WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 94: Judge Kim Panyeong (2)
──────
Judge Kim spotted Eight-Foot Sister running alongside the subway train.
No, seriously?
This was a subway train.
How fast was a subway train again?
But by the time he started doing the math, Eight-Foot Sister had vanished.
Had she finally fallen behind the train?
That wasn't it.
【Eek! Gyaaaah!】
Screams rang out.
The passengers on the train remained quiet.
Even with those ear-splitting screams, no one reacted. They couldn't have been made by a living person.
【G-ghosts?】
【Shit!】
The homeless ghost caught on and ran toward the front car.
They had to escape.
Judge Kim came to the same conclusion and hurried into the next car.
【Kyaaaah!】
【H-human... Save a ghost!!】
The screams were getting closer.
Eight-Foot Sister had to be tearing through the cars from the rear.
The homeless ghost and Judge Kim ran all the way to the first car.
"When's the next station? When do we get there?!"
"M-maybe about a minute?!"
One minute.
It was a short time.
If they could hold out a little longer, they could escape through the open doors.
Still, time was always relative.
【Kyaaaah!】
【N-no! It wasn't me! No!】
The screams had reached them.
In that fleeting instant, the two ghosts came to the same decision.
【Po, Po, Po...】
Eight-Foot Sister entered their car.
Unable to walk through the cramped subway car, she crawled on all fours, a horrifying sight.
The moment they saw her, the two realized it.
She was on a completely different level as a soul.
She possessed power unlike the evil spirits that occasionally rushed at them, trying to devour them.
【Po... Po... Po...】
Eight-Foot Sister crawled around grotesquely, looking over her surroundings.
Since it was before rush hour, the car was fairly empty.
The two ghosts chose to pretend they were passengers.
They sat in empty seats and acted like ordinary commuters, planning to hold out until the train reached the station.
【Huff, huff...】
With that monstrosity right in front of them, both ghosts felt as though their hearts were racing.
They mustn't make eye contact.
The moment they did, she'd know they were ghosts.
They had to stay as calm as the living people who had no idea Eight-Foot Sister even existed...
"Lots of seats left~"
【Oh.】
Someone sat down.
Of all places, it was the seat occupied by the homeless ghost.
The person and ghost overlapped. Seeing that, Eight-Foot Sister glared at the homeless ghost.
【Po~】
【N-no...】
Snatch!
The homeless ghost was caught in Eight-Foot Sister's grasp.
【Gyaaaaaah! D-don't eat me! Please spare me!!】
【Po! Po~!】
After grabbing the homeless ghost, Eight-Foot Sister rummaged around, pulled something out, and showed it to them.
【Huh? U-uh... This name is...】
That was when the doors opened and passengers began filing out.
Judge Kim needed to leave with them, but his hands and feet were shaking so badly that he could barely move.
He had already surpassed the limits of flesh and blood, so why was he frozen in fear even with a spiritual body?
Just as Eight-Foot Sister was about to turn her gaze toward Judge Kim...
【O-oh?!】
Fog suddenly spread through the car.
A pale fog that even the living could see.
"W-what is this?!"
"F-fire?!"
Suspecting arson, people hurried off the train.
【Po?】
【Gah! A fire? No! I'm an Earthbound Spirit, I can't leave the subway!】
Taking advantage of the chaos, Judge Kim hurried out of the train as well.
'That's strange! The smoke spread far too quickly for a fire!'
It was like the smoke grenades he had seen in the military.
The truth was that it was a fox demon's spell.
"You! Follow me!"
【Huh?!】
A hand suddenly reached through the smoke and grabbed Judge Kim.
The hand led him up the subway stairs. Before long, a thunderous roar came from beyond the fog.
【Po!!】
Eight-Foot Sister had realized Judge Kim was escaping and figured out what had caused the smoke.
"Tch! Sharp-eyed little thing!"
The one who had grabbed Judge Kim was the fox demon Kohaku.
She brought him to the surface, set him down, and said,
"Hurry! Now that she's targeted you, escaping is nearly impossible!"
【U-uh?!】
Judge Kim didn't understand what was happening, but he sensed he had no other choice.
The two began running down the road.
Thump! Thump!!
The sound of something racing out of the subway was clear as day.
Judge Kim ran with every last ounce of strength he had.
"I used a transfer station to get ahead of you! How did you get here before me on nothing but raw physical ability? You boar of a ghost!"
【Po!!】
Eight-Foot Sister burst out of the subway.
Her eyes flashed as she spotted Kohaku and Judge Kim, and she immediately began chasing them.
She was a monster that chased subway trains on bare legs.
An older ghost and a little yokai had no hope of outrunning her.
At least, not on their own.
Coo coo coo coo!
Pigeons poured down on them.
It was the Gugu legion.
"Grab on!"
【O-oh!】
At Kohaku's command, Judge Kim frantically grabbed a pigeon.
Soon, the two rose into the air on the Gugu legion.
【Po! Po!!】
Once the distance between them had widened, Kohaku let out a triumphant cry.
"Hahahaha! How do you like that? You should've built relationships with the other retainers too! Do you know how many sacks of corn I buy every week?!"
Something about that exchange felt ominous.
Didn't it sound like this fox demon knew Eight-Foot Sister?
【Um... What in the world is going on...?】
"You're Kim Panyeong, right?"
【How do you know my name...?】
"You're wearing judicial robes, so you really were a judge. Come on! The king wishes to see you."
【???】
"Hwahahahaha! Kohaku is without question my lord's right hand!"
Judge Kim couldn't make heads or tails of the situation.
* * *
"So... you're Kim Panyeong?"
An hour after Eight-Foot Sister and Kohaku ran out, I was spending time with Gari at a cafe when Kohaku proudly brought Kim Panyeong before me.
Eight-Foot Sister, meanwhile, was huffing in frustration.
【Y-yes... I was a judge, but how did you know that...?】
"Well, it just happened that way. Hmm... You seem to be a vengeful soul, though. Why haven't you found passage to the afterlife? Why are you still wandering the living world?"
You'd think a judge would have lived a fairly smooth life, so why couldn't he move on?
I decided to hear his story first, but Judge Kim tilted his head.
【I-I don't remember.】
"You don't remember?"
【Yes... I have no idea why I'm wandering the living world...】
"Mm..."
It was common among ghosts.
Even those who had only recently become ghosts gradually forgot pieces of their lives, and vengeful souls suffered from it even more.
It varied from case to case, but...
"Um... You remember that you were a judge, and things like your family, right?"
【Yes, I remember them vaguely.】
Those memories seemed hazy too.
His memories of being a judge were intact, so perhaps he was gradually losing everything else.
If we'd been any later, he might've become an evil spirit instead of a vengeful soul.
"This is a pain. It's not like I can pull a miracle out of nowhere..."
"There's something called the Soul-Rekindling Technique in the Ghost Soul Compendium."
It was a technique that awakened a soul's forgotten memories.
Naturally, I'd never used it before, so this would be my first time...
"Should I try it out for practice?"
【U-um... On me? Do you really have to?】
"Let's give it a proper try! If you keep wandering around and turn into an evil spirit, you're the only one who loses."
【W-wait...】
"Sit down, you little punk!"
"Let's see..."
I opened the Ghost Soul Compendium and read the instructions for using the Soul-Rekindling Technique.
"The Soul-Rekindling Technique must not touch the surface of the soul, but reach its depths..."
Surface... depths.
Muttering to myself, I read the next line.
"Inhale the soul energy, circulate it in your mouth with spiritual power, then recite the incantation?"
【E-excuse me. You seem like a complete beginner. Is it really right to test a technique you're using for the first time on me?】
"Quiet, you little punk! My lord is a genius among geniuses, personally recognized by the Tsuchimikado Chief Priest!"
【Who even is that?!】
"Huuup..."
I drew in a breath.
As I inhaled, I had to take in the energy of the soul I would use the Soul-Rekindling Technique on...
"Come closer."
【Huh? O-okay...?】
I pulled Kim Panyeong closer and tried to inhale the energy flowing from him.
Sniff, sniff!
It felt like I was breathing in smoke or something.
【Gaaaaah?! I-I'm being sucked in! Something inside me... Something inside me is getting sucked in!!】
"It's fine, kid. You won't die, you won't."
Huuup!
I mixed the soul energy I'd inhaled with the spiritual power inside me and prepared to release it as an incantation.
Once that was more or less done, I turned my attention back to the Ghost Soul Compendium.
「Afterward, place a finger between the target's eyebrows and say 'Forget the Soul' three times as an incantation.」
"Forget the Soul."
At that moment, Judge Kim's soul twitched.
"...Forget the Soul."
Blue, flame-like sparks flew from my fingertips.
"Forget the Soul..."
Crackle!
The next moment, everything before me turned white.
It felt as though my body had floated into the air, followed by the sensation of my feet hitting the ground with a thud.
"...Huh?"
I looked around, but Judge Kim, Kohaku, Gari, and Eight-Foot Sister were nowhere to be seen.
There were only people.
* * *
The Soul-Rekindling Technique was a method for reading a soul's memories.
That meant the scene I was seeing now was probably inside Judge Kim's memories.
I had to find out what Judge Kim's resentment was by reading through his memories.
Judge Kim.
Kim Panyeong's life had been eventful.
He had been born as the eldest son of a poor family from a hillside shantytown, passed the judicial exam, and became a judge.
From what I saw in his memories, Judge Kim appeared to have been a rather conscientious judge.
He ruled strictly according to the law, and whenever corrupt temptations came his way, he firmly rejected them.
Even Judge Kim had apparently received media criticism at times, branded a crooked judge.
It had been a case involving a fraudster. Judge Kim interpreted the law as it stood and sentenced the criminal to three years in prison. People accused him of taking bribes, asking how a con artist who had swindled tens of billions of won could receive only three years.
Judge Kim had felt wronged.
The scammer wasn't a murderer. How could he impose a sentence harsher than that of a murderer given the maximum legal sentence?
With the criminal conviction established, recovering the victims' money was a matter for civil court.
Of course, Judge Kim knew it too.
The fraudster had already siphoned off the proceeds and would have no money left to return to the victims.
But what could he do when that was the law?
All he could do was rule according to it.
Bang! Bang!
The place changed.
Most of Judge Kim's memories were from his time in court.
It was likely because that had been the brightest period of his life.
Those were his most vivid memories, so the courtroom was what appeared most often.
"Honey."
This time was different.
In the living room of an ordinary apartment, Judge Kim watched his wife bring over some documents.
"What are these?"
"What is it?"
"Loan documents. Didn't we pay off our home loan already?"
"What are you talking about?"
Judge Kim took the documents his wife handed him.
His expression hardened.
"Why... are we paying this?"
"You told me to invest."
"I did?"
"You said that person was safe..."
Judge Kim's fingertips trembled.
"Wait."
The next scene was a bank.
The scene after that was a police station.
Phone calls followed, along with the faces of his son and daughter, and his wife's tearful face.
"F-father... Is all of this our debt?"
Judge Kim couldn't say a word.
Documents were piled on the desk like a mountain.
Loans.
Joint guarantees.
Investment contracts.
Promissory notes.
And...
The money was gone.
The next place was a courtroom again.
Beyond the gallery, the hand of a judge in judicial robes came into view.
「The defendant presented false investment products to numerous victims...」
A voice carried through the room.
"He deceived the victims by guaranteeing high returns, then swindled them of their money..."
The judge was reading the ruling.
Judge Kim clenched his fists as he watched.
"Despite the large number of victims and the enormous amount of damages, the defendant continues to deny the crime. Given the exceptionally poor nature of the offense, the defendant is sentenced to seven years in prison."
Bang!
The gavel came down, and the sentence was delivered.
It was a common sight in a courtroom.
The place was familiar to Judge Kim, but his position was reversed.
From the judge's bench that delivered verdicts,
to the gallery waiting for one.
The scammer who had defrauded him had been found guilty.
Now, he would have to file a civil suit based on that ruling.
"Senior Kim. I gave him the maximum I could. Who dares make a fool of a Korean judge? That son of a bitch."
"T-the money..."
"...You know. It was probably all moved out under borrowed names already. That guy had already sent it all overseas. Even if you win in civil court, there won't be any way to get it back."
Judge Kim knew too.
There was no money left for that person to return.
The fraudster had already hidden the money away and disappeared.
"Honey... Let's stop asking the children for help. Because of us... the kids ended up taking on debt too."
"..."
"You said there wouldn't be any money even if we won. We can barely afford the lawyer fees now..."
It was ironic.
He had spent his entire life as a judge delivering verdicts, only to end up in the same situation as those harmed by the criminals in the cases he ruled on.
"Hah..."
Even after winning the judgment, there was no money to recover.
He took on debt, lost his home, asked his children for help, and grew distant from his relatives.
In his later years, Judge Kim ate alone in a tiny one-room apartment.
「The ruling in the case of Mr. Kim, the fraudster responsible for hundreds of billions of won in damages, was delivered today. Victims are furious that the man who defrauded so many victims received a three-year prison sentence...」
* * *
"Huu..."
I breathed heavily as I returned to reality.
And if I had returned to reality, that meant Judge Kim had returned as well.
"Gasp! Gasp...!"
Kim Panyeong's hands were trembling.
He panted, shaking with the resentment inside him.
"What are you going to do?"
"..."
"That scammer is still in prison, right? I can make that guy pay what he deserves."
"..."
"But you should know this. The criminals in the cases you ruled on never paid that kind of price."
So...
Judge Kim had to choose.
Would he choose personal retribution and let go of his resentment?
Or would he let the law remain the law, just as he had done in every judgment of his life?
Footnotes:
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
