Chapter 192

Shin Jae-heon was a bit annoyed by his narrowed field of vision from the Vision Impairment debuff, but fortunately, this place was a B-rank dungeon.

A dungeon he could clear blindfolded and barehanded if he had his original stats.

The problem was that these were the fragile(?) stats of Joo Yian the hunter, so he needed a weapon.

But there was another problem.

“……”

The neatly organized item window didn’t have a single weapon that Shin Jae-heon could use.

“No helping it.”

Neatly giving up on rummaging through his inventory, Shin Jae-heon casually entered the bathroom and emerged with a mop handle.

This would do as a weapon. What more did he need for a B-rank?

That was when one of the kids spotted him.

“Who are you?”

“Hm.”

Shin Jae-heon gave a casual answer.

“The janitor.”

The kid’s response came surprisingly fast.

“The director said you work alone……”

Was she telling the kids about such grim realities?

“I started today.”

He answered again.

Taking another look at the building, it was clear it wasn’t being properly maintained.

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

He nodded to the kid, who looked skeptical.

If you’ve got complaints, come at me. I’ll crack your skull.

Of course, he kept the last part to himself.

Shin Jae-heon naturally harbored ill feelings toward the director who had tried to exploit Joo Yian.

But he shouldn’t take it out on innocent kids.

He swung the mop handle a few times experimentally before turning back to the children.

“Anyway, follow big bro and I’ll give you something good.”

First priority was leading these kids safely out of the dungeon.

Dozens of kids turned to him all at once at his words.

That was when one of them piped up.

“Mom said not to follow people who offer you stuff.”

……She had a point.

“Who taught you that? The director…… lady?”

He barely caught himself from saying “that director bastard.”

But it was pointless—the kids all shook their heads in unison and chorused their answer.

“Joo Yian bro!”

“Oh.”

Shin Jae-heon rubbed his forehead.

Right, who else around here would teach the kids properly?

It was good they were well-educated, but it was a headache for Shin Jae-heon right now.

He thought for a moment before speaking up.

“Well…… I’m friends with that Joo Hunter Yian?”

Maybe they’d listen to a friend’s word?

……That hope shattered in one second flat. The kids’ eyes filled with suspicion.

“Bad people say that.”

“He said not to believe it.”

Joo Hunter Yian—!!!

How did you educate them (so well) like this!

Monster presences were starting to stir from deeper in the dungeon-ified nursery, driving Shin Jae-heon mad.

In the end, he switched tactics.

“You still gotta listen to adults, right?”

The classic boomer strategy!

The kids glanced at each other.

Apparently Joo Hunter Yian hadn’t taught them how to respond to that one, because they finally stood up.

“Let’s go. Stick right behind me and don’t stray far. Got it?”

“Yes!”

Hearing their reply, Shin Jae-heon turned forward with a uneasy expression.

Why does trying to do a good deed make me feel like a kidnapper?

He scratched his head.

Then one kid blurted out,

“But where are we going?”

“He said to ask for the ‘destination’ too.”

Shin Jae-heon paused, puzzling over what “handsome or not” meant.

Ask if he’s handsome?

Do I need to ask that to know?

No, it’s probably not “handsome.” Handsome…… hand…… Ah.

“……Destination?”

The kid clapped at his guess.

“Right!”

The word “destination” must have been a bit tough for the kid.

Understanding now, Shin Jae-heon scratched his cheek.

Smart kids are a problem too, huh?

In the end, he just said,

“To clean.”

Anyway, he was the janitor from now on. The one-day janitor of Happy Nursery.

The ultimate janitor had arrived.

No matter that he couldn’t see well, had healer stats, and not a single attack skill—this was still just a B-rank dungeon.

Protecting the kids while smashing monsters was more than covered by his experience alone.

Plus, Joo Hunter Yian was S-rank, after all.

With strength far beyond a normal person’s, B-rank monsters shattered in an instant.

—Splat!

—Thwack!

The sounds from the mop handle were brutally destructive, ringing out one after another.

Shin Jae-heon finally understood why the dungeon was called Innocence Breaker when he saw the monsters.

—Groooar!

The charging, howling monsters were crooked and misshapen.

The kids’ sketchbook drawings had come to life as monsters.

—Whack!

As he dispatched the eighth octopus-like abomination barreling toward him, Shin Jae-heon casually asked the kids,

“You guys watch any ocean documentaries lately?”

“Huh?”

“Uh…… like, octopuses and squid and stuff on TV?”

The kids chorused back in unison,

“Yeah!”

“It was fun!”

“Octopus monster! Rawr!”

The kids, who had been scared at first, got excited once they saw him one-shot the monsters with swings of the mop.

It was like they thought they were on an adventure.

“I see.”

From that short exchange, Shin Jae-heon figured out why all the monsters were octopus cousins with about eight legs.

Starfish next, maybe?

—Splat!

He kept smashing the emerging monsters.

Thankfully, the octopus/squid-whatever things had short legs.

The kids’ drawings had sunglasses on the octopuses, but the legs weren’t long.

Made them easy to handle.

“Wooow! Bro’s awesome at fighting!”

The kids got more and more hyped, cheering him on.

“Fighting!”

Their bright voices rang out.

Monsters were starting to swarm a bit more because of it, but better they came at him head-on than popping out from nowhere.

So Shin Jae-heon silently swung the mop, ignoring the kids’ excitement.

—Splat!

Seeing the monsters shatter against the end of the mop handle left a bitter taste in his mouth.

Not that the kids’ art was getting destroyed, of course.

“So cool!”

All these innocent kids died here.

“……”

Even if he saved these kids here, it wouldn’t bring the real ones back to life.

It was all an illusion.

That made it hurt even more.

—Splat!

Maybe because of the emotion, he swung the mop handle even more fiercely.

Clearing it was quick.

As light appeared at the nursery exit—which was dimmer than usual—the kids headed straight for it without suspicion.

Of course, that was the gate exit.

“There should be people trying to barge in from outside……”

Confirming all the kids had gone out, Shin Jae-heon tossed the mop handle into a corner.

Once he figured the kids had drawn enough attention, he slipped out of the dungeon.

“—Kids, what happened?”

“Did you come out on your own?”

“It’s not……”

While the kids were surrounded by hunters, he snuck around to the back of Happy Nursery.

A kid’s cheerful shout reached his ears.

“The janitor uncle cleaned everything up!”

A crack ran across Shin Jae-heon’s face.

Uncle?

Of course, there was no time to quibble over titles.

He watched until the Association hunters took custody of the kids, then stood up.

“That director’s definitely gonna talk.”

The guy who was friendlier with reporters than his own nursery kids would probably cry on TV about how terrified they were and solicit donations.

Not that any of that money would go to the kids.

And sure enough.

“Kids!”

The director’s car pulled up in front of the nursery at a perfectly ghostly timing.

“You’re safe! What happened?!”

The director yelled in a voice like he’d nearly drowned in worry. Shin Jae-heon frowned.

“Putting on a show.”

Meanwhile, the director was chasing off the reporters.

“Interviewing scared crying kids! What is this?!”

They’re not crying…… They had an adventure and came back happy.

“Get lost!”

After shooing the reporters away while pretending to care for the kids, the director quickly herded them inside once the front cleared out.

Shin Jae-heon watched from beyond the window.

“At least he’s gonna let them rest?”

Some conscience left?

That hope shattered in seconds.

“Get over here, quick!”

The director yelled, gathering the kids in front of a computer.

Wondering what he was doing on that ancient, barely-functional internet machine, Shin Jae-heon saw one kid start typing something out of nowhere.

“?”

His vision impairment kept him from seeing what it was.

“We gotta tell bro it’s okay.”

“Yeah. About the cool janitor uncle and……”

Not uncle, I said!

From the kids’ murmurs, it seemed they were sending something to Joo Hunter Yian.

—Click.

The mouse click brought up a familiar yellow portal site screen.

The one Joo Hunter Yian often looked at……

“……Email?”

Out of nowhere? Shin Jae-heon raised an eyebrow, then froze in place.

No way that was the email Joo Hunter Yian used to reply to before, right?

……Right?

As he reeled, the director said,

“Make sure to write about the scary stuff that happened at the nursery too!”

It was obvious what purpose this email was for.

Some kids looked expectant amid it all.

“I hope bro replies quick!”

……Looks like Joo Hunter Yian replied to those transparently manipulative emails for the sake of the hopeful kids.

“Argh.”

Shin Jae-heon rubbed his forehead.

Being too nice was a real problem sometimes!