The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 650: Villain (1)

[I guess that’s what you call fate.]

[Since the Guild Master of Amaterasu seems sincere… we can trust him, at least.]

Of course, there were people who didn’t just go, “Wow, you reincarnated,” and swallow it whole. But what mattered was Shishio’s credibility. If he thought I was his reincarnated mother… and was willing to devote his life to me, then who cared what the truth was. The important thing was that Shishio was firmly on my side.

[Can a woman reincarnate as a man? Aren’t all the Dalai Lamas guys?]

[Gender can change. There’s a female Doctor now too.]

[Even the Avatar changed.]

[Look at Greek mythology, they even change species there.]

That whole place was pretty messed up, though. They didn’t even bother with reincarnation, they just went straight to shoving people into animals, plants, and constellations.

[Director Han Yujin is still unaware of this fact.]

Shishio said in a heavy voice. Honestly, I’d have liked to go my whole life without knowing.

[I also have no intention of revealing it to him in the future. My mother and Director Han Yujin are clearly different people, so I do not wish to burden him with my selfishness.]

…He does have some consideration. Though for someone like that, he sure brought a ridiculous amount of material. Still, somehow… a sudden bad feeling hit me, and I glared at Seong Hyunjae.

“Keep your mouth shut.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“You were about to.”

“Director Han, your expression is pretty moved–”

“It is not, so be quiet before I sew that mouth of yours shut.”

All I thought was, “He’s a better person than I expected,” what nonsense was he spouting. Shishio slowly swept his gaze around the room and continued.

[So I also ask you Hunters to please keep this secret.]

He even bowed his head slightly. A few people nodded. This was really going better than I’d thought…

“Sharing a secret is a good way to strengthen a group’s bonds.”

“…Right. When you learn someone else’s secret, you usually feel a bit closer to them.”

It’s not for nothing that people like having stories that are “just between you and me.” Just the feeling of, “I know more about this person than others do,” can make you feel fond of them or think you’re closer. And Shishio’s secret wasn’t something that could be used as a real weakness, so no one was going to try to leverage it against him.

‘It’s not easy to gather complete strangers and turn them into a team.’

The more common ground and shared things a group has, the stronger its cohesion naturally becomes. …Was this Shishio’s idea? Or did that aide of his help him? Even if it’s someone else’s idea, pulling it off this well is a skill too.

Shishio walked over to Peace, who was sitting on the table. Then he lightly extended one hand.

[Flame Horned Lion, lend me your aid.]

[– Grrrr.]

Peace let out a low rumble in his throat. Shishio laughed heartily and nodded big.

[Lions are felines. That purring means he’s happily agreeing!]

No, our Peace might be a Horned Lion, but he’s a unicorn subspecies. He does act kind of like a cat, but that sound means “beat it.” Touch him and you’ll get bitten.

[Just as I was transported here, we may be moved to another place at any time, so everyone, make sure to pack your belongings properly!]

[Is this like during the party?]

[I cleared my schedule with plenty of leeway, but this isn’t going to take too long, right.]

The screen disappeared after showing the Hunters busily calling people here and there or packing up the luggage they’d laid out.

“It seems Honey’s side is ready as well.”

I reflexively nodded at the Mermaid Queen’s words. Huh, it really did get wrapped up pretty neatly. I’d been worried when I heard Shishio was going as the sub–team leader, but it looked like he’d do surprisingly well. Maybe I should log Shishio’s achievements too. Do I even have anything to receive? Hopefully I won’t have to cough anything up instead. Still, he did take down a good number of the monsters that popped out because of Ru Ga Pheya, so he might get a little. I’ll throw some growth buffs on him too. As for gear, I’m sure he packed that well enough on his own.

“I heard it hasn’t even been a year since you regressed, and you already have two children. That’s a bit surprising.”

“Two, what two! If you count all the way back before reincarnation, everyone in the world would have dozens, hundreds of kids hanging off them, you know?”

Assuming you reincarnate every time you die, anyway. How many years has life on Earth existed!

“And to start with, it’s Shishio who’s misunderstanding things on his own.”

“Then just one?”

“Not one… No. …For now, three? Four, if you include Peace…”

Even if I didn’t count the other monsters, I felt bad leaving Peace out. This time, Seong Hyunjae actually looked clearly surprised.

“So those three aren’t just ordinary monsters.”

“What does it matter to anyone else whether I have three kids or ten. Is there a problem? There isn’t.”

“Producing offspring is a desirable thing.”

The snake cut in. He was even looking at me like he was proud of me. Why was he taking an interest in this.

“This has nothing to do with you, King of Predation.”

“For a predator, the flourishing of prey is a pleasing, heartwarming sight. Do you not also rejoice when the grain ripens and the livestock bear young?”

“Ah… yeah…”

Well, sure. If the deer in the field increase, the wolves are probably thrilled. When settlers showed up herding flocks of sheep, they must have thought it was free food from the heavens. And then they went extinct.

“Take good care of the sub–team as well.”

The Mermaid Queen looked at me as she spoke. Then the two Transcendents disappeared.

[Let’s try transporting the sub–team as a group!]

Class time again, huh. A small cube appeared in front of both me and Seong Hyunjae.

[This is a cube linked to the prepared space. First, open a screen so you can look into the space.

Hint ? Try to recall how the system mana moved when the Mermaid Queen opened the screen!]

You could’ve told me that ahead of time. The screen… I’d actually touched it earlier when I tried to grab it. I wrapped my hand around the cube and focused. How was it back then again… No, how am I supposed to remember every little detail like that. Aside from the mana imprint, I’m an almost–normal F–rank with average memory and mana, you know.

“…Please give me just a bit more of a hint, Teacher.”

[Assisting with the system mana flow.]

Along with the message, something like a blueprint appeared in front of my eyes.

[Move your mana along with the support cube.]

This is hard. I groaned and somehow managed to form a square screen, only to see Seong Hyunjae had already finished and was leisurely looking into his space.

“…You’re pretty skilled at this?”

“The sense is still there.”

Seong Hyunjae must have gone through countless systems by now. He said he’d done bets like this before, so he might have been through something similar. This really was way too stacked against me. I finally managed to make a screen and pull it up in front of me. Beyond it was a quiet grassland. So I was supposed to move people here all at once.

[Hostile teams are scheduled to be transported. The space is a combat–enabled area. Having fewer people may put you at a disadvantage.]

“‘Combat–enabled’? Are their lives guaranteed?”

[There will be no harm to their lives.]

That was a relief, but it still wasn’t good for morale to get dampened before we even started. I needed to move as many of them as possible in one go… and the more people there were, the more complicated it got.

‘Peace ended up in the sub–team too.’

If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve just called him to the main team, but it would’ve been a problem if Peace ended up as the sub–team leader. At the very least, you need someone you can actually talk to. I diligently selected the Hunters gathered at the lodge one by one and sent them messages first. Everyone obediently accepted being placed in Team Leader Shishio’s sub–team.

With so many people who’d attended the party, it would’ve been nice to settle the results, but that would mean showing all their skills. If their party performance wasn’t great, most Hunters would rather just hide it.

“Man, this isn’t easy.”

While I was racking my brains, Seong Hyunjae had pulled a chair out from somewhere and was sitting down. Don’t tell me he made that with the system. He was progressing way too fast on his own. Please let it just be something he pulled from his inventory.

“Hey, honestly, my opponent is way too overpowered.”

It’s bad enough he’s naturally S–rank; Seong Hyunjae is completely outside the standard. On one side of the grassland in the screen, a group of people appeared. I spotted a familiar face standing at the very front.

‘Standing just fine on both legs, huh.’

Cho Hwawoon. That bastard. Seeing his perfectly intact body and face, to the point it was hard to believe his limbs had once been severed, made my brow furrow without thinking. It’s not like I had any good memories of him.

“…All S–rank?”

“Not quite.”

“But a good number of them will be S–rank, right. The Prophet’s crowd was under Chatterbox, so they must’ve gotten good gear too.”

Other than Cho Hwawoon, I didn’t recognize any of the faces. I operated the system and teleported the entire sub–team at once.

[Grrrr!]

Peace, the first to spot Cho Hwawoon, expanded into his adolescent form and bared his fangs. Crushing the wild grass underfoot, Shishio stepped forward. His expression was stiff as well.

[You are the criminal who abducted Director Han Yujin, are you not.]

Cho Hwawoon’s eyes narrowed in a mocking way. A very brief silence fell, and almost at the same time—

Clang!

The two of them shot forward. With the system’s help, even my F–rank eyes could clearly follow their movements. Shishio and Cho Hwawoon drew their weapons at the same time. At the moment their two swords were about to collide—

Sssrrk–

Something like a red cloth unraveled from one of Cho Hwawoon’s forearms. The end of that cloth wrapped around Shishio’s sword and yanked. At the same time, Shishio’s sword trajectory was disrupted—

Boom!

Cho Hwawoon’s sword came crashing down. Shishio barely managed to brace against it, his two feet driving deep into the ground. A long red line was drawn across Shishio’s forehead where the blade grazed him. Cho Hwawoon’s lips curled into a smile.

[Little boar from a tiny country.]

[You cowardly criminal!]

Crack– Shishio’s forearms swelled, muscles bulging as he began to push Cho Hwawoon’s sword back bit by bit.

[You’ve got decent strength.]

But Cho Hwawoon was still relaxed. He’d already been a pretty strong S–rank to begin with, and now he had Chatterbox’s power on top of that, so Shishio couldn’t help but have a hard time against him. Damn it, hang in there, Shishio!

Just when it looked like Cho Hwawoon might be getting pushed back a little, he abruptly drew his body away—

Wham!

He cleverly slipped his sword free, twisted his body, and fired off a kick. The sharp kick slammed into Shishio’s side as if sucked in. It looked like a perfectly accurate attack that must’ve dealt considerable damage, but—

[Graaah!]

Shishio let out a loud, shout–like groan once and didn’t budge. Instead, he hurled his body forward and rammed into Cho Hwawoon.

[You bastard!]

Clang─! Cho Hwawoon’s quickly turned sword and Shishio’s head collided. With a loud noise, Cho Hwawoon staggered back a couple of steps as if he’d been thrown. Shishio pulled out a potion and cheerfully splashed it over his bleeding head.

[Criminals are always lacking in grit!]

Uh, excuse me… you’re the only one who got hurt, Shishio. Even so, the atmosphere felt roughly even. Somehow, I had the feeling that if they kept fighting like that, Shishio would end up covered in blood but win through sheer spirit.

Just then, a message popped up telling us to change the state from combat–enabled to combat–disabled. Seong Hyunjae moved faster than me to operate the system, and—

[Huh?]

A transparent barrier appeared between Shishio and Cho Hwawoon. Shishio stepped back, flicking the potion’s moisture from his hair, and flashed a grin at Cho Hwawoon. Wow, he was really acting like he’d been the one with the advantage.

‘I really need to make it so Shishio can win.’

Is there any way to do that. Now that I had over twenty team members, should I do that thing again. There were nearly fifty people total on both sides, so my kid’s skill would really shine, but I’d lied that there was an age limit, so what do I do. …Can I just say it’s possible because Shishio and I are, uh, in that kind of relationship?

[Let’s move to the sub–team!]

Another message popped up.

“Go now?”

I wasn’t mentally prepared yet! We’d agreed to keep it a secret, but still! I quickly turned to look at Seong Hyunjae.

“Mouth!”

“So you’re stopping me from talking.”

“The stakes for our next bet will be sewing your mouth shut.”

“Then what do I get in return.”

“For a full day, I’ll obediently say ‘yes, yes’ to whatever you say.”

He used teleportation on me. My vision went dark for a moment, then bright again. Wind brushed my cheeks and blades of grass grazed my ankles. Then a flood of curious gazes came pouring in.

‘Uuugh…’

So embarrassing!

– Kyaaaang!

Peace hopped over, turning incorporeal as he rushed toward me.

– Whiiine, ?

“Yeah, yeah. Peace. You were really worried all by yourself, huh? Daddy’s fine.”

“If SF is Peace’s dad, then…”

Someone muttered quietly. What, why, what. Peace does not have a younger sibling like that. And Yuhyun definitely doesn’t have a nephew like that either!

“Director Han Yujin.”

Shishio ran a hand through his damp hair and walked over to me. His cape fluttered dramatically. I wanted to go home. I forced a smile.

“Hello, Shishio. Thank you for accepting my request.”

“Not at all. I couldn’t be happier that we’ve been able to reunite like this, safe and healthy. I was very worried.”

“Ah, yes. I’m glad to see you look well too.”

He’s a good person. A decent person. Right now he’s on my side and someone I need to treat well. …Quit staring already! Is this a show! What are you all gawking at so hard for! Shishio stopped in front of me. Then he pulled a bouquet out of his inventory.

…Somebody save me. It was a bright pink. I forcibly stopped my feet from instinctively stepping back. No, I have to accept it right now. This is business, work, just smile through it. Shishio’s eyes grew faintly moist. I suddenly missed my little brother. Peace. I should hug Peace.

“I only remember a few things vaguely, but you truly, truly went through so much hardship.”

“…No, it’s in the past.”

“As expected, Director Han Yujin is… fragile yet strong!”

“Th–thank you…”

I took the bouquet and smiled. Who the hell is clapping. I hurriedly stuffed the pink bouquet into my inventory and scooped Peace up. Our Peace is still so cute, soft, and warm.

“Thank you all for cooperating with this sudden situation.”

I bowed my head to the Hunters and turned around. Beyond the barrier, I could see Cho Hwawoon. His chilly gaze met mine and sharpened immediately.

“It’s been a while, Mr. Cho Hwawoon. I see your limbs reattached nicely.”

“This time, I’ll make sure to cut off both your legs.”

“Oh no, how sca–”

“You bastard!”

Shishio shouted loudly.

“To threaten the frail Director Han Yujin like that when you’re S–rank! You should be ashamed!”

Cho Hwawoon frowned like he couldn’t be bothered to deal with this. Honestly, he wasn’t wrong. What are you doing picking on an F–rank when you’re S–rank.

“Only petty cowards bully the weak!”

He’s right. Although Shishio does have a past where he tried to kidnap me, let’s gloss over that for now. At that moment, in front of Cho Hwawoon—

“…Guild Master of Sesung?”

“What the, why is the Sesung Guild Master here?”

Seong Hyunjae appeared. The Hunters stirred and turned their eyes to him. Under the pouring gazes, Seong Hyunjae wore a faint smile.