Retire 418
by Cristae418 Preparation for the Raid (3)
“Man, this is exhausting!”
“What’s so exhausting?”
“The most basic things are always the hardest!”
“The basics?”
“Walking, of course!”
Han Taekyung made an exaggerated show of rubbing his back. With that silly grin, he looked less like someone worn out and more like someone out for a stroll.
He was only complaining lightly; the path wasn’t that tough. It was an untamed forest trail, but nothing like the heart of some remote jungle.
Okinawa Island isn’t that big, after all.
…I don’t mean Okinawa is small, just that this is a small national park on a single island. It’s a remote spot, and the path is rough, but it’s safer than the typical forest you’d find inside a dungeon.
In fact, the trail was better maintained than it had been a few days ago when I’d walked it with Han Taekyung and Eva Robinson.
It wasn’t as if the Japanese government had suddenly decided to develop the national park. It’s just that at the end of this path—or non-path—was the dungeon that had recently embarrassed the Japanese government.
Right. That one. The Okinawa Butterfly Dungeon.
“Is it really okay to make a path like this in a national park?”
Kim Chaemin adjusted his straw hat as he spoke.
“It’s not exactly a path, is it?”
“It’s my first time here, but I always thought you weren’t supposed to have unofficial trails in a national park.”
“The Japanese government made an exception for us.”
“Is that all right?”
“It’s not my place to comment on their domestic affairs.”
Still, it wasn’t a real road—just a bit of clearing, as I said. It was for moving supplies. It made me realize again that this wasn’t a world where subspace was fully commercialized yet.
As we neared the gate, voices grew louder.
Japan hadn’t wanted to make a big deal out of this, but with the people involved, there was no way to avoid it.
It was Archmage Mallet who’d introduced this dungeon to Jean Robinson. That much was certain.
He could have found a dungeon anywhere in France or Europe where he had influence. Maybe he regretted not doing so. Anyway, Jean Robinson said he’d wanted to find a dungeon as close to Korea as possible. He wanted to clear it quickly, and it would be easier to talk in detail after moving on to Korea. Korean dungeons were unavailable due to the new management system.
Who could have imagined things would get so complicated for a prospective student?
Right. As I keep saying, the Japanese government is a victim here, too.
We might be suspicious of Mallet, but the ones who surveyed the dungeon were Japanese hunters. The Japanese government had been blindsided, suddenly finding out their own hunters had apparently conned the President of the European Magic Association and an archmage.
And on top of that, there were famous hunters from France, Hong Seokyoung from a neighboring country, and another archmage…
If something like this had happened when I was working at the Bureau, I’d have been dizzy just thinking about cleaning up the mess. I’d have just pretended to stab my father with a knife and gotten myself suspended along with Han Taekyung.
“Ah! H-hello!”
A Japanese government official, looking tense, greeted us. Since we’d called ahead, we were immediately shown the way.
“Yes, hello.”
“You’re here to inspect the dungeon, right?”
“Yes. Here are our IDs and…”
“No need, you can just go right in!”
“No, we should do this properly. Here’s our entry permit.”
“Th-thank you!”
Around the gate, there was police tape, Japanese police officers, government hunters, and a few of Robinson’s guild members standing guard.
They were all faces I’d become familiar with over the past few days. The French hunters, standing off to the side talking among themselves, waved when they saw us.
We stopped in front of the gate. Kim Chaemin examined it, smiling brightly.
“So, have they found anything out?”
“The survey team?”
“Yes.”
“Not yet. But the Japanese government is cooperating, and with all these big names involved, they should get to the bottom of it soon.”
“Who’s handling it? That hunter?”
“That’s his specialty. The association is taking this very seriously.”
I’m sure things were hectic on their end, too.
Just last year, Korea had a huge scandal over falsified dungeon grades…. Even without a fairy, just the presence of flying monsters should have been enough to raise alarms.
“Are you sure you want to be here, Woo-saem?”
“Hm?”
Lately, Kim Chaemin had been hitting me with random questions.
What’s up with that? Maybe he’s spent too much time around Hong Seokyoung and is starting to pick up his habits. This is why it’s important to choose your boss wisely.
“You’re only satisfied if you check every detail yourself.”
……
I wanted to argue, but nothing came out.
No one knows better than I do how true that is. Seeing my speechless face, Kim Chaemin grinned with satisfaction.
I turned away.
“Some things are best left to the experts.”
“If you keep passing things off, that hunter’s going to curse you, you know.”
“Am I wrong? Delegating isn’t a bad thing. Everyone has their area of expertise.”
“So what’s your specialty, Woo-saem?”
“Obviously, dungeon raiding…”
Wait.
Am I thinking like a hunter now?
How depressing.
“…and researching how to do it. That’s why I’m here.”
Kim Chaemin snorted.
“And you came here to do what you do best, too.”
“What’s that supposed to be?”
“Magic?”
“Don’t say that.”
“You came here to use magic, didn’t you?”
Kim Chaemin shot me a sidelong glance and faced the gate.
As I stepped aside for him, I glanced at Han Taekyung.
After chatting nonstop on the way through the park, Han Taekyung suddenly fell silent as we reached the gate.
How did he manage to hide it all this time, when it’s so obvious now?
But Hong Seokyoung was the same. He can hide it well now, but at first, he couldn’t at all.
Maybe it would have been different if he’d known there would be a fairy in the dungeon. Or if the fairy hadn’t been a butterfly.
Han Taekyung pressed his lips together and fiddled with his sunglasses.
“Let’s see…”
“You said you had a way, right?”
“I do!”
Kim Chaemin kicked at the ground.
The moment a hunter is most vulnerable is when passing through the gate. Remember what Tati did in the Jirisan dungeon. If not for Kim Chaemin’s magic, who knows what might have happened.
That’s why intelligent monsters are so dangerous. The ones clever enough to realize humans enter through the gate. The ones cunning enough to know that, at that moment, defense is impossible.
The fairy in the butterfly dungeon was smart enough to block the gate so we couldn’t escape.
Fire was a secondary concern. If all we had to worry about was fire, it would be easier. The real problem was if the fairy was still guarding the gate after the fire burned out.
Not just any monster.
Luckily, we had Han Taekyung. Eyes that could see what was happening beyond the gate. Whether he liked the role or not was another matter.
“Step back a little.”
“…More?”
“No, that’s fine.”
I looked around.
No one came too close, since we’d told them not to interfere, but how often do you get to see an archmage’s magic up close? They couldn’t hide their curiosity and stared openly.
Han Taekyung didn’t want anyone to know what his eyes could do. I had no intention of ignoring his wishes.
But at the same time, Han Taekyung knew better than anyone how dangerous fairies were, so he’d volunteered to check the gate.
He lifted his sunglasses slightly. Since he was facing the gate, everyone else could only see his back.
He put the sunglasses back on and gave a slight shake of his head—a signal that the fairy wasn’t visible.
“Whew. All right.”
Kim Chaemin took a deep breath and gathered his mana. The air filled with the scent of roses.
This was purely an act of kindness on Kim Chaemin’s part.
An illusion.
It also meant that Archmage Kim Chaemin had a way to check the dungeon’s state from outside.
‘Even if it’s just a smokescreen, there are always eyes watching, so rumors will spread. If this isn’t the real thing…’
‘Woo-saem.’
As always, Kim Chaemin smiled confidently.
‘I’m a magician. An archmage. Kim Chaemin.’
‘I know.’
‘I never claim to do magic I can’t actually perform.’
Kim Chaemin’s magic was dazzling. Red roses and blue vines bloomed at our feet.
Unlike the plants you’d find in a dungeon, Kim Chaemin’s magic was bursting with freshness. In an instant, the rose vines covered the gate as well.
“Blooming Rose Vines.”
Kim Chaemin’s signature spell.
The roses crossed the gate.
“Ugh…!”
“Kim-saem!”
“Don’t interrupt!”
Kim Chaemin kept his eyes squeezed shut, focusing on maintaining the spell.
His confident smile lingered in my mind. I knew he didn’t make empty boasts.
But that didn’t mean he was reckless. There were plenty of ways to fudge things if needed.
I glanced at Han Taekyung. He was the only one who could see what was happening inside the gate. He might even have a better idea than Kim Chaemin, who was casting the spell.
“Wow.”
“Han-saem?”
“I knew Kim-saem was amazing, but… If anyone ever says he’s just a young, inexperienced, unremarkable magician, just cut their throat, sunbae.”
“…Who says things like that?”
“You’d be surprised how many fearless idiots there are.”
There isn’t a single archmage who died young and left me feeling regretful in the books. If I hadn’t met him in person, maybe I’d have thought so. If I hadn’t known Kim Chaemin.
But the magician I met was full of confidence, dignity, and skill to match.
“…All right! I’ve got it!”
After a long while.
Kim Chaemin wiped the sweat from his brow and shouted. The rose vines vanished in an instant. Han Taekyung looked at him with a respect I’d rarely seen, even for Hong Seokyoung. He even handed him a water bottle with both hands.
As the magic faded, the people who’d been watching from a distance began to approach.
“It’s tough inside a dungeon, as expected.”
Kim Chaemin didn’t push them away. He drank some water and caught his breath.
“It would have been much easier outside. Then again, I wouldn’t have needed to step in at all.”
“Mm. Good work.”
“I was actually worried it wouldn’t work! There aren’t any cute animal friends inside a dungeon, you know?”
“…Animal friends? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Oh, there’s a thing!”
Kim Chaemin burst out laughing, delighted for some reason.
“Anyway, it worked! Actually, Woo-saem, you helped, too.”
“Huh? What did I do?”
“I’ll explain later.”
Kim Chaemin waved to the French hunters circling nearby.
With a face that said he could barely contain himself, he kindly explained in French for their benefit.
“I’ve located the dungeon core.”