Retire 366

366 Invitation (2)

“What did you say?”

Im Miseon, summoned to Yangseong High on urgent business, frowned the moment she arrived.

I sympathized with her. Where else would Im Miseon have ever had to play the role of errand-runner, coming whenever she was called and doing whatever was asked? Wherever she went, she was treated with respect—and deservedly so.

She wasn’t exactly “ordinary,” but if the youngest daughter of one of the world’s leading conglomerates had wanted to live a normal life, she could have avoided all this trouble. She wouldn’t be tangled up in these headaches.

I suddenly wondered how Im Miseon ended up working for the Ability Users’ Association. The story of the Dayeon chairman collapsing when his youngest daughter announced she wanted to be a Hunter and started her own guild was famous. After that, everything Im Miseon did became Korea’s favorite gossip.

…How did she end up at the Association, anyway? When did she even have the time?

Well, maybe she somehow managed to dodge her father, the reporters, and the eyes of the entire nation. Who knows. What matters now is that Im Miseon, forged by all that, is extremely capable.

Now I understood why my father always called for Im Miseon instead of me or my sister. If you ask, she gets things done. Of course you’d use someone like that.

“Don’t just stare at me—say something!”

“What? You heard me perfectly well.”

Im Miseon clicked her tongue in disbelief.

Her expression made my conscience twinge a little. But lately, the staff at Yangseong High had adopted shamelessness as a virtue.

As a teacher here, I decided to follow their example.

“I trust you understand how important this is, Hunter.”

In other words: send me overseas.

Im Miseon’s mouth opened and closed. I waited patiently for her brain to catch up.

“Uh…”

She shut her mouth again.

I didn’t rush her.

“……”

Eventually, she would find a solution.

“You do realize what you’re asking, right?”

“So, is it possible?”

“……”

Im Miseon covered her face with her hand, squirming. I spoke again, more firmly.

“I have to go.”

“You don’t have to say it like that…”

Through her fingers, our eyes met. For all her visible distress, her eyes were dry.

That’s something to learn from. I almost smiled, but stopped myself, thinking she might take it as mockery.

In truth, I respected her.

Out of respect, I chose my words carefully. Im Miseon hadn’t said no outright. That meant it wasn’t impossible in her calculations.

If she’d said it was absolutely out of the question, I would have backed off. But she was leaving the door open. I was just… confirming.

“I can’t pass up a chance to see Noah Michel up close.”

“…You’re not even a mage, Mr. Woo. The invitation is for Ms. Kim—couldn’t she just go alone? It’s not like you don’t trust her now.”

I didn’t deny it.

“But that doesn’t mean I want to send her alone.”

“……”

“You never know what might happen. The more safeguards, the better.”

“…You do realize your own position, right?”

“Yes. That’s why I need to make myself more visible.”

Because of my brother’s existence and my own lies, I was in a rather delicate spot.

Im Miseon knew I was a fugitive from the Ark, but the Ark itself didn’t know about me. She was probably worried someone might recognize me. Not that she thought I’d betray them and return to the Ark at this point.

Of course, I’d never go back to the Ark. Her worries were unfounded. In fact, I planned to draw attention away from Kim Chaemin and onto myself.

“Has there been any dungeon raid request for Mr. Hong? Preferably near Marseille.”

“…What?”

Im Miseon couldn’t follow my train of thought. I didn’t blame her. After our last conversation, she’d drawn a line between us. She must have decided that digging deeper would only make things harder.

I respected that. I didn’t give her unnecessary explanations, and she was fine with that.

This time, too, when I didn’t elaborate, she sighed, her face complicated. She’d realized what this was all connected to.

“I’m not trying to attend the conference as a mage or anything.”

“……”

“I’m going as Hong Seok-young’s disciple, to handle his backlog while he’s busy.”

I can’t stay unknown forever. People need to know there’s someone capable left at the school while Hong Seok-young is away. So no one dares mess with us.

I’d already prepared a secret trump card in my place. So it’s fine.

And being famous would help the kids who graduate this year. Who’d benefit from having been taught by an unknown Hunter?

“While I’m at it, I’ll also meet a guest mage who’s in the area on guild business.”

“…Do you really think they’ll buy that?”

“Noah Michel won’t.”

“Then?”

“But.”

I shook my head, cutting her off.

“In the end, it’s all about appearances. You know that better than anyone, Hunter.”

“……”

“They’re famous. So we need to be famous too, to make ourselves harder to touch.”

For a sure victory, I bowed my head to Im Miseon.

“Tell the Association it’s bait to draw out the Ark.”

“……”

Im Miseon was silent. But I already knew what her answer would be.

Suddenly, I thought of the distant future, of Im Miseon trudging through life with her beloved nephew, having lost her smile. That person never laughed like the one before me, never looked troubled by unreasonable requests. When an academy student broke the director’s office, she just managed a bitter smile and set about repairs.

Just because I’d erased that future and given her more time with her loved ones didn’t mean I had the right to push her around. Saving Lee Seungyeon wasn’t about collecting favors.

…Well, I can’t deny I did want a little reward at the time. But I’ve already gotten more than enough in return.

“I won’t ask for anything this unreasonable again.”

Still, as long as she was in the same boat as Hong Seok-young, she’d keep helping. Nothing would change in the current setup.

But a kind word can pay a thousand debts.

If she grants my request, I’ll say something nice in return. That way, everyone feels good.

“Fine, fine.”

Im Miseon surrendered.

“The Association isn’t really paying attention to you anyway, Mr. Woo. Probably because Mr. Hong called you his disciple at last year’s forum.”

“…That got back to the Association?”

“Of course. The forum was overshadowed by a dungeon break, but among foreign Hunters, rumors are spreading.”

That’s a rumor I’d rather not know about.

“If Mr. Hong vouches for you, who at the Association would object?”

So, unintentionally, I’d already been using Hong Seok-young’s name.

“As for the dungeon raid… you’ll need Mr. Hong’s guarantee, but that should be fine. I know your skills.”

Im Miseon’s face brightened.

“Just don’t fail, okay?”

“You don’t have to worry about that.”

“Did you learn that from Mr. Hong too?”

“……”

“Don’t make that face. He’d be disappointed.”

“Who cares.”

Im Miseon burst out laughing.

“It was a tough request, but it’s fine. If you need anything else, just ask. I’ll help as much as I can.”

“No, that’s all right.”

“I mean it. I’m not the type to go back on my word. If I said I’d help, I’ll help.”

She was so firm, I couldn’t even argue.

The back-and-forth went on a bit longer, but it was pointless. I surrendered and held out my hand.

“Then if you ever need my help, just ask. I’ll do whatever I can.”

Im Miseon stared at my hand for a moment, then smiled and shook it.

“Right. It’s a world where we help each other.”

---

A few days later.

Alex Hope, too, finally surrendered.

“You’re going to go whether I say no or not! What’s the point in arguing? I’d just wear myself out.”

He was surprisingly quick to accept reality.

“And it’s just you and the mage going, right?”

My eyebrow twitched. After all the nagging about honorifics, Hope had finally started calling me “that guy” instead of “you.”

Where did he pick up such cheap tricks…

Still, I’d get him next time. I had plenty of time to teach Hope, after all. If I was going to train him, I’d do it properly, from the ground up, until it came from the heart.

“The scary old man isn’t going, right?”

“Mr. Hong?”

“Yeah. That guy.”

Hope shuddered.

From my perspective, he was just an annoying, grinning old man, but for Hope, who’d had to fight him, Mr. Hong was clearly not someone he wanted to be around. He made his distaste obvious, but finished his thought.

“If something happens, that guy will be here, so Sandra and I will be fine. So don’t worry!”

……

So that’s what he meant.

I looked at Hope in disbelief. He met my gaze without a hint of shame.

I started to say something, then gave up and shook my head. Fine. Even if it annoyed me, it wasn’t exactly wrong.

So, as always when dealing with Hope, I used my usual strategy.

“Are there any mages besides Michel we should watch out for?”

I ignored him.

Luckily—or unluckily—Hope didn’t notice, just tilted his head. He’d never worked with Noah Michel publicly, and this was mage business, so I didn’t expect much. He’d said before that, aside from Sam Bloom, he didn’t know anyone close to Michel.

Still, it couldn’t hurt to identify other mages connected to Michel. Hope thought hard, then spoke.

“Noah doesn’t have any friends.”

I should ask Noah Michel herself.

“Really, none.”

I wondered if Michel would agree.

“Still, hmm. Mages to watch out for…”

Hope tilted his head and thought for a while.

“If you can’t think of any, that’s fine. Just tell me if you remember later.”

“Not someone close to Noah, but… what about mages who hate her?”

“Mages who dislike Michel?”

“Mages Noah dislikes, too. It goes both ways.”

I sat back down in my chair.

“Tell me more.”

So, mages who had a bad relationship with Noah Michel. That was a whole different story.