Retire 539
by Cristae539 (Hunter Academy Side Story 6) A New Face_3
Woo Hee-jae had said Alex Hope was in America, but that wasn’t strictly true. He had been in America, but a few days ago, he returned to his parents in Australia.
Lee Mi-seon didn’t know why Hope had stayed on in the States. Hong Seok-young and Woo Hee-jae insisted that Hope was absolutely necessary, and seeing the way the two of them spoke, she guessed there was something going on that they couldn’t tell her. So she didn’t ask further.
But when Hong Seok-young said he would take Hope to America, Lee Mi-seon knew there was no hiding Hope anymore. It was something she had expected. Since Hope had gone missing in battle with a monster, he’d been declared dead quickly. The funeral, held without a body, drew worldwide attention.
At that time, no one could have imagined that the hero of Boston was recovering in the nurse’s office of an isolated Korean high school.
Hope was not dead. Therefore, he would have to “come back to life” someday. From the moment Woo Hee-jae said Hope had to be hidden, Lee Mi-seon had prepared for this. To be honest, she’d also wanted to get rid of someone who seemed likely to cause nothing but trouble if kept around too long.
She hadn’t expected that his “resurrection” would be as a member—an underling? Or perhaps a collaborator—of Guild Mimi, under Hong Seok-young.
Looking at it another way, maybe it was fortunate the stage was set in America. With the incidents in San Francisco and Las Vegas erupting one after another, attention on Hope had waned somewhat. Not that things had grown quiet, but people were more enthralled by the great mage who left behind unfading rose petals. Whether Kim Chae-min wanted it or not, perhaps Hong Seok-young’s influence was at play. Any mishandling of Alex Hope’s situation could easily have escalated into an international issue.
“If you think about it, there’s nothing the US can really say about it, right?”
“Exactly.”
“Maybe Australia, but not the US.”
“……”
Pushing aside her subordinate, who couldn’t resist one more annoying comment, Lee Mi-seon chewed her gum with a combative air.
Even in situations like this, there were words that worked like magic.
Hong Seok-young. Those three syllables.
People who didn’t know any better thought Hong Seok-young’s fame came from being a Hunter who conquered dungeons. Not wrong, exactly—his strength was certainly the foundation of his reputation.
But Lee Mi-seon knew Hong Seok-young. From before he founded Daseon. From before he joined the Association.
She’d seen him get what he wanted from her father, even before he became famous.
“Mi-seon.”
“Yes?”
“Never make an enemy of that man.”
It was the first and last time her father had ever given her such a stern warning.
Hong Seok-young’s influence was greater than she could have imagined. Even after working with him for so long, Lee Mi-seon still found herself surprised every time she saw it in action.
This time was no different.
Whatever the circumstances, when a supposedly dead man secretly entered his own country, it could have caused a huge uproar—but as soon as Hong Seok-young’s name came up in the US, they backed down. They made a bit of a fuss, but it was more like grumbling over work that had to be done anyway.
Australia was the same. Their government was actually pleased. They hadn’t had much of a connection with Hong Seok-young before, but now, using Hope as a pretext, they were eager to get closer to him.
“I suppose you could call it mutually beneficial…”
And then Woo Hee-jae said he couldn’t keep Hope at the school, so they should feel free to borrow him.
Lee Mi-seon frowned as she replayed the video of Hope’s exploits in Boston.
“Who went to Boston again?”
“That was me.”
Someone in the corner of the director’s office raised a hand.
“Alex Hope. What did you think?”
“What did I think?”
“Is he useful?”
“Whether he can be put to use is another matter, but in terms of skill, yes, he’s useful.”
The answer was firm.
“He’s surprisingly calculating in combat. He knows how to minimize casualties, and he’s skilled at hiding himself.”
“I see…”
Hope had gone back to Australia partly because he wanted to see his parents, but more importantly, to restore his identity. It wouldn’t take long, and for Woo Hee-jae’s plan to enroll the children from the Ark, he’d have to return to the US as soon as that was sorted out.
Lee Mi-seon tapped her fingers on the desk.
Daniel was a member of Guild Mimi and the Academy’s health and PE teacher. That was listed on the school website. As a foreign teacher, he stood out, so he had to act officially.
But Hope, who couldn’t be kept at the school?
He was affiliated with Guild Mimi, but not the school, right?
Was she supposed to put him to work because she was short-handed?
As the master of Daseon, Lee Mi-seon was never short on people.
But as the head of the International Abilities Association’s Special Activities Division, she was always in need of more.
……
After a brief moment of thought, Lee Mi-seon spat her gum into a tissue and stood up.
The Hunters in the director’s office, long used to the master’s quirks, didn’t even glance her way and just kept working.
Lee Mi-seon headed straight for the principal’s office.
Amazingly, this school actually had a principal’s office.
“What are you doing here?”
“Pardon?”
The large table in the principal’s office, meant for guests but never actually used, was covered in a mess of documents.
Woo Hee-jae had scolded Hong Seok-young for wandering the school instead of using the principal’s office after Kim Abel arrived. He’d said it looked bad for the students if the principal was always roaming the halls. So now he was sticking to the office—or so it seemed.
Of course, she hadn’t expected him to use it quietly, but she hadn’t imagined this scene, either.
Kim Chae-min blinked at Lee Mi-seon, then picked up a remote. The projector, which had been displaying on a bare white wall, shut off. She hadn’t read everything, but she recognized the Atlas Pharmaceuticals logo.
“Where’s Hunter Hong?”
“He said he had something to discuss with Sandra.”
“…Then why are the teachers here instead of in the conference room?”
“That’s the school conference room.”
“So this isn’t school business?”
Lee Mi-seon’s eyes drifted to the documents on the table.
Han Tae-kyung smiled gently and flipped over the papers. Again, the Atlas logo appeared at the bottom—a logo Lee Mi-seon had seen before, during an earlier investigation. It was connected to Henry Lehmann.
Were they showing her on purpose?
With those two, there was no way they hadn’t noticed her coming. But Kim Chae-min firmly refused to let her get closer.
“If it were school business, we’d be in the conference room.”
“……”
“What’s up? Are you looking for the principal? Is it urgent?”
Lee Mi-seon looked at Kim Chae-min, who was smiling brightly. The archmage didn’t avert his gaze.
“It’s not exactly urgent…”
“Then what is it?”
“…If it’s not school business, is it something the Association should know about?”
“Who knows.”
Kim Chae-min didn’t confirm or deny it.
“It depends on what kind of things this Hunter is interested in.”
“Can I leave?”
“No. Sit down.”
“Tch.”
Han Tae-kyung clicked his tongue openly and flopped onto the sofa, then slid down until he was half under the table. Kim Chae-min didn’t even glance his way.
“This Hunter…”
That ever-smiling face. The gentle, easy voice. The fluttering dress and the dazzling magic of flowers. It would be easy to be deceived by the pleasant exterior—but that’s how you get caught off guard. That’s what mages are. Especially archmages.
No one else, but Hong Seok-young himself had recruited and worked alongside this archmage. Lee Mi-seon had never once let her guard down around Kim Chae-min.
“Have you ever thought about aiming higher?”
But she hadn’t expected an archmage, of all people, to ask her that.
“Look. This Hunter… I don’t want to judge people by things like this, but you’re rich, aren’t you?”
“……”
“They call Seung-yeon the baby of the group, but you’re the real youngest, aren’t you?”
Lee Mi-seon flinched. Han Tae-kyung, hands over his ears, slid off the sofa and pretended to crawl under the table.
Despite the ridiculous scene, the two never took their eyes off each other. Peeking over the table, Han Tae-kyung exaggerated a sigh, then sat up straight.
“If you just took over one of your father’s companies, you’d have no headaches and an easy life. Why bother with all this…?”
Kim Chae-min looked out the window. The school building, still gleaming as if new, filled the view.
“Seeing you take on all this trouble… Either you’re a workaholic of epic proportions, or, well. If you just hated simple business, you’d be satisfied with Daseon, right? Not secretly working with the Association like this.”
“…Association work isn’t secretive.”
“But nobody knows you’re with the Association.”
Kim Chae-min smiled softly. But his gently curved eyes glittered like a predator eyeing its prey.
“How far do you want to go?”
“……”
“You’re not satisfied with just the Korean branch, are you? Want to try Asia next?”
“You’re offering to help me go even higher?”
“Come on. I’m not the one who can make that happen. Just… a little help?”
“You can help?”
“We’ll see.”
Kim Chae-min picked up one of the documents Han Tae-kyung had flipped over and handed it to Lee Mi-seon.
It was an old photograph. More precisely, a photo of a document. The text on the document was a mix of German, French, and English. In it, Lee Mi-seon spotted a familiar name: Christoph Lehmann. Henry Lehmann’s father.
“Where did you get this?”
“I have a source.”
“A source? Who?”
“It’s one of Hope’s contacts.”
Hope?
A name she hadn’t expected at all.
Lee Mi-seon frowned. She couldn’t see how all these threads connected. This, too, must be part of whatever Hong Seok-young and Woo Hee-jae had been whispering about so suspiciously.
The promise to “lend” Hope kept echoing in her mind.
“With the connection between the Ark and the lab, there’s plenty of reason to get involved in the Lehmann affair. Not that he was only after the US, anyway.”
“…So you’re using Hope?”
“Not exactly. The Alex business… There’s something he wants to finish himself.”
Kim Chae-min took the paper back from Lee Mi-seon.
“Our guild has always worked with Daseon, right?”
He handed the paper to Han Tae-kyung, then held out an empty hand to Lee Mi-seon.
“I’d like to work more directly with Director Lee of the Abilities Association. What do you think?”
“Do I have to answer right now?”
“Looking at your face, I think I already know the answer.”
Seeing Kim Chae-min’s playful expression, Lee Mi-seon snorted.
She couldn’t help feeling a bit like she’d been tricked, but she didn’t mind. Maybe it was because they already knew so much about each other.
Lee Mi-seon took Kim Chae-min’s hand.
“I never expected you to make a proposal like this, Teacher Kim. I’m surprised.”
“Really?”
“You’re not the type to put yourself forward.”
Kim Chae-min’s eyes widened, then he shrugged.
“It’s too late to play it safe now. I’ve been told not to try to slip away like Teacher Han, but to work quietly.”
“What did I do?!”
Kim Chae-min looked pointedly at Han Tae-kyung. Han Tae-kyung quickly dropped his gaze and pretended to study the documents he hadn’t even glanced at.
Lee Mi-seon gave a wry smile.
Her father’s warning came back to her. Don’t be fooled by a bold exterior. Hong Seok-young’s real power didn’t come from his strength.
“Was it Hunter Hong who told you that?”
“Hm? No.”
But Kim Chae-min denied it at once.
“It was Teacher Woo.”
“…Teacher Woo?”
“Don’t be deceived by appearances. Teacher Woo knows far more than he lets on.”