Retire 532

532 The Human’s Child (6)

I set down the documents that the Da-seon hunter had carefully delivered.

Tati’s dungeon had closed.

It wasn’t a surprise; if anything, it was surprising it had lasted this long. The last time I saw that dungeon, that fairy had been on the verge of death.

The photo Tati gave me.

Father said he’d keep helping. With the data Michelle left behind, if we combed through the remaining labs, we’d find some clue.

I’d accepted my brother’s death long ago.

But without a body, sometimes I wondered if he might still be alive somewhere.

I didn’t want to know for sure, yet I wanted to know just that much.

It’s hard.

But that’s life, as Father’s been fond of saying lately.

And life always brings hardship and adversity.

The fact that life doesn’t resolve all conflicts with a fanfare, like a game, meant that even after coming “home,” things didn’t magically disappear.

If anything, they’d snowballed and come back bigger. So-called karma.

Even after more than a year running this school, I still found myself pondering the same question.

“Why is this working?”

I was still amazed that the school was running at all.

…Maybe it’s because I’m judging this as “normal.” What is the standard for normal, anyway?

To be honest, this school only exists and continues thanks to Lee Mi-seon’s money and the name Hong Seok-young. After what happened in America, maybe now Kim Chae-min’s name carries even more weight.

As soon as I returned to school, I pressed my temples as I looked at the pile of inquiries. Besides the new students Robinson and Funes had inquired about, there were several others sincerely interested in enrolling.

I’d worried there might only be one new student, but at least that wouldn’t happen. The problem was, all the applicants were magicians.

I hoped they weren’t mistaking this for a magician training school.

It was a shame I couldn’t rule out the possibility.

“Teacher!!”

“…The door?”

“This way’s faster!”

Lee Seung-yeon nimbly opened the window and came into the teachers’ office.

“Use the stairs.”

“This way’s faster.”

“A window isn’t a door.”

“If a person can fit, it’s a door!”

I looked at Lee Seung-yeon. His grinning face practically shone. Soon-soon-jin followed him in.

Before my business trip, I thought I was teaching humans… How did it come to this? What did the Da-seon hunters teach these kids?

I put down the documents I’d been reading.

“What is it?”

“You’re ignoring us, teacher.”

“You used to run away from me.”

“That was then, this is now.”

Soon-soon-jin jumped in eagerly.

“You were supposed to evaluate us! I know you couldn’t because of your trip, but now that you’re back…”

Lee Seung-yeon squirmed shyly. He used to run away whenever I suggested a spar, but now he was coming to me—endearing and exasperating at once.

“We’ve gotten a lot better.”

Soon-soon-jin nudged Lee Seung-yeon aside.

“Yeah… you really have.”

“Exactly!”

“Is the principal not enough?”

“The principal doesn’t give out stickers!”

Soon-soon-jin said it like it was the most important thing in the world.

“You said we’d get a prize if we collected stickers.”

“I’m on my fifth win.”

“We couldn’t collect any while you were away.”

“You said you’d make it up to us as a graduation present.”

“Hm.”

“You’re not just stalling because you haven’t picked the prize yet, are you?”

I frowned.

“Not enough trust in your teacher. I’ll take away a sticker.”

“That’s not fair!”

Lee Seung-yeon and Soon-soon-jin squawked in protest. These little rascals never change. It feels like only these two haven’t grown. When I saw Yoo Ji-eun after a while, she was almost unrecognizable, she’d grown so much.

On the field, despite the cold, some kids were still training. Father was enthusiastically putting them through their paces. Park Seo-hyun and Choi Jin-woo had apparently escaped from the lab with Gamble and Kim Chae-min and joined in.

No one would go straight into a dungeon after graduating. That was my only comfort.

Most would go to college, and those who didn’t would work as assistant hunters in Da-seon, thanks to Lee Mi-seon’s support. That was the minimum safety net I required.

The kids grew up the moment I looked away. Especially Oh Hyun-wook, who’d always been talented—he’d become a hunter who could hold his own anywhere.

The other kids, with some variation, were all strong enough not to be pushed around. Even Yu Hye-eun, who was the least interested in dungeons, had proudly been accepted to medical school. When Han Tae-kyung heard, he insisted this was something to celebrate and hung a banner on the school building; since then, Yu Hye-eun declared Han Tae-kyung her nemesis. Han Eun-young was thrilled.

For the record, Han Eun-young’s college acceptance banner was hung right next to Yu Hye-eun’s.

Watching the kids chattering and laughing, well… my worries seemed silly. I couldn’t remember what I’d been worried about, or why I’d made everything so complicated.

Sometimes, simplicity is best.

Right now, what needs me is here. The school. The kids.

“And it’s winter, so my body’s stiff. Why are you still training outside? The gym’s been repaired—you’ll be fine unless you’re planning to tear it down.”

“Well, that’s…”

“Awakened aren’t immune to the cold.”

“But hunters need to be able to move in the cold!”

I looked at Lee Seung-yeon.

He’s not usually the type to say something so admirable.

I know the kids are seriously thinking about their futures and making decisions. That’s what I taught them to do.

But after counseling and raising these unstable kids for over a year, I know them better than they think. No matter how grown-up they try to act, kids are kids. I guess that’s how I looked to Father and my sister… Let’s not dwell on the past.

Lee Seung-yeon tried to hide it, but anxiety showed in his movements. Rapid blinking, a jaw twitching with nerves, hands scratching his head in worry.

And lately, the kids’ behavior…

At first, I thought it was just because graduation was coming, but I was wrong.

“The French hunters got trapped in a dungeon full of snow once…”

I cut off Lee Seung-yeon’s rambling.

“Are you all planning to never see your teachers again after graduation?”

“…What?”

I fell silent.

Lee Seung-yeon and Soon-soon-jin quieted as well.

“……”

As my silence dragged on, they edged toward the window.

“Lee Seung-yeon, Soon-soon-jin.”

They froze, hands on the window frame.

“…Yes.”

“You’re going to college, right?”

“If I got in, I should go.”

“Han Eun-young and Yu Hye-eun are going to college. The rest will work as assistant hunters in Da-seon. Park Seo-hyun and Choi Jin-woo will be with Mr. Kim.”

Lee Seung-yeon still looked confused about where this was going.

“You remember there’s a Da-seon master’s office in this school, right?”

I wondered what to do with these kids. Maybe it’s just Lee Seung-yeon? The sensitive teen who once ran away to see the sea answered quietly, even as he flinched.

“Aunt gets mad if we call it an office. She says to call it the director’s room.”

“Where do you think Da-seon’s assistant hunters from this school will be trained?”

“……!”

“We can stay at school? I don’t want to go to college! Lee Seung-yeon, you go alone!”

“Hey!”

“The same goes for you.”

I ruffled their hair. Usually they’d dodge, but this time they stayed put.

“You’ve had a… pretty experimental school life, you know.”

Soon-soon-jin looked like he wanted to protest the word “experimental,” but stayed quiet.

“This applies not just to you, but to future graduates too. Our school is always open to its students.”

“……”

“Even after you graduate.”

Yangseong High is a completely different institution from the hunter academies I knew. The only thing it shares is that it was founded by Hong Seok-young. After what happened in Myeong-dong, the school survived not on the kids’ blood, but on their laughter.

Still, there’s no reason not to adopt the student protection system of a hunter academy. Father created this school to protect underage Awakened. This school will remain a strong shelter for young Awakened until they can stand on their own—and even after.

Some students may not need the school’s support… but as a school, it should always be open to everyone, shouldn’t it?

“So, you get it?”

I patted their backs.

“There’ll be plenty of time to train, so don’t worry.”

I said as gently as I could.

“But since it seems you’ll miss your teachers… Sorry I didn’t notice. How about we do a stamina test for old time’s sake? We haven’t done it in this weather, have we? Let’s see how long you can last and fight in the cold…”

“W-we have to get ready for graduation!”

“We’ll come visit after we graduate! With presents!”

Lee Seung-yeon and Soon-soon-jin fled out the window to escape my hand.

I shook my head as I watched them dash across the field.

And just as those two ran off, someone knocked on the teachers’ office door.

Knock. Knock.

“Come in.”

“…Are you finished talking?”

“You don’t have to wait, just come in. It’s just kids.”

Daniel entered the office, a bit hesitantly.

“You’ll be a teacher soon, too, Daniel.”

“Haha…”

“Aren’t you already, halfway? Coffee?”

“Yes, thank you.”

Daniel had joined Guild Mimi. He still seemed vaguely uneasy about his choice. I didn’t know what his former colleagues had said, but lately, his face had brightened a lot. His suspicious looks at us had increased, but… if there’s anyone who’d help catch a heinous criminal like Henri Lehmann, it’s got to be someone who’s genuinely trying to bring justice to the world.

I made instant coffee for Daniel as if it were second nature.

“All right, let’s go over your working conditions in detail. Here’s a draft of the contract. Read it over, and let me know if there’s anything you don’t understand.”

While Daniel read the contract, I sipped my coffee. Outside, I could hear the commotion of Lee Seung-yeon and Soon-soon-jin joining their friends on the field.

These days, when Soon-soon-jin goes all out in a surprise attack, it’s actually dangerous. Today, it sounded like Oh Hyun-wook was the victim—his squawking reached all the way to the office.

“Um, Mr. Woo?”

Daniel called me, tilting his head.

“Yes?”

“What does ‘probationary period’ mean?”

“Oh, that.”

I smiled kindly.