Retire 383
by Cristae383 Tied Feet (1)
Brrring.
A classic, uninspired ring—devoid of even a hint of creativity.
As if playing a game of tag, the moment one phone rang, others began to follow in quick succession.
Groans echoed from various desks around the room.
“Hello, this is Hunter Training High School.”
“…No, not at the moment.”
“If you’re a student…”
With a satisfied expression, I glanced around the director’s office.
Even though it was called the director’s office, Imi-seon’s time at school wasn’t long, and it was mostly used as an office for association-affiliated hunters. After all, many of those hunters worked as staff at the training high school.
Whether they were actually doing any work related to the school, I couldn’t say for sure.
But at least, for now, they were answering calls related to the school, so one could say they were working.
Yes. Surprisingly, Hunter Training High School had a phone. It even had a school website. Even though the entire student body could be counted on two hands, all the necessities for running a typical school were in place. There was even a posted meal plan.
Of course, it couldn’t be said that the school operated under the same procedures as most others. For one, the administrative office was completely empty. There was no phone in the teachers’ office.
So, where were administrative tasks handled?
“Seriously…”
Naturally, in the director’s office.
“What on earth have you done?”
It had been a week since I returned to Korea.
The kids were quite excited. The events that had taken place in Marseille during that week had become a hot topic here in Korea as well.
I couldn’t tell if they were excited because the school was now famous, or simply because someone they knew had appeared on the news.
I nodded in greeting to Imi-seon and answered.
“You know what I did there, don’t you?”
“You said you wanted to check on Noah Michel!”
“So I went and checked.”
Since it was related to the Ark, I made sure to tell Imi-seon that part clearly.
Even if it hadn’t been that, it would have been good to mention the reality of European mages at least once.
Imi-seon, who apparently wasn’t entirely in the dark, wore a troubled expression. That said it all.
“But why are calls flooding the school?”
“Well, since the interviewers were here anyway, I thought it would be good to promote the school at the same time.”
“Why?!”
“We need new students.”
“…Right.”
“Yes.”
“Yeah…”
Imi-seon silently returned to her subordinates.
“I’m heading back to Seoul now, so do your best!”
“Master!”
“You can’t just leave like this!!”
“Where are you going!!”
“For admissions inquiries, just use the manual we made last time… Not that I actually expect anyone to enroll.”
I thought that was a rather inappropriate thing for the school director to say, but I kept my mouth shut.
I doubted there were many among those callers who truly intended to enroll. Most of them were probably reporters.
Unless Hong Seok-young himself said something, I would still be an unknown hunter in Korean society. That was a problem only Hong Seok-young could solve when he returned. Now was the perfect timing, but I couldn’t force someone who wasn’t here to work.
Despite the desperate pleas of her staff, Imi-seon fled to Seoul.
It was a wise decision.
“Well then, take care.”
“Teacher Woo!!!”
Leaving behind the hunters’ resentful calls, I exited the director’s office.
Hmm.
How peaceful and pleasant.
Just because I stepped out for a while didn’t mean the school would fall apart.
It was the first time Hong Seok-young, Kim Chae-min, and I had all left the school at once, so it’s not as if I wasn’t worried. Even with all the preparations made for contingencies, it would be absurd to think all my worries would disappear just like that.
“Hey, everyone.”
“Teacher!”
The kids, chatting in small groups in the classroom, turned to me with bright faces.
Despite the complicated circumstances surrounding the adults, there was no sign of worry on the children’s faces.
That sight pleased me—and yet, it didn’t.
I leaned against the teacher’s desk and looked at each face in turn.
“I have some news you might be interested in.”
“Can we enter a dungeon now?”
“What were the European hunters like?”
“Is French food tasty?”
“Teacher, was it fun going on vacation without us?”
I waved the papers I had brought.
“The mock exam results are out.”
“Ack!”
Except for three, everyone dropped their heads onto their desks. I handed the report card to Oh Hyun-wook, who sat in the front row, and asked,
“You don’t have the grades to be sitting there so calmly, do you?”
“I’m not planning to go to college anyway.”
Well, then it doesn’t matter.
I placed a report card on the head of each slumped student.
“What about you?”
“I’ll decide whether to graduate after seeing this year’s college entrance results.”
“…Suit yourself.”
Kang Tae-woo grinned as he checked his grades.
“What? What grade did you get?”
“I’m not showing you!”
“Come on, sis, don’t be like that!”
Yoo Ji-eun clung to Yoo Hye-eun, busy trying to peek at her report card.
“Yoo Ji-eun. You should start studying soon, shouldn’t you?”
“I still have two years left!”
“Two years will go by in a flash.”
“Ugh, you sound just like an old man.”
Little Yoo Ji-eun stuck out her tongue, then burst into laughter.
The mischievous frown on her face reminded me of someone I knew. The utter lack of respect for the teacher was proof enough.
Even Yoo Hye-eun, beside her, was giggling at her younger sister’s words.
They’re losing respect for me more and more…
Well, I suppose it doesn’t matter.
Wasn’t it Yoo Hye-eun who slapped my cheek and called me an old man when I first arrived? It’s all the same.
“Even if I don’t say anything, I trust you all have your own thoughts about your grades?”
“Yes!”
“If you want to go to college, set a more concrete goal. If you’re not sure, come see me or Hunter Lee. Got it?”
“Yes!”
“And apparently, the things Mr. Kim is growing in the greenhouse have been growing faster than expected. Starting next week, afternoon classes will be held in the science lab with Mr. Kim.”
“We have a science lab?”
“Isn’t it that place in the corner on the first floor?”
“I thought it was on the second floor?”
“…Show a little interest in your own school. The science lab is in the annex.”
When I sighed, the kids burst into laughter again, as if something was terribly funny.
…Time passes too quickly. In just half a year, these kids will graduate. They’re still far from being fully fledged hunters. The time left feels all too short.
Honestly, no matter how much time we had, I’d probably still feel it wasn’t enough. They’re just kids. Of course I would.
“Teacher, did you see that person?”
Choi Jin-woo, usually so quiet, raised his hand for once.
“That person?”
“I saw a photo online of you and Teacher Chae-min together!”
“Who?”
“Noah Michel!”
“I know! Isn’t that person the youngest archmage ever?”
Now the topic had shifted to Noah Michel.
The title of youngest archmage must have seemed impressive to the kids.
“What were they like?”
“Even if you ask me… You’d get a more accurate answer from Mr. Kim, wouldn’t you?”
“Teacher Chae-min is Teacher Chae-min!”
I had expected they’d ask about Michel…
After Kim Chae-min brought me into the conversation, the three of us talked constantly. Sometimes, Kim Chae-min and Michel would discuss complex magical theories that I could barely follow, and sometimes Michel would ask me about dungeon strategies. There were times when the three of us debated how to use runes.
There was never a fatal slip, like mentioning Kim Chae-min’s area of expertise. But there were moments when Michel’s expression or magical energy wavered. It was subtle enough that only someone watching closely would have noticed.
Michel is a good actor. That much is certain. Hope’s assessment wasn’t wrong.
But that doesn’t mean everything I saw of Michel at the General Assembly was an act. If anything, that side of him was probably genuine, too. An archmage awkward with people. Two faces born of a dislike for humanity.
“They seemed very interested in runes.”
“Runes?”
“From now on, runes will be essential for dungeon strategies.”
Honestly, I didn’t even need to say it—these kids probably knew it better than I did. Why else would Oh Hyun-wook, trembling all the while, practice dozens of rune sheets every day?
I laughed cheerfully.
“So, today is a rune drawing test.”
“What?!”
“Why!”
“Even Noah Michel said runes are important, you know?”
“What does that have to do with this!”
“When an archmage says it’s important… I need to see if you practiced while I was gone.”
“Ugh!”
“Alright, everyone, take out your notebooks. What rune should we try? Each of you, pick one you’re confident in.”
The kids began to clutch their heads in despair.
Ah, this is it. This is what I missed. There was none of this fun in Europe. I spent the whole time quietly handing out business cards, trading on Hong Seok-young’s name.
I thought back to the people who had reached out to me, cautiously, before I left Marseille.
Perhaps Training High School would be accepting foreign students even before the Hunter Academy did.
After tormenting the kids with a pop quiz, I headed for the greenhouse. Kim Chae-min’s greenhouse.
Ever since Marseille, Kim Chae-min had been fired up about his grandfather’s rose, and upon returning, he shut himself away in his domain and the greenhouse.
After hearing the whole story, there was little I could say, so I just left him be. I figured he’d come to his senses after a few days.
Kim Chae-min emerged from the cabin he’d claimed as his domain exactly twenty-five hours later and entered the greenhouse. He spent a full eight hours there.
After that, he seemed to settle down, talking with the kids and moving between the two places.
“If it were something I could do just by making up my mind, I’d have done it long ago.”
Kim Chae-min spoke as he tilled the soil with a hoe.
“Still, I think there’s more of a chance now than before.”
“Really?”
“It used to feel completely hopeless.”
“Because you lost the rose?”
“…I’ve heard it so many times since I was little, my ears have calluses. ‘Take care of Grandfather’s rose.’ From both my grandfather and my father. It was a huge burden.”
“You felt pressured too, Mr. Kim?”
“Of course! I didn’t even know where to start, and it’s not like I could just experiment on the only rose I had.”
Kim Chae-min handed me the spare hoe.
I sat beside him and began to till the earth.
“Remember the mini greenhouse?”
“…That expensive one?”
“I’m thinking of using that and this greenhouse. Since it feeds on mana, it’s similar to the mana grass…”
“I’m not very knowledgeable in that area.”
“I know, I know. I plan to ask Sandra and Alex, too. Maybe if we put our heads together, we’ll come up with a good idea.”
“Not sure the quality will improve just because we have more brains.”
“If you think of anything useful, Teacher Woo… Huh? What’s wrong?”
“…It’s Teacher Hong.”
At my words, Kim Chae-min’s eyes widened. In the distance, a car was approaching the school.
“Teacher Hong? Did he say he was coming back? When?”
“No. I haven’t heard anything about him returning to Korea, either.”
But knowing Hong Seok-young, it was entirely possible he’d returned without a word, just to surprise me.
The last message I’d received from him… He’d said there was an incident where hunters in a dungeon were attacked by illegal intruders, so he was heading into that dungeon.
Hong Seok-young’s old car came to a stop in the schoolyard.
But it wasn’t Hong Seok-young in the driver’s seat. A sense of foreboding crept over me.
“Huh?”
Kim Chae-min, who had come out to the schoolyard with me to greet Hong Seok-young, fell silent.
The back door opened. Instead of the person we’d been waiting for, what emerged first was a pair of crutches. Crutches.
“Hey there!”
Leaning on the crutches, Hong Seok-young beamed brightly.