The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 154

154. Entrusted (4)

“Did you know a gatecrasher barged in and is still sauntering in so late? Isn’t that a breach of contract? You’re really remiss [negligent].”

I tried to shake off the arm around me, expressing my dissatisfaction. As always, it didn’t budge. I was worried he might press me as forcefully as he did the day the dungeon broke, but he didn’t feel threatening yet. Just a little chilling—a level I could ignore, having gotten used to it.

“I’m sorry you feel that way. To take responsibility for my remiss attitude, I should explain the situation to Young Master in detail—”

“Sometimes you can be late! Nothing happened, so let’s just move on.”

I didn’t want Yoohyun to hear, especially about the deal that jellyfish proposed; I intended to hide it. If only Sung Hyunjae would keep his mouth shut.

“Wasn’t there a lot that makes it hard to say ‘nothing happened’?”

“You were eavesdropping. I’ll overlook the privacy violation, so you pretend you didn’t hear it either.”

“Before, I said I’d give you a day to hide, though.”

Sung Hyunjae’s gaze went to where the jellyfish had been.

“You can’t run away like this.”

“Run away? From what?”

“Then what do you think it is, Han Yoojin-gun? Common self-sacrifice?”

He heard everything, not just about the magic stones but also about the contract. Did the jellyfish look the same to Sung Hyunjae as it did to me? I didn’t know how much he’d caught on.

“I didn’t sign the contract. I didn’t intend to, either. I was just planning to haggle a bit in case something happened.”

They’re interested in me, so it’s a waste to just ignore it. Whether I sign the contract or not, it’s beneficial to act like I will and squeeze out information or whatever. And if things really go south, signing the contract wouldn’t be bad either. There’s no need for us all to die together.

“So what else are you curious about? Caregiver? That’s common. I’m sure you’ve heard of it.”

It’s rare to have a natural-born S-Rank target, but there are plenty of other caregivers. Sung Hyunjae would naturally know about the title of caregiver.

“It’s just a bit unusual because the one I raised was Yoohyun. And I was going to talk about the magic stones. As you’ve already heard, it’s the ability to create monsters by combining magic stones. It was originally Diarma’s skill, that lizard bastard.”

I confessed that I’d gotten lucky while catching him with the help of the system administrators. Fortunately, the jellyfish’s babbling was something that could be explained reasonably… except for my brother’s appearance.

The fact that the jellyfish took on Yoohyun’s appearance seemed to be something he knew, judging by how he told me to turn my head. But I didn’t know if he saw it with his own eyes or guessed it from the way I called him ‘hyung’ [older brother]. Did Sung Hyunjae notice that he looked older? Even if he saw that, it would be hard to connect it to regression.

If he asked, what would I say? That my brother just aged normally without any awakening, something like that? That he appeared in that form because he wanted that kind of future.

While I was turning things over in my head…

“…What are you doing?”

Sung Hyunjae was taking off my pajama top. He stared intently at the wound, then touched it. He checked it before. Why is he touching it again?

“It’s said to be stabilized, but the feeling is definitely different.”

“Whether it’s different or not, it’s none of your business.”

“It’s hard to say it’s unrelated.”

I could feel the movement of magic power. With my magic stat, it’s impossible to clearly sense another’s magic power without using Teacher’s Skill. But the sensation of magic power circling over the wound as if examining it came to me as clearly as if I were seeing it.

Immediately after, the magic stone greedily absorbed Sung Hyunjae’s magic power that overflowed slightly, feeling a little tingly.

“It’s similar to mine. How could this be?”

“It’s just an overactive ego.”

My body trembled slightly. I didn’t even use a skill, but I felt like my mana had dropped significantly. Did it use my mana to absorb Sung Hyunjae’s magic power? I took out a potion, drank it, and continued.

“This is a combination of an SS-Rank Dragonkin magic stone and an unranked Diarma magic stone, you know? It’ll be at least SSS-Rank, so what are you comparing it to? I know you’re great, but still—”

“Just a mere S-Rank, you mean. I’m sorry for overstepping.”

“If you know, don’t bark up the wrong tree and let go.”

If he finds out I patched it up with his fragment, he might claim ownership. Absolutely not. I won’t give up even 1 percent of the share.

“If it’s Diarma’s skill, then the wound on that guy’s hand that I glimpsed before was the trace of creating monsters. The reason you put the magic stone in your chest… is it because skill efficiency is better the closer it is to the heart? You wanted to combine magic stones of a grade that would be hard to obtain again as successfully as possible.”

“I’ll just keep my mouth shut, so check the answer key yourself.”

Is there any need to waste my breath babbling? Still, he doesn’t seem to have noticed Yoohyun’s thing, seeing as he’s not asking about it.

Sung Hyunjae turned me around. Or rather, he lifted me around, but anyway. His gaze pierced my back. Exposing my back defenselessly, I got goosebumps anew. I felt like the protagonist of a horror movie being chased by something invisible.

“It’s not here yet.”

His hand touched my back, over where my heart was. I swallowed dryly without realizing it.

“Is it enough to just cut it open and insert the magic stone?”

“…Do you think it’ll work?”

I retorted in a tone that said, ‘What nonsense are you spouting?’, but thinking about it, it seemed like it would work. Until I absorbed the first magic stone, my body accepted it on its own without anything special. Combining the second magic stone was difficult. If I put one in and forcibly shoved the second one in, I’d have to use a skill. I wonder if I can reject it. What happens if I reject it with only one in?

“There are plenty of S-Rank magic stones, but it’s a waste to use them here.”

The hand that was lightly pressing down on my back moved. It went up and tapped my shoulder.

“This much should be okay. Is there a type of magic stone you want?”

He spoke as if he were about to cut open my shoulder and insert a magic stone right away. You have a thorough experimental spirit.

“My frail F-Rank body can’t handle two at once.”

“You won’t know until you try.”

“I don’t want to. And bring at least an SS-Rank. I won’t accept an S-Rank. My body isn’t that big, so I won’t waste it on something like that.”

“I guess I need to fatten you up more.”

He’s talking like I’m a pig or a goose. If possible, make it antibiotic-free, free-range.

“I’ll reserve the area above the heart on your back. Don’t give it to anyone else.”

“If you pay the price properly. The spot is good, so the magic stone has to be decent.”

It would take a long time to find two or more SS-Rank magic stones, especially of the Dragonkin type. I’ll have to diligently squeeze him dry under the pretext of reservation fees in the meantime.

– Piak!

Sung Hyunjae picked up Ppiyak, who was circling around his feet. Then he picked me up as well and turned toward the broken door.

“The bed is fine, so you can just sleep here.”

It smells a bit burnt, though. Ah, isn’t the smoke from burning furniture bad for you? I’ll have to move rooms for Ppiyak’s sake, at least.

Leaving the room with me and Ppiyak in his arms, Sung Hyunjae opened his mouth.

“I’ll be able to tell if the magic stone in your chest is related to me by looking at the completed monster, whether it has anything to do with me or not.”

“I said it doesn’t.”

I answered firmly, but I became uneasy. The monster that’s created will naturally be influenced by the base magic stone. Even if Sung Hyunjae’s fragment is mixed in, it won’t be very noticeable if it’s a beast-type…

‘The SS-Rank magic stone was also Dragonkin, and Diarma was also Dragonkin. …No matter how I look at it, it seems like it’ll be closer to a human form.’

Surely a guy who looks like Sung Hyunjae won’t pop out. I’d rather it be Diarma… but I’d want to kill him as soon as I saw him, so no. Look like an SS-Rank Dragonkin, please. Do your best, Dragonkin. I’m counting on you.

* * *

“Why are you saying no?”

The next day, as soon as it dawned, I asked Sung Hyunjae to take me to a nearby lower-level dungeon to meet the unfilial children. But Sung Hyunjae refused outright.

“There’s a no-outing clause attached to the contract with Young Master.”

“Even dogs get a walk every day!”

There’s a wide rooftop garden, but it’s still inside the building. My fear resistance grade has finally recovered, so I can go out with a light heart, but I’m banned from going out.

“You saw the jellyfish come yesterday. We need to come up with countermeasures.”

“I also heard that it’s not easy to appear like that, and it can’t do much harm. My bedroom door is open, so come anytime if you’re anxious.”

“I don’t need it.”

Since going out is impossible due to the contract, I have no choice but to get permission from my brother. I got my phone back and called Yoohyun, but he didn’t answer. Why isn’t he answering the phone from morning?

“…Do you happen to know what my brother is doing?”

“That’s also—”

“You can’t tell me due to the contract. Damn it.”

I guess I’ll have to use stealth skills and run away. As soon as Sung Hyunjae leaves his seat, I’ll run away immediately. So go to work already.

But the damn Sesung Guild Leader was still idle as ever today, pretending to be in the middle of a dungeon raid. Of course, he wasn’t just lazing around; he did some simple work—work that others brought to him without him lifting a finger.

In the end, I couldn’t move until lunchtime when Song Taewon visited. In his hands, he held a small cage with a jewel snake inside.

“Hunter Riette asked me to entrust it to Han Yoojin-ssi [Mr. Han Yoojin]. The Haeyeon Guild Leader has also agreed.”

“Yoohyun did? Do you know where my brother is and what he’s doing right now?”

“He is still acting as Hunter Kim Minyi, but I cannot give you the details. He told me to tell Han Yoojin-ssi to tame the jewel snake if he’s bored. It’s diurnal [active during the day] and small, so it won’t take much effort.”

Comet is nocturnal [active at night], and Blue and the unicorns are overflowing with energy, so he sent the jewel snake instead? Telling me not to worry about his work and take care of a new monster instead?

I didn’t like it, but I accepted the mark of the owner. Song Taewon placed the cage on the table and opened the door. A small snake with golden eyes resembling its owner and large ruby-like scales peeked out. The red body changed to purple, pink, and blue as it moved, sparkling brilliantly.

“Bellare, was it?”

– Shh.

As if responding to its name, the jewel snake turned its head and looked at me. The Caregiver Effect message window popped up, and I used Seedling Skill on Bellare.

[Grade 2 Illusion Snake Species ? Red Jewel Snake (Juvenile) Bellare

Current Stat Grade D

Potential Stat Grade A~S

Optimized Initial Skill

Jewel Weaponization (SS) Acquired after growth

Poisonous Fangs (A) Acquired

Scale Reinforcement (B) Acquired after growth

Toxin Resistance (B) Acquired

※ Growth occurs when a certain amount or more of specific jewels are consumed]

Poisonous Fangs and Toxin Resistance were common abilities for venomous snakes, but Jewel Weaponization was a skill I’d never seen before. Could it transform its body into a weapon?

‘So that’s why Riette, who doesn’t need a mount, asked me to raise Bellare.’

An S-Rank monster’s SS-Rank weaponization skill would equip it with the stats of at least an SS-Rank weapon. Since it’s a snake, it would transform into a sword or spear. Riette uses a sword, so it was a monster worth coveting.

‘Yoohyun also uses a sword.’

Can’t I get one more? Myungwoo is there, but I don’t know when he’ll be able to create an SS-Rank weapon. If it were a jewel snake for Yoohyun’s weapon, I’d stay up all night for days to grow it quickly. Stealing it… wouldn’t work. It only has toxin resistance without fire resistance, too.

– Piak.

At that moment, Ppiyak, who was wandering around on the table, approached the jewel snake.

– Shh!

Bellare lunged at Ppiyak in an instant.

“Ppiyak!”

Song Taewon quickly grabbed the snake, but it had already bitten Ppiyak. The speed at which it stretched out its body and lunged was incredible. But since it’s still a baby, its teeth are small, and I can detoxify the venom, so I quickly reached out and wrapped Ppiyak.

“Don’t pull it. Forcibly tearing it off will deepen the wound.”

First, take out a potion. Then Ppiyak flapped its wings and fell forward, still with the snake clinging to its chest.

– Piak!

Then it started pressing down on the snake’s head with its whole body. Dense downy feathers and a round, fluffy body several times larger than the jewel snake’s head. Isn’t this… similar to pressing down on a face with a feather pillow?

‘…It must be suffocating.’

– Piak piak!

Seeing Ppiyak confidently pressing down on the jewel snake, Song Taewon released the hand holding the snake with a slightly embarrassed expression. The long, stretched-out red body wriggled weakly. Gasp.

“Ppiyak! Let’s forgive it just once!”

Bellare will die like that!

– Ppiyak ppi!

Whether it understood my words or thought it was enough, Ppiyak lifted its body with a heave. Bellare, who had dropped its head, hissed softly. I opened the potion cap and rummaged through the place where Ppiyak was bitten, but there were no traces of a wound. Could it be that the fangs didn’t reach because there was so much fur?

– Ppiyak ppi!

“Yes, yes, Ppiyak. You won.”

Our baby is good at fighting, too. But if possible, get along well.