The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 19

Kim Sung-han was our driver again, since neither Yerim nor I had a license. Or rather, I didn’t *yet*. I got my license and bought a car back when I was barely scraping by as an F-class Hunter.

My beloved car probably hasn’t even been manufactured yet. Should I buy the same model this time around?

As we pulled into the apartment complex, Yerim seemed a little nervous. Well, she’s only fifteen. Even if their relationship is strained, cutting ties with the relatives who raised her couldn’t be easy.

Still, thanks to her S-class mental stats, she pressed the elevator button without any hesitation. Her choice of floor was equally decisive.

I probably don’t need to worry too much.

“It’s here,” Yerim said, turning toward the door on the right after we got off on the 14th floor.

“If that uncle of yours starts acting up, absolutely do not engage with him. If a high-ranked Awakened person messes with an ordinary person, things get complicated. Even if you’re angry, hold it in.”

*But I’m stat F, not much different from an ordinary person, so it’s okay.* Yerim nodded, though she looked displeased.

After one last check, I stepped in front of her and rang the doorbell. A moment later, a middle-aged woman’s voice asked who it was.

“I’m Park Yerim’s new guardian.”

[…What are you talking about?]

A small grumbling sound came from beyond the intercom. I guess they’d be taken aback. Soon, the door opened.

A large man in his fifties, wearing loose shorts and a tank top, glared at me with a scowl.

“Nice to meet you. You must be Park Yerim’s former guardian?”

I greeted him with a friendly voice and a smile. The man, Park Yerim’s uncle Park Sung-tae, frowned even harder when he saw Yerim standing slightly behind me.

“What the hell has that little brat been up to!”

The shout was so loud it hurt my ears. He’s got a good set of lungs.

“Please calm down.”

“Calm down? Who the hell are you, you son of a bitch!”

“I just told you. I am Park Yerim’s new guardian.”

“…Guardian?”

Park Sung-tae paused at the word ‘guardian.’ He was probably thinking about the inheritance from his brother that he had taken.

“I’m that kid’s guardian! What guardian! Who are you trying to scam!”

“It’s not a scam. Please verify it.”

I deliberately took out the minor Awakened person guardianship agreement from the briefcase I had prepared and politely handed it over. It was officially prepared and notarized by the legal team.

Yerim hadn’t registered with the Association yet, but she had been evaluated with a device within the Haeyeon Guild, received a guarantee that she was an Awakened person, and even completed a contract as a Hunter, so there were no legal issues.

I had to make sure of these things.

“…Awakened? That little brat?”

What clearly emerged on the man’s face as he roughly scanned the contract was none other than greed. Easy to read, which is good.

He rolled his eyes and stared at Yerim.

“That Awakened stuff, they make quite a bit of money, I hear.”

“It depends on the rank. But the important thing isn’t that. Minor Hunters have the same rights as adults, so they can also choose their own guardian. In other words, Park Sung-tae’s duties and rights as a guardian have completely disappeared.”

Park Sung-tae didn’t understand right away and narrowed his brow.

“What are you talking about? I’m the guardian!”

“Not anymore.”

Get it already. How many times do I have to explain it?

“There’s no such thing! That brat is, sixteen years old!”

“Fifteen years old. Under the Hunter Special Act, from the age of 14, they have the same rights as adult Hunters.”

“What’s this Special Act? Anyway, stop talking nonsense and get lost! Yerim, come here!”

He pushed me and tried to approach Yerim. But I didn’t budge.

I knew this would happen, so I wore leather gloves even though it’s hot. Come at me if you dare, my strength is 24 right now!

“You son of a……!”

Park Sung-tae was flustered and stepped back when I, who was relatively small, didn’t move at all. I naturally blocked the closing front door with the tip of my foot and lowered the latch.

“How can you suddenly hit someone? Please speak nicely.”

“Hi-hit? You son of a bitch, you’re an Awakened person too! Don’t you know that Awakened people aren’t supposed to hit ordinary citizens?!”

“I am an Awakened person, but I have an F stat, not much different from an ordinary person. And I have no intention of using violence at all. In the first place, didn’t Park Sung-tae hit me first?”

At this moment, I am a pacifist who values morality and ethics. Look at my kind smile. Doesn’t it look nice?

“Now that I’ve said this much, I believe you understand that I am Park Yerim’s guardian and Park Sung-tae is not.”

I said, taking the contract from Park Sung-tae’s hand. Then, I took out the documents related to Yerim’s inheritance.

“After checking, I found that you sold all the real estate from Park Yerim’s inheritance.”

Park Sung-tae’s face turned sour at the mention of the inheritance.

“That’s only because it was difficult to manage… Yerim agreed too!”

He’s saying whatever comes to his mouth.

“Fifteen years old, or rather, thirteen years old at the time, when she was an elementary school student.”

“Anyway, agreement is agreement.”

The guy came out brazenly. It’s a bit annoying.

“I don’t find it convincing, but since I didn’t come here today to dispute the inheritance, let’s get to the point.”

I put away the inheritance documents that Park Sung-tae didn’t even glance at and this time presented a written oath.

“This is a written oath stating that you will not approach or contact Park Yerim in the future. Would you sign it?”

It wouldn’t have legal effect, but it would be useful for media play. Park Sung-tae frowned and spat out curses.

“I raised her with such care, and now that she’s become an Awakened person, you’re trying to take her away, you fucking bastard!”

The slapped oath fell to the floor. I heard Yerim grinding her teeth behind me. Just hold on a little longer, Yerim.

“You speak as if you were a truly diligent caregiver. Although the girl you raised with such care is wearing old sneakers that don’t even fit her feet.”

I said, trying to show as much as possible that I was suppressing my anger. Actually, I was starting to get heated, so there was no need to act.

“Th-that’s! When you’re raising kids in poor circumstances, they have to wear hand-me-down shoes…….”

“These days, even if you swallow billions in inheritance, you become too poor to buy a single pair of shoes. Has inflation gone up that much without me knowing?”

Does a new pair of sneakers cost 100 million [~75,000 USD] each? Did I come to the future instead of the past?

Park Sung-tae’s face turned red and blue at my sarcasm.

“Still, if she has any conscience, she should repay me for raising her! Is it humanly right for her to leave to live well on her own!”

Wow, look at him being so stubborn. His face must be a meter thick.

I deliberately sighed loudly. Then, I took out my wallet.

“So, you’re saying you want money.”

“No, it’s not necessarily that…….”

“Here’s a 100 million won check.”

The guy’s eyes darted up and down as I took out the check.

“Geez, with such a small amount…….”

“Please remember that there’s no reason for me to give you that small amount in the first place. It’s just an investment for my ward.”

Park Sung-tae, who had been hesitating, picked up the oath that had fallen on the ground. His financial situation was probably not good. You could see hundreds of millions of won in collateral security just by checking the registry.

He ate billions and ended up like that in a few years, so he would naturally be greedy for the 100 million in front of him.

“…Give me a pen.”

“Here you go.”

We each signed the oath and took one each.

“Then, I hope we never meet again.”

Saying that, I turned off the recorder. The conversation in the recorder alone would make it seem like I was bowing down to a thug and even giving him money.

The fact that he swallowed the inheritance is in there, the fact that he mistreated Yerim is in there, and the fact that he took the money is all in there. I was very polite. Perfect.

“What was that just now?”

Park Sung-tae frowned when he saw me turning off the recorder. What do you think it is?

“It’s a recording that I’ll use to bury you if you do anything stupid.”

“…What?”

“There’s no way a bastard like you would just shut up after receiving only 100 million, right?”

“This bastard is crazy—!”

*Bang!*

I grabbed the rushing guy’s face with my palm and slammed it into the door frame. I kicked his collapsing body and shoved it inside the front door.

“Honey!”

A middle-aged woman who had been peeking through the gap in the door screamed.

“Please be quiet if you don’t want to clean up the corpse. It’s a nuisance to the neighbors.”

The next door was quiet, probably because they had gone out for the weekend, but you never know. The middle-aged woman trembled and nodded reflexively.

I was just going to give a warning, but it’s a bit embarrassing because she’s so scared.

I bent down and tapped Park Sung-tae’s cheek. There was a slight smell of blood, probably because his head was broken. The guy groaned and opened his eyes.

“You should be careful, what if you trip? If you hit your head wrong, you’ll go straight to hell.”

“Wh-what…….”

“Apartment doors are made of metal, so they’re dangerous in many ways. Especially, look.”

I pushed his drooping arm and made his fingers touch the end of the door frame. I gently stepped on the hand that was wriggling to avoid it.

“If you close the door wrong like this, it’ll get cut off? An unfortunate safety accident.”

“Wa-wait a minute! I was wrong! I’ll give you back the money!”

His eyes looking up at me were full of fear. Still, he’s an ordinary person, was I a bit too much? I’ve been hanging out with half-crazy bastards until recently, ahem.

I shouldn’t be like this. I have to live kindly this time.

I straightened my back and smiled brightly.

“Ah, I’m sorry. Was I too harsh? Don’t worry, I won’t touch you anymore. It’ll be the same in the future. As long as you don’t act up, you’ll never run into me again. Don’t worry about it and live well like this.”

You got 100 million in free money, how great is that?

“But if you try to be greedy for no reason, it won’t end with a warning. I’ll add some sugar to the recording and spread some money to the media to socially bury you, and then make you spit out all the inheritance you swallowed. Oh, you won’t have enough money to pay back. Then I’ll just roll you around, awaken you, and use you as a dungeon porter. Do you know? No one knows what happened if you die inside a dungeon.”

When you clear a dungeon, it resets and the corpse disappears cleanly. If you just wash your mouth and say you were killed by a monster, it’ll be taken care of neatly.

Huh, I’m about to remember bad memories again. It’s over, so let’s forget it quickly.

“I-I’ll live quietly! I’ll shut my mouth!”

“I’d appreciate it if you would. Now, please get up.”

Stop bowing your head and embarrassing people.

I thought it was roughly settled, so I turned to look at Yerim. But the expression on her face looking at me was a bit strange.

…Was I too much after all? Still, I broke the head of the uncle she lived with and threatened to cut off his fingers, so it’s understandable that she would look at me strangely. I can’t let our relationship go wrong now.

“Hey, Yerim.”

“Are you okay, Mister?”

“…Huh?”

Yerim came up to me and said.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

…I think you’ve got the wrong address. I’m the one who hit him, why is she like this?