I’ll Retire After Saving the World

Chapter 17: New Student (3)

TL: SHW

[Kim Chae-min – S-rank (Archmage)]

[Class – Druid]

[Master – Kim Kang-yeon (Father)]

[Disciple – None]

[Unique Magic – Blooming Rose Vines (3rd Stage)]

[Died in battle with Siren on July 9, 2024]

* * *

“Oh my, it really is a school! You even have uniforms?”

“Of course.”

“I heard about it but… You were serious?”

“I don’t joke about things involving kids.”

“That’s only natural.”

Kim Chae-min smiled brightly.

Dressed in a bright dress fitting the sunny weather, Kim Chae-min strolled alongside Hong Seok-young.

Hong Seok-young, like a proud principal boasting about his outstanding students, was introducing Kim Chae-min to various corners of the school. Come to think of it, he is the principal.

…But with only three containers, what exactly is he boasting about?

“I came because Hunter Hong asked, but…”

“Have you thought about my proposal?”

“Is that the first thing you ask?”

Kim Chae-min chuckled softly.

“I can teach the kids some basic mana handling techniques, but you know anything beyond that is tough, right?”

“You don’t have any disciples, do you?”

“That’s true, but….”

Kim Chae-min glanced at the two young mages sneakily watching from under a parasol.

“Like any other magic, my magic especially needs the right attribute match. But those two don’t seem to have the right aptitude.”

“You can tell that right away?”

“At my level, it’s obvious at a glance.”

Kim Chae-min pointed at Park Seo-hyun.

“And that girl is Park No-kyung’s granddaughter, right? Then she must already know quite a bit of magic.”

“Seo-hyun? But she’s still an inexperienced mage. I don’t really know how to teach mages….”

“In her case, there’s not much I can teach her. If just sharing my mana handling know-how is fine.”

“I’d be grateful even for just that.”

Kim Chae-min shook her head as if it was hopeless.

“You said this was related to Ark… Was this why you called me to the school?”

“Isn’t it better this way? And it’s not entirely unrelated.”

Hong Seok-young looked at me. Only then did Kim Chae-min, realizing my presence, widen her eyes.

“Oh! Is that him? The person who was standing on the rooftop back then!”

“Ah, yes. Hello.”

“Oh my, what were you doing there? Moreover… do you work here?”

“…That’s how it turned out. I’m Woo Hwijae, teaching those kids over there.”

“Those kids…?”

Kim Chae-min tilted her head. Probably because I pointed at the mages sitting under the parasol.

“Um… are you a mage? In Myeong-dong, weren’t you holding… a sword?”

To be precise, I don’t actually use a sword. But while swords and spears are somewhat related, magic is an entirely different field.

“Teacher Woo is not a mage.”

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Hong Seok-young interrupted with a mischievous grin.

…Somehow, this feels unsettling. Why is he smiling like that?

“What? Then how do you… What do you teach?”

Kim Chae-min looked confusedly between me and the young mages. I stayed quiet, not understanding Hong Seok-young’s intention.

Hong Seok-young’s grin grew more ominous.

“Teacher Woo knows something even more amazing.”

“Something… more amazing?”

“Yes. Something only mages can do.”

Kim Chae-min’s eyes widened even more.

“Are you talking about unique magic?!”

Well, it’s true that only mages can do that…

Hong Seok-young just kept grinning mischievously without answering.

Watching others in trouble is entertaining, even if it’s unpleasant when it happens to me.

Since I intended to reveal it anyway, I told Hong Seok-young to use it if he wanted. But I didn’t expect him to bring in a mage directly like this.

I didn’t expect it, but.

Hmm.

Alright. It’s fine. Not bad.

Crisis brings opportunity.

Even so, Kim Chae-min is the name at the top of my list. I was just trying to focus on Park Seo-hyun right in front of me since I had no way to contact her immediately.

I’m just grateful she’s been handed to me like this.

Plus, he mentioned ARK too, right? She’s probably one of the Hunters he said he’d call in. If she’s an Archmage, she’s more than sufficient.

Wait, can I expect more from this?

Surely he didn’t just call Kim Chae-min. There must be more, right? The rest must also be formidable Hunters?

“It’s not unique magic.”

I corrected before Kim Chae-min’s misunderstanding grew.

“I’m teaching those kids runes.”

“…Runes?”

Kim Chae-min stuttered, clearly confused.

Considering the current status of runes, it speaks to Kim Chae-min’s character that she isn’t openly laughing.

That’s also a pass.

Character is important.

“Uh… Well, Hunter Hong and you might not know because you’re not mages….”

Look at her trying to choose her words carefully to avoid hurting feelings. This is the hallmark of a true Hunter.

“Are you saying runes are trash?”

“Ah, no! Not trash exactly!”

But they are pretty much useless.

I shrugged. It’s understandable to think that way.

“It’s faster if I show you. Just a moment…. Park Seo-hyun! Choi Jin-woo!”

Park Seo-hyun and Choi Jin-woo looked up, startled.

“Bring what you’ve drawn.”

Both hurriedly gathered the papers scattered on the parasol table.

Even Park Seo-hyun, who used to be awkward, is now pretty good at having her runes checked by me. Though she still flinches occasionally when our eyes meet…

I finally understood why Park Seo-hyun initially reacted strangely. She grew up in a grandparent household, right? Her grandfather must have been stingy with praise. And I’m not exactly comfortable with giving praise either.

It’s natural to be flustered when two awkward people interact.

If I keep praising her, Park Seo-hyun will get used to it.

“Is this… a rune?”

Kim Chae-min was surprised as she looked at the runes the two had brought over.

The runes Kim Chae-min knows are primitive.

But the runes taught by the incredibly kind French Archmage that I passed on to the kids are ornate, complex, and downright bizarre.

I selected a few and gave the kids brief feedback.

“This one, Choi Jin-woo, you drew it, right? I told you to stop extending this part. It shouldn’t become a habit.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Park Seo-hyun. You…”

Praise! Praise!!!!

“Well done. I can see the completion level improving. But I think I mentioned this in the morning. Be confident in your lines.”

“Y-yes…”

The durability rune is the first question on the Rune Introduction midterm at the Hunter Academy. Since the creation of the Rune Introduction course, this has never changed. That’s how important the rune is.

I didn’t think they could draw runes with such high completion levels within a week. From what Lee Seung-yeon said, they practice hard even after school.

It’s not good for mages to focus too much on runes. A mage’s primary job is magic, after all.

Well, they’re still kids.

“The drawings all pass. Just be careful with what I mentioned. So, shall we check?”

“Yes!”

The kids answered energetically. Kim Chae-min asked, bewildered from the side.

“What are we checking? What kind of runes are these? I’ve never seen such complicated runes….”

“Just wait and see, Hunter Kim.”

Over the past few days, the students, accustomed to the rune classes for mages, naturally gathered in a corner, leaving the open space.

Park Seo-hyun and Choi Jin-woo placed the runes they had drawn on the ground.

Choi Jin-woo moved his hand quickly. It’s one of the common spells. Creating sparks to light a fire, but with a few additional formulas….

Whoosh!

…You can easily create a pillar of fire.

“Wha-what’s this? Why fire!”

Kim Chae-min was the only one startled.

The ground where the runes were placed was ablaze. Since it’s ordinary fire, there’s no one who could get hurt here where there are only hunters.

Next was Park Seo-hyun.

Park Seo-hyun’s spell formula was much shorter. But its power was not inferior.

Water began to fall onto the fire that Choi Jin-woo had started. What began as a small drop quickly turned into a heavy downpour. The pooled water turned into waves, sweeping away the fire in the open space.

Only the papers with runes drawn on them remained scattered on the ground where fire and water had passed.

I snapped my fingers. Choi Jin-woo and Park Seo-hyun quickly collected the runes.

“Next.”

Choi Jin-woo and Park Seo-hyun stuffed the dripping runes into their uniform pockets. Normally, doing that would ruin the runes.

But.

“Huh, huh? W-wait a minute!”

Choi Jin-woo and Park Seo-hyun created small lights at their fingertips. The glowing orbs, like fireflies, were difficult to see clearly due to the surrounding brightness.

But it was magic.

Magic uses mana.

So, mana should be felt from Choi Jin-woo and Park Seo-hyun.

“What? Why is there no mana? How? How did you do it?!”

However, not a trace of mana could be felt from the two.

Hong Seok-young chuckled and pulled the rune paper from Choi Jin-woo’s pocket. Kim Chae-min’s eyes, which seemed like they couldn’t get any wider, did.

“That? That thing?!”

“It’s a rune.”

“A rune?”

“Teacher Woo calls it a Mana Concealment Rune.”

“Mana Concealment?”

“Yes. It performs exactly as its name suggests.”

“…….”

Kim Chae-min snatched the rune paper from Hong Seok-young’s hand. Although it was thoroughly crumpled, the rune itself wasn’t erased. Kim Chae-min scrutinized the paper with a fierce expression.

Then she looked at me.

“Um… You’re Woo Hwijae, right? Did you make this?”

“No. Someone I know made it.”

“…But you knew about it and taught it to the kids, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Taught… Do you know other runes? Ones similar to this?”

“The effects are different, but I do know others.”

Kim Chae-min alternated her gaze between the rune paper, my face, and the faces of Hong Seok-young and the two mages.

“Hunter Hong.”

“Hmm?”

“You said this was a school, right?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“Are you accepting new students?”

“……Uh?”

Hong Seok-young blinked blankly.

Kim Chae-min grabbed Hong Seok-young by the collar.

“I want to enroll here.”

“Eh?”

“Then I can learn those runes too, right?”

“Huuuh?”

* * *

“Well, I didn’t expect it to be this effective.”

Hong Seok-young handed me a paper cup of mixed coffee.

“So you planned this?”

“Of course. I need a reliable mage for use in dungeons, and Hunter Kim is perfect.”

“Wasn’t it also because you thought she would be suitable for teaching mages since she has no disciples?”

“That was part of it too.”

It was just incredibly effective.

I have no objections. It’s like a pumpkin rolled into my lap, why would I oppose it?

Rather, things are going so well that I’m worried. Usually, when things go this smoothly, something tends to go wrong somewhere.

Hong Seok-young handed a few sheets of paper to Kim Chae-min, who was still scrutinizing the rune paper beside me. The text at the top caught my eye.

Employment Contract.

Of course, we couldn’t accept Kim Chae-min as a new student, so she joined as a magic teacher.

…It seems even an Archmage can’t escape that slave contract.

“Hunter Kim. Read this, and let me know if there’s anything you want to change.”

I didn’t get such an offer.

“Hunter Kim? Hunter Kim Chae-min?”

“…Huh? Oh, it’s fine. Just let me attend the rune classes too. Or have Hwijae draw me a rune each time.”

“What about salary and stuff like that?”

“Oh, I’m not in need of money. It’s fine. Use it to cover the costs of teaching the kids.”

…?

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, as long as Hwijae—no, Teacher Woo teaches me runes.”

“Alright? Then I look forward to working with you, Teacher Woo.”

“…….”

I sighed deeply and gulped down the mixed coffee.

Let’s think of this as an investment for the future.

When else would I have the opportunity to have an Archmage as a disciple?

“Please take care of me!”

“…I look forward to working with you.”

Wait, doesn’t this mean we need to renegotiate my salary? What does it mean that my classes are her compensation?

Then give her salary to me!