Chapter 43
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Stay Put and Half the Trouble Passes
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"C-Come out! Inari!"
The monster commotion had erupted out of nowhere.
Though briefly flustered by it, Princess Kurumi quickly pulled herself together and, true to her status as a daughter of one of the world's top ten families, immediately assumed a battle-ready stance.
At her command, a massive black fox rose from the shadows.
It split into dozens of smaller foxes in an instant, charging toward the screaming civilians.
And then...
"Whoa?!"
"A fox..."
"It's fighting the monsters...?"
They began protecting the ordinary people who hadn't even managed to evacuate properly.
"Looks like that person in the kimono is controlling it..."
"Does that mean she's a hunter?"
"...! Everyone, hurry to the basement! I hear these big facilities always have separate monster shelters underground! Get there as fast as you can!!"
"O-Okay!"
"R-Run, everyone!"
The princess had nipped a potential catastrophe in the bud early on.
This was the moment when people's perception of Kurumi—who'd been sitting on a bench in her exotic attire, sobbing helplessly—began to shift.
But for Kurumi herself, it backfired spectacularly.
'The stares... I can feel everyone's stares... Eep?!'
"Bwaaaargh—!"
"Mom... that big sis just threw up...!"
"F-For now, let's just run!"
The repulsive gazes converging on her from all sides.
Unable to endure it, Princess Kurumi vomited her guts out, her concentration shattering in the process.
"W-Watch out...!"
In her effort to protect the unevacuated civilians, she failed to notice the three-meter monster—nothing but a face full of teeth—sneaking up behind her.
"Graaaaaah."
"...Ah."
And so, the pathetic princess met her end, chewed up nice and thoroughly in a manner befitting her level of incompetence.
...Yeah, right.
Krunch!
The being who plummeted through Lotte World's ceiling, ripped the necks off the monsters who'd turned to look, slipped behind Princess Kurumi in a flash, and shredded the toothy monster to pieces.
Feeling his presence, Kurumi turned a face full of utter bewilderment.
"You...!"
"Dobroye utro! Good morning, Princess."
"An assassin from Russia...?!"
Knowing she couldn't understand him anyway, Lawrenceki greeted the princess with a cheerful smile.
And perched on one of his shoulders was...
"Ugh... blerrgh..."
"Hm? Pink Lady. A hunter like you can't handle this much?"
"Shut... urp... up... Suddenly jumping between buildings like that... Ugh... Of course I'm gonna hurl... Blerrrgh...!"
For some reason, he'd ended up bringing along Yoo Si-hyun, who looked half-dead already.
"How... how are you... not falling for my charm...?"
"Pardon? Do we really need to dwell on that sore spot?"
"Ugh...! You psycho... Urp!"
Plop.
Her pride wounded by the one man immune to her charm, Yoo Si-hyun couldn't even retort before she finally hurled, rolling her eyes into X's as she passed out.
"Sorry, Pink Lady. Your butt's a bit too small for my tastes."
Smack.
Instead of a reply, Lawrenceki gave her butt a light pat on the side and gently laid her down on a bench.
Meanwhile, Princess Kurumi eyed him warily from behind.
"We're allies, Princess."
"Allies...?"
"Yes. I came in from outside the amusement park. Which means I have a clear view of the situation out there."
Gates had opened all around the park, as if daring them to defend it like a siege.
"Exactly six gates opened around the amusement park. And all the monsters are heading inward."
"...! What in the world..."
"H-Help!"
"M-Monsters! Monsters!"
Just then, sensing the crowd who'd been heading out to the basement now rushing back in, Kurumi's face drained of what little color it had left.
"P-Please save us! Monsters outside! Monsters...!"
"Monsters are at the entrance and even on the stairs to the basement shelter!"
"Please, help us!"
"...!"
Lotte World, which had seemed on the verge of emptying out, now filled up again like it was a weekend opening.
And realizing all those ominous presences were staring right at her, Kurumi felt overwhelming anxiety closing in.
Clap!
But in that instant...
A massive clap echoed through the entire park, as if commanding silence.
"Everyone, listen up—!!"
"...!"
Even if he was a rotten hunter who preyed on people too, he was still a hunter.
A national-level powerhouse representing Russia, no less. Lawrenceki promptly issued clear instructions to the restless crowd.
"Everyone! Get up on the rides farthest from the ground!"
"R-Rides...?"
"Yes! Balloons on the ceiling, Ferris wheel, drop tower—doesn't matter! Prioritize kids and the elderly, get them high up away from the monsters first. Then able-bodied men and women, grab anything that can be used as a weapon and gather in the center of the park as much as possible!"
Even in this chaos, Lawrenceki spoke with commanding authority.
Was it his leadership that inspired them?
"M-Move, quick!"
"Kids and elderly first!"
"Rides are limited! Don't force it—anyone who can fight, grab a weapon instead!"
The unevacuated civilians began following his orders one by one, loading kids and the elderly onto high rides the monsters couldn't reach.
Looking at them, Lawrenceki turned to the one woman who could serve as combat support besides himself in this park.
"Princess. Can you fight?"
"...Of course."
He asked cautiously, seeing her slumped on the ground, but she struggled to her feet and answered.
"I'm... a 'hunter' after all!"
Even if she was a shameful illegitimate child of a hunter family, saving people was the most basic duty of any hunter.
That's why she could stand.
No—why she had to stand.
Because if she buckled here...
"H-Hunters..."
"Please save us..."
She'd never rest in peace, even in death a year from now.
And so.
"Graaaaaah!"
"Grk! Grk!"
Fresh hordes of monsters poured in through the park entrance.
The silver lining? Lotte World was a domed cylinder—deal with the ground-level threats, and they were good.
A straight-up fight they could win.
"Come here, Minori. And come forth, Gashadokuro."
Rather than weak combos, go for a sure one-shot!
With that in mind, she dismissed the splitting foxes and summoned a beaded cord.
Lawrenceki's face went blank for a moment at the sight of a Beast Hunter striking a 'stance' instead of providing rear support.
But only for a moment.
"Princess, danger...!"
"Quiet..."
Kurumi began strolling slowly toward the oncoming monsters, as if taking a leisurely walk.
Soon, the beasts lunging to devour her tripped over themselves instead, bones gruesomely protruding from their bodies all at once.
"Aiki...?"
"More precisely, it's Aikido, Japan's traditional martial art."
Lawrenceki had no choice but to acknowledge it as he watched her effortlessly redirect and kill the charging monsters like flowing water.
This girl wasn't just some 'damsel to protect,' after all.
"Well, she does have her limits, though..."
"Guess I'll lend a hand here too!"
As expected, Princess Kurumi had headed straight for Lotte World in Songpa-gu, Seoul.
And now in Week 3, just as in the original story, the monster assault was underway. From his distant vantage point, Dome watched what looked like a full-scale siege straight out of a warzone.
"Any closer and it's dangerous! Fall back now!"
"I'm a Hunter Meister! Can't I get in somehow?!"
"Hunter Meister...? No, why's a gear-support guy like you even here?! Get back to association HQ!"
He'd anticipated it, but a Hunter Meister was naturally treated like yesterday's leftovers on-site.
Gates had spawned around the park, spewing miscellaneous monsters in droves. Hunters were too busy blocking them to venture inside.
'Should I just monsterize and go in?'
But too many eyes here.
Even the rooftop of a high-rise without CCTV was quite a distance away.
Alleys were obviously out, leaving him stuck in limbo.
But if he dawdled and something happened to the princess...
"Shin-woo."
It'd scar him with trauma he'd never shake, so he reluctantly headed for the least populated alley he could find.
"Shin-woo!"
Turning from the controlling hunters, someone grabbed his hand.
Looking back...
"...Cheol-ran?"
Was she chasing the princess too?
His surprise at her gasping arrival was short-lived.
"Don't transform."
"...Pardon?"
She advised him point-blank.
"Right now... practically the entire Korean Hunter Association force is converging here."
"...!"
"To rescue the princess! If you show yourself like this, you'll clash with them for sure."
She might even expose his identity.
In front of everyone.
...That's what Yoo Cheol-ran was earnestly warning him about.
"So don't transform."
"Cheol-ran..."
"We'll definitely rescue the princess!"
"So..."
So.
"Just stay quiet this once. Please..."