The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 489: Come On In, Everyone (4)

“Thank you for your cooperation, Guild Leader of Amaterasu.”

I forced away the ridiculous thoughts and kept my tone businesslike. Shishio’s face instantly fell into a markedly dejected look. Hey now, we’re not that close publicly. Privately either, frankly. It’s just that the keyword effect is a little too good.

“…Director Han Yujin.”

…Don’t make that abandoned–puppy face! What on earth are you expecting from me? Did you think I’d coo, It’s been so long, Shishio, and give you a warm hug? Still, I couldn’t stay stiff forever. The keyword effect would wear off soon; before that, I needed to stack up a lot of goodwill… yes… sigh.

He’s a guild leader who’s helpful in a hundred ways. This is necessary. Let’s pretend I’m starring in some trashy melodrama.

“I… missed you very much. I’m relieved to see you looking healthy.”

Suppressing the skin–crawling shiver, I tried to smile naturally. At my words, his expression lit up brilliantly again.

“But your neck—did you get hurt?”

“No, I’ve just got some muscle soreness from working out.”

Today it was a medicated patch instead of a bandage. He offered me a potion; I refused, saying potions work best when you train without leaning on them.

“Director Han, you really are far too frail. This isn’t the place to chat—let’s get you fed, quickly!”

He suddenly held out his hand; Yuhyun batted it away with his forearm, cool and firm. Yerim shot him the most disgruntled look.

“Don’t touch my hyung.”

“No, but…”

“Yuhyun, don’t be too harsh. He worked hard for us.”

When I took his side, Shishio perked up and turned to lead the way. Sticking close as if to shield me, Yuhyun murmured under his breath.

“He seems… off.”

“People can change suddenly. It’s common to change after brushing past death, they say.”

In Shishio’s case, it’s the keyword, but the attitude itself probably has to do with his mother… maybe. Did this lion brat talk down to his mother growing up? Or—mm—he was oddly respectful to Yuhyun. Maybe his mother passed when he was young. Kids sometimes drop honorifics without meaning much by it.

A massive limousine slid between the Amaterasu members in uniform. Shishio personally opened the door and beamed at me. Those teeth sure are white. Dazzling.

“Sea routes and helicopters—everything’s perfectly prepared! Ten 15–seat and ten 25–seat military helicopters, so we’ve got more than enough lift.”

One hundred fifty and two hundred fifty. More than enough to move all our guests at once. I did envy how easily he could use military hardware for a private event.

“Director Han.”

In the middle of proudly rattling off what he’d set up, Shishio’s face suddenly turned serious. Problem? His voice dropped heavy.

“I’d like to get our relationship acknowledged by the Haeyeon Guild Leader—”

“W–what are you even saying!”

At my outburst, Peace and Gyeol in my arms startled and looked up. Yuhyun and Yerim were puzzled, too.

“No, that—that’s absolutely not okay!”

Get what acknowledged, exactly—are you out of your mind!

“Was I too hasty.”

“It’s not hasty! It’s just—no. Absolutely not.”

“…What did he say, hyung.”

Yuhyun, eyes edged with disgust, looked at Shishio and asked.

“What did the Guild Leader say? The vibe’s been off for a while.”

Even Yerim, who didn’t have a translation item, asked. No, see, it’s… that is…

“You and the Amaterasu Guild Leader are nothing, right? So what ‘acknowledgment’?”

“Uh, we got a lot closer prepping the event. We were enemies once, but now we’ve put the past behind us, that kind of thing.”

“But you just said no.”

“It’s too early, yet. It hasn’t even been a full year since the chaos. You know?”

I will die before saying he’s thinking of me as… a mother. How can that man say that nonsense in front of people…! Breathe. When the keyword wears off, he’ll come to his senses.

“Not easy. I expected that. Especially since the Haeyeon Guild Leader cherishes Director Han so much. He might feel like he’s losing you to me.”

“…Hyung, he’s talking crap.”

“He’s always been good at saying that kind of crap.”

“What did he say? I want a translation item too. Why isn’t the Amaterasu Guild Leader using one?”

“Hunter Park Yerim, here. A gift.”

Shishio, as if waiting for the cue, handed Yerim a translation item, then winked.

“I’d appreciate your support for me and the Director.”

Yerim, now understanding him, recoiled and plastered herself to my side.

“Ew, gross. What is he even saying? Even translated, that makes no sense.”

“…I don’t know either.”

I’m going to lose it. Acknowledgment, my foot. Then what, after you get it? Pretending it was nothing, I soothed Yuhyun and Yerim as best I could.

With the creeping dread that another bomb would drop at any time, we ate and headed to the island. From the helicopter, the island below looked fairly large. A long beach with a jetty, a wide, open road to the manor. The grand estate—one main house and two annexes—looked too fine to smash. Instead of a garden in front, there was an expansive training ground. It had belonged to a Hunter guild, so—of course—a place to limber up. Thanks to that, the big helicopters could land right in front of the manor.

Shishio disembarked first and offered me his hand. Ignoring it, Yuhyun tightened an arm around my waist and helped me down from the chopper. I may be F–rank, but I’m also an average adult man. I served in the army. I can step down on my own.

“Feels like a house out of an old Western film.”

Yerim said as we entered. The exterior was classic; inside, the interior was downright antique. The sweeping, split staircase of the main hall was imposing.

“Would be perfect with a lion sitting on each end of that landing.”

Shishio murmured wistfully. Don’t look at me—I’m not installing lions. The ceiling was high, chandeliers glittered, and here and there gold leaf gleamed. Seemed the previous owner had tastes similar to Shishio’s. No lions, but there was a dragon: an enormous tapestry hung on the central wall between the twin stairs. Soyeong would love it.

“You said it’s fine even if it gets wrecked, right?”

“Even if you said no, could you stop it.”

He sounded like it was only natural.

“With S–rank Hunters gathering, at least one building has to go boom!”

I do appreciate the refreshing honesty. Maybe it’s the keyword effect, but he’d even forgotten he’d blown up one of his own guild buildings.

After showing us around, Shishio left reluctantly. He looked like he wanted me to hold him there, but I pretended not to notice. If he hadn’t said that nonsense about getting recognized by Yuhyun, I might’ve found him a little cute. Our rooms were in the topmost, special suite of the main house.

“Let me say this again—both of you, absolutely do not step in.”

I shrugged off my coat. A bit chilly for indoors.

“I can’t let it look like I’m being protected by S–ranks.”

“Don’t worry.”

Yerim answered immediately; Yuhyun looked displeased.

“Do you really have to go out yourself? If they decide you aren’t harmless, things could actually get riskier.”

“Things have changed now. And we’ve got an emergency shelter.”

“If they stop you from taking things out of your inventory, that’s useless.”

Inventory seals don’t work on me, but they could physically keep me from using things. Items are meant to be held and used; pin my hands and gag me, and I’m stuck.

“If we nitpick everything, we can’t do anything. And I’ll use Grace. If they bring a type of threat Grace can’t answer—read the room and jump in.”

“Yeah, Han Yuhyun. Let Mister do Mister’s job. We’ll be watching anyway, right? If it gets truly dangerous, I’ll teleport in and pull him out.”

“…Hyung’s already amazing without going this far.”

Yuhyun muttered, unhappy.

“Even the Amaterasu Guild Leader was watching your face.”

“That surprised me too. Mister, what did you even do?”

…I told him he could call me mom when no one’s around. I do not want any more human kids bigger than me. Monsters only, thanks.

“Peace, stay in the room just in case. You too, Gyeol.”

I’ll be good, Dad.

Gyeol blinked his big eyes, cute as a button.

“No. I doubt you’ll sit still. You made a huge fuss just to come here.”

But Dad’s more stubborn! Uncle thinks so too, right? Dad doesn’t think about Dad being in danger, so Gyeol has to go strong.

“Hyung does do that.”

Yuhyun agreed. Gyeol crossed his short arms, triumphant.

So I can sit still if it’s really necessary.

“…If you can’t hold back, you’re grounded for a while.”

Okay. I’ll perch on your shoulder like a doll and be still.

Will that really be okay. Carrying a baby monster around looks plausible enough… I lifted a hand and peeled off the patch on my neck. Then I withdrew my own mana that had been covering Chatterbox’s magic. The moment I did, Yuhyun and Yerim grimaced, and even Peace and Gyeol wrinkled their noses.

Grrr.

Dad, this feels nasty…

“Really?”

“It’s like a big insect is clinging to your neck.”

Yerim recoiled; Yuhyun strode up and put a hand to my neck.

“…I want to rip it off right now.”

“If you do, I die. I can’t tell much myself—does it feel that different from when my mana was suppressing it?”

“Yeah. It bothered me when it was hazy too, but now it’s… infuriatingly unpleasant.”

“It’s not that bad for me, but I’ve got goosebumps.”

“Yerim, step back more. Let’s check if you can sense it from a distance.”

She retreated as I asked, then opened the window and went outside entirely. She waved a big arm from about a hundred meters out, then blinked back into the room.

“I could feel it faintly even from that far.”

“Good. Then this, too.”

I took out Chatterbox’s invitation.

“When you use the invitation, there’ll be a mana signature. Don’t sign the contract.”

Yerim used it. An invisible contract must have appeared; her eyes moved as if reading.

“It’s similar! No—definitely the same.”

“Obvious enough to catch easily?”

“Yes.”

Perfect. That would make things much simpler. I covered Chatterbox’s mark with my mana again and put on a fresh patch.

“Long time no see, big bro!”

The first to arrive from Korea was none other than Moon Hyunah. On top of the booze I’d sent ahead, she brought a new batch of wine. And one more person—D&L Bio’s Lab Director, Song Eunjin. What she brought was the prototype Stamina Potion.

“It’s been a while, Director Han.”

“It could get dangerous—why come all the way here?”

“When else will I get to go abroad? It’s hard for non–Awakened to travel overseas safely.”

She smiled brightly. When we first met, she had drive, but there was a shadow over her face; now, she looked completely radiant.

“This box is concentration 70, then 50, 30, and 10. For ordinary people, about 5 should be plenty.”

At 50, it would be more than enough for S–rank dungeon raiding, apparently.

“Most are 70s and 50s, and aside from a few, we put them in regular containers like you asked. But if we’re presenting to Hunters, wouldn’t dungeon–grade packaging be better?”

“They could swap it.”

Inventories are great for that sort of trick. At a dungeon–made product demo once, a rival company’s spy quietly switched the item and claimed it didn’t work, blowing up the whole event. Or they ‘lost’ it and skimmed it. So when publicly showing prototypes that go into inventories, it’s standard to wrap with items from our world as a safeguard. They don’t seem to be doing it broadly yet, but still.

“Please leave the island before the foreign S–ranks arrive.”

“Wouldn’t it be best if I explained it myself?”

She wanted to present the Stamina Potion personally, but this was going to get far too dangerous for a non–Awakened. Shortly after, Myungwoo and Noah arrived, and near sunset, Chief Song came with Liette.

The next day, guests from overseas began arriving one by one.