The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 335

Though Yu-hyeon was reluctant, he eventually agreed to prepare a fire-attribute magic stone. It was something that couldn’t be postponed indefinitely, and he was persuaded that it would be better to deal with any potential problems at the hospital. ‘Should I put Blackie in the Black Dragon’s heart while I’m at it? I should only put Blackie in and stop there. I don’t want it to end up tattered like Diarma. My body wouldn’t be able to handle it.’

“…Eun-hye, this is a bit much.”

– Beep!

The Blue Bird cried out loudly in protest. Then, it carefully examined Eun-hye, its true form. Already extravagant, the earcuff now had another decorative chain added. It would have been fortunate if only the ear had to be sacrificed, but the earcuff was connected to the neck by a long chain—a splendid necklace that would befit a banquet hall in the Palace of Versailles.

Eun-hye had spent nearly an hour creating the elaborate ornament, pouring in her own tastes. Because I disliked it, she usually restrained herself to just one or two small jewels and a chain or two, but sometimes I let her change as much as she wanted. Of course, only at home. But today, it was especially extravagant, and she was putting a lot of time and effort into it.

Was it because of the fight with Yi-rin? It seemed like she was trying to relieve stress.

‘Yi-rin must have been the one who blocked Eun-hye from entering the mental world.’

According to Ye-rim, they had suddenly started fighting. Eun-hye still couldn’t speak well, and Yi-rin kept her mouth shut, so I couldn’t know the exact situation, but there was no other reason for Eun-hye to attack first. That girl, Yi-rin, should have just stopped the Black Dragon. No, if she had, the young Chaos wouldn’t have taught Yu-hyeon. If Eun-hye had been there, Yu-hyeon wouldn’t have hurt himself, and the Black Dragon wouldn’t have awakened. It was a precarious crisis, but in the end, it turned out well.

“Uncle, you look totally awesome.”

Ye-rim, who was sitting on the chair next to the bed, said, suppressing a laugh. The corners of her mouth, which were pulled up high, were trembling. ‘Just laugh, laugh.’

“Still, Eun-hye is kind, so she doesn’t even ask for clothes that suit her. Right, Eun-hye?”

– Bbee.

Eun-hye tilted the tip of her beak and slightly adjusted the dangling necklace ornament. Then, she flapped one wing as if telling me to look in the mirror properly. It really is dazzling.

– Bbee?

– Pi-yak!

– Beep.

Eun-hye and Pi-yak were beeping as if they were discussing the ornament. Could they understand each other? Bellare was also watching Eun-hye with considerable interest. Peace, alone, stayed out of the commotion and sat quietly under the bed, as if guarding me. She didn’t even come up on my lap because she knew I wasn’t feeling well. ‘She’s so sweet.’

“It would have suited you well if you had kept your nails as they were.”

“Yu-hyeon said if I didn’t erase them, he would keep his as they were too. It’s a bit much to have him walking around like that.”

It was fortunate that the staff at the Advanced Hunter-only hospital were bound by confidentiality. Even if that weren’t the case, it was awkward for me to be painting my nails.

“At least let me watch TV.”

“You can read and take walks, though.”

I was banned from watching the news or hunter-related broadcasts until tomorrow because they were worried I would get stressed. Even if I can’t watch them, I’m still worried.

“I have to attend the Peace doll release event.”

“They postponed it until after Uncle is discharged. You know they started construction on the cafe on the first floor of the building, right?”

“Yeah, I heard. A doll shop will be opening next to it, and a convenience store is also scheduled to open. And a bank too.”

“A bank?”

“Hunters have a lot of cash. They contacted me a long time ago. There are other banks nearby, but it’s much more advantageous to have a branch in the building.”

Even for me, the bank that opens will likely become my primary bank. I’ll hardly ever have to go there myself, but it’s still good to have it close by.

“When are you planning to go to Japan?”

“The sooner, the better, so I was originally going to leave tomorrow, but Uncle was hospitalized.”

“You can go. Of course, you don’t have to. It’s right around the corner, but I’m still worried about sending you alone.”

“I’m not alone, all the team members are with me. How can you worry about me going to Japan? Later, I’ll be going to America, Europe, and the Middle East.”

“What?!”

No, what is this sudden thunderbolt?

“Ye, Ye-rim, why are you going there? Besides, the Middle East is still dangerous! There are so many hunter-related conflicts!”

“Not now. When I become an adult.”

Ye-rim said, lightly tapping one leg against the chair leg.

“Even as an adult, you don’t necessarily have to go.”

“I can go anytime, and there’s no reason not to. Besides, what danger would I be in?”

“Still, but. Maybe……”

I hesitated and continued.

“Is it because you want to be independent? When you become an adult?”

“Huh? No, not at all~”

Ye-rim shook her head.

“It’s actually the opposite.”

“The opposite?”

“Yes. Because I have a home I can always return to, I’m going to travel around as much as I want. I’m going to do everything I want to do. I might even cause an accident that I can’t handle on my own, but then Uncle will take my side, right?”

“Of course. Not only me, but everyone else is on your side, Ye-rim.”

At my words, Ye-rim smiled brightly, her dimples showing. It was a truly beautiful smile.

“Even if there’s a war?”

…What she said was brutal, though.

“Th, that’s right. Uncle will do his best. But still, try to resolve things peacefully if possible.”

“Yes, sir!”

Well… Song, the Chief, also destroyed a tank division, so isn’t that almost a war?

“It’s good to do what you want to do, but I’m already starting to feel lonely.”

“Hey, it’s probably not much different from going into a dungeon. It doesn’t even take a day by plane.”

Come to think of it, that’s true. It sometimes takes more than a week to go into a dungeon. Still, when she says she’s going abroad, it feels like she’s really far away. I looked down at the hand mirror and then turned my gaze back to Ye-rim. Ye-rim becoming an adult, huh?

‘It’ll feel very different.’

I’ve already seen it once. But the Ye-rim I saw and the Ye-rim in front of me now were different. She had grown up strong on her own, and she was a strong enough hunter, but she was definitely drier than she is now. I had only seen her a few times on TV, but she had never smiled so brightly as she does now.

Even if it wasn’t me, if her parents had been safe, she would have been similar to how she is now. Ye-rim tilted her head.

“Is there something on my face?”

“Oh, cuteness?”

“……”

…What, why?

“If it were Han Yu-hyeon, he would have wagged his tail and been happy, but I’m not Han Yu-hyeon. I’m sorry.”

Ye-rim apologized, bowing her head politely. Was it that strange? We exchanged small talk about how Blue is really popular these days, when we’re going to name the breeding center, and to update my SNS [Social Networking Service]. While I was filming Pi-yak, Bellare, and Eun-hye to upload to SNS, a visitor arrived. Before I even heard the knock, Ye-rim frowned. I knew who it was without looking.

“We can’t keep him out because he owns the hospital. Our guild isn’t planning on building a hospital?”

“Se-seong also acquired an existing large hospital and just added a hunter-only ward. They also educated the existing doctors to be hunter-friendly.”

It’s hard to build something of this scale from scratch. It wouldn’t be bad to have another hospital for hunters. Even if it’s not owned by Hae-yeon.

There was no answer, but the door opened. Seong Hyeon-je, who had entered, placed the gifts he had brought on the table. I didn’t know what was in one shopping bag, but the other one…….

“…Soy milk?”

Seong Hyeon-je brought soy milk. It’s a common gift for a hospital visit, but still, Seong Hyeon-je with soy milk. It wasn’t even anything special, just common, commercially available soy milk. Surely he didn’t buy it himself. I quickly erased the image of Seong Hyeon-je buying a box of soy milk at the convenience store in front of the hospital. No, why soy milk?

“Um… by any chance, is Se-seong Guild undergoing austerity measures due to the reconstruction of the building?”

“Han Yu-jin’s tastes seem to have become unique in a short time.”

What an irrelevant answer… Ack! Eun-hye!

“That’s not me! Eun-hye, Eun-hye!”

– Beep.

Eun-hye tilted her little head and then disappeared with a flutter. Is she pretending not to know! In the meantime, Seong Hyeon-je took something out of the shopping bag. When he opened the beautifully wrapped box, what came out was.

“A gift.”

“…Our Ye-rim doesn’t wear makeup.”

It was cosmetics. Judging by the shape, it was probably lipstick. But what is that human trying to do, coming to visit someone in the hospital? He dares to flirt with Ye-rim; does he think it’s okay for me to grab the back of my neck and pass out since we’re in the hospital? I sent him a look that said I was prepared to cut his neck off before he grabbed mine, and Seong Hyeon-je opened the lipstick and said.

“Of course, it’s a gift from Han Yu-jin.”

“…Ye-rim, you shouldn’t be near such perverts.”

Is he crazy, really? At my words, Seong Hyeon-je looked wronged.

“Han Yu-jin first─”

“Uncle!”

Suddenly, Ye-rim shouted.

“These days, men wear makeup too.”

“Uh, huh?”

“Since Uncle is hospitalized and doesn’t look well, he probably bought it to make your lips look brighter.”

No, still. I do wear light makeup when I appear on TV, but…… Ye-rim got up from her seat and checked inside the shopping bag.

“There’s more than one. I’ll see what colors suit you.”

“It’s okay……”

“You have to have at least one lip color to be a trendy young man these days!”

…I haven’t seen many people wearing lipstick 5 years from now unless they’re celebrities. Although I hardly ever go to crowded places. Ye-rim took out a row of lipsticks and grabbed my hand. Then, she started applying them one by one on the back of my hand. Why the back of my hand and not my face?

“How is it?”

“Even if you ask how it is… I wouldn’t know.”

“I don’t really know either.”

As expected, you have to try it on your face to know. I called Seong Hyeon-je to come closer.

“Lower your head a little. Keep your mouth closed. Should I open it slightly?”

I pressed the pinkish lipstick firmly on Seong Hyeon-je’s lips. Then, I stared at his lipstick-covered face with Ye-rim.

“His face doesn’t help.”

“Right. He’s the kind of face that would look good even if you drew on it with charcoal.”

“It’s a bit annoying.”

“It would have suited Uncle well too, or will.”

“Yu-hyeon would look much better than me. I think Song, the Chief, would also look surprisingly good, don’t you think?”

“How about Noah? With bright red. I think Myeong-woo would also look awkward but okay.”

Noah would really look pretty.

“Anyway, thank you for coming. I’ll enjoy the soy milk.”

“You’re welcome. It’s only natural as a partner. Since you’re hospitalized, does that mean the promise we talked about before is postponed?”

“No. I’ll contact you soon. I won’t be in the hospital for long.”

The hospital is just giving me some recovery treatment. It’s better than being at home since they’re taking care of me. Seong Hyeon-je nodded and looked at Ye-rim. He seemed to have something to say, but Ye-rim met his gaze as if asking what he was looking at. She didn’t seem to have any intention of giving him space.

“Then I’ll be waiting.”

“Yes. No, wait a minute!”

Crazy, he’s going to leave like that! Even if it suits him, still!

“Uncle, the IV! The needle is coming out!”

I grabbed Seong Hyeon-je, who was turning around, and wiped off his lips. Yu-hyeon is like this, and this human is like this too. Have the S-Class [highest rank of hunters] born without shame? I don’t know why they do such absurd things so nonchalantly.

Around dinner time, I received a call from the Hunter Market representative. The watch I ordered would be completed within a month or two.

[Originally, it would have taken a long time for such intricate work, but there was an Awakened person with related skills among the artisans, so the time was greatly reduced.]

A skill for making watches, huh? Did they awaken while working? Still, I had to wait almost half a year because there were quite a few pre-orders, but they said they were paying special attention to make it quickly.

“I feel a bit bad for cutting in line.”

It’s a luxury item among luxury items that only a very few can buy, so my conscience doesn’t hurt much.

[If you have any intention of giving gifts to others, please feel free to contact us at any time. I’m talking about people like Hunter Park Ye-rim, Hunter Yoo Myeong-woo, and Hunter Noah.]

“Hunter Myeong-woo isn’t an S-Class, though? Of course, I’m not either, so I don’t meet the requirements.”

[He said it was a courtesy as a fellow artisan.]

At the same time, he hinted that there might be some competitive spirit with other brands. Like Yu-hyeon, Ye-rim, Noah, and Myeong-woo’s first watches are very meaningful. The watch most often chosen by S-Class hunters! Something like that.

I ate dinner, which was as good as any high-end restaurant despite being hospital food, and when I was taking a walk in the indoor garden for exercise, Yu-hyeon appeared. The younger brother had a very unpleasant look on his face and sent away the Advanced Hunter who was guarding me.

“Did you bring the magic stone?”

“…Yeah.”

“Cheer up. Let’s go to the hospital room.”

I gestured lightly and took the lead, and my brother followed, drooping. It was a look I occasionally saw when I worked part-time at the animal hospital. Mainly, gentle large dogs would cautiously watch their owners, lower their tails, and move their heavy steps. It was really cute when they spun around and buried their heads in my legs as if asking me to hide them. I wonder how they’re doing, Mong, Cookie, Choco, Momo, Bori, Darong, Baekseolgi, etc.

I went to the hospital room and locked the door well. Someone might misunderstand if they saw us. I sat on the bed, and Yu-hyeon sighed and took out the magic stone and the Ruler’s Sword from his inventory.