The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 471: Letter (2)

“I can read it, but it does feel a bit off.”

“It’s a free translator.”

After the ordinary greeting came nonsense congratulating me on returning safely.

“What? You’re worried? After bolting without a single warning? ‘I won’t forget the wonderful time we spent together’… Is the translator the problem.”

Screeech—Yuhyun crushed his fork. Mr. Noah knit his brows, and Myungwoo also frowned.

“He’s a real son of a bitch.”

“Yerim, saying that is an insult to dogs.”

Dogs are so sweet.

“‘If we meet again I’ll love you even mo…’ What is this. The translation really is off, isn’t it?”

“Uh, this seems to mean he’ll ‘dote on you,’ I think,” Mr. Noah said, peering at the letter.

“You know Chinese?”

“A little. This is something my older sister wrote once when we were in a Chinese dungeon…”

Ah. But what the hell is Hwang Rim up to. I’m sure the translator’s a big part of the problem, but even accounting for that, it wasn’t normal.

“Cho Hwawoon is… doing well. Your legs—Yerim, don’t look at this part.”

That son of a bitch—sorry, dogs—seems to want to cut off my legs. Must’ve been pretty pissed. It was Yuhyun who did the cutting, so why me? Is he mad he got shot?

“We should’ve killed him back then,” Yuhyun said quietly, his voice and expression cold as ice. If Cho Hwawoon were right in front of him now, he’d probably swing for the neck without hesitation.

“I’ve no intention of telling you to spare him either. Hwang Rim doesn’t seem to hold much of a grudge, but Cho Hwawoon won’t.”

He was a nasty bastard from the start. After eating that humiliation, he’s probably grinding his teeth by now. If we meet again, one of us won’t walk away. In that case, obviously we cut off Cho’s head.

“For now… it’s just a greeting letter.”

The contents, the stationery, the envelope—nothing special. Just crap like, we had fun back then, Cho Hwawoon’s going to catch and kill you, he’s doing okay too, let’s meet again, you’ve worked hard~. Still, I should ask Teacher Hoyeon to take a look just in case. It wasn’t properly translated, and there could be hidden content.

“So Hunter Chloe is in league with the people who kidnapped Mister, and those people joined hands with Hwang Rim—is that right?” Yerim said, waggling her eyebrows.

“Yeah. Something like that. To be precise, the King of Harmless and the Chinese military grabbed the Goblin King, Hwang Rim felt the Goblin King was in danger and asked Park Hayul’s older sister for help, and that sister had Park Hayul kidnap me. And Hunter Chloe is connected to Park Hayul’s side.”

As a result, the military took a heavy hit. That means Hwang Rim helped cause that much, but what about Cho Hwawoon? If he found out, I can’t imagine he’d sit still—maybe Hwang Rim is hiding it. I called Yun Yun first.

[Hi, Boss Mister Kim!]

“Hey, hi. You doing well?”

[Of course! We got a few more kids!]

[Your Majesty! I’m Mister Kim too!]

[I wanna see the cat!]

[I know how to do video calls!]

[Boss Mister Kim! I ate well!]

[It was tasty!]

[I like jajangmyeon! And tteokbokki!]

[I didn’t like the buckwheat jelly much…]

[Yeah, I thought it’d be super tasty. Disappointing!]

Ow, my ears. After I got back to Korea, I bought the goblins everything they wanted to eat as promised. More precisely, I covered the tab. Yun Yun started a video call, and the goblins crammed together came into view. Most looked like kids, with a few adults mixed in. They’d transformed nicely, seeming like ordinary humans on the surface. Hm, that one’s a little too round. Looks like it popped out of a picture book.

[Quiet! Shh! We’re on a call!]

At Yun Yun’s shout, the goblins clamped their mouths—though only for a moment. Yun Yun has it rough.

“Someone involved with the China business entered Korea.”

The goblins were still chattering, but Yun Yun’s expression chilled in an instant. Then, fwooo—she let out a long sigh, her shoulders rising and falling.

[Don’t get mad, don’t get mad.]

“I’m just telling you to be careful, so don’t stress. I’ll send a photo, too.”

Hunter Chloe was on the side trying to stop the military, but since she’s connected to Hwang Rim, there’s no harm in being wary. She wouldn’t use the goblins, but… hmm.

‘…She turned a blind eye to me getting kidnapped, after all.’

I still found it hard to call her a bad person. But as Chief Song and the others said, at least to me, she couldn’t be called good. For the greater good, she might take a similar stance toward the goblins.

“Nothing big’s happened, right?”

Yun Yun grinned. As if there wouldn’t be. Judging from the goblins buzzing around, they must’ve caused trouble more than once.

“Keep it to messes money can fix.”

[Okay! I have lots of money too.]

“There’s a limit. If you come up short, don’t steal.”

I can help, too. Same for the big guilds. Even if goblins can’t fight, they can support just fine. High–rank goblins can even teleport, so they’d be helpful both inside and outside dungeons.

[In other countries too?]

“No.”

[Then what about treasure sunk underwater? They say there are lots of treasure ships!]

“Uh… is that allowed?”

No idea. And where did they even hear that. Still, I told them to behave for now and hung up with Yun Yun. Then I called Chief Song. He picked up after only a few rings.

“Chief Song, anything overnight?”

Like a call from Seong Hyunjae.

[No. The BurnCave guild members have all returned to their lodgings, and Hunter Chloe Alger only filed a solo–action report with the Association. We don’t know her whereabouts, but there appears to have been no problematic behavior.]

Hunter Chloe likely plans to get Seong Hyunjae’s reply and then leave the country. She still hasn’t done anything blatantly wrong. Other than confessing she’s connected to the kidnappers, we don’t even have grounds to arrest her.

[Are you all right, Mr. Han Yujin.]

Chief Song asked. His voice was even, but he was clearly genuinely worried.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I feel lighter, too.”

[That’s a relief. Then as for the Sesung Guildmaster–]

“I’ll go see him.”

I need a proper talk. He might not agree to meet, but. Only…

‘…Will it be okay to go alone.’

Even just this afternoon, I would’ve gone blithely, alone, to Seong Hyunjae’s house or guild. Because it never crossed my mind he’d do me harm.

‘Considering all that’s happened to me before, I was way too lax.’

But still, still. I couldn’t help but trust him. Lately he really did treat me well. And even now.

[I’ll accompany you.]

Chief Song said. I swallowed and answered.

“It’s okay. I’m really fine right now.”

I refused, saying it’d be better to meet alone, and hung up. Seong Hyunjae is a bit—no, quite—annoying, hard to read, willful, and too perfect; honestly, I get jealous; I have plenty of complaints. Even so, he’s one of my precious people. Like the others, I do like him. If he suddenly left, I’d be terribly lonely.

So I still wanted to believe. Whatever the result, that’s where my heart was. Even if he truly turned enemy, he wouldn’t go so far as to threaten my life. So it should be fine, right?

“Hunter Chloe came to Korea to deliver something to Seong Hyunjae. She’ll come to get his reply, so if we’re going to catch her, aim for then.”

The four looking at me nodded in unison. Gyeol flicked his tail. Gyeol, you stay at home with me. Myungwoo, it’d be a disaster if you got hurt.

“I’ll go meet Seong Hyunjae first.”

“You really plan to go alone?” Yuhyun asked, worried.

“If Chloe’s coming to pick up his reply, doesn’t that mean the Sesung Guildmaster could be involved? And Chief Song offering to accompany you too.”

I’d intentionally kept it vague, but of course he noticed.

“It’s not certain.”

“Which means there’s a chance. No.”

“He’s right, Mr. Yujin. Shall I accompany you? I can use a stealth skill. If I hide ahead of time in a corner at the meeting place, even the Sesung Guildmaster would have trouble noticing,” Mr. Noah said.

“No. And I don’t think the Sesung Guildmaster will harm me. If I’m wrong, then…”

I hope I’m not.

“Help me then. Yuhyun, Yerim, I’m counting on you. Myungwoo, you too. If it comes to facing the Sesung Guild itself, help me.”

“Of course we will.”

“Don’t ever overdo it. Just think about staying safe, Hyung.”

“I’ve been itching to go head–to–head anyway. I’m all for it!”

“I’m just saying; the odds are low.”

Don’t draw your spear, Yerim. Yuhyun and the others kept worrying, but I soothed them—just this once. Honestly, I doubted Seong Hyunjae would act rashly. Still, they did listen to me.

– Dad, I hate you!

Hangyeol went completely sulky.

– I don’t really hate you, but you’re mean!

“It’s going to be fine. Stay with Uncle and Auntie. Be good.”

– …It could really be dangerous. I’ll hide well, so take me with you. I can keep quiet.

When the childlike wailing didn’t work, they tried calmly persuading me. Even so, I doubted they’d really behave.

“Want me to order ice cream? You said it was tasty before.”

– I won’t fall for food.

“Hotel ice cream is even better.”

Does room service have ice cream? Yerim scooped up the sulky fairy dragon.

“Please be careful and come back, okay.”

– Uuuuuugh.

Jeez, it’s going to take a while to coax them. I apologized to Gyeol, then headed toward the bathroom while calling Seong Hyunjae. I thought he might not pick up, but he answered surprisingly fast.

“Are you still at the hotel? Let’s meet briefly. I’ll come alone.”

[You won’t even give me time to prepare my heart. Cruel.]

“It’s been a night. And the one who needs to prepare is me, not you.”

What, after blindsiding me. He says he learned late, but still. It’s not like there wasn’t time to give me a heads–up.

[Breakfast.]

“Had it. Just now.”

[Then let’s have tea.]

A tea table under the wisteria flashed in my mind. Back then, there, Seong Hyunjae watched over me and helped me the whole time. I earned a pile of points, too.

“Sure. Time and place?”

[Within this hotel. I’ll text you when preparations are done.]

“Understood.”

I put the phone down and grabbed my toothbrush. In the mirror, a man with very tousled hair stared back. Maybe the lighting helped; my face didn’t look bad.

“…Whatever.”

Let’s go with a light heart. Whatever Seong Hyunjae does, what we had doesn’t vanish. Even if he truly betrays me, it won’t hit as hard as when Yuhyun left home. Back then I was right at the edge of losing it. This time I’ll at least hear a proper reason.

And whatever happens, what I want to do won’t change. It’ll just get a little harder. Actually, maybe not as hard as I think. I’m not alone now. I’ll be comforted and buoyed by the people around me and drag Seong Hyunjae back by the scruff.

I dressed lighter than yesterday but tidied up and left the room. Yuhyun said he’d take me and followed. As for the earlier rock–paper–scissors—let’s skip it. Stats are stats. Yerim had a point grumbling that we should draw lots instead. He never loses even once.

“Don’t fret too much over the Sesung Guildmaster,” Yuhyun said as we stood by the elevator. “I don’t like him, but I know you rely on him. But you’ll be fine without him. You have me, and others. …If you think I’m lacking, I’ll work harder.”

“Lacking, my butt. Not at all,” I said, tapping my little brother’s arm with a laugh. “I trust you—all of you. Especially you, Yuhyun; you’ll be on my side no matter what. So I’ll be okay no matter what. It might be hard for a bit, but that’s all.”

I can get back up as many times as I need. Even when my brother left, even then, I never gave up. This much won’t break me to begin with.

“I’m solid. Frankly, I’m more worried about Seong Hyunjae.”

What is he thinking. We took the elevator down and reached the meeting spot. My brother said he’d wait outside, but I soothed him—back before lunch—and sent him off. Drawing in a deep breath, I stepped inside.