Retire 352
by Cristae352 Kitchen Garden and Greenhouse (2)
The greenhouse was completed in no time. The plants Kim Chaemin had transplanted, along with the flowers the children had planted, filled the kitchen garden surrounding the greenhouse. Han Taekyung would be the one to procure the mana grass. After all, at school he didn’t have much to do except play with the kids. Might as well put him to use this way.
“But you know, I’ve been thinking.”
Thinking, huh…
“Wouldn’t it help my future plans more to run a few dungeons than to save up my salary bit by bit like this, senior?”
“That depends on what kind of future plans you have.”
“Well, obviously, I want to buy the rights to Chasey’s works…”
“Just go run the dungeon.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Originally, I’d planned to teach the kids how to gather mana grass during this dungeon training, but I failed to secure a dungeon.
As expected, dungeons where mana grass grew were tightly held by the government or the guilds, who had no intention of letting them go. There were dungeons considered even more valuable, but few resources were as widely used as mana grass.
Thinking about it, it was a shame about the centipede dungeon in Bangi-dong. I still believe closing it was the right decision, but it’s rare to find a dungeon of that size with so much mana grass growing inside. Even I never imagined the centipede would still be coiled up in there until the very end.
And thinking further… it meant neither my father nor my sister had properly understood the Bangi-dong dungeon. All they could say was that it felt ominous and should be closed—what kind of reasoning was that?
Anyway, the dungeon my sister had been so eager to close was gone. There was never any real option to leave it open, so there was no point in regretting the mana grass. I put it out of my mind.
“I’ll get ready, then!”
“Ready? Oh, I didn’t mean you had to go right this minute.”
Han Taekyung pushed up his sunglasses as he spoke.
“I have to let my little brother know I’ll be out.”
Han Taekyung’s younger brother…
Han Taekyung gave an awkward laugh.
“When I followed you around last time, my mom got really worried because she couldn’t reach me. I got scolded. Hahaha!”
“Ah, yes… Staying in touch is important.”
“She told me to always let her know if I’m going into a dungeon.”
“Right…”
“Let me know as soon as you have the exact schedule!”
Han Taekyung said this in a cheerful voice. I had no idea what he was so happy about.
Maybe he was feeling stifled at school. Or maybe he thought he could make money for those copyright purchases by going into a dungeon? But this wasn’t a dungeon raid, so he wouldn’t be earning anything.
Anyway, as long as Han Taekyung was happy with this job, that was enough. I’d been thinking it was about time to stop relying on the Dasun Hunters for school work. If Han Taekyung had refused, I would have had to go myself…
Despite his easygoing manner, Han Taekyung was surprisingly interested in the kids. He’d even said he’d join the upcoming dungeon training.
But that wasn’t something I needed to worry about right now.
I looked at the door Han Taekyung had just exited, then turned my gaze. Kim Chaemin and Im Miseon were looking at the door just as I was.
Kim Chaemin was smiling brightly, her expression unreadable, while Im Miseon looked somewhat displeased. Without addressing anyone in particular, I opened my mouth. One of them would answer my question.
As the final step in preparing to collect mana grass—
“But is it really okay to just bring out mana grass like that?”
I checked on the administrative procedures.
“…Pardon?”
There was a reason I was asking. I wasn’t just making conversation.
Look. Ever since last year’s Myeongdong dungeon break, the government had been cracking down on dungeons. Dungeons in remote places like Gangwon Province or Jirisan were less closely monitored, simply because they were out of the way and attracted less attention… The government was short on manpower; until they developed a magic detector, there was no real solution. Once they had a grasp on the dungeons, they’d prioritize destroying the cores of those first.
There were several criteria for the dungeons the government prioritized.
First: distance from urban centers.
No need to explain. The Myeongdong dungeon, for example, was right in the middle of the city. That’s still being handled as a top priority.
Second: dungeon difficulty.
Later, the authorities would formalize the dungeon rating system, dividing it into size and danger. The size grade, denoted by letters, indicated the difficulty of the raid, considering the dungeon’s scale and the monsters inside. The danger rating, expressed in numbers, measured how stable the dungeon was up to a potential break.
It wasn’t that detailed yet, but the government was already re-rating dungeons as they checked them. Even if two dungeons were both in urban areas, it wouldn’t make sense to manage an E-rank dungeon with no monsters the same way as an S-rank where crazed cattle rampaged.
And third: resources produced by the dungeon.
Even if mana grass only lasted three months, that didn’t mean it was useless. You couldn’t kill what was already dead. Usually, mana grass was processed inside the dungeon before being brought out.
In a sense, the most important factor in judging a dungeon was what resources it produced. In a modern, capitalist society, money is one of humanity’s greatest motivators.
That’s a rule that hasn’t changed, now or ever. The reason I asked Han Taekyung to bring mana grass…
“I know Dasun has dungeons allocated to them, but even if you go in there…”
Kim Chaemin and Im Miseon blinked at the same time.
“It’s illegal for anyone but a guild member to enter and gather resources, isn’t it?”
“Of course it’s illegal.”
Im Miseon, the master of the dungeon-managing guild, answered immediately as soon as she understood my question. Still, I asked, holding onto a sliver of hope.
“If we file a report or something…”
“How long do you think it takes to get approval? Please, if you need anything, tell me in advance!”
“Well, it wasn’t originally planned, so…”
Kim Chaemin cut in for me. It didn’t help much.
“Is the curriculum just for show?!”
Despite Im Miseon’s outburst, Kim Chaemin just grinned, unafraid.
We hadn’t told Im Miseon about the mana grass Kim Chaemin was growing. So, as the guild master of Dasun and head of the Korean branch of the Ability Users’ Association, she just thought this was part of a fine Hunter training program.
Well, that wasn’t exactly wrong. Even if she did suspect something, Im Miseon would probably let it slide. That was a relief.
Except for the fact that it was illegal.
This time, Im Miseon clicked her tongue at me in disbelief.
“You never say anything about anything else, so why this? Since when do you care about legality, Mr. Woo?”
“I’ve always taken it into consideration.”
“How do you think your own ID was made, Mr. Woo?”
That’s a separate issue.
“If you don’t get caught, it’ll work out somehow.”
“Oh, come on…”
“You’re not exactly in a position to talk, either, are you, Hunter?”
“……”
This time, Im Miseon shook her head, as if to say she’d let it go. Well, none of us really meant it.
“But is it really illegal?”
You have no idea how much trouble I’ve had because of people illegally entering dungeons. If they just poked around, that’d be one thing, but those types always end up causing an incident…
…No, there’s no need to go that far. Han Taekyung isn’t like those people.
And there was a reason I needed to check if it was illegal.
“It’s not like we’re using it for anything shady—it’s for a school class. If I can’t explain how we got it, that’s a problem.”
It hasn’t happened yet, but in the future, there will be times when Hong Seok-young gets attacked over school matters. If it’s something I can prevent, it’s better to take care of it early. I hope it never happens, but still…
You never know.
“Yes, yes!”
Just as Im Miseon was about to answer, Kim Chaemin cut in with a sly grin.
“For Mr. Woo’s sake!”
“What?”
“This great mage, Kim Chaemin, has decided to step in!”
“……?”
“It’s not about bringing mana grass out of the dungeon, but about growing it outside! That’s a much bigger problem, you know?”
“…Ah.”
“You didn’t think of that?”
Well, I’m the one who deals with illegal activities inside dungeons… I’m not in charge of illegal dungeon byproducts brought outside. It’s possible I might have overlooked that!
Kim Chaemin looked at my face and burst out laughing again.
“I always think this, but Mr. Woo is strangely careless in odd places.”
“……”
“Anyway, the great mage Kim Chaemin has officially requested permission from Dasun! I asked if we could borrow a dungeon to get some mana grass.”
“And Mr. Han?”
“He’s the assistant. Someone has to carry the bags, right?”
“Does Mr. Han know?”
“Of course. He may seem easygoing, but he’s a veteran Hunter. He’s got more dungeon experience than I do.”
I had nothing to say.
Every word was true.
Im Miseon looked at me, then started chuckling as if she couldn’t help herself. So many new experiences since coming to the past.
“So there’s no need to worry about it being illegal.”
“Well, that’s…”
“Aren’t you grateful?”
“I’m relieved.”
Leaving the two women’s laughter behind, I checked my phone for no reason.
It was a peaceful moment, as uneventful as the blank notifications on my phone.
“……”
It should have been a peaceful moment.
With Kim Chaemin and Han Taekyung off in the dungeon, Yangseong High enjoyed an unprecedented calm. Or rather, it became oddly quiet. Hard to believe the school could get so quiet with just two people gone.
The kids were… well…
“Hey! You, stop right there?!”
“You’ll never catch me if you keep that up.”
“Soon-soon-jin!!”
…Not quiet at all, but bursting with energy.
I watched the children rolling around on the grass of the field, then turned my gaze.
Back in the demonstration school days, I thought the parasol between the container classrooms had disappeared when we became Yangseong High, but it had been resurrected next to the greenhouse garden.
From under the parasol, I looked out at the kitchen garden and greenhouse. The mass of nameless flowers and plants tangled together looked peaceful as ever. To others, it might be a lush, vibrant green, but to my eyes, it was something else. Thanks to the runes Kim Chaemin had personally inscribed and various magical measures, the area was thick with intermingled magic. Not just Kim Chaemin’s magic, but the children’s, the Dasun Hunters who built the greenhouse, and even my own.
The magic wasn’t so dense as to obscure my vision, but there was a kaleidoscopic, geometric beauty that could make you lose yourself just staring at it.
Kim Chaemin had created this place as a cover for growing mana grass… but even in dungeons, it was rare to find such a complex mixture of magic. I felt like there might be some other use for it.
Maybe I should bring Woo Irok here and have him practice distinguishing different types of magic. It was about time he got used to it.
“……?”
Thinking of Woo Irok, I felt a tightness in my chest.
What was this? I had the feeling I’d forgotten something important. What was it?
“Um… Teacher.”
A cautious voice called from behind me. Ever since he started living with his younger sister, he’d brightened up, so it had been a while since I’d heard him sound so unsure.
I turned, wondering if something was wrong.
“…Um.”
And then I realized what I’d forgotten.
“I…”
Kang Taewoo stared ahead with trembling eyes. He’d called me, but his gaze wasn’t on me. His eyes darted anxiously over the kitchen garden and greenhouse.
To be precise, they were following the movements of the dazzling, multicolored magic.
“…I think I’m seeing something I shouldn’t be seeing.”