Retire 552

552 (Hunter Academy Side Story 19) Human and Monster_3

“No, no, no. But Lehmann isn’t some bizarre hedonist, is he? Just for that reason?”

Who knew how each of them took Woo Hee-jae’s words. But everyone had plenty to say, and everyone took it differently.

Kim Chae-min and Sandra were the first to jump in.

“How are we supposed to know what goes on in a guy like that’s head?”

“Sandra’s right. No decent human would even think of changing bodies! Look at Noah Michel!”

“Michel isn’t exactly sane either! If not changing bodies makes him human…”

“I never said that, did I?!”

Who knew why they were suddenly raising their voices at each other.

Still, it was clear that everyone was agitated by the sudden hypothesis.

A handful of theories tumbled across the table.

But even to Alex, none of it seemed particularly useful.

What kind of person was Henry Lehmann, anyway? No one here really knew. Even Alex couldn’t say, “He’s this kind of guy,” with any certainty.

If he’d been an ordinary Hunter… No, if that were the case, they wouldn’t be having this debate at all. At least Noah had been easy to read. He always had a clear goal.

“Let’s all calm down. I don’t know much about Noah Michel or Henry Lehmann, but…”

“We all don’t know!” Kim Chae-min snapped, but Han Tae-kyung didn’t even pretend to listen.

“From what our junior says, it doesn’t look like those two had any kind of deep connection like our guild does, right?”

“We’re close? Since when?”

“If they’d been lovesick for each other, maybe, but they weren’t, so why would one grant the other’s wish?”

“I’m pretty sure they wanted to kill each other…”

Sandra ignored Alex’s comment and frowned.

“The opposite makes more sense to me.”

“The opposite?”

“If Lehmann sabotaged Michel’s plan. Most of the info we have on Lehmann now came from Michel, right? If he knows that, he’d probably want revenge. At least, that’s the Lehmann I’ve come to know.”

“…But Michel’s dead.”

“Which means, whether he supports or opposes Michel’s plan, it’s pointless. Alex, you said Lehmann never entered Mont Saint-Michel, right?”

“He didn’t not go in. But mostly it was Noah who went. Henry didn’t really care about that place.”

“Could Lehmann even access Mont Saint-Michel?”

After thinking it over, Alex answered seriously.

“No. Henry was never a Hunter to begin with. He only got in because Noah let him. Without Noah, he couldn’t get in on his own. And he has no reason to.”

“……”

The conversation continued in circles. Round and round. To Alex, it all sounded like the same thing over and over, but the others were dead serious, so it was hard to interrupt. He knew if he tried to speak up, they’d just tell him to be quiet.

Still, Sandra’s words about not acting like a child echoed in his mind, so he kept listening, but eventually he lost interest and started fidgeting.

Even as a human, he still didn’t get humans. He didn’t know what Noah was thinking, and Henry was even more of a mystery.

Sometimes he didn’t even know what he wanted himself, so how could he know what others were thinking?

Maybe everything being said here was right, or maybe it was all wrong.

“I just can’t agree with that. What’s the point of Lehmann bringing up dungeons now?”

“No, what I’m saying is, this Henry Lehmann could be a completely different person from the one before. Don’t you know Sam Bloom? That mage was a little crazy.”

“He was a mage!”

“What’s wrong with mages?!”

“Don’t get all defensive! That’s exactly what makes you sound like a mage!”

Sandra snapped, her tone rough. The archmage scowled.

Sandra snorted.

“The only ones here who really know Lehmann are me and Alex.”

I wish she hadn’t brought up my name.

As soon as Sandra mentioned him, Kim Chae-min glanced at Alex.

Alex, who hadn’t done anything wrong, suddenly felt guilty and glanced back and forth between the two. The scary archmage and the scary magical engineer stared each other down without budging an inch. …I didn’t do anything wrong, right? Right?

“If that man’s just following his instincts, he’s even less likely to join Michel’s cause.”

Luckily, the two ignored Alex and started raising their voices at each other. Alex hunched his shoulders.

“That’s what I’m saying—you can’t guarantee anything! He could be completely insane!!”

“If he had even a shred of that in him, he would’ve helped in America!”

“If he were a real human, he wouldn’t have changed bodies in the first place!”

As their voices rose, Woo Hee-jae and Han Tae-kyung, who’d been watching nervously, soon joined the fray.

The conversation spun in circles again. An endless debate with no conclusion. But now, the participants’ voices and gestures grew sharper, their words rougher.

Alex bit his lip and rolled his eyes. Unless they brought Henry here, there was no way to know the answer—so why waste energy on pointless speculation?

He felt sick to his stomach.

“Let’s calm down.”

At last, Hong Seok-young stepped in.

Alex looked up from counting the patterns on the table. To his surprise, Hong Seok-young was looking right at him. Caught off guard, Alex was startled, but Hong Seok-young just gave him a small smile.

“……?”

Not understanding the meaning of that smile, Alex looked confused. Hong Seok-young turned his attention from Alex to the rest of the guild.

“Why are you all exhausting yourselves like this, when you know there’s nothing we can do right now?”

“Ahem.”

“Well…”

“Same goes for you, Teacher Kim and Doctor.”

Kim Chae-min and Sandra laughed awkwardly.

“I know you’re blowing off research stress, but let’s not do it when it’s just us. This is a sensitive issue as it is.”

“Yes, sir.”

“We’ll be careful.”

The mood lightened. Alex stuck out his tongue and made a face. People were still hard to read. He realized that the fierce conversation just now had been half in jest, not entirely serious.

He didn’t know why people relieved stress by fighting, but at least the tense atmosphere was gone. Alex relaxed a little.

“Alex.”

But his shoulders tensed again. He looked at Hong Seok-young, bracing himself as if expecting an attack.

But Hong Seok-young simply praised him.

“It was good that you spoke up when you thought of something today.”

“…Huh?”

“Even little things are fine. Even if it doesn’t seem important, these are the things that add up and connect together.”

He’d never been praised so openly before. Alex’s mouth went dry for a different reason. It didn’t feel the same as praise from his mom or dad, or even Sandra.

Praise from family didn’t really count as praise…

“We’re not going to change our approach to Lehmann right away. Like everyone said, we know nothing about the current Henry Lehmann. If it comes to nothing, he might just do something crazy.”

“Then Mont Saint-Michel…”

“We’re still in talks with the European Magic Society about that. Right, Teacher Kim?”

“Yes. Since the master got involved, they’re tightening security on dungeons with raid restrictions. Mont Saint-Michel is top priority, since there have been steady casualties. We’re also looking for Michel’s followers.”

“I’m not saying we should just leave it alone, and I’m certainly not saying we should let our guard down. But we can’t ignore everything else just to chase him.”

While Alex and Han Tae-kyung were in America, those in Korea hadn’t just sat around—they’d taught students, done research, kept busy.

Listening to Hong Seok-young’s explanation, Alex got a sense of how European magic society was faring without Noah.

“And… Tae-kyung and Alex, keep up the good work. Let us know if there’s a problem.”

“Got it.”

“…If possible, also gather information on those who changed bodies through contracts.”

“Yes, sir.”

Hong Seok-young spoke to Han Tae-kyung with unusual care, but Tae-kyung answered with his usual composure. Hong Seok-young seemed about to say more, but just shook his head.

“That’s it for today. If anyone thinks of anything else, speak up. Tae-kyung, how long are you in Korea?”

“I’ll be here about a week. Family stuff.”

“Eun-young?”

“She’s having a late-blooming adolescence.”

“Han Eun-young? What happened?”

“Family stuff.”

Woo Hee-jae shot Tae-kyung a look that said he wanted to hit him. Tae-kyung just grinned. Even if he pretended otherwise… well, it wasn’t like he’d ever tried to hide it. Since his sister had come to him with her worries, Tae-kyung had been in high spirits ever since he first got her call in America.

It’s always good to have someone who makes you happy.

Seeing that Hong Seok-young’s face was still stiff, Alex swallowed nervously. Maybe it really was time to run.

As he started to get up, sure enough, Hong Seok-young spoke.

“Hee-jae?”

Here it comes.

“Let’s talk for a bit.”

“Good luck, sir!”

Knowing exactly what that conversation would be about, Tae-kyung hurried out of the cabin. Alex dragged Sandra out, too. Kim Chae-min, looking puzzled, glanced back at Hong Seok-young and Woo Hee-jae, but was caught by Tae-kyung.

“This is my territory!”

“If you stay, you won’t be able to breathe.”

“Why? What’s going on?”

As Tae-kyung and Alex hurried away from the cabin, Kim Chae-min grumbled after them.

Sandra narrowed her eyes.

“This is about why you came back to Korea, isn’t it?”

“Uh… yeah? Senior, is it okay to talk about it?”

“Everyone here knows the situation anyway.”

Tae-kyung clicked his tongue.

It was rare for him to be so blunt, so Kim Chae-min and Sandra were full of curiosity.

Alex pouted. It wasn’t a pleasant topic, but at least Tae-kyung didn’t dump it on him.

“We raided an illegal lab in the Amazon while tracking Lehmann.”

“We heard.”

“I picked something up there.”

“……?”

Tae-kyung had said he’d found something interesting.

“I don’t know the details, but you know how our master had a few juniors besides me?”

In truth, it wasn’t interesting at all.

“When a junior goes off to the middle of nowhere, the master gives them a safety net. I got one a few years ago when I did a secret job for him.”

Tae-kyung pulled a small business card from his wallet. Garish design, flashy font.

[Safe Driving! Treated Like Royalty]
[Hong’s Chauffeur Service]

His card was clean and well-kept, but what they’d found in the jungle on the other side of the world was nothing like it.

A tattered, faded, worn chauffeur business card.

And, faintly, in blue ballpoint pen, the name Kim Yoo-hwa.

Alex remembered the day they’d gone to that dungeon in the pouring rain. He remembered Woo Hee-jae standing alone in the darkness, clutching a carefully hidden sword.

He remembered the photo the dying monster had guarded so dearly.

He remembered the day that dungeon closed.

“……”

He felt like he was going to be sick.