The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 531

529. Before the Party (2)

“I’ll stay outside.”

Yerim seemed to dislike the indoor atmosphere and subtly stepped back, quickly opening the door with a look of horror and leaving. Honestly, I wanted to back away too. The table was covered in books and stacks of files. I could see over a hundred sticky notes marking pages in the thick books. And there weren’t just one or two of those books.

It would have been better if only the table was full, but there were also piles of files, books, and documents surrounding it. Isn’t everything done on computers these days? Although physical copies are good for readability and easy to see at a glance. Maybe that laptop is also full of all sorts of data.

“Um… hello. There’s a lot here.”

“We’ve gathered as many cases as possible, especially from the United States,” Team Leader Kim Hayeon said.

“Since it’s only been four years since dungeons appeared, there isn’t much related data.”

So there isn’t much. If it’s a U.S. case, there would be much more in that laptop than printed materials. And it would be in English. Yoohyun, save me. Myungwoo, Rookie, please create translation items too.

“Director Han Yoojin wanted to prevent anything that could be seen as unfavorable, so we paid attention to that,” the lawyer from the Hunter Association said with a smile.

“Managing the image of Korean Hunters is one of the Hunter Association’s main tasks.”

Well said, considering it’s only for high-ranking Hunters. Wasn’t the Hunter Association the one that even threw away scapegoats? Thinking about what happened before the regression, I didn’t like that lawyer, but I needed him right now, so I smiled back. Well, he might be one of the people who got replaced.

“Even if the basis of the contract is set in advance, it would be better to request the attendance of each Guild Leader at the actual negotiation table. Reality is bound to be different from what’s on paper.”

The lawyer from Sesung said. In addition to the Hunter Association, Sesung’s help was significant in collecting data from the United States.

“Especially our Guild Leader is as skilled as a lawyer.”

I thought he would be.

“Sesung’s legal team is also familiar with it.”

Sesung’s lawyer smiled with a half-resigned expression. Sung Hyunjae caused a lot of trouble overseas, didn’t he? They must have cleaned up after him… I really trusted them. I wonder if they get paid a lot.

“You agreed to the unauthorized transmission of videos, but you only mentioned the simple right of publicity, right?”

“Yes. That, the publicity rights.”

“The value of the world’s only Awakened Monster Handler is naturally great. Not to mention other S-Rank Hunters.”

“So I demanded it firmly.”

“However, there is still compensation for mental and material damage caused by video transmission. This part must be calculated separately.”

“If it’s okay with you, can we add this part?”

I nodded. We have to use everything we can.

“In particular, showing the circumstances in which Director Han Yoojin obtained the invitation can be seen as a serious problem.”

“In fact, it made an S-Rank Hunter target a F-Rank, a near-ordinary person.”

Even if there was no confidentiality clause, it was said that it could be judged as intentional since the situation was easily predictable.

“Broadly speaking, it can be seen as a violation of the phrase ‘guaranteeing the safety of participants’.”

“Did you specify the time and place for guaranteeing safety?”

“…Pardon? No, well, it was called a party. The place and date have not been decided yet. It’s before the attendance.”

“Director Han Yoojin suffered damage from Chatterbox’s party video, a kind of advertisement. In other words, that video was filmed with the purpose of advertising the party and targeting party participants. Therefore, if the exact scope is not specified, Chatterbox must guarantee Director Han Yoojin’s safety. You may also demand the cost of keeping Director Han Yoojin safe.”

Oh, is that so? However, since the scope of safety guarantee is narrow, it was said that it would not be a violation as a simple video transmission case. But if someone attacks me targeting the invitation, Chatterbox would have to compensate.

“Leaving aside the fact that there are no physical aftereffects, self-preservation is too vague. This part should be supplemented further.”

The safety guarantee sentence was analyzed to the point of tearing apart each letter. I wondered if Chatterbox would be tired of it if they were here now. Well, they’ll send a lawyer too. The fight with the Transcendent begins with a lawyer.

After a long time passed, Team Leader Kim Hayeon turned off the recorder. The Sesung lawyer handed me a USB memory stick.

“We will send the main data and related books to Dodam.”

“Do I have to… read them all?”

“If possible. It’s also saved as a file, but paper is still better for concentration than a monitor.”

“I recommend you get plenty of rest the day before the negotiation,” Team Leader Kim Hayeon said with a smile.

“It’s surprisingly a battle of stamina.”

“That’s right. Eat something easy to digest for breakfast too.”

…Not the brain? Well, they say stamina is important for studying too. I’m already quite tired now. When I went outside, Yerim, who was sitting on a chair, looked at me with sleepy eyes.

“The soundproofing was good, so I don’t know the details, but just the sounds coming out made it feel like I was in school.”

“Let’s go home and take a nap. My head is throbbing too. Do you have anything to do tonight?”

“No. I’m more free than the Guild Leader. Han Yoohyun is a little pitiful. He went out early today without even having breakfast together.”

He hadn’t been gone to Japan for a few days, and now I don’t know how long he’ll have to leave the Guild this time. Fortunately, due to the nature of the Hunter Guild, the Guild Leader often leaves his position to attack dungeons, so a system has been established for that. It would have been a headache if it were a normal company.

“It’s a relief that Kim Sunghan is there. Sunghan’s team is also complete.”

The biggest task was to hand over the dungeons that were likely to overlap with the party date and attack period so that Kim Sunghan’s team could take charge. In particular, Yoohyun had to convey detailed attack methods and maps, especially for S-Rank dungeons. Since Yoohyun often took the lead and swept them away, there were some S-Rank monsters that even the same attack team members hadn’t actually faced.

There would be other things to deal with. Anyway, he had no choice but to be busy. Poor my brother. He’s only twenty years old.

“But it seems like he’s thinking of completely passing on the dungeon attacks this time. If the frequency of attacks decreases, he can be with you longer.”

“Honestly, neither Yoohyun nor you are at the age to go to dungeons. If the world becomes safer, you should be going to school instead of dungeons.”

If we can pass it on, we should pass it on to the adults.

Using the Stealth skill, I crossed the wall again. I landed on the flower bed of the Breeding Facility attached to the wall and released the Stealth skill. Following the round Breeding Facility building, there was a wide track for the baby monsters to exercise. The kids used to run, and I used to follow them on a bicycle. Even with a bicycle, it was hard to catch up. Especially the unicorns who have left now were no joke.

“Would you like to run with me?”

Yerim said, bouncing on the track. Just taking a few light steps quickly widened the distance.

“I couldn’t keep up with you even before you Awakened, Yerim.”

“I didn’t even know you were following me back then.”

“You were incredibly fast.”

“I’ve heard a lot of people asking if I have any intention of exercising. My uncle would have said no, of course.”

“If there’s something you want to do, you can start doing it now. We don’t know what the future holds.”

If the world becomes safe and the dungeons disappear, Hunters will naturally disappear too. Yerim turned to me and smiled.

“You don’t have to worry, I’ll do what I want to do. I have enough money to live on for the rest of my life.”

“…Did you pay off all your debt?”

“No. But Myungwoo said he’d return the production cost if there’s no need to use my weapon. Only to me.”

Myungwoo, thank you. He said that too. With that money, I wouldn’t have to worry even if I suddenly became a non-Awakened. Money is important no matter what. I also earned more than what I spent at the Japanese meeting, so I don’t have to worry about making a living—

“Uncle!”

Suddenly, Yerim shouted and teleported towards me. At the same time, a sharp metallic sound rang in my ears. Due to the impact of the weapons colliding, my body staggered backward. Reflexively, when I used the Teacher Skill on Yerim, I saw a masked stranger with only his eyes exposed. He pushed the long staff that blocked Yerim’s spear, kicking her. As Yerim dodged back, the stranger’s hand grabbed my neck.

“Hey, you!”

“Yerim, ah. Just a moment!”

Yerim, who was emitting a cool mist, stopped moving.

“Do you want the invitation?”

“Yes. It’s useless to you anyway.”

At the stranger’s words, Yerim glared fiercely.

“I can catch him!”

“Yeah, but wait a moment.”

If Yerim started attacking, I couldn’t hide Grace [his powerful skill]. I could catch this guy and silence him, but. There are other reasons too.

“There are several S-Rank Hunters here, you’re bold.”

“There’s only one kid right now. It doesn’t seem like they’ve noticed yet. If you make a fuss, I’ll run away with this guy.”

Saying he didn’t want to cause a big commotion, the stranger told me to just hand over the invitation. Judging by his confidence, he might have Flight and Teleportation skills like Yerim. It seemed like he had been watching from afar, looking for an opportunity to pounce.

“My invitation is for one person. It’s also a bit special.”

I removed the magic power covered with the Chatterbox mark. The stranger frowned slightly.

“This is what you just felt. As I said at the press conference, I got it specially. You must have heard the rumors of the Japanese meeting.”

Even if I said it’s not transferable, he wouldn’t believe it. That’s why I didn’t say at the press conference that it’s an invitation that only I can use. It would have sounded like an excuse.

“So I don’t know if they’ll accept it even if someone else takes it.”

“Even if you become an F-Rank?”

“Where does rank matter in connections? Instead, I can ask Chatterbox to give me an extra invitation.”

“Okay, then—”

“First, put me down.”

The stranger glanced at Yerim. I told Yerim to step back further. As Yerim reluctantly widened the distance, the stranger released me. I must have a mark on my neck. I should have.

“How much will you give me?”

“…What?”

“Let’s solve it neatly with money. Do you think it’ll be easy to kidnap and threaten me to contact Chatterbox like this? It’ll be a lot of trouble.”

The stranger was flustered. Yerim gritted her teeth, saying she would chase him to death. He must have thought it would be easy because this guy is also an F-Rank. If an S-Rank threatened him, he would hand over the invitation, and then he would cover his face and run away. Most of the mid- to low-level Hunters he had met, probably all of them, would have done that.

“How much…….”

“First, hand over the items you have as a down payment. What do you have? Just spread them out here. Ah, you can block me faster than I can pick them up anyway. Don’t be scared in front of an F-Rank.”

I urged him, saying that even if he was an S-Rank, it wouldn’t be a loss if it was junk.

“There are plenty of people who want to buy invitations. I’m giving you a special opportunity because you came all the way here.”

Even though he felt something was wrong, the S-Rank Hunter began to empty his inventory. At the same time, I took out the contract and wrote the contents.

“Receive a down payment and request an extra invitation from Chatterbox. If it fails, the down payment will be returned. Is that enough?”

“Failure?”

“Ah, if that happens. Then double the compensation for the down payment.”

“Uncle, can’t we just fight?”

Yerim grumbled. Just wait a moment. Then something red fell over the stranger’s mask. A fire lizard that didn’t even feel heavy landed silently.

Whoosh!

“Ugh!”

It caused a fire, obscuring the stranger’s vision. Immediately after, Yoohyun kicked the stranger and reached out to snatch me.

“Han Yoohyun, he’s mine!”

Yerim pounced on the stranger, and Yoohyun embraced me.

“What’s that again?”

“Oh, guest? Yoohyun, take a picture of my neck. With your phone. Both photos and videos.”

“…Your neck?”

“There are traces left, right? The longer it lasts, the better. And my palm got scratched when I fell earlier. Are there any other injuries? This is all money.”

Yoohyun took the phone, wondering what I was talking about. Meanwhile, Yerim was fiercely driving the stranger away. The stranger was still pushed back by Yerim, whether he was an experienced Hunter or not. However, the cold air that tried to freeze every part of his body and the sharply swirling streams of water more than made up for the difference.

Even if he tried to attack Yerim,

Splash!

A drop of water blocked his path. The tensile strength and buoyancy of the water reduced his strength and even grabbed him while freezing him, so no matter how skilled he was in martial arts, he couldn’t give Yerim a proper blow.

Eventually, the stranger soared into the sky. Since it was an open space, it wouldn’t be easy to catch him even with teleportation if he tried to run away with determination. Then a golden shadow appeared above his head, aiming for an escape. It was Noah. The golden dragon spun around and accurately struck the stranger with its tail.

Bang!

The stranger, who had been hit hard, fell straight down and crashed to the ground. Ah, I have to do construction again. I have to charge this to Chatterbox too.

– I reported it to Chief Song too!

Noah shouted. It seemed that Noah had also informed Yoohyun.

“Send the pictures to the legal team.”

I don’t know who it is, but he must be a foreign Hunter, so I have to thank him for attacking me. An S-Rank or F-Rank, a foreign Hunter tried to steal a Korean Hunter’s invitation? If he’s Korean, he’s mostly on my side.

I quickly picked up the items that had fallen on the floor. Thank you in many ways, Mr. Stranger. I think it would be okay if a few more came.

The appearance of an S-Rank Hunter targeting the invitation caused another stir. As expected, most of the reactions this time were on my side. There were also some who said, “Why does an F-Rank have an invitation?”

And two days later, Chatterbox’s representatives flew in from the United States. It was a really terrible day.