The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 169

169. S-Class in Name Only (3)

Although their actions caused a stir, the MKC Hunters didn’t face any significant penalties. For such minor incidents, even a fine was unlikely for high-level Hunters. Since it happened within the Hunter Association and involved Hunters, at most, they’d receive a warning, and that would be the end of it.

The same held true even when Choi Seok-won’s aide, seething with anger, openly voiced his desire for revenge. There were no protective measures in place for me. Well, it was common for the regular police to turn a blind eye to such things anyway.

“Even though it’s obvious that Hae Yeon harmed the Guild Leader, those bastards at the Association are colluding and aren’t even investigating! Especially you, Kim Min-yi, I’ll find a way to kill you, no matter what!”

I’d thought he’d give up once he realized he couldn’t win, but he was persistent. Since attacking Kim Min-yi would cause problems, I approached him instead. Noah and Yerim stayed close, warning me to be careful.

“I’m telling you this out of pity for your misguided assumptions, but Kim Min-yi is a support-type S-Class Hunter who hasn’t been active for long. He’s not capable of taking on Choi Seok-won. If you’re going to point a sword, aim for one of the other S-Classes. I’m talking about the combat types, not support types.”

The other combat-type S-Classes present at the time were Riet, Song Tae-won, Sung Hyun-jae (who was held up), and Evelyn. Even if an A-Class Hunter charged at them, gnashing their teeth, they wouldn’t leave a scratch. Those were people I didn’t need to worry about.

“And you shameless bastard, what do you mean Hae Yeon harmed him? That son of a bitch Choi Seok-won went wild with a knife and collapsed on his own. Who was it that tried to kidnap a peaceful person first, and now you’re whining about being wronged?”

He trembled all over at my words, telling me not to tarnish Hae Yeon’s image.

“Damn it, so what if he did! He’s just an F-Class Hunter with no stats being presumptuous!”

He really had a convenient way of thinking. Seeing his petty and malicious intentions, even if other S-Classes were involved, there was a high chance he’d keep targeting the seemingly easy Kim Min-yi. Then, I had no choice but to present an even easier target.

“That presumptuous F-Class Hunter contributed about 30% to the disappearance of your gang leader dog. No, since it went wrong trying to catch me in the first place, should I make it 50%? I think it’s about that much.”

“What… you bastard!”

Noah quickly pulled me back, and Yerim’s hand blocked the fist that flew towards me. It was literally a child against an adult, but the small, frail-looking hand didn’t budge an inch. White frost began to spread across the surface of the large fist, and Choi Seok-won’s aide hurriedly retreated.

“Yerim, don’t use attack skills. We’re inside the Association. Show some restraint.”

“What about killing without using attack skills?”

“No. You need to calm down. You’re usually not like this; your language has gotten a bit rough.”

There are a lot of people watching. Let’s manage your image, Yerim. Following Yerim, Noah also said in a chilling voice from behind me.

“It would be better to deal with him quickly. He doesn’t look like he’ll just let it go.”

“No, Min-yi ssi [ssi is a Korean honorific]. Don’t touch him. We have to obey the law.”

As Noah said, his eyes were half-flipped. Thanks to my provoking, he seemed to resent me more than Kim Min-yi. An F-Class Hunter with stats is much easier to deal with than an S-Class Hunter, after all. Those kinds of guys tend to target the easiest opponents first.

“Loyal dog acting out of place, let’s get your name.”

“Choi Dong-gyun. Remember it well.”

The same Choi clan. Was he acting like this because he’s a relative? Choi Dong-gyun was yelling about showing me a hard time, and Yerim was about to pull out her spear but was stopped by my restraint and just huffed.

“Crime is not allowed.”

“What about telling Guild Leader?”

“That’s not allowed either. Don’t tell him. Min-yi ssi, don’t get involved or even mention it. Yerim, you too. Even if that bastard drowns himself in a bowl of water, the circumstances will make us suspicious.”

Fortunately, my Hunter’s license came out, so I soothed the kids and left the place. Yerim’s footsteps were as loud as King Kong’s as we walked down the hallway. She’s going to make a hole in the floor at this rate.

“How can we just leave him alone?”

“Private sanctions are not allowed in our country, Yerim. And those kinds of guys don’t live long anyway.”

I reassured her that there was no need to dirty her hands and image, and then stopped walking in a deserted hallway.

“I’ll be right back, just going to the restroom for a bit.”

The restroom was spacious and clean, and the stalls were sturdy and thick, unlike ordinary public restrooms. Apparently, the damage rate was high if they were made normally. It seemed to be because many newly awakened people came and went to register as Awakened.

There was no one there, but just in case, I went into the innermost stall and took out my phone.

[Can you take care of MKC’s Choi Dong-gyun? Make sure the cause is clear so as not to arouse suspicion.]

I was worried that Kim Min-yi’s safety would be compromised if I just left him alone, and I was also worried that Yoo-hyun would step in unnecessarily again. There’s no way he wouldn’t hear about what happened today, and he’d do something about it somehow.

It’s not that it’s a bad thing. Since the other party showed hostility first, it was necessary. But in the current situation where we’re trying to absorb MKC Hunters into Hae Yeon, it wouldn’t look good in many ways. After all, they used to be my former colleagues, so I should refrain from openly harming them.

[I don’t like the reason.]

Sung Hyun-jae soon sent a reply. I don’t know what he’s talking about.

[You don’t like a reason that’s not even a reason, what are you talking about?]

[The little kids that Han Yoo-jin is holding onto have teeth and claws too.]

What. So, he’s saying not to ask him for favors for our kids? Because the kids can handle it well enough on their own?

[He’s threatening to kill me, though. Aren’t you going to manage your so-called item properly?]

[Of course, I will.]

He keeps talking in circles. I got frustrated with the back-and-forth texting and called him.

“Just say you don’t want to if you don’t want to. I’ll find another way.”

It’s not difficult to bury a washed-up A-Class Hunter. Going through Sung Hyun-jae is the easiest and fastest way, so that’s why I contacted him.

[That’s not how you ask for a favor.]

His voice was gentle as if scolding me, but at the same time, it had a condescending tone.

[If you tell me without calculation that you want that guy gone because he’s annoying, I’ll grant it as much as you want. Do you think I can’t do that much?]

“Does it work if it’s a deal instead of a favor?”

[Oh dear, you’re saying such cold things. I just wanted to see you purely cling to me for your own sake.]

What is he even saying?

“I acknowledge that you’re great, but even so, you can’t give me what I really want.”

[If I could?]

“Then I would have already run over and knelt down. I could even beg while crying. I’d crawl on the ground and lick your shoes. Really.”

That much isn’t difficult. Throwing away that much pride isn’t anything new. If I could really crawl on the ground and have everything end well as I wish, I would be grateful.

Sincerely. If I could get everything back without losing anything more.

[…It’s a shame it’s over the phone.]

Sung Hyun-jae muttered quietly.

[As an apology for my shortcomings, I’ll accept it as a favor, not a deal.]

“…Thank you for now.”

I would have been more grateful if he had just listened without turning my insides out. Then he started nagging about whether I was eating on time and other useless things, so I hung up. He’s going to send me a scale and tell me to weigh myself and report it; is he a health trainer?

“Then should I take care of his birthday too?”

I heard Yerim’s worried voice as I came out of the restroom.

“Yes. It’s safer that way.”

“What, he’ll buy it for me. I can’t think of anything. That ahjussi [a Korean term for ‘middle-aged man’] has a lot of money, right? There’s nothing he doesn’t have, right?”

“What do you mean buy it for you.”

I wondered what they were talking about, and it seemed they were talking about the Sesung Guild Leader’s birthday.

“There’s no need to worry about it.”

“But they say he might pick a fight if we don’t take care of it.”

“Don’t worry. If the Sesung Guild Leader does anything stupid to you, I’ll grab him by the collar and throw him away.”

“I can already see the future where you grab his collar and get carried away. Guild Leader-nim [nim is a Korean honorific] is rampaging, and Seoul is becoming a sea of fire.”

Am I that untrustworthy? Of course, my belief in my own strength is hitting rock bottom and piercing the ground.

“And there’s something I’ve already spent. I spent 500 million, so he’ll pay me back about 10,000 won [Korean currency], I guess.”

She’s so kind. More than that, Noah also gave him a birthday present? It was when he wasn’t in Korea, so he sent it from overseas? I asked him, wondering, but Noah answered no.

“I wasn’t a target to pick a fight with, so there was no need to take care of me.”

“You weren’t a target to pick a fight with?”

“That’s… um, it felt like I was a part of Nuna [older sister in Korean]. There was no need to touch me; should I say I was tamed? Anyway, picking a fight with a birthday present is only for someone you’re interested in.”

“No, Noah ssi, what’s wrong with Min-yi ssi that he’s not interested in him? There’s nothing good about getting attention from that human, but how capable and great is he. He has no eye for talent.”

Isn’t Noah ssi a person who doesn’t lack anything? Even his upbringing is that of Riet. He’s even nice in that environment, so he’s completely an angel. I told her not to worry about that guy and started walking again.

I told the reporters who were waiting outside that I would do an interview in the evening and got into the car.

“Riet has gone into the dungeon with Soyoung ssi, so we have a little more time. It’ll be quick for the two of them to come out, but since he decided to compete over Soyoung ssi’s matter and acted arbitrarily without saying anything, we can use that as an excuse to set a favorable date.”

“Compete?”

Yerim poked her head out from the back seat and asked.

“What happened while I was gone?”

After explaining the situation with Riet in general, Yerim got excited and patted Noah’s shoulder.

“I’ll cheer you on too! Can I give you a buff?”

“It’s a personal match, so you can’t. I’ve only agreed to help me. Ah, lending me the shawl would be okay. You can’t receive the attribute effect, but it’ll be useful for Noah ssi.”

It helps with flight and evasion, and it’s in the form of a shawl, so it can be used in a specialized state.

“It’s okay to borrow stats even if other people can’t give you a buff. Asking Yoo-hyun or the Sesung Guild Leader would be a great help.”

Both of them have good stats. And if I have one more thing, I’ll have a good chance of winning the fight with Riet. If I’m going to fight, I have to win.

“Let’s invite the Sesung Guild Leader too and make him realize that he saw the wrong person.”

Our Noah ssi is great enough. I don’t need that human’s attention, but I can’t let him be ignored.

I returned to Hae Yeon, woke up Kim Min-yi, and explained the situation. Kim Min-yi made a tearful face at the words that he had to raise his stats to B-Class to be safe, but his face lit up at the sound of going to work at the breeding facility and being able to play and eat.

“I was already tired of going around dungeons anyway!”

He said that he doesn’t catch monsters directly, but he can’t get used to the bloody scene. Not all Hunters enjoy hunting monsters. There were rare pacifists among the combat types who generally liked fighting, and the proportion was even higher in the support or healing types.

So, he was planning to earn a lot of money when he was young and then work in a Hunter-related office job later, but he was happy that it worked out, so my conscience disappeared a lot. Since he’s an S-Class Hunter, there’s no place that will accept him as an office worker, but I’ll take good care of his salary, so retire and play and eat.

“The contract period is 5 years. You must keep the secret until then.”

“Yes, yes~. But can’t you connect me to the internet?”

“I trust you to take good care of your hands and provide you with as many conveniences as possible.”

He smiles brightly, saying that it’s the same as being dangerous to go around dungeons, even with the honest warning that he’s the first to be targeted if an enemy force attacks. He’s getting paid 10 billion, so he can do that. He’s optimistic, so that’s good. Well, there are a lot of people in the world who do more dangerous work and earn only a small amount.

Kim Min-yi, who was handed over to Seok Si-myung, gave an interview in the evening as he was taught. It was roughly the content that he was a common B-Class support type, but he was happy and moved to be able to grow into an S-Class Hunter, and that other support type Hunters should also have hope. Since the system said that even an F-Class Hunter can become an S-Class Hunter if it disappears, it’s not a complete lie.

And at night, Yoo-hyun and the angry Yerim came to visit.

“Ahjussi!”

Yerim, with a face full of injustice, anger, and resentment, shouted loudly.

“Did Han Yoo-hyun really decide to live with Ahjussi?!”

“…Huh?”

Come to think of it, Yoo-hyun brought his luggage. He’s holding a large carrier in his hand. I looked at my brother, asking what happened, and he smiled shyly.

“Hyung [older brother in Korean] said it was our house first.”

Well, he did.

“I’m not moving completely; I’m just going to use that side when I’m busy. Is it not okay?”

“There’s nothing wrong with it, but there are a lot of kids here, so it might be noisy at night.”

“It’s okay.”

At the sound of doing as he pleased, Yerim made a tearful face.

“Ahjussi, what about me!”

…Why again?