The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 608: Looking for the Cat (2)

Gyeol panicked. Thanks to my teacher skill, I could clearly feel how confused he was about what to say. Maybe this is where I should step in. I tried to slip out of his arms with that thought, but the arms holding me tightened. Yeah, yeah. Who are you taking after to be this stubborn.

‘Even if we get found out, it’s not like it’ll put us in danger.’

I should help him see this through himself. I apologized to Seong Hyunjae again in my head. I’ll buy you a meal sometime.

[Gyeol, you don’t need to worry about anything. Do whatever you want. Right now, you’re Seong Hyunjae.]

Gyeol’s arms flinched slightly.

[Whatever you do, it’s fine. Even if you mess up, it’s fine. “Seong Hyunjae” can take responsibility for whatever he does. Even if he pulls something that makes people go, “Is he out of his mind?”, he’ll clean it up neatly the very next day.]

So he just needs to move confidently. That’s more like Seong Hyunjae anyway. Of course, a normal person couldn’t do that even if you told them to, but Gyeol must have been influenced by him. He can do it. He’ll do great.

…I am a little worried he might pick up bad habits though. You’re not allowed to grow up like Seong Hyunjae, okay, Gyeol. You’re only copying him for now.

Stroking the back of my neck, Gyeol sat down on the sofa. I could feel his tense body loosening up. Golden eyes blinked as he looked up at Samir. It was more Gyeol’s expression than Seong Hyunjae’s, but that made it look even more natural. It’s not like Seong Hyunjae couldn’t make that face too.

“I’m tired.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m tired, so I’m going to rest. And I’m hungry. Prepare Korean food. For dessert, ice cream: vanilla, chocolate, melon.”

It was such a random thing to say, but it sounded convincing. That was very much Seong Hyunjae.

“…This is a little startling.”

The tips of Samir’s eyebrows lifted slightly. For a young S–class, he was pretty composed. Strong patience, that one.

“At this moment, we still cannot be certain you are the Sesung guildmaster. If you want to be treated like a gentleman, give us an answer worthy of that.”

What should we do. I scratched my ear with my paw. Someone must have been talking about me; my ears had been itching for a while. Every time I thought they were itchy, they twitched on their own, which felt kind of weird. Why are my tail and ears semi–automatic.

‘We could just wait here, but…’

I couldn’t fully trust that prince and princess. Even if we ended up working together later, it would be better to rejoin Yuhyun’s group coming to Africa as fast as possible. So, okay, yeah. I told Gyeol what to say, and he opened his mouth.

“Do you really think I’m here with no backup plan at all?”

His eyes also clearly said, And bring the ice cream and my dad’s food while you’re at it.

“Until my stats recover, the mere power of an S–class Hunter isn’t enough to harm me.”

“You cannot be harmed?”

Samir looked dubious, and a massive axe appeared in Isabella’s hand. Wow, talk about impulsive!

“Let’s check.”

Holding the axe in one hand like it was a willow switch, Isabella strode up to the sofa. Then she lifted it high.

“Bella, wait–”

“If you’re lying, say it now.”

Gyeol smiled silently. Isabella’s other hand grabbed the back of my neck and—

–Kyaaang!

The axe dropped. Thud! With a deafening crash, the sofa shattered. Debris flew, and I heard the floor split with a long crack.

“Bella!”

“It’s real.”

Isabella blinked. Through the broken sofa, I could see Gyeol. The axe blade was pressed straight into his chest, but there wasn’t a single scratch.

“It’s a weird feeling. It’s not like he blocked my attack, but it didn’t affect him at all.”

The sofa and the floor were wrecked. From the shockwave alone, the flower pot on the table fell and shattered. But Gyeol alone looked completely untouched, like he was cut off in another dimension.

“It’s heavy.”

Casually, Gyeol tapped the axe blade with his hand. Isabella lifted the axe away, and once he stood up, he took me back and went to sit on the intact sofa across the room.

“At least twenty side dishes. Two kinds of soup. I don’t care if it takes a while, but I want a flawless full Korean spread. I’d like to eat alone, quietly. As you can see, my stats are still low, so I’ll accept guards outside the door. CCTV is of course out of the question. We’ll talk after I’ve eaten.”

“It certainly is… difficult not to believe you now.”

Samir spoke. An ability that nullifies an S–class attack was clearly not ordinary. Whether he was actually Seong Hyunjae or not, he was not someone to be taken lightly.

“This place is meant for quiet conversation, so there was never any CCTV to begin with.”

Saying he’d prepare everything as requested, Samir turned to go. Isabella also gave me one last look and left the reception room. Once it was just the two of us, Gyeol let out a long, quiet sigh and whispered to me.

“How was that, Dad?”

His face was clearly saying, I did good, right? I tapped his shoulder with my paw.

[You did great, amazing! Okay, now let’s get out of here.]

“Why? We can just wait for Uncle here.”

[It’s overseas and there are procedures and stuff, so they might not be able to get here quickly. And the picture going around right now is of the Sesung guildmaster. They’ll realize it’s actually you, but they won’t say it. If people suddenly rush to Africa saying they want to meet the Sesung guildmaster, everyone’s going to find that weird.]

Even sneaking over would have its limits. Yuhyun had been running around desperately searching for me; if he suddenly disappeared, he’d draw suspicion right away.

[Then things could blow up. And if my identity slips out, they might take Dad hostage.]

With two S–classes lurking around, it would be hard to hide my and Gyeol’s identities for long. And since Samir’s relatives knew I was in Africa, it was only a matter of time before word spread.

[I’ll escape in a way that doesn’t put Dad in danger.]

“Really?”

[Whether we get caught while running or get found staying here, it won’t make much difference.]

If you’re damned either way, you might as well try something. So first things first. If it was too quiet, it’d be suspicious, so I took out the frog toy, turned it on, and shoved it under a cushion. It normally hopped around at random, but squashed under the cushion, it only made a faint rustling sound. The guards would be at least A–class, so this much noise would just sound like, Oh, he’s bored and fidgeting on the sofa. After setting the toy, I turned back into a Delroux.

[Stick right to my back, Dad.]

Turning back into fairy–form, Gyeol handed me the translation item, then climbed onto my back and clung to me.

–Am I heavy?

[You’re light. Like a puff of fluff.]

I used my stealth skill and moved toward the window. Maybe because it was a hot region, the sheer curtain was just hanging there and the window itself was wide open. An A–class Hunter was posted nearby as a guard, but he didn’t notice me.

We could slip out just like this, but I didn’t know the roads around here at all. After thinking for a moment, I sniffed. My sense of smell really was way better than when I was human. After wandering around sniffing here and there…

‘Got it!’

A scent familiar to me, but foreign to this place, drifted in. The smell of home. I headed toward the kitchen, took a quiet peek, then stole one of those roomy local robes that looked like a housecoat, turned human, and put it on. Perfect to hide Gyeol. Then I walked into the kitchen like I belonged there.

“Hello, I heard you needed a Korean cook.”

The head chef, who had been frowning at bulgogi cuts and long–grain rice, turned to look at me. The other cooks also turned this way. One of them pointed at me with a little Oh.

“I’ve seen that face somewhere… you’re, Han, Yujin?”

“I get told I look like him a lot. People always say East Asian faces all look the same. My brother’s sick of hearing he looks like Hunter Han Yujin all the time.”

“You still really look like him, though.”

“I left Korea three years ago. Would be great if I were buddies with that famous breeding center director. Korean food out of nowhere, is that the Sesung guildmaster’s request? He looks like the type who wouldn’t touch Korean food. What ingredients do you have?”

When I said they had to hurry up and get started, they dropped their curiosity and brought out the ingredients. Obviously, nobody believed the actual Han Yujin had just randomly walked into an African villa kitchen and offered to cook. If you act brazen and confident enough, people’s brains just kind of go …I mean, I guess?

“Yeah, this is really lacking… Where’s the kimchi? You need kimchi for Korean food. This is soy sauce, and, ugh– no doenjang either, huh? That won’t do, we need to hit a market. We’ll buy out anything that’s close enough to Korean ingredients. Oh, Korean bulgogi sauce? We can use this for japchae too. Got glass noodles?”

I told them to keep prepping the ingredients and asked for one person to come with me to buy more. One cook obediently grabbed a car key and stepped up, and I covered my face and hair with a veil, leaving only my eyes.

“East Asian skin is sensitive– you gotta cover everything.”

I dunno, that’s just how it is, okay. I followed them out naturally and climbed into the SUV. Armed Hunters were stationed all around on guard, but they didn’t stop the cook going out to buy supplies. Nice car. It even had navigation. The car left the villa and followed the road. The city with the market was a pretty decent distance away. Once we’d gotten pretty far from the villa—

“Oh, I forgot something. Could you call the kitchen for me?”

Without thinking much of it, the cook eased off the gas and pulled out his phone. I watched him draw his pattern and unlock it, then—

“And um, pull over somewhere quiet too.”

I tapped his shoulder with the muzzle of my gun. The cook looked at me with wide, startled eyes and hit the brakes. I told you, over there. Well, this area was pretty empty too, at least.

“W–what do you want–”

“Your phone and car key, and your signature on a contract to stay away from the villa and keep your mouth shut for exactly one day. If you write down your account number, I’ll compensate you generously later, so don’t suspend the phone or report the car stolen.”

They’d find out soon enough that Seong Hyunjae had disappeared, so I only needed him to keep quiet for one day. The cook nodded. Grateful, I pressed Peace’s lunch into his hand. These mana stones are expensive, you know.

“The phone can make international calls, right?”

I asked how to use the international dialing and, after dropping the cook off, slid into the driver’s seat. In the passenger seat, Gyeol changed into his child form and buckled his seat belt. My kid is so law–abiding. Even if Dad is driving without a license, you’re never allowed to copy that, okay.

“Nice. Gyeol, call your uncle with this phone. You remember his number?”

“Yeah, I memorized it.”

“Where’d you get so smart. Remember it’s 8201, not 010. What’s the closest airport around here anyway. Egypt, right?”

I wondered how long it would take to drive to Egypt. After punching the number and placing the call, Gyeol’s face scrunched up.

“Dad, it says the call can’t go through right now.”

“Already on the plane? Maybe they’re in the middle of takeoff. Then try your aunt.”

“…Aunt doesn’t go through either.”

“Well, they’re probably all on board together.”

Surely it wouldn’t be no service for the whole flight. If they’d hopped on a regular commercial flight because it was urgent, it was possible. Chief Song, Hyuna, even Noah weren’t answering. Maybe they had incoming international numbers blocked. Same for Seong Hyunjae. In that case—

“…Hey, Gyeol, do you happen to know the number for Haeyeon Guild or the breeding center?”

He shook his head.

“I didn’t memorize it because I had a phone. You don’t know either? You’re the director, Dad.”

“…Yeah, well. These days phones store everything, so you don’t really memorize numbers unless it’s someone really close.”

Honestly, the only reason I had any memorized was because my phone kept breaking. Otherwise, I probably would’ve only remembered Yuhyun’s and Yerim’s. Haeyeon’s number… I knew the pre–regression one, but it had changed.

“Let’s just search for it, Gyeol. It should pop right up on a search site.”

“Okay. …Dad, it’s all squiggly writing!”

“Th–then switch it to English! There’s always English. Type ‘Haeyeon Guild’ in English…”

“The internet’s slow… it cut out.”

Probably because this was the middle of nowhere. Or maybe the phone wasn’t great. In that case—

“Call any random number with Seoul’s area code and ask them to put Dad on! 822!”

People probably wouldn’t pick up if an international call flashed on their cell phone, but if we called a regular landline, somebody would answer. After several tries, someone finally picked up. As soon as I heard a Hello, I rushed in.

“Hello, sorry to bother you, but could you give me the phone number for Haeyeon Guild–”

The call cut off. Wait, hold on! It’s not a prank call! The second call got the same treatment. So…

“Hello! You’re on the special Hunter–only radio quiz show!”

I shouted in the most cheerful voice I could manage.

[Huh?]

As I thought, they didn’t hang up.

“For our question! What’s the phone number of South Korea’s representative S–class Hunter guild, Haeyeon Guild? You have ten seconds to answer! Ten, nine.”

[Hang on, hey! Look up Haeyeon Guild! The phone number!]

From the other side of the phone, someone quickly yelled out Haeyeon Guild’s number. Waiting on standby, Gyeol wrote it down in the notes app.

“You’re correct! If you give us your address, we’ll send you a small prize.”

[Sure, it’s Gwanak–gu, Gwanak–ro–]

We wrote down the address too. I’d have to send them a present once I got back to Korea. Gyeol looked at me with eyes full of admiration.

“Dad, you’re amazing!”

“There’s always a way if you look for it. But kids shouldn’t randomly copy stuff like that.”

It was still tricking someone, ahem. You’re supposed to live honestly. But it wasn’t like I was hurting them. I’d pay them back for it and then some. With the Haeyeon Guild number we’d gotten, I immediately called, and was soon connected to Seok Gimyeong.

[It’s such a relief you’re safe.]

His voice was packed with worry. Somehow, he sounded more concerned about me than before. Maybe because he’d seen my pre–regression memories.

“How’s Yuhyun? Is everyone safe?”

[Yes. Everyone except Director Han Yujin, fairy–form, and the Sesung guildmaster has been safely transferred to Manhattan. After seeing SNS, the guildmaster headed straight for North Africa. He’s scheduled to arrive at Aswan International Airport in Egypt, the closest airport to Prince Samir’s villa, but the flight time is at least ten hours.]

That was pretty far. Still, we could meet again within a day. They must have been really worried about me. He said Yuhyun and Yerim, of course Peace, and Chief Song were all traveling together. Hyuna would join them separately.

[Hunter Noah is scheduled to arrive in Egypt first. Once we reach him, we’ll pass this number along.]

“Okay, please do. I’ll head straight for the airport too. The entry procedures are going to be a pain, but I’ll try to make it so we can meet right at the airport.”

And then I wanted to go straight home. I really did, but I also had to pick up Seong Hyunjae. Where was that guy and what was he doing. Just send me your wedding invitation already, I’ll find you by the address.

After hanging up, I searched for Aswan International Airport on the navigation. The estimated arrival time was about six hours.

“…They said it was the closest one.”

The gas tank was full, but six hours? That was like driving from Seoul to Busan.

“If you get hungry, tell me, okay, Gyeol. I stocked plenty of snacks in Dad’s drawer.”

“Okay, Dad. I don’t mind if it takes a long time.”

Swinging his legs, Gyeol spoke. Maybe because it felt like the two of us were on a road trip, he actually looked pretty happy. Alright then, let’s enjoy the drive. We were technically on a family trip to Egypt. Maybe we’d even get to see the pyramids.

After driving and driving for a long while, we finally reached the airport, and—

Boom–!

It was burning, explosions going off here and there. I didn’t do that one, so who did.