The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 165

165. The Next Day (2)

“Red Sand Island is a perfect dungeon for a little miss like you.”

Sung Hyunjae said, tearing off the crust of his bread with an unnecessarily elegant gesture. He might be picky about not eating the crust, but he *is* the Guild Leader of the number one Hunter Guild in the country.

And the handsome young man showing off equally sophisticated chopstick skills is the prospective number two Guild Leader. It’s a bit awkward to praise my own brother, but it’s an objective fact. He’s flawlessly perfect to an excessive degree.

In short, a few words exchanged here could have national repercussions. With me added in, of course.

“If you have the ability to clear it, that is.”

“There’s no way Hunter Park Yerim can’t clear a dungeon that Choi Seokwon managed. She just needs the right team members.”

Yuhyun said confidently. He’s a Guild Leader after all, one way or another. Look at him taking Yerim’s side. Of course, our Yerim is that good. If the dungeon environment suits her attributes, she’ll be much better than that bastard Choi Seokwon.

Yuhyun swiped through his smartphone screen with his fingertip. It was data he had requested from Seok Simyeong to hold verbal consultations regarding MKC while Sung Hyunjae was here. The faster you deal with these things, the more you can squeeze out of them.

Since currently only Haeyeon and Seseong have spare S-Class capacity, an agreement between the two of them would resolve half the issue. The Hunter Association would have been greedy in the past, but they wouldn’t dare to easily interfere now.

“Hyung, is there anything you’re interested in?”

“Not really for me… Ah, I wonder if there’s anything I can give Noah.”

I couldn’t keep Noah as a security guard forever. Of course, I wouldn’t force him into a dungeon if he didn’t want to, but I should ask if he’d consider forming a raid team, even if it’s not a guild. If he does form a team, I’ll need to secure some dungeon management rights.

“Is there an A-Class dungeon good for using poison? I’d like something Noah-ssi can clear easily on his own. If he forms a team, he’ll need poison resistance gear too.”

“I don’t think Hyung needs to worry about someone who used to be a Guild Leader.”

Yuhyun said nonchalantly. He’s right, he’s an experienced Hunter, so I don’t need to take care of him personally, but I keep thinking of him as younger than he is. It’s partly because he’s younger than my brother, but his tearful face is stuck in my head.

“I don’t have anyone to take care of except Noah-ssi. Yuhyun, you must recruit a healer. The Seseong Guild Leader has readily agreed to concede one.”

At my words, my brother cast a suspicious glance at Sung Hyunjae.

“Hyung, you didn’t promise something in return again, did you?”

“No. He said he was giving it up because he didn’t show his face yesterday and felt bad for trespassing. Isn’t that right?”

“If Han Yujin-gun wants to think so, let’s say that’s the reason.”

“As a token of gratitude, I’ll offer you a drink. There’s milk and orange juice, and coffee is self-service since it’s a hassle.”

Sung Hyunjae chose orange juice and poured it himself with plenty of customer service spirit. Then, discussions about which Hunters to contact took place. Sung Hyunjae wasn’t interested in many Hunters. This was largely because Seseong didn’t really need to add more people. Haeyeon was the most lacking.

“If it’s a support type of similar lineage, this one is better. The sub-team is more substantial than Choi Seokwon’s main raid team. The main team has too many unnecessary entanglements.”

“I’ve heard the rumors too.”

Sung Hyunjae gave advice as if doing a favor, and Yuhyun accepted it without much resistance. It’s a good thing, but I was a little jealous. It must be nice to be so good in so many ways.

The finalized recruitment list was sent to Seok Simyeong. Seok Simyeong-ssi, you’ll be busy with your main job for a while.

“Should I go to the Hunter Association because of yesterday’s incident? Should I go to the Awakened Management Division?”

I said, feeding Bellare meat mixed with mana stone powder. It was about time they contacted me.

“Section Chief Song has left work, so you can go tomorrow.”

“Left work? That’s good, but unexpected.”

I thought he would stubbornly hold on until he finished all the work. So I was wondering if I should go quickly and help him finish yesterday’s work, but he left work.

“I personally escorted him home. I was going to take care of breakfast and grocery shopping, but he refused.”

“Don’t bother someone who’s already tired.”

Just imagining the two of them grocery shopping is awkward. And where would they eat? Song Taewon-ssi probably has a spending limit. The more I think about it, the more I realize how extreme the two of them are. At my words, Sung Hyunjae wore an aggrieved expression.

“Why can’t you trust people’s good intentions? I was worried he would overwork himself, so I even said I would bring a chair next to his desk and help him organize documents if he came back to work.”

“Section Chief Song will get a good rest today.”

He’s definitely not coming to work. That’s good. I looked at my brother clearing the table with a pleased expression and suddenly opened my mouth.

“Haeyeon isn’t paying attention to overseas matters yet, right?”

“Yeah. They’ve only created auction-related routes.”

This wouldn’t be much different for other guilds. Except for Seseong. I turned my head and looked at Sung Hyunjae, who was drinking orange juice.

“Do you happen to have connections in Japan?”

“It’s not a place I pay much attention to, but I do have some connections.”

“I’ve become interested in acquiring a dungeon in Japan. I’d like your cooperation.”

The stamina potion ingredient dungeon, it’s about time the raid ends. I need to snatch it before they find out.

* * *

In the afternoon, I received a call from Haeyeon that the S-Class dungeon raid was over. Since Yuhyun was also supposed to be raiding a dungeon, I shared my stealth skill and headed to the dungeon.

Near the dungeon building, a few association employees and, as expected, a few reporters were loitering. Even if it’s an S-Class dungeon raid, association employees only come to check if there’s nothing special. This time, it was Yerim’s first S-Class raid, so a reporter was there.

Together with Yuhyun, who was using the stealth skill, I passed them and entered the building. Fortunately, Yerim, Peace, and the other Hunters didn’t seem to have suffered any major injuries. As soon as I confirmed that Yerim and Peace were standing near the gate unharmed, I let out a sigh of relief.

“Ahjussi!” [Uncle/Mister, a familiar term]

– Kkiang!

Yerim shouted happily when she saw me, and Peace transformed into his small form and jumped towards me. He rubbed his whole body against my legs, unable to contain his joy. Come to think of it, this is the first time we’ve been apart for so long. The dungeon raid with Yuhyun last time ended much faster than average.

“Yes, yes, Peace. Did you miss Daddy a lot?”

– Kkeuung.

Peace cried with a mournful voice, his ears flattened. You’re going to wag your tail off, you little rascal. I’m really glad to see you too. Holding Peace in my arms after a long time makes me feel at ease. Warm and cozy… Did Yerim dump water on him? He’s clean for someone who’s been in a dungeon.

“Ah, Han Yuhyun! …Guild Leader!”

Seeing Yuhyun, who had released his stealth skill, Yerim suddenly raised her eyebrows and shouted.

“You swindler, you tricked me and went out alone! You!”

…Swindler?

“Didn’t we decide who would go with rock-paper-scissors?”

“We did, but Han Yuhyun included Peace too!”

“Peace too?”

“Yes! He said let’s decide with rock-paper-scissors, then suddenly asked if Peace wanted to try too, saying he can only throw paper, so if I throw scissors, I’ll at least tie or win, so I threw scissors!”

Yerim roared at Yuhyun like an angry lion.

“That jerk threw rock and said Peace wasn’t officially participating! But Peace didn’t actually do rock-paper-scissors, he was just staring, so it’s practically a forfeit, so it’s not wrong! Ah, Peace can’t do rock-paper-scissors, but I’m an idiot for falling for it, but it’s still unfair, you swindler!”

At Yerim’s shouting, the Haeyeon Guild Hunters scurried to the corners. Every time Yerim stamped her feet, the blue shawl she wore fluttered like wings.

“…Yuhyun?”

My brother replied with a brazen face, as if nothing was wrong.

“I told the truth.”

Well, it’s not wrong to say we decided with rock-paper-scissors. I told him not to trick her next time and soothed Yerim. When I took her side, saying Yuhyun was wrong, she calmed down somewhat.

“Ah, put the shawl in your inventory before you leave. It’s stolen goods. Was it useful?”

“It wasn’t just useful, it was great!”

Yerim glared at Yuhyun but smiled brightly at me. Her facial expressions are busy.

“It enhances water attributes, has evasion skills, and assists with flight. Using it increases my flight speed and makes it easier to deflect attacks while flying!”

My prediction that it would suit Yerim, who has weak defense, was correct. It’s better to focus on speed and evasion than to wear mediocre defensive gear.

“You should have seen me catch the boss, Ahjussi. It happened to be near a river. I drowned it, froze it whole, and shattered it!”

She boasted confidently that she had dealt with it quickly on her own by applying a cold resistance buff since it was a monster species weak to cold. Since Yuhyun left early, she had essentially raided the dungeon as an S-Class team leader, and she did well. I’m proud of her.

“Did you get along well with Peace? Were the other team members okay too?”

“I couldn’t fight with Peace because our attributes don’t match, but he was really fast. I want a mount that suits me too! I thought I’d be okay without one since I have flight skills, but there’s a big difference. It helps conserve stamina and mana too.”

I’d love to raise a mount that suits Yerim, but it won’t be easy to find. It needs to have basic cold resistance, be able to fly, and be able to operate underwater… I wonder if there’s even such a monster? It’s a problem that our kid is too capable. If all else fails, I’ll have to get two separate ones for flying and underwater activities.

“Are you okay, Ahjussi? Something must have happened since the Guild Leader ran off.”

“Quite a few things happened, but as you can see, I’m fine.”

It’s better to explain about Choi Seokwon later. Why are so many S-Classes dying? It makes the younger S-Classes uneasy. Even though my brother and I killed them, they shouldn’t have made strange contracts in the first place.

“Should I dye this?”

Yerim, who was about to put away Magoth’s Shawl, shook the cloth and said.

“Huh? Dye it?”

“Yes. It’s just cloth, so if I change the color, no one will recognize it even if I wear it outside. Dungeons sometimes explode, so it’s a waste not to use it.”

It’s true that if the color changes, it would be hard to notice from the outside. It doesn’t have any special patterns or shapes.

“I don’t know if it can be dyed, but let’s try. What color do you like?”

“Anything but red. Should I make it black since it’s easy to dye?”

“Isn’t that too drab?”

“It’s good because it doesn’t get dirty easily.”

I felt sorry for her at the practical words. She’s not at an age where she should be worrying about colors because they might get dirty.

“Just make it whatever color you like. S-Class gear doesn’t get dirty easily anyway.”

I don’t know if dyes that work on gear have been developed. I’ll have to look into it.

When I said there were reporters outside, Yerim created water droplets and washed her face. She took out a comb and mirror, saying Hyunah unni [older sister/friend] gave them to her, and tidied her hair.

“I want to change my clothes too.”

“You’ll get criticized if you come out too clean. Especially since this is your first S-Class dungeon raid, it’s good to look like you’ve been through a lot.”

“Ah, is that so?”

Yerim quickly ruffled her hair a little. It’s easy for high-level Hunters who earn a lot of money to give off the impression that they clear dungeons too easily, which can negatively affect their image. In the case of Yuhyun, Sung Hyunjae, and Moon Hyunah, they are asked to show a relaxed appearance to reassure the public, but Yerim is still a rookie and young. It would be beneficial in many ways to include a story of her growing through difficult processes.

If you establish a good image, it’s easy to get away with mistakes, saying she’s working hard and might make mistakes.

The interview should be short, showing signs of fatigue but with a bright demeanor. After giving appropriate advice on the content, I went outside. I was worried there would be reporters who would ask strange questions and cling to me, but fortunately, it ended well without any problems. Well, she’s an S-Class Awakened, even if she’s young, so they wouldn’t dare to do anything foolish in front of her. They only go after easy targets.

Yuhyun also pretended to have safely completed the dungeon raid. Then it’s time for Hunter Kim Min to return to normal. Hmm, I can’t just switch them back.