TL: SHW
“…….”
No, maybe it would have been better if it had been a lie.
No matter how insane a mage he was, Sem Bloom couldn't have been born with a body like that. If so….
Noah Michel and Ark spun round and round in my head. Ah, this was why I'd dragged Han Tae-kyung into the Dungeon. So I could focus solely on clearing it without having to think about anything else. And while I was at it, I could relieve some stress by giving Han Tae-kyung a hard time.
My thoughts must have been written all over my face, because Hong Seok-young chuckled softly.
“You think too much.”
So damn annoying.
“You're not going to die just because you stop thinking for a bit.”
“Are you telling me not to think?”
Go grab some random passerby and ask them. Who could possibly remain calm after hearing that humans were turning into monsters?
Monsters. Monsters.
If humans became monsters, would they be able to live for a long time outside Dungeons without dying? Had Noah Michel been trying to extend monsters' lifespans through a method like that?
Just because humans could be turned into monsters didn't mean monsters could be turned into humans.
Twenty years from now, Sem Bloom hadn't been anywhere around Noah Michel. He could have died, or he could have been among Noah Michel's followers, keeping so quiet that no one even noticed he was there.
Maybe by then, he had already become a complete monster.
“I'm just saying to take it easy. In moderation.”
Hong Seok-young said it as though that were the easiest thing in the world.
“I didn't tell you so you'd worry yourself sick over it.”
“Then why?”
This was closer to anguish than worry.
Was it? Rather than anguish….
“I just thought it would be better if you knew.”
“…….”
Ah. Right.
Resentment. Resentment toward my father.
Had he known, or hadn't he?
It was an emotion I'd felt from time to time ever since coming to the past.
If he'd completely missed Ark, then he wouldn't have known. But I couldn't dismiss the possibility that he had. If he had known, why hadn't he told me? Had I really been that unreliable? Had Yoo Ji-eun known?
…If he'd known and deliberately kept it from me, then I actually knew why. But even so, I couldn't shake the thought, Still. It pissed me off.
Because it felt like proof that I'd spent all that time being nothing but a spoiled child around my father.
If I'd acted a little more like an adult, maybe I could have helped him.
“Hey now. Stop making that face. You'll get wrinkles if you keep frowning like that.”
“Is that why you…?”
“You really have no filter when talking to your dad.”
I frowned.
“I told you, you're not my father.”
“Yeah, yeah. Let's say I'm not.”
Hong Seok-young made no attempt whatsoever to listen to my heartfelt denial. Instead, he even yawned as though he were sick of hearing it. Saying anything more would only wear out my mouth.
When I quietly shut my mouth, Hong Seok-young stopped yawning with a comically exaggerated expression.
An emotion difficult to read flashed across his face. He looked tired, but he also seemed worried about me.
It passed too quickly for me to be sure.
“Don't try to take responsibility for everything. Nobody can do that.”
What was this supposed to mean now?
As if he'd never done exactly that himself.
“…Didn't you try to?”
“Me?”
“Yes.”
“Do I look like I'm overflowing with a sense of responsibility?”
“Well…. Yes?”
Hong Seok-young's eyes widened for a moment at my answer, then he burst out laughing. Instead of laughing with his shoulders bouncing playfully like usual, or throwing his head back with a hearty guffaw, his entire face twisted up. It was an expression I'd never seen before, one that made it hard to tell whether he was laughing or crying….
Hong Seok-young laughed for a long while, making a sound that was neither laughter nor crying, but something that instead sounded almost painful.
“I'm the one who lived without thinking about anything until I somehow ended up like this.”
I didn't find that particularly convincing.
I knew better than anyone how hard this man had worked.
“No, I'm serious.”
“You work pretty hard for someone who claims that.”
“I'm telling you, it just sort of happened.”
“You keep clearing Dungeons. You catch monsters claiming they came from the future. I don't know what Noah Michel's ultimate goal is, but it certainly won't benefit humanity. If you look at it that way….”
My father's countless nicknames came to mind. He hadn't liked any of them. But what could he do about what other people called him? Back in the early days, when even the existence of the Ability Management Agency itself had been unstable, we'd survived by capitalizing on my father's reputation.
Guardian Hong Seok-young.
The nickname he'd been given in America had become popular in Korea too.
“Being called the Guardian in the future wasn't exactly inaccurate. According to insider testimony, aren't you the person Ark is most wary of right now?”
“Guardian? They called me something that burdensome?”
Hong Seok-young finally stopped that unpleasant laughter.
So he hated that nickname even here. People's tastes didn't change easily.
“I'm not anyone that grand. This is a problem….”
“Then what are you?”
“Hmm?”
“Then what are you?”
“What do you mean, what am I?”
I folded my arms and stood at an angle, looking at Hong Seok-young.
“You kill monsters that come pouring out of Dungeons, and you clear Dungeons nonstop. People even say, ‘If you're a citizen of the Republic of Korea, you owe Hong Seok-young at least one life’.”
“…….”
“If you're not someone grand, then what are you?”
Hong Seok-young scratched his head with an embarrassed expression.
“Well… someone who wants to retire and live peacefully with his sons?”
“I told you, we're not your sons.”
“Let's say you're not.”
Instead of arguing further, I sighed, stared directly at Hong Seok-young, and opened my mouth.
“You won't be able to retire for another twenty years anyway, so don't even dream about it.”
“Working your old father to the bone, aren't you….”
“You're not planning to retire anytime soon anyway.”
“Well, that's because.”
Hong Seok-young gave an awkward smile. He was back to his usual self again.
“If I don't save the world, who will?”
“Wow.”
I snorted.
“You say something like that and then claim you're not someone grand? Start by fixing the way you talk.”
“No, well. You think I want to be like this? Monsters keep showing up and spewing bullshit about coming from the future. Am I supposed to just leave them alone? I've got to kill them all.”
“…….”
“It's obvious they're not helping world peace…. I don't know if they behave the same way with everyone else, but assuming they're only doing this to me. That's, well.”
“Yes, I understand perfectly.”
“Your face says you don't understand at all….”
“You said it yourself, so stick to it.”
“Stick to what?”
“You're not allowed to retire until you've saved the world.”
“…How did it turn into that?”
“If you want to retire, save the world first.”
“…….”
Hong Seok-young stared silently at me. I didn't look away.
Eventually, neither of us knew who started first, but we both burst out laughing.
“Wahaha! Fine, fine, I get it. How am I supposed to live with a son this scary?”
“I told you, I'm not your son.”
“Looks like retiring and spending my days watching my sons act cute won't be easy. Who in the world has retirement conditions this demanding?”
“I'm giving you special treatment befitting your abilities.”
“How very generous.”
Hong Seok-young replied with a face that showed absolutely no gratitude, in a voice that sounded as though he were so grateful he could die.
Whatever.
I was past the age of acting cute, but there was still Woo I-rok. As long as he managed to retire before that kid grew up, that should be enough.
In the end….
I always ended up giving in to him.
---
“Back to the main point.”
Hong Seok-young cleared his throat.
I blinked.
“…There's still more to the main point?”
Didn't he call me here to talk about Sem Bloom? Though we'd ended up talking at length about entirely different things.
Hong Seok-young seemed to be thinking the same thing, because he looked somewhat embarrassed.
“A little.”
“A little?”
“I was originally going to talk about something else, but somehow it dragged on this long.”
“That's because you kept talking about pointless things.”
“My fault?”
“Whose fault would it be, mine?”
“I like that confidence of yours. Makes me feel like I raised you well.”
“Ah, yes….”
“Anyway.”
Hong Seok-young erased the amusement from his voice. Now we were really talking business.
“Since Dr. Gamble brought up Alex Hope, let's settle that first.”
I nodded. We still didn't know when Hope would arrive, but there were things we needed to prepare before then.
“Wouldn't it be better to call the kids over after Hope comes and leaves?”
“Hmm?”
“There are kids who've seen Hope's face.”
Kang Tae-woo and Lee Seung-yeon had seen Alex Hope's face.
Kang Tae-woo in particular believed Hope had killed his younger sister.
“Right. Seung-yeon aside, we'll have to explain things to Tae-woo.”
Hong Seok-young rubbed his chin.
“Let's talk about that again once we know when Hope is coming. If Hope comes here, Michel will be watching too. I feel bad for Tae-woo, but there's no need to give them anything they might use against us.”
“Yes.”
Hong Seok-young let out a sigh deep enough to sink the ground.
“I don't like being dragged around by the other side like this.”
“Who does?”
“Well, that's true.”
Displeased creases formed around Hong Seok-young's eyes.
“The same goes for Sem Bloom. I'm sure Dr. Gamble and Alex Hope both know about it.”
“The Monsterification? Well, I can't be sure about Gamble, but Hope must have known.”
“Wouldn't things have been easier if they'd told us in advance? Do you have any idea how long it took us to analyze that bastard's corpse? If we'd known, we could have saved time.”
I was a little skeptical about that part.
“If they'd told you, would you really have believed them without verifying it?”
“…No. I would've verified it, but at least we'd have known what we were looking for, so there would've been less wasted time. Then we could've come up with countermeasures sooner too.”
“What impressive countermeasures could we even come up with?”
“…It's just about how I feel! Satisfied?!”
I shrugged.
I'd nitpicked every single thing Hong Seok-young said, but that didn't mean I didn't understand his point.
But what could we do? Our cooperation with Gamble and Hope had only just begun, and it wasn't as though we were some harmonious alliance working purely toward a shared interest. We'd joined hands for mutual benefit, but whatever her intentions, Gamble was effectively our hostage.
Conversely, they also held hostages over us. The children Gamble had hidden away. We also couldn't ignore Hope's strength, considering he claimed he could deal with an Archmage on his own. Just because Hong Seok-young himself would be fine didn't mean everything was fine. Even with Gamble in our hands, we couldn't treat them however we pleased.
On top of all that, they'd made it clear they weren't going to hand over all their information to us. We had no idea where they would draw the line….
“When Hope comes.”
I spoke calmly.
“Keep him as far away from Gamble as possible.”
“You think that's best too?”
“If we coax him gently, won't he start spilling everything on his own? We can listen to what he has to say and decide what to do from there.”
“Wouldn't Dr. Gamble have warned him to keep his mouth shut?”
“Do you think Hope forgot to mention that the children were alive because she didn't?”
“That's true.”
Hong Seok-young conceded.
He wasn't normally the type to go looking for things to worry about. Maybe it was because I'd roughly told him about the children who died when the Myeong-dong Dungeon erupted, and what had happened afterward. He seemed strangely sentimental.
…Was it male menopause? Did Hunters go through menopause at that age too? Considering they aged more slowly, I'd thought the symptoms wouldn't show until around seventy.
“Was this why you made such a big deal out of calling me here?”
“Ah, enough with calling everything grand…. No, the real main point is still left.”
That damn main point….
“About you.”
Hong Seok-young hesitated for an unusually long time before finally speaking.
“I don't like asking this either…. Have you ever killed a Humanoid Monster?”
***
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