Retire 403
by Cristae403 Admission Review (1)
“Uwaaaah!!!!”
A scream rang out, echoing through the air.
Kiru-ruk.
The monster, reacting to that merciless cry, lifted its head high.
Its rough hide, the beak concealing sharp teeth. The crimson crest atop its crown trembled this way and that each time it turned its head.
The instant it pinpointed the source of the sound, its wings spread wide.
“I—I’m sorry! Please, spare me!!”
“For god’s sake, just shut your mouth!!!”
Gritting my teeth, I grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and leapt off the cliff.
Crack!
I narrowly dodged the beak as it tried to snatch the human away.
“Uwaaah!!”
But before I could even feel relief, another scream burst out, making me scowl.
I hurriedly clamped a hand over his mouth and shouted.
“Robinson! I told you to shut up!!”
Kkiruk, kkiruruk…
Above my head, the cries of birds—like seagulls—kept sounding. A flock of them circled the cliffs, and a few among them dove at me, aiming for the kill.
“Damn it!”
Most of them crashed headlong into the cliff, but a few attacks came dangerously close.
Gritting my teeth, I kept moving down the cliff with Robinson in tow.
If you ask me why I’m dragging this guy along like this…
It’s all because of Han Taekyung.
A week ago.
“They really want to enroll their son here, you know.”
“How many times do I have to say it, sunbae!”
“In a school like this….”
“You’re the one who promoted the school, Woo-saem. Why won’t you trust Han-saem’s words?”
“If it were my son, I wouldn’t send him here.”
“Woo-saem, you work here! You’re a teacher at this school!”
Kim Chaemin gave a laugh, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
But I was serious. Dead serious.
Why? What is there to learn at a school like this?
No, there is something to learn. I’m here as a teacher, after all.
But to send your child to a place where nothing has been proven yet, a place you can barely call a school?
…Of course, as Kim Chaemin said, I know the reason. Above all, the name Hong Seokyoung must have carried weight. Add to that the reputation of Lee Miseon, listed as the director, and Dayeon’s sponsorship foundation.
On top of that, there was the prestige of the archmage, Kim Chaemin.
Laid out like this, whatever the school is really like, to outsiders it looks like a place worth attending. A school operated by Hong Seokyoung, guaranteed by Dayeon, with an archmage on staff.
Right. After the interview I did in Europe became known in Korea, we did get a lot of inquiries. Most were just fishing for information, though. Who knows how many of those dozens of calls actually came from parents seriously considering enrollment.
“His father runs a business, you see.”
Han Taekyung’s sunglasses flashed as he spoke.
“He’s a friend my dad met through work, but apparently his third son recently awakened, and now he’s got all sorts of worries.”
This wasn’t just a casual inquiry; if someone is asking through a friend’s son who works at Yangseong High, that means they’re seriously considering admission.
That’s why Han Taekyung brought it up in passing, then made a point of asking me directly.
“I heard he was sick or something.”
“Who? The third son?”
“Yeah. It’s good that he got healthier after awakening, but now he insists on becoming a hunter….”
“…This really is a school for training hunters. It’s not a place for some rich kid to attend for fun.”
“Oh, I said that too, of course!”
Han Taekyung nodded vigorously.
“And then he said, that’s why he likes it even more?”
“…He likes it more?”
“He said you’d be able to tell how serious the kid is. The father’s friend doesn’t know much about this field, so rather than sending his son to some guild where he might pick up the wrong things, he thinks school is better.”
“……”
“Even if the son can’t handle it and quits, the father’s friend figures he’s got nothing to lose, right?”
Han Taekyung gave an awkward laugh.
“That’s what I heard from my dad. So, what should we do?”
“What do you mean, what should we do! He’s a new student. We accept him, of course.”
Unlike me, lost in thought, Kim Chaemin spoke up, looking pleased.
Well… right. That’s true. It’s not like we’re in a position to be picky.
I didn’t know the full situation, but Han Taekyung’s explanation was enough. Even if the kid can’t handle it and quits, just as Han Taekyung’s father’s friend said, the parents lose nothing, and neither do we.
Who knows? Maybe he really is serious about becoming a hunter and will turn out to be a model student.
“All right… Yes. Understood.”
“So?”
“There aren’t any set admission procedures yet. You said he’s awakened… He’s registered as an awakened, right? Can you get me a copy of his registration certificate?”
Still, I needed to know the basic personal details.
Maybe I should ask Lee Miseon to look into the prospective student and his family. Even if he’s a friend of Han Taekyung’s father, I don’t really know what kind of person he is. Once things settle down, it might be different, but for now, I can’t let someone unvetted into the school.
“I thought you’d need it, so I brought it in advance.”
“…You only show this much initiative at times like this?”
“This Han Taekyung is always a helpful man!”
I couldn’t imagine a less helpful answer.
Ignoring Han Taekyung, I took the registration certificate.
A hunter license would have more complicated information, but an awakened registration certificate is simple: name, registration number, photo.
“……”
I looked at the name and photo, then looked back at Han Taekyung. He grinned from ear to ear.
When I said nothing, Kim Chaemin, curious, took the certificate from my hand.
“……”
Kim Chaemin also looked at Han Taekyung in silence.
Han Taekyung kept smiling, giving us a thumbs up.
“It’s the global age now, isn’t it!”
The name on the registration certificate Han Taekyung brought was long. It wasn’t the typical three-syllable Korean name.
Abel Kim.
Nationality: Korea-France.
In the photo, a boy with strikingly mixed Eastern and Western features glared at the camera.
In Korean style, I guess he’d be Kim Abel. Still, it did come out to three syllables.
I decided to check the practical details first, before worrying about whether this kid could really enroll.
“This kid.”
“Yes?”
“Does he speak Korean?”
His residence was listed as France, so of course I was concerned.
Han Taekyung tilted his head, then answered.
“Probably?”
The uncertain answer made me uneasy, but it couldn’t be helped. It seemed Han Taekyung didn’t actually know the kid himself.
I gave a vague nod and got up from my seat. The rest, I’d have to ask someone else….
Right. Lee Miseon.
“You want me to look into someone?”
Director Lee Miseon wore a look of regret for coming down to the school.
“A new student for next year.”
“A new… What? Already?”
“Technically, a prospective student. Apparently, he’s the son of Han-saem’s father’s friend. Given the situation at the school, I thought we should at least do a background check.”
More than anything, the nationality caught my attention.
France? France, of all places?
I had nothing against the country itself, but I did have reservations about magicians with French nationality.
Society is smaller than you’d think. You can never be too careful. There might be some connection to magicians.
I checked the awakened registration number through the mana watch, but there was no record of hunter activity. Still, the mana watch only searches domestic records, so it was possible he was a hunter who hadn’t been active in Korea.
“Let me see. What’s his name?”
“Abel Kim. I heard he’s half Korean, half French.”
At the name, Lee Miseon’s expression grew even stranger.
She looked at the registration certificate and let out a deep sigh.
“He’s fine.”
“…You know him?”
“I’ve met him a few times. He’s a piano prodigy. Famous in the junior competitions.”
I looked at the slip of paper again. That was an unexpected background.
“His mother is a Frenchwoman who runs a construction company. His father is pianist Kim Changhan. Never heard of him?”
“…I have.”
Though, I knew his reputation from twenty years in the future.
He was already a famous pianist back then. I just didn’t know much because I wasn’t interested in classical music.
“People in Korea who know about the genius pianist’s genius son know about him, too. Ha. And he wants to be a hunter?”
“…That’s what Han-saem said.”
“That man must have a lot on his mind.”
Lee Miseon made a sound somewhere between a tongue-click and a chuckle.
She waved the registration certificate.
“You want to know if he’s connected to Noah Michel, right? I don’t think so, but I’ll check just to be sure.”
There was a familiarity in Lee Miseon’s tone that went beyond just mentioning a famous pianist.
I asked her,
“You know him?”
“Kim Changhan? My father supported him when he was young. That’s how I know a little.”
The life of a chaebol family…
Perhaps sensing my lukewarm gaze, Lee Miseon waved her hand.
“We’re not personally close. My father said, like most geniuses, he wasn’t interested in anything but the piano. I heard he changed a bit after getting married, though….”
“For someone not personally close, you know a lot?”
“When you grow up in a chaebol family, you hear all sorts of rumors. And his wife is from a well-off family in France. She’s a high-priced architect herself.”
“Hmm.”
If her father was his patron in his youth, maybe they still have a good relationship even now.
Maybe it wasn’t just Han Taekyung’s father who got information about Yangseong High, but Dayeon as well.
Naturally, Lee Miseon was thinking the same thing.
“I’ll have to ask my father, too.”
“Then I’ll leave it to you.”
“Oh, but…”
“Yes?”
Lee Miseon seemed to remember something.
“They might have been introduced to Yangseong High through another route.”
“What route?”
For someone with no personal ties, she sure knew a lot.
But her explanation made it clear why she had to know.
“You remember what you did in Marseille, right?”
“…The way you say that, it sounds like I caused some kind of trouble.”
“Well, trouble comes in many forms.”
Lee Miseon snorted.
“You know the Marseille Guild?”
“Dantes?”
“I saw you took a photo with Eva Robinson.”
“…She asked for a commemorative photo. Do all young hunters do that these days?”
“You’re not exactly old yourself.”
Lee Miseon burst out laughing, as if it was absurd.
“You met Eva Robinson’s father, too, right?”
“Jean Robinson?”
I nodded.
“His family is Kim Changhan’s wife’s family. They’re a well-known hunter family over there.”
Even if they’re not a magician family, it’s common for hunters to work together as a family. If Kim Changhan’s wife isn’t an awakened, she probably asked the other hunters in her family for advice….
Jean Robinson seemed to have a good impression of me after I resolved the dungeon break in Marseille.
“They might have heard about us through that side first.”