Retire 551
by Cristae551 (Hunter Academy Side Story 18) Human and Monster_2
“Haaaahm.”
Alex yawned widely, sprawled out on the floor. He counted the wood grain in the ceiling, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. Sweet floral scents. The fresh smell of grass.
Magic as vibrant as any greenhouse moved softly through the air, like a warm spring breeze. The school greenhouse always had a noisy, bustling energy from all the people coming and going, but Archmage Kim Chae-min’s cabin was quiet. Lying there, breathing in the honeyed fragrance of flowers, sleep came easily.
He’d come back to Korea earlier than planned. Woo Hee-jae had looked at Alex and Han Tae-kyung with a puzzled expression, but, perhaps after talking things over with Lee Mi-seon, he didn’t give the scolding Alex had expected about interfering in Association business.
Of course, since Guild Mimi wasn’t exactly uninvolved, they’d dutifully filed their reports as soon as they arrived. How Henry’s trail had led from the US to South America, the illegal lab they’d found in the wilderness, Henry’s grotesque puppets. Ironically, the notoriety Sandra and Alex had gained from dealing with Noah now proved useful for this case.
Hong Seok-young and Kim Chae-min were openly delighted, and even Woo Hee-jae, pretending otherwise, listened with keen interest.
Han Tae-kyung had said that if it weren’t his own business, he’d have enjoyed it like a spy movie. It was a fun story, even if he was a character rather than an audience member.
Alex thought of all the movies he’d watched with Sandra. Other movies, too, but Sandra’s favorites had always been the hardest to understand. It was difficult to follow the characters’ thought processes, and he could never figure out how a fleeting gesture or a brief shot was supposed to be foreshadowing.
‘…Maybe I’d understand them now?’
Humans were full of emotion. Fairies and monsters had feelings too, but their standards were different from humans’. That was only natural for a species from another world.
When Alex had entered a human body, the mana he’d carried focused on survival. It wasn’t human mana; it was mana bound to his wings. Alex’s control was poor, and the mana concentrated on keeping itself alive.
One of its strategies was to make others unconsciously feel goodwill toward him.
Alex’s indifference to other humans was partly because his physiology was so different, but also because of the web of mana centered on his wings. It hadn’t mattered when he was a fairy, but now that he had a human body, he was subject to its influence and became dull to external stimuli. He paid attention only to things that interested him…
Well, let’s just say Sandra’s efforts were a big part of it. He was finally at an age where he could appreciate that. This year, he’d decided to give Sandra a present for Christmas.
Now that he was fully, undeniably human, that dullness was gone, and everything felt new. Until he got used to it, it made him so dizzy he could barely stand. All his senses were twice as sensitive. Now, even emotions—his own and others’—came through vividly. That was a big part of why he’d gotten hooked on dramas; it made learning about feelings easier.
‘Huh. I feel like something’s about to click.’
Alex half-sat up from where he lay.
It looked like he might bolt out of Kim Chae-min’s cabin at any moment, but he soon collapsed back down like a puppet with its strings cut.
Coming to Korea was fine. He hadn’t been surprised when Han Tae-kyung had made a fuss about going home as soon as the reporting was done—he’d spent the whole flight from the US talking about his sister.
What Alex hadn’t expected—or rather, what he’d vaguely realized but never seriously considered—was the existence of the students at the Academy.
Specifically, one student.
In the past, he would have thought it was all fuss over nothing, but now it was different.
‘Back then, I wondered if it was really necessary, but now I get it.’
It wasn’t anything special. Alex had volunteered to help catch Henry, so it wasn’t a big deal. Honestly, it was just a problem that came from coming to Korea ahead of schedule.
Was this what it meant to become human? There was so much to think about… Life had been more fun when it was simple.
Kang Tae-woo.
A student at the Academy, one of the orphans rescued from the lab when Noah ordered the cleanup and raid.
He was aware he’d gone overboard out of stress over doing something he didn’t want to do and the thought of having to deal with Hong Seok-young. Sandra had scolded him for it later. There’d been one other, too. What was their name…?
Anyway, after the Boston incident, when Alex had stayed at the Academy, he’d half locked himself in the lab to avoid those two. Hard to forget.
One of them had graduated, but one was still there.
A former Ark lab kid, accused of killing his younger sister. The misunderstanding had been cleared up, but according to Woo Hee-jae, he still harbored complicated feelings. Even if he said he was fine, Alex couldn’t be sure how he’d react if he appeared in front of him.
Sandra had told him not to cause trouble, and Woo Hee-jae hadn’t contradicted her, which was as good as agreeing. Alex decided there was no harm in listening to them.
Sometimes, doing nothing was the best help.
Well, that kid had probably gotten used to seeing Alex’s face on the news by now. But knowing someone exists and having them show up in front of you are two different things…
Woo Hee-jae had probably been relieved when Alex volunteered to chase Henry. Alex was perceptive enough to notice that much by now.
But apparently, no one had prepared for the possibility that he’d suddenly end up back in Korea.
Sandra was still living at the Academy, and Alex had nowhere to stay in Korea. Hotels weren’t an option, and for meetings, he couldn’t be far from the Academy.
So he’d planned to stay in the lab with Sandra like before, but now there was a graduate working there, too. He’d been banned from entering—told not to disturb the important research going on.
Feeling sorry for him, the kindly archmage had offered his own domain on the edge of the school grounds: a log cabin filled with flowers and plants.
‘If I can’t leave…’
Alex fumbled for his phone. Was it class time now?
He’d just come up with a plausible theory about Henry, and if he didn’t send it now, he’d forget. Alex tapped away at the keypad.
“So, what you’re saying is…”
Woo Hee-jae pressed his temples, as if he had a headache.
“Just because Noah was a deep thinker doesn’t mean Henry is!”
“……”
Woo Hee-jae looked like he had a lot more to say.
But it was a kind of “emotion” Alex still couldn’t quite read.
Since they couldn’t use the lab as a meeting room, Guild Mimi had gathered in Kim Chae-min’s cabin. It was too small for six people, the table was low, and there weren’t enough chairs, so they’d stacked bags of soil as makeshift seats. Sitting on what looked more like a plant stand than a chair, Han Tae-kyung looked even shorter than usual.
“Ah… I think I get what you mean.”
It was Han Tae-kyung, not Sandra, who first picked up on Alex’s halting words.
Given what that man had been through, it wasn’t surprising.
“I don’t know Henry Lehmann personally, so I can’t say what kind of person he was.”
Han Tae-kyung slid a finger under his sunglasses to rub his eyes.
“You saw him in Las Vegas, right? I don’t know how many times he’s changed bodies—probably more than I have.”
“……”
“Is that even human? I mean, can he feel and think like a human? Does he see himself as human? Or does he want to stay human?”
Han Tae-kyung pointed at Alex, sitting right beside him.
“Junior. What was it like, becoming human?”
“It’s really fun.”
“Don’t give me such a vague answer.”
“Eh… but it’s true.”
“Fine. Teacher Kim probably knows better. The mana outside and inside a dungeon is different, right?”
“Well… yes, that’s true. So monster mana is also… ah!”
With just a hint, Kim Chae-min nodded immediately.
“It means there are different kinds of mana in one body. In Alex’s case, it’s a complete replacement.”
Han Tae-kyung pointed at Alex again.
Then, with that same finger, pointed at himself.
“I’m more human than monster.”
“So Lehmann…”
“He’s probably more monster. For him, the inside of a dungeon must feel more like home. Or… his birthplace? Maybe not as comfortable as home, but familiar.”
“And outside the dungeon?”
“He gets dull.”
This was something Alex could answer. He opened his eyes wide and said firmly,
“All his senses and emotions will be dulled. Henry was always more impulsive than Noah, but now? Even more so.”
“……”
“I don’t know if Henry will ever feel satisfied.”
Silence fell.
Woo Hee-jae, looking anxious, tapped his fingers on his knee before speaking.
“Why did Henry Lehmann change bodies?”
“To get stronger than everyone else?”
“That’s it?”
“Henry cares a lot about that sort of thing.”
That’s why Alex had to keep beating him down, to stop him from climbing up. After that, it seemed like Henry had backed off, but if you gave him even a little room, he’d get cocky again.
Sandra had disliked Noah, but she’d found Henry revolting.
‘Shan-shan? What happened? Where’d you get hurt like that?!’
‘Ow, ow. This is going to scar, isn’t it? My body’s too soft… Mom’s going to hate this.’
‘Potion! Where’s the emergency potion the lady gave you?!’
The first time they met Henry, he’d attacked.
His young body was vulnerable to shock. That was when Sandra started getting seriously involved in Alex’s affairs.
“Michel at least had some kind of excuse… but I don’t think that guy does. He was just born that way.”
“…Wasn’t Lehmann’s father suspicious?”
“For all that, he lived a pretty clean life.”
“Hmmm.”
Hong Seok-young stroked his chin.
“So, basically…”
He finally shrugged.
“Changing bodies made him dull, so life got boring, and now he’s just poking at things for fun?”
Is that… how it works?
It sounded too simple, but it didn’t seem wrong…
“Isn’t that dangerous?”
Looking deeply troubled, Woo Hee-jae finally spoke.
“Hm?”
“If he feels more at home inside a dungeon…”
“Uh… what?”
“Then Lehmann might try to continue Michel’s plan.”
Everyone in Guild Mimi, huddled around the small table, turned to look at Woo Hee-jae.
“Ghk.”
Sandra coughed, as if she couldn’t breathe. But no one looked away.