I’ll Retire After Saving the World

Chapter 63: (Advertisement) Help Me (3)

TL: SHW

“Attention.”

The admission of No. 3 was decided without my intention or the other party’s consent.

I don’t think No. 3 will refuse my offer. If No. 3 attends the pilot high school, at least they can at least immediately track Hong Seok-young’s location. Whether he’s at school, entered a dungeon, or disappeared without revealing his whereabouts.

Since Hong Seok-young has attacked Ark several times, even that level of information can’t be missed by Ark.

…But I still don’t like it.

At my word, everyone stops what they’re doing and looks up at me.

Several desks are pushed together, and the kids are gathered around them. The dungeon information I gave them in the morning is scattered on the desks.

Han Eun-young is at the center of it all.

The notebook spread out in front of Han Eun-young is filled with lines like doodles. She has been calculating the dungeon entry route.

For the first time, I gave them a task involving a dungeon where monsters other than pixies appear. I handed out the dungeon exploration reports prepared over the past few days and told them to discuss and create a dungeon raid strategy together.

Surprisingly, Han Eun-young is standing out in the dungeon raid strategy class. So it’s not strange that she is taking the lead. Until today, Han Eun-young has collected a whopping three praise stickers. Oh Hyun-wook barely got one, and the rest were wiped out.

Han Eun-young’s combat skills, no matter how highly I rate them… she gives the impression of being an exemplary student who does well when instructed. Rather than forcing her to do things that don’t suit her, it’s better to encourage what she’s good at.

Of course, there are talented individuals who are good at both fighting and raiding.

Like that little Yoo Ji-eun, sticking close to her older sister over there.

Since Yoo Ji-eun was at school, I had her join the class as well. Anyway, Yoo Ji-eun had nothing to do, and it was to give Yoo Hye-eun something to do. Yoo Hye-eun is learning dungeon raid methods she will rarely use in the future, but if she teaches her younger sister, at least she won’t be bored.

It would be good if Yoo Ji-eun’s talent blossomed early by luck. Anyway, she’ll enter the pilot high school next year…

“Teacher?”

It’s a bad habit to get lost in thought with people in front of me.

I cleared my throat briefly and adjusted my voice.

“Finish writing the raid strategy guide by this week.”

Dealing with No. 3 might take a lot of time.

If I had done it before, I could at least guess, but I have no clue.

“Today, Teacher Kim and I will leave first. The other hunters will help send you home when it’s time.”

“……”

“I’m not sure if I’ll be able to come tomorrow… anyway, do what I told you well.”

“……”

The kids stopped what they were doing at my words.

“……? Why?”

Thud. Roll…

The pencil Park Seo-hyun dropped rolled across the classroom floor to my feet.

“By, by any chance…”

Park Seo-hyun’s shoulders trembled. Because of that, the hair she had swept back fell forward, covering her eyes.

Ah, please.

No matter how sensitive their age is, there’s a limit.

At least act logically so I can understand.

“Pr, pr, pr, pr…”

“Pr? Principal?”

“Co, condition…”

Do they think something happened to Hong Seok-young because I said I’m leaving early?

Well, even when the news broke that Hong Seok-young was hospitalized, I left first with Kim Chae-min.

But back then, Kim Chae-min herself looked serious, didn’t she? I feel wronged somehow.

“The principal is fine. I’m leaving for personal reasons, so there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Personal reasons? Your personal reasons, teacher?”

Oh Hyun-wook asked, scrunching up his face.

“So? Got a problem with that?”

“If it’s the teacher’s personal matter, why is Teacher Kim going with you?”

“……”

Oh Hyun-wook asked a rather sharp question.

I don’t answer questions that put me at a disadvantage. I ignored it.

“That’s how it is.”

I didn’t give the kids time to ask more questions.

The more I answer, the more I get caught up, making it impossible to escape. I’ve seen many poor souls trapped in such a predicament during hearings.

So I hurried to wrap it up.

“I’ll check the raid guide you wrote as soon as I get back. Don’t take it lightly.”

“But you said to do it by this week?”

“There are always unexpected things in dungeon raids.”

“You always use that excuse!”

While Han Eun-young protested with a frustrated face,

Yoo Ji-eun, who met my eyes, grinned and asked,

“Teacher, can I come out every day this week too?”

“……”

I sighed.

I wondered if I’d get gray hair soon at this rate.

“Do as you like.”

Hearing my half-hearted permission, Yoo Ji-eun jumped up and down.

How did my life turn out like this?

It’s all…

It’s…

There are too many people to blame.

It can’t be helped.

It’s all because of the old man.

Such resentment probably wouldn’t weigh much on the strongest hunter anyway.

* * *

The orphanage where No. 3 was located was quite large. The cute drawings on the walls seemed to have been painted recently, as they boasted vivid colors.

The playground with colorful slides was well-maintained, and a few young children were playing on the field. The building itself was clean.

I’ve already sent the address here to Lee Mi-seon and gave a rough explanation, so she’ll investigate soon.

I now understood why the old man kept Lee Mi-seon close. If you ask her to do something, she takes care of it on her own, and she never says she can’t do it, making her incredibly convenient.

To think I only realized this now. I should have known sooner.

“Student Tae-woo?”

I called out the name of a child lingering near the front gate as I rolled down the window. No. 3’s face lit up as soon as he saw me.

“Teacher!”

I’ve thought about it, but No. 3 should have become an actor.

If he had acted, he would have become a genius actor known not just in Korea but worldwide.

Did no one at the research lab notice No. 3’s talent? They’re really useless.

No. 3 quickly ran over. As he approached, I noticed him scanning the driver’s seat. Knowing No. 3’s true identity from the start, the suspicious behavior was visible, but if I hadn’t known, it was so natural that I would have been completely fooled. If it was obvious to me, it would be even more so to others.

I wondered if he recognized Kim Chae-min. He must have.

Kim Chae-min was a famous figure. Even if he hadn’t known before, he couldn’t have missed her face on the news every day for the past week. No. 3’s eyes narrowed slightly and then returned to normal.

I slowly got out of the car. I had already told Kim Chae-min not to interfere unnecessarily. Being too proactive would be strange…

How should I start the conversation?

It’s difficult to approach because there’s another agenda. Hong Seok-young laughed nonchalantly, saying it would work out if I moved as I felt, but how easy is that?

For now, let’s see how No. 3 responds.

“I, um, I’m, I’m sorry…”

See, he should have become an actor.

“I said it’s okay. You must have been very startled… Is it still hard to control?”

“It’s better than the first time, but…”

No. 3 hesitated.

“Your body usually gets used to it after a day or so.”

“Really?”

“Of course… But accidents are most likely to happen during this time. There’s no harm in being careful. You have younger siblings, right?”

“Yes… There are many young children at the orphanage.”

I looked towards the orphanage. If a stranger speaks with any children, someone is likely to come out.

“You play with your siblings? You’re kind.”

Putting aside my personal feelings, as the oldest experimental subject in the lab, No. 3 did a good job looking after the kids. He had been in the lab for a long time, after all.

Having a kid like him in the orphanage must be convenient for the adults.

“Aren’t there any other teachers around?”

“Ah, they’re inside.”

“Really? Is the director here?”

“Uh… why?”

“We need to register you as awakened. You can go with another teacher, but it’s easier with an active Hunter.”

Hunter licenses are handled at city and provincial offices. Awakened registrations can be done at district offices.

There’s nothing I can do about the Hunter license since it’s regulated by international law, but if the awakening is guaranteed, we can simplify the bothersome certification process for the registration.

After I finished the explanation briefly, No. 3 nodded as if he just learned something new.

“Wait a moment! I’ll go get the teacher!”

No. 3 hesitated for a moment, then ran towards the orphanage.

Watching him stumble as he ran, I suddenly wondered if he really had just awakened. His awkward walking and running, unable to control his speed, was exactly like those who had just awakened. Was he even mimicking that?

Hmm.

“Is that student Tae-woo? He looks so kind.”

“Don’t be fooled.”

“Aw, why are you so harsh on a kid? Did he do something bad to you?”

…Technically, I’m the one who stirred him up.

“Something like that.”

“Hmm.”

Kim Chae-min lightly hummed and shook her head side to side.

“But still, wouldn’t it be good to check just in case?”

“Check?”

“Whether Tae-woo really awakened or not.”

“You can tell by looking.”

“By looking? How?”

“Well…”

I started to answer Kim Chae-min absentmindedly, then closed my mouth.

Come to think of it, that’s true.

When I saw him at the meeting of the National New Heart and Spirit Association, he definitely hadn’t awakened. If he had, there’s no way I would have missed it. If I missed something so obvious, I might as well gouge out my eyes.

But just now… he seemed awakened.

What is this? Did he really luckily awaken at this timing? That’s too ridiculous a coincidence. Although life is like that, there’s a limit.

“Teacher Woo? I told you not to get lost in thoughts in front of people!”

Or did Ark succeed in their research?

Did they succeed in artificial awakening?

So… they disbanded the River of Promise lab?

No, although a lot has changed since I saved the kids in Myeong-dong, it shouldn’t be to that extent.

I hope it’s not.

“Anyway, I’ll know when I see him. If you don’t believe me, we can check later.”

“I’m not saying I don’t believe you, but….”

“No. We should definitely check these things.”

I twisted my lips as I watched No. 3 walking back with an elderly female teacher.

* * *

At the same time.

Somewhere in South Korea.

Gangmul Orphanage.

A boy was crouching under the shade of a tree, avoiding the early summer sunlight.

The boy in shorts picked up a fallen twig and doodled on the ground. He drew meaningless lines and erased them with his foot several times.

With a serious face, the boy wrote something on the ground.

“…! …Hey!”

At that moment, he heard a voice calling him from afar.

He couldn’t quite catch what was being said. The boy looked up and checked the large clock at the entrance of the orphanage. It was obvious why he was being called.

The boy dusted off his knees and stood up. He turned towards the building but then stopped and looked back at the ground, as if he had remembered something.

There were letters written with the twig earlier.

The handwriting was neat, surprisingly so for a young child.

A three character name that could belong to anyone.

Woo Hwi-jae.

And below that….

Scrape. Scrape.

The boy smudged the writing with his foot. The sand quickly covered the letters.

Then, without looking back, the boy ran.