WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS x FLAME COMICS

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint ◈

Chapter 256: Episode 47 — The Demon King Trials (8)

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[The Fourth Wall bares its teeth threateningly.]

Savage sparks began flying through the air.

I quickly told Mark to leave the office. There was no telling what might happen if he stayed here for no reason.

'Wait, just hear me out.'

I considered what sort of offer I should make to calm this damned Wall down.

'You like fables, don't you? If this ends well, I'll let you eat as much as you want.'

[The Fourth Wall frowns as it looks at you.]

Its growling eased a little. So it wasn't completely ineffective.

'There's something I absolutely have to check. If I keep going without knowing, I might die here. Surely that's not what you want?'

[The Fourth Wall] fell silent. Fortunately, it didn't seem to want me dead right now either. After staying silent for a long time, [The Fourth Wall] finally spoke.

「The Fourth Wall says, 'Kim Dok ja.'」

'Yeah.'

「If I am go ne, dan ger.」

I thought I understood what it meant.

One of [The Fourth Wall]'s functions was protecting me from the gazes of Constellations. It was worried that Constellations would harm me if it lost that function.

'I know. But I really have to see it this time.'

When my resolve didn't waver, [The Fourth Wall], which had gone quiet for a moment, spoke again.

「If it is a bout ten sec onds.」

Ten seconds. Right, it was a bit tight, but that would do.

「But all chan nels must be block ed.」

I nodded.

―Biyoo. Put an ad on the channel.

The moment I gave the order through dokkaebi communication, every screen Biyoo had been broadcasting went dark all at once.

[A large number of Constellations are flustered by the sudden advertisement video.]

Good, that should do it. But [The Fourth Wall] still didn't sound satisfied.

「The Fourth Wall says, 'Still not e nough.'」

'Not enough? What isn't?'

[The Fourth Wall] didn't answer. When I looked up, Biyoo blinked her innocent eyes.

[...Baat?]

Biyoo had definitely blocked the channel properly.

And yet it still wasn't enough...

In that instant, an earlier Scenario came to mind.

Hidden Scenario: Kim Dokja Proof.

Somewhere in this industrial complex, the dokkaebi who had been running that Scenario would still be here.

Looking out the window at the ruins the Scenario had left behind, I thought about it. The Star Stream creates Hidden Scenarios, but it is the dokkaebi that guides their direction.

[A large number of Constellations protest the unstable channel connection.]

Thinking back on it, Kim Dokja Proof had been a rather peculiar Scenario.

The way it progressed was as if it knew exactly what the Constellations wanted. It even had information about 'me' before the Scenario...

No matter how I thought about it, there was only one bastard who could've pulled something like this.

I let out a light sigh and slowly opened my mouth.

"Bihyeong, why don't you come out already?"

* * *

"Auntie! Where are you? I'm here!"

The Benevolent Relief Center set up in Seongnam City.

Built with government assistance, it was one of the civilian relief organizations caring for people injured by Scenario incursions. Han Suyeong shouted as she lightly kicked patients lying here and there.

"Dokja's mom! Dokja's mom, raise your hand!"

Patients who had been lying there perfectly well grimaced and moved out of her way under the unrestrained kicking. Yu Sangah, white-faced, hurried over from behind and started tending to them.

"I'm sorry! Are you all right? ...Hey, Han Suyeong-ssi!"

At Sangah's sharp voice, Suyeong made a face of utter disgust.

"Ahhh, if you're going to nag me, get lost."

"You're being way too unreasonable. These people are patients!"

"I'm a patient too."

Just as Sangah frowned and was about to get angry, the doors of the relief center opened and a new wave of patients flooded in. Incarnations who had been attacked by monsters from another world. Even the large wards couldn't handle the crowds anymore, so they had been forcibly sent to the relief center.

As Suyeong looked around, she spotted a familiar woman.

"Lee Seolhwa is here too."

Lee Seolhwa, the Medicine Sage.

Junghyeok's Companion was here taking care of patients.

Suyeong let out a deep sigh.

"What a total mess... You know that? She was originally destined to become a really awful bitch."

"How do you know that, Suyeong-ssi?"

"I just do. If Dokja knows it, why wouldn't I?"

Sangah's eyes narrowed at the sight of Suyeong bringing up Dokja. Glancing at Sangah, Suyeong continued.

"Dokja changed too many things. He saved people who were supposed to die, and even people who were supposed to live..."

"...Are you talking about Revelation?"

Instead of answering, Suyeong made a hissing sound, unwrapped a piece of dark chocolate from her pocket, and ate it. As the bitter taste filled her mouth, her tone somehow seemed tinged with bitterness too.

"Because of that bastard, the future's gotten too messed up. Stories are supposed to flow the way they are meant to. If they had..."

"If they had, neither you nor Dokja would be much different from characters."

It wasn't Sangah's voice. Suyeong gave a short snort and turned toward the direction the voice had come from.

"You look healthy, Suyeong."

Dokja's mother, Lee Sukyeong, had somehow appeared behind them.

"What does it matter to you whether I'm healthy or not?"

"Our Dokja seems to like frail girls."

"What does what Dokja likes have to do with me!"

At Suyeong's shout, Sukyeong laughed and turned her head.

"It's been a while, Yu Sangah-ssi. What brings you here?"

Before Sangah could answer, Suyeong cut in again.

"Use [Fortune and Misfortune] for me."

Fortune and Misfortune. It was one of the Stigmas Sukyeong had received through her Patron, the Mother of the Founder.

"Fortune and Misfortune... You always act so confident. Why are you suddenly trying to rely on that sort of fortune-telling?"

"It'd be nice if confidence alone solved everything."

"You're running out of information, aren't you?"

Suyeong wasn't like Dokja. All she had was a file that only resembled the original story in its early parts.

"You aren't exactly in a position to take it easy either, Auntie. Haven't you pretty much run out of your own information too?"

Sukyeong wasn't much different. The information about the original story she'd heard from her son was the entirety of the future she knew. In the end, both of them were in the same position, holding nothing but uncertain information about the future. Sukyeong smiled faintly.

"Did you really have to come to me? Sangah-ssi should be able to read the future through Olympus too."

"Are you joking? Did you forget what Olympus did to Dokja?"

Sangah added apologetically,

"I'm sorry. I can't really help right now..."

"Don't worry about it. I know Olympus is in a complicated situation too. You're in the middle of an internal conflict right now, aren't you?"

"...Yes."

When Sangah lowered her head uncertainly, Suyeong said,

"She's already shaved a ton off her lifespan by overusing her Stigmas. So this time, Auntie, you can make the sacrifice."

At Suyeong's shameless tone, Sukyeong let out a soft snort. Taking a light breath, she looked up at the sky as if measuring the movement of the stars.

"[Fortune and Misfortune] can't tell me a specific future outlook. It can only divine fortune and misfortune. You know that, right?"

Suyeong nodded.

"Just knowing Dokja's current situation is enough."

"Hmm?"

When Sukyeong looked at Suyeong with an odd expression, Suyeong hurriedly added,

"...Depending on what's happening over there, the Korean Peninsula could get completely wrecked. I've been hearing weird things through the Constellations lately... Why are you smiling?"

"Because you're cute."

Suyeong grumbled.

"Just hurry up and divine Dokja's fortune already."

"I've been divining Dokja's fortune for quite a while now."

"Really? ...How's Dokja right now? Is he doing okay? Is he safe?"

Sukyeong smiled slyly.

"Well, a week ago it was neutral, then three days ago it was misfortune..."

"What? Misfortune?"

"The day before yesterday, I think it was confusion..."

"...Confusion? What, was Dokja being tempted by something?"

When Suyeong urgently asked, Sukyeong shrugged.

"Yesterday it was fortune for a little while..."

"Then what is it now?"

Without a word, Sukyeong pulled a bronze mirror from inside her robes. It was a fragment of the Heavenly Mirror, one of the Three Heavenly Seals from the Korean Peninsula's fables.

"See for yourselves."

At the unusual note in her voice, Suyeong and Sangah leaned in at the same time. Faint letters rose over the green-tinted bronze mirror.

―Great Misfortune.

For a moment, Suyeong doubted whether she'd read it correctly.

"Is this real?"

"If Hongik hasn't fallen."

She said that, but Sukyeong didn't look at ease either. Then the surface of the Heavenly Mirror rippled, and the letters changed.

"Ah...? It says help."

At Sangah's words, the other two also looked into the Heavenly Mirror.

Help.

Its meaning was so obvious it hardly needed interpretation. Suyeong and Sangah looked at each other at the same time. Letting out a light sigh, Sukyeong looked at the two of them and asked,

"So, which one of you is going?"

* * *

[...As expected, Dokja is Dokja. How did you figure it out?]

The Bihyeong who appeared in the air looked very different from before.

His well-groomed fur gleamed, and even the rag he wore had been replaced with cloth of fairly fine quality. They said dokkaebis only wore grubby tiger-print underpants, but apparently that fable was all an old story now.

"What happened to the Korean Peninsula channel? And how did you end up all the way here?"

[I got demoted. Can't you tell?]

"Looks like things aren't going very well without me."

[If you know that, hurry up and come back.]

Bihyeong looked at me for a moment, and I looked back at Bihyeong. Our relationship was different now from what it had once been. Because of my death, the Stream Contract between us had effectively ended.

[Have you been well?]

"As you can see."

[I've been hearing a lot about you.]

I only gave a light nod.

[No intention of coming back to my channel? I could treat you pretty well.]

Bihyeong probably meant it sincerely. And because he meant it sincerely, it was an even more dangerous proposal.

"I'm not sure..."

I no longer hated Bihyeong as much as I used to. Maybe it was because my emotions had been worn thin by the grueling Scenarios. Or maybe it was because I'd realized I wasn't really that different from those dokkaebis either.

But that didn't mean I was naive enough to join hands with Bihyeong.

Whatever the case, Bihyeong was a dokkaebi with ties to the Administration Bureau, and the Administration Bureau was one of the most dangerous groups in this world.

[Well, you were always that kind of bastard.]

Bihyeong's expression was changing. Dokkaebis were cold to beings who left their channels, so it was only natural. It wasn't as if I'd never considered the possibility that Bihyeong might turn against me.

But the thought that that moment might come sooner than I expected left a bitter ache in my chest.

[Then how about this? Let's build a joint channel. Even if it's only here in the Demon Realm.]

For a moment, I thought I'd misheard.

"...Are you serious?"

[Just think about it.]

Honestly, it wasn't a bad offer. If I could build a joint channel with Bihyeong, Biyoo could grow quickly by learning all sorts of things at his side.

"All right. More importantly, right now..."

Bihyeong spoke through dokkaebi communication.

―You want me to shut down the channel, right?

I nodded. As expected, it was Bihyeong.

―I don't know what you're trying to do, but I hope it works out. I've got some business of my own right now, so let's catch up later.

I couldn't quite understand why Bihyeong was being this accommodating. Still, from my point of view, that worked out well. Maybe Bihyeong had changed the settings, because the next moment, messages from the Constellations came through the channel.

[All Constellations in the channel are dissatisfied with the channel connection!]

I immediately looked at [The Fourth Wall].

「The Fourth Wall says, 'Don't lo ok for too lo ng.'」

[Exclusive Skill, The Fourth Wall has been deactivated.]

It felt as though the curtain surrounding my world had vanished. I didn't miss the opportunity and opened my Attributes Window.

[You are checking your Attributes Window.]

And a massive amount of information rose before my eyes.

+

Name: Kim Dokja

Age: 28

Patron: None

Modifier: Demon King of Salvation (fabled-grade)

Exclusive Attributes: Lamarck's Giraffe (Legendary), Demon Realm Duke (Legendary), Scenario Interpreter (???), Apostle of ■■ (???)...

+

The Attribute I hadn't been able to inspect properly last time had finally come into clear view. Honestly, it was a little unexpected. I'd naturally thought my Attribute would be Reader...

'Scenario Interpreter? And what the hell is Apostle of ■■? Why aren't those Attribute grades shown?'

[You have become the first to check your Attributes Window.]

[The Attribute effect of Scenario Interpreter has activated!]

In any case, I kept checking the information. The part I examined most carefully was the section with my Exclusive Skills.

+

Exclusive Skills: [Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint Lv.?], [Bookmark Lv.?], [Character Profile Lv.?], [The Fourth Wall Lv.?], [Reading Comprehension Lv.?]...

+

Among the Skills that had originally been hidden behind ■, one in particular caught my eye.

[Reading Comprehension].

At a glance, it looked like nothing more than an ability to read and understand something, but I didn't think that could possibly be all. Most of the Skills I'd gained up to now had been like that.

Without thinking, I reached a hand toward the Attributes Window. Then, with a crackling sound from the air, the Attributes Window began to crumple.

...Had the ten seconds already passed?

At first, that was all I thought. But the problem wasn't as simple as that.

A faint ringing began in my ears, and then suddenly my head started pounding. The fingertips that had touched the Attributes Window tingled, and my vision spun.

I felt like I was going to throw up. From beyond the Wall I'd never been able to cross, something was calling to me.

[Exclusive Skill, The Fourth Wall has activated strongly!]

Even though [The Fourth Wall] had activated, the situation didn't improve.

The scenery around me was all getting mixed together. Things that had never merged before were merging. In the midst of the horrible sensation, I was seized, for just a moment, by a bizarre sense of union. It felt as though I had reached the state I'd long been hoping for.

Crrackle!

Then a strange message came through.

[Your understanding of the character Kim Dokja has increased.]

What? At the moment my consciousness flickered, someone spoke to me.

「(See? I told you not to look for too long.)」

Footnotes:

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