Chapter 16 - New Student (2)

Chapter 16: New Student (2)TL: SHW

The Ark is a cult.

No, it is not a religion. Despite its name, the Ark actually detests religion. It’s more like a pseudo-scientific group that believes only they can lead humanity to a better path.

For a group, they suspiciously had a lot of money and suspiciously good operational abilities.

I remember their history being quite long. However, as Hong Seok-young mentioned, they got caught because they kidnapped children.

I don’t know why the Ark, which had been cautiously operating underground, suddenly decided to kidnap the children of awakened ones. Even after searching the Mana Watch, there was no information on why they did it.

Anyway, thanks to that, an investigation was conducted, and hunters, led by Hong Seok-young, discovered the research lab I was in. The hunters destroyed the lab…

And the kidnapped children safely returned to their families.

That’s what matters. A happy ending.

“Well….”

“You’re not saying you don’t know now, are you?”

“No. It’s not that.”

I shrugged my shoulders.

“There are parts I need to explain clearly.”

Judging by the reaction, it’s clear they don’t know.

It’s better to tell them now than to be scolded later.

But…

Was there really this little information just a year before I was rescued?

Even if contact with the insider was cut off… Even if they relied on information from Mr. Kim and the unknown original insider… Did something happen in the meantime that changed the situation?

Or is he pretending not to know?

“You don’t think there are only kidnapped children, do you?”

“…What?”

If that’s the case, it’s a superb act.

Hong Seok-young is good at being nonchalant, but deceiving people is a different field. This man has no talent for it, just as much as he does for sitting still.

The turbulent mana calmed down. Fortunately, there were no people around.

“How much do you know about the Ark?”

The Ark operates in a cellular structure. Research labs and companies securing funds do not know about each other’s existence unless necessary for their tasks. Very few know the complete organizational chart.

The kidnapping incident was probably a solo act by the research lab. I remember the lab director ranting about something. What was it? It’s such an old memory….

“No matter how much you think you know, it’s just the tip of the iceberg. The Ark….”

“That’s not for you to worry about.”

Hong Seok-young cut me off.

Hmm.

An unexpected reaction.

“We appreciate the information you provided through Mr. Kim. But what we do with that information is our issue. The same goes for the information about the Ark.”

In other words, this is where my jurisdiction ends.

Understood. This is the extent of my credibility for now.

What they want from me is information about the organization. Whether it’s information they already know or new information, deciding what to do with it is Hong Seok-young’s responsibility.

Alright. Let’s take a detour.

No need to arouse unnecessary suspicion.

“Got it. Then.”

“You know I’ve given you a lot of leeway, right?”

In other words, don’t push your luck.

Even though I asked him to make the runes public, he’s still cautious… maybe it’s because I haven’t disclosed many runes yet.

Well, hunters should be most wary of advance and deferred payments. Aren’t those the words most spoken by scammers who rip off hunters?

“I don’t expect much either.”

I said, counting off on my fingers one by one.

“First, save the children.”

“You don’t have to list that as a condition. We’ll do it anyway.”

“…Well, the definition of ‘many’ varies from person to person, doesn’t it?”

“Right?”

“You might think it’s just a few… but it’s not only the kidnapped children. As I just mentioned.”

Hong Seok-young’s eyes narrowed.

“Then?”

“Among the institutions managed by the Ark, there are several orphanages.”

“…….”

“There are quite a few. Even just the ones I know. There are probably more that I don’t know about.”

Hong Seok-young quickly understood what I was saying. The mana that had calmed down began to stir again.

It’s a good thing there are no people around.

“Next.”

“What?”

“Take me with you.”

“…….”

This is the main point.

Hong Seok-young’s eyebrow twitched.

“Take you with us?”

“Yes.”

Let’s think about this for a moment.

Saying this makes me seem like a terrible person, but at this time, there were more urgent matters than investigating a missing persons case. Guild unification, mana stone supply stabilization… things like Dungeon Breaks.

It was an era where Dungeon Breaks happened frequently. The government tried its best to minimize the damage, but if it could be solved through effort, many issues would have been resolved sooner.

Dungeon Breaks, regardless of the dungeon grade, are disasters. There were countless casualties and missing persons.

Even if children were kidnapped openly by the roadside, within a month, the issue would be forgotten due to a Dungeon Break.

It was a cold era where no one paid attention even if a civilian’s child was kidnapped.

But this means…

Even in such circumstances, this kidnapping case is important enough to move the nation.

Is it because the continuous child disappearances stirred up public sentiment?

It’s not impossible.

But a more plausible answer is…

Maybe one of the kidnapped children is the child of someone important. Unfortunately, the Director did not list the personal details of the kidnapped children in the report, claiming the need to protect them. Honestly, there are some guesses I can make.

“Why?”

“Are you just going to rescue the children and be done with it? Without checking the research lab? It’s one of the top research facilities within the Ark. If you hesitate even a bit, they will destroy the data themselves.”

I spoke calmly.

“We can’t afford to waste time, can we? Don’t you need a guide?”

“Do you really need to go yourself? Can’t you just explain?”

“You won’t be able to even open the door without me.”

I can’t keep carrying just the identity of an insider or escapee. For the future, I need to become a conscientious and highly cooperative whistleblower. Moreover… it would be good to add the setting of a victim with an unfortunate past.

The Ark will serve as the scapegoat for that.

It’s convenient when there’s an obviously bad guy. You can blame everything on them.

“You escaped, didn’t you? I don’t know what kind of door it is, but now you won’t be able to open it either, right?”

“Do you think I wouldn’t have prepared for that?”

“Then you can just tell us.”

“It’s a method only I can use.”

I’m still lacking a decisive blow…

I need to appeal emotionally here. That will work better with this person.

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I avoided Hong Seok-young’s gaze with a sorrowful expression.

“There’s someone I need to find.”

It’s not a lie. Really. It’s not a lie.

I need to find young Woo Hwijae. To see if he’s here.

It’s a problem if he’s not, and it’s a problem if he is.

But either way, I can’t just ignore it.

“To see if… he’s safe.”

Ah, it’s really not a lie.

“…….”

Hong Seok-young’s face hardened.

But the mana remained calm. There’s nothing more honest than mana.

I can consider him half-convinced already.

A story that will drive the final nail in the coffin…

“Alright.”

Hong Seok-young spoke before I could say more.

He gave an answer sooner than I expected.

“Having a guide would be more reliable. Alright. We’ll take you too.”

I thought more persuasion would be needed.

This easily?

I thought he would provoke me to reveal my true intentions, but that wasn’t the case. Hong Seok-young agreed neatly.

Well, it might be because he’s much younger than the last time I saw him. Or perhaps he’s confident that he can subdue me no matter what I do.

He’s the strongest hunter in South Korea.

He should have that level of confidence.

“But it will take some time.”

“Time? How long?”

“Well….”

Hong Seok-young stroked his chin.

“It seems better to call a few more people rather than moving alone. If you wait a few days, I can gather some reliable folks.”

“People you can trust?”

“What do you take me for?”

Hong Seok-young scoffed.

“I don’t mess around when it comes to kids.”

That’s something I know well.

It’s not an urgent matter, so it’s fine. The kids aren’t being tortured there, so they can endure a few more days without seeing their parents.

“Understood.”

* * *

And so, the classes continued.

Park Seo-hyun was still gloomy, and Choi Jin-woo, who had been warmly asking questions at first, now cautiously watched my reactions.

…What went wrong?

I’m still praising them.

“Teacher!”

My savior was Lee Seung-yeon. Lee Seung-yeon was the only one who kept circling around me, trying to act friendly. Thanks to him, I was able to greet other students from the pilot high school whose names I didn’t know.

One student following Lee Seung-yeon hesitated and greeted me when our eyes met.

“What are you doing here? Where are Seo-hyun and Jin-woo?”

I pointed behind me.

The two young mages were focused, placing rune-drawn papers on the floor.

“Wow, they’re still drawing? It’s lunchtime. Have they eaten? Shouldn’t they eat first?”

I silently pointed to the lunch boxes scattered under the parasol.

If they choose to shorten their break time to practice, there’s nothing I can do about it. A teacher should praise students who study by themselves.

And… they’re progressing faster than expected.

Some might think copying runes is simple, but without the correction function of a mana pen, mages need more than just drawing skills to draw runes. The constant use of mana also causes significant fatigue.

Even if I tell them to take it easy, they don’t listen….

Is this the power of praise?

At first, it was awkward for me to give compliments since I had never done it before, but now it’s becoming second nature. If I had known it was this effective, I should have done it for the Ability Management Agency people too.

Instead of tormenting them with rejected reports….

No, it wasn’t torment. As a superior, I was justifiably pointing out my subordinates’ mistakes. If they didn’t like it, they should have done it right from the beginning or surpassed me in rank.

I’m getting off track.

Anyway, the two are following along better than I thought. It might be time to teach them the next rune.

“Maybe it’s because they’re mages… I can’t sit in one place for that long.”

“You said you’re a swordsman, right?”

“Yes! But why doesn’t Teacher Woo carry a sword?”

“Your principal said not to carry weapons at school.”

“Aw… I wanted to see that sword up close.”

Come to think of it, if young Woo Hwijae could be here, could Yoo Ji-eun’s sword be here too?

Another sword of this caliber…?

While the sword isn’t my main weapon, but I’m tempted.

Screech!!

While chatting with Lee Seung-yeon, building rapport.

A car entered the empty lot, kicking up a cloud of dust. A bright yellow sports car, covered in dust from the dirt road.

Hearing the sound, Hong Seok-young emerged from the container.

Click.

“Oh, you’re here?”

A woman wearing sunglasses was in the driver’s seat of the sports car. She got out of the car and took off her sunglasses.

“You didn’t tell me the road would be this bad! I would’ve brought a different car!”

Several years later, Archmage Kim Chae-min, who would die trying to save a B-rank hunter foolishly attempting to capture an S-rank monster, appeared at the Hunter Training Pilot High School.

…Undoubtedly, this is something that originally did not happen.