The S-Classes That I Raised - Chapter 567: Survey.
The large turkey feast in the Christmas carol looked incredibly delicious. On a white plate, the glossy brown meat was generously drizzled with sauce and surrounded by various vegetables and fruits arranged in a circle. The drumstick, as big as a forearm, looked so appetizing.
But actual turkey meat was dry. Most foods taste best in one’s imagination. And my situation was much like that dry turkey.
A turkey fattened up before Christmas. Even if it knew its fate and starved itself, no one would hold a party without the main dish. It would only end up as a less-fat turkey roast and a cheaper price tag.
‘Are these gold coins really my price tag?’
In my inventory, the coins clinked. Even if Chatterbox planned to fatten me up and devour me, in my current state I had no choice but to accept it. After all, I needed to grow fatter. Starving myself would only be disadvantageous. Eating well was the only way to have the strength to escape at the end.
“Yuhyun, your brother was actually a turkey,”
I joked, and Yuhyun blinked.
“…Are you saying you want to become a turkey?”
“My younger brother is the kindest.”
He took my nonsense seriously as if I were mad.
“Let’s eat turkey at Christmas.”
Whether it tasted good or not, a good cook could make it delicious, at least better than fantasy.
“Though the turkey was fattened to be eaten, that means we must eat it.”
“Uncle, they even have a turkey blessing ceremony at Thanksgiving,”
Yerim approached and said.
“Instead of ending up on the table, it lives peacefully on the farm for life.”
“Chatterbox opened the party too late.”
It should have started early in November, not at the end. Thanksgiving was already past.
“But a turkey must be stronger than a chicken.”
“They say it’s ferocious.”
“That’s good.”
I told him to fight back.
“Did you have some problem with turkeys…?”
Yuhyun tried to understand my nonsense. Grateful and proud of him, I hugged him lightly and patted his back. I’ll become the world’s strongest turkey. Or at least a turkey that can run away well.
Across from us, a turkey comrade appeared. Far more splendid than me. Now that I think about it, Manager Song tried to capture Seong Hyunjae around Thanksgiving. The Crescent Moon nearly lost two fattened turkeys twice. Follow the Crescent Moon’s rule of not touching until perfectly fattened, you Chatterbox.
“Hello, Sesung Guild Leader,”
I said to Seong Hyunjae.
Hmm, a turkey doesn’t suit him. Let’s call him a peacock. Peacocks are eaten too, I’ve heard. A plump… though that hardly suits him either. Anyway, a peacock nearly fattened. Seong Hyunjae looked puzzled when our eyes met.
“An odd gaze.”
“Your tail feathers are dazzling. My eyes hurt.”
This time even Seong Hyunjae seemed unable to grasp my meaning. He probably realized I compared him to a peacock. Yuhyun, Yerim, and Gyeol watched me with worried faces, so I stopped.
Aside from reconfirming that Chatterbox was a madman, I had quite an enjoyable break. I toured sights and bought gifts. I sent everything straight to Korea. I wanted to deliver them in person, but I didn’t know what might happen. There was a good chance I wouldn’t have time to pack gifts.
I did a video call with Ppiyak, the other baby monsters, the zoo and building staff. Myeong-woo hadn’t returned from Japan, it seemed. He said he hadn’t had much contact. Maybe he was with the Newcomer. That Newcomer better not try anything foolish.
Apart from Ppiyak’s occasional disappearances, Bellare, Horangi, Songi, Sorok, Mar, and the others were all doing well. According to the zoo staff, Yerim and Hyunah even got calls from Manager Song. Once he takes charge, he really takes care of things.
‘And that Hamin kid is such an unreliable cat.’
He said he’d send photos and videos but never wanted to meet Geumdong again. I didn’t need them. I needed skills first.
Among the people in Korea, the most excited was Seok Simyeong, and the most worked up was Seok Hayang. It was hard to calm Hayang down, begging to meet Chatterbox. It’s not the doing of ordinary humans. They claimed it wasn’t dungeon-based research.
Seok Simyeong showered me with praise while subtly watching to see if Dodam would stand on her own. It’s fine for Dodam’s influence to grow—as long as she remains on the same side as Haeyeon.
“This way! This way!”
“Please look up!”
“What’s the expected growth grade for fairy dragons!”
As we stepped outside the lobby to board the waiting car, people clamored. Guards quickly held back those trying to cross the cordon. I smiled skillfully at the cameras. Perhaps I could now smile without fear resistance. Not that I planned to use the skill.
“Top F-rank!”
“Let’s win!”
There were cheers like that.
“All hunters are scam artists! Reveal the truth!”
And others.
“The dungeon proves Earth is a flat dome!”
Well… the dungeon’s interior is indeed enclosed like a transparent dome, so there’s some limit. I heard all sorts of wild claims. After greeting them appropriately, I got into the car. Since it was a team party schedule, I was alone again in the spacious vehicle. I feared Chatterbox might pop out, so I started a private stream. He wouldn’t appear during a broadcast, I hoped. I pretended to be an ordinary unawakened chaebol.
“Hello, everyone~”
└ Director Han, hi!
└ We’ve been waiting!
└ Can we ask Leader Haeyeon to turn on the stream? Or at least Peace ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ I’ll just watch quietlyㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ
Yuhyun had begged Seok Simyeong to engage more with the stream, yet he remained off. I texted Yuhyun suggesting he turn on Peace’s stream if that was okay. Soon came the reply.
└ tysmtysmtysm
└ As soon as Leader Haeyeon’s stream starts, is it about brother again?ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ Such an SB
“SB?”
What’s that.
└ Super Brother Complex LOL
└ Super Bracomㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
…What are they doing to my brother? I frowned, and other nicknames appeared.
└ There’s BF too, to match SF
└ Bracom Flameㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ Wasn’t it Blue Black Fire?
Really… such lack of sense. I wondered if my naming skills were above global average. They probably tried to match my nickname since we’re siblings, but it’s odd. Instead… um… I’m just not good at English words.
└ Then is Song Taewon PS?
└ It’d be ES since Song starts with S
└ Seong Hyunjae SS
└ Super Seong?
└ It’s Sesung
Is there a rule that it must be two letters? And why a color in Bracom? Better Super Flame… oh, that matches mine. Fire is F. How did we both end up F? My stats are F and my brother’s attribute is F.
“Is there nothing cooler? My brother likes me a lot, but he caught over ten police officers, the same S-rank hunters!”
└ Your brother loves you so muchㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
└ Super Commissioner of Police
Drop the “super.”
└ Genocide
└ Killing Fire
└ KF
└ C!
└ Korea Flame
A spectacle. But why Bracom? How much have they seen of us? During this party, Yuhyun… hmmm… was a bit down after what happened last night when Chatterbox dropped by, so he took good care of me. Seok Simyeong must be pleased.
Meanwhile, the car stopped. Following guidance, we entered the building.
‘…Examination hall?’
Rows of desks and chairs appeared. Yerim, already there, waved and called out, “Over here!”
“Please end the broadcast temporarily.”
What? Now they were holding a written exam? I sat at the empty desk beside Yerim, who moved her chair close to mine.
“You’re not taking a test, right? We should sit apart.”
“We can move if they say move. But I can’t read English well! They’ll translate it into Korean, right?”
Seats filled one by one, and Yuhyun placed his desk opposite mine. Peace sat beside Yuhyun. On either side of Noah, seated in front of me, were Riete and Kang Soyeong. Noah let out a small sigh.
– Wiiiik!
Gyeol struggled to drag a desk closer to us. His wings fluttered pitifully, but the desk refused to budge. In fairy form he was weaker than human form. I stood to help, but Seong Hyunjae lightly pushed Gyeol’s desk with one hand. Gyeol tapped his tail in frustration. Still, he took good care of him.
A little apart from us, in the seat beside Manager Song, sat Hyunah. I couldn’t hear their conversation, but they seemed to be talking. I also saw Evelyn elegantly seated in the back.
“Greetings, everyone.”
Once all party participants were seated, Chatterbox walked onto the stage.
“I hope you enjoyed your break.”
Today he wore neither a flashy suit nor armor, but a calm shirt and trousers with a belt around his forearm. Were they really going to a written exam?
“Since the last game, viewers have sent in various opinions.”
Snap! With a finger flick, viewer opinions appeared on the auditorium screen.
“From simple impressions to desired programs. After compiling the countless suggestions!”
The screen changed to show me pointing a gun at Song Taewon in the rain. Ahh! Don’t point that at me suddenly! I was only just starting to forget!
“Combat! The majority wanted fights between hunters. Although it’s not suited for a party, I thought a simple duel might be fun.”
It was ruined. But I also thought there must be a trick. Chatterbox wouldn’t want to put me at a disadvantage for no reason. Or maybe since I’d won so much, he wanted me to lose once. Carrot and stick.
“One-on-one. A single match. To choose your opponent, please fill out the survey distributed.”
Surveys lay on the desks. Only party participants may answer. 1. Person you want to fight. 2. Person you’re most interested in. 3. Person you don’t want to fight. 4. Person you’re least interested in. 5. Person you want to travel with. Huh? 6. Person you want to talk with. 7. Person you want to kill. Seriously… most of the fifteen questions involved selecting participants.
“Han Yuhyun put me for everything again! Question 4 isn’t supposed to be anyone but bro.”
Yerim boldly peeked at Yuhyun’s survey. He ignored her. A tablet lay before Peace, who pressed my photo repeatedly with his paw. Peace, you’re not looking for Dad. Gyeol received a tablet too.
“Uncle, who did you pick?”
“You shouldn’t look.”
“I’ll show you too. I put Sesung uncle for number 1. I really want to spar with him!”
“As for me…”
Yuhyun looked at me expectantly.
“Of course it’s you, Yuhyun.”
“Be honest.”
“I am. Question 3 is Gyeol.”
“That’s right, I should put Gyeol too! I’d rather fight Peace, but how can I fight him? For number 7… there’s no one. Excuse me! Can I leave it blank if there’s no one?”
“Of course.”
Chatterbox replied. I also had no one for 7. Yerim quickly finished her survey, folded it neatly, and began to look around.
“Gyeol, can I see yours? Did you pick Sesung uncle for 1? What about Sesung uncle? Oh, as expected Uncle and Manager Song have high shares! No one you’re not interested in?”
“If you write someone’s name, it’s hard to say you’re not interested.”
“Uncle, Sesung uncle wants to fight me!”
Yerim boasted proudly. Surprising. Actually, Seong Hyunjae hadn’t properly sparred with Yerim yet. And I wasn’t a worthy opponent now. If he had to choose, Yerim would suit his taste—at least she was new.
“Please submit your surveys.”
About thirty minutes later, assistants collected the surveys. While we waited, light refreshments were served.
“Hyunah, who did you pick for number 1?”
“That’s a secret.”
“Aw. Manager Song left most blank. What about Noah?”
“Secret too.”
Yerim pouted, saying it was boring.
“I’ve traveled many times with Manager Song, so I want to have a fun time with Han Yujin too.”
“Who says such shameless things. It’s not a trip but a forced business trip.”
Hyunah clicked her tongue. Song Taewon sipped his tea quietly. After a moment, Chatterbox reappeared.
“Based on the survey results and your honest feelings, let’s move!”
At once, the surroundings changed in a swoosh. The broadcast was still on. If I were paired with a very uneven opponent, it might be better not to broadcast. First, let me see who it is.
Someone appeared before me.
“First, hello.”
Han Yujin greeted Song Taewon with a slight wave.
Source: Webnovel.com, updated by readnovel.co