The S-Classes That I Raised

Chapter 690: The End of This World (1)

“…Nuclear energy?”

The commander’s eyes widened.

They did have nuclear technology in this world too. To be precise, they were only just dipping their toes into the experimental stage. The environment and culture were different from my world, but still, what was it, matter still had atoms in it.

Even if you went, This is a completely different universe, right? every world starts from the same root. If the birthplace is the same, the fundamentals are bound to be similar.

Anyway, a regular person probably would not have understood right away, but maybe because he was a military commander, he caught on instantly. His eyes were suddenly full of wariness.

“Yes. It is a special vehicle for Councilor No. 1.”

I tapped the truck lightly with my hand and smiled.

“Do not worry too much. It is perfectly safe.”

Like I was really going to set it off here.

Blowing it up was impossible in the first place. The truck was just a space provided for my job, nothing more.

They had been like, You are free to customize the initial interior~, so I could choose any power source I wanted, but it really could only be used to move the truck.

If I could use it freely, why would I bother with politics? I would just sell electricity.

I could not even charge a phone with it for personal use.

“Hmm, I wonder if Bellond City even has the technology to properly figure this out.”

I tilted my head with a troubled expression.

“So let us do this. Over there – five of your military trucks, no, ten or more is fine. Hook them up to this truck.”

The words came out smooth, but inside I was sweating.

The truck can actually pull this off, right?

It had done fine when it dragged a battleship before.

Do not you dare stall on me now.

“But…”

“At the very least, you will be able to clearly see how special this truck is. Come on now, hurry up~. It is not like there is any downside. For Bellond too, this is a great chance to check the other city’s tech level. This is expensive intel, you know.”

I gave a bright smile as I looked from the commander to the soldiers.

I did not usually make use of my face, so my sense for it was kind of rusty.

How was I supposed to radiate that kind of charm that made total nonsense sound convincing.

I sneaked a glance at Seong Hyunjae, standing quietly off to the side.

Hmm. As a reference point, his vibe was way too different from mine.

“Fine. We will test it. Get it ready.”

The commander gave the order.

The soldiers moved in perfect unison.

Ropes were attached to the military trucks.

A long bar was attached to the back of my truck, and several ropes were tied there as well.

Ten military trucks vs a single 2.5–ton truck.

The result should have been obvious.

If both sides were ordinary vehicles, anyway.

I climbed into the truck and started the engine.

The soldiers each got into their own trucks.

Engines roared to life one after another, and the rear of my truck was yanked hard.

At the same time, I stepped on the gas.

“Gah!”

“No way!”

With cries of surprise, my truck began to move forward.

The ropes stretched taut, and the sturdy bar let out a shrill, screeching noise.

Rrrrrip – the wheels of the military trucks dug into the dirt, skidding and twisting.

And then, finally–

Clang!

With a loud crash, the bar snapped off.

I stopped the truck and got out.

Roughly ten meters.

The bar had not held for long.

But the result was clear.

“Everyone, keep your mouths shut!”

The commander shouted.

“Forget everything you just saw here!”

Since this was a meeting with a representative from another “nation” – well, city – it looked like they had kept the regular soldiers back and only brought elite troops as guards.

Still, there was no way they could completely stop the rumors.

If word got out that a single Miranglune truck could match ten Bellond trucks, morale would tank hard.

If the truck’s performance was ten times higher, the weapons were likely similar.

“If you went as far as declaring war, you must have planted spies too.”

I said as I stepped down from the truck.

“You must also know that all the Guinders have been cleaned up. That is why you rushed to march your army here like this.”

A war probably had happened in the original timeline.

But the timing was likely different.

Unlike in the original past, all the troublemakers inside Miranglune had been swept away.

In other words, if the Guinders disappeared and the city regained stability, its power – its military strength – would rise.

That would have been a pain for them, so they rushed to declare war in advance.

“It must have sounded hard to believe.”

I tried to sound calm but just a little arrogant.

Should I throw one leg up on something or what.

Sit on a chair? Or the table?

People around me usually oozed presence just by standing there, but would I look okay just standing still like this?

“A young city council candidate who appeared out of nowhere. Took out the Guinders with only five people and a single truck. On top of that, he is extremely good–looking, ahem, Councilor No. 1.”

It was hard to get as shameless as Seong Hyunjae.

“Even if it were a novel, people would call it ridiculous. Am I wrong?”

A politician in his twenties with idol–level looks who wiped out a mafia a thousand to one.

It was basically begging people to suspect it was all made up.

“Naturally.”

I walked toward the commander.

I lifted my empty hands toward the wary soldiers and smiled.

Then I looked straight up at the commander balloon.

“I am a groomed asset.”

Not that it was true, but let us pretend.

“I am the secretly cultivated next mayoral candidate of Miranglune City. To drive out the Guinders, develop a new harbor and new commercial district, and push out into even more distant seas.”

News to me too, but sure, let us say that was the plan.

The commander’s brows furrowed deeply.

Even as a drawing, he had dimension.

“They sent such a person here?”

“Easily.”

I put strength into the balls of my feet.

My body spun, and in an instant I was behind the commander.

Thud – I kicked the back of his knee.

The big guy, a full head taller than me, buckled and dropped down.

My arm wrapped around the balloon doll’s neck, and a sharp dagger pressed to it.

He did not even have time to properly react, much less resist.

The soldiers, a beat late, snapped their guns up.

“Because I do have the ability to escape.”

“…You bastard!”

“Stronger than I look, right?”

It was all gear–buff, though.

I dropped the dagger to the floor, raised both hands, and stepped back.

The commander got up and looked back at me.

“Those were definitely the movements of someone trained. For a very long time, at that. I let my guard down because of that pretty face.”

“Miranglune City wants peace.”

I smiled as kindly and benevolently as I could.

“Our technology can easily overcome a difference in numbers. Just as five of us drove out hundreds of armed Guinders.”

“…”

“Even if you cannot fully believe everything I say, it would be wise for now to withdraw and bide your time. If you go to war without truly grasping your enemy, you will be like a paper boat drifting through thick fog.”

Miranglune clearly had technologies Bellond’s spies had failed to uncover.

The proof was right in front of them in the form of the truck, and the fact that we had wiped out the Guinders in just a few days.

After a moment of silence, the commander spoke.

“Indeed, marching forward as we are would be rash. And we would have no choice but to let Councilor Han Yujin return safely.”

“I am not exactly a card you can just toss away. Even if you stole the truck, Bellond as it is now could not reverse–engineer the tech. Even if you threw every scientist you have at it, retaliation would come long before you found a way to use it.”

Miniaturizing nuclear energy like that and using it this way was something even our world would not dare to attempt.

Naturally, I had no idea how it worked.

I had a feeling there was some magical element mixed in.

The truck itself could basically be considered an item.

“I will accept your proposal.”

The commander declared he would withdraw.

Of course he did. What else was he going to do, stand his ground here?

If they pushed in as things were, Miranglune would fall.

“Thank you. Before I go back, may I speak with the mayor of Bellond for a bit?”

Might as well ask what the hell he had been doing all this time.

This time, a place was set up inside a field tent.

The mayor and popular chef himself brought out refreshments.

I quietly watched Seong Hyunjae as he sat in the chair opposite me.

After a sip of tea, I opened my mouth.

“What is going on here.”

“I participated in the game sincerely.”

“You really have some talent. Teach me a bit.”

“You are the impressive one, Councilor Han. If you go back like this, you will definitely be pushed up as mayor. But.”

Seong Hyunjae opened a magazine toward me.

“Are you really dating Hunter Liette–”

“What kind of nonsense is that!”

They had dumb rumors like that in this world too!

We were just in the same party, what secret relationship, my ass.

Seong Hyunjae flipped the page with a flutter.

“Secretly in love with the bartender at a certain wine bar–”

“Where is that magazine’s office. I am about ready to burn it down.”

I did go there often, but purely for information gathering.

I did like Hyunah a lot, but it was not like I was pining in one–sided love.

“And with your little brother–”

“Wow, they are dragging Yuhyun into this too! I really will get that rag shut down.”

“So you are not scared anymore.”

Seong Hyunjae said as he closed the magazine.

I frowned without thinking and answered.

“So are you saying that is a relief, or that it is boring? That I am not the Han Yujin you know, et cetera, et cetera? I still do not like it, but no matter what kind of article comes out now, I am not going to end up all alone.”

It had been rough being cursed at by everyone.

But the hardest part had been knowing my little brother would see it.

I had been afraid he would believe it and be disappointed in me.

Even though I had already hit rock bottom plenty of times.

Now, I did not have to worry about that anymore.

Even if I somehow became the worst kind of criminal, Yuhyun would still stay by my side.

“You are always comparing people. I can just as easily say you are not the Seong Hyunjae I know. The one I know is, hmm, for starters, a bit nicer. Smiles more. A little less obnoxious…”

His face was the same, so I needed to find some other virtues, but not much came to mind.

His stats were similar too.

Honestly, even this version of Seong Hyunjae was an improvement over the beginning – back then he had pulled so much infuriating crap.

“Whatever!”

Bang! I kicked back my chair and stood.

Leaning my weight on the table, I leaned toward him.

“Since you have come this far, look at the present. You are the same person either way, so it should be interesting. Even if you stole someone else’s body, where you actually exist is this moment. Not the past.”

“But the present comes from the past.”

“If you just leave the roots and cut everything else off, it will wither. Even if it somehow survives, it will not bloom or bear fruit.”

“So what you want is for me to swallow the current Seong Hyunjae and take his place?”

I shut my mouth.

That was not it, but still.

“…Forget what I want. What do you want to do?”

Seong Hyunjae did not answer.

Instead, a die and the game board appeared.

Great timing, as usual.

Mini–me and mini–Seong Hyunjae were even farther apart now.

“Good luck, then.”

He threw the die.

[2!]

And before I could throw mine–

“Hang on a second!”

I hurriedly pulled paper and a pen out of my inventory.

“Ever since I was a kid, I have dreamed of being a painter. I will absolutely win the art contest being held next week! The model for my piece is the mayor of Bellond City!”

With one hand, I sketched Seong Hyunjae’s face; with the other, I threw the die.

[4!]

Mini–me chased mini–Seong Hyunjae right up to the space behind him.

This time, instead of fighting, the two of us looked toward the end of the board.

Then we faced each other.

We had both reached the last fourth section.

We had almost completed a full lap.

[Once one of you reaches the starting point, the game ends!]

A message window popped up.

I would need to roll at least twice more, but if he rolled a 6 next time, Seong Hyunjae would reach the start.

There was not much left.

Text appeared on the spaces where our pieces stood.

[Scandal! Rumors spread that the mayor of Bellond City is making secret deals with Miranglune City! Citizens’ trust drops sharply!]

“Oh no, you gave up on the war and now a scandal too. Are you going to get kicked out of the mayor’s office at this rate?”

“That might happen.”

Seong Hyunjae said casually.

Why was he so relaxed about it.

Then my die result popped up.

[Inspiration descends from the heavens! Your work’s artistic quality skyrockets!]

At the same time, the hand holding the pen started to move on its own.

It drew sure lines, shaded smoothly.

The finished portrait, drawn with just that one pen, was–

“…If I had known this would happen, I would have drawn Yuhyun!”

It captured the real thing perfectly.

My life’s masterpiece being Seong Hyunjae of all people felt so unfair.

It was not purely my own skill, but I still felt ripped off.

“Here, a present.”

“For me?”

“What would I do lugging around your portrait. Think of it as your model fee.”

If it were a drawing of Yuhyun, I would have had it framed and hung it at home, but hanging Seong Hyunjae’s face on my wall felt creepy.

Like the eyes would start moving, it would start talking to me, or come out at night to make me a snack.

Seong Hyunjae took the drawing and put it in his inventory.

Even if I grilled him all night, I doubted he would spill his guts, and I had gotten something out of this anyway, so it was about time to head back.

“Overwhelmed with guilt for not drawing my little brother, I have decided to give up the path of a painter and return to politics. You live your life as best you can too, Mr. Seong.”

I parted ways with Seong Hyunjae and headed straight back to Miranglune City.

Even though the sun had set and it was quite late, the people greeted me with fervent enthusiasm.

“Yuhyun! Yerim! Noah! Liette, you too!”

I hugged each of my family party members in turn, sharing the joy.

After shaking hands with the mayor, taking photos, and even doing a short parade–

“I have been making secret deals with Mayor Seong Hyunjae of Bellond City.”

I tossed more firewood onto the bonfire of Seong Hyunjae’s scandal.

I wondered if a die would appear, but maybe because the scandal itself was a game result, nothing happened.

Smiling toward the broadcast cameras, I continued.

“We are extremely close, and Mr. Seong told me every detail of Bellond City’s movements to help me. Thanks to that, we were able to prepare in advance to prevent the war.”

Even though it was a live broadcast, I could hear gasps from all around.

Right? It was pretty shocking.

I genuinely had no idea either, you know.

Three cheers for Mayor Seong Hyunjae.

“Thank you, Mr. Seong.”

I bowed my head politely.

“I truly hope you can safely escape Bellond City and come join me.”

I put a nice, solid period on dear Mr. Seong’s precarious mayoral position.

In a day at the shortest, two or three at the longest, the game would be over.

That is just how life is.

Mr. Seong, fighting.