The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 146

146. Removing the Beehive (3)

“I thought I might use it again, so I really fixed it up.”

Seok Si-myung said with a proud look. The place he had fixed up was none other than the room he had used during my previous kidnapping incident in Hong Kong. You could call it a kind of operations room.

The entrance was replaced with a mini-portal, and soundproofing and security facilities were plastered all over it. In addition, accommodation facilities were prepared in case we were holed up for a few days. There were also various other pieces of equipment, but I couldn’t figure out their purpose except for the easily recognizable ones like computers.

“You seem excited. Where did you get the mini-portal?”

“I had a spare. To be honest, I find this kind of thing more fun.”

Seok Si-myung said, pushing up his non-prescription glasses. It seems like the glasses quotient has increased significantly.

A little later, the Seseong people arrived. A man with a briefcase and a woman in her late forties with a cane. The cane in her hand had a sleek black body with silver patterns engraved on it. The tip touching the floor emitted a faint light at regular intervals, indicating that it was no ordinary cane.

“Ms. Min Ji-soo is visually impaired.”

“Hello, everyone.”

The man announced first, and Min Ji-soo looked directly in the direction where we were. Her gaze, reaching from Yoo-hyun to me and Seok Si-myung, was unwavering. It must be the ability of that cane. Is it a dungeon item?

“Nice to meet you, Ms. Min Ji-soo. I’m Han Yoo-jin.”

She smiled brightly at me.

“I’ve heard about you from Seong Hyun-jae. He said you’re close.”

‘We’re not close,’ the words crawled up to the tip of my tongue, but I swallowed them back down. Instead, I asked another question.

“Are you not affiliated with the Seseong Guild?”

I didn’t call him Guild Leader but called him by his name. Min Ji-soo nodded at my words.

“I don’t have any other talents, so I just help out when needed.”

She introduced herself, saying that she lost her sight in her early thirties and was caught up in an early dungeon break and awakened. She said she learned about her skills while wandering among the corpses of humans and monsters. However, it was publicly known that she had a skill to extract information only from the corpses of monsters.

“At first, I thought that was all I could do. So, I occasionally received monster investigation requests from the Hunter Association.”

Then one day, Seong Hyun-jae came to her. He asked if she could read information from the corpses of humans, not just monsters.

“Weren’t you reluctant? If the Seseong Guild Leader forced you to work…”

“No.”

Min Ji-soo said with a smile.

“Of course, I was hesitant at first. But I was more pleased with the fact that I could do even one more thing. And if it’s a special job that others can’t do, who wouldn’t be tempted?”

There was a time when things that she could do naturally suddenly became high walls. That’s why she enjoys the present, where there are people who seek her out.

Still, she had a sense of revulsion at rummaging through the memories of the dead, so she only accepted cases involving criminals who had harmed others intentionally. Her skill showed information in text, like reading a novel, so the mental burden was relatively small. Since she couldn’t see, she said she didn’t have much of a sense of reality.

“But the reason I readily accepted the offer was, of course, because Seong Hyun-jae was handsome.”

“…Excuse me?”

“I touched his face. It was perfect. He must be even more handsome in person, right?”

Well… he is handsome, but… still.

“Just looking at his face, touching it, and holding hands seems like a light decision. Besides, even if he’s handsome, you must have felt some distance.”

“I did have a scary feeling. If I didn’t, I would have given him everything. Who can resist such a handsome man being so kind?”

Min Ji-soo laughed out loud, saying she would have packed her bags and entered Seseong right away. …Anyway, Seong Hyun-jae and Seseong seemed to be handling things well. They thoroughly concealed and protected her, as many people would target her if her abilities were known.

Today, Haeyeon was originally planning to send a corpse for information reading, but Ms. Min Ji-soo wanted to visit in person.

“I wanted to meet you, the most famous person these days.”

“It’s not worth taking the risk.”

It’s a bit embarrassing to hear that I’m famous so openly. I bowed my head to her request to touch my face. Her touch was careful and warm.

“Also, I heard that this won’t be the last time.”

“If we can continue our relationship, we would be happy and grateful.”

I really don’t want to use Yerim’s skill if possible. At least until she becomes an adult.

Ms. Min Ji-soo went with Seok Si-myung to the place where the corpses were stored. The Seseong hunter who came with her also put down the data and accompanied them. It turned out that the man’s skill was to blur the image of the target. It wasn’t quite stealth, but it could make people around him naturally not remember Ms. Min Ji-soo well.

“We can ask her in the future.”

“Park Yerim won’t like it much.”

Yoo-hyun said, organizing the data together.

“She’ll say, ‘Why use someone else when I’m here?'”

“Yerim does have related skills, but she’s originally at the age to go to school and hang out with friends. She shouldn’t be doing this kind of work. It’s also the age when unusual things seem more fun.”

Everything except studying is fun, right? Still, she shouldn’t get too caught up in dungeon raids. Is there a hunter gathering for middle and high school students somewhere?

Not long after, Do Hamin arrived and was forcibly put to work organizing the data. We need to create a proper team as Seok Si-myung said, we’re short on manpower.

“They sent a lot overseas. Japan and China have the most… This table is, um…”

“It’s the sales ledger, Master.”

Do Hamin said.

“Can you read it?”

“Of course, I ran a store, so I know. There are many imported hamster supplies. The overseas market is still more diverse.”

Then he rambled on about bedding and nutritional supplements for a long time. Since you know so much, you can take a look instead. When I handed over the export sales routes, Do Hamin wore a tearful expression. He’s a talent worth more than a golden hamster. I brought him in well.

Even before the regression, he was working as an information broker among hunters, so his talent hadn’t gone anywhere. But this time, I have to protect him well and let him live comfortably. He must have been worried about closing his beloved hamster store and hiding for safety.

The data organization was progressing slowly, and after about an hour, Seok Si-myung and Min Ji-soo’s group returned.

“The person who commissioned the truck driver is Kim Jun-bae, and he seems to be a hunter.”

“Oh, could it be this person?”

Do Hamin said, holding up a piece of paper.

“He has the same name as a hunter from a small guild in charge of domestic honey transportation.”

“Let me see.”

He was a D-rank with no particular special features. But it’s highly likely to be the same person. Even if he’s not related to the truck driver, he’s involved in the illegal sale of dungeon byproducts, so there are enough charges to arrest him.

“Let’s take care of these guys first.”

“Should we quietly release people [arrest them]?”

I shook my head at Seok Si-myung’s words.

“Not quietly, I’m going to go openly. The Awakened Management Office Director will have to do some work.”

“Wouldn’t the people involved all hide if you did that?”

“They’ll be running around busily like rats in a burning house. And we have Do Hamin.”

Major suspects among the association officials. If we track their movements, we can definitely identify the people involved in the honey smuggling. If a small guild with no connection to the association explodes and they’re surprised, it’s 100% certain.

From then on, we’ll quietly release people [arrest the remaining suspects].

“…You said there would be about six people, but there are more than twice that many.”

I patted Do Hamin’s shoulder, who was wearing a tearful expression, and took out my cell phone.

“I should treat our Director Song, at least once.”

He won’t accept it. I wish I could ask Myungwoo to prepare an S-class equipment for him. Is there any way to get it to him?

* * *

The Dongju Rotary Guild, where Kim Jun-bae belonged, was located in a quiet suburb on the outskirts of Seoul, heading towards Incheon. Is the guild leader’s name Dongju?

“There’s no need for you to follow me here.”

Song Tae-won, who got out of the car, narrowed his brows slightly at me.

“It’s a matter related to our side. Originally, crimes against hunters are often cooperated with related guilds. Haeyeon has Hunter Kim Min-ui here, and our side, which is a hunter-related facility but not a guild, doesn’t have a suitable person, so I came out.”

We’re short on manpower, I said, deliberately sighing. But we really were short on manpower. Most of the personnel in the breeding facility and the building weren’t people I hired. I’m just a simple landlord.

“There’s Hunter Noah.”

“Noah is busy with other things.”

Noah is on standby to catch the guys who will hear the news and move as soon as we raid Dongju Rotary. Noah, who has stealth and mobility, is too useful to send on such a trivial task. He may be a support type in the dungeon, but he’s the best hunter outside. Especially when he works with Do Hamin, he has all three elements of information, secrecy, and mobility.

Quickly, secretly, and accurately get the target. I feel sorry for using him so much.

“Don’t worry, we have our reliable Hunter Kim Min-ui. I’ll just watch quietly. Since Director Song is here, it’ll be over in an instant.”

I said, grabbing Yoo-hyun’s arm, who was standing next to me. Song Tae-won’s gaze briefly touched Yoo-hyun before nodding as if he couldn’t help it.

“Check and block the escape routes.”

At Song Tae-won’s gesture, the hunters who came with him moved. They were people belonging to the Awakened Management Office, not the association. The number was small, but they were all intermediate-level combat hunters, so it was enough to deal with a small guild.

Everyone else took their positions and waited, and only Song Tae-won walked towards the entrance of the building. The problem is the escapees; if they resist, he can handle them alone. No, it would be easier for him to be alone so that allies don’t get caught up in it.

He pressed the bell at the entrance, but there was no answer. The lights that were leaking through the window were hurriedly turned off. They seemed to be planning to run away after checking Song Tae-won’s face with the camera.

Crack-

Song Tae-won opened the closed door as if tearing it off.

Then his back disappeared into the dark interior.

“This is trespassing-!”

The shout didn’t last long. Instead, the sound of something breaking was heard.

“How long will it take?”

“Within 3 minutes.”

Yoo-hyun answered, scanning the building up and down with his eyes.

“There are a total of nine people, five are downstairs, and four are upstairs, hurriedly dealing with something.”

“Can you know all that?”

“If the movement is big, I can hear it roughly even if I don’t concentrate. The five who came down, it’s over just now.”

Again, there was a loud bang, like breaking a thick door. It sounded like there was a scream too. And silence fell.

“Has it been about 2 minutes?”

The four people upstairs should have had time to contact each other. Fortunately, the news was delivered, and a call came to my cell phone.

[They started moving.]

It’s Seok Si-myung. Then the lights in the building that had been turned off started to turn on again. The hunters who were blocking the escape routes went inside and handcuffed the subdued criminals. When I went up to the second floor, I saw Song Tae-won standing in front of the open safe. There was a little blood on his gloved hand. Other than that, there was no trace of the fight.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“…No.”

Of course, he wouldn’t be, but still. It was just a light exercise against the underlings, but the battle was a battle, so he felt a little scary.

I took a deep breath and approached the safe.

“Don’t touch it.”

“Don’t worry. More than that, Director Song. There’s some equipment without an owner, are you interested-”

“No.”

A firm answer came back. Among the equipment obtained in Hong Kong, the Magoth’s Shawl and other small equipment were given to Yerim, and the blades were given to Yoo-hyun. There was a limit to the items that could be worn on a person’s body, and the characteristics had to be matched, so there were still quite a few left.

First of all, since it was obtained for free, I wanted Song Tae-won to take it, but is it too much of a cover-up? When you think about it, it’s also stolen goods.

“Then, if a good item comes out later, I’ll sell it to you cheaply, would you buy it?”

“Excessive discounts are also against the law.”

…Should I believe that the new employee will give custom rewards to the person who raided the dungeon with me and go to the dungeon together? Before that, I have to change the contract conditions for public official hunters. Let them have personal items! This is something I really have to change.

Lastly, I said I would buy him dinner, but he refused that too. It’s too difficult to deal with public officials.

* * *

“It’s okay! There’s no evidence that Dongju Rotary is related to us!”

A middle-aged man said confidently to the cell phone in his hand. But unlike his words, his face was dark. A small guild that was in charge of transporting honey from the exploded dungeon. They tracked it down this quickly. It meant that the opponent had extraordinary information power.

“…Still, just in case, erase any traces as quickly as possible.”

The man hung up the phone and hurriedly left the house. The place he drove to was a villa prepared under someone else’s name. Illegal dungeon-related contracts and mana stones and items received as compensation were stored in the safe here.

‘It would be difficult to find it here.’

Let’s get rid of it. No, it’s a waste, so let’s move it to another place. This villa had frequent visits, so there was a high probability of getting caught. He entered the villa without even turning on the lights properly and hurriedly opened the safe hidden in the living room wall.

Crash-!

“Wh, what!”

The living room window was broken. An invisible hand covered the mouth of the panicked man.

“Quiet.”

It was a pleasant voice with a soft accent. But at the same time, there was also an overwhelming force that froze people in place.

The invisible someone opened his mouth again.

“I caught him.”

[I sent a car nearby. The next location is-]

Flutter, with the faint sound of wings, the man’s body floated up.