The S-Classes That I Raised

Iryn poked just the tip of his snout out from inside my collar, trying not to be seen by Yuhyun. Yuhyun, meanwhile, was in the middle of breaking both of Shishio's arms to fully subdue him. He didn't seem to notice our conversation.

– Yuhyun is unstable right now. I mean Yuhyun's fire.

A tiny red flame flickered on Iryn's nose.

– Normally, it would've been an ordinary red. If you hadn't been around, I mean. But because he wanted to stay with you, he kept it suppressed into black.

It was the result of suppressing his true nature to blend into society.

– If it had continued like that! He would've grown or changed to match it eventually.

Memories from before the regression surfaced unbidden. The Black-Blood Flame, tainted with poison, that flared from self-inflicted wounds. Back then, I'd simply thought of it as a powerful skill. I didn't like that he had to bleed for it, but I never really thought deeply about those flames.

But now... what kind of feelings must he have had to end up like that. The thought pierced into my chest like a thorn. It hurt, as if my insides were being clawed at.

– Hyung?

"Yeah."

I let out a long breath. Peace looked back at me with concern. I stroked the soft fur around his neck and gave a bitter smile.

"That can't happen."

Not this time, Yuhyun.

"You've changed again now."

It was glowing blue. Ever since he realized I hadn't actually died that time.

"...Why did it change, though?"

My voice trembled a little. What if... it was only because I—the one who made Yuhyun suppress himself—had disappeared for a short while?

– Because you loved him a lot, hyung.

"What?"

At that moment, Yuhyun turned in our direction. Iryn quickly ducked fully back into my clothes. I still needed to hear more from him.

"Yuhyun! Can you check on the Japanese Hunters for me? If their guild gets too weakened, it'll just be a hassle. There won't be much left to squeeze out of them either. Heal them enough to keep them alive. And keep track of the number and grade of potions you use—we need to charge them later."

If the Amaterasu Guild weakened too much and caused some random guild war within Japan, it'd be a loss for me too. It's better to just leave that lion guy to keep acting like a king while sending us tributes for years.

"Okay, hyung."

"Thanks!"

Yuhyun nodded and walked toward the collapsed Japanese Hunters. There were a lot of them, so it'd probably take some time. Iryn poked his head out again.

– You made up with him, and you live together, and you kept believing in him too, right? That's why he let go a bit. Also...

Iryn glanced up at me nervously as he continued.

– Don't misunderstand, hyung. You can't misunderstand this!

"Huh? Misunderstand what?"

– Yuhyun only accepted people who are connected to you. Out of a hundred, no, a thousand, no, even out of a hundred thousand, you're ninety-nine thousand nine hundred ninety-nine! The last one part is the others. But all of that still comes from you, so you're one hundred percent! I swear!

...Why are you trying so hard to justify that. Iryn babbled on in a whisper, eyes pleading with me.

"I'm not going to misunderstand. If Yuhyun has other people he's close to, that's a good thing."

– ...Why, though?

Iryn's mouth dropped open in shock.

– Hyuuuung, why aren't you upset?! He cares, even just a tiny bit, about someone other than you!

"Well, most people live with all kinds of relationships."

– If it's someone you really like, that's not how it should be! That's how we are! We're supposed to only look at one person, purely!

Iryn whined like he couldn't understand how I could think otherwise. Hm, now I was starting to worry that fire spirits might have built-in bias. Don't tell me water spirits have some strange traits like this too. I comforted Iryn, who was clearly sulking, saying that humans are different.

– I know humans are different. That's why I'm holding it in, even if hyung doesn't only look at Yuhyun.

"Yuhyun is human too. If he can get along with others, he should. Of course, I won't force him to."

If my brother had been an ordinary human, I would've wished for him to be surrounded by many people, meet someone good, build a happy life. But now, it felt like that was just my selfish desire. Cаtсh thе fоrmаttеd vеrsiоn аt М|V|LЕМ_РYR.

As long as he's happy, that's enough. There's no rule that says you must have lots of friends, fall in love, get married, and have kids. ...Though that'd be nice too. But the most important thing is what he wants for himself. Living the way you want, as long as you don't harm others—that's the best life.

"But... the people Yuhyun cares about now. Can you tell me who they are?"

I glanced over at Yuhyun's side as I asked, as if probing. If even a tiny portion of him cared about others, I wanted to know.

– It's one out of a hundred thousand! Just one! Of that, about 80 percent is Peace and Park Yerim. I'm not a fan of Park Yerim though.

His tail flicked from inside my clothes. Maybe it's the elemental type? I started to worry they might clash if a water spirit ever appeared. Yuhyun and Yerim were a bit awkward when they first met too. But now, Yerim of course, and even Yuhyun, cared about her. Somehow, that made me feel proud.

– The rest is Yu Myungwoo, Noah, some of the Haeyeon Guild members. And also Moon Hyunah, Seong Hyunjae, and Chief Song Taewon—a little bit. But all of it is based on you! I'm sure of it! If it weren't for you, he wouldn't care at all!

I told him it wasn't necessary to explain all that—but Iryn just kept looking at me with eyes full of hope that I'd feel jealous.

"Hm, I guess I do feel a little sad that Yuhyun has other people he likes besides me."

– Right?! Not that he actually likes them. But still. You feel a little sad, right?

"Yeah. But don't ever tell Yuhyun. I'm fine."

Iryn nodded, looking satisfied. Then he began talking about Yuhyun's flame again.

– Just a little, but now that he has other people he can rely on, he's lighter. That's why it changed a bit. Right now, it's neither black nor blue. It's somewhere in between. It should be fully blue! Then he might even gain a special power.

Like the Blood Flame? Whether black or blue, it seemed he needed to be fully aligned with one side to grow properly. Then it had to be the latter. Hurting himself was never the answer.

"How can it turn completely blue?"

– I don't know exactly either. But it turned black because Yuhyun held too much in. So meet Yuhyun when he's not holding anything back!

"...That sounds dangerous. For both me and Yuhyun."

The fact that my brother's been holding himself back—it's not even the kind of thing you could talk about anonymously in therapy. Any normal person would hear it and say, "Report it immediately."

– When he thought you were dead, Yuhyun held it together, right? So even if he doesn't suppress himself, a day will come when he won't hurt you as much! If it were like before, I wouldn't have asked you for something like this.

Back in Achates, Yuhyun had waited for me. I felt guilty, but also proud, and... wait.

"'Hurt less'? Not 'not hurt at all'?"

– That's impossible unless Yuhyun becomes a completely different being, hyung. Fire, as long as it burns, has to scorch. You can handle that much, right?

"Uh, well, yeah."

– But you still shouldn't get too hurt! Like last time, when you ended up inside me. Go into Yuhyun instead!

He meant the time I used Diarma's skill to enter someone's mind. I'd used it once on Seong Hyunjae, so I should be able to do it with Yuhyun as well. It's true I wouldn't die in there.

"I don't know if I'll do well, but okay. If it means I can safely check Yuhyun's state..."

– It's not safe, though.

Iryn tilted his head slightly.

– If it were safe, I wouldn't be sneaking around telling you like this. You won't die, but you might get swallowed up.

"What happens if I do?"

– You can't come back out. I'm not really sure either. Maybe you'll just stay with Yuhyun forever?

If it were the Yuhyun I know now, he'd definitely tell me not to do it because it's dangerous. But what about the version of him that hasn't held himself back? Anyway, this little guy—he's seriously loyal to Yuhyun. Even while saying it's not safe, he's looking at me like, You're obviously going to do it, right? Kind of reassuring, in a way.

"We'll do it after we get home. It's still dangerous here."

The other Japanese Hunters, not from the Amaterasu Guild, were probably grinding their teeth behind the scenes. Not that they could do anything to us, but still, it's not smart to let our guard down.

"I cleaned things up."

Yuhyun came back over. The molten metal swirling around him had reduced to about half its original amount.

"Kinda feels like a waste. Is it going to disappear completely?"

"Yeah. It fades gradually. The more I use it, the faster it vanishes."

– I'll eat it! Let me eat it!

Iryn shouted, and Yuhyun nodded. The red lizard latched onto the flaming molten metal and began gulping it down in chunks.

"All the S-class Hunters are still alive."

"Good job. Then let's draft a contract."

I climbed down from Peace's back. As I approached Shishio with light steps, his face contorted. Even with his arms broken, he forced himself to sit upright.

"This is such a shame. I thought we had a good connection. Even now, I'd like to get along well with you, Mr. Shishio."

I want to keep milking you for a long, long time. Sincerely. I took out a contract from my inventory—an SS-class one I'd bought in a virtual world. SS-class contracts were rare in our region, but relatively common in theirs. Maybe that's why it didn't cost many points to materialize it.

"Let's see. I saved the lives of three S-class Hunters, including Mr. Shishio. Just for that, there's plenty I should receive in return, don't you think?"

"...Why you?"

"Pardon?"

"Why the hell are you the one stepping forward! That guy's the one who took me down!"

Shishio shouted, glaring at Yuhyun, who stood beside me like a guardian. So that's what this is about.

"Yuhyun, do you want to handle it?"

"No. Do whatever you want, hyung."

It was better if I handled this kind of deal personally. There'd be no benefit to making it public. Even if I said "Amaterasu attacked first, so hand over everything and I'll spare you," it might still come off poorly. Most importantly, I had curse resistance, so I could easily claim innocence if things got dicey.

"You heard him, right? Let's get this done before more people show up."

"...That monster."

"Oh, come on. Don't call someone's little brother that."

"If that's not a monster, then what is! No, you're even worse! How can you use someone like him so casually?!"

"'Use'? That's kind of rude. My little brother's just kind enough to help when I ask."

Shishio looked like he was about to flip out in disbelief.

"Damn it, we're both S-class Hunters! But that guy—he wasn't fighting. He was hunting! He didn't see us as fellow predators, he saw us as..."

"Prey?"

As I finished his sentence for him, Shishio's face contorted even more. Claiming to be a lion must've given him a lot of pride—this hit him hard.

"It just means my little brother's amazing. No need to get so worked up."

"He's different! He's not like Guild Leader Seseong!"

"Of course he's different. He's a different person. Stop squawking and let's get to the contract. First. From now on, the Amaterasu ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) Guild will provide detailed information on all dungeons within its sphere of influence. That includes items, obviously."

At my words, Shishio's eyes widened.

"What...!"

"Second. Ten percent of the Amaterasu Guild's monthly profit will be paid as reparations at the end of every month. The term will be thirty years. Don't you think I'm being too generous?"

It's because I'm too nice. What's ten percent, honestly. But they'll need some budget to maintain the guild while we manage the dungeons in Japan. It's troublesome how close the countries are. If a dungeon bursts and monsters cross over, it becomes our problem too.

"Oh, by the way, this 'Amaterasu Guild' refers to any guild led by Mr. Shishio or equivalent. Changing the name or disbanding and rebuilding won't get you out of it. Just in case, we'll also include cases where the deputy guild leader is Shishio and over thirty percent of the key members are the same as the former Amaterasu Guild."

Can't give them any loopholes. Realistically, that guy won't step down as guild leader, so saying "guild led by Shishio" should be enough.

"Third. Each month, the Amaterasu Guild will provide three items or dungeon rights as reparations. I, of course, will choose what to take. Make sure to send me a complete list. This also lasts thirty years."

"Th-This is outrageous! Are you planning to strip us of all our items and dungeons?!"

"Don't worry, I'll leave you enough to survive. You shouldn't have done something so disgraceful. Fourth. The Amaterasu Guild may never inflict harm on Korean guilds. If a Korean guild initiates a conflict, you must report it to the Korean Hunter Association and request mediation. This part is permanent."

"I'll never accept—ugh!"

Yuhyun lightly nudged the spear still lodged in Shishio's leg with his toe. The wound split open, and blood, which had stopped, started gushing again.

"We don't care about Japan, so don't worry. This clause is just to keep you from messing with us. Lastly, the Amaterasu Guild must actively support Han Yujin, Director of the Monster Breeding Facility, and Han Yuhyun, Guild Leader of Haeyeon, upon request. Be it manpower or resources. This is also indefinite."

I included more detailed clauses in the contract itself.

"Let's keep it around this much. Considering what you pulled, I could've stripped you bare and worked you into the dirt, but I'm too soft-hearted. You can thank me. You already bowed your head anyway—what do you call that, dogeza? The one where you press your forehead to the ground."

"No, wait—urk!"

Yuhyun's leg swung up and brought his heel crashing down onto Shishio's head. With a dull thud, Shishio's face was smashed into the ground, and he let out a low growl of frustration. Still won't let go of his pride, huh?

"Can't I just kill him? I feel like he'll definitely hold a grudge against you."

Yuhyun said, his foot still pressing on Shishio's head.

"That'd be a waste. I'll just include detailed terms about my safety in the contract. This is an SS-grade contract—no one can break it right now."

Except me. I signed first, then handed the pen to Shishio. His face twisted with fury, but he ground his teeth and took the pen.

"I'd rather..."

"Die?"

"I won't die! A gentleman's revenge isn't too late even after ten years!"

And then he signed it all in one go. Now that's the spirit. I like this part about him. I carefully stored one of the two copies of the contract into my inventory and beamed brightly.

"With this, all is forgiven. Let's get along from now on. Let's forget the past, let go of hatred and resentment—much love to you, sucker—I mean, Mr. Shishio."

Since we're bound by contract now, I could probably add a keyword to it. Didn't work on the first try, though. Instead, Shishio made a face like he'd bitten into something sour. All that just from a bit of joking around. Lighten up.