The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 41

41. My Brother… (1)

“Of course, there’s no reason for you to meet them, hyung [older brother – a term of endearment]. You can refuse.”

Yoohyun said firmly. It’s not that there’s no reason to meet, but rather, he doesn’t want me to meet them, does he?

Anyway, this guy loses his qualifications as a guild leader in front of me, no matter what he’s like at other times. He should be trying to persuade me even if I say I don’t want to meet them; instead, he’s saying there’s no need.

“If I say I don’t want to, those people won’t come, right?”

“Of course, they won’t.”

“Hey, don’t you think the world will see the leaders of the top three guilds coming to Haeyeon in person as a sign that Haeyeon has the upper hand? So, what do you mean there’s no reason to meet? You should be saying, ‘Won’t you show your face just once, hyung?'”

Of course, I don’t want to meet them. It’s annoying. But hearing the guild leader talking nonsense, I couldn’t just let it pass.

…Could it be that he’s deliberately saying I can refuse, aiming for this reaction? There’s no way my brother is that cunning.

“Don’t—”

“From now on, don’t say ‘but’ in front of me.”

Yoohyun closed his mouth, then opened it again.

“But—”

“No ‘buts,’ ‘howevers,’ or ‘still.’ Don’t start your sentences with negative conjunctions.”

My brother became sulky. Seriously, how could this guy have been cold to me for years? The successful version of him from five years later is still vivid in my mind, so this twenty-year-old kid sometimes feels unfamiliar.

Moreover, my memories span thirty years, so there’s a whole ten-year age gap between me and this young one. Even five years is a lot, but ten years? When I’m an adult, Yoohyun is still a little elementary schooler.

He’s really young.

“What’s the big deal about showing your face once that you’re so worried? It’s not like my face isn’t going to be plastered all over the news soon anyway.”

“…Aren’t you burdened? They’re S-Rank Hunters [the highest rank]. Usually, lower-ranked Hunters find it difficult to deal with S-Rank Hunters. You seem to be less affected by that, though.”

Because I have fear resistance. With L-Rank fear resistance, why would I be intimidated by S-Ranks?

“I’m not burdened, just annoyed. But they’re customers, so I have to introduce the product with the heart of a salesman who’s received a huge order.”

Their investment is substantial, so I understand wanting to see it for themselves. I wouldn’t feel comfortable signing off on just video footage either. Especially since the highest-grade ride-type skill user will be the perfect partner for those excellent S-Ranks, so they must be eager.

“I won’t stop you if you’re okay with it, hyung. They’ll probably bring an Awakened Appraiser with them.”

“Awakened Appraiser? What’s their appraisal skill rank?”

“A-Rank.”

Oh, that’s high. Appraisal skills that examine the skills or stats of others can only check opponents one rank lower than their own. So, with an A-Rank skill, there’s no need to worry… No, wait, damn it. I lied and said I had a C-Rank skill.

“Hey, Yoohyun? It would be a problem if my C-Rank skill got exposed.”

“It’s okay. The people coming this time know that an Awakening Center is about to be established. They won’t particularly care about skills that awaken non-Awakened people. And they can only check ranks once a month, right? As I said before, it won’t attract much attention.”

No, the problem is that the skill doesn’t exist.

“Still, I feel uneasy. Aren’t there any items that hide skills? You can easily hide a C-Rank one, right?”

“No. It’ll be troublesome if you get caught. Even if they can’t appraise the monster breeding skill, they can still guess based on your other skills, which is why they’re bringing an appraiser. Your initial skills are two E-Rank skills and one C-Rank skill, and you obtained the monster breeding skill as a level 10 skill. If you have other skills or don’t have those, you might be suspected.”

“Did you mention the C-Rank skill?”

“I haven’t mentioned that yet, but if you use an item, the appraiser might notice… Hyung.”

Yoohyun looked straight into my eyes and said.

“Are you hiding something from me?”

“That’s…”

Damn it, nothing I can do now. I was going to make excuses that my skill grew and its rank increased if I got caught, but I never expected to encounter an A-Rank appraiser so soon.

It’s impossible to say that a C-Rank skill has already become A-Rank.

“Actually, that skill is A-Rank.”

I just confessed. The maximum rank for Awakened appraisal skills was A-Rank even five years later, so there’s no way I’ll get caught.

“Hyung!”

Yoohyun shouted. What, why? Everyone else hides their skills too.

“A-Rank? That’s completely different!”

“No, the effects are roughly similar.”

“Roughly?”

“…I can accurately know the expected awakening rank. Even the initial skills. There’s no limit to how many times I can check.”

I hid the optimized awakening. My brother sighed deeply. Then he looked at me with resentful eyes.

“Did you not trust me, or—”

“I believed that you were worrying about me unnecessarily and excessively. If I had said back then, ‘Actually, I got an A-Rank skill~,’ the atmosphere would have been like, ‘Yeah, just stay cooped up in your room for three years and wait.'”

“…You didn’t trust me?”

“If I didn’t trust you, I would have already run away.”

If Yoohyun had been normally calm and composed, I wouldn’t have hidden anything and would have told him everything. But he was a bit out of it, so I couldn’t say it.

“I trust you. I believe that my brother is someone who would risk his life for me.”

I saw it with my own eyes and experienced it, so how could I not believe it?

Yoohyun made an awkward expression at my words.

“…I didn’t think you’d trust me that much.”

I couldn’t have believed that much either, not until you did something stupid.

“Well, since it’s A-Rank, you won’t get caught this time. Being able to accurately and unlimitedly know the expected awakening rank is amazing, but seeing as you haven’t brought anyone other than Park Yerim, it probably means that high-ranked Awakeners are rare.”

Yoohyun said, calming down. Still accurate.

“That’s right. I’ve used it occasionally, but I haven’t seen any S-Rank stats, let alone A-Rank. There were a few B-Ranks, though.”

“Were the initial skills of the B-Ranks not good?”

“Just ordinary attack and defense skills. Want me to teach you? I can’t awaken you because there’s a 30-day limit.”

“No. I don’t need ordinary combat-type B-Ranks, unless they’re healers or have rare special skills.”

Yeah, you’re so great.

“I’ll let you know if I see a good A-Rank.”

“Okay. Just don’t show it. Being able to check the skills of potential A-Rank or higher Awakeners is too advantageous for securing top-tier Hunters. Like I said before, it wouldn’t be very useful if it was only once a month, but it’s a different story if it’s unlimited.”

“Even if I find them, they won’t necessarily sign a contract 100% of the time.”

“Of course, but just getting the opportunity is valuable, and if things go wrong, you can eliminate them before they awaken. Not that I would do that, but there are people who would want to, right?”

It’s a brutal thing to say, but it’s true.

“I won’t show it and will quietly tell only you.”

“Good. Is there anything else you’re hiding?”

“No.”

Actually, there’s a lot, like two titles and eight skills associated with them.

But the lowest rank is S-Rank. Unless an SS-Rank appraisal skill user appears, there’s no way I’ll get caught. There aren’t even any S-Ranks, so there’s no way an SS-Rank will suddenly pop up.

“Really, there’s nothing else?”

“I’m telling you, no. Logically, there’s no way there could be anything more. Even S-Ranks only get a maximum of about four initial skills, so what else would I hide?”

Unless I regressed. Yoohyun nodded at my words.

“Okay. I won’t ask about how you collected data to the point where you can predict dungeon appearances.”

…You say you won’t ask, but why are you looking at me like that?

I didn’t say anything until the end, and my brother left in a huff. Seriously?

A custom car with heavy colors was turning into the Haeyeon Guild parking lot. And that wasn’t the only vehicle.

I turned my head from the window and looked at Seok Simyeong. Peace, who was lying at my feet, perked up his ears.

“There are no changes other than the addition of the Hanshin Guild.”

He said. Hanshin was a guild in a similar position to Haeyeon. Their guild leader is also S-Rank. However, with Yerim and me added to Haeyeon, the gap will soon widen significantly.

So, all the domestic S-Rank guild leaders are coming, except for one who’s abroad? How luxurious.

“There won’t be any major issues.”

Seok Simyeong continued, with an expression that told me to relax.

“Answer questions with short answers as much as possible. If you talk too much, you might get caught up and reveal unnecessary information.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t talk nonsense.”

I know my life is precious too.

“They’re people who are burdensome to face, but don’t be too nervous. Or would you like some tranquilizers?”

“I’m fine.”

I wasn’t nervous or anxious at all. Rather, I was worried because I wasn’t nervous enough.

But turning off fear resistance would be foolish, so I have to force myself to be vigilant. The guys I’m about to meet, except for my brother, are all dangerous and crazy. Actually, if you ask if my brother is normal, honestly, he probably isn’t.

In the first place, how many Hunters who go in and out of dungeons are sane? With some experience, PTSD [Post Traumatic Stress Disorder] is practically a basic requirement.

“I’m more worried about Peace.”

The still young Flame Horned Lion wagged his tail as soon as he made eye contact with me. He’s always so cute. I really don’t want to take him.

“They wouldn’t harm Peace to check Haeyeon, would they?”

Peace is the highest-grade ride-type skill user who will grow the fastest. From the perspective of other guild leaders, he’s bound to be an eyesore.

“They’re not foolish enough to do something stupid for short-term gains.”

That’s true, but. If they do anything stupid, I’ll crush that guild by any means necessary. If I don’t hold back on the cards I have, there’s nothing I can’t do.

“Peace, come here.”

I picked up Peace to prepare to go out. He seems heavier than he was a few days ago. Did he gain weight because the house is too small for his size and he can’t run around properly?

The guild leaders who visited Haeyeon today were a total of four, with one more added to the top three guilds. The Hunter Association President also came. Excluding the president, they’re all S-Rank Hunters.

‘This is the first time I’m seeing them in person.’

They’re all people I’ve only seen on TV. It’s a strange feeling that such great people are flocking to meet me.

What can I say, I kind of want to act like I’m in charge. To those who will live as superiors for the rest of their lives, no, as super superiors. If you want to get a high-grade ride-type skill user, you have to be nice to me, super superiors.

Of course, I shouldn’t do that. Until I become a building owner, I have to pretend to be a docile cat.

I went through a security check before meeting the super superiors. Even though my stats are F-Rank, making it difficult to face even C-Ranks with equipment, they checked thoroughly. Of course, my inventory was also sealed. Although it wasn’t actually sealed.

“You have to go alone from here.”

They’re completely blocking other people’s access. Who would dare to touch the people gathered inside?

“Peace, you have to be good. You can’t growl.”

– Kkiang.

Does he even know what he’s answering?

As I walked down the long corridor, a large door appeared. Without hesitating, I opened the door, and gazes filled with curiosity poured down on me.

They probably noticed my presence before I even touched the door. Then they should have opened the door for me. Do they think it’s easy to hold a child in one arm and open a heavy door? Our kid is almost ten kilograms, you inconsiderate bastards.

“Hello.”

Still, I smiled. Smile.

It was a conference room with a heavy design, but seeing the faces turned towards me, it felt like I was visiting an entertainment agency.

Except for the Hunter Association President, whose hair was streaked with gray, they all had sculpted faces and were young. The leader of the Seseong Guild, who is in his late thirties, is the oldest, and the rest are all around thirty or younger. The youngest is, of course, the fresh twenty-year-old Yoohyun. Being among them, he really looks youthful.

‘Four S-Ranks.’

It would be nearly impossible to fill the waiting room with those people.

“My beloved customers, it’s an honor to meet you like this.”

I laid the groundwork while I was at it. Who knows, maybe if I pile up ten thousand times of love talk for business with zero sincerity, someone might get hooked. It might not be effective unless I specify a particular target, but it’s not like my tongue will wear out from saying ‘love, love,’ so what does it matter?

“If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.”

I will answer with sincerity, filled with love. Of course, only filled with sincerity, and I’ll only add a little bit of truth as seasoning.

At my words, Yoohyun frowned slightly, and the Breaker Guild Leader gestured to a man standing to one side.

“Let’s start with a skill appraisal.”

Yes, yes, please do as much as you want.