Even Today, the Ranker Dreams of Retirement

“Aren’t you buying notebooks and writing utensils?”

“Do they study there too? I’m not going to.”

“At least pretend to study.”

“…Too bothersome.”

Ignoring Habin’s words, Hyun Siwoo tossed some notebooks into the cart.

Watching this, Habin tilted her head.

‘It’s just like when I first entered high school.’

Although the Gate Crisis erupted not long after she enrolled, Hyun Habin’s first high school admission had been quite peaceful.

Her only worries then were how to make friends in class, how to take the college entrance exam, and which university to attend. Those were simpler times.

Back then, their parents and Hyun Siwoo had all come together. Hyun Siwoo, then a fresh-faced college student, had grumbled as he pushed the cart.

‘Hyun Habin, you need to buckle down when you get to high school! If you want to get into a good university like me, you need to work hard from your first year.’

‘Wow, how annoying. Are you bragging about getting into a good university now?’

‘I’m saying this sincerely as your brother. Ah, and use a study planner too. It helps a lot.’

Their mother, standing nearby, had chimed in.

‘Listen to your brother. He’s saying all this because he cares about you.’

‘I’ve lived longer than you. At least I’ve been through the grueling life of a third-year high school student preparing for exams. You’d do well not to ignore my advice!’

And then what happened?

“Here, grab a blanket and water bottle too. They’re high school essentials, right?”

…This was what their mother had said.

‘Get a blanket and water bottle too. I’ll boil some tea to put in the water bottle in the morning…’

“……”

Clatter.

Habin silently placed the blanket and water bottle Hyun Siwoo handed her into the cart. Just then, Hyun Siwoo, checking the next aisle, asked her:

“Ah, here they are. Three-striped slippers. What color do you want?”

“Sky blue and purple.”

“Black is the standard for three-striped slippers!”

“Huh? Then why did you ask? Respect my preferences. I want sky blue and purple!”

“Fine, let’s get sky blue, purple, and black. Three pairs. As spares. You might need them if they get dirty or torn.”

After neatly placing the slippers in the cart, Hyun Siwoo muttered while looking at his phone.

“Notebooks, writing utensils, tissues. Hmm… Do we need a cushion too?”

Habin rolled her eyes slightly to look at Hyun Siwoo. The screen of the phone in his hand caught her eye.

-Top 10 High School Admission Essentials! With these, my new semester worries are over!

‘Was he looking that up?’

“…Why are you suddenly so diligent about this?”

Five years ago, when they came to buy supplies for her first high school admission, Hyun Siwoo had helped for a bit but then suddenly left midway, saying he had plans with a friend. Habin and her parents had picked out the rest together.

“If I don’t take care of it, you’ll probably just wear your uniform and go to school empty-handed because you find it bothersome.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Pick a toothbrush.”

Instead of answering, Hyun Siwoo pointed to the toothbrush display. As Habin placed her hand on her chin with an “Hmm” while looking at the display packed with various toothbrushes, Hyun Siwoo’s belated words were heard from behind.

“Even though you’re entering this school unexpectedly, if there’s anything you want to do in high school, go ahead and do it.”

“What are you on about?”

[Hey, why are you suddenly being sentimental?]

Neaiba quipped. Hyun Siwoo didn’t respond and picked up a bundle of toothpaste from the opposite shelf.

[What, feeling guilty because you heard she dropped out to find you?]

“……”

In this iteration, Hyun Habin had dropped out of high school to repay the house loan, live on her own, and to find Hyun Siwoo.

‘…She dropped out in the first iteration too. Back then, it was because she wanted to save the world.’

Either way, Hyun Habin had briefly experienced high school.

‘She was actually a bit excited when she first entered high school.’

He remembered Hyun Habin intently staring at the notebook corner when Hyun Siwoo told her to choose a study planner.

‘Right. Even if it’s dirty, I have to study because there’s a university I need to go to in order to achieve my dream!’ she had said, picking up a study planner with a flushed expression.

[…Hyun Habin had a dream?]

‘Yes. What was it again, a lawyer? Something in the legal field.’

[What? What?! Don’t lie! Her? Her? That girl who lives like an outlaw?!]

‘She was quite diligent before the Gate Crisis. Even in the first iteration… Although she liked to play, it was different. How should I put it, she’d complain and lie in bed, but in the end, she’d finish what needed to be done, even if at the last minute?’

[……]

Hyun Siwoo turned his head to look at the back of Habin’s head. This HomePlus was one of the few places of memory that had survived the Gate Crisis undamaged. Somehow, just looking at this scene, it was believable enough to be five years ago.

It was reminiscent enough of Hyun Habin’s back view as she said, ‘Oh, I heard there’s a school store in high school! I’m definitely going to the store every break!’

Hyun Siwoo spoke again.

“Yeah, snack at the school store and…”

It would be good for her to make friends more normally too. Better than struggling amidst numerous responsibilities and people’s gazes in the first iteration, or the past five years spent earning money without rest.

And Habin answered in a bright voice.

“Great, then this time I’ll definitely try climbing over the school wall.”

“?”

“I should try getting held back a year too! Of course, I’ll skip classes. I’ll turn in blank test papers and draw stars on the OMR cards…”

[She never intended to live normally in the first place, did she?]

“……”

They were at a loss for words at her grand scale of mischief.

‘At least she won’t drop out right after entering.’

Should they find solace in that?

Would accepting Hyun Habin be a blessing or a curse for Ullim International High?

[I don’t know either.]

‘I don’t know either.’

Well, it’ll work out somehow.

◆◇◆◇◆

“What?”

“Habin is going to school?”

“Hyun Habin?”

“To school?”

“…What’s with these reactions?”

Solaris office.

Between Chae Jise and Chae Jiseok, who were working diligently. Habin, sitting on the sofa, frowned and raised her head.

“Anyway, that’s what’s happening. Are you unhappy about me going to school?”

“…No, come to think of it, it’s unexpectedly clever. Students have quite a bit of freedom even under the Awakened Management Law.”

Chae Jise nodded after a moment of silence. Jiseok asked.

“Was it your idea?”

“No, oppa recommended it.”

“Really? By oppa, you mean that ‘Hyun Siwoo’ person you mentioned before, right?”

[The constellation ‘Nearest Light’ pretends to know, saying it saw Hyun Siwoo when it went to Habin’s house last time!]

“Nuna, didn’t you go to Habin’s house before? Did you see him then?”

“Yes. Habin’s older brother, perhaps because he resembles Habin, was incredibly handsome.”

“Pfft.”

Habin, who had been sipping orange juice, choked.

“C-cough! Who resembles who? We don’t look alike at all!”

‘Seems they do look alike.’

Chae Jiseok nodded as if he understood. He quietly asked Jise.

“Don’t tell me their personalities are similar too?”

If there was another person with a personality similar to Hyun Habin’s, it would really be too much to handle.

“His personality… seemed calm and very cautious.”

Jise muttered as she flipped through some documents.

[The constellation ‘Nearest Light’ feels upset, saying that someone showing that much caution towards our contractor is a first since Fides!]

[The constellation ‘Nearest Light’ pounds its chest, asking what’s wrong with our contractor that makes him so untrustworthy!]

‘It’s not that he doesn’t trust her… Well, he had an expression like a cat tensed up in anticipation of being caught.’

Hyun Siwoo.

‘What is he hiding that made him so cautious?’

Jise’s eyes narrowed.

Hyun Siwoo had quite a few suspicious aspects compared to others.

First, he was excessively clean.

There were records of him working diligently as an A-rank hunter in various places during the five years he was missing, but…

‘This is an area that can be fabricated if one is determined.’

Above all, the most suspicious point was that Jise’s precognition ability didn’t work on Hyun Siwoo.

In all her life, Jise had only met three people on whom her precognition didn’t work properly.

Fides, Hyun Habin, and Hyun Siwoo.

For Fides, it made sense given that he was such a powerful figure and so thorough about protecting his identity that he even wore a mask, not to mention he might have skills unknown to Jise.

As for Hyun Habin, she was also a powerhouse who could surpass Fides, so it could be assumed that some exceptional factor was at play.

‘Then what about Hyun Siwoo?’

It could be simply because he’s Hyun Habin’s blood relative, but…

‘The feeling was odd.’

“Hmm… No matter how I look at it, there’s something there.”

[The constellation ‘Nearest Light’ tilts its head, saying that even so, something seems suspicious.]

“By the way, Hyun Habin, you’re entering Ullim International High, right?”

“Yes.”

[I heard it’s Ullim International Magic School! A magic school! It sounds like such an interesting place, I’ve been studying a lot about it!]

“Studying?”

Everyone turned towards Ahezar, who had suddenly chimed in. Unlike his usual habit of using a web novel app, Ahezar was watching a video on the phone.

[This is what I call studying!]

The video showed a familiar scene of figures in black cloaks flying around on broomsticks and shooting lasers with wands…

“Kim Jaljal, what are you watching?”

[When they said magic school, everyone recommended Harry Potter, so I’m watching Harry Potter!]

“……”

“……”

A chilly silence fell over the office at Ahezar’s words. Habin belatedly pointed out in a flat voice.

“Sorry, but it’ll be quite different from Harry Potter, since this is modern Korea.”

[Of course, I know that too! That’s why I’m also watching Korean high teen dramas. As I watched, I found that schools here are very interesting places, always featuring rich sons and daughters, full of romance and fun school trips…]

“No, Kim Jaljal. That’s wrong. That’s not what real Korean high teen life is like.”

Habin shook her head with an unexpectedly gentle voice. With an unusually kind smile, she tapped her phone and brought up a different video on the screen.

Along with the title, a solemn and grave prelude played.

-We all lie~!

“This is the real Korean high teen! Kim Jaljal, let’s watch this to prepare!”

[W-what is this?]

“Sky Castle! This is the true state of South Korean high school students!”

“Hey, why are you recommending something like that… No, well, it’s not wrong exactly…”

Chae Jiseok hesitated, wondering whether to stop her or not, before giving up.

And so, Ahezar ended up binge-watching Sky Castle until the day of admission.

And he was shocked to tears.

◆◇◆◇◆

“…Jaljal?”

[……]

“Jaljal, are you sulking? Was Sky Castle that shocking?”

[I’m not sulking!]

Ahezar responded heatedly. He looked around and exclaimed:

[But I don’t believe in that Sky Castle drama or whatever! It’s fiction! There must be differences from reality. And isn’t this a magic school?]

They were at the school gate of Ullim International High. Thanks to Hyun Siwoo’s swift handling of matters, Hyun Habin was able to attend the entrance ceremony very smoothly.

Ullim International Magic High School.

‘The appearance is certainly impressive.’

Habin nodded as she checked the school name written on the gate. Perhaps because it was built with full government support for hunter training, Ullim International High’s gate was on a different level from any school gates she had seen before.

Tall, elegant stone pillars and a school name that seemed to emit a soft light, possibly engraved with rare attribute materials.

Even the distant view of the school building looked quite stylish.

[It’s a magic school attended by students with magic-related classes, so it must be different from other schools!]

Just then, someone ran past them. It seemed to be a current student of Ullim International High. As the girl rushed by, a cloth like a cloak fluttered from her shoulders. It was a very romantic sight.

[Look at that cloak! Isn’t it just like a real magician!]

“No, look closely, Jaljal.”

Habin narrowed her eyes and added.

“That’s not a cloak, it’s a blanket. The high school essential I mentioned earlier. The weather suddenly turned chilly this morning, so she just wrapped it around herself.”

[…?]

“That’s just how South Korean high school students are.”