WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Our Precious Demon King ◈
Chapter 4: Reunion
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<You ordered a murder.>
<'Solicitation of Murder' is placed on the Scales of Chaos.>
Clink.
A jet-black bead landed on the dragon pan.
The scales tipped to one side.
<You defeated an evildoer.>
<'Judgment' is placed on the Scales of Order.>
Clink.
“Oh.”
A fairly large white bead dropped onto the turtle pan.
The Scales tipped back into balance.
<You saved a citizen from a crime.>
<'Rescue' is placed on the Scales of Order.>
Clink.
A white bead even larger than the last landed on the turtle pan.
The scales tipped heavily toward order.
“Interesting.”
Watching the Scales rise and fall like a seesaw was fascinating.
Scales that weighed evil karma and good karma, huh?
The karma my summoned retainers earned had nothing to do with me.
If it had counted directly, the Scales would have registered 'Murder,' not 'Solicitation of Murder.'
'Does that mean I'm not responsible for Remi's evil karma unless I specifically give the order?'
With his guardian knight around, he probably wouldn't have to worry about anyone picking a fight with him.
'So saving someone counts for more than killing a villain.'
He thought he had a rough idea of what the Scales of Order wanted.
But when did it settle up?
<Settlement takes place at sunset.>
“Oh.”
It was the middle of the night, so the sun had set long ago.
Did that mean he had to wait for tomorrow's sunrise, then wait until the sun set again?
He could look into the settlement later.
“Remi.”
“...”
After cutting off the rapist's head, Remi had remained completely still, dressed as a high school girl.
The shock must have been pretty bad.
“Go back inside.”
“...”
Whoosh.
Remi vanished without a reply.
Only Kim Junyong, a headless corpse, and the high school girl who had nearly suffered a terrible fate remained in the quiet residential parking area.
“Mmph, mmph.”
“Oh, right.”
Kim Junyong approached the girl and peeled away the tape covering her mouth and binding her hands and feet.
“Hic, h-hic!”
Terrified, the girl half crawled backward, inching away from the corpse. She kept glancing at Junyong, trying to hold back her tears.
“You should go home too.”
“Gasp!”
The girl hurried away before Junyong could change his mind. Then, in the middle of running, she suddenly stopped and turned toward the parking area, bending into a deep, ninety-degree bow.
“Th-thank you.”
“Yeah, sure!”
Junyong even waved. Her face pale, she hurried away.
“What's this? Why do I feel so proud?”
Kim Junyong chuckled and left.
“Let's get something to eat.”
Making a living and keeping himself fed was what all this was for, after all.
After strolling a short distance, Junyong returned to the scene and searched the rapist's pockets.
“It'd be ridiculous to earn evil karma for something like dining and dashing.”
He opened the wallet and found two ten-thousand-won bills.
Taking them, he set off again.
What more did he need for a little fun?
He could go where he wanted, eat what he wanted, and do whatever he felt like.
* * *
Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency.
Back at the Narcotics Division, Kang Dusik directed the team.
“Haah. This is exhausting.”
“Come on. We wrapped up the case nicely. What's wrong?”
“There's more. I know there's more, but they cut off the trail too cleanly.”
The supplier of the drugs from the Demon Realm.
There had to be an organization at least as powerful as a guild behind it.
The Grade 8 and 9 hunters were only errand runners.
The commissioner wanted to wrap things up here, announce the investigation results, and show off...
But Kang Dusik wasn't satisfied.
Kang turned to the junior detective, Detective Kim.
“What are you doing?”
“Oh, checking the CCTV around the hospital.”
“Ha. Think staring at that will get you anywhere?”
“Hey, we've got nothing to lose.”
“And what could you possibly find?”
It was standard investigative procedure, but Kang thought it would be pointless.
'That bastard is definitely no ordinary civilian.'
Unawakened?
What nonsense.
The guy was a hunter.
Kang didn't know how he'd done it, but he used a power that even an awakening tester couldn't detect.
Someone like that had deliberately escaped. There was no way he'd carelessly leave a trail behind.
He might already be back at his base.
Wait. Could he be some kind of fixer?
Had he caught wind of the investigation and come to cut off the errand runners?
'But then why did he fall out of the sky?'
Some parts of it didn't quite fit.
Kang Dusik rubbed their face with both hands.
Even a brief conversation might have offered a clearer idea of what was going on. But the guy had slept for three straight days after being found, then fled as soon as he woke up.
He was incredibly suspicious, and something about him felt wrong, but there wasn't anything concrete to pin on him.
“Haah. There's definitely something...”
Sitting down, Kang Dusik clicked the mouse.
Kim Junyong's profile appeared on the screen.
Questioning family members was a basic part of any investigation.
“His parents have passed away. Just one older sister.”
Kim Jangmi, forty-seven.
“A seven-year age gap...”
That was quite a difference.
“Should I call her or not?”
After a moment's hesitation, Kang Dusik dialed the number.
“Hello. This is the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency, Narco...”
[I'm on my way.]
“Sorry? Where?”
[I'm on my way to the police station!]
“...Sorry?”
[Let's talk when I get there!]
Beeep.
“...?”
Kang Dusik stared blankly at the phone for a moment.
“What's wrong, Chief?”
“Huh? Apparently, Ms. Kim Jangmi's on her way here.”
“What? When did you call her in?”
“I didn't.”
“Then who did?”
“Good question.”
Detective Kim looked baffled.
Team Leader Kang Dusik was just as confused.
“Maybe she thought it was a phone scam?”
About to call again, Kang Dusik took it out on Detective Kim instead.
“Maybe... Anyway, what are you doing?”
“Uh, working.”
“Enough chatter. Find anything?”
“Why take it out on me?”
“What was that, you little shit?”
“N-nothing. Huh?”
“What? What now?”
Detective Kim grew excited while staring at the monitor.
“Found him.”
“What?”
Both Detective Kim, who had been mechanically scrolling through CCTV footage, and Team Leader Kang Dusik stared wide-eyed at the screen.
“Th-that's Kim Junyong, right?”
“It is.”
“Wow, he's got some nerve. Not even a disguise. Look at that walk. You'd think he was sightseeing.”
On the screen, Kim Junyong was walking down the street.
He was still wearing his hospital gown and hadn't even put on shoes.
“Where's he going?”
“Uh, who knows? Wow, he's so damn relaxed. Okay, next camera.”
Detective Kim switched the footage.
The camera covered the whole road from a distance, but Kim Junyong's clothes stood out so much that he was easy to find.
Every time they adjusted the time and checked another camera, Kim Junyong appeared.
“Wow. What is with this guy?”
“...”
“He's got some serious guts.”
“Shut up and map his route.”
“Yes, Chief.”
Soon, the two had traced Kim Junyong's walking route on a map. Their eyes went round.
“Fuck.”
“Wow. If we'd just asked around nearby instead of coming back here, we could've caught him.”
“Whew. So where is he now?”
“Huh? He disappeared after this camera.”
Kang Dusik replayed the last footage of Kim Junyong. He had been standing still, then suddenly started running and vanished from the frame.
“It'd be too late to go now, right?”
“...Ah!”
“What?”
Raising a hand to stop Detective Kim's questions, Kang hurriedly picked up the phone.
“Hello. This is Investigator Kang Dusik from Narcotics. Have you had any reports of a suspicious person in the past hour? Wearing a hospital gown and barefoot... Oh, yes. What? Yes? Yes, yes? Right.”
Kang Dusik's expression went through a whole range of changes during the call.
When it ended, Detective Kim asked,
“Oh! Did someone report him?”
“Fourteen reports.”
“Wow. Seriously?”
“Let's go to Michuhol Police Station.”
“Why there?”
“They've caught Kim Junyong.”
“What?”
Detective Kim ran after the impatient team leader and got into the car.
“Come on, Chief. You're killing me here. Tell me what happened.”
“Whew. I don't know either. Let's hear it when we get there.”
Vroom.
Incheon Michuhol Police Station.
Team Leader Kang Dusik recognized Kim Junyong in the holding cell at once.
“Wow. He's sleeping?”
“...Excuse me.”
Kang Dusik quickly stopped a detective passing the cell.
“Who are you?”
“Investigator Kang Dusik, Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency Narcotics Division.”
“Right. I'm Lee Junsu from Violent Crimes. What brings Narcotics here...?”
“What happened with Mr. Kim Junyong?”
“Oh, that guy.”
Detective Lee Junsu gave a small laugh and began explaining.
“We received a report of attempted rape.”
“What? He tried to rape someone?”
“No, no. The victim, a high school girl, reported it. She said he saved her.”
“...?”
Kang Dusik and Detective Kim didn't understand at first.
“Then why was he arrested?”
“He killed the rapist.”
“...!”
“Wow.”
Kang Dusik's eyes widened, while Detective Kim sounded impressed.
“Where did you catch Kim Junyong?”
“He was eating at a hangover soup restaurant near the scene.”
“And he came quietly?”
“Good grief, twelve officers responded. He must've realized he had no chance of getting away, because he gave up without a fuss.”
He hadn't given up.
It was more accurate to say Kim Junyong had willingly let them arrest him.
“Anything else unusual during the arrest?”
“What was it again? He said the eight thousand won he had left wouldn't even pay for a place to sleep, and let them cuff him. Said something about how expensive everything was.”
“...”
What on earth?
Kang Dusik rubbed their face with both hands, then got to the point.
“We'll be taking Kim Junyong into our custody.”
“Narcotics? No, you can't do that.”
“We're not trying to steal credit. He's connected to a case we're working...”
“No, that's not what I mean. It's already out of our hands.”
“Out of your hands?”
“The Bureau will be sending someone to take him away soon.”
“The Bureau? Ah!”
Section Chief Lee Mina of the Special Investigations Unit had taken an interest in him.
Seeing Kang Dusik's obvious disappointment, Detective Lee Junsu led Kang over to the desk.
“This is CCTV footage from the scene. Take a look.”
It showed the ground-floor parking area beneath an ordinary apartment building raised on pillars.
Soon, the rapist appeared, dragging the high school girl with him. Kim Junyong appeared next.
Then the black mass he summoned turned into a person and cut off the rapist's head with a sword in an instant.
After freeing the girl, Kim Junyong even waved cheerfully at her.
“...!”
“Heh. You see? The Bureau director gave the order personally.”
Detective Lee Junsu smiled kindly.
“I don't know what case Narcotics is working on, but you'd better give up too.”
“...Understood.”
Accepting the situation, Kang Dusik asked something else.
“Have you contacted his family?”
“Oh, yes. We checked his identity and found his next of kin, so we followed procedure... Looks like she's here.”
The detective pointed toward the entrance.
“Junyong!”
A middle-aged woman who was clearly beside herself rushed in and shouted.
“My Junyong. Excuse me, could I ask you something? Here... Junyong!”
Kim Jangmi had stopped a nearby officer and was trying her best to speak calmly. But when the officer pointed out the holding cell, she rushed over and clung to the bars.
“Hngh.”
She pressed her lips together.
Afraid she'd burst into tears, she couldn't get her voice out.
At last, she managed to call his name.
“...Junyong.”
He was exactly the same.
His face was exactly as it had been before he disappeared.
He hadn't aged at all.
“Junyong.”
At Kim Jangmi's strained voice, Kim Junyong sat up from where he'd been lying down.
Her eyes met her younger brother's.
The confusion in his gaze brought all the tears she'd been holding back spilling out.
Don't you recognize me?
How can you look at me so indifferently?
“Oh, what do I do...?”
Twenty years.
It had been twenty whole years.
Mom! The son you missed so much has finally come back.
Dad! Junyong's back!
If only you were both still alive...
“Junyong! It's me! Do you recognize me?”
“...No, I don't.”
“Hngh!”
At his calm answer, Kim Jangmi crumpled.
“Hic...”
What happened to you?
What terrible things did you go through after you disappeared?
“Who are you, lady? Why are you crying over me like that?”
“Aaah!”
Kim Jangmi cried out, clutching the bars.
She barely managed to keep herself from falling apart.
No, Kim Jangmi.
Pull yourself together.
Something's wrong with your brother.
You can't fall apart now.
Trying to stay calm, she swallowed her tears and spoke.
“It's me. Your sister. Kim Jangmi! I'm your older sister.”
What on earth had happened to him?
Where had he suffered so terribly...?
Her heart was breaking.
“Huh? Sis?”
Kim Junyong tilted his head, then looked unusually startled.
She looked a little older, but it really was his sister.
“Sis, how are you still alive?”
“Aaah! Junyong!”
His sister wailed, while her younger brother was simply curious.
Was his sister a returnee too?
How had she stayed alive for two hundred years?
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