Transferred to an SSS-rank Production Class

“Sori, look at this!”

A small vibration emanated from the disc, and the previously transparent liquid turned indigo.

The boy’s fingertips twitched. Wrinkling his nose, he slowly awakened from his long slumber. His jewel-like eyes, hazy with sleep, were revealed.

“He’s awake!”

The boy, surveying his surroundings with drowsy eyes, sat up in the coffin. After shaking his head to remove the liquid clinging to his hair, he took a deep breath.

It really worked.

“I wish Kalia could see this.”

Now that we’ve confirmed it works properly, all that’s left is to hurry. Let’s leave that side to Cha Taeyang. I moved my hands busily, undoing the formula.

“Hello, I’m Cha Taeyang. I’ve come to rescue you… Aagh!”

“Taeyang!”

What’s going on? I turned around at Cha Taeyang’s scream.

The boy, his upper body extended from the coffin, was strangling Cha Taeyang.

Suspicion, wariness, and fear dripped from his sharp gaze. The hand gripping Cha Taeyang’s neck trembled.

“Hunter Cha Taeyang!”

Afraid of hurting the sea person, Cha Taeyang wasn’t actively resisting. I rushed over and pried the boy off her. In the process, his nails scratched my arm, drawing blood.

“Where are you trying to take me?”

“Where else? To Badadkkot.”

“That’s not a name for land-dwellers to speak!”

“Calm down, please, just calm down.”

The boy, spouting lines that sounded familiar, thrashed about. Despite having been asleep for so long, he was bursting with energy. He was uncommonly strong, causing my body to sway left and right as I tried to restrain him.

I understood his wariness of us, but we didn’t have time. Even after repeatedly explaining the current situation, the extremely agitated sea person wouldn’t listen to me.

The goblin, who had been quietly observing, rolled to the boy’s feet.

“Let, let me go…”

“My child, sleeping beneath the vast waters.”

It was Atera’s voice.

The goblin began singing Media’s lullaby in a voice identical to Atera’s. The boy, who hadn’t stopped resisting out of wariness, ceased flailing his limbs.

“How do you know this song?”

“Our child, resting in the shadow of coral.”

“Shall I bring you the light of a beautiful day, shall I scoop up the night stars with both hands?”

“I’ll weave the sunlight on water and gather it all…”

Cha Taeyang picked up the next verse. The boy mumbled the lyrics with slurred pronunciation. His body, tensed with exertion, went limp. The small boy, barely reaching my chest, began to sob.

As I supported him to keep him from collapsing to the floor, the boy looked up at me.

“How does a land-dweller know Badadkkot’s song?”

“We’ve come to rescue you all at the sea spirit’s request.”

“Astrona?”

“Yes, so please calm down.”

The boy slowly nodded. When I released his limbs, Cha Taeyang approached him with a grin.

Since realizing his mistake, the boy had been staring intently at the area around Cha Taeyang’s neck, apparently feeling guilty. Hand marks had appeared on Cha Taeyang’s white neck. Cha Taeyang rubbed her neck and extended her hand.

“As I said earlier, I’m Cha Taeyang. What’s your name?”

“Uwin. Your neck…”

“It’s okay! You were just scared, right? I’m tough, so it’ll heal quickly.”

“Mr. Kim, are you still scared? Should I sing again?”

“N-no, I’m fine.”

Cha Taeyang pulled the arm of Uwin, who was apologizing in a small voice.

“Uwin, if you really feel sorry, help me out. We need to take out the coffins here. Can you do that?”

At last, Uwin’s face brightened.

Perhaps it was because he was a sea person. Uwin, whose strength belied his childlike appearance, effortlessly pulled out coffins larger than his own body.

“I can’t just stand idle either.”

While Cha Taeyang and Uwin cooperated to remove the coffins, I swiftly undid the circuits on them. Following our busy hands, the sea children opened their eyes one by one.

“Dream beneath the cradle of the long, long night.”

The children’s reactions varied.

Some, like Uwin, lashed out immediately; others cried so hard they could barely breathe; some froze up and refused to leave their coffins. Though their methods differed, they all regarded Cha Taeyang and me with suspicion.

To soothe the children, the goblin sang non-stop. Like magic, the children’s wariness melted away upon hearing his songs. Cha Taeyang, with her amazing affability, seized the opportunity and quickly befriended the children.

“I know that song too! It’s the one we sing when we’re lost!”

“Really? Sing it!”

“I’ll teach you another song.”

“You all have such lovely voices! I really like talented Mr. Kims!”

“Hey, bell-shaped magical beast, what’s your name? I’ve never seen one like you before.”

“Magical beast? I’m a goblin!”

The children chattered incessantly while moving their hands quickly. Towards the end, I couldn’t keep up with removing the coffins fast enough, and the children circled around me, urging me on.

“This is the last one.”

“Levi, wake up quickly!”

The last sea child opened their eyes.

Seeing the friends surrounding them, Levi’s eyes widened in surprise. Levi grabbed the hem of the girl standing right next to them. Judging by their similar eye shapes, they seemed to be sisters.

“We need to communicate via telepathy with our companions at the mansion. Can anyone help with that?”

Uwin, who had been glancing at Cha Taeyang all this time, raised his hand.

“You remember the voice that sang the lullaby, right? If you hear that person’s words, relay them to me immediately.”

“Okay!”

“Everyone, please follow my instructions from now on.”

After explaining the plan to the children, we took the elevator to the surface in two trips. Then I immediately sent a message to Yun Su-ho that preparations were complete.

Bang! Boom!

No sooner had the transmission completed than a thunderous noise that seemed to shake the heavens erupted.

“That guy doesn’t know the meaning of moderation.”

Whatever commotion he had caused, the uproar was audible even here, quite a distance from the banquet hall.

‘I’m not sure what he did, but he certainly drew attention effectively.’

Cha Taeyang used her stealth skill to survey the surroundings. After confirming that no one was around, we led the children out of the wine cellar.

The rose garden, which had been dim before, was now shrouded in deep darkness.

This was favorable for us, who had to escape with many children. Relying on our only ally, the short night, we left the garden.

“What are you doing here?”

Just as we approached the building, a portrait on the wall suddenly swung open like a door, and someone appeared.

It was Roman, the overseer of the mansion. Spotting Cha Taeyang at the front of our group, he shouted.

“Not only have the sisters disappeared in pairs, but what’s with that outfit? Hurry and go change…”

Roman’s face contorted as he noticed our attire and the group of children with us. He seemed to have grasped the situation. We couldn’t afford to have a pursuit team on our tails.

“Hunter Cha Taeyang!”

“Yes, I’ll handle this.”

Cha Taeyang dashed like the wind, approaching Roman from behind.

Just as she was about to strike the back of Roman’s neck to knock him out, Roman crushed the jewel on his necklace. Smoke rose, and his figure vanished without a trace. It was a matter of split seconds.

“It’s a teleportation magical tool.”

“Really? I heard those are incredibly expensive.”

“Yes, I’m certain.”

It’s a magical tool that only the highest-earning hunters can afford. Who would have thought an NPC would possess such an item? We were completely caught off guard.

Someone in charge of the entire mansion must be quick-witted. He’ll likely send a pursuit team here immediately. The port will be crawling with people too.

Things have become more difficult.

‘I was hoping to avoid an all-out confrontation if possible…’

“We’ll need to hurry even more. Unni, let’s move quickly, everyone.”

“Uwin, please relay the situation to Atera as well.”

Yun Su-ho had identified the location of the nearest shore for us, since we couldn’t survey the surroundings while being transported by carriage.

The south side of the mansion, which offered the easiest access, was dangerous due to the Shipowners’ Association’s port. He said the western shore was somewhat better.

Yun Su-ho was supposed to leave right after causing the commotion, so he should have arrived at the shore by now. We just need to find a way to escape.

I stopped Cha Taeyang, who was about to run towards the door on the north side of the mansion.

“Let’s head straight west.”

“But there’s no door on that side.”

“If there’s no door, we’ll make one.”

Understanding my meaning, Cha Taeyang grinned. As we picked up speed, she lifted the younger children who were falling behind and continued speaking.

“We’ve been discovered anyway, so we have no choice. Let’s tear it all down as we go.”

“I like the sound of that!”

Following my lead, Cha Taeyang cradled children in both arms and ran towards the west. Levi, held in my arms, pounded on my chest with their fist.

“I hear something.”

“You hear something?”

“Footsteps. Many, many people are coming.”

Levi squeezed their eyes shut and shuddered. Mirei, Levi’s sister who was following right behind us, explained in Levi’s stead.

“Levi has sensitive hearing. If they’re saying that, it means there really are a lot of people coming.”

“Levi, can you describe it in more detail?”

“It’s the footsteps of land-dwellers. They’ve split into two groups and are running, with half of them coming towards us.”

“And the other half…”

“They’re going that way.”

Levi pointed south with their index finger. Towards the port.

This island is under the Shipowners’ Association’s control. They know better than anyone that it’s unsuitable for hiding for extended periods.

‘To leave the island, we need to go to the port. Even if that weren’t the case, they’d need ships to pursue sea people.’

It was a clever judgment.

Calculating various possibilities in my head, I ran towards the western wall.

“Everyone, stay back!”

Cha Taeyang, who reached the wall first, swung her arms. After confirming the children had moved away, she unhesitatingly threw a punch.

The tall wall made of white bricks crumbled in an instant, raising a fierce cloud of dust and producing a sound that seemed to assault our ears.

“Over there!”

We heard the voices of the pursuit team shouting in the distance.

With this much commotion, it’s inevitable that they’d discover our direction. All we can do is pray we reach the sea before them and flee.

“Alright, let’s go.”

Holding children in both arms, I crossed over the collapsed wall.

Plop-

As soon as we exited the mansion grounds, rain began to fall from the sky.

The drizzle quickly intensified, becoming so heavy it obscured our vision. The Snow Fairy spring water clinging to the children’s bodies was washed away by the fierce downpour.

Levi, looking up at the cloud-filled sky, perked up their ears.

“I can hear the sea.”

I nodded at Levi’s words.

Though the shore was still far away, somehow it felt like I could hear the crashing waves.

“Let’s go back. To the sea.”