Retire 371

371 The Mages of Marseille (3)

Alain Richard turned out to be a better person than I expected.

Kim Chaemin, beside me, looked exasperated.

“Isn’t your opinion changing a little too easily?”

“There are no bad people among those who love the arts…”

Except there were plenty of rotten people, including the one who once stiffed me on payment.

“Not that there aren’t any, but he doesn’t seem like someone with ill intentions.”

“Did you enjoy the show?”

I hesitated before answering.

“…Yes.”

“I thought so.”

Kim Chaemin laughed brightly.

“Opera and that sort of thing aren’t really my taste, but I figured you’d like it, Mr. Woo.”

“Enjoy some culture.”

“I do, thank you very much.”

The local’s recommendation was quite satisfying. Lately, I hadn’t had much time for culture, being tied up at school. The most I’d done was take Woo Irok to the movies.

Even then, at first, I only took him to children’s animations, worried he’d pick up something strange. He always complained about how childish they were, but when we actually watched them, he sat quietly and enjoyed them. Who was he trying to fool?

Other than that, I’d been really busy. Honestly, wasn’t it strange to have this much free time? Things had been complicated, but… I decided not to overthink this awkward peace.

After all, there were still twenty years until the end of the world. Another year had ticked by, but I figured I was allowed this much rest. After all, wasn’t my goal to live well, even if my pension was gone? I didn’t believe that trying to stop the apocalypse meant I had to spend twenty years without seeing a single show.

And to be honest, I felt like I was already doing more than my father or sister ever could in the original timeline. At least when it came to Gamble’s research, I was confident.

“By the way…”

With no obvious way to approach Ark or Atlas right now, I was actually looking forward to meeting Noah Michel.

Unlike in the past, when I’d thought of her as a generous, benevolent mage, now I knew about her schemes. Once you know what someone’s after, it’s often easier to spot.

“Those people over there.”

Kim Chaemin frowned slightly and pointed to a café across the street, where a commotion had been coming from.

I looked where she pointed. Three men were laughing loudly. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, but their raucous laughter was unmistakable. The table was littered with drinks.

People get loud when they drink. I didn’t want to judge them just for that. But there was a reason Kim Chaemin pointed them out.

“They’re mages.”

The men were folding tissues into paper airplanes.

The tissue planes flew over nearby tables. If that was all, it might have been amusing. Magical paper airplanes—there was a certain charm to it.

But the planes knocked over cups and bottles on other tables. Swearing and shouts erupted. Each time, the men would burst out laughing and toss folded bills, shaped like airplanes, toward the tables they’d disturbed.

“…I heard the mood among European mages wasn’t great lately.”

“This isn’t quite what I had in mind when I heard that.”

“Really?”

“It’s worse.”

You can’t judge the whole by one part, but I couldn’t help lowering my expectations for European mages.

Things had been pretty good in Toulon. Not mage-related, but still. Seeing a retired Hunter still respected and active in the guild made me feel like I was seeing the future I wanted.

But those mages? The ones who’d worked with Anchor of Toulon weren’t sociable, but they’d been cooperative during the raid. Did they act like this in private, too?

I didn’t think mages in Europe, twenty years from now, were quite this bad… but who knows.

“Give me your wallet.”

“My wallet?”

Kim Chaemin waved her hand. I handed it over, a bit bewildered. She smoothly pulled out a 100-euro bill and began folding it into a paper airplane.

…What was she doing?

She aimed across the street, moving her hand.

A thread of magic slipped from her fingertips, snatching one of the tissue airplanes still weaving between people.

Her magic seized the plane and lifted it higher. The young mages, realizing their toy had been stolen, looked around for the culprit.

Kim Chaemin guided the plane to knock over every glass on their table. Even a wine bottle fell, spilling onto one of the men’s pants.

Then she sent the 100-euro bill-plane flying straight at the man with the wet pants, hitting him squarely on the head.

The man shot to his feet. Kim Chaemin smiled and waved.

His face flushed red. He looked ready to storm over, but one of his less-drunk friends held him back.

Fortunately, at least one of the mages recognized Kim Chaemin’s face.

The three quickly exchanged words. I didn’t care what they said—it was obvious. They stared at Kim Chaemin, trying to confirm whether she was really the archmage from Asia.

If they thought it was normal for a mage to so easily seize and control another’s magic, they didn’t deserve to be called mages.

What I needed to worry about was…

“What about your own wallet?”

“I only had coins.”

“…Why not just throw ten 10-euro bills in a row?”

“Oh!”

Kim Chaemin’s eyes went wide.

“That would have been even more infuriating, wouldn’t it?”

I shrugged.

Having apparently decided something, the three mages started across the street toward us. It was still daylight, but they’d been drinking enough that their steps were unsteady.

“If that’s the average for European mages, I’m disappointed.”

“Why are you so pessimistic?”

“They’re not the average, right?”

“I can’t guarantee it, but I don’t think so.”

“That’s not reassuring.”

“But you said Richard was a good person.”

“I said he was decent, not good…”

“So picky.”

A shadow fell over the table.

One of the mages who’d been flying planes spoke to Kim Chaemin.

“Excuse me…”

“Yes, you’re excused, so please leave.”

“……”

“I can’t believe this is the standard for European mages. The level really has dropped.”

“……”

Didn’t you just say you believed this wasn’t the average?

Well, in Marseille, Kim Chaemin could handle things. I’d just watch from the sidelines.

“…I don’t know what you mean by that, but…”

“What I just saw. If you don’t know what that means, it’s fine. It just means you’re not at the level to understand.”

“Who do you think you are—”

“Pascal!”

“Your magic control is mediocre. You’re here for the conference, right? Ugh. I came all this way because they begged me, and now I have to be lumped in with mages like you?”

“You—!”

“Flying paper airplanes and cackling like idiots.”

Kim Chaemin made her distaste obvious.

She might be provoking them on purpose, but knowing her, she genuinely couldn’t understand their behavior. I couldn’t either. How was making trouble for others supposed to be fun?

“I paid for your dry cleaning. Use it to clean those nice pants.”

“Who cares about—”

“I’m doing my best not to find out which society you belong to. Stop testing my patience.”

The three mages flinched and simultaneously covered the badges on their chests. Too late—I’d already seen them. If they were so proud of their affiliations, why wear them so openly?

Mages really are impossible to understand.

Kim Chaemin glared at them. If they’d just run away after her first warning, that would have been the end of it. Why come over here?

I lost interest and looked around. Banners advertising the upcoming conference hung from the streetlights. There were other people who looked like mages on the street, watching with curiosity.

Richard would be here soon. Things were about to get more interesting…

“……!!!!”

Clatter!

“Mr. Woo?!”

“Ms. Kim.”

“…Wait, what’s happening?”

Kim Chaemin realized it a beat after I did.

The air froze. The gentle flow of magic suddenly convulsed, as if shocked, then went utterly still.

For a moment, it felt as if time itself had stopped—at least, if you looked at the magic. But the magic soon moved again, being sucked away somewhere, like the tide rushing out.

What did this movement of magic mean?

“What, what’s going on?”

Now, finally sensing something wrong, the three mages who’d come over, as well as others on the street, turned to look at the mountains.

Richard, who’d been about to join us, did the same.

The vibration of magic. Magic being pulled away.

KUUUUNG!!!!

Crash!!

“Kyaaaa!!!”

A tremor shook the entire city. Windows shattered from the shock. Chaos erupted instantly.

Even civilians who couldn’t sense magic knew something had happened. The confusion spread uncontrollably.

“Richard!!”

“Y-yes?!”

I called out to Richard, who was standing dumbfounded in the middle of the street. I didn’t know about the other mages, but as the conference president’s disciple, he should know Marseille well.

“What dungeon is that over there?!”

“Huh?”

“It’s a dungeon break! That dungeon over there! What is it?!”

“That direction, that way….”

Richard stammered.

“T-the national park… There’s a national park. There was a dungeon there, just one.”

KUUUNG!!!

The ground shook again. Even I nearly lost my balance.

I gritted my teeth.

Had there ever been a dungeon break in Marseille? Probably. It was that kind of era.

I couldn’t know every dungeon break. Not in Korea, let alone on the other side of the world. At the time, I’d been too busy butting heads with my father! I didn’t even watch the news! There were no overseas cases in the magic clock, either!!!

And there was no guarantee that Noah Michel’s influence hadn’t reached this dungeon!!!!

WEEEEEOOOO!!

Sirens blared across the city.

Announcements came in French, English, Spanish, Italian… every language imaginable.

A dungeon break had occurred—everyone was to evacuate immediately according to instructions.

From the direction the magic had been pulled—where the dungeon must have been—a black cloud, like a mass of dust, began to rise. It surged up endlessly, like a sewer overflowing.

It was visible even from this distance. I couldn’t even guess how big it really was.