The S-Classes That I Raised [EN]: Chapter 545

Thump!

I woke up to a loud noise echoing through the hotel. I flailed around in the unnecessarily large bed, got out, and slipped on my slippers as an announcement played.

[There has been a minor dispute between party attendees.]

It was an announcement saying that the Hunters had fought, but it ended without any major issues, so there was nothing to worry about. It would be more surprising if nothing happened when gathering S-Ranks [the highest rank for Hunters] in one place. We almost got into fights when we first went to a dungeon together. Noah fought with Yerim as soon as they met, and he also fought with Yoohyun as soon as they met.

“Still, our kids are, hyaaawn, well-behaved.”

I yawned repeatedly, dragged my slippers, and headed to the bathroom.

‘It could be a disaster if I forget to turn off the broadcast.’

I can keep it on continuously after 10 AM today, so if I lose my mind, something that can’t be broadcasted might slip out. Will they block it on their own? Still, I should definitely turn it off before going to bed, just in case. If I blankly take a shower in the morning… Ugh, how awful.

After washing up, I looked in the mirror and pondered for a moment. Should I… put on makeup? I’ve never done it myself. But I did use the face pack Yerim gave me last night.

‘My skin is clear, but…’

Yoohyun and Yerim were fine without makeup, but I always wore it when I was on broadcast… Moreover, starting today, it was a personal broadcast where I competed with other attendees. First, I applied the sunscreen that lightly covers, and then I stared at the lip balm Yerim gave me for a while. I heard that everyone, regardless of gender or age, uses it when their lips are dry these days. The weather is getting colder, and it’s only for lip health.

[There is a protest in front of the New York Hunter Association building.]

I came out of the bathroom and turned on the TV, and people holding up signs that read ‘Hunters Out!’ appeared. I also heard that it was a party mainly attended by white people. Soon, the scene changed.

“Ugh.”

It showed me and Chatterbox. It was that video from when we rode in the same car. No, why are they playing that over and over again? It hasn’t been many days… but still. I changed the channel, and some American drama came on. It probably wasn’t regular programming at this hour.

[The quarterback awakened the day before the finals!!]

The character screamed. Oh dear, another channel was doing dungeon break education for children.

[Hello, scary monster! What do you like?]

[I like noisy children! I can smell naughty kids very well!]

I also checked the messages and emails on my phone. It seemed like nothing special had happened overnight. Tell Hamin to stop sending me pictures of Geumdong. I might just block him.

Other S-Rank Hunters moved freely, but I, who needed Chatterbox’s protection, had to follow the schedule. Breakfast was from 7 AM to 9 AM, with room service available. It was better to check the outside situation even a little rather than staying in the room, so I headed to the restaurant.

[Okay, going down now.]

I replied to my brother while pressing the elevator button. A moment later, the elevator doors opened.

“Hello, my love.”

…Why isn’t there a close button outside? There’s more than one elevator, so I decided to take another one and ignored him, pretending I didn’t see him. Hwangrim stuck his foot out to stop the closing elevator doors. Why is he doing that instead of using the perfectly good button?

“The S in SF stands for SE-”

“Do you really want to die? Do you think I’m here alone? And the elevator is public. Get your foot out of here unless you rented the whole hotel.”

“So you’re telling me to come closer.”

“I’m telling you to get lost.”

Hwangrim stepped out and stood in front of me. He was wearing a neat suit, of all things. If it weren’t for his greasy nonsense, I wouldn’t have recognized him because his vibe was completely different from the last time I saw him.

“Why are you popping up here?”

“Sorry, were you sulking because I didn’t answer my phone? Your lips are pretty, what did you put on them?”

Instead of answering, I pressed the button for the opposite elevator. Or, I tried to. Just before my hand touched the button, Hwangrim grabbed my wrist and spun me around to face him. Guard!

“There’s a pervert here!”

“You wound me.”

“Get lost before I throw you into the Hudson River half-raw, half-frozen. Why are you even here?”

“It’s a part-time job.”

“Did your business fail? Congratulations. Serving? Cleaning?”

“Protecting the most popular F-Rank [the lowest rank for Hunters] these days.”

Hwangrim winked. What did he just say….

“Channel Chatterbox is hiring.”

“…….”

“Just kidding.”

That was a disgustingly creepy joke. I’d rather jump into the river than be stuck with that bastard 24/7. Hwangrim let go of my wrist and took out a business card.

“This is one of our clients. I have a mansion near here, want to come over?”

“…No thanks, and the Puppeteer?”

I lowered my voice to ask. I didn’t want to see his face, but since I ran into him anyway, I had to check.

“It seems like it’s still hard for him to interfere. Don’t make such a disgusted face, I’ll be gone soon too. Here, this.”

Hwangrim handed me a new business card. He said it even goes into the inventory.

“…What is it?”

“A gathering of big shots who bet on Jin.”

“What?”

“Ga~mbling~”

What the… what? No, I mean.

“There’s no way a betting game would be missing from a party like this. I’ve been busy setting up the board.”

“…Hey, you son of a bitch.”

“The odds are no joke, and there’s a lot at stake. So, Xiaojin, I’m on your side.”

Hwangrim lowered his head. And whispered.

“There’s no ally more reliable than someone with their own money on the line.”

It’s a capitalist world. I looked down at the business card while listening to his whisper. It was blank except for a phone number.

“I can’t do anything about what happens inside the dungeon, but you can use me for things outside.”

“What if you go bankrupt doing that?”

“Then you won’t have to worry about it, right?”

Hwangrim’s eyes held a narrow smile. …How much does this guy know? I felt uneasy, but I took the business card anyway.

“If I get allies, I’ll also get enemies on the opposite side. It’s scary when money’s involved.”

“It’s okay. It’s at a level that can be handled on this side. By the way, the Hunter with the highest win rate is Zeus.”

I thought so, but I felt a little bitter.

“Zeus… is that, by any chance, my brother… Fire something……?”

I asked with a trembling heart. Spare Yoohyun, Americans!

“There’s already an American Hunter using that title. Fireman, Fire Sword, Flame Wing, Salamander, etc. Not only S-Ranks, but also A and B-Ranks often have nicknames. And the Haeyeon Guild Leader doesn’t have much recognition overseas yet.”

Thanks to the S-Rank duel broadcast, Yerim was more famous. Yoohyun had caught a lot of S-Ranks, but his fighting wasn’t broadcasted. Sung Hyunjae was also called Zeus by American Hunters, not just ordinary people. …Is it because of his womanizer image rather than his skill attribute?

“Anyway, if you’re going to help…”

There was definitely something I could use his help with. Something I was going to ask Hwangrim to do anyway.

“Information on the Hunters attending the party. As much as possible.”

“I knew you’d ask.”

Hwangrim grinned and handed me a USB drive.

“The most accurate and detailed information in the world, dear.”

“…Really?”

“It’s not just about gambling, there are also people who want to put S-Rank Hunters in their place. So, Jin should be the only one looking at it.”

That made me feel uneasy. It’s not OPEC [Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, often associated with powerful and potentially ruthless dealings], is it? I heard there are a lot of nasty people there.

“I don’t intend to negatively impact the Hunter world.”

“Just the fact that this party is happening is the opposite. It’s already a mess, isn’t it? That’s why there are so many people suffering in silence. Especially if an American S-Rank wins, it’s completely over.”

If that happened, they would be treated as American heroes, and the status of S-Rank Hunters would skyrocket. The American S-Rank Hunter is the best in the world! But if an Eastern, Korean F-Rank beat the S-Ranks, it wouldn’t overturn the current atmosphere, but it would at least create a breathing hole.

It’s worth it for him to help me.

“…You’re involved in a lot.”

“That’s how the world is. Small- Ah, I have to run!”

Hwangrim dodged just as the elevator doors opened. At the same time.

Crack!

A black, snake-like thing split the floor where Hwangrim had been standing and stretched out in an instant. Then, Bang! A loud roar echoed as a hole appeared in the hotel wall. Hwangrim, who had stepped aside from the hole, roughly wiped the blood flowing down his neck with the back of his hand. Yoohyun, who had come out of the elevator, sheathed the Ruler’s Sword with a cold expression. Peace blocked my path, and Yerim checked on me.

-Krrr.

“Are you okay, Ahjussi?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“Jin’s brother is always scary~. Ah, my neck stings.”

“Then goodbye,” Hwangrim said, and jumped over the broken wall. I quickly stopped Yoohyun from chasing after him.

“He came to give me information!”

Yoohyun sighed when I said he didn’t do any harm.

“Hyung is too careless with Hyung.”

“…No, but really, that guy isn’t exactly an enemy. Not now, anyway. Still, he did well not to break the elevator.”

“If I had made a move rashly, he might have run away with Hyung.”

“Chatterbox is responsible if anything happens to me, so don’t worry too much. Let’s cheer up, okay?”

“Let’s go eat breakfast,” I said, and pressed the elevator button.

The restaurant was deserted. It was hard for me to leave the hotel, but not for the other Hunters. It meant they didn’t need to have breakfast at the hotel. If I could wander around freely, what do New Yorkers… eat for breakfast? Is there anything famous nearby? Only coffee and newspapers came to mind.

“Where’s Chief Song?”

“He said he was a little tired and would have room service in his room. He told me to contact him if we were going to leave the hotel.”

Yerim made a serious face, saying that the meeting last night had been a bit long. It seemed like Chief Song had worked hard. There was Korean food, so I ordered that and checked the time. It was a little past 8 AM. Two hours until 10 AM.

‘Does it start right away at 10 AM?’

They should give me more explanation. I was eating the breakfast that had come out quite nicely when a Hunter approached with a magazine. My picture was on the cover again.

“S-Rank Poison Fang-”

[Breakfast ends at 9 AM.]

Suddenly, a message window popped up.

[Party guests are requested to move to Governors Island by 10 AM.]

“Governors Island?”

“It’s a small island south of Manhattan. It used to be a tourist spot, but now it’s used as a place to lure monsters during dungeon breaks.”

The Hunter, probably American, kindly explained. If they couldn’t quickly deal with the rushing monsters, they would lure them away from the city. It was something that could easily get them criticized, so major cities designated more than one monster luring location in advance. If it was a place like that, even an island, it meant that S-Ranks could cause some trouble without worry.

So, it’s not inside a dungeon this time. The message must have been sent through the bracelet.

[Notice to 1st place.]

Then, a message window appeared again, only for me.

[A reward will be given to the participant who catches the fastest-running 1st place and arrives at Governors Island. This message will be sent to all participants at 9 AM sharp.]

…What?

[If 1st place arrives safely at Governors Island without being caught, 1st place will be rewarded.]

I got up from my seat. That damn Chatterbox.

“Hyung?”

“I’m going to the bathroom. It’s said to be until 10 AM, so we should leave right away.”

Ten minutes until 9 AM. I went to the bathroom as calmly as possible. I could let Yoohyun or Yerim get the reward. But I didn’t want to show such an easy side.

‘The other Hunters won’t stay still.’

If I’m not careful, I’ll be a mess, and the city will be ruined. I don’t know what Chatterbox is aiming for, but I had to avoid S-Rank Hunters rampaging in the city. I went into the bathroom and changed my clothes.

‘Stealth skill alone is not enough.’

Even with the jacket’s buff, it was hard to completely deceive the eyes of an S-Rank. Sung Hyunjae was especially a problem. That man definitely wouldn’t try to help me. He’d probably enjoy revealing my location and making a mess.

So.

[White Tail Dellowz (A)]

I equipped all the items and used the skill.

“Oh? A cat.”

Park Yerim, who came out of the restaurant, muttered as she watched a cat walking quickly down the hallway. It was a cat with a white tail.

“Ahjussi is late. How long does it take to get to that island? We have an hour left, so let’s go sightseeing with Ahjussi.”

At that moment, a message window popped up in front of Park Yerim, Han Yoohyun, and Peace.

[A reward will be given to the participant who catches the fastest-running 1st place and arrives at Governors Island.]

1st place, reward. Han Yoohyun ran towards the bathroom, and Park Yerim shouted.

“Ahjussi! I can’t go in!”

While Park Yerim was stamping her feet, Han Yoohyun came out.

“He’s not there.”