The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 473: Inside the Drawer

“Yu…”

No, there was no way my little brother would be here. But the one who appeared beyond the villa’s front gate looked exactly like Yuhyun. Down to the exact outfit from last night’s dinner.

“Hello, Master.”

“W–what are you saying!”

Looking like that! Even the voice was exactly the same! The thing that resembled my brother smiled.

“I am No. 71.”

“Uh, so you’re like the management system here or something? More importantly, why do you look like that!”

“The default exterior setting is Master’s most favored person.”

I mean, of course I like my little brother, but—! …Hold on.

‘So it’s the current Yuhyun.’

The one I like most. Not when he was a kid, nor a bit older—now. It made sense. The kid has changed a lot. He smiles easily now, sometimes even acts spoiled, shows far less anxiety. Most of all, he said he’s come to like himself.

Han Yuhyun isn’t like other humans. Even after admitting and accepting that, I still worried—could he really be okay. He lives, and has to live, in human society.

But making him live by disliking himself, suppressing himself, pretending not to see and covering it up—that was clearly cruel. Right? As long as he doesn’t harm others, he doesn’t have to force himself to fit. And above all, if we’re adjusting in order to live together, then both sides should give, not just one.

So I definitely like the current Yuhyun more. He’ll probably only get better. Sometimes he’ll backslide or wander, sure, but he can come back. That outfit did suit him, too.

Anyway.

“Change into someone else. Like…”

Yerim is obviously out, and Mr. Myungwoo or Mr. Noah would be a bit much. Ms. Hyunah speaking that respectfully to me would be truly awkward. Chief Song is polite even normally, but being called ‘Master’ is a bit… Maybe I should pick Hamin the punk, no, wait.

“Can you turn into Seong Hyunjae?”

He just called me Master yesterday too, so let’s work the Sesung Guildmaster a bit. At my words, No. 71 looked troubled.

“With Master’s current capability, changing settings is impossible.”

“…What? ‘Master’ and you can’t even do that, really.”

Hard to talk rough to my brother’s face.

“Because Master’s spatial comprehension and dominion are extremely low.”

“How low is ‘low’?”

“Less than 0.01 percent.”

…And I’m the Master, huh. Even renters have a higher stake than that. This is a total stranger’s house. I slipped a foot inside the gate and glanced around. The fairly spacious garden was full of flower trees I’d never seen. Only plants—no birds, bees, or butterflies moved at all. No. 71 in front of me didn’t feel like a living being either.

“Then at least change what you call me. Just use my name.”

‘Hyung’ would be weird.

“Master’s spatial understa—”

“Yeah, not possible. Got it.”

Maybe I should cover its face. Put a mask on it or something.

“What exactly are you?”

“A maintenance doll for Drawer No. 71.”

“Not alive, then?”

“It is based on an artificial spirit, but it would be hard to call it a living organism.”

What’s an artificial spirit now.

“Is there anything dangerous inside? Judged by an F–rank’s standards.”

“If you do not touch first, it is safe.”

So the jellyfish has been managing the drawer well. I felt a little bad for suspecting it might be dangerous. Yeah, thinking back, it was a pretty decent fellow. Compared to that little lizard, it was a gentleman. Chatterbox is the problem.

Has it been about ten minutes now. It’d be fine if I ran a little late. I shouldn’t stay too long, but I could look around for, say, thirty minutes.

“Tell me when thirty minutes have passed since I came in. Can you do that?”

“Yes. I can.”

“Ah, there’s no time difference between here and outside, right?”

“There is not. To change the flow of time, Master’s spatial dominion must reach at least 80 percent.”

So that’s possible, too. Rookie did make the dungeon’s time flow differently. I crossed the yard with wet socks. Ugh, damp. Gross. No. 71 quietly followed behind me, then went ahead up the front steps and opened the door. It was so identical I almost blurted, thanks, Yuhyun. Its manner and way of speaking were different, though.

Opening the door to the long hallway’s right side revealed a spacious living room. Through the floor–to–ceiling glass, the garden spread bright and clear. The floor gleamed like marble, and globes of light of various sizes floated instead of fixtures from the high ceiling.

“I don’t see any items here.”

“It is a place for rest. The sofa and chairs have stamina recovery functions, and the lighting induces calm. Also, food placed on the tables maintains freshness and temperature for three days.”

Nice. I considered sitting, but I was too soaked, so I didn’t. Recovery would be useful in many ways, but it’d be a waste to take those out.

“I can only take three things out from here, right?”

“Yes. It is set so.”

“What if that spatial dominion thing rises?”

“If you become the complete master of Drawer 71, all restrictions are lifted.”

All restrictions gone! Then I can take anything? My heart thudded—but.

“How do I become the complete master?”

“You must be able to perfectly comprehend the space and freely modify, dismantle, and create it.”

In short, become Transcendent–level. How am I supposed to do that. Myungwoo said he could see the structure of mana in the Rookie’s dungeon, but to my eyes it was just trees, sky, ground. Still, maybe I should ask Myungwoo anyway.

I left the living room and went into another room. The second was a study packed with books. After No. 71 said it was safe, I pulled out a book and opened it.

“Mm… I’m sure it’s good content.”

What script is this, even.

“The study has a focus–enhancing function. If you read at that desk, you can retain the contents longer.”

I want to bring Yerim here! If I carried out the whole study, exam students would line up.

“Taking things out is limited to three, but using them here? Using them here is fine?”

“Yes. However, items that are consumed by being absorbed into the body count toward the three.”

“…I just drank some water earlier.”

“The lake water is not an item.”

So I can bring the kids here. But Rookie said unless I replenish the mana, the limit is around thirty uses. That’s per person, so if I bring Yuhyun and Yerim, it’s only ten.

What a waste. Really a waste. I figured I’d grab items and use the thirty as an emergency shelter, but this place is better than I thought!

“How do I replenish this space’s mana?”

“Master can replenish it. However, the connection is currently severed.”

“…And to connect, I need that spatial dominion, right?”

“Yes. Simple mana replenishment requires at least 5 percent. Also, a single charge equals ten SSS–rank magic stones.”

It eats a lot. Luckily, I have the Fountain of Young Mana. Without it, I’d be mummified and still not fill one percent.

This time I went straight down the hall to the door at the very end. Blue water spread in a refreshing sheet as it opened. The entire wall—about three stories high—was a single pane without frame or seams. There was a terrace over the lake beyond.

“It really feels like a resort.”

“Drawer 71 is close to a resting place. It was also remodeled by the standards of your recent world.”

No. 71 replied. I’d suspected—it really was a rest spot. Was the remodeling done before passing it to me? How considerate. No wonder the layout felt familiar. Considering the King of Harmless’s lower half, a goblet–like hollow would be more comfortable than a flat chair. The interior would be tentacle–friendly. Whatever that means.

“Therefore, the grade of stored items is modest, and the drawer’s grade itself is also on the lower side.”

They said around SSS–rank. To me it feels L–rank tier. I’d trade one of my L–rank skills for this any time… except, there’s nothing I’d give up. At first I grumbled that the resistance skills were pearls before swine, but they’ve been incredibly useful. Curses and poison, of course, and Fear Resistance had all kinds of uses. As for my kid skills, needless to say. The one and only, Final Recompense…

‘Maybe… I could do without that one.’

I wanted to pretend it didn’t exist forever. I could still take revenge, sure. I’ve used it once and gained a lot thanks to it, but… I hope I never trigger it again.

“…If it’s resort gear, these items won’t be very useful.”

Not weapons or armor—probably weird stats and options. Shapes like picnic baskets, beach robes, sunglasses, duck tubes.

“Does it get larger with higher grade?”

“Yes. The space expands, and the grade of storable items also rises. Detection, tracking, and destruction all become more difficult.”

“Wait, so someone can find and break it?”

“A Transcendent–class with search abilities at SSS–rank could.”

So it wouldn’t work as a shelter against Transcendents. Pity. Still, our world doesn’t even have SS–ranks. Only monsters sometimes pop SS–rank. I wonder where Myungwoo’s forge stands. Rookie said this was made ‘modest’ compared to the forge, so minimum L–rank to Myth–rank, maybe.

By comparison, the Golden Forge is a special professional facility; this is just a villa and storage.

“What else is on the first floor?”

“A dining room and café, and a bath.”

“Second floor?”

“A living room, three bedrooms, and three bathrooms.”

“And the third.”

“A pool, lounge, and recreation facilities. There is also an attic and a basement.”

Floors one to three sounded normal. The attic likely nothing special; the main event would be the basement.

“Let’s go to the basement.”

And I’d learn from Myungwoo if I had to—get that spatial dominion to 5 percent somehow. It’s too precious to only visit a few times. It’s basically a portable villa. Can I make it so others can use it too? It’d be perfect as a rest stop when the kids go into dungeons. Transcendents whip up things like this—must be nice.

Ah, excluding the Elder. The Mermaid Queen didn’t seem like a researcher type like Rookie or the jellyfish either. Same for Deer and Wolf. Tree might be somewhat in this vein.

‘Rookie seems to side with me a lot now. What about the other Unfilial Children.’

The more on our side, the better. Next time I see Rookie, I should ask about the Mermaid Queen. She’s the one most entangled with us. She even gave Yerim a skill, and Rookie calls Yerim a little Droplet.

There were no stairs down to the basement. To be precise, inside the building the only stairs were decorative. There was a portal instead.

“With higher spatial dominion, you can move directly anywhere.”

No. 71 said. That blasted spatial dominion. I took the portal to the basement. Instead of a typical dim lab, a bright, cheerful room appeared. Display cases stood in rows, and square cubes were arranged inside.

“Those are all items, right? Right?”

They looked identical on the outside, but each must hold a different item. Trying hard to hold down the grin creeping up, I asked. No. 71 nodded. Since it looked like Yuhyun, it seemed even prettier! Why only three! Still, nice.

“Is there a catalog? If I just yank things out, it could be dangerous.”

“In cube state, they are safe.”

“Really?”

I hurried to open the nearest case. There were labels like nameplates on the shelves, but I couldn’t read them. When I lifted a cube, the details of the item within flowed into my head.

‘A–rank, Seven–Color Turtle Carapace.’

A material item. There are lots of materials too, huh. Ah, I could bring Myungwoo here to practice. As long as the finished product doesn’t leave, right. I picked up the cube beside it. S–rank Philo’ol tree fruit. Is this case all materials? I opened the case across and checked a cube.

“SS–rank shoes!”

Gear! Options—won’t tell me details unless I take them out, huh. Should I equip them? I set it down and grabbed the next.

“This one’s SS–rank too! But… a spoon?”

What. Surely not a weapon—maybe food tastes better if you eat with it. There was gear, but also a mix of oddities. Truly a miscellaneous, unimportant storage. There were bags too. The bag I bought in Solemnise was useful, but—

After skipping a few cases to check—

“A skill!”

From A–rank to SS–rank—the case was stuffed with skill cubes. Ah, what a waste! Skills! Huh, this row is stats? Raises base stats? Is this allowed? Maybe because it’s permanent, single–digit boosts were S–rank, but still!

“Three only—why three! Jellyfish! King of Harmless! You’re so mean!”

Like rice cakes in a painting! My feet stomped on their own. At the same time, alarm bells rang. Not only the King of Harmless—other Transcendents must be able to make things like this too.

‘…If Chatterbox used items like these to grow Awakeners.’

It wouldn’t take long to lift them to our level. There’d be limits, of course, but we shouldn’t get complacent.

But seriously—how am I supposed to choose. There’s so much.

“Got any recommendations? No, I should just bring the kids… Wait, hasn’t thirty minutes passed yet?”

I’d been spacing out and rummaging for ages—why hasn’t it said anything. I looked back at No. 71; it shook its head.

“Twenty–seven minutes and forty–five seconds remain.”

“…What? Hang on!”

There’s no way only two minutes and fifteen seconds have passed! Just falling in and crawling out of the water took nearly ten minutes!

“You said time flows the same as outside! Are you saying it’s really been two minutes?”

“Exactly two minutes sixteen seconds.”

“…Didn’t ten seconds pass just while we spoke? Only two minutes sixteen seconds? I mean in my world!”

No. 71 fell silent for a moment, then spoke.

“Two minutes sixteen seconds is the King of Harmless’s time unit. In your world’s units, one hour twenty–seven minutes nineteen seconds have passed.”

I knew it—ages! The King of Harmless’s time unit—so their time runs differently from ours. Still, an hour and a half isn’t so bad. Regretfully, I set the cube down and hurried outside.