Retire 528

528 The Human’s Child (2)

The city was in turmoil.

The news kept blaring on about how the greatest disasters of the century had struck one after another, how the paralysis of the American West had plunged the world economy into recession, how at last the end of humanity was upon us.

Every time I watched, it just gave me a headache, so I gave up checking. In the end, people always manage to survive somehow. At least, right now, the end of humanity feels like the most distant possibility of all.

“What about Sandra?”

Kim Chae-min, finally released from meetings with the magicians, staggered over to me.

“She’s in the conference room. She said she’d finish up there.”

“She’s not going back to Korea?”

“She said she’d stay for a while, since she’s here anyway. That way, if she finds anything, she can let us know right away.”

“Not that it matters—right now, our hands are tied, too…”

Kim Chae-min shook his head.

“But at least everything’s been decided now.”

“It’s hard to get consensus with so many people. It would’ve been better if the dungeon had stayed intact.”

Kim Chae-min sounded regretful, but didn’t say more.

I doubted things would have gone smoothly even if the dungeon had survived.

I still wasn’t sure what we should have done. My father said there was no right answer, that in the end it was just a matter of choices and consequences. He was right. It’s too late to look back at every step now.

I should focus on the present.

“Everyone’s worried about whether Moby will go along quietly…”

“What does Hope say?”

“He says it’s fine, since Moby doesn’t want to harm natives.”

“…And no one thinks it’s strange to have him hanging around?”

“He’s the hero of Boston. And with Master there too, they just think he’s being watched.”

“Humans really are simple.”

Those blunt, scale-like feathers. From the ground, it was still an unreal sight. The deep blue sky and the desert, and between them, a white fish swimming.

After we came out of the dungeon, Hope’s identity had inevitably become known. It wasn’t that we hadn’t considered it, but we figured things would be settled one way or another after facing Michelle, so we hadn’t worried. Daniel already knew about Hope, and since we’d brought him all the way to America, we never intended to keep him a mystery.

The US government seemed to be having a hard time with it, but among the hunters—who didn’t have to worry about such complications—Hope had become quite popular. The story of a monster who’d attacked a city, gone missing, and then turned up working undercover with famous hunters seemed to suit American tastes. Personally, I thought it was just that people liked having a new story to gossip about.

Still, that attention actually helped Hope talk to Moby. When a weirdo does something weird, people tend to pay less attention.

“…That monster.”

Moby barely moved.

If not for the occasional trembling of his feathers, you might think he was dead.

On the rooftop of a building near Moby, two humans stood. Moby rested his head toward the roof. If you got close, you could hear his metallic, rasping breath. It had been nearly two months since the monster was driven out of the dungeon. The weakness started not with his body, but with his voice.

“Why does he want to help humans?”

Moby thought of Hope as one of his own young. Or, at least, we all thought he did.

‘…You’re going to tell him you’re human? Isn’t that dangerous?’

‘Uh, well. Doesn’t he already know?’

‘He knows?’

‘Even if I smell different… I mean, I’m human, right? There’s no way he wouldn’t notice.’

Just as Hope said, Moby knew.

Not just that Hope was a kin in a human body, but that he was helping the natives.

And he was happy about it. At least, that’s what Han Tae-kyung said.

‘That monster didn’t like attacking a world where things were going well. I’m not sure I understood everything he said, though.’

Han Tae-kyung, peering at Moby through his sunglasses, said,

‘There are monsters like this, and monsters like that, aren’t there?’

‘I don’t really know, myself.’

‘That’s right. Honestly, I don’t know either.’

‘He says he wants to help, but… to be honest, I…’

Han Tae-kyung didn’t finish his sentence. I didn’t press him.

After meeting Gabriel Marceau, Hope, who had been subdued, regained his energy after talking to Moby. Han Tae-kyung, on the other hand, grew quieter.

That, too, was a sign. Everyone was tired.

‘From a grandmother’s perspective, everyone probably just looks like a child.’

Hope called out to Moby with easy familiarity, not caring about Han Tae-kyung’s reaction.

I couldn’t be sure Hope was translating the monster’s words accurately. But since he was our only way to communicate, we had no choice but to trust him.

‘And, uh, asking weird questions like that, it’d be hard not to know he was helping the natives… right?’

‘…Normally, I don’t think you’d ask. Especially about that time-turning item?’

Kim Chae-min pursed his lips, looking embarrassed.

‘Wasn’t it Moby who brought that up first?’

‘Yeah, but you wanted to confirm it!’

‘…That’s true.’

Hope looked aggrieved.

But there was sincerity in his face.

‘If this isn’t the last time, I’ll be mad.’

What could I say to that face?

What had I thought when I first came back to the past? That I’d stop the destruction twenty years down the line and enjoy a peaceful world?

It was a foolish thought. Life doesn’t work that way. Even if we wrapped all this up, new problems would arise. That’s what living is.

Not everything is solved by magic, and we have to face the consequences of our choices. The only certainty we have is that our choices were the best we could make at the time.

And if not?

Everyone makes mistakes.

All you can do is try to make a better choice next time.

“I don’t know,” Kim Chae-min said with a light laugh.

“Maybe there’s no complicated reason. Sometimes you shouldn’t overthink things like this.”

“Then what?”

“He says he wants to help. We need help.”

“……”

“Just being there is reason enough.”

Kim Chae-min started walking. In the distance, I saw my father and Hope moving.

“It’s not good to doubt kindness, either.”

“…How do you know it’s kindness?”

“How do you know if someone has other intentions?”

Kim Chae-min didn’t back down.

“It’s exhausting to go through life doubting everything. That’s what my grandmother always says.”

Other hunters had taken up positions on rooftops near Moby. They said it was to be on guard in case Moby suddenly went berserk, but it was just an excuse. Hope grumbled that it was pointless, but he didn’t ignore the importance of such pretexts.

I followed Kim Chae-min. Our destination was the conference room where Gamble was working.

“People are kinder than they seem. Sometimes they show kindness for no reason at all.”

“…He’s not a person.”

“He’s not human, but that monster has intelligence and emotions, too. If you don’t like kindness, call it pity. If you need it, use it. Don’t let pride get in the way.”

“It’s not pride…”

I started to argue, then shook my head.

I didn’t agree, but it wouldn’t hurt to wait and see how things played out.

“You’re here?”

Han Tae-kyung was already in the conference room.

He must have escaped here early, saying he couldn’t be found. Gamble, like the other guild members, was clearly annoyed by Han Tae-kyung, but didn’t kick him out. Han Tae-kyung, lying across several chairs, waved.

“Did you know?”

“Know what?”

“They’re selling limited edition Chasie dolls in Chicago.”

“…Go after we finish here.”

“Really?!”

“Would you not go if I said no?”

Han Tae-kyung grinned slyly.

Some things never change.

I considered pushing Han Tae-kyung off his chair, but decided against it. Fatigue still clung to my body.

“Did you talk about the dungeon? You said you’d ask.”

“Huh?”

“The library wasn’t originally in that dungeon, right?”

“Oh. Yeah, apparently it was reconstructed based on Michelle’s memories.”

Kim Chae-min narrowed his eyes as he explained, making an effort to use terms I could understand. Gamble glanced between his laptop and Kim Chae-min, torn. He wanted to ask more, but couldn’t tear himself away from his work.

“There’s also the dungeon’s unique properties. To handle that kind of monster, you need a lot of power. That’s why the dungeon stayed up even without a core.”

“Could you do the same in other dungeons?”

“I don’t know. It’s not that Moby won’t talk, but I think Michelle used some other method. Considering the research Michelle was doing, I think she found something that way.”

“There’s no research data here.”

Gamble spoke up quickly.

“Then should we ask this hunter…”

“What about Mr. Kim joining up with this hunter?”

“Huh?”

Kim Chae-min’s eyes widened.

“Rescuing the kids is the main goal, but we can’t ignore any research data left behind. Tell this hunter we’ll help. If they know a trustworthy magician is analyzing it, they’ll be happy.”

Kim Chae-min looked quite interested at my suggestion.

“It’s hard for just you and the doctor to handle all this. Use whatever resources you can.”

“When I get back to Korea, I’ll have to talk to this hunter…”

I silently apologized to Lee Mi-seon. Still, having an archmage’s support couldn’t hurt. It wasn’t like I was dumping Han Tae-kyung or Hope on her.

I checked the time. My father and Hope would be arriving soon.

“But.”

Still lying on the chairs, Han Tae-kyung suddenly spoke up.

“What if that item’s gone?”

Han Tae-kyung had a knack for bringing up topics no one wanted to think about.

“What do you mean, what if?”

I snorted.

“We can’t just sit on our hands, can we?”

“That’s true.”

“We do what we have to do.”

“Right.”

The conference room fell silent.

“…Pray that the next one’s in human hands.”

Not a monster, but still a person.

“Oh, come on! We’ve come this far. If a monster had turned back time again, we’d have failed already.”

Kim Chae-min raised his voice, but the mood didn’t recover.

“…Um, you said you were going to destroy that item, right?”

Maybe thanks to Han Tae-kyung’s courage, Gamble joined the conversation.

“Are you really going to destroy it?”

“Huh?”

“If you can separate it… couldn’t you just keep it?”

“…And do what with it?”

“Just in case?”

Gamble hunched his shoulders, glancing at me, but didn’t stop.

“We haven’t blocked everything completely… It can’t hurt to have a backup.”