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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 13
Chapter Title: Lost Children
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* * *

There were two girls in school uniforms.

“We were just looking around the studio…”

The story was simple. The girl, who introduced herself as Choi Soo-kyung, said she had asked her mom, a broadcast station staff member, to let her and a friend visit for a school project, and that's when this mess happened.

When the Gate opened, the children were swept up in it without knowing what was happening.

When they came to, like Ha-ra and Se-heon, they were in the middle of a dungeon. Fortunately, they had landed next to a large tree. The girls, who were first-years in middle school, managed to squeeze their small bodies into a gap between the tree roots.

“Waaah. We were so scared a monster would come, we could barely breathe, waaaah.”

Soo-kyung, who had been calmly explaining the situation, finally burst into tears. The girl next to her, Hee-yeon, did the same.

“Hey… don’t cry…”

She had started to say, ‘Don’t cry, okay?’ but then, overcome with emotion herself, she also burst into tears. The relief of finding other people must have been overwhelming.

Even though they were strangers, the girls ran to Ha-ra and Se-heon and cried in their arms. Ha-ra awkwardly held Soo-kyung, who had thrown herself at her.

“It's okay. It's okay now. Hmm? Don't cry, it's okay.”

But Se-heon was the only one who remained calm.

“Don't cry. The monsters will hear you and gather.”

Even though he was using formal speech with a little girl who barely reached his shoulder, his words were anything but comforting.

At his words, Hee-yeon, who had been crying while clutching Se-heon's waist, clapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes bright red.

Ha-ra frowned slightly.

But she had no intention of scolding him. Se-heon was right. *Rustle…* Yellow eyes glinted toward them from within the forest.

They were mostly E- or F-rank, miscellaneous insect-type monsters for now, but animal-type monsters would surely appear soon.

“What should we do? I can't fly while carrying everyone.”

“Is it far to the safe zone?”

“No, it's not far from here.”

In the end, they decided to move the children first.

Since her power would return to normal if she wasn't touching Se-heon, Ha-ra gauged Soo-kyung's weight. Soo-kyung, who had graduated from elementary school last year, was about the same height as Ha-ra, and with a bit of effort, she could manage to carry her.

While Se-heon stayed behind with one of the girls, Ha-ra quickly picked up Soo-kyung and headed for the safe zone.

Thankfully, the safe zone was quite large. The child relaxed upon seeing it. It seemed the “Safety Training for Dungeon Isolation Scenarios” that public officials conducted at schools each semester was effective after all.

She ferried Hee-yeon over next. Throughout the process, she had been worried about Se-heon being left alone at the end, but thankfully, he was also unharmed. It seemed luck was on their side.

However, it looked like he'd had some trouble fending off the small insect-type monsters.

“Rabbit-sized cockroaches.”

The man's brow was subtly furrowed as he said it. Once the four of them were gathered in the safe zone, the girls, finally able to relax, spoke in unison.

“We fought them too.”

“You fought them? You two?”

“They kept trying to crawl into the gap in the tree…”

My god. Cockroaches trying to crawl in while you're hiding—that was as terrifying as an S-rank monster. They all shuddered.

Just then, a large wolf-type monster ambled out of the forest. The four of them froze instinctively, watching it warily, but this was a safe zone. The wolf-type monster sniffed the air, then wandered off again without paying them any mind.

Only then did the four of them truly relax, slumping to the ground one after another. Ha-ra gathered some things nearby that could be used for firewood. The fallen leaves were too damp to use, but she couldn't ask for more.

“Still, you two held up well.”

It seemed the girls had told Se-heon, who had been meticulously using formal speech, to speak casually. Since no one but Ha-ra could leave the safe zone, Se-heon was naturally in charge of the two children.

Ha-ra chimed in, bustling about.

“Yeah, even the two of us adults had a hard time.”

“Well…”

Soo-kyung, looking hesitant, spoke up.

“There was one more person.”

“…What?”

Ha-ra froze. Se-heon, surprised, also turned to look at the girls. Hee-yeon's eyes darted around before she burst into tears.

“What’s going to happen to Seo-yeon…”

Soo-kyung had brought two friends from the start. Hee-yeon and Seo-yeon.

When they first fell into the dungeon, Seo-yeon, who was much calmer than the others her age, had comforted the two crying girls and immediately looked for a place to hide.

“Guys, it's okay. Let's hide here.”

It was Seo-yeon who found the gap in the tree, and it was Seo-yeon who pushed Soo-kyung and Hee-yeon inside.

And just as Seo-yeon was about to hide in the gap herself.

*Screeeech!*

A large, bird-like creature—maybe an eagle, they couldn't tell—swooped down and snatched Seo-yeon away.

The girls scrambled out of the gap, but it was too late. Seo-yeon was already flying high into the sky.

Only then did she really see the girls' tear- and dirt-streaked faces. The faces of children who must have spent all day crying with their mouths covered inside that tree gap were a mess.

Ha-ra rubbed her face with her hands. Se-heon let out a long sigh with a soft ‘Ha.’

The children cried, “What about Seo-yeon, what about Seo-yeon.” But they didn't say much else to the adults. Even at their age, they knew what must have happened to her.

* * *

There was also a small pond in the safe zone. But it was obviously not drinkable. The water filling the pond was pitch-black and rotten, bubbling up with strange, gurgling sounds. The one silver lining was that the smell wasn't too strong.

“You can't drink that, okay?”

“Yes…”

The children, who had been crying for a while, answered in unison, their faces puffy and swollen.

Ha-ra sighed as she gathered and stacked the firewood. Though she called it firewood, it was just a shabby pile of dry branches haphazardly thrown together.

“It would be nice if we had an emergency kit.”

It was something all Hunters carried when entering a dungeon. It contained everything needed for survival. To think firewood would become this crucial.

“The Hunter Market doesn't open in dungeons, right?”

“Right.”

Ha-ra nodded at Se-heon's question and packed the ground around the dry branches. The girls watched what she was doing with curious faces.

Ha-ra grinned at the girls and spoke.

“Inventory.”

*Clatter.* The items she'd gotten from the rabbit carcass spilled out. The kids' eyes widened. To them, it must have looked like the things just fell from thin air.

Se-heon smirked when he saw her. He seemed to have realized that while she could have easily taken the items out from the system window, she had deliberately done it this way to get the kids' attention.

“Look here. I caught a rabbit earlier.”

“Whoa.”

[Carnivorous Rabbit Meat]
It doesn't look tasty.

[Carnivorous Rabbit Hide]
The quality is poor.

Hunters could see the status of the meat and hide, but to the children, it would probably just look like a slab of meat and a fur pelt. It was a small mercy that the system automatically tanned the hide.

Soo-kyung blinked and asked.

“Are you a Hunter?”

“Of course. I'm a Hunter. I flew through the sky to bring you here, didn't I?”

As Ha-ra boasted, Hee-yeon quickly threw out a question.

“What rank are you? A-rank?”

Soo-kyung shook her head.

“No way. My little brother collects Hunter cards, and I've never seen her before.”

Hunter cards.

They were collectible cards that kids often played with. They featured the faces of real Hunters and were sometimes used for battle games.

However, only S- and A-rank Hunters were featured on the cards. There were too many B-rank and below.

When Ha-ra fell silent, the kids immediately looked anxious.

“Um… are you B-rank, then?”

Just then, Se-heon suddenly cut in.

“Hee-yeon. If someone suddenly asked you what your rank is in school, you wouldn't feel very good, would you?”

“Ah…”

Hee-yeon blinked, then realized what he meant and blushed.

“I'm sorry.”

Ha-ra quickly interjected.

“No, Hee-yeon. It's okay. You probably only asked because you're scared. Right?”

“Yes…”

“It's only natural to wonder how strong your allies are in a dangerous place like a dungeon. Right? It's fine.”

Ha-ra patted Hee-yeon's shoulder.

“I'm strong enough to protect you.”

“That's right. Even B-rank is super strong. And this is a B-rank dungeon, isn't it?”

Soo-kyung chimed in again.

There was no need to say she was E-rank here. It would only make the children more anxious.

But she couldn't claim to be S-rank, either. Because Ha-ra wasn't a complete S-rank yet.

Se-heon, who vaguely understood Ha-ra's situation, kept his mouth shut. Ha-ra laughed and pulled something from her pants.

“I'll show you something else. Wanna see?”

“What is it?”

“It's my weapon.”

All public officials at the Hunter's Bureau carried a weapon for emergencies. This was true even for Ha-ra, who mostly did desk work.

“Huh? It's a light stick! I know what that is.”

Hee-yeon said with recognition.

Ha-ra gave an embarrassed laugh and waved the plastic light stick, which was about the length of her hand. It was the kind of stick you'd buy at an idol concert.

No, that's exactly what it was. The weapon Ha-ra used was a light stick she had bought at a fan meeting for her favorite idol.

“But how is that a weapon?”

“Watch, it's super powerful when I take the cap off.”

Ha-ra flipped a switch, and a faint light came on. Then she took off the cap and shone it in Hee-yeon's eyes.

Hee-yeon cried, “Aah!” and covered her eyes. Soo-kyung said, “Me too, me too,” then got hit with the light stick beam and fell back, giggling.

“It's so bright!”

“Super strong, right?”

Well, of course it was bright when she was shining a light stick beam directly into their eyes. Beside them, Se-heon raised an eyebrow, looking dumbfounded. His expression seemed to say, *Surely you don't fight monsters like that.*

Ha-ra awkwardly raised the light stick again. *Of course not.*