episode_0035

Time passed quickly.

“Eunha, haven’t you forgotten anything? Did you take a ballpoint pen and a water-based marker?”

“Bangul, you bought a dozen of them earlier. I took care of them.”

June 1st

The day of the hunter promotion exam.

Eunha was being seen off by Eunbangul, who was clinging to her waist at the entrance to the Hunter Association headquarters.

It’s 7 o’clock in the morning when the lukewarm wind of June blows coolly.

The sight of people rushing to and from the entrance of the association from early in the morning is reminiscent of a civil service examination center.

What’s different about the civil service exam is that people’s clothes are closer to sportswear.

Among them, there were brave men who entered the association wearing armor or weapons, just like in fantasy. Aren’t you ashamed?

Eunha, who came wearing the same sweats she wore when working out with Ban Harin at the park, nervously fiddled with the ballpoint pens and water-based marker pens in her pockets.

‘are you okay. you can do it.’

After getting the clue to pass the promotion test, Eunha prepared her mind for about 10 days.

Ready to take it out.

Prepare to take it with your own hands without asking the [Red Woman] for help.

As I rolled around in the bathroom every night with tears and snot pouring down my face, the promotion exam was just around the corner.

Fortunately, ‘those’ haven’t really touched the galaxy so far.

I think he ran away because he was scared of Eunha’s madness, which relieved himself by promising to pass a simple test.

“You understand, sis? If someone ignores you and says they’re in the F grade, I’ll bend over backwards!”

“Thank you, Bell. I don’t know if I can do it on my own, but I will do my best.”

“Hehe, let’s take a picture as a souvenir. Now, look here!”

Click~.

I took a commemorative photo at the entrance of the association while receiving support from Eunbangul.

A two-shot taken of the rabbit girl bending down and touching her cheek intimately…

However, when I checked the photo, Ban Harin suddenly appeared behind the two people and was making the V sign with an expressionless face.

Is it a psychic photo?

“Surprise! When did Mr. Banharin come?!”

“I’ve been standing behind Eunha since a while ago. The student I’ve been teaching sports for so long is taking an exam, so shouldn’t I at least see him off? And this is a gift.”

Ban Harin approached me without a sound and handed me a ballpoint pen and a water-based marker pen, saying it was a gift.

This is enough to replace it with a new ballpoint pen for each writing subject.

… Well, it doesn’t matter because it’s better than having trouble in the exam room because you don’t have a writing pad.

Let’s just accept it gratefully. This is all a sign of affection for Eunha.

“But… are you really okay? You look a little unwell.”

“That’s right! I heard you haven’t been feeling well for 10 days. Can you take the test? Shall I help you?”

“It’s because I’m nervous. Everything will be okay when I take the test.”

Ban Ha-rin was stuffing the marker pens she had bought into Eunha’s sweatpants pocket, which was already filled with the ballpoint pens and marker pens that Bang-ri had given her, as if it were a school bag for the new semester.

She caressed Eunha’s paler-than-usual face and worried about her.

Eunha waved her hand at the two people’s interest and appealed that she was okay.

My physical condition is fine. After all, there is [self-recovery].

I’m just mentally tired.

I tried to look as good as possible, but it didn’t work out well.

“…Cheer up, Eunha. If anyone makes fun of you, please tell me. I will come and bend for you.”

“I will definitely pass this time!”

Eunha headed to the promotion exam center with the support of the two people.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Morning test, written exam.

A test that tests basic laws, morals, and common sense as a hunter.

To be honest, his writing skills are no match for Eunha.

Over the past 30 promotion exams, I have never once failed the written test.

Rather than saying that Eunha is smart, the difficulty of the written test is low.

If you know how to use the reference books sold by the association, you can easily pass the exam.

Of course, if you become a C- or B-level hunter, you have to study leadership, situational awareness, and the types and ecology of monsters, so it seems difficult to write.

Anyway, the E-level written exam was something Eunha had to pass, so she went through the reference book the day before the exam again.

‘This time too, there are only a few F-class people.’

Eunha entered the written exam room, put down her luggage at the designated spot and looked around.

Since only dogs and cows pass the E-level promotion test, there are not many F-level hunters who take the test.

Most E-level hunters preparing for D-level…

Studying right before an exam may help you concentrate better, but most hunters are sitting down and studying for the exam even though there are still 30 minutes left until the exam.

Everyone is so nervous that even the sound of the pen clicking of the person next to them is noisy.

Everyone is working hard… Of course, this has nothing to do with Eunha.

Why study?

The first few times, I still pretended to study.

However, after realizing that all the questions in E-level writing are exactly the same as in the reference book, I gave up on that and just wondered what I could do to kill time.

Eunha quietly cheered on the hunters, whose eyes were bloodshot from tension and fatigue, and inspected the luggage she had brought with her.

A black suitcase that is now empty without it.

If you look inside carefully, you will find the [Black Book] that saved your life, a bag of salt, an amulet, a cross, and prayer beads.

And…… sharpened kitchen knives, bandages, and tarpaulin for this day.

Everyone is well.

After checking all the preparations, Eunha put the ballpoint pen and marker pen that Baeul-i and Banharin had stuffed in their pockets into her carrier and stood up.

‘Now then… let’s do what we always do.’

30 minutes left until the exam starts.

There is work to be done.

Eunha quietly left the exam room and leisurely walked back to the entrance of the association.

As I left the association building, passing through a hallway that was now familiar as a living room, I saw people standing blankly at the entrance, anxiously looking at their phones.

These are new hunters who are taking the promotion test for the first time.

Eunha approached them with her usual languid smile.

“Hello, are you lost?”

“Huh? Ah, yes… It’s our first time as an association… Are you ‘Ji Bak-ryeong’ by any chance?”

“That’s right. If it’s okay, would you like me to show you around?”

“Oh, of course! The association is very complicated… Thank you so much!”

After confirming that they were lost mite hunters, Eunha happily began giving directions.

It’s been a while since I did this.

There was nothing to do until the exam started, and there were too many people studying to just sit still in the exam room.

So, to kill time, I took it upon myself to guide lost mite hunters.

It’s no different, but the Hunter Association’s internal structure is extremely complicated, including how to respond to villain terrorism and security.

There are facility guides and signs installed here and there, but honestly, people who are confused will still be confused even if there are signs.

So, every month, there was at least one mite who got lost and was late for the promotion exam?

It’s a great way to kill time, be rewarding, and somehow build connections.

He even invites Eunha to a dinner party and gets some beef, saying that the test proctors are having a hard time.

Good things are good, right?

“Was… Ji Park-ryeong, you were a woman?”

“That’s it.”

“I heard a rumor. Isn’t it hard to keep taking exams? If I were you, I would have given up a long time ago!”

I continued to give directions while chatting with new hunters.

As expected from mites who are less jaded by the world, their eyes are bright.

Look at Eunha admiring her perseverance and not giving up even though she keeps failing in exams.

A few hours from now, when she realizes how difficult the E-level exam is, she will laugh at Eunha, asking how she could fail such a test.

But it’s okay.

Because I’m really going to pass this time.

Eunha walked the mite hunters to the testing site with a lighter heart than usual.

After that, I went back to the entrance of the association a few times to give directions to a few more mites, and when there were 5 minutes left until the test, I calmly sat down and waited for the test to begin.

Rumbling.

“Okay, then, let’s start the exam. Please put everything except writing instruments in the locker at the back… Eunha?”

When the time came, the test proctor came into the written exam room holding a bunch of question papers.

While the proctor looked around the nervous hunters and guided them through the test, he noticed Eunha sitting in a corner, staring blankly out the window, and opened her mouth in surprise.

The spot where Eunha, a 10,000-year F-class hunter, always sits.

Sitting in the same place every month for three years, it became a reserved seat for the galaxy.

A person who possessed a rare skill called [Self-Healing] and seemed to always look the same… became a stunningly beautiful woman in just one month.

Was that person a woman?

The other testers, who turned their heads towards Eunha at the proctor’s muttering, looked quite surprised when they realized that she was the ‘promotion test Ji Bak-ryeong’.

Well, that’s right.

Once when I was hit by a sports car. Once to the [Red Woman]. And once to an elderly old man in the park…

It underwent a three-stage transformation in one month.

So, Eun Bang-ul and Ban Ha-rin, who had always been around, were able to see Eunha’s slowly changing appearance without any problems, but the test supervisor saw Eunha for the first time in a month, so her change must have been significant.

The supervisor was embarrassed while looking at Eunha for a while, but quickly regained his composure and began handing out question papers to the hunters.

As he handed out the test paper to Eunha, he looked like he had a lot to say, but Eunha pretended not to notice and took the test sheet with a smile.

A very familiar problem.

How can the reference book and the TOC be the same without any mistakes?

And so the written exam began… Eunha solved the thick question paper in 30 minutes and got up from her seat before anyone else.

The complex and subtle face of the proctor who received Eunha’s test paper was quite funny.

“……is it really Eunha? Do you remember me?”

“You’re the lady who drank at the company dinner and slapped your senior, right?”

“Ah. That’s right, Eunha. The baby has become prettier? For some reason, I thought he was too pretty to be a man.”

I chatted in a whisper with the friendly-looking supervisor and parted ways with a smile.

The association supervisor treats the new hunters well, saying he gave them directions a few times.

Wouldn’t this be a benefit? This is a connection.

“Okay… next time…”

Eunha took a deep breath and headed to the bathroom, dragging her suitcase.

Next test.

The long-awaited practical test.

Basic physical fitness test.

Originally, Eunha did not prepare anything before the exam.

I just did the written exam because I always did it, and I gave up on the practical exam so I just did it.

But… this time we need to be prepared.

“Whew… okay. I can do it.”

Eunha entered the women’s restroom, the innermost toilet stall, and took out a kitchen knife, bandages, a tarp, and a volume-rate garbage bag from her carrier.

The weight of the kitchen knife held in my right hand makes my heart pound.

Excited. Excited. Excited.

I swallowed.

The pain that will continue.

The regret that makes you wonder if you really want to do this.

Hesitation that there must be another way.

(『Worrying means hesitation. There are many obstacles to moving forward, our feet feel sore, and we want to move in a different direction… so we worry.』)

(『And, I want a clear answer to end my hesitation.』)

​

Thinking over what the old man with turquoise eyes said in the park,

Eunha held the kitchen knife tightly.

“Whew… wait and see. If you fail the test like this, that old man will definitely take you to the blood donation bus.”

The hesitation was long.

I hesitated for quite a long time until all the other test takers had finished taking the test.

Time passes by, and there are only 15 minutes left until the practical exam.

The time was right.

Eunha put a bandage on her mouth to prevent any sound from coming out.

are you okay.

can do.

Because I practiced a lot in the past 10 days.

“Whoa… Whoa… Breathe…!”

And slowly…

He held the kitchen knife backwards and aimed it at his stomach.

It’s time to get rid of it.