Retire 253

253 The Archmage’s Disciple’s Disciple (4)

Park Seohyun is acting strange.

This… well, there are quite a few sensitive kids at this school. Not that I blame them. It’s a time in their lives when emotions run high, and on top of that, most of them have had pretty rough lives.

Thinking about it that way, Hong Seokyoung really did a good job bringing these kids together. Despite childhoods more turbulent than most adults could imagine, they’re trying not to go astray, making an effort to live honestly. Seo Hanseong and Oh Hyeonwook too, and even Kang Taewoo has become much more stable and gentle since what happened with his sister. Yoo Jieun, who usually takes classes with Kang Taewoo, was even surprised at how often he smiles now.

It’s just that the other kids’ backgrounds are a bit harsh—Park Seohyun didn’t exactly come from a peaceful, ordinary home either. She just doesn’t seem to think of it that way, so I never brought it up.

…Well. Everyone sees their own life differently.

But it’s true that Park Seohyun has a sensitive disposition, and I know what she’s like when that sensitivity goes unresolved and reaches its peak. I even know exactly what causes her to grow that way.

That’s why I always kept an eye on her. I even gave Kim Chaemin a heads-up about her.

Not that it was some grand warning, just…

‘Seohyun? Why do you ask about her?’

‘It seems what happened in Myeong-dong really shook her up.’

The incident where five students from the special high school saved civilians became a hot topic for a while. Strangely enough, there were almost no rumors about my involvement. That was thanks to Hong Seokyoung’s intervention.

Maybe someday, if people start talking about that mysterious Hunter from back then, the story will come out that he was one of Hong Seokyoung’s disciples, there for the students’ training.

Anyway, there were other survivors in Myeong-dong besides the students. Many were rescued later.

Since it happened in the middle of Seoul, the aftermath was intense in many ways.

So Kim Chaemin understood right away.

‘The kids haven’t actually cleared a dungeon before, have they?’

Even by the end of their second year, they’d never properly cleared a dungeon. I suppose they’ll start soon, now that the new semester’s begun.

Kim Chaemin nodded.

‘It’s understandable she’d be shaken.’

But the shock Park Seohyun suffered wasn’t just because of that.

If I’d known things would turn out like this, I wouldn’t have played such games with the kids back then. Not that it was unnecessary, but I could have found a gentler way. Even if it took longer…

This is why you should live kindly. You never know how things will turn out.

‘That’s not it.’

‘If not that, then what?’

‘Well, the incident in Myeong-dong is the cause, but…’

I explained Park Seohyun’s personality to him. A perfectionist. Afraid of failure. Kim Chaemin listened for a while, then made a curious face.

‘That’s not a bad thing for a mage.’

‘…Not bad?’

‘For a mage. If she keeps that personality, it’ll eat away at her, so it’s not good for living as a human being, but as a mage, it’s not bad.’

Anyway, Kim Chaemin said he understood and would handle Park Seohyun well.

‘I’ve seen plenty of kids like that, so don’t worry.’

A mage’s bravado is never reassuring, but I had no choice but to trust him.

Maybe it was thanks to Kim Chaemin, or maybe pairing her with Choi Jinwoo was just a good match, but Park Seohyun rarely became unstable like she did right after Myeong-dong.

Even when everything blew up over the Sem Bloom incident, she stayed steady, so I’d been feeling reassured.

Click.

Kim Chaemin entered the counseling room without even knocking, arms full of notebooks and stacks of paper.

He beamed as soon as our eyes met.

I frowned at that face. Only after I saw him cast a soundproofing spell as soon as he closed the door did I finally speak.

“…Park Seohyun.”

“…Lately, Seohyun…”

At the same time, Kim Chaemin spoke as well.

We both fell silent.

I sighed.

“…You noticed too, then?”

“How could I not? Even Jinwoo asked me about it today.”

“Choi Jinwoo doesn’t know the reason? The two of them are close.”

“I asked, but he said, if he knew, would he be asking me?”

Park Seohyun is acting strange.

With a sensitive adolescence, a turbulent childhood, and the sturdy body of an Awakened, it’s only natural that sometimes a student at Yangseong High will do something odd.

Look at little Yoo Jieun. Didn’t she come in with some suspicious pamphlet about purifying her body or something? Han Eunyoung still trembled like a wet cat whenever she saw her brother, and the other kids weren’t exactly model students either.

So it’s not surprising if it’s Park Seohyun’s turn this time…

“Did you ask Seohyun? Maybe she wants to talk to you.”

“If she did, she would have come already…”

“She’s shy, you know.”

“……”

Was she?

I ran a hand through my hair.

“I tried asking if she had anything she wanted to say, but she just ran away.”

“Hmmm… What could it be?”

“No idea.”

Kim Chaemin tilted his head.

Even if you ask her if something’s wrong, she just shakes her head and runs off. But if she thinks I’m not paying attention, she’ll circle back and hover around me.

It’s childish, and since I’m partly to blame, I tried to leave her alone as much as possible, but my patience is wearing thin. I mean, I’m a Hunter too, after all. Especially lately, with all that’s been going on, my nerves are shot. Park Seohyun may be a student, but she’s not so weak that I can just ignore her.

As I voiced my frustration, Kim Chaemin’s expression grew more serious.

“I suppose you’re right… If it comes to it, I’ll sit her down and ask. It’s probably better for me to do it, as a female teacher. And as a fellow mage.”

“I’d appreciate that.”

Kim Chaemin puffed out her chest, as if to assure me I could trust her.

But knowing what would come next, I couldn’t muster any real confidence.

“Well, shall we get started!”

“……”

Kim Chaemin spread out the things she’d brought on the table.

The papers were filled with complicated magical formulas. I looked at them with weary eyes.

“…How much have you organized?”

“I think I just need a little more… I brought this to ask you to check it over.”

“I keep telling you, even if I look at it…”

“Just check what you know, Teacher.”

Kim Chaemin was firm.

I accepted the papers she handed me. My eyes already felt dry.

“…What about the matter of establishing a society?”

“Oh, that. It’s not as complicated as I thought, but…”

Kim Chaemin trailed off.

My suggestion to publish the Archmage Park Seohyun’s magic under Kim Chaemin’s name—to increase the survival rate of Hunters and mages, and to gain influence that might be needed later—had been rejected by Kim Chaemin herself.

But she’d made another proposal.

‘Let’s use the name of a group, like we did with Pharos on the mana pen, instead of my personal name!’

But since there were no mages in Hong Seokyoung’s guild, Kim Chaemin had brought up forming a society.

The European and American societies were big organizations, but there were plenty of small societies with only five or six members.

“But we need at least three official mages.”

“…Official mages?”

“Mages registered with a society, who’ve achieved something noteworthy in dungeons or research.”

“Hmm.”

“Maybe after the kids graduate and can stand on their own, but for now, it’s hard to do anything… Should we use the guild name? Pharos?”

Kim Chaemin shrugged.

“There was a clause about that in the contract, right? Publishing under the name of Guild Mimi.”

“…That’s true.”

“Oh. But then we can’t include Seohyun. Right, that was important.”

She pretended to think for a moment, then said,

“I thought of something else, since forming a society might be difficult.”

“What is it?”

“We should just make a magic club.”

What was this, some kind of coming-of-age movie?

I blinked at Kim Chaemin. She looked even more excited as she explained.

“Seungyeon started a club too, didn’t she? They don’t really do much, but apparently they have their own plans. You’re their advisor, right?”

“Yes… And?”

“So I’ll start a magic club with me as the advisor! Later, we can turn it into a society or whatever. If it’s a club, I’ll be leading it, but we can include Seohyun and Jinwoo’s names, and I can teach Seohyun magic naturally.”

The word “club” just sounded cute, but the role was the same as a society.

I nodded vaguely.

“Go ahead, then.”

“…Aren’t you agreeing a little too easily?”

“I’d be fine with publishing under your name, Mr. Kim.”

“I said I don’t want that!”

“Yes, exactly.”

I thought that was the end of the conversation.

But Kim Chaemin started fidgeting with her fingers, glancing at me.

…My father used to look at me just like that before he got into trouble.

A sense of unease crept over me.

“…What is it?”

“Um, could you be the advisor too, Teacher?”

“No.”

“Would you reconsider?”

“No.”

“But you’re the one who taught us all this!”

“Pick a title and stick with it!!”

“Teacher!!!”

“Not that one!!!”

Kim Chaemin glared at me, huffing. I had no intention of backing down.

“Leave me out of it. I have plenty of other things to do.”

I cut her off firmly. Kim Chaemin looked at me for a moment, then finally nodded. It wasn’t as if she expected me to say yes—she just wanted to try.

“Fine, fine. I’ll talk to Seohyun and bring up the club idea.”

“Why not just take them on as your disciples?”

“…What?”

Kim Chaemin’s voice jumped. An unexpected reaction.

“Aren’t they basically your disciples already? I’m not saying you should take every mage student as a disciple, but those two… You’re teaching them pretty thoroughly.”

“…So you think so too, Teacher?”

“Yes.”

“Ugh…”

Kim Chaemin started ruffling her hair, lost in thought.

It’s not as if mages being weird is anything new, so I just left her alone to calm down. I’d better check these and get Kim Chaemin out of my sight.

“Agh…”

Kim Chaemin seemed lost in agony, as if she’d forgotten how to speak.

I ignored her.

“…When someone’s troubled, couldn’t you at least ask why?”

“How could a mere human meddle in the worries of the great Archmage?”

“I’m your only disciple…”

“If you’re going to say things like that, get out.”

Kim Chaemin burst out laughing at my words. Then, suddenly, she looked up.

Knock knock knock.

Knock knock.

Knock. Knock knock knock.

A steady rhythm of knocking. Suddenly, there was a presence in the hallway where there had been none, as if it had risen from the ground itself.

A familiar presence.

“Te-teacher.”

Park Seohyun.

Kim Chaemin hurriedly cleared the table. Had she finally worked up the nerve to come to the counseling room? She’d run off this afternoon, too.

“Te-teacher, are you in there?”

“Park Seohyun?”

“Um, uh, excuse me…”

Seeing Kim Chaemin gathering up the papers with formulas, I stood to open the door.

The moment I opened it, Park Seohyun spoke.

“Would you… accept me as your disciple?”

If only I’d waited just ten more seconds—no, even three—before opening that door.