The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 387

385. New Dungeon (4)

Silence descended. My conscience returned. No… not now… Even in this serious situation, embarrassment washed over me first. Well, it’s not like I’ll see him again anyway. Let’s just say it’s fortunate that this created an atmosphere for conversation.

I forced a smile, trying to lift the corners of my lips that were trembling with shame.

“Hello, Seong Hyeon-je. It’s nice to meet you for the first time.”

Right now, Seong Hyeon-je and I have never met. We only know each other unilaterally, or something like that. I pretended to be nonchalant and assessed his condition.

His hair color was even fainter, making it hard to guess what color it was. One golden eye was slightly open. There was no sign of any change from aging a few more years. He’s exactly the same as now. If it weren’t for the feeling of his hair color and his eyes, it would have been impossible to tell. Oh, one more thing. The light gray coat he’s wearing, I remember that as an SS-class item. He probably got that around the fifth year after the dungeons started appearing.

So, this is Seong Hyeon-je from at least a year from now. He lost one eye after breaking the contract with Diarma, but his arm is fine. He’s wearing gloves, so it’s possible it’s a prosthetic. On the other hand, he might not have lost his eye because of the contract. He might have simply been injured during a dungeon raid and not fully recovered.

While I was quickly sorting things out in my head, Seong Hyeon-je opened his mouth.

“It would be disappointing if you pretended not to know me now.”

“We don’t know each other.”

“That kind, gentle, and affectionate Seong Hyeon-je.”

Wow, he’s calmly saying such a creepy thing himself. Seong Hyeon-je’s gaze slowly scanned me.

“Did the past change?”

…He’s disgustingly sensitive. I gave him a look that said, ‘What nonsense are you talking about?’

“Excuse me?”

“You’re younger than the Han Yu-jin I know. Twenty… five or six years old.”

“…Five. Not much time left until I turn twenty-six.”

“But you know me now. You seem to have some idea about my condition, so did you go back to the past? With your memories intact.”

“Don’t you think I’m lying? It sounded like nonsense. You even dared to say that you’re kind and nice?”

“I can tell that much. Whether it’s a lie or not.”

Seong Hyeon-je said as if it were obvious. Ah, yes. I’m sure you can. Why don’t you just set up a whole stage?

“Yes. I regressed. When I was thirty years old. I went back five years, and a lot has changed in many ways.”

“Han Yu-hyeon died.”

My heart sank. Seong Hyeon-je continued indifferently.

“He couldn’t even last ten years. Below expectations.”

It was a dry voice without any emotion. He said he didn’t meet expectations, but he didn’t seem to regret it at all. Even though they knew each other, couldn’t he be a little sad? To Seong Hyeon-je, Yu-hyeon was just one of the chess pieces to entrust Korea to. Nothing more, nothing less. That realization hit me strongly again.

That kid went through so much.

“Damn it, that earlier thing was just a person with the same name, and I don’t know you. Kind my ass.”

“Oh dear. Should I have expressed my condolences? But I’m not that close to the Haeyeon Guild Leader.”

I guess not. It wouldn’t matter to Seong Hyeon-je. I accepted it in my head, but my insides couldn’t help but churn.

“But you still know him! You’ve met him a few times! He’s at least a colleague in the industry, so what do you mean by ‘expectations’ at his obituary? You rotten bastard! Even if you didn’t know him, you’d at least pretend to be sad when you hear bad news about a young person!”

He’s even much older. Yu-hyeon is almost like a son to him! Back in the day, he would have had a child Yu-hyeon’s age. A young kid, and that happened to him! Is a cold evaluation all you have to say? Yu-hyeon wouldn’t care what that man said, and he wouldn’t even pay attention, but I was upset.

“You suddenly went missing yourself, so what do you mean by ‘below expectations’—”

“I’ve met Han Yu-jin more times than Han Yu-hyeon.”

“…What?”

I was speechless. Wait a minute. I’ve never met that man. He even saw me more often than Yu-hyeon? Even if there weren’t many opportunities to meet Yu-hyeon, if he says he saw me more often, it must have been more than a handful of times. Could my memory be affected by information from after the regression?

“But I don’t know. I really don’t know.”

“I had to confirm. So I went to check.”

“Oh, when…….”

The young Chaos, who had been quietly listening to our conversation, raised one eyebrow slightly and asked.

“Does the ‘nice guy’ in your neighborhood also stalk people?”

“…That man does all sorts of things, but he wouldn’t do something like that, um, uhhhm.”

Well, what was it? He didn’t chase after Song, the Chief Manager, and harass him. He made Song, the Chief Manager, come to him willingly. …Which one is worse? I have no answer.

Thud. A piece of concrete rolled down from Seong Hyeon-je’s feet. He, who had been paused for a moment, took another step down. The closer he got, the stronger the smell of blood felt. Through the faintly permeating sunset, the red marks on the hem of his coat were visible. At the end of the coat that swayed as he moved, a part I hadn’t seen before was revealed.

A human finger, like a stain. …Let’s not think deeply about it now.

“Of course, it wasn’t this appearance. I’ve even comforted you when you were drunk and crying because you missed your brother, so it’s unfair to be treated like a stalker.”

“Wh, who was it? When, where?!”

Who was it! Th, that is, it must have been after he noticed me. The current Seong Hyeon-je said he didn’t know, so it must have been after I awakened. He found out that Yu-hyeon was keeping me away to protect me and wanted to confirm it exactly… Still, he came to find me himself?

Seong Hyeon-je stepped onto the floor with the same faint smile on his face. Squeak, the now-faded bloodstains are rubbed under his heel.

“Thanks to you, I ended up like this.”

“…Excuse me?”

“To be exact, Song Tae-won, and Han Yu-jin.”

The faint smile becomes as clear as the rising moon. Song Tae-won. That name made my head busy. This story, could it be about when Song, the Chief Manager, died—

Thud!

With a faint footstep, Seong Hyeon-je moved. Instead of a chain, a sword of unknown origin was in his hand. The young Chaos blocked me with a greatsword as if he had been waiting. Clang! Strength clashed with strength, and the silver greatsword was slightly pushed back.

Damn it, Seong Hyeon-je is different from other SS-classes after all. I’ve raised Eun-hye to SS-class, but should I raise her one level higher? But even with the Mana Spring, the SSS-class damage nullification only lasts for 24 hours. It’s not a short time, but it can’t be said to be long either. I don’t know how long I’ll have to endure in this dungeon.

“What are you going to do, First?”

The young Chaos asked me. Clatter, the weapons bared their blades and growled at each other. I retreated to avoid getting in the way. If even the young Chaos’s strength is not enough, it’s right to avoid it. I had to join the others and attack together. With auxiliary skills, area skills, and double the attack skills, I could deal with him sufficiently.

But still.

“What happened! Seong Hyeon-je!”

Clang! Sword and sword clashed again. Seong Hyeon-je was superior in strength, but it was his weapon that broke. The difference in weapon performance was too great.

The broken sword blade spins in the air. A gloved hand snatches it, and a black shadow seeps into the blade. Plunder.

Song Tae-won, after his death.

The broken blade flew towards the young Chaos. The young Chaos’s toe kicked up a stone scattered on the floor. It collided exactly with the blade, exploding with a bang. Fragments of stone and blade scattered like a mist. In the meantime, another form of sword was in Seong Hyeon-je’s hand.

What happened to the Seeker’s Chain?

“Hey! Seong Hyeon-je!”

He swung his sword expressionlessly without even glancing at me. That appearance was unfamiliar. There was no chain or electricity, of course. Still, he seemed to be using combat precognition, and despite the penalty of having one eye missing, he didn’t seem to feel the blind spot in his vision.

The two collided again. Should I just retreat? Is there no way to get his attention? If I revealed some shocking information from after the regression……. The Seseong Guild building collapsed, but this place is also destroyed. You can raise an S-class ride-type monster, but that’s not shocking enough. But if I told an absurd lie, he would notice it right away.

A real thing that happened, something that Seong Hyeon-je would be surprised by, information…….

Ugh, this is really crazy. It’s crazy, but oh well. I took a deep breath and shouted.

“Seong Hyeon-je! You and I have a child!”

Seong Hyeon-je paused. The young Chaos didn’t miss the gap and dug in closely. Surprisingly, the fist that he couldn’t block, even though he was using combat precognition, strongly struck Seong Hyeon-je’s solar plexus. Seong Hyeon-je was pushed back, and the young Chaos turned to me.

“First?”

It’s not a lie. To be exact, it’s a monster created between Seong Hyeon-je, Diarma, Diarma’s Dragonkin, and me. Isn’t it much more accurate information than a fabricated tabloid? It’s true. Now that I’ve blurted it out, I shamelessly revealed more.

“And Yu-hyeon, a child is going to be born between my brother and me!”

Yu-hyeon, I’m sorry. Your brother is spouting crazy things that will block your marriage path. But since the two people here can’t go outside the dungeon anyway, please forgive me just once!

The young Chaos narrowed his brow as if he had guessed what my nonsense meant.

“…It’s not wrong, but.”

“Also, Song, the Chief Manager, has a child too! He refused to take him, so I’m raising him now. He’s really cute!”

I’m also sorry to Song, the Chief Manager. But I didn’t lie. These days, people often say ‘our child’ to pets like dogs and cats. He’s going to be a ride-type monster partner, so he’s no different from a child.

“Lastly, Song, the Chief Manager, took a vacation!”

“It doesn’t seem like a lie.”

Seong Hyeon-je looked at me with a quite surprised face. Even I think it’s a real dog sound-like dog sound. In fact, they are all baby monsters. It’s no different from raising a puppy and saying, ‘I have a daughter, a son!’ Of course, Song, the Chief Manager’s vacation is a hundred percent pure, unadulterated truth.

“And he’s here.”

“…I see.”

Clang, the heavily cracked sword was thrown away carelessly. Seong Hyeon-je’s fingertips lightly touched the disheveled collar of his coat. Has he calmed down a bit? I quickly asked so he wouldn’t attack again.

“What happened to Song, the Chief Manager?”

“Is the kind, gentle, and affectionate Seong Hyeon-je here too?”

I was about to answer but closed my mouth. An ominous premonition stung. But Seong Hyeon-je didn’t seem to need my answer. He already knew and was just confirming.

“Please tell me what happened. I need to know so I can prepare.”

“There’s no need to prepare.”

The finger that went up the collar of his coat pressed against his closed eyes.

“If the cause disappears, that’s all.”

Seong Hyeon-je’s figure disappeared. Teleportation. Is it an item? The young Chaos immediately came to me and lifted me up. The cause, damn it. Could it be!

“We have to chase him!”

I became urgent. But as soon as I went outside the building, there was no need to move urgently.

Seong Hyeon-je was standing blankly on the empty street. His hand touched the empty air where nothing could be seen. His palm pressed down on a transparent barrier. The moment I understood what happened, my stomach twisted.

He is a monster in this area.

Seong Hyeon-je calmly stroked the wall that had trapped him, without being surprised or angry. He probably already had some idea about his own condition. So he must have personally dealt with all the hunters of the Seseong Guild.

I don’t know exactly what his feelings were. But he couldn’t just leave his guild and affiliated hunters alone.

I got off the young Chaos’s arm. Seong Hyeon-je’s back view was both sad and angry.

“…Seong Hyeon-je.”

“This time, you took your first vacation very early. And yet you came into this kind of dungeon again, you have no luck.”

“Um, this dungeon is.”

“That time was your first vacation too.”

Seong Hyeon-je turned around and looked up at me on the stairs and continued.

“As you know, he died. There’s a grave near here, and I made a place for it when he should have originally gone to Daejeon. I can’t guide you in this state. Have you ever been there? Before the regression.”

“…If I went to such a place, I would have been scolded a lot.”

“I’m sorry.”

I didn’t expect to hear an apology for just that.

“No, it’s not like Seong Hyeon-je scolded me.”

“I mean including what will happen in the future.”

“Yes?”

Clang. A metallic sound was heard. But the golden chain was nowhere to be seen. The young Chaos frowned. Seong Hyeon-je raised the corners of his lips and replied.

“Because I can’t get out. If we’re so close, you’ll come to save me, right? Kind Seong Hyeon-je.”

Early moonlight poured down from the sky.