The S-Classes That I Raised-Chapter 630: The Alps (2)
“Guide us to the nearest inn, and wait at the foot of the mountain.”
Marisa’s tone brooked no argument. Samir hesitated.
“I’d like to, my lady, but I’ve orders to protect you.”
“This is odd.”
Marisa strode past Samir and stood on tiptoe to peer at his face.
“Am I under some maternal spell?”
“Not yet—conditions weren’t met. Instead, I signed a contract: aid me in this matter, and she’ll assist.”
“So you follow me?”
“My position forced my hand. I beg your pardon.”
“There’s one more I must seek pardon from.”
Samir swallowed hard and met Seong Hyunjae’s dark blue, curious gaze.
“What skill is this?”
Short and blunt, but no explanation needed—he must satisfy that curiosity to win permission to accompany. We’d barely crossed one desert; another lay ahead. Samir spread his hands.
“I can’t disclose details. The contract binds me.”
“I can’t either. But she is my mother.”
Marisa added quickly to avoid blame.
“Then?”
She was about to dismiss him firmly when Samir blurted:
“Guildmaster, do you have a son?”
Marisa’s eyes widened in shock. Her fists clenched, green eyes blazing at Seong Hyunjae.
“A son, Seong Hyunjae?!”
“Was our marriage a sham? You fraudster! Lecher! Scoundrel!”
“Before that, it was a forced abduction wedlock.”
“You should have told me! I was completely deceived! In fairy tales, princes have no children before marriage!”
She stamped her foot, lamenting how lucky it was the wedding was ruined.
“Abductions are common! Usually the princess is kidnapped, but the world changes! So, what’s this child like?”
Now calm, Marisa’s curiosity emerged. Though the Guildmaster was disqualified as a prince, his son would be a modern prince indeed—if he resembled his father, he must be perfect.
“I hope he didn’t inherit Dad’s temperament. How old is he? If he’s Seong Hyunjae’s son, maybe late teens.”
“Switching targets to my son, are you?”
“Younger partners are fashionable now. Let’s meet him first.”
Though she’d torn off her shoes and ripped her gown on leaving the wedding, Marisa had not relinquished the notion of marrying her prince. That was her world. Now she would choose and hesitate more deliberately.
Feigning thought, Seong Hyunjae mused:
“Well, he refuses to accept me as his parent.”
“Really? So that’s why he hid it? I love secret births—though usually for princesses.”
“You’ve already met him.”
“What?”
“At the wedding.”
Marisa blinked, recalling the wedding.
“...Impossible. But that child was a fairy dragon!”
Indeed there had been a child who startled her before turning into a fairy dragon.
“A monster though!”
“Let’s not disparage species.”
“...So the one you... you had a child with was a dragon? Um, the black dragon? Liete Hunter?”
“I did propose to Hunter Liete once. But then, my wedding partner was Han Yujin.”
“I don’t know what you’re saying! Wait—I think Chatterbox’s broadcast said Han Yujin is the fairy dragon’s father... So the three of them were...”
Marisa stifled her words with her hands, then hid behind Samir.
“I don’t know any of this!”
“Rest assured, there’s nothing unfit for children. Violence rated only for fifteen-year-olds, otherwise all-ages. With good editing, it’s fine for twelve and up.”
“...Even for all ages, a baby is born?”
“Depends on the scenario. It’s that sort of world.”
It seemed not ordinary sexual reproduction—perhaps an item or skill. Marisa, calming, nudged Samir’s back.
“You started this odd tale.”
“Servitude in another’s house is no easy task. It’s already public scandal, miss.”
Samir pulled up news on his phone: “Secret Son of the Sesung Guildmaster!” and other sensational headlines.
“That boy from last night’s broadcast.”
“He really does resemble him,” Marisa whispered, alternating her gaze between Seong Hyunjae and the photo of Han Gyeol in the article.
“A child of an S-Rank Hunter, yet himself an Awakened with special ability—fascinates many.”
“Will descendants of top Awakened become top Awakened? Always popular conjecture.”
Seong Hyunjae spoke as if it were someone else’s affair.
“I was suspicious when the fairy dragon turned into the Guildmaster.”
“That nearly ruined the wedding.”
“That?”
“Oh—Seong Hyunjae, you don’t know yet. A rumor spread that Princess Isabella, cousin to this prince, was your betrothed! The fairy dragon transformed into you and posed for photos—so affectionately.”
“At that time, Bella sought engagement with Hunter Han Yujin.”
“Truly?”
“And the fairy dragon, as Guildmaster, proposed to Bella.”
“Good heavens!”
It had been utter chaos. Seeing Seong Hyunjae’s attention reassured Samir—he clearly cared about information on Yujin and Gyeol.
“It’s lunchtime. Let’s head to the inn and continue. Here are the photos. And this cat is Hunter Han Yujin.”
“A cat? He turned into a cat? He’s quite a fairy-tale character too!”
“A black cat. I suspected such a skill when he transformed.”
Since Chatterbox hid skills on his stream, Marisa had no idea.
“A few days after Chatterbox’s final broadcast, we found Hunter Han Yujin in Africa and ensured his safety. He’s F-Rank, so I underestimated him—then he vanished before my eyes.”
“So he did turn into a cat!”
“You can’t underestimate him. He slipped from my grasp once.”
Exchanging stories, Seong Hyunjae and Marisa quietly slipped into the vehicle.
Overnight, snow fell. Beneath a chill sky, the Alps unfolded vast and white, mist curling down the «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» slopes. Sitting with a laptop marking their map, Seong Hyunjae frowned—the entire range to search was immense, though much had been ruled out.
“Not so easy. We’ve narrowed the area by age, but geography may have changed in the last five years.”
“Only five years?”
“Artificially so.”
He recalled the dungeon monster from their first expedition—it had devoured a small mountain in a Dungeon Break.
“I’d ask Han Yujin, but...” 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮
His gaze fell to the phone on the table. A soft sigh: no message yet.
“Director Song hasn’t contacted either. It’s lonely.”
“No friends? You seem so.”
He was rumored capricious. Marisa pouted again—he might suddenly revert to coldness, leaving her hurt. Perhaps that was why his reputation suffered.
“Guild members did seek you out.”
“But they trust me, so don’t worry. Some fear calling. Only Han Yujin calls freely.”
“He seems busy.”
Samir arrived on the terrace with trays of drinks, sandwiches, cheese, salad, and rösti. Marisa eagerly bit her sandwich; Seong Hyunjae sipped coffee untouched until now.
“I hope he won’t call only once we reach New York.”
“New York?”
Without answering, Seong Hyunjae rotated the satellite map on his laptop: deserted areas, or...
“Places made empty by force.”
Likely near an S-Rank Dungeon Break site. Dungeons don’t overlap and appear at regular spacing even in cities. He drew lines linking the dots of dungeon locations on the map.
“This stroll should suffice.”
He had sensed the ambient mana and studied Swiss dungeon data from Sesung, and incomplete rules from Team Seokhayan. His coffee grew cold as Marisa and Samir admired the morning spread.
“I’ve never used the pool.”
“The infinity pool at this hotel looked great.”
“But I have no swimsuit.”
“Nobody’s here—you can swim in clothes.”
“Sorry, but I can’t spare much time.”
He circled one area on the map.
“This will be the last ascent. I could go alone.”
“I won’t let you. I’ve come this far. Just one hour.”
Marisa and Samir slipped into the hotel. Alone, Seong Hyunjae turned to the mountain peering through the clouds.
Crack!
A golden chain’s tip burrowed into the cliff. Crack crack! dozens of short chains embedded at intervals like controlled blasting.
Rumble!
Lightning struck, scattering stone and tearing fissures across the face. Dirt and rock tumbled as if in an avalanche. Before the dust settled, chains shot upward again—bang, rumble!—another section of cliff collapsed, revealing its hollow core.
“Are you sure it’s here?”
Marisa, now beside him, clasped her ears against the roar of debris. Seong Hyunjae stepped back from his final excavation.
“This is it.”
A faintly warped mana signature lingered. Dust cleared as he climbed the rubble. Even at peak perception, the trace was nearly undetectable. His brows rose at the meager remnant.
“Not easy.”
Extracting anything here would be nearly impossible. Should he restore and replicate the residue to show the Newcomer or Young Chaos? As he pondered, Marisa approached.
“Shall I help?”
“A skill?” he echoed, surprised. She nodded.
“My mother said to hide it. But I did kidnap you—this is my recompense.”
“I see. Summoning the Crescent Moon by mere will would be difficult.”
“I have a power—it draws into reality what does not yet exist here: the last page of a fairy tale.”
Her skill materialized the missing conclusion of an unfinished story—a ritual ability helping realize the final, improbable outcome. It was thanks to her forced completion of the wedding that the Crescent Moon could more easily inhabit Han Yujin’s body. Marisa had intended to call her into her own form.
“Miss Marisa may share ability with the fairy dragons.”
“Really? Then it suits me—no, I’m far too young!”
Marisa unleashed her skill. Her mana overflowed, coaxing out faint traces of past and future. As if linking a final keystone, the connection snapped into place.
Seong Hyunjae found himself standing in an unfamiliar space. Before him stood a face identical to his own—save for one missing eye.
