Chapter 6
After meeting with capable party members, we had successfully cleared a B-rank dungeon with ease.
“Han Do-hyun , can I possibly get your contact information?”
As we stepped outside, Kim Sang-jin lit up and eagerly started asking for my number.
“…My contact information?”
Shouldn’t he be hitting on Park Ina , not me?
“Yes! Today felt amazing, and I’d like to stay in touch with you more often!”
I’d never had a man, of all people, ask for my number before.
Surprisingly, it wasn’t as flattering as one might think.
“Sorry, but I don’t really….”
“Ah! Then how about this!?”
Kim Sang-jin, who obediently put his phone away, wasn’t ready to give up. Instead, he pulled out a business card and politely handed it to me.
“This is my business card.”
The card featured a flashy company logo written in English, along with Kim Sang-jin’s contact details.
‘Where have I seen this before?’
The name felt oddly familiar. After thinking about it for a moment, I realized it was a renowned exploration company that often appeared on TV.
Even as a B-rank dungeon clearer, he didn’t seem to be working for an obscure or unknown company.
Not that it suddenly piqued my interest or anything.
“As a fellow swordsman, I really want to have a serious conversation with you!”
“Right… well. I’ll just take the card, then….”
“You’ll contact me, right?!”
“…We’ll see. If I have time….”
“I’ll work around your schedule!”
‘How persistent.’
After managing to shake off Kim Sang-jin, who was dead set on setting up a meeting, I simply pocketed his business card and got into my car.
And then—
‘No way… he didn’t notice, right?’
I carefully pulled out a small item I had hidden securely inside my coat.
A tiny glass vial, no bigger than a finger.
Inside the vial, a faint blue liquid glimmered softly.
It was none other than “Mermaid’s Tear”.
‘I can’t believe I actually got my hands on this.’
Drinking a Mermaid’s Tear drastically increases one’s mana reserves.
It’s a legendary, game-breaking item capable of shattering the limits of one’s talent in an instant.
Back in my days as a hero, my party had come across some information about it. We invested a considerable amount of time trying to obtain it, but…
Ultimately, we never managed to secure the Mermaid’s Tear.
The moment we got close, the Demon King’s army ambushed us, and the vial shattered during the ensuing battle.
Well, that incident did cause all of us to go completely berserk and obliterate the Demon King’s army, so it wasn’t all bad.
But after that, we never encountered anything like the Mermaid’s Tear again.
And now, after all this time, it was finally in my hands.
‘What should I do with this?’
As Expected, Selling It Came to Mind First
The first thought that popped into my head was to sell it.
The demand for such a rare and specialized elixir would be enormous, and I could surely make a tidy profit.
The problem, though, was where and how to sell it.
While I knew exactly what the Mermaid’s Tear was, most others probably wouldn’t.
Even during my time living as an ordinary person, I’d never once heard of something like the Mermaid’s Tear being mentioned anywhere.
Actually turning it into cash could take quite a while.
‘Maybe I should just use it.’
But even if I used it now, it wouldn’t mean much.
The same applied to Choi Yeon-jung ; it wouldn’t have much of an impact on her either.
It’d be like pouring water into a massive lake—
Not entirely useless, but it’d feel like a bit of a waste.
‘Should I give it to Na-gyeong?’
Now, if it were Na-gyeong , things would be different.
Having inherited her mother’s immense talent, Na-gyeong possessed extraordinary potential.
Even I was shocked when she aced the infamous Academy entrance exam with a perfect score.
It was, in fact, the second perfect score in the Academy’s history.
‘I should’ve hung a banner on our apartment building.’
For reference, the first perfect scorer was Choi Yeon-jung.
Considering she had taken on most of her strength as a Hero back then, it was safe to say Na-gyeong’s achievement was even more impressive.
Though now, it seems she’s just maintaining an average academic standing.
‘…Or should I…?’
There was one more person who came to mind besides Na-gyeong.
Chun Seo-hee .
To be honest, the case for her was much stronger.
As the Hero destined to fight the Demon King, she had every reason to receive such an incredible elixir.
In fact, far from saving it, I should be throwing everything I had her way.
But—
“Sigh… This is tough.”
I couldn’t quite bring myself to hand it over to Chun Seo-hee either.
Let’s call it… a personal issue.
‘My daughter or my wife?’
Who in this world could easily choose between their wife and their daughter?
…At least, I couldn’t.
After Many Twists and Turns
After much effort, I officially became a B-rank Explorer.
“Please dedicate yourself to supporting our Academy moving forward.”
To cut to the chase, I had successfully been hired at the Academy.
And, needless to say, it was all thanks to Choi Yeon-jung.
“Thank you, Choi Yeon-jung! You really are the best!”
“Oh, so it’s only at times like this that you say that?”
As we walked out after wrapping up the final meeting with the Academy’s president, Choi Yeon-jung shot me a sidelong glance.
Without her, I’d never have even dreamed of becoming a teacher.
“Should I give you a kiss as thanks?”
“Trying to weasel out with just that?”
“Did you catch me?”
Even for someone like Choi Yeon-jung, getting an unknown B-rank Explorer appointed as an Academy teacher wasn’t easy.
Placing someone like me—short on experience—amongst a pool of highly esteemed candidates would inevitably raise questions.
Thus, my application was nearly derailed.
But in the end, Choi Yeon-jung pulled her trump card.
– “Then how about I join as well?”
She proposed becoming part of the teaching staff herself.
– “Are you serious!?”
The stunned Academy president’s jaw practically hit the floor as his attitude did a 180.
The Academy’s best alum, a national treasure whose name was synonymous with excellence, returning to teach?
At that point, the so-called “corruption” surrounding the hiring of an unknown B-rank Explorer ceased to matter.
– “If you’ll do that, I’ll see to it that Han Do-hyun’s hiring goes through!”
And so, thanks to Choi Yeon-jung’s efforts, my name was added to the list of teachers.
But suddenly, another thought crossed my mind.
“But hey, you know.”
“Hm?”
“Why did you agree to it?”
Even if it was for my sake, did Choi Yeon-jung really need to go that far?
“…Who knows.”
With an enigmatic expression, Choi Yeon-jung trailed off, glancing at me briefly before turning her eyes away and responding coyly
.
“I just felt like it.”
“What? There’s no such thing as ‘just felt like it.’”
“I used to think that too, but it turns out, there is.”
“…?”
I couldn’t quite grasp what she meant.
Anyway, the important thing was that we were now working together as comrades again,
and that I’d landed a stable, respectable job.
It was definitely worth celebrating.
“What!? Han Do-hyun became an Academy teacher!?”
In a small izakaya in Seoul’s bustling downtown—
“Wow, public education in this country really has hit rock bottom.”
Jeong Cheol , the owner of Izakaya Hero’s Tavern, clicked his tongue and shook his head.
He was one of my old comrades who had been summoned to the otherworld with me.
“Right?”
Next to him, a petite woman cradling her rounded belly chuckled softly.
“Do you think he’ll get into fights while teaching the kids?”
Im Se-mi , another comrade from the otherworld and now the real manager of Hero’s Tavern, spoke with a grin.
The two of them had been married for nearly 13 years now and were among the few friends I still kept close.
“Remember when Do-hyun and Cheol fought back in the Steel Mountain Range?”
“Oh yeah! Both of you were so furious back then…!”
“What are you talking about? I wasn’t mad at all.”
“Uh-huh. Nope. You totally flipped your eyes back, foaming at the mouth, and charged at him.”
Being either orphans or without families, the three of us had grown close like family over the past 12 years.
I wouldn’t have made it this far without them.
Still, I couldn’t help but think about someone who wasn’t here.
‘…It would’ve been nice if Yoo-bin was here too.’
I’m sure the others who had been with her in her final moments felt the same.
Even as we gathered for a carefree celebration, memories of her would surface, leaving me unsettled.
It was like the heavens were warning me not to indulge in too much happiness.
“Hey! Yeon-jung! Let’s head to my place for the afterparty!”
“Na-gyeong will get mad.”
“Pfft! A dad can’t have drinks with his friends? Huh!? I’ll give her a piece of my mind!”
“Yeah, sure. Be sure to do that.”
Predictably, I ended up getting completely wasted again and had to rely on Choi Yeon-jung to drag me home.
“Huaaahm….”
“Sleepy? If you are, just sleep. I’ll wake you when we get there.”
“What are you saying…? I’m not sleepy at all, okay…?”
“Sure. Got it. Now lean on me.”
“Mmm….”
My last memory of that night was being enveloped by an overwhelming softness.
And then—
“……”
“Good evening, Na-gyeong.”
A murderous-looking Na-gyeong stood at the entrance, while Choi Yeon-jung greeted her with a sweet smile.
The Morning After the Celebration
“Ugh… I feel like death….”
Waking up at dawn, I groaned and sat up, my head pounding with the remnants of a hangover.
In the dim light, I looked around. I seemed to have made it home safely, but…
“……?”
I noticed someone lying next to me.
Even in my foggy state, I could tell it was a woman.
“!?”
My heart sank.
Swallowing hard, I craned my neck to get a better look at her face.
‘No way….’
But when I saw who it was, I let out a deep sigh of relief.
“……Whew….”
The person next to me was none other than Na-gyeong.
‘Why is she sleeping in my room again?’
Thankfully, the disaster I’d feared hadn’t occurred.
Relieved, I quietly slipped out of bed.
‘Ugh, my back.’
My lower back ached, probably because the bed was too small to share comfortably.
‘I really need to cut back on drinking.’
Unlike me, Choi Yeon-jung had divine blessings that allowed her to sober up instantly, but I wasn’t so lucky.
I could reinforce my body with mana, but breaking down alcohol wasn’t part of the deal.
Whenever I drank with her, I always ended up completely drunk while she stayed perfectly fine.
Not that I minded drinking with her—it was always fun—but dealing with the aftermath wasn’t exactly enjoyable.
Especially when it came to appeasing Na-gyeong.
‘How am I going to calm her down today?’
Summer Break Before the New Semester
“Ehehe. I can’t wait for summer break to end and the new semester to start.”
For some reason, Na-gyeong was thrilled that I’d become an Academy teacher.
“Why?”
“Because we can ride to work together every morning!”
“Who said I’d give you a ride?”
“If you don’t, I’ll cause trouble every day until you get called in.”
“Wow. That’s some next-level blackmail.”
Her reasoning wasn’t exactly pure, but seeing her so happy lifted my spirits as well.
During the break, I attended orientation sessions for new teachers at the empty Academy.
“Do-hyun! We’re having drinks tonight. Want to join?”
“I’ve already got plans tonight. I’ll join next time.”
I also built a decent rapport with my fellow new teachers.
Everything was progressing smoothly, just as planned.
‘Heh heh. Everything’s going perfectly.’
Feeling confident, I began to believe that even getting closer to Chun Seo-hee wouldn’t be too difficult.
…At least, that’s what I thought—until the new semester began.