Retire 288
by Cristae288 To-Do (1)
Smack!
“…All right.”
Kim Chaemin slapped her own cheek with a sharp, ringing sound.
“We’ve done everything we can.”
I nodded. Hope was in the infirmary under the nurse’s supervision. We’d done all the treatment possible.
Once Boston closed the dungeon and the city returned to normal, the internet was restored as well. Soon, videos shot by citizens started flooding in.
The most attention-grabbing, of course, was the hunter in the FBI jacket. There were countless questions about whether he was really FBI, and after close-up footage was released, people were shocked to realize he was a teenager. There’s no way Hope didn’t know he was being filmed—he must have allowed it on purpose.
The feathered, serpent-like monster had flown over Boston, and Hope had chased and fought it. There were more than enough witnesses.
So, everything was on record: being bitten by the snake, tearing the snake’s body apart in that state, and then disappearing.
Hope’s identity was quickly revealed. He was too distinctive to be mistaken for anyone else.
So what did we do?
Nothing.
More precisely, we didn’t try to stop the videos or eyewitness accounts from spreading. We let them go up, let the rumors grow.
Even when conspiracy theories spread about why an Australian hunter was in America, or when a swarm of reporters descended on the grieving Hope family, we did nothing. Because Alex Hope was dead.
Attention also turned to Sandra Gamble, known to be close to Hope.
Fortunately, Sandra Gamble was under Hong Seok-young’s protection. The Yangseong High campus was private property in his name. There were interview requests, but no one was bold enough to approach without permission. The legal hammer that had come down on those who trespassed during the rune disclosures had helped.
“So now…”
I’d told the students not to leave school for a while. They complained that they couldn’t go out anyway. I also told them not to mention what was in the schoolyard to anyone. They said they had no one to tell, so I asked if they didn’t have any friends outside school, only to get, “Do you?” in return.
…My friends are probably in elementary school like Woo I-rok by now.
I looked at Kim Chaemin.
“And now?”
“We have to do what needs to be done!”
That was the correct answer, but was that really why she slapped her own cheek?
“What have we been doing up to now?”
“What needed to be done!”
“And what are you suggesting we do now?”
“What needs to be done!”
“…The work never ends.”
“That’s the fate of the modern office worker!”
The great magician, who should never have known such woes, laughed cheerfully.
I wasn’t sure if she was really laughing out of joy.
“So what is it we need to do?”
“We have to analyze the monster’s corpse first.”
“Ah.”
“What?”
I shrugged.
“Nothing. I just forgot.”
“You forgot?”
“I’m not usually the one who does the analysis. I’m the one who reads the reports.”
“Ugh. Annoying.”
Kim Chaemin spoke even more brightly than usual, perhaps to lift her own spirits.
“Don’t worry. All you have to do is sit back and wait for my analysis, Teacher Woo.”
“Are you saying I don’t do anything?”
“Is that an accusation? If it sounds that way, maybe you’re feeling guilty.”
“Who works harder than I do?”
Kim Chaemin gave me a familiar look.
Not that she made that face often, but I’d seen it plenty from regulatory agency staff who’d been thoroughly trounced by me.
It was the look of someone who wanted to argue but couldn’t find the words.
But Kim Chaemin hadn’t become a great magician for nothing. As a colleague, not a subordinate, she stuck out her lower lip.
“Then, oh diligent and industrious master, what are you planning to do? Show your poor disciple a good example.”
…Wait, didn’t she just call me her master? Is a disciple supposed to talk back to their teacher? Magicians are supposed to be sensitive about that sort of thing.
But I was a generous teacher, tolerant of my disciple’s mistakes. I nodded.
“Boston is finally settling down.”
Kim Chaemin nodded along.
“I heard the damage wasn’t as bad as expected?”
“It’s America, a big city. There’s bound to be more than one guild stationed there.”
“Ah, true. So?”
“I heard Hunter Lee’s team finished up their work in Boston.”
Kim Chaemin furrowed her brow, only now retracing the reasons for everything that had happened.
“The work they were doing…”
“They’re bringing the child to Korea in two days.”
“Ah. Ahhh. Right, yes. I remembered! Ha, how could I forget? Of course I remembered.”
“Sure.”
I replied dryly.
“So now, this whole situation…”
I looked at the monster in the schoolyard. Even with only its head left, it was so big it could be seen from any building.
Several days had passed, but the monster’s corpse hadn’t changed. Even the blood splattered everywhere hadn’t dried. It still squelched underfoot.
It wasn’t hot, but the unrotting corpse was downright eerie.
“We have to explain to Tae-woo.”
“…Hmm.”
Kim Chaemin’s pout vanished.
“Then let’s each do what we’re best at.”
She quickly excused herself.
“Maybe you should try talking to the kids, Teacher Kim…”
“I’m fine as I am!”
Given what I’d seen of her, I thought she’d be good at listening to the kids.
Not that I was trying to dump counseling duty on her.
Well, even if I was, it would be a waste to have someone do something other than what they’re best at. I pointed at the monster’s corpse in the schoolyard.
“Then please clean that up quickly.”
“I have to analyze it first.”
“Fine. Analyze it, then get rid of it. I don’t think having that thing around is good for the kids.”
“Oh my.”
But instead of agreeing, Kim Chaemin tilted her head and smiled.
“If they’re going to be hunters, they’ll have to get used to things like that. They’ll see worse.”
“……”
I thought about her words, then nodded.
“That’s true. Let’s just do what needs to be done.”
“I told you so from the start!”
“Yes, yes. I apologize.”
Kim Chaemin laughed loudly. After the mental strain of the past few days, it felt like I was hearing that laughter for the first time in ages.
Before starting my talk with Kang Tae-woo.
I went to see Gamble. I figured, in her current state, she’d go along with whatever I said without question.
…I’d learned not to take advantage of others’ misfortune. But this wasn’t taking advantage—more like a request. After all, Gamble’s goals and ours were the same.
Well, right now, Gamble seemed more focused on Henry Lehmann than the Ark.
“…What is it?”
Gamble spoke with a haggard face.
Whether it was a favor or a request, I figured she’d do anything to hurt Henry Lehmann, whether that meant killing or capturing him.
But seeing her like this, I couldn’t even get the words out.
Dark circles under her eyes. Chapped lips. Dry, brittle hair. Trembling hands. A coffee cup with stains caked on it.
“Haven’t you slept?”
“……”
Gamble avoided my gaze.
Honestly.
“…Let’s talk after you get some rest.”
“I can talk now.”
“What do you think you can do in that state? What’s one plus one?”
“……”
Gamble snorted, as if her pride was wounded.
“It’s three.”
“……”
“Kidding. Four?”
“……”
“No, really, I’m joking. It’s five! See, I’m fine. You came here to ask me for something, didn’t you?”
Gamble hit the nail on the head. Even with exhaustion written all over her, her eyes were sharp.
“I could do anything right now. Opportunities like this are rare.”
“……”
“I’m really fine, you know? I can recite pi to fifty digits. A hundred is a bit fuzzy, but that’s not my field anyway.”
The more she insisted she was fine, the more obvious it was that she wasn’t.
I shook my head.
“Go get eight hours of sleep.”
“……”
“Normally you don’t get up until one in the afternoon.”
“…But I don’t sleep for eight hours!”
“That’s why you’re like this.”
“You don’t sleep eight hours either… Wait, what do you mean by that? Are you making fun of my Korean?”
“You speak better Korean than my little brother. What are you talking about?”
I took the coffee cup from her hand. It was still warm, meaning she’d brewed it recently.
I stared at the murky sludge for a moment, then took a sip.
“……”
It was every bitterness and every sweetness in the world at once. I couldn’t spit it out, so I forced myself to swallow.
“Are you sane?”
“W-why? That stuff wakes you up.”
“And kills you.”
“N-not that bad… I think?”
I sighed.
“I do have something to ask, but let’s talk when you’re in your right mind. Okay?”
Gamble tried to take the cup back, but failed, and slumped her shoulders.
It wasn’t so much that I pitied her as that she just looked pitiful, so I softened my tone.
“Hope will be fine.”
“……”
“We did everything we could.”
“…That’s just what we can see. He hasn’t even woken up yet.”
“That’s how dungeon raids always are. For Hope, this is a good outcome.”
It’s hard to comfort people. With kids, I could at least tailor my words to their personalities, but with Gamble, I had no idea. I wasn’t even close to Sandra Gamble in the original timeline.
It was the same now. If you asked if I was personally close to Gamble… well.
But anyone could see she needed comfort. I could understand the shock—if a friend you’d grown up with was gravely injured and unconscious for days, anyone would worry.
“I’m not saying don’t worry.”
After some thought, I spoke slowly.
“You must have something you want, some plan, or you wouldn’t be here without sleep.”
I gestured at her lab, which was as much a mess as she was.
“It’s good to do what needs to be done. I won’t stop you. But you can’t just do what needs to be done.”
“…That’s just wordplay.”
“It’s practical advice.”
I set the file I’d brought on the table. Gamble’s gaze shifted to it.
“The more you have to do, the more you need to take care of yourself.”
“……”
“That way, you won’t miss your chance when it comes.”
“…What chance?”
“Who knows.”
I met Gamble’s eyes. After the monster was subdued, she’d run out to the schoolyard and just stared at Hope, unable even to scream.
She’d watched as dozens of potion bottles were emptied, as he was rushed to the infirmary.
“It depends on what you want.”
As soon as I said it, I regretted it a little.
I wondered if I’d just set her heart on fire for no reason.