The S-Classes That I Raised - Chapter 769: Drifting (1)

“Explain your purpose properly, too.”

I’d expected as much, but sure enough the Puppeteer seemed to be hiding a lot. Standing atop the railing, he looked down at me.

“Look at this, about to interrogate me.”

“Then why didn’t you tell us in the first place? If you really wanted to protect Sigma, there was no need to hide it. At least I would’ve tried to help.”

Seong Hyunjae might have his reservations, but I’m not like that. Yerim and Hyun-a too, and Director Song wouldn’t abandon someone who needed help.

“Were you planning to kill me?”

At that moment Seong Hyunjae blurted out.

“If Han Yujin hadn’t jumped ahead first, that is.”

“What are you talking about all of a sudden?”

The Puppeteer wore a dismissive expression. I didn’t quite understand Seong Hyunjae’s words either.

“Um, Mr. Seong Hyunjae. The Puppeteer did contract with me on the condition of protecting your home. Even now, to protect Sigma, you need to be safe.”

“He used me as bait to bind the Gardener’s thralls.”

“…It seems Yuhyun did try to kill you, but didn’t you still protect him back then?”

He wasn’t trying to kill me—rather the opposite. Seong Hyunjae, pausing as if to organize his thoughts, spoke again.

“What the Gardener’s thrall was after was Sigma. Since Sigma was asleep like me, if you found the location you could seize him easily. Yet the Puppeteer being here means Sigma’s protection is perfect.”

“Oh… I suppose so?”

“If the two are the same being, the moment I die Sigma would awaken—and his location exposed. Sigma, unlike his puppet, seems incapable of growth. Weaker than the Gardener’s thralls.”

I guess so? The Puppeteer let out a short sigh at Seong Hyunjae’s words.

“His time has been frozen all along. Just as when you three met.”

Just as then. Though SS-rank, the grading system difference made him only slightly stronger than our world’s S-ranks. Compared to pre-relapse Yuhyun… he’d be clearly weaker.

“So you planned to use me as bait, deal with the thralls, then bring Sigma here. To use me as bait, you needed to show that only my death would reveal Sigma’s location. Hwangrim is beside Sigma?”

“Hwangrim?”

I hadn’t seen him since the Puppeteer appeared. The Puppeteer looked queasy at Seong Hyunjae’s explanation.

“He’s not cute at all. Isn’t he disgusting?”

“Are you sure Hwangrim really is with Sigma?”

At my question the Puppeteer nodded.

“If Sigma’s location is exposed he must flee immediately. I prepared a new hiding spot and taught Hwangrim. Whoever appears, at least once he can escape safely.”

Then in the end—

“If I hadn’t killed the Sesung Guildmaster.”

“I would have. Lured the Gardener’s thralls, drawn the other Transcendents’ attention to him. Perfect plan.”

I was momentarily speechless. No one to trust in this world, indeed.

“You said you’d protect Seong Hyunjae for me!”

The Puppeteer lightly avoided the hand I reached up to grab him with. He danced around atop the railing.

“If I die more than once it’s troublesome. Can’t die too soon. Still, count the contract as successful, right?”

“You said if Seong Hyunjae is in danger, Sigma is in danger!”

“That’s true now.”

“Now? Oh—once Sigma is acknowledged as an independent entity and joins our world, it won’t matter?”

“Before Sigma separates, that man could be taken away!”

“He’ll hold out. Calm down and smooth your face, child. That’s why I didn’t tell you. There was someone too perceptive, so it was found out.”

Waving his hand lightly, the Puppeteer said. Calm down? Smooth my face? What was that?

“Seong Hyunjae did nothing wrong to you, and you shamelessly plan to throw an innocent into the abyss—”

“Sigma is the most important thing to me.”

Tap, tap. His light steps rang on the railing, hair swaying carelessly between them.

“I don’t care what happens to the rest. I only need to protect what’s precious to me.”

“No, still—”

“If you lose our child while caring for someone you don’t even care about?”

His eyes, faintly edged with a smile, looked down at me. As if asking: Would you sacrifice others for what you hold dear? Is it okay to lose what’s precious to you while worrying for others?

I remembered Yuhyun. A frost seemed to gather in my chest.

“…Still.”

“Hey, you little thing. I’m different from you.”

The Puppeteer’s hand brushed over my head as if smoothing it. I shook it off, frowning.

“The same goes for everything.”

He looked in turn at Seong Hyunjae and Director Song.

“Putting aside good and evil, social agreements, universal values—each of us has a line we won’t cross. Even if the world ends and I sacrifice everything around me, I decided to protect my own child first. That’s who I am.”

“…I’ll protect my brother, too.”

“I’ll still live well. Sigma will be fine. But you won’t.”

I—

“If you behave like me you’ll drown in guilt. Then your brother will go to hell with you.”

…Maybe. Even resolved to put myself first, I questioned if it was really right.

“Because you’re so bold, I wonder if I’m at fault. No, I truly cherish Yuhyun too…”

“When we clash with others we waver. Even someone sure of their path doubts once or twice. It’d be strange not to be influenced at all. To go from start to finish unshaken.”

Indeed, life is usually full of conflicts, doubts, and change.

“You’ve only just learned to walk compared to me, but you’ve lived your own life. You may waver, but don’t be swept away.”

“You’re quite considerate.”

“If you, now, throw away Seong Hyunjae saying ‘I’ll only protect my brother!’, that’d be a problem. Especially since the Gardener’s thrall is your brother.”

He spoke too frankly. I turned my gaze from the Puppeteer back to Seong Hyunjae and Director Song. Even those not here were different. They each want different things, and their methods differ.

“In any case, don’t you dare touch Mr. Seong Hyunjae.”

“I’ve already done everything I planned.”

He’d achieved using me as bait, but I still couldn’t fully trust him. He said he’d do anything to protect Sigma. Even allies can be enemies; I must not let my guard down.

“If I reclaim my brother from the Gardener, Sigma will be safe. Is there any way to cancel the thrall contract?”

“There are three ways: mutual agreement, death of one party, or nullification by a more powerful force. In some contracts, the master can unilaterally cancel.”

So either the Gardener and Yuhyun agree to part, or kill the Gardener, or—

“Yuhyun… it’s hard to say he’s truly alive.”

“Hmm, in your brother’s case even the corpse may be bound. Usually death ends it, but this is a special case.”

“How strong ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) is the Gardener?”

“Too strong for the third method.”

I suspected from hearing his connection to the White Bird—indeed.

“He’s one of the oldest Transcendents. True to his name, he has a vast garden. His goal is, in a way, like the New Moon: he seeks the power of creation.”

“The power of the Origin.”

“But he doesn’t intend to destroy the Origin. He wants to create his own world. Since the Origin itself is hard to touch, he targets Sigma, who’s linked to Seong Hyunjae as a pseudo-Origin and as the starting point.”

I looked to Seong Hyunjae.

“So the White Bird allied with the Gardener. Perhaps thinking if the New Moon fails, the Gardener should claim Seong Hyunjae instead.”

“I don’t know details but probably. The contract wasn’t bad for the Gardener. Even if the Eclipse failed—”

Director Song, who’d been silent, reacted softly.

“Even if it devoured the moon, the remainder would belong to the Gardener. He could research that. If the Eclipse failed, he’d have a chance to seize Sigma and Seong Hyunjae.”

“It seems that contract also had restrictions.”

Seong Hyunjae spoke, gazing at Director Song.

“Until the Eclipse failed, no word or action against me was allowed. There was no movement before the relapse.”

“Surely Hwangrim fell into the Gardener’s hands after the relapse.”

The Puppeteer nodded. Indeed, if Seong Hyunjae were known too quickly… wait.

“But wouldn’t the White Bird prefer the New Moon’s plan to be exposed sooner? Many Transcendents oppose creating a new Origin, and since he could see the future, he could sabotage early.”

Come to think of it, that made sense. Why did Seong Hyunjae wait so long as the moon waxed? He wasn’t alone—he had the Gardener as ally, and the Elder would not have stayed idle if he knew. He could’ve even snatched the original Seong Hyunjae. At my words the Puppeteer shrugged.

“He’s a precognitive. He must’ve seen a future catastrophe if he tried to stop it.”

“…Perhaps.”

“They say those who see the future shouldn’t think common sense.”

What on earth was the White Bird seeing? In any case, the conclusion:

“To reclaim my brother, I have no choice but to kill the Gardener.”

“An exchange might work too.”

“Do you expect Seong Hyunjae to step up and offer himself to the Gardener for me?”

If I offered a pseudo-Origin in exchange for my brother, maybe the Gardener would accept—and even throw in a bonus.

“Don’t say things you don’t mean.”

“All four of us here.”

…Four? Seong Hyunjae continued.

“If we safely subdue the thrall, another Transcendent—Eclipse—and the caretaker would be more coveted than a useless thrall. Needless to say, I’d want them too.”

“The Gardener wants back the Eclipse as well. Even if he helped plant it, he can’t touch it easily while its consciousness persists. The caretaker is a fine subject for experimentation too.”

“Then I will meet him.”

Director Song, who’d remained silent, spoke up. Wait, no:

“Whatever you plan, you can’t!”

“If Hunter Park Yerim masters that power, he could subdue Hunter Han Yuhyun.”

“Then the Gardener will contact us. He said newcomers could descend in a vessel-body instead of a thrall. Since thralls have limits, he could appear weakened like the chatterbox.”

“Or he’ll take Hunter Han Yuhyun hostage.”

Director Song spoke calmly.

“Mr. Han Yujin won’t last. Having seen him move, not a simple corpse.”

“……”

“Given current Han Yuhyun’s behavior, he might demand Sigma be surrendered by taking himself hostage.”

“I will stop that, no matter what.”

“And it is my responsibility too.”

Director Song’s gaze drifted to his hand. A dark shadow trembled faintly.

“Mr. Han Yujin, I cannot forgive myself. So I must know.”

“…Director Song.”

“I know there are many who care for me. I’ve learned protecting them isn’t always the way to honor them. In the Chinese dungeon, I saw those who lost me yet remembered me, and here those who protect me.”

The joy of protecting and achieving for oneself. Protecting is one way to save someone; being protected is another.

“But I’m not ready yet.”

His tone was calm but remorseful. If it’s about knowing himself, I cannot stop him.

“Still, don’t rush into exchanges. Talk with the Gardener first. Understood?”

“Yes. I will.”

Hold Yuhyun and make contact with the Gardener. And there are other thralls and the New Moon left. I gazed at the calm water. First, I must find Yerim.

“Hyun-a will be with Yerim… somewhere here.”

How high has the water risen? Despite the flood, the buildings remained intact. Certainly it wasn’t ordinary water.

“This water absorbs both Skills and mana. It cleanses them away.”

“Yes. I felt it when I was swept up.”

“Even when you were farther apart. That’s why only I can move alone. And those two—I doubt they can last long either.”

The Puppeteer looked at Seong Hyunjae and Director Song. Neither has a movement Skill. And neither did I.

“Rather than swimming, we should build a raft. We have cars but no boats.”

Before the fight I’d already used up my tools. So I helped Director Song gather materials. This time Seong Hyunjae joined in.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by readnovel.co