I’ll Retire After Saving the World - Chapter 28

[ Chapter 28: A Foolish Dream (3) ]

There are many works of fiction that change the past. Movies, novels, comics…

There are a few that I found quite good.

Usually, in such types of fiction, the protagonist who goes back to the past has something they want to change. Something they did wrong or a mistake.

There are works where things are resolved well, and they reach a happy ending, but there are also ones where the outcome becomes worse.

That’s how life is for everyone.

But sometimes, while watching those kinds of stories, I would wonder why someone regrets their own choices instead of being forced into misfortune by others. Especially if they stubbornly chose an option everyone advised against.

There is usually a reason why others try to dissuade you.

If you brushed all that off and went your own way, shouldn’t you at least be confident about that choice?

A person can’t choose the parents they are born to, nor can they calculate the odds of being struck by lightning while walking down the street. If it’s not misfortune beyond one’s control… then you should accept it with a humble heart. It’s the path you chose.

In that sense, I have never once thought about wanting to change my past.

It doesn’t mean I always made the right choices. But I always believe I did my best with what I had. Even if I chose the wrong path, at that time, it was the best path for me.

But since I am human, there are times when I blame others. But listen. Isn’t it too unfair for me to suffer when it’s not my fault? It’s their fault, right? This isn’t blaming others; it’s rightful criticism.

“Please accept me as your disciple!”

Well… okay.

Was it my fault that Korea, that the world, perished? Would it not have happened if we had attacked the Bangi-dong Dungeon as Yoo Ji-eun insisted?

Bangi-dong Dungeon was the first to collapse, but if we had stopped it, would the other dungeons not have collapsed?

Don’t be mistaken. There were others besides the centipede that destroyed Seoul that day. There was the one that walked around dripping fire.

Since there was nothing I could do, I just followed the mysterious item’s instructions. If I had known it would send me to the past, I might have thought it over more.

…Actually, even if I had thought about it, I doubt it would have changed anything. Because there was nothing I could do in that situation.

Anyway, what I mean to say is that fundamentally, none of this is my fault.

It’s not my fault that I’m playing the role of a teacher which wasn’t even in my fate, nor that I’m meeting the young Yoo Ji-eun and listening to her nonsensical demands.

None of it is my fault.

“Please! As your disciple!”

So why am I suffering through this pain?

“Please accept me as your disciple!”

“What?”

“Disciple!”

“Who?”

“Me!”

“…….”

If it were not me but that old man, or at least Yoo Ji-eun who went back to the past, they would have done a better job. Those two had some sense of mission or something.

“So….”

Why on earth did it have to be me who ended up here doing this?

“You’re my only hope, teacher!”

Let’s think calmly, calmly. The reason I’m sticking around in this school quietly. It’s to nurture talents who will prevent the future catastrophe, for my comfortable retirement, no, to stop the apocalypse in the future.

Park Seo-hyun. Oh Hyun-wook. And Yoo Ji-eun?

They were all guaranteed geniuses. When they came running like this, all I had to do was accept them.

“As my disciple.”

“Yes.”

“Me?”

“Yes!”

“You… you mean.”

So, the physiological aversion… it’s my personal… personal problem… I must overcome, overcome it… I shouldn’t let private feelings get into my work… shouldn’t…

No, but!

It’s Yoo Ji-eun! That nasty woman!!!

Whether it’s Yoo Ji-eun or baby Yoo Ji-eun, Yoo Ji-eun is Yoo Ji-eun.

I didn’t want to have any Yoo Ji-eun near me.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“I’m not even a mage, why should I have a disciple?”

“But you teach my sister and brother! Please accept me as your disciple too!”

Stubbornly insisting just like that. Just like that woman who kept stubbornly pushing me until the end.

I sighed.

“I’m a teacher here who gets paid, and they… Do you guys pay tuition here?”

Eight kids shook their heads in unison.

“Even if you don’t pay tuition, you’re still students of this school. I get paid to teach students, so I have to teach them.”

“But….”

Yoo Ji-eun puffed out her cheeks. Her face, still carrying baby fat, looked even younger.

“You’re sixteen, right? Just wait half a year and graduate from middle school, then come here.”

I couldn’t take away the old man’s favorite disciple.

“That takes too long!”

What does that have to do with me…?

Well, having a passion for learning is a very commendable attitude for a student… but I still can’t take away the old man’s prized disciple.

Besides, if I arbitrarily accepted Yoo Ji-eun as my disciple, what would I say to Hong Seok-young?

Kim Chae-min, who should have been left as my overseer, was looking intrigued, but…

I sighed again.

“Hey, you said your name was Yoo Ji-eun, right?”

“Yes….”

“I understand you’re excited about your awakening, but you need to stay calm. The principal will be back soon, so why don’t you talk to him then?”

“But still….”

“Rushing things won’t make them happen….”

The image of a high school girl wearing a school uniform and smiling gloomily floated before my eyes.

And the face of a strong Hunter who tackled dungeons without hesitation.

Yoo Ji-eun was different from Park Seo-hyun or Oh Hyun-wook.

Park Seo-hyun and Oh Hyun-wook became a witch and a pig under the old man.

A witch who hid her face behind her bangs, smirking and muttering incomprehensible words, and a pig who got fatter and fatter from being soaked in alcohol.

Even though the fundamental cause of Park Seo-hyun and Oh Hyun-wook’s transformations, the Myeong-dong incident, was now gone, look at Park Seo-hyun. You can’t be too careful. Who knows what might cause the kids to become a witch and a pig again.

“I believe you can definitely become an amazing Hunter as a student.”

But Yoo Ji-eun had overcome it herself in the future. At least that’s how it seemed to me. If I meddled with such a Yoo Ji-eun, who knows what would happen. If I just left her to the old man… she would grow up the same.

A woman like a solid rock who bravely tackled dungeons no matter what others said.

“B-But.”

Yoo Ji-eun bit her lip hard.

Both grown-up Yoo Ji-eun and baby Yoo Ji-eun were equally stubborn. She never understood anything after being told just once.

“After awakening, I heard that the first month is the golden time.”

“Golden time?”

“…You must use mana to cleanse the blood vessels of impurities within three days of awakening.”

What was this kid talking about now?

When someone said something utterly ridiculous, it became whatever.

“That’s how you can become stronger….”

Yoo Ji-eun said cautiously while gauging my reaction.

Using mana to clean blood vessels? Like some sort of purification ritual?

What on earth was that supposed to mean?

That was something out of a novel, and in reality, mana couldn’t be used in such a way. Even if it were possible, doing so would burst blood vessels and lead to death. If one were lucky, it might end with paralysis.

“Everyone?”

Yoo Ji-eun hesitated before speaking.

“On the internet….”

What kind of era was 2021?

How had the awakened ones of this era managed to survive?

I grabbed my head and groaned, then looked at the other kids, just in case. I didn’t think there was any fool who believed those words, but you never knew.

“Do any of you believe that?”

“Uh….”

“Have you heard of it?”

Everyone shook their heads.

However, there was one kid who hesitated before speaking.

“I have heard of it….”

“Han Eun-young? Where?”

“I don’t know much about after awakening, but they say if you use mana to remove impurities from your blood vessels, it extends your lifespan… something like that.”

“Who says that?”

“It’s not really someone said… Just a moment!”

Han Eun-young ran to the container and came back holding a piece of paper.

“I got this while waiting for the teacher this morning. I didn’t have anywhere to throw it away, so I just put it in my bag.”

The background was a brilliant rainbow, and mismatched, tacky lettering was plastered all over the flyer.

Benefits of Mana. Cleansing Blood Vessels of Impurities. Lifespan Extension. Purification of the Soul.

All complete nonsense. I scrutinized the flyer.

I squeezed my eyes shut and looked at the kids. Even Kim Chae-min swallowed hard, sensing the unusual atmosphere.

“If the person who gave you this asks you to go with them, never go.”

“…Of course not.”

“And you, student. Yoo Ji-eun?”

“Y-Yes?”

Yoo Ji-eun, whose sister hadn’t died, was a completely different person. The Yoo Ji-eun I knew might have had such an innocent phase once, but…. She had vanished before I even met her.

So I decided not to think about it anymore.

“Don’t believe everything you read on the internet.”

“Yes……”

Yoo Ji-eun replied dejectedly.

“Today… just wait until your sister’s class is over.”

I said, pressing my temples.

“Wait for the principal to come for the registration of awakened ones. He’ll be here soon.”

“Are you taking me as your disciple?”

“No.”

Yoo Ji-eun’s shoulders slumped.

“Better ask the principal.”

“Ugh. Uncle Hong said he had no intention of taking in any disciples.”

That too would change once Yoo Ji-eun entered the pilot high school.

I pretended not to hear Yoo Ji-eun’s mutterings and redirected my attention.

“Alright, you’ve rested enough, right? Class begins! Teacher Kim, take her with you. It’s better to stay next to your sister.”

Kim Chae-min took the sulking Yoo Ji-eun away. Yoo Hye-eun, standing next to her, bowed to me apologetically. I waved it off.

“Think of it as observing what kind of classes are held at the pilot high school.”

“You won’t want to enroll then….”

Lee Seung-yeon pouted. I raised an eyebrow.

“You might find it fun.”

“This?”

“I find it fun. Don’t you?”

I chuckled.

“It’s because you’re still weak.”

* * *

I’m not sure if Kim Chae-min contacted him, but Hong Seok-young returned that night. Maybe it was because it was related to Yoo Ji-eun.

I was resting at the dorm when I was called out. Kim Chae-min came out as well. Hong Seok-young took us to a neighborhood pub with no one around.

His expression wasn’t great for someone who came back after hearing about Yoo Ji-eun’s awakening. Was it because of the dungeon? Had something been discovered at the Bangi-dong Dungeon?

But that dungeon had been quiet for twenty years since it first appeared. I didn’t think that had changed now.

Hong Seok-young ordered a beer and, after a long pause, finally spoke.

“Ji-eun awakened?”

“Yes. I heard that you already knew her, Hong Hunter.”

“We’re not complete strangers… I felt sorry for the two young girls living alone, so I’ve been looking after them.”

Hong Seok-young scratched his chin as he answered. Kim Chae-min nodded.

“Anyway, she’s quite bold. As soon as she saw Teacher Woo, she asked to be taken as a disciple….”

“A disciple?”

Hong Seok-young’s eyes sparkled. The same look as his disciple’s.

“She wouldn’t give up even after seeing how Teacher Woo trains the kids. It’s the first time I’ve seen him so flustered.”

Kim Chae-min burst into laughter, enjoying the story.

I watched Hong Seok-young. It seemed best to divert his attention before he started thinking about something troublesome.

“Take a look at this.”

It was the flyer that Han Eun-young had shown me earlier. The one blabbering about the benefits of mana.

The content was suspicious, to say the least. The kind of thing you’d hear from a cult.

That’s right.

This was the method Bangju used to recruit members.

“Let me go first.”

But Hong Seok-young pushed aside the flyer without even looking at it.

He pulled out a few photographs from his pocket.

A man lying on the ground. Pale complexion. Face twisted in pain.

I didn’t have a fragile heart to be shocked by a corpse. I just didn’t understand why he was showing it to me.

“This is a body found at the Songpa District Dungeon.”

There was a reason the young me had noted this down in my diary. Smart kid.

“Do you recognize this face?”

Of course, I didn’t know the face, but I pretended to scrutinize it out of courtesy.

After a moment, I answered.

“I don’t.”

“Really?”

“Yes, I don’t.”

Hong Seok-young nodded.

“This is Kim, who risked his life to help get you out of Bangju. Are you sure you don’t know him?”