I’ll Retire After Saving the World

Chapter 41: Master and Disciple (1)

The old man wanted to raise me as an ordinary person.

When I was young, I didn’t have the right to choose, so I grew up as the old man raised me.

It’s not like I had any major complaints. At first, I was happy when the old man said he would take me with him…. After all, wasn’t he the one who blew away the director of the research lab? He said he’d take me out of the orphanage, so I followed him eagerly.

And the first thing the old man did after adopting me was take me to counseling. My words that I’d already had enough psychological counseling at the orphanage didn’t make any difference.

Looking back now, it was understandable. It wasn’t just about not understanding the old man’s feelings; it was a perfectly reasonable decision.

Honestly, if you list only the objective facts, it’s quite… a pitiful life, isn’t it? Not that I’m saying this because it’s my life.

Anyway, the old man didn’t want to raise a lucky orphan adopted by Korea’s top hunter, but an ordinary eleven-year-old boy. That fell apart when I awakened the following year, though.

Even so, the old man congratulated me. The weekend right after my awakening, he took me to the back mountain and taught me various things. How to pick handcuffs. How to operate mana. How to use strength. How to fight.

At first, I did everything the old man told me to, but soon I came to believe that the old man wouldn’t abandon me even if I showed a bit of displeasure.

So I might have tested him a little.

To see how far the old man would tolerate me.

Hmm.

It’s an embarrassing past.

This isn’t what I intended to talk about, though.

Although he didn’t show it, the old man probably had a hard time because of me back then.

Still, the old man never raised his voice at me. He never even pretended to lift a hand like the research lab director did.

Around the time my rebellious phase started to wane a bit, the old man sat me down and said,

‘Hwijae, I’ll let you do everything you want to do.’

‘…….’

‘If there’s something you want, I’ll buy it for you. If there’s something you want to do, I’ll let you do it.’

The old man held my hand and spoke softly.

‘If there’s someone bullying you… I’ll take care of it. You know, I have some strength. I can take care of one or two people without anyone knowing.’

‘…That’s enough.’

‘Do you hate me?’

‘…….’

‘If you stab me with a knife, it’ll hurt because I’m human too. So, as I taught you, if you stab here….’

“Stop it!”

I don’t know what he was saying to a child.

Well, later, I heard that he was trying to give me a kind of shock therapy. He said he got advice that if he said something bizarre like that, I’d come to my senses since I only lightly rebelled against him and didn’t harm others.

…It worked too easily, almost hurting my pride.

Well, I can’t do the same with Park Seo-hyun or Choi Jin-woo. But I can twist my words similarly.

“Park Seo-hyun.”

I approached Park Seo-hyun. I thought she was drawing a rune, but it wasn’t a rune. It was a diagram of magical formulas with lines flowing like waves, continuously connecting.

When I looked at the paper, Park Seo-hyun slyly covered the formulas with her arm. Look at this.

“Even if I see it, I won’t understand it.”

“Still… you’re not supposed to see….”

Formulas are sensitive, I guess.

Anyway, I had other business.

“Jin-woo declined.”

“Huh, uh… what?”

A while ago, Park Seo-hyun, feeling somewhat embarrassed, asked me to ask on her behalf.

I should have taken her with me. With Choi Jin-woo’s personality, he wouldn’t have been able to refuse if Park Seo-hyun asked him directly. If I had just pushed a little, he would have accepted.

What’s done is done. We can try again.

This is also an opportunity to instill a proper sense of responsibility in Park Seo-hyun beyond just continuing her grandfather’s magic.

…Am I pushing too hard in a single day? Well, this is how you get stronger.

“He doesn’t hold any grudges against you…. He said he doesn’t feel qualified to learn from you.”

“What?”

Kim Chae-min, who followed behind me, was startled. I lightly tapped Kim Chae-min’s calf to avoid Park Seo-hyun’s gaze. It meant to keep quiet.

And I don’t lie.

…Well, it’s not that I never lie, but it’s foolish to lie in a way that can be easily cross-verified and revealed.

I just slightly change the words and make the statements a bit more provocative.

…Was the old man like this? It feels a bit different, but… a disciple should surpass the master.

“Well, that’s understandable. After all, Jin-woo has only been a mage for a short time. Even if someone suddenly tries to teach him unique magic… it would be overwhelming.”

Actually, this kind of thing works better when Park Seo-hyun has had more time to sort out her feelings. But it can’t be helped.

“Moreover, he thinks he lacks talent and doesn’t feel worthy of becoming your disciple.”

Doesn’t that sound similar to what someone who cried and confessed to me just a few hours ago said?

Kim Chae-min is making strangled noises beside me. But I’m not really lying, you know?

This is what Choi Jin-woo said. He refused because he wasn’t confident in learning the magic being taught.

If he were in the Ability Management Agency’s raid team, huh? There wouldn’t be even a speck of dust left now. Yoo Ji-eun would have burned him to ashes before I could even turn him into dust.

“So he said he couldn’t do it.”

“…Even if the teacher persuaded him?”

Park Seo-hyun, who had been opening and closing her mouth like a goldfish, finally managed to ask.

“Even if the teacher persuades him, does he still think he’s unworthy?”

Hmm.

I shrugged.

“If he says so, what can I say?”

Park Seo-hyun’s eyes trembled.

“B-but, the teacher… to me….”

She’s probably wondering why I didn’t do the same for Choi Jin-woo when I promised her I would make her an Archmage.

Of course, I didn’t do it. I have the answer sheet for Park Seo-hyun, but not for Choi Jin-woo. I don’t buy lottery tickets.

I quieted the groaning Kim Chae-min and replied.

“You’re my student.”

No matter how I think about it, I should be getting a higher salary for this.

“But he’s your disciple.”

Of course, Choi Jin-woo is also my student. But the weight of being a mere teacher without a teaching certificate and being a disciple of a mage is different. The legal bindings are different too.

“Disciple….”

“Not yet, but. It’s the master’s role to persuade the disciple.”

Anyway, since Choi Jin-woo came out like that, I can’t force him to be motivated. This is something the parties involved must resolve. I’ll just add a little… seasoning.

I lightly pushed Park Seo-hyun’s forehead with my fingertip.

“Now, your first assignment as a master. Go persuade your disciple. Ask him to become your disciple.”

“He, he refused….”

“So you’re going to give up?”

“…….”

“Tell him honestly why you want him as your disciple. He’s your disciple.”

Park Seo-hyun looked at me with blank eyes and then lowered her head deeply. Not to hide her face with her bangs, but to look at the formula she was drawing.

“…….”

Without saying a word, Park Seo-hyun started crumpling the paper she was drawing on. She pressed the paper with her hands, making it into a small ball, and put it in her mouth.

Gulp.

After swallowing the paper ball, Park Seo-hyun stood up suddenly.

“I’ll be right back.”

Watching the spirited back of Park Seo-hyun as she headed towards the classroom container where Choi Jin-woo was, I suddenly thought.

I’ll never understand mages for the rest of my life.

* * *

Shall I tell another old story?

‘Hwijae.’

‘What is it?’

‘Hwijae, let’s talk for a moment.’

‘What is there to talk about with me? I have nothing to say.’

‘Hwijae.’

‘I’m not even your real son.’

‘Woo Hwijae!!’

The only time the old man ever raised his voice at me was then. Even when I played with and dropped his spear, or when I messed up a report he worked hard on, he just laughed and patted my head.

The old man ran his hand, which had been patting my head, over his face. It was a gesture full of fatigue.

But when he lowered his hand, there was no sign of fatigue on his face. The old man spoke firmly.

‘You are my son.’

‘Why?’

‘Why do you ask?’

‘Is it because of the adoption? Don’t worry, I’ll leave as soon as I become an adult.’

‘Woo Hwijae.’

‘Stop calling my name. It’s not for you to call.’

‘Then? Do you want to change your last name? To mine?’

‘No. Why would I take your last name?’

‘Because you are my son.’

The old man sighed.

‘Hwijae, I don’t know what someone told you, but I didn’t take you in for that reason.’

‘Then why? To get a news article? Our great Hunter Hong Seok-young adopts a poor orphan, setting an example for others?’

‘It’s not like that….’

‘It’s okay. Let’s just not bother each other and go our own ways. Okay?’

To make a feeble excuse, I was young and unnecessarily sensitive. I was somewhat intoxicated by all the pity people showed me.

It couldn’t be helped. Orphans who were caught by a nasty criminal organization easily evoked sympathy from kind-hearted people. Whether it was true or not.

Not everyone looked down on me. But Hong Seok-young held a fairly high position in Korean society. While not intending to discriminate, people usually associate with others of similar status, and Hong Seok-young was no different. Looking back, I think he made efforts to create a stable environment for a child who might have psychological trauma.

Fortunately or unfortunately, thanks to those efforts, many around me maintained a semblance of decency, refraining from saying harsh words to a pitiful orphan. Yeah. They just refrained from saying bad things outright.

Among them, some people disliked hunters, thinking they didn’t belong, or disapproved of an unknown orphan getting close to their child. They wouldn’t say it directly. They’d just hint at it, slipping it into conversation as if in passing.

‘I never thought he’d adopt a child, but you never know with the world. Given what happened to his son… Oh dear, look at me. Don’t mind it, it’s not about you.’

Hearing such things every time I visited a friend’s house, despite numerous counseling sessions, would drive any kid crazy. And the adult raising that crazy kid would wither away.

‘I’m not your son.’

‘You are my son.’

‘Your son is him. I’m just a stray picked up off the street. Isn’t that right?’

‘I don’t know what you’ve heard, but… I didn’t take you in to replace him.’

‘Then what is it?’

‘I….’

The old man hesitated. I remember being still for a long time, seeing him like that. I think I was scared of what he might say.

‘That day, Hwijae, I saw myself in you.’

‘…What do you mean?’

‘Not wanting to be here, but having nowhere to go. Just staring at the door endlessly, wishing someone would take me away.’

‘…….’

‘Even though I knew no one in the world cared about me, I couldn’t let go of that slight hope.’

The old man gave a bitter smile.

‘As soon as I awakened at nineteen, I ran away from the orphanage. I didn’t want you to end up like me.’

The old man cautiously reached out. As if afraid I might run away, his hesitant hand touched my shoulder, and he pulled me into a tight embrace.

‘That’s why I decided to be your dad.’

“Hey, you know.”

The warmth I felt on my shoulder from the old man dissipated, and a woman’s voice, sounding somewhat blunt, interrupted.

“I don’t really understand what kind of person Teacher Woo is.”

I stared blankly at Kim Chae-min.

“I don’t really understand what Teacher Kim is talking about either.”

“Oh, come on!”

Kim Chae-min pouted and grumbled.

“I really can’t tell if Teacher Woo cares about the kids or not.”

“This much means I care.”

“If you say so, I can’t argue with that… But why did you say it like that earlier?”

“What do you mean?”

Kim Chae-min kicked my calf under the table.

“Jin-woo didn’t say it like that, did he?”

“But it wasn’t wrong, was it?”

“Someone with a twisted mind could deliberately misinterpret it that way.”

I shrugged. Quite some time had passed since Park Seo-hyun went into the container.

I was curious about what they were talking about inside, so I suggested to Kim Chae-min that we eavesdrop with magic, but she refused, leaving us waiting like this.

“In my experience.”

“Experience? Have you taught kids before?”

…I pretended not to hear the inconvenient question.

“Kids like that are so sensitive that they go off the rails without brakes if you poke them just a little from the side.”

“Hmm?”

“Choi Jin-woo was worried that he might disappoint Park Seo-hyun, right?”

“…That’s true, I guess?”

“Then, it’s a matter of creating a bond so strong that they can’t let go of each other, whether they’re disappointed or not.”

“What are you talking about?”

While Kim Chae-min was puzzled, trying to understand my words, the classroom door finally opened and Choi Jin-woo and Park Seo-hyun came out. Park Seo-hyun was hiccuping and crying, and Choi Jin-woo…

“Waaaah!! You didn’t tell me about your situation!!!! I-I’ll do my best!!”

…was crying his heart out with a flushed face.