The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 450

448. Working Even After Returning (4)

“It’s right here. It was a training room for mid to high-level Hunters, so it’s built sturdily.”

Choi Young-joon led me to a five-story building attached to the right side of the Association, appearing as if it protruded from the main structure. It looked like they had constructed a new building specifically for this purpose, rather than repurposing an existing one.

“The first floor has a high ceiling and no basement. The upper floors are also facilities for Hunters, so even if something happens on the first floor, there’s little chance of injuries.”

He implied that it would be a suitable place for Song to stay as she grew. Of course, the breeding facility in Gyeonggi-do would be better for a long-term stay, but this could serve as a temporary residence when there was business to handle.

“The entrance is also separate from the upper floors.”

“What’s up there?”

Before my regression [time travel], when I awakened, the Hunter Association’s new building didn’t collapse. The Awakening Center also opened without incident, and many of the old building’s facilities had been moved to the new building. Only the market remained in the old location.

“It’s a temporary shelter for mid-level or higher Awakened.”

Choi Young-joon looked up at the upper floors of the building and continued his explanation.

“Sometimes, people can’t control their suddenly increased stats after awakening. That’s why the first floor was designed as a training room. Nowadays, guilds usually take care of mid to high-level Awakened immediately, so there’s not much use for it. But in the past, when people first awakened, there wasn’t really anywhere for them to go. They would damage the surrounding objects for as long as a week.”

Come to think of it, Yerim broke tables, floors, and even cars right after she awakened. If we lived in an apartment instead of a detached house, she wouldn’t have been able to stay in her own home.

“But it’s surprisingly located in Seoul. Something might happen.”

“That’s…”

Choi Young-joon glanced at me and said.

“The old facility was burned down by a certain minor S-Class Awakened.”

“Ah…”

Oh, it was Yoohyun. That’s what happened.

“Then shouldn’t it be in an even more secluded place?”

“They’re only level 1 when they first awaken. It was determined that it would be possible to suppress them quickly without damage if they were located near a large number of high-level Hunters. …Although there are exceptions to every rule.”

Well, the Hunter Association always has high-level Hunters staying there, and Hunters frequently come and go because of the market. Chief Song also handles a lot of work at the Association. It might be better to keep them close and stop them quickly than to leave them far away and risk a major incident.

“What, was the damage significant?”

“I wasn’t in charge of that area at the time, so I don’t know the details, but I heard that Chief Song Tae-won had a hard time.”

Yoohyun! Unable to hide my apologetic feelings, I glanced at Chief Song.

“I was still inexperienced back then, so it was manageable.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“It must have been quite a sight. It’s a shame you weren’t in Korea at the time.”

Sung Hyun-jae chimed in.

“I heard that he bothered Song Tae-won often even after that. It must have been tough playing the role of a child’s toy.”

“Is that something you should be saying, Sung Hyun-jae? You were several times worse than Yoohyun.”

You even dragged people overseas. Chief Song nodded slightly, as if agreeing with me.

“Hunter Han Yoohyun had a clear purpose of gaining combat experience, so he was much easier to deal with than Hunter Sung Hyun-jae.”

“Even though he bit off your arm, though.”

“I’m really sorry, Chief Song. Why don’t you just shut your mouth?”

Even if I had ten mouths, I shouldn’t say another word in front of Chief Song.

“He’s my brother, and I was still his guardian back then. So Chief Song, I’ll pay you compensation, even belatedly. Tell me anything you want!”

Anything, really! I could even give you SS-Class handcuffs!

Chief Song stared at me silently before opening his mouth.

“Please don’t cause any accidents.”

“No, that’s…”

“Especially, please don’t create any incidents with Hunter Sung Hyun-jae.”

“…It’s not like I want to.”

“If Han Yoojin is safe, then Hunter Han Yoohyun and Hunter Park Yerim will also be quiet.”

Sung Hyun-jae cast a glance at me, saying, “Oh dear.” But I’m better than you. Still. …Probably.

“Can’t I compensate you materially?”

“The increase in the number of rides [monsters tamed] is already more than enough.”

“Song is still under my affiliation according to the contract.”

Of course, I don’t receive any direct compensation for the increase in the number of rides, but it’s not like I don’t benefit from it. In addition to improving my public image by contributing to the country, I can also use this to push the special law related to the increase in the number of rides in a favorable direction. The Hunter Association also squeezed out some mascot and promotional usage fees.

“Isn’t this a capitalist society? I want to solve it with money, Chief Song.”

“I refuse.”

“There’s one more person here who wants to solve it with money.”

“I sincerely refuse. In the first place, please don’t create any problems that need to be solved.”

Sung Hyun-jae and I both made regretful expressions. Choi Young-joon couldn’t stand it any longer and shook his head.

“Anyway, it’s currently almost unused. The number of underage Awakened who need long-term protection has also dwindled as dungeon breaks have become rare. So we plan to change it into a facility related to the increase in the number of rides.”

Choi Young-joon smiled at me, saying that he expects the number of domestic rides to increase further in the future.

“Even monsters that are not for riding.”

His eyes were telling me to work hard. Does he want the Association to handle monster trading as well as the item market?

The first floor for riding had a ceiling that nearly reached the third floor, as Choi Young-joon said. Even for flying monsters, it wouldn’t feel cramped if they were young. Five individual enclosures were located in the wide-open space. They weren’t cages but rooms, neatly finished with walls instead of bars.

“CCTV is also running, of course. And there’s an outdoor playground in the back.”

The back was made of glass, and half of the wall could be opened. The playground wasn’t very large, as expected. But the fence was high, and there was a small pool. Even with the fence, it would be clearly visible amidst the surrounding buildings. I wonder if that was intentional – to allow ordinary people to take and share pictures of baby monsters from the Hunter Association.

Chief Song put the baby sheep down on the lawn.

– Baaa.

Song wagged her tail and jumped around. She looked around for a moment, then perked up her ears and laid them back.

– Baaaaa.

Chief Song asked me, with a cry that was longer and higher than before.

“Does she not like it?”

“Um, no. It seems like she’s calling for a friend.”

“A friend?”

“Yes. She’s asking to play together.”

Chief Song’s expression turned serious at my words.

“Do we need another baby monster?”

“It might be lonely alone, but the playmate doesn’t necessarily have to be a monster. The monsters in the breeding center aren’t the same species anyway.”

“…Yes? Then.”

“Chief Song can play with her~ This is Song’s snack, and this is a toy fishing rod. You might not need it, Chief Song.”

The fishing rod was a toy I used to conserve my stamina. I took out a bunch of balls that I had packed. The colorful balls rolled on the grass. Song looked at Chief Song, who was holding snacks and toys, and jumped over. Then she bumped her head hard against Chief Song’s leg.

– Baa!

“Th, the headbutt is…”

“That’s also asking to play. She can’t bump me hard, but she’s hitting Chief Song as much as she wants. Please keep an eye on her so she doesn’t do that to other people.”

Chief Song nodded and awkwardly shook the fishing rod. Song grabbed the carrot-shaped doll at the end of the fishing rod and ran off. Chief Song followed her closely. It was obvious that he didn’t know what to do.

A novice dad.

“Please pay a lot of attention so that Chief Song can easily balance work and childcare.”

“Of course, we will. However, she’s not the type to rest just because we’re paying attention…”

Choi Young-joon said regretfully.

“It would be nice if she could rest comfortably and do some promotional filming before the baby sheep grows up.”

…It doesn’t seem like it would be comfortable.

“By the way, it seems difficult to use Leafnil and Horned Fox as rides.”

Choi Young-joon said, slightly exaggerating as if he had just remembered.

“But the Hunter Association welcomes them with open arms!”

“You’re openly targeting an S-Class and an A-Class.”

“It means we want you to remember us.”

Yeah. The Volcanic Black Sheep is far from cute once it grows up, so I guess they want to make one more small monster a mascot while it’s still high-level. But that would cost quite a bit to raise.

Choi Young-joon took pictures of Chief Song and the baby sheep and then left, saying he had a lot of work to do. He had to make an official announcement and create related promotional materials.

“Sung Hyun-jae.”

I cautiously started talking, watching Chief Song being dragged around by Song.

“About the Changeling. The pink baby dragon I have.”

“You mean our child.”

“…Why did Hyun-ah spread the word like that? Anyway, I decided to give the Changeling a name. So please recommend a name. I’ll use it as a reference.”

“A name, huh.”

Sung Hyun-jae hesitated before continuing. What is it? Does he not have a talent for naming things?

“…How about Yongyong or Pink?”

Huh.

“What is that? It’s not much different from me.”

Maybe Yerim’s sense is exceptionally good, and I’m just average. That’s what it was like when we were soliciting names for the breeding center.

“I tried to make it sound like Han Yoojin would name it.”

“…Me?”

“Or Pink or Cherry, Chain.”

…Did he look into my head? I took a step to the side.

“I never thought of those names!”

“Didn’t you just say it wasn’t much different?”

“I said Cherry, Cherry. What’s Yongyong and Pink?”

Sung Hyun-jae is useless too. Maybe I should ask Chief Song… but no. I’m the best of the three here, aren’t I? But should I get Chief Song’s opinion first?

I walked over to Chief Song, who was stopping Song from jumping into the pool.

“Chief Song! Sung Hyun-jae is trying to name the child─”

Thump!

A sound was heard, and Chief Song turned to me, holding Song. At the same time, something hit my left shoulder hard. Immediately after, my body swayed greatly.

My cheek stung.

“……!”

A burning pain ran through my right arm. Sung Hyun-jae’s arm supported me as I used Grace [a skill].

“A sniper.”

As his words fell, Song Tae-won put the baby sheep down and jumped over the fence. A sniper, what does that mean? I saw a ball rolling on the ground. He threw that, no, he wouldn’t have had time, so he kicked it. Sung Hyun-jae laid me on the ground. Golden chains wrapped around us.

The right sleeve of my top was torn off in an instant. I smelled blood belatedly.

“It’s not deep. It didn’t get stuck. Can I use a potion?”

“The lowest grade. Do you have one?”

“For Han Yoojin, I do.”

Sung Hyun-jae took out a potion and poured it on the wound. Meanwhile, my head was shaking in confusion. What’s going on?

“There are two S-Classes here. Even Sung Hyun-jae is here.”

“The lethality is low.”

It grazed my arm, which has F-Class stats, and it only ended up slightly torn. That was even stranger. If someone was going to target me secretly, they would definitely be high-level, but the power of the attack was weak.

“And I smell gunpowder.”

“…Yes? You mean a regular gun?”

“It wouldn’t be completely regular.”

Sung Hyun-jae said quietly as he helped me up. A faint, chilly aura flickered in his eyes.

“It seems like someone is trying to play a pretty nasty prank.”

Kwaang!

As soon as he finished speaking, an explosion rang out. It was literally the sound of a bomb exploding. Not an Awakened’s skill.

Weeeooo─ A warning sound echoed, and the fence that had been blocking the front collapsed. Chief Song landed on it and turned to us with a stiff face.

“It seems to be a bomb terror.”

It was a sound that had never been heard in connection with Hunters in Korea. Sung Hyun-jae said to me, who was panicking.

“It’s not uncommon overseas. But in Korea… The sniper is…”

“There are no traces.”

Has he already disappeared? Then something flew into the sky. It was none other than a drone. Nearly ten drones approached, surrounding us and the Hunter Association building.

What, should I destroy that? It’s not a monster or an Awakened, it’s a drone. Sung Hyun-jae and Song Tae-won also narrowed their eyes and looked up at the drone.

“It doesn’t seem to have any weapons.”

As soon as Chief Song finished speaking, Poong! The drone exploded. One after another, Poong, Poong, Poong, all the drones exploded, and debris and powder scattered.

“Song!”

Is it poison? I hugged Song first. Chief Song, who looked back at me and Song, gestured to Sung Hyun-jae and ran out of the collapsed fence. There was still no change in the scattered powder. The Seeker’s chains were still wrapped around us, shaking.

“…What was it?”

“I can’t tell either. There’s no immediate change─”

Sung Hyun-jae’s mouth closed. I also felt a faint movement of magic power. The scattered powder began to pour out something black, as if sprouting.