I’ll Retire After Saving the World

Chapter 62: (Advertisement) Help Me (2)

I thought about it calmly.

Without the complex and bothersome setups like a pitiful civil servant from the future or a righteous whistleblower from a pseudo-religious organization.

Just an ordinary Hunter… if it’s a D-rank Hunter. If it’s from a teacher’s perspective.

If a kind and exemplary student who volunteers in something like a Dungeon Break victims’ group came shivering and asking for help, how would one react?

If they were a decent adult, they would pity them and try to help, right?

“Calm down… and tell me what’s going on?”

I lowered my voice and spoke slowly.

As reassuringly as I could.

But even if I didn’t do this, No. 3 would still trust me.

Conversely, whatever bullshit No. 3 spouts, I would also pretend to help.

Isn’t this the secret to everyone being a winner?

― It’s just….

After hesitating and struggling for a while, No. 3 finally opened their mouth.

― I, uh, awakened….

What did this kid just say?

Awakened? He said he Awakened, right?

― I Awakened, but… everything breaks whenever I grab something… and I hurt my siblings by mistake, so I… I don’t know what to do….

“Hmm. Right. So….”

My head was spinning.

No. 3… Awakened?

Was No. 3 originally supposed to awaken?

I don’t know. I haven’t seen No. 3 since he graduated from the research lab. I haven’t heard any news either.

Twenty years have passed, so my memory might have become distorted. But I clearly remember that No. 3 was a failure. From the beginning, the only one who could be considered a success in the experiment was me. And even that was only half a success.

― Then I thought of you, teacher…. You said you were a Hunter. Uh, ah, is this okay?

“No, it’s fine.”

Still, if one has a brain and can think, they wouldn’t try to scam a Hunter by claiming they had an Awakening.

It would be too far-fetched to assume No. 3 conveniently Awakened now.

Anyway, it doesn’t matter when the Awakening happened.

“Where are you now? I’ll get there as soon as possible.”

― Uh, really?

“I said I’d help, didn’t I? I don’t go back on my word.”

― Then, uh, I’ll send you the address by text. Thank you so much. I really didn’t know what to do….

No. 3 kept babbling nonsensically a few more times. I barely held onto my fraying patience and calmly soothed him.

“It’s okay…. Alright. I’ll be there soon.”

Finally. The call ended.

I stared intently at my phone. If I handle this well, it could be quite useful. How should I go about it? How….

My face feels somehow hot.

When I looked up, I met eyes with Kim Chae-min. She had put down the rose she was holding. The table was filled with roses.

Kim Chae-min smiled brightly.

“Are you done talking?”

“……”

“…What’s with your expression? Did it not go well?”

I blinked.

“You didn’t listen?”

I thought she would have been listening.

Kim Chae-min replied with a nonchalant expression.

“I don’t eavesdrop on personal calls.”

“Well, it wasn’t exactly a personal call, you should have listened.”

Not that I could reprimand her for not eavesdropping.

I rubbed my chin and then opened my mouth.

“No. 3 told an interesting story.”

“Interesting story?”

“He said he Awakened.”

Kim Chae-min’s hand, which was sorting rose petals, stopped.

“…Awakened?”

“The timing is just perfect, isn’t it?”

“Indeed. Awakening at this timing….”

Kim Chae-min repeated my words with wide eyes, looking blankly. I snapped my fingers in front of her eyes to snap her out of it.

Snap!

“Huh?”

“There’s no way he just Awakened now. He wouldn’t lie about Awakening to a Hunter, so he must have hidden it from a long time ago.”

Kim Chae-min held the selected petals in her hands and brought them together. As I watched quietly, wondering what on earth she was doing, she opened her hands with a playful smile.

A small mana crystal lay in her palm. It was a soft, light green vine, coiled like a snake, as delicate as a new sprout on a warm spring day.

Kim Chae-min carefully stroked the leaf with her fingertip.

“But isn’t it illegal not to register as an awakened person?”

“It’s not illegal if no one knows they’ve awakened.”

“Oh. Hmm. Right. I guess that makes sense.”

Mana crystallization seems simple but is a high-level skill. It is one of the criteria used to judge the abilities of mages.

Really… if you have nothing to do, go comfort the kids who care so much about such things.

It’s not incomprehensible that Kim Chae-min is doing this. Isn’t she an Archmage who got lured by runes and is now providing her labor for free at a rural school without proper buildings?

Kim Chae-min, who initially said she could only teach basic mana manipulation, now seemed quite genuine about teaching the kids. This is why you never know how life will turn out.

Meanwhile, the runes Kim Chae-min was after are something she’s now learning on her own by looking at the notes I prepared for the classes.

Since I didn’t say I’d teach her, there’s no need to feel guilty. It was Hong Seok-young who dragged Kim Chae-min into this… den of evil.

“…….”

“…….”

Kim Chae-min clasped her hands again. The mana crystal crumbled. The transparent powder sparkled as it scattered and disappeared into the air.

Relaying the contents of the call was quickly done. Most of it was just soothing No. 3, and the conclusion was simple.

He awakened and I’m going to visit.

Ding!

Just in time, my phone rang once.

No. 3 sent the address. It started in Suwon, Gyeonggi-do, and ended at an orphanage.

I opened the map to check the exact location. It was oddly close. I wondered if he had even changed his residence, but… didn’t he volunteer at lectures for the National New Heart and Spirit Association in Suwon? This must be a real coincidence. It was fortunate for No. 3 or whoever gave No. 3 the instructions.

“I have to go here?”

Kim Chae-min asked, peeking at my phone screen.

“But Teacher Woo, you don’t have a driver’s license, right? How are you going to get there?”

I looked at Kim Chae-min, conveying my thoughts on why she was even asking such a thing.

Luckily, my thoughts seemed to get across as Kim Chae-min furrowed her brows.

“You want me to give you a ride, right?”

I smiled without saying a word.

“Ask the Daseon Hunters for a ride!”

“It would be much more effective if Teacher Kim drove me. It’s to show that the connection is strong enough for an Archmage to personally escort me. It’s fine for Teacher Hong since he’s the employer, but we need to show off the connection to an Archmage.”

I looked at Kim Chae-min’s sports car parked in the corner of the playground.

“However, it’s not appropriate to visit a colleague in the hospital with that color. Let’s just borrow a car from the Daseon Hunters.”

“Really!”

But suddenly, Kim Chae-min fell silent.

…Honestly, I thought she would grumble a bit more.

Puzzled, I looked at Kim Chae-min, who stood there with a blank expression and mouth slightly open.

“Teacher Kim?”

“I have a great idea.”

“What?”

Kim Chae-min’s eyes sparkled with a somewhat unsettling gleam.

“No. 3, oh, I hate calling him that. You said it was Kang Tae-woo, right?”

“I’m not sure if that’s his real name, though.”

“Kang Tae-woo, he Awakened, didn’t he?”

“I don’t know when he Awakened, though.”

“Let’s set aside that minor detail. Anyway, Tae-woo asked for help because he’s having trouble controlling his power, right?”

“That’s… right?”

I was pondering whether I should register him as an Awakened. There’s nothing particularly special about controlling power after awakening. Usually, people instinctively master it within 24 hours of Awakening.

However, I couldn’t shake off my uneasy feelings and kept watching Kim Chae-min.

One thing I learned while living with the old man is that whether someone is normally like that or not, if their voice suddenly gets louder, you should never listen to their opinion.

This is all advice born from life experience.

“Then let’s enroll Kang Tae-woo at the pilot high school!”

See? I told you, never listen.

“No way.”

“Why not! He just Awakened, so he meets the criteria perfectly!”

“What criteria?!”

“The enrollment criteria!!”

“What nonsense are you talking about?!”

Kim Chae-min was huffing and breathing heavily. I held my head.

Kim Chae-min opened her mouth.

“It’s not happening.”

I spoke even quicker. Behind her, I saw the container. A drab gray container covered in graffiti painted by the kids with paint and markers. Inside, there were eight students. No, including Yoo Ji-eun, nine.

Children who worried about the principal and wanted to become decent Hunters in the future.

“Do you know why I separated Yoo Ji-eun from the Ark?”

“Teacher Woo….”

“When I said the easiest way for me to access the Ark was by using Yoo Ji-eun, didn’t you oppose it too, Teacher Kim? Saying it was dangerous.”

For the same reason, I didn’t even consider trying. The agency wasn’t so short-staffed that they would involve minors in such things.

Well, the agency doesn’t even exist anymore….

My humanity isn’t that bad.

“And now you’re suggesting we bring an Ark member into the school? No. Absolutely not. Are you crazy? What if No. 3 does something?”

“But it’s the most certain method.”

Kim Chae-min insisted stubbornly.

“Wasn’t Kang Tae-woo with your younger brother at that training center? Or was it the research lab?”

“…….”

“If we catch Tae-woo and investigate him… we might find a clue about the kids in that research lab.”

Kim Chae-min added that although she wasn’t keen on involving a child, she understood the importance of the situation.

“We don’t know where those kids are or how they’re living now. Hunter Lee is investigating mainly orphanages, children’s hospitals, and support groups connected to the National New Heart and Spirit Association, but we don’t know how long it will take. There’s no guarantee we’ll even find them.”

At this point, I realized.

“So to bring in a kid with any connection, this is the best way. It’s simple. It’s fast.”

I had trapped myself. The moment I mentioned my younger brother at that research lab, the moment I started speaking of my motivation being to save my brother.

When the word ‘brother’ comes up, I can’t refuse.

I’ve come this far for my brother, and now I’m going to be picky about the means?

It doesn’t make sense.

“And if he was in the research lab too… if he was called No. 3, he was an experimental subject, right? His parents might be looking for him. We should take him to his parents.”

“…That’s not the case.”

“How do you know?”

“No. 3 was born in the research lab. He is the child of a researcher there. He has been part of the Ark since birth.”

“You mean, they used their own child?”

I nodded. Suddenly, I felt exhausted.

I have no grounds to refuse Kim Chae-min’s argument. I knew I would lose, but I pulled out my last resort.

“…Let’s ask Teacher Hong.”

Hong Seok-young, who complained about being bored to death while killing time in the hospital, answered the phone immediately.

― Huh? No. 3? He contacted you? Didn’t I say you handle it?

“Well, about that…”

The explanation was short and clear.

― What? Enroll him?

Hong Seok-young burst out laughing. Damn it, I knew he would react this way.

― That sounds fun! Sure, it’s not about the timing for enrollment season, so he’d be a transfer student. Hahaha, a transfer student. This is starting to feel more like a real school!

If he wanted it to feel like a real school, having two dropouts should have been enough.

Listening to Hong Seok-young’s laughter, I accepted my fate.