Retire 246
by Cristae246 Safety Device (2)
Despite all those years that had passed, the existence of the magician remained shrouded in mystery.
Magicians liked to describe themselves this way:
“Human. More intelligent and enlightened than anyone.”
On the other hand, those who were not magicians would often whisper:
“Beast. A savage creature imitating an intelligent lifeform.”
Personally, I don’t think either side is entirely wrong. Magicians are clever. They are people who strive to uncover some cosmic law that has never been properly revealed. Magic power had already seeped deeply into the world. Living without it now was impossible.
Yet this thing called magic power was truly unpredictable. It wasn’t only magicians who used it; awakened ones did as well, but they were never as intimately connected to it as magicians were.
Besides, what could those who did nothing but swing swords possibly know about magic power? For them, it’s simply something to use because it works. There’s no need for grand theories. I don’t say this just because I’m on their side, but rather, if you have to think about such theories, it’s much better to hone animal-like instincts instead. Here, magic power is wielded with the body.
But magicians are different. Magicians see the world through magic power. For them, understanding magic power is the same as understanding the world. No, magic power is the world itself.
In other words, those who are not magicians live their lives with a perspective that can never truly comprehend the world as magicians see it.
Once, I asked a Japanese magician—one who was considered unusually kind for a magician—a question.
“Excuse me? What does it feel like to live as a magician? That’s such an overwhelming question, I’m not sure how to answer.”
“No, I think I asked the wrong question. Rather, I want to know what magic power is like. You know, not that all magicians are like this, but there are some who treat magic power as something… precious.”
In the 2040s, Earth was overrun by magic-power supremacists. Looking back, wasn’t that also a kind of sign of the end? The motives of Noah Michel, whom Hope spoke of, felt similar to theirs.
The Japanese magician nodded only after hearing my words.
“Magic-power supremacists? They’re a real nuisance. But I can’t say I don’t understand them.”
“…By any chance—”
“I don’t see it that way myself. But the younger a magician is when they awaken, the easier it is to fall into that mindset. I awakened relatively late.”
“May I ask when you awakened…?”
“When I was ten.”
The Japanese magician continued.
“A magician can’t live without magic power.”
“Yes. I’ve heard many times that magic power is like oxygen to a magician.”
“It’s not a metaphor. It’s literally true.”
“……”
“Normally, I wouldn’t tell this to someone who isn’t a magician… but Director, you’re not the type to go around talking about this, so I’ll tell you.”
Lowering her voice as if she were sharing a tremendous secret, the magician whispered.
“Every magician has a world of their own. How concretely they can realize that world determines their abilities as a magician… and building that world is what magic power does.”
“I see.”
“You don’t really get it, do you? I know. My husband never understood, no matter how many times I tried to explain it.”
“Your husband…?”
“He’s not awakened.”
The magician laughed, a bright, tinkling laugh.
“From the moment you awaken as a magician, or maybe even before, that world exists. Like how children have imaginary friends? For a magician, that’s something real. A little world of imagination made of magic power, all my own.”
“That’s difficult to grasp.”
“Yes. But the world is full of all sorts of laws, isn’t it? You learn them all at school. Things like Newton’s laws.”
“Yes.”
“There are laws explained by science. But magic power… there are still so many things about it that can’t be explained, right? We know much more now than in the past, thanks to magicians and magic-power engineers.”
“Magicians don’t seem to acknowledge magic-power engineers, though.”
“That’s just pride. Anyway, because of that, magic power is always part of a magician’s world. But what happens when you live centered around phenomena that can’t be properly explained? It’s no wonder people in the past believed in superstitions.”
“……”
“I say this as a magician, but you mustn’t think you can understand the way magicians see the world!”
“……Is that so.”
“The moment you think you know a magician, that’s when you’ll fall victim to one.”
She truly was one of the few proper magicians I had ever met.
The reason this long-forgotten, brief conversation resurfaced now was because of those final words I’d heard.
“The moment you think you know a magician, that’s when you’ll fall victim to one.”
That Japanese magician had truly given me good advice.
But as with most advice, at the time I had no idea just how appropriate it was. In the end, like most foolish humans, I only regretted it after I found myself in that situation.
“Here! Sign here!”
“…My father always told me never to sign anything carelessly.”
“Your father was right! But it’s okay to sign this!”
“He especially warned me never to fall for what a magician says…”
“Everything your father said is true! But, Mr. Woo, did you even have a father?”
“……”
“…That sounded strange, didn’t it? But Mr. Woo, your family circumstances are a little…”
I recalled what I knew about Woo Hee-jae, the Ark insider. I hadn’t had much reason to think about it lately.
Both Woo Hee-jae and I had parents who could hardly be called parents. That much was true, since I hadn’t bothered to complicate the backstory with lies.
“These are the words of someone like a father.”
“Ahem.”
Hong Seok-young, beside me, kept clearing his throat, trying to hide a look of pride. What is with him, honestly…
“…Oh! Was that the magician who taught you runes and all that?”
Not wanting to think about it any further, I just nodded along. If I mentioned Noah Michel, there’d be no way to explain it.
“Anyway, your father taught you well! I mean, someone like a father!”
The terminology was getting stranger by the minute, but that wasn’t the important thing right now.
Kim Chae-min held out a single sheet of paper to me. She even forced a pen into my hand.
“This is…”
“Sign here! Then everything will be resolved.”
“Nothing is resolved at all.”
“But this is enough, isn’t it?”
Kim Chae-min tilted her head, eyes wide with innocence. Her face was pure as could be… but the paper she held out was not.
I read the words at the very top of the page.
Contract.
I didn’t want to read it.
“I learned from Seo-hyun. Contracts that are just thick for no reason are just a hassle… What matters is the hearts of the two people, isn’t it?”
“So…”
A magician’s standards are odd. It was inevitable, since they saw what others could not. Even I, who could see magic power, was perhaps living with a slightly crooked view of the world.
Not all magicians could see magic power, but as that Japanese magician had said, beings who would die without it inevitably thought differently from those who could live without it.
Yes…
“Kim Chae-min becomes Woo Hee-jae’s apprentice!”
Just like now…
“Kim Chae-min is obliged to keep secret any information related to the Ark or anything else that Woo Hee-jae discloses! If she violates this, all rights to the exclusive magic of Kim Chae-min, Kim Kang-yeon, and Kim Young-heon will belong to Woo Hee-jae!”
I pressed my fingers hard against my temples…
“Isn’t this enough as a safety device?!”
I simply couldn’t believe this reality…
I had trusted Kim Chae-min too much.
Kim Chae-min’s grandfather and father were magicians, but her grandmother and mother were not.
It’s not right to generalize, but magicians who married non-awakened people tended to have much gentler family atmospheres than those who married other magicians. That Japanese magician was the same. Kim Chae-min, too, must have been like that. Hadn’t she herself said as much? Honestly, someone like Kim Chae-min could blend in with a group of college students or office workers without the slightest sense of awkwardness.
Such a person would, of course, choose to die in place of a hunter to save a life. It’s absurd to weigh the value of a person’s life, but everyone would agree that someone like Kim Chae-min, at the very least, should not have died in such a way. Now that I’ve come to know her personally, I feel this even more strongly.
My trust in Kim Chae-min stemmed from her family background and her own character. Frankly, even people from terrible families can turn out well, and those from flawless families can turn out terribly, so it’s more accurate to say my judgment was based purely on Kim Chae-min herself.
Yes. That’s why I trusted Kim Chae-min.
I keep emphasizing that I trusted her, and it’s because I truly did. I believed Kim Chae-min, unlike other magicians, would be reasonable.
“…You mean, you want to become my apprentice?!”
“Yes!”
Kim Chae-min answered with a beaming face.
Look at that bright face, without a single shadow. Hong Seok-young looked about ready to fall over laughing.
Fine. It’s funny, isn’t it? Go ahead and laugh.
“I don’t understand why you want to become my apprentice, though…”
“Look. Even if you swear on your magic power like in those classic romance movies, nothing dramatic actually happens.”
Kim Chae-min spoke with a surprisingly serious expression. She was trying to persuade me, but in the end, it would all come down to signing that contract.
I am not a magician. Naturally, I can’t take on an apprentice.
…Well. Apprentices aren’t exclusive to magicians, but I’ve never heard of a magician wanting to become the apprentice of an awakened non-magician.
“If breaking a vow sworn on magic power caused you to bleed from every orifice and die, like in the movies, wouldn’t that make things so much simpler?”
“…Simpler, you say.”
“If you could just say a word and prevent someone from switching sides, wouldn’t that be cost-effective?”
“Cost-effective, you say.”
“Ugh, instead of developing magic that makes your heart explode when it stops, why don’t other magicians make something like that? What are they even doing?”
Kim Chae-min spoke with genuine conviction.
I looked to Hong Seok-young for help, my face pleading. He was still too busy laughing.
“But since that’s not possible, we have to use these cumbersome methods! It’s a simplified contract, but it’s legally binding. I checked with a lawyer.”
At least she was proactive.
“The lawyer said if I was going to make such an unfair contract, I should fire him first, but who cares.”
Poor Kim Chae-min’s lawyer…
He was probably acquainted with her grandfather or father.
“Here! Sign!”
“I’m not signing.”
“Why not! Isn’t this a good way?”
“What part of this is good?”
“It’s perfect!”
“Which part, exactly?!”
“I said I’ll become your apprentice, Mr. Woo!”
It was a loop. It wouldn’t end.
But I couldn’t back down either.
“How does that qualify as a safety device?!”
“Don’t you want the Kim family’s magic?”
“To get that, you’d have to betray me! That doesn’t make it a safety device!!”
“Oh… sharp.”
What am I supposed to do with this woman?
I ruffled my hair in frustration and tried to pass the problem to Hong Seok-young.
“Why not become Mr. Hong’s apprentice instead of mine?”
“Cough, what?”
“No.”
Hong Seok-young, caught off guard mid-laugh, stared wide-eyed, but Kim Chae-min only frowned.
“There’s nothing to learn from Mr. Hong.”
“Wait, what’s that supposed to mean?”
Hong Seok-young jumped up in protest.