The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 139

139. Infiltrating Shards (1)

“Going out with a B-rank Hunter? I wouldn’t be surprised if a third kidnapping happens.”

Yoo-hyun smiled as he politely held an umbrella over my head. To others, he would appear as Kim Min’s Hunter.

“If there are any fools who try anything, I will gladly welcome them and burn them to their roots. So don’t worry, Han Yoo-jin.”

“You’re so reliable. Just like my brother.”

I suppressed a laugh and moved forward. As we walked to the parking lot, Hunters expressed their concerns. One after another, they questioned whether a B-rank Hunter would be sufficient.

“Kim Min’s Hunter is more than enough.”

My answer caused them to glance at Yoo-hyun with puzzled looks. Kim Min has useful skills but is only a support-type B-rank, and this is our first official meeting. They must find it strange that I’m placing my trust in him.

But it would be awkward to act distant. I should take this opportunity to boost Min’s student’s stock. Believe it or not, I have the best connections these days.

Kim Min’s car was a cute, yellow imported compact car. He had a beginner driver sticker with a character on it, indicating he hadn’t had his license for long.

“The air freshener is cute too.”

A Di○ney Minnie doll was hanging on one side. Do young people like these things these days? Thinking about Yoo-hyun’s bleak car made me a little sad.

“Don’t you have any hobbies?”

“…Hobbies? Not really.”

Yoo-hyun answered as he started the car.

“Is there anything you want to do or anything you really like?”

“It wasn’t like I was in a situation to think about those things.”

His calm voice made me wonder if I had brought up the wrong topic. Still, if he ever gets to be in that kind of environment, I hope my brother can have more leisure. But he shouldn’t become like Sung Hyun-jae or Riette. There’s no S-rank role model to look up to. Should I put my hopes on the other two?

‘I need to find someone. I hope they’re decent people.’

My life is already hard enough. Please, give me a break. It’s about time for Riette to show up. Do I have to meet her with my fear resistance lowered? I’m already dreading it.

First, I got a new phone to replace the one that had died. The TV and internet were filled with new topics, but people recognized me immediately, both inside and outside the mobile carrier store. One grandmother even grabbed my hand and patted it, telling me I had gone through a lot.

Embarrassed, I quickly got a new SIM card and returned to the car, where I called my dear Sesung Guild Leader. But for some reason, he didn’t answer. Is he busy? I tried calling again, but there was no response, so I dialed Kang So-young’s number this time.

[Hello, Han Yoo-jin!]

“Hello, So-young. Do you know where the Sesung Guild Leader is? He’s not answering his phone.”

[The Guild Leader is currently, um, officially on a dungeon raid.]

“I met him last night.”

Several people must have seen lightning striking in broad daylight, but they’re just trying to cover it up.

The association probably wants to take the credit, so they’re happily accepting it. In fact, the TV was blaring that the dungeon break yesterday was handled by association Hunters led by Song Tae-won.

Even though no other Hunters were in sight. Even though they announced the appearance of an S-rank monster, it would have been more troublesome for them to recklessly barge in. And there were no healers.

[Oh, really? I didn’t know because there was no mention of Han Yoo-jin. Well, these days, if the Guild Leader moves without a schedule, it’s 99 percent related to Han Yoo-jin.]

Is it that much? I guess I have been acting impulsively. Originally, he would have a schedule all planned out and stick to it.

[If it’s urgent, would you like to come to the guild? I’ll contact him.]

“Yes, please.”

The sooner I catch the tail, the better. After hanging up, I contacted Song Tae-won just in case, but he didn’t answer either. He probably hasn’t replaced his phone yet. Not just his phone, but his cards and everything else must be dead too.

“Let’s go to Sesung.”

“I know it’s hard for us to catch up yet, but it’s still frustrating. I wish you didn’t have to look for Sesung Guild, hyung [older brother],” Yoo-hyun grumbled as he turned the steering wheel. In terms of domestic dungeon raid capabilities, Hae-yeon will be as good as Sesung if we form an S-rank team with Yerim, but other areas are still far behind. It’s already amazing enough that a teenager-led guild has grown this much.

“You’re only twenty years old. How can a minor who started from scratch catch up to established adults in such a short time? I heard the Sesung Guild Leader was successful even before his awakening.”

“I know that he didn’t have any financial problems.”

“Have you heard what he did for a living?”

It’s not that I have a personal interest in Sung Hyun-jae, but I’m curious. Is he really a mixed-blood? If he lived in Korea, he wouldn’t have gone unnoticed even before his awakening, but there’s no information about him, so he must have been abroad.

“I don’t know. It’s none of my business.”

“Still, he’s the same S-rank Hunter, so I can’t tell you to be close… but he’s a good business partner.”

As a Guild Leader, there’s a lot to learn from him. Anyway, he’s a capable person.

“Still, don’t get too close. You’ll pick up bad habits.”

“I’m not close.”

“Okay. If you have to be close to any of the Guild Leaders, Moon Hyun-ah is the best. Noah is a good friend. So-young is also nice. After all, it’s best to be friends with people your age. Ditch the old guys.”

Imagining Yerim and the others together made me feel good. It’s such a refreshing and heartwarming scene.

“Once this is settled—”

That’s when it happened. Yoo-hyun reached out towards me. A long sword shot out, cutting the seatbelt, and the sword spun above my head, piercing the car door and embedding itself in the road. And then.

Screech!

The sound of tires scraping against the ground was deafening.

Bang!

Something slammed into the yellow compact car with great force. At the same time, Yoo-hyun’s sword absorbed the impact of the collision and pushed away the vehicle that had rammed into us.

Crash!

Through the severed car door, I glimpsed a large truck being torn in two. Han Yoo-hyun wrapped his arm around me, completely smashed the mangled car door, and jumped out. As we landed on the truck, which was lying diagonally, I took in the chaotic road situation.

“Wow, crazy.”

I was still dazed, but it was clear that the truck had tried to destroy the poor compact car. And it had aimed precisely for the passenger seat. If it had been the real Kim Min, a support-type, he wouldn’t have been able to protect me properly. Since I hadn’t used his grace, I would have been seriously injured at best, and possibly killed.

‘It’s a tempting opportunity to pass up, but his actions are impressive.’

Was he targeting me all along? My heart pounded because my fear resistance was lowered. While Yoo-hyun checked on the truck driver, I called Hae-yeon. After requesting accident handling and a new vehicle, I turned my attention back to the street.

“The driver is dead.”

“Really? Yoo-hyun, or Kim Min, please help the people trapped in those cars.”

The collision caused by the large truck had involved several other vehicles that couldn’t avoid it. Yoo-hyun looked reluctant at my words, but he jumped down when I said I was using his grace. Then he came back with the umbrella.

“Stay here quietly so I can see you easily.”

He insisted on opening the umbrella and handing it to me. What’s wrong with getting a little rain in the summer? It’s refreshing.

Yoo-hyun’s intervention quickly resolved the road situation. He easily tore off the crumpled car doors and rescued people. He didn’t hesitate to use mid-grade potions if their condition seemed bad. He pushed the blocking cars to the side, creating a path for the ambulances.

Meanwhile, the 119 [emergency services] and the police arrived. Some of the paramedics were low-grade Awakeners. There weren’t any high-grade ones yet, but there were more than ten mid-grade Awakener firefighters nationwide. Most of them had Awakened at accident sites and chose to continue working as firefighters rather than becoming Hunters.

“Thank you for your hard work, Hunter. Thank you.”

Yoo-hyun exchanged polite greetings with the paramedics and returned to my side. Sharing the umbrella, he asked quietly.

“Who could it be? The association?”

“It might be related to the auction house. They must have a lot of pent-up resentment too.”

“It’s their own fault, but this is too much. Still, wouldn’t they hesitate to kill you yet?”

“They wiped out the entire hotel. There might be someone whose goal is revenge.”

That’s why they strongly urged me to be accompanied by at least an A-rank, preferably an S-rank Hunter.

People from Hae-yeon Guild and the Hunter-related accident department also arrived one after another. It seemed to be a simple collision accident, so Song Tae-won wasn’t present.

After a brief exchange, it was decided that Hae-yeon would collect the driver’s body first. Hunter Kim Sung-han, whom I hadn’t seen in a while, approached us.

“Hello, Sung-han.”

“Are you injured anywhere?”

Kim Sung-han turned around without saying much after I replied that I was fine. He was still friendly and concerned… but his attitude towards me seemed more indifferent than before.

‘Come to think of it, he hasn’t sent me any tonics or other gifts recently.’

Just in case, I checked his status window. Kim Sung-han’s name was still there. But his attitude had definitely changed.

“Kim Sung-han.”

I called him as I got out of the truck with Yoo-hyun’s help.

“Yes?”

“Do you remember when you said that seeing me reminded you of your grandfather?”

“Ah… yes. I did.”

Kim Sung-han nodded, looking a little embarrassed.

“I’m sorry for making you feel confused with my nonsense.”

Sorry, then could it be.

“You don’t think that anymore?”

“Yes. I think there are some similarities, but you are completely different people.”

He answered without hesitation. Completely different people.

‘Was there a time limit to the effect of making me seem like the original caregiver?’

But Yerim, Peace, and Pi-yak still treated me the same as before. The difference between them and Kim Sung-han was that I had neglected Kim Sung-han. Kim Sung-han had unilaterally taken care of me, but we didn’t meet often. And recently, we had barely seen each other.

‘The keyword effect only provides temporary help, and after that, it’s up to me?’

Well, it would be too much of a cheat to continue receiving unilateral affection with the keyword buff. Even if it’s an L-grade title.

Calculating the time when Kim Sung-han’s gifts stopped, it seems to have lasted about two months. I wonder if there have been any changes in the others. Yoo-hyun is… still my brother, so it’s impossible to confirm. I’ll have to ask Yerim when she comes out.

‘I need to pay more attention to Hyun-ah.’

I need to get closer to her before the keyword buff wears off.

Apologizing inwardly to Kim Min, who lost his beloved car, I arrived at Sesung Guild in a new vehicle. Kang So-young, who was waiting for us, widened her eyes at Yoo-hyun, Kim Min.

“I don’t think I’ve met you before.”

“This is Hae-yeon’s B-rank Hunter, Kim Min.”

“B-rank? Han Yoo-jin, you’re crazy, no, you’re not careful enough!”

“I trust him. More importantly, where is the Sesung Guild Leader?”

“…Please follow me.”

Kang So-young glanced at Yoo-hyun with distrust and walked ahead. After going through security and wearing an inventory sealing bracelet, we entered a heavily guarded area, and Kang So-young stopped.

“I’m sorry, but Hae-yeon’s Hunter cannot enter from here.”

Yoo-hyun frowned at her words. But Kang So-young didn’t back down. With a firm and cold expression that was rare for her, she reiterated that access was restricted to authorized personnel only.

“Kim Min, please wait here.”

“But I can’t leave Han Yoo-jin alone.”

“He’s not alone. Kang So-young is here too. And well, there might be other things too.”

Like a small lizard. I approached Yoo-hyun as if to appease him and gently grabbed his hand. In the gap where Kang So-young couldn’t see, Irin slithered onto my hand. Then, it climbed up to my shoulder and settled as a tattoo.

“Then please wait comfortably.”

“Yes. Please be careful. If anything dangerous happens… let’s make it the eleventh time.”

He meant the contract left over from the Hong Kong kidnapping. What was the eleventh one again? I’ll have to check the memo.

I patted Yoo-hyun’s shoulder affectionately and followed Kang So-young inside.

“This morning, the Guild Leader seemed to be in a bad mood.”

Kang So-young said once we were alone.

“It’s like he had a bad dream, or he seemed lost in thought. He told me to let you in when I said you wanted to visit, but his voice still didn’t sound good.”

So Kang So-young told me to be careful today and took out the mini-portal key. Did Sung Hyun-jae have a nightmare like me? What’s going on?