The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 543: Delroux (1)

Thud!

I woke up to a loud noise echoing through the hotel. As I struggled out of the unnecessarily wide bed and put on my slippers, an announcement started playing.

[There was a small altercation between party attendees.]

It was an announcement saying hunters had fought but it ended without any major issues, so don’t worry. With S-ranks gathered in one place, it’d be more surprising if nothing happened. We almost got into a brawl ourselves when we first went to a dungeon together. Noah got into a fight with Yerim the moment they met, and fought with Yuhyun right away too.

“Still, my kids are, yawn, well-behaved.”

I repeatedly yawned while shuffling in my slippers toward the bathroom.

‘It’d be a disaster if I forgot to turn off the broadcast.’

Since I could keep it on continuously after 10 o’clock today, if I zoned out, something unbroadcastable might air. Would they filter it automatically? Still, just to be safe, I should definitely turn it off before sleeping. If I woke up in the morning and took a shower while spacing out… ugh, horrifying.

After washing up, I stared at the mirror and fell into brief contemplation. Should I… wear makeup? I’d never done it myself before. Still, last night I used the face pack Yerim prepared for me.

‘My skin is clear, at least.’

Yuhyun and Yerim were fine without makeup, but I wore it every time I went on broadcast… And starting today, it was individual broadcasting competing with other participants. First, I applied the sunscreen that supposedly provided light coverage, then picked up the lip balm Yerim gave me and stared at it for a moment. People say everyone uses it these days when their lips are dry, regardless of age or gender. The weather had gotten colder, and it was purely for lip health.

[Protesters have gathered in front of the New York Hunter Association building.]

When I left the bathroom and turned on the TV, people holding ‘Hunters Out!’ pickets high appeared. I also heard them calling it a party for white people. Soon the scene changed.

“Ugh.”

Chatterbox and I appeared. It was the video from when we rode in the car together. Why do they keep playing that over and over? It hadn’t been many days, but… still. When I changed the channel, something like an American drama came on. It probably wasn’t regular programming at this hour.

[The quarterback awakened and tomorrow’s the championship game!!]

A character cried out in anguish. Oh dear, another channel was doing dungeon break education for children.

[Hello, scary monster! What do you like?]

[I like children who scream loudly! I’m very good at smelling naughty children too!]

I also checked the messages and emails on my phone. It seemed nothing special had happened overnight. Hamin, stop sending Geumdong photos already. Should I just block him?

While other S-rank hunters moved freely, I needed Chatterbox’s protection and had to follow the schedule. Breakfast hours were 7 to 9 AM, room service available. Rather than staying in my room, it was better to observe the outside situation even a little, so I headed to the restaurant.

[Yeah, heading down now.]

I replied to my brother while pressing the elevator button. A moment later, the elevator door opened.

“Hello, my love.”

…Why isn’t there a close button on the outside? Since there wasn’t just one elevator, I ignored him, pretending not to see while thinking I’d take another one. Hwang Rim stuck out his foot to block the closing elevator door. Why’s he doing that when there’s a perfectly good button?

“The S in SF stands for SE—”

“Do you really want to die? You think I came here alone? And the elevator’s public. Move your foot unless you rented out the hotel.”

“So you’re inviting me to your side.”

“I’m telling you to get lost.”

Hwang Rim smoothly stepped out and stood in front of me. Despite himself, he was wearing a neat suit. If not for his sly nonsense, I wouldn’t have recognized him—the atmosphere was completely different from the last time I saw him.

“Why are you popping up here?”

“Sorry, are you sulking because I didn’t answer the phone? Your lips look pretty, what did you put on?”

Instead of answering, I pressed the button for the opposite elevator. Or rather, I tried to press it. Just before my hand reached the button, Hwang Rim snatched my wrist and spun my body toward him. Security!

“There’s a pervert trespassing here!”

“I’m hurt.”

“Get lost before you’re thrown into the Hudson River half-grilled, half-frozen. What are you even doing here?”

“Part-time work.”

“Your business went under, huh? Congratulations. Serving? Cleaning?”

“Guarding the hottest F-rank around these days.”

Hwang Rim winked as he spoke. What did he just say…

“Channel Chatterbox was hiring.”

“…”

“It was a joke.”

It was a disgustingly creepy joke. I’d rather jump into the river myself than spend 24 hours stuck with this bastard. Hwang Rim released my wrist and pulled out a business card.

“This is one of our business partners. I have a penthouse nearby, want to come over?”

“…Never mind that, what about the Puppeteer?”

I lowered my voice and asked. It was a face I didn’t want to see, but since I’d run into him anyway, I should check what needed checking.

“Seems they’re still finding it difficult to interfere. Don’t look so disgusted, I’ll be leaving soon. Here, this.”

Hwang Rim handed me a new business card. He said it even goes into inventory.

“…What is it?”

“The big players betting on you, Jin.”

“What?”

“Gam~ bling~”

Wh… what? I mean, so…

“You can’t have a party like this without betting and gambling. I’ve been busy setting things up.”

“…Hey, you son of a bitch.”

“The odds are insane and there’s some heavy money on the line. So Xiaojin, they’re on your side.”

Hwang Rim leaned his head closer. And whispered.

“Nothing makes more certain allies than having their own money on the line.”

It’s a capitalist world, after all. Listening to that whisper, I looked down at the business card. It was clean with nothing but a phone number.

“I can’t do anything about what happens inside the dungeon, but use them for things outside.”

“What if they fail?”

“Then you won’t need to worry about them anymore, right?”

Hwang Rim’s eyes held a thin smile. …How much does this bastard know? Despite feeling uneasy, I pocketed the business card for now.

“If I have people on my side, there’ll be enemies on the opposite side too. Money makes things scary.”

“It’s fine. It’s at a level we can handle. By the way, the hunter with the highest odds is Zeus.”

I’d expected as much, but it still stung a little.

“Zeus… Um, my brother isn’t… something Fire, is he…?”

I asked with a trembling heart. Give Yuhyun a break, Americans!

“There are already American hunters using those titles. Fireman, Fire Sword, Flame Wing, Salamander, and so on. Not just S-ranks, but A and B-ranks often have nicknames too. And Haeyeon’s guild leader still has relatively low recognition overseas.”

He said Yerim was actually more famous thanks to the S-rank duel broadcast. Yuhyun had caught many S-ranks too, but his fights had never been broadcast. He also said it wasn’t civilians calling Seong Hyunjae that, but American hunters. …Wasn’t it Zeus because of his womanizer image rather than his skill attribute?

“Anyway, if you’re offering to help…”

There definitely were areas where I could use help. I’d been planning to ask Hwang Rim for something anyway.

“Information on the hunters attending the party. As much as possible.”

“I knew you’d ask.”

Hwang Rim grinned and pressed a USB drive into my hand.

“The most accurate and detailed information in the world, dear.”

“…Really?”

“It’s not just simple gambling—there are people who want to bring S-rank hunters down a peg too. So Jin, you need to keep this to yourself.”

Hearing that made me uneasy. It’s not OPEC people, is it? I heard there are lots of nasty people there.

“I have no intention of harming the hunter world.”

“Just holding this party does the opposite. It’s already chaos, isn’t it? That’s why many people are anxious. Especially if an American S-rank wins, it’s completely over.”

If that happened, they’d be treated as complete American heroes and S-rank hunters’ status would pierce the heavens. American S-rank hunters are the world’s best! they’d say. But if an Asian, Korean F-rank in stats beat the S-ranks, even if it couldn’t completely overturn this atmosphere, it would at least create a breathing hole.

Makes sense they’d want to help me.

“…You’ve gotten pretty tangled up in this.”

“That’s how the world is. Small—oh, I need to bolt!”

The moment Hwang Rim hastily dodged, the elevator door opened. At the same time.

Kwagagak!

Something like a pitch-black snake split through the floor where Hwang Rim had been standing and shot out in an instant. Then kwang! A hole opened in the hotel wall with a tremendous roar. Hwang Rim, who’d stepped aside next to the hole, roughly wiped away the blood running down his neck with the back of his hand. Yuhyun, who’d emerged from the elevator, withdrew Ruler’s Sword with a cold expression. Peace blocked in front of me and Yerim checked on me.

—Grrr.

“Mister, are you okay?”

“Y-yeah.”

“Jin’s brother is always so vicious~. Ah, my neck stings.”

Well, goodbye, Hwang Rim said and threw himself through the broken wall. I quickly stopped Yuhyun from chasing after him.

“He came to give me information!”

At my words that he hadn’t harmed me at all, Yuhyun let out a sigh.

“Hyung, you’re too defenseless when it comes to yourself.”

“…No, but really, that ba—that guy isn’t exactly an enemy. Not right now anyway. Still, you showed good restraint not destroying the elevator.”

“If I’d made my presence known too hastily, he might’ve run off with you.”

“If something happens to me, it’s Chatterbox’s responsibility, so don’t worry too much. Let’s lighten up, okay?”

Let’s go eat breakfast, I said while pressing the elevator button.

The restaurant was quiet. I had difficulty leaving the hotel, but other hunters didn’t. Meaning they had no need to eat breakfast at the hotel. If I could move around freely too, what do New Yorkers… eat for breakfast? Is there anything famous nearby? Only coffee and newspapers came to mind.

“Where’s Chief Song?”

“He said he’s a bit tired and will have room service. He told us to definitely contact him if we’re going outside the hotel.”

Yerim made a serious expression, saying the meeting ran a bit long last night. Chief Song must have had a hard time. Since there was Korean food, I ordered that and checked the time. It was a little past 8 AM. Two hours until 10 o’clock.

‘Does it start right at 10 o’clock?’

Shouldn’t they give more explanation? As I was eating a fairly decent breakfast, a hunter approached holding a magazine. My photo was on the cover again.

“The S-rank poison pill—”

[Breakfast ends at 9 AM.]

A message window suddenly appeared.

[We ask all party guests to move to Governors Island by 10 AM.]

“Governors Island?”

“It’s a small island south of Manhattan. Originally a tourist site, but it’s currently used as a place to lure monsters during dungeon breaks.”

A hunter, probably American, kindly explained. When they couldn’t quickly deal with monsters pouring out, they’d sometimes lure them to places far from the city center. Since it could easily draw criticism, major cities designated at least one monster lure location in advance. If such a place was even an island, it meant S-ranks could cause some trouble without issue.

So this time it’s not inside a dungeon? The message was probably sent through the bracelet.

[Notification to 1st place.]

Then a message window appeared only to me again.

[A reward will be given to the participant who catches 1st place, who runs fastest, and arrives at Governors Island. This message will be delivered to all participants at exactly 9 AM.]

…What?

[If 1st place is not caught and arrives safely at Governors Island, the reward will be given to 1st place.]

I stood up from my seat. That damn Chatterbox.

“Hyung?”

“I’m going to the bathroom real quick. They said by 10 AM, so we should leave right away.”

About ten minutes until 9 o’clock. I headed to the bathroom as calmly as possible. I could let Yuhyun or Yerim receive the reward. But I didn’t want to appear that easy, and more importantly.

‘Other hunters won’t just stay still.’

If things went wrong, I’d be in terrible shape and the city would be a mess too. I didn’t know what Chatterbox was aiming for, but I had to avoid S-rank hunters running wild in the city. I went into the bathroom and changed clothes.

‘Stealth skill alone will be cutting it close.’

Even with the jacket’s buff, it was difficult to completely fool S-ranks’ eyes. Seong Hyunjae was especially a problem. That person definitely wouldn’t go easy on me. He was more likely to enjoy revealing my location and watching the chaos unfold.

So.

[White Tail Delroux (A)]

I equipped all my items and used the skill.

“Huh? A cat.”

Park Yerim, who’d left the restaurant, muttered as she saw a cat quickly scurrying down the hallway. It was a cat with a white tip on its tail.

“Mister’s taking a while. How long does it take to get to that island? We have a whole hour left, so let’s look around together with Mister before we go.”

Just then, a message window appeared before Park Yerim, Han Yuhyun, and Peace.

[A reward will be given to the participant who catches 1st place, who runs fastest, and arrives at Governors Island.]

1st place, reward. Han Yuhyun ran toward the bathroom and Park Yerim shouted.

“Mister! I can’t go in there!”

While Park Yerim stamped her feet, Han Yuhyun came back out.

“He’s gone.”

“What? Did someone kidnap him in that short time?”

“That can’t be—where’s Peace?”

“Right here, huh?”

Peace had also disappeared.