The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 15

15. Seems Like a Shrimp (2)

“Yerim? You signed a contract to join the Haeyeon Guild, didn’t you?”

“It’s preferential, not unconditional, right? You’re the one who modified it, Uncle.”

Yes, I did. Yerim said in a sharp tone.

“I’m going to add a condition to the contract with the Haeyeon Guild that you be my guardian. I saw on TV that even A-ranks get all sorts of additional conditions, right? It seems like they mainly receive items, but there’s no reason it can’t be a person, right?”

That’s true, but why me… Do you remember that we met less than a day ago? There’s no need to be so stubborn. Could she be having side effects from her awakening?

“Um, calm down first. There’s no need to put something like that in the contract. Designating a guardian is your right, Yerim.”

Her expression softened at my words.

“Really? Then I don’t have to listen to the Haeyeon Guild Leader?”

“You could say that. As long as I accept—”

“Hyung.”

…Is it your turn now? I was wondering why you weren’t jumping in.

“You need to decide carefully. It’s not just any rank, it’s S-rank. I know from experience, but if you’re a young S-rank, all sorts of bugs will swarm you. Park Yerim is only fifteen, so it’ll be even worse.”

“But isn’t it better than missing out on an S-rank Awakener? If she’s affiliated with the guild, that’ll be covered to some extent. It’d be fine if Yerim didn’t ignore my opinion, and she’s not that bad… right?”

“I’m nice.”

Park Yerim said abruptly. At the same time, she strode closer to me. If she could control her strength, she would have grabbed my arm and pulled me.

“It’s because of my uncles, especially that bastard Park Sucheon, that my personality got a bit nasty, but I’m originally nice. The teachers praised me a lot when I was in elementary school, too.”

“…Then, could you move away a little? Just one step, no, two steps.”

I’m afraid she’ll unconsciously grab my arm in her excitement. Even a slight tug would probably pull it off. Park Yerim obediently stepped back. Then, she looked at me as if to say, ‘See?’

Yeah, she’s nice.

I swallowed a sigh and turned back to my brother. How did I end up stuck between these kids?

“As a guild leader, shouldn’t you be thinking about grabbing an S-rank before anything else? Why are you being so picky when you were doing so well?”

“An S-rank who can’t be properly controlled might be worse than nothing.”

“Come on, even so, it’s much better to grab her first, get a hefty price, and then transfer her.”

“Transfer? You mean send me somewhere else, right?”

Yerim came closer again. Please, can’t you keep a safe distance?

“That’s what could happen if you’re too headstrong. But you said you’re nice. Then there won’t be any problems.”

“That’s right, I’m nice. There won’t be any problems.”

She stepped back again as if to prove that she’s nice. Yes, please just stand there quietly.

“Above all, as I said before, the guardian issue is between Yerim and me. As a guild leader, you can give advice, but I think any further interference is excessive.”

Yoohyun let out a short sigh at my words.

“If Hyung says so, I won’t stop you any further. But be careful. Among Awakeners, rank is the top priority. It might be fine now that she’s just awakened, but there’s no guarantee it won’t change.”

Saying that, Yoohyun turned to look at Park Yerim. Park Yerim also met his gaze without avoiding it.

The gazes of the two towards each other are cold. Being stuck between them made the back of my neck ache.

The atmosphere was fine until just now. What’s with this guardian thing?

“Rank is the top priority, so I guess you’re the same, Guild Leader? Oh right, you barely reconciled with Uncle a few days ago. Did you two fall out because of that ‘rank’?”

…Huh? Yerim threw down the gauntlet [initiated a challenge or confrontation].

“I only distanced myself temporarily to protect Hyung. Unlike someone who only thinks of their own desires and tries to keep him by their side.”

Yoohyun also retaliated. Yerim looked like she was about to explode at the words ‘only thinks of their own desires’.

Yoohyun, if she gets so angry that she loses sight of everything, you’ll be fine, but I’ll be in danger.

“Both of you, stop it.”

I quickly intervened, afraid of getting caught in the crossfire.

“Why are you arguing over something trivial?”

“It’s not trivial!”

“It’s not a trivial matter.”

Shit, yeah, it’s a big deal. Why do they get along so well at times like this? It’s embarrassing.

“Anyway, let’s stop here. If you still want to fight, I’m leaving, so you two can do whatever you want.”

“Hyung?”

“Uncle, are you sulking?”

Sulking my ass.

“I’m scared. If you guys make a mistake, I’ll die.”

“I won’t!”

“I’m past the stage of making such mistakes.”

Yerim glared at Yoohyun’s words.

“I’ll adapt quickly too!”

“I understand, so don’t start a war of nerves in front of me. I feel like a shrimp caught in a whale fight [an insignificant person caught between powerful forces].”

It’s bad for my heart. They both shut their mouths at my words. Surprisingly obedient.

“The guardian issue is over. And Yerim, I’m sorry, but I can’t stay here with you. It’s too dangerous if you break the equipment while adapting and the fragments fly everywhere. I’ll come down early tomorrow morning instead.”

“…Yes, I understand.”

Park Yerim looked dissatisfied, but she nodded anyway.

“By the way, even if you’re not on good terms, shouldn’t you contact your family? It’ll be annoying if they report you as missing.”

“There’s no need for that. I often fight and sleep over at my friend’s house. Just contact the school.”

“Alright. Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I left the training room and headed towards the elevator. My brother, who was walking next to me, still had an expression that he didn’t like the guardian thing, but he didn’t say it out loud.

“Who is Park Yerim’s current guardian?”

Yoohyun asked. I pressed the elevator button and answered.

“A human who values money more than blood. He took all of Yerim’s parents’ assets and doesn’t even buy her a pair of shoes, apparently. He makes her work at a restaurant without pay, too.”

“Then there’s a high possibility he’ll be a nuisance later.”

“One hundred percent. So give me some money.”

“To shut him up with money?”

“Something like that.”

I’ve dealt with those kinds of people many times. Their greed is endless, so giving them a handout once or twice will never satisfy them. So I need to get a firm grip on their weaknesses.

We can’t have our precious S-rank getting tarnished, can we?

“And since Yerim is here, I’ll move to the employee dormitory too.”

I said, watching the elevator doors open. Haeyeon Guild has external residences, but I couldn’t live outside because of the humans who would bother the new S-rank and because of Peace.

“…What are you doing?”

When I got in the elevator and turned around, I saw Yoohyun pressing the door button with a displeased look on his face.

“Do you like that girl that much?”

What nonsense is this now?

“I’ve only met her for half a day. There’s no reason to like her or anything.”

“You’re taking care of her too much for that.”

“It’s only natural for an adult to take care of a child. Besides, I brought her here to get help, so if I don’t do that much, am I even human?”

I thought we were done with the guardian issue, why is he doing this again? …Could it be because I said I was moving out? Just in case, I added.

“Going to the dormitory is just more convenient in many ways. It’s not like I’m moving out completely, I’m going to use both. It’s a bit much to have Yerim come to your house, right?”

Yoohyun’s house had a greenhouse made of dungeon creatures, as well as several S-rank items labeled as personal collectibles. So I couldn’t let just anyone come and go.

“It’s convenient to have a separate annex.”

Yoohyun said as he entered the elevator. Was that really it?

“I have a separate mansion for guests too.”

“You have one?”

“A detached house is good for meeting quietly. There are quite a few people who don’t like being seen.”

A group that doesn’t like being seen, are they unregistered Awakeners?

Of course, not all Awakeners register with the Association. In particular, humans who want to use their awakened abilities on ordinary people in reality, not in dungeon raids, stayed away from the Hunter Association. If they’re committing illegal acts, registering all their stats and skills is like saying, ‘Come and get me~’.

I wondered if Yoohyun was doing shady things behind the scenes, but I didn’t bother asking. There’s no way he’s one hundred percent clean.

Before my regression, I was… um. There’s no need to recall the vanished past.

“Park Yerim will have to live here for a year, so… there will be a lot to prepare.”

Yoohyun said that he would be busy for a while and got off on the middle floor first. I went straight home and went to the greenhouse first.

“Peace!”

The horned red cat wags its tail from behind the glass wall. It’s jumping up and down as if it’s overjoyed.

“You cute thing!”

I quickly opened the greenhouse door and took Peace out.

– Kkiang!

“Yes, yes.”

When I held Peace, who was clinging to me, in my arms, I felt comfortable with its warmth and softness. Ah, the stress is melting away. You’re the best. Is this why people raise pets?

“Let’s go eat~”

Forget human S-ranks, I wish I could raise a monster S-rank. Look how nice and cute it is.

I went to the kitchen, put Peace on the floor, opened the refrigerator, and took out raw meat. It wasn’t beef, chicken, or pork, but monster meat. I put the bluish meat in a grinder and ground it finely. Then I took out a glass bottle from my inventory.

The glass bottle, slightly smaller than a 500ml water bottle, was filled with red magic stone powder. The powder was equivalent to twenty C-rank magic stones, worth 200 million won [approximately $150,000 USD].

“At this rate, my sense of money will be ruined.”

Ten days’ worth of pet food costs a whopping 200 million. That’s 600 million a month. Money is not money.

– Krreureuk.

Peace, who was circling around my feet, urged me to give it food quickly.

“Alright, I’ll give it to you soon.”

I used a measuring spoon to scoop magic stone powder and sprinkle it on the ground meat, mixing it together. Then I rounded it into a ball half the size of my fist.

“Peace, look here. Food.”

As I saw in the dog training video, I first attracted Peace’s attention with the meatball. Its golden eyes stared straight at the meat in my hand.

Good.

“I love you.”

I said clearly and gave the meatball to Peace. It chewed and swallowed it deliciously. I repeated that several times and fed it all the remaining meat.

How many days of training will it take for the effect to appear? It seems to have the intelligence of a dog or cat, so it shouldn’t take long.

– Kyareung! Grrr.

Peace, full, bit my toes playfully as if wanting to play with me. Should I buy some toys? Would cat toys be better, or dog toys?

I picked up the jumping Peace and went to the living room. I sat on the sofa and took out a light cloth belt from my inventory and shook it, and it grabbed the end and pulled. It’s B-grade, so it won’t tear, right?

– Kreung, grrr!

“Gently, gently. I’m weak.”

Should I take out the manticore leather gloves? It’s going to get hotter and hotter, so leather gloves, I bought the wrong thing. Should I ask the guild if they have any good items? Or should I level up?

‘How much was the F-grade dungeon exclusive pass again?’

If I want to go without Yoohyun knowing, I need to buy an exclusive pass that guarantees secrecy. I’ve only been to the bidding type before my regression, so I don’t remember. The average bidding price for a top-tier F-grade dungeon was around 300 million. It would cost at least double that for an exclusive pass.

‘Come to think of it, how much money do I have now?’

I can’t remember my bank account situation from 5 years ago. First of all, there will be 1 million won in Awakener registration subsidies, and did I have a savings account?

‘I quit my job to meet the Awakener broker… I think I took all my severance pay and savings with me.’

As far as I remember, I definitely didn’t hand over the money. Then there should be quite a bit of money in my account, so I need to check… What was my certificate password?

‘…There’s no way I’d remember.’

I’ve changed my password three times while reissuing it for 5 years. Are the guys who regress and try to win the lottery geniuses? I can’t even remember my password.

“I need to go to the bank too.”

– Krreureung!

“If I have enough money, should I buy stocks? What’s going up?”

Work, my memory. There were definitely a few stocks that exploded after developing new dungeon-related materials or substances. Which pharmaceutical company developed the hair loss drug?

At that time, I felt my phone vibrate. I took the phone out of my pocket and checked it, and I was getting a call from an unknown number. There’s no indication that it’s an advertisement, who is it?

“Peace, play alone for a while. Hello?”

[Hello, this is Han Yoojin.]

A man’s voice flowed from the phone. It’s a voice I think I’ve heard somewhere. Who is it?

[I’m Seok Simyeong, the head of the personnel team at Haeyeon Guild.]

…Shit, it was this bastard. Should I just hang up?