WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ The S-Classes That I Raised ◈

Chapter 129: The Association President (3)

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“Thank you.”

The people around us stirred as though no one had expected those words to come out of my mouth. Naturally. Officially, I had been kidnapped due to Song Taewon’s failure.

What the people gathered here probably wanted was a scene of me getting angry while Song Taewon bowed his head.

Watching an S-Class Hunter bend under a victim’s reproach would make good entertainment, and it would probably calm some of the public anger toward the Association. If I grabbed him by the collar, the cameras would probably start flashing away happily.

“Really, I don’t know what I should say...”

But that sort of predictable story was boring. I wasn’t Seong Hyeonje, but still.

Song Taewon still seemed unable to guess my intentions. However, perhaps he had noticed that I was plotting something harmful to him, or rather, to the Association. The temperature in his gaze toward me steadily dropped.

I shouldn’t drag this out.

“You were even willing to take on disgrace to save me!”

“...What?”

“Because you were a whistleblower, Director Song was forced to take all the blame...”

“Hyung, you can’t say things like that here.”

Yoohyun caught hold of me from behind as though shielding me. I had been interrupted, but it would not be hard to understand what I meant. Whistleblower, disgrace, blame. And saving me.

It was already known that there were people within the Hunter Association who had cooperated with the kidnappers. They were dragging their feet, saying a systematic investigation was needed, but those who knew, knew.

And in that situation, the kidnapping victim had called Song Taewon a disgraced whistleblower. The person currently bearing the greatest responsibility was none other than Song Taewon.

The person put forward as a scapegoat and beaten down was actually on the side of justice. Surprise.

“Mr. Han Yujin, what exactly are you talking about?”

Song Taewon and the Association personnel both looked flustered. When Song Taewon took a large step toward me, my body trembled on its own. Thanks to that, it was very easy to put on a frightened, startled expression.

“I-I’m sorry. But it’s unfair...”

“Stop, Hyung. This isn’t something we can get involved in.”

Yoohyun soothed me. The Association people hurriedly began making excuses.

“Hunter Han Yujin is mistaken.”

“It seems he is still unable to recover from the shock of the kidnapping and is slightly confused.”

I did not bother to stop them and argue back. I just looked at them with aggrieved eyes. People would listen more closely to my story anyway.

An official statement from an institution, versus a sordid secret that had slipped out with, I shouldn’t say this. It was obvious which side the public’s interest and trust would lean toward. Even something trivial made people prick up their ears when it was labeled a secret that could not be spoken, much less corruption within the Hunter Association. Was there anyone who would not bite unless they were a shriveled dead log?

“Let’s go now, Hyung.”

“But... Director Song Taewon...”

“It’ll be all right. I’ll find a way to help too.”

I looked at Song Taewon through my younger brother’s gentle voice. His silent gaze meeting mine was chillingly cold. What could he be thinking behind those eyes? Did he want to strangle me like he had on the day we first met?

Then the line of his closed lips changed. The corners of his mouth lifted very slightly.

It was a smile, sharp as fangs.

‘Here I thought you came wearing a muzzle.’

So you are showing your teeth. I would have been disappointed if he had obediently tucked his tail between his legs. If he pretended to be docile and curled up so thoroughly that he forgot how to bite or growl, why would I have any reason to covet him?

If it had been easy to pull out his fangs and claws from the start, things would not have become twisted in the first place.

After leaving the airport, I climbed into the waiting car. I took my phone and called Seok Simyeong.

“Please spread the articles as provocatively as possible. Modern-day slave trading, a starting auction price of one billion dollars, powerful people collecting Awakened, that sort of thing. Keep it fact-based, with a suitable amount of exaggeration. Make sure people are talking about me everywhere for at least a week.”

[It is not difficult, but are you certain? You said you did not enjoy becoming the subject of public discussion.]

He had laid all the groundwork himself, so why was he pretending to worry now? Was he acting like this because he knew Yoohyun was beside me? What a sly old man.

“Sometimes in life, you have to do things you dislike. Please take care of it. Oh, and don’t forget to improve Haeyeon Guild’s image as a bonus.”

[Of course I cannot let this opportunity pass. Leave it to me.]

“And there are a few things we need to investigate as well... Let’s discuss those in person.”

The call ended. Yoohyun, who had been watching from the seat beside me, spoke worriedly.

“Will you be okay? Once rumors start spreading, it’s nearly impossible to erase them completely.”

“Says the guy who deliberately went around ruining his reputation.”

“I don’t care about that.”

“Me neither.”

I just had to avoid searching for it. Of course, I would have to keep an eye on it for a while.

Besides, if I wanted to grab someone by the collar and drag them in, I had to be prepared for them to seize my wrist and break it.

I checked the airport video that had already been uploaded. Wow, I really looked pitiful. With tall, broad men standing in front of and behind me, I looked even smaller and thinner. It was embarrassing.

‘It’ll be effective, though.’

To the public, and to you as well, Mr. Song Taewon. Was I not the image of the ideal ordinary person you were supposed to protect? A helpless victim who wanted to live quietly but got caught up with Awakened and was even kidnapped. Forget the details and look only at the surface.

* * *

That evening, the Hunter Association released a statement regarding the suspicions raised earlier that day.

The whistleblowing matter was partly true. More precisely, the Association President and several Association personnel had taken the lead in assisting with Han Yujin’s kidnapping case through Director Song Taewon. They added that Song Taewon taking responsibility had been a smokescreen meant to facilitate a smooth investigation.

Song Taewon was there as well, and he calmly confirmed it. He said Hunter Han Yujin’s misunderstanding had been understandable.

‘What a damn dog.’

That was not an insult. I had handed him a ball, only for him to take it to his master. Yet he probably was not wagging his tail, either. It was simply his duty, not something he did because he liked it.

Still, the arrows aimed at Song Taewon had been cleared away for the moment.

“Let’s wrap this up quickly before the bubble bursts.”

“I thought you would only trim away the parts that had gone especially bad.”

Seok Simyeong, who was watching the same screen as me, spoke.

“You are the one who set the stage, so why are you talking weakly now? We need to clean this up while we have the chance. I won’t be able to pull this twice.”

Neither did I have the ability to do it again.

* * *

From the next day onward, stories about me poured out through every kind of media outlet.

They dug up not only my life before Awakening, but even my childhood, as if they intended to put my entire life under a spotlight. It was truly mortifying.

[A child raising another child, how could he manage that? He took such good care of him, you’d think he had been born for it.]

Someone who claimed to know me was being interviewed on the television screen. I had no memory of them at all. The story of how I had lost my parents young and raised a younger brother who would later become an S-Class Hunter was polished up beautifully and added in, sending my public recognition through the roof. Yoohyun’s hardships were slipped in as well.

He had Awakened as an S-Class Hunter, but because he was young and people targeted him everywhere, he had no choice but to distance himself from his older brother. A Hunter so young he was practically a child had built his guild while forcibly pretending not to know his only family member, who had raised him and was practically his parent. After three years of painstaking effort, he had grown it into one of the great guilds...

Damn it, had my little brother not suffered too much? What was that Origin or whatever so busy with that it had to make him Awaken before he was even grown? He was a minor, you bastard. Anyone who tormented children deserved to die.

And amid all that,

[Dungeon Item Smuggling! S-Class Equipment Included.]

Breaking news appeared. One of the Hunter Association executives had been caught sending dungeon items overseas.

The law prohibited individuals from freely taking dungeon items, especially high-grade equipment, out of the country. Maintaining sufficient equipment was essential for dungeon management, meaning national security.

Foreigners could purchase high-grade items through official auctions, but unlike domestic Hunters, they faced heavy fees and taxes. Furthermore, domestic Hunters were always given purchase priority for S-Class equipment. As a result, S-Class equipment almost never left the country in practice.

But now, an Association executive had smuggled that precious S-Class equipment out of the country and sold it overseas. At a time when the Association was already in uproar over corruption. Following the Awakened kidnappings, the item smuggling case made both online and offline outrage blaze as though oil had been poured on a fire.

‘Originally, this would not be exposed for another two years.’

Tipster Han Yujin, with Haeyeon Guild and Sesung Guild conducting a joint search. It was not difficult to go over and confirm something that had already been exposed. Remembering the names and appearances took a little more effort.

The people involved in the item smuggling case two years later had not been limited to that half-bald old man on television. Many people had been involved, and since the scandal had caused such an uproar, I remembered the details well.

‘This is not all.’

It was not as though they had only pocketed items. Corruption related to dungeon transactions, exploitation of low-rank Hunters, illegal production of dungeon byproducts, and more. The system was not yet fully established, there were plenty of blind spots, and there was a tremendous amount of money involved. Thanks to that, shady deeds had surfaced one after another in a short period of time.

At this point, less than half of them could be caught, but that alone was enough.

“Prepare to step down. The excuse could not be better, could it?”

The Association executive who had come in person after being contacted glared at me with a stiff expression. Even with Fear Resistance turned off, that level of glare did not so much as tickle.

“Personally, I would like to expose everything, but for a smooth transfer of duties, it would be advantageous in many ways for you, Director, to personally support your successor.”

“This is something that would end with a fine at most.”

“Normally, yes. But right now, isn’t this a wave where anything connected to the Hunter Association, no matter how trivial, swells several times over?”

Especially corruption involving Association personnel. Something that would normally end after a few small articles would now be beaten soundly and lose their positions. The moment I threw in firewood, people holding torches would gleefully conduct an execution by fire.

The sacrifice I had tossed in as an example was burning so fiercely that it would soon leave nothing but ashes.

“...Are you planning to put your own people into the Association and wield it as you please?”

“Not at all. I have no people of my own.”

Seok Simyeong, his appearance altered by Myeongu-made glasses, showed several preliminary lists and spoke.

“Some of them are among the Hunter Association’s early executives. Their work-processing abilities are far superior to those of the current executives. Even if you retire, you will have no need to worry about what comes next.”

Perhaps his pride had been hurt by the blatant comparison, because the director’s expression twisted deeply. There was also a list of people who had distinguished themselves in the future.

Replacing every last one of them would be impossible, but would not positive change come if the number of competent people increased? At the very least, it would be better than now.

“If it comes out that you replaced people by threatening them like this...”

“I will have no problems at all. What can anyone do? I am not a public official, and this is a completely monopolistic private business. At most, I might have to pay a fine.”

The country and its people were on my side. I would not avoid criticism entirely, but it would only be from a minority. Besides, considering my value, even if I committed murder, it would probably end with house arrest and an order to raise monsters diligently. Case closed.

It was unfair, but what could they do when I was irreplaceable? Yoohyun had already cleared an S-Class dungeon in record time thanks to Peace. How could they discard me now?

“So please make a wise decision as soon as possible. You should leave cleanly with a clean image, so you can try for other opportunities.”

Like becoming a member of the National Assembly, as people often did. So accept it when someone offers to look the other way.

After being given a deadline, the director said through clenched teeth that he would contact me soon, then left. All right, how many were left?

Yip!

Peace leaped up and caught the ball thrown into the air. Peep hurried after it, but could only flap about on the floor and could not even get near the ball.

Screech, flutter!

Comet, hanging from a rope draped from the ceiling like a vine, flapped its wings as though asking me to throw one its way too. I tossed the ball upward, but,

Thwack!

Peace snatched it first.

Hiss!

“Peace, you should let your younger sibling have a turn too.”

Prrr.

Peace pretended not to know and rubbed against my leg. Perhaps because we had been apart for quite some time, it seemed more spoiled than before. While petting Peace, I quietly tossed another small ball to Comet. The baby dragon quickly caught and hugged the ball with gold glitter, a gift from Kang Soyoung, then went flap flap flap, circling dizzily through the air.

Peep watched and flapped its wings.

Cheep cheep!

“Should I put flight anklets on you?”

Cheep!

I took out the flight item for Peep that I had asked Myeongu to make before. It was an item that allowed the wearer to fly when worn on the legs, but...

Cheep cheep!

Peep rose into the air like a round white balloon. I had added a slow speed and gentle flight option for safety, so instead of flying impressively like an ordinary bird, it simply floated around.

Cheep!

Peep seemed satisfied, though. After drifting through the air, it lightly settled on top of my head.

‘Riette will be out soon, so that will make one more.’

Riette was helping with the Association’s dungeon raids in payment for her crimes. If she had not entered the S-Class dungeon in Song Taewon’s place, he would not have been able to intervene in the kidnapping case. Would that have been easier for me?

Click.

Then I heard the door open. It would not be Myeongu.

“What is it at this hour? Have you eaten dinner?”

Thinking it was Yoohyun, I headed toward the entrance, but Peace sprang in front of me. Then it changed into its subadult form.

Grrr.

It was not Yoohyun. I hurriedly turned on Fear Resistance and took out my phone. The person who soon appeared was none other than Song Taewon. Where had he gotten a key? Hanshin?

“It’s a little surprising that you came without contacting me.”

“Thanks to you digging around everywhere, Mr. Han Yujin.”

His weary voice sank heavily. It seemed the Association’s higher-ups had been complaining to him. A little laughter escaped me.

“I’m sorry, but unlike the Sesung Guildmaster, I do not intend to let this go just because you kneel.”

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