I’ll Retire After Saving the World - Chapter 79 - Parent-Teacher Meeting (2)

Chapter 79: Parent-Teacher Meeting (2)

TL: SHW

Twenty years later. The relationship between the old man and Lee Mi-seon had an odd aspect to it.

‘Hm? Hunter Lee. I’m counting on you again this time.’

Lee Mi-seon did everything the old man asked of her.

No matter how difficult the task was, it didn’t matter.

Even the kind of tasks that made people wonder, ‘You’re using Daseon’s guild master for something like this?’, Lee Mi-seon would do without hesitation.

If someone else had asked her to do the same thing, she wouldn’t have done it, but if it was something the old man asked, Lee Mi-seon never complained.

But the old man always maintained a humble attitude towards Lee Mi-seon.

Even when making a request disguised as a command. Or when issuing a command disguised as a request.

The old man would stand up awkwardly, with a troubled face, and welcome Lee Mi-seon with utmost courtesy.

That wasn’t the only strange part.

Everyone knew that Daeyeon stood behind Daseon. When Daseon moved, it meant Daeyeon was pulling the strings. If the task was directly related to dungeons, Lee Mi-seon would handle it under Daseon’s name, but for other things… like potion research, Daeyeon’s name would be used.

However, the support for Hunter Academy was carried out only under Daseon’s name. For non-Hunter students, the support was managed by Daeyeon.

It wasn’t something you could outright call strange, but if you carefully examined each detail, there were more than just a few oddities.

I think I finally understood the reason behind it.

Lee Mi-seon looked at my face and smiled faintly.

“Is this really that surprising?”

“…No. I just didn’t expect Teacher Hong to admit someone into the pilot high school without the guardian’s consent.”

“That’s Seung-yeon’s fault, not Teacher Hong’s. Teacher Hong believes that as long as there’s a will to learn, one should have the opportunity to learn.”

And then Lee Seung-yeon died.

It was an unexpected tragedy for everyone. However, to the adults who lost both their nephew and student, it might have felt like an accident that could have been prevented.

“I couldn’t say no to Seung-yeon either, so I can’t really blame him.”

“…I see.”

Lee Mi-seon gave a bitter smile.

“After all, when you see a kid working that hard, it’s difficult to tell them to quit just because they lack talent.”

“…….”

“But you’re right, teacher. If it was just about attending school, that would be one thing. But if Seung-yeon wanted to become a Hunter, we couldn’t leave it like this.”

“Student Lee Seung-yeon is…”

“We should make him quit, right?”

I recalled Lee Seung-yeon, his face red with frustration, glaring at Kang Tae-woo in the classroom. He didn’t seem like someone who would give up easily.

If, like Han Eun-young, he had a clear talent for something other than combat, it would have been a different story.

Well, this is no longer something I need to worry about. Thankfully for Lee Seung-yeon, he has a wealthy and capable aunt who seriously considers his future. From now on, Lee Mi-seon will take care of him. If Lee Seung-yeon makes up his mind, Hong Seok-young won’t force him to stay either.

Lee Mi-seon leaned towards me.

“So, teacher. What’s the best way to persuade Seung-yeon?”

“…What?”

Why are you asking me?

“You’re his aunt, so if you speak to him gently….”

“If you, teacher woo, explain things well….”

“…….”

“…….”

I met Lee Mi-seon’s gaze.

“Wouldn’t it be better for it to come from family?”

“Wouldn’t it be better to hear it from a neutral perspective, not family?”

“…….”

“…….”

Just as I sighed, Lee Mi-seon also let out a sigh.

Looking frustrated, she removed the straw from her glass and gulped down her drink.

“Let’s talk about what would be the best way to handle this.”

* * *

“Shi…”

He barely stopped myself from swearing.

Even if everyone else curses, swearing inside the house is strictly forbidden. Even for his aunt, who often scolds the Hunter hyungs, behaves meekly in front of grandpa.

Even when his grandpa wasn’t here, he couldn’t help imagining his face hovering in front of him.

Lee Seung-yeon bit his lip and kicked a small stone rolling on the ground.

The summer sun is long. The sky was still blue. Normally, it would have been time to head home, but not today. That’s because he had told the driver he’d be returning with Daseon’s Hunters after playing with friends. Since he had done this a few times before, no one was suspicious. Even the Hunter hyungs told him to go home with his aunt, who had come down to the school on some errand.

Lee Seung-yeon tightly gripped the phone in his pocket. His aunt, oblivious to his feelings, had only sent him a message telling him to play quietly with his friends.

Contrary to that message, Lee Seung-yeon was alone.

The reason he was so conflicted right now was because of his friends, but he didn’t want to be with them.

‘It’s not their fault, but…’

The fault lay with him.

Lee Seung-yeon liked the friends he had made at the pilot high school. Compared to his middle school friends, they were a bit rougher, but that part was also to his liking. Those middle school friends had always smiled and joked in front of him but would turn around and curse behind his back. He hated how his childhood friend was insulted just because his father worked under his grandfather.

That’s why, instead of attending a private high school, he went to a public high school with Sun Sun-jin.

Even there, things didn’t go smoothly. Once people found out he was Daeyeon’s youngest grandson, his relationships with the few friends he had made became awkward. Strange rumors followed Sun Sun-jin as well.

But none of that happened here. Maybe it was because there weren’t enough kids for rumors to spread or to create much distance between them, but…

‘Still, I can just tell at a glance!’

They’re good friends.

It had been known from the beginning that his aunt was Lee Mi-seon of Daseon, but no one made a big deal out of it.

In fact, Han Eun-young had even nudged him in the side with a serious expression and said,

‘Tell your aunt to hurry up and get us some more facilities.’

…They are truly good friends.

Despite his lack of skill, they never criticized him, pretending not to notice. They even faked admiration, as if he was doing well, just to keep him from feeling bad.

It was the same when they were writing the raid guide. Han Eun-young had listened to his opinion and exaggeratedly nodded her head.

‘That’s great! That’s a good idea.’

However, the idea he had suggested didn’t make it into the actual raid guide.

The same thing happened during combat training.

Sun Sun-jin didn’t say anything. But having watched Sun Sun-jin’s movements since they were young, Lee Seung-yeon couldn’t help but notice.

‘You keep slowing down to match my pace!’

It was the worst kind of burden.

Once, unable to hold back, he had snapped at Sun Sun-jin.

‘What are you doing?’

‘Hm? What do you mean?’

‘Do you think I don’t notice? You keep slowing down to match my pace!’

‘What are you talking about?’

Sun Sun-jin had just laughed it off.

He appreciated the concern. He was thankful.

But it deeply hurt Lee Seung-yeon’s pride. It was clear he was dragging them down, yet they simply let it go. Worse, when Oh Hyun-wook made a mistake, they’d pounce on him right away.

‘Hey, Oh Hyun-wook! You can’t mess up like that!’

Lee Seung-yeon had realized a long time ago that he couldn’t be like Sun Sun-jin.

He had thought things would change if he entered the school run by Hong Seok-young, the strongest Hunter.

From a young age, Hong Seok-young’s name was always on TV. Yesterday, he had raided one dungeon, today, another. Tomorrow, he’d surely raid yet another.

Even his grandfather, uncle, and aunt, who didn’t care much for Hunters, begrudgingly praised Hong Seok-young.

If someone like that—if such a great person were to teach him—

Couldn’t he also become a Hunter like that?

It didn’t even take a month for that dream to shatter.

It’s not that Hong Seok-young showed favoritism in his teaching. On the contrary, his classes were fair. Even Oh Hyun-wook, who was so skilled that Lee Seung-yeon could hardly keep up, would collapse on the dirt ground, gasping for air after Hong Seok-young’s lessons.

Later, the classes taught by Teacher Woo were equally exhausting for everyone.

Still, after Teacher Woo arrived, his skills had improved a lot. The principal’s classes, which relied purely on instinct, were hard for Lee Seung-yeon to follow, but Woo Hwi-jae pointed out his weaknesses without holding back.

Thanks to that, he had started to hope again. Maybe I, too, could become a great Hunter?

‘Ah, that transfer student.’

That transfer student who was a year younger had crushed even that hope.

‘Good. You’re doing well. You’ll improve quickly.’

Woo Hwi-jae showered the transfer student with praise, praise he never gave to the other students.

‘There… yes, just like that. You’ll be able to join the others in class by the end of summer.’

While leaving their lessons to Daseon’s Hunters, Woo Hwi-jae stayed glued to that kid.

‘It was annoying.

What’s the big deal about being a year younger that he had to take such good care of him? He is taller than me too. Even my aunt had told me to be nice to him. I’m the nephew, not him.

I knew I looked pathetic, but I couldn’t help being irritated. That’s why earlier, I had glared at him out of frustration.

As I thought.

I should quit.

I should’ve listened when Grandpa and Aunt said no. Then at least I’d have an excuse.’

‘Ah, if I’d kept going, I would’ve become an amazing Hunter, but my family stopped me.’

Lee Seung-yeon kicked another stone. The stone rolled and bounced toward the street.

Thud.

“Oh.”

Just before the stone reached the street, it hit someone’s foot.

“Uh…”

“……?”

“Ah, uh, hello?”

It was him. The transfer student who was hogging all of Teacher Woo’s attention.

Lee Seung-yeon narrowed his eyes.

“What?”

“Oh, uh, nothing… It just seemed like you were upset about something….”

“Don’t talk to me. Just keep walking.”

“Well, uh…”

The transfer student started to say something but then shut his mouth.

Lee Seung-yeon noticed the convenience store bag hanging from the transfer student’s wrist. Inside were a few cup noodles and some drinks.

…He’s staying at Teacher Hong’s place too.

It only just now occurred to him that his aunt probably wasn’t telling him to be nice to this kid for no reason.

Lee Seung-yeon ruffled his hair in frustration.

“Hey. Is that your dinner?”

“Huh? Yeah…”

“We’re just a year apart. Why are you using formal speech? It’s creepy. Just call me hyung.”

“Oh… uh, sure.”

“Come on. Follow me. I’ll buy you dinner. Cup noodles aren’t dinner. You can’t get through class on that.”

“…No, it’s okay. You don’t have to.”

“Didn’t you hear what I said?”

The transfer student shook his head with a stupid look on his face. Lee Seung-yeon kicked the ground in frustration instead of a stone this time.

“My aunt is Lee Mi-seon, the Hunter from Daseon, you know? The guild master of Daseon?”

The transfer student’s clueless expression didn’t change.

“So, I…”

He hesitated to say that he was Daeyeon’s youngest grandson. Instead, he grabbed the transfer student and started dragging him.

“I get a lot of allowance from my aunt. When someone offers to buy you food, just say thank you and eat!”

“Uh, t-thanks.”

“Do you have any allergies? Anything you don’t like?”

“No, nothing…”

“Good. Then let’s go over there and grab a burger. I’ll buy you something better next time.”

Lee Seung-yeon pointed at the fast-food restaurant across the street.

The transfer student hesitated for a moment but eventually followed him.

“Hey, students!”

If someone hadn’t called out to them from behind, that’s how it would’ve gone.

Lee Seung-yeon turned around. Despite the hot summer weather, the person was wearing a thick black hoodie. Their hood was pulled low, so he couldn’t see their face clearly. However, he could see red hair peeking out from under the hood.

“I just want to ask you something.”

“Yes?”

A woman? A man? It was hard to tell due to the baggy clothes. Even the voice was ambiguous—too low for a woman, but too high for a man.

When the person lifted the brim of their cap slightly, a slender face was revealed. The first thought that crossed Lee Seung-yeon’s mind was, What a pretty face.

The stranger smiled slightly at the two of them.

“So, which one of you is No. 3?”

*****