The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 248

246. Alpha’s Memories (2)

The rooftop, used as a helipad, was spacious. Finding Yoohyun, however, wasn’t difficult. The moment I stepped onto the roof, Irin popped out from behind my neck. Irin lifted a paw in a greeting wave, then hopped down and led the way, crawling forward.

My brother was standing at the far end of the rooftop, the morning sunlight softly caressing his black hair. He resembled Yoohyun, yet there was a subtle difference. He looked a bit older, too. He was twenty-six, after all.

The oldest version of my brother I’d ever seen… It was a relief that Alpha’s presence was mixed in. Otherwise, it might have been quite a challenge.

“Why are you out here? Without a word.”

I walked over to Yoohyun’s side. The city stretched out beyond the railing. The remnants of last night flickered among the distant buildings. The people below must be bewildered. The Defense Agency had been completely overturned overnight. Some would be pleased, others anxious.

“Hyung.”

“Yeah?”

“Lately, I feel like I’ve become too soft.”

Irin climbed onto Yoohyun’s shoulder and settled on his neck. My brother continued calmly.

“I’m thinking of going back to the house in the guild. Peace has Park Yerim by his side, and Noah Hunter is stationed there too, so there’s no need to worry about you. Besides, it’s right next door anyway.”

“Hey, what are you talking about all of a sudden? Soft? What’s wrong with being soft? It’s tough to live too rigidly. A little softness is good.”

It was true that Yoohyun had become a bit more relaxed recently. But compared to before, especially before the regression, this was better… much better.

“It’s not like you don’t want to live with me, right?”

“Yeah, it’s not that. I like it now. I like it so much that sometimes I wonder if I’m dreaming.”

“Then why are you trying to leave?”

No answer came. There was definitely something going on. I was sure of it. Could it be because I almost died trying to save him? No, he had already been honest about that. If something similar happened again, he said he would wait as long as it took for me to come and save him safely with others.

My brother didn’t tell me to just give up on him. He asked me to save him. He must have been very surprised, scared, and exhausted, but he didn’t reject my hand. So he wouldn’t try to leave my side now because of that.

If that’s the case…

‘…Is it because of Alpha’s memories?’

Even if he suddenly entered someone else’s body, the environment changed, and he was left alone, it was still strange that it led to a rampage. Even Moon Hyuna was skillfully playing the role of Lambda. Besides, according to her, Akates was the only place where SS-class guard abnormalities had been reported. City exchanges were limited, but there was no way they wouldn’t have heard about a major incident like Alpha’s rampage. Yerim and Noah seemed to have adapted well too. Peace, for now, was set aside.

In the end, Yoohyun was the only one with a problem.

‘He asked about this world before going to bed, too.’

But what kind of memories could they be?

“Yoohyun, you—”

Lightly, without a sound, Yoohyun climbed onto the railing.

“Is it because of Alpha? Where are you going!”

My brother walked along the railing as if running away. I chased after him, but soon I was blocked. It would have been difficult when I was F-class, but now I’m C-class with boots. I climbed onto the railing too.

The railing, about the width of two fingers, soon ended, and a higher steel plate surrounded it for security. The width of the foothold was less than one centimeter, more like tightrope walking, but he looked as stable as if he were on flat ground. I can do that now too.

“It’s dangerous, Hyung!”

Yoohyun shouted as soon as I climbed onto the steel plate. Dangerous? The ground visible right next to me was dizzyingly far, but I wouldn’t fall.

“We agreed not to hide anything from each other. Tell me.”

“…You don’t tell me everything either.”

“I’ve told you everything except what I can’t say. I’ve told you everything about this place, even that this is my real body and that I have four lives left. I wanted to hide it because I was worried about you, but I told you honestly.”

I took a step forward. Yoohyun’s gaze was fixed on my toes. He unconsciously tensed his legs, as if he would run over immediately if I looked like I was about to fall.

“There are things you have to hide from others in life, of course. I’m not going to pry into your personal affairs. If you happen to keep glancing at someone and want to date them, or if you’re secretly in a relationship, it would be nice if you told me.”

“I don’t, I won’t.”

You should.

“But you’re acting like this, and it’s definitely related to me, isn’t it? Right?”

Yoohyun pressed his lips tightly. Yeah, that’s right.

“Then shouldn’t I know too, Yoohyun? You wouldn’t like it if I was worrying about your problems and keeping them to myself, would you? Right? If I had hidden the fact that my body is real now because I was worried about you, how would that have been? You wouldn’t like it?”

“…I wouldn’t. But, Hyung.”

My brother hesitated, unable to speak easily. What could it be? I couldn’t guess at all.

“I’m, for Hyung. So, like…….”

Yoohyun’s gaze, which had been fixed on my toes, didn’t seem to want to rise. I held back because I thought he would run away so quickly that I wouldn’t be able to catch him if I got any closer.

“I only bring harm. No, I actually do. It would be better if I wasn’t—”

“Hey! Han Yoohyun!”

Yoohyun flinched and looked up. This bastard, there are things you can say and things you can’t.

“What kind of bullshit is that!”

“But, Alpha’s!”

Alpha’s what! Yoohyun’s voice was cut off, and blue willow leaves appeared. That guy is really planning to run! I gritted my teeth and leaned my body to the side. Outside the building, towards the ground. A height that would be absolutely fatal if I fell, not only as an F-class but even as a C-class.

“Hyung!”

As expected, my brother ran over. He reaches out his hand towards me. My body is completely horizontal with the ground. Normally, I should have fallen straight down, but the bottom of my boots stepped on the side of the steel plate, which was perpendicular, as if it were a flat floor. I stood there, stuck to the steel plate, and took out a wire. It’s an A-class item, sturdy and with an automatic binding function.

I wrapped the wire around my wrist and tied up my brother’s body at the same time.

“If you put force on it, my wrist will be cut off.”

“What, Hyung!”

No matter how good an A-class item is, how could it beat an SS-class? So I deliberately tied it up so that it was connected to my wrist. If the wire was pulled, my wrist would be tightened. With a C-class body, it would dig into my flesh and eventually be cut off.

Yoohyun stopped, unable to even think about cutting the wire wrapped around his upper body. Not wanting me to get hurt, he couldn’t move, and Yoohyun’s body fell onto the rooftop.

I climbed on top of my brother to keep him from doing anything foolish. Irin crawled out and paced around, as if wanting to cut the wire.

“Irin, you stay still.”

Irin blinked and hesitated before returning to my brother’s neck. Good, that’s a good boy.

“…That’s too much. Taking Hyung hostage.”

Yoohyun complained.

“I’m sorry about that.”

Even if my talented brother didn’t have the ability to hold me back, this method was wrong. But I couldn’t just let my brother stab himself with a knife.

“Why am I only bringing harm to you?”

“…….”

“Han Yoohyun.”

I waited, as if I would be here forever. After a long time, Yoohyun’s mouth opened.

“…Alpha also had a guardian.”

My brother said that there was someone with a title. For a moment, I wondered if it was the same title as mine, but this shouldn’t be the place with the fifth origin. The title of guardian who raised a born S-class only appeared in the world of the fifth origin. It seemed that Alpha was not a born S-class.

“And, they were murdered.”

“Yoohyun, I know what you’re worried about, but I told you that it’s common for people with the title of guardian to be murdered. That’s why you kept your distance from me. It was a little hard for a while, but I’m okay now—”

“To the Filial Invert.”

“…What?”

Yoohyun’s eyes twisted in pain. He gritted his teeth as if it was hard to recall the memory, then spoke again.

“This Akates is related to the Filial Invert of this world. I don’t know if the exact information is because the memory I received is incomplete or because it’s blocked. They said they had a contract with someone.”

“You don’t know who that is?”

Yoohyun shook his head briefly. It was likely someone from the Defense Agency. They might have been caught up in yesterday’s events and died, or they might have run away, but should I question those who were arrested?

“That bastard… the one who murdered Alpha’s guardian, said that people with the title of guardian are often murdered, just like you said just now. By the Unfilial.”

“…That’s.”

I was speechless for a moment. By the Unfilial, wait a minute.

“…They might have lied.”

“Alpha was just listening next to the person who contracted with that bastard, and the contract also included that they couldn’t give false information. It was also a story that came up while talking about Alpha and the SS-class guards of other cities. It’s probably not a lie…….”

If they took him all the way to meet with the Filial Invert, it meant that Alpha was in a trustworthy state. Could they have done something like mind control…? Maybe the guardian’s murder was part of that. Then the bastard who contracted with the Filial Invert was likely one of Alpha’s managers.

“The Unfilial try to get rid of anything that gets in the way for the smooth monster hunting of S-class awakeners, especially those who are born S-class. Because it’s inefficient to cower to protect the guardian. Even if the guardian disappears, most S-classes overcome it easily, and if they manipulate it to look like they were killed by a monster, they become more enthusiastic about protecting the world…….”

My heart was pounding. I held back the nausea and tried to calmly organize the information. So, they eliminate the guardian to protect the world more efficiently, is that it? The Unfilial.

…They didn’t lie to me. There are many cases of murder, huh? They just didn’t say who was doing the killing, but it was true. Bastards.

“I seem to be that born S-class, Hyung.”

Yoohyun said with an anxious face.

“I’ve been feeling that I’m different from other S-class hunters. The Guild Master of Seseong and Hunter Riet felt similar. The guardians of born S-classes are very rare, and, the Unfilial almost always, unconditionally get rid of them……. They set it in the system so you can’t hide it…….”

“Yoohyun.”

“As soon as Hyung awakened, I might have been murdered because of me, I thought…….”

“Why is that because of you! It’s the Unfilial’s doing!”

“But if I had kept, keeping my distance from Hyung, I might have been safe… but…….”

The Unfilial’s goal is to stop the dungeons and save the world. So Yoohyun’s words that if he had continued to keep his distance from me and focused on growing the guild and his power, they wouldn’t have bothered with Hyung made my heart sink.

No way.

Could Yoohyun have known this fact too?

“Yoo, hyun.”

My voice trembled weakly.

“You mean, you were trying to keep your distance from me… even years later?”

“…No. When I awakened, I was still young, and Hyung was, too anxious. I was going to contact you after the guild was established and Hyung and the people became familiar with the dungeons. Even if we couldn’t go back to the way we were before… still.”

Yoohyun said apologetically. There was no need to apologize at all, but I couldn’t properly comfort him. My head was complicated. I was dizzy. I lowered my head to hide my expression.

“…Hyung?”

“No, I just have something to think about.”

I hoped he didn’t know. He shouldn’t have known. Please. If Yoohyun was thinking that his own existence was a threat to me. Damn it.

The smiling face came to mind. My heart ached. Why did he smile? Why did he look so relieved as he died?

“Yoohyun, it’s not your fault. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

It wasn’t just to comfort my brother. It was sincere.

“It’s just, simply, I loved you and you accepted me. No one did anything wrong. It’s just that we were unlucky, and it was like an unexpected disaster. No one did anything wrong. No, the Unfilial bastards are the ones who did wrong.”

Those bastards may have the justification of saving the world, but who cares.

“And now it’s okay, right? You saw it too. The Unfilial are groveling to me. They can’t touch me. They even tried to protect me. That…….”

That, that’s all, thanks to you. You’re the one who made it like this. I suppressed the hot lump that kept trying to burst out from inside. It was hard to swallow, but not impossible. I could smile somehow.

“Don’t worry, Yoohyun. Everything will be alright. You said you were happy to live together, right? It will be like that in the future too. Always. As much as you want.”

My brother nodded slightly.

“I’m sorry, Hyung, for not telling you.”

“It’s okay. Please tell me in the future, and just remember for sure that it’s not your fault.”

I released the wire and got up from my seat. I held out my hand to my brother.

“Above all, I was the one who approached Yoohyun first. What would a newborn baby know? You followed me because I liked you first. So you’re even more not at fault.”

My brother took my hand and got up.

“But I’m very sorry to Hyung.”

“It’s my choice. If you keep feeling sorry, it’s like I made the wrong choice. So don’t feel sorry, um, be grateful.”

Grateful is definitely better than sorry. Yoohyun smiled brightly with a noticeably brighter face. His expression is much better when he’s smiling.

“Thank you, Hyung. But if Hyung gets married or something, I’ll try to avoid bothering you. I shouldn’t visit too often either.”

“…What? What are you talking about all of a sudden? I don’t even have anyone I’m dating!”

“Hyung also tells me to—”

“Hey, that’s because I’m like your guardian! And I don’t like anyone who doesn’t like you.”

“But they usually say they won’t like it. So I thought it would be good to think about it in advance.”

Who the hell is telling the kid useless things?

“I don’t like those people either? Don’t worry about it! You don’t have to move out.”

In the first place, marriage is, well, I’ve given up on it. Even if it’s not Yoohyun, there are monsters swarming above and below, and above all, it’s dangerous. No one will accept all of that, and even if they did, I wouldn’t allow it because I would feel sorry.

Even now, the kids are more of a priority… With this mindset, who would I meet? I would only hurt each other.

“Then is it really okay to keep living together?”

“Of course. I don’t know if your mind will change, but mine won’t. If you say you’re going to be independent, I’ll be sad, but I’ll let you.”

“If Hyung is okay with it, I’ll never be independent. I like it now.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

In the first place, at twenty, most people live with their families unless they’re living alone because of school. Even if he’s a guild master or an S-class hunter, he’s still a kid.

“Is there anything else useful in Alpha’s memories?”

“I didn’t receive all the memories, and I was in a position to receive orders, so there’s not much. Hunter Moon Hyuna probably knows more.”

Still, the fact that the Akates Defense Agency is related to the Filial Invert was useful information. Should I look for the Filial Invert’s contractor after meeting with Sigma?

[Morning Exercise on the Rooftop!]

The quest window flashed as I was about to go down from the rooftop. Ah, really.

“What are you doing all of a sudden, Hyung?”

“Calisthenics for the spectators. Light exercise in the morning is good for your health.”

It’s not just because of the reward. The points are quite good, hmm.