Chapter 73 - Portrait of a Kidney Bean (4)

Chapter 73: Portrait of a Kidney Bean (4)TL: SHW

Watching something grow requires patience.

Even when you plant a kidney bean seed in school. Do you think a sprout appears the moment you plant the seed? No. Ten minutes, twenty minutes. A day. Two days. A week. Only after that much time has passed can you finally see a sprout.

I know because I planted kidney beans when I was young.

What do you think a ten-year-old kid who planted kidney beans would do? Of course, they check every morning to see if the sprout has appeared.

They repeatedly feel disappointed as they look at the pot showing no sign of green. For a ten-year-old, after enduring that long period of patience, they can finally see a sprout. The waiting continues until the sprout grows, leaves emerge, and flowers bloom.

When the kidney bean pod starts to grow, they realize.

That nurturing something is a difficult task. That it takes a very long time.

If even kidney beans take such a long time, what about other things? Fish? Dogs?

And what if it’s a person?

Sometimes, I wonder how the old man felt while raising me. Even I think I wasn’t an easy kid to raise. For a man who couldn’t even take care of a single potted plant he received as a gift, raising me must have been quite challenging.

The fact that I managed to survive and not die over the past twenty years under such a person is quite commendable. Well done, me.

Anyway, unlike plants, which only need to be placed in sunlight and watered with proper ventilation, people require much more attention. Naturally, the patience needed is greater too.

So, I must raise them with patience as well. Without rushing, without hastily judging them just because they seem foolish now.

If there is enough affection, time, and effort, eventually, they’ll become a person who can contribute.

Let’s endure and hang in there.

“Because I’m the leader.”

Strange.

What could have happened that made them regress like this?

It was going well when I checked the raid guide and handed out praise stickers. Honestly, some of them didn’t deserve it, but I gave them out as encouragement.

Couldn’t they at least pretend to appreciate my consideration? Instead of spouting this kind of nonsense?

I slowly scanned the classroom. It was quiet.

So… these kids.

“As the leader, that’s your judgment, is it? What about the others’ thoughts?”

I made sure not to let it show in my voice.

Yes, these kids… they’re like amoebas. As long as they’re breathing and wriggling, they’re doing their part.

I noticed Kang Tae-woo at the back of the classroom flinch.

…Did it show in my voice? I wasn’t trying to scare him.

“Does everyone agree with Oh Hyun-wook’s judgment?”

I looked at the raid guide the kids had written. There were some points where I questioned if this could even be called a raid guide, but nothing as ridiculous as what I just heard. The guide without a designated raid target was fine, but the moment I asked them to conduct a raid themselves, this is what happened?

Did I overestimate the kids?

Or is it just Oh Hyun-wook’s problem?

“Hyun-wook is the strongest among us… He’ll make it out fine.”

Even Han Eun-young, whom I had some hope for, was spouting nonsense.

I must have overestimated the kids.

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair.

“Oh Hyun-wook. Stand up.”

This kind of mentality needs to be corrected in advance. If it gets worse, it becomes incurable.

It would be better if it were just stupid words coming out of ignorance. That can be fixed with knowledge.

But that self-sacrificing statement from Oh Hyun-wook?

There’s no solution to that.

If at least, Oh Hyun-wook had confidently said that he could do it, that he would kill all the goblins and return, that would have been different.

Even if it’s the same nonsense, if you say it with confidence, the intention behind the statement changes. Usually, in such cases, there are two possibilities.

One. He said whatever came to mind because there’s nothing in his head.

Two. He has the confidence that he can complete the raid even with such a plan.

The second best example is right here in this school. A person who bulldozes through dungeons in an absurd and brute way because his combat power is too strong.

Hong Seok-young.

Just look at the Siren’s Nest. How shocked I was when I later heard the detailed story from Kim Chae-min.

For his so-called Siren countermeasure, he simply sealed off his hearing. If there was no place to step, he thought, “I’ll just make one,” and brought Kim Chae-min along. What’s more, the raid team was hastily assembled, with most members having only teamed up with Hong Seok-young once or twice at most.

But what was the result?

Although there was a nationwide scam after that, they managed to succeed in the raid without any serious injuries.

Yeah. If you’re going to spout nonsense, at least have the skills to back it up.

If you don’t have the skills, you better have a loud voice. In a dungeon where anything can happen, sometimes impossible things do happen. Like a Hunter who was just there as a porter suddenly gaining insight and raiding an S-rank dungeon.

Hmm.

That’s a lie.

But there are those who manage to pull off impossible strategies and miraculously return. There are people who, despite everyone advising against it, insist on entering a dungeon and actually come back after successfully completing the raid.

A person’s words have the greatest impact on themselves. Sometimes, if you keep saying something will happen, it actually does.

So, even if I don’t like it, I tend to give more jobs to Hunters who are loud and full of confidence.

Rather than to those who just shrug and say, “If it doesn’t work, there’s nothing we can do.”

“You think you’re going to save others by sacrificing yourself? Is that what you were thinking?”

In the end, my voice came out laced with emotion.

It’s obvious what that little piglet is thinking. He wants to be better than the guy who used to sacrifice others to clear dungeons.

So, he’s thinking, “I’ll sacrifice myself instead!”

“You know, whether you sacrifice others or yourself, it’s the same as treating human life like it’s nothing.”

Why can’t you just think about raiding the dungeon properly? I’m teaching you how! From the basics! Methodically! How to raid a dungeon!!

Oh Hyun-wook gritted his teeth. I could see his jaw tense.

That jaw reminded me of the man who used to take care of me at the old man’s request. Before he drowned in alcohol. Before he became bloated with fat. The man who was once a promising youth, full of vigor, who was seen as the next in line after Hong Seok-young.

A man who forced himself to do good deeds, even though it didn’t suit his personality, because he didn’t want to fall to the same level as someone he despised.

I remember what the old man used to tell me.

‘You could become someone much greater.’

Maybe those words were a hint from the path that the future Oh Hyun-wook found.

It hurts my pride to think that the realization gained by that piglet might have come around to me…

But when I think that it’s going back to the little piglet again… Well.

It doesn’t feel so bad.

“Failing a dungeon raid doesn’t mean it’s over.”

I softened the tone of my voice.

“When a raid fails, does the dungeon disappear? No. The gate only blocks monsters from entering; it doesn’t stop Hunters from going in and out.”

When the blocked gate allows monsters to pass through, that’s a dungeon break.

“As long as you’re alive, you can always try again, that’s what I’m saying.”

“……”

“If it were an A-rank or S-rank dungeon, maybe. But using your life just to escape a goblin dungeon? With that kind of skill, don’t even think about entering a dungeon.”

If I talk any more, I’ll just end up repeating the same thing.

“…Go find a route where everyone could escape from the dungeon without leaving anyone behind. One for each of you. Seven routes.”

Yoo Hye-eun is excluded. She’s with her sister and Kim Chae-min. More dungeon raid lessons won’t be of much help to her.

I gestured to Kang Tae-woo.

“Tae-woo, you follow me. I’ll tutor you separately today. Although….”

I looked at Oh Hyun-wook, still standing upright, and at the kids with their heads bowed, staring at their desks.

“For a while, it’s likely just going to be you and me in class.”

* * *

[Oh Hyun-wook – S-Rank]

[Main Weapon – Bare-Handed Combat]

[Guild Memorial’s Master]

[Chairman of the Hunter Bereaved Families Association]

[Chairman of the Memorial Foundation]

[Chairman of the Hunter Academy Operations Committee]

Looking at Oh Hyun-wook’s profile stored in the Ability Management Agency, it’s hard to recall the face of that piglet. The list of donations and sponsorships comes to mind even before the dungeons he has raided.

Under the piglet’s societal contributions, there’s a list of the dungeons he cleared during his time as a Hunter. A few major dungeons are listed, and then it says:

[…156 other dungeons]

Compared to the 709 dungeons Yoo Ji-eun cleared, it’s a significantly smaller number. Although Yoo Ji-eun worked like an ox, even considering that, it’s suspiciously low for someone with Oh Hyun-wook’s reputation.

That’s only natural. Dungeon raiding wasn’t Oh Hyun-wook’s specialty.

I increased the information access level. Since only I and the Director have used it, no further procedures are needed. Just changing the search criteria reveals the hidden documents.

[Oh Hyun-wook – S-Rank]

[■■■■■■■■■ ■■■■■■]

[■■■■ ■■ ■■■■■■ ■■■■■■■■]

[Due to ■■■■■ ■■■■, security clearance has been upgraded. Cooperation on related matters has been agreed.]

[For other cases of ■■■■■, related to ■■■■■■ and ■■■.]

Documents filled with censorship.

Oh Hyun-wook mainly dealt with issues related to illegal Awakened individuals rather than dungeon raids. Most of these matters were closely tied to national secrets or were erased due to various diplomatic issues.

There are some documents without censorship that I could look at, but… is there really a need? After all, this Oh Hyun-wook no longer exists. If I want to raise this piglet from here… it’s better to keep him as a cute little piglet. At the very least, I need to toughen up that weak mentality so he can’t even touch alcohol. And also, get rid of any unnecessary spirit too.

“Well then….”

There’s almost no sound coming from the classroom. I listened briefly and then stopped. Remember. Time and effort.

If I could raise kidney beans, I can raise these kids too. The old man raised me, didn’t he? What am I lacking compared to the old man?

“Why are you here again?”

“Hehe.”

Yoo Ji-eun grinned widely.

“Since I’m here today anyway, can I join him? What unnie does is boring.”

Yoo Ji-eun pointed to Kang Tae-woo. It’s not ‘him,’ it’s ‘oppa.’ Kang Tae-woo glanced at Yoo Ji-eun briefly and then remained silent.

If I keep letting this slide once or twice, it’ll never end. I was about to tell her to go back to her sister, but… I changed my mind.

Anyway, I had her attend a few theory classes while Hong Seok-young was hospitalized. Knowing things halfway is the most dangerous.

I looked at Yoo Ji-eun. Her cheeks still had some baby fat. Round eyes. A bright, smiling mouth. …I hope she’s not falling for some nonsense about using mana to remove toxins again?

I was planning to teach Kang Tae-woo the basic safety rules anyway. It wouldn’t hurt for Yoo Ji-eun to learn them too. The sooner she knows, the better.

Since I didn’t say anything, Yoo Ji-eun slowly sat down. I don’t know what Daseon did to the parasol, but I could feel a cool breeze. Ji Yoo-geon, who I couldn’t tell if he was a barista or a Hunter, brought two cups of coffee and smoothies, wearing a paper nametag on his chest.

The sky was clear. It was a summer day with not a cloud in sight. The sun sets much later now too. The class usually lasted until the sun set.

I gauged the time left until sunset and then opened my mouth.

“What do you think is the most important thing for a Hunter?”

Kang Tae-woo rolled his eyes around, and Yoo Ji-eun pretended to ponder before answering.

“Fighting?”

“Not what you have to do best, but what you should consider most important.” Sᴇaʀch* Thᴇ ɴøᴠel Fɪre.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

“…Uh. Hmm.”

Yoo Ji-eun groaned and closed her mouth.

“Your life.”

“…….”

“Always struggle to survive.”

I took a sip of my coffee.

“No one will appreciate it even if you risk your life to raid a dungeon.”

*****

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