The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 603: Peak Wedding Season (1)

‘I guess it really is about time.’

So he’s trying to do it before forty. Next year is his last year in his thirties, so I could kind of understand. No matter what anyone says, your thirties and forties feel different. Yeah, you should go for it before it’s too late.

But even if it was sudden, saying it was “understandable” was nonsense. In the previous round he never even got married. So who the hell is he marrying this time? He didn’t have anyone he was dating, right? There’s not much time left until January 1st, and he’s getting married in a flash like this? Is he trying to show off his lightning–attribute skills by getting married out of nowhere?

– Ah, ah.

Gyeol opened his mouth like he was about to call me, then just mouthed the words. As expected, Sanchez, who’d been staring at the TV in shock, spoke to us.

“Didn’t they already broadcast that the fairy dragon can talk? So…”

He trailed off and frowned. He’d definitely seen it, but the memory must have been fuzzy. At Sanchez’s words, Gyeol yanked on my shoulder, grabbing my shirt and yelling.

– Dad, is that real?!

“W–well, I don’t know. He never showed even a hint of dating. Did he seriously lock eyes with someone at that party or something…?”

Is that it? But who would it even be? No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t come up with anyone who seemed like they’d be dating Seong Hyunjae. It’s not like he’s the type to be interested in people and… Chief Song? No way. No. That can’t be it.

But other than Chief Song, I couldn’t think of anyone. What the hell. Is this just something that can happen because it’s America? They’re both Korean, so they’d have to follow Korean law. Unless in those five days he somehow got American citizenship. He’s an S–class Hunter, so picking up dual citizenship would probably be easy.

…Then who am I supposed to send the wedding money to? Seong Hyunjae’s rich, so I guess it’d be Chief Song? No, wait, before that, there’s no way those two are getting married! I don’t know about Seong Hyunjae, but would Chief Song ever agree to that?!

– Dad, Dad. Are you okay?

“Y–yeah. I just can’t figure out what kind of daredevil… Did they get hypnotized by his face or something. You can’t marry someone just because of their face. Ah, well, he is loaded too.”

Marriage, huh. Marriage. Would Seong Hyunjae’s wedding be a buffet hall? Who sits in the parents’ seats? I’d never heard anything about the Sesung guild leader’s parents. Still, we’re close enough that I guess I should MC the ceremony for him? Usually the groom’s friend does it, but his friend… It’d be kind of weird to make Chief Song do it.

[It hasn’t been clearly confirmed yet, but she’s said to be an S–class awakened.]

The anchor’s voice came through.

What? S–class? Don’t tell me it really is Chief Song?!

[She’s been witnessed as a woman in her twenties, but the exact─]

“Where’s his shame!”

Even if she’s in her late twenties, that’s a ten–year age gap! I’m not MCing. I refuse! And if she turns out to be some girl in her early twenties, I’ll stake my honor as his business partner and personally blow this wedding up.

There wasn’t much other information. The TV just threw out a couple useless comments and moved on. So an S–class Hunter getting married is big enough for a breaking–news ticker now. Well, if he marries a foreigner and moves to that country, it becomes a national–level issue.

I fixed him with my most desperate stare.

“Aren’t you curious what’s going on? I actually know the Sesung guild leader’s direct phone number. Just let me make one call!”

Yuhyun was a more urgent matter, but there’s no way they’d let me call him. So I used Seong Hyunjae’s marriage as an excuse to prod a little. Sanchez, however, firmly shook his head. All he said was to wait here, then he went back outside. My emergency phone was tucked in Myungwoo’s pocket.

I slowly looked around the room. Yeah, of course there’s no way there aren’t cameras. Trying to make a call and getting caught before I even finish dialing, only to end up tied up again, would be worse. Better to endure.

‘There’s no way this is just a simple marriage.’

I calmed my excitement and sorted things out in my head. The odds of Seong Hyunjae having a normal, standard wedding were close to zero. Sure, he’s the type of guy who could pull literally anything anywhere, anytime, but even for him this didn’t feel right.

And if what Gyeol said was true, his condition right now shouldn’t be great. He might already have dropped to mid–high–rank level and be barely hanging on again, and he’s getting married?

I sat down on the couch and stared at the TV. The breaking news ended, and a Hunter program came back on.

[Today marks the fifth day since Breeding Facility Director Han Yujin went missing. With S–class Hunters from all over the world paying close attention to Director Han’s whereabouts, it is suspected that the anti–Hunter group that the self–styled ‘Prophet’ belongs to is behind─]

– See, see, everyone’s looking for you, Dad. So all you have to do is wait.

“Yeah, yeah.”

The Prophet had definitely teamed up with Chatterbox. The one who started the Channel Chatterbox broadcast was the Prophet. More precisely, he’d used the Prophet persona to draw in people and power–hungry types who wanted to know the future, then used that as capital to kick off the broadcast, the party.

And Chatterbox died at my hands. From the Prophet’s group’s point of view, I’m basically their mortal enemy.

‘Maybe they’re picking a fight with Yuhyun.’

Or, conversely, Yuhyun could’ve suspected the Prophet group kidnapped me and attacked first. Either way, the last five days clearly hadn’t been peaceful. The TV showed a brief clip of Yuhyun again.

New York Hunter Association. Next to Yuhyun stood Peace, around adolescent size. Yerim, Ms. Hyunah, and Chief Song talking with association officials were in frame as well.

‘Is Noah moving separately?’

He’s the one who’s most familiar with the region I’m in. I didn’t see Seong Hyunjae either. So they weren’t together. And when he’s in bad shape he’s separated from Chief Song of all people.

‘…Yeah, something’s definitely wrong.’

What happened in those five days? That Chatterbox bastard causes trouble to the very end. The time difference is huge, the location is completely off… I watched the TV intensely, hoping I could squeeze out a little more information, when someone walked in. Gyeol pressed himself close against my shoulder.

“Hunter Han Yujin.”

The Korean was fluent, but his lips weren’t forming those sounds, so he was clearly using some kind of translation item. A tall, dark–skinned, fairly handsome man tossed a Lynx Set at me.

“Huh?”

“It’s Samir. If it’s exclusive gear, even for F–rank it should give a considerable stat correction. Just from the party alone you didn’t look like F–rank. Put it on. Quickly.”

That had been thanks to Grace, but hey, free gear is free. No complaints.

“What’s goi─”

I was about to ask as I hurriedly pulled on the Lynx Set when there was a thud from outside. “Put on your gear” basically means “Something’s gone down, get ready.” Right. Samir drew out a long spear, and then three or four people rushed in all at once. His heeled boots stepped forward, and his body spun with a smooth, elegant turn. The spear tip traced a wide circle, whipping up the air.

Scrraaaaape. Just from the wind alone, long gouges appeared on the walls. The Hunters who’d been charging in got caught up in that circle in an instant and were flung away.

He’s S–class even without using Promising Talent– ugh!

Samir casually slung me over his shoulder.

“What’s happening?!”

“Looks like we had a mole.”

Striding down the corridor with long steps, Samir leapt through a window that had been blown open. Exotic trees filled my vision. Somewhere far off I heard the sound of splashing water.

Ratatatat–!

Someone opened fire. The spear spun in a tight circle and deflected the bullets.

“Will I get hurt if I get shot?”

“It’ll hurt, sure. But you won’t be seriously injured.”

Being slung over his shoulder, I couldn’t see a thing. In a pinch, I used my teacher skill on Gyeol. Before I could even say anything, he quickly climbed around to my other shoulder and faced forward. A long outdoor swimming pool came into view. People were fighting all around it.

Samir took big strides forward and suddenly thrust his spear out. The man about to swing his sword at him jerked forward like there was a magnet at the spear tip and took a perfect hit to the jaw, collapsing. A Hunter in a turban ran up to Samir.

“Prince!”

English–speaking mercenaries, huh. So they’re using English. More importantly.

“You’re a prince?!”

“In my country we’ve got a few thousand princes.”

What a discount–rack prince.

“All S–class awakened get adopted into the royal family as sons. What’s the situation?”

I heard English again. Something about S–class. Judging from the lack of panic on his face, he was probably saying there weren’t any S–class among the enemy.

“Contact Isabella. Tell her to hold them off for a bit.”

He set me down. Samir jumped forward, pulling his arm with the spear far back. Mana gathered in his arm and along the spear. His foot stepped down, the flat stone under him cracking, and then– thunk! The spear flew.

Swoooosh– The water in the pool split to both sides, waves rising high and curling.

KWAANG!

Something exploded. More blasts followed right after, so there must have been a tank or some other heavy weapon dug in over there. The twin waves swept away the people fighting, and Samir scooped me back up again.

“My mother remarried as a second wife. That’s how I ended up like this.”

“Is Ms. Isabella S–class too?”

“Bella is the adopted daughter of my stepfather’s younger sibling.”

So technically a cousin, but in reality a complete stranger. Makes sense. If we still had royalty and nobility in this era, all the young high–rank awakened would be snatched up as adopted children by high–status families. Or married off in political alliances. If Yuhyun had been born in Samir’s country, he would’ve been a prince too.

Samir quickly cut across the pool, which now had almost no water left in it. The spear that had been embedded in the ruin ahead came flying back into his hand and he caught it with a smack. The Hunters around the intact vehicles scattered like gazelles spotting a lion as soon as they saw him. Samir kicked one of them and then used the spear tip to yank the cloth off the man’s head and tossed it to me.

“Cover your face, roughly.”

“I have no idea what’s going on, but I’d really just like to go home.”

“You’d explode and go missing before your plane even took off.”

“I’m already missing as far as the world’s concerned.”

You’re one of the kidnappers too, you know. I wrapped the cloth loosely over my head for now. Samir sat me in the passenger seat of a roofless military jeep, then climbed into the driver’s seat. Even if there were princes scattered all over the place and he was just an adopted one, still, riding in a car driven by a genuine prince was something.

Samir raised his hand, gave some hand signals, then hit the gas.

“Care to explain, Your Highness?”

His dark navy eyes flicked over to me.

“Five years.”

“Huh?”

“Whether you really came from five years in the future. That’s what this is about.”

Hearing “five years” out loud suddenly made me feel embarrassed. Even if I didn’t remember everything, saying I’d seen this and that in the future is still…

“Ahem. So, your country doesn’t like using magic stones as an energy source. But you still seem to treat S–class awakened pretty well.”

“Dungeons still have to be suppressed. And you can’t just block the changing world completely. We are lobbying, but it’s only to slow things down. Behind the scenes, of course we’re hoarding magic stones.”

“…Seriously?”

“Obviously. Even if magic stones are an incredibly clean, amazing energy source, the world isn’t going to switch over completely in a few years. Oil’s still valuable. And we don’t know if dungeons will exist forever. In the end, some part of the world’s going to keep using the old energy sources.”

True. Anything that appeared out of nowhere could just suddenly disappear and it wouldn’t be strange. As long as there was that underlying uncertainty, old methods would stick around.

“So that five–year guarantee becomes even more important. If Hunter Han Yujin almost died in a dungeon and came back from five years in the future, that means dungeons will definitely still be around for at least five years.”

“Ah…”

A five–year guarantee. My regression had that kind of meaning too.

A jeep stuck stubbornly to our tail and an arrow came flying from it. Samir jerked the wheel. The car lurched hard, and– boom!– the ground right next to us blew open.

“You know how to drive?”

“I mean, I can. But more importantly.”

I pulled out a gun and fired toward the back. After just a couple shots, pop! The tire blew. My senses had sharpened, and my aim had improved along with them. Samir winked at me. Watch the road when you’re driving, man.

“It’s been almost four years since dungeons appeared, but a lot of investors still think of them as unstable. They expect that dungeons and awakened could disappear as soon as tomorrow.”

“In that situation, if five years are guaranteed…”

“Money will pour in. They’ll happily invest for at least the next three years.”

Wow. So that’s how it is. I’d only ever thought about stocks or lottery tickets. I’d never even considered that angle. It’s like saying, “This stock is guaranteed to keep going up for the next five years.” Holy, wow, should I have told Seok Gimyeong about this? There must’ve been all kinds of things we could’ve done. Maybe Yuhyun hinted at it? He did learn some things from Team Leader Seok as a guild leader.

I’m counting on you, little bro. Hopefully Seong Hyunjae hasn’t already done every possible thing by himself.

“Of course there will be people who don’t like that fact. And right now, only high–rank Hunters, especially the S–class, remember everything clearly, so convincing people that five years are guaranteed won’t be easy.”

Samir said that, but he’d also said that even if the memories vanish, the emotions remain. So there was actually a decent chance they’d accept it surprisingly easily.

“So you kidnapped me to ask about before I regressed?”

“Among other things. All the S–class are dying of curiosity. Me included. And on top of that, to arrange an engagement.”

“…What?”

Hold on. An engagement? Why is everyone suddenly talking about marriage?

“I’ve got some cousins with no shared blood and─”

“I already have a fiancé!”

I hurriedly held up Grace. Samir didn’t even blink.

“That’s fine. In my country you can have up to four wives.”

“I’m Korean. Our country’s monogamous, and I want to live sweetly, eating well and sleeping well with just one person, thanks!”

“Just get dual citizenship and hold a short ceremony. Let’s have you meet Isabella first. Bella doesn’t want to get married either, so she’s fine with a political marriage where you live separately.”

“No, thank you!”

“As long as you’re married, you’ll be family, so we can send you back home safely and openly.”

That part was a tiny bit tempting. But still.

“And as royalty and a special–type Hunter, you’ll get S–class–equivalent benefits. Living expenses covered, and at least ten million dollars a month as a dignity allowance.”

…Every month? Okay, I can’t just be bought, but still. Not even annual salary– just an allowance of ten million a month? Is money rotting over there? Sure, they’re a country that pumps black gold out of the ground, but there’s still a limit, isn’t there? A political marriage where we just hold a ceremony and live separately, for like ten billion won a month…

“N–no. No way! It’s still marriage!”

“Bella’s not exactly nice, but she’s a good… Anyway, we’d be living in separate countries anyway, so what’s the harm?”

The jeep rolled to a stop at the mouth of a quiet alley. Samir got out first. As he moved around to face the alley, he spoke.

“Think it over. Either way─ huh?”

His eyes went wide. He glanced around and let out a startled breath.

“How is this even possible.”

No matter how high the level of your Stealth skill, disappearing right under the nose of an S–class without them noticing is almost impossible. Half–hidden behind a stone wall with Samir, I met its eyes.

– Nya.

I turned my body confidently.

Still, I’m not getting married.