The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 523: My Image Rights (2)

[I’ve been waiting! Would you like some tea?]

The newcomer made a fuss and created a white table and plush chairs in the middle of a beautifully decorated garden. Trees were lush, and colorful flowers bloomed brightly in the flowerbeds. The tiled floor alternating between light brown and deep green felt soft underfoot like fine soil. On the right was a fountain with a flower-patterned base and dove decorations, and on the left, a large swing chair hung from a thick branch. Bright blue butterflies fluttered past before my eyes.

“…At least you know there’s a problem.”

You put some effort into this. The volleyball smiled brightly.

“You can return to your original size now.”

Yuhyun and Yerim were still in their small forms. Seong Hyunjae had completely hidden himself inside my pocket. Was he that uncomfortable around the elder? Yuhyun jumped off my shoulder and landed on a willow leaf. The leaf glided across the water’s surface, spinning in a circle before approaching.

“You like it, hyung. And you’re feeling much better.”

“Well, hmm.”

Did I show my liking that obviously? No, they really were cute though. Iryn, now reduced to the size of a fingernail to match Yuhyun’s size, bounced up and down. There were probably only a few minutes left anyway, so whatever.

“Mister, look at this!”

Yerim, who had climbed onto the table at some point, shouted while grabbing the handle of an enormous teacup.

“It would be great if we could take pictures. Volleyball-ssi!”

[Yes?]

“Chatterbox was even doing broadcasts, so can’t you just take one photo for us? If you can’t, it can’t be helped.”

[I can! Of course I can!]

The newcomer jumped up high and said confidently, and Yerim quickly gestured for me to come over.

“Mister, sit here and hold the teacup. I’ll pour it for you. Han Yuhyun, you hold that fork over there. Put the cake plate here and stand next to it. Hurry.”

Saying we needed to take it quickly before time ran out, Yerim flew up holding a teapot several times her size. Yuhyun also obediently picked up the fork and cut into the cake.

“Mister, smile naturally! Han Yuhyun, are you only looking at Mister again? That’s fine, that’s natural. Volleyball-ssi!”

[Yes! Click! Click!]

The newcomer made camera shutter sounds with their mouth. Then soon—

Riiip—

With the sound of my pocket tearing, Seong Hyunjae burst out.

“Ugh!”

“Hyung!”

Since Seong Hyunjae had eaten the cookie first, he was the first to grow larger, ending up sitting on my lap. Unable to support the suddenly appearing bulk of someone over 190 cm tall, I fell backward with the chair, but Seong Hyunjae quickly got down and lifted me up.

“You should come out on your own when time’s up!”

“Couldn’t I eat one more and hide?”

Following that, Yuhyun and Yerim also returned to their original sizes. Yuhyun got down from the table and quickly caught me.

“Are you okay? You’re not hurt anywhere?”

“I’m not so fragile that I’d get hurt just because that guy sat on my knee. You could sit on me and I’d be fine too.”

It was just that I couldn’t maintain my balance when unexpected weight was added. I suddenly remembered feeding Yuhyun when he was young, sitting on my lap.

[Here are the photos.]

The newcomer handed us three photos. They came out well. They looked like concept photos created with compositing. Perhaps because the newcomer created them, they even went into my inventory.

[I’m so glad Honey seems to be in a better mood!]

“I’m not okay. Didn’t that Chatterbox bastard break the rules? Why the hell is he doing this?”

[Well, he didn’t break them. He’s Chatterbox, after all. It’s the alias we use to reduce interference.]

“He even appeared directly on the broadcast though?”

[He was perceived as human. Not as a transcendent.]

…Indeed, the Chatterbox who appeared on the broadcast had a human physique. He was tall and thin, but not to an eerie degree.

[The humans on Chatterbox’s side also didn’t mention transcendents.]

“That’s true, but…”

The prophet only talked about himself, never mentioning the god they served. I’d wondered why the cultist didn’t engage in religious activities despite appearing on such a good medium as broadcasting, but it seemed it was to hide Chatterbox’s existence.

[Diarma and the King of Harmless also interfered to this extent. In exchange for us having the system.]

Indeed, all the previous Filial Duty Addicts had directly contacted and used hunters. Both Yuhyun and Seong Hyunjae had contracted with Diarma, and there had been an attempt to control Liette. Though it was inside a dungeon, they’d also sent powerful dragonkin and… Lautitars.

The King of Harmless had also apparently helped capture and use the Goblin King in China.

[They can also interfere with or partially utilize the system depending on their abilities, but they can’t manage it comprehensively like we do. Thanks to that, Honey’s information is thoroughly protected too.]

“But coming out openly like this puts us at too much of a disadvantage.”

[Not necessarily. The reason Filial Duty Addicts hide themselves and operate is because there’s a high possibility of them being perceived as universal evil. Think about it—if there are villains trying to destroy the world, the people of that world will naturally cooperate.]

…Having a clear enemy certainly made it easier to unite.

[Evil forces don’t become secret organizations for no reason. The Filial Duty Addicts’ side hides their forces to easily achieve destruction, and we only select a small number of people to prevent information from outside the world from spreading. As I told you before, if information spreads too much, Honey’s world’s protection weakens.]

“Then Chatterbox—”

[I contacted them too, but… they just say it’s a funeral. They keep insisting on that.]

“…Just a funeral?”

[Yes. In a world where the King of Harmless has fallen, loudly enough for everyone in that world to know.]

I’d known roughly, but I was newly dumbfounded. The scariest opponent was someone who charged in without thinking about the future, and Chatterbox was exactly that type. If he said he’d just hold a funeral regardless of Filial Duty Addicts, the Source, or anything else, it would actually be more dangerous.

It would be better if he had other motives.

“…Why on earth is he like that?”

[Well, I’ve never loved anyone, so I don’t know. Wouldn’t Honey know better?]

I… thinking about it, I too wanted to at least hold a funeral… couldn’t let go of my lingering attachment.

“What does the Filial Duty Addicts’ side say?”

[In your neighborhood’s terms, it’s like ‘enjoy the show and eat the rice cakes’—most transcendents are like that. It’s just one of countless worlds, and while there seems to be a unique existence, Chatterbox is offering himself up and targeting it. They’re receiving attention and there’s lots of curiosity, but it’s not enough to directly intervene. It’s also hard to interfere.]

“Hard to?”

[We’ve been in opposition for a very long time, and naturally many implicit rules have emerged. One of them is matching numbers. There are several transcendents on our side too, but the reason I’m mainly the one who directly comes forward and makes contact is because of that. When the King of Harmless stepped forward, Chatterbox only provided support, right?]

“…What about the elder? Because they’re neutral?”

[Yes. That person doesn’t belong to any faction. They’re closer to being a ruler of worlds belonging to the first Source.]

“Then the Puppeteer must be neutral too.”

[The Puppeteer?]

The volleyball tilted quizzically.

“So…”

I stopped mid-sentence. I still hesitated to tell the newcomer about Chief Song and the eclipse. Same with Seong Hyunjae’s situation. Though the elder seemed to have already noticed.

“A transcendent called the Puppeteer approached the King of Harmless’s drawer.”

[Drawer… they put a transcendent’s contractor in the drawer?!]

“It just happened.”

The volleyball jumped about 3 meters high.

[Are you okay, Honey?]

“It wasn’t a transcendent hostile to me. Rather, they warned me it was dangerous.”

[Another transcendent’s contractor… I didn’t know such a thing was possible. Chatterbox can’t directly harm Honey after all. The Puppeteer…]

Who is it, the newcomer spun around and around.

[They can have multiple aliases. The elder does too, right? Puppeteer is relatively common—I’ve been called the Puppeteer too.]

“Because of those dolls before?”

[Yes. It’s one of my specialties. Are there any other characteristics?]

“They had human hands, but they can change their outward appearance at will. What about the elder? The elder might know.”

They’d said they helped White Bird and Snowy Tree create the eclipse. With that level of ability, they were definitely an old transcendent, so there was a possibility they knew the elder.

[They’re probably watching dramas.]

“…Huh?”

[I introduced them to the internet and streaming services because of this incident. It’s not that they don’t know about worlds as developed as Honey’s, but they haven’t had much direct contact. They said it would be good to learn about Honey’s world and picked just one thing to watch.]

What were they watching? Surely not some makjang drama.

[I’ll ask them to come here.]

“Please do. And Chatterbox—putting aside starting a broadcasting station. But my image rights—”

[Yes?]

“He broadcast without permission, that bastard! This needs to be resolved properly! It’s illegal!”

[Um, on our side…]

“When in Rome, follow Roman law. If he’s going to pretend to be human, he should follow human laws! If he’s using us to gain profit, shouldn’t he naturally pay the price?! He never mentioned putting it on TV when discussing it with me! It’s a breach of contract! And what about publicity rights! Do you know how valuable S-ranks are, using them for free?!”

It wasn’t just their ability as hunters. They had popularity rivaling celebrities. Naturally, their appearance fees were no joke, and S-ranks were so hard to get for advertisements that even throwing money at them didn’t work. But for free! Just like that!

“Do you know how many advertisement offers come in for Yuhyun and Yerim?! This is grounds for a lawsuit, grounds for a lawsuit!”

[Should, should I connect you to Chatterbox?]

“I can be connected?”

[Yes, for a moment at least. Honey is already… connected to Chatterbox.]

The newcomer looked at the back of my neck. I unconsciously raised my hand to touch my nape. I’d put a band-aid there today too.

“…Is this dangerous by any chance?”

[No, it’s just like exchanging business cards. Location tracking is impossible, and it doesn’t have any particular effect. Rather, it’s the name. You heard it, right? That will have more effect.]

“…Really?”

[Yes. It’s better not to know a transcendent’s true name. They usually don’t reveal it easily…]

Though the newcomer seemed uncomfortable, they created a door for me. Saying I’d be back shortly, I entered.

“Welcome.”

Chatterbox stood in a black room. As shown on the broadcast, with a body like a human’s, producing a human voice. The skin around the white mask covering his entire face also looked ordinary. The short white hair inside the translucent black veil was neatly slicked back.

If I’d met him unknowingly, I might have thought he was a theater or musical actor.

“How will you compensate me?”

I crossed my arms and glared at Chatterbox.

“To begin with, flipping the board like this makes me not want to attend the party. It wouldn’t be strange if I, an F-rank, didn’t attend.”

I tapped the floor with my toe.

“From your perspective, I’m the lead, so go ahead and try enthusiastically holding a funeral without the lead.”

“You seem quite angry.”

“Isn’t it natural? Thanks to you, I’ve already been cursed out several times over. I’m full to bursting. If I attend as is, the chances of loss are high, so why would I go?”

As Chatterbox, he wouldn’t be able to hold the party without me. That would make the meaning of the funeral he wanted fade. He approached me. I didn’t flinch and lifted my chin to look up at Chatterbox.

“Han Yujin has no choice but to attend.”

A hand wearing white cotton gloves lightly pressed against my chest.

“If you can gain profit by using Han Yujin, you’ll leap even into a thorny path.”

“…What nonsense.”

“Don’t you actually welcome pain? Don’t you want to sacrifice yourself?”

“I’m planning to live long. I have to live too.”

“Really?”

Of course, I nodded. Chatterbox smiled.

“Don’t worry. From now on, editing will be left to the participants. I’m merely broadcasting as the host.”

“Left to the participants?”

“Yes. Whether to transmit video, whether to transmit audio, and if desired, you can even set subtitles and broadcast countries. You can change options immediately depending on the situation. Even if there’s no agreement with the other party, not only the person’s video and audio but also information is appropriately processed so the other party’s video and audio aren’t exposed either.”

Did he mean he’d mosaic it?

“Depending on how you use it, you could lead things advantageously.”

“…”

“I’ll naturally provide compensation as well. For this advertisement—”

“Whether it’s skills, items, or other privileges, minimum SSS-rank or higher. I’ll tell you the exact compensation after discussion. I wasn’t the only one on the broadcast.”

“I accept.”

I tried hard to think coldly and calmly. Indeed, if used well, we could create a favorable situation for ourselves. I had to attend anyway. If I backed out in this situation, I’d only lose and that would be the end of it.

“Let’s draft a proper contract with lawyers from both sides present. Send a representative.”

As thoroughly as possible. After all, it was like appearing on a variety show, so I could blatantly get help from those around me while contracting. Chatterbox nodded obediently. Then he lightly snapped his fingers.

Before my eyes, I saw my younger brother.

I was holding my dying younger brother.

My younger brother was holding me as I died.

I blinked. The vision disappeared and a smiling white mask entered my view. My body moved first, grabbing Chatterbox by the collar.

“…What did you do?”

“Nothing. I merely showed a part of Han Yujin’s heart. I don’t know what you saw.”

Let’s meet again. Leaving those words, Chatterbox smoothly disappeared. An exit appeared behind me, but I couldn’t move quickly.

What if it hadn’t been my younger brother dying saving me, but the opposite?

“…This really feels disgusting.”

I gritted my teeth and turned around. Coming outside to the bright garden—

“…Elder?”

I saw young Chaos and Seong Hyunjae kneeling demurely before him. I didn’t know why, but my mood improved a bit.