Retire 455

455 The World Is Peaceful (2)

“As expected of Mr. Han,” Kim Chaemin said, her tone genuinely cheerful.

“We couldn’t have done it without him.”

Coming from the mouth of a grand magician, that was about the highest praise one could receive. Considering the towering pride of magicians as a race, it was practically an admission of her own limitations—even if it was just a polite compliment.

But the magicians I knew weren’t the type to make such courteous remarks out of mere politeness… so the claim that it wouldn’t have been possible without Han Taekyung was the truth.

“I still have a few days of vacation left, right? I’ll be taking them.”

The one receiving the praise didn’t seem to take it as such.

Ever since Okinawa, Han Taekyung had realized that vacation was something that actually existed for him, and he was now using it enthusiastically as a way to avoid doing things he didn’t want to do.

Of course, even if he took time off, it wasn’t as if Han Taekyung had any friends to hang out with, so he just wandered around the school. If an employee on vacation says they’ll work anyway, there’s no reason for the employer to object.

“Yes. Please, take a break.”

The moment he received permission, Han Taekyung disappeared with a delighted grin. Kim Chaemin watched his retreating back with a look of pity.

But that look didn’t last long.

“They’re going to ask to borrow Mr. Han from America.”

“They still haven’t resolved things over there, have they?”

“It’s not that their researchers are lacking—it’s that Mr. Han is just too competent.”

It was a competence he himself probably didn’t want.

I shook my head.

“We told them it was an item, so they’ll probably ask to borrow the item. It’s a good thing Mr. Han is a teacher here. It doesn’t seem strange for him to stay.”

“I doubt they’ll give up that easily.”

“It’s an item that doesn’t even exist. Even if we wanted to lend it, we couldn’t.”

And most importantly—

“Unless Mr. Han himself says he wants to go, there’s nothing we can do. We can’t force him if he doesn’t want to.”

“That’s true…”

The fact that Han Taekyung was helping us without complaint meant he was making a significant concession.

Even thinking back to Han Taekyung’s actions twenty years in the future, I don’t think he ever helped my father this actively. There were times his whereabouts became ambiguous during his suspension, but those always seemed to coincide with events involving that idiotic pink cat. Honestly, I sometimes wondered if he caused trouble on purpose because of it.

I’m not sure if, back then, Han Taekyung helped my father like a big sister would. But now, he’s told us things he’d kept hidden so thoroughly, and even asked us to use them, without a single word of complaint.

Maybe it’s because, in some sense, my father—who could be called his mentor—is involved this time….

Which is why Han Taekyung’s limits are so clear. Even if someone in America—or anywhere—offered him an astronomical reward, he wouldn’t budge.

If he would have, he’d have done so already.

“If Daniel brings it up, I’ll ask, but that’s as far as it goes.”

“You’re not hoping Mr. Han won’t help America, are you?”

“If it were a matter of life and death, I’d have to think about it.”

Once America found its direction, they made progress with treatment—perhaps not as quickly as we did, but still.

Honestly, they probably don’t need Han Taekyung either. If anything, if they make another request, it won’t be for Han Taekyung, but rather…

---

“Hunter Hong, we’d like your help.”

Daniel spoke to my father with a face devoid of any trace of a smile.

Well, he was never much of a smiler to begin with.

“Me?”

“Please.”

He bowed his head as he spoke, the gesture so natural it was clear he’d practiced it many times. If you listened with your eyes closed, you’d never guess he was a foreigner.

“Well…”

My father trailed off slowly at Daniel’s words.

I’d expected America would ask my father for help again, so I wasn’t particularly surprised by Daniel’s request. Still, I was puzzled.

Why?

I knew my father was a great hunter.

But he wasn’t the only one.

How vast is America? How many people live there?

Of course, there are plenty of hunters, and among them, plenty of excellent ones. There are others in the world as strong as my father. America, in particular, was known for collecting foreign hunters and talented individuals. Not that this was unique to America.

What I’m trying to say is… While it’s true my father has worked with America for a long time, it’s not as if they lack talent of their own. There are plenty of veterans like Isabella or Robert who never left the military for a guild, and there are hunters called the Saviors of America.

I can understand why America made a fuss about my father’s injury—it happened on their soil, after all, so it was hard for them to avoid responsibility. If they hadn’t reacted, I’d have asked Lee Miseon to file a lawsuit at the national level.

Still, why? Why do they keep asking my father for help? What about all those great American hunters?

If they’d at least asked to borrow Han Taekyung, I’d understand.

But even though things were unfolding as expected, I couldn’t make sense of it.

I should have asked my father for more details about what he did in America. I knew he’d chased criminal organizations and raided dungeons, but maybe there were things I didn’t know.

“Do you really need me?”

“We do.”

“I heard you’ve replaced your people a few times. Still?”

“Y-yes. I’m sorry.”

Daniel bowed his head again, looking more embarrassed than flustered.

My father sighed.

“If that’s the case, you should have started training your own people from the beginning. Isn’t it strange to keep asking a foreign hunter for help?”

“Yes, I know. But…”

“Well, I can’t say much—I know your situation. Still, even so, asking me for help with something like this doesn’t seem right.”

“I have no excuse.”

“I’m not blaming you. Is this really what you want? Or are you just following orders from above? If it was so urgent, you should have come begging sooner. I don’t want to see that. It’s always the people at the bottom like you who have to suffer.”

“I’m not exactly at the bottom… Well, yes, but the people on the ground have to move quickly.”

My father’s dissatisfaction grew more and more obvious.

“Look at this. You waited until I was fully recovered, didn’t you? It’s outrageous. You’re the ones in need, not me.”

“R-right…”

The poor victim of bureaucracy could only smile awkwardly as my father’s lecture continued.

“Take this opportunity to get your own hunters in order. Don’t just talk about it.”

“We’d like to, but the law…”

“You should have gotten it right from the start. If the first button is wrong, nothing else will fit.”

I couldn’t tell if he was telling them to fix it or not.

I was just glad I wasn’t the one sitting in Daniel’s seat. It brought back memories. I hadn’t actually sat there back then, either. Mostly, I just expressed my own complaints as politely as my father did.

Listening to my father’s complaints, I could guess how things were going in America. There were clear parallels with the history of American guilds as explained by Gamble. Or rather, it was a hole in the legal system that started there.

In other words… The US government’s control over awakened individuals, especially guilds, was weak.

You could tell just by the fact that each city had its own guild in charge of defense. In Korea, guilds don’t have nearly as much power as in America.

Vast land. Huge population. Weak government authority. Most of the powerful hunters I mentioned had their own guilds and didn’t prioritize cooperation with the government. There’s no money in it, anyway. As long as dungeons exist, the government can’t strongly regulate the guilds… In some ways, that’s why Henry Lehmann and Atlas were able to grow into such a massive criminal organization.

From gang to guild, and back to gang again.

In that delicate balance, the US government had no choice but to bring in outside hunters unconnected to the gangs and guilds, in order to sever the ties between them….

……

Why is this world still intact?

I clutched my head, not caring how Daniel looked at me.

Why does the world keep turning, even like this?

Are Noah Michel and Henry Lehmann idiots? With all this, how have they not managed to destroy everything yet?

…Well, destroying the world wasn’t really their goal. Destruction was just a side effect. I don’t know about Lehmann, but Michel just wanted to unleash monsters on the world. Or was it to wipe out humanity?

Damn it. Who cares.

It felt the same as when I first faced the reality of European magicians.

No, America is at least aware of its problems and trying to change. My father was being extra gruff just to tease Daniel, so he was exaggerating.

It was obvious, seeing how he kept smirking at Daniel. That man really does have a nasty personality. Wu Yirouk shouldn’t learn from him.

Well, even aside from all that, it would be a shame for America to lose its connection to a hunter like Hong Seokyoung. You can never have too many ties to powerful hunters. Who knows when another crazy dungeon like Mont-Saint-Michel will pop up? Thanks to America, my father had gained a lot. That’s why, even as he grumbled, he wasn’t actually refusing Daniel’s request.

“So. What’s this about, anyway?”

“A-are you really going to help?”

“Let’s hear it first.”

“Well…”

Daniel glanced at me. He still had some composure left.

Of course, my father didn’t let that slide.

“Whatever you tell me, I’ll just repeat it to Mr. Wu anyway, so you might as well say it now.”

……

“If I end up going to America, I’ll be taking Mr. Wu with me.”

That was the final confirmation. The reason my father had brought me here.

Daniel’s eyes turned to me.

His gaze, which had been wavering, settled. My father had openly treated me as his successor, so it was only natural. The disciple that “the” Hong Seokyoung was declaring he’d take with him from now on.

All the clues I’d picked up at Yangseong High started to fall into place.

“…The thing is,” Daniel began.

“My son,”

But my father spoke up first.

“…Excuse me?”

Daniel gaped at him.

“I’m telling you now, so you don’t get confused later. He’s my son, so don’t give him a hard time if we’re on a business trip.”

“S-son? Your son?”

“Want me to say it in English?”

“No, I mean… son? I heard he was your disciple?”

“Of course he’s my son, so I have to teach him.”

My father frowned as if to say, “Isn’t that obvious?”

Daniel looked back and forth between me and my father, then finally closed his mouth.

So that’s how he reacts when he’s genuinely surprised. For some reason, it struck me as funny, and I couldn’t help but snort.