I’ll Retire After Saving the World

Translator: FenrirTL
Editor: KYSOIWDI
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[ Chapter 23: Issue of Business Ethics (2) ]

“Be honest with me.”

I glared at Hong Seok-young, who was still struggling to hold back his laughter even after the class had ended.

“Is it because you find it funny to get your collar grabbed?”

“No, ha. Well, why would I find that funny?”

“Then why do you keep repeating the same pattern?”

“It’s not your collar, it’s mine, so what’s the big deal?”

His sly smile was oddly infuriating.

When I stared at him silently, Hong Seok-young finally wiped the grin off his face and spoke.

“Ahem. Mr. Kim, you may be a Grand Mage, but to be honest, you still lack experience as a mage. You only started your career as a hunter after becoming a Grand Mage. It’s rare, but it happens.”

“What does that have to do with grabbing your collar… sir?”

“That doesn’t mean you lack fame as a Grand Mage. Do you know that?”

Hong Seok-young ignored my question.

“Do you know that?”

“What’s the connection with the collar…”

“Do you know that?”

I sighed, realizing I had to deal with this nonsense even in the past.

“…What are you talking about?”

Hong Seok-young started speaking enthusiastically.

“Your master and father, Kim Kang-yeon, was a Grand Mage. He also learned from his own father… So, who do you think was your grandfather’s teacher?”

“…Who was it?”

Making a living is tough.

But it’s true that I didn’t know. Even I didn’t memorize the lineage of hunters. Even now, Kim Chae-min’s father, his master, has been dead for a long time. And his grandfather? Grandfather?

But considering how seriously Hong Seok-young was speaking, it seemed like I had missed something. What was it? Was there something unique in Kim Chae-min’s information?

“Grand Mage Kim Young-heon.”

I frowned. The name wasn’t entirely unfamiliar.

If my memory was correct, Kim Young-heon was a mage who led the Druidic School of Magic in our country. Every academy student would have seen his name during their mage exams. Of course, I wasn’t an academy student, so I only saw it while preparing for the public service exam.

“Three generations of Grand Mages with the same attribute. It’s rare even abroad. The magical heritage you’ve inherited isn’t just about unique magic. You may still be lacking as a Grand Mage, but the reputation of your family, which has produced three generations of Grand Mages, is already more than enough.”

“I still don’t understand what you’re trying to say.”

“So, the runes endorsed by such a prestigious family of Grand Mages—no one will be able to ignore your runes.”

“…Ignore?”

“You’ve been with Bangju for a long time. You don’t know how terrifying the outside world is. That’s probably why you thought it was okay to reveal your runes freely.”

Is that… the problem?

Is it to the point that Hong Seok-young would click his tongue and look at me with such pity?

What’s this? It kind of hurts my pride. Why is he looking at me like that? Who does he think has been looking after him all this time?

“How insidious are those wizards. Why do you think I brought Mr. Kim along?”

“To teach the students?”

“…That too, but no wizard can ignore the knowledge accumulated over three generations. Since I’ve already talked with Mr. Kim to some extent, you have nothing to worry about. By the way, it was Mr. Kim’s idea to bring this hunter in.”

Hong Seok-young also mentioned the conversation at the training center.

“At the training center, you erased the rune…. Well, it was right to do so then because there were other hunters besides this one.”

Still, he couldn’t understand.

Couldn’t they just make it public? Did they really need such a complicated process? Why?

Perhaps noticing my confusion, Hong Seok-young let out a deep sigh.

“Mr. Woo. What do you think will happen if the rune is made public?”

“The rune will become public?”

“Yes. Then what will change?”

What was it like when the magic concealment rune was first revealed? The Grand Mage of France suddenly became a star. It was a paradigm shift in dungeon strategies.

Of course, there was a lot of backlash. The wizards felt their positions were being threatened.

Ah. Is that what he meant?

But wasn’t that why I intended to use Hong Seok-young as a shield?

“Do you understand? Moreover, didn’t you say the rune was developed by Bangju?”

Unlike the outside world, runes were often used in Bangju…. If mishandled, things could get complicated. I had a bad feeling about it.

I corrected Hong Seok-young’s words.

“Some of them are. But not the concealment rune.”

Let’s only release the runes with confirmed developers.

“Really? Anyway, it’s better to be careful since Bangju might track it. If you want to save many people as you wish, you’ll need to prepare from various angles.”

“Um….”

“Lee Mi-sun might be troublesome, but she’s smart. She must have immediately understood the value of the rune. If she couldn’t grasp it when it was spoon-fed to her, she’d have to step down from the guild master position.”

Hong Seok-young said sharply.

“She knows a lot of people and can use her influence. Anyway, didn’t you save Seung-yeon too?”

“…Wasn’t summoning Hunter Lee Mi-sun because of the Bangi-dong Dungeon?”

“That too. It’s efficient to handle everything at once.”

Hong Seok-young shrugged his shoulders.

“Anyway, with Mr. Kim, this hunter, and my name added, everything will work out.”

But I still had a fundamental question. After pondering for a moment, I asked.

“It doesn’t have to be announced under your name, does it? Just announce it under Mr. Kim Chae-min’s name. As you said, being from a family of grand mages for three generations will reduce the hassle significantly.”

“…”

“…?”

“You.”

Hong Seok-young grabbed my shoulder firmly.

“You can’t live like that.”

What was he talking about?

“This is your achievement.”

Seriously, what was he talking about?

“You and that wizard you know. Mr. Woo, do you think I would have silenced the kids?”

“This hunter….”

“No. The timing doesn’t match. I was holding the squad leader, and the kids arrived at the defense line with the civilians.”

“…”

“They made their own decision. Not to speak.”

I didn’t understand.

“Why do you think the kids haven’t said a word to their families? It’s because your rune is an achievement that will forever remain in hunter history.”

“…”

“I have my own sense of business ethics; I can’t take this away from you.”

If he said it like that, what would that make me? I briefly pictured the face of the Grand Mage of France.

Being a kind person, he would understand, right? Right?

“…There’s no need.”

“Hey. I told you not to live like that.”

Hong Seok-young patted my back hard. He probably thought he was being encouraging, but every time my back ached, so did my conscience.

“You don’t need to worry about anything. I’ll make sure your name is definitely recorded in history books.”

Along with the face of the Grand Mage of France, I also recalled the face of Park Seo-hyun, who created the Shadow Rune. And the faces of the wizards and magical engineers who created other useful runes….

And also the royalties that those thieves had taken….

France’s mage didn’t collect royalties, but I’m planning to reveal the rune early so it can save as many people as he wanted. I’ve put a lot of thought into this.

Park Seo-hyun also made the Shadow Rune publicly available for free, and I’m praising him for it now. So, that’s fine.

The rest?

How much in royalties had the Bureau delivered to me all this time? That astronomical number. With that money, I could outfit the Bureau hunters with new gear, build a new Hunter Academy, and I wouldn’t need to beg Lee Mi-sun for donations…!

I felt at ease.

Since I’m making it available for free without royalties, those guys should be grateful to me.

“I understand.”

I nodded. Hong Seok-young seemed bewildered by my sudden change in attitude.

Avoiding the hand that was still patting my back, I moved aside and asked.

“But if you brought Mr. Kim Chae-min and Hunter Lee Mi-sun here with that intention, couldn’t you have just explained first and then brought them? Why show the rune without saying anything…?”

I narrowed my eyes and looked at Hong Seok-young.

“Is it really because you enjoy getting grabbed by the collar?”

“That’s….”

Hong Seok-young cleared his throat and looked away.

“Well, you know. It’s fun to see those normally timid kids rush at you.”

What a bad personality.

Seeing my frown, Hong Seok-young waved his hands dismissively.

“Alright, alright. Don’t glare at me like that. Because of the rune you showed today, our Lee Mi-sun is all fired up.”

“The rune I showed? The Shadow Rune?”

“One of the dungeons Dasun took on was deemed impossible to conquer. But with that rune, it might be possible. She’s probably racking her brain over it now.”

Out of curiosity, I asked Hong Seok-young.

“You’re not planning to hire Hunter Lee Mi-sun as a teacher at the pilot school too, are you?”

“Oh? Would you like that?”

“No.”

“Actually, I haven’t ruled it out….”

Hong Seok-young replied while stroking his chin.

“But then all the kids would probably end up being dragged to Dasun after graduation, so that’s not good.”

“No worries about getting a job, then.”

“No, we’re not in an industry where we have to worry about post-graduation employment rates, are we?”

“We need to reduce post-graduation mortality rates.”

“…That’s a harsh truth. Let’s take it easy, Mr. Woo.”

Hong Seok-young shook his head and took a piece of bulgogi from my lunchbox.

Just in time, lunch break ended.

* * *

As I stepped out of the container used as the teachers’ office, an unexpected scene greeted me.

“What, what is this…?”

It was so unexpected that even the unflappable Hong Seok-young stuttered in surprise.

“Oh, you’re back from lunch?”

Lee Mi-sun, who was directing the hunters, waved her hand. The hunters who had come with her were unloading ice boxes from the SUV.

Instead of the plastic parasol Hong Seok-young had picked up somewhere, there were properly made wooden parasols in the center of the clearing. And there was more than one. Around the parasols were sunbeds that you’d usually see at a resort.

While the other kids stood awkwardly at the corner, Lee Seung-yeon and Soon Soon-jin were lying on the sunbeds, enjoying the sunlight with sunglasses on.

Where on earth did they get all this…?

“This is a sacred school!”

“If you call a place like this a school these days, you’ll get reported.”

“I told you, we’re building a proper building next year.”

“Our Soon-jin is a girl, so rolling around in a place like this is bad for her skin.”

“Auntie, what about me?”

“You… Who are you again? Are you Soon-jin’s friend?”

“Auntie!”

Ignoring her nephew’s outburst, Lee Mi-sun spoke to the hunters.

“Is that the last box?”

“One more left, Master.”

“Good. Make sure to arrange it properly.”

From the SUV trunk, a wooden coffee table was being taken out. It seemed too large to fit in the car no matter how you looked at it.

As I watched in bewilderment, Lee Mi-sun approached me stealthily.

“I installed a subspace.”

“Ah… What?”

“A subspace. It’s not fully commercialized yet, but… since it’s developed by our company, I get to use it first. There’s nothing better for carrying large items.”

“Oh, I see….”

Was there already a subspace large enough to fit furniture at this time?

Feeling a sense of betrayal, I looked at Lee Mi-sun. The money she collected every year for subspace rental fees…

Enough. There’s no point in arguing about it now.

“Let me know if you need one. I can’t make it this big, but I can get you a backpack-sized one for cheap.”

“No, it’s fine.”

I already had one. Right now, in my possession. It held the ID and the dog tags I brought from 2041. It looked like just a wallet on the outside, and it had a lock, so no one but me could open it.

“Let me know if you need it later.”

Lee Mi-sun tilted a plastic container of gum onto her palm and smiled brightly.

Instead of chewing the gum, she tucked a strand of fallen hair behind her ear and extended her hand to me.

“We haven’t formally introduced ourselves, have we? I’m Lee Mi-sun. I’m the master of Guild Dasun, and currently helping Mr. Hong Hunter with…”

She glanced at the kids.

“…various tasks.”

Then she lowered her voice and whispered so only I could hear.

“I’ll also be helping you, Mr. Woo Hee-jae, with various things in the future.”