WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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◈ The S-Classes That I Raised ◈

Chapter 25: OFF (1)

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“Installation is complete.”

“Thank you for your hard work!”

At last, Peace’s enclosure was finished. Feeling strangely proud, I looked over Peace’s new home.

With clean glass walls, air purification, heating and cooling, and even a neat wooden resting platform, it looked less like an animal enclosure and more like an upscale smoking room. It took up nearly half the living room, so it was spacious too. Peace probably wouldn’t feel cramped in there alone.

Not only that, but we had also replaced the inner front door with a sturdier one. The living room’s floor-to-ceiling windows had supposedly been specially made with dungeon byproducts from the start, so they would be fine.

As soon as everything was ready, I went straight to Yoohyun’s greenhouse and brought Peace home. After I set Peace down in the living room, they hesitated at the unfamiliar surroundings for only a moment before twitching their nose and beginning to explore.

“Don’t chew on electrical cords.”

The wiring was so neatly arranged that there was barely any exposed, though.

“A guy will be coming by later, so don’t bite him.”

Yu Myeongu had gone home to pack their things. Peace was the size of a cat, but their stats were around C-Rank while Myeongu was F-Rank. If the two fought, Yu Myeongu would get knocked out immediately. I needed to be careful not to leave them alone together.

Grrrr!

Having inspected the kitchen after the living room, Peace came to my feet and flopped onto their back as though satisfied. When I picked them up while they purred, they clung to me as if they had been waiting for it.

“Our Peace, what makes you think you can be this cute?”

How was I supposed to starve this kid later? Still, I couldn’t just stop them from growing. ...Should I try teaching them Korean?

Holding Peace, I sat down on the sofa and turned on the TV. Light filled the large wall-mounted screen, and a special report came on. The backdrop was none other than the Hunter Association.

The reporter was noisily talking about how Korea’s newest S-Class Awakened would soon appear.

“Looks like Yerim went to register as an Awakened.”

It was only noon, but she had gone early. Before long, the camera zoomed in on a car entering the Association’s parking lot. The car stopped, and Kim Jiyeon, an A-Rank Hunter from Haeyeon Guild, stepped out of the driver’s seat. Then Park Yerim appeared on camera as well.

“You were sulking because I didn’t come with you, but you look perfectly fine.”

Or maybe she just looked good on camera. Her confident expression was very nice to see.

The camera relentlessly followed her all the way into the Association building and toward the upper-rank assessment room. Yerim’s attitude during the interview before the rank evaluation felt not merely natural, but almost practiced. She was doing well.

“Peace, look. That’s Yerim noona. You’ll be seeing her often from now on.”

I said it while holding Peace’s front paws and shaking them. An older sister they needed to get along with... Wait, was Yerim really an older sister?

‘...What sex was Peace again?’

I had never checked whether Peace was female or male. Yoohyun had never mentioned it either. When I looked down at Peace’s face, two round golden eyes looked back at me. Cute.

I couldn’t tell from their appearance.

“Hmm... Shall we check?”

I would know if I turned Peace over.

“Peace, be good. Lie down for a moment.”

I put Peace on the sofa and gently turned them over. Maybe they thought I was playing, because they wagged their tail without much resistance. Let’s see, this was the anus, and... Hmm... Uh...

“...There’s nothing.”

Neither was there. What was this? Retractable? Did mammals even have retractable parts? Of course, Peace was a monster, so I couldn’t rely on common sense.

“Well, what does it matter?”

Male or female, as long as Peace grew up healthy. Tiny front paws grabbed my hand and nibbled without hurting me. I scratched the soft mane at the back of Peace’s neck in return, then got up.

It was about time to prepare for my retirement fund.

Yip!

When I headed toward my room, Peace whined and hurried after me. With no other choice, I picked them up and turned on my computer.

I had stopped by the bank that morning to straighten out my accounts and open a new stock-trading account. I could invest everything except around ten million won to live on for a while. First, I planned to buy pharmaceutical stocks that would skyrocket in two months, then spread the money I made across a few places guaranteed to take off.

There was no guarantee the future would be exactly the same, so I needed to diversify.

‘The hair loss medication will still get developed properly, right?’

It was only two months away. There was no way that would change.

After putting in the money, I browsed the portal sites. Everyone was going crazy over the new S-Class. Some trashy reporters were even writing fiction about Yerim’s deceased parents. Those insane bastards. I immediately saved the articles as PDFs and reported them to Haeyeon Guild’s PR team.

Grrrr.

After I spent a long time doing nothing but moving the mouse around, Peace started protesting. The instant I took my hand off the mouse as if to say I understood,

Crack!

A small front paw flattened the mouse like it was crushing a cockroach. ...Our Peace must have been really bored.

“Even when you’re bored, you can’t break things like this. Daddy’s going to be poor for a while.”

With no living expenses and three million won a month, it wasn’t a small amount of money, but I needed to save just in case. If I went into a dungeon even once, it would cut that amount in half. And that would only get me into a low-rank dungeon. There could be any number of other things to spend money on too.

“A mouse isn’t expensive, but never the computer or phone. It costs a lot to buy decent new ones.”

Grrrowl.

At my scolding tone, Peace quickly turned on the charm. They licked my hand and playfully wagged their tail. Looking at this, I felt like they might understand “I love you” soon enough. I hoped I could successfully apply the Keyword without making this poor kid starve.

I went to the kitchen, fed Peace, and had lunch myself. For someone who had never cooked before, Yu Myeongu had made some fairly decent side dishes. Maybe it was thanks to their natural dexterity. In a month or two, they might unexpectedly become quite skilled.

[Miss Park Yerim has a total of three initial skills, one of which is an SS-Rank skill.]

The small TV in the kitchen was also constantly broadcasting news about Yerim. Her rank evaluation must have finished already, because a large caption read, “Eighth S-Class Combat Hunter Born.” They eagerly explained how this had brought Korea close behind China, made it the best in the world relative to its size, and improved public safety.

Around this time, China had nine S-Class Hunters, while Japan had five. However, China had many more S-Class Hunters who had not registered and concealed their identities. Who would want the government tying them down by taking their family hostage?

Eventually, not only S-Class Hunters but even A-Rank Hunters and below began fleeing overseas one after another. As a result, four years later, China lost the ability to manage its high-rank dungeons.

‘Wait, they were going to flee abroad anyway, so should I bring some Hunters over from China?’

The Awakening Centers would appear within half a year, so I didn’t need to Awaken them one by one. Even if combat Hunters underwent Awakening at a center without using the Sprout skill, they would be reasonably close to optimized. If I just brought future A to S-Rank combat Hunters into Korea with their families, my work would be done.

‘In half a year, I’ll have enough money to get a few people out. Once they Awaken at A-Rank or above, the country or guilds will handle the paperwork themselves.’

There had definitely been an A-Rank healer too. That one would be perfect for Haeyeon. I could leave the rest for the government and guilds to discuss and divide up.

‘It’s not like I’m using a skill. I’d just be helping people who were going to suffer like hell anyway.’

I didn’t even need to step forward myself. I just had to hire a few brokers. Other countries had poached Chinese Hunters that way too. Later, surveillance got tighter, and blood literally started flying instead of it being a figure of speech.

‘What a brutal place.’

It was only natural, considering risking their lives in dungeons was the norm. Still, there were around three years left before the real wars began. Things would become truly brutal when the number of dungeons increased, unmanageable monsters like Raucitas began appearing, high-rank Hunters became scarce, and S-Class dungeons started bursting open.

Even so, Korea was relatively peaceful compared to other countries.

But if I searched all over the world and unearthed one S-Class every month, if I took in A and B-Ranks who had not undergone optimized Awakening and raised them...

The future would change significantly, in a positive direction.

‘...Nah, do I really need to worry about other countries too? I’ll add a few people in Korea and call it a day.’

Who did I think I was? The talented and powerful people would take care of things themselves. Even five years later, life had only become a little harsher. It wasn’t like the world had fallen apart.

I put Peace over my shoulder and cleared the table. I had nothing in particular to do now. It was Monday, but it felt like the weekend. I hoped things would stay like this.

Then my phone notified me of a text. It was from Kim Seonghan.

[New Hunter training begins tomorrow. If you are available, I would like to buy you a drink tonight.]

The first day was theory class, but practical training began from the second day, so drinking the night before wouldn’t be ideal. I had five years of field experience, but I couldn’t reveal that.

‘Should I say the Keyword or not?’

I would get a little drunk and decide. If it seemed doable, I would say it. If not, I wouldn’t.

[Sure. Contact me tonight. If possible, I would prefer somewhere casual.]

There would be people who recognized him, so it would probably be troublesome for Kim Seonghan, but I hated places where I had to wear a tie. It wouldn’t be the right atmosphere to say the Keyword either.

If it was somewhere noisy and lively, nonsense like saying I loved him would get buried quickly enough.

[Understood.]

A reply arrived right away. Come to think of it, had HunTalk not been created yet? Its official name was H-Talk, but everyone called it HunTalk, a Hunter-only messenger app. Low-rank Hunters without fixed parties used it to gather a party and run dungeons. I would have no reason to use it now, but still.

I should buy HunTalk stock too. Where had it been made?

Yu Myeongu returned, and there was a brief commotion, but our smart Peace quickly learned the difference between what they could eat and what they could not. Without leaving a single bite mark on Yu Myeongu.

...Actually, there was one. Still, it didn’t draw blood, and only left a faint mark, so that was excellent.

Maybe our kid was a genius.

There was also a little trouble with Yerim when she returned late that afternoon. “The cat is so cute!” echoed around thirty times, while Peace irritably scratched at my shoulder. Poor Peace.

After I sent Yerim back to her home and made a soft bed for stressed-out Peace, Kim Seonghan contacted me.

“I’m going out, so never open Peace’s enclosure, and don’t let Yerim come in.”

Yu Myeongu’s face went pale at my words.

“M-Me...?”

“She can communicate like a normal person. Don’t be so scared.”

You would have to deal with plenty of S-Classes in the future, so get used to it now. You would even be the one with the upper hand, you punk. Don’t cower.

I patted Yu Myeongu’s slumped shoulder, then went down to the parking lot where Kim Seonghan was waiting.

We arrived at a busy street not far from Haeyeon Guild.

“...Here?”

A little flustered, I stared at the bar Kim Seonghan had led me to and its sparkling sign. This place was too... I mean, too much for young people... Wasn’t it aimed at people in their early to mid-twenties? College students were going in and out. What exactly did he think of me...?

...What else would he think? I was in my mid-twenties. Right. I kept forgetting my age.

Still, even in my early twenties, I had eaten pork belly and drank soju with factory workers. This was my first time somewhere so bright, energetic, and fresh. Holy shit, look at the lights. They were colorful. And what was that “Pickup” thing written on the banner? Was this a club? The music leaking out had that kind of feel too...

No matter how I looked at it, this was wrong. This wasn’t the atmosphere I wanted.

“I don’t know places like this well, so I received a recommendation from another Hunter.”

Kim Seonghan spoke. A recommendation... A recommendation...

“...Whose recommendation was it?”

“Kim Minui, a B-Rank Hunter. He’s a college student three years younger than you, Mr. Han Yujin. He said this place was suitably trendy and casual for this area.”

No, that casual was casual by student standards...

“Student Minui must be busy studying and working as a Hunter, yet apparently knows all the trendy places too.”

“If he weren’t a Hunter, he would have been expelled.”

Mr. Kim Minui, you really had been partying hard. As a B-Rank Hunter affiliated with a guild, he would already be considered employed, so the university must have been very lenient with him. Yet he was still at risk of expulsion. Had he simply never gone to class?

Come to think of it, I remembered Yoohyun had enrolled through special admission but had a zero percent attendance rate. Yerim wouldn’t need to go to school anymore either.

For safety, underage Awakened of C-Rank or above transferred to schools for Awakened or received homeschooling. Keeping superpowered teenagers in the middle of puberty, whom teachers couldn’t control, together with fragile peers was dangerous in many ways.

“Let’s go in.”

Kim Seonghan said it as though it were nothing. I might have a face in my twenties, but he was in his thirties. His stern impression and solid build made him look five or six years older than that, too. Wasn’t he uncomfortable? No matter how I looked at him, he seemed less like a customer than an uncle who had come to find his cheeky nephew.

He was even wearing sunglasses at an unsuitable hour to hide his face, making him look like a gangster here to collect a debt... Look, the kids passing by were glancing at him nervously.

“Are you not coming in?”

He turned to ask as I hesitated. What should I do? No, I would actually be fine. It was just awkward. I was in my twenties, after all. If I had gone to college normally, I probably would have visited places like this.

“...I’m coming.”

I swallowed dryly and started walking. It would be good to try a place like this at least once. Since I had regressed, I should enjoy some youth too...

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