The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 510

508. Priority (2)

“Before the regression, I know I was clumsy. I don’t know the details, but I probably couldn’t abandon myself.”

Hwangrim’s words echoed in my mind. *Maintaining humanity, damn it.* I should have sewn his mouth shut.

“It’s not like that, Chief Song….”

“Back then, I must have felt… happy. So I can’t delay it any longer.”

Song Tae-won continued, as if trying to persuade me with one hand outstretched. Chief Song had caused me so much grief, but today was the worst. Rejecting items was nothing compared to this.

“I won’t fail this time.”

“Chief Song!”

“I can’t guarantee success. I’m sorry.”

Song Tae-won apologized repeatedly. Sung Hyun-jae, half-hidden by Song Tae-won, was still looking up at him with a relaxed attitude.

“But if a Transcendent cooperated in creating me, they would know about me. They would know how to completely devour a Transcendent.”

“It’s not certain! There’s no guarantee they’ll help. First, contact Hwangrim and get more information calmly, and then, after that…”

“If they are friendly to Han Yu-jin and tried to kidnap me alive, there are only a few possible motives. The target the Transcendent wants to use me for is either another Transcendent or Sung Hyun-jae. Since the Seseong Guild Leader was also a kidnapping target, the latter is more likely.”

Calmly, Song Tae-won explained, setting himself aside.

“However, they didn’t necessarily order a kidnapping, so they must also be considering the former. In the case of the former, the target would be Crescent Moon. Just by creating a shadow… to devour the moon, the Puppeteer can be considered an enemy of Crescent Moon.”

Chief Song didn’t know much about Crescent Moon, White Star, or the Source. Even though he has the least information among us, he was combining Hwangrim’s words and past events to find the path he should take. A path of abandoning himself.

“Seseong Guild Leader, Sung Hyun-jae. If you are here, Crescent Moon will appear. If we can trade smoothly with the Puppeteer, I will ask them to stop Chatterbox instead of devouring Crescent Moon.”

…It was a slight twist on the methods Yu-hyun and Sung Hyun-jae had offered. So.

“And I will help you escape in any way possible.”

A method where only Song Tae-won sacrifices himself, excluding even Sung Hyun-jae. My heart ached. Why is he like that? Who could look at that and say he’s not human?

“Devour Crescent Moon, or devour me.”

Sung Hyun-jae, who had been lightly resting his chin on his hand, took his hand off and placed it on his knee, raising the corners of his lips. The upper leg that was crossed over tapped at the tip of his foot.

“Either way, it’s the moon.”

“Please come with me.”

“He said he doesn’t want to! And what about me! What do you mean, ‘up to here’? Do you think it can be cut off so cleanly? Why are you deciding on your own, Chief Song!”

I don’t want to either. I’m always left alone and survive alone.

“If you take everything on yourself like that, do you think anyone will even thank you?!”

“I know. It’s my fault. So I’m glad Sung Hyun-jae also dislikes it.”

…Explaining the plan and asking them to come along wasn’t ultimately asking for agreement. He was even trying to shoulder the guilt himself.

“It’s my stubbornness, and it’s something I’m doing to make myself feel better.”

“Hey! Song Tae-won!”

“It’s all my fault.”

“You frustrating human! If you leave like this, I’ll be so pissed off I won’t be able to live!”

“Han Yu-jin will be fine.”

Song Tae-won turned his head slightly to look at me, at Yu-hyun.

“Because there are more precious people. I believe that Han Yu-hyun Hunter and Park Ye-rim Hunter are by his side, and he won’t be cowering for long.”

As he said, I… Even if I lose Song Tae-won, I won’t collapse. As long as there’s something to protect, as long as there’s something to reclaim… I’ll somehow crawl out. Still.

“…It will still hurt. It will hurt a lot.”

“Yes. I’m sorry.”

I felt lost. I was convinced that I could never persuade him through conversation. The inside of my throat and even the corners of my eyes felt hot.

“…Hyung [older brother].”

Yu-hyun buried his face in my shoulder.

“Yu-hyun, just once. Huh? You can catch him, right?”

“Hyung is my priority.”

“That’s why you should catch him even more……”

“I’m sorry, Hyung. If it were Park Ye-rim, she might have listened to Hyung. At least she would have considered it. But those two aren’t in our house right now. If I step in, Hyung will be in danger in the future, we will be. Conversely, if we just let him go, we can continue living as we are now.”

“…Yu-hyun.”

“For me, this is a problem that doesn’t require any consideration or hesitation. I’m sorry, Hyung, but you like those two people, but I don’t. They’re just some of the things that I don’t care about even if they suddenly disappear. There’s nothing more than just worrying that Hyung will have a hard time. So I have no choice but to choose to comfort Hyung, and that’s the obvious decision.”

My younger brother’s voice was full of concern for me, but there was no hesitation at all. Yu-hyun’s priority was clear. Above all else, it was me first, and then our current life. As Yu-hyun said, even if those two people disappeared, we would be shaken for a while, but in the end, we, our family, would continue to live as we do now.

We would think of them from time to time and be sad, but even so. Even if one side of my heart was empty, we would continue.

The arm that was hugging me loosened slightly. But even if I ran out now, there was nothing I could do. There was no way to catch him. At best, he would hold out in the drawer for a few days before eventually leaving. No, with the mountain of work piled up now, abandoning the others and clinging only to Chief Song… I couldn’t do that either.

I tried to rack my brain somehow. To trade with the Puppeteer, I would have to go through Hwangrim. Damn it, I should have gotten his contact information. Was there a contact number in the customer information? But even if I called, there was no way Hwangrim would send back Chief Song, who was walking in on his own. Rather, he would gladly take him to the Puppeteer.

In the end, it meant that once Chief Song left here, it was over.

“…Gyeol.”

At my call, Gyeol shook his head.

– I’m sorry, Dad. But I can’t listen to Dad anymore. And I, too, care about Dad the most.

I can’t embrace everything. There are times when I have to give up.

“…I know I’m being stubborn.”

“No, you’re not.”

“What do you believe? I know it looks hopeless.”

“No, you don’t.”

“I know my stats are just those of an ordinary human, and it looks like an ant trying to bite an elephant, and yet I’m flailing around without letting go of anything, shouting that it’ll be okay.”

“Han Yu-jin.”

“But I’ve somehow made it this far.”

This far. To this place right now.

“I was really just an F-rank, you know? I’ve never raided even a mid-level dungeon as a proper team member, let alone a high-level one. At best, I was just a porter. But now, all the S-ranks are looking at me like this.”

A hollow laugh escaped.

“You want me to end it here? I refuse, even if it’s unfair. Damn it, if I had lived a life of being protected, then yeah, I should respect Chief Song’s opinion! What face would I have to stop him? But that’s not the case. I’ve done enough, and with this much achievement, I can be stubborn! Look at me!”

Our eyes met. Black, and beautiful to me. They say the eyes are the windows to the soul. Then they can’t help but be beautiful.

“I’m going to chase after him.”

“……”

“And Sung Hyun-jae, since you passed it on to me, I’ll answer you. Rebel!”

Sung Hyun-jae, who had been looking at us, suddenly burst into a small laugh. He collapsed onto the sofa as if lying on his side and laughed even louder.

“…What’s so good that you’re laughing like that.”

“You’re both so beautiful.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Living is good after all.”

Then he chuckled again. He was infuriatingly hateful.

“Yu-hyun, let go of me. I’m going to kick that human and grab Chief Song by the collar.”

Yu-hyun, who had been hesitating, released the arm that had been hugging me. He immediately approached the sofa and kicked Sung Hyun-jae’s outstretched legs.

“Don’t laugh! After making people’s insides churn!”

“I’m sorry. Ah, I can’t handle Song Tae-won right now. Even if I don’t want to go, I can’t help it. Han Yu-jin’s kick is a little painful too.”

“What? Why are you in that state!”

“I was thinking of living a little longer too.”

The golden eyes between the disheveled hair slowly blinked.

“In this place.”

“…Then why did you pass it on to me?”

“I still believe that Han Yu-jin should prioritize. It’s a kind of fork in the road. If you let go now, it could be a different path and method, but if it’s too late, it could be just a simple loss.”

As Sung Hyun-jae said, if I missed the timing, Song Tae-won’s method would likely become unusable.

“I’ll have to choose in the future too. And there will definitely be those who refuse that choice.”

Sung Hyun-jae’s gaze went up behind me. Following it, I turned around. Song Tae-won was standing there.

“…Are you really weak? My kick hurt.”

“Actually, I’m about a B-rank.”

“Even rotten, you’re still a crucian carp [a type of carp; meaning even in a bad state, you’re still something].”

My baby can’t, but double the attack skills were possible. Fortunately, there were other hunters outside, so if the commotion got too big, Ye-rim, Noah, or Hyun-ah would come. The problem was Chief Song.

‘An F-rank and a B-rank would be subdued in an instant.’

Without a peep. I couldn’t go into the drawer either. If I took Sung Hyun-jae with me, Crescent Moon might approach.

“Yu-hyun, do you happen to want to help?”

Yu-hyun tilted his head slightly as if troubled. Then he said to Song Tae-won.

“You mustn’t hurt Hyung.”

Yeah, right. It was a relief that he wasn’t siding with Chief Song.

“Chief Song.”

“I don’t think I can give you much time.”

Song Tae-won replied calmly. He seemed to have no intention of changing his mind at all. Even if I tried to use an item, he would notice before I could even grab it and try to catch me. The distance was too close.

“Okay, Chief Song.”

I swallowed hard.

“Shall we make a bet?”

“I refuse.”

“No, listen. If Chief Song wins, I’ll send you off without a word. I won’t chase after you. You know my personality, if I just let you go like this, I’ll follow you to hell and turn everything upside down.”

Song Tae-won’s eyes narrowed slightly. How many times have I caused trouble? If I had lived quietly, he wouldn’t have shown such a reaction. But Song Tae-won, who had gone through the past events, couldn’t ignore me.

“…What kind of bet?”

“It’s simple, just, let’s fight.”

“……”

“Hyung?”

– Dad? I can’t help you. Even if I do, it’ll be disadvantageous.

…Even if others don’t, Sung Hyun-jae, you shouldn’t look at me with those eyes! This is all to protect someone.

“…Are you saying I should subdue Han Yu-jin now?”

“No, no. Yu-hyun, you have the Chatterbox invitation, right? Take it out.”

Yu-hyun reluctantly took out the invitation.

“When Chatterbox came, I suggested a kind of preliminary round. In case there weren’t enough invitations. Also, to take away more, I suggested that the invitation contractors fight each other, and the winner would take all the invitations.”

It wasn’t difficult to persuade Chatterbox. There were more than one or two invited guests, and it wouldn’t be bad to filter them out once in the beginning. Above all, Chatterbox wanted me and my party to attend. Especially me. Unlike before, my existence now had a completely different meaning to him. To the point where he was disappointed that he couldn’t give me the invitation directly.

And that was supposed to start on the third day of my party. However, that was just when it would be announced, it was possible even before that.

“The number of invitation contractors is two each……”

At my words, Yu-hyun opened his mouth.

“Hyung, are you sure this is safe?”

“Yeah. In the first place, it’s just a light preliminary round now, so once it’s over, we’ll immediately return to our original places. But you……”

Yu-hyun used the invitation. Then he handed it to Song Tae-won.

“I will help you.”

…Hey. Looking at my younger brother in disbelief, he smiled prettily at me.

“Please take care of me, Hyung.”

…Sung Hyun-jae and all, fighting with me is good.

“Then Han Yu-jin and I will be on the same team.”

The B-rank said.

“I want to change party members.”

“Fighting with Hyung is okay too, but.”

Yu-hyun and I looked at Song Tae-won at the same time. Chief Song opened his mouth heavily.

“If you agree to help subdue Sung Hyun-jae Hunter when he recovers after the match, I will accept.”

He probably thought it would be difficult for me to win and that I was trying to buy time. I nodded, saying I understood.

“Then can I switch Yu-hyun with Sung Hyun-jae?”

“…No.”

“Han Yu-jin, don’t abandon me.”

“Don’t cling to me. Just make an invitation contract.”

I took out my share of the invitation, made a contract, and handed it to Sung Hyun-jae. Then, after receiving the invitation again, I placed it on the table.

“Place them side by side. Gyeol, don’t go anywhere and stay still.”

– Okay, be careful Dad.

I injected mana into the invitation, and soon the surrounding scenery changed.