The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 606: Peak Wedding Season (4)

“The Middle East?”

Moon Hyunah turned toward Park Yerim. Han Yuhyun also glanced over, but once he confirmed Han Yujin wasn’t in the picture, he promptly lost interest.

“Here, this lady Mister Sesung is looking at all soft. She’s in her twenties, right? And these squiggly letters, they look like Arabic, right?”

“Yeah, looks like it. I don’t know a word of Arabic though. Her clothes look like they’re from there too.”

“So he’s not with Mister… Still, I’m glad we at least heard something about Mister Sesung.”

“There’s no need to worry about Seong Hyunjae. But are we sure that’s really him? Feels a little different somehow–”

– Kyaaang!

Right then, Peace suddenly leaped up. He popped out his wings, circled around Yerim, then lunged at the phone in her hands.

“Hey, Peace! You’re gonna break my phone!”

– Grrrng, kyang!

Peace’s front paws tapped at the phone and he rubbed his cheek against the screen. Yerim looked over at Yuhyun in a panic.

“Han Yuhyun! Peace is acting weird!”

Yuhyun reached out and pried Peace off the phone. After studying the photo on the screen again in detail, he spoke.

“It’s my brother.”

– Kyaaaang!

“What?”

Yerim stared at the picture, eyes round. Then her eyes went even wider as she yelled,

“Mister really turned into a woman?! This lady is Mister? She looks totally different!”

“…Are you serious, young master? Your brother really did?”

Hyunah also couldn’t hide her surprise and stared holes into the phone.

“Well, he did change in a pretty cool way at least. He’s taller… and looks healthier.”

“R–right? As long as Mis– I mean, big sis… is safe and not hurt, that’s what matters. Oh, thank god! What a relief!”

Watching the two of them flustered, Yuhyun spoke again.

“I meant the cat, not the woman.”

“…The cat? Your brother?”

“First, Peace reacted. That means my brother is in this photo. And the Sesung Guild Leader in the picture is either the real one or Fairy Dragon.”

“Oh, right. It could be Gyeol too!”

Yerim nodded vigorously.

“His hair’s not pink here, but it looks silver. Then is it Gyeol? What do you see, unni?”

“Looks silver to me too.”

Aside from the fact that his hair was a faded color, it appeared different to each person. So the Seong Hyunjae in the photo was most likely Fairy Dragon.

“Sesung’s guild leader is looking at the cat, not the woman. As far as I know, there are only two people he shows that much interest in: my brother and Chief Song. If it’s Fairy Dragon, it can only be my brother.”

“Yeah, true.”

Hyunah also gave a small nod.

“Seong Hyunjae would never make that face at anyone else. And since Chief Song is here, the only one left is your brother.”

“Lastly, my brother has transformed into a feline–type monster before. He could probably miniaturize like Peace.”

“Oh, right, he did. Your observation skills are pretty impressive, young master.”

“Only when it comes to Mister, only Mister. He doesn’t even look at other people– Ah! That cat back then!”

Yerim smacked the table with a bang.

“At the hotel! After Mister disappeared, a cat walked by! It’s that cat! Looks exactly the same. Mister turned into a cat and escaped!”

“Peace vanished at the same time too. That’s why he recognized my brother in the photo.”

“If that’s definitely Mister, then Mister Sesung isn’t really Mister Sesung either, he’s Gyeol. The two of them were together at the end, and Mister would never leave Gyeol alone.”

“So we’ve at least located my brother. Yerim, send me the SNS account. I’ll ask them to pinpoint exactly where this is.”

“Send it to Haeyeon too.”

Replies came back quickly from Haeyeon and the Breaker Guild. The location was North Africa, and the woman in the photo was S–class Hunter Isabella bint Rashid.

“A princess? Whoa– a princess awakened as S–class!”

“Technically she was adopted into the royal family. I don’t know the details about that region either, but I heard S–class Hunters are mostly treated as royalty. Something like, they’re a blessing from Allah and thus chosen, noble beings, or whatever.”

“Then if I go to the Middle East, do I get to be a princess too?”

“If you convert.”

Skimming the info Breaker had sent, Hyunah spoke.

“But I wouldn’t recommend it. Even if you’re S–class, a lot of people there don’t like seeing women pick up weapons and hunt monsters. In places where that mindset is strong, they say there are low–rank female awakeners but no female Hunters. For mid–rank and above they look the other way because they need them to survive, but still.”

“That’s so lame. Seriously.”

“For now… our reason for visiting should be to join up with Sesung’s guild leader. If we rush in out of nowhere they’ll get suspicious, so we go in calm, young master. Noah and Liette can hop over there right away, so let’s just contact Noah first.”

Studying the cropped photo Yerim had sent with only the cat left in it, Yuhyun nodded.

“We should hide the fact that my brother can turn into a cat as much as possible.”

“Mister kept it from us this whole time too! Guess it really is the Lynx set bonus or something? I knew it. Oh, but then what about Mister Sesung’s wedding news? Is he marrying someone else? For real? Shouldn’t we be looking into that?”

“The secretary team will send an appropriate congratulatory gift. As long as it has nothing to do with my brother, it doesn’t matter.”

As he zoomed in on the cat photo, carefully checking for any injuries or lumps, Yuhyun spoke.

Whoever Seong Hyunjae married had nothing to do with him. It was the same for anyone else. If it was a political marriage, all he needed to care about was the influence that came with it.

“We should still go though, right? We know him.”

“If it’s not my brother’s wedding, it’s just some stranger’s business.”

Yuhyun replied flatly, then added,

“Except for you and Peace, Park Yerim.”

“Huh? Me too?”

“I promised my brother.”

“Of course you did. It’s you, after all.”

Even as she said she knew him well, a smile tugged at Yerim’s lips.

Because the way he stuck to that promise and took care of things even when Han Yujin wasn’t around was, how to put it, kind of admirable.

If anyone ordinary had said something like that, she would’ve scolded them for talking nonsense, but when it came to Han Yuhyun’s peculiarities, Yerim had more or less gotten used to accepting them.

“You’re going to the wedding, right, unni?”

“Of course. Hyung will go, so the young master’s going to end up following anyway.”

“The last time I went to a wedding I was a little kid, so it’s basically my first time. I do know you’re not supposed to wear white, though.”

Now that she knew where Han Yujin was and that he was safe, Yerim chattered away happily.

“I want to hug– see Mister already! I was agonizing over his Christmas present, but I’ll just buy him a cat tower.”

“I’m more of a dog person, but cats are cute too.”

“You said you have a dog at home, right, unni?”

“At my mom’s. You have to completely erase your aura or he just hides. I’ve got Sorok now, but I still miss him.”

“Oh, new article. ‘Sesung Guild Leader’s fiancée is Saudi Princess Isabella!’”

It didn’t take long for the reporters to get a grasp of the situation and start posting articles one after another. They ranged from pure speculation pieces to articles predicting future developments.

“‘S–class Hunter Seong Hyunjae, to become a prince.’ ‘Sesung Guild Leader’s dual citizenship controversy.’ ‘Saudi S–class royalty spends 10 billion won a month on dignity maintenance!’ Whoa, Han Yuhyun! Give me a raise!”

“It says Princess Isabella turns twenty–two this year. How big is that age gap? It’s way more than a full zodiac cycle. I’m against this marriage.”

“She’s twenty–one. Because Gyeol is one year old. Gyeol, your aunt is against this marriage too!”

“Wow, this is really not okay. Chief Song! You see this?”

Song Taewon, who was just walking into the restaurant, gave a short nod. Hyunah snickered as she walked over and slung an arm around his shoulder.

“If Seong Hyunjae actually gets married, you’re going to feel weirdly relieved and disappointed, huh. His partner’s a princess, by the way.”

“Isn’t that Fairy Dragon.”

“Oh? You caught that.”

“His hair color was different from what I usually see. And the way he was standing felt off as well.”

“You can tell all that just from a photo?”

“The way a person distributes strength through their body, the direction of that strength, their habits, are all slightly different. You can fake it, but if Hunter Seong Hyunjae were personally posing for a photo and uploading it, he’d have no reason to move in a way that’s different from usual. And if he were trying to show a friendly relationship with the other party, he wouldn’t just be looking at them like that.”

“Yeah, for that guy it does look awkward. As expected of you, Chief Song. You know Seong Hyunjae really well.”

Instead of answering, Song let out a short sigh. He hadn’t wanted to know him this well either.

Song quickly scanned the faces and moods of the S–class Hunters and spoke again.

“As Director of Korea’s Awakened Management Office, I’ve received permission to visit under the pretext of checking on the condition and situation of our missing S–class Hunter. The Sesung Guild has provided a private jet, so you can go straight to the airport. And… Hunter Han Yujin is with Fairy Dragon as well, isn’t he.”

Not only Yerim’s, but even Yuhyun’s expression lightened noticeably. It meant they had found where Han Yujin was. Yerim’s mouth fell open in a wow.

“How do you know that so well? You’re right, th– It’s okay to tell Chief Song, right? This cat is Mister!”

Song’s gaze fixed on the phone screen Yerim held up. A black cat in Isabella’s arms came into view. The tip of Song’s eyebrow twitched, ever so slightly rising.

“…It would be best to conceal as much as possible regarding Hunter Han Yujin, so I recommend the rest of you move quietly. If everyone headed to Africa at once, we would definitely draw suspicion.”

“I have to go.”

“Me too!”

“Yerim and the young master can quietly go with Chief Song, and I’ll leave separately. No one will think it’s strange if I say I’m going to see the Sesung Guild Leader instead of looking for hyung. Maybe I’ll say I’m attending the wedding?”

Yuhyun, Yerim, and Peace, saying they needed disguises, left the restaurant first. In the suddenly quieter air, Song looked at Hyunah.

“Then the real Hunter Seong Hyunjae…”

“I don’t know either. For him to be this out of touch… I’m starting to get a little worried. He’s not the kind of guy to stay quiet when Gyeol’s gone as far as to announce a wedding while pretending to be him.”

“…Yes.”

The space between Song’s brows deepened. He wasn’t someone you should really worry about. But something still felt off.

The indoor garden, where sunlight poured in through the glass ceiling, was a place no one could approach easily. Marie wore a richly layered mini dress and had her long hair done up elaborately. Her wavy blonde hair spilled down by both ears like vines, and she held a pretty porcelain teapot in her hand.

“Even if it’s January 1, we’ll hold the ceremony somewhere warm. We’ll decorate with lots and lots of flowers.”

Tea was poured into a cup. The golden eyes watching it were half–closed, as if sleepy.

In reality, Seong Hyunjae was dozing. At the same time, he was thirsty. His arms and legs felt heavy, and his whole body was numb, as if covered in a thick veil.

Countless strands of moonlight wove around his body, and with every step he took it was as if silver bells chimed. A sound that echoed no matter where he was, no matter what he did.

“This tea is good.”

Marie pushed the teacup toward Seong Hyunjae and stuck out her lips in a pout. She was the one holding him captive, but she couldn’t touch him easily.

Even a lion locked in a cage and bound in chains still had claws and fangs just as sharp as ever. If you reached your hand within range, you’d get bitten. Several people had actually bled over the past few days.

A man who’d been sitting there motionless like a doll had snapped a high–rank Hunter’s neck in an instant. Marie had also injured her fingertips on chains that suddenly whipped through the air.

“At this rate we won’t be able to have a proper date before the wedding.”

No answer came to her grumbling. The golden eyes had fully closed again, and sunlight shone white across them. Patches of tree shade dappled his faded hair. From a distance it would’ve looked calm and peaceful. Like an old oil painting hanging on a white wall.

“Lady Marie!”

At that moment, someone shouted from beyond the edge of the garden. Marie turned to him with a sulky look.

“Ugh, I told you not to interrupt me. I’m on a date.”

“It’s just, an article came out about the Sesung Guild Leader’s fiancée!”

Marie straightened her shoulders and tilted her chin up a little.

“I told you to keep that under wraps. Already? How’s the response? Everyone says we look good together, right?”

“…It says she’s Princess Isabella of Saudi.”

“What?”

Marie’s figure vanished. In the next instant she appeared in front of the man, snatched the phone, and checked it. Her green eyes went wide, then crumpled into an almost–crying face.

“This won’t do at all!”

There could be no blemish on her wedding. Only the two of them were allowed; if any other relationship wedged itself in, it would ruin everything.

“There isn’t even much time left before the date! Find out what happened, quickly!”

“Ugh, this is so upsetting.”

Marie stomped her feet and looked back toward the table. At some point Seong Hyunjae had opened his eyes again and turned his head slightly to look at her. His golden eyes, still fogged with drowsiness, held a faint smile.