Retire 487

487 Sinking Swamp (3)

An innate magic is the act of interpreting the mana that runs in a mage’s own blood. In a way, it is even more instinctive than other forms of magic.

That’s why Kim Chaemin used to joke that this was the most intuitive way to get to know oneself. After all, a hunter can’t simply swap out their mana the way they change weapons.

So Park Seohyun’s mana, and her innate magic, should have remained the same.

“Seohyun, this side’s ready!”

“Remember what we practiced? Let’s just do it like before. Don’t get nervous.”

“You’re the one who’s nervous…”

“N-no! You’re the one who’s more nervous!”

“No, I’m not!!”

Despite wielding magic that could startle even the great Kim Chaemin, Park Seohyun and Choi Jinwoo were still just kids their age, quickly falling into a playful squabble.

…The mana flowing from Choi Jinwoo still sparkled like starlight.

Last winter, when Park Seohyun’s mana went out of control, Choi Jinwoo had used magic to illuminate the shadows. That was a year ago.

At the time, Choi Jinwoo was a novice mage, just beginning to get used to his own mana and magic. As a young mage grows, their magic changes. Or, more precisely, it doesn’t change so much as it stabilizes. It’s one way to discover what you’re capable of.

But I knew what Park Seohyun’s completed form looked like. That made this all the more strange. Can mana change? Can innate magic?

“D-don’t mess up… We talked so big to Teacher, but if we fail, what will we do?”

Park Seohyun poked Choi Jinwoo in the side, whispering.

Kim Chaemin watched the two with a look of barely contained affection, his shoulders shaking with a soft laugh.

“They don’t realize we can hear them, do they?”

“That’s probably why they’re saying it… Right, Mr. Kim?”

“Yes?”

Choi Jinwoo’s mana was lighter than Park Seohyun’s. Not a lantern, but like fireflies drifting through the air. The starlight floating in the air reflected off Park Seohyun’s magic, creating a dreamlike atmosphere.

It was the same for everyone, not just me. The starlight illuminated us all.

“Can a mage’s… mana change?”

Kim Chaemin followed my gaze. He could see the two kids, stiff with nerves as they prepared the rune—more precisely, he could see Park Seohyun.

Kim Chaemin knew what kind of mage Park Seohyun became after losing her friend. He immediately understood what I was asking.

“No.”

“Then why…?”

“Mages aren’t emotionless robots, you know.”

Kim Chaemin smiled with satisfaction.

“I haven’t seen it myself, but I’m sure it’s the same mana. No, it is the same mana.”

He hadn’t met the gloomy archmage once called the Witch in the future, but he knew the magic that archmage’s shadow had used.

“But experience can change a person.”

Whether I understood it or not, I’d told Kim Chaemin everything I’d learned from the Witch Park Seohyun about magic theory. Kim Chaemin refined it, put it in simpler terms, and taught it to the kids.

That wasn’t enough for Park Seohyun, who would often come to me with more questions. At first, it was about magic, but later, like other kids, she’d come by for coffee or tea, sharing her anxieties about the future or frustrations with her studies.

The Park Seohyun I’d known probably never had those experiences.

She’d never met a proper magic teacher like Kim Chaemin, never visited a counselor to talk about her worries of her own accord.

And—

“All done, Teacher! We’re ready!!”

Choi Jinwoo swung his arms wide. Park Seohyun stood behind him, nodding nervously.

She’d never had the experience of studying magic together with a friend, either.

“…So how does this work?”

“Well, this is actually Seohyun’s grandfather’s magic!”

Choi Jinwoo’s eyes sparkled.

“It’s based on her grandfather’s magic, but Jinwoo modified it.”

“I-I didn’t do it alone! Seohyun helped me!”

“So… how does it work?”

“Uh, I’m going to draw the rune with my mana.”

“With your mana?”

“Well, runes are always drawn with mana, aren’t they?”

Strictly speaking, that wasn’t wrong…

“Whether you process the mana or use it raw, it’s the same thing.”

“But the power would be different. And it would be harder to control.”

“Yes. But this is basically inside a shadow. It’s Seohyun’s domain. The space is separated. Even though it looks like we’re all together, it’s not really so. Teacher, I think you can guess what kind of structure it is.”

Choi Jinwoo bent down and pressed his palm to the floor. Park Seohyun’s mana vibrated, sending out ripples. Choi Jinwoo’s mana sank into the lake, then floated back up.

“…Oh. You’re right. I thought you were just used to each other’s mana and that’s why they didn’t mix, but it’s separated from the start.”

“It’s a magic we can do because we’re familiar with each other. Seohyun’s shadow absorbs, so we leave that as it is and just pick out what we want…”

Apparently forgetting he’d said he was ready, Choi Jinwoo started excitedly explaining their magic to Kim Chaemin.

It wasn’t as if I couldn’t understand the explanation of a young mage who’d been learning for just over a year, but the matter of the rune was more urgent.

I could always hear more about the magic from Kim Chaemin later. Still, students surpassing a teacher’s expectations was always something to be praised.

…Did I leave it in my subspace? I didn’t remember organizing it separately since it didn’t take up much space.

I rummaged in my pocket and pulled out a familiar sticker for the kids. Park Seohyun, who had been quieter than Choi Jinwoo, noticed it first.

I stuck the sticker to Park Seohyun’s forehead.

“Oh!”

And then to Choi Jinwoo’s.

“…You said you’d give us a prize if we collected these! You’ve never given one! Eunyoung was the first to collect them!”

Park Seohyun pouted, rubbing the sticker on her forehead.

So this wasn’t enough to placate them anymore.

I chuckled and put the stickers away.

“So. Don’t want it?”

“………No.”

“If you don’t want it, give it back.”

“No!”

“You worked hard even while I was away. Good job.”

“……”

“Now, isn’t it hard to keep up the magic? Show me what you did. We’ll talk afterward.”

With small stickers on their foreheads, Park Seohyun and Choi Jinwoo straightened up.

The night sky and the lake trembled. Starlight gathered, beginning to form a complex pattern.

---

“Good work.”

“Ugh! It was so hard to actually do it.”

“There’s always a difference between theory and practice. Still, how do you feel?”

Choi Jinwoo, sitting haphazardly on the floor, caught his breath but smiled in satisfaction.

“I feel great!”

“Really?”

“We knew we could do it, but we were still nervous.”

“I wondered what we’d do if it didn’t work… But it all went as calculated. No explosions or anything.”

“Explosions?”

“Oh, it’s still unstable! But I figured if Mr. Chaemin was here, he could handle it…”

Who did he learn to be so reckless from? Not me. It must be my father. It’s always my father’s fault.

I could hardly breathe. These bright-faced kids had no idea what they’d just discovered.

I forced my lips to move. Not in front of the kids. Just a little longer. Just a little more.

“…Teacher has to go back to America soon, you know?”

My voice cracked. Thankfully, the kids didn’t notice at all. Park Seohyun rubbed her sleepy eyes and asked,

“Mr. Chaemin too?”

“Yes.”

“Because of the rune?”

Kim Chaemin nodded. He was feeling the same as I was. He clenched and unclenched his fist, a surge of suppressed mana leaking out before calming.

“Yeah. Now that we know what this rune is, we have to go beat up the bad guys.”

Kim Chaemin punched the air as he spoke. Park Seohyun and Choi Jinwoo burst out laughing, faces full of pride.

Kim Chaemin gripped the kids’ shoulders and spoke firmly.

“Don’t try this again while I’m gone, okay? You could get hurt if you do it alone. When I get back, I’ll help you stabilize it…”

I chimed in, just in case.

“You know you can’t tell anyone else about this rune, right?”

“We know! You’ve said it a hundred times already!!”

“Yeah… Still, don’t say anything.”

“We got it, Teacher!”

“Did our magic help?”

“It helped more than enough. This rune will be the key to our investigation.”

Only then did the two finally relax and smile brightly.

Their smiles were still so young. That made what we’d just confirmed weigh even heavier. I used to think all that talk about protecting the next generation, about keeping children smiling, was just sentimental nonsense from old movies.

Maybe it’s something you come to understand with experience.

“Alright, you must be tired, so go get some rest! No more magic today!”

“Yes!”

“I’ll come check on you later, okay?”

With Kim Chaemin’s nagging in their ears, Park Seohyun and Choi Jinwoo laughed and headed back to the dormitory.

Only after I saw them cross the field and enter the building through the window did I—

“Ahahaha…”

Kim Chaemin burst out laughing, burying his face in both hands.

He gasped as if he might choke. I couldn’t tell if it was laughter, sobbing, or a scream. Maybe it was all three.

Gamble swallowed hard, glancing at us nervously. Kim Chaemin only managed to calm down after a long while.

“They really got us good this time.”

“Let’s call it even.”

“Feels like we took more of a beating, though.”

“We’ll see.”

Kim Chaemin lifted his head. He’d desperately tried to look composed in front of the kids, but now there was no need. His face was pale.

I wasn’t one to talk. I was probably in the same state.

“The principal’s theory was right.”

“I suspected there might be a way to get information from outside the dungeon, but I never imagined it would be like this.”

“It’s not perfect. You know that.”

“Of course! But it’s not comforting at all!”

“…In the Okinawa Butterfly Dungeon. The fairies there had patterns on their wings, right? I wonder if those butterflies also…”

“Those butterflies…”

Kim Chaemin gritted his teeth.

“I think they were more of a collective memory than individuals. If they were the same species as the one in Mont-Saint-Michel.”

“…So they’re connected?”

“Who knows. Maybe not, since it’s a different dungeon. But the runes…”

“The Okinawa dungeon might have been Sam Bloom’s doing. The Mole Dungeon was probably Luise Kruger. I bet the other dungeons are connected somehow. In Europe, it would have been easier for Michel.”

Or, if not that—

“Look. When that thing first came to Earth, the principal stopped it and it failed. But it couldn’t give up on Earth, and it could return to just before arriving. And think about what the fairy in the Mole Dungeon said.”

The word “brand.” The way it gave up resisting when it saw my father.

Maybe that fairy hadn’t wanted to have those runes inscribed. Did it tear its own wings to get rid of them?

“From the start, they had a way to obtain information about the changing future.”

I thought of the rune Choi Jinwoo had drawn within Park Seohyun’s shadow.

When the proper rune was activated, the events immediately following its creation replayed, like a cheap reenactment. Choi Jinwoo drawing the rune and signaling to Park Seohyun, Park Seohyun looking up at us, the three of us watching and analyzing their mana.

We’d have to experiment more to understand exactly how the rune worked, but it was already enough.

It was enough to figure out how the fairy of Mont-Saint-Michel had changed the future, checked the altered timeline, and made it this far.