Retire 494

494 Aerial Aquarium (6)

“Do you understand?”

“…I get what you’re saying, more or less.”

At least there was one thing to be grateful for: we still had Hong Seok-young on our side.

If anyone else had said such a thing, they’d have been cursed at and thrown out for spouting nonsense. But when those same words were spoken with the weight of Hong Seok-young’s name behind them, people listened—if only out of a faint hope: maybe…? And if you added the name of Kim Chaemin, the archmage, the credibility rose even higher.

Honestly, I couldn’t help but wonder if all this was really necessary… But what choice did I have? We couldn’t just kill that fish here. No matter what method we used, there was no way to kill it without blood being spilled. Would burning it be any better? But who would just sit still while their own body was set on fire?

“Still… isn’t treating a monster a bit much?”

There was, of course, some pushback.

If no one had objected, that would have been even more troubling. Europe was already a mess; I was just hoping America wouldn’t be quite as bad. A shortage of personnel was inevitable, but the quality of the Hunters…

Fortunately, America wasn’t as bad as Europe. Well, even in Europe, it was mostly the mages who were particularly lacking; there were Hunters who would be offended to be lumped in with them—like Funes, or Papa Robinson.

“Even if it’s calm now, who knows when it might turn on us?”

Look at that, someone who could still speak out so confidently, even with the names of Hong Seok-young and Kim Chaemin in the mix. What was his name? To think someone like this was in America. The world really was a big place.

Honestly, I completely understood what he was feeling; I probably would’ve said the same thing myself. In fact, I had said exactly that to my father before.

If we didn’t have Hope and Han Taekyung, who could communicate with monsters, I never would have attempted something this reckless.

“We’re not treating it. We’re just trying to stop the bleeding.”

“That’s the same thing!”

“I wouldn’t say this under any other circumstances. But this parasite is too dangerous. It’s easy to be misled by the term ‘parasite,’ but it’s a monster in its own right—a monster egg that hasn’t hatched yet.”

“A… monster…?”

“That’s why the mages and healers are working so hard to purify it.”

“……”

“Don’t focus on treating it. The point is to keep the monster’s blood from falling into the city.”

I lowered my voice, as if sharing some great secret. But I didn’t hide it. For those pretending not to listen but straining their ears all the same.

“Our master and guild members have encountered similar monsters elsewhere.”

“…The same species?”

“They said it wasn’t nearly this big. It was found in a dungeon near a desert, and apparently it almost never left the water’s edge.”

The fact that there was still resistance, even with my father’s name, didn’t mean his name was useless.

“A desert, you say…?”

“The Middle East and Africa. I’ve heard they found something similar in the Australian desert, but only the corpse.”

The American Hunter’s gaze flickered between my father and Han Taekyung. I hadn’t expected Han Taekyung’s name to carry weight, but as long as it worked, that was enough.

It wasn’t as if anyone would actually check. As long as it sounded plausible, that was all that mattered.

“And Kim Chaemin the mage has agreed to help as well. To keep the monster from moving.”

Kim Chaemin, who had been assisting with the purification, snapped his head up to look at me.

As if to ask when he’d ever said such a thing.

Of course he hadn’t. He never had.

Unable to call me out on it, Kim Chaemin flapped his hands in frustration, his lips jutting out in protest.

Even so, if I asked, he’d do it.

“But…”

The archmage’s cooperation card wasn’t as effective as I’d hoped.

But it wasn’t because they didn’t trust my father or Kim Chaemin, or because they’d thought of a better solution.

The Hunter, unable to hide his emotions, looked far too inexperienced for someone who was supposedly the master of a long-established Las Vegas guild. Hadn’t he taken over the city’s largest guild after Cactus Mirage fell? Not every guild was like that, but generally, those sorts of guilds were politically savvy.

Which meant, in other words—

There was another reason for their reluctance.

“Hunter Hong Seok-young will take full responsibility.”

“…Kuh.”

My father, who had been watching me struggle with a satisfied grin, suddenly coughed.

“Hunter Hong?”

“Yes. Since he’s the one who brought it up, it’s only natural.”

The Hunter’s face brightened. So that was it, after all.

To anyone who’d ever been a civil servant, forced to shoulder and pass on all sorts of responsibilities, it was obvious.

“I’ll be counting on you. I spoke with the mages earlier—they said the purification itself isn’t difficult, but the sheer volume is overwhelming.”

“And since it’s invisible, we can’t afford to skip any verification steps.”

“Fortunately, it’s not showing any aggression, so if we can minimize the bleeding, that’s the best outcome.”

The Hunter from Las Vegas, who had looked so withered just moments ago, now beamed and shook my hand as if that had all been a lie.

---

“………….”

A faint humming could be heard.

It was less a voice conveying meaning than the sound of a great machine in motion.

It was different from the few talking fae I’d met before. In fact, Hope’s quiet, birdlike speech was closer to what I’d heard from fae.

Was that still the same language? Was I being too human in my thinking?

Ssshhh…

I didn’t know what Hope said, but the giant fish softly brushed its feathered scales together. The sound was gentle, like a curtain fluttering in the breeze.

It was a strange impression, but oddly, it seemed peaceful.

Since we were staying on the rooftop to avoid people’s eyes, Hope kept his voice down. But even so, he was especially quiet. If I hadn’t known him better, I might have thought he was depressed. Was that why I felt that way?

But even that calm shattered when I saw the monster’s wound, where clots of blood welled up and spilled out. Reality returned.

Honestly, if it were possible, I’d have liked to just toss it back into the dungeon and wait three months, water or not. But once a monster left a dungeon, returning wouldn’t prolong its life. Its body, unable to adapt to this world, would break down, and after three months, it would die anyway.

There was no need to wait three months; we could just destroy the core and close the dungeon.

“………….”

“%^$@?~~#*!.… &=?”

“………….”

“))@!=+&&))) Why? Are you already done?”

“Not yet.”

I moved forward cautiously.

The monster, perhaps only now realizing my presence, bristled its scales, then laid them flat. When I stopped, wary, Hope gave a small laugh and waved his hand.

“It’s fine. I’m telling her the locals here are friendly.”

“…Friendly?”

I had no idea how he’d arrived at that conclusion. Hope chirped a few words to the monster, then came over to me.

…Didn’t he say the monster saw Hope and Han Taekyung as younglings?

“What exactly did you do to make her call you friendly?”

“She feels sorry for the young ones who ended up outside the port.”

“Sorry? Why?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

Hope looked at me like I was the strange one.

“That %$#^—uh, what do I call her? Ah, even the old lady knows.”

Old lady…

A rather affectionate term.

“If you leave the port without going through the adaptation process, you won’t last long. She’s old, so she’ll be fine, but… seeing young ones, barely born, out in the world, it weighs on her.”

“She doesn’t even have eyes—she can’t see us.”

“……”

Hope muttered that I was a heartless human.

Well, it was true.

“Anyway, in a situation like this, the fact that the local didn’t attack the young ones is what she meant by friendly. I told her not everyone is like that… but she asked if there were those willing to help. So I just said yes.”

There was a lot I wanted to say, but I couldn’t find the words.

“She asked what happened to the port Han Taekyung and I were in, so I told her it was closed. That we had no choice but to come out before it shut.”

“…She believed that?”

“I don’t know if she actually believes me, or just wants to.”

Hope shrugged.

“She said she’d been alone in the port the whole time. So when the gold-furred local came in, she didn’t care if she was killed or if the port was closed. But she never expected to be driven out.”

Anyone, monster or not, would have been surprised.

What was Noah Michel planning in that dungeon? At least Hope hadn’t just been exchanging idle chatter with the monster; he answered my question without hesitation.

“She said she’d planned to sleep until her energy ran out, so when she was forced out, she didn’t know what to do. Then she smelled water, followed it, and heard me calling.”

The explanation made sense.

Either way, she’d die outside, and staying inside wouldn’t help her find a solution. She had no motivation left.

Then, suddenly, she met a child asking for help.

“A few locals offered to help her return to the dungeon, so she asked if we’d go with her.”

“…She didn’t find it strange that the locals were helping?”

“She said that, from their perspective, it was better to close the port and avoid causing trouble outside. So she understood.”

“…And you and Han Taekyung?”

“To her, we were already outside before she was. She said she’d look after us until we died, since we’d die before she did.”

“……”

Kim Chaemin’s joke from the car ride to Las Vegas came to mind.

So there really was such a thing—a gentle grandmother monster.

“Ahaha, even if the dungeon closes, we’ll get out safely, but I never thought I’d hear something like that.”

Hope burst out laughing. Wiping at the corners of his eyes, he glanced at the monster and continued.

“And besides the furball, I heard something interesting…”

But before Hope could finish, a commotion rose from below.

I clicked my tongue, looking at Hope.

“Is it urgent?”

“Mm, no. It’ll just give you a headache if you hear it now. We’re not in the middle of a fight, so I’ll tell you after this is over.”

I left Hope on the rooftop and went downstairs. Kim Chaemin, her long hair tied up high to keep it out of the way, was directing the mages. When she saw me, she smiled with her eyes.

“We’re ready. Shall we begin?”

I looked up at the sky. The fish stretched across the outskirts of the city, casting a huge shadow below. Even from the ground, its belly was covered in feathered scales.

Splat.

Blood dripped down. The healers, clad in protective suits, rushed in to begin purification at once.

I nodded.

“Yes. Please.”

Kim Chaemin smiled and looked over at the mages.

I’d seen this resonant magic, cast by dozens of mages, once before in Marseille. Even though it wasn’t her own element, Kim Chaemin led the magic with practiced ease.

This time was no different. In fact, Kim Chaemin was delighted—the mages here were more skilled and quicker to understand her instructions than in Marseille, making the work easier. She said she’d only ever theorized about such large-scale magic, since gathering so many mages had always been impossible.

Since Marseille, she’d apparently refined her methods even further; her command flowed as smoothly as water.

And, in truth, water formed at her gesture.

She drew vapor from a nearby lake. Mist gathered, thick as clouds. Mana scattered like stars—across the clouds, the sky, everywhere the eye could see.

It was for no other reason than for the monster above.

The monster clashed its scales together. The clear sound rang through the city like a wind chime swaying in the breeze.

The monster swam through the mist, its fins undulating.

The bleeding stopped.