Chapter 9
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: Apples Over Apologies
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"Hng... That was rough..."
After being tormented by those little kids for what felt like forever, I finally got a break thanks to some guy in a red hat barging in.
He was a probationary instructor from the Hunter Management Bureau, apparently.
From what I heard, he'd found me fast asleep in the mountains and I wouldn't wake up.
"...Still, isn't kidnapping someone and dragging them here a bit much?"
"Sorry about that, kiddo. I thought you were a student, so I rushed you over. If a kid goes missing in our jurisdiction, it's on us."
"I'm not a kid! I'm an adult!"
"Sigh... Where are your parents?"
"I said I'm an adult! An adult! And I don't have parents!"
Adult! And Talulla's one-two punch!
The effect was huge! The uncle guy started breaking out in a cold sweat.
There was a phrase for times like this.
Poster...? No, that's for nailing stuff to the wall demanding guarantees.
Oh, right. Déjà vu.
Anyway, guarantee this and that! Apologize for treating me like a kid!
"You don't believe me? Here's my hunter registration card!"
It came out all crinkled, but this should prove it.
Birthdate's right there.
"But where's Chomper?"
"Chomper? You mean that summon that looks like a Venus flytrap?"
"Yup. My buddy who was napping with me."
Right before showing my hunter registration to the instructor uncle, I asked about Chomper.
"Sorry... We brought him along too, but he's over there."
I looked where the instructor uncle pointed...
And there was Chomper dancing and showing off in front of the same little kids who'd been bothering me earlier.
"Whoa! What's this guy? So cute!"
"He's doing the tap-tap dance!"
"Looks just like that plumber from the game!"
"Wanna come to my house? I can give you tons of snacks!"
Abandoning your owner to play with the little kids?
You little rascal...
Tap-tap.
Look at you, your tap dancing's improved even more?
That's kinda cute. No, really cute.
The kids love it too, so you're a total hit, huh?
Okay. Passed. Forgiven.
"Let me see... Yeon Chorok...? Wait, isn't that the name of the new A-rank hunter who was supposed to join today? And born in '06...?"
And in the meantime,
the instructor uncle checked my hunter registration card.
Once he saw it, he slapped his forehead in disbelief.
"I... I'm truly sorry. That was a huge blunder on my part!"
The instructor uncle handed back my card and bowed at a perfect ninety degrees to apologize.
Should I forgive him?
Hmm... Not quite enough. It happened because he mistook me for one of the little kids. Still kinda annoying!
"Look! A grown-up uncle's apologizing to the pink-haired girl!"
"What's going on? What'd the uncle do wrong?"
See? Even the little kids are saying it.
Anyway, apologize more!
"I don't know what a monji is, but apologize more! Apologize!"
Before I knew it, the little kids had gathered around, surrounding me and the instructor uncle.
Guess they called their friends—the ones who'd been chattering at me earlier.
"Apologize anyway! Apologize!"
"Apologize! Apologize!"
"Apologize! Apologize sincerely!"
Whoa? This is too many. Little kids everywhere.
I didn't mean for it to blow up like this.
Even the apologizing uncle was flustered.
"I really, truly am sorry... So, please..."
That's when it happened.
The uncle suddenly slammed his body to the ground.
Like he was prepping for something.
He planted his hands on the floor, kicked his legs up, and stood on his head?
"Whoaaa! The uncle's doing a handstand!"
"What's that? What's he doing?"
"Whoa, that's awesome!"
"Uncle, doesn't it hurt?"
Of course, it became a spectacle, and the little kids stared in amazement.
What the heck is he doing?
It can't be what I think it is, right?
"I'm truly sorry for the inconvenience!"
The ultimate apology from the depths of one's heart and soul.
The greatest bow among bows. The legendary full prostration.
...He's really doing a full prostration?
This actually works? Wow, that's wild.
I'd only seen this in comics.
This uncle must be a huge manga fan.
In that case, I should respond accordingly to show my appreciation.
"Ahem... You know your manners! Can't argue with a full prostration."
"You'll forgive me?"
"Yeah. Sure."
"Th-thank you!"
I just cleared my throat to hold back the laugh.
I never thought he'd actually do it.
Of course, it felt sincere enough, so this should suffice...
"Awesome! So awesome!"
"Apology accepted!"
"Uncle, how do you do that? Awesome!"
"I approve of this apology!"
See? Even the little kids approve.
A full prostration is unbeatable.
"...Miss Chorok? You're Miss Chorok, right?"
"Officer Seonhwa...?"
Just as the apologies wrapped up amid the little kids,
Officer Seonhwa came running from the munchie area.
She was drenched in sweat—must've been looking everywhere for me. Oops.
"Sorry. I vanished suddenly and worried you, huh?"
"No, Miss Chorok. If anything, I'm the one who's sorry. I shouldn't have left you alone..."
"Nah. This uncle just got the wrong idea. I told him I'm an adult, but he wouldn't believe me."
"Ah."
Only then did Officer Seonhwa notice the instructor uncle's full prostration.
She looked at him with utter pity.
"Um... Blood's rushing to my head, so maybe stop now...?"
"I got a report that a probationary instructor from the outpost went to protect a lost child. That was you, huh."
"Gasp... You're..."
"So it's true the budget for new instructor training got cut. To think you'd cause an incident like this."
"I-I'll take full responsibility! I'm sorry!"
Officer Seonhwa glared at the instructor uncle with crackling intensity.
She's pretty mad, huh.
But the mood's getting too serious.
I get the misunderstanding. I was annoyed, but it's true I look like one of the little kids.
Still, I got to see a rare full prostration, and the misunderstanding's cleared up, so I'm fine now...
"Um... I forgave this uncle already. It's okay now. Officer Seonhwa, don't be too mad."
"Sigh... Alright. If that's your stance, Miss Chorok. Get up for now."
Good. Prostration over.
But seeing it in real life, it looks brutal.
The uncle's face is all red.
"Hoo... Blood rushing to my head..."
"Consider yourself lucky. Since the person involved doesn't want punishment, we'll let it slide quietly. A written apology at most."
"Th-thank you. I was incredibly rude. Your photo wasn't in the personnel files yet..."
"Ah."
Why's Officer Seonhwa suddenly looking at me and nodding like she gets it? Too much!
Take back what I said about it being understandable!
"Let's head back anyway. As I mentioned earlier, this is the gifted school's gate training facility."
"I apologize once more. My mistake."
"...It's fine. Chomper, let's go."
With the incident resolved, I called Chomper from the munchie area to head to our original destination.
Tap-tap.
Still showing off. This guy's a superstar?
More kids had gathered than during the prostration—totally caught me off guard.
"Huh? You going for an audition? Are you leaving? Waaah!"
"Don't gooo..."
"Nooo! Play more!"
"Please stay! I'll give you hugs and candy!"
I scooped up Chomper as he tap-tapped over, but everyone was wailing for him to stay.
Sorry, little kids.
Chomper's my precious friend—I can't give him away.
.
.
.
Soon, an outpost came into view as we walked the mountain path.
Lots of people in red hats like the clumsy instructor uncle.
I'd never been due to circumstances, but it looked like those training camps on TV?
Pretty similar. Not as scary as I thought.
"...I'll take over the guiding from here. Thank you for your understanding, and I sincerely apologize for the inadequate new instructor training."
Another instructor uncle—not the previous one—bowed his head in apology again.
Getting a lot of apologies today.
Not this kind—I want sweet, tasty apples...
"That's enough. Here are the submission forms for this training exercise. Please review them."
Officer Seonhwa handed a binder of documents to the instructor uncle.
"I'll handle the paperwork for you, Miss Chorok. Go ahead and start the training. It'll be quick. And nothing like before will happen again."
"Okay. I'll go on ahead then."
"This way, Miss Yeon Chorok."
We went a bit deeper with the instructor uncle, and there was something like a cave entrance.
A bunch of people sat in chairs in front of it...
Unlike the red-hat uncles, these folks were dressed normally?
Probably the other trainees.
"Miss Yeon Chorok, take a seat there for a quick orientation. Just safety briefings—won't take long."
"Sure."
And so, the instructor uncle and I parted ways.
Me to the chairs, him to the mic stand up front.
"Chomper, sit here."
I sat in the middle row, still holding Chomper.
But the moment I did, I felt eyes from all around.
"What's a kid doing here...?"
"Isn't this adult training?"
"Did a gifted school kid wander in?"
Murmur murmur.
I can hear you all! I'm not a student!
Too many misunderstandings today!
I'm upset!
—Zzzing.
"One two. Mic test. One two."
I was about to puff my cheeks in a pout when the instructor uncle turned on the mic.
"Hello, everyone embarking on your hunter journey through awakening. First question: Anyone with emergency gate experience? Not just evacuating—hands up if you've fought monsters."
Me included, almost everyone raised their hands.
Whoa... Most have experience.
"Good. Now, anyone who's cleared a dungeon-type gate? Hands up."
I lowered mine.
And so did most of the others who'd raised them.
Guess no one's gone that far.
I did some grinding, but no full clears.
"Good. Hands down. Since no experience, I'll explain dungeon-type gates. Unlike emergency gates, they respawn after a set time once cleared."
Aha.
That explains the respawn timer talk during grinding.
Thinking back, I was gutsy going in without even being a hunter.
"That's why, if the first clear deems it too risky, we seal it. Otherwise, we document strategies and use it to harvest resources for society."
Yeah, yeah. I've heard that.
Not the details, but news about gate yields dropping and complicated stuff.
They talked like mines, and now I see why.
The one I went to was exactly like that.
"Today's training is your first dungeon-type gate experience. It might be a bit unique, so heads up."
Unique experience? What could that be?
Hope it's fun. Something memorable.
"What makes it unique? Simple. Unlike emergency gates, dungeon-types ramp up physical strain on hunters as danger increases. For example..."
—Thud thud thud thud!
"...Huh? What's that noise?"
That's when it hit.
A stampede of footsteps poured from the cave entrance.
"Most experience nausea. Like that."
"Urp... Blech!"
"Blugh!"
"Ugh, my stomach... Hurk!"
People stumbled out, puking rainbows into paper bags or plastic ones.
Ew... What the heck!
This isn't fun! Gross!
"Medically, it's harmful dungeon mana absorption."
Other instructor uncles came and helped the pukers away.
"So today's training: Enter the dungeon-type gate, experience the mildest strain, and learn coping methods."
Wait... So that means...
I'll be dashing out, blasting rainbows from my mouth too?
That bad?
Ugh... I'm scared already. Gates are terrifying.
Behind jerks.
Why not warn me from the start?
Plastic bags. Paper bags.
Too late now...
Chomper, Officer Seonhwa... I wanna go home...
A little while later.
Samhwa Mine Gate 1.
"Urp... My stomach hurts."
"So dizzy... Why's it spinning like this?!"
"C-can't take anymore..."
"I wanna go home."
Everyone in front of me had turned pale as ghosts.
They'd be rainbow-blasting soon.
"...Miss Yeon Chorok, are you okay?"
Then the instructor uncle looked at me in confusion.
Like, why are you fine?
Yeah.
I was worried too...
"Yup. All good. Just did as instructed, and it's a breeze."
Followed the teachings, and not even a hint of trouble?