WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Our Precious Demon King ◈
Chapter 48: A Bus with Broken Brakes
──────
The rankers of SR-rank and above known as Taiwan's three guardian deities.
Ryu Jai (R-rank, 833rd)
Lin Hongyu (SR-rank, 49th)
Wu Feilong (SR-rank, 89th)
Ryu Jai had fallen from G-rank to R-rank.
With her shut away from the world, every other member of Ryu Jai's crew gathered for an emergency meeting.
“All right. Does anyone object to disbanding the crew?”
“No.”
“She's beyond recovery.”
Ryu Jai's crew was a small, elite group.
They gathered, took a show of hands, and decided to disband.
Ryu Jai, the heart of the crew, had withdrawn from the world.
She seemed to have broken things off with all five of her boyfriends, and she had stopped all public activities.
It was still shocking that she had suddenly gone on a social media livestream to praise Korea's Kim Junyong and talked about visiting Japan to punish Takahashi Kenchi for calling for the Mad Sovereign's destruction.
They were starting to wonder whether she really was Ryu Jai.
“I wish she'd at least get treatment...”
“What can we do if she refuses?”
“So this is the end.”
“Yeah. Now that the crew's disbanded, where's everyone going?”
“Lingshan contacted me.”
“I'm going to work for the government.”
As expected of an elite crew, many of its members were high-ranking hunters. They were already in talks with various guilds and organizations.
“What about you two?”
“...”
With everyone's attention on them, Lin Hongyu and Wu Feilong struggled to answer.
“What? You're not thinking of emigrating, are you?”
Wu Feilong looked flustered for a moment.
“Seriously?”
“I've had an offer.”
“What? Ha! If you leave now, you'll face a huge backlash.”
“They might call you an even bigger traitor than Ryu Jai.”
The criticism of Ryu Jai came from disappointment in an idol they had supported and cheered for. Emigration was different.
That really would mean betraying their homeland.
“Damn it. Fine. I'll be honest.”
Wu Feilong began in a serious voice.
“I'm not cut out to be a leader. I'm not confident I can fill Ryu Jai's shoes.”
The confession struck a nerve with Lin Hongyu too.
Lin Hongyu had been feeling the same quiet pressure.
“What? Did you get an offer to emigrate too, Lin Hongyu? Taiwan really will be finished if you two leave.”
“But we can't just die, can we?”
Excessive expectations.
The responsibility of filling the hole Ryu Jai had left behind.
The other crew members understood how the two felt. But since it wasn't their own problem for now, they voiced their complaints.
“I hope you won't make a rash decision.”
“Whew. Don't push us. We haven't decided anything yet.”
“Exactly. You all get offers too, don't you?”
Almost every high-ranking hunter had experienced being approached by foreign agents encouraging them to emigrate.
The United States and China were especially eager to poach high-ranking hunters from other countries.
“Anyway, let's all do our best.”
“Yeah. We'll all see each other again if a high-rank dungeon breaks, won't we?”
“...”
That remark silenced the room.
‘Won't it be dangerous without Ryu Jai?’
‘Damn it. They won't send us into an A-rank dungeon, will they?’
‘Even B-rank is far too risky.’
Only now did the crew members realize what an enormous advantage it had been to have a G-rank hunter with them.
“W-won't K-Korea handle the A-rank dungeons now?”
“Right! That makes sense.”
“You idiots. Think about the current relationship between our countries.”
“...”
That was another reason Lin Hongyu and Wu Feilong were tempted by the offers to emigrate. If an unstoppable disaster struck and the public pinned all their hopes on them...
‘Could we do it? No, do we even have to?’
Judging by the government's behavior, it would clearly shift responsibility for dealing with the dungeons onto individual hunters again rather than treating it as a national responsibility...
At this rate, all they could do was pray that no urgent dungeon crisis arose in Taiwan.
* * *
Shwaaaack.
Monsters burst apart with every swing of the mana whip wielded by Luciel, the Demon King's former head butler.
Whiiiish, crrrunch.
The whip tore through the monsters and wrapped around the waist of the territory's boss, a devil.
“Damn it!”
Whoooosh!
Caught tight in the whip, the devil was helplessly dragged forward.
“Die!”
But it didn't simply let itself be dragged along.
It sped up even more.
Rushing toward Luciel at incredible speed, it thrust out its long nails.
The nail blades, pointed like sharp daggers, aimed for Luciel's throat, but Luciel raised an open palm to block them.
Crunch!
The nail blades pierced the palm, but they were too short to reach the throat.
Whoooosh, bang!
Luciel clamped down hard on the nails sticking through the palm and slammed the devil into the ground. Then, with a flick of the other wrist, the whip flew around and bound the devil tight.
“Hmm. I've captured it.”
Luciel gave the report while massaging the hand, blood streaming from the palm.
“Hmm?”
There was no answer, though the two “master's pet humans” should have heard. Luciel turned to look at them.
“Please finish it off.”
“Oh, yes!”
“Gah.”
Was “derpy” the master's preferred type of pet?
Cheon Yubeom and Lee Mina composed themselves and approached the devil.
Their hearts felt ready to burst.
‘It's A-rank!’
‘I know!’
‘L-Luciel must be A-rank too.’
‘Anyone can see Luciel's above that!’
They had been dealing with the devils on the map in order of distance, so they were bound to encounter high-ranking ones eventually. This was an A-rank devil's territory, yet Luciel had made helping the two train look so easy.
‘There must be devils above A-rank too!’
‘Of course there are! There's a Demon King, isn't there?’
‘If Luciel's this strong, how strong must the Demon King be?’
Luciel sighed at the two humans, who were exchanging an entire conversation with their eyes.
The master could have chosen a better breed of pet. Why raise humans, of all things?
And these two didn't even seem particularly outstanding among humans.
“If you delay any longer, it'll break free. Please finish it off.”
“Oh, understood.”
“Hiyah!”
The two drew their weapons and stabbed the bound A-rank devil.
“Aaagh! Agh! You wicked bastards! Kill me in one blow!”
“S-sorry. Your skin's too thick.”
Thuk, thuk, squelch.
“Aaaargh!”
Thuk, thuk.
Luciel sighed at Cheon Yubeom and Lee Mina, who had unintentionally begun torturing the devil.
“Stop torturing it and aim for a weak spot.”
“A-a weak spot?”
“I'll go for its eyes!”
“Uh, all right.”
Standing by its head, Lee Mina drove her dagger into the devil's eye.
“Aaaaaaargh!”
The devil struggled even more violently than before, making its agony painfully clear.
“What are you doing, Team Leader?”
“Urgh!”
Urged on by Deputy Head Lee Mina, Cheon Yubeom hardened his resolve too.
Right. It was a devil, after all.
Positioned by its legs, Cheon Yubeom thrust a sword toward a weak spot.
Thuk, thuk.
“Ghh, wh-what are you doing?”
“H-hold on. It won't go in.”
“Y-you vicious humans!”
“Got it!”
The long sword slid deep through its weak spot, the anus.
“Aaaaargh.”
The devil screamed in agony.
“Ugh, this isn't working.”
“Aaaargh!”
Lee Mina pulled another dagger from inside her clothes and stabbed its other eye.
“Fine, me too.”
“Ghhh.”
Cheon Yubeom stirred the sword around, its blade buried all the way to the hilt.
Like someone gripping the gearstick during a driving test in a manual car, Cheon Yubeom shifted rapidly from first through sixth.
“Aaaaaaaaaaargh!”
Before long, the devil breathed its last.
Perhaps because Luciel was a devil too, watching one of his own die in such agony stirred an involuntary sense of sympathy. Luciel's asshole felt itchy, and his eyes seemed to sting.
“Ooooh! So many experience points!”
“Oh! M-me too!”
Watching the two humans show no sign of guilt, Luciel was inwardly impressed.
‘Vicious creatures. The master has a good eye.’
Luciel had thought they were two low-quality specimens, even among humans. But now it was clear that while their abilities were lacking, their nature was as wicked as any devil's. It offered some insight into the master's tastes.
“Let's return.”
“Oh, yes.”
Subduing an opponent was harder than killing one.
Doing it so easily meant there was an enormous gap in ability.
Now that they knew how strong Luciel was, neither felt like talking back.
They trotted along behind.
The Demon Realm's map had been modeled on Earth.
The devil they had just killed had claimed a seaside village as its territory.
Kim Junyong lay in a hammock set up on the sandy beach.
Luciel approached, bowed respectfully, and reported.
“We've dealt with the devil.”
“Hmm? You have?”
Kim Junyong had been buried deep in his hammock, wriggling like a pupa. He climbed out and stepped onto the sand.
“Ugh, how long has it been?”
“One hour and twenty-three minutes have passed.”
“Ah, I slept quite a while.”
Kim Junyong rubbed his eyelids, then looked at the two.
“Oh, you're pretty full of energy.”
“Oh! You can see that?”
“More or less.”
Kim Junyong waved a hand and asked.
“Where's the next target?”
“Yes, I'll check.”
Cheon Yubeom took a phone out of his pocket. Before opening the dungeon map, he read a message received through the Demon Realm Forum, and his eyes went wide.
[Interest in the Adviser has decreased. Return possible.]
‘Yes! Finally!’
It was time to end this hellish hunt.
He could finally return to Earth!
“Adviser, perhaps we should stop... Gah.”
A familiar pain struck Cheon Yubeom's side. Turning, he found Deputy Head Lee Mina whispering with a serious expression.
‘Are you going to let this chance slip away?’
‘Huh?’
‘Aren't you going to ride the bus?’
‘B-but we can go back now!’
‘Are you crazy? Do you think we'll get another chance like this?’
‘Won't we?’
‘Ha. Shut up and stay on the bus!’
‘A-aren't you tired?’
‘We're hunting devils we wouldn't normally dare approach. Of course I'm tired!’
This wasn't about being tired.
They were personally finishing off devils they would never normally even try to hunt.
In less than two days, they had gained more experience points than they had earned throughout their entire lives as hunters.
Lee Mina didn't want to let this opportunity slip away.
Their special adviser was as fickle as anyone.
They had to seize the chance while they had it.
“That way.”
“All right, let's go.”
Kim Junyong yawned and started to follow, then stopped in his tracks.
“...I don't actually need to be here, do I?”
“...?”
“...?”
Cheon Yubeom and Lee Mina were startled. Luciel, the quick-witted former head butler of the Demon King's Castle, bowed respectfully.
“We'll return to the dungeon once their training is complete.”
“Do that.”
“Huh?”
“Adviser?”
“Then come back when you're useful.”
Kim Junyong waved to human subordinates number one and two.
Pop-pop.
Kim Junyong disappeared, leaving only Cheon Yubeom, Lee Mina, and Luciel, a suspected S-rank(?) devil who could handle an A-rank devil with ease.
“Hmmm.”
As soon as the master vanished, Luciel's gaze changed to one reserved for pathetic creatures.
“Follow me, you pieces of trash!”
“...?”
“...!”
It was hard to believe those words had come from Luciel, who had been so polite and refined.
Whiiiish, crack!
A black whip, drawn before either of them noticed, struck the ground beside them.
Dirt flew from the deep dent as a powerful shock wave spread outward.
“I won't tell you twice. Follow me.”
“Ah, yes!”
Inferior humans.
I'll put you through an elite training course for high-ranking devils.
As Luciel made that promise, Cheon Yubeom and Lee Mina sensed that something had gone wrong.
‘Deputy Head Lee, this bus won't stop.’
‘...’
They had boarded the bus, but its final stop seemed awfully far away.
* * *
“Up we go!”
Having teleported to his house, his base, Kim Junyong looked out beyond the terrace.
“Oh!”
It was his second day away from home.
Ed and Remi had run the business by themselves yesterday and today. For some reason, a long line of people was waiting in the alley.
Footnotes:
“Riding the bus” is Korean gaming slang for being carried by a much stronger player.
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
