The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 402

400. Sunset (4)

[Time until sunset: 1:04:55]

About twenty minutes passed, and we endured three more attacks. It seemed almost all the hunters in the vicinity had gathered, but Noah and Song Tae-won still hadn’t appeared. I was starting to get worried. Both were seasoned S-Class Hunters, but there were SS-Class Hunters and monsters here too. At least they couldn’t stray too far from their designated areas, so escaping wouldn’t be too difficult, but still, there was always a ‘what if’.

However, with sunset so close, I couldn’t go looking for them.

“Just leave it to us!”

“Yeah, yeah! We’re good at running away!”

Yerim and Yoon-yoon said. The newbie [referring to a new acquaintance or character] had left a message saying that those with teleportation and space movement abilities should be fine even after sunset…

“Still, you have to come back before sunset. If you two don’t return, I’m going to look for you, got it?”

“You, Uncle? That’s dangerous!”

“So come back on time. Promise. Don’t go too far, and stick together. If necessary, don’t hesitate to use long-range space movement.”

It was only because of the long-range space movement that I could send them alone. I trust you, Yoon-yoon.

“I promise. You should go back to the hotel and rest, Uncle. Make sure you have dinner.”

“I’ll be back, Captain Kim! Little Kim, let’s check if there are any hamburgers.”

“They’re probably cold by now.”

Yerim and Yoon-yoon teleported away quickly. They seemed to get along quite well. Could the great person be Yoon-yoon from the future? She had rescued countless people, so she was great, but I couldn’t imagine Yoon-yoon advising Yerim to study hard.

In case they came here late, I decided to leave a note at Gangnam Station Exit 1. Of course, not in Korean.

“Sung Hyun-jae, do you know French? It would be good to leave a message in French for Noah.”

How many hunters would know French? I’d just have to tell him which direction to come from the hotel and how.

“As for Chief Song, um…”

“There’s a code.”

“There was?”

Did I make Chief Song suffer so much that we needed to use codes? Anyway, I wrote down the location so the two of them could recognize it.

“Then we should go to the hotel…”

But the road was a mess. I couldn’t use the motorcycle.

“Yoo-hyun, can you take care of him?”

“I only have two arms.”

“I know, but it’s still uncomfortable. And there might be hunters left.”

Yoo-hyun reluctantly picked up the pre-regression me. Perhaps because he wasn’t used to carrying me around, I lowered my head, feeling embarrassed. Seeing that made me feel a little alert. I’ve been getting carried around too casually lately. I should be more embarrassed.

Even though the pre-regression me had higher stats, I obviously didn’t have the damage nullification item, so Yoo-hyun took the lead. Even as an S-Class, he didn’t have eyes in the back of his head, making him more vulnerable to attacks from behind. Sung Hyun-jae had combat precognition, though.

But would Grace recognize that version of me as a contractor? Yoo-hyun and Sung Hyun-jae seemed to feel like the same person.

“Unfortunately, I don’t have much I can answer.”

Sung Hyun-jae, who was carrying me, said quickly.

“It’s been quite a while since you came in here. What have you been doing? Where did you fall?”

“I see.”

Sung Hyun-jae said, slightly displeased.

“It seems I was unconscious for quite a while.”

“Huh? Why…?”

Before I could finish, something suddenly occurred to me. Sung Hyun-jae in the dungeon. It was highly likely that he and this Sung Hyun-jae were strongly connected, just like me and that Han Yoo-jin. But unlike me, the pre-regression Sung Hyun-jae wasn’t in a normal state.

Bound by the Crescent Moon’s Chains [likely a powerful artifact or binding], and possessing power that even the young Chaos was taken aback by, could the current Sung Hyun-jae have been suppressed by him and lost consciousness? If there were two of the same person and one was overwhelmingly stronger… could one possibly devour the other? Like absorption and integration.

“My partner seems to know something.”

“Ah, well, that is…”

“I saw Song Tae-won’s grave.”

He was there. Sung Hyun-jae stepped on the collapsed building and jumped up. With movements that seemed to defy gravity, he crossed through the falling debris.

“The Guild building was a mess too.”

“…Did you go inside?”

“Wasn’t it closed?”

Golden eyes looked down at me. It was a look that seemed to imply he already guessed everything.

“You met me.”

“He was annoying.”

Sung Hyun-jae laughed.

“Should I apologize?”

“His hospitality was terrible, but I’ll let it slide this time.”

“I’ll make up for it by extending an invitation. Han Yoo-jin will be my first guest.”

“To your new house? Did you move in okay? Though you didn’t have much to move.”

Everything was smashed. Poor fish.

“You’ve probably already guessed, but this is what I was going to say. This.”

“I don’t know.”

Sung Hyun-jae said shamelessly.

“I’m still waiting.”

He definitely knew. But this was probably his way of being considerate. I shouted towards Yoo-hyun, who was walking ahead.

“We’re going to stop by the mart [short for supermarket or convenience store]! You guys go ahead and check if it’s safe!”

“But, hyung [older brother or a term of respect for an older male].”

“Besides seaweed soup ingredients, do you need anything else?”

The me in Yoo-hyun’s arms shook his head. He still looked embarrassed. Seeing him like that made me feel embarrassed too. It was quite a funny situation for others to see.

Yoo-hyun and the pre-regression me headed to the hotel first, and I entered a conspicuous mart with Sung Hyun-jae. The mart, with its shattered glass doors, was naturally empty.

“You’ve probably never pushed a cart before, have you? You’re going to end up with information overload again.”

“Surely I’ve been grocery shopping at least once.”

Sung Hyun-jae took the mart cart I pulled out and pushed it forward. It seemed out of place, but it was like he was filming a commercial.

“When you say grocery shopping, you probably mean being guided by a VVIP [Very Very Important Person] representative at a department store while an attendant pushes the cart. It’s obvious without even looking.”

“This might be a first, though.”

“In any world.”

He didn’t have any friends or lovers in the first place. …I should treat him a little better. Honestly, who wouldn’t have a bad personality after being dragged around like that? Even Buddha himself wouldn’t be able to handle it.

“Seaweed soup is best with beef, right? I also like it with glutinous rice balls. The side dish shop owner made amazing beef and glutinous rice ball seaweed soup. I wonder if that person from Breaker Guild is her?”

I took out an umbrella to use as a cane and headed to the butcher section. I was worried that the meat would be spoiled since the power was out, but cold air was still flowing out. Well, it hasn’t been long since this dungeon appeared. Even if the power goes out, things should be okay for a while if you don’t open the refrigerator door.

Since it’s free, I took out the best Korean beef for soup. Should I take some for grilling too?

“Since this is free, Chief Song will eat it too, right? Maybe not the beef tartare.”

There were a lot of mouths to feed, and many people who ate well, so I packed plenty of the best cuts. I wondered if the gas and electricity were cut off at the hotel. Yoo-hyun and Sung Hyun-jae were there, so there wouldn’t be any problem grilling it. I also grabbed some lettuce for wraps, Yerim likes garlic, right? And mushrooms, and kimchi [traditional Korean fermented cabbage], where’s the kimchi? And cola, no, there are drinks in every hotel room. Paid for, but free now.

I also packed small bags of rice. It would be hard to make red bean rice. It takes a long time just to soak the red beans. Luckily, seaweed swells quickly. I also grabbed the most expensive seaweed, and I thought there might be some in the hotel, but I packed some seasonings just in case.

“The fish tank is still intact. Is it too much to put beef and abalone in the seaweed soup? Should I grill it? Should I take a lobster? Chief Song likes sashimi [thinly sliced raw fish]. It’s hard to make sashimi with fish.”

“Making sashimi is easy enough.”

“Ah, what can’t you do? Anyway, it’s all free!”

When else would I get a chance to let Chief Song eat expensive things? I took out a fresh, live lobster, and then another one. Yerim liked this kind of thing too. She’s more of a meat person than a seafood person, though. Noah also ate sashimi surprisingly well. I also grabbed abalone and shrimp, and maybe even fish. And vinegar-gochujang [vinegar and gochujang (Korean chili paste)], soy sauce, and wasabi.

I figured there would be plenty of fruit for dessert at the hotel. There was meat too, but I didn’t know the grade or origin of what was in the kitchen refrigerator. I should feed them the best Korean beef if possible. Do they mark it all?

“There’s a robber in the mart! Huh? Han Yoo-jin? Now you’re even resorting to theft—”

Bang! A flying magic bullet narrowly grazed the head of the chattering hunter. It wasn’t that I couldn’t shoot, but that he dodged well. I guess he’s a high rank.

“You little—!”

The hunter, who was yelling, froze when he discovered the Seseong Guild Leader [a powerful organization leader] pushing the mart cart. The Seseong Guild Leader took out a row of kitchen scissors hanging and lightly threw them at the hunter. Thwack, thud. Correction, I guess he’s a low rank. Even if an S-Class threw it, it’s just scissors.

“My reputation is pretty bad.”

I said, rummaging through the shelves full of snacks.

“As you can guess, I’ve returned to the past. I’m originally thirty years old!”

“I see.”

“What do you mean, ‘I see’? And Sung Hyun-jae went missing before the regression. He claimed he was raising sheep in the Alps.”

“Song Tae-won died.”

“Yes. You said you saw his grave, right? Sung Hyun-jae forcibly made it there.”

“Because of me?”

“I don’t know. There’s definitely a connection, but he didn’t tell me the details. And Sung Hyun-jae was just waiting for the day he would be dragged away by the Crescent Moon.”

“Oh dear.”

Sung Hyun-jae said as if it were someone else’s business. He threw a bag of snacks into the cart and looked at me.

“Sung Hyun-jae said it would be better for Sung Hyun-jae to disappear. What do you think?”

“What does Han Yoo-jin think?”

“Well, me…”

I would answer the same way no matter who asked. Even if the other person wasn’t Sung Hyun-jae.

“I’m sick of losing things, and I can’t give up easily. Ah, well, there’s nothing I can do, let’s say goodbye here. I can’t say, ‘Let’s meet again in the next life’.”

“Even if I said I would quit?”

“Then I’d curse you out. You have the face of an S-Class, but even F-Classes are working hard, so who do you think you are to quit? If you’re going to do that, give me your rank. Now that I think about it, I’m getting angry. You can give up after I’m exhausted and collapse first!”

If you lived well and prospered because you were a high rank, you have to pay the price. I can’t stand seeing you give up before me.

“You even promised. To stay as you are. The pre-regression Sung Hyun-jae didn’t make such a promise, so there’s nothing I can do about that, but you’re not him. Now that it’s come to this, you have to roll with me until the end.”

“I can’t throw a stone first, even if it’s because I’m afraid of Han Yoo-jin.”

Suddenly, what stone, ah, Go [a strategic board game]? Looking at his leisurely smiling face, I kept thinking of Sung Hyun-jae in the collapsed building. I didn’t want to see him like that again. Tangled up in cobwebs, it really didn’t suit him.

But how can I stop the Crescent Moon? I could understand why the pre-regression Sung Hyun-jae was disappointed after losing Song Tae-won. Is there any escape other than death?

“Was I that miserable?”

“The only person who can kill Sung Hyun-jae is Chief Song Tae-won.”

I didn’t bring up the story about me. It was too uncertain of a prophecy. Honestly, I wondered how I could.

“That’s why he said he would treat you well. The former, Sung Hyun-jae from another world.”

“I am treating you well.”

Lick the spit off your mouth. I pushed the cart through the checkout counter. There were too many things to pack separately, so I left the mart with the cart as is. The sound of the wheels rolling was cheerful.

“So don’t try anything funny with me. I’ve already been hurt a lot.”

I told Sung Hyun-jae about the pre-regression events, appropriately filtered.

“I was sincere.”

“You don’t need it.”

“Even so, it’s not beneficial for the two of you to be close.”

The chains moved with a clatter, piercing a hunter who was secretly approaching. I thought I had swept them all away, but they were still popping out one by one. Well, it would take quite a while for a mid-level hunter to walk or run here without a car.

“Even now, you’re pushing away your pre-regression self, saying he’s different.”

“Huh? I haven’t done that.”

“It’s close to instinct. If you’re completely the same person, you’ll feel like your position is being threatened. Han Yoo-jin’s position is for one person.”

Two people can’t enter. If two people enter, they can only divide it in half, or unequally. That’s what Sung Hyun-jae said.

“Even to protect Han Yoo-jin, you have to create a completely new position for one person. Even if he can live on his own, it’s better to separate the positions themselves.”

“…Isn’t that just an excuse to take me away? No, more than that, you were trying to take me away too suddenly. Does it mean you’re fine with having either one? You’ll end up with another business partner.”

“I only have one partner.”

He’s good with words.

“But I do want to raise him. It’s impossible with my partner now, so I admit I’m a little excited.”

As if he wasn’t someone whose hobby was raising things. With Sung Hyun-jae’s tendencies, I thought I was a very curious subject for him to raise. The opportunity to grow the same person in a different way wasn’t common. Even to someone who had already been rejected. The me here had rejected him too.

“Oh, the lights are on at the hotel.”

Beyond the increasingly dark street, the light flowing through the lobby’s glass doors could be seen. Did the newbie do a good job? If the rest of the people returned safely, we could spend the night comfortably until morning.