WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Our Precious Demon King ◈
Chapter 50: To Japan
──────
“Wow, Remi, business is booming!”
Remi peeked up from the yard.
The customers followed her gaze.
Kim Junyong was leaning against the terrace railing, looking down at them.
‘Time to split the profits!’
Remi immediately turned to the customers and barked,
“Finish your food before you leave.”
“Oh, she's so kind.”
“Lady Remi blessed me.”
“Wow, did you see her make eye contact with me?”
Leaving the excited customers behind, Remi went out into the alley and shouted at the long line still waiting there.
“We're closed for the day.”
“What? You can't just close out of nowhere!”
“We've been waiting all this time!”
“Then you should've told us earlier!”
Remi looked at the paupers who had flocked here for a free meal.
If it weren't for the restraints, she'd cut all their heads off.
She couldn't kill them outright, but threats would work well enough.
Shing.
She drew her sword halfway, showing them the blade. The complaints died down.
“Oh, we really should've known better than to wait this long.”
“Right. Our timing was just terrible.”
“It's a shame, but let's go home. We'll get another chance.”
“Hey, we got to smell it, so we can just eat it next time!”
“This is totally Lucky Vicky!”
After sending away the lucky people who had escaped without losing their luck, Remi returned to find Kim Junyong strolling down the stairs.
“Huh? I-isn't that him?”
“Who? A celebrity?”
“No, a hunter! You know, that hunter.”
“Yeouido!”
“It's the Hero of Yeouido!”
“The hunter they said was the new G-rank.”
“Hey, don't go bothering him.”
“Right. Didn't you see Choi Hyunju's interview?”
“They said he's still adjusting to society.”
Kim Junyong heard every whisper.
He simply chuckled and went inside on the first floor.
“Meow! You're back, Master?”
“Yeah. Business is pretty good, huh?”
“Purr! Of course people would come flocking to taste the great Ed's cooking, meow!”
“You little rascal. Where are the luck stones?”
“I saved them all without using a single one, meow!”
Remi followed him inside, unable to hide her excitement.
“What are you so excited about?”
“My share.”
At Remi's urging, he looked at Ed.
“Let's see them.”
“Of course, meow.”
Ed waved a hand. Green light gathered over the long table and began forming into beads.
Clatterrr.
The green lumps took shape, sparkling like emeralds. There were twelve luck stones in all.
“All right, let's split them up.”
At Kim Junyong's words, Remi couldn't hide her anticipation. Ed was delighted that Master had recognized how useful Ed was.
“Ed must've worked the hardest, so two for Ed.”
“Oh! You're giving me a share too, meow? Thank you!”
Ed hadn't expected to receive anything at all. Being granted two whole stones was almost too much.
‘Now I won't have to secretly set aside my own share, meow.’
There were three luck stones hidden in the kitchen, but it seemed best not to mention those.
Ed's conscience stung a little, but wasn't this also part of that personal talent called “dumb luck”?
“Now, as for Remi...”
“I worked hard.”
At Remi's hurried claim, Kim Junyong turned to Ed.
“Is that true?”
“She certainly worked hard, meow!”
“Working hard isn't what matters. You have to do a good job.”
“Sh-she did a good job, meow.”
“Hmm.”
Kim Junyong gave her a narrow-eyed look, and Remi shifted in her seat.
“All right. Two for Remi.”
“Tsk.”
“I saw you being rough with the customers earlier.”
As Remi's expression darkened, Ed spoke up in her defense.
“Th-that's as kind as Lady Remi gets, meow. The customers are very happy too.”
“Try saying something that makes sense.”
“Just wait.”
Remi went outside. The customers sitting at the tables were barely touching their food, too busy peering into the first floor.
“Wow, I guess that hunter runs this restaurant.”
“Is this some kind of training to help him adjust to society?”
“Oh, that makes sense. I knew it! That's why the food's free.”
“Wow, does that mean we're helping him adjust?”
“So we're doing our part for national defense.”
“Oh! Someone's coming out.”
“E-eat!”
“Act like customers!”
“We are customers, aren't we?”
“Just act even more like customers!”
The murmuring stopped when Remi appeared.
She swept her gaze over them and pointed at one customer.
“You.”
“Yes?”
“Come with me.”
“W-why?”
“Rate me.”
“Gasp!”
Leaving the others stunned by her bold words, she led the customer inside. A strange anticipation filled the customer's face.
“Now, explain it here.”
“What? Explain what?”
“How was I?”
“Y-you're beautiful.”
Kim Junyong clutched his stomach and laughed at the flustered reply.
“Haha! She means, how was the restaurant service?”
“Oh! Aaaah! Gah!”
Making a series of strange noises, the customer turned red and spoke in a tiny voice.
“A-a little unfriendly...”
Shing.
“It was perfect!”
Remi nodded in satisfaction, and Kim Junyong chuckled.
“Really?”
“O-of course. Just eating food served by Lady Remi was an honor.”
“Good grief.”
It wasn't a proper review, but the customer's emotions were genuine.
Excitement, satisfaction, tension, anticipation.
“All right. You can go.”
“Now get lost.”
“Urk.”
Even when Remi tapped the customer's shoulder and spoke rudely, the customer left looking as thrilled as someone struck by Cupid's arrow.
“Wow, someone hit the jackpot.”
“What did you do?”
“S-something like a restaurant survey.”
“Wow, they do those too?”
“What's it like inside?”
“It doesn't feel like a restaurant. It's really fancy...”
Remi shut the door on the murmuring crowd with a slam.
“You'll give me three, right?”
“All right. Three for your hard work.”
Kim Junyong picked up another luck stone and held out all three.
Remi took them, looking extremely pleased.
Pop-pop!
After putting them into her sword's subspace, she spoke with renewed energy.
“Ed, get ready to open again.”
Kim Junyong stopped her.
“Come on, we can't spend our whole lives working. Let's go have some fun today.”
“Again?”
So Master's wanderlust hadn't improved at all, even after coming to Earth.
Unlike the sighing Remi, Ed was full of anticipation.
“D-do you mean one of those f-food tours, meow?”
“Oh, I was thinking of going to the beach... Well, sure. We can go somewhere good to eat.”
After walking on the sands of the Demon Realm, he had wanted to see a cool, refreshing sea. Still, letting the eager Ed taste Earth's food sounded good too.
We can all go to the beach later, once our hardworking human subordinates one and two get out.
“I-I can't wait, meow!”
Ed was so excited that even Ed's bottom was wiggling.
A chance to taste Earth's food!
For a chef, savoring new dishes was an excellent way to learn.
“Hmm, let's see, then.”
“Raw fish! I want raw fish, meow!”
“Raw fish?”
“They don't have that tradition in Belheim, meow.”
“Oh, true.”
Kim Junyong nodded.
“Then how about Japanese food?”
“Yes, meow! A sushi restaurant! I want to visit a sushi restaurant, meow!”
Let's see. A good Japanese restaurant...
“Let's go to Japan first.”
“As expected, Master's judgment is wonderfully clear, meow!”
Local food was always best.
Remi would follow along on her own.
Knock, knock.
“Hmm?”
He turned at the sound of knocking and saw a familiar man.
“Hello, Adviser!”
“Oh, hey. Sangsu, right?”
“Yes, sir!”
Kim Sangsu bowed. He was the newest employee at the Special Adviser Support Headquarters, specially recruited because he had driven Kim Junyong around before.
His eyes were full of longing as he glanced at Remi.
“What brings you here?”
“Team Leader Cheon is away, so I came to see if you needed any errands done!”
“Oh, perfect timing. Clean up the restaurant for me.”
“What? A-are you going somewhere?”
“Yeah. Out to eat.”
Kim Sangsu was flustered.
His mission was to stay close to Kim Junyong and assist him in the absence of Team Leader Cheon Yubeom and Deputy Team Leader Lee Mina.
He also had to report on his every move.
“Oh, are you upset about being left out?”
“What? Haha. Well...”
“You can't come because you're not a hunter.”
“What? Where are you going that you need to be a hunter...?”
“Japan.”
“What?”
Why did he need to be a hunter to go to Japan?
Didn't he need a passport rather than a hunter's license?
“Anyway, clean up the restaurant and watch the house.”
“...?”
Kim Junyong took out his phone and tapped it, then vanished, taking Kim Remi and Kim Ed with him.
Pop-pop!
“Ah!”
His very first solo assignment had already gone terribly wrong.
“Wh-what do I do?”
Right. Report it first.
He hurriedly sent their destination to the group chat.
- The Adviser has gone to Japan!
- Remi and Ed are with him!
Ring-ring.
A call came in while he was typing.
“Gasp, Deputy Director.”
[What do you mean, Japan? How? He doesn't even have a passport.]
“He disappeared right in front of me!”
[...Understood.]
“Yes, ma'am.”
After hanging up, Kim Sangsu's heart was pounding.
It felt as though a whole rush of things had just happened.
Now what do I do?
“Oh!”
There were four tables in the yard left behind by the customers.
“So today's mission is kitchen support.”
He had done this kind of thing often enough in the military.
Kim Sangsu cleared the tables with practiced hands and started washing the dishes.
“...What are they going all the way to Japan to eat?”
Going out to eat without me...
This is actually kind of hurtful.
Was this how Kongjwi felt?
Squeak, squeak.
Kim Sangsu's rubber-gloved hands quickly rinsed the plates.
* * *
Tokyo, Japan.
A man walked down the street with his cap pulled low and a mask covering his face.
Without a single attendant, he headed for a private pub disguised as an ordinary office building.
“May I have the name on your reservation?”
The Japanese hostess spoke fluent English. The man removed his mask and answered.
“Logan.”
“I'll show you to your private room.”
Even at the sight of the world's most famous man, the hostess's expression didn't change.
There was a reason the drinks here were so expensive.
This private club's staff lived by a strict rule: they had mouths but did not speak, ears but did not hear, and eyes but did not see.
Security was so tight that even if powerful politicians indulged in perverted games with celebrities hanging off their arms, not a single line would reach the news.
Someone was already waiting in the spacious room she led him to.
“It's been a while, Logan.”
Logan answered the deep, heavy voice.
“Arjun Mehra.”
A G-rank hunter who mainly operated in India.
It had been a surprise when Arjun readily volunteered to go to Korea at Logan's request.
Logan sat down across from Arjun and took a swig straight from the whiskey bottle on the table.
“Thanks for coming.”
“Everything is as God intends.”
“...”
Arjun the Fanatic.
As that other epithet suggested, Arjun was an unsettling person to deal with.
“Fine. Then there must be a reason God led you all the way here.”
“A younger friend of mine returned home after being beheaded by a Korean.”
“...My condolences.”
For all that talk about God, there was a personal desire for revenge involved too.
‘Whoever you are, rest in peace.’
Arjun was as ruthless as they were devout. Anyone who made an enemy of Arjun could forget about a peaceful death.
“Once we've recovered the demon sword, I'll help you get revenge.”
“That won't be necessary.”
Arjun took out a photograph and held it out.
“It's the same person.”
“...”
The photograph on the table showed Kim Junyong beside Kim Remi, grinning as he tore into some spicy stir-fried chicken.
“More importantly, is it just the two of us?”
“No, there's one more...”
Bang!
The door flew open, and a Latino man with curly dreadlocks strode in and shouted.
“Wow, bro!”
“Jose.”
Logan got up and matched the cheerful man's energy with a handshake and a hug.
“Thanks for agreeing to come.”
“Hehehe. For that kind of money, of course I'd come!”
Jose Ramira.
Logan had paid a tremendous number of dollars to draw out this “Guardian,” who had built himself a lavish palace and a harem in Paraguay.
“But why Japan instead of Korea?”
“Hmm. We need to be careful.”
“Whoa, whoa. The three of us are together, and you're talking about being careful? Just say the word. I can make that country called Korea disappear by tomorrow.”
Jose's boasting wasn't entirely empty, but Logan needed to instill some caution in him.
“Look at what happened to Ryu Jai. We need to move in secret.”
That was why they had appeared in Japan, Korea's neighbor.
From here, they would use a secret route to enter Korea illegally and assassinate their target.
Officially, there would be no record of the three visiting Japan, let alone Korea.
Footnotes:
“Lucky Vicky” is a phrase popularized by idol Jang Wonyoung, whose English name is Vicky. It celebrates turning even an apparent setback into something lucky.
Kongjwi is the mistreated heroine of a Korean folktale similar to Cinderella, left doing chores while others go out.
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
