The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 153

153. I’ve Been Entrusted (3)

– Peep!

“Come here, Peep.”

I picked up the little white bird that was rolling around on the wide bed, seemingly quite excited. It was the same in the Hong Kong hotel; it seemed to like exploring new places. Watching TV too—my baby is full of curiosity.

“I’m glad at least you’re having fun, Peep.”

– Peep peep!

“Looks like Dad won’t be getting any sleep tonight.”

The environment is really nice, and it’s not like I’m picky about where I sleep, and there shouldn’t be any other problems. I had a delicious dinner, took a nice walk, and the bathroom is ridiculously good with some kind of bath bomb or whatever, so everything seems great.

Except for one thing.

‘Yoo-hyun, this is embarrassing for hyung [older brother or male friend] to say, but I can’t sleep without you.’

Ah, damn it. I don’t want to sleep. When is my fear resistance going to recover? Shouldn’t it be coming back soon? Is it because of the double attack skill effect? It’s lasting so long.

“Why is TV banned too?”

Is this some kind of temple stay? Even the detention center lets you watch TV. I guess it’s to keep me from seeing the news, but this is too much. I have to stay up all night with nothing to do.

“Peep, you should sleep.”

I patted a large pillow to make a hollow and put Peep inside. I don’t plan to sleep, but I leaned back against the headboard. The bed is nice. I might fall asleep like this. Should I move to the chair?

“If I turn off the lights, I’ll really fall asleep… but is it too bright?”

– Peep.

I should switch to indirect lighting. Where’s the remote?

“The lighting remote is…….”

“Here.”

“Oh, thank-.”

It’s Yoo-hyun’s voice. And his hand. My familiar hand grabbed my wrist, which had stiffened without any reaction.

“It’s okay. I won’t hurt you.”

My brother’s voice continued, soothing me.

“It’s hard to appear like this without any medium. So I can’t do much. Don’t worry.”

I couldn’t turn my head. Flap, flap, Peep came down from the pillow and climbed onto my lap.

“You, your current appearance.”

“This world rejects me, so I need help from someone who belongs to this world. It’s easier to enter if I take the form of the person the target cherishes most and thinks about the most.”

The filial piety addict who appeared by borrowing Yoon Kyung-soo’s corpse. Diarma’s successor.

I thought he would contact me soon, but. Why now?

“…Isn’t it too late to visit without contacting me?”

“Dreams are dreamt at night. Actually, I could have come sooner, but recently I’ve been by hyung’s side all the time. If the same person is right next to you, it’s easier to feel that I’m fake, so there’s a high chance I’ll be rejected.”

I got goosebumps at his casual words. He couldn’t appear because I’d been sleeping with Yoo-hyun for the past few days?

Dreams are dreamt at night. Considering that Yoon Kyung-soo’s corpse looked different depending on the person, and adding the dungeon attribute that appeared at that time, this filial piety addict’s ability was definitely in the mental category, specifically illusion. He’s really bad for mental health.

“So, have you decided on what to bet?”

I said, looking down at Peep on my lap. I can’t keep avoiding him like this, but I don’t dare to turn my head. I hope he tells me what he wants and disappears quickly.

“Ah, that’s about hyung.”

Shit, why does he keep calling me hyung?

“Are you going to keep looking away? You should look at people’s faces when you talk.”

“I don’t have to treat a guy wearing someone else’s skin like a person.”

“That’s disappointing.”

He smiled slightly. I remembered the phone call at dinner. I stroked Peep’s down with my fingertips and turned my head. He was standing next to the bed. He leaned his upper body slightly towards me. His face, a little older than now, was smiling.

Don’t make that expression. That was the only time you smiled at me at that age.

“…I looked at your face, so hurry up and get out.”

Let’s think about something else. Something else. Yerim and Peace should be coming out soon, I hope they’re safe. Come to think of it, they’ve never really worked together properly, I wonder how it went. Their attributes are incompatible, so they probably didn’t get along. Yerim annoyed Peace when they first met, so Peace didn’t like her. I hope they didn’t fight. I hope they cleared the dungeon well and came out safely.

“I’ve become interested in hyung.”

The filial piety bastard with Yoo-hyun’s face said. His smiling eyes were darker than Yoo-hyun’s now. My brother’s eyes have often been redder lately, making him look even more different.

I suddenly felt strange. It’s the same person, but he’s already starting to change little by little. His skills will also change. Lee-rin is already here, and there will be skills that I won’t be able to acquire because they disappear like the White Whale Tears at the festival.

He’s still my brother.

“In the meantime, I’ve looked into it as thoroughly as possible. What happened in this world. Although I couldn’t know everything, I was able to find out a little about hyung.”

…How much did he find out? I swallowed dryly, and he continued, his eyes full of interest. That expression at that age is really unfamiliar, so I calmed down a little.

“The nurturer who loved and raised a born S-Class.”

“What’s wrong with that? I heard it happens sometimes.”

Does he only know about the nurturer? Or did he notice the perfect nurturer? The latter is troublesome. If the keyword effect is revealed, it will cause a lot of problems in the future.

“It happens very rarely. Only here, in the fifth place.”

He grabbed my wrist and pulled me towards him.

“In the first, second, third, fourth, and the rest of the other places, the title of nurturer doesn’t just come out. There are many nurturers who have raised those below the born S-Class.”

He whispered that the nurturer who raised the born S-Class only appears here.

The fifth source, the tree where snow falls. The universe our world belongs to.

“Since there are so few, it might just be a simple coincidence, but maybe it’s related to the source. So hyung, let’s make a deal.”

“A deal?”

“Yeah. Give me hyung.”

“…There are a lot of people waiting in line ahead of you. Get in line.”

Of course, I’m not an item, but a human, but Yoo-hyun is the top priority, and Sung Hyun-jae is the self-proclaimed top priority, but let’s just say I’m the second priority. There will be many people who will bring a fortune. Just think about the auction house, there would be plenty.

“There’s no need to work hard and cling to something that’s not guaranteed to succeed. If you give me hyung, I’ll take out the people you want to save instead. How about it?”

“You said you can’t take out anyone unless they’re close to SS-Class, even among S-Classes.”

“Fortunately, most of the people hyung cares about seem to be S-Class. And even if they’re not S-Class, it’s not impossible to rescue them. It’s something that requires a lot of cost. The unfilial children sometimes take out people who might be helpful from the dying world.”

He said that if this world were to perish, the blacksmith would be the target of the unfilial children’s rescue. Blacksmith? Are you talking about Myung-woo? If that’s true, then Myung-woo is safe for now.

“How about it, hyung? Isn’t it okay? I can take out ten S-Classes, and maybe one or two A-Classes. I’m putting in a lot of effort. It’ll be quite a blow to me too.”

Ten S-Classes is more than enough for all our kids.

“Aren’t you guys interested in destroying the world? It’ll be easier to destroy if you take everyone out like this.”

“If it were easy to take them out, I would have always suggested this deal. Usually, it’s only two or three. That’s why I’m trying to persuade mainly the born S-Classes.”

And. He added with a slightly mischievous expression.

“We’re also largely divided into two groups.”

“Two?”

“One side is literally good kids. Working hard to make the world swallowed up. And the other side is curious people. Those who want to see how the end will be.”

The filial piety addict, literally, the side that helps the parent source swallow the world and the side that wants to know what will happen after the source swallows all the worlds.

The guy in front of me was definitely the latter.

Come to think of it, he showed interest in Yoo-hyun, saying something about spirits. On the other hand, he was half-hearted about destroying the world, saying that his safety was more important.

“Let’s make a contract, hyung.”

A white plate with a faint light appeared in front of me. It’s probably an L-Class contract like Diarma’s. This time, I can’t get the double effect of the Lauchitas’s nemesis, the curse poison dragon species target skill, so I can’t escape the contract.

“Although hyung is F-Class in stats, so I can’t take you out alive with my power, I’ll cherish and take care of you as much as possible. The nurturer of the born S-Class is rare to begin with, but they’re often already dead by the time they’re discovered, so I’ve never succeeded in a contract. It’s also amazing that you successfully combined the magic stone in your chest. I thought it would fail when I saw it then, but it’s stabilized. I wonder what kind of monster will be created.”

That was welcome news. Sung Hyun-jae’s fragment must have done its job well.

“It’s a really rare material, so I’m making a lot of concessions.”

Making a lot of concessions. I didn’t trust him, but I couldn’t help but be tempted. It’s uncertain whether I, we, can protect this world. But if I can keep the kids safe with just me… hmm.

Can’t I postpone it? I want to sign the contract when there’s really no hope. He wouldn’t do that. No, my case is really rare, so if I negotiate well, maybe it’ll work. I’ll just ask for a five-year grace period…….

– Peep!

At that moment, Peep jumped up with all his might. The little bird, jumping surprisingly high, crashed into the contract with his whole body.

Thud.

“Peep!”

No, that’s really hard! I quickly grabbed Peep, but Peep didn’t seem to be in pain and kept flapping his wings vigorously.

– Peep peep! Peep! Peep!

“Calm down, Peep! You’ll get hurt!”

– Peep!

“…What is that?”

Yoo-hyun… no, the guy tilted his head. He looked like he had just noticed Peep’s existence. He had been in my sight, on my lap, the whole time. Then he reached out his hand towards Peep. Surprised, I tried to hide Peep in my arms and step back, but I hesitated a little because my wrist was grabbed.

“Don’t touch him!”

– Peep!

“I think I’ve seen it somewhere. Give it to me for a second, hyung.”

“Stop calling me hyung and get out!”

The guy who was looking at Peep like he was going to dissect him wasn’t my brother. I twisted my grabbed wrist and pulled my body back as much as possible. I bent my knees to kick him.

Bang-!

Golden chains flew in, breaking through the door. Like a strongly thrown spear blade, the chain pierced the guy’s side. Even with that, the force remained and pushed him to one end of the room. I was half dragged along, but stopped by an arm that snatched my waist.

“Yoo-hyun!”

I unconsciously shouted at the spurting blood. I know it’s not him, but, shit. Unlike me, who was flustered, the guy in my brother’s form looked down at the chain stuck in his side with a face that didn’t feel any pain at all.

“Crescent moon?”

…Does he recognize it? Maybe he knows Crescent Moon. The guy raised his head and looked at the owner of the chain, Sung Hyun-jae.

“Who are you?”

“The landlord.”

That’s not wrong, but is that what he asked? Peep, who had rolled off the bed, toddled towards me. After confirming that Peep was safe, I turned my gaze back to the guy.

…I know very well in my head that it’s not Yoo-hyun. I want to take out the lenses. It would have been easy to take them off if they were glasses.

“Don’t you know about Crescent Moon? More than that, hyung.”

“I told you not to call me hyung, you son of a bitch.”

“It’s easier to maintain my form if I’m hyung and dongsaeng [younger sibling or friend]. Will you accept the contract?”

“That’s-.”

“You shouldn’t aim for things that have an owner.”

Sung Hyun-jae’s voice cut me off.

“The young master turned a blind eye because Han Yoo-jin couldn’t let go, but I have no intention of adding another one.”

“…Turned a blind eye? What are you turning a blind eye to? He’s not yours.”

And if I were to give him away, my brother would be first, of course. Why are you drinking the soup before it’s cooked [counting your chickens before they hatch]?

“If it’s hard to see, turn your head.”

Sung Hyun-jae said. The chain moved and a faint light flickered from his fingertips. I bit my lip and lowered my gaze.

Fzzzt-

The sound wasn’t that loud. It smelled burnt. It was the smell of burning furniture and walls, not flesh. I unconsciously gripped the arm holding me tightly and raised my head again.

In the blackened spot, there was something like a giant jellyfish. The blurry, hard-to-see thing slowly shook its body.

-Think carefully. If you refuse, I won’t back down easily either.

And it disappeared. Sung Hyun-jae looked down at me as I let out a short sigh.

“Was a monster born from the magic stone in your chest?”

…Where did this bastard hear that from? Did you bug my bedroom?