The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 508

506. Seed (4)

Seong Hyeonjae didn’t seem to like it much. Or rather, he seemed a bit uncomfortable.

If he knew about Seong Hyeonjae’s condition, that was understandable. If it was a power that could deal with the Source, it would be threatening even to Transcendents.

What about the others?

I swallowed dryly without realizing it. If the Puppeteer knew White Dove, maybe he had some information about Yoohyeon, too. Why White Dove took my brother, and what he was planning to do. I was guessing it was as a hostage to make me help her, but I wasn’t sure.

Well, he asked how they were doing.

Asked how they were doing?

Hanyujin’s brother, the water-handling ward [referring to Yerim’s ability to control water], the red-haired spear user, the blonde support type. He asked if they were all doing well.

That seemed to be Yoohyeon, Yerim, Hyeona-ssi, and Noah-ssi. Surprisingly, Myeongwoo wasn’t there. Was it because Myeongwoo was destined to be protected by the Filial Disobeyer even if the world ended? Or maybe it was because he wasn’t an S-Rank.

That means he’s keeping an eye on all the S-Ranks around me.

Kim Seonghan wasn’t that close, so. Evelyn wasn’t mentioned either.

Oh, and the red cat too.

Well, to a Transcendent, there might not be much difference between an S-Rank monster and an S-Rank human Awakener. Yoohyeon, who wasn’t a Transcendent, was also a bit like that.

But why you of all people?

He gave me a very suspicious look. There were plenty of S-Ranks, so why this guy? Hwangrim hummed and stroked his chin before opening his mouth.

I told you, it’s hard for Transcendents to get involved in this game. I’m, so to speak, one of the seeds planted in advance.

You too?

It’s a bit different from the Public Official-ssi [referring to a government employee]. It’s just groundwork for a simple connection. It’s not just one or two that were scattered randomly. But I was the most useful among them~ you could say. I heard there are even African poison dart frogs, not to mention low-level non-Awakeners.

Are you saying they put something like a communicator in creatures in this world?

Something like that. A passage that can also send small packages? There are a lot of restrictions on this too, and the other party’s ability has to be above a certain level.

In the end, Hwangrim’s deal with the Puppeteer was just a coincidence.

…How did he end up getting caught by a guy like this?

Hey, why? Jinah, I have good abilities.

Hwangrim made a wronged expression.

Says the guy in handcuffs.

The Breeder’s abilities were just a little better.

You’re shameless. Do you even know why he targeted Chief Song?

Just because he’s dangerous. Safety─

Hey, hey!

I quickly covered Hwangrim’s mouth and glanced at Song Taewon. Chief Song’s expression didn’t change, but I didn’t know what he was thinking inside.

Um, Chief Song. Would you mind stepping out for a moment… No, right?

I cannot, as I cannot guarantee Hanyujin-ssi’s safety.

I should have come with someone else. But if I left here now, Hwangrim would definitely try to escape. The dirt was still on the table, so Chief Song would be momentarily incapacitated. I should have put the dirt in my inventory first, that was a mistake. Of course, if I had done that, Hwangrim might have just grabbed Song Taewon, who hadn’t recovered yet, and run away. At least Hwangrim would have run away alone.

Then at least close your ears, ugh!

That bastard licked me! My mood and my palm instantly became dirty.

You little─

Do you want me to lick you more?

…You human bastard.

Ugh, disgusting. I wanted to wipe my hand, but I didn’t want to wipe it on my clothes or a towel. As I held out my hand with a grimace, Chief Song took out his usual towel.

I’d feel sorry to Songi, so I’ll decline. It’s still disgusting even if it’s boiled and washed.

I brushed my teeth after lunch.

Hwangrim insisted that his mouth was clean and took out a handkerchief from his inventory and handed it to me. Then he looked at Song Taewon with a crooked smile.

Even adults should listen to what they need to hear.

Adults get hurt too!

Becoming an adult right after turning twenty, or as soon as you graduate from college, like leveling up a skill, isn’t something that happens right on cue. It’s just that now there are more things you have to take responsibility for, so you try to live accordingly.

Hanyujin-ssi, I─

If you’re going to say it’s okay, then shut up. Or I’ll go and stop it for you.

Song Taewon closed his mouth.

But if, instead of it being okay, you want to know.

Turning to Song Taewon, I continued, making eye contact with him.

If it’s not because of duty or responsibility, but because you purely want to know, you can stay here.

Song Taewon’s mouth opened and closed again without a word. After a moment of silence, he forced out a voice.

I think I need to know.

In the end, it was a sense of duty. Of course, there would be moments when Chief Song wanted to avoid it. He wouldn’t want to hear it. Who likes hearing unpleasant things? Unless they have a very strange disposition, they would naturally want to cover their ears.

Not knowing is more unsettling.

See, he said so.

Why don’t you shut up?

I told you, I don’t know much anyway? It’s just for safety. It’s dangerous. The fact that he can swallow Seong Hyeonjae means he can swallow almost anything.

…Even Transcendents. Hwangrim said in a very light tone.

He only targeted Seong Hyeonjae, so the compatibility probably isn’t that great yet. As long as he maintains his humanity, he can only block skills at best. And he didn’t completely swallow them, did he?

Even if he took his time, he would only lower the skill rank for a while.

Still, just in case, any Transcendent who knows about Song Taewon will want to get rid of him. It seems like there aren’t many people who know yet, though.

…Hey, you didn’t go around blabbing about it, did you?

I can’t even if I wanted to.

Contract?

Not me, but the Puppeteer. It seems to be a contract with White Dove, to be exact. The Puppeteer knows this information through White Dove’s foresight. There’s a restriction that he can only talk to people who know. If there was even one person here who didn’t know about Song Taewon’s condition, I wouldn’t be able to talk.

In that case, the possibility of the word spreading among the Transcendents seemed small. The Old Man probably hasn’t told the new recruits yet, and Crescent seems to be keeping silent, too. She wouldn’t be able to talk easily because of Seong Hyeonjae.

What about you?

I received the information through the seed. Only that much. I don’t know much more than you guys do, I need to know to make a deal. Jin, the Puppeteer can interfere because you guys know, Hwangrim said. Suddenly, I remembered how the Filial Disobeyers had tried to hide information as much as possible in the past.

The more you know, the more intervention there is, huh? But we can’t afford not to know.

Can I stop them?

Song Taewon, who had been sitting silently, opened his mouth.

Wait a minute, Chief Song. That’s…

Transcendents are thought to be impossible to stop with the power of ordinary humans.

They can’t come in directly anyway!

If he could stop them, what was he going to do? I remembered the last 모습 [Korean word for ‘appearance’ or ‘figure’] of Song Taewon that the King of No Harm had shown me. He couldn’t be safe. In the first place, that power couldn’t be contained in a human vessel. Just like Seong Hyeonjae would disappear when he was completely full.

Chatterbox doesn’t throw parties for nothing. So don’t think rashly.

There was no answer. I was going crazy.

For now, no, that. Even if you use it, it’ll only be once. So please refrain from it, even just in case.

I said it like that. Chief Song wouldn’t spare himself with his personality… so a more dangerous opponent might appear! You have to save the last resort, and stop him.

Can’t you take these off now?

Hwangrim said, holding up his handcuffed hands.

What do I trust you with? You didn’t even talk properly about Park Hayul’s side.

I told you, I just made a deal with them. Even in China, they thought the situation was not good, so they commissioned it.

His fingers were intact, so it didn’t seem like he was lying. Come to think of it, what happened to Hwangrim before the regression? He probably went to America and lived well.

That means you could keep trading and screw me over. I can’t just let you go.

Jinah, I’ve already been screwed over twice. I was good to you.

Put your hand on your conscience and say that.

Hwangrim politely folded his hands and placed them on his chest.

My conscience is the size of my chest.

Chief Song might be, but you’re inversely proportional. You just watched from next to Cho-ssi.

I did give Wooni a lot of leeway.

…What?

I was so dumbfounded that I couldn’t even breathe. Hwangrim made excuses in response to my ‘what nonsense’ look.

That neighborhood is amazing at trampling on people. But Jin, you were treated like a human being.

That’s?

Usually, they start by stripping you naked. The clothes you wear have a bigger impact on your mental state than you think? If you’re the only one stripped naked while everyone else is wearing clothes, you don’t feel like an equal person. And here, you have to treat being naked as normal, not make fun of it. It’s like saying, unlike us, it’s natural for you to crawl on the floor naked.

Chief Song’s brow furrowed. My expression was probably similar.

After laying you on the floor like that, it depends on how much you resist~ it’s a bit hard to explain in detail?

…I don’t want to hear it.

My preference is to bribe, so don’t look at me like that. In this day and age, you can solve almost anything with money, so why waste your energy on unnecessary things? Anyway, there was also the monster breeding thing, so I really treated you well. I even let you eat at the table, and gave you a separate bathroom in your room.

When he said that, I thought, ‘Oh, is that so?’ but I wasn’t going to give in.

What should we do?

I turned to Chief Song and asked.

Legally, we can’t punish him, right?

Yes. Based on what I’ve heard so far, he hasn’t harmed Hanyujin-ssi.

He just gave me cigarettes.

What about the attempted kidnapping of Chief Song?

It’s difficult because both sides are S-Rank Hunters and it’s overseas.

If I bury that guy privately?

…If Hanyujin-ssi does it alone. It’s okay. If an S-Rank is killed by an F-Rank, it will effectively be concluded as suicide.

Well, with F-Rank strength, even if you stab him with a knife, it’ll barely scratch him. Even if you use a special dungeon item, there’s no way he can’t avoid it. Hwangrim made a pitiful face.

Jinah, I have a lot of money.

I have a lot too.

Should I take out the SS-Rank shackles? They’d be useful, but they weren’t the kind that would help the kids, so I hesitated. There were only three. After all, equipment is the best. First, I took out a wire from my inventory and tied it neatly around Hwangrim’s neck.

If you run, you’re really dead.

That’s too much.

I didn’t strip you naked. How gentlemanly am I?

If Jin wants, I’ll strip─

Get your hands off your pants! You crazy bastard! Don’t you have any shame!

Why would I be ashamed? Other guys would be ashamed, but.

…He’s confident, that crazy bastard. As I stared at him with a sullen look, Hwangrim proudly puffed out his chest.

I’m good in many ways.

It was annoying, but it was true.

What, you bastard. There’s no one around me who would be ashamed of you?

Except for me. Damn it. No, I’m pretty good too, honestly… No, never mind. The standards are too different.

You said stripping them naked affects their mental state.

That’s based on ordinary people. Public Official-ssi would be confident too?

Song Taewon frowned. He seemed to hate being associated with Hwangrim. Correction, he really hated it. He usually didn’t show that much dislike.

Seong Hyeonjae and Jin’s brother too. Your brother would probably care about your gaze. The Seseong Guild Leader could pretend to be ashamed. Riet would be really unfazed.

I think so too, but why Riet all of a sudden? Do you know him?

He likes dragons.

As he sent that gaze, Gyeol shuddered and hid behind me. What should I really do with this Hwangrim bastard? It was uncomfortable to just let him go, but I couldn’t keep him either. If the Puppeteer was really friendly to me, it would be better to let Hwangrim go for now. But I wanted to punch him─

Master.

Number 71 suddenly appeared. I really have to fix that ‘Master’ thing, I can’t even bring the kids in here like this!

Someone is approaching.

What?

Immediately after, there was a knock, knock.

Shall I allow entry? If I focus on defense, it may be difficult to maintain the drawer [referring to a personal space or dimension].

Yes. Hand over the handcuffs!

Since I couldn’t replenish my magic power yet, it seemed better to release Hwangrim and leave the drawer. Song Taewon approached me as if to protect me, and I hurriedly released Hwangrim’s handcuffs, but,

Creak─

A round, black circle appeared in the air with a grating sound. Then, a hand was extended from beyond the circle. It was a familiar, ordinary person’s hand. That finger, the index finger, flicked towards Hwangrim.

It was like a summons.

…The Puppeteer?

Hwangrim got up from his seat and approached the hand in response to my questioning look. Then the hand.

Thwack!

Hit Hwangrim’s head.

Ouch.

I liked the Puppeteer a little more. Gyeol clapped his hands. When I thought about it, he must have had a headache because he happened to get caught by a guy like that. Then he grabbed Hwangrim’s ear and pulled him towards the black circle.

Jinah, be careful about taking people related to Transcendents into the drawer. The drawer is not properly protected by your world, and if there is a contractor, it becomes easier to track the location. Seong Hyeonjae is especially dangerous, and if you have to take them in, it’s safer to use the drawer inside the dungeon. The dungeon is managed by the Filial Disobeyer.

Oh… tell him thank you.

See you next time, I love you~

Bullshit.

Then Hwangrim, grabbed by the nape of his neck, disappeared beyond the circle. There was no longer any reason to be in the drawer, so I also went outside with Chief Song. Everything else was the same, but the glass bottle containing the dirt that had been on the living room table was gone.

Could someone have taken it?

There are no signs of intrusion.

Song Taewon quickly looked around the doors and windows. It would be a relief if the Puppeteer had retrieved it.

Don’t be alone for a while. Just in case. With the Seseong Guild Leader…….

Should I tell him to be with him? What if they’re both kidnapped together? I wish I could have talked to the Puppeteer a little more.

First of all, I had to check if Seong Hyeonjae was safe. When I went downstairs, Yoohyeon, who was already waiting on the first floor of the new annex, frowned.

Where’s that guy?

Oh, he was dragged away.

It would be a long story to explain. It was something I had to tell other people too, so I went over to the main building first.