The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 252

‘What is this.’

[Special Main Quest! Protect Sigma!!]

Sung Hyunjae, who had been quiet all along, suddenly sent a quest. Wait, if it’s a main quest, shouldn’t it have been sent by Sung Hyunjae directly? Is this some newbie mistake?

‘More than that, protect who? We should be running away.’

Unless there’s some favor to repay, what good would a C-rank doing their best to protect an SS-rank do other than be a hindrance? Still, I was about to check the quest details when Solemness’s S-rank guard approached. He seemed to be the one who shouted that a monster had appeared.

“Report.”

Sigma spoke, and the S-rank opened his mouth, then closed it again. Both Sigma and I were waiting for his answer. We were completely off guard. Seriously. The S-rank moved even closer to Sigma.

Screech─

A grating sound filled the air, and a gust of wind blew. I felt a hand pushing me towards the wall of the hallway. Blood splattered, and Sigma kicked the S-rank who attacked him hard. The S-rank, sent flying to the end of the hallway, shouted.

“You monster! What did you do to Sigma-nim [formal title]!”

…What? Sigma frowned. I could see his chest had been slashed open, and blood was flowing out. The wound was quite deep.

“Heal him─!”

“It’s dangerous.”

Clang! The extended chain blocked the S-rank’s attack. Seriously, is that guy crazy? Why is he suddenly like this? He’s your superior.

“It seems like a monster with mental abilities is the culprit, so let’s get out of here for now!”

There was a high possibility that a monster with mental-type skills had appeared, since he wouldn’t suddenly go crazy and shout at Sigma, asking what he did to Sigma. I quickly took out a potion, gave Sigma first aid, and tried to run down the hallway. But Sigma chose a different path.

“This way.”

“Yes?”

He snatched my waist and swung the chain towards the wall. With a loud noise, the wall crumbled, creating a large hole. This way is faster, but still. He’s treating someone else’s building roughly. Sigma held me and jumped out without hesitation.

– Kee-ik, kee-ee.

A sharp screech was heard in the air. Covering the sky was a giant bird with gray feathers. Clatter, the chain was driven diagonally into the ground ahead of its owner and pulled taut. Sigma landed on it.

“Hyung!”

Yuhyun’s voice was heard. Blue willow leaves covered the sky and spread in all directions. Perhaps because it was right near the mana hole [a source of magical energy], he was using his skills without holding back. The willow leaves distracted the monster, obstructing its vision as intended.

“Can you let go now?”

“Why? He’s mine.”

“What does that mean, hyung [older brother or close male friend]?”

Yuhyun, who was approaching us, stepping on the willow leaves, asked sharply. I felt a little embarrassed to confess that I confidently went alone and ended up receiving a contract penalty, haha.

“Uh, well, I broke the contract conditions……”

“It’s okay, we can just kill him.”

Yuhyun said cheerfully. Please be patient, little brother.

“Just a release item, ugh!”

Bang! A bullet that narrowly missed Sigma and me dug into the ground. Dirt and fragments of the flooring flew up. Yuhyun, with a displeased face, deflected the continuous stream of magic bullets with the edge of his sword.

“Wasn’t that S-rank affiliated with Solemness?”

“He suddenly started attacking him, calling him a monster. He must be under some kind of mental or illusion skill, ah, please let me go! I’m not running away, I can’t run away now!”

Or at least hold me properly. It’s making me dizzy because you keep shaking me. Because Sigma was holding me, Yuhyun, who was blocking the shots instead, flared up the flames. Then, he relentlessly shot dark blue flames towards where the Solemness S-rank was. With a loud noise, part of the building was smashed and burned fiercely.

At this rate, the remaining buildings of the Defense Agency will all collapse.

“Give him to me.”

Yuhyun said coldly.

“No.”

Sigma retorted frigidly.

“What are you guys doing.”

Moon Hyuna, who had appeared unnoticed, asked while taking the stance of a spectator. Above our heads, the monster was screeching. Shouldn’t we catch the monster first? That’s an SS-rank. Hey, you guys.

“Let’s put this down for a second, okay? Sigma-ssi [formal title]. I can’t cancel it right now anyway.”

“He’s my hyung. Get your hands off him immediately.”

“The C-rank is my possession. You should give up.”

“Hyungnim [honorific title for older brother or respected male] is popular~ Fight, fight!”

…Instead of stopping them, you’re fanning the flames? Don’t take out the alcohol. Where is the side dish coming from again?

“Let’s both calm down and catch the monster first, okay?”

“If you release hyung first.”

“This is Akates, so that’s what he should be doing.”

“Hey, if you two fight, I’ll take care of that one.”

Ah, damn it. Surely the ‘protect’ in the quest doesn’t mean protect Sigma from my brother. If it were a sub-quest, I would just give up the reward, but it’s a main quest. First, I opened the quest details that I hadn’t been able to check.

[Special Main Quest! Protect Sigma!!

Sigma is real to you. It is the duty of an adult to take responsibility for and protect Sigma, who has been recognized by the only real thing in this world and ostracized by the fakes! At least keep him alive~^▽^

Reward: Key to conquering the dungeon]

…I couldn’t understand the quest details right away and looked at them again. Real… what? If he’s the only real one, is it me? Because I’m the only one who came here in my original body. So, Sigma became real because I acknowledged him? Does that make sense? It says ‘to you,’ so it seems like he’s not completely real.

‘The fakes are ostracizing him?’

So that’s why the Solemness S-rank guard attacked Sigma, calling him a monster? The reward is a dungeon conquest item, so I can’t not do the quest.

‘…Why isn’t there an exact condition?’

Until when do I have to protect him? I don’t know if it’s Sung Hyunjae or a newbie, but write it down properly! Until all the discs are installed? Anyway, the difficulty is low since I just have to keep him alive.

“Yuhyun-ah! Don’t kill Sigma!”

Yuhyun, who was aiming for Sigma’s arm to get me out of there, frowned.

“Why?”

“He has to be alive to conquer the dungeon.”

“Just alive?”

“Yeah, um, he has to be as intact as possible.”

“Okay. I’ll just cut off his arm for now.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a thin rapier was swung like a whip. Reflecting the sunlight, the blade, which was bending in an unpredictable trajectory, was blocked by Sigma’s chain. No, I think cutting off his arm is far from intact.

“Yuhyun-ah, calm down, ugh, Hyuna-ssi! Hyuna-ssi!”

Don’t just watch, stop them! You’re the oldest one here! I don’t know Lambda’s age, but please help! Perhaps because they were both thinking of me, they didn’t use skills, but the collision of the chain and the rapier alone was deafening, and the heat that flew out made my eyes sting.

At my call, Moon Hyuna laughed heartily. She didn’t seem to have any intention of helping. At that moment, for some reason, the monster, which had been circling in the sky without leaving, flapped its wings greatly,

– Kee-ik!

With a screech, it suddenly descended. Directly towards Sigma. Sigma, who glanced at the monster, jumped back greatly to avoid the attack. Kwagaak, its beak pierced the ground, and its claws scratched everywhere, raising dust. Yuhyun, whose path was blocked by the monster, soared upwards, stepping on the scattering willow leaves.

“Annoying.”

With a faintly annoyed voice, a wire was thrown from Yuhyun’s fingertips. The black, glossy wire, which looked higher grade than mine, tightened around the monster’s neck. Han Yuhyun, who landed, trampling on the monster’s back, pulled the wire strongly. Veins bulged on his wrist, which was revealed between his sleeves, and the monster opened its beak wide.

– Kiek, kee-ee!

The monster spread its wings greatly as if trying to fly, its body forcibly folded. But before that, a sword pierced the neck that had been pulled taut. Kwadeuk, the soft rapier pierced through the monster like a spear, and then a small explosion occurred. More than half of the monster’s neck exploded, and it stopped struggling.

Yuhyun, who dealt with the monster in a way that would minimize the impact on the surroundings, as if worried about harming me, glared at Sigma coldly again. Sigma also met his eyes without backing down.

I wonder if there’s an item in the point shop that makes enemies become friends. Should I make them drink alcohol together?

“There he is! That’s him!”

At that moment, Solemness-affiliated guards rushed in. They were all glaring at Sigma with weapons in hand. There were other city guards around, but Solemness’s hostility was particularly strong. They must think that Sigma was harmed by Sigma, that is, the monster in their eyes.

“The monster is dead, though.”

Sigma muttered softly. There seemed to be a slight bewilderment on his face. It seemed that the sudden attack by his own subordinates was also embarrassing for him.

“Let’s avoid them for now. Hyuna-ssi, I’m sorry, but could you block them?”

I still didn’t want to harm the Solemness guards. Moon Hyuna nodded and took out her great spear, swinging it greatly. A whirlwind swept through, dragging in dirt and building fragments, blocking the path of the Solemness guards.

“Yuhyun-ah, I’ll explain, so follow me.”

My brother nodded with a dissatisfied expression. Sigma moved quickly before the dust raised by Moon Hyuna settled. Yuhyun followed closely behind him as he went back inside the building.

“Alpha-nim [formal title]! That, the guy in front is!”

The Akates guard, who was evacuating people, shouted in surprise. It seemed that Sigma didn’t look normal to people from other cities either. They didn’t rush in like the Solemness side, but they were looking at him with uneasy eyes.

“I’ll take care of it, so evacuate the entire building. Issue an evacuation order for the city as well.”

“Ah, yes!”

The Akates guard nodded and turned around at Yuhyun’s words. After that, every person we encountered looked at Sigma with a start, as if they had encountered a monster. They looked as if they had seen something ominous.

‘You should have explained it properly.’

Can it suddenly become like this just because I accepted Sigma as real? It didn’t make sense. Even if a fake became real, what are those reactions?

Sigma, who quickly went up the building, arrived at his own room. Perhaps the Solemness people judged that they wouldn’t come here. Sigma, who went inside, finally put me down. Ugh, my waist.

“Use the release item first.”

Yuhyun, who followed in, said, closing the door.

“I can’t use it right now.”

Yuhyun made a dissatisfied face, but he quickly didn’t ask further. If information about the points leaked, Sigma might try to interfere. My brother, who was looking around and approaching me, stopped abruptly. His red eyes widened.

“…What, is that?”

The end of Yuhyun’s voice trembled slightly. What did he see… Ah. My doppelganger doll was sitting quietly on a chair next to the window in the spacious living room. Please get rid of that.

“It’s Han Yoojin. I’ll give it to you.”

Sigma said.

“…Hyung, I think it’s better to kill him after all.”

Yuhyun gritted his teeth. Haha, I received the Medsang 21st Anniversary Champagne, a reward I hadn’t received. The golden champagne bottle was in my hand.

“First, both of you sit down. Listen to the explanation and then keep fighting.”

Sigma sat on the sofa, but Yuhyun looked at the doll with a slight frown before slowly approaching it. His hesitant fingertips approached the doll as if to touch it, then withdrew again.

“It’s a doppelganger doll. We have it in our world too.”

“…I’ve heard of it. Can I touch it?”

Why are you asking me that? It used to be mine, though. When I nodded, Yuhyun poked the doll and frowned. Then he gently stroked it again. Is it fascinating?

“First… it seems like the problem arose because I acknowledged Sigma-ssi as real.”

I said, taking a glass and pouring champagne. It smells good.

“I don’t know exactly, but it seems like the people in this world are feeling a sense of rejection towards Sigma-ssi. The Solemness guards seem to think that you hurt yourself.”

The eyes, which had the same light as the champagne, blinked slowly.

“Did I turn into a C-rank, an existence from your world?”

“I’m not sure exactly. But since it seems to be my influence, I’m sorry for now.”

“Why is hyung apologizing? Anyway, it’s a world temporarily created inside the dungeon. When we leave, it will either disappear or reset.”

Yuhyun said coldly.

“Well, that’s true, but they’re people who are alive and moving, thinking, and having emotions. Hyuna-ssi also thinks of them as real. More than that, Yuhyun, what are you doing?”

“I’m curious how similar it is.”

Um, okay. I turned my gaze back to Sigma.

“So first, it would be good to send the Solemness guards back. If it’s okay with you, can I announce that the monster that killed Sigma was dealt with by Alpha?”

“…As you wish.”

Sigma answered quietly. His expression was calm, but he probably wasn’t comfortable either. What to do, really. Even if it’s a world that will be reset or disappear as Yuhyun said, it was still unsettling. I have to take responsibility while I’m here.

“Then Sigma-ssi. …If we leave Solemness, I wonder if I should even call you Sigma. Can I ask what your real name is?”

“I don’t remember. But.”

He seemed to be lost in thought for a moment before opening his mouth.

“Small Moon. I think that’s what I was called.”