The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 347

345. I’ll Be Right Back (1)

The black blade sliced fiercely through the smoke filling the underground parking lot. The unpredictable angles of the darting chain sword were met by the sudden appearance of golden chains, blocking its path just in time. Clash! Light exploded outward with a deafening sound.

“Yoohyun!”

I used Teacher’s Skill on Peace and called out to my brother. Hey, not here! But Yoohyun didn’t seem inclined to back down. The Ruler’s Sword scraped against the Searcher’s Chains, writhing like a living creature. The Searcher’s Chains were SS-Rank, but so was the Ruler’s Sword. One might assume they were equal, being the same rank, but the weapon types were different. It was a clash between a sharp sword and a blunt chain.

Crack!

The chain would inevitably take more damage. The golden chain, struck hard by the black blade, developed a hairline crack. Then, with a sound like shattering glass, one of the links broke into pieces.

Golden fragments scattered, and the Ruler’s Sword bared its fangs at the chain’s owner. But Sung Hyunjae lightly retreated as the link broke. The chain sword lashed out at the spot where he had been standing, and the floor caved in as if a bomb had exploded.

“Calm down, young master.”

The severed chain tried to wrap around Yoohyun. Kneeling on one knee, Yoohyun quickly lowered his body and swung the chain sword in a wide arc above his head like a whip. The flying chain clattered and became entangled with the Ruler’s Sword. At the same time, a dark blue flame gathered in Yoohyun’s other hand. A spear made of flames was fired at Sung Hyunjae.

“Shut up.”

The flame-resistant coat, Silrakia’s Wings, was wielded like a matador’s cape. The coat swelled as if it would tear at any moment, but the flames were mostly extinguished.

“At the Seseong Guild, at the hospital, and now in front of our house. Is there any reason to overlook these consecutive threats to my brother?”

Yoohyun’s voice was icy. What happened at the hospital? Anyway, Yoohyun seemed determined not to let it go, and flames began to rage around him. No, hey!

“Yoohyun! This is Hyung’s building! Hyung’s building!”

It was even the underground parking lot. A mishap could easily cause it to collapse. At my shout, Yoohyun flinched and lessened his momentum.

“…I’ll just buy a new one.”

“No way. Besides, there are many non-awakened people in the lab!”

We could evacuate them right away, but why waste unnecessary money? Yoohyun reluctantly retrieved the sword entangled with the chain. The Searcher’s Chains reconnected and returned to their owner. Sung Hyunjae put the Searcher’s Chains and Silrakia’s Wings into his inventory and looked back at his car, which was now just wreckage.

“Oh dear, that was inside.”

He said with regret. That, what was that…….

“…What was it?”

“Vanilla mille-feuille, coconut panna cotta, Sachertorte, macarons and truffle chocolates, lemon mousse—”

“Don’t approach my brother.”

Yoohyun stood close beside me and said coldly. Did he set up a dessert shop in his car? The mention of lemon made my tongue water. I unconsciously twitched my nose, but the parking lot air was filled with acrid smoke, not sweetness.

It was a little bit of a waste.

“Hasn’t there been anyone suspicious appearing near Hanyujin-gun [Mr. Han Yujin]?”

At Sung Hyunjae’s words, Yoohyun’s brow, which had been furrowed, smoothed out. He was still in a bad mood, but he didn’t just brush off meaningful words.

“There hasn’t been, but what do you mean?”

“His condition is strange.”

Yoohyun turned his head and looked at me. Why me.

“I’m fine.”

“He’s avoiding me. Trying to evade me.”

“No, should I always welcome you then? Do you think I like you or something? Even if you suddenly show up and ask me to have lunch, should I unconditionally say yes, ‘I’ve been waiting for you~’ and follow you? What makes you so confident?”

His face is trustworthy, but still. Yoohyun pressed his lips together and looked back and forth between me and Sung Hyunjae with a troubled expression.

“…Hyung.”

“Yeah?”

“Hyung likes that guy, I don’t want to say this, but you like him just a little bit, don’t you?”

“It’s just a business relationship.”

“It’s good to keep your distance from the Seseong Guild Leader, but this sudden change is strange. What about other people? What about me?”

“You’re my beloved brother.”

Yoohyun fell into even deeper thought. His current state is better, I heard him mutter quietly. But Sung Hyunjae’s next words hardened Yoohyun’s face.

“Peace and Noah didn’t accompany him when he came to the parking lot.”

“Hyung, what on earth happened?”

“…Nothing happened.”

“Perhaps it’s something that unconsciously makes him wary of the people around him, especially S-Rank Awakened Ones. If we were to guess the purpose, it would be to make him easier to kidnap, right?”

Yoohyun’s expression became even more serious.

“Do you think it’s a mental skill?”

“That’s highly likely. I don’t know how it was applied, but Hanyujin-gun’s stats are F-Rank, so he’s relatively vulnerable.”

“Hyung, really, wasn’t there anything suspicious? Think carefully.”

Even when I searched my memories at my brother’s words, nothing came to mind. A mental skill. I didn’t feel anything at all, but since Sung Hyunjae and Yoohyun were both saying this, I wondered if it was real.

“…If I really was affected, they would have done it so I wouldn’t notice. But mental skills aren’t easy to fall for, even if your stats are low. Usually, the conditions are strict, and direct contact is practically essential. Was it at the broadcasting station?”

The easiest environment to come into contact with strangers recently was the broadcasting station. It’s been quite a while, though. Or was it at the airport when I went to pick up Yerim? But the personnel control there was pretty good.

“He was fine when he asked for that favor, so it must have been recent.”

“Hyung contacted the Seseong Guild Leader on the day Park Yerim returned to Korea…….”

“The Breeding Center, or this building.”

Sung Hyunjae concluded. I went to the dungeon with Yerim and then joined Yoohyun to go to the aquarium, but no one approached me then. I did spend a long time looking at the beavers and manatees, but surely they didn’t use a mental skill on me. Other than that, I hadn’t left the Breeding Center and the building.

“…Hyung, we need to check the entry logs.”

“We should also pull Hanyujin-gun’s call records.”

“And I hate to say this myself, but I think it would be best to confine him.”

He raised his hand slightly and said.

“Since he’s not trying to reveal what happened or who he met, there’s a possibility he’ll try to leave on his own. We need to make sure he can’t leave the house alone and have someone accompany him when he goes out.”

“That’s right, Hyung. That would be good.”

Yoohyun nodded, and Sung Hyunjae approached me.

“I also recommend staying somewhere else for a while.”

“What, are you suggesting your house?”

I took a step back. Why is he getting so close, it’s burdensome. There was a rustling sound, and something was pushed into my mouth. Yoohyun quickly pulled me into his arms.

“Why are you taking that?”

“No… it was a reflex.”

What’s in the chocolate? Lemon cream? More than that, I didn’t understand myself very well. What made me trust Sung Hyunjae enough to eat what he gave me? I frowned and looked up at Sung Hyunjae. He smiled lightly.

“You seem to have forgotten, Hanyujin-gun. We had that much trust between us.”

“The trust that you wouldn’t put poison in the chocolate? You know I have poison resistance.”

“I also know that I can easily obtain drugs that your poison resistance won’t work on, don’t I?”

Well… that’s true. But it shouldn’t be anything serious yet. Sung Hyunjae took a step back. Then he made an exaggeratedly regretful expression.

“I’ll have to postpone the housewarming party until the bug is caught.”

…Why bother postponing it? He’s leaving Korea soon anyway. Once he starts expanding overseas in earnest, I don’t know when he’ll be back. Even before the regression, he practically didn’t come back, leaving the Korean branch to Kang Soyoung.

I really won’t see him much in the future. When I think about it, he wasn’t someone I was supposed to be facing like this in the first place.

“I’ll leave Hanyujin-gun in your care, young master.”

“There’s no reason for me to hear that.”

Sung Hyunjae looked at me once and then turned around. He doesn’t have a car, is he really going to take a taxi back? His phone is fine, so if he contacts them, they’ll bring a car right away. Well, he’ll figure it out. It’s not my business, but maybe it’s because the lemon flavor is still lingering in my mouth, but I couldn’t take my eyes off that guy’s back.

“I thought this day might come someday.”

Myeongwoo looked at me with a slightly complicated expression.

“I didn’t expect you, Yujin, to ask me directly.”

“…Who did you think would ask?”

“Your brother, or Chief Song Taewon, or the Seseong Guild Leader.”

Myeongwoo, who said that, was holding a long rope in his hand. There were locks on both ends of the rope. Memories of Solemnes were coming back to me. I wonder how Sigma is doing.

“Or maybe the country that’s about to explode with frustration.”

“You didn’t make this in advance, did you?”

I was slightly suspicious that he brought it right away as soon as I contacted him. Myeongwoo answered with a smiling face, no.

“The durability isn’t very high. You have an S-Rank gun anyway, so it’ll be easy to cut.”

“Yoohyun has the gun.”

It’s my exclusive gun, so I can’t use it, but it’s possible to snatch it. We decided to confiscate it in case of emergency when I’m at home.

“Really? It’s not that weak, but you need at least B-Rank stats to cut it with your bare hands. The length can be extended up to 30 meters depending on movement, and if you cut or unlock it without using the key, an alarm will go off immediately. The wearer’s movements are also transmitted every 10 minutes.”

There was also an opinion to move to a place other than the house in the Breeding Center, but the Breeding Center was still safe. Even an S-Rank Hunter couldn’t break in right away. As long as I didn’t go out on my own, I could feel safe inside the house.

“I want to stay by Hyung’s side…….”

“I don’t have to go to school for a few days either.”

Yoohyun and Yerim said. I understand their feelings, but.

“Yoohyun, you’re a Guild Leader. How long are you going to do this, it’s not just a day or two. Yerim, you have to go to school.”

“Yujin-ssi [Mr. Yujin], I’m neither a Guild Leader nor a student.”

“I can’t leave the research lab empty. Maybe they’re targeting me to get to the lab.”

There was a possibility that it was a strategy to focus attention on me and target the research lab or the smithy.

“Besides, to catch a bug that we don’t know who it is, we need to look outside rather than inside the house. I’m counting on you, Noah-ssi [Mr. Noah].”

“Yes.”

Noah nodded, looking a little disappointed. Who on earth was it that quietly came into the Breeding Center and approached me? They must be a high-level Hunter, but the fact that they didn’t just pick me up and carry me away means that kidnapping might not be the goal.

“The ankle would be good, right?”

Myeongwoo said, opening the lock attached to the rope. Yoohyun, Yerim, and Noah decided to have the three keys and alarms connected to the item. I have to live with a rope around my ankle for a while, it’s a little sad. Still, as an item made by Myeongwoo, it was comfortable to wear and light.

“Here’s a cell phone.”

Yoohyun handed me a new cell phone. It was being wiretapped in addition to being tracked. For the sake of my privacy, I hope they catch the bug quickly.

“Contact me right away if anything happens.”

– Keuheung.

Peace answered Yoohyun’s words. When I see him like this, it seems like he understands everything.

“It’s going to be frustrating for a while.”

“I’ve also asked for cooperation from the Surveillance Department, and Seseong and Breaker said they’ll help, so it won’t take long. Just bear with it, Hyung.”

“I’ll come straight home after school for a while!”

You can go out and play.

In the end, I ended up living a semi-confined life, but it wasn’t as inconvenient as I thought. Security at the Breeding Center became even stricter, and even if it was someone I knew, they could only enter after confirming with the security office and even the Haeyeon Guild.

The most troublesome thing was, of course, taking care of the baby monsters. Since I had to be accompanied by Yoohyun, Yerim, or Noah-ssi [Mr. Noah] whenever I went down to the breeding ground, I brought a few of them into the house.

“Milky, Blanc. I told you not to bite the sofa!”

The baby wolves, who glanced at me for a moment, pretended not to hear and started grinding their teeth on the sofa again. Yerim liked it, but I thought it would be difficult to keep them at home for a long time. They’ll grow up quickly, and they shed a lot of fur.

– Keureureu!

– Kyaeng!

– Kkaeang!

Peace, growing his body to the sub-adult stage, bit the baby wolves’ necks and roughly pulled them off the sofa. The baby wolves whined and rolled around on the floor. Sorok, who had become one with the living room floor, was stepped on by the wolf and squealed. As soon as the baby sheep saw that, it headbutted the baby wolf.

Oh my, it’s a mess. Maybe bringing them all was too much. I should have only brought one or two, I was too enthusiastic.

At that time, I received a call from the Haeyeon Guild. To be exact, it was from my employee, Seo Kyunghoon.