I’ll Retire After Saving the World - Chapter 10
————
Chapter 10 – Hunter Training Demonstration High School (1)
As the saying goes, “Life is like a horse, and fortune and misfortune come hand in hand.” Sometimes, a blessing can turn into a curse, and a curse into a blessing.
It’s the same now.
To be honest, getting caught by Hong Seokyoung wasn’t such a bad thing. Even though it was a misunderstanding, the biggest headache, the issue of my identity, was resolved.
With Hong Seokyoung’s guarantee, I could easily enter the Bangi-dong Dungeon, which would have been impossible by now.
But knowing what I do about Hong Seokyoung, I can’t let my guard down just yet.
“How have you been?”
“We saw each other yesterday.”
“Yesterday was yesterday, and today is today.”
Despite the reluctant handshake, I wasn’t immediately released. Instead, I was kept in the Awakened Crime Investigation Department.
Hong Seokyoung, with an apologetic face, asked me to stay here until the situation was sorted out. No further explanation was given.
I didn’t expect to be released immediately anyway… If that were the case, there wouldn’t have been any need for surveillance.
At least it’s not a prison.
Still, seeing that he didn’t come empty-handed today, it looks like I might be able to leave.
Hong Seokyoung put a file that looked like documents on the table and, as he did on the first day, dragged a chair and sat across from me.
Though the dim light and handcuffs of the interrogation room were gone, the mana restraining device on my ankle and the limited mobility remained…
Wait a minute. I might not be wearing a prison uniform, but I’m still being treated like a prisoner.
“Why the long face?”
“This is my usual expression.”
“Really?”
Hong Seokyoung clicked his tongue.
“You’re young, try smiling a bit. Don’t be so sullen. You managed to escape from the organization and gain your freedom. Didn’t you say you had a lot you wanted to do?”
What a sly old fox. He’s been doing this for a week now.
That’s just a probing remark.
I’ve been dealing with this guy’s antics for twenty years. It’s not something to brag about, but it’s useful in that I don’t get easily fooled.
I didn’t even get to hear the name properly, but there must be some information he got through Mr. Kim. They must be trying to confirm if I am indeed the insider.
“The one with a lot to do isn’t me… It’s you.”
“Always so stiff. Just call me teacher.”
“Teacher?”
Hong Seokyoung shrugged.
“Remember the kids you saved in Myeong-dong?”
“Kids?”
“The five in school uniforms.”
Of course, I remember. I went through all that trouble to save them.
“They’re my students.”
Hong Seokyoung nodded.
It’s not like he only just found out about the kids now.
Seeing that he brought it up after a week, I must have passed the test to some extent.
“Oh, right. I should tell you this too. I heard you herded the monsters? Thanks to that, the damage was minimized.”
What on earth is he talking about?
“After you caught the Minotaur, they started rampaging, right? It was probably because their leader died, messing up their command system. But because you herded them towards us, we could deal with them easily. Otherwise, the damage would have been twice as bad.”
“……”
“We were wondering where all those cows came from, but it worked out in the end. The kids are safe too. Thanks.”
So that’s… how it happened?
That’s right. I predicted this. I didn’t drive the monsters without a plan.
I thought it would turn out this way. I definitely wasn’t acting without any thoughts.
“That’s… ahem.”
I pulled myself together. I shouldn’t let my guard down just because he’s praising me.
“What does that have to do with calling you teacher?”
“I thought about it.”
I frowned. Whenever this guy started thinking, it never ended well.
“What happened between us is between us, and this is something else.”
“…Are you talking about herding the monsters?”
“Saving my students.”
Hong Seokyoung’s expression turned serious. My mouth went dry for no reason.
“I know their abilities best. Even with just them, it would’ve been tough, but with civilians involved?”
Hong Seokyoung spoke firmly.
“If it weren’t for you, they’d all be dead.”
They didn’t all die… But close enough. I didn’t deny it.
“So, I thought I should repay you somehow.”
Again, whenever this guy started thinking, it never ended well.
“My students are clamoring for me to find you too. So, here’s what I thought.”
“…So?”
“I thought about it.”
As I repeatedly say, whenever this guy starts thinking…
How much thinking did he do?
Hong Seokyoung, seemingly unaware of my thoughts, handed me the file he was holding.
I stared at it, wondering what it was, and Hong Seokyoung pulled out a piece of paper from it.
Curious, I stared blankly as Hong Seokyoung pulled out a sheet of paper from inside.
“You’re going to be under me for a while anyway… Following me around with nothing to do would be boring, right?”
No. It’s just fine.
“Besides, I like to be alone. If I take you around, some people might find it strange.”
It wasn’t until he started running the Hunter Academy that Hong Seokyoung began gathering people in earnest, not at Hunter Training Pilot High School.
Since he wasn’t the type to have an assistant, the notion that it would draw unnecessary attention wasn’t wrong.
Given my position as a fugitive from a criminal organization, I shouldn’t attract too much attention…
“So, Hunter Training Pilot High School? Are you telling me to enroll in that school or something?”
“What? Haha, no. Quite the opposite.”
Hong Seokyoung handed me the paper he was holding.
Wondering what on earth he was going to say after such a long preamble, I looked at the paper.
A simple phrase was written at the top.
Employment contract.
…Employment contract?
“If you follow me in and out of dungeons, you’ll stand out. But if you work at a school, it’s a different story.”
“So, you’re telling me to…”
“Teach the kids.”
Hong Seokyoung spoke firmly, as if he wouldn’t accept any objections.
He already had a decided look on his face.
If I were really an insider who had escaped the organization, I’d be annoyed. I would be complaining that instead of taking down those bastards, I had to teach kids.
Moreover, as an insider, I wouldn’t be in a position to outright refuse.
Thinking about it from my standpoint, as Woo Hwijae who went back twenty years.
Teaching kids?
Of course, it’s troublesome. But work is always troublesome and unpleasant. You have to consider what you can gain from it.
“Teach the kids…?”
I thought about it when I saw Kim Chaemin. Saving the hunters who died absurdly might help in the future. If they survive for twenty more years, they might wield their swords one more time.
But nurturing them from a young age also seems like a good path. Especially considering my old age.
Seeing how persistent the ties between teacher and disciple are by looking at the Chief. Even Yoo Jieun, who could do better solo, joined the Ability Management Office because of the Chief.
Most of the hunters in the Ability Management Office were like that. They were graduates of the Hunter Academy who called the Chief “teacher.”
I don’t know about the other first-generation students of Hunter Training Pilot High School, but if I can win over Oh Hyunwook, Park Seohyun, and the youngest of the chaebol family, it would be enough.
Those three alone would ensure a comfortable life even after stopping the apocalypse.
Good. Very good.
“I’m not qualified to teach anyone.”
But revealing my true intentions would be foolish.
I played hard to get. As a Korean, I should refuse three times.
“No, you seem like the right person to teach.”
“Can you read faces too?”
“It’s a Hunter’s instinct.”
“Hunter’s instincts are the least reliable.”
“That’s true.”
“……”
“……”
Hong Seokyoung smirked.
“You know you’ll end up doing it, right?”
“I know, but I still want to leave a record that I refused.”
“Sure, sure. I’ll remember that.”
No need to refuse three times.
But there’s one point I need to address. I shook my ankle, the one with the mana restraint device.
“But how can I teach the kids when I can’t even use mana? If it’s just physical training, you’d be better…”
“Call me ‘teacher.’”
“…You, teacher, would teach them better.”
Hong Seokyoung nodded.
“Right. But being a Hunter isn’t just about physical skills.”
If I were Secretary Woo Hwijae, I’d teach dungeon strategies. It wouldn’t be much different from what I used to do. To support the dungeon strategy team, you have to know how dungeon strategies work.
But it’s not information a freshly escaped illegal awakener from a criminal organization would know.
Hong Seokyoung tapped his fingers on the table, making me feel anxious.
“You mentioned the mana barrier rune, right?”
“…Yes?”
“The rune you taught the kids. Did you create that?”
“……”
This is why you shouldn’t stand out.
A person shouldn’t draw attention. Even if you know something, you should pretend you don’t and stay quiet.
This is the price for forgetting that truth.
“Are you telling me to teach runes?”
“It doesn’t matter if you didn’t create it. As long as you know other runes like it.”
“……”
“Teaching kids physical skills is easy. Teaching them how to fight is easier. But mana is different.”
Hong Seokyoung twisted his lips.
“mana is traditionally passed down through apprenticeship. It’s even more so with unique mana.”
This was one of the reasons established mages opposed the founding of Hunter Training Pilot High School.
They argued that teaching mana in a school setting would devalue their worth.
“We’ve tried inviting a few mages for classes, but it was just superficial.”
“Runes are not mana.”
“But they could become the kids’ secret weapon.”
“……”
The mana barrier rune has become a must-have for hunters, but there are various other runes as well.
Even if they’re not as essential as the mana barrier rune, there are many that are very useful.
The runes I know will be developed and released in a few years anyway. Some even come with royalties that amount to billions annually.
…No one knows these runes yet; should I patent them?
Would that be too unscrupulous?
Even without patents, if I reveal the runes early and they help hunters, it would be beneficial.
There are many talents besides Kim Chaemin who are too precious to die. I can’t go save each one individually, but if revealing the runes can save lives…
“…Alright.”
“Really?”
He’s too surprised for someone who smirked as if I had no choice.
I frowned at Hong Seokyoung. He scratched his cheek awkwardly and laughed.
I ended up sighing.
Fine.
Even in the desperate situation of fleeing from the organization, I was the one who made the effort to save the kids. I have a soft heart that would save young students I met by chance.
Let’s go with that setup.
Then it’s only natural to be concerned about the kids I saved.
“They’re just kids.”
“Kids, indeed.”
“Yes.”
“……”
“……”
Hong Seokyoung stared blankly at my face and then clapped his hands.
“Alright, now that it’s decided… let’s start with signing here.”
He shifted his gaze to the employment contract he had handed me earlier.
“Of course, you’ll get paid. As for the certificate of residence or a bank account… I’ve taken care of it. I’ll give it to you later.”
I quickly skimmed through the employment contract.
…What’s with these numbers?
“Although it’s a school, it’s operated with my own funds, so you’ll be listed as a member of my guild. Since it’s not dungeon raiding, there’s no incentive, and… your salary is based on the minimum wage.”
The minimum wage from twenty years ago…
“For the first three months, it’s a probation period, so you’ll get only 90%.”
Even a probation period…
“As for vacations… well, since we’re a business with fewer than five employees. Do you get what I’m saying?”
And fewer than five employees…
“Just understand it roughly.”
“……”
“But we do observe all legal holidays. Oh, but sometimes the kids ask for extra training on holidays. You can take a break, but you’re welcome to come and watch since you won’t have much else to do.”
…He’s basically telling me to come, right?
Isn’t this a total scam contract?
————