The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 281

279. When I Went Outside (1)

“Hate it? Youhyun.”

Even though it was an A-Rank Dungeon, I was wary of a possible attack. I turned around, and because of that, I couldn’t see Youhyun’s expression. I patted his back, and he shifted the leg that had been stretched out towards Peace’s tail, letting it dangle as he looked back at me.

“You know I’m different from other people, hyung.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“I tried to meet hyung’s standards. Don’t make that face. I chose this too, just like hyung did.”

It’s natural to compromise and adjust to some extent when living with someone. Still, I didn’t like that my younger brother was doing it because of me. But that’s just my own selfishness.

“I’m satisfied with who I am now. I can be with hyung like this. But sometimes… it gets suffocating.”

Youhyun’s eyes grew heavy. Sung Hyunjae and the Water Spirit’s words about Youhyun’s true nature came to mind.

“Well, you don’t have to keep holding back, do you? A dungeon would be safe.”

“What if I can’t go back after letting go once? Like a beast that’s tasted blood, the current me is well-tamed, hyung. Of course, I’m not a dog. I’m definitely not obedient, but I follow the rules of society to some extent.”

“…Riet also acts as she pleases, but she follows basic laws.”

Couldn’t Youhyun be like that too? I’ll take care of the aftermath and clean up any messes. If the Haeyeon people really care about Youhyun, they’ll accept him becoming more free. Youhyun shook his head briefly at my words.

“I don’t really know what state I’ll be in either. I’ve been suppressing it since I was young. But, hyung.”

Irin suddenly popped out and looked back and forth between me and Youhyun. She tapped her tail anxiously. Youhyun continued.

“You definitely won’t be safe.”

“…Me?”

“Yeah, me.”

-Youhyun isn’t bad!

Irin, who had come over to my hand, shouted. How is she talking?

“Lin, you can talk now?”

-When I’m in hyung’s body. I feel a power similar to a mana spring from hyung.

“Ah, is it because Eunhye has a mana spring?”

-Anyway, Youhyun isn’t bad!

“Yeah, yeah. He’s not bad. Why would Youhyun be bad.”

The incident in Hong Kong came to mind. Youhyun had asked what Lin had said back then. Was he worried that I would find out about this now?

“Are you saying you’re going to hurt me? Because I’m the cause of you having to hold back all the time?”

If what’s been suppressed is released, he might want to eliminate the source.

“I have Eunhye, so it won’t be easy even if you want to hurt me.”

Youhyun reached out to me as I spoke jokingly.

“Just a moment, hyung.”

“Huh? Mmph!”

My mouth and nose were blocked. Naturally, I couldn’t breathe.

-Grrr

Peace stopped walking and growled, seemingly flustered. Eunhye popped out with a beep. Irin slapped Youhyun’s hand with her front paw.

-It’s not a bad feeling! Youhyun, stop it!

“I guess you can’t stop things like this.”

The hand blocking my breath fell away. I took a long breath and patted Peace’s back, telling him it was okay.

“It’s not hard to take Eunhye away either. Hyung is too defenseless with me. If I approach pretending to be harmless, you’ll even release Eunhye and hand her over directly.”

I had no words because it was true. If Youhyun said, ‘Hyung, give me Eunhye for a moment,’ I would say, ‘Oh, okay,’ and hand her over. I definitely had almost no way to stop my younger brother from trying to harm me. Maybe just hiding quietly under the protection of other S-Rank Hunters.

“It’s best not to do dangerous things… but still, it’s you, Youhyun. Your memories are still intact, so would you really try to hurt me? Would you?”

Youhyun drooped his eyes at my words, at the fact that I trusted him.

“It’s dangerous because it’s me, hyung. All I care about is hyung. I only have hyung. So how can I leave hyung alone? I probably will.”

My younger brother’s lips formed a smile. It was a little different from what I usually saw. It was more similar to the one he had before taking out his weapon and entering battle. No, it was darker and deeper than that.

“I’m going to swallow hyung. Cleanly, without leaving a single speck of ash. With all my heart. Then I won’t be anxious that something will happen to hyung, and there will be nothing to take away.”

I stared at Youhyun, forgetting to even blink.

“And I won’t be able to live either. Because I’ve burned everything. It sounds crazy, but that’s what I want. The me that isn’t suppressed.”

That’s why I hate it. Youhyun muttered quietly.

-Hyung! It’s not that Youhyun hates hyung! He loves hyung too much! Humans might have a hard time understanding this, but it’s common among Fire Spirits!

Oh… Irin. I think I know why the Water Spirit was so disgusted and said the Fire Spirit was dangerous. Is it really common? Or are you making up things to side with Youhyun? Or maybe the results are different between Fire Spirits.

“So, this is… what do you call it? A bit self-destructive, something like that……?”

Honestly, I didn’t know how to say it. I’m glad I heard the story from Sung Hyunjae and the Water Spirit, or I would have been quite flustered.

-That’s just how fire is, hyung!

Irin grabbed my hand with her two front paws and eagerly explained and made excuses.

-When it burns everything, it disappears on its own. Youhyun is closer to us than humans. He was born that way! It’s just like an instinct. It’s not bad. Youhyun isn’t wary of it, is he, hyung?

“Why would I be wary? Were you worried about that too?”

“Not now.”

“So you were before.”

“Even if hyung accepted me, I didn’t want to test the limits on purpose. It’s something I can just endure.”

Suddenly, I thought of the accidents Youhyun had caused so far. What he did to me, I’ll overlook, but he fought fiercely with Yerim in Hong Kong, blew up the Special Isolation Zone while capturing and killing the inmates, and even went to find Choi Seokwon to kill him. No, when I think about it, they’re all related to me, so he’s good at enduring… well, um.

“Chief Song said before that he had to be prepared to lose an arm to deal with you.”

“I’m an S-Rank Hunter, so that’s okay. Hyung doesn’t have much aversion these days, does he?”

I used to hate it, Youhyun said, lowering his gaze slightly. Well, that’s because I didn’t know much about Hunters back then. As I got more involved, I came to realize painfully that high-level combat types, especially attack types, were belligerent.

Even if they weren’t high-level attack types, there were some humans who were just plain nasty. Compared to those guys, Youhyun is clean. He doesn’t unnecessarily intimidate weak people; he just focuses his fighting spirit against the strong.

“I like my brother no matter what kind of person he is. It’s all okay.”

“Yeah. But I hate it. In case what I’ve been suppressing bursts out, I’ll just eliminate-”

-No, Youhyun! You’ll be okay if you grow more!

Irin shouted, tapping her tail.

-You’re still young and you’re just holding back, so you can’t control it, but you’ll be okay later!

“Can it really be okay?”

Irin quickly nodded at my question.

-Yes, hyung! Then you’ll become even stronger. Youhyun is just suppressing himself too much. Fire shouldn’t do that. If you keep suppressing it, it will become deformed. It’s a relief that it’s a little brighter now!

Lin’s words reminded me of my younger brother before the regression. A flame with black poison and a flame with a clear blue light. The black was still darker, but if it became a complete blue flame, would it become much stronger?

“I’m satisfied with the way I am now.”

-Youhyun, hyung can be safe too! So, hyung, Youhyun!

Youhyun grabbed the red lizard and took it out of my hand. Lin’s voice stopped abruptly, and only her mouth was moving.

“I just wanted to tell hyung everything honestly. Don’t worry about it.”

“…How can I not worry about it.”

“There’s no other way anyway. And I like it now. I don’t want to leave behind any anxiety that I might hurt hyung.”

His last words caught in my chest. That anxiety *is* your true self, and you don’t want to leave it behind.

“Then promise me just one thing. Don’t suppress and bind yourself any more than you are now.”

“I told you, I like it about this much. But if it’s possible to eliminate it…”

A small flame flared up. Irin, who was caught in Youhyun’s hand, struggled. It seems that she can permeate and pass through not only human bodies but also other objects, but once she is caught by her owner, she cannot escape.

“Lin is against it too. I’m against it too. Let’s wait a little longer, as Lin said. You might be okay if you grow more.”

At my words, Youhyun reluctantly nodded. Is there any way I can help? Should I consult with those degenerate bastards, even though it’s unsettling? They’ll know the best about this kind of thing.

At that moment, something suddenly popped out from the forest. The person who jumped a long distance in an instant and landed in front of Peace was none other than Moon Hyunah. She was faster than I thought. The four of them had scattered in different directions to clear the monsters. I was wondering if she had finished hunting faster than Yerim, who had flight and teleportation skills, and Noah, who could be specialized, but I noticed that the clothes near her arm were cut.

“Are you hurt?”

It’s an A-Rank Dungeon; could a monster outside the rank have popped out? Is that why she came back early? Moon Hyunah smiled at my words and pointed at Youhyun.

“The young master was running wild a while ago.”

“Ah…….”

“He immediately pulled out his sword. He can’t get rid of his temper. His eyes were gone, but it was chilling to see him calmly take an attack stance for a long time.”

“…I’m sorry.”

I was so out of it that I didn’t even realize it. Or maybe Sung Hyunjae used an item to block the sound in the middle. I think I heard Youhyun shout to get out of the way; was that it?

“Hyung didn’t know, but it was quite a mess. Everyone cares about hyung.”

“I was out of it at the time… Thank you for helping me quickly.”

“What. It’s natural that you don’t want to show weakness in front of the kids. It only gets worse if everyone makes a fuss. Besides, I’ve seen a lot of faces like Chief Han’s in the early days [referring to the initial period after dungeons appeared]. I was used to it, so I was able to deal with it quickly.”

‘Early days’ must have meant right after the dungeons appeared. A time when many people died, were injured, and went missing. I could picture Hyunah comforting people.

“But you came back early.”

“I dealt with it appropriately and came back. There’s no need to catch them all anyway. The others will do well. Or will the young master go instead?”

“I have no intention of leaving hyung.”

“Don’t do that; give me some space. I have something to say to Chief Han. You got my help earlier. It seems like the advice worked well.”

Advice? Moon Hyunah explained to my puzzled expression.

“It was just a long explanation of how to calm down. The young master gets excited quickly if hyung’s condition worsens. That’s a bad influence. It looked like someone close needed to calmly embrace and soothe him, Chief Han.”

No wonder Youhyun was calmer than I thought, considering I was in that state. If I were Youhyun, I would have been very flustered and started asking what was going on, but he didn’t ask anything. I thought it was really fortunate that Hyunah took care of me.

If not, it would have been more difficult.

“Go, Youhyun. Peace and Hyunah are here, so it’s okay.”

My younger brother glared at Moon Hyunah with dissatisfaction, but he got off Peace’s back without saying anything.

“Youhyun says thank you for helping too.”

“Really? You’re welcome, young master~”

Youhyun, ignoring Moon Hyunah waving her hand, told me to be careful and left. What she wanted to say must be about Sigma. It seemed like Hyunah had grown fond of Sigma.

“Didn’t Sung Hyunjae tell you?”

I asked, signaling Peace to go again. Moon Hyunah followed right next to me.

“What?”

“Sigma.”

“Ah, him, um. I wasn’t going to ask about that.”

Moon Hyunah scratched her red hair as if to mess it up.

“It’s obvious he’s not coming, but I’m just trying to leave room for it.”

“There was something he wanted me to tell you, so aren’t you going to say that either?”

Moon Hyunah frowned at my words. It was a subtle expression, as if she liked it and didn’t like it.

“Ugh, then. First. Is he alive?”

“Yes. Definitely.”

“Then tell me.”

“He’s a little late.”

She looked at me and chuckled.

“Yeah. Is that so.”

“He safely crossed over to another world. I don’t know where, but he said let’s meet again.”

“Then he’ll come. There’s no need to worry.”

She stretched, feeling relieved.

“What did you want to say?”

“There’s Seok Hayan’s team. I want you to build a bridge. Quietly, behind the scenes, so it doesn’t look like hyung is involved. I tried to contact them once before, but I was rejected. They said security was important.”

“You could have told me directly.”

“It wasn’t urgent then. And I didn’t want hyung to get openly involved.”

I was puzzled by the words ‘secretly, secretly.’ Why are you trying to do it secretly?

“I can help you in many ways. I told you before, I want Breaker to be independent.”

“That’s true, but, um…….”

Moon Hyunah hesitated for a moment before opening her mouth.

“Chief Han might have a hard time understanding, but I’m not alone.”

“Yes?”

“I’m a female Hunter.”

Well, isn’t that obvious? It’s a well-known fact.

“When Sung Hyunjae causes an accident, people say, ‘The Guild Leader of Seseong~’. Even if Han Youhyun causes an accident, they’ll say, ‘The Guild Leader of Haeyeon~’. But if I make a mistake, it becomes, ‘That’s why female Hunters can’t do it’.”

“That… Yes……?”

“Whether I want it or not, I’m a representative, and if I’m lacking, it becomes the lack of female Hunters. So Moon Hyunah has to be an S-Rank Hunter who doesn’t fall behind others. She can’t be lacking or immature as a Hunter.”

“It’s a bit annoying,” she said.

“Oh, but you seem to be living the way you want. Like your hair.”

“Hey, this kind of thing isn’t a weakness. I’m an S-Rank Hunter. If I look weak, they’ll bite me, but if I look strong, they can’t touch me easily. So I rampaged quite a bit.”

I wondered why Hyunah was between Youhyun and Sung Hyunjae, who were born S-Rank, but was she doing that on purpose?

“Of course, it suits my aptitude. Trampling on people. But even if I’m good, can a person be perfect? Absolutely not. But if I don’t pretend to be perfect, my surroundings will be harmed. Other kids besides me are like that too. They’re desperate not to get caught. It’s still disadvantageous even if the world has changed.”

“So, therefore…….”

“Simply put, if I receive unilateral help from Chief Han, who is a man, instead of a deal, it becomes a flaw for me and female Hunters. That’s why I rejected Sung Hyunjae’s offer. We have to stand on our own. Somehow.”

Moon Hyunah smiled, saying that no matter what else, Breaker’s independence must be clean.

“So, our guild-related matters are completely secret, OK? It’s a little disappointing that we can’t receive anything at all.”

“Yes, I’ll definitely slip it in secretly.”

I didn’t fully understand, but I nodded. Well, generalizing is something that happens everywhere…….

“I hope Yerim doesn’t have this burden, but it won’t be easy. She’s more mature than her age. But it will get better.”

She smiled, saying she would be busy when she went out.

Before long, Youhyun and the other three returned. Finding the ingredients for the stamina potion was not difficult. The boss monster was dealt with in an instant, and a gate leading outside appeared.