S Classes that I Raised Chapter 147: Removing Hives (4)
“You’re Yoojin Han, right? You look much better in person.”
I smiled, saying thanks to the fussing words. Most of the people I encountered recognized who I was, which had been the case when I had gone out to buy a cell phone and glasses. It was inevitable since I had been on television for quite a while before the dungeon break occurred.
“Their gazes are too focused on me.”
There were many people in a supermarket near supper time, and all of them stared at me and whispered to each other. While their response was more positive than they had been before my return, I still remembered my memories.
I dropped the bag of pasta I had been holding as my hold on it loosened. Yoohyun, as Minyui Kim, picked it up, and a person nearby spoke to me in a worried voice.
“Are you alright? You seem unwell.”
“Actually, I still feel tense when there’s a crowd. I become a bit scared when a lot of people stare at me.”
I smiled as if to laugh away such an experience, and others looked upon me in sympathy. Being kidnapped was traumatic, but I had also gone to the auction house.
“Are you alright coming out like this?”
“I have to work on getting used to going outside, and that’s the reason I came out to shop for groceries. Thanks for your concern.”
Efforts to overcome an unfortunate experience looked and sounded good. I heard people cheer me on, and others made the crowd disperse and asked them to stop staring. I felt uncomfortable watching them.
“You’re acting, right? Are you all right?”
Yoohyun asked in a small voice as others went on their ways.
“I have no reason not to be, and it actually had been a vacation.”
I had rested amid friendly service. The kidnapping was acceptable if it meant I could relax without being it a burden on my conscience. It might be nice to be kidnapped every few months if the accommodations met previous standards, and the extra income had been sweet.
I went to the meat corner and chose the best beef available and the most expensive seafood the market had.
“It’s been a long time since we went shopping for groceries together.”
It had been ten years for me.
“What do you want to eat? Just say the word.”
“Whatever you choose.”
“You said the same thing when you were a child. There’s no limit on the budget anymore.”
It was not my money since I was using the credit card Hyunjae Sung had given me in Hong Kong at the checkout counter. I was going to spend as much as I could before he asked me to return it, but the problem was I had little use for the card.
We headed to one of Haeyeon’s vacation homes by car after we finished shopping, and of course, it was under another name. Noah entered soon after we lowered the luggage in the spacious kitchen of the luxurious house. Moonlight illuminated his golden hair when he came out of hiding, and it would have been difficult for Noah to go about inconspicuously day or night if he did not have the hiding skill.
“You did well, Mr. Noah.”
Noah smiled widely at seeing me greet him at the door. He seemed much younger than Yoohyun, although they were only a year apart. I thought he was cute because I saw his dragon form when seeing his face.
“Thank you for helping out. Please ask for anything at any time.”
I did not want to use him for free, and he always said that he was fine whenever I asked.
“I don’t have anything to ask for now…”
Noah mumbled and started to speak. Him saying ‘for now’ meant one thing.
“Is there something you need, in future?”
Finally, his light gray eyes looked around the house and spoke again.
“If my sister comes out, she will reside in Korea for a while. Can I stay at your house during that time?”
“Of course.”
There was no reason not to, and come to think of it, Riette was spending a longer time than I had expected for the dungeon conquest. Was it because she had gone with the Association hunters? Since she could transform into a dragon, going solo might have been faster.
“I will stop Riette from barging into your home.”
“Please don’t hurt yourself for me.”
“Don’t worry. Riette won’t touch me if she has a monster for me to raise.”
Even if the monster grows up, Riette had not threatened me before. She did try to have her way with me, so I just needed to avoid being alone with her.
Yoohyun and Noah prepared the dinner, and they made me sit despite me saying that I would finish what I started. They were sweet kids.
“My sister can’t cook.”
Noah spoke as he put the pasta in the boiling pot. I thought she was skillful with her hands, so that was a surprise. Did she not, at least, use a knife well?
“She tends to be excessively creative and puts weird things in her cooking.”
“Ah…”
She might be the kind of a person who would ruin a completed dish with a garnish.
I felt full watching Yoohyun and Noah prepare dinner in the kitchen even without eating anything. They had grown up to be nice people, and Noah had managed to become a decent person under his sister. They were both commendable.
“Aren’t the kids admirable in every aspect?”
Yoohyun would still look like Minyui Kim, but they both were younger than me. I spoke to the men kneeling in a line after turning my head. They were people related to the Hunter Association, who had acted suspiciously after we ambushed the Dongju Lottery Guild. There were six in total, out of which four were in high positions in the Association, one was the secretary for the vice president, and the other was a close associate to one of the board members.
I had those whom Noah had captured kneel, but since they were ugly middle-aged men, the sight was not good for the eyes.
“Why can’t you answer? I did not block your mouth.”
“You think you’ll-“
“I will get away with this. You’re relaxed enough if you’re worried about me.”
I was a kidnapper in this situation and felt sad that I had to take away middle-aged men.
“Who would believe you guys if you rambled about being kidnapped and threatened by Yoojin Han after getting relased? I’m a victim of kidnapping who the nation sympathizes with at the moment.”
My image was like that.
“I raised my young brother after my parents died early and left school to do so and spent years apart from him for safety when the dungeons appeared. I managed to get a nice skill to live my life but then was sent to prison on false charges. After that, I was kidnapped by those who would sell out their country and stood on auction. Is there anyone who can beat this story? I’m sure articles are saying that poor Yoojin Han is trying to get over agoraphobia and his trauma about now.”
If I were said to be a kidnapper, the response would be that it was another trick to arrest an innocent person. They would need evidence, but I would not leave anything else behind other than the testamony of those kidnapped. Who would listen to testaments from the Association when they were already under suspicion?
“You’re deceiving the world by pretending to be weak!”
“I am weak. Who would pity me if I were an S class?”
My ruse was working because people saw me as a weak ordinary individual stuck between superhuman hunters. Moreover, about ninety percent of that long story was true.
Simyeong Seok looked happy enough to hum as he entered.
“The guests will arrive soon.”
“Thank you. We won’t have any problems, right?”
“Of course-“
“You’re Simyeong Seok! I’m friends with your older cousin!”
One of the kneeling men stood up and shouted, and we both stared at him.
“Do you know him?”
“Not at all.”
“He says he’s friends with your cousin.”
“Our family’s motto is to be strangers in public venues.”
“How about Hayan?”
“Kids are exceptions.”
Hayan Seok was older than me despite looking young. The man who had tried to familiarize himself with Simyeong Seok glanced at us and kneeled again. I did not feel sorry for him being the friend of an acquaintance’s cousin, as we were basically strangers.
I started to place the dishes on the long table as the guests arrived. I had not thought of how many would come, but we had an even number of six.
“Oh, Director of Dungeon Management Headquarters. I knew you would stir trouble, but intentionally breaking a dungeon is taking things too far.”
The youngest of the guests, Youngjoon Choi, clapped while he addressed one of the men. The face of the director who had used a profiting dungeon for his greed and then burst it apart turned red. Was he humiliated or only angry?
“I already heard the story, but an intentional dungeon break is something hard to believe.”
“There always have been people who sold their country for their own gains.”
Ochan Yoo, who had been in charge of the Hunter Market, and Eunyoung Choi, who had been in charge of dungeon management, sat down. The other three were also those who had worked in the Hunter Association. They had worked on-site when dungeons first appeared, and chaos ensued, and there had been a lot more than the six people invited here. While others had taken over most of the high positions, those below remained in the Association and suffered for it.
“Why don’t you guys sit? Even death row convicts are fed.”
The six currently involved with the Hunter Association and the six who had been previously affiliated sat in a line across each other. Their expressions were polar opposites, and things were getting more interesting.
“Mr. Yoojin Han, you really won’t interfere with the Hunter Association?”
Eunyoung Choi asked with a suspicious face.
“I would die of overwork if I also had to intervene what the Association does. You might know that I have too few men, which leads me to act on my own.”
“I think Haeyeon might have a different opinion.” She stared at Simyeong Seok.
“As I said, they’re cooperating because we need the workforce. However, they do need to be paid for their efforts, like having a place on this table.”
“We do not want much, and just want to have MKC’s shares.”
Simyeong Seok spoke as if he had been waiting for the chance.
“You know that the Association is covering for MKC, whose reputation has fallen for a series of mistakes under the justification of balancing large-sized guilds. We want to fix that.”
“Are you saying that you want us to endorse Haeyeon in exchange for getting into the Association again?”
“There’s no need for that.”
Simyeong Seok slowly smiled, and his gaze flickered to Yoohyun, who was sitting next to me.
“We have three S class hunters and a deep connection to the monster breeding facility. We have already overshadowed MKC regarding growth possibilities, and just want fair treatment.”
He confidently spoke, that would be enough.
“It’s astoundingly unfair that the number of dungeons we manage, and the quota of item prioritization rights are the same as when we only had one S class hunter. Since Sesung also has more S class hunters, adjustments should be made extensively.
Simyeong Seok clucked his tongue that the higher up in the Association did not listen. He then fluently explained the potential Haeyeon had and how much they would help manage the dungeons safely in detail. He was planning to raise Haeyeon right below Sesung. While Haeyeon could be the top if you only consider the number of S class hunters, Sesung’s second S class hunter had an exclusive team right after coming to Korea. On the other hand, Haeyeon S class hunters still did not have their own teams, which meant that they were still behind.
While there were differences in other fields, Haeyeon should be evaluated above MKC and Breaker regarding the strength of its hunters.
“We agree with your statement that the Association has been unfair in some parts. However, we will forget the fact we had the conversation here.”
Eunyoung Choi cut off the conversation, and others had similar expressions. It would be better for us, but there would still be traces of what had been spoken here. Memories cannot be erased, and since they knew that there was a discriminatory problem, it would be prioritized over other issues. At the same time, they would think that Haeyeon’s sudden growth was inevitable. While it was a simple truth, they would be more lenient with Haeyeon’s shares on dungeons and item ownership.
“Then, let’s talk about how we would take care of these men.”
The six men who had been picking at the food now grew rigid, and the six individuals across the table glared at them.
The nation erupted again from the early morning.
[An intentional dungeon break!]
It had been only three years from the dungeon shock, and most people remembered the hurt that had come with it. Simultaneously, dungeon breaks were ongoing disasters. The fact that someone had deliberately triggered one angered the entire nation.
[The Director of Dungeon Management Headquarters acknowledges being involved in illegal dungeon transactions!]
[Did the Vice President of the Hunter Association know about the trafficking of the rewards of an A class dungeon, nicknamed The Hive?!]
[The board members of the Hunter Association resign to take responsibility for the ‘Hive Situation.’]
[Who would take the place of the previous Director of Dungeon Management Headquarters, who has been taken into emergency custody?]
[The past and the present of the Hunter Association. Why had the members been replaced?]
[The corruption of the Hunter Association continues to emerge! Sweet honey had allured pests.]
Newspapers and television spoke about this issue for days. People who had made a deal with me resigned with a written apology for responsibility. While they had avoided harsh criticism, the six who had been caught and others involved were taken into custody.
While there were no relevant laws since nothing like this had happened before, I heard that it was highly probable that they would be charged with crimes on the level of overthrowing the state. It was only luck that the casualties had been just a few, so a death row sentence would not be farfetched.
‘I hope the new personnel does not cause problems.’
It would be easy to remove them just in case since I had the contracts, but I hoped I would not have to use them. Please do not rot for about five years.
Since I replaced the basics, I wanted to mediate the misaligned relationship between the Awakened Office and the Association. Should I do something? Can’t things work out on their own? However, Taewon Song should not be relegated to cleaning up messes.
I felt this all the more firmly after briefly experiencing his powers. His looting skill would be fantastic if nurtured, and he would not lose one-on-one fights if the range expanded a bit. If only he had an environment where he could get the proper equipment and train himself. Of course, Taewon Song would refuse all this. Should I try to apply a keyword?
“Comet! You took my glasses again!”
Comet was awake during the day recently, and it grabbed my glasses and flew up. I quickly reached out but only felt air. Where did it go? I could not see it.
-Peep!
“Hey, don’t come near my feet! The table!”
“Be careful, big brother.”
Yoohyun came to give my glasses back to me. Comet indignantly fluttered as Yoohyun held it in his hand. The glasses were proving to be inconvenient, and maybe lenses would be a better choice.
“When will your eyesight return to normal?”
“Maybe soon if I rest.”
Yoohyun furrowed his brow at my words. I rested without doing anything yesterday but needed to go out today. I received information that Riette had come out after finishing the dungeon conquest.