The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 480

478. This Time, A Kidnapper (1)

To quietly capture Chloe, an S-Rank Hunter.

Naturally, it wasn’t going to be easy. Luring her alone would be difficult, but she’s an S-Rank Hunter who would run away with all her might the moment she sensed something was amiss. Even a small, weak rabbit can escape from a predator. If they have similar abilities, escaping would be even easier.

Furthermore, with the added condition of doing it quietly without being detected, it was virtually impossible. If the S-Ranks rushed in, dodging and attacking, they would probably destroy three or four buildings in the process.

However, the solution was surprisingly simple and straightforward.

“Send a Hunter with stats below mid-level.”

The next day, I sent the recorded voice file of Sung Hyunjae to the designated email address. It wasn’t long before a reply came back.

“He says what he wants in return is a contract with my signature.”

Sung Hyunjae said after checking the email. He couldn’t tell us the details of the contract. It probably included things like guaranteeing the secrecy of the party, attending as a partner of the party, and ensuring safety.

Soon, a meeting place was set. The time was around midnight, and the condition was that Sung Hyunjae would be in a place where he could be seen from the outside. Chloe had entered the country alone under the banner of the Benkave Guild, but it seemed she had some helpers in Korea as well.

“It’s highly likely that Yoo-hyun, Yerim, Hyun-ah, and Chief Song’s locations will also be identified. So, let’s disband as if we’ve resolved the issue for now. As for me, um, should I be carried out?”

I wonder if just being supported by Yoo-hyun would be enough. Maybe I should make my complexion pale and act like I’m in shock.

Late in the evening, Sung Hyunjae was the first to leave the hotel with Chief Song. To be precise, he went out of the hotel’s main entrance with Chief Song, and Sung Hyunjae got into a waiting car and returned to the Guild. On the other hand, Chief Song declined Sung Hyunjae’s offer to give him a ride and stubbornly walked home. It’s easier to track his location if he walks, but he could have at least taken a taxi.

I then called Moon Hyun-ah to inform her of the situation.

[I’m already outside. Did you reconcile well with Sung Hyunjae?]

“Reconcile? It wasn’t really a fight to begin with…”

I turned my body to the side and lowered my voice.

“But I think he has other intentions.”

[Other intentions? That’s just like him. He always acts like he knows everything in the world.]

“Right. He’s annoying sometimes.”

[Sometimes? You’re being nice.]

Hyun-ah laughed heartily.

“Well, I’m just being polite. Anyway, he’s strangely lukewarm.”

It was a bit strange that Sung Hyunjae hid Chloe’s letter from me and pushed me away to get the Chatterbox invitation. Sung Hyunjae told me that I hadn’t dug deep enough yet, but that’s what I should be saying. It seems like he’s hiding something. And it seems to be something related to me.

“He kept telling me to say something. He keeps poking at me, but I have no idea what his purpose is.”

[Hmm, should we grab a drink sometime? Do you need counseling?]

“No, it’s not that serious…”

[Why, Song Tae-won has complained to me similarly before. About two years ago, when he was being tormented by Sung Hyunjae. And it wasn’t just once.]

“I sometimes badmouth Sung Hyunjae with Chief Song too. Chief Song just tells me to think of him as a natural disaster.”

[These days, your brother must be more of a headache, right? At least Sung Hyunjae is sturdy! He’s not going to die in some random place.]

My conscience stung. If I said I wanted to attend the Chatterbox party, he would sigh deeply again.

[He’s hard to read, but I’ve known him for a long time, so I’ll say this.]

Moon Hyun-ah stopped laughing and spoke seriously.

[He’s genuinely trying to take care of your brother. The methods might be dirty, though.]

“I don’t need him to take care of me like that. And I’ve already refused. I don’t like unilateral protection.”

[He’s trying to treat your brother well in his own way, but his personality won’t change easily. Unless he gets a good smack on the nose, he’ll probably stop halfway and sneak backward.]

“Break his nose? Is that even possible?”

[Or you can poke him too. Time is the answer. Maybe he’ll change someday. Or just throw him away. I recommend that.]

“Where do I throw him? Is there even a place to throw him?”

“No, there isn’t,” Moon Hyun-ah laughed.

[If there was, unlucky Song Tae-won would have thrown him away first! No, with his personality, he wouldn’t be able to throw him away. Anyway, usually, people don’t have to worry like your brother; they just throw the other person away first.]

“That’s.”

I hesitated for a moment before continuing.

“Because I’m awesome.”

I unconsciously put strength into my voice. ‘Even without skills’ I only added in my mind. I thought I would hear laughter from beyond the phone again.

[That’s right. It’s because you’re amazing.]

Hyun-ah agreed in a calm voice as if it were obvious. Not a compliment meant to sound good, not an evaluation-filled compliment, but just stating a fact.

“…You know I really like Hyun-ah a lot, right?”

[Of course. I love you, brother.]

“No, why are you lowering your voice? W-what was that sound just now!”

What was that ‘mwah’ sound! Anyway, I asked her to keep an eye on my movements and quickly hung up.

“I told you I was right. If only unnie [older sister/female friend] says okay, he’ll fall for her one hundred percent.”

Yerim, who was standing a little away with Yoo-hyun, nodded her head vigorously. I wondered what they had been talking about; Yoo-hyun’s expression looked a bit sulky.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing. Hey, Han Yoo-hyun. But it doesn’t seem like noona [older sister] has any intention of doing that, so stop frowning. Don’t worry.”

“I’m not worried.”

Yoo-hyun replied coldly and moved closer to my side. Gyeol, who had been with Yerim, also climbed onto my shoulder.

“Let’s go home, hyung [older brother].”

“Okay, let’s go.”

– Does Daddy really like tall people?

“No, I like Gyeol too.”

I wondered if they were talking about Chloe again because I confessed to her. Before going out of the hotel, I turned off fear resistance. And when I thought about the past, my mood plummeted. With a gloomy expression, I was surrounded by Yoo-hyun and Yerim as I went outside and got into the car.

Arriving at the Gisungsu breeding center, I went up to my house. Ppiyaki and Bellare were quiet, probably sleeping, but Peace and Rangi were waiting at the door. Rangi probably just followed Peace.

“Peace, Daddy’s going out again for a bit.”

– Kkeueung.

Peace whined unhappily because I didn’t take off my shoes. I felt sorry for coming home after a few days and leaving right away. Gyeol also widened his eyes.

– Gyeol doesn’t have to sleep yet!

“No, you have to. It’s too late. It won’t take long, so go to sleep first.”

After soothing Gyeol, I went back down to the reception room on the first floor. Seok Simyeong was already there, waiting for me.

“They said they’re scheduled to depart soon.”

Seok Simyeong said, pointing to the monitors.

“All the night surveillance cameras have been successfully connected.”

These were the ones installed at the meeting place with Chloe. We replaced the building and traffic CCTVs [closed-circuit television cameras] and parked vehicles to minimize blind spots as much as possible. Even if she found it suspicious, Chloe wouldn’t have a reason to damage the equipment. Doing so would mean committing a crime, which would only make things troublesome for her.

“I hope nothing goes wrong.”

I was worried and couldn’t sit still. After some time, a car appeared on the monitor. Soon, the car stopped, and a man in his late twenties wearing glasses got out. He was a mid-level Hunter with a special support skill belonging to Seseong. He looked around and leaned against the car.

“Hyung [older brother], sit down.”

“That’s right, sit down and wait.”

I swallowed hard and sat on the sofa as Yoo-hyun pulled me down. It was already past midnight.

“Why isn’t she coming? Making someone stand around!”

“She probably needs to check if it’s a trap.”

“Still, it’s past the agreed time. That’s too much!”

Yerim looked at me with surprise as I grumbled.

“Have you completely given up on that unnie [older sister/female friend] now? I thought you liked her a lot.”

“I do like her, but.”

Not as much as the people by my side. ‘Yerim, shouldn’t you go to sleep? I can sleep during the day. You didn’t go to school yesterday either,’ and other conversations passed between us as almost thirty minutes went by.

Just as I was starting to get anxious, Chloe finally appeared. Chloe slowly approached the car and lightly greeted him. Then, the Seseong Hunter slightly spread his arms to show that he had no hostility and extended his hand. Chloe tilted her head slightly at the gesture of shaking hands and obediently extended her hand.

And. The figures of the two people in the screen disappeared in an instant.

“We succeeded! Let’s go!”

I jumped up from my seat and shouted. After asking Seok Simyeong to continue monitoring, I went outside. I got into the prepared car, and as soon as we started heading to our destination, I received a call from Seok Simyeong.

[People who appear to be Chloe Hunter’s colleagues have appeared.]

“They must be surprised. How many are there?”

[Two, and another one just joined. There must be at least four or five people watching the locations of each S-Rank Hunter, so if they all gather, there might be close to ten.]

“They won’t all come. If they think a high-level Hunter has been defeated, they’ll prioritize their own safety.”

“Uncle, it’s Noah oppa [term for older brother used by females].”

Yerim handed me her phone from the back seat.

“Noah, three people have appeared. If they seem to be below mid-level, subdue them.”

[Yes.]

Noah and Myungwoo had returned to the breeding center building the day before. Even though the building was also being monitored, the monitors wouldn’t be S-Rank Hunters; at most, they would be A-Rank, and most likely B-Rank or lower. So, it wouldn’t be difficult for Noah to sneak out with his stealth skill.

Even if Noah’s location couldn’t be determined, they probably thought they could handle one S-Rank known as a support. From the start, Noah wasn’t planning on approaching Chloe Hunter.

“If a slightly rough method is needed, hyung [older brother], stay out of the way.”

Yoo-hyun said as he turned the steering wheel. A rough method. That might be the case.

“Shouldn’t you be saying that to Yerim instead of me?”

“Why! I’m a Hunter too!”

“As I always say, teenagers should be protected. If the world wasn’t dangerous, you shouldn’t even be a Hunter.”

Monsters don’t care if you’re a child, so you have no choice but to fight and become stronger, but originally, you shouldn’t be.

“Me or Han Yoo-hyun.”

Yerim grumbled. Sometimes, it seems like Yerim wants to do everything Yoo-hyun does. Is it a rivalry? Or is it because they’re family? It could be both.

When we arrived at our destination, we saw Noah and three Hunters tied up with wires and sprawled on the ground.

“Noah, thank you for your hard work!”

“You’re welcome. They all seemed to be C-Rank or lower.”

Sung Hyunjae also arrived, and finally, Moon Hyun-ah’s car pulled up.

“I picked up Chief Song too!”

Chief Song got out of the passenger seat. Sung Hyunjae said he was disappointed that I had refused him. Why would I refuse? He doesn’t usually treat me well. Although, according to him, he is treating me well.

“Please prepare, as they’re scheduled to come out in an hour.”

I said, taking out my phone and checking the timer. The S-Rank Hunters surrounded the place where the two people had disappeared as if they were encircling it. Of course, I retreated to the back. Exactly one hour later, human figures appeared in the empty space.

Chloe and the Seseong Hunter were unconscious and tied up. The Seseong Hunter took off his glasses, and a familiar face appeared.

“Myungwoo! Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

I quickly approached and asked, and Myungwoo smiled, saying he was fine.

“I won’t get hurt inside the smithy.”

We used Myungwoo’s smithy to quietly capture Chloe. Myungwoo could move people who were in contact with his body or objects to the smithy. And inside the smithy, Ismuar, who could subdue S-Rank Hunters, existed. With the addition of glasses that could change into other people’s appearances, it wasn’t difficult to deceive Chloe.

Myungwoo’s smithy had been revealed when it was used for Sung Hyunjae’s birthday, but who would have thought that the only S-Rank or higher equipment maker in the world would step up like this? Since his stats are low, they would naturally think he was being protected.

That’s why I was worried that I might get hurt, but thankfully, I was safe. Since the opponent was a high-level Hunter, even if it was dangerous, Myungwoo said he was safe and wanted to step up himself… I must have made him feel like this when I was like that. I should reflect on that.

“I was more worried about you.”

“Huh? Me?”

“You’re a fan. You’re not the type to change your mind easily, Yoojin.”

“Ah… well.”

Seeing Chloe collapsed, I didn’t feel good, but.

“You’re much more precious to me, Myungwoo. And right now, there are so many good people.”

I was comforted, and my gratitude for that was still there, but it couldn’t be the same as before. It’s mean to forget the past when things get better, but.

“Let’s move the location first. It would be good to wake up Chloe Hunter inside the smithy. Would that be okay?”

“Yeah. I agree, since we don’t want her to escape.”

We took Chloe and the other three Hunters to the Gyeonggi-do breeding facility, where there would be no civilian casualties even if there was a commotion. We left the mid-level Hunters with the high-level Hunter in charge and Blue, and we entered Myungwoo’s smithy.

“Is this the basement?”

It’s wide. The ceiling and floor were slightly scorched, probably from the traces of the battle with Chloe. And it felt a little… strange. Like the air was stuffy. The others also had slightly frowning expressions. Was it because it was a basement?