Retire 568
by Cristae568 (Extra Story 35) The Wicked Lamb_3
“Nathan’s already finished the repairs?”
Christopher, who lived next door to the sheriff, feigned indifference but was clearly interested in news about the young men.
“What about those boys?”
“They’re at Nathan’s place.”
In truth, Christopher Lehmann wasn’t the only one interested. Everyone in town was curious about the rare outsiders. During the week that Young and Sandy had helped in the garden, how many neighbors had found excuses to wander by?
Honestly, if those two hadn’t been so friendly, Sandy’s joke about being mistaken for suspicious strangers might have come true.
Even now—look at Christopher. Every day for a week, he’d found some excuse, like mowing the lawn, to greet the young men. Today, he’d come by to return a borrowed book, just to ask about them.
That the biggest entertainment in this peaceful little town was two visiting youths made Mrs. Donner snort in amusement, though she understood the feeling well.
“Nathan couldn’t do a perfect job… If they break down again on the road, it’ll be trouble. It’s a long way to the next city.”
Nathan was always a complainer, but even he couldn’t be cold to such likable kids.
She remembered he hadn’t been nearly as kind to Schneider, but for these two, he’d even taught them some basic repair tricks.
“Well, even Nathan wouldn’t want young folks stranded on the road.”
“Of course not.”
“That’s why you’re making them packed lunches and all, isn’t it, Ellen?”
“Well, they keep talking about energy bars and snacks! Do you really think that counts as a meal?”
“They’re not little kids. They’re Awakened, aren’t they? They won’t die from skipping a meal or two.”
“Awakened or not, they’re still people! At that age, they should eat well!”
Lehmann chuckled. Mrs. Donner shook her head at the old man’s mischief.
“And with no gas stations or restaurants along the way, I worry even more. I just hope they get there safely.”
Lehmann was about to reply when a small beep sounded from the kitchen—the oven timer.
Mrs. Donner hurried back, but called out, “How’s Henry? Is he doing well?”
“He’ll manage.”
“You don’t hear from him?”
“He gets in touch when he feels like it. No point fussing over a grown son.”
“But he’s still family.”
“He can take care of himself… He’d probably hate it if I asked.”
He said it lightly, but Mrs. Donner knew Henry’s temperament. He’d always preferred wandering to settling down—probably off traveling somewhere remote, even now.
Just like Young and Sandy, those boys.
Living in this town meant hearing little of the outside world. Still, Mrs. Donner knew that, compared to her youth, dungeon management had improved. The world had changed for the better—young people could travel freely now.
In the old days, she’d dreamed of changing the world herself. She’d even taken part.
But now that she knew the peace of settling down…
It was time to leave such things to the young. Knowing when to step aside was a virtue, too.
“Reminiscing about the joys of retirement again?”
Lehmann never let Mrs. Donner’s thoughts go unchallenged.
She snorted at his teasing.
“Is there anyone here who doesn’t?”
Lehmann’s lips twitched, then he laughed aloud.
“That’s true. If you’d hated it, you’d have left when Yuri or Luise did.”
“Aren’t you the one who gets bored? You don’t even hunt anymore.”
“That takes energy. Catching rabbits or deer… In the end, mowing the lawn is most fun. And safe.”
“When were you ever so cautious?”
Just as Mrs. Donner had changed, so had Lehmann. Her husband, too. Nathan as well.
Only people like that remained in this town.
Lehmann, still chuckling, glanced toward the front door.
“What is it?”
“Ah… Looks like the boys have escaped from Nathan.”
“Already?”
Mrs. Donner craned her neck to look out the window.
Soon, lively voices echoed through the house—a rare sound in such a quiet village.
“We’re back!”
Seeing Young and Sandy come in so energetically, Mrs. Donner smiled warmly. The two also greeted Lehmann, visible behind her, with cheerful familiarity.
After a week, even the old man mowing the neighbor’s lawn became a familiar face.
“Well, looks like it’s time for me to go. You’re leaving tomorrow?”
“Yes. Staying longer wouldn’t be right… Dave said he’d give us a map, too.”
“Good… I hope this time you make it without car trouble.”
“Haha, Nathan taught us, so we should be fine.”
“Once we get to a place with a gas station, we’ll have phone service—if all else fails, we’ll call the insurance company.”
“Travel safe. It was short, but I enjoyed it.”
“Me too.”
Lehmann shook hands with both, patting their shoulders.
“Come on, you two. I’ll pack you some food for the road tomorrow. Make sure you eat it, all right?”
“You’re giving us all this? It’s too much!”
“Christopher’s son could chew iron at your age! Better to have too much than too little. You’re leaving in the morning… I’ll pack you lunch then, too. Need more water?”
“We’re fine, Ellen. Really.”
Lehmann, amused by his old friend’s fussing, grinned and headed home.
“Keep an eye on the highway numbers.”
“I am.”
“This is all because you lost the map. If not for that, we wouldn’t have gotten lost. Are you watching?”
“There’s only one road! Just keep going!”
Sandy shouted irritably at Young, but Young’s expression remained sour.
“Travel is supposed to be about new experiences, but… how can there be no phone signal, even in a small town?”
“They said it was because of the dungeon.”
“Are there really that many dungeons around here?”
“Kansas is pretty wild. I’ll check when we get internet. I’ve never been here before, either.”
“You’re watching the map, right?”
“I told you, there’s only one road!”
Young ignored Sandy’s grumbling, laughing quietly. That only made Sandy more annoyed.
At the end of the road leading out of town, Young pulled over. The police car following them also stopped.
Sheriff Dave Donner got out.
“Travel safe.”
“Thanks for everything, Dave.”
“Really, thank you!”
“Just doing my job.”
Donner looked at them with concern.
“You’ll be all right?”
“We’ll be fine.”
“All right. Keep that map close. Always bring a paper map when you travel.”
“We learned our lesson.”
Sandy, having already been scolded by Young in the car, answered with slumped shoulders.
Donner checked on them one last time before waving.
“My wife says she wasn’t bored, thanks to you two.”
“We feel the same.”
“See you next time!”
Sandy waved energetically. Donner smiled warmly.
“Yes. Next time.”
He stood there for a long while, watching as their battered used car rattled away down the road.
Whether they realized how much he regretted saying goodbye, Young and Sandy kept bickering about the map.
“We’re supposed to take a few highways after this, right?”
“Did you already forget?”
“I’m just checking if you remember.”
“I get better grades than you.”
“In your dreams.”
“Oh, come on!”
Sandy punched Young’s shoulder.
“Hey, I’m driving. That’s dangerous.”
“If you can’t react at this speed, you should give up your Awakened license.”
“Awakened doesn’t mean invincible.”
“Not invincible, but definitely sturdy…”
Thunk.
The old car jolted over a rock.
“Ow!”
Sandy, unlucky enough to hit his head on the ceiling, glared at Young, who was laughing at him.
Thunk.
But Young’s laughter didn’t last.
“What the—why’s the road like this?”
“The road? Looks fine to me…”
Sandy squinted ahead, but the soft dirt road looked unchanged.
But the car’s shaking grew worse, until it was hard to keep it moving straight.
“…….”
Young gripped the wheel with a worried expression. Sandy looked around anxiously.
“Hey. Something… something’s weird…”
Darkness crept in. The narrow road, barely wide enough for a single car, and the dense trees on either side were unchanged, but the air in their short, tense breaths felt different—more damp, heavier, sinking deeper.
The road signs vanished. The shapes of the trees changed. The road itself disappeared, replaced by soft earth.
The long shadows of early morning hadn’t changed, nor had the clear scenery under the sunlight.
But there was darkness.
When the car shook so badly it was impossible to drive, Young finally stopped.
“…Hey.”
Sandy, dumbfounded, pointed ahead—no, a little higher. Young saw it too.
A night sky full of stars, endless.
It was as if a piece of the universe had been cut out and pasted onto the sky.
There was darkness, but it was not dark—a strange phenomenon.
Even if they weren’t Hunters, anyone would recognize this distinctive sight.
Especially Young, for whom this hellish space had left a terrible scar and stolen his left eye.
A dungeon.
A freshly formed dungeon.
“…….”
Young’s hand shook. Sandy was no better, running trembling fingers through his tangled hair.
“…Hhh.”
Young’s lips twisted.
“Hahaha! I thought I was going to suffocate in there.”
“If we’d stayed any longer, I would’ve gone insane.”
Sandy shuddered and got out of the car. Young stretched and climbed out of the driver’s seat.
Young took off his sunglasses.
“Jinwoo, that kid. He can do illusion magic like this now? He’s a real mage these days.”
“Why are you so proud, sunbae?”
“He’s my student.”
“Him? Wasn’t he raised by Woo Huijae and the great mage?”
“I helped too.”
“Helped, huh.”
Young took out a glasses case, swapped his sunglasses for another pair, and put the first away. The scar that had been on his face vanished.
Young—Han Taekyung’s—eyes gleamed gold. He put on pink sunglasses.
“What are the odds this dungeon just happened to form here by chance?”
“If it’s a real coincidence, I’ll dye my hair back to its original color.”
“…How about you just do it anyway?”
“No way.”
Alex, going by the alias Sandy, stuck out his tongue at Han Taekyung, whose face twisted in annoyance.
“Hey! Chasy Pink isn’t a color you can just use however you want!!”
“Did you buy the copyright, sunbae? It’s my choice.”
“Don’t use it! Dye it back to black!”
“La la la, I can’t hear you, can’t hear you.”
Alex plugged his ears and headed into the woods. Han Taekyung chased after his annoying junior, lecturing him on the importance of Chasy Pink.