WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ The S-Classes That I Raised ◈
Chapter 197: Breaker Guild (1)
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Walking down the corridor, I briefly explained the contract with Japan to Seong Hyeonje. I kept what I had gained hidden. I only told him we had agreed that the winner of the duel would receive the dungeon rights, and that I had received a few items in return. Surprisingly, Seong Hyeonje did not ask much about the items.
“They must believe they can easily defeat Hunter Park Yerim. They said the opponent is an S-Class Hunter named Iwahata Gakuto. Do you know of them? Apparently, they’re in their second year.”
I had never heard of them, at least. That meant they had not ranked very highly among Hunters before my regression. Japan currently had a total of five S-Class Hunters.
“They are an S-Class Hunter, so I’ve at least heard their name.”
“There’s no need to worry, right?”
“Did you not say it would be at the seaside? The match is already decided.”
I thought so too. Still, I couldn’t help worrying. Yerim was still young.
‘If it comes down to it, I can use my buff skill on her.’
We’d lose by disqualification if we were caught, but that was better than letting her get hurt. And it would be fine as long as we weren’t caught. I could make it sound like I was cheering her on to anyone listening.
“Going to Japan will require a lot of preparation... Never mind.”
“I can give you that much advice.”
“You’ve already been excessively kind in playing the role of a consultant. I’ll handle it myself.”
First, I needed to report this to the Awakened Management Office and the Hunter Association. We could arrange the schedule once Japan contacted us. Haeyeon would handle Yerim’s preparations. Would Yoohyun try to come along too? With Seonghan around, it should be fine for him to leave his post. Still, if he was coming, he should clear at least one dungeon beforehand. We couldn’t leave for at least a week.
Japan wouldn’t be done preparing in a day or two either. As I sorted through my thoughts, I looked at Seong Hyeonje.
“Will the Sesung Guildmaster be going too?”
“Given its importance, I should go in person. But I have a dungeon raid scheduled starting tomorrow, so I don’t know if the timing will work.”
“As your business partner, I’ll at least cheer you on. But if you’re late, I’m leaving without you. Good luck.”
“I’ll do my best not to be abandoned by my only partner.”
Listening to him, someone might think I was the one holding the upper hand.
I needed to at least roughly finish sorting out the rearing facility before going to Japan. And look into Breaker and Hanshin as well.
“You said you didn’t need advice, but I’ll give you one warning.”
Seong Hyeonje suddenly spoke in a meaningful tone. A warning?
“For a while, avoid meeting Song Taewon alone. I also recommend that you don’t contact him first.”
“...What?”
“Rather than accompanying a small number of high-level Hunters, it would be safer to be in a place with many non-Awakened people or low-level Hunters. If it is somewhere with an ordinary atmosphere, he’ll find it easier to restrain himself.”
“...You make it sound as though Manager Song might hurt me.”
“I only mean that you shouldn’t provoke him unnecessarily.”
Seong Hyeonje’s eyes curved as he smiled, though I couldn’t tell whether that smile was directed at me or Song Taewon.
“Manager Song isn’t easily shaken. That’s why the sound he makes when he breaks can only be louder. It would be amusing in its own way if he quietly lets it pass.”
“It would be troublesome if my partner were to get hurt.”
Seong Hyeonje’s voice sank low. I swallowed unconsciously.
“Is it because the relationship between you and me has changed, even a little?”
“Even I can’t know every corner of a person’s heart. Our relationship may not be entirely unrelated, but what sort of inner struggle Manager Song might be having... that remains to be seen.”
That was unexpected. We were still far from equals, but I had thought that if my standing rose even a little in Seong Hyeonje’s eyes, Song Taewon would be more at ease than before. Yoohyun was my biological younger brother, and Yerim was young. Noah was young too, and had originally been an A-Class support type.
So it made sense that Song Taewon might not trust me, but I had thought it would be different if even Seong Hyeonje recognized me. In a good way.
“...Manager Song is difficult.”
“A wolf that goes beyond taking the sheep’s side and tries to eat the grass too will be hard to understand from either side. I also wonder whether he himself truly has no doubts about it.”
Trying to eat grass. Still, it was a fitting comparison. High-level Hunters, as well as low-level Hunters and non-Awakened people, would all probably wonder why Song Taewon suppressed himself so much when they saw him.
He really was difficult.
Part of me wanted to go find him and ask him directly right away, but... perhaps it would be better to hold back for now. Then a message came through on my phone. It was Yoohyun.
“My brother says he’ll come pick me up.”
He had messaged me, asking whether work wasn’t over yet and saying he would come meet me since it was late. I replied that it was over. Remembering the item I had squeezed out of them, the corners of my lips started creeping up again. Ah, this was so good.
He must have contacted me after already arriving at the hotel. When I took the elevator down and entered the lobby, I saw Yoohyun. The attendants who had come with me were there as well.
“Yoohyun!”
I wanted to shout, Your brother got something amazing! But it wasn’t time to be discovered yet, so I held it in. It was an under-the-table deal, so I couldn’t go bragging about it in a place full of listeners. Instead, I threw my arms around my brother, overflowing with joy.
“My amazing little brother!”
Let’s take first place this time! If Newbie did his job and we got one more piece of SS-Class or higher equipment, wouldn’t it really be possible? Was there anything else we could get out of them? There had to be items that could help spirits grow. They had said Rini would become L-Class once fully grown. The problem was that it would take a thousand years.
“...Hyung.”
“Hm? What?”
“Did you... drink?”
Yoohyun spoke quietly enough that only I could hear, his face worried.
“You didn’t turn off Poison Resistance and drink alcohol, did you?”
“Of course not!”
Had I overdone it a little?
“I’m not drunk. I’m perfectly fine. Something good just happened, that’s all. I do feel drunk with happiness, though.”
What could I do when I kept wanting to smile? Yoohyun glared past me. It was probably directed at Seong Hyeonje.
“Nothing really happened? There are drugs that Poison Resistance doesn’t work on.”
“I told you, I’m really fine. Let’s go home already.”
I couldn’t take it out here. I gave Seong Hyeonje a suitable farewell and pulled my brother along by the arm.
“We signed a contract that the winner of the duel gets the Japanese dungeon. As agreed beforehand, the stakes are the slime dungeon.”
The moment I sat in the passenger seat, I told him the results of the negotiations.
“As expected, they chose Yerim.”
“Who is the opponent?”
“They said they’re a second-year Hunter, and the match will be at the seaside.”
“Then it’s over.”
Yoohyun spoke as though concluding the matter. Both Yoohyun and Seong Hyeonje had seen Yerim fight in Hong Kong. Yoohyun had even faced her himself, so he would understand her abilities more accurately than anyone.
Still, hearing them all predict her victory so certainly made me feel reassured.
“Yerim will win, right? She won’t get hurt, will she?”
“She won’t.”
“To that extent?”
“If it’s by the sea, she’ll literally be a fish in water. Even most S-Class Hunters who awakened early would have a hard time handling her.”
Our Yerim had only been Awakened for three months. Ah, I was grinning again. I turned toward the window to keep myself from smiling so indecently. Store lights and signs glittered outside. That looked like an office building, but the lights were still all on. Let them go home already.
“Hunter Park Yerim will obviously have to go. Are you going too, Hyung?”
“I should probably go. I want to enter the dungeon myself too. I’m planning to say that the monster I brought along found the materials.”
It had originally been discovered after seeing dungeon monsters dig it up and eat it. Root fruit also had an effect when eaten raw. So I needed to bring Peace too. And Peep, obviously.
“When will you go?”
“I asked them to prepare as quickly as possible. If they go into the second raid, they might discover the fruit.”
During the first raid, they had no spare time, so the chance of it being found was extremely low. But it would be different from the second raid onward, once they had raid information. Before my regression, it had been discovered much later, but I didn’t know what would happen now. Even the timing of dungeon appearances had changed, so it was best to be careful.
“Then I should prepare to be away.”
“You’re going too, right? We won’t stay long, but you never know. It’s overseas, so make sure everything is in order.”
Still, I felt reassured because Seonghan was here.
Once we arrived at the rearing facility, I didn’t go straight home. Instead, I brought my brother to the first-floor reception room. Since high-level Hunters were the main clientele, the room was well soundproofed.
“The slime dungeon is actually much more valuable than the Japanese dungeon. And those Japanese guys believe they can obviously beat Yerim.”
Using that as leverage, I squeezed an item out of them. I told him to keep it secret for a while since it was an under-the-table deal, then proudly took out the Attire of the Blue Thunder Bird.
“It’s SS-Class equipment!”
“SS-Class?”
“Yeah! There’s only Silrekia’s Wings among domestic SS-Class outerwear right now. This makes it the second one!”
The first would have been better, but even being second was great. Seeing Yoohyun’s eyes widen made my chest swell with pride.
“The options are obviously incredible too. Try it on.”
As I unfolded the garment, memories of the past naturally came back to me. I hadn’t bought it myself, but how long had it been since I had done something like this?
Yoohyun put it on. The black fabric flowed down smoothly like waves, yet it still held a slightly crisp shape. I had thought it looked quite good when the Japanese Guildmaster wore it, but there was no comparison. It suited Yoohyun perfectly. It was the best.
“It has lightning-element resistance?!”
“Yeah. And it’s S-Class too! Plus, that instant speed boost skill suits you perfectly, doesn’t it?”
As I remembered it, the Japanese Guildmaster had been half defense type, specialized in holding their ground and fighting from one position. It probably hadn’t suited them well. But Yoohyun was different.
“Blue Willow Leaves isn’t an ordinary flight skill either. I move directly with it, so this will be a huge help in many ways. The defense stacking is a good option too...”
Yoohyun fell silent for a moment, apparently considering different ways to use the equipment. Then a bright smile bloomed across his face.
“Thank you so much, Hyung.”
“What are you thanking me for? Now that you have attribute resistance too, you have to win this time!”
“...This time?”
Yoohyun’s expression stiffened for a moment. He looked both puzzled and flustered. Realizing my mistake, I quickly added an explanation.
“No, I just thought you must have fought Seong Hyeonje at least once before. Manager Song said that S-Class Hunters occasionally fought each other when dungeon breaks happened often. Of course, it’s not because you’re weak. That guy Seong Hyeonje is just absurdly overpowered. You’re still young, and there’s the equipment difference too.”
“...”
My brother visibly drooped. Uh, it seemed he really had lost before. Honestly, Combat Precognition was completely unfair. The Seeker’s Chain too. It was one grade above its owner, so it was like walking around with an SS-Class weapon from the beginning. Who could beat that?
“That was in the past, so don’t think too much about it. Seong Hyeonje was different from the start anyway. I heard he claimed and cleared high-grade dungeons first. Meanwhile, you were a student.”
“...If I had been more grown up, wouldn’t you have had no need to rely on Seong Hyeonje?”
“Hm?”
“Even while thinking that the difference means it can’t be helped, I get jealous. If I had been twenty, no, around thirty when the dungeons appeared, a lot would have been different.”
...That was true. It would have been.
“Things would have been different. But Yoohyun, you’re the person I rely on most. That won’t change, no matter when.”
Whether he was twenty or thirty.
“I can’t do without you. Because I have you, I can join hands with other people too.”
If it hadn’t been for you in the first place, Yoohyun, I probably couldn’t have even been standing here now.
“And I’m just as jealous, you know.”
“...Why would you be?”
“What do you mean, why? I’m similar to you. Seong Hyeonje helped you with this and that while you were apart from me.”
“It was nothing much. I paid him back.”
Yoohyun spoke a little sulkily. Still, it wasn’t as if he had received nothing. The impact must have been considerable too. He was a natural S-Class as well. At the same time, he was an adult I struggled to catch up with.
“They were things I couldn’t do for you. I was jealous and envious. I thought many times that I wanted to do them for you instead. Still, even while thinking it was better than Seong Hyeonje not being there at all, I couldn’t help feeling hurt.”
My mouth tasted bitter as I spoke.
“We really weren’t that close. You don’t need to care at all. And I can’t do without you either, Hyung. You’re still taking care of me like this. You’re the best, Hyung.”
Yoohyun said it as he pulled me into an embrace, like he was acting spoiled. He was my little brother, but he was truly kind. I hugged him back.
“Right. Let’s properly crush that great Sesung Guildmaster in the Ranking Match.”
“Are we really going to have an S-Class Ranking Match?”
“We’re going to make it global.”
With that damned Combat Precognition and an SS-Class weapon, it wouldn’t be easy... Should I just use my buff skill? It would be best to win fairly without something like that, though. What else should I prepare? Was there no way for Yoohyun to obtain something like Combat Precognition? If he could cancel it out, it might be worth a try.
When Yerim heard she would be going to Japan to fight an S-Class Hunter, she was extremely excited. Declaring that she would wipe them out for sure, she split the table in half. Yoohyun sarcastically asked if she still couldn’t control her strength, and an S-Class Hunter battle nearly broke out in our home first.
The next day, the Sesung Guildmaster entered a dungeon raid, and Moon Hyuna came to visit the rearing facility.
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