Retire 467

467 Cactus Flower (3)

Despite the fact that there was a guild in charge of managing the dungeon, there were several reasons why the conquest of the Mole Dungeon had been handed over to us.

First.

Because of what happened in San Francisco, the anxiety of the citizens and the politicians facing an upcoming election… Well, that’s been mentioned enough times already.

Second.

The chronic manpower shortage plaguing America ever since the Yellowstone dungeon break, as Daniel revealed inside the dungeon.

These two reasons were intertwined.

But when you heard the third reason, you couldn’t help but question Noah Michel’s motives all over again.

“I tried to resolve things as smoothly as possible, but…”

Hailey Lawton, a hunter from Cactus Mirage, pressed on with her explanation, undaunted by the tense atmosphere in the office.

Hailey Lawton was relatively young compared to the other hunters in Cactus Mirage. Her rank was high enough to enter the Mole Dungeon—an S-rank—but just because you could pay the toll didn’t mean every hunter had the skills to match their rank.

“The, uh, mages… you know how they are.”

Hailey Lawton didn’t have much experience with dungeon conquests.

Compared to the other hunters in the long-established Cactus Mirage, she was a newcomer.

And yet, she’d been put in charge of managing the mages.

It could only mean one of two things: either Lawton was more capable than she appeared and was being groomed as a future leader, or she was just a low-level employee saddled with the most troublesome tasks.

“I’m not saying Grand Mage Kim is like that, but it’s true that some mages can be quite narrow-minded.”

“…So the mages started fighting among themselves?”

And that was the third reason—the real reason we ended up clearing the Mole Dungeon.

The first two reasons were enough to make sense of it, but, unfortunately, the hidden third reason was even more important.

“Yes. There was a fight between the European mages and the American mages…”

The mages from the two continents, who were never on good terms to begin with, fought over the rights to the dungeon. Technically, dungeons couldn’t be owned, and the management rights belonged not to the mages but to Cactus Mirage, but no one cared about that.

“Our guild has dealt with both sides for a long time…”

Guild master Joseph Grimes added his own awkward explanation.

“We couldn’t take sides, but then the government announced they’d be clearing all A-rank dungeons and above…”

“They told us to apply if we needed support, so the master…”

“With the government’s policy, what could the mages do?”

Grimes smiled, looking pleased with himself.

“Thinking about the money that dungeon brings in hurts, but if we had to keep dealing with those mages, it wouldn’t just be a headache—it’d be the death of me…”

“……”

“Ahem, well. These days, it’s best to clear dungeons in advance, don’t you think?”

Grimes, who had been getting carried away, belatedly checked our reactions and tried to change the subject.

But it was already too late. Daniel pressed his temples, looking pained.

“No wonder the mages wanted to report the guild for unfair profits.”

“They want to report us? After all the trouble they’ve caused us!”

Why hadn’t Noah Michel set his sights on reforming mage society?

“We’re the real victims here. Hailey! Say something. You’re the one who’s suffered most from those arrogant mages…”

“Master, wouldn’t it be better to get a proper lawyer? I’ve heard mage-specialist lawyers are expensive, but reliable.”

Reforming mage society would be more realistic and, frankly, more necessary. And he wouldn’t have to lead a handful of troublesome people whose loyalties were unclear. Even Charlotte Mallet, the grand mage I met in Marseille, seemed deeply dissatisfied with modern mage society. If Noah Michel had wanted reform, she would have joined him in a heartbeat.

But look at what happened. By setting his sights on something as ridiculous as the end of the world, only the strangest sorts were drawn to him.

Henry Lehmann? Alex Hope? Whatever their abilities, their personalities were clearly incompatible with Noah Michel.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure Noah Michel was even handling his own affairs properly now. I could tell he had some kind of plan—running a cult-like lab, drawing in Henry Lehmann, and so on.

If not for Hope, I’d never have figured out what Noah Michel ultimately wanted. At first, based on Hope’s testimony, what I’d seen in the lab, and the research materials Imi-seon had acquired, I was convinced he was working toward some grand goal: solving the lifespan problem of monsters and creating a new world.

But now?

Now I wasn’t so sure. Maybe it had something to do with Hope’s constant assessment that Michel was like a child.

He wanted to do something, but got distracted along the way. He wanted this, then that, got annoyed, wanted to yell at someone…

Maybe it was because he wasn’t lacking in ability. Maybe it was precisely because he was so capable.

He had the power to paralyze all of San Francisco, after all.

Yes. If you thought of him as a child, it made sense. An innocent and ruthless child who thought nothing of knocking down a few block towers to build a bigger castle.

“So it’s all the mages’ fault, then?”

Grimes and Lawton, who had been eagerly pleading their innocence to Daniel the government official, snapped back to attention as Father cut in.

Had they forgotten where they were? Grimes hunched his shoulders and gave a servile smile.

“O-of course, we did our best to manage the dungeon. We checked the core every time we went in… Lawton! You checked, right?”

“Huh?! Yes, of course I did! The mages didn’t ignore that much! But as for there being a fairy… we never even imagined it. There was no sign at all…”

“Of course not. But isn’t that why you have hunters?”

“Uh, well…”

Kim Chaemin’s voice was sharper than usual.

He seemed more on edge than normal. Of course, this was the kind of attitude I’d expected from a grand mage, but remembering how he’d signaled me the moment he saw Lawton, I found myself looking at her again.

Neither what Daniel had told us before coming to Cactus Mirage nor what I saw now gave me any reason for concern.

What had Kim Chaemin seen in that hunter?

“We can check the list of mages who regularly entered the dungeon… Daniel?”

“Yes, I can get it right away.”

“Which of them caused the most trouble?”

“Excuse me?”

“Yes, Ms. Lawton. I’m asking you.”

Kim Chaemin spoke irritably. I knew him well enough to tell he was doing it on purpose. Father noticed, too—his eyebrows rose slightly, then settled back.

Grimes, not wanting to offend either Father or the grand mage, pressed Lawton for an answer. Lawton stammered out a few names.

More precisely, she gave a few names, along with some personal grievances she tried to disguise as objective accounts.

“Oh, that one was really something, wasn’t he, Hailey?”

“Master, could you please decide whether you want to act like we’re friends or not?”

“Should I call you Lawton, then?”

“Just make up your mind.”

“Either way, it’s still your name… Ugh, this mage had a fiery temperament. I think his magic was fire, too…”

“He set fire to the plants we’d collected. It was a real problem.”

Grimes pointed to a name on Daniel’s list.

“…Mason Duke?”

“Yes?”

“Mason Duke set fire to the plants? Really?”

“…Yes? That’s right.”

“Hm.”

Kim Chaemin let out a thoughtful hum.

“Unless there’s another mage named Mason Duke, I can’t imagine him doing something like that.”

He tilted his head, lost in thought.

“As for the mages… Daniel, didn’t you say you had something to check here, too?”

“Oh, I need to confirm the byproducts from the Mole Dungeon.”

“Go ahead. We’ll…”

Kim Chaemin signaled Father with his eyes. Father immediately caught on.

“Oh, we have things to do as well.”

“Uh, is there anything I can help with?”

“Didn’t I mention it already?”

Grimes jumped, then nodded hastily.

“Uh, Ha-Hailey’s already introduced herself, so, um, as for the hunters who investigated the Mole Dungeon… Most of them are out in the field right now, but I’ve called in everyone who didn’t enter the dungeon.”

“Good, good. I like how quickly you work.”

Father laughed heartily, clapping Grimes on the back. Grimes staggered, trying to escape, but failed every time.

Meanwhile, Kim Chaemin frowned and muttered to himself.

“Something’s off…”

“What is it?”

“Mason is actually a pretty gentle mage.”

“Gentle?”

“A mage.”

Kim Chaemin looked me straight in the eye.

“Really. He’s gentle…”

Father, who’d been tormenting Grimes, turned his attention to Kim Chaemin. Kim Chaemin met his gaze, then looked back at Lawton.

“Mage.”

His voice was firm.

Instantly, the tension in the room spiked.

Kim Chaemin smiled brightly.

“American mages, like Mason, are usually pretty reasonable. It’s a bit different from Europe. Mr. Woo, you’ve mostly dealt with Europeans, right?”

Once he was sure Father and I understood, Kim Chaemin returned to his usual cheerful tone.

“…Yes. That was the case in Marseille, too.”

“European and American mage societies don’t get along, so if you put them together in one dungeon, of course they’ll fight.”

“Of course?”

“Even a gentle mage is only gentle by mage standards. Still, I can’t imagine him burning collected plants for no reason. Daniel!”

“Yes?”

“Did Mason respond to the summons?”

“Uh…”

Daniel hesitated before answering.

“Mason Duke is currently working in San Francisco. He said he’d cooperate with the investigation, but he can’t leave right now… We were planning to go there and talk to him.”

“Are you going too, Daniel?”

“There are plenty of people who can handle it besides me.”

Daniel shrugged, playing it cool. Kim Chaemin laughed, then gestured to Lawton.

“You’re Lawton, right?”

“Ah, yes. Hailey Lawton.”

Hailey Lawton.

Definitely a hunter.

“Could you testify about the European mages?”

“Uh, sure. What kind of testimony…?”

But Kim Chaemin declared, without hesitation, that she was a mage.

“I’m friends with the president of the European Mage Society, you know. The president’s been worried lately about the atmosphere among the younger mages over there…”

“Ah…”

“I’d like to hear what those arrogant punks are getting up to in other countries.”

Kim Chaemin drew Lawton in with practiced ease.

Like a predator closing in on its prey.