Retire 474
by Cristae474 A Working Man (3)
‘It’s times like these!’
The archmage from Korea gazed out at the lake, a look of regret on her face as she spoke.
She hadn’t planned to enter a dungeon, so her attire was light—a dress with a flamboyant pattern that seemed both out of place and perfectly suited to the red desert. With the star-filled sky above, the scene felt almost unreal.
‘This is when we’d need Seohyun’s grandfather’s magic!’
‘That would make things easier, for sure. Can’t you use it, Mr. Kim? The pathfinding spell.’
‘What do you think pathfinding magic is, exactly?’
‘Just what the name suggests.’
‘Usually, pathfinding magic just tells you which direction to go… That’s all. Sorry I can’t use some amazing spell like that.’
‘I was just frustrated, that’s all. I didn’t mean you were lacking, Mr. Kim.’
‘I know, I know.’
The archmage let down her disheveled hair. The long strands fell around her face. Perhaps because of the dungeon’s stifling weather, sweat had begun to bead on her forehead.
She tied her hair back tightly and turned her back to the lake.
‘I can’t use pathfinding magic, but I can at least do some exploration.’
‘Exploration?’
‘This dungeon doesn’t seem to have any monsters besides those things… so it should work. I really don’t show this off often, you know.’
The archmage winked playfully.
‘And don’t go thinking all mages can do this! I’m special, remember that. Always.’
The three remaining guild members gave a dry round of applause and cheers. The archmage snorted at their reaction, then looked to Daniel. Following her gaze, the other three also turned their eyes to him.
Daniel, flustered, blinked and set down the mysterious unconscious mage he’d been holding, then joined in the applause.
Only then did the archmage smile in satisfaction.
‘Ahaha, if anyone asks you later, you can tell them: Korean Archmage Kim Chaemin doesn’t have just one unique spell!’
From the archmage’s feet, an eye-searing blue light spread. New life sprang from the parched earth. Even if it was only magic, seeing a barren desert suddenly covered in grass was…
…beautiful.
‘Where wildflowers dance for you, your tree will become a singing forest.’
The archmage let out a breath she’d been holding.
‘It won’t work all at once. But like this… if I split it up, bit by bit.’
Nameless grasses sprouted along the lake’s edge. Turn your head just a little, and the prickly sand remained unchanged.
The archmage wiped her brow with the back of her hand. No matter how great an archmage, she couldn’t cast such magic without effort. That was what still made her seem human.
‘I might not find the core, but if there’s even a hint of anything suspicious, I can catch it.’
‘…We don’t know how big this dungeon is. Can you keep it up?’
‘I have to, unless I want to run around on foot. There’s no guarantee the core is even on the surface.’
The archmage turned to look at the others—a sharp-featured young man and an androgynous boy.
‘And you two might see something I can’t, right? You’re both used to my magic by now.’
The young man stifled a groan at her words.
‘From now on, I’m bringing that guy with us every time.’
‘Get to work, Mr. Woo!’
‘Who works as hard as I do?’
“So, then.”
Daniel felt a sense of déjà vu.
The same thing had happened just a few days before. He’d been summoned to the hotel they were using as a base, caught up in something that was part interrogation, part interview, part meeting—who could say.
Even then, someone had been looking at the room service menu. Han Taekyung still held the menu in his hands. The others were quietly eating the food that had been prepared, speaking in low voices.
Hong Seok-young smiled. Despite the faint sense of intimidation he gave off, his voice was surprisingly gentle.
“What have you found out about Haley Lawton?”
“…….”
“Come on, don’t play dumb. We’re all in the same boat now, aren’t we?”
Calling it the same boat was a stretch, since no one even knew where that boat was headed.
Daniel swallowed hard.
“I still don’t know… exactly who she is.”
“Still? I gave you plenty of time, didn’t I?”
“She hasn’t really been in her right mind…”
Even for an Awakened, she’d suffered a serious injury. Being carried around like a sack of luggage couldn’t have helped. On top of that, the method Kim Chaemin had used to block her magic was apparently quite severe—when Lawton emerged from the dungeon, she was in worse shape than anyone had expected. Someone had even muttered that if Hong Seok-young was going to pull tricks like that, he should have made sure she was sturdier.
Not that anyone was actually worried about her. They just resented the extra trouble it took to get her talking.
Daniel understood that feeling. And he knew it wasn’t his fault.
“All we know for sure is that Lawton had some kind of connection with European mages.”
“So it’s Europe, after all?”
“Pardon?”
“No, it’s just… Every time there’s trouble with a mage these days, they’re from Europe. Especially Western Europe.”
“When you say Western Europe…”
“Why, that mage we asked our student about was from Western Europe, wasn’t she?”
“You mean Luise Kruger?”
“The German mage, right?”
“Yes, but…”
Hong Seok-young’s expression was hard to read as he spoke about mages.
Daniel didn’t think much of it—someone like him would have had plenty of dealings with mages. Just a few months ago, there’d been a dungeon break in Marseille. According to the official French report, it had been resolved safely with the help of mages who’d gathered for a conference, but…
Daniel, at least, knew more of the real story. Besides, Woo Hee-jae and Kim Chaemin weren’t shy about telling what had really happened.
It was understandable to have a bias against European mages.
It was Kim Chaemin who broke in on Hong Seok-young’s words, snatching the menu from Han Taekyung and turning to Daniel.
“Daniel, did you talk to Duke? About why we burned all the byproducts from the mole dungeon?”
“Ah, yes.”
Putting aside Hong Seok-young’s loaded remarks for the moment, Daniel answered Kim Chaemin’s question.
“We confirmed the byproducts were contaminated. Some looked fine, but since we couldn’t be sure, we burned everything for safety. It was all agreed on at the time, so he didn’t understand why it was being brought up again now.”
“Hm.”
“I think the Cactus Mirage people and the mages who were questioned are just trying to shift the blame or claim they’re being treated unfairly. Anyway, even the mages who’d already been cleared are being re-investigated.”
“Let me know if anything comes up, whatever it is.”
“Yes.”
Daniel nodded at Hong Seok-young’s words, tilting his head slightly.
He felt almost like he was reporting to his boss. He’d been asked if he wanted to join the guild, but Daniel had shaken his head. It wasn’t that he especially liked his current job, but he didn’t dislike it either. And now he was being asked to move to a place that, no matter how he looked at it, seemed like it would be nothing but trouble?
He was curious about the details, of course…
And he had a feeling he was already in deeper than he realized…
But it wasn’t enough to make him throw everything away and jump ship.
At the very least, there’d have to be talk of an unbeatable salary, great working conditions, and other support.
Daniel was a realist.
Besides, joining a guild that barely had five members didn’t seem wise. Considering Hong Seok-young’s reputation and the support of the academy’s chairwoman, the guild probably wouldn’t go under, but still…
He wasn’t the type for that kind of gamble. After all, being dragged into dungeon raids here, he felt like he’d already had enough excitement for a lifetime.
“Don’t just stand there—take a break. Your boss is covering the room service bill anyway… You might as well eat, or you’ll feel even more put out.”
“…….”
“Go on, order whatever you want. Honestly, when else are you going to get to stay at a fancy hotel like this while running dungeons? You have to enjoy it while you can.”
“Haven’t you been to the U.S. on business a lot? If not hotels, where did you usually stay?”
Hong Seok-young looked at Woo Hee-jae with a pitying gaze.
“Don’t say things like that in public.”
“…Why not?”
“I know how I raised you, Hee-jae, but you’re old enough to be out in the world now.”
“I already am, you know.”
“It’s fine in front of us, but if you say that elsewhere…”
“You haven’t cleared that many dungeons, have you?”
“…That’s the kind of thing people will say.”
At Alex Hope’s words, Woo Hee-jae’s expression turned openly sour.
“Of course I haven’t, senior.”
Even Han Taekyung chimed in. Woo Hee-jae’s face soured further.
“Where do you usually find dungeons? I mean, the ones that haven’t been cleared yet.”
“Well…”
“In the middle of nowhere. Just look at the dungeons we’ve been in since we got here. Deserts, or… forests.”
“…….”
“It’s like camping, and it’s fun. Sometimes we go to the ocean, and since we rarely get to take a boat, that’s refreshing too.”
The topic changed in an instant.
Daniel just watched them quietly. They weren’t bad people. In fact, among all the guilds Daniel had seen, they ranked near the top—for both skill and character.
Maybe if he ever got fed up with his current job, he really could join this guild. Who knew if the scouting offer would still be open then… Well, even if not, at the very least, Woo Hee-jae might take him as a teacher at the academy. Honestly, how could a school for hunters have a regular doctor as its health teacher?
They really ought to have at least one healer.
“Oh, Mr. Kim.”
“Yes?”
“Any news from Sandra? About the rune?”
“She’s grumbling that unless we hire more people, we should stop dumping work on her… She says there’s nothing in the existing search system, so she’s going to comb through the database again.”
“Hm. What do you think?”
“Honestly, the chances are low. But just drawing it out blindly, like with that last rune…”
They were talking about the fae from the mole dungeon.
Daniel kept as quiet as possible. He felt like he was missing the most important part, but he wasn’t so dense as to claim he knew nothing, even from these scattered remarks.
Someone else had definitely gotten involved in that dungeon. That was why the fae’s existence had been hidden, why it was wary of mages, why Haley Lawton…
“Um, Hunter Hong.”
Daniel gathered his courage and spoke up.
He was pretty sure. After all, it was Hong Seok-young who had provided the clues about the rampages in San Francisco and the western dungeons.
But guessing on your own and hearing confirmation from someone else were two different things.
“Do you think all of this was orchestrated by Henry Lehmann?”
The room fell silent.
The answer didn’t come from Hong Seok-young, but from someone else.
“If it were just Henry, we’d be lucky. He’s got his issues, sure, but he’s not the type to think, ‘Let’s wipe out all of humanity!’”
Alex Hope spoke of Henry Lehmann with the easy familiarity of a neighbor talking about a friend from down the street.