The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 420: Will (3)

After the rough coughing subsided, what followed was neither a comforting “it’s okay” nor a concerned “are you alright?”

“Aaaaaargh!”

A pain-filled scream tore from his throat. Han Yujin’s body curled up, trembling violently. He shouted at the two frozen men, teeth chattering.

“Get away! Ugh, mana, aaargh, tsk!”

SCRAPE—his molars ground together as he forcibly swallowed the scream. Seong Hyunjae and Song Taewon sprang back as if burned. As the distance widened, Han Yujin’s groans gradually subsided. His pale back heaved in the dark ruins before he released a shuddering breath.

“Further… away…”

The two men stepped back even more, and Han Yujin, still curled tight, spoke with difficulty.

“The mana—I can feel it too clearly. Even now my skin is tingling, whew, to that extent.”

“Are there no other abnormalities?”

“Mr. Seong Hyunjae.”

The sound of dripping water echoed in the silence. Han Yujin pressed his forehead against Cilekia’s Wing. Perhaps because it was SS-Rank equipment, he felt no cooling sensation.

“Yerim—she’s still young.”

Han Yujin’s voice continued slowly.

“To be honest, I trust Ms. Hyunah more than you, but she’ll be busy for a while. So could you, Mr. Seong Hyunjae, who has the leisure, look after her a little?”

“Isn’t that Han Yujin’s job?”

Seong Hyunjae answered calmly. Han Yujin laughed softly.

“Yes. But still. And the breeding facility—if the kids don’t grow, they might be disposed of, you know? The food costs aren’t trivial either. But it won’t be much for you, so can I ask you?”

“Right. It’s not difficult.”

“Thank you. I don’t have to worry about the building side.”

As for the blacksmith, Myungwoo’s presence alone was reassuring. The research team had already produced results and established itself. As for Do Hamin, he’d been good at business even before the regression, so there would be no problems this time either.

“Mr. Noah will be fine now too. I think he’ll become even stronger in the future.”

He would continue changing his relationship with the Liette outside the dungeon. It would be good to create a guild again, or fine to stay at the building. To become a special team in many ways.

“However, Yuhyun is…”

Han Yujin’s eyes slowly blinked.

“I don’t want to leave my little brother alone again. But that won’t be possible, right?”

Still, the living must live. That’s what people usually said. Most would think that was right. But how could he, again?

“Take him with you.”

“…”

“You know it well too, Han Yujin. Han Yuhyun can only live by Han Yujin’s side.”

“That kid… he’s a bit like that. Yes.”

“Even if he’s forced to breathe, he’ll surely be unhappy. Because Han Yuhyun can never be happy without being by Han Yujin’s side.”

To forcibly separate them would be more cruel and heartless. If you truly cared for and thought about Han Yuhyun, you shouldn’t do that. So it was right to take him along, and Han Yuhyun would surely follow without hesitation.

“You shouldn’t give up on living so easily. Even if it’s hard now, you don’t know what will happen. Did I know I would do something like regression?”

“That would be true for an ordinary person. Because so many things change as you live. But for Han Yuhyun, Han Yujin is absolute, isn’t he? At least from what I’ve seen, it will never change. Until the moment the fire goes out.”

That death was not a choice, but a natural result. Just as a fire that has burned everything subsides, the end of Han Yuhyun, who had lost the world called Han Yujin, was inevitable.

“I have to take care of my little brother.”

Han Yujin muttered softly. ‘I have to take care of everything. Everything.’

“I’ll tell him myself, but if that’s impossible, please tell him for me… that he can follow his hyung.”

“I will. He’ll surely be happy.”

‘Is this really okay?’ Han Yujin bit his lip slightly, then turned his head.

“And Chief Song.”

Song Taewon, who had been standing stiffly on the opposite side from Seong Hyunjae, suddenly blinked.

“Yes.”

“You’re going to take the lamb, right? Yerim called it Song, but Chief Song, what was it?”

“You can call it Song.”

A heavy, low voice echoed over the water.

“But I cannot take responsibility.”

Song Taewon spoke after a slight hesitation. Even if it were a last request, he couldn’t just accept it. He could lie to make Han Yujin feel at ease, but precisely because it was the last, he didn’t want to deceive him.

At this upright answer, the corners of Han Yujin’s lips rose slightly.

“I’m sorry.”

“No. If you had just said yes, I would have been suspicious.”

Because you’re not that kind of person.

“Chief Song, without me, the lamb will always be a lamb. It has no value as a monster mount.”

The words “like the pre-regression me” didn’t leave Han Yujin’s mouth.

“So please take it with you.”

“Han Yujin.”

“I’ll pay for the kid’s food. What was it—in foreign countries, they even leave inheritances for their dogs or cats, right?”

“There’s no need for that.”

“It’s not bad, is it? It’s okay, isn’t it? It’s cute, really.”

“I don’t have the confidence to take responsibility until the end. That’s why.”

As Han Yujin said, the lamb would be cute. Song Taewon would give it his honest affection, and the lamb would lean against his side. That would surely not be bad.

But Song Taewon was always ready to throw away his life. It meant he was always ready to leave the lamb’s side. Such a person shouldn’t be responsible for a life.

“What if you don’t take responsibility?”

“What?”

Song Taewon’s brow furrowed slightly at the un-Han Yujin-like words.

“It’s a high-rank monster, so its lifespan will be long. It would be nice if you could stay with it until the end, but even if you can’t, there are people around Chief Song who will take care of the kid, aren’t there?”

“No, I can’t just entrust it like that…”

“Why do you think of it as entrusting? On the contrary, they might line up and compete.”

Han Yujin laughed out loud.

“I would too. Because Chief Song is a good person. So everyone will surely want to remember you. Anyway, since my money is there for the breeding costs, the burden is small. It will be harder to choose someone who will take good care of it. If worse comes to worst, there’s Mr. Seong Hyunjae. Or maybe everyone will take responsibility together.”

“That’s…”

Song Taewon suddenly remembered the Awakened Management Office in the dungeon. The ones who said they were glad the grave to visit was close. He could easily imagine the lamb wandering between those people. If a small, black lamb remained by their side instead of a pile of earth with no body.

The feeling was strange. Song Taewon had never thought much about what would happen after his death. He was alone, and there was nothing to leave behind, nor anything he wanted to leave behind.

“The area I cleared in this dungeon was the Awakened Management Office. And I killed the people there.”

The familiar faces, and the unfamiliar but familiar colleagues.

“Because they were monsters.”

Monsters.

“But that wasn’t the only reason, was it? Chief Song’s colleagues—I haven’t seen them often, but they surely have something in common with Chief Song. Because they are the people who have stayed by Chief Song’s side.”

“Even after my death. They did.”

Song Taewon’s eyes contorted—it was hard to tell if he was laughing or crying.

“I could have tried to talk to them. But the result would have been the same. They are not the kind of people to run away.”

If he could have explained that they were monsters. Some might not have understood until the end and would have attacked. But some might have accepted death with relief.

‘You were alive. Thank goodness. Please don’t die.’

And beyond that relief, the anguish of having become a monster that could not escape the dungeon would have inevitably taken root. Song Taewon was a human who would escape the dungeon and live, but they…

“They were monsters, but they were also human, right? Chief Song. Those people probably died thinking they were human. And you, Chief, who was the only one who saw and remembered them, probably couldn’t just think of them as simple monsters.”

“That’s… yes.”

Song Taewon answered honestly.

“Isn’t that enough? And you too, Chief Song. A person is probably not made alone. My little brother and I would have been very different if we hadn’t had each other.”

The people around were numerous mirrors. Distorted, colored, and reflecting in different sizes, it was inevitable that they would influence each other as they looked at those mirrors, at each other.

“Of course, there are also people who firmly protect themselves. Chief Song, please entrust yourself, even just a little. To the people who see you as a person, and cherish and remember you.”

“…”

“Those people—they probably already have a part of Chief Song. Because they would have changed a little, or maybe a lot, by seeing and experiencing Song Taewon.”

Song Taewon couldn’t easily open his mouth. To stick even a fingertip out of the box now, the roots that had dug in were too wide and deep. And here, he had even learned that he might not be human, but something else.

It was hard enough just to suppress the disgust that made him want to tighten the reins and bind his hands and feet even more.

Nevertheless.

“The lamb—I will take it with me.”

Because he had learned of the people left behind. Because he had received their memories and traces with his whole body through battle.

He couldn’t refuse the temptation that a piece of himself would remain as a harmless little lamb until the end. Wasn’t it okay to be greedy for a peaceful scene after death? Just a little.

“You promised.”

“Yes.”

“Even if I’m fine.”

“What?”

Han Yujin unfolded his crumpled body and lay down, covering his face with both hands. The tips of his ears were flushed red.

“Uh, um. I’m fine now.”

Han Yujin’s voice was full of embarrassment.

“So, since I’m okay. Uh, you can come closer now. Yes.”

As soon as the words left his mouth, the two men approached Han Yujin.

‘I guess today wasn’t the day. I’m embarrassed to face Seong Hyunjae and Chief Song.’

‘No, I really felt like it was the end.’

The mana imprinting was running wild, and it was so painful, he thought he was about to say goodbye to this world. But as if nothing had happened, the imprinting calmed down. Besides the lack of strength, his physical condition wasn’t bad either.

“Are you really okay?”

Seong Hyunjae bent down. Han Yujin nodded roughly, still covering his face.

“A-and, my memory is a little unclear.”

“If you wish, I can make it so, but it’s too obvious.”

“Ah, shit, how am I going to face Yuhyun…”

He wanted to die when he remembered. And Yerim and Mr. Noah. And Seong Hyunjae and Chief Song. Ah, he was going crazy…

“Well, with Yuhyun. What was it—it’s because Crescent Moon is so obsessed with you, right? To me, my little brother is like that, so. I was influenced, and I, damn it.”

He thought Crescent Moon would just quietly aim for Chief Song, but how was he supposed to know that? Even if he had known, there wouldn’t have been much he could do. The L-Rank Han Yuhyun, Park Yerim, Mr. Noah, and Seong Hyunjae were better than the S-Rank him, but, but, aaaaaargh.

“What I said, well, Mr. Seong Hyunjae, Chief Song, I’m sorry.”

“It wasn’t a lie, was it? I apologize for my past actions too.”

“I’m also sorry for being rough with Han Yujin.”

“No, no, that…”

“And I will pass on the monster mount.”

“You can’t go back on your word!”

“If Han Yujin is safe, it will grow, so the conditions change.”

“I should have written a contract!”

Or should he just give up on making it full-grown? But he felt sorry for Song. Seeing Peace, the lamb might want to remain a child, but he couldn’t ask.

Seong Hyunjae wrapped him in his coat and lifted him up. As he thought of going back to the hotel, the back of his neck grew hot again. And on top of that, his stomach was also aching. How many points did he use today? He should have closed the point shop earlier. The Rookie had said he couldn’t touch it because he didn’t make it, so Han Yujin had given up. He doubted something like this would happen again, but maybe he should just use it all up.

What was the most expensive thing he could buy? As he unconsciously tried to open the point shop—

[◐▼◐∥ Welcome! To the point shop! ∥◑△◑]

The shop window appeared. What—the sun was still far from rising.

‘Could it be, Rookie?!’

So you pretended to close it when you couldn’t! No, well. Good job. The kid had improved a lot in improvisation.

Chief Song took the lead, and Seong Hyunjae followed. He could hear the splashing of water under their feet.

“That damn Crescent Moon made me use up a lot of points… I’m in the red now.”

“But you got an SS-Rank item, didn’t you?”

“What?”

“Cilekia’s Wing.”

‘What, what are you talking about?’ Han Yujin lowered the hand covering his face and looked at Seong Hyunjae. His golden eyes curved into a smile.

“Let’s go to the aquarium outside the dungeon, and I’ll give it to you as a down payment.”

“R-really?”

Really? You’re giving it to me? He unconsciously swallowed hard. Wow, Cilekia? Well, even if you gave it to him, he didn’t really have any use for it, but it was a precious SS-Rank coat. There were many people who could use it. Unfortunately, it wasn’t very useful for Yuhyun. First of all, it had no flame resistance, and the options of his formal wear were a much better fit. But Yerim or Mr. Noah could use it effectively.

Although Yerim had to grow a bit more. Even if it was a dungeon item, the size didn’t shrink and grow indefinitely, so if Seong Hyunjae wore it, it would be cumbersome even if it shrank. But it would still be a good item for a few years.

‘It would look good on her.’

Our Yerim. Of course, Mr. Noah would look cool too.

“However, it is absolutely forbidden for anyone other than Han Yujin to wear it.”

“Why!”

“I’m sure you were full of thoughts of giving it away, but no.”

“How cheap!”

“The condition is that only Han Yujin wears it.”

He was happy for a moment. Right, there was no way Seong Hyunjae would let another S-Rank use an SS-Rank coat. As for Han Yujin, he was F-Rank, so he wouldn’t be much of a threat.

“Then it’s too much of a waste. You should just use it, Mr. Seong Hyunjae.”

“Are you giving it back?”

“Yes, no. It’s a loan, a loan. This is mine, and I’ll lend it to you, Mr. Seong Hyunjae.”

What did he mean, give it back? First, he had to take it.

“I won’t charge a rental fee. But it’s confiscated during the ranking match.”

“Thank you.”

“You can say that? No, before that, are you really giving it to me? It’s an SS-Rank.”

“I have others, so don’t worry.”

“Even if you have—what? You have?”

An SS-Rank? As expected, he shouldn’t worry about Seong Hyunjae. Others had a hard time getting even one! Well, Shishio also said he had something besides his formal wear.

“I wasn’t worried about you.”

What worry? The moonlight had almost disappeared, and it was dark outside the department store. The hotel they arrived at after running down the road was the only place where faint light was leaking out. Although light leaked through the curtains, it seemed to be fine, with no particular problems.

The kids must have gone back safely. As he thought of seeing their faces, his mouth went dry.