Chapter 339. I'm Going To Retire (2)
Personally, now that I've regained my status as a mage, I had intended not to speak empty words anymore.
"Huh?"
As soon as I finished listening to what Kang Changho said, this thought crossed my mind.
"What kind of nonsense is that supposed to be now?"
It was a crude thought that ca to mind on its own.
"So, to sum it up, you're saying I deliberately acted as a human skill stone by calling in [Improvent] holders whenever there was a crisis. Seriously, what is that supposed to an?"
The ntion of the colored pillars just now must be referring to the EX-rank feeding box incident I got dragged into when I was kidnapped by that guy. But inside that dungeon, I never acted selflessly—not even once. Picking the blue [trust] choices in a row? That was purely to earn points for clearing the dungeon.
"Co to think of it, back then, I was struggling desperately every single mont."
The horror that unfolded in the final room of that EX-rank gate is sothing I'd rather not even recall. Maybe the naive Gisimche corps had a dramatic change of heart after getting a full taste of Alphaus's collective selfishness. That place was clearly designed to spare the kinder of the two individuals—and yet, at the last mont, the chanism's logic changed. But, I unaware of that reversal, stuck to the old knowledge... and ended up screwing everything up.
"Oh my god."
Back then, I gave everything I had against a fellow mammal—and in the end, I lost. That all happened inside an EX-rank dungeon. But now I'm wondering... Had that stupid mont, when I got hit by a laser and collapsed, been glorified this much without even knowing?
I... I was just trying to settle an old grudge in the pettiest way possible. But even the act of calling him first after sinking that unauthorized gate is now being interpreted as so kind of selfless gesture.
I'm confused. First of all, it was clear that the Earthling had gotten sothing wrong. However, correcting the mistakes in the sentences that person said was almost impossible.
"Let's see... If I were to set the record straight here, I'd have to start by explaining that I was originally an F-rank hunter and was in no condition to act any further after nearly dying."
Never mind the fact that I'd basically have to start by confessing to deception right from the beginning.
"And on top of that, right after my second awakening, I called out Kang Changho all fired up, ready to tear into him—only to end up coughing blood and getting hospitalized because I didn't account for the strain on my lungs. How am I supposed to say that out loud? How could a great mage ever admit to sothing so utterly uncool—"
After quietly piecing things together on my own, I eventually chose to stay silent.
"Oh my... no matter how I arrange the truth, it always ends up revealing sothing pathetic about ."
The first year of my reincarnation was truly filled with nothing but bluffing from beginning to end. It's not sothing a great archmage like could ever admit out loud.
"Oh my god."
Put simply, I was embarrassed. So I felt silent, unable to say another word. Caught up in the wave of rising humiliation, even the whole house price negotiation had co to an abrupt end before I realized it. And seeing this—though I've no idea what a re mammal could possibly understand—Kang Changho nodded, as if sothing had clicked for him. Then, quietly, the conversation moved on to the next topic.
"Alright, since that part seems to have co across clearly—shall we get to the real main topic now?"
While I was busy staring at the hospital floor tiles out of sheer pride, the man on the sofa spoke calmly.
"This was information specifically requested by soone who was once my contractor, so I pulled a few strings ti around."
"_ _"
"Even though you already took down all the Beasts yourself, I never thought you'd have call and find out who'd be behind him right after you were hospitalized. Well, since this is your wish, Hunter Kim, I won't add any unnecessary comnts."
After all, once this matter was settled, today's conversation would be over. Perhaps hopeful that he'd be able to leave soon, Kang Changho flashed a bright smile—so wide that the dimples in his cheeks sank deep.
"Whatever you decide to do with this information, Hunter Kim, I won't interfere—so don't worry."
Co to think of it, sothing just occurred to —in what form did that guy bring the information I asked him to find?
"Hmm."
For your information. As the ongoing conversation makes clear, I had previously asked him for a favor—sothing I entrusted to him even before I ca into contact with the corpses of those fake Beasts.
Enzo Chiano and two others, I'd sohow managed to uncover the identities of those illegal entrants, but I still had no idea how they learned of the existence of the monster known as [Sunflower]—nor how they managed to predict the appearance of that dungeon in Korea.
So, I planned to find out who had 'commissioned' the Bone Mask gang. And in the process, I decided to use that S-rank hunter Kang Changho for a cross-check. As a forr Archmage, I possess advanced skills to steal others' mories, but Earth, of all places, has sothing that rivals even such magic, doesn't it?
'Electronic communication systems.'
If a certain group conducted all their dealings exclusively online, then honestly—even for a great mage—it would be difficult to grasp the full picture. And sure, the accuracy cannot then out to be valid, judging by the results of the mory-scanning I had actually perford.
'Among the three, I found a suspicious person in Enzo's mory who seed to hold the highest rank. Unfortunately, they're non-awakened, so tracking them magically is difficult. And since I only have a picture of the Earthling's face, I don't even know how to start searching.'
So, I simply folded my arms and remained silent, waiting for him to relay the information.
Rustle.
Then, the other person finally began to move. He pulled out a stack of docunts from the bag he had set on the floor this whole ti.
Docunts. Paper, of all things, making an appearance now.
"Wait a second—don't tell you actually printed out what I asked you to find out?"
"Not hacked, easy to read... hmm, I guess there's nothing wrong with that."
The sudden appearance of such an outdated dium brought a brief wave of disappointnt. But judging by the look of it, the contents weren't lacking in substance. The mammal across from tapped the stack of papers with a casual flick, exuding a confidence that was anything but ordinary.
"Anyway, as Hunter Kim Goryeo said, I dug up detailed information on the connections Enzo Chiano usually runs with. I can say for sure, there are only a handful of people in the world who could pull this off. This choice is way better than just taking money."
"Can I trust this information?"
"Are you suspicious because I found this so quickly? But the speed was simply because I already had so leads I was tracking beforehand."
"Hmm."
"Besides, these days we have plenty of tools that help uncover the truth. No need to worry."
"Like Justitia?"
"Now that I think about it, that item was probably one of the few legal ans available—so its high price actually makes sense."
That was the end of it. He, as a native of this planet, had brought the information. And I, having wished for it, would make good use of those docunts. Since that was the core of our agreent, there was no more small talk to exchange.
"Then are we done? The compensation and the Beast information you wanted to find are both handled. So, is everything settled now?"
Sssk.
The other person soon stood up from the sofa. Kang Changho approached the hospital bed and handed over the materials he had gathered.
Whether it was his way of speaking or his movents, fatigue was practically seeping out of every part of his body.
"Alright, then. I'll take it that everything's settled. Let make this clear—from now on, you must not contact on my real number, Hunter Kim Goryeo."
It almost seed like he was genuinely fed up. A man born with a silver spoon and blessed as an S-rank Awakened had suddenly been roped into providing one-sided labor. Well, of course—there was no way he had enjoyed the process of this entire ordeal.
"It was just the past year that was unusual. Starting tomorrow, I plan to leave the country—and not show my face in public at all."
That was the mont. When the other party ntioned sothing that went beyond simple reclusion—practically vanishing from the face of the earth—my interest was instantly piqued.
"You're planning to shut yourself in that completely? Is that really necessary?"
"Why bother going out when I've got a nice ho? Thanks to you, Hunter Kim, I finally realized how precious a boring routine can be. So don't worry—I won't be causing any more trouble from now on."
"To be honest, with a mansion that has a swimming pool, I think I'd want to live in seclusion too."
"I'm not going to be involved in any activities for the ti being."
"How many days do you plan to stay like that?"
"If circumstances allow... maybe about eight years."
"Hmm?"
"Just kidding."
I glanced briefly at the Earthling who claid he was joking. But truthfully, in a situation like this, whatever plans Kang Changho spoke of didn't really matter.
"Looks like that guy thinks the wish has already been used up."
Logically speaking, there's no way an archmage would easily let go of soone who oppressed them for an entire year.
"But you know."
I began the sentence with a negative adverb. And first, I used a logical approach.
"You're clearly mistaken about sothing right now. If you happen to have a recording of our previous call, would you mind listening to it again?"
"Hmm?"
"The wish I actually made was for you to help clean up the Beasts that appeared in Korea. The investigation? That was just a bonus attached to the main request. But tell , Hunter Kang Changho—where were you when those Beasts showed up?"
"_ _"
"You weren't at the scene, were you? Then just handing over these docunts isn't enough. To really settle things, you should tag along and help out directly with your strength—if we're being logically precise, that is."
From both the facial information I had and the docunts Kang Changho brought, it was clear that Enzo Chiano's supplier was a foreigner. If I tried to leave the country alone as an alien, I wouldn't be able to handle things properly. So, I decided to put Kang Changho's labor to use in cleaning up the aftermath of the fake Beast incident. When dealing with sothing this big, having extra hands is never a bad thing.
A porter. A driver. Or, if we're being bold, maybe even a smuggler with a criminal record. All things considered, Kang Changho was surprisingly versatile—capable of playing quite a few different roles.
"I literally just said I want to stay in Korea from now on."
"Yes."
"I think I said that about 5 seconds ago."
"I heard you right."
Oh, right. Co to think of it, I just rembered—I've regained my strength now, so I can talk informally to anyone I want.
But.
"If people suddenly change too much, unnecessary problems will arise again. Above all, it's not like I can't attack others just because I speak politely, so let's maintain that tone."
I thought for a mont and then continued.
"But what's more important here—Hunter Kang Changho's opinion, or the fact that I, who got beaten up for no reason, am one the making the request?"
It was okay because the face value was similar to Jang Hoseung's, but no matter what, I didn't think this society would let up on the 32-year-old's insubordination, so I chose polite language.
"When I got stabbed in the neck back then, I let it slide since I was just a patient with no energy... But now that I think about it, the contract was basically broken, and I never got a proper apology. Even when I try to penalize you financially, you keep brushing it off like it's nothing..."
Co to think of it, maybe the increase in magical power brought a bit more peace of mind too. The anger I once felt had almost faded by now. When I looked at Kang Changho, the most I felt was sothing like mild irritation—like at a bug. But then again, with power now on my side, there was no longer any reason to hide even that small discomfort.
"Excuse , but do you happen to know how to kneel?"
I spoke the sentence that ca to mind without filtering it.
"Ah."
But what am I supposed to do if you react like that to just one sentence?
"Of course. Now I finally understand exactly what you're trying to say."
Just as I was about to unleash all my pent-up resentnt and start a full-on quarrel, Kang Changho acted without hesitation.
"What is it?"
Tuk.
He scanned the hospital room for an empty spot, and before long, he knelt down at a suitable place.
'W, what the heck...? This feels off. This isn't quite the scene I had in mind... it's a little different from what I was hoping for.'
Maybe it was the angle of his legs. Or maybe it was just the expression that Earthling was wearing. The awakener, now seated quite comfortably with the backs of his knees fully rested on the floor, spoke up.
"I'm truly sorry for the misunderstanding before."
At this point, even the milestones used to express disbelief were about to run out.
"...I thought that intention had already been made clear through the choices I've made so far. Never imagined you'd actually want to hear it out loud."
If told to kneel, he kneeled. If told to apologize, he apologized. Honesty, no one who's done wrong could show a better attitude than that. Yet, I still felt uneasy. And if he could apologize so easily now, why had he been so arrogant until now? Just as I was mulling over these thoughts, Kang Changho spoke up.
"But now that we're actually in this situation... doesn't it still feel kind of off?"
"_ _"
"Actually, that's because I'm not truly apologizing from the heart."
"What?"
"Right now, the only reason I'm acting like this is because I'm finally certain you had nothing to do with the gate."
"_ _"
"If I still didn't know the truth, I would've done the sa thing over and over again. You're the one who left suspicious clues first, didn't you?"
He was looking straight into my eyes.
"There's no Justitia now, but I'll be honest with you out of conscience. I have not a single regret about restraining and hurting you—the only thing I truly consider a mistake was choosing soone like you as the offering for [Improvent]."
"_ _"
"And this thought won't change even if an S-rank awakened, weakened by a long illness, were to lose their temper and kill soone right here."
Kang Changho added a few more words to this.
"Unfortunately, this is just who I am. And you know, a person's true feelings aren't sothing you can easily buy with money."
These were shocking opinions.
"One more thing that can't be easily bought or sold in this world—ti. So I hope we don't hold on to the past for too long."
Of course, there were parts of the Earthling's words that made sense. But the fact that he didn't truly regret tornting almost faded by now. When I looked at Kang Changho, the most I felt was sothing like mild irritation—like at a bug. But then again, with power now on my side, there was no longer any reason to hide even that small discomfort. It soon beca very ambiguous.
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