WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ The S-Classes That I Raised ◈
Chapter 24: My Person (4)
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I had been about to scold Park Yerim for barging confidently into someone else’s home without knocking first.
‘This is cheating!’
But the sight of Yerim left me speechless.
The somewhat scruffy middle school girl in a tracksuit had turned into a teen model who looked like she belonged in a sports drink commercial. Had she gotten a makeover, or transformed?
Her makeup looked natural while bringing out her charm to the fullest. She wore sporty short shorts and a T-shirt that left her arms bare. Her softly curled short hair added an androgynous air, making her resemble a cheerful young god from Greek mythology.
She had probably dressed with the Shoes of Hermes skill in mind. She certainly looked like a pretty boy who might take off flying at any moment. It suited her, and she really was pretty, but...
‘...The Ice Witch is completely gone.’
There was no trace of the cold, aloof beauty I remembered. She was still young, so she would change as she grew up. Not that it mattered to me how she changed, but seeing the future I knew become so different felt strange.
“Who...?”
Yu Myeongu asked upon seeing Yerim suddenly appear. Yerim’s smiling face instantly hardened.
She strode over, lightly vaulted the table, and grabbed Yu Myeongu by the back of the neck. Then she shoved Yu Myeongu into the corner of the sofa as if tossing them aside before sitting right beside me.
“What are you doing clinging all grossly to our mister?”
Park Yerim narrowed her eyes at Yu Myeongu.
You’re the one clinging to me right now.
“Ah, no, I...”
Pinned beneath her fierce glare, Yu Myeongu shrank back with a stammer. They looked pitiful, but I felt no sympathy. This was a good chance for them to break that habit of clinging to people.
“You sit farther away too. And knock before coming into someone else’s home.”
“I got excited about showing you my new clothes and forgot.”
She sprang to her feet and spread both arms.
“What do you think?”
“You’re pretty.”
“Don’t I look a little boyish?”
“You’re cute.”
“Aren’t you being too perfunctory?”
What else was I supposed to say? I gave her another round of effusive praise, putting my full customer-service spirit into it.
“You’re really pretty and cute. You changed so much that I was shocked.”
Only then did she smile in satisfaction. Good grief, I was her guardian, not her dad. But I couldn’t exactly say that to a kid without a real father. I just had to put up with it.
“By the way, who is that mister?”
Yerim asked, looking back at Yu Myeongu, who was watching her carefully.
“A friend.”
“Oh, really? Hello.”
Yu Myeongu relaxed at Yerim’s unexpectedly polite greeting. I had told them that everyone living here except me was at least A-Class, so it made sense that they would be scared when a girl suddenly appeared and glared at them.
Even a non-Awakened person insensitive to such things would instinctively feel intimidated by an S-Class Hunter. Yerim had only just awakened and was Level 1 with a mana specialization, so her intimidating presence was weaker.
“Uh, hi. I’m Yu Myeongu.”
“I’m Park Yerim. Mister Han Yujin is my guardian. Are you visiting?”
Yu Myeongu completely relaxed at her friendly tone and answered with a smile.
“No. I’m staying here for a few days because of some circumstances.”
“Staying here? Don’t you have a home, mister?”
“What? No, it’s not that I don’t have one.”
“Then why?”
Yerim’s tone rose slightly, and a red light went on in my head. If I let this continue, that tiny tongue of hers would tear Yu Myeongu to shreds. Look, her eyes were getting fierce again.
“Yerim, no.”
“But! I live alone too!”
“Enough. Sit down.”
“...Yes.”
At least she listened well when I told her to do something. Though it was a little strange how well she obeyed me. If I were around twelve years older, I might have looked like her dad.
...She didn’t actually think I was her real dad, did she? I felt thirty, but I wasn’t old enough to have a daughter.
“Get along, both of you. You’ll be taking the new Hunter training together too.”
“I thought it was just going to be you and me, mister?”
“I have to do it with this girl?”
They shouted at the same time. Then they looked at each other, and Yu Myeongu lowered their gaze first.
“Yerim, I told you not to.”
You might live to regret that later. High-rank equipment was incredibly important to Hunters. Why were you glaring at a future craftsman?
“I’ll say it again. Get along. You’re both important friends and wards to me.”
It would be nice if they became friends, left me alone, and entertained themselves. Judging by the two of them, though, that seemed impossible.
“Who’s more important to you, mister?”
“You’re both the same.”
When I answered casually, Yerim frowned.
“There has to be at least a tiny difference. Even a really tiny one.”
“Well...”
Yerim was one thing, but why did you look expectant too, Myeongu?
“I like people who are diligent and work hard at what they need to do.”
So work hard while I loafed around. Then I might really like you twice as much as I did now.
“I’m going to the training room to loosen up!”
Yerim said, springing to her feet. Yu Myeongu stood as well.
“Th-Then I’ll prepare dinner or something!”
Seeing both of them hurry off made me feel refreshed. I should have done this sooner.
‘Well... This probably won’t last long.’
They wanted to stay close to me now, but how long would that continue?
Yerim was an S-Class combat Hunter. She would soon become famous, earn a fortune, and be busy living her own dazzling life.
Yu Myeongu would be the same. Once they obtained an SS-Class crafting skill, people from all over the world would come asking for equipment. Not only A-Class Hunters, but even S-Class Hunters would bow their heads and beg.
They would be praised and loved by countless people. Would I even be on their radar then?
Even though I kept saying they were a pain, the certain future felt a little lonely.
‘Still, it’s best if they live well on their own.’
If they kept clinging to me even after becoming famous, I would be the one suffering most. I had gotten into no end of trouble over Yoohyun alone, and there would be three of them now. Ugh.
I was about to go see Peace when my phone rang. It was Seok Simyeong.
‘Why is this old man calling again?’
I had seen him this morning, so why was he calling now? It was Sunday. He should get off work early and rest. I opposed working weekends.
[I heard the story from Hunter Kim Seonghan.]
His gentle voice said. That was fast. Judging by his manner, he was not calling to blame me for mishandling things.
[To think you would use the Hunter contract that way. You have surprised me again.]
“...What?”
Ah... Was it not commonly used that way yet?
[It is such a simple method once one changes their perspective, yet I had not thought of it. I suppose this is what they call Columbus’s egg.]
“It’s nothing special.”
I had not even come up with it. Everyone used it. There was no way to explain that.
“The eligible targets are limited anyway. They have to sign the contract themselves and agree to it.”
It could not be used if the other party refused until the end. They also needed to properly understand the contract’s contents, so it was impossible to trick someone into signing it.
“Besides, it won’t work if they genuinely believe they are not lying. In fact, it could be used against you.”
There had been an incident overseas. A major guild had been completely ruined.
[I see. That could happen.]
“No matter how reliable its effect seems, you must not blindly trust a single sheet of parchment. As long as skills exist, loopholes can appear anywhere.”
Skills came in countless varieties and had a wide range of applications. They overturned rules that had been upheld until now, so ordinary assumptions could not handle them.
It had only been three years since dungeons and Awakened appeared. Once the chaos was brought under control and people began adapting, change would accelerate even faster.
[I appreciate your insight. It makes me want to have a longer conversation with you.]
“I don’t have much to say that would be useful...”
Actually, I had plenty I could tell him. If I used all the information I remembered for myself, I would just buy some stocks. But if Haeyeon Guild had it, they could change many things.
‘...I decided I wouldn’t stand out.’
Was it really all right to reveal such things? Honestly, I was afraid. Especially of a future where the future I knew changed, and the things I knew were no longer true.
If I went around showing off how much I knew, people’s expectations of me would naturally rise. But if too much changed because of what I said, I would go from being a sage who saw the future to someone spouting nonsense.
So it was best to know my place. I never wanted to act beyond my station as I had before and end up rejected by everyone.
...Still, maybe one or two things would be all right.
Something had just come to mind.
“If you truly intend to take my words seriously, may I tell you one thing?”
[Please do.]
I checked on Yu Myeongu in the kitchen, then walked toward the window before speaking. Someone with F-Class stats could not hear from this far away. It was nice having a large home.
“I understand that there will soon be a bid for a newly discovered A-Class dungeon.”
When a dungeon was discovered late and needed to be cleared urgently, support was gathered mainly through the Hunter Association. But when there was plenty of time before a dungeon break, it went to a public auction.
The first-clear rewards were the best, and the guild that made the first clear gained priority rights to manage the dungeon. The higher the dungeon’s rank, the higher the bids and competition.
[The dungeon in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province.]
“Yes. That dungeon will probably be... a slime or coastal-environment type.”
More precisely, it was a slime dungeon. Slimes were expensive monsters, since not only their mana stones but their entire bodies could be used as ingredients in all kinds of products. People said one A-Class slime dungeon was enough to keep a guild from ever worrying about funds.
As I remembered it, MKC Guild, one of the Three Great Guilds, had acquired Icheon’s A-Class slime dungeon. They had used their control over production materials to throw their weight around.
The coastal environment had slightly lower rank estimates than a slime dungeon, but it was also a dungeon with many valuable resources.
[Can you know that beforehand?]
After a brief silence, Seok Simyeong asked in a lower voice. It was probably hard to believe.
“It is not certain yet, but there are patterns to dungeon formation.”
That was not an excuse. It was true. There was not enough relevant data yet, but around three years later, people would be able to predict a new dungeon’s environment and monsters to some extent.
[Patterns?]
“Yes. It varies depending on the order, location, surrounding environment, and so on. Of course, it is not exact, so please use it only as a reference. An A-Class dungeon bid is not too great a burden for Haeyeon Guild’s current capabilities, is it? Even if you do not believe me, there is no harm in placing a bid.”
The other end of the call went quiet again. This silence lasted longer.
He must have had a lot to consider. If it were truly possible to determine a dungeon’s conditions before clearing it, that would give them an enormous advantage over other guilds.
[Dungeon bids are not under my jurisdiction, but I will strongly recommend it.]
Seok Simyeong finally replied after a long while. Even if it was not his responsibility, someone in his position could easily get it approved.
[Once the new A-Class dungeon has been cleared, may we seek your insight on other dungeons as well?]
“If I can. It is not easy to calculate yet.”
The calculation was complicated enough that I could not do it. I only relied on memory.
“Please keep this a secret.”
I could trust Seok Simyeong. Even five years later, he was still a reliable pillar of Haeyeon Guild. Yoohyun had a lot of good fortune with people. Except for me.
[Do not worry. I will protect it more securely than the guildmaster’s personal information. I will contact you again soon.]
Unlike at the beginning of the call, Seok Simyeong ended it with considerable caution. It felt as though his attitude had changed from one toward a promising prospective subordinate to one toward an equal.
‘Telling him this much should be all right.’
It was about time the pressure from the Three Great Guilds started growing. Yoohyun, Yerim, and Yu Myeongu could not avoid getting caught up in it. One was the head of a guild, and the other two were destined to become its central pillars.
I complained that they should live well on their own, but I had raised them and brought them here. They were my people.
‘Let’s not take the shares of smaller guilds. We’ll only take some from the Three Great Guilds.’
It would be better for the country if Haeyeon took the initiative. Of course, I did not know everything about Haeyeon Guild, but its guildmaster was someone who would throw away his own life to save his useless older brother. It had to be better than massive guilds in league with big corporations.
So I would help just a little.
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