The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 341: It’s a Secret (1)

-Baaah.

I held the baby sheep in my arms. It looked quite big on the outside, but that was all fluff, so it wasn’t heavy. It was also soft and fluffy. I had bathed it just yesterday, so its fur gave off a cozy scent.

“So cute, right?”

-Baah.

“Right, Yuhyun?”

My younger brother opened the car door for me instead of answering. When we arrived at the airport, there weren’t as many reporters as last time, but a few were still lurking around. A couple of them tried to aim their cameras at me holding the Volcano Black Lamb, but quickly backed off after receiving Yuhyun’s cold glare.

“Welcome, Director Han.”

When we entered the restricted waiting room, Choi Youngjun, head of the Hunter Association’s PR department, greeted me warmly. He had ambitions of quickly bringing the Volcano Black Lamb in to make it into a mascot and even produce plushies, but he was currently stuck, blocked by Chief Song’s resistance. I heard he’d also had a meeting with Team Leader Kim Hayun.

“Has Chief Song not arrived yet?”

“Of course he has. He went out toward the runway. Even though Hunter Park Yerim, unlike the Sesung Guild Leader, is unlikely to cause any trouble, he insisted on waiting personally.”

You could call that diligent, but… maybe he was avoiding me? Did he figure out I was bringing the baby lamb? I had been whining quite a bit through texts lately.

“Chief Song doesn’t have to come out every time an S-Rank Hunter returns from abroad, right?”

“Of course not. He only comes out when there’s a special international issue, like last time or this time. But the Sesung Guild Leader…”

“Ah, yeah.”

I nodded deeply. No need to explain. I get it. That guy must have caused one or two big incidents every time he returned, which is why Chief Song came to greet him each time. Probably ended up in holding cells more than once. Maybe even dragged back home after being caught overseas. Just imagining it is pitiful. I wonder if he ever got cuffed. I’d like to see that once.

The waiting room had a decent spread of refreshments. I was a little peckish, and having food on the table during a conversation is proper etiquette anyway. I looked at my brother. Yuhyun smiled gently.

“No. We’re going out for lunch when Hunter Park Yerim arrives.”

…I wasn’t the type to snack much originally, but being told I can’t eat makes me want to eat more. Still, I endured it like an adult. Not that I’d win if I didn’t.

“How’s it going recently? Think it’ll go our way?”

At my question, Choi Youngjun furrowed his brow deeply.

“No change. In fact, there’s a stronger opinion that it would be better to keep it under the Hunter Association rather than the Directorate. On the other hand, we’re arguing that it should at least be registered as a Directorate monster mount. We are.”

“So there are quite a few people who want it under the Association.”

“Of course. But if it’s under the Association, there’s a higher risk of it being used for pointless tasks. At least under the Directorate, Chief Song would try to focus on strategic use. The Association is different. Association Hunters want to use it as a monster mount too, and it would just end up being dragged around and put on display like a decoration.”

Still so many people like that, huh. If there hadn’t been a purge, there wouldn’t even be this kind of debate. They would have tried to keep the monster mount from not only Chief Song but also the Directorate. Even if it had been transferred to Chief Song, they might have taken it away with every excuse possible.

It’s only because the people were replaced that they’re taking care of Chief Song now.

“Clearly, having it officially registered as Chief Song’s personal monster mount would be best in many ways.”

“Chief Song knows that too, but he seems to have some concerns.”

“Concerns?”

“He hasn’t said, but that’s how it seems.”

Maybe I need to set up a drinking session to talk about it. How do I get Chief Song to open up? Should I say if he doesn’t drink with me, I’ll follow Seong Hyunjae abroad?

“Mister!”

Just then, Yerim burst in, throwing the door open. She looked healthy with no visible injuries.

“Yerim! Welcome back! No issues?”

“Cleaned it up in a flash. There was a big river on the first floor, so I caused it to flood and froze everything.”

Yerim excitedly chattered about how she had cleared the dungeon with ease.

“The only downside was that Blue didn’t have enough cold-resistance gear. She looked a bit chilly. So after the first floor, I didn’t do much freezing.”

“Gear alone can’t fully cover that. What about Blue?”

“She went straight to the breeding facility. The Lion Mister said to say hi to you. He even sent a gift.”

“…He didn’t say anything else?”

“Say what?”

Thankfully, it seemed he hadn’t said anything weird to Yerim. I patted her on the back for her hard work and looked around. But the face I was looking for was nowhere to be seen.

“Didn’t Chief Song come to greet you?”

“He was busy, so he just did a quick check and left.”

So he really did notice. Ran off to avoid getting the lamb, huh. I waited while Yerim did a short interview, feeling a bit disappointed, when a message came in.

[Hyung, I guess you’re not at the breeding facility today?]

It was Park Hayul. Was he planning to visit? I replied that I was out to welcome Yerim back.

[Then is Hunter Park Yerim going to be at the breeding facility for a while?]

[She’ll probably rest for two or three days, so yeah?]

Didn’t he really like Yerim when he saw her before? When I asked if he wanted to meet her, he said it felt too much and declined. Is it awkward to see her personally?

[That’s too bad. You didn’t tell anyone else I went on a trip, right?]

[Yeah.]

[I’ll be in Korea for a while, so if you get bored when you’re alone, feel free to contact me!]

…I’m not particularly going to get bored. More than that, why would I, um, meet up with him. Not that there’s anything bad about it. He does have three A-grade skills, so I did consider Awakening him. Should I apply a keyword or not. I need to be cautious with people, but Park Hayul doesn’t seem dangerous.

“Who was that?”

“Uh, someone we just hired.”

I blurted out a lie without thinking at my brother’s question. Hayul told me not to say anything, but… is there any reason to hide it from Yuhyun? Then again, if Yuhyun finds out, he might stop Hayul from visiting the breeding facility.

After Yerim’s interview, the three of us had lunch and returned home. And then—

“Tada, Peace!”

Peace’s personal phone had arrived. It wasn’t a typical smartphone but a device that looked like one of those old blackberries with physical buttons. It had five large buttons: up, down, left, right, and a power button.

“Do you think Peace can really use it?”

“It’s simple, so probably? Here, look, Peace.”

I placed the phone in front of Peace. Then I grabbed Peace’s front paw and pressed the center power button with his claw.

“If you hold it for about two seconds like this, the phone turns on. See?”

-Kkyang.

“The screen lights up, and if you press this right button, again for about two seconds…”

A ringtone rang. It was my phone. Peace’s phone was set to default to video calls. When I answered, my face appeared on Peace’s phone screen.

“It connects to Daddy’s phone. You see it?”

-Kyaaang!

“The right button is for Daddy. Your face is showing on my phone too, right?”

-Kkwoooong.

“And if you press this one, the opposite side button…”

This time, the ringtone rang from another place. It was Yuhyun’s phone.

“Yuhyun, hurry and pick up!”

“…Hello.”

Yuhyun, who had been standing a bit off, reluctantly answered the call. His face appeared on Peace’s phone screen.

-Kheung.

“Yeah, that’s Uncle Yuhyun. Don’t step on the phone. It could break if you’re not careful.”

If Yuhyun didn’t pick up, the phone was set to automatically call someone else. I had Yerim, Haeyeon Guild, Chief Song, the Sesung Guild Leader, the Breaker Guild Leader, and Noah registered as S-Rank Hunters.

“Let’s practice turning the phone on first.”

I turned off the phone and tapped it with my finger to show him. Peace raised one front paw and precisely pressed the center button with his claw tip. As expected, my kid’s a genius!

“That’s right, Peace! Good job! Amazing!”

-Kkiaaang.

“Now let’s try calling Daddy. That’s it!”

Wow, I only showed him once and he got it immediately. Why don’t we have something like a beast farm? I need to get one going.

“This time, Uncle Yuhyun, left button!”

Peace hesitated. Maybe all the buttons were confusing him.

“Looks like he doesn’t want to call Han Yuhyun.”

-Grrrrng.

Letting out a low growl, Peace pressed the left button. Whoa, good job.

“Yuhyun, don’t pick up this time. I want to show it forwarding to Yerim.”

After a few rings, the call stopped and was redirected to Yerim. She teleported to the kitchen and excitedly answered the phone.

“Hello, Peace~ Hi~”

-Kkyong.

“Can you see me well? Mister! Can I screenshot this and post it on SNS?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“I’m recording Peace making a call too!”

Yerim seemed to be the most excited. We then taught Peace how to hang up and put the phone on a strap around his neck.

“When you pull it like this, the strap extends, Peace.”

“Does the phone only make calls?”

“No, it has other functions, but they’re probably too hard for Peace to use.”

It had all the basic functions of an ordinary phone. Technically, it was just a regular phone with slightly adjusted basic settings. Plus, the buttons were different, so using other functions would be inconvenient.

“If you hold the top button, it takes a picture. It only has a front camera, though.”

“Peace, let’s take a selfie with your phone! Did you register the phone number under Mister’s name?”

“Peace can’t have it under his own name.”

“Can I make an SNS account for Peace? Can you download apps on it?”

I don’t mind, but Peace wouldn’t be able to use it anyway. Just then, Chirp came up to me.

-Ppiyak.

“Hm? What is it, Chirp?”

-Ppiyakppiiyak.

Is he hungry? I pulled out a magic stone and gave it to him, and he swallowed it, then chirped discontentedly again. No way.

“Chirp, do you want one too?”

-PPIYAK!

Maybe he’s jealous because only Peace got one. I guess I should get him a toy phone.

“Mister, Mister, take a selfie with Peace!”

“Ah, okay.”

“Han Yuhyun, where are you going!”

Yerim blocked Yuhyun and said, you’re his owner, so you have to take one too! Don’t even think about dodging it.

As the kids bickered, I quietly turned and slipped into my room. I gently closed the door and made a call. It didn’t take long for Seong Hyunjae to answer.

“Do you have time? We should meet before you leave Korea.”

Between the hospital stay and hiring new staff, time had flown by. I should say this before anything else. To Seong Hyunjae, and also to Yerim.

[Unfortunately, I’ll probably be busy until tomorrow.]

“Because of travel prep?”

[No, just dealing with some pests.]

Behind his soft voice, I could hear some faint but chaotic noise. I instinctively brought the phone closer to my ear.

“You’re not alone, are you?”

[It’s practically the same as being alone, so don’t worry about it.]

“That sounds intense. May I ask what’s going on?”

[It’s still unclear.]

After a short silence, Seong Hyunjae continued.

[Be cautious.]

“Pardon? Me?”

[A few foreign Hunters seem to have secretly entered Korea. Their exact purpose hasn’t been identified, but considering you’re my partner, it wouldn’t be strange if you were targeted.]

“I am quite popular, after all.”

[If a stranger approaches, let someone nearby know immediately.]

His voice carried an unusually strong tone of warning. Still, no strangers had shown up lately. Everyone visiting was either going to the lab or the forge.

“That’s unsettling. But I never move around alone, so you don’t need to worry. No matter how high-ranked the illegal Hunters are, at most they’ll be S-Rank. I’ll make sure to always accompany an S-Rank Hunter for the time being.”

I’ll bring Peace along too. That makes two S-Ranks with me, so it’ll be fine.

“So, you’re not considering asking that person for help.”

Like Yerim, Min Jinsoo has a skill that can read the memories of corpses. I hope nothing’s gone wrong in the meantime.

[We can’t just kill someone for illegal entry, can we? As a reasonable person in a modern society, I should try to talk first.]

He sounds so proper. If they were just random illegal Hunters, he wouldn’t even be paying attention.

“Let me know when you have time. Before you leave the country. Oh, are you not doing a housewarming?”

[Seeing it at home would be fine too. I’ll come pick you up myself.]

“Then, uh, you know, when you come… that thing.”

I lowered my voice and whispered. The kids were definitely eavesdropping by now.

[That thing?]

“You know, when you bring something along… doesn’t have to be that, just… anything.”

You’re quick-witted, so please get the hint. And it seemed he did, as Seong Hyunjae let out a quiet laugh.

[I’ve heard the young master and little miss are very invested.]

“I’d rather the Sesung Guild Leader didn’t join in too.”

[But my concern for Han Yujin’s health is purely—]

“Oh, come on.”

Eating some snacks won’t kill me. Anyway, since Seong Hyunjae said he’s busy, maybe I should talk to Yerim first. When I opened the door, as expected, Yuhyun, Yerim, Peace, Chirp, and even Belare were all loitering nearby.

“It’s not a big deal, so why are you all gathered here? Yuhyun, has Haeyeon heard anything about the illegal entry?”

“I’ve heard, but foreign Hunters sneaking in happens now and then.”

“This time seems a bit suspicious. They told me to be careful.”

Yuhyun nodded. Haeyeon had grown a lot, but its overseas reach was still limited. They had only just started extending toward Japan.

“Yerim, you’re taking a few days off, right? Japan was hoping you’d clear an S-Rank dungeon soon.”

“Just until the end of this week. I’ll still be going to school though.”

“Even tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow’s a self-declared school closure!”

Then maybe I should go tomorrow. I’ll look for a nearby low-grade dungeon.