S-Classes That I Raised to Devour - Chapter 77

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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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Chapter 77. An Impulse Without Regret (1)
Thank you.
Just five words.
But Chae Mujin could feel it. Those weren’t words spoken from the head, but genuine sincerity flowing from deep within his chest.
Choi Gang-im’s voice was exactly as he’d imagined. Deep, resonant baritone. The kind of voice that burned itself into memory the moment you heard it.
“It’s a shame, really. That I won’t get to hear such a magnificent voice again.”
Choi Gang-im shook his head awkwardly. He himself thought his voice was rather ordinary.
“The contract terms have changed, so we’ll need a new agreement. Would you like to come to the office with me now?”
―I have some things to sort out, if it’s alright for me to visit tomorrow instead?
“Of course. Just send me a text when you’re on your way—actually, how old are you?”
―Twenty-five, born in the Year of the Horse.
“I’m twenty-six, so let’s speak comfortably with each other. It actually helps communication go more smoothly.”
Choi Gang-im shook his head firmly.
―I can’t bring myself to address the company representative so casually.
“Yeoul and Minji both speak casually to me, so don’t feel pressured. They were actually signed earlier, but they’re the same generation as you in terms of joining—we can talk about that tomorrow anyway. Regardless, this isn’t a request; it’s essential.”
―Would it be alright if I called you my older brother?
The title “older brother” brought someone to mind immediately.
‘I wonder how that bastard’s doing.’
The one wielding that useful Characteristic—the Sword Demon’s Soul. Its owner.
The traitor from his previous life, met again right after the Regression. Kim Jiwoo.
He used to call him older brother too.
‘No news is good news, I suppose.’
It was a severed tie, already drowned in alcohol. So he let it pass without comment.
“Sure, Gang-im. Want me to drive you home?”
He shook his head.
Chae Mujin never asked twice when someone declined. He got up first.
“Then I’ll see you tomorrow.”
After they exchanged contact information and parted ways.
Chae Mujin slipped into the shadows of an alley, pretending to head for the Parking Lot.
He’d felt eyes on him since the Budae-jjigae Restaurant. They hadn’t approached, so he’d ignored them, but he noticed they’d followed him to the Cafe.
And sure enough, two figures emerged from a black sedan. People Chae Mujin recognized.
‘Han Tae-woo, and one of his lackeys.’
They looked around briefly, then entered the Cafe where Gang-im was.
They couldn’t beat him directly, so they were clearly targeting Gang-im.
Though he’d cast a Buff on Gang-im before leaving, so the boy wouldn’t lose, but this wasn’t about winning or losing.
‘People beyond redemption need to be snuffed out.’
Chae Mujin stepped out of the shadows and was about to enter the Cafe when he abruptly stopped in his tracks.
Han Tae-woo and his lackey hadn’t come to retaliate.
“I’m sorry, Gang-im!”
“I’m truly sorry too.”
Han Tae-woo and his lackey, kneeling in front of Choi Gang-im.
Moreover, items were laid out on the table.
An Arrow of Purification and Holy Water—the rewards Gang-im had obtained after defeating the Boss in the Lotto Dungeon.
Gang-im had given them to Han Tae-woo, but Han Tae-woo was returning them now.
Gang-im, looking flustered, tried to help Han Tae-woo up, but Tae-woo remained sprawled flat on the floor.
“Please forgive me. I swear I won’t show my face before you again.”
Chae Mujin stopped listening after that. There was no reason to hear more, and besides—he felt ashamed.
Why had he so readily assumed Han Tae-woo had come for revenge?
Even if that apology were hypocrisy, hypocrisy too is a form of goodness. Just as masked evil remains evil, regardless of intent.
‘I was trying to take the easy path. I’m grateful that Yeoul, Minji, and Gang-im didn’t see me like this.’
Judging the weak by suspicion alone. Could that even be called difficult? It was terribly easy.
Once you acquire a taste for easy things, you start avoiding what’s hard. You grow comfortable with convenience.
And someone content with mere convenience can never become truly great.
This was Chae Mujin’s unwavering conviction.
Yet just now, he’d almost done exactly that. The shame and alarm he felt cut deep.
‘Keep your composure, Mujin. Without peace of mind, you’ll keep making these mistakes.’
Composure doesn’t simply mean living at ease. It means leaving a corner of your heart empty.
When that space fills completely, there’s nowhere for anything new to take root.
Just as stagnant water rots, a heart crammed tight will eventually decay.
“I should call it a day here.”
His original plan had been to recruit Gang-im immediately, then move on to the next Hunter.
He’d decided the fourth and final member of the first generation would be a Healer.
He knew that Healer’s contact information and address. He could reach out or find them right now.
“But not with a mind in this state.”
It was the realm of instinct that defied explanation.
If postponing contact today meant failing the recruitment, he was certain it wouldn’t be a matter of mere timing.
* * *
The next day, Chae Mujin lived his life as usual. He processed approvals as company representative and watched Kim Yeoul and Lee Minji train for a while.
The moment his morning work ended, he made a call. To the number of the final first-generation member he’d meant to contact yesterday but held back.
The person picked up, but didn’t answer immediately. After a brief pause, he spoke.
―Who might this be?
“This is Chae Mujin. Are you Iljin?”
―Yes, I am Iljin. What brings you to call me?
“I heard of your reputation—slaying a monster and treating an injured hiker. I hoped to meet regarding this matter. Is now convenient for you?”
Chae Mujin deliberately omitted mention of the Management Company. Iljin was over sixty, an elder. Bringing up an unfamiliar organization would only breed resistance.
His plan was to meet first and build rapport. That was all.
―If this concerns my Unregistered Awakening, I’ve already spoken with the relevant authorities on that matter.
Iljin had assumed, just as Chae Mujin intended, that this was a call from an official Certified Hunter.
“The legal aspects may be resolved, but other important matters remain. Have you discussed those with anyone in authority?”
Chae Mujin was already in his car, navigation set to the temple where Iljin stayed. Just as he was about to step on the accelerator—
There came rustling over the phone, then the sense of the receiver being handed over, followed immediately by a voice that shouldn’t have been there.
―That voice—is that you, Chae Mujin?
An unmistakable woman’s voice.
Chae Mujin reflexively called out her name.
“Cheon I-hwa?”
A brief silence. Both spoke at once.
―Why are you—
“Why are you—”
―You go first.
“You go first.”
After that round of mutual stalling, Chae Mujin spoke.
“I have some things to discuss with Iljin. That’s all.”
―Hmm, trying to recruit for the Management Company?
Cheon I-hwa’s tone shifted to an almost cheerful pitch.
An uneasy premonition crept over Chae Mujin.
―Because Iljin already agreed to join us at the Amhaengeosa. You and your people know what that is, right?
Hearing those words, Chae Mujin immediately remembered yesterday. Choosing to postpone contacting Iljin until today.
Had one day’s delay really brought such an impossible future crashing down on him?
Yet even if it had, Chae Mujin harbored no regret. It was the path he’d chosen.
But that didn’t mean he was giving up.
“Can you tell me where?”
―Suddenly so familiar? Are we on such terms?
“If you won’t tell me, I’ll hang up.”
―Sent it to you by text.
“…Thank you.”
He hung up. Checking his messages, there was nothing there.
Was Cheon I-hwa really playing such a childish prank?
‘No way. I blocked her number, remember?’
The day his Certified Hunter exam ended, he’d blocked Cheon I-hwa’s contact.
‘Didn’t think it would come to this.’
He’d believed that ignoring her would make her hate him, naturally severing their connection. That was the Cheon I-hwa he knew.
Yet somehow, he kept running into her.
‘So different from my previous life. Entirely different.’
With a sigh, he unblocked her. Messages from her came pouring in.
Fortunately or unfortunately, they’d all been deleted. He couldn’t tell what she’d sent.
Only one message remained—the address she’d taken a photo of.
But meeting her directly, when he’d gone out of his way to avoid her, wasn’t simple.
‘Which is exactly why I have to go.’
Without seeing her, he couldn’t see Iljin. And he hadn’t given up on Iljin—not even if he’d already joined the Amhaengeosa. He’d find a way to bring him over.
Why? Because it’s the harder path.
‘If something feels difficult, you’re on the right track.’
And so he drove to where Iljin and Cheon I-hwa were waiting.
* * *
A quiet Pavilion nestled halfway up the mountain. Cheon I-hwa and Iljin were having tea.
Chae Mujin took a seat. As if expecting him, Iljin poured tea for him.
Patter-patter.
Even the sound of tea being poured carried a crystalline clarity and depth. And it carried an aroma—something that couldn’t bloom from modern plants.
“Misty Leaf Tea. I see you’ve taken an interest in the more dangerous arts of Tea Ceremony, Master.”
Both Iljin and Cheon I-hwa were taken aback by what he said.
“You know of Misty Leaf?”
“Handled even slightly wrong, it stops the heart and kills you. But when prepared with perfect technique, it helps one achieve harmony between spirit and body. For martial artists seeking enlightenment, it’s like a dream.”
“…You know all of this already. How does a Supporter know such things?”
“Just because I’m a Supporter, I shouldn’t know?”
Something flickered in Cheon I-hwa’s eyes. She was beginning to hate how he always surprised her whenever they met.
“I am Chae Mujin, sir.”
Chae Mujin offered a formal Buddhist greeting, hands clasped in reverence.
Iljin was officially over sixty, but he appeared to be a monk of middle years, no more.
His face was so gentle it seemed he couldn’t hurt even an ant, yet beneath his loose robes, his musculature told a different story entirely.
Muscles that writhed like living things. Countless scars. His knuckles, in particular, were almost entirely scar tissue.
“What brings you to seek this humble temple, benefactor?”
“I came hoping to recruit you, sir, but it seems I’ve arrived too late.”
At that moment, Cheon I-hwa interjected.
“I told you on the phone—Iljin already agreed to join the Amhaengeosa with us. No need to feel badly; it was settled a month ago.”
“I see I’m late indeed. More than just late.”
It wasn’t a matter of yesterday versus today. There was a gap of a full month.
Of course, this hadn’t happened in his previous life.
‘Iljin wasn’t recruited by the Amhaengeosa in my past life at all. But now, in this life, he was. Right after the rumors began.’
A month ago was when Iljin first revealed his hidden strength and left traces of it.
If Cheon I-hwa’s account was accurate, the Amhaengeosa had noticed his existence that very day and moved to recruit him.
‘A new future born from my refusal to join the Amhaengeosa?’
He turned to regard Iljin. Though he’d brought a means to sway the old monk’s heart—
Looking at Iljin’s expression now, it seemed none of it would land.
‘I could attempt it, but if I fail, I’d only be baring my hand.’
Difficult things were worth attempting. But if something seemed impossible, you had to choose wisely.
Proceed anyway, or concede and find another path?
Chae Mujin chose the latter without hesitation.
“Then it can’t be helped.”
When Chae Mujin yielded so readily, Cheon I-hwa was caught off guard once more.
‘I was sure he’d compete anyway.’
Based on the confidence and actions Chae Mujin had shown thus far, he should have thrown down recruitment terms to sway Iljin.
Instead, he easily broke that pattern.
Not just once, but repeatedly. Every time they met.
‘It’s as if you know exactly what I’m thinking.’
From Chae Mujin’s perspective, he hadn’t calculated anything of the sort.
He’d simply decided there was no need to make this uncomfortable. He’d abandoned the recruitment, yes—but not the relationship.
That principle applied to Cheon I-hwa as well.
Sip.
Chae Mujin took a quiet sip of the tea, now cooled to a suitable temperature, and descended the Pavilion steps.
“The tea was excellent. I hope my presence didn’t disturb your time together.”
To this, Iljin offered a gentle smile and spoke.
“Not at all. You’ve come so far; I’m sorry we must send you away like this.”
He understood. Chae Mujin had come here on purpose but was gracefully stepping back.
Who wouldn’t respect someone showing such consideration?
Iljin had met Chae Mujin only today and exchanged only a handful of words, yet he’d formed a judgment.
He recognized Chae Mujin’s ability and the depth of his character. A conviction arose: he was not a bad man.
“Thank you also, Cheon I-hwa, for sharing the location so readily. Well, then.”
As Chae Mujin turned to leave with a respectful bow—
“Wait, please, Chae Mujin.”
Ding.
Cheon I-hwa sprang to her feet and called him back, then dropped a bombshell without warning.
“How would you feel about becoming the head of the Amhaengeosa?”

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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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