The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 336

334. The Second and Third Times (3)

“Do you remember the method? Make a wound above the heart. It’d be better to go to the bathroom.”

I have to draw blood, and Yu-hyun too, so the bathroom would be better. It’s annoying to explain if there are bloodstains on the bed. Besides, Peace will be surprised.

“Peace, it’s nothing, so wait here quietly.”

– Kkiang.

I said, stroking Peace. Piak and Bellare went home with Yerim. I was reluctant to keep Bellare in the hospital for a long time because of the poison, and Piak missed TV. Before Yerim took him, that little Piak even went home by space-time movement. He must have been bored alone, because he came back not long after. What will happen when Bellare leaves?

I took off my patient gown and got up. The bathroom attached to the hospital room was big and spacious enough. There was even a bathtub for patients. I took out the Black Dragon’s heart and handed it to Yu-hyun.

“Painkillers?”

My brother asked, receiving the heart fragment.

“It’s not good to take medicine. It doesn’t hurt much. I did it alone.”

“Still, it hurts.”

“Why are you being so sensitive all of a sudden?”

How long has it been since we fought each other with knives? It’s an actual body now, though. I turned around, saying I was okay again. The large mirror reflected my brother’s crumpled face. He’ll get wrinkles if he keeps doing that. Is it okay since he’s an S-Class [a hunter ranking]?

“They say it’s better to be closer to the heart.”

At my words to find a good spot, Yu-hyun sighed and drew the Ruler’s Sword. Right behind my back, I heard the chilling sound of the blade sliding against the scabbard. Reflexively, the nerves in my whole body stood on end. I’m not afraid because I have fear resistance. It’s a reaction from long experience. The sound of battle starting. It already felt like the smell of blood was seeping onto my tongue.

Fingertips touched my back. If I hadn’t checked my brother’s appearance in the mirror, I would have reflexively brushed him off. For some reason, the senses felt slightly sharp.

‘Is it because we fought?’

It’s been a while since we rolled around and fought like that. I didn’t have a hard time after returning, but it was still relatively easy. Yu-hyun, Yerim, and other people around me tell me to take care of my body, but honestly, I look fine on the outside.

The fingers lightly groped over the skin as if trying to find the location of the heart. No, he would have found it right away, but it felt like he was hesitating.

“…This engraving, is it okay?”

“Yeah. The Old Man checked it too. It’s hard for me to use it right away, so I’m going to ask Myung-woo to make an adjustment item…”

There’s nothing wrong with it yet, so wouldn’t it be okay to leave it as it is? But I’ll have to make an item to use it properly. Because the engraving is almost sealed, there’s no effect other than making it slightly easier to control magic right now.

“Hyung [term for older brother], you’ll catch a cold. Hurry up.”

I wasn’t cold at all, but I urged him. The hand touching my back fell away, and the Ruler’s Sword rotated a large half-circle. Something cool touched me, and my back stung very slightly.

“Did you stab me properly?”

Instead of answering, the sword was stuck in the floor. It gently dug into the white tiles as if they were a whipped cream cake. Then he took out the heart fragment that he had put in his inventory for a while and put it on my back. A warm, hard sensation pressed against my skin. I slowly moved my magic power and used Diarma’s skill. I felt a hot, strong presence seeping into the wound.

Then the magic stone was also absorbed into the wound, and finally Yu-hyun rolled up one sleeve. He drew his sword and brought the blade to his exposed forearm.

“Just a little bit─”

Before I could finish speaking, the sword mercilessly cut into his flesh. With a chilling sound, blood splattered up to the mirror. On my back and on my cheek, which I reflexively turned.

“Hey! I said just make a small cut!”

The overflowing blood soaked the wound on my back. That damn brother! While grumbling, I focused on using the skill. The Black Dragon’s heart fragment, the magic stone, and Yu-hyun’s blood. The three were mixed and settled stably. I hope it’s completed faster than the Changeling.

“Why did you do that!”

As soon as the magic stone combination was finished, I turned around and checked my brother’s arm first. He didn’t even use a potion, and the bleeding hadn’t stopped yet. Is this guy protesting with this! I frowned and quickly took out a potion to treat Yu-hyun’s wound.

“Doesn’t it hurt, really?”

“It doesn’t hurt much.”

“You’re kidding me.”

He rolled up his sleeves and got blood all over his shirt. My back is still wet to the point of being soaked to my waist. Of course, the bathroom floor was a mess too. It’s a relief it’s the bathroom, but still.

“What am I going to say to explain this? Let’s wash it off first. I have extra pajamas, but they’ll be too small for you. Contact Haeyeon and ask them to bring you clothes. Is the secretary’s office open 24 hours?”

Dungeon breaks don’t care about night or day, so large guilds usually have people on standby 24 hours a day. We can afford to be a little more relaxed now, though.

“Are you okay, Hyung?”

Yu-hyun, who had mercilessly cut his forearm, worried about me and touched my forehead. He doesn’t have a fever, he muttered, and I wanted to smack the back of my brother’s head.

“I’m fine, so take care of your body. You’re always telling me off, but you’re not in a position to talk. How much I really feel when I see you doing that…”

I closed my mouth when I inadvertently thought of the scene in my head. Yu-hyun tilted his head and said.

“Come to think of it, my skill was to use it by making wounds. Not now, though.”

“…Y-Yeah.”

“But didn’t you not have much to do? Back then, if it was low-level, I wouldn’t have gone to high-level dungeons with you.”

“Even if we didn’t go to dungeons together, there was the ranking battle. It was broadcasted too.”

Yu-hyun took off his shirt and looked at me with interest.

“I was a little curious, how was I in the ranking battle?”

“You? You gave up all the matches.”

“What?”

“You insisted on not going abroad. If you only counted the win rate, you were second in the world, but your best score was fourth. The battles up to the quarterfinals were filmed inside the dungeon, but from the semifinals onwards, it was broadcast live overseas. Mainly on a deserted island in the middle of the sea. If Yerim does the ranking battle now, she’ll sweep it all away.”

The fact that he even entered the top 4 was thanks to the organizers giving Yu-hyun a lot of consideration. The opponent had to come to Korea unconditionally.

“Is the head of the Seseong Guild the first place?”

“Before he went missing. After that, people said that Yu-hyun was practically number one. There were a lot of guys who talked nonsense about that too…”

Thinking about it, I’m getting a little angry again. They said that he only took the place vacated by the first place and that he wasn’t the real strongest. My brother really has a good skill, but he couldn’t use it! Because of that, I had bad feelings towards Seong Hyun-jae for no reason. After the first ranking battle, the match schedule was arranged so that the strong didn’t fight each other in the early stages, and Yu-hyun gave up, so they never really fought properly, but everyone said that that human was the strongest.

“Even without using the Sword Devourer skill, he could easily beat most S-Classes. There were so many people who regretted that he didn’t go abroad.”

Because Seong Hyun-jae also disappeared, if I hadn’t returned, I would have tried to hold the next ranking battle semi-finals in Korea somehow. The outcry not to let him give up, even if it wasn’t broadcast live, was no joke.

I wondered why they were so enthusiastic about a kind of sport in an increasingly dangerous world, but the power of the strong hunters showed a kind of hope. The hope that we can survive.

“If the ranking battle is held this time, let’s be number one.”

Yu-hyun laughed at my words, lightly hitting his shoulder. He seems to be completely relieved to see that I’m okay. Yerim can’t participate for a few years because she’s a minor, so that’s the chance. When the Ruler of Water becomes an adult, well, isn’t it over? Earth is a blue planet.

I washed the bathroom with water and burned the blood-soaked clothes after much deliberation. While I was appeasing Peace, who was restless after smelling my and Yu-hyun’s blood, Haeyeon brought Yu-hyun’s clothes. They seemed puzzled as to what had happened at the hospital that required new clothes. If they ask, should I say I spilled soy milk? Or that I tried to dry it roughly, but the firepower was too strong and I burned it.

I told him to go home and sleep comfortably, but Yu-hyun went back with Yerim after eating breakfast together when it was dawn and Yerim came. TV is still forbidden, so I was flipping through the books Yerim brought, when Moon Hyun-ah came to visit.

“Hello, Hyung-nim [term of endearment and respect]. You look good.”

Moon Hyun-ah handed me a fruit basket and a small shopping bag. The logo on the shopping bag… I’ve seen it before.

“Um, Hyun-ah-ssi [term of endearment and respect]. This is…”

“So-young said that Chief Han is enjoying makeup these days─”

“That’s not true! Don’t tell me it’s lipstick again?”

“It’s nail polish.”

“Hyun-ah-ssi!”

Moon Hyun-ah chuckled and threw the shopping bag roughly to one side.

“Hyung-nim, body care is more important than appearance, but why are you in the hospital again?”

“I’m fine now. They just admitted me to rest. At home, I’ll end up looking for work to do.”

I’m scheduled to be discharged tomorrow.

“Hyun-ah-ssi, you’re not thinking of going to Japan, are you? You must be busy with domestic work.”

“I’d like to get a piece of the pie, but Yerim is leaving the day after tomorrow, right?”

“Yes. It’s close, but I’m still worried.”

It would be nice if Hyun-ah-ssi went with her. Moon Hyun-ah pulled up a chair and sat down, opening her mouth.

“What are you so worried about?”

“She’s still young. She even said she’s going to the other side of the world when she becomes an adult. Of course, dungeons are just as dangerous, but I still feel a bit strange. I also wonder if Yerim is trying to do everything on her own too much.”

Like with the clam incident. Unlike Yu-hyun, who tries to stick by my side, Yerim seemed to be preparing to stand on her own from the start.

“I think it’s okay to rely on you a little more.”

“It’s easy to say, Chief Han. She was still someone else.”

“Excuse me?”

“The three of you are getting along really well for just a few months, but it’s still just a few months. Besides, Yerim is a high-level Awakener [person with supernatural abilities] at her age. There are a lot of runaways?”

“Excuse me? Runaways?”

Moon Hyun-ah nodded solemnly.

“It’s like they’ve become adults who can do anything. They’re even stronger than any adult. So, even middle and high school upper-level, no, even middle-level, can do well on their own! And there are quite a few cases of running away from home. It’s less common in Korea, but there are really a lot overseas. Chief Han’s brother ran away from home too.”

“No, Yu-hyun’s case is a bit different…”

“Do you know that Yerim is acting like the head of the family for Hyung-nim’s family?”

A mischievous smile formed on Hyun-ah-ssi’s face.

“Head of the family?”

“Yerim’s catchphrase these days is that you can’t do without me, you know. You should have seen her expression back then. She was so proud of taking care of Hyung-nim and Doryeon-nim [term for younger brother] this time. She boasted that she even blocked the Seseong Guild Leader from picking a fight.”

I heard that Yerim contacted various places instead of Yu-hyun, but Seong Hyun-jae picked a fight.

“The fact that other people need them is more important than you think. It’s the desire to be recognized by others. Especially by the people they like.”

At Moon Hyun-ah’s words, I nodded involuntarily. I was like that too. When I thought that there was nothing I could do for Yu-hyun, it was really, really hard.

“Being confident that I can do a lot of things alone, with my own strength. It’s not a bad thing. It’s the opposite. And Yerim is at that time right now. She’s been treated like she doesn’t exist at home for years. She’ll want to be recognized.”

“…I want to overturn that uncle’s house even now.”

“Your image will get worse. They raised her anyway.”

That’s true, but I’m still angry.

“So, it’s good to cherish her, but sometimes ask her to help you. But don’t make her do housework, ask her to do something that Hyung-nim can’t do. Not just using her, but something that makes her think, ‘I can’t do without you.'”

“But wouldn’t it be too much of a burden?”

“There’s not much that an S-Class can do, right? If you ask her to carry heavy and important luggage, it might be a little difficult, but Yerim will be happy. Excluding her because she’s young is when she can’t help at all. If it’s something that only makes her feel helpless, it’s better not to let her know, but if she has the ability to help, is there any need to exclude her? And kids know everything?”

“…That’s right.”

At Yerim’s age, she’ll know everything with her senses. I made a firm decision that I should tell Yerim about the regression. I kept hesitating, wondering if I would be unnecessarily burdening young Yerim, even though I said I should tell her. After hearing Hyun-ah-ssi’s words, I thought that sharing such an important secret would bring more joy than burden, because she would trust and rely on me.

“Still, I hope she doesn’t do everything alone. I said I would rely on her when it’s really hard, but Yerim is so good at everything.”

“It’s greed, Hyung-nim. It’s only been a few months? If Hyung-nim stays like this, she’ll come to rely on you someday. More than anything, she usually sees Hyung-nim’s brother. If she gets more comfortable, she’ll think, ‘I can do that too.'”

I see. …It’s welcome for her to act spoiled like Yu-hyun, but other parts are not allowed. I don’t think Yerim will be like that, though.

“I always think it’s a relief to have Hyun-ah-ssi.”

“Even if you fall for me, I’m not responsible.”

Moon Hyun-ah smiled. Ah, no. Not like that.

“You’re teasing me again. Anyway, Hyun-ah-ssi has high standards. I heard you like faces like the Seseong Guild Leader.”

“Hyung-nim is cute too. I like you.”

“…No, you’re saying strange things!”

I pulled Peace, who was sitting next to me, and hugged him.

“How’s Breaker?”

“It’s still quiet. He’s trying hard to seduce Riet. It would be helpful to have a short-term contract, even if it’s just a short-term contract. Two S-Class hunters, that’s good.”

“It’ll be better to focus attention if the Seseong Guild Leader goes abroad.”

Moon Hyun-ah suddenly frowned.

“If Seong Hyun-jae leaves, Evelyn will be the guild leader’s proxy, right? Then I’ll have to run into her, and I’m already annoyed.”

“Do you dislike her that much?”

“We don’t get along. What about So-young, who is a quasi-S-Class thanks to Comet, becoming the guild leader’s proxy?”

Originally, Kang So-young would have done it. Why doesn’t she get along with Evelyn-ssi? She didn’t seem like a bad person.

“Ah, could you stop by Seok Hahyan-ssi’s lab for a moment today? I’ll call Myung-woo to the hospital.”

Noah is there, but Myung-woo is the best person to protect people and research data. Really important data is also stored in the smithy. So, I was reluctant to take Myung-woo away now that outsiders are coming and going.

“I was going to stop by anyway.”

Hyun-ah-ssi readily agreed. There’s nothing wrong with my body, so I’ll have Myung-woo look at the black magic stone and synthesize it. …Also the mana engraving problem.