WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ The S-Classes That I Raised ◈

Chapter 23: My Person (3)

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I stopped by a hardware store to buy a latch, then headed to the Hunter Association to dispose of the contracts. The sales commission was 30%, and the payment would be transferred to the registered account. The F-Class ones would not amount to much, but the C-Class and D-Class contracts should bring in a decent sum.

It felt wrong to pocket it myself, so I could distribute it among the victims.

“Is it really okay for me to impose on you?”

Yu Myeongu asked uneasily after getting out of the car when we arrived at the guild. It was fortunate their SS-Class skill was not combat-related, considering their personality. Or maybe that personality was why they had an aptitude for crafting skills.

“You heard the call earlier. They said outsiders can stay in the dormitory.”

More precisely, it was a rule for visits from relatives, friends, lovers, and the like. There were limits on the number of outside residents and where they could go, and they could stay for up to one week per month. I also had to sign a statement accepting full responsibility if any trouble arose.

“I could just go home...”

“Why bother going back and forth? Just stay until your training is over. It won’t take more than a few days.”

Of course, even after the training ended, I would find some excuse to keep Myeongu around. I’d be too anxious to let them out of my sight. How was I supposed to wrangle a room in the regular employee dormitory to put them in?

“Mr. Han Yujin.”

As we were leaving the parking lot, Kim Seonghan called from behind us. I turned to see him wearing a slightly awkward expression. What was this?

“I should apologize first.”

“Pardon?”

An apology out of nowhere? Had he done something to wrong me without my knowing? Grabbing me by the nape? Announcing me over the speakers at the lost-child center? Standing guard in front of my door had been at Yoohyun’s orders.

I tilted my head, unable to think of anything that warranted such a formal apology, and Kim Seonghan continued.

“I have misunderstood you all this time, Mr. Han Yujin.”

“...Misunderstood me?”

“Yes. To be honest, I thought you were a useless obstacle in the guildmaster’s path.”

...Well, he wasn’t wrong. The old me had caused quite a lot of trouble.

“Don’t worry about it. It could happen.”

I had only changed because I used the cheat code called regression. Your judgment of people was perfectly fine.

At my words, he smiled faintly. Wow, that was the first time I’d seen that person smile at me. He had always glared as if he wanted to devour me.

“I look forward to working with you from now on.”

“Ah, yes. Likewise...”

“Even if you say it is fine, a wrong is still a wrong. Please tell me if there is anything you want.”

“Then buy me a drink sometime.”

While I was at it, should I pretend to be drunk and say the Keyword... Hmm. I had only intended to raise magical beasts, not people. Still, getting friendly over drinks wouldn’t be bad.

“Understood. Please contact me anytime.”

Kim Seonghan gave a light bow, looking noticeably refreshed. I returned the greeting and turned back around.

This felt a little strange. I didn’t know why he was suddenly acting like this, but it was better than being treated like a thorn in his side.

“I guess that person really can’t judge character.”

Once we left the parking lot, Yu Myeongu spoke in disbelief.

“How could they think you were a useless obstacle, Yujin?”

That was because I really had been a useless obstacle, haha.

“I’m lacking compared to my brother.”

“That’s only because your rank didn’t measure up. If you were both S-Class, you might have been better. No, you definitely would’ve been much better.”

What was that confidence? It felt nice to have someone believe in me, but I wished this one would believe in me a little less. Being A-Class was apparently not enough. Now Myeongu was comparing me to an S-Class outright.

“Please don’t say things like that where others can hear you. Especially here. This place is crawling with Yoohyun’s fans. You might get pelted with stones.”

Thanks to that, I had hated coming here after I really started causing trouble. The looks from every direction were like they were looking at garbage.

At my words, Yu Myeongu hunched their shoulders and looked around.

“B-But the truth is the truth.”

What truth?

“By the way, aren’t you taking off those gloves? They must be uncomfortable.”

“I’m fine! I’ll keep them on until the training is over.”

They answered with a broad smile. ...They weren’t planning to keep those on even when using the bathroom, were they?

I led Yu Myeongu to the security office in a corner of the lobby. Yerim and I had been personally cleared by the guildmaster, but an ordinary outsider needed to pass a security inspection to enter areas beyond the first three floors.

“We’re visiting an Upper-Rank Hunter dormitory.”

When I opened the security office door and spoke, the female employee at the desk asked us to come over.

“After the security inspection, please apply for visitation at the dormitory management office on the fifteenth floor. Who is being inspected?”

“This person. They’re an Awakened.”

“Please provide your name and phone number. If you are a Hunter, please provide your Hunter license serial number as well.”

Yu Myeongu gave their name and phone number. The sound of typing filled the room for a moment, then another employee brought over a bracelet that could be locked with a key.

“This is an inventory sealing bracelet. If you forcibly remove it, you will be immediately expelled and held liable for the resulting costs. Please make sure to return it when you are finished.”

As the number of Awakened increased, inventories became the biggest problem. Even an F-Class could have an uninspectable space simply by Awakening.

Since they could not store things that did not come from dungeons, they had little impact on daily life. Still, inventories were sealed in places requiring security, just in case. A few years later, when the number of Awakened had grown too large, they even began placing sealing curses over entire buildings.

That led to people saying that curse Hunters ranked first among Awakened who could make a fortune without entering dungeons. They could do all sorts of things if the conditions were right. The problem was that fulfilling those conditions was difficult, so their combat utility tended to be low.

After completing the security inspection and applying for visitation at the dormitory management office, we returned to Room A-15. Was Yerim still getting styled?

“Is this a dorm room?”

Yu Myeongu entered the apartment and widened their eyes in amazement.

“This place is amazing. It doesn’t look like a dormitory. It looks like a luxury apartment.”

“The service is good too. They provide up to one million won in daily necessities every month, and they clean and do laundry twice a week.”

“Wow, really?”

Yu Myeongu looked at me with envious eyes. No, look at the apartment, not me. I wasn’t even originally qualified to live here.

“This is why everyone goes on about rank. Once you’re around A-Class, guilds recruit you and casually give you high-end accommodations like this.”

“You can live somewhere like this even though you aren’t A-Class. You’re amazing, just as expected!”

“...No, this is because of my connections.”

This was driving me crazy. I wished someone would take those rose-tinted glasses off Myeongu. They were acting like a teenager meeting an idol.

I had left immediately after coming in to find Yu Myeongu, so I hadn’t looked around the entire apartment yet either. We checked it out to decide where they would stay, and there were no less than four rooms. It really was just an apartment. Two of them were bedrooms, so nobody would need to sleep on the sofa.

The kitchen was large and stylish, filled with unfamiliar appliances. That was probably an oven, but what was this?

“Oh, the refrigerator is stocked too.”

There were vegetables, fruit, other ingredients, orange juice, and even beer.

“What do you want to drink?”

I asked, taking out a bottle of orange juice. Yu Myeongu, who had been hovering at the kitchen entrance, shook their head.

“No, water is fine.”

“It’s free anyway. Drink some. Orange juice is okay, right?”

I took out two cups and poured the juice. Come to think of it, was I supposed to do the dishes? There was probably a dishwasher, but I had no idea what was what.

I handed Yu Myeongu a cup of juice and went into the living room. The moment I settled into the sofa, exhaustion washed over me.

I was an unemployed bum who didn’t even get paid, and it was the weekend. Why had I been so busy?

Still, things were mostly sorted out, so I’d rest and do nothing until Monday.

‘Yerim has signed the contract, so the guild will take good care of her. Once I get that one a skill, it’ll really be over.’

I didn’t need a healer. I wasn’t doing it. I was going to loaf around. I would become a well-fed sloth.

Ah, I needed to feed Peace. I should go upstairs later.

I turned on the TV while absentmindedly sipping juice. Yu Myeongu was wandering around awkwardly with their cup in hand. They could just sit somewhere and drink. Did I have to tell them even that?

“Come sit over here.”

“Uh, okay.”

They hurried over and sat in an open spot. They listened well.

“If you’re staying for a few days, you’ll need to go get some things. Are there any more big guys who’ll pound on your door until it breaks?”

“Huh? Ah, no. I said I would pay them back by running dungeons after I Awakened and received training, but... they transferred the debt to those guys earlier. They said an F-Class with a support skill couldn’t make money...”

So that was it. No wonder Hunters had suddenly shown up.

“Then rest today and go get what you need tomorrow. If you’re worried, wear the gloves.”

It was too bothersome for me to go with them. Without equipment, I was a complete weakling anyway.

I set down my half-finished glass of juice and stood. Taking the latch I had bought at the hardware store and the tools I had borrowed from the management office, I approached the door connecting the living room to Room A-16.

Of all places, why did they put a door here? If it suddenly flew open while I was drinking beer and watching a horror movie at night, I’d have a heart attack. And with Yerim’s personality, it was hard to imagine her knocking politely.

“Want help?”

“No, I’m fine.”

I drilled in the latch and locked the door before returning to the sofa to sprawl out. Later, after feeding Peace, I’d have a beer. Did they deliver food here too? It had been a while since I’d wanted fried chicken and beer. I could probably just go down to pick it up.

“...After the training is over, I won’t have any reason to come here anymore, right?”

Yu Myeongu said regretfully, fidgeting with their empty cup. Normally, that would be true. Haeyeon Guild wouldn’t take in an F-Class with one buff skill.

But I needed to keep Myeongu here. What excuse could I use?

“You can visit a friend whenever you want. It would be difficult to come in here as a Hunter, though. My contract isn’t as a guild Hunter either. I’m a regular employee.”

“Why not?”

Yu Myeongu looked unable to understand. Why not? Because I was F-Class. Of course, Seok Simyeong had intended to bring me into the guild, but I would have been rejected because of my rank if I went through the official process.

“Haeyeon Guild doesn’t even have many C-Class Hunters. It mostly has A-Class and B-Class Hunters. But regular employees get extra points for having a Hunter license, so who knows? If your training performance is good, they might offer you a job.”

Of course, reality had nothing like that. Seriously, how was I supposed to keep Yu Myeongu here? ...Should I make a deal with Seok Simyeong? Five hours a week... no, three hours... Damn it.

“Are you good at housework?”

“What? Uh, I’m good at making ramen.”

I was good at making ramen too. Then again, cooking only improved with practice. Myeongu probably hadn’t had the money to buy ingredients, so how could they be good at it?

“So, I heard you can hire a housekeeper for the dormitory at your own expense. I’m not saying you should really be a housekeeper, but even after the training ends, it’ll take an F-Class quite a while to get settled, right? So I was thinking, what if you pretend to be a live-in housekeeper and stay here for a few months? There are extra rooms anyway, and living alone gets boring.”

At my words, Yu Myeongu froze stiffly as if shocked. As expected, asking them to be a housekeeper was not ideal. But I couldn’t think of a proper way to get them into the employee dormitory...

“Yujin!”

“Huh? Why?”

“You’re really such a kind, good friend!”

Myeongu hugged me again. Damn it, why were they so strong... Ah, I had given them the gloves. Should I just take them back?

“Get off me! What’s kind about it? I don’t even have money to pay you!”

“Don’t say that. Do you know how much rent costs in this neighborhood? Really... I don’t even know what to say.”

...Come to think of it, considering how spacious this place was and where it was located, their whole salary would probably go into rent. More importantly, let go. Let go of me already.

Bang!

“Mister!”

With that spirited cry, the latch I had so neatly installed was ruthlessly knocked loose and rolled across the floor.

...It was fine. I expected it. I knew that would happen.

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