WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 240: Episode 45: The Gourmet Association (2)

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Persephone smiled faintly.

[Why? It doesn't seem to be to your liking. An archangel from the neighboring area has been telling everyone this is your type.]

"That is absolutely a misunderstanding."

[Hmm...]

Persephone let her voice trail off regretfully. Incidentally, she was currently wearing Yu Junghyeok's appearance. At least she wasn't wearing a China Dress, which was a tremendous relief.

[Then how about this?]

"Wait...!"

Before I could stop her, Persephone changed again. As her outfit transformed into a China Dress, I thought she was going to become Sangah again, but this time she had taken the form of someone I never expected.

"What on earth...?"

Even knowing it was Persephone, I felt my face heat up at her sweet smile. She had taken the appearance of the Punisher I had seen in the Demon Realm not long ago.

[You seemed unable to take your eyes off her then. Is this really your type?]

White skin showed through the slit in the dress. I reflexively shut my eyes and cried out.

"...Please stop teasing me."

[Hehe, this is really fun.]

Laughing like a child, Persephone transformed again.

This time, she looked like Sangah. Instead of a China Dress or garter belt, she wore a neat office outfit. Seeing that appearance brought back memories of Mino Soft, calming me considerably. Sangah had always spoken to me dressed like that.

I wonder if Sangah-ssi is doing well.

I'm a little worried since she's traveling with Suyeong... Still, she's Sangah-ssi. I'm sure she'll be fine.

Persephone smiled and said,

[Come with me. I came to fetch you.]

I nodded and followed Persephone.

The instant we left the waiting room, several Constellations turned their gazes on us. Some whispered among themselves after spotting Persephone beside me. Somehow, I felt like a noblewoman's young attendant.

Before long, we reached a massive elevator standing in the center of the lobby.

The Gourmet Association's gathering would probably be held at the top of this fortress.

The doors of the crystal-orb-like elevator opened, and Persephone and I stepped inside. My body grew a little heavier with a lurch, while the scenery of the dark dimensions unfolded beyond the transparent crystal walls. Beyond the horizon of the dimensions, the grand world of the Star Stream came into view.

[You look very excited.]

"Rather than excited, I'm a little nervous."

Persephone smiled as though she understood how I felt.

[I'm glad you're alive. You were an Incarnation the last time I saw you, but now you've become a proper Constellation.]

"Even so, I'm still a novice. I'm not sure whether it's all right for me to be here."

I had meant it as modesty, but Persephone's expression stiffened slightly, as though she had taken my words another way.

[Do you think my standing in the Gourmet Association is so low? That I'd struggle just to bring in one new member?]

"That isn't what I meant..."

[I'm joking.]

"Please stop teasing me."

[Think of it as an early investment. I don't know how promising a Constellation you'll become, and you'll have to go through this someday too.]

I've thought this before, but I didn't know why this queen treated me so well. In exchange for taking the Sky-Splitting Sword Saint to Tartarus in the underworld, all she had asked of me was that I attend this Gourmet Association gathering.

She probably knew it too.

That this condition of attending the Gourmet Association would ultimately be for my benefit, not hers. She had arranged a proper debut stage for me now that I had become a Constellation.

Persephone's obsidian-like eyes glittered.

[What is your grade of status now? You can't be fabled-grade.]

It seemed the other Constellations hadn't learned that I was fabled-grade. After thinking for a moment, I answered.

"Perhaps we'll meet on the second floor at the next Constellation Banquet."

Persephone's eyes widened. She must have thought my status was Historical-grade at most. Seeing the queen of the underworld flustered was quite satisfying. Yet deep concern soon entered her eyes.

[Constellations who envy you will appear.]

"..."

[Some Constellations will try to draw you to their side.]

"I expect that."

I was prepared. None of the Constellations I would meet from now on would be easy to deal with. Whether they envied me or wanted to make me their ally.

Both kinds were equally dangerous.

[But most Constellations will have little interest in you.]

"...Pardon?"

[Until now, you've only visited places where the influence of the Korean Peninsula Scenarios was strong, so you might not have noticed... Don't forget. This is the Gourmet Association.]

The Gourmet Association. A grand gathering where high-ranking Constellations of the Star Stream assembled.

Suddenly, Persephone's smile felt frightening.

[I won't play the role of your guardian like I did at the Constellation Banquet. This time, I want to see you rise on your own.]

The elevator doors opened with a chime, and Persephone vanished into the banquet hall as if putting her words into action. Left alone, I hesitantly stepped out of the elevator.

[A few Constellations are curious about you.]

Indirect Messages flew in as soon as I emerged, but their interest soon faded. It was better this way. Too much attention would only make it harder to move around.

Unlike on the first floor of the lobby, there were no Constellations present as symbolic forms. Everyone had taken on either human forms or the appearances of lifeforms from other worlds. Not one Constellation here was concerned about minor Plausibility.

Constellations with appearances I had read about in TWSA stood throughout the bustling banquet hall. The first to catch my eye was a man dressed as a Viking who occupied the center of the hall. It would have been stranger not to recognize him after seeing the huge hammer strapped to his back.

[The best first-generation fable is obviously Dragon That Ate Hammers!]

The Constellation Thunder of Thursday from the nebula Asgard raised his booming voice. Then, from the opposite side, a woman answered.

[What are you talking about? The best one is obviously Children of the Morning Star. It has the highest rating too.]

A goddess in a pure white dress that seemed embroidered with starlight. If my memory was right, that woman was the Constellation Goddess of the Morning Star from the nebula Tree of Guardianship.

It seemed another argument had broken out over which fable was the best.

They fought every day over which fable was the greatest, and it was exactly as I had read in TWSA. Seeing high-ranking Constellations, who were hard to encounter even on the Korean Peninsula, strolling about so casually made me realize where I was.

Even powerful Persephone was only an ordinary Constellation in the Gourmet Association.

[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire cheers for you.]

Fortunately, the channel still functioned here. That was my only comfort.

Right. I couldn't be intimidated by a place like this.

I quietly approached the central group of the Gourmet Association and tried speaking to one of the nearby Constellations.

"Excuse me..."

No one turned to look at me. The Constellations acted as though I didn't exist here at all. Gathering my courage, I tapped the shoulder of the Constellation beside me.

"Excuse me."

This time, there was a reaction. Yet the Constellation only glanced at me, shoved my shoulder as though picking a fight, then walked back toward the center of the banquet hall.

「Kim Dokja knew this feeling very well.」

The feeling that I alone had become isolated from the entire world. Suddenly, the voices of countless Constellations felt distant. We were clearly in the same place, yet they were somewhere else. Only then did I understand what Persephone meant by indifference.

The Gourmet Association had formed a solid barrier of its own, preventing newcomers like me from entering so easily.

[The Constellation Demonic Judge of Fire looks at you with pity.]

...But I couldn't give up like this.

I had to create an opening somehow.

I widened my view and looked around the outskirts of the Gourmet Association. Apart from the Constellations chatting in the center of the banquet hall, there were figures wandering alone. They were members of the Gourmet Association too, so they were surely powerful Constellations as well.

At the edge of the hall, countless panels far larger than those in the waiting room covered the walls.

They showed Scenarios unfolding across worlds. Looking closely, I found a small display in one corner showing the moment I became the Demon King of Salvation.

But no Constellation was watching it.

Even the Korean Peninsula Scenarios I had gone through were only one passing story here. On the panel beside it, a real-time broadcast from the Korean Peninsula was playing.

It seemed to be Bihyeong's channel. On the screen, a self-proclaimed pretty girl with short black hair was spouting nonsense.

"That bastard Kim Dokja must be having the time of his life right now."

I snorted at the familiar voice.

Suyeong, you wouldn't be saying that if you knew where I was.

"Hey, you're gathering Abyss Crystals, right? Gather them properly. If things go wrong later, you'll at least need those."

"...Did Dokja-ssi really tell you to do this?"

"I'm telling you, he did!"

Watching Suyeong and Sangah bicker on the screen filled me with longing. I thought I would only grow depressed if I kept watching, so I turned to the panel beside it. A typical mass-produced fable was playing there.

The fable was called "Legend of the Legendary Otherworld Return."

The title already reeked of something third-rate, and the plot was just as predictable, with a Returnee from another world saving the world so everyone could live happily ever after. Still, it was watchable. In a way, it resembled TWSA... Even the protagonist's way of speaking sounded a little like Junghyeok's. After I skimmed through the fable, a message appeared.

[Would you like to enter a rating?]

Ah, so each fable had a rating system.

I cautiously reached for the rating field beside the work.

At that moment, I heard someone's voice.

[It's my favorite fable.]

When I turned around, an old man stood there. I gave him a small bow and answered.

"It was an interesting story."

[Hoho, isn't it? You've got a good eye, young man.]

Honestly, it was a fable that didn't fit the Gourmet Association very well. The Constellations of the Gourmet Association didn't like these mass-produced fables. The refined people of the Gourmet Association recoiled in disgust and started retching whenever concepts like Nine Circles or Sword Masters appeared.

Yet "Legend of the Legendary Otherworld Return" had both of those things.

"Are you the contributor of this fable?"

[That's right. Hehe. I submit one every year. I want even one more person to know about this fable. It's really good, really entertaining, but I don't know how to explain it.]

"I understand how you feel."

I even found him somewhat comforting. Back when I was devotedly reading TWSA, I posted promotional messages for it on every community site I visited. Most people only cursed me out, but still... It seemed this old man and I had something in common.

The old man sighed and added,

[No matter how much I recommend it, these lot only snort at it. Young people have already become too picky... They're all busy going on about first-generation fables.]

The more I listened, the more unexpected his remarks became.

The Gourmet Association certainly had a rather old-fashioned side.

That tendency grew stronger the higher one climbed in the Star Stream.

Then I heard passing Constellations muttering.

[That Persistent Constellation is here again.]

[Tsk tsk, they say he's so senile that he can't even tell what a good fable is anymore...]

...Persistent Constellation? Judging by the old man getting furious beside me, it seemed to be a nickname for him. Persistent Constellation... I thought there had been a Constellation with a similar nickname in TWSA.

[Get lost, you bastards! I didn't put out this fable for the likes of you to consume!]

At that moment, a beep sounded, and I saw the rating attached to "Legend of the Legendary Otherworld Return" change.

★ 1.3/5 → ★ 1.1/5

The already low rating had fallen even lower. It was obvious who had done it.

[Y-you bastards!]

It was what people called review bombing. The old man shouted after the Constellations who disappeared with mocking smiles. Somehow understanding how he felt, I reached for the rating and said,

"I don't think this is a fable poor enough to deserve such a score."

A beep sounded as the rating rose. The old man, who had been shouting, turned to look at me.

"I'm not sure why fables even have scores attached to them. Every fable has value in its own way. A story that is only entertainment to one person can be salvation to someone else."

The old man looked surprised by my words. His lips moved several times before he muttered,

[You aren't like young Constellations these days... To think you have such admirable values...]

"It's nothing."

Anyone who had endured their childhood through a story like TWSA would think as I did. Perhaps feeling much better, the old man smiled in satisfaction.

[Well, well, it seems I've found a good conversation partner. What's your modifier? I was so flustered that I didn't even ask.]

This seemed like it might go well. I grinned and said,

"I'm the Demon King of Salvation."

Footnotes:

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