I’ll Retire After Saving the World

Chapter 84: Ambush (5)

TL: SHW

The meeting wasn’t over.

“Until we figure out the situation, the kids will stay here. It’s not worth taking any unnecessary risks.”

Even though it was called a meeting, it was just Hong Seok-young giving one-sided instructions.

A familiar yet unfamiliar face calmly spoke up.

“Teacher Woo, that No. 3 kid…”

“We shouldn’t call him No. 3 anymore, Teacher Hong.”

“Ah, right. Kang Tae-woo. Once he calms down, have a talk with him.”

“Me?”

“Who else if not you? Take either Hunter Lee or Teacher Kim with you. Since Hunter Lee needs to check on Seung-yeon, Teacher Kim would be better. You went with Teacher Kim the day the dungeon broke, right?”

“…Yes.”

“As for the other kids…”

Hong Seok-young scratched his chin.

“Just make up something. Tell them it’s some kind of training camp or whatever.”

Kim Chae-min asked skeptically.

“Do you think the kids will believe that?”

“If you keep them too busy to rest, whether they believe it or not won’t be a big issue. We don’t plan to hide it completely anyway.”

“Not hide it?”

“Just hiding it won’t solve everything. They’re Hunters, too. We need to give them some level of warning so they can be prepared in case something happens.”

On top of that, Hong Seok-young paid attention to various other small details.

“Teacher Kim, you shouldn’t leave here for a while either. Same goes for you, Teacher Woo.”

“I don’t have anywhere else to go anyway.”

“Haha. That’s true, I suppose. Daseon’s Hunters will be in charge of security, but it’s good for both of you to stay as well.”

Hong Seok-young looked at me and chuckled. That expression made him look just like the old man.

“Jin-woo and Eun-young, who went home, will be coming back soon. And there’s the issue of Ji-eun.”

Hong Seok-young paused for a moment. It didn’t take long for him to think. A strange sense of déjà vu hit me.

“Ji-eun isn’t on break yet, is she? When does middle school break start?”

“The first week of August.”

“Not long then. Tell the school she can’t go because of a family trip or something. I was planning to give her some light training during the break anyway, so a few days earlier won’t be a problem.”

“She’ll probably be happy about that.”

As I quietly observed, I realized the source of the déjà vu.

“Once she starts the lessons, she’ll probably change her mind.”

“Even so, Ji-eun really seems to like Teacher Woo. Maybe because you saved her sister?”

“Ah, that kid. She once begged me to make her my disciple, but couldn’t wait and betrayed me. I guess good-looking young teachers are more appealing, huh?”

“Teacher Hong, you’re not bad-looking yourself. It’s just that you’re older.”

“Is that a compliment? It doesn’t feel like it.”

“It depends on how you take it.”

Hong Seok-young and Kim Chae-min laughed playfully. The atmosphere lightened considerably. Meetings always ended with jokes like this.

This kind of meeting was something I often saw at the Ability Management Agency.

Yes. That’s how it always was. The meetings at the agency never changed throughout my time working there.

Usually, it was more like the old man, the Director, putting on a one-man show than a real meeting. After he gave out orders, everyone quietly followed without a single objection.

Occasionally, people would ask the old man questions in a doubtful tone. Not because they thought the old man was wrong, but to double-check if they were really allowed to handle such important matters.

‘Who else but you?’

Once they heard that line from the old man, they’d go off to complete their tasks with a satisfied expression.

Even those proud Hunters!

Most of the people at the agency were Hunters, and those Hunters were either the old man’s students who had graduated from the Academy like Yoo Ji-eun, or people who had grown up hearing about the old man from a young age. Whether they were his students or not, all of them had joined the agency because of Hong Seok-young’s name. They may have had personal reasons, but the one thing they had in common was that they respected Hong Seok-young.

That’s probably why the agency was often called Hong Seok-young’s personal army.

Moreover, the old man never gave unreasonable orders. There was always a reason behind them. If someone raised an objection, he would listen attentively.

He wasn’t entirely free of authoritarian tendencies, but for young Hunters who often experienced the iron-fisted rule of raid captains inside dungeons, this was a sufficiently democratic process. That’s why the Hunters respected him even more… and why they were trapped in an inescapable cycle.

Except for the part about respect, the same could be said for me.

If the old man had hidden Lee Mi-seon’s identity from me, there must have been a good reason.

It was the old man’s judgment after all.

“Hmm? Teacher Woo, do you have something more to say?”

I must not doubt him.

There must have been a reason. Just like I had a reason to lie to him. Just because we’re family doesn’t mean we always have to be honest with each other.

Knowing the old man’s nature, if I had realized and asked first, he would have told me. I was the fool for thinking Lee Mi-seon’s intelligence or Daseon’s organizational power was strange but never questioning why.

“No.”

But still, he could have told me. How many messes have I cleaned up for him?

But there’s nothing I can do about it.

“Nothing.”

Just as parents sometimes let their children win, children sometimes have to let their parents win too.

Damn father figure.

***

『Lee Mi-seon – A-rank

Main weapon – Sword

Guild Master of Daseon Guild

+ Head of Special Operations, Korean Branch of the International Ability Association

+ Cooperation with the International Ability Association?

+ Is Lee Mi-seon helping the old man because of Ark?

+ The relationship between Pilot High School and the Association? What about the Academy? 』

“……”

I closed the window after editing Lee Mi-seon’s entry on my Mana Watch.

What’s the point of doing this? I’m the only one who sees it anyway.

Whether Lee Mi-seon is an agent of the International Ability Association or whatever, as long as she’s helpful, that’s enough. I should rather be thinking of ways to bring Lee Mi-seon onto my side.

I saved Lee Seung-yeon… and saved him again this time. If she’s in charge of the Korean branch, then she must have some authority.

Moreover, that dungeon break wasn’t limited to Korea. The news I heard on the helicopter to Seoul said there were dungeon breaks happening all over the world. If every dungeon had broken out like in Korea…

Would it be enough if only Korea stays safe?

Should I really be worrying about other countries too?

But if I leave them alone, eventually Korea won’t be safe either, right?

Alright, one thing at a time.

Didn’t I tell myself not to overcomplicate things? Let’s deal with what’s right in front of me first.

For now…

Click.

“Why are you sitting in the dark?”

The lights turned on.

Lee Mi-seon stood by the wall with a tired face. I shrugged from where I sat on the sofa.

“I had a lot on my mind.”

The meeting with Hong Seok-young had ended with jokes and laughter, but reality wasn’t as amusing.

Unlike the other kids who had fallen asleep in the slightly excited atmosphere, Lee Seung-yeon had been pacing around the room with a pale face, nervous and restless, and Kang Tae-woo… Kang Tae-woo had several panic attacks, sinking into a state of shock. The night had been long.

I considered taking him to the hospital, but since it was best to avoid going outside at the moment, we couldn’t do that either. Kang Tae-woo eventually tossed and turned for a long time before falling asleep.

The night passed, and dawn was approaching. As I looked at the faintly brightening sky, I spoke lightly.

“You’ve got a doctor here, a huge garden, and enough rooms to give each of the kids their own space. You should’ve just turned this place into Pilot High School.”

No need to bring in containers to that shabby empty lot.

Lee Mi-seon sat next to me and looked up at the sky just like I was.

“Then the rest of my family would interfere. I can’t have Hunter Hong or the kids’ every move reported to my father.”

“Really?”

“And I don’t want to be monitored by my dad at my age either.”

Lee Mi-seon shrugged her shoulders.

“If it’s Hunter Lee Mi-seon providing support, I can draw a line there. But if Daeyeon gets directly involved, it wouldn’t be good. Hunter Hong said so from the start. That’s why we started with containers. From the bottom up.”

“Isn’t that a bit too ‘bottom’?”

“Well, what does it matter? Hunter Hong was even talking about using this opportunity to build a proper building.”

Since the kids were here, Pilot High School was practically empty, so it was the perfect time.

“And build proper dormitories too. There’s nothing around Pilot High School, so we’d know right away if anyone tries to approach….”

“Do you think someone will target Kang Tae-woo again?”

“Well, who knows.”

Lee Mi-seon turned her gaze away from the window and looked at me. Her eyes were calm.

“Wouldn’t Teacher Woo know that better? What do you think?”

I smiled faintly.

Lee Mi-seon had been with me when Alex Hope showed up. She was close enough to hear everything he said to me and what I said back.

What did I say back then? Nothing too special. I only answered Alex Hope’s question, “Can you see it?”

“Is Hunter Lee chasing Ark as part of the International Ability Association’s business?”

“…Yes, that’s right. There’s the child abduction case, and as Hunter Hong mentioned, there’s also the connection to other criminal activities.”

“Hunter Hong didn’t seem to know the purpose of the lab. Did you?”

Lee Mi-seon fell silent for a moment. That was as good as an answer. Realizing it, she smiled bitterly.

“I had to know. Those guys caused all sorts of trouble. The Association has been tracking Ark for quite some time. They caused a huge incident in France, and another one in the U.S.”

“And Korea?”

“They haven’t made a big move here yet, but… it’s a close call.”

I had many things I wanted to ask, but I couldn’t ask too much. I grabbed onto one question that had been bothering me.

“Do you know what those guys were doing to the dungeons?”

“Dungeons?”

Lee Mi-seon blinked innocently, as if she had no idea what I was talking about.

“Don’t play dumb. The Bangi-dong Dungeon and the Myeong-dong Dungeon. My brother’s journal had information about them. Did you find out anything else?”

“There are plenty of theories. Myeong-dong is already closed, so there’s nothing we can do there, but Bangi-dong… You’re talking about the Songpa District Dungeon, right? The one with the centipedes.”

“Yes.”

“At first, I thought they were using it to dispose of bodies. The dungeon monsters eat rotten flesh, after all. If the monsters eat it, there’s no evidence left. But….”

“But?”

“The Songpa District Dungeon appeared recently. We left it alone for a bit, but Daseon quickly won the bid for it. Using such a new dungeon to dispose of evidence? It’s strange, isn’t it?”

I nodded.

“Plus, your brother’s journal entries are quite suspicious.”

“So?”

“Though I’m not entirely sure yet… I think Ark might have artificially caused the Dungeon Break.”

“A Dungeon Break?”

“There’s no definitive reason for why Dungeon Breaks happen, but the accepted theory is that when a boss monster gathers enough mana to surpass the dungeon core, a break occurs.”

Just like the existence of dungeons, the reasons behind Dungeon Breaks weren’t clearly understood. All we could do was assess the danger level using Mana Meters.

“So, they feed the monsters and raise them, destabilizing the dungeon. That might be their goal.”

“And what do they gain from that?”

“Who knows. They must be getting something out of it.”

“…….”

The sun rose quickly. The dark sky had brightened completely. Along with the light Lee Mi-seon had turned on, the room was strangely filled with brightness.

“Well, since you asked me a question, let me ask you one!”

Lee Mi-seon spoke cheerfully.

“Teacher Woo, can you tell me what exactly you can see?”

*****

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