I'll Retire After Saving the World

TL: SHW

Mages are an incredibly bothersome existence, to the point of being a total pain in the ass.

Adolescents are delicate beings who might burst into tears just by watching a fallen leaf tumble.

Then, what about someone who is a combination of the two?

Well, I’m not sure about the former, but the latter is definitely not Park Seo-hyun’s fault. It’s a natural part of growing up. I’m not such a horrible adult that I’d blame her for that.

However, in my view, even if Park Seo-hyun weren’t a mage or in puberty, she’d still be more sensitive than most.

I’ve said it repeatedly, but that doesn’t mean it’s Park Seo-hyun’s fault.

Let’s look at the original Park Seo-hyun. She was nicknamed “witch” because of her gloomy appearance and eerie laughter. To be honest, magic did contribute somewhat to that nickname.

Anyway, the reason Park Seo-hyun became the “witch” is probably because of what happened in Myeong-dong. She went through a living hell at a highly sensitive age, so it’s only natural she ended up with trauma that could last a lifetime. No matter how much of a father he is, I doubt he brushed off Park Seo-hyun’s condition as just a change in style. But at the time, her father was busy. Maybe too busy to care about his children at all.

What happened in Myeong-dong didn’t end with just a memorial for the victims. The flaws in the Dungeon rating system, the bribery and corruption between guilds and civil servants… Korea’s Hunter world changed completely after that incident. That says it all.

Father was at the forefront of it all. Father handled the recovery of the bodies of the dead students and civilians, and took charge of the cleanup as well. Plus there was the matter with the Ability Management Agency.

No matter how great a Hunter father was, there was physically insufficient time to look after the children in that situation. Then what about the other adults?

At Pilot High School without me, there was no Kim Chae-min either. Even Lee Mi-seon, who might have looked after the children, would have been out of her mind due to her nephew's death.

Who could have looked after the kids at school back then… Han Tae-kyung?

If Han Tae-kyung had been by her side, it would make sense that Park Seo-hyun’s already fragile mental state shattered completely. At least father pretended to try to understand. He’d experienced the deaths of his comrades many times before.

But Han Tae-kyung?

…I don’t know. I can’t imagine how Han Tae-kyung would’ve reacted. I want to believe that even Han Tae-kyung acted like a human in times like that, but on the other hand, it wouldn’t be surprising if he just handed her a Chasie Full House doll and said petting a cat would make everything okay.

Whether it was Han Tae-kyung’s fault or not, Park Seo-hyun fell apart. Oh Hyun-wook too. The rest quit school and disappeared.

Well, if it were me, I probably would have quit school and left long ago. But Park Seo-hyun didn’t seem to have anywhere else to go other than Pilot High.

The witch Park Seo-hyun, born from the death of friends, is now remembered by no one but me. According to Hong Seok-young, there seem to be monsters like me who’ve come from the past, so maybe some of them remember. But I have no intention of leisurely reminiscing with monsters, so it’s practically the same as no one remembering.

Instead of the witch, I thought of the Park Seo-hyun of now. She still sometimes lets her bangs fall forward, but usually, she neatly pulls them back and pins them in place. With her face fully revealed, Park Seo-hyun is a girl who, unlike her cold first impression, actually has a very expressive face and smiles often. A girl just at that age where overthinking things can become a problem.

This time, I recalled the first time I stepped into Pilot High following Hong Seok-young. The container classroom where Park Seo-hyun, who looked just like a baby witch, was.

‘It was my fault for drawing the rune wrong in the first place…….’

Strictly speaking, what happened in Myeong-dong wasn’t Park Seo-hyun’s fault. If she managed to draw that unfamiliar rune that far, that alone was impressive.

...Did I deliberately sabotage the rune? It's been so long that I don't seem to remember clearly.

No, but if I had known Park Seo-hyun’s mental state was that fragile, I wouldn’t have touched her rune!

I reaffirmed once again to keep this fact a secret until the day I die.

Anyway, she was a girl who became depressed, believing that her friend was put in danger because she drew the rune incorrectly. Maybe it was harder on her because of her grandfather’s teachings, which may have instilled a perfectionist streak in her.

If a girl like that found out that everyone at the school got caught up in her mana outburst...

Would Park Seo-hyun be able to endure it without breaking down?

Even at this moment, the Lanterns keep increasing. The kids standing under the scarlet-hued Lanterns tilted their heads at the name Park Seo-hyun.

Hong Seok-young brought only miraculously gentle and kind kids. That man might have even done it on purpose. If the first group of students were full of rebelliousness, he’d be the one to suffer.

With these kids, even Park Seo-hyun’s mana outburst would probably be brushed off with laughter. Same for Han Eun-young, who had been in a semi-panic state. It was easy to picture the kind of conversation that would happen.

'It's okay, it's okay. These things can happen.'

Of course, the person who made the mistake wouldn’t feel okay.

That’s why I wanted to give Park Seo-hyun her own time. I wanted to show her that there are people who would say it’s okay even if she made a mistake, that anyone can make a mistake.

I wanted her to realize, on her own, that it’s no big deal to admit to a mistake out loud. That everyone makes mistakes.

“Hmm? Did something go wrong?”

If it comes to this, trying to keep the kids quiet would just look weird. If Park Seo-hyun finds out later, she’ll probably blame herself, thinking the others pretended not to notice her mistake. And then she’d cover her face with her bangs again, gnawing on her pencil again.

“…No.”

Hong Seok-young didn’t understand why I was glaring at him. Look at him blinking like that. He’s lacking in sensitivity, seriously lacking.

Telling him wouldn’t help anything. It would only eat me up inside. I ignored Hong Seok-young and looked between the chatting kids for Kang Tae-woo and Yoo Ji-eun.

Sensitivity...

“Are you both okay?”

“Yes. Uh, I-I'm f-fine….”

Kang Tae-woo glanced at Yoo Ji-eun and trailed off.

“Sniff.”

Yoo Ji-eun sniffled.

“…….”

Did she cry?

Yoo Ji-eun wiped the corner of her eye, pretending to touch her eyelid.

She cried.

It’s not even surprising anymore.

The original, older Yoo Ji-eun would’ve bitten her tongue and died before showing me she was crying. Her pride was disgustingly strong. As if someone ever wanted to see her crying?

I probably would’ve pretended not to notice. Yeah, if it were the older Yoo Ji-eun.

The younger Yoo Ji-eun… she’s changed more than even Park Seo-hyun or Oh Hyun-wook between now and the future. She’ll probably change even more from here on.

“Yoo Ji-eun?”

“S-sniff… Y-yes?”

Her voice still had traces of tears in it. Looks like she cried hard.

I glanced at Kang Tae-woo. When our eyes met, he gave me an awkward smile and shrugged. He looked a little tired but otherwise fine.

I looked back at Yoo Ji-eun. Her eyes were a bit red and raw, but she wasn’t hurt. If she was just scared, that’s not a problem.

“Student Yoo Ji-eun. Are you okay?”

Yoo Ji-eun cautiously raised her head and looked at me. Her clear eyes were brimming with tears.

“…….”

Yeah. Of course she’d be like this. She hasn’t even been in a Dungeon yet.

“H-hup, I-I’m f-fine.”

I gave up and leaned my head back. Staring at the overly glamorous chandelier just made me feel worse.

“Waaaah!!! That was so scary!!!!!”

Yoo Ji-eun let go of Kang Tae-woo’s hand and suddenly threw herself into my arms.

I flinched, worried she might get sucked into somewhere, but thankfully, she didn’t vanish and just safely clung to me.

…Why is this girl so affectionate toward me? Because I saved her unnie? But her guardian figure isn’t me, it’s Hong Seok-young, isn’t it?

Still, I couldn’t heartlessly push away a crying kid, so I awkwardly raised my hand and patted her on the shoulder.

“Huuuuuuh!!!”

Did her crying get even louder… or is that just my imagination?

Hong Seok-young was wearing a pleased smile for some reason. It was seriously annoying. He’s the principal here, not me, so why am I the one taking care of the kids?

No, but I can’t exactly leave them with Hong Seok-young either.

“…….”

Maybe I should post a recruitment ad.

Ask for someone way more useful than Han Tae-kyung to be brought in as my junior.

***

“Sniff.”

“Are you calm now?”

“…Sh-shut up! I didn’t cry!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

It was only after quite some time that Yoo Ji-eun finally calmed down. Perhaps embarrassed that she had cried in front of everyone, she began scolding Kang Tae-woo for no reason. Even though they were only a year apart, Kang Tae-woo responded maturely and accepted her behavior with grace.

Seeing that Yoo Ji-eun was fine even after letting go, the others also quietly released the clothes, hands, or arms they had been clinging to.

Even when they moved around a few times to test it, no one disappeared. Maybe it had never mattered from the beginning, or maybe...

“Maybe it’s because of the Lantern?”

Gathering the children together, the adults began to have a serious conversation about the situation.

“That might be it.”

“But do you know what exactly that Lantern does? It suddenly appeared out of thin air, scared me half to death….”

“It’s probably Choi Jin-woo’s magic.”

“Him? Isn’t this space Park Seo-hyun’s magic? You’re saying he interfered with it? I don’t mean to be rude, but with Choi Jin-woo’s level of skill…”

“Their compatibility might’ve been good. Since they’re in a mentor-student relationship, there would’ve been less resistance.”

“Ah, right. Because they’re the same age, I keep forgetting they’re mentor and student.”

I frowned.

“But with Teacher Kim here… I also don’t understand why Choi Jin-woo’s magic was needed.”

“Because it’s light?”

Hong Seok-young, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, suddenly spoke up.

“Sorry?”

“Shadow and light are opposites. When shadow is strong, it can swallow light. But if light is strong, shadow disappears.”

“Hmm….”

“Compared to Teacher Kim stepping in, this probably looked like a gentler way to handle Seo-hyun.”

Thinking of it from that perspective, it wasn’t entirely unreasonable.

Magic, after all, was a bit like rock-paper-scissors between attributes.

“Besides, it’ll be a good experience for Jin-woo too.”

“Well… that’s true.”

Hong Seok-young gestured with his chin toward the Lanterns around us.

“Judging by how quickly the Lanterns are multiplying, we should be able to leave here soon. Once we’re out, we’ll be able to understand exactly what’s going on.”

At Hong Seok-young’s words, I nodded.

Once their friends gathered, the children quickly stabilized. But Yoo Ji-eun still looked restless and anxious.

Because Yoo Hye-eun wasn’t there.

Both Hong Seok-young and Yoo Ji-eun had joined as soon as the Lantern activated. But Yoo Hye-eun was nowhere to be seen.

Although the positions had been jumbled, the space itself hadn’t been split. If Yoo Hye-eun had been swept up too, she should’ve been here.

As for Yoo Hye-eun, all I knew was that she was Yoo Ji-eun’s older sister. We hadn’t talked much, and most of her classes were handled by Kim Chae-min.

If she wasn’t here…

Could she be outside? That would be fortunate, but...

Other than the mage, everyone else caught up in Park Seo-hyun’s magic was here. If Yoo Hye-eun was alone in the darkness…

Perhaps Hong Seok-young was thinking the same thing, as a flicker of concern crossed his expression.

But soon, that worry proved unnecessary.

Pop!

“Wh-what was that!”

“The ceiling! Look at the ceiling!”

The chandelier hanging from the ceiling lit up.

***

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