Retire 295

295 Will (1)

Exactly ten days had passed since the Boston Dungeon Break.

The world was still in an uproar over Alex Hope in his FBI jacket. Americans with a fondness for conspiracy theories were chattering away about secret agents and the like. Even in Korea, there were people who, after seeing those theories, would spout off without much thought.

Truth be told, the circumstances were suspicious, and the secret agent theory wasn’t entirely off the mark.

Anyway, what I’m trying to say is that there was so much talk swirling around this incident that people were even claiming the secret agent or that monster was an artificial being created by a U.S. government experiment. The story of Alex Hope vanishing over Boston along with the monster’s upper body was caught up in the same storm.

The events of that day were, as always, captured on video.

To think that even amid that chaos, people thought to record videos. This is why modern people are hopeless.

Well, to be fair, the situation had improved somewhat after the guilds based in Boston stepped in to subdue the monster. And, since they were fighting something the size of a house in the sky, it was easy enough to spot.

So, if you pieced together all the haphazardly shot videos, you could more or less figure out how Hope had fought. Right up to the moment when Hope tore the serpent apart, and the serpent swallowed Hope whole.

“I’ll go with Sandra.”

“Mr. Kim, you?”

There was plenty of talk about Hope and the monster’s upper body vanishing, but most people chalked it up to the monster’s final death throes. Since it was a monster no one had ever seen before, it wasn’t exactly a far-fetched conclusion.

We, who knew Hope’s abilities, wondered if it was his doing. But with magic so twisted that even outsiders could see it, we couldn’t rule out other possibilities entirely.

“Don’t let your mind wander in front of people!”

“Ahem.”

I was always in a position where I had to consider every possibility and examine them all. It was an occupational hazard.

“It’s safer for me to go with Sandra than to send her alone, isn’t it?”

Kim Chaemin spoke with a firmness that brooked no argument.

I didn’t particularly intend to object, anyway…

Sandra Gamble was one of Alex Hope’s weaknesses. Even if Noah Michel and Henry Lehmann were suspicious about Hope’s whereabouts, they wouldn’t touch the remaining weak points.

But Oliver Hope, who saw Alex as nothing but his beloved child, and Chen Yijun and Gamble, felt differently.

Gamble was Hope’s ally.

It wouldn’t be strange if she set out to avenge Hope’s death.

If I were Noah Michel, I’d want to deal with Gamble before she could pass information to our side. And even if Hope was actually alive, the idea of killing Gamble as a warning didn’t really apply to her.

For that, Australia—beyond Hong Seokyoung’s sphere of influence—would be ideal.

If Kim Chaemin stayed by Gamble’s side during the funeral, she would be safe. It would also send a message. It would mean that Gamble was fully cooperating with us.

“That’s… true.”

“I’ve already told Sandra I’ll be going with her. Should I bring back a souvenir? What’s famous in Australia? Kangaroos?”

“Don’t forget it’s a funeral. We may know Hope isn’t dead, but his parents don’t.”

I frowned.

“Still, they’re holding the funeral sooner than I expected. I thought they’d just declare him missing and leave it at that.”

“That’s probably because…”

Kim Chaemin tilted his head, then answered.

“Because both of Hope’s parents are Hunters. Active Hunters.”

“Yes, but what does that have to do with it?”

“That’s exactly it.”

Kim Chaemin lowered his voice.

“A Hunter who goes missing after being bitten by a monster? Honestly, we all know there’s no chance they’re still alive.”

Kim Chaemin looked at my face and burst out laughing. His voice was as usual, but somehow that laughter felt dry.

“Looks like only the best Hunters worked at the Agency where you used to work, Dr. Woo. Did everyone always come back safe and sound?”

“…Well. I suppose so.”

Of course, that wasn’t true. If everyone always made it back, there would have been no need to work so desperately to lower the mortality rate.

But I always believed. That my father, my sister, would come back safely.

Did Chen Yijun feel the same? Did she believe her son would be safe, no matter what happened?

Not long ago, when she answered Hope’s call in his place, Chen Yijun had been an ordinary mother you could see anywhere. Scolding her foolish son.

“Well, Mr. Hong always came back safely, didn’t he?”

“……”

In the end, that wasn’t true, either.

I forced a shrug.

“If things go well, someday Hope will be able to let his parents know he’s alive.”

“He’ll have to open his eyes first, though.”

“Exactly.”

This time, Kim Chaemin truly smiled.

He patted my shoulder a couple of times and stood up.

“Please look after the kids while I’m gone.”

“……”

“I’ve already told Seohyun and Jinwoo what to practice, so you don’t have to worry much. Oh, and about Jinwoo.”

“Is there a problem?”

“No, not exactly.”

Kim Chaemin hesitated for a moment, then spoke.

“He’s just… not much like a mage, somehow.”

---

“You’re the weird ones!!”

Before I opened the classroom door, Choi Jinwoo’s voice rang out.

It was rare for Choi Jinwoo to raise his voice like that. Curious, I paused in the hallway and peered into the classroom.

Choi Jinwoo was looking at his friends with an expression of utter incomprehension. But the other kids were looking at Jinwoo the same way.

“No, this is just basic.”

“What’s basic about it!!”

“Hey, even Taewoo and Jieun do it, so what’s the problem?”

“They’re the weird ones! I’m the normal one! This is what’s basic!!”

“What’s weird about Jieun?”

“She’s not the only weird one, you’re all weird!!”

Jinwoo slumped into his chair, looking drained. Some of the kids chuckled at the sight, Park Seohyun among them.

I wondered what on earth they were talking about, but then Yoo Jieun, sitting behind Jinwoo, reached out and tapped him on the back.

“I understand. I was scared at first, too.”

Yoo Jieun smiled kindly.

She was the youngest in the class, and even though she smiled like that, it was more teasing than comforting. But she seemed sincere as she spoke gently.

“Just try it once. It’s easy after that.”

“No, that’s not what I mean…”

“Don’t listen to her. Jieun, I told you to stop watching those dramas.”

“What did I do!”

“But Jieun’s right. And if you’re going to do it, isn’t it better to do it while Hyeun’s here?”

Kang Taewoo chimed in.

“Yeah! She can heal you right away!”

“How is that the same thing!”

“But Jinwoo, Mr. Chaemin said so too. You can’t be afraid of getting hurt.”

Even Park Seohyun handed Jinwoo a wooden stick and… what was it?

“This time, you try making it.”

“No, I don’t want to!”

“If you can’t do it now, how will you do it later?”

“It’s different in the dungeon! There aren’t any monsters here!”

Oh Hyunwook, who had been silent, glanced out at the playground and muttered.

“Monsters aren’t only in dungeons, you know…”

I couldn’t make heads or tails of what they were talking about, so I finally opened the classroom door and stepped inside. Jinwoo greeted my arrival with an oddly exaggerated relief.

Only then did I see what Jinwoo was holding, the thing Park Seohyun had given him.

A wooden stick hollowed out in the middle, a box cutter, and…

…A mana stone?

I could guess what they were trying to make, but I was sure I’d told them not to use mana stones when they were on their own.

“Are you trying to make a mana pen?”

“Jinwoo oppa says he can’t do it because he’s scared of bleeding.”

Yoo Jieun answered quickly.

“But Jinwoo’s a mage. He won’t ever need to make a mana pen.”

“You said we should be prepared for anything, teacher!”

With a sigh, I took the box cutter and mana stone from Jinwoo’s hands.

“Don’t force someone to do something they don’t want to.”

Sometimes, mages and Hunters have strange standards.

Just like now.

I’d said as much to Kim Chaemin earlier, but this isn’t about being strange or scared.

Maybe it’s because, at the moment of awakening, the body becomes stronger as it accepts mana. Some, like Kang Taewoo, take a long time to adapt, while others adjust quickly and become overconfident in their bodies.

I asked Jinwoo,

“You can make it, right?”

“…Yes.”

“Good. Who was holding the mana stone?”

“…M-me.”

“I told you not to make mana pens when you’re on your own. It can be dangerous. Even with a small mana stone like this, you have to get used to handling it.”

“Yes… I’m sorry.”

Park Seohyun’s shoulders drooped. She was the kind of child who understood with just a word, without needing to be scolded. I said nothing more.

I’d meant to say something else, but this needed to come first.

“Listen, all of you. Don’t take anyone’s blood lightly. Especially not your own. Never treat the sight of your own blood as trivial.”

Hantaekyung had once said it in a rather ridiculous way, but in some respects, he’d gotten to the heart of the matter.

A Hunter should never get used to being injured.

“Of course, when you’re fighting monsters, you might get hurt. You might get seriously hurt. And you’re all trying to become Hunters, knowing that risk.”

I looked at Jinwoo, Yoo Hyeun, and Han Eunyoung.

“No, I’m not saying you have to become Hunters. Finding what suits you is more important. But the world is so dangerous these days—if a dungeon break happens, it’s best if you can at least protect yourselves.”

“Teacher, this isn’t what you were going to say, is it?”

Lee Seungyeon chimed in with a sly grin. Cheeky brat… I sighed.

“You’re right. What I mean is, I’m not telling you to be afraid of getting hurt. I’m telling you not to take it for granted. If you get used to seeing your own or someone else’s blood, it’s easy to start thinking of injuries as nothing. Avoid that situation.”

“……”

“Injuries aren’t a given. A truly skilled Hunter should be able to clear a dungeon without so much as a scratch.”

“Like the principal?”

“Like the principal.”

I clapped my hands a couple of times to get their attention.

“Anyway, that’s not what I meant to talk about. Today, I have something to hand out.”

“Hand out?”

I placed a small paper box on the teacher’s desk. As Gamble had suggested, we’d tested it and made a few adjustments.

We had to finish before Gamble left the country, so in the end, she had to head to the airport still short on sleep. Kim Chaemin’s bright yellow sports car and Gamble’s purple blanket looked mismatched, yet somehow suited each other. Gamble slept soundly, no matter what Kim Chaemin said beside her.

“You all know the school’s been unsettled lately.”

“With something like that on the playground, any school would be.”

“…Right. And you know that once the weather warms up, we’ll be entering the dungeon.”

“Yes!”

“This time, I won’t be helping you.”

I deliberately lowered my voice, and the kids grew tense.

“So, in case of emergency, so you can send a distress signal…”

Inside the box were some rather clunky-looking watches.

“Keep these with you at all times.”

Without thinking, I found myself looking at Yoo Jieun.