I’ll Retire After Saving the World

TL: SHW

The sweltering summer had passed, and the breeze that blew in had turned cool.

Kim Chae-min realized anew how quickly time had flown. She hadn't even accomplished anything remarkable, and yet here they already were?

"Teacher!"

"Don't mages just need to be good at magic?!"

"Magic or whatever else, you can't have a weak lower body."

The little mages scrunched up their faces. They were starting to actually look the part now.

"Come on, no slacking. Finish up."

Kim Chae-min smiled with satisfaction as she watched the two young mages grumble but still move their bodies diligently as told.

Since Seo-hyun was more sensitive by nature than Jin-woo, Chae-min had worried she might stay dejected for a while after her last mistake, but thankfully that hadn't been the case.

Not that she was perfectly fine, but being self-conscious about a mistake was less worrying, character-wise, than making one and acting shameless about it.

'I never imagined I'd end up teaching anyone, but I guess life really does throw surprises at you.'

By that logic, Hong Seok-young founding a school was a surprise in itself. The fact that it still felt surreal meant she was a long way from getting used to it.

"They're doing it too, you know!"

"They're supposed to!"

Choi Jin-woo shrieked at the top of his lungs.

This was the extent of his rebellion. Turning beet red and yelling.

Kim Chae-min covered her mouth and laughed.

Park Seo-hyun was pouting too. Still, the sight of her diligently doing squats was nothing but endearing.

Across from the outdoor table with the parasol where Kim Chae-min sat, the hunter aspirants were training under the supervision of the Daseon hunters. Watching them run across the wide garden was, as always, adorable.

In the middle of the garden, Sun Sun-jin and Oh Hyun-wook were sparring.

Thud!

"Hey! That's playing dirty!!"

"They say it doesn't matter how you get there as long as you clear the raid!"

Today, as always, the ground was getting torn up. The neatly maintained garden had long since lost any trace of its original appearance.

When they'd first moved here in a hurry, the children had been intimidated by the refined garden and moved about timidly. Unable to watch any longer, Hong Seok-young smashed a small waterfall that anyone could tell had been painstakingly arranged, and after him, Woo Hwijae chopped down an expensive-looking pine tree. By that point, the children stopped caring whether the garden fell apart or not.

"How is that 'getting there'?!"

Oh Hyun-wook was struggling against the small and quick Sun Sun-jin.

In Kim Chae-min's eyes, Hyun-wook was doing well for his age, but there was something subtly textbook about his movements. What was it Woo Hwijae had said about him?

'That kid has this perfectionist streak, maybe because of what he went through.'

And then Hwijae had muttered in disbelief:

'It's kind of funny when you think about what he grows up to be, though....'

Considering how hunters tended to pick up more dirty tricks as they gained experience, Chae-min could see what Woo Hwijae meant. How long could that kid keep up that innocent side of his?

"Whether you fly or crawl, it's the loser's fault for losing!"

Sun Sun-jin, who moments earlier had thrown dirt in Oh Hyun-wook's eyes, declared it proudly.

The way she parroted exactly what Woo Hwijae said was, again, adorable. Did other mages take on students for this kind of joy too?

'Three days ago at a university in California, a student mage attacked their master....'

Recalling the news she'd seen just days ago, Kim Chae-min looked up at the sky with the smile still on her face. Maybe not, then.

Bzzzz.

Kim Chae-min took her hand off her chin and looked at her phone.

Woo Hwijae.

Kim Chae-min tilted her head, then chuckled.

She had already heard the news about a dungeon appearing at the hotel where the forum was being held. She'd figured that with Hong Seok-young there, they'd be out in no time. The children must have thought the same, since they hadn't panicked when they heard.

The fact that he was calling like this meant that assumption had been right.

Was he calling because he was worried the kids might be anxious?

"Did the raid go well?"

So Kim Chae-min asked in a bright voice.

But Woo Hwijae's voice coming through the receiver was anything but bright.

─Teacher Kim. You set up all the Protection Magic around the villa, right?

"What?"

─The Protection Magic. You did it, right?

"Uh... yes."

Kim Chae-min blinked, then spoke slowly.

"Since the reason we came here... is what it is, Hunter Lee requested it.... And ever since Seung-yeon ran away, we've been checking everyone who comes and goes."

─How many Daseon hunters are there right now?

"Hunter Lee took some, but...."

Lee Mi-seon, who was secretly an Association member, seemed to have gotten some work to do because of the forum. She would probably answer if asked, but Chae-min hadn't been interested enough to ask. She figured if it was related to the Ark, word would reach her eventually.

Kim Chae-min tilted her head and answered Woo Hwijae's question.

"Three. Hunter Ji Yoo-geon and...."

Woo Hwijae cut her off as though he didn't care who specifically had stayed behind.

─Then gather the kids and stay with the hunters.

"What?"

─All the kids are there, right? Stay together until I or Teacher Hong get there. Right now!

"What's going on?"

─I'll explain later! Move, right now!!

She had never seen Woo Hwijae raise his voice like this.

Kim Chae-min nodded reluctantly, even knowing the other person couldn't see her face. Then she caught herself and answered.

"Yes, yes! Got it. I just need to stay with the kids, right?"

─I'm counting on you.

Woo Hwijae spoke through gritted teeth.

─You're the only one I can trust, Teacher.

"...I don't know what's going on, but you're telling me to protect the kids, right?"

What had been the reason Woo Hwijae and Hong Seok-young attended the forum in the first place? No, Hong Seok-young attended every year, but this time there had been another reason.

Recalling the name Alex Hope, Kim Chae-min's expression went ice-cold.

There was no reason to think someone who'd attacked once couldn't attack again.

"I'm an Archmage, you know."

On her seventeenth birthday, she had bloomed her first rosebud.

Before a month had passed, she had successfully manifested her Unique Magic, accompanied by the deep fragrance of roses.

Before winter came that year, she had become an Archmage.

Following her parents' approach to her education, she hadn't begun active work until she turned twenty. She was also aware that there were people who called her a young, inexperienced mage.

Her pride as an Archmage was wounded. The ones who couldn't say a word when they actually saw her face, yet ran their mouths otherwise!

"Whoever comes, getting past me would be... well. Think it'll be easy?"

Woo Hwijae said nothing. But his ragged breathing slowly steadied.

When he spoke again a moment later, his voice was far calmer.

─Then I'll trust you.

"Okay."

The call ended.

"Kids! Class is over for today!"

Kim Chae-min didn't hesitate. In situations like this, time was everything. Fortunately, the children were all within her line of sight.

The little mages who had been diligently working their lower bodies, the children running across the garden, Sun Sun-jin and Oh Hyun-wook in the middle of their sparring. Along with them, the three Daseon hunters also turned to look at Kim Chae-min.

"Everyone, follow me!"

"What?"

"I'll explain later, come on!"

At the same time, Kim Chae-min checked the Defense Magic around the villa. She activated every single spell she had set up but left dormant, and went over each one to make sure nothing was out of alignment. Perhaps noticing the shift in the villa's mana flow, the three Daseon hunters' faces hardened.

Kim Chae-min saw Kang Tae-woo's face go white. A child from the Research Lab who had seen Alex Hope firsthand, it was no wonder he'd catch on quickly. Lee Seung-yeon, seeing Tae-woo's face, seemed to grasp the situation as well; he kept his mouth firmly shut without any of the jokes he'd normally make and followed Kim Chae-min.

When the adults and their friend shifted in mood, the rest of the children were swept up in it too. Yoo Ji-eun, the youngest, pressed herself close to the older girl beside her.

Kim Chae-min brought the children to the study Lee Mi-seon had been using. It had been set up to serve as a shelter in case of emergency.

Honestly, she'd thought it was overkill while making it, but sure enough, everything had its use. Better to overdo it than fall short.

Kim Chae-min looked over the children.

"Good. Nobody's miss...."

Something felt off.

Kim Chae-min looked at the children again. She realized immediately what felt wrong.

"I-rok!"

Kim Chae-min screamed.

"Where's I-rok?!"

One more person was missing.

"And has anyone seen Han Tae-kyung?!!"

*

─Bonnie! You shouldn't do that! You have to get along with your friends!

Inside the small tablet PC, a bizarre-looking pink cat moved about.

No matter how much the cat talked, people couldn't understand it. To the spiteful little girl, the tiny cat following her around was nothing more than a meowing sound.

Woo I-rok scowled deeply.

The story was full of things he didn't like, but dropping a series in the middle after he'd already started watching felt like an insult to his pride. It was an animation with multiple seasons, so maybe if he kept watching, at least one episode would turn out to be decent.

─Meow meow meow meow!

─Chasie, do you really like me that much?

─Meow meow!

...Yeah, that didn't seem likely.

Still, Woo I-rok was mostly satisfied with this life.

For one thing, he could live with his brother. That alone was enough for him to put up with most things. His brother had tried his best not to let it show in front of him, but he could never fully hide how much he hated being called away to the Research Lab every time.

'...He never told me what kind of work he did, though.'

Still, even if he was his brother, he couldn't prevent I-rok from overhearing what the researchers said.

What a Cleaner did was obvious.

Take out the trash.

And what kind of trash would come out of a Research Lab? How many children had followed a researcher out and never come back?

Woo I-rok squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them.

─Meow!

The pink cat was crying.

Woo I-rok lay on the sofa and kept watching the animation.

In any case, he liked living here. The fact that his brother was busy wasn't entirely satisfying, but it wasn't as though he'd gotten to see his brother often at the Research Lab either.

At least now he had the belief that his brother would come when he needed him. It was different from back then, when all he could do was wait endlessly. Even now, his brother had promised he'd be back in three days before he left. He'd also said that if I-rok wanted to talk to him, he could ask the female teacher and she'd let him make a call.

So....

"Hey, kid!"

Woo I-rok raised an eyebrow. The loud man with the sunglasses was running toward him in a panic.

"You okay?"

"With what?"

"Teacher Kim just activated her magic all of a sudden.... Shit!"

Han Tae-kyung launched himself forward. Woo I-rok couldn't even scream as he was scooped into Tae-kyung's arms and they rolled across the floor.

"What the fuck!"

"Hmm...."

The air tore open, and a blue-haired boy poked his head through. Woo I-rok could barely see him over Han Tae-kyung's shoulder.

White wings hung from below his forearms. He looked like one of those monsters that sometimes appeared on TV. Slender fingers stretched out toward them.

Han Tae-kyung grabbed the tablet Woo I-rok had been holding and hurled it at the boy. The tablet flew straight at his head. The boy raised his arms to shield himself.

"......!"

From within the torn air, thorned vines shot out and coiled around the boy. The vines dragged him back.

The boy, thoroughly irritated, tried to cut through the vines but failed and was pulled back into the rift, vanishing.

"...What the hell?"

Han Tae-kyung scrambled to his feet.

The air split open again, and white feathers fluttered. Despite blood dripping steadily from the thorn punctures, the boy ignored it completely, reaching his hand through at all costs.

"What the hell!!!"

Han Tae-kyung ran was still holding Woo I-rok.

***

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