Retire 573
by Cristae573 (Extra Story 40) Summoning_4
“Oh my…”
Ellen Donner straightened up from weeding her garden, her face puzzled.
Because the village was so remote, it was rare for visitors to come by. Unless someone suffered an unfortunate accident like the college students who left a few days ago, it was unlikely anyone would come all the way out here.
It was far from other cities, not a tourist spot, and had no particular attractions.
Vrrroom.
But the shadow approaching the village from afar was clearly a car—a rugged jeep Ellen had never seen in these parts.
She brushed the dirt from her hands.
Her garden was on the outskirts of the village, right by the road leading in, so she was always the first to see anyone arrive.
Usually, she’d leave this sort of thing to her husband, but he was away on “sheriff business.”
“It’s been a while since he’s been gone for more than two days…”
Still, as the sheriff’s wife, Ellen had picked up a few things from watching her husband.
Even if she hadn’t, her curiosity was piqued. A twinge of worry, too—she wondered if those college students had gotten into some other trouble.
The people in the jeep seemed to spot her as well, slowing down even more.
“Hello, ma’am.”
The man in the driver’s seat greeted her as he stopped the car.
A woman with dark blond hair tied back got out from the back seat. She wore a black T-shirt and black military pants. At first, Ellen thought she might be a soldier, but the jeep and her demeanor didn’t quite fit.
So then…
“We’re from the Kansas Highway 70 West Regional Guild, Alight Step. I’m Jas Douglas.”
Hunters.
A sense of unease crept over Ellen.
It wasn’t strange for a guild to patrol. That was normal. Her husband often worked with guilds, and called them in when dungeons were found.
But it was odd for a guild to come straight to the village without going through the sheriff. Was the phone still not working? No, her husband had said repairs were done. She and he had even grumbled about how nice it would have been if the phones had worked when Young and Sandy were here.
“Ma’am, is the sheriff home? I hear Dave Donner lives here.”
“…Yes. He’s my husband. I’m Ellen Donner.”
“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Donner.”
Douglas smiled gently. There were more hunters in the jeep. Those who didn’t get out also smiled and nodded at her.
But Ellen was not so naïve as to miss the subtle tension among the hunters.
“My husband… hasn’t come back from patrol yet. Haven’t you tried to contact him?”
“Excuse me, but when did he leave?”
Her anxiety grew.
“Three days ago… Sometimes he’s gone like this. As you know, even in a small village, a sheriff’s job is never done. He has to check in with your guild, make sure there are no problems, watch for dungeons or monsters…”
“No, ma’am. We’re here to check if Sheriff Donner is all right. That’s our only reason.”
“All right…? Is something wrong?”
The polite smile faded from Douglas’s face.
Her expression, now stiff, confirmed Ellen’s worst fears.
“Yesterday, one of our guild members rescued a college student during patrol.”
A college student.
“He was unlucky enough to get caught up in a freshly formed dungeon. He’s not in danger now, but it was only this morning that we were able to get a proper explanation.”
“Who… who was the student?”
“He said his name was Sandy. He mentioned staying in this village a few days ago. Pink hair.”
“Yes, yes… that’s right. He had a friend, too. Young, another Asian…”
“We’re checking the dungeon now. We don’t know how far the gate’s effect reached, but… the dungeon itself is unstable, so we’ve issued an evacuation order for the area. This is the closest village.”
Douglas avoided giving a direct answer.
He’d survived, but if he’d only regained consciousness this morning, he couldn’t have been in good shape.
A dungeon?
Ellen wasn’t born in America, but she’d lived here longer than she’d lived in her homeland. And as she’d said, she’d learned a lot from watching her husband work.
If a dungeon is unstable, it means a break is likely.
A few facts clicked into place.
“Ma’am, when was the last time you heard from your husband?”
“Uh, um…”
Ellen’s mouth worked silently, her body trembling.
“My husband… Dave, the dungeon… when, when did it open?”
“The student said it was not long after the sheriff who guided him left.”
“Dave… Dave too…?”
“We don’t know, ma’am.”
Douglas gripped Ellen’s shoulders firmly.
“Ma’am, we’re here to check on the people in this area. Other hunters are watching the dungeon, and if anyone is alive, we’ll get them out.”
Alive.
Of course Ellen’s mind was filled with dark possibilities.
But Douglas’s touch helped her hold herself together.
“The dungeon… Ma’am, I know you’re anxious, but the dungeon is too close to the village. You need to prepare to evacuate right away.”
“Yes… yes. Of course. If my husband… if Dave is in the dungeon, you’ll rescue him, right?”
“We’ll do everything we can.”
Douglas’s steady gaze met hers. Ellen thought of Christopher, her neighbor who always grumbled about American hunters talking big on the news.
But at least…
At least they said it.
They promised to do their best. Promised to save him, if he was alive.
That was what Ellen Donner needed to hear.
Jas Douglas looked over at the hunters in the jeep. They nodded back with ambiguous expressions.
Ellen didn’t know what signals they were exchanging, but all she could do was pray for her husband’s safe return.
Too many cooks spoil the broth.
The Henry Lehmann and Atlas affair was a perfect example. There were too many tangled threads, and even knowing why people acted as they did, Woo Huijae’s impression didn’t change.
He shook his head as he read the report that agents from various countries, using the name of the American guild, had safely entered the village.
You should never get involved in anything with more than two countries involved.
If only this case ended well, he wouldn’t have much more to do. At most, there was the Mont-Saint-Michel dungeon left. After that, he could peacefully run his school. Even overseas trips would be enjoyable if they were for school business.
Come to think of it, hadn’t he achieved most of what he’d planned when he first came to the past? What was it? Pick up a winning lottery ticket like Park Seohyun or Oh Hyunwook and stop the future apocalypse?
The process was a bit odd, the order mixed up, but wasn’t it close enough? Some of his students were almost certain to be key to the Mont-Saint-Michel raid. The goal was to do it as safely and with as little direct involvement as possible.
Hong Seokyoung, who had stayed behind from this U.S. trip, often joked that once the Mont-Saint-Michel affair was settled, he could finally retire. Woo Huijae had no intention of allowing that, even as a joke.
For whose sake? He should work another twenty years at least. Where did he think he was going?
—So it’s really starting now?
“Don’t say things like that. It’s horrifying.”
—Why not? For those agents, it might feel that way. They chased a criminal and suddenly a bunch of mad scientists started crawling out!
Sandra, who had stayed in Korea with Hong Seokyoung, giggled at Woo Huijae’s words.
Kim Chaemin, hearing the faint laughter over the receiver, paused her work on her laptop and glanced up.
—Anyway, I’m glad no one objected. Would’ve been a pain if they had.
“That’s why we brought Teacher Kim.”
—These days, isn’t Chaemin more effective than the Master himself?
Kim Chaemin lifted her chin proudly. Woo Huijae waved a hand, telling her to get back to work.
“Field agents are always wary of mages. The ones waiting were the very people about to enter the village, so it worked well.”
—You always said you hadn’t done this much, but you’re surprisingly good at it.
“I haven’t done it much, but it’s not like I’ve never done it. And I’ve heard plenty.”
Kim Chaemin looked like she was itching to join the conversation, but Woo Huijae gave her no opening. Just then, a notification sounded from her laptop, and she sighed and turned away.
There had been no lies in what they’d said to the agents in that shabby restaurant a few days ago.
Judging by the list of research applicants now flooding in to Kim Chaemin, they knew it too.
In the end, everyone’s focus on that tiny cult village was because of what happened in San Francisco and Las Vegas.
Would that many people really have mobilized just to catch Henry Lehmann? Why had Daniel let slip in Las Vegas that Lehmann “might know how to open a dungeon”?
Back then, it was just a ploy to get someone else to catch Lehmann, but no one had realized Atlas had really done such research. Everyone thought it was all Noah Michel’s doing.
And when Sandra found out, she said:
‘We can’t touch this.’
She wasn’t just talking about the research. In fact, it was because the research was involved that she said it.
‘This village is attracting attention from other countries. There’s nothing we can do about it.’
So, they decided to intervene actively instead.
Since Han Taekyung and Alex were already playing agent in America, it wasn’t hard. Even if you wanted to investigate the cult village, its nature made it hard for outsiders to enter, and you couldn’t just storm in.
And then there was the research. The fear that other countries might steal it kept everyone in check.
Han Taekyung and Alex exploited that subtlety. Since they had nothing to do with the credit that was causing all the posturing, they could act freely. Just before talk of research began, Woo Huijae and Kim Chaemin stepped in.
All of this had been Sandra’s suggestion.
—All right, all right. You said Chaemin would screen the applicants, right?
“After the first cut, you’ll check too. You know the mana engineering field better.”
—I hope they get here soon. New assistants…
“…Assistants? How much are you planning to use them?”
—If top talent comes knocking, you have to squeeze every drop out of them!
“Well… Our guild does try to accommodate our members’ requests as much as possible.”
Yes. Everything said in that old restaurant was true. From the perspective of wanting to link research on dungeon creation and interference, the Atlas research was too valuable to just throw away.
They just hadn’t mentioned some of the behind-the-scenes details… and the strong desire of someone to solve the guild’s chronic manpower shortage.
Sandra spun her chair and declared confidently to her boss in America:
“It’s for world peace. Of course people from all over the world should work together—makes it a little less unfair for me.”