The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 519: Taking Good Care of Things (2)

The helicopter flew up with a loud roar. Most of the S-rank hunters turned away satisfied. Some people had been squeezed quite a bit, but on average, the gains would outweigh the losses. From Monster Mount breeding information to priority trading rights for stamina potions to firearm-related information.

Even excluding that, it was a gathering of S-rank hunters from various countries. There must have been quite a lot exchanged under the surface. Perhaps because of that, quite a few hunters lingered on the island without leaving right away.

“Come to Korea and I’ll treat you well, think about it!”

Yerim waved her hand and shouted toward an A-rank hunter from Iceland. A seventeen-year-old hunter, two years older than Yerim. Since there were few teenage hunters, they’d naturally started talking, and apparently she had skills specialized in defense and cold resistance. Since she could protect teammates from Yerim’s skills, she was a talent worth coveting.

The two seemed to get along quite well too. Though there were language issues, Yerim now had a translation item, and among her teammates were people good at English. Unlike mid-to-low-rank hunters, high-rank hunters frequently interacted with foreign hunters to obtain rare high-rank items and find teams suited to their characteristics. English was still the global common language. I really wished Yerim would make Korean the global common language. Items didn’t work for writing.

Besides Yerim, there were other hunters having recruitment-related discussions. Among them, the biggest topic was a merger between S-rank guilds. Two S-rank hunters had temporarily teamed up during the SS-rank giant turtle battle, got along better than expected, spent time together during the gathering period, and decided to merge their guilds.

‘Right before the regression, there were quite a few guilds like that.’

But at this point in time, this was probably the first. Since only S-rank monsters were appearing so far, there was no reason for S-ranks to fight together in the first place. S-rank hunters were nothing more or less than competitors to each other.

But change had come a bit earlier.

‘Besides that… a lot of things will change after this gathering.’

It would be nice if thoughts about mid-to-low-rank hunters and support types changed too. At least a few minorities would think differently. Especially those few who got shot, bombed, cursed out and beaten, and rolled around. While these grudge-holders wouldn’t have a good influence right away, it was better than treating them like they weren’t even hunters and ignoring them.

— Kyaaong.

Peace, who’d been lying under where I was sitting, stretched long. Then he rolled over and rested his head against my feet, using them as a pillow. I took out a peanut-shaped toy for Peace, who was tapping my pant leg with his front paw. Peace didn’t particularly like toys, but sometimes chewed them for amusement.

“If I can stay by your side until the end, hyung, that’s enough for me.”

Yuhyun, who’d been sitting with me at the outdoor table, suddenly spoke quietly. I blanked out for a moment before forcing a smile.

“Hey, don’t say it like that. Nothing bad will happen.”

“Yeah. But hyung, even if things go wrong, at least for me it won’t be wrong.”

“Um, you shouldn’t unconditionally side with family…”

“It’s just a fact. If you hadn’t existed, hyung, I wouldn’t have cared about this world or things outside it. So I’m fine.”

I looked at my brother quietly. It was a nice late morning with good sunlight, so beams of light were sparkling through the tree shade. Shadows and sunlight dotted Yuhyun’s cheeks and shirt, moving slowly with the breeze.

It was late autumn with winter not far off, so the day itself was chilly, but that made the sunlight feel warmer.

“…Everything will be fine. Thanks for caring. Did it show a lot?”

“No, not much. But hyung, you couldn’t sleep well yesterday. You couldn’t sleep until almost dawn, right?”

“I had a lot on my mind.”

“You don’t need to take responsibility for everyone, hyung.”

“Yeah. That’s right.”

But I still didn’t want to lose anything. Since I only kept losing before the regression, I could be a bit more stubborn this time, right?

“Isn’t there some benevolent god somewhere? I wish one would solve everything and say ‘now live peacefully without worry.'”

And they lived happily ever after, eating and living well. Well, even if gods really existed, there was no guarantee they’d be on our side. If it was a god who loved chickens instead of humans, wouldn’t they make humanity extinct? Confined in cramped spaces, unable to live even two months, made into all kinds of dishes.

Suddenly, my situation didn’t feel too bad.

Just then, Yuhyun frowned slightly. Following my brother’s gaze, I saw someone approaching us. It was Chloe Alger.

‘…I released Park Hayul’s skill, so I put out the urgent fire.’

I still didn’t know much about that side.

“May I approach?”

Chloe asked politely. Directed at me, not Yuhyun. She too seemed to acknowledge that I held the initiative. I nodded, saying it was fine.

“I released everyone the same day I confirmed the skill was lifted.”

“Yes, I heard. Thank you.”

We’d let go of the hunters on Chloe’s side who’d been detained. It wasn’t a result I was thrilled with, but we’d received one invitation and the skill was lifted, so the minimum line was met. Chloe hesitated slightly before continuing.

“Among the hunters who weren’t captured by Director Han Yujin, some have gone missing. Do you know anything about this?”

“We haven’t done anything since then. We were busy just preparing for the gathering.”

Though Seong Hyunjae did come to mind. Not only had they touched me, but he must have found that strange invitation bothersome too. So with the sense of crushing a bug that crawled into his house, he might have dealt with them. Chloe let out a short breath.

“I plan to return to America immediately.”

“Has Sesung Guild Leader been treating you poorly?”

“To be honest, I’m scared.”

“He’s still just a person though.”

“It feels more dangerous that you say that, Director Han Yujin. In the end, one can’t say you’ve broken with Sesung Guild Leader.”

“Did it seem that way?”

“If you’d truly broken with him, you wouldn’t even be able to quarrel.”

Chloe spoke with a frightened expression. Seong Hyunjae, what on earth did you do to make Chloe react like this?

“No, in the first place, breaking with someone itself… is an action that can only come from acknowledging the other’s existence.”

Well, when you put it that way.

“I clearly misjudged Director Han Yujin. I couldn’t overcome the prejudice that the F-rank grade brings.”

I swallowed the words “that’s usually the case” and smiled instead. Chloe looked at me for a moment before turning away. There was no apology. Her belief that it was right to save more people even if it meant sacrificing someone probably hadn’t changed.

“More ally than enemy, but still not someone we can trust—something like that?”

I said, looking at Yuhyun.

“There are more cases like that in the world than things that divide clearly.”

It would be convenient if we could just divide into my side and your side.

After Chloe talked with us and left, other hunters also started cautiously watching us. But they couldn’t approach easily. I suddenly wondered if it would have been like this even if I’d been alone. Probably more comfortable than before—in other words, they couldn’t treat me carelessly anymore.

“Mister~ I’m going to go around once with Soyeong unnie and Liette unnie!”

Yerim said she’d sweep up the monsters since quite a few had gathered besides the SS-rank monster. I waved, telling her to have a good trip.

When about half the guests had left, Seong Hyunjae also appeared. Seeing his perfectly fine face as if his rank had never dropped, I remembered the fact that I hadn’t squeezed much out of him. I should have scooped out that beach sand by the bucketful—what a waste. I should have at least charged protection money.

The sunlight near noon was still nice, so even Seong Hyunjae’s head sparkled. While sparkling, Seong Hyunjae approached us. The hunters’ gazes also flocked over. Song Taewon, who’d been watching hunters leave from in front of the helipad, also turned his head toward us.

“Director Han Yujin, it was an enjoyable gathering.”

“Your tastes are certainly unique. Anyway, thank you for enjoying it.”

Hadn’t Seong Hyunjae had wine poured on his head, a blade graze his cheek, an attempted kidnapping, gotten shot in the head, and been tied up in his room at this gathering? What if a rumor spread that Sesung Guild Leader’s hobby was wine showers? Though a bathtub filled with the finest wine would seem fitting too.

“I’ll be leaving first. See you in Korea.”

Leaving ordinary farewell words, Seong Hyunjae turned around. This was normal, but Seong Hyunjae acting properly made it feel awkward instead. I’d gotten used to him doing weird things.

After almost all the guests left the island, we also left and prepared to return home.

“Chief Song, please turn a blind eye just once. Please?”

“No. Hunter Yu Myungwoo, when entering or leaving the country in the future, you must be accompanied by a hunter belonging to the Awakened Management Office or the Hunter Association.”

At those words, Myungwoo made a slightly sour expression.

“Are these the only weapons brought into the Golden Forge?”

“There’s nothing more. Right, Myungwoo?”

“There are a couple lumps of scrap metal that Ismuar melted down.”

The weapons received from Shishio were the problem. We might need them later, and disassembling them might help with manufacturing dungeon weapons. But it was legally a serious issue.

“Weapon smuggling is not allowed. Other items also cannot be smuggled.”

“I won’t do it from now on. Absolutely! I had no intention of using them in Korea.”

“If we’re not careful, serious international problems could arise. Especially since Hunter Yu Myungwoo’s forge, unlike an inventory, can hold ordinary items…”

Mid-sentence, Song Taewon looked at me seriously.

“Han Yujin.”

“Yees.”

“Han Yujin.”

“…The drawer has limited entries.”

Having no choice, I entered the drawer and came out with a small jeep. The jeep was loaded full of cargo. Most of it was various state-of-the-art weapons. Song Taewon let out a deep sigh.

“…You can even bring in cars?”

“Bigger ones are difficult, and this is everything. Really.”

At my words swearing it was true, Chief Song sent me a suspicious look, but what more could be done? Such a waste—military supplies are hard to get elsewhere.

“Smuggling is not allowed. Military supplies even less so. Items brought from Korea should preferably not be taken out abroad either. Please.”

“I’ll be careful. Don’t worry.”

“If there are any other illegal matters, please voluntarily report them.”

“There’s nothing more now.”

Probably. Let’s say there isn’t. After interrogating a few more matters, Song Taewon approached Moon Hyunah this time. Hyunah tried to avoid him in disgust, but Chief Song persistently followed her, demanding detailed records of the wine transactions.

“There isn’t any! Really! I only traded exactly what I showed, okay?”

“Hunter Moon Hyunah.”

“Ah, cut me some slack!”

Watching that, I thought Chief Song couldn’t help but overwork. Who else but Chief Song could interrogate an S-rank hunter like that? That’s why there were many S-rank hunter crimes abroad that were overlooked.

“I’m someone who lives without breaking laws, but I need to hide this part slightly. I’ll report everything later and pay the fine! Really!”

“You shouldn’t commit crimes with the mindset of paying fines.”

Though he said that, Chief Song wasn’t completely inflexible either. The law itself had special provisions that gave S-rank hunters maximum convenience. In the end, they agreed to submit accurate details to Chief Song first.

That was also only possible because Chief Song was such a trustworthy person. As expected, he’s amazing.

“Shishio, I really owe you a lot.”

I smiled back at Shishio, who was looking at me with warm eyes. He really was a big help. I just hoped the keyword effect would wear off quickly so he wouldn’t say weird things.

“As expected, I thought you were my… Director Han. Not only were you not intimidated by all those S-rank hunters, you even handled them lightly.”

“Not at all. Thanks to you, I’m taking away a lot.”

“Now I won’t be able to see you for a while.”

Shishio had wistful eyes. No, that… um.

“I’ll call you.”

I hoped we’d quickly just become close acquaintances. The kind who could trust each other for good transactions like this time. Shishio profited quite a bit too. Most importantly, he’d cleaned up the monsters swarming in the sea.

We should stay friendly going forward. …Not in a weird relationship, but a normal one.

“Home!”

Yerim shouted loudly.

“Home really is the best! Ah, I need to go get Mar. Should I bring Chirp, Belare, and Horang too?”

“I’d appreciate that.”

The moment I stepped into the entrance, I became drowsy. I really do like home. I wanted to rest well for a few days. But there were things piled up to handle… Let’s just rest tomorrow only.

“I’ll organize the luggage. Hyung, rest.”

“Thanks, I’m counting on you.”

I went to the living room with Peace and sprawled on the sofa. I should wash up. I need to wash Peace too.

“Peaaace.”

— Kyang.

“Let’s go wash.”

— Kyuung.

After taking Peace into the bathroom and washing, Chirp flew over floating to greet us. Belare also nodded her head as if greeting with a hiss, and Horang circled around huffing.

“Chirp, you didn’t sneak out again, did you?”

— Cheep!

“Horang, don’t cling to Peace too much. You’ll get wet too. Peace, let’s dry your fur.”

“I can dry myself.”

Yuhyun, who’d come out after putting laundry from the luggage in the laundry room, picked up Peace. Peace growled softly.

“Hyung’s tired today.”

— Kheung.

Yuhyun put Peace down almost like tossing him, and Peace shook his body before radiating heat. Then he immediately became fluffy and dry.

“Aww, Peace is so good.”

— Kyaang!

Since it was already quite late, everyone quickly finished organizing and went to bed.

And the next day, all three of us took the day off. We woke up late, ate a late breakfast, and were leisurely watching TV while snacking on fruit when—

“…Huh?”

The TV screen suddenly went dark. Then it brightened again and—

“What the, that’s!”

My image appeared. The me on TV was pointing a gun at Yuhyun.