The SSS-Class Hunter’s Garden Log Chapter 3

Yoon Hana giggled at the system window, which was trembling as if it found the meal delicious. 

 

So, what exactly was so “unusual” about her?

 

As one could tell, this talkative system window was entirely different from those of other Hunters.

 

Normally, a system window was a dry entity that only delivered rigid information and never expressed personal opinions.

 

But Hana’s system was different.

 

From the moment it first appeared, she had been utterly flustered when it told her it was hungry and asked for a tomato. 

 

“Is a system window originally supposed to be like this?”

 

Since there were no other Hunters here, she had no way of knowing.

 

Hana clicked on her status window.

 

• Name: Yoon Hana / Title: ■■■■ ??? ■■■
• Age: 25
• Affiliation: ????? ■?■? / Temporary Production Class
• Rank: ?■? Rank? ■■ / F-rank
• Main Skills: [■■■ ■■?? ■■■ (?? Rank) / Crops are Growing Fast: The Touch of an Aspiring Farmer (F-rank)]

 

“Sigh, I don’t even know if I’m really a Hunter…” 

 

Looking at the screen covered in glitched text, Hana scratched her head and picked up her phone to check her messages.

 

In that brief moment.

 

The second Hana’s gaze shifted away from the status window, the screen flickered violently.

 

[※ Information Recovery in Progress ※]

[Hunter Name: 1]

[Title: ████████]

[Rank: 𝑆𝑆𝑆-rank]

 

Static noise—— Blip! 

 

However, the unstable, flickering system window vanished in an instant, as if shattering.

 

When Hana looked up again, only the ordinary F-rank status window remained.

 

“Anyway, I didn’t expect the tomatoes to sell this well.”

 

Hana brushed off the leaflet wrapping paper with a satisfied smile. 

 

* * * 

 

Hana recalled the very first moment she opened her eyes.

 

The rural hospital had been terrifyingly silent.

 

Midway up a mountain, where only the occasional sound of insects could be heard.

 

Outside the hospital window, there was nothing but a dusty, yellowed rice paddy path and an endless unpaved road filled with potholes.

 

Her days were simple.

 

She would lie quietly in bed, staring at the ceiling with vacant eyes like a broken billboard, until the sun eventually set.

 

She had no memories from before she arrived at the hospital. Her mind was empty; no thoughts surfaced.

 

It was a state that felt neither dead nor alive.

 

If someone called her name, she could turn around, but there were days when she didn’t even know if that name belonged to her.

 

Then, one day.

 

Something strange appeared before her eyes.

 

【SYSTEM】

< Hello, F-rank Production Class, Yoon Hana! (´ᗜ`)ﾉ >

< Skill Possessed: ‘Opening a Shortcut for Fertilizer Collection Lv.1 (F-Rank)’ – This is a gathering/farming support skill! >

 

“…What? There’s a class like this for Hunters?”

 

At first, she thought it was a dream.

 

The skills she was given as a Hunter were neither attack nor defense, but gathering and farming.

 

She could only let out a hollow laugh, wondering what she was supposed to do with those.

 

The thing that finally forced a lethargic Hana out of bed was this frantic, clumsy, and persistently annoying system window.

 

【SYSTEM】

< The round sun has risen~ Time to get out of bed~! ヾ(´〇｀)ﾉ♪ >

< Do you feel like tending to a garden today? >

 

At first, she ignored it. 

 

But the more she did, the more the system window chimed at all hours, often flashing right in front of her eyes even at dawn.

 

【SYSTEM】

< Wake up, wake up! It’s already lunchtime, how long are you going to sleep? If you just keep lying there, all your muscles will disappear! ＼(●o○;)ノ Hurry, hurry, get up and eat! >

 

“Lunchtime, my foot! It’s the middle of the night!”

 

【SYSTEM】

< Oh my, my mistake! ☆ Well, since you’re up anyway, how about some early morning fieldwork? >

 

“You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you…!”

 

Driven by the system’s nagging, Hana eventually reached a point where she had to get up as soon as the sun rose, eat her meals, and even exercise.

 

While she was doing exercises in her room—grunting and straining—the grandmother from next door, Room 301, paid her a visit. 

 

“Eh? What’s the lady from 302 up to? I thought you were glued to that bed permanently.”

 

Then, she shoved one of the cherry tomato seedlings she was carrying into Hana’s hand.

 

“The hospital director and I went for an outing and I bought these. Since you’ve found some energy, try growing this.”

 

“Ah, Grandma. I’m okay, really…!”

 

By the time she tried to refuse, the Grandma from 301 was already heading to the next room. She was remarkably fast on her feet.

 

“Look here, Old Man Park. Grow this, I bought it.” 

 

“Ack, you bought something weird again. I told you I’m not interested! Anyway, it looks like the lady from 302 is finally up; did you see her? What kind of girl is she to be staying here? Doesn’t look like anyone ever visits her.”

 

“Instead of wondering about useless things, just give the cherry tomato some water. And stop hanging around playing Janggi for no reason!” 

 

Listening to the bickering coming from Room 303, Hana fiddled with the plastic cup containing the seedling.

 

“I guess it’s true. No one comes to visit. I wonder how I lived my life.”

 

Since many people had lost their families and were left alone after being caught in Gate incidents, she wondered if she was the same.

 

Still, to not even have a single friend…

 

Just as she was feeling a surge of bitterness over her lost memories—

 

Ding!

 

The talkative system window appeared without fail.

 

But this time, the content was different.

 

【SYSTEM】

< A special mission for the discouraged user! Do you want to find your memories? If so, try growing crops! >

< Who knows? If you grow and sell crops, you might gain the authority to access clues to your lost memories~? ( ˘ ³˘) You just happened to get a plant, so it’s perfect! >

 

“Wait, you’re saying there’s a way to find my memories? For real?”

 

And it’s by growing crops?

 

【SYSTEM】

<Of course! For our suspicious user, I’ll provide a special sneak peek!>

 

“A sneak peek? Like a trial version?” 

 

Before she could even wonder what the cryptic message meant, her head spun.

 

Then, suddenly, a man with jet-black hair—his face blurry but tears streaming down his cheeks—struck her mind.

 

“Why. Are you going to just hold my hand and leave again like last time? If you saved me, you have to take responsibility. Take responsibility for me, ■■. Don’t leave me behind again.”

 

A desperate voice, full of obsession, burrowed into her ears like a water-damaged radio. 

 

Then, in an instant, everything vanished like a machine with a blown fuse.

 

“What did I just see?” 

 

【SYSTEM】

< I showed you one of your memories that remained intensely vivid, for free! >

 

Hana’s eyes snapped open.

 

That was really my memory? Does that mean I can see more memories like that in the future?

 

‘Anyway… did I have someone I needed to support? He didn’t seem like family.’

 

Hana’s expression turned quite serious.

 

She couldn’t see his face well, so she wasn’t sure, but he looked like he was built like a rock yet was incredibly fragile inside.

 

Hana gasped, covering her mouth.

 

“That person just now… is he starving because I’m not there?”

 

Or maybe he was crying and lost because she was gone? Was that why no one was coming to find her?

 

Besides, they must have been close; even though it was brief, seeing him cry made her heart ache.

 

【SYSTEM】

< It seems there’s someone waiting for the user! Shouldn’t you find your memories quickly~? Oh, right! The last part was cut off! Let me show you the rest! >

 

“Otherwise, I’m going to swallow up all the ■■■■■ that ■■ collected.”

 

…Um? Swallow up what?

 

Hana’s eyelashes fluttered rapidly.

 

What kind of soap opera plot is this? Now she couldn’t stand not knowing her memories.

 

Finally, Hana’s lips moved.

 

“What… what do I have to do first?”

 

I don’t know who you are, but don’t cry, Black Rock.

 

This Big Sister will come back to take responsibility for you.

 

Oh, and whatever it is, don’t you dare touch my stuff.

 

【SYSTEM】

< How is it? Do you believe me now? >

 

“Yes, I believe you! I totally believe you! What do I do first? Do I start by watering? No, I should transplant the seedling into a pot first!”

 

In the end, to obtain the official reward, Hana had no choice but to kick off her hospital blankets.

 

To carry out the missions thrown at her by the system window.

 

* * *

 

And so, here she was now.

 

Contrary to her initial disappointment, Hana was actually quite satisfied with her life as an F-rank Hunter.

 

Of course.

 

Since that first sneak peek, she hadn’t managed to get a single scrap of reward related to her lost memories. 

 

Instead, she was fighting a battle every morning in a small corner of the hospital’s backyard garden just to keep a single cherry tomato alive. 

 

“The sunlight is sufficient today, but is the water the problem?”

 

Hana crouched in front of the garden and carefully opened the lid of a rubber basin.

 

The system window’s suggestion to grow and sell crops had led to a Hunter Exchange mission. 

 

And she had only just managed to sell 15 cherry tomatoes—so why were they already looking so withered?

 

“No, this won’t do. I still have 185 more to sell!”