Even Today, the Ranker Dreams of Retirement

“Here you go!”

-Meow?

Kkamang-i was quite tense at the Churu Habin offered.

-Me, meow… (What am I supposed to do with this?)

Kkamang-i glared at the Churu packet with suspicious eyes. There was a reason for its suspicion. Kkamang-i had never seen Churu before in its life.

-Me, meoow… (H-how should I react?)

Kkamang-i looked desperately at Kang Taeseo, but Taeseo’s face was as indifferent as ever.

-Meow! (Useless human!)

It was a mistake to ask that stupid human. Kkamang-i threw another flurry of cat punches at Kang Taeseo for no reason.

Thump thump!

-Meow! Meow meow! (As expected, I’m smarter! I’ll overcome this obstacle on my own!)

“Hm? Don’t you like it? You’re not eating?”

Kkamang-i got a hint from Habin’s words.

-Meow? Meow? (You mean it’s food?)

Fortunately, if it was food, it was confident.

Kkamang-i had eaten quite a variety of foods while staying with Taeseo. All snacks left on the table like pretzels and candy. Originally, being a shadow, it didn’t need to eat to survive, but it found a certain small pleasure in it.

-Meoow! (I like sweet things!)

Kkamang-i, who had only eaten snacks and candies so far, tilted its head haughtily.

Sniff sniff.

Kkamang-i first sniffed it as if exploring.

-Meow! (What kind of smell is this!)

Kkamang-i hesitated at the unfamiliar scent, completely different from the snacks it had eaten before.

“Oh? Looks like it’s wary.”

“I guess there are cats that don’t like Churu?”

Habin and Jiseok tilted their heads. At those words, Kkamang-i inwardly froze in shock.

They’re surprised that there are cats that don’t like Churu!

To Kkamang-i, this translated to:

-Me, meow! (Cats must unconditionally like this!)

-Meoow…! (Alright, I’ll eat it!)

Being a shadow, it didn’t discriminate in food anyway. It was in a shadow monster’s nature to be able to swallow even rocks.

Kkamang-i carefully stuck out its tongue and licked the cut end of the Churu packet.

Lick lick, lick lick lick.

-…Meow?! (This taste?!)

Kkamang-i’s eyes widened in surprise as it licked the Churu.

“Oh? Looks like it likes it!”

“Ooh, it’s really eating well!”

Lick lick lick.

Unlike its unfamiliar first impression, the salty Churu suited Kkamang-i’s taste perfectly. After licking until no more Churu came out, Kkamang-i turned its head away proudly.

-Meow! (Hmph! You’ve brought something quite edible, human!)

“Should I give you another one?”

-Meoow! (If you insist on giving more, I’ll accept!)

Kkamang-i’s ears perked up at those words, and it swished its tail back and forth. At first, it was tense because it didn’t know what it was, but now that it had tasted it, it wouldn’t mind eating one more.

No.

-Mee… (Not just one, but two… three, no, I’d be willing to eat even five…)

“No. We have to go now.”

At that moment, Taeseo’s words cut like a knife.

-Meow! Meow! (Why? I want to eat more!)

Kkamang-i begged for more Churu with a pitiful expression, but Taeseo picked it up without batting an eye.

-Meow! Meow! (Let go! You stupid human! I’m staying here! Let go!)

The black monster struggled hard in his arms, but it was no match for Taeseo’s strength.

“Well, I need to prepare for my next class.”

“Ah, right! Taeseo is a teacher here too.”

-Meow! Meoow!

Habin tilted her head, watching Kkamang-i still scratching and protesting in Kang Taeseo’s arms.

“…Kkamang-i doesn’t look happy, is it okay?”

“This one’s always like this.”

-Meow! Meow! (Don’t slander me, human! Give me more Churu right now!)

“Seems like a cat that doesn’t like being held. Taeseo, you must have a hard time being a butler.”

“……”

“See you next time!”

Nod.

Taeseo ended the greeting with a short nod and turned away immediately. Watching the struggling cat and Taeseo’s unwavering back, Habin added,

“Kkamang-i! I’ll give you more Churu next time! Don’t give Taeseo too much trouble!”

-Meoow…!

◆◇◆◇◆

Bang.

Kang Taeseo arrived at the teacher’s research room, slamming the door shut. He immediately checked if the items blocking surrounding sounds and spying were working properly. They were all installed with even more care than Caligo’s office.

-Meow…

Back in the research room, Kkamang-i flopped onto the sofa with a sulky expression, still seeming to miss the Churu.

-Meow, meow meow! (I’ll let you off this time, human! Next time, I’ll get Churu!)

But Kang Taeseo seemed uninterested in that, checking his phone screen. Frowning slightly at the pile of missed calls, he made a call somewhere.

-Ring ring. Click.

-Well, Kang Taeseo! It’s quite hard to get a hold of you, isn’t it?

A call with neither sender nor receiver properly displayed. The other party was Errata. Glancing at the call log filled with calls at 1-minute intervals, Taeseo asked,

“What’s the rush?”

-I’m worried. This is our biggest project that we’ve put a lot of effort into. I’m concerned about sending you alone.

“Calling incessantly is more of a hindrance, so stop it.”

-Is there anything I can help with?

“No.”

-Ah, don’t be like that. After sending you alone, I’m just constantly curious. How’s the situation there, how’s Fides reacting, and so on!

“You seem to be mistaken, but I’m not your subordinate. I have no obligation to report everything. I’ll relay important matters when they arise.”

-Huh. Really? You’ll really relay it?

“I’m busy preparing to activate the gate while avoiding Fides and Solaris’ eyes even now.”

-Oh? You’re quite diligent, aren’t you?

Errata fell silent for a moment, as if unexpected.

-…Anyway, if you fail to activate the gate this time, be prepared to lose your head to the Administrator first. Even if you’re the favorite, you can’t escape that responsibility, right?

“Right. I plan to make up for my past mistakes this time.”

-Oh…?

“So you should moderate yourself too. If you interfere any more, I might start suspecting that you’re actually Fides’ puppet.”

-Ha! Why would I join hands with that guy? We’re plotting to kill each other every day!

“So keep your distance.”

Click.

With that, Kang Taeseo hung up.

◆◇◆◇◆

“That bastard. He hung up on me again!”

Errata put down her phone with a thud and picked up her wine glass.

“What do you think, Sixth?”

“Me? Are you asking for my opinion?”

“Don’t make me repeat myself.”

‘Sixth,’ sitting next to her, tilted his head and picked up the appetizer in front of him. A slice of melon wrapped in thin Jamón ham. Just before biting into it, ‘Sixth’ slowly gave his opinion.

“Well… Kang Taeseo is a bit of an asshole, but honestly, aren’t we all terrible people here?”

“Hahaha! That’s true!”

‘Fifth,’ who was also present, burst into hearty laughter.

“We’re all bastards here, aren’t we?”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

“What can we do? We’re bastards, so we can only talk like dogs. Woof woof!”

“Hah.”

‘What kind of idiots does the Administrator expect to overthrow the world with?’

The state of her colleagues was thoroughly disappointing. Errata swirled her wine glass with a displeased expression.

‘Kang Taeseo, did he really go to show his own achievements?’

While she was lost in thought, ‘Third’ asked,

“But is he really working as a teacher at a high school?”

“A teacher?”

“Tsk, he’s trying hard to infiltrate.”

“Wow, dealing with those little brats must be a pain in the ass.”

Amidst the snickering organization members, Sixth said,

“From what I’ve heard, Kang Taeseo seems to have some regrets about not experiencing high school.”

“Oh?”

“That’s right. He quit school when he awakened as SSS-rank.”

“Is that why he volunteered?”

“……”

‘He has regrets about not attending school?’

Errata raised an eyebrow.

“…Unexpected.”

‘He didn’t seem like the type to have regrets about anything.’

But she could understand that feeling a little bit. Everyone tends to have lingering attachments to things they couldn’t have.

Just like she once did.

‘Though now I don’t have a single regret.’

Errata took a sip from her glass and crossed her arms. The organization members were still chatting and laughing.

“Hey, but if you think about it, isn’t that even more chilling?”

“What?”

“Our plan is to kill all the students at that school. But Kang Taeseo is going there because he has lingering attachments to school.”

It’s the most contradictory point of all.

“What if he gets attached to the students there? What if his heart softens?”

“That won’t happen.”

Fifth snorted.

“Have you forgotten how we were selected? That guy is probably just dipping his toes into school out of boredom. When it comes time to execute the plan, he’ll kill without batting an eye.”

“Wow, what a cruel bastard. Pretending to be a kind teacher every day to students he’s going to kill?”

“That’s what he enjoys, I’m telling you.”

“Oh, so he knows how to have fun?”

“In my opinion, ‘First’ is the biggest bastard among us. Hehe.”

“That’s why he’s ‘First’!”

Errata, who had been listening quietly, chimed in.

“Right, that could be it. Don’t you want to destroy something even more when you see something you wanted but couldn’t have?”

“Are you introducing yourself?”

“Shut up.”

Errata put down her wine glass coldly. She felt like she had said unnecessary things, swayed by their words due to the alcohol.

“Well, fine. Let’s leave it be this time. If it doesn’t work out, Kang Taeseo will take all the responsibility himself anyway.”

Errata stood up, speaking as if disgusted.

◆◇◆◇◆

The next day.

“Are they crazy?”

“Hmm?”

On a peaceful dormitory morning, Seoyun turned in surprise at Habin’s sudden outburst. She was frowning deeply at a text message that had arrived in the morning.

[Important notice for some freshmen!]

-You have not registered for required major courses. We recommend re-registering during the correction period.

-Student Hyun Habin is subject to re-registration. (Insufficient credits for required courses)

-Please refer to the school website for detailed re-registration methods. (Link)

Re-registration?

Re-registration?

It seems that registering only for electives had violated school rules.

“Aagh! Why won’t this school leave me alone!”

Habin lay back down on her bed as if denying reality. Was this the end of the happy times she had spent rolling around in the cozy dormitory? Had the limit of her happy school life, where she didn’t attend classes, watched dramas and webtoons, and just ate delicious food, finally arrived?

“No wonder I thought it was too enjoyable.”

Habin checked the detailed guide with a sullen expression. Fortunately, she didn’t need to take many major courses. It seemed that taking just one as a basic requirement would suffice.

“What class should I sign up for?”

‘If I take a magic class, will I run into that masked magician guy? Hmm, if I sign up for a Hunter special lecture, I might be able to attend Jise-unni’s lectures occasionally.’

While Habin was lost in thought, Seoyun, who was next to her, asked as if she had overheard,

“Unni, do you want to try taking my class?”