S-Classes That I Raised to Devour - Chapter 19

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 19. See You at the Top (2)
Cheon Mu-jong.
The three syllables of that name left Kim Yeo-ul and Lee Min-ji in a daze.
Who was that again? I’m sure I’ve heard it somewhere, definitely a name I’ve heard before.
The surname Cheon wasn’t common, and there was something familiar about them, like they resembled Cheon I-hwa somehow…
But didn’t the manager just call her “Chairwoman” a moment ago?
“Sit down.”
Chae Mu-jin hoisted Kim Yeo-ul onto a chair, then brought another for Lee Min-ji and pressed her down by the shoulders.
Once Chae Mu-jin had settled into his own seat, the interview preparations were finally complete.
“Did you eat breakfast, I-hwa?”
“There’s a seminar tonight, so I skipped it.”
“Going on an empty stomach means your stomach will start acting up. Have a banana before you go.”
“Understood.”
Cheon I-hwa and Cheon Mu-jong conversed like an ordinary father and daughter.
The other three might as well have been strangers who’d wandered into someone else’s home.
“Are you really Cheon Mu-jong, the Chairwoman?”
Lee Min-ji gathered her courage to ask, and Cheon Mu-jong chuckled.
“If I denied it, everyone would still call me Chairwoman anyway, so I suppose that makes me one.”
“But why do you look so old? I saw you on a video a year ago, and you seemed middle-aged back then.”
Kim Yeo-ul might have had no interest in other people to begin with, but Lee Min-ji was a veteran Hunter—she should have recognized the Chairwoman’s face.
The reason she hadn’t was simple: the Chairwoman had aged dramatically.
Just then, a sharp sting at her ribs made Lee Min-ji turn, and her eyes met Cheon I-hwa’s.
Cheon I-hwa was glaring at her.
Lee Min-ji had lost both parents when she was young and started a rough Hunter’s life while others were studying; as a result, she understood little about manners.
Cheon Mu-jong gestured to Cheon I-hwa that it was fine and opened his mouth.
“Little one. Just because you’re curious doesn’t mean you should ask about everything. You must also consider the position of those who must answer.”
“Ah, I apologize.”
“I don’t believe ignorance is a sin, but not everyone shares that view. Be careful going forward.”
He spoke like a grandfather to his granddaughter—kindly, with no hostility or killing intent. Yet Lee Min-ji felt overwhelmed, her face blank as she nodded.
Cheon Mu-jong’s gaze shifted to Kim Yeo-ul, who immediately began hiccupping.
“Why does the little mage want to become an Official Hunter?”
Kim Yeo-ul was not the age to be called “little.” Neither was Lee Min-ji.
Yet both felt no strangeness or displeasure at the title.
Rather, it seemed natural. From the Chairwoman’s perspective, they were fragile creatures indeed.
“My, my, my younger, my…”
The tension was so severe that her already poor pronunciation became worse still.
Cheon Mu-jong interlaced his fingers and waited. Unable to bear it, Chae Mu-jin placed a hand on Kim Yeo-ul’s shoulder.
“Take your time. Breathe.”
“Hah… My younger sister has Awakening Sickness. I heard the Hunter Association’s doctors can treat it.”
“Awakening Sickness cannot be treated.”
“Ah, I…”
Awakening Sickness, contracted from overexposure to Magical Power, was known as incurable.
You either survived to become an Awakened One, or you died. Those were the only two outcomes.
However, an Awakening Surgery existed—a procedure that artificially increased the odds of becoming an Awakened One.
The problem was that it was Cheon Mu-jong himself who performed the only such surgery.
He had a three-year waiting list packed solid, and even if a slot opened, he would never see the younger sister of some D-rank Hunter.
“However, if you become an Official Hunter, you could be admitted to Korea’s finest hospital without waiting.”
Kim Yeo-ul dropped her head. Official Hunter status was her only hope, yet hearing that treatment was impossible left her unable to think of anything at all.
Cheon Mu-jong was human; he felt pity. But that was all.
His business with them was finished. He looked to Chae Mu-jin, and there was something odd about his expression.
“Why do you look so angry?”
Chae Mu-jin was scowling deeply, his gaze fixed on Cheon Mu-jong.
“Because I’m angry.”
“Over what I said about Awakening Sickness being incurable?”
“I don’t know. It’s just irritating.”
“If you have anger management issues, becoming an Official Hunter will be difficult.”
“Chairwoman. These children should leave now that their interview is over.”
“Once your interview is finished, you’ll all leave together.”
A strange current flowed between Chae Mu-jin and Cheon Mu-jong.
“Then I take it you don’t mind if I speak freely here.”
“Speak freely? How intriguing.”
Thud.
Cheon Mu-jong rose from his chair. As Chae Mu-jin stood as well, the very air changed.
Heavy. Suffocating.
Cheon I-hwa couldn’t understand why the atmosphere had shifted so abruptly.
“Three years ago. Shin-Nippon.”
At those words from Chae Mu-jin, Cheon Mu-jong’s eyes went wide.
* * *
Only the Chairwoman and I remained in the interview room.
The Chairwoman set down his Walking Stick and straightened his back.
In an instant, the tiny, withered figure transformed, filling the entire vast room with a presence so immense it was crushing.
“I thought you were an interesting one, but you’re dangerous.”
His tone remained gentle, but it was packed with explosives—a nuclear bomb waiting for the slightest slip of the tongue.
This wasn’t part of the plan, but I don’t regret it.
A strong person who casually tramples on the weak’s hope is exactly the kind I despise most.
‘So there’s no cure for Awakening Sickness? But there’s a surgery that increases survival odds. Why hide that?’
Of course I know—that surgery is expensive and has a long waiting list.
But is it so hard to say that? There is a surgery, but realistically it will be difficult for you to access it.
If he’d said that, at least Kim Yeo-ul could have held onto some hope.
“I apologize first. It was my mistake to suddenly bring up that day in anger.”
Anger is anger, but you have to clean up your mess. Fortunately, Cheon Mu-jong isn’t the type to act recklessly either.
“Ha, ha-ha. First angry, then composed. You certainly live as you please.”
“The Chae Clan is a bit like that.”
“I need an explanation. How do you know about that incident from three years ago?”
“If you promise not to hit me, I’ll answer honestly.”
“I can’t promise that.”
“I was just taking a shot in the dark.”
“…What?”
Of course, I actually do know what Cheon Mu-jong did in Shin-Nippon three years ago.
But to explain how I know would require me to say I heard it directly from you in a past life.
As for spinning a lie, I can’t fool someone as cunning as Cheon Mu-jong with forced plausibility.
“Three years ago, eyewitness reports of you being in Shin-Nippon went up on the internet. They never made the news—just posts on video platforms and community sites. Most people thought it was a case of mistaken identity, but as you know, people enjoy speculating. There were many theories about why you, of all people, would visit Shin-Nippon alone.”
I shrugged and watched for his reaction. His eyes told me to go on.
“Among them, I once saw a post that was genuinely hilarious. It said that when you were young, you liked pudding, and it was Japanese pudding. But when Japan became Shin-Nippon and trade stopped, you snuck off to Shin-Nippon to eat it.”
“What kind of post was that?”
“A post saying you went to Shin-Nippon for pudding. After seeing it, I thought: that’s plausible enough. And that memory stuck with me for a long time.”
“So you used that as grounds to test me, and I fell for it nicely?”
“Yes.”
“Find that post now and show it to me.”
“Understood.”
I only lie in two cases: when I don’t mind being caught, or when I’m certain I won’t be.
“Here it is.”
Searching the portal site for “Cheon Mu-jong pudding” brought up a three-year-old post at the top. Cheon Mu-jong snatched my Cellphone with an incredulous expression.
―[National Pride Gallery]
Author: Anonymous (3 years ago)
Title: Found out why Cheon Mu-jong went to Shin-Nippon.
Content: He went for pudding. Cheon Mu-jong’s biography mentions he was crazy about Japanese pudding. Evidence attached.
I don’t tell lies that can be debunked by a single search.
But do I remember this specifically for today? Not quite at that level of memory.
‘Using it like this…’
The Akashic Record.
What I’d thought was merely a feature for preserving regression memories actually allowed me to instantly recall the information I needed, even while remembering it.
Cheon Mu-jong returned my Cellphone. But he still hadn’t straightened up.
“The fundamental question remains. Why were you angry?”
“Because you trampled on Kim Yeo-ul’s hope. Even if there’s no cure for Awakening Sickness, a surgery can increase the odds of becoming an Awakened One, can’t it?”
“Interesting. Did you read that on the internet too?”
“I served as a soldier in the Anti-Demon Special Task Force. I learned about it from Im I-un, a Hunter I met there. He said he became an Awakened One through that surgery.”
This is naturally something that actually happened, so Cheon Mu-jong investigating it won’t be a problem.
“Anti-Demon Special Task Force… and you completed your service with all four limbs intact. Impressive.”
The Chairwoman bent his waist again. His presence receded, and I straightened further in response.
“I understand that Awakening Surgery is expensive and has a long waiting list. For someone at the bottom like Kim Yeo-ul, receiving it is realistic difficult. You probably judged it better not to give false hope. But I disagree. Even if something is impossible, there must always be hope.”
As I spoke, I realized something. Why Kim Yeo-ul became history’s greatest villain.
It was probably because her younger sister eventually died of Awakening Sickness, and Kim Yeo-ul went berserk, completely surrendering her body to a Yaksha. It was speculation, but the most plausible.
“…When people lose hope, they sometimes become monsters. I hope you will keep that in mind, Chairwoman.”
“Are you trying to teach me?”
“I believe age is irrelevant to learning.”
“Ha, ha-ha. Ha-ha-ha!”
Cheon Mu-jong shuffled over and sat back down.
Though he laughed so warmly, I know: he doesn’t love violence, but he doesn’t shy from murder.
Knowing this, I can still push back because I understand his nature.
Cheon Mu-jong hates cowards.
So among his circle are schemers, but not a single coward.
“I’ve been outsmarted.”
“Thank you for your mercy.”
“Mercy? Did I say I’d kill you? Why would I? You’re the greatest offensive Buff supporter in this world.”
“It seems you don’t concern yourself with such things, Chairwoman.”
“Do I seem so vicious?”
“I’d say you have strong conviction rather than malice.”
“You’re impossible to pin down. One moment angry, the next apologizing. Rude, then courteous.”
“The Chae Clan is a bit like that…”
“Sit down. You’re giving me a headache.”
I sat again at his permission. Cheon Mu-jong’s expression brightened, and I felt a heavy affection directed toward me.
“Now, shall we get down to business? Sending the children out wasn’t just to offer me unsolicited advice, was it?”
“No. There is something else I wanted to tell you.”
“Right. You did ask me to find you. That’s why I’m here.”
“Thank you for making time despite your busy schedule. Without wasting any, let me get to the point…”
I paused to clear my throat and buy time.
In fact, I’d decided how to proceed with him the moment he first approached me.
A relationship neither close nor distant.
“I’d like to propose a secret alliance.”
* * *
Cheon Mu-jong could say with certainty that among all the people he’d ever met, Chae Mu-jin alone was uniquely fascinating and amusing.
Each action, each word that left his mouth was fresh and mysterious.
“An alliance? That word alone doesn’t explain your intent. And adding ‘secret’ on top of it… my head is already aching.”
“As you’ve probably guessed, I have no intention of becoming an Official Hunter.”
“Then why did you take the test?”
“So I could naturally meet you.”
“…You admit to such a sinister plan?”
Chae Mu-jin’s true purpose is to find a Hunter to nurture, but he couldn’t reveal that. So he gave another reason, one the Chairwoman would like to hear.
“There’s no point deceiving you, Chairwoman.”
“Is there a Buff that makes one servile? Stop flattering me.”
“I’ll be more restrained. In any case, to continue: I want to use your name. In exchange, you gain my assistance. The condition is that both sides help each other in any circumstance.”
“Where do you intend to use my name?”
“To build a ship.”
It wasn’t a direct answer. But Cheon Mu-jong understood what the ship symbolized.
Adventure. Since ancient times, ships have been the symbol of adventure.
“What destination does this ship have?”
“This ship has no destination.”
Cheon Mu-jong’s expression soured slightly.
“You’re asking me to board a ship with no destination?”
“There’s been a misunderstanding. This ship goes nowhere.”
“Hmm?”
Chae Mu-jin could have explained simply if he wanted to.
Create a management company for Hunters. I need your help.
But such a scale would be too small to persuade a giant like Cheon Mu-jong.
So I decided to show him a little. The true meaning behind establishing the Hunter management company.
“I’m thinking of building a very large ship. One that everyone can survive in when the wave of the apocalypse comes.”
Cheon Mu-jong’s eyes widened. He’d thought a ship symbolized only adventure.
But apparently there was one more meaning.
“…What will this ship be made of?”
“Not pine, certainly. The hardest and most flexible thing in the world.”
Noah received God’s revelation and built an ark, saving many people.
I’m not religious, but the Chairwoman was Catholic, so my metaphor would resonate perfectly.
“I won’t probe into the details of what you’re trying to do. I lack the energy. But I must know: do you have the right to build such a ship?”
“Let me cast a Buff.”
I didn’t have to, but I stretched my palm toward him anyway. His Buff speed had already been shown in the first test, so I didn’t hide it.
Cheon Mu-jong was startled.
He’d heard reports of exceptional Buff-casting speed, but this exceeded imagination.
‘If that child had learned swordcraft, he would have reached the pinnacle of Swift Sword technique.’
The speed was so remarkable that regret washed over him.
Such natural talent wasted on merely casting Buffs.
“I’ve increased your physical attack power.”
“In the first test, you apparently raised it by 900. Did you use the same figure?”
“Yes, exactly.”
The Chairwoman tested it by jabbing his finger into the table.
The premium wood table wasn’t just beautiful—its durability exceeded steel—but…
Slosh.
It gave way as though he were poking ice cream.
“As advertised.”
He spoke praise aloud, but truthfully he wasn’t that impressed. A 900 attack boost wasn’t exactly impossible after all.
But Chae Mu-jin knew that too.
“The duration is twelve hours.”
“…You surely meant to say 12 seconds.”
“No. Twelve hours.”
“That’s some joke. I wouldn’t believe 12 minutes, much less twelve hours. Do you understand how much Magical Power that requires?”
“Without at least that much, how could I propose an alliance with you?”
“…You’re saying the duration alone has increased tenfold—no, dozens of times over the effect on physical attacks?”
Cheon Mu-jong pressed his temples gently, then nodded.
“I’ve left my contact information on your Cellphone. But know this: I’m evaluating you very highly.”
“I won’t contact you for trivial matters.”
Chae Mu-jin stood to leave, and as he walked toward the door, Cheon Mu-jong called after him.
“Next time we should share a meal.”
To what might have been a mere formality, Chae Mu-jin pointed his finger at the sky.
“Then we’ll meet at the top.”
As he left, he pointed downward.
“The lower levels are too crowded.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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