WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader’s Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 109: Episode 22 — Three Promises (1)

The Enforcement Bureau’s emergency detention.

According to TWSA, such a measure is only carried out when a dokkaebi commits an act that severely violates the plausibility of a scenario.

[Mid-grade dokkaebi Paul. From this moment, your custody will be handed over to the Enforcement Bureau. You retain the right to remain silent regarding your jurisdictional scenario, and all authority over the Main Scenario will be revoked.]

As that impassive declaration continued, Paul’s expression changed by the second.

[You will lose all your accumulated scenario achievements and be demoted to a low-grade dokkaebi. As punishment for your transgressions, you will…]

[D-demotion? Wait! Please, wait just a moment!]

Paul hastily cut in. Casting a resentful glance at me and at the other dokkaebis nearby, he shouted.

[All of a sudden, a demotion? Don’t you think I deserve to know what I did wrong?]

[Do you truly not know?]

Another dokkaebi from the Enforcement Bureau asked. Paul hesitated momentarily before speaking again.

[I don’t. What exactly is the problem here?]

It seemed he had decided to brazen it out.

[Look at the constellations. Aren’t they all amused? I believe I concluded the scenario quite splendidly.]

Paul spoke with confidence, causing one of the Enforcement dokkaebis to scowl.

[You’re telling us plausibility is not an issue? I started the forced execution of the scenario with the constellations’ consent, and, as you see, the constellations themselves also—]

[Streamer types are always like this. It’s all ‘Constellations, Constellations.’]

Not all dokkaebis hold the Constellations in respect.

In fact, within the Enforcement Bureau are those who once were constellations themselves but, for unavoidable reasons, lost their status and turned into dokkaebis. Once constellations, but forced to live on as dokkaebis—these are precisely the dokkaebis of the Enforcement Bureau.

Apparently offended on his clients’ behalf, Paul lifted his head defiantly.

[Your words go too far.]

[Don’t get cocky, Paul.]

[No matter if you’re an Enforcer, I won’t stand for you insulting my clients.]

Perhaps thinking he was on a roll, Paul continued.

[I can guess why you Enforcers have arrived. Likely because I used the ‘Forced Execution Right’ of the scenario.]

[The ‘Forced Execution Right’ is usable only when constellations agree to bear the plausibility of the scenario together.]

[I know that. Otherwise, there’s the risk of a plausibility backlash. But as long as the constellations’ satisfaction is high enough, that part—]

[Satisfaction? Paul, look at your own condition before you speak.]

At these words, Paul glanced down at himself.

Pazzzzzzt!

Paul’s face went pale as he lifted his head.

[T-this is…?]

Blue sparks crackled all around him, an omen of the plausibility storm.

[W-Why is there a plausibility storm…?]

The plausibility storm was punishment for twisting the narrative’s flow. At this moment, the world’s plausibility was seeking to erase Paul’s very existence. The Enforcer dokkaebi bared his fangs in a grin.

[Forced Execution of a Scenario requires immense plausibility, second only to a dokkaebi’s highest authority. Did you really think you’d be fine using it to carry out such a crude and forced plot?]

[T-this can’t be happening!]

[Paul. You had an opportunity to finish the scenario without using the ‘Forced Execution Right.’ And it would have been a far fresher development than we’ve seen so far. Why did you sabotage it? Thanks to your atrocities, the Administration Bureau of the Seoul Dome is now on high alert.]

[T-That’s… No, wait! I invoked the Execution Right only in accordance with the constellations’ wishes!]

Growing desperate, Paul looked all around.

[C-Constellations! You agreed with my development just moments ago, didn’t you?!]

But no Constellation answered.

[…Constellations?]

The countless constellations who had supported his direction vanished from the Korean Peninsula’s channel the moment the scenario’s conclusion turned sentimental.

It was inevitable.

They encountered an ending they disliked, so of course they left. In truth, even Bihyeong’s channel lost nearly a third of its subscribers at that finale. The ones who remained behind…

[The constellation Demonic Judge of Fire is glaring at the mid-grade dokkaebi Paul.]

[The constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband snickers at the mid-grade dokkaebi Paul.]

[The constellation Secretive Plotter is mocking the mid-grade dokkaebi Paul.]

All were Constellations who had disagreed with Paul’s direction from the start.

[N-No! I can’t let it end like this. Enforcers, please!]

[Don’t worry. You won’t be erased.]

[R-really?!]

For a moment, hope gleamed on Paul’s face. The Enforcer dokkaebi then spoke as if to snuff out that hopeful spark.

[You’ll suffer a punishment far worse than annihilation. Because of you, our Administration Bureau has been saddled with an enormous plausibility debt.]

At the Enforcer’s gesture, restraints of script-like strings materialized over Paul’s body. With another code manipulation, Mid-grade Dokkaebi Paul, who existed in spirit form, was forcibly summoned into the physical world. Paul trembled and tried to resist.

Having lost his streamer voice, the dokkaebi uttered a very human-like cry.

“I-I’ve been set up! There’s no way it should have turned out like this!”

Nearby, Bihyeong spoke in a jeering tone.

[See? I told you we should have ended the scenario promptly.]

“Bihyeong!”

Finally, Paul snapped. Wrestling with the restraining code, he jabbed a finger in Bihyeong’s direction.

“Enforcer! Arrest that one, too. I have proof that his channel violated Star Stream’s rules!”

[Of course, he’s coming along as well.]

Paul’s expression brightened at those words. But in Korea, as they say, you have to hear someone out until the end, whether they’re human or dokkaebi.

[He was the one who called us here, after all. Dokkaebi Bihyeong.]

“What…? You don’t mean—?”

Bihyeong waved briefly at the reddening Paul. With an odd smile, one of the Enforcer dokkaebis continued.

[Dokkaebi Bihyeong. Now that’s a splendid dokkaebi. Look at him, wearing nothing but a ragged cloth and focusing solely on the scenario, such a modesty is the hallmark of a real storyteller. Unlike you, who struts around in some designer suit, thinking you’re all that.]

Bihyeong, taken aback, wore a sheepish look. Doubtless, he never expected his poverty would help him like this.

“No, that can’t—! Bihyeong is—!”

[Shut it.]

The tightening of the restraining code made Paul scream.

[You’ve already been disciplined twice before, haven’t you? This time is your third. And you well know what the third punishment entails, don’t you?]

“This is madness! My superior will never allow it! You’re all making a terrible mistake. If you lay a hand on me—”

[Save the blather for the Bureau.]

A portal shimmered open in midair. At last, it was time to bid farewell to this mid-grade dokkaebi.

We would likely never see him again in any upcoming scenario.

Paul’s blazing eyes fixed on me in a glare.

At the moment our gazes met, a flame ignited inside me.

[The Fourth Wall is trembling due to the surge of emotions.]

Shin Yuseong of a burned-away future.

Had it not been for this mid-grade dokkaebi, perhaps she could have been saved. Though her own round would never return, maybe she could have faced the new round of this world at my side.

But this mid-grade dokkaebi crushed even that final chance.

That is why I can’t be satisfied with him merely receiving a punishment close to death.

“Wait. Stop.”

The dokkaebis turned toward me, startled. No wonder—they wouldn’t expect a mere Incarnation to halt the Enforcement Bureau. The Enforcer dokkaebi, scrutinizing me, spoke up:

[So it’s you… that ‘Kim Dokja,’ correct?]

Another dokkaebi asked.

[You’ve heard of him?]

[He’s a famous Incarnation in this area lately. One of the strongest in the peninsula, yet supposedly still without a Patron contract.]

[Hooh…?]

Ignoring their chatter, I reached out with Dokkaebi Communication and spoke to Bihyeong.

‘Bihyeong, I’ll give you 100,000 Coins.’

—What…?

Bihyeong, following the Enforcers, stared at me wide-eyed.

‘Promote me to Platinum membership in the Dokkaebi Compendium.’

—Why so suddenly?

‘There’s no time. Just do it.’

—Dammit…

Watching the Enforcer dokkaebis draw closer, I urged Bihyeong again. With a sigh, he fiddled with something in midair.

[You have spent 100,000 coins.]

[Congratulations! You have become a Platinum Member of the Dokkaebi Compendium!]

Normally, one would see flamboyant celebratory effects at a time like this, but I asked Bihyeong to skip them. Unlike the mere 5,000 coins needed for a Gold membership, once you reach Platinum, the treatment you get is on a completely different level.

[All right, Incarnation Kim Dokja. Why did you call us?]

The Enforcers, still unaware of my membership upgrade, questioned me. Unlike ordinary dokkaebis, these ones were massive, exuding an intimidating aura just by standing there.

Though they had lost their original status and suffered a steep decline, many of them had once been Great-Grade Constellations. It was only natural they felt imposing.

I let out a soft breath and spoke:

“I request a Private Meeting with the dokkaebi.”

[What?]

The Enforcer dokkaebis looked taken aback, then exchanged grins.

[A ‘private meeting’ is an exclusive right that only Platinum or higher members can request. Don’t tell me—?]

“That’s exactly it. Check if you don’t believe me.”

Sharing another glance, two of the dokkaebis began manipulating the system to verify something, then let out low exclamations.

[It’s true.]

[How did an Incarnation manage to become Platinum…?]

“I have enough qualifications now, right?”

After a moment’s hesitation, the Enforcer dokkaebi nodded.

[So you do. Which dokkaebi do you wish to meet in private? Platinum membership grants you a private meeting with a dokkaebi of up to High-mid level, though scheduling—]

“No need to schedule anything. The dokkaebi I want is the one you’re taking right now.”

I pointed a finger at my target.

“I want to use the item ‘Dokkaebi Dokdae’ to have a private meeting with the mid-grade dokkaebi Paul.”

Footnotes:

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