful email, discussion was easy.
“Is the armor heavy? It seems like it would be.”
“How would anyone wear plate armor in the twenty-first century? It looks like a bracelet on the outside, but when you bring it into a dungeon, magical power wraps around your body like armor.”
“Wow…….”
“If you combine all the parts Si-heon commissioned, it looks roughly like this…….”
“It’s cool……. It looks like the ribbon ornament that goes on a magical girl’s outfit!”
“A ribbon ornament? You have good taste. Then we could add more like this…….”
Do Hyeong-rang. Twenty-seven years of office work, nine years as a hunter.
Even accounting for all the subordinates, superiors, and clients he’d encountered, he’d never had such an attentive listener.
When he came to his senses, he’d promised even more options than Si-heon had requested.
The meeting ended at one in the afternoon. Lee Ji went down the stairs first with quick, light steps. Geum Hee, who had been eating hotteok on the first floor, greeted her.
“Did you eat well? Was there anything you wanted?”
“Yes! Grandfather made me fish broth! The non-spicy kind!”
“That’s good. Have some hotteok too.”
Geum Hee approached Do Hyeong-rang and asked quietly.
“Thank you for the nice lunch. But while you were explaining to Lee Ji, was anything unclear?”
“No. Lee Ji was so sharp that she understood everything. You must enjoy every day with such a bright granddaughter.”
It sounded like flattery, but it was sincere. Dammit, how he envied anyone with such a remarkable grandchild!
But an unexpected answer came back.
“It is fun every day. But she’s not my granddaughter.”
“I beg your pardon? You’re not her guardian?”
“She’s a neighborhood child. She has some circumstances at home, so I help her eat and assist with her hunter work from time to time.”
…….
Perhaps it wasn’t even a grandparent-grandchild household.
Something stirred inside him.
‘This child Awakened at such a young age. How uncertain her future must have seemed before she found help.’
And in Do Hyeong-rang’s heart, his perception of one person was changing significantly.
‘Jin Si-heon……. You turned out to be a good young man after all!’
To help a child with complicated family circumstances by risking his own reputation and spending a fortune. This wasn’t something one did lightly.
‘And he made the child think of him as a colleague. When a rank-one hunter and a young Awakener could never be equals!’
This was clearly a delicate gesture meant to ease the burden that naturally arose between benefactor and beneficiary.
In this harsh world, Do Hyeong-rang felt a surge of human warmth for the first time in ages, and cheerfully scraped his bowl clean.
‘Next is…….’
“Lee Ji. And you, elder. Strike while the iron is hot, as they say. Would you have time to go make the equipment today?”
Lee Ji and Geum Hee exchanged a quick glance, then nodded simultaneously.
“We can!”

* * *
Do Hyeong-rang’s workshop was located near Inwang Mountain.
Passing through a high wall some three meters tall, a spacious hanok greeted visitors from the front courtyard, where a white Jindo dog bounded and played.
“The workshop is the building in back. Let’s get to work right away.”
“Oh, I still have the Moon Metal in my inventory!”
Couldn’t inventory only be used in dungeons?
But Do Hyeong-rang smiled and pointed toward the workshop door.
“Is this your first time crafting? Go on in.”
“Yes. ……Huh?”
Stepping through the open door, it felt as if she’d entered a deep forest. The air was clear and thick, somehow. This was…….
“I can feel magical power here. Like in a dungeon!”
“Crafting-type hunters can create a space outside dungeons where they can use their skills easily—a ‘workshop.’ The magical power concentration here is higher than outside.”
“So I can use my skills here too?”
“No. Here, only my Crafting-type skills and inventory work.”
“……I see.”
Lee Ji started to raise her hand, then lowered it.
The customers left the Moon Metal and departed. Meanwhile, Do Hyeong-rang cast his skill.
Magical power heated the furnace. The Moon Metal she’d handed him melted in an instant, then was cast into an armor form sized for a child’s frame.
An ordinary craftsman would have stopped here.
But Do Hyeong-rang’s lifetime specialty—learned from decades as an engineer—was miniaturization and efficiency.
‘Compression!’
The silver armor gradually compressed, then transformed into two bracelets. These would be hidden in the wrist portions of her gloves.
Next came a neck ornament to serve as a helm, and a hairpin to defend against Mental Attack-type skills…….
After the work was done, Do Hyeong-rang called Lee Ji and Geum Hee over. On the table lay a neat collection of accessories—in a form that wouldn’t compromise a magical girl’s aesthetic and could be hidden as much as possible.
“Thank you! It looks exactly like the picture from before!”
“I just made what you asked for. By the way, I have a little Moon Metal left over. Would you want to make something else?”
“Really? ……Where?”
“Ah. Don’t worry about the cost. There’s a bit of time left on the furnace, and I’d hate to waste this material.”
…….
Everything here was purely defensive equipment.
Only one word naturally came to mind.
Weapon.

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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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