The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 194

Outside the window, it was completely dark, the glittering night view dazzling. The dessert, whose name I didn’t know but was beautifully decorated, was quite delicious—it must have been expensive. While I was diligently eating, Seok Si-myeong’s advice not to focus too much on the food came to mind. *Since the water had already been spilled* [Since the situation is already done, and cannot be undone], let’s just move on today.

…But isn’t it a bit much to interfere with my eating?

Besides, Seong Hyeon-jae didn’t touch on the specifics of my behavior. He said it was okay to restrain myself if I wanted to, but not to hold back while being conscious of others.

“Did you give Yu-hyeon this kind of advice, too?”

I suddenly thought of it and asked the man sitting across from me. Seok Si-myeong was there, but the position of a lower-ranking employee was different from that of a guild leader. How involved was he with Yu-hyeon? I was unnecessarily nervous. Even if there was nothing to influence, they would have met often, so it would be hard for there to be no influence at all.

“There was no need.”

Seong Hyeon-jae loosened his clasped hands and said.

“The same goes for other S-Class Hunters, except for a few fools. They firmly believe in themselves, to the point where they won’t be shaken by ordinary things.”

With that, he picked up an unopened wine bottle—to be exact, it was closer to grabbing it, a careless and rough movement.

“Because the foundation is firmly in place.”

*Thud*, the neck of the bottle hit the table and was cleanly cut off. Seong Hyeon-jae’s other hand lightly caught the cork that bounced up, leaving the bottle opening as it was. Then he tossed it aside roughly.

“Even if I act like this.”

The wine flowed into the glass. He poured it in carelessly, soon overflowing and wetting the table. The wine bottle was roughly placed with a *thunk*. It was a mess. Just looking at the actions, it seemed like a drunk was causing a ruckus. If it were a soju [Korean distilled spirit] bottle and soju glass instead of wine, it would be perfect.

“It looks good, I suppose.”

Seong Hyeon-jae’s fingertip caressed the edge of the full wine glass, then pushed it over. A golden wave spread across the table, and he softly raised the corner of his lips.

“Moving as you please without holding back is surprisingly difficult. You can’t help but feel anxious about what might go wrong. If you feel anxious, you shrink back, and if you shrink back, you feel pathetic.”

I stared back at Seong Hyeon-jae, who didn’t even glance at what he had done. Beyond simply being confident, there was a naturalness that anything he did was a matter of course.

Without doubt or question. He may have reflected on his actions, but he probably never regretted them.

“…Honestly, I think there’s an appearance buff, too.”

Seong Hyeon-jae laughed briefly at my words.

“That’s a big part of it. It’s basically an appearance that catches the eye.”

Our Yu-hyeon is really handsome, too, so whatever he does looks plausible.

“Looking at even the youngest Park Ye-rim, there’s no need to touch her mindset or behavior. Only advice on social issues is needed. The little lady is already confident and has a firm belief in herself. But Han Yu-jin…”

“I am well aware that I am lacking.”

All I believe in about myself is my skills. And even that, for the most part, I can’t say is entirely my own.

“And it will probably be difficult to change in a short period of time. To be honest, I’m more broken than Seong Hyeon-jae-ssi thinks. I can’t even walk without relying on people.”

For me to move on my own now is no different from taking away crutches from someone with a broken leg. I built a wall with fear resistance and crouched down, then got up with the support of the people around me, but I still couldn’t walk alone.

“So I would appreciate it if you could give me plenty of time. I don’t want to fall out with Seong Hyeon-jae-ssi. I can’t say I’m confident, but I like the name ‘partner’.”

As Seong Hyeon-jae said, an S-Class Awakened is born to be outstanding. There’s no way it’ll be easy to catch up with this body. To put it coldly, it’s reckless. It’s like a cat among tigers. Shouldn’t I be proud just for not being eaten?

“It’s not like I demanded it unilaterally, and you accepted it, so you should take that into account.”

“I’m not in such a hurry, so don’t worry.”

Can I trust him? I was still confused as to whether it was just a simple pastime or genuine. I wanted to know Seong Hyeon-jae’s true feelings. If someday I could truly stand side by side with him, beyond just standing together, and be able to trust and rely on him, there would be nothing more reassuring.

It’s a distant matter, though.

“Shouldn’t we call someone to clean the table?”

“Can’t we just move it?”

Seong Hyeon-jae said lightly and got up. It’s a solution that only someone who has everything would come up with. Why don’t you move instead of cleaning? …Although he’s a person who can actually do it.

Wine was dripping from under the table, so I quickly got up to follow him.

“I wasn’t really going to worry about overseas, but…”

I said, following behind Seong Hyeon-jae. It was a story that came up during the meal earlier. Now that things are being sorted out domestically, shouldn’t I start turning my attention overseas?

I didn’t have the intention or confidence to make things so big in the first place. It’s big enough now.

“It will be difficult to delay the time if you only manage domestic dungeons.”

Seong Hyeon-jae stopped walking, turned to me, and said. Don’t talk so close; my neck hurts.

As he said, in order to delay the destruction, the swallowing, overseas dungeons would have to be properly攻略 [conquered/managed]. If all the dungeons around the world explode and the world is covered with monsters, it will be difficult for Korea to hold out until the end.

“I thought it would be enough to supply the skill books since there must be capable people in other countries as well.”

There’s also the thing about gathering 50 of the unfilial children… But now I don’t have much faith in it. At first, I believed it because they were system administrators and said they would help prevent dungeons.

‘It’s better to be careful until they explain the exact reason.’

What are they going to do with 50 people by applying the caregiver keyword? Above all, the keyword applicators are precious to me. Now that I’m suspicious of the unfilial children, I’m worried about rashly filling the 50 people. Since I have to keep raising monsters, if the unfilial children keep giving ambiguous answers even after exceeding 40 people, should I just 解除 [remove/cancel] the keyword?

I’m hesitating right now because the skill performance is so good.

“Seong Hyeon-jae-ssi was planning to go overseas, right? Just looking at Noah-ssi or Evelyn-ssi, you have more than enough foothold.”

“There’s no need to stay in a stabilized place.”

For now, it would be more accurate to say that he’s leaving because it’s become boring. Was it the same reason before regression? Or was there something else?

I passed him, sat down, and opened my mouth.

“Were you thinking of leaving Haeyeon in charge of Korea?”

“I was considering it. To be exact, I was weighing between Moon Hyeon-ah and Han Yu-hyeon. The young master had one serious problem.”

Problem? With Yu-hyeon? What problem does our Yu-hyeon have?

“What problem does our Yu-hyeon have?”

I was so excited that the words in my head came out as they were. But what’s the problem? And you even added ‘serious’.

“It would be better to fix the attitude of getting angry whenever the young master is mentioned.”

“…It doesn’t seem easy.”

“That’s how it looks.”

Seong Hyeon-jae replied as if he couldn’t help it. …Aren’t you accepting it too easily? Was my attitude that bad? He sat down and continued.

“Clearly, Haeyeon has great potential for development in many ways. So I was leaning towards the young master.”

Of course, Hyeon-ah-ssi is also capable, but our Yu-hyeon is honestly good. Besides, he has grown an independent guild to this extent.

“But I was concerned about why Han Yu-hyeon created the guild. As I said before, it wasn’t his nature to do so. A guild leader who will let go and leave at any time if the reason for maintaining the guild disappears—that was the concern.”

Well, it would be troublesome if Yu-hyeon abandoned everything and left after Korea was handed over.

“So, even though I had half decided on Haeyeon, if the reason wasn’t clearly revealed, I was thinking of changing to Breaker. Moon Hyeon-ah also has enough ability to lead her own guild. If I give her a little help to get out of the sponsors, she will be able to stand on her own.”

“…Did you have any thoughts of recruiting Hunter Moon Hyeon-ah?”

I was thinking of bringing her to Haeyeon.

“Unless Moon Hyeon-ah becomes a free hunter of her own will, it is more suitable and helpful for her to be in the position of guild leader.”

I see. In fact, I didn’t know much about the Breaker Guild itself, or about the guild leader, Moon Hyeon-ah. I just thought it would be better to bring her over later because it would collapse.

Looking at Ye-rim’s attitude, she’s a good person, and she’s close to Kang So-young. There were also rumors that she has a wide network of connections and is active in supporting female hunters. …As Seong Hyeon-jae said, she seemed like a person who was well-suited to be a guild leader.

“Then how do you see Park Min-gyu, the guild leader of Hanshin?”

“He is someone you can trust when it comes to things beyond the dungeon. I recommend visiting his home directly.”

He’s not giving everything away. I need to take a closer look at Moon Hyeon-ah and Park Min-gyu… No, I was just going to independently operate the breeding center. Why is the work 계속 [continuously] growing?

I put the two people aside and went back to the original story.

“If you hadn’t been able to find out why Yu-hyeon created the guild, what would you have done?”

“Unfortunately, I can’t support a guild whose pillar might disappear at any time. I would have changed direction to Breaker.”

But before regression, Breaker collapsed, and Korea was occupied by Haeyeon. In other words, Seong Hyeon-jae meant that he knew why Yu-hyeon created the guild.

‘…Did he notice me?’

I asked again to make sure.

“What about now? I mean, if you knew that I was still an unawakened and Yu-hyeon created the guild to protect me.”

“It couldn’t be more perfect.”

Seong Hyeon-jae’s lips drew a satisfied smile.

“He will become an excellent watchdog for his bloodline, maintain my guild, and protect Korea.”

“Don’t say dog sounds to someone else’s precious younger brother.”

I frowned, but I realized that Seong Hyeon-jae before regression had noticed me. When was it? It must have been before Breaker collapsed. It’s not that important.

…Surely he didn’t use me to threaten Yu-hyeon. He’s not the kind of person who likes such base acts. Just having me is enough to achieve the desired purpose for Yu-hyeon.

“Just one more thing. Why did you try to protect Korea? Is it because it’s your hometown? I’m also curious if it’s even your hometown.”

“Does there have to be a reason?”

Seong Hyeon-jae tilted his head slowly and said.

“If I had to make an excuse, it’s because Korea is the most stable. The government’s initial response was also quick, and there is also the singularity called Song Tae-won. I judged that it would be good to maintain it because it is the place with the highest possibility of holding out until the end in the current world.”

More than other words, the thing about Song Tae-won dug deep into my ears.

“Do you think it’s good that Song Director is in Korea? Even in a state where the association’s replacement has not been made?”

“The Hunter Association can be created as many times as you want. On the other hand, there is only one Song Tae-won.”

The moment I heard those words, I was convinced. Seong Hyeon-jae did not kill Song Tae-won. Of course, there was a possibility that Song Tae-won before regression had changed differently from now. But if he was the same as now, he wouldn’t have taken his life even if he regretted it.

What on earth happened? Between the two of them. Or, perhaps, between him and the Crescent Moon.

‘It must have been no ordinary thing. I want to go back into that human’s head and search again.’

When will the memories before regression come back? Should I hit him in the back of the head? While grumbling inwardly, I took out the original purpose that had been pushed far back.

“How are the dungeons in Japan going? If you want to claim a stake, you should let me know the progress. Of course, I will also tell you about the detailed value.”

“I forgot.”

Seong Hyeon-jae looked at his wristwatch with a playful expression. Watch…….

“I must have been waiting for about two hours.”

“Waiting? Who are you talking about?”

“A person from Japan.”

“Yes?!”

No, he made someone from overseas wait for two hours? Should we go now? Seong Hyeon-jae got up as if nothing was wrong. Seok Si-myeong-ssi, erase the information that this person keeps his appointments well. He’s completely произвольный [arbitrary/random].