WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The S-Classes That I Raised ◈

Chapter 28: Perfect Caregiver

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“…I’m thirty, no, I’m in my twenties.”

I said it blankly. Grandfather... and from someone older than me, no less. I never thought I’d hear myself called Grandfather. My hair was still black. My skin was firm and wrinkle-free. Just what about me reminded him of a grandfather?

[I know. But when you were drunk yesterday, I saw my grandfather in you. My grandfather often told me he loved me when he was drunk, too.]

“Oh, so that’s why...”

Even so, that was still strange! What, if a girl he was seeing got drunk and said, “I love you,” would he call her Grandfather too? Or Grandmother?

“Still, I’m not drunk anymore, and I won’t have any reason to get drunk again. So you probably won’t be reminded of your grandfather anymore.”

I had absolutely no intention of saying that crazy “I love you” line ever again. ...It felt like I had already said enough for a lifetime, damn it.

[...That is probably true.]

There was an uncharacteristic amount of lingering regret in Kim Seonghan’s voice.

[But you still feel like my grandfather, Mr. Yujin.]

“No, even if you say that...”

[Would that be unacceptable?]

“...What?”

[I will not say nonsense like this in front of other people. It would be enough just to make calls to ask after you, and to visit from time to time. We are in the same guild anyway, so it should not inconvenience you.]

...Was he asking me to take his grandfather’s place?

I seriously did not understand. Had something been wrong with the alcohol he drank yesterday? What kind of mind did he have, to hear “I love you” from a drunk person and think of the grandfather who had raised him...?

‘...Wait. A grandfather who raised him.’

A caregiver.

I had said the Keyword, “I love you,” to Kim Seonghan while drunk.

Kim Seonghan heard the Keyword and thought of his grandfather.

Not his parents, friend, or lover, but the person who had raised him.

And he overlaid that caregiver onto me.

The scattered pieces of the puzzle began fitting together one by one.

I remembered Yerim, who had been strangely friendly toward me. I thought of Yu Myeongu, who kept clinging to me.

And then there was my brother, who had tried to protect me excessively from the moment the skill was applied...

‘...Fuck, what is this?’

The puzzle fit, but my head became even more confused.

It fit together far too neatly to deny as impossible. It explained every strange change in attitude, from Yoohyun to Kim Seonghan.

If the hidden effect of the Perfect Caregiver title, or the My Kid skill, was something as insane as this: It makes influenced targets see me as the finest caregiver they know.

[Mr. Han Yujin? If you dislike the idea...]

“Ah, no. It’s fine.”

I clutched my heated head and gave him a vague answer.

“I still have a hangover... I should go wash my face.”

[Are you feeling very unwell? You should at least go get an IV.]

“No, I’m fine. I just need to splash some cold water on myself.”

[It is hot out, but cold water is still...]

“I’m fine. Really, I’m fine. I’m still in my twenties. I’ll hang up now.”

I forcibly ended the call with Kim Seonghan, who kept worrying over me as if I were an old man past seventy.

In the silence that fell afterward, I repeatedly swept my bangs back.

First... let’s sort this out.

Sort it... Sort...

‘...What kind of lunatic made this system?!’

If this had really been a game, damn it, I would have left one-star ratings on every platform and community, along with twenty A4 pages’ worth of scathing reviews.

I did not even know whether this was a skill effect or a title effect. Since it was tied to the Keyword, it seemed like a skill, but the effect suited the Perfect Caregiver title exactly.

Ah, whatever. What did it matter?

After sighing a few times, I calmed myself down.

‘For now... if the Keyword is applied, they start thinking of me like the person who raised them... That seems right, doesn’t it?’

As I had just heard, Kim Seonghan was reminded of the grandfather who had raised him when he saw me.

In Yoohyun’s case, I had been his caregiver from the start, so his feelings toward me seemed to have intensified. If his worry and anxiety had doubled, it made sense that he would suddenly try to lock me up.

No, that reaction had been too mild for his feelings to have doubled. He had even let me go now. Since I was the same person, perhaps it was only one and a half times stronger rather than double?

‘I’d thought the kid suddenly started acting weird.’

It had been because of my skill or title. Sorry for misunderstanding you, Yoohyun.

As for Yu Myeongu... maybe the familiar clinginess was like toward an older brother. Their attitude definitely was not that of someone treating a parent.

Finally, Park Yerim.

‘...Dad?’

Dad was the most likely possibility. ...I wanted it to be the most likely possibility.

But normally, kids... especially girls...

No, there were daughters close to their fathers too. Maybe Yerim’s father had been especially devoted to his family. Maybe her mother had been the sole breadwinner, so Yerim had grown up in her father’s care. That had to be it. It had to.

‘It didn’t really feel like she saw me as her mom, did it?’

Right. If she thought of me as her mother, when Yu Myeongu clung to me, she would not have stopped at calling it gross. She would have called the police. It had only stopped at gross because I was her father. That had to be it.

After letting out a deep sigh, I opened the My Kid Is the Best skill window and examined it closely.

[※ Cannot be applied if the target is aware of the Keyword’s effect.]

That line bothered me.

I had passed over it before without much thought, but now that I knew about this new effect, it felt entirely different.

‘Does “aware of the Keyword’s effect” mean figuring out why they feel like I’m their caregiver?’

If I confessed to someone who saw me as a parent, “Actually, your feelings are brainwashing caused by a skill,” of course they would feel betrayed. Maybe losing their trust meant I was no longer qualified to be a Perfect Caregiver.

‘Yoohyun should be fine even if he finds out, and Yu Myeongu could probably let it go after considering what I’ve done for them.’

Park Yerim and Kim Seonghan were the problem.

Of course, it would be fine as long as they did not find out. It was an L-Rank title and an L-Rank skill. Their mental strength stat would have to be around SSS-Rank to sense something was off. So long as I watched my mouth, there was no chance an influenced target would become aware of the Keyword’s effect.

...Naturally, there was absolutely no chance I would get drunk again. Maybe I should sleep with a gag in my mouth, so I would not talk in my sleep.

‘Seriously, I should only use it on monsters instead of people. It should be safe if we can’t communicate with them, right?’

I was even afraid to say “I love you.” From now on, I would not even be able to confess my feelings... Huh?

W-Wait a moment. What happened if I ever met a woman I genuinely loved?

‘Would “oppa” turn into Dad the moment I confessed...?’

I could even become her mother.

If I seriously said, “I love you,” and her cheeks flushed as she answered, “Yeah, I love Mom too~,” that would be crazy, crazy, crazy, seriously fucking crazy. What was this?!

‘I-It’s fine. I just can’t say I love you.’

Not for my entire life. Not by mistake, not half-asleep, not without thinking.

One slip of the tongue, and the wife I had been happily living with could suddenly say, “Mom, I’m sorry. But Mom is Mom,” leave home, and meet a new man. What a horrifying situation that would be.

Then would she come to greet me with her future groom? Would they ask me to sit in the parents’ seats at the wedding? To light the candles? Would the husband of the woman who had been my wife bow to me, calling himself my son-in-law? What?

What kind of plot was this? Even a trashy soap opera would not use it.

Cold sweat flowed so heavily that it felt as though it might start pouring from my eyes.

‘If I ever meet someone I truly want to be with forever and it works out, I should just cut out my tongue.’

I would cut it off cleanly, damn it. I could say I had an accident in a dungeon. ...What if that bastard Yoohyun assigned a Healer to me? Even an A-Rank could regenerate a tongue. Would I have to become a lunatic who refused treatment?

...Ah, I don’t know. I seriously don’t know. My luck with romance would be zero for the next five years anyway, so let’s not think about it.

‘Lower-ranked skills didn’t have this many extra effects attached...’

Then again, even A-Rank skills had a couple effects not listed in their descriptions, so an L-Rank would have more. Still, this was not a game of Minesweeper. I was scared to use my skills at all.

‘Shouldn’t they explain an effect this important? All they need is one more line. Something short like, “The target comes to view the skill user as a caregiver.”’

Perfect Caregiver, My Kid, growth buff, I love you, influence. There had been hints, in their own way, but how was I supposed to deduce this from that? What was I, Sherlock Holmes?

“Seeing your blue tie, I can tell that you had bean soup this morning, recently broke up with your lover, and have begun quitting smoking. You are left-handed too. Wow!”

I really should just raise magical beasts. Safe and peaceful.

Having sorted out my thoughts, I got out of bed. Wait, I felt like I had forgotten something.

‘Ah, right.’

I texted Kim Seonghan, asking him to come by immediately before I entered a dungeon. Since the skill had been applied, I should help him grow. And... there was nothing else, right?

My hangover was gone, yet my head began throbbing. I needed to receive rookie Hunter training too, so I should wash up and head out soon. What time was it? Definitely ten in the morning... Ack, I was late!

“It was changed to two in the afternoon.”

When I rushed out of my room, Yu Myeongu stuck their head out from the kitchen and said,

“More importantly, that cat has been restless since last night...”

“The cat? Peace?”

“When you came home, you were completely out of it and had to be carried in. I think Peace got scared.”

Oh, damn. Since we could not communicate with words, Peace could not have been told, “I just got drunk and was out of it for a while.”

I hurried to the living room. A small beast was curled up tightly against the glass door, rather than resting in its comfortable bed.

“Peace!”

Whiiine, whine! Yelp!

The instant Peace saw me, Peace scratched furiously at the glass and whimpered plaintively. Right, right. My baby. You were so worried.

I quickly opened the door and hugged Peace back as the creature clung to me.

“Did I scare you badly? I’m okay. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

Purr.

“Right, right. My Peace.”

If I ever get blackout drunk again, I’m a dog. A dog.

“Here.”

Yu Myeongu approached me carrying a tray with cups on it. But why were there four cups? The drinks inside were each slightly different colors too.

“What’s that?”

“Hangover remedies. From left to right, the ones your brother, Mr. Kim Seonghan, Miss Park Yerim, and I bought.”

It was a kind thought, but I did not need them.

“As you can see, I’m fine, so I don’t need to drink them.”

“They said they were going to check whether you drank them.”

“Who did?”

“All three.”

Why did they even need to check...? Right, it was my fault for using the skill without knowing better. It was not difficult, and I only had to drink them. I started to reach out, then stopped.

“You won’t tell them which one I drink first, right?”

“I should answer if they ask, but...”

Yu Myeongu answered uncertainly. Well, it was not as if they had the power to refuse.

Let’s see. Kim Seonghan would be fine. But Yoohyun and Yerim were the problem. They had already had a big fight.

I doubted they would fight over something like this again, but just in case.

After a brief deliberation, I picked up the cup Yoohyun had sent first. In a situation like this, it was best to side with the strongest one.

“By the way, did you have an older brother you were close to or something?”

I asked as I emptied the last cup. The skill effect was still only half a guess, so I needed to confirm it.

“An older brother? No. I only had sisters much older than me.”

...Could it be an older sister? Considering how they clung to me, it did seem possible. Better than a mother, but I did not like that either.

“Were you... close with your sisters?”

“No, not at all.”

Whew, what a relief.

“Then what about your parents?”

Yu Myeongu gave a bitter smile and shook their head.

“If I had gotten along with them, would I have gone as far as stamping a slave contract? I got a lot of allowance as a child. Our family was doing well then. But both my parents worked, so it was hard even to see their faces. My sisters used to exclude me, then later treated me like a servant. They all married long ago, and I don’t even keep in touch with them now.”

If it was not family, then who on earth did they think I was? A relative? A teacher? Some other neighborhood adult?

“Um, is there anyone you think of when you see me?”

I asked outright. Myeongu looked puzzled.

“No?”

No one? What was this? Had I guessed wrong?

“Is there perhaps someone who has helped you more than anyone else in your life, or someone you particularly rely on? It feels like there should be at least one person.”

“Of course there is.”

Yu Myeongu continued, looking a little embarrassed.

“It’s you, Yujin.”

“...Me?”

“Yeah. Of course it’s you. Who else would it be? The Association thing is one matter, but coming to save me from a place full of gangsters is something even blood relatives would hesitate over. My family would naturally have pretended not to know.”

That was true when I thought about it.

But I had saved Yu Myeongu after the Keyword was applied. Before then, I had only comforted them with a few words. It was hardly enough to be treated as a caregiver.

Could the effect fail to apply if there was no suitable caregiver?

‘Come to think of it, I don’t have anyone I could call a caregiver either.’

It was not as though no one had ever taken care of me. But unlike Yoohyun or Kim Seonghan, there was no one I would recall affectionately and feel grateful toward.

No matter how amazing an L-Rank skill or title was, it could not force something nonexistent into being just to make the effect work. Then Yu Myeongu clung to me simply because they liked me...

“Why are you suddenly backing away? Is your hangover still bothering you?”

“Uh? Ah, a little...”

For my privacy and mental health, I would like to maintain an appropriate distance.

‘Then Yerim is the only one left.’

It was impossible to confirm with Yoohyun, since he still saw me as his older brother, only more intensely than before. That left Yerim.

...Dad. Please be Dad. I believe in you, Yerim. I believe in you too, Yerim’s father, who had surely been devoted to his family.

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