WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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Chapter 129: Convalescence

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Getting back to Seoul was simple.

I’d already used Declaration of the Holy Realm, so all I had to do was use Spatial Leap with the sanctuary’s support.

"Man, thanks. That made the trip easy. If I ever have to come to Eastern Europe again, I’ll count on you."

"Just say the word."

Just as I was about to part ways with the pastors, Pastor Go spoke up.

"We have some vampire elixir left, so I’ll bring it over. Are you going home to rest?"

"Um... I’m planning to stay at Yurim Hotel for a while."

"For the hot springs? They’re Holy Vein Hot Springs, so they should help you recover."

Yurim Hotel had not opened yet.

There would be no guests, so I could have the place to myself for a while.

"Then go get some rest. You all worked hard."

"All right. See you soon."

After saying goodbye to the pastors, I held out my hand to my family.

"All right, grab on."

【Po~】

"I’ll hold your leg."

"Got you."

"I’ve got you."

Clack! Clack!

One more Spatial Leap.

We arrived in an office near the hotel lobby.

I set teleport points in places people wouldn’t notice, and at Yurim Hotel, I’d designated an office that only I, the owner, could enter.

"Whew. I’m going to soak in the hot springs. Help yourselves if you want to use them too."

I left the office and headed for the baths, only to run into a middle-aged couple.

They were wearing our hotel staff uniforms, and I recognized them.

"Mom?"

"Hyeran? Did things work out with the job you said you were taking?"

"Ah... yes. It worked out."

Cha Hyeran had not properly told her parents what she did.

Not that she had worked for the North Korean Paranormal Military Force Management Bureau to secure her parents’ pardon, nor that she was currently working under me.

I figured they had their suspicions, but they wouldn’t know the specifics.

After the Cha couple caught up with their daughter after so long, they turned to me as well.

"Hello, Comrade Boss."

"Hello. Is the Hanawon training manageable?"

"Yes. The South Korean comrades teach us exactly what we need to know, so it’s easy to understand."

North Korean defectors generally stayed at Hanawon Resettlement Support Center for training on adjusting to life in South Korea.

But since they had escaped Aoji prison camp in large numbers and entered South Korea, it wasn’t something that could be openly revealed. It seemed even the National Intelligence Service was having a hard time handling it.

Since I had brought them here, some of the defectors lived and ate at the hotel while commuting to Hanawon for training.

"You haven’t been registered as official employees yet, right? There are legal issues with North Korean defectors, so apparently that can only happen after you receive your completion certificates."

So they were wearing uniforms for now, but I couldn’t pay them wages.

"Giving us such a good job is already more than we deserve."

"We’ll work our fingers to the bone for you, Comrade Boss!"

"No, just rest. I’ll give you a card, so go sightseeing around Seoul with your daughter."

"We couldn’t possibly!"

"That’s right! You’ve given us such a good job and taken care of our food and lodging. How could we possibly?"

Maybe it was because they had lived in North Korea, but they acted like I’d get angry if they stopped working, even when I told them it was fine.

I should have Cha Hyeran take her parents sightseeing in Seoul sometime.

"Well, then spend some quality time with your daughter. I’ll be staying here for a few days."

"Yes, Comrade Boss!"

"Have a good time!"

Even after I parted with Cha Hyeran and her parents, I ran into hotel employees busily at work.

"Hello, Director."

"Hello."

For the record, my title at Yulim Hotel was CEO.

Maybe because the opening was close, there were noticeably more employees now.

We’d hired a general manager to oversee the hotel’s on-site operations, and discussions with the owners of the restaurants moving in had also finished.

Most of them were connected to Holy Temple Church, though. There were business owners among the church members.

Hey, aren’t we all family?

Something like that. We were helping each other out.

Honestly, if our church wasn’t an exorcist organization, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it a breeding ground for corruption.

Then again, this was a business set up for tax evasion, so what did it matter?

Still, we were pretty serious about running the hotel itself.

We’d hired a veteran general manager from a five-star hotel and planned to heavily promote our natural hot spring water.

The flagship facility was apparently some kind of rooftop pool at the Sky Lounge. A rooftop pool? An infinity pool? Whatever it was.

"Ah, Director. Are you planning to use the infinity pool?"

"Yes. It’s in trial operation right now, correct?"

"Yes. It’s outside operating hours, so you can use it by yourself."

Okay.

Then Gari getting in wouldn’t be a problem.

I was about to enter the infinity pool when I heard several people following me.

"Guys? What are you doing?"

【Po?】

"My lord?"

Eight-Foot Sister, Kohaku, and even Mountain Lord.

"Men and women should not sit together once they are past seven. How can we bathe together when the sexes must remain separate?"

"My lord, for someone from Gen Z, that’s an awfully old-fogey thing to say."

A tiger several hundred years old had just called me an old fogey.

"My lord, infinity pools are usually mixed bathing from the start."

"What?! There’s no way such depraved customs exist!"

I took a quick look, and it really was mixed bathing.

Come to think of it, there was no way to separate men and women in the Sky Lounge.

When I looked uncomfortable, Mountain Lord smiled seductively and brushed an elegant hand across their lips.

"Why are you so conservative? Be fruitful and multiply. Did not the Lord say so Himself?"

"Quoting the Bible at a time like this?"

"What do you say? Shall we share the pleasures of man and woman tonight?"

"Mountain Lord, you shameless bastard! Stop that wicked nonsense at once!"

【Poo! Poo!】

The two of them protested.

After we argued at the entrance for a while, Mountain Lord, worn down by being outnumbered, let out a long sigh and raised both hands.

"Rest assured, my lord. Nothing you fear will happen. Lord Gari, the goods."

Clack! Clack!

Gari clicked their teeth as if to say they understood, then spat something out with a Kweeeeeek!

"Swimsuits?"

"I am told swimsuits are mandatory in the infinity pool."

Why did they keep them in Gari’s mouth?

Guys, please stop using Gari like an inventory.

Not that I had any right to say that.

Anyway, after putting on swimsuits, we entered the infinity pool.

There were jacuzzis here and there in the huge pool. Maybe because it was cold out, both the pool and the jacuzzis were filled with hot spring water, sending up clouds of warm steam.

It felt strange that such a sleek, modern hotel belonged to me.

"Ah, this is nice."

Gari floated around, while Eight-Foot Sister had to go into the deepest part before her entire upper body was submerged.

Mountain Lord had somehow procured a tray with a drink on it and was having a glass.

"My lord, I shall massage you."

"Oh, Kohaku. You’re trying to work even here? Go swim and have fun."

"Ah, thank you for your consideration. Please call whenever you need anything!"

Kohaku must have wanted to play in the water too, because she jumped into the pool.

The hot spring water warmed me up, making it feel as if both my body and mind were healing.

No, I really was healing.

The pastors had said that water rising from the Holy Vein was good for your health by itself.

Even though I’d received emergency treatment with vampire elixir, my injuries had been serious. Holy Vein hot spring water was treatment I needed.

"This’ll become a Rumor, won’t it?"

Yurim Hotel’s natural hot spring water had already been famous. If people found out it had effects like this too, wouldn’t the place be swarming with guests?

I’d started this business for tax evasion, but I could make a fortune just running the hotel like this.

"Whew."

The view was nice.

The cityscape of Seoul seen from the rooftop infinity pool was quite spectacular.

When I heard they had built a pool on the roof, I’d wanted to come see it for myself.

Money and business were both smooth sailing.

It would be nice if things could stay this way.

I wanted to live like this forever.

"......"

That was impossible, right?

Going through the Malevolent Site incident in Serbia had made me realize it.

I’d been given a mission, and it was like an inescapable poisoned cup.

The huge demon that had beaten Paimon to death and vanished.

The last Great King. Probably Baal, the first-ranked demon.

That thing would be my archenemy.

In the end, my showdown with it would determine how this mission ended.

I needed to grow stronger.

Not just me. Gari too.

"You think so too, right?"

Clack! Clack!

Gari clicked their teeth, seeming to share my resolve.

"Take that!"

【Poo!】

"You two, if you’re going to splash around, go somewhe..."

Splash!

"Hahaha! You look like a soaked cat!"

"This little fox...?"

Hmm.

It was a lovely sight.

I should come here more often.

* * *

A week had passed since I began staying at Yulim Hotel.

Though calling it staying there was a stretch. I used Spatial Leap to go home whenever I needed to.

Still, I’d gotten a lot of rest.

I healed my body with hot spring water, and room service, I suppose?

I rented a suite and took care of both food and lodging there.

Paying my own money to stay at my own hotel sounded like a joke, but wasn’t that healthy consumer spending?

And the service the general manager had introduced for suite guests was more thorough than I expected.

Apparently, foreign tourists were the main targets, and they served an upscale full-course Korean meal.

A luxurious course meal with no expense spared, for only XX, XXX won!

Considering the cost, it was practically being given away for free. It was one of the general manager’s main offerings for the tax-evasion front.

It reminded me of how the salad shop we had set up as a cover got so popular that our secret business was exposed.

When I told them not to overdo it, they said they’d walk that line carefully.

Pastor Go had recommended quite an impressive person.

So I spent a while building myself back up.

I’d suffered terribly in Serbia, and I’d been badly injured, so I did need time to recuperate.

One day, while I was resting comfortably, Pastor Go contacted me.

[Hey, Yohan. Can you come now?]

"Where are you?"

[The church office.]

At Pastor Go’s words, I immediately leaped to the office.

Pastor Go had been sprawled on the office sofa. Pastor Go set down the phone and got up.

"Were you resting?"

"Friday service just ended, so I was taking a short break. It’s nothing major. I wanted to give you more vampire elixir that I made."

The vampire elixir Pastor Go handed me looked quite different from before.

"It looks faint."

"We’re short on blood. Think of it as heavily diluted elixir."

I had heard that the vampire blood we obtained from the previous vampire hunt had run out.

"So we can’t count on the elixir’s boost anymore."

Most of it had been used for training or treatment, but drinking an entire bottle made me feel like a superhuman.

Since I was more of a prayer-and-long-range-support type than a direct fighter, it hadn’t been especially useful to me.

"Well, if we don’t have any, we can get more."

"Huh? Where?"

Just then, Pastor Park entered the office.

His visit must have been arranged, since Pastor Go didn’t even ask why he was here.

"Oh, Yohan. How are you feeling?"

"I’m completely better. I don’t think I need any more elixir either."

"Those Holy Vein Hot Springs really are good. I should make use of them sometimes too."

"Pastor Park, you seem strong enough that you wouldn’t need them in the first place."

"I’m old now. I’m not what I used to be."

He wasn’t what he used to be?

What kind of monster had Pastor Park been in his prime?

"Pastor Go told you, right? We’ve run out of vampire blood."

"Yes, I was just saying the blood must be running low because the color looked faint."

"Right. If the raw material has run out, we get more. Which is why you need to take a trip to the Netherlands, Yohan."

"The Netherlands?"

I knew it was a European country, but why the Netherlands out of nowhere?

"I considered America, but the orthodox side seemed better. The Lincoln people have been busy lately too."

"Lincoln?"

Were they descendants of the American president who freed the slaves?

"To secure fresh vampire blood, go to the Netherlands and catch some vampires, Yohan."

"I don’t really mind, but..."

A vampire hunt.

It had been a while, but we were on a completely different level from back then.

With Gari, Eight-Foot Sister, and Mountain Lord, even the granddaddy of all vampires wouldn’t stand a chance.

"But this time, don’t bring anyone. You’ll go alone, Yohan."

"...What?"

"You won’t truly be alone. There’ll be a local guide. They’re orthodox among the orthodox in this field. Experts in vampire hunting whose tradition goes back farther than Catholicism."

"...Who are they?"

"The Helsing Family. Descendants of Abraham Van Helsing."

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