The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 611: Looking for the Cat (5)

“It isn’t easy for foreign Hunters to get permission to operate in Africa.”

Song Taewon quietly followed the man from the Egypt Hunter Association.

“Back when dungeons first appeared, the scramble over interests was intense. People swarmed in like it was unclaimed land. Everything south of Central Africa was a complete mess. Egypt didn’t come out of it untouched either.”

“Sounds like you went through a lot.”

“Yes. On top of that, high–rank Hunters kept getting scouted overseas, and even the ones who stayed rarely joined the Association or went into public service.”

The Association staffer gave Song Taewon a long, meaningful look.

“From our side, Chief Song is like Korea’s miracle. We think, if only we had just one S–rank like that, we’d have nothing more to wish for.”

“You flatter me.”

“So I’d like to process things for you as quickly as possible, but as I said, this place has multiple countries, associations, and guilds tangled up in it. And to make matters worse, just today in Aswan a suspected awakened terrorist destroyed the airport.”

“I understand.”

“Bureaucracy is the same everywhere. There are always exceptions, but if you try to follow everything by the book, it twists itself into knots.”

Saying they should head to the Association first, the staffer walked toward a car in the parking lot. Following behind, Song Taewon flinched and looked to the side. A cat was strolling past in the distance, light on its feet. The staffer, seeing that, smiled slightly.

“Do you like cats, Chief?”

“…Yes. I’d say I do.”

Song Taewon thought of the black cat in the photo. But it felt like he wouldn’t be able to look at a cat with an easy mind anymore. A little tense, he clenched and unclenched his fist.

Han Yujin and Seong Hyunjae. They were always giving him headaches, but having them somewhere nearby was still far better. Swallowing a sigh, Song Taewon got into the car.

Bang! The door shattered. The Hunters inside all shot to their feet.

“Who are you!”

A man whose whole body was wrapped in cloth except for his eyes answered in a distorted, flat voice.

“From the Egypt Stray Cat Protection Association…”

Han Yuhyun, parroting the affiliation Park Yerim had tossed out without much thought, hesitated. He hadn’t actually decided on a name. An Arabic name.

“I’m Aladdin.”

“…What?”

“What are you even saying all of a sudden?”

“Do you have a cat here.”

“At home.”

“The S–rank Hunter.”

The Hunters stared in disbelief at the intruders who were just blurting out whatever they wanted. Harsh voices barked at them to quit the nonsense and get out right now, but Han Yuhyun didn’t so much as twitch an ear, focusing his senses to the limit as he scanned the surroundings.

He could feel the same unsettling energy he’d felt at the airport here as well. But the one who had that power seemed to be gone.

“Tell me where they went.”

“Th–”

Crunch. A pebble grazed the man’s ear and buried itself in the wall. Faint sunlight seeped in through the neat round hole it left. Han Yuhyun lowered the foot he had just raised.

“Catnapping is a serious crime.”

“What the hell are you babbling about!”

A long staff appeared in Han Yuhyun’s hand. The smell of smoke soaked into their bodies, the stench of a foul skill clinging to them. And outside, the cars with their tails far too long. They were clearly the ones who had destroyed the airport. There was no reason for a long conversation. And with that, the beatdown began.

Park Yerim pretended to dismount the bike casually. Considering how far they had ridden, the bike still had the glossy shine of something just off the showroom floor.

After getting the coordinates from Isabella, Park Yerim had headed straight for the destination instead of following any actual road, so the bike’s wheels had spent more time turning in the air than on the ground.

“She’s still a princess. Is it really okay to just show up like this?”

Park Yerim fussed pointlessly with her clothes. It was a loose robe–like outfit with not much to fix, but she at least brushed off the dust.

“Peace, wanna wear a tie too?”

Peace, wearing a hat to hide his horns, snapped his head away. This time they hadn’t been able to dye or groom him, so while traveling he was roughly wrapped up in cloth to hide his appearance.

Park Yerim hid the bike nicely behind a rock overgrown with dry trees, then picked up the cloth–wrapped Peace and stepped into the quiet village.

Calling it a village was generous; a few boxy houses were scattered here and there, and there was almost no sign of life. Even in broad daylight, the place felt eerie.

Passing houses that made you question whether anyone actually lived there, she headed into the biggest and most presentable building of the bunch.

“Princess Isabella? It’s Hunter Park Yerim.”

Speaking in a small voice, Park Yerim glanced around. After she walked a little way down an unfamiliar style of corridor, a door opened and a familiar voice reached her.

“Hunter Park Yerim.”

“Huh? Noah oppa!”

Eyes going wide, Park Yerim hurried over to Noah as he came around the corner of the corridor.

“I knew you’d get here first!”

“I wasn’t that far away. It just took a while because I had to move quietly.”

He had flown here himself instead of taking a plane. It was much slower than flying commercially, but there was almost no chance of being tracked.

“What about Chief Song Taewon and Hunter Han Yuhyun?”

“Chief Song went to Cairo. They said the formal entry process would be complicated, so he probably can only come later. As for Han Yuhyun–”

Park Yerim dropped her voice sharply.

“He went after the people who were with Mister.”

“Huh? You found Yujin?”

“To be exact, Mister’s fur. Peace found Mister’s fur. That sounds weird when I say it like that. Cat fur.”

She set Peace down from her arms as she spoke.

“Originally, we were supposed to meet up with Mister at Aswan Airport, but contact got cut off and only a few strands of fur were left. It doesn’t feel like his identity got exposed, so either someone took him or he followed someone, and of course Han Yuhyun went after those traces.”

“If it was Aswan…”

Noah glanced toward the room he had come out of.

“The Sesung Guild Master said that both he and his cat disappeared from there.”

“The Princess? So she still doesn’t know that’s Mister.”

“Right. It’s not even a beast like me, just a normal cat. I haven’t told her yet either. They said both of them went to Aswan Airport, and there…”

Noah’s expression grew grave.

“It looks like they fought people who have Chatterbox’s power.”

“Huh? But it’s dead.”

Why is it still causing problems then, Park Yerim frowned as well. Noah told her to meet the other two first and led the way.

Right before he opened the door, Park Yerim flinched and stopped. Noah gave a wry smile and opened it.

“Hunter Park Yerim.”

“Hello.”

Isabella, who had been sitting on a round chair in the spacious bedroom, stood to return the greeting. Then she stared straight at Peace, almost drilling a hole through him with her eyes.

On the bed, Samir was lying at an angle. The creepy mana Park Yerim had felt was flowing out from him.

“Um, this is…”

“Not exactly the best look for a first meeting, huh.”

Samir gave an embarrassed smile. His upper body was wrapped entirely in bandages. There were dark red bloodstains here and there, but the dull gray marks were even more numerous.

“It’s an eyesore.”

“That’s harsh.”

At Isabella’s cold remark, Samir pulled a wounded face.

“It’s not a simple injury. And it isn’t a curse either.”

Noah walked over to Samir and explained for Park Yerim.

“It’s similar to a kind of corrosion. Samir is an S–rank Hunter, so he’s recovering, albeit slowly, but an ordinary person’s body would rot away in an instant.”

The idea of a living person’s body rotting made Park Yerim’s face twist.

“On top of that, their skills, how should I put it, are altered. They can’t be used properly anymore.”

“…That’s completely busted, isn’t it?”

“Blessings, detoxification, healing skills don’t work well on it either. For now, all we can do is wait for his body and skills to recover naturally. At least even a low–rank one won’t die from it, and a high–rank one should be back to normal in two or three days.”

“But in a fight that’s fatal. Oh no, Han Yuhyun! Isn’t he in danger?”

If they were the people who fought at Aswan Airport, then they were the same ones Han Yuhyun was chasing. Flustered, Park Yerim pulled out her phone. But the call wouldn’t go through.

“Ordinary cell phones don’t work around here.”

Isabella said.

“The Haeyeon Guild Master should be fine. That power has a very short range. It basically has to make direct contact, which is why he’s a mess since he’s close–quarters type. He was still able to run away though.”

“Even skills?”

“Yeah. His main skills are body–enhancement types, so it was even more fatal for him. From what I saw of the Haeyeon Guild Master’s fighting style on broadcasts, he might not be able to win, but he won’t just get taken out.”

“The matchup was bad.”

Samir grumbled and Noah checked over his condition. Park Yerim glanced at the two of them. Bringing up the whole cat situation out of nowhere seemed a bit too suspicious.

“So you and Noah oppa, you know each other?”

“We’ve just run into each other a few times in Africa. African dungeons tend to be targeted by neighboring countries, so I joined attack teams at the request of various European guilds.”

“We’ve never met inside a dungeon, but outside we’ve clashed. And then there’s that thing too. With Liette noona.”

Samir’s body shook in an exaggerated shiver.

“When I had just awakened, I almost got sold off.”

“Huh? Oh, to Liette unni?”

“Back then, she was already rumored to be the strongest female Hunter in Europe, and since she didn’t belong to any guild or create her own, of course people wanted to get their hands on her. They got rejected at A–rank, so just when they thought of shoving an S–rank at her, I got picked.”

“There’s no way she’d actually get married or anything, but at the time, mm, she didn’t exactly bother to refuse either.”

Noah gave a little awkward cough.

“I heard it ended with them just getting their money squeezed out. That’s what happened, right?”

“Yeah, I came out fine and the royal family got stripped bare. She’s scary, but she was delightfully bold.”

“I wanted to see her too.”

Isabella said flatly that Hunter Liette sounded cool. Park Yerim tilted her head, not quite getting it.

“But he was S–rank even right after awakening, right? You can’t just force someone into a political marriage they don’t want, can you?”

“Well–”

Samir rolled his eyes around and continued.

“If they’re still inexperienced and don’t have gear, you can take down an S–rank without too much trouble using another S–rank or a group of seasoned A–ranks. Then there’s the so–called training, and contracts. Sometimes they use family as hostages. If you’ve got the kind of power that lets you quietly use illegal methods, well, that’s how it goes.”

“Stuff like that can definitely happen to low–rank Hunters in Korea too. It would be impossible with high–ranks though.”

“…I never had any problems. Everyone treated me well.”

“Me neither, no big problems.”

Isabella said, slowly narrowing the distance between herself and Peace.

“When I awakened, people didn’t even consider women as Hunters. So I was actually able to go into dungeons freely and build up my strength. Unlike Samir, I never signed any contracts. That still doesn’t mean I can just go to other countries as I please, though.”

“Why not?”

“Because they’ll block me with money. They’ll lobby, if only to make an example of me. They’ll try to kill me somehow. I’ll still live fine because I’m a strong S–rank, but starting my own guild or keeping people I’m close to by my side would be impossible. So for now, I chose to stay.”

“If I leave, Samir will get hit with retaliation too.”

At those words, Samir’s shoulders slumped a little.

Isabella, now standing right in front of the crouching Peace, squatted down.

“Can I pet him?”

“Just the front paws, gently.”

“Most dogs and cats hate having their paws touched though.”

“He says it’s fine if it’s the front paws because he can immediately scratch or bite if he wants. He just doesn’t like strangers touching the back half of his body. Do you like cats, by any chance?”

“Yeah.”

Isabella answered as she tapped the tip of Peace’s front paw with her finger.

“The Sesung Guild Master’s cat was cute too. I met it again at the airport, but it disappeared again.”

“It disappeared?”

“They might have taken it. I couldn’t go look for it because I had to get him out of there. Or maybe it went back to the Sesung Guild Master.”

Park Yerim looked at Noah. She wasn’t sure how much she should say to these two. They weren’t hostile, but it was hard to be certain they were on the same side.

“Mmmmm, so how did you end up meeting Mister Sesung?”

“The Sesung Guild Master… turned into a kid.”

Samir explained what had happened so far. The pattern was unmistakable.

Park Yerim forced down the smile trying to creep onto her face and nodded.

“For now, you really shouldn’t go through with a political marriage between Mister and Hunter Han Yujin. The Haeyeon Guild Master will definitely oppose it. If he just opposed it, that would be lucky – he’ll probably flip the whole table.”

“Why would the Haeyeon Guild Master? They seemed to get along.”

At Isabella’s question, Park Yerim scratched her cheek. Explaining Han Yuhyun’s personality to someone who didn’t know him was not easy.

“Anyway. I want to make a phone call – how far do I have to go before my phone works?”

“We do have communication devices.”

Isabella, who had been carefully playing with Peace’s front paw, stood up.

As she started toward the door, she grabbed the doorknob and suddenly froze. Park Yerim also snapped her head in one direction, and Peace stood up.

“They followed us.”

“…Is it because of me?”

Park Yerim drew her spear. Noah helped Samir to his feet. All four of their gazes turned to the laptop on the table connected to the external CCTV.

Looking at one of the four split screens, Park Yerim’s eyes widened.

“Oh? That bird guy!”

“…He’s perfectly fine.”

Park Yerim and Noah frowned at the same time. It was Cho Hwawoon.

“That’s the bastard who fought you two? He’s sided with Chatterbox!”

“Yeah. You know him? Samir, there are more familiar faces.”

“Looks like it. Maybe they’re trying to take care of us while they’re at it. Sorry for dragging you into a family squabble.”

“It’s fine. We’ve got someone we need to get rid of too.”

Peace, seeing Cho Hwawoon’s face a beat late, let out a low growl.

Isabella pulled out her axe and swung it at the wall. With a slicing sound, the wall was cut into a neat square and a huge opening appeared.

“Let’s go outside. Take care of Samir, Hunter Noah.”

“I can walk on my own two feet.”

Thud! The sound of part of the building collapsing rang out. The moment they stepped into the central courtyard, open to the sky and on all sides, the intruders appeared.