“Who is this person now?”
As he looked at Choi A-rin’s father, who was bound in rope, Seok Jin-young sent me a bewildered look and asked his question.
“He is trash.”
“Pardon? Trash?”
“Mmph—! Mmph—! Mmmph—!”
“That is right. He is the bastard who tried to sell his one and only precious daughter to Villains in order to settle his gambling debts.”
“Hmm...”
As though he had roughly grasped what had happened, Seok Jin-young looked Choi A-rin’s father over from head to toe. Then, as though he had made up his mind, he opened his mouth.
“Then, would you have me kill the man tied up in front of us?”
“!!! Mmph—! Mmph—! Mmmph—!”
“Even if you shout like that, we cannot hear what you are saying with that rope in your mouth, so shut up and stay quiet!”
“Mmph—! Mmph—! Mmmph—!”
Choi A-rin’s father continued crying out and writhing as though he were desperately struggling against me, despite the rope clenched tightly in his mouth. With a sigh, I first removed the rope from his mouth.
“Fine. Let us hear what you have to say. Have you reflected at all, perhaps?”
“You are going to kill me? Are you insane? That is murder—! And you are an Academy teacher. How can a teacher arrange for a murder?”
“I clearly told you that I had no intention of killing you, did I not?”
“A-anyway, spare me—! I only did it because I had no choice because of money!”
“Does that make selling your own daughter something a father can do?”
“S-she is my daughter!”
“What?”
“She is my child! As her father, cannot I do whatever I want with her? Right? I did nothing wrong—!”
“...”
Seok Jin-young, who had been listening from beside us to that bastard speak as though he bore no fault whatsoever, stood speechless for a while. Then, as though he had reached a decision, he began taking a dagger from his clothes.
“!!! W-what are you doing right now?”
“Team Leader Seok. What are you doing?”
“After listening from the side, it is certain that he is trash. No one is watching anyway. Would anything change if one more person died here? If you wish it, Mr. Baek Seon-woo, I will take care of him right away.”
“!!! Y-you are going to kill me? Aaaah—!”
“W-wait! Team Leader Seok. You must not kill that man.”
Seok Jin-young, seemingly enraged by the sight of the man showing no remorse whatsoever even after selling his own daughter to a criminal organization, made as though he would cut the bastard’s throat with his dagger. I waved my hands in the air and stopped him.
“I cannot kill him? Even if a piece of trash like that dies here, I do not think it would matter...”
“He is certainly trash, but he still has things he must repay to his daughter. Until he settles those things, he must never be killed.”
“Things he must repay to his daughter...”
“Could you take that man to the place written here?”
“!!! W-where is this?”
When I handed Seok Jin-young a sheet of paper bearing a location, he glanced over its contents. Then he flinched in surprise and looked at me.
“How do you know about this place, Mr. Baek Seon-woo? This is where guilds mainly...”
“It is also a place secretly operated to conceal their private revenge and disgrace.”
“I am honestly surprised that you know about this place.”
“I learned of it by chance as well. If I took him there, they would naturally refuse, but if it is you, Team Leader Seok, whose identity is certain, they will accept that bastard.”
“Hmm... I see. Rather than killing him, it would be much better to leave trash like that to them.”
“W-what are you two talking about right now? Where are you taking me?”
Unable to understand the conversation between Seok Jin-young and me, Choi A-rin’s father looked at us and spoke in a frightened voice.
***
“Now, write down everything I say on the paper.”
“Y-you really are going to spare my life, right?”
“You do not believe me? Then I will kill you right here and now.”
“I will write. Ah—! I said I would write, did I not?”
After loosening only enough of the rope binding him for him to move his hands, I gave Choi A-rin’s father paper and a pen, then instructed him to write something.
“If you truly want to live, write exactly as I tell you.”
“A-alright.”
“My beloved daughter, A-rin.”
“...”
“Your father seems to have done far too many terrible things to you, his daughter.”
“...”
“After meeting your Academy teacher this time, I have reflected a great deal.”
“Uh... Do I really write this?”
“Why? Is there a problem? Have you not reflected?”
“I-I have.”
“Then shut up and quietly write it down.”
“Yes.”
“So, as a sign of my repentance, I am going to stay far away from you, A-rin, for a little while.”
“Go far away? Me?”
“Do not interrupt me. You may be shocked when you read this letter, but I am going away for a while to repay every debt of the heart I owe you, my daughter. The people who tormented you will never appear again. Until the day I can stand proudly before you, A-rin, your father is going to go down to the provinces and work.”
“!!! W-work? In the provinces, too?”
“As your father, I will work hard there and earn money so that our A-rin no longer has to worry about money.”
“What in the world is this...”
“Are you not writing? Then, I will send another letter later with the details, so stay healthy, A-rin.”
“W-what are you doing right now?”
“What do you think I am doing? I am getting you a job right now, am I not?”
“A job?”
Startled by my sudden claim that I was getting him a job, the bastard wore a bewildered expression. But I ignored him and held out a contract, urging him to sign it.
“Here—! An employment contract! Ah~! Is this even an employment contract? In any case, sign it.”
“What is this? !!! Shinhan City Low-Grade Magic Stone Mine?”
“Have you ever heard of Angel Village?”
“Angel Village?”
“It is famous for accounting for seventy percent of South Korea’s low-grade magic stone mining production. You will be working there from now on.”
“!!! W-what are you saying? Are you going to sell me there as a slave?”
“Oh~ You immediately called it slavery, so it seems you roughly know what that place is. But you are mistaken about something. Now that the government and the city directly intervene there, the days when people were forcibly brought there and used as slave labor are completely gone.”
“T-then?”
“But you will receive very special treatment there, quite unlike the ordinary laborers.”
“Special treatment?”
At the words special treatment, Choi A-rin’s father gave me a suspicious look, as though something about it did not sit right with him. I smiled and opened my mouth.
“From today on, your name is Chun-sik—!”
“!!! Pardon?”
“From today on, you are Chun-sik!”
“W-what are you saying? My name is Chun-sik? !!! D-don’t tell me?”
“It is true that slaves are gone from there, but it is still secretly operated. Of course, what has changed is that instead of bringing in ordinary people by force, each guild brings bastards beyond rehabilitation like you to use there.”
“You are going to sell me there? This is obviously illegal!”
“You tried to sell your daughter off, did you not? Still, I did not hand you over to a criminal organization. Besides, they say that even bastards like you are paid properly these days, so do not worry too much. Of course, all that money will be given to Choi A-rin.”
“H-how can this be... I... I...”
“Is it not time for you to try being a father to your daughter properly? I do not know whether you will reform there, but I hope you reflect deeply and make an effort. Team Leader Seok. Take him away.”
“Understood.”
“Aaaah—! Let me go—! This is no different from kidnapping! S-spare me—! I do not want to go! Let me go—! I said let me go! Aaaah—!”
As I watched Choi A-rin’s father being dragged across the ground by Team Leader Seok Jin-young like a cow being led to a slaughterhouse, I smiled and waved farewell to him.
“Goodbye, Chun-sik—!”
***
“Is it true? Is what this letter says really true, Teacher?”
“Yes, it is. Your father said that he had shown you far too many shameful sides of himself, so for the time being, he would deliver his letters through me.”
When I handed Choi A-rin the letter he had written under half-coercion(?), her eyes widened. With a startled expression, she silently read the letter her father had written over and over again for a while.
“I-is it really true? My dad really wrote this?”
“You do not believe it? You should be able to tell just by looking at the handwriting.”
“It is his handwriting, but I am surprised that he wrote something like this...”
‘Well, after learning that he tried to sell her off, it would be hard for me to believe it too.’
“In any case, he said that after speaking with me, he reflected a great deal. He said that until he can stand proudly before you, A-rin, he will not show himself.”
“Until he can stand proudly...”
“And I also settled matters with the bastards who tried to kidnap you by force, amicably in my own way. They will never show themselves before you again.”
“R-really? Has everything really been resolved?”
“Yes. And your father said that he would work hard and transfer your living expenses to you every month, so you do not need to worry about that anymore either.”
“G-goodness—!”
As though she could not believe that the hellish reality that had seemed impossible to resolve had been completely dealt with before her eyes by me in less than a day, Choi A-rin stood there with her mouth open.
“Now that everything has been resolved, you should keep your promise, right?”
“My promise?”
“Did you not say that you would return to the Academy?”
“O-of course. I will keep my promise. But...”
“Is there a problem?”
“Since I have missed so many days of class, I think there may be many difficulties with returning.”
“Hmm...”
“And more importantly...”
“More importantly?”
“As far as I know, the Headmaster’s final approval is necessary. Even if you are a teacher, I do not think it will be easy for you to get that approval...”
“Do not worry about that.”
“Pardon?”
“I have the Headmaster’s seal.”
“!!! Pardon? What do you mean?”
‘Come to think of it, Choi A-rin does not know that I have been the acting headmaster for a month.’
Because she did not know the Academy’s internal circumstances well, I gently stroked her hair as though to reassure her and opened my mouth.
“I will take care of the Headmaster’s approval, so you only need to think about focusing on your Academy life from now on. Do you understand what I mean?”
***
The next day.
“Immediate readmission? She may be able to return in the following academic year, but there has never been a case of someone returning in the middle of the year. Absolutely not!”
“That is right. It is obvious that complaints will come from the parents in Classes A and B. It is impossible to readmit her immediately!”
‘Phew... The opposition is stronger than I expected. Should I just disregard their opinions using my authority as acting headmaster and suppress them all by force?’
As I looked at the teachers gathered in the meeting room, I fell into deep thought.