WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
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◈ The S-Classes That I Raised ◈
Chapter 199: Breaker Guild (3)
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“Don’t cause any more trouble. You both need to behave yourselves. Bellare, especially, don’t use poison.”
- Cheep.
- Sss.
I wasn’t sure whether they understood, but both answered well enough. For safety’s sake, it would be better to keep Bellare in an enclosure, but the two were always stuck together, and I felt bad separating them. Birds and snakes were usually natural enemies, yet these two got along strangely well. More precisely, Peep was closer to ordering Bellare around.
…Riette wouldn’t get mad, would she? Her kid attacked first, after all.
“Peace, you stop them if anything seems wrong too. Please.”
- Kkiang.
“You remember where I put the antidote, right?”
Peace went to the dresser and pulled open a drawer with a front paw. Our Peace really was smart. Bellare was skilled at controlling its venom, but I had prepared antidotes just in case. They were not enough to completely neutralize A-Class poison, but with Peace’s stats, they would be sufficient.
Peep was the problem.
‘…Oddly enough, Peep has never been poisoned.’
Even today, Peep must have had a hard time getting through the hole in the kitchen door without getting venom on itself, yet it was fine. The mana stone bottle too. Could Peep have a Poison Resistance skill of A-Class or higher?
‘It can use spatial movement, so another skill wouldn’t be surprising.’
A skill like Poison Resistance was good to have. Still, I needed to hide it from those unfilial bastards as much as possible. Judging by the jellyfish’s reaction last time, they might call it an error and try to kill Peep.
“I’ll be back soon, so all three of you be good.”
“Why don’t you install one of those pet-monitoring cameras?”
Moon Hyuna spoke as I turned away.
“They’re not very useful. Bellare is a snake, and Peep flies around.”
Unless I plastered cameras across every inch of the ceiling and corners, all they caught was an empty screen. Or just Peace napping alone.
“And they attack whenever they move, so I only installed fixed cameras in the magical beasts’ living room.”
They would not break things if taught not to, but whenever something new came in, they started by destroying the robot vacuum. How many had that been already? I kept buying replacements because of Peace’s fur alone.
“Here’s a lint roller. It gets especially bad on socks.”
As we headed out, I messaged Yoohyun that I was going to the Breaker Guild with Hunter Moon Hyuna. A call came almost immediately, and he asked if he should come too.
“You need to get ready to enter a dungeon. Didn’t you say there was an S-Class dungeon your team had to clear?”
[This time, it’ll just be Peace and me, so there’s not much preparation needed.]
“Why again?!”
Seriously, this brat! When I shouted reflexively, Yoohyun replied in a much gentler voice, as though calming me down.
[I’m going to check things over in preparation for reorganizing the team. It’s an easy one, so don’t worry.]
“Still, you should do it after you come back from Japan.”
With stamina potions, even a small raid team would be relatively safe. Of course, having a properly balanced team was best. We exchanged a few words about him reconsidering if possible before hanging up.
“The more I see, the more entertaining you two are. Japan, is that the dungeon Sesung kept poking at?”
“Yes. I guess you heard.”
“I heard it was good for getting an A-Class mount hatchling. So what did you decide to do?”
I hesitated briefly before speaking. I would have to tell the Association soon anyway.
“The winner of a match between S-Class Hunters gets everything. Yerim is going to compete.”
“Yerim? When are you going? Let me watch this time.”
Moon Hyuna said she still regretted missing the A-Class Ranking Match. I told her the schedule had not been set yet as we headed toward the parking lot. On the way, Noah flew down, greeted me, and carefully watched Moon Hyuna’s reaction.
“Be careful.”
He was obviously avoiding her, so I asked whether something had happened. Moon Hyuna smiled and answered.
“He promised to give me a ride if I catch him.”
“Don’t bully a kid.”
“It’s a deal, a deal.”
What had he done? Anyway, Noah was still popular. Mostly among dragons, but still. Noah was a person, everyone.
Moon Hyuna, naturally, acted as if seat belts did not exist. I wore mine properly. Since she was practically a lancer, I thought of Kang Soyoung, the Dragon Rider, and tensed up a little. Surprisingly, though, the car moved smoothly. She even obeyed every traffic light.
“I heard you have a good reputation among other Hunters, Hyuna. Especially among female Hunters.”
Though Moon Hyuna, Seong Hyeonje, and even Yoohyun had apparently caused quite a stir. Yoohyun was still young, though. He was right in the middle of his rebellious phase.
“Soyoung and Yerim must have said nice things about me?”
“You could tell just by looking that they get along with you. It seemed like you took good care of them too.”
“I’ve had my share of hard times.”
Moon Hyuna continued as she took a smooth curve.
“Even after dungeons appeared and people Awakened, everything else stayed the same. Age, gender, race, things like that. Young Master got picked on a lot because of his age too. At least he was male. If he had been an unprotected minor and female too, imagine how badly people would have torn into him.”
Just thinking about it gave me chills.
“Even Seong Hyeonje must have heard people call him a brat more than once. He apparently put up with it politely on the surface, but back then, lots of people went missing when dungeons burst. You never know.”
That was a little scary. It had certainly been a good time to bury someone. Even now, if it involved Hunters, it was easy to write someone off as having died during a dungeon raid.
“My friends and I were early Awakened, you know. Have you heard about how we all Awakened together?”
“Yes. You said there was a gathering.”
It even made the news when a group of female professional athletes Awakened all at once. Moon Hyuna was the only S-Class, but there were several A-Class and B-Class Hunters, with the lowest being C-Class. They had all been top athletes recognized both in Korea and abroad, so it was only natural, really.
“We were lucky. If we’d Awakened separately, we would have been easy prey. We formed up right there, so founding a guild was easy. But when we tried to establish ourselves properly, people wouldn’t listen to us.”
“We couldn’t just crush them all either,” Moon Hyuna added, furrowing her brow.
“In the end, we compromised and accepted sponsorship. If I’d been alone, I might have pushed through to the end, but I wasn’t. I don’t regret it, but it does leave something to be desired. So I try to look out for people when I can, even if they aren’t part of our guild. It isn’t difficult.”
She smiled, saying it was fortunate that things had worked out for Yerim.
“When I first heard Haeyeon had taken in an S-Class kid, I was worried. Especially since she had no parents. That makes someone far too easy to exploit.”
Come to think of it, Moon Hyuna had shown particular interest in Yerim from the moment they met. It had bothered me then.
“Young Master isn’t that kind of person, but you never know. Fortunately, the kids’ dad has been doing a good job as her custodian, so that took a weight off my mind.”
“I think it’s fortunate that Yerim has you too, Hyuna. I’ve only ever looked after my younger brother, so I still worry sometimes about whether I’m doing things right.”
“If you’re ever curious about something, ask anytime.”
“Thank you.”
We entered Banpo Bridge. The Han River came into view beyond the car window. There were only low-grade dungeons underwater for now, but an S-Class dungeon would appear there later. Its environment made it difficult to clear, and it even burst once. With Yerim around now, though, it would not be a problem.
“I heard Breaker has mostly female Hunters.”
“Oh, that? It wasn’t intentional. The original team members were all women, so the higher-ups naturally ended up being women too. Maybe because of that, male Hunters don’t come very often. On the other hand, female Hunters want to join. Once you enter a dungeon, age and gender don’t matter anyway. Funny, isn’t it? Korea has fewer issues with race or social class, at least, but Sesung’s healer is Indian, right? I heard their social status was low, so their family was held hostage while they were forced to work until they were rescued.”
“I have heard that Awakened are often trafficked. I have some experience with that myself.”
“You’re lucky you have such a strong background, Director Han. If you had F-Class stats and only a useful special skill, you would have been reported missing in no time.”
If I had received a skill that raised monsters without knowing anything, I probably would not even have thought to hide it. If I was lucky, one of Korea’s major guilds would have kept me under control. If I was unlucky, I might have been dragged overseas somewhere.
Before my regression, plenty of strange people approached me just because I was an S-Class Hunter’s family. Even though there was nothing to exploit, some came out of simple curiosity. Well… no need to dwell on useless memories.
We talked about Japan, then China came up too. I asked whether there was any way to find a contact network because of Yun Yun, but Moon Hyuna said surveillance of Awakened was growing stricter by the day.
“I’ve heard rumors of groups of Awakened opposed to the government, but I don’t know the details. Seong Hyeonje might know something, at least.”
That man again.
“…What did the Sesung Guildmaster actually do before Awakening?”
“He definitely had connections even before Awakening. Several high-ranking Hunters from overseas attended the first Sesung Guildmaster birthday party. Evelyn, who joined Sesung this time, has apparently known Seong Hyeonje since then.”
The first what now?
“Did you meet Hunter Evelyn then too?”
“That was when I met her. Don’t get too close to snakes. You’ll get bitten.”
Moon Hyuna frowned. I guess the rumors about them not getting along were true.
“You don’t seem to like her.”
“Our personalities clash. I don’t like the way she talks either. I like long-range Hunters, but I don’t like her shooting from behind me.”
It sounded like everything about Evelyn irritated her. What on earth had their first meeting been like?
The car entered the Breaker Guild building’s parking garage. Before it even came to a stop, a woman who appeared to be a Breaker Guild member approached. Moon Hyuna got out and asked,
“What’s going on?”
“Guildmaster Lee Hyoyeon of the Woods Guild is here. She arrived a little while ago.”
“Really?”
Moon Hyuna turned to me.
“What do you think, Director Han? Do you want to meet her too?”
“Would it be all right if I came?”
“Of course, you’re welcome. It wouldn’t hurt for her to get to know you.”
“She already made quite an impression on me.”
As expected of the winner of the A-Class Ranking Match, she was an exceptionally skilled Hunter. Moon Hyuna started walking, this time taking the lead ahead of me.
As we passed through security and headed for the reception room, people we met greeted me with curiosity and goodwill. Some quietly asked whether Peep and Peace had come too. Others asked me to upload photos and videos of Little Rok to social media.
When we entered the reception room, a female Hunter was already standing. Lee Hyoyeon, a close-combat Hunter, wore her unusually long hair tied high. I had not been able to confirm it during the Ranking Match, but she probably had a related skill. It was rare for an outstanding Hunter to deliberately keep something that could get in the way.
“Welcome, Breaker Guildmaster. It is a pleasure to meet you, Hunter Han Yujin.”
“Sorry to keep you waiting, Woods Guildmaster. I brought Director Han Yujin with me. Is that all right?”
“Of course.”
Lee Hyoyeon grinned playfully, then turned her gaze to me.
“Thank you for holding the Ranking Match. It made it easier to coordinate with the Association.”
“Oh, I barely did anything.”
I had provided the cause, but Seong Hyeonje was the one who developed it. Still, I was glad it had given A-Class guilds more influence.
“What brings you here? Is it about relocating to Yeouido?”
“Yes. Woods will not be going to Yeouido.”
Lee Hyoyeon spoke firmly. Moon Hyuna raised an eyebrow at her words.
“Going to Yeouido would help in many ways. They would provide plenty of support for the safety of those people, at least. Not that Woods lacks anything, but an S-Class guild used to be there, so they’ll offer funding on their own to make up the difference. Your name value would rise too.”
They claimed it was difficult even to cover Haeyeon and the rearing facility’s relocation costs, yet they would cough up money when an A-Class guild moved in because they felt nervous? How ridiculous.
“I know. But we have decided to move to Daejeon.”
“Daejeon?”
“Yes. It is also the hometown of Deputy Guildmaster Park Bora. We have requested the transfer of the S-Class guild rights under MKC Guild management in Daejeon.”
Dungeons usually appeared in proportion to population. That was why provincial regions had fewer dungeons and lower grades on average. One major reason Hong Kong had fallen so quickly was that it was densely populated, with many dungeons and a high average grade, while China had taken its Hunters.
For that reason, the government wanted to disperse the population. Seoul was dangerous because it had so many dungeons, but all the S-Class Hunters had gathered there too… Still, its population had decreased somewhat compared to before dungeons appeared.
“Ultimately, our goal is for Woods to manage all S-Class dungeons in and around Daejeon.”
Lee Hyoyeon spoke with a confident expression.
“Compared to Busan and Daegu, Daejeon has no properly established mid-sized guild because Seoul’s major guilds handle most high-grade dungeons. We intend to build our influence with a fresh start.”
“Will that be all right? It won’t be easy. Hunter-related facilities will be lacking too.”
“There are seniors who started from bare ground.”
Lee Hyoyeon smiled at Moon Hyuna. Moon Hyuna smiled back.
“Right. Call if you need help.”
“I’ll try not to need to.”
“Then who will go to Yeouido?”
At Moon Hyuna’s murmur, I interjected.
“Couldn’t we leave it vacant for a while?”
“Leave it vacant?”
“Yes. It isn’t urgently necessary right now. There are several major guilds in Seoul alone. It isn’t far, and it only takes a moment by helicopter. Is there any need to pull a stable guild out of another region just to move it there? People live in those areas too.”
It would be fine if a guild was establishing itself anew. Yeouido would be a good place for a new guild to grow with support. But I did not like the idea of forcing a guild to move just because the National Assembly complained. It especially irritated me how they were picking and choosing guilds.
There was no immediate danger, and it was well within the reach of the major guilds’ influence.
“Let’s stall until they get desperate enough that they can’t choose whatever they want.”
“How?”
Lee Hyoyeon asked, her eyes shining. It seemed she had been upset about being rejected by Yeouido.
“It’s simple. We only need to make it look as if the Mount Rearing Facility and Haeyeon Guild are wavering over whether to move. It would work even better if we could bring Sesung into it too.”
Moon Hyuna laughed aloud at my words. She looked pleased.
“It’s a shame Breaker can’t join in. Put them in their place a little, then let a decent new guild settle in. I like it.”
“As you said, Hyuna, the location itself is good.”
“Exactly! I should look into some promising new guilds.”
I exchanged business cards with Lee Hyoyeon before she returned to her guild. She said she hoped Woods could bring in mounts someday too, and asked for my support.
“Personally, I think Woods going to Yeouido would be fine.”
I muttered with some regret as I looked at the closed door. If we bought some time with the method I mentioned, they would probably accept it.
“It’s good to stand on your own without being bound to outside forces. If you receive something, you end up owing something in return.”
Moon Hyuna spoke bitterly. Breaker must be bound up in that way. After three years, they must have become quite entangled. Could they cut it all away and still stand alone this time?
“Hyuna.”
I still could not stand alone either, but I opened my mouth anyway, wondering whether I could be of any help.
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