The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 20

20. You Can’t Even Drink Cold Water

“Even though I was speaking nicely, Uncle tried to hit me twice. Were you surprised?”

“Oh… um, was that so?”

Park Sung-tae did try to attack twice, that’s true. But surely she didn’t miss me slamming his head into the doorframe.

“Don’t do that anymore. It makes me anxious.”

Yerim complained. Was there anything to be anxious about in that situation? Wasn’t it completely one-sided? Is she blind?

“…Anyway, the situation is settled, so pack your things and come out.”

“Okay~”

Yerim walked past me and entered the house. Meanwhile, Park Sung-tae was being helped up by his wife. Yerim’s eyes narrowed slightly when she saw him.

“Uncle, you should be more careful. How could you lose your footing and fall like that?”

Her nonchalant voice left Park Sung-tae and his wife looking dazed. I was a little surprised too. I did make that excuse, but…

“You, you! Didn’t you just see what happened!”

Yerim shrugged at Park Sung-tae’s indignant shout.

“I’m saying it because I saw it. Or are you implying I’m framing our Mister?”

“What? Framing?!”

“Yerim, what kind of way is that to talk!”

“What’s wrong, Aunt? You saw it too, didn’t you? Uncle falling on his own and hitting his head.”

The cold words left Park Sung-tae and his wife speechless. What should I do? Should I just leave it alone, or should I stop her?

“How can you say that! Look at the blood coming from your uncle’s head! Just now, that man—”

“Aunt.”

A colder voice interrupted.

“Uncle lost his footing.”

“N, no…”

“You keep lying. I’ve said enough for you to understand.”

Yerim took a fancy long umbrella from the umbrella stand. Park Sung-tae and his wife flinched reflexively.

“I said before that I needed an umbrella as sturdy as Soo-chan’s. Do you remember? When the typhoon came last year, the plastic umbrella you gave me turned inside out and broke. But you wouldn’t give me another umbrella, saying it was my fault for breaking it, so I spent the whole rainy season picking up big plastic bags and wearing them.”

…Did that even happen? Isn’t that abuse?

“I don’t really care about that anymore. There were many other things, but I decided to just let it go. It’s not worth caring about anymore. It’s too insignificant.”

Her fair, delicate hands laid the long umbrella horizontally.

“Remember this. It’s because you’re insignificant. So stay insignificant. If you don’t and try to pick a fight with our Mister, claiming I fell on my own…”

Snap.

The umbrella was folded in half. Any strong adult man could do that. But that folded umbrella, again,

Snap, snap.

Folded in half again. Then, it was crushed as if pressed by a large press machine. Perhaps it was because of the apartment entrance setting, but even knowing she was an Awakened [a person with superhuman abilities], the sight of her delicate hands crushing the umbrella like putty felt surreal.

If it’s like this for me, it must be even more so for them.

Thump, roll.

The lump, unrecognizable in its original form, was lightly tossed.

Park Sung-tae and his wife’s eyes were fixed on it as it fell and rolled across the floor.

“So… uh, I won’t let it go.”

Yerim awkwardly finished her sentence. It seemed she couldn’t think of a plausible threat to end with. But it would be effective enough for that couple.

Yerim turned to me and grinned sheepishly.

“This is harder than I thought. But was it okay?”

Okay or whatever, did she copy me? Insisting she fell on her own, seemingly letting it go with kind words, then showing some strength and ending with a promise to turn a blind eye to the past if they lived quietly, it’s all similar.

…That’s why they say you can’t even drink cold water in front of kids [a Korean proverb meaning children will imitate their elders]. The old sayings are always right.

“…You’re supposed to be nice.”

“Mister, come on. If I act nice here, I’m not nice, I’m a pushover.”

That’s not wrong. Well, if she’s going to live as a combat Hunter, it’s better to have a tough side than to be soft.

I nodded vaguely and glanced at Park Sung-tae and his wife. They looked completely out of it. They should have treated her better. Still, considering what they did, they’re still in one piece, they got money, and there are no disadvantages. They must have accumulated a lot of good karma in their past life.

“Let’s go now. Do you have a lot to pack? Do you need help?”

“No, it’s nothing much. It’s better to buy new clothes anyway.”

My eyes went to her worn-out sneakers again. Come to think of it, her clothes were just a tracksuit too.

“I’ll buy you new shoes. Something that fits perfectly.”

Yerim smiles brightly. A beautiful smile without a trace of worry.

“Aren’t you overdoing it? You don’t even have a salary.”

She stabs me with her words while smiling.

“I told you I have money. Did you think I’ve been playing around until this age, without even going to college? I have savings.”

“Okay. Then I’ll buy lunch.”

“You can’t open a bank account yet, so you don’t have any money. And the bank isn’t open on Sundays.”

The deposit will be made once she opens a bank account.

“Th, then tomorrow! As soon as the bank opens tomorrow! I’ll buy you something expensive!”

“I’ll be looking forward to it.”

Yerim excitedly went inside. It would have been a lovely sight if it weren’t for the people sprawled near the entrance.

Thump!

I closed the trunk of the car, which was filled with her few belongings, and got into the back seat. I gave appropriate responses to Yerim, who was excited about finally becoming independent, and took out a mana potion from my inventory.

“What’s that?”

Yerim tilted her head, looking at the 100ml drink bottle.

“Mana potion, apple flavor.”

There’s also orange flavor.

“Mana potion? It looks just like those energy drinks they sell at pharmacies.”

“Even the bottle is made entirely from dungeon byproducts. That’s why if you bring the empty bottles to the Association, they give you points to use at the Hunter Shopping Mall.”

It was because you couldn’t put it in the inventory if you put it in a regular bottle. The collection rate of empty bottles was low, so they even ran a recycling campaign for mid- to high-level Hunters.

Of course, I’m an F-class Hunter who has to save every penny, so I brought them in diligently.

“Do you have life force potions too?”

“I do. Want to see?”

“Yes.”

I took out a life force potion that looked the same except for the color of the bottle and handed it to her. Yerim took it and examined it with fascination.

“If you drink this, will wounds really heal right away?”

“It’s the lowest grade, so the effect isn’t that great. Rather than drinking it, it’s mainly used by spraying it on wounds to stop bleeding and disinfect.”

“Aww, it only stops bleeding?”

“Stopping bleeding right away is very useful. And even something like this is ten times more expensive than a mana potion of the same grade.”

Yerim’s eyes widened.

“Not the other way around?”

“Mana potions are factory-made by grinding mana stones, but life force potions are handmade by Healers. Even then, it’s difficult to fix the skill effect in liquid, so you can only make up to the mid-grade, and high-grade life force potions or elixirs can only be obtained as dungeon rewards.”

Especially elixirs are precious items that don’t even come out in large quantities as S-class dungeon rewards. I explained and drank the mana potion.

I kept using the promising seedling skill, just in case, and I was short on mana. The results weren’t great either, and the best stat grade I got was a C for a delivery driver. The skill was only a D.

Finding Yoo Myung-woo was an incredibly lucky case, and usually, it’s like this. Not to mention S-class, even B-class was extremely rare.

‘It’s okay to end with Yerim… but it would be nice to have a Healer.’

Human greed is endless. Now that I have combat power, I wanted a Healer. I wish an S-class, or even an A-class Healer, would just fall from the sky. Then I really wouldn’t need anything else.

‘All the Healers who become famous in the future are foreigners, so I can’t even go find them.’

For some reason, only up to B-class Healers came out domestically. The Haeyeon Guild also held out with a B-class until they eventually recruited a foreign Hunter.

Still, there must be some, right? Should I put a chair on a street with a lot of foot traffic and search for a few days? Or should I make the rounds of hospitals? More than half of Healers come from the medical field, so if I go around all the hospitals in the country, I might find one or two.

After buying Yerim’s shoes, clothes, and other necessities, and having lunch, we returned to the Guild. Park Yerim was flustered and apologetic every time my wallet opened.

It’s not like I bought anything expensive, this much is fine.

“I’ll really pay you back!”

“I told you, it’s okay.”

I checked the balance by organizing my ATM account in the middle, and it was more than I thought. Even after taking out the money to buy stocks, it was enough to live on for about a year. Well, the most expensive thing, room and board, is free. On top of that, I don’t have to commute, so there’s no transportation cost, and all the utility bills such as communication, gas, and electricity are free, except for cell phone bills.

The dissatisfaction with the 0-won salary seemed to be fading.

That dwindling dissatisfaction completely evaporated when I was guided to the A-class Hunter-only dormitory on the upper floors.

“Daily necessities and food ingredients are provided up to 1 million won per month upon telephone or written request to the dormitory management office on the 15th floor.”

The female employee in charge of the dormitory guidance said with a pretty smile.

“Huh? You give us that too?”

“It would be inconvenient for you to go shopping yourself, and quarantine is necessary in case of emergencies. You can increase the limit at your own expense.”

They really take good care of A-class. Well, how much revenue do they generate? It’s worth taking a close look to make sure they don’t eat something wrong and get sick.

“Cleaning and laundry services are provided twice a week as a basic service, and you can dispose of trash by separating dry and wet waste and putting it in the disposal port in the hallway. Of course, it is also possible to hire a dedicated housekeeper at your own expense.”

They even do cleaning and laundry. I was a thief for wanting a salary while coming to a place like this. I’ve only been able to enter a two-person studio apartment, so I thought they would give me a large detached house with free utility bills at most. I didn’t know the service would be this good.

“This is A-15, assigned to Han Yoojin. Park Yerim will be moving into A-16 next door.”

Yerim didn’t come up with me because she was getting coordination for when she goes to the Hunter Association tomorrow. They’ll style her to match not only her appearance but also her personality, skills, and Hunter characteristics. If she’s S-class, she’s as good as any celebrity, so it’s worth it.

…Does Yoohyun get that too? He dresses well.

The employee took out a card key and opened the door. Then she handed me the key.

“Only one card key is provided, and if you want cleaning when you go out, please leave it at the management office. The security system is currently in the initialization state, and you can enter and exit without a card key by registering your fingerprint and password.”

I took the card key and went inside. The first thing that caught my eye was the living room, which was decorated like a luxury hotel or model house. The sunlight streaming in through the full-length glass windows was dazzling.

“Please refer to this booklet for other instructions and precautions. The cage and safety facilities for the Flame Horned Lion cub will be installed on Monday. Please do not bring it down to the dormitory until then.”

“Yes, I understand.”

“Also, for safety, we have made a door between A-16 and this room.”

“…Yes?”

No, I signed a contract to be protected, but there’s no need to do that even here. What about my privacy?

“…Can I lock it?”

“From A-16, yes.”

The employee said as if it were obvious. What about me? I’ll have to go to the hardware store and buy a lock.

“Ugh, I’m tired.”

As soon as the employee left and I was alone, I collapsed on the sofa. I was going to play around and eat when I regressed, but somehow I ended up running around busily.

Still, I’ve roughly settled down now.

‘A-class dormitory is provided without a time limit, so I don’t have to worry about the future.’

Unless the dungeon suddenly disappears and the Awakening ability disappears. …I still need to prepare for retirement. It appeared suddenly, so you never know.

I lay there for a while and then fumbled for my cell phone. The new Hunter training date has been set, so I need to contact Myungwoo. I hope he hasn’t had any bad thoughts in the meantime?

The phone rang a few times, and Yoo Myungwoo answered.

“Hello—”

[The phone owner can’t answer the phone right now.]

Huh? That’s not Yoo Myungwoo’s voice? And the call was cut off. What, why can’t my precious SS-class crafting skill owner answer the phone?