I’ll Retire After Saving the World - Chapter 115: Favorite Disciple (2)

TL: SHW

“Disciple.”

The sixteen-year-old girl in front of me is not the Yoo Ji-eun I know.

I must not forget that. I have never met Yoo Ji-eun at this age.

“Yes!”

Little Ji-eun responded energetically with her usual bright smile.

Even while living among her older sisters and brothers, she never shrank back and always spoke her mind clearly. She didn’t hold back her words, not even in front of me.

That part was no different from the older Yoo Ji-eun. The older Yoo Ji-eun had no reason to filter her words in front of me anyway. If a kid I had known since elementary school became my junior at work, I wouldn’t be able to speak politely either. Besides, wasn’t my rank higher than hers? Well, comparing the raid team and the operations room on a one-to-one basis was a bit of a stretch, though.

“I’m confident I can work hard! I can do everything you tell me to do, teacher. Really. I’ll do my best.”

Like a parrot, she kept repeating that she would work hard. If there was anyone in the world who knew how hardworking Yoo Ji-eun was, it was me. A woman who raided dungeons like an ox. I had seen the process firsthand.

She was ultimately the same person.

She was just the sixteen-year-old Yoo Ji-eun I didn’t know. After all, I first met Yoo Ji-eun next year. The cheerful, small Yoo Ji-eun in front of me was someone I would have never known in my lifetime under normal circumstances.

Come to think of it, when I took a taxi to Pilot High School, she was already talking about being a student. If I were truly just an ordinary teacher at Pilot High School, I might have laughed and taught her something.

But Yoo Ji-eun is my father’s disciple. The next-generation genius destined to lead the Korean Hunter world after Hong Seok-young and Oh Hyun-wook.

So why is a kid like that clinging to me? She could just stay quietly by her sister’s side and learn from Hong Seok-young next year.

I thought she had given up after I told her to at least graduate from middle school first… Did she get inspired after seeing Park Seo-hyun and Choi Jin-woo call each other “Teacher” and “Student”?

“…….”

“I won’t run away… and I’ll do my homework properly, too.”

“It’s not about that….”

There’s a time and place for everything. And right now, dealing with Hong Seok-young alone is enough to make my head explode. I didn’t want to spend my energy on Yoo Ji-eun, nor did I have the capacity to do so.

She’s as bad at timing as ever.

‘You survive.’

No, now’s not the time to be thinking about that.

I let out a sigh.

“Why are you asking me?”

“Because you’re my teacher.”

“No…”

“Because I want to be your disciple?”

“That’s not what I mean….”

“Then what do you mean?”

This conversation is going in circles.

I thought I had made my stance perfectly clear.

“You’re going to officially enroll in Pilot High School next year. Learn from Teacher Hong then.”

At the rate things are going, I don’t even know if I’ll still be here next year. Well, whether I’m here or not, Pilot High School will be the same. The real problem is the destruction coming twenty years from now.

Should I just act crazy and tell Hong Seok-young? That the younger brother he took in from the orphanage will grow up to be me in twenty years, and somehow I ended up thrown into the past?

…Yeah, as if he’d believe that.

Would he believe me if I showed him my mana watch or dog tag? No, it’s better to keep the mana watch hidden. You’re supposed to keep your trump card up your sleeve, after all.

Not that I planned on telling him anyway.

“But if I learn at Pilot High School, I’ll be just like everyone else.”

For now, I should focus on handling the situation right in front of me.

Just like I’ve always done since arriving in the past.

“And what’s wrong with that?”

“I don’t want to be strong just like everyone else.”

Yoo Ji-eun pouted her lips. That unwavering belief that she would become strong. Whether big or small, Yoo Ji-eun was still Yoo Ji-eun.

“Whether you become just like everyone else or stronger than them depends on what you do. It has nothing to do with becoming my disciple.”

If Yoo Hye-eun had died, she might have been grinding her teeth, vowing revenge for her sister. But with her sister still alive, I had no idea why she was acting like this.

…Though, I suppose it was partly my fault. Whether it was Yoo Hye-eun or Yoo Ji-eun, looking at them reminded me of that woman, dying amidst the flames of Seoul. It made talking to them difficult. And since Yoo Hye-eun was a healer, there wasn’t much I could even teach her.

“But still….”

Yoo Ji-eun furrowed her brows. She looked exactly like the woman who had coughed up blood.

But at least, in the end, Yoo Ji-eun smiled.

She played with fire, and in the end, she died in the flames.

I stroked my face while running my fingers over Yoo Ji-eun’s sword, which was strapped to my waist.

“At least tell me why. Why are you so insistent on becoming my disciple?”

And not just any disciple, my disciple.

Yoo Ji-eun’s eyes sparkled.

“Because you’re strong, teacher!”

“But if it’s just about strength, Teacher Hong is stronger than me.”

“Uncle Hong, I mean, the principal, no matter how much I beg, he won’t listen to me.”

“…And you think I will?”

Yoo Ji-eun didn’t say anything. She just grinned.

That was answer enough.

***

Of course, I wasn’t crazy enough to take Yoo Ji-eun as my disciple. I wasn’t even a mage, so the idea of having a disciple was ridiculous. And of all people, I had no intention of taking her as one.

If I absolutely had to teach someone…

“Hyung?”

“Hmm.”

Mini-me blinked his eyes.

After being thrown once among the kids, he seems to have broadened his living range, probably realizing it wasn’t so bad.

“Those noona are here again.”

I sighed. Han Eun-young and Yoo Ji-eun were waving at Mini-me.

Both had clear objectives.

“Teacher. I’m dropping out of school.”

“Your legal guardian is your brother. Get his permission first.”

“…….”

After successfully fending off Han Eun-young, I turned to Yoo Ji-eun.

“No.”

“Ah, teacher!”

“I said no.”

“Come on, it’s about time you gave in just once!”

“And if I do it once, that’s it?”

“A Hunter’s ‘once’ is permanent, isn’t it?”

“Where did you even learn that nonsense? Was it Teacher Han? Han Eun-young, keep an eye on your brother.”

“I want to drop out!”

“Should I let Teacher Han handle today’s class?”

“I’ll attend school diligently!”

She must really hate Han Tae-kyung.

Not that I could blame her.

After sending Han Eun-young and Yoo Ji-eun away, Lee Mi-seon came looking for me.

“Teacher, have you talked to Seung-yeon yet?”

Ah.

I needed to do that too. I had forgotten because of Han Tae-kyung.

It’s strange. It feels like my to-do list just keeps getting longer.

“No. He’s your nephew. Why don’t you, the great Hunter Lee, talk to him?”

“He won’t say anything to me, just keeps his mouth shut.”

“Then just leave it to Teacher Hong. That was the plan from the start, wasn’t it? We just didn’t get a chance to talk because of Alex Hope.”

Lee Mi-seon gave me a look like she had just remembered something she’d forgotten.

So, she’s the same as me.

“Aah… but still, dumping a runaway kid on Hunter Hong doesn’t sit right with me. You understand, don’t you?”

I shrugged.

“That’s why his family should step in.”

“I told you, he won’t talk to me.”

“Hmm….”

Ever since his brief runaway incident, Lee Seung-yeon had gone back to his usual self. I didn’t know what had happened between him and Kang Tae-woo during that time, but he was sticking to Kang Tae-woo like he had found a long-lost brother. The two of them talked nonstop all day as if everything was fun and exciting.

Considering Kang Tae-woo was still distant with the other kids, it was surprising. Then again, thanks to Lee Seung-yeon, he had slowly started mingling with the others.

I should probably talk to Kang Tae-woo too.

“Alright. I’ll try talking to him later.”

“Thank you, Teacher Woo!”

Lee Mi-seon flashed a bright smile like her nephew and disappeared.

“…….”

Alright. Let’s sort out my priorities.

First, as long as Hong Seok-young is pretending not to notice, I’ll do the same. Honestly, I still hadn’t decided how to answer if he questioned my actions, so the fact that he wasn’t interrogating me yet was a relief.

But Hong Seok-young won’t keep pretending forever. I’ve seen the way he sneaks glances at me, as if checking something.

My father always taught Yoo Ji-eun to keep a cool head.

And he was right.

If I think about it rationally, it’s easy to see what he’s doing by leaving me alone.

After all, no one has observed Hong Seok-young up close as much as I have.

This is the same method my father used when pressing his subordinates after they screwed up.

And the method is very simple.

All he had to do was wait for the other person to lower their tail and come to him first. Once they did, he’d sweet-talk them into becoming his ally.

Most people would be overwhelmed just by the idea that Hong Seok-young had taken an interest in them.

But my father preferred those who took a long time to seek him out. He always said those were the ones who managed to claw their way back alive from a dungeon.

So in a way… this was a battle of wills.

What my father used to do. What Hong Seok-young was doing now.

I had used this method a few times myself. Since Yoo Ji-eun went around calling me a nepo baby hire all the time, there were actually some rookies who believed I was one. I had no choice but to handle them accordingly.

By setting up situations where a rookie was bound to make mistakes… That was the trick. If I put it like that, I might sound like a ruthless superior, but sometimes, if you didn’t assert authority, there were always rookies who’d try to climb over you. Especially among new Hunters.

The Ability Management Agency wasn’t just made up of Hunters, there were plenty of non-Awakened people too. In fact, outside of the raid teams, it was practically all non-Awakened staff. And like any workplace, arguments were bound to happen.

The problem was that in those cases, the non-Awakened always ended up scared. Even if a Hunter had no ill intent, a single push from an agitated Hunter could seriously injure a non-Awakened person. That’s why new Hunters had to be disciplined from time to time.

Watching them panic after making a mistake, whimpering like a restless dog that needed to take a piss, was so damn funny.

I’d usually call the rookies in and reprimand them midway. But my father? He’d wait it out.

Until the one who messed up finally curled up their tail and came crawling back, ready to confess.

If I lost here, I’d have no future but one where I was dragged around by Hong Seok-young.

…Not that things weren’t already heading in that direction.

Damn it.

The fact that I was even thinking about this meant I’d already lost.

“Teacher Woo.”

As soon as Lee Mi-seon left, Kim Chae-min appeared.

“Hi, I-rok.”

“…Hello.”

It wasn’t that Mini-me was ignoring her. The fact that he actually greeted her showed that his socialization was going well.

Not that I had really done anything to help with that.

“Teacher, do you know any runes that might help with growing plants?”

“…Plants?”

“Anything’s fine!”

Did I have anything useful for that?

“Hmm….”

“Wait, you’re telling me the great Mage you learned from never even grew plants?!”

What’s her deal?

I stared blankly at Kim Chae-min as she clenched her fists and scowled. Then, as if realizing how strange she looked, she glanced at me and Mini-me and laughed awkwardly.

“I’ve been a little on edge lately.”

“Ah… okay.”

“No, really! You know I’m not usually like this.”

“…Sure.”

“It’s just… my domain, and… ugh!”

“Alright, I get it.”

Kim Chae-min still looked frustrated, but she must have been in a hurry because she immediately pressed me again.

“Anyway! If you know any runes, please teach me!”

“What do you need it for?”

“I want to use it for my quarters when they build the new school building!”

“I’ll go through my notes and give you something later.”

If I dug through my mana watch, I’d probably find at least one useful rune.

Kim Chae-min’s face lit up.

“Thanks, Teacher Woo!”

And just like that, she disappeared like the wind.

…A lot of people had been looking for me since morning. Hopefully, that was the last of them.

“Sunbae-nim!”

Oh, come on.

I groaned as I heard the voice of doom calling out from the distance. Mini-me tried to sneak away to our room, but I grabbed him before he could escape.

He was me, and I was him. No way was I letting him run away alone.

Mini-me looked at me again with those eyes full of betrayal.

“Teacher Woo, are you here?”

But Han Tae-kyung wasn’t alone.

Lurking behind him was Hong Seok-young, sauntering over.

What the hell? Did he already run out of patience? I thought he’d at least keep up the act for another two days.

Hong Seok-young pushed Han Tae-kyung aside and scratched his chin before suddenly asking me,

“Say, do you know how to use a spear?”

Th𝒾𝗌 ƈh𝑎pτєr ɪ𝗌 pℴ𝙨ţ𝘦đ b𝖞 𝐾𝘪𝘵є𝓃𝖔ⱽꬲ𝗹

***

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