Retire 280

280 Betting (4)

Sandra Gamble’s day always began late.

After all, she didn’t work anywhere that required her to clock in on time, and it took less than five minutes to walk from her dormitory to the lab. If it were up to her, she would have liked to wake up even later, but ever since moving from that luxurious pension to the school, there had been restrictions on when the cafeteria was open. Considering the small number of faculty and students, it was understandable.

There was a kitchen in the staff dormitory, but for Sandra—who could do little more than boil water—it was a cruel arrangement. Delivery wasn’t even available here! It was half-forced, but she had been looking forward to working in Korea—just a little, no, truthfully, quite a lot!!

Anyway, in such harsh working conditions, if she wanted to have at least one proper meal with balanced nutrition, she had to start her day according to the cafeteria’s operating hours. Breakfast was out of the question, so she at least tried to get up by lunchtime.

Not that it made much difference; when she entered the cafeteria, there was never anyone there.

The few children there were seemed endlessly energetic. After coming in early once and being swarmed by them, Sandra had avoided that time ever since. She thought her Korean was pretty good by now, but the slang and idioms of adolescence were still a challenge.

Was I like that at their age?

Her own teenage years had all but vanished after Alex’s shocking confession. No matter how she thought about it, she should have laid a stronger foundation back then. If only she’d graduated early and bought herself even one more year….

“Sandra!”

Sandra flinched.

“Ugh.”

It was well past the time classes had started, so normally the place would have been empty. But today, for some reason, the great magician was sitting in the cafeteria.

When their eyes met, the great magician beamed and waved.

“Hurry up and get your food.”

“Uh…”

“Come on!”

The great magician even pulled out a chair for her and gestured invitingly.

If only the cafeteria had been crowded, she could have escaped, but in this absurdly spacious room, there was no one to save her.

Sandra, tray in hand, hesitantly sat down beside the great magician.

It wasn’t that she disliked eating with others. What did it matter if she ate alone or with someone else? In the end, you chew, swallow, and digest all the same.

The only question was who you ate with.

She could tolerate the students who couldn’t sit still for a moment, and even that insufferable Woo Hee-jae. Hong Seok-young was… a bit overwhelming, but still human. That was fine, too.

But a magician? And not just any magician—a great magician?

That was a different story.

“How are you finding life in Korea?”

Great Magician Kim Chaemin smiled brightly and spoke to her in a friendly tone.

“Does the food suit your taste?”

Sandra eyed Kim Chaemin with suspicion.

Ever since the day she’d suddenly started reporting to the lab, Kim Chaemin had taken a keen interest in Sandra.

Magical engineering, after all, was a discipline that relied on magic. The expensive equipment was important, but so was the cooperation of a magician with a deep understanding of the field. In that sense, she had to admit that Woo Hee-jae’s ability to bring in a curious great magician was impressive, even if she didn’t want to….

“Yes, well.”

“You talk to Hope just fine. We’ve seen each other plenty, haven’t we? Are you shy with new people?”

“No, not really…”

Sandra replied awkwardly. The problem wasn’t people—it was magicians.

Still, unlike the magicians Sandra had known, Kim Chaemin was… well, much more—no, quite—human. If she hadn’t known she was a magician, she would have thought she was just a civilian.

“Ah, but things are going to get busy soon.”

“Pardon?”

“Teacher Woo said we need to announce something soon, right?”

Sandra frowned. Research didn’t yield results just because you wanted it to.

She tried not to show it, but she couldn’t help but scowl. Kim Chaemin, noticing, let out a small laugh. She tilted her teacup. Sandra couldn’t tell what kind of tea it was, but a sweet scent pricked at her nose.

While Sandra ate, Kim Chaemin sipped her tea. Sandra glanced at the stack of files and papers next to Kim Chaemin. On the otherwise blank files, the name “Guild Mimi” was written instead of Yangseong High School.

…What’s this?

It was Sandra’s first time belonging to a guild. But having watched her father work since she was young, she had a rough idea of how researchers and guilds collaborated.

There was no point comparing Oliver Hope and Chen Yijun’s guilds to Hong Seok-young’s. It wasn’t that Hong Seok-young’s guild was more impressive—rather, Guild Mimi was just bizarrely unorganized.

Up until just a year ago, it had been a one-person guild, so she tried to console herself that it couldn’t be helped…. But in a guild with fewer than five members, what was she supposed to make of documents circulating that she hadn’t seen?

Was this their way of telling her they didn’t trust her?

Unable to hide her frustration, Sandra gulped down her cold water.

Even the sweet smell from Kim Chaemin’s teacup felt irritating. There’s workplace bullying everywhere, and she’d braced herself for it, having come all the way across continents to work here, but…

It still felt awful to experience it firsthand.

‘Is this because I asked if they came from the future?’

Sandra, recalling her recent conversation with Woo Hee-jae, poked at her side dishes with her chopsticks.

The more they acted like this, the more convinced she became of her suspicions.

And when she thought of that overwhelming number of runes… maybe that great magician really was from the future.

“Are you finished eating?”

“…What?”

“Are you done?”

Kim Chaemin pointed to the thoroughly mangled hamburger steak.

Sandra blinked and looked down at her tray.

“Uh, um…”

“Hurry up and eat.”

“……”

“I’m not fattening you up to eat you, so go on. I have something to say, but I’ll wait until you’re finished.”

Kim Chaemin smiled sweetly.

Sandra, on the other hand, swallowed nervously.

‘Am I getting fired?’

Right. She’d seen posts like that on the community for people working in Asia.

‘I can never tell if Asians are humane or not. Even when they call you in to fire you, they always ask if you’ve eaten first.’

Would her months at Hong Seok-young’s guild count as work experience? Sandra’s thoughts spiraled endlessly.

No matter how slowly she ate, the food on her tray didn’t magically multiply. In the end, with her tray empty, Sandra steeled herself.

Kim Chaemin was still smiling. Of course—she was a great magician, with no reason to fear being fired.

“Here.”

But instead, Kim Chaemin handed over the very file Sandra had been glancing at earlier.

Sandra blinked. Her glasses slipped down her nose.

“We decided in an internal meeting that it would be best to share this with you.”

“What… is it?”

“You’ll see.”

Kim Chaemin’s voice was tinged with laughter. She waggled the file playfully. Startled, Sandra took it.

“Um… Like I said, Teacher Woo wants things resolved as quickly as possible.”

“What is this?”

“It’s not so much about resolving it as… wanting it wrapped up soon? Like Teacher Woo said. He seems to think you can just spit out results if you’re poked, but that’s only because he’s never done this kind of research. Ignore him.”

“Oh, okay… So what is this?”

“It would be good to finish as soon as possible, but… Oh! I’m not pressuring you, just saying. Just organize what you can for now. And let’s start by making a mark on history.”

“So this is… what?”

The conversation wasn’t connecting at all.

But Kim Chaemin just said what she wanted and then abruptly stood up.

Still holding her teacup, she waved at Sandra.

“By the way, you’re the only one who can interpret that, so don’t come running to me or Teacher Woo. Teacher Hong is out of the question, of course.”

“What is this…?”

“Have fun with it!”

Whatever it was, Sandra could tell that this slim file was a pile of work.

Kim Chaemin, her dress fluttering brightly in the warm weather, left the cafeteria. She never once said what the file was.

Sandra tilted her head, then checked the file. As long as she wasn’t being fired, that was enough. Honestly, even if she were, she wouldn’t mind, but it would be a shame not to have access to all that equipment anymore….

“……”

Sandra saw a sheet of paper tucked neatly inside the file.

“……”

For a moment, she couldn’t process what she was looking at. The world spun before her eyes.

Sandra belatedly realized she’d stopped breathing. Her lungs hurt. As she gasped for air, her grip tightened. But afraid she’d crumple the paper, she quickly loosened her hold.

“…Shit. I knew it.”

Muttering a curse she’d grown used to even before she’d properly learned Korean, Sandra checked the few sheets.

Numbers tangled in chaos. Equations. Theories.

Knowledge from a far future, with no intermediate steps, was too much for the current Sandra to fully comprehend.

But this was the very place she had aimed to reach.

Hadn’t they said no one else could understand it? Did that mean Kim Chaemin or Woo Hee-jae weren’t from the future?

No, no. She couldn’t make that mistake. They could have just brought the knowledge itself. Considering all those runes, maybe it really was a magician… There couldn’t be two identical people walking around, so if one was hiding their identity…

No, what did that matter?

Sandra’s eyes snapped open. Whoever had come from the future, as long as what she held was real, that was all that mattered. As long as that was true…!

Sandra looked at the last page.

Unlike the neatly printed preceding pages, the last was a blown-up photograph. The quality wasn’t great, but it was clear enough.

Because it was the completed blueprint she’d revised and recalculated over and over until dawn.

Sandra saw the familiar signature in the corner. Pharos. And Sandra Gamble.

Her own signature.

“Ah. Haha. Ahahahaha…”

Sandra bowed her head and laughed.

Everything became clear.

The direction of her uncertain future was, if only a little, set.

This was proof that in her endless battle with numbers, she had finally seized the upper hand.

---

“Ah.”

Red hair swayed. Alex Hope sprang to his feet.

His senses tangled. He knew what that meant. As he tapped his foot on the floor, preparing to move, he froze.

This was beyond what he could handle alone. It stung his pride, but…

‘There’s no pride left to protect now.’

Alex picked up his phone.

‘What time is it in Korea right now?’

If he were calling Sandra, he would have been more considerate, but this was an emergency. There was no time to worry about time zones.

Fortunately, the other party answered quickly.

Alex got straight to the point.

“Someone found out about the children we spirited away. It’s probably Henry.”

The person on the other end fell eerily silent.

“We need to check on the kids right now.”