WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
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◈ Our Precious Demon King ◈
Chapter 62: Slipping Rewards into Your Pocket
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South Korea's Hunter Management Bureau.
Deputy Director Choi Hyunju hurried to the director's office when she heard he was back.
“How did it go?”
“How did what go?”
“How did the president react?”
“What reaction?”
Park Taejun smiled oddly as he took off his jacket.
“Oh, just tell me.”
“Stop rushing me. Let me catch my breath.”
Judging by his joking manner, things seemed to have gone well.
Park Taejun took his time calling his secretary and ordering drinks before sitting down on the sofa with Choi Hyunju.
“We were in the middle of discussing a response when the Japanese prime minister called.”
“What?”
“They wanted to sweep it under the rug first. Suggested we call it a joint Korean-Japanese operation to wipe out the yakuza.”
“...Japan caught on quickly.”
“Right. What would they become if they went after the Adviser?”
“Corpses.”
“Exactly, cor... Honestly. Must you be so grim?”
Park Taejun took an unnecessary sip of green tea before continuing.
“Anyway, they're thoroughly scared. There should be an announcement about the yakuza soon.”
That seemed to rule out a turn in Japanese public opinion against them.
Public opinion depended on how things were worded, after all.
The Korean who had slaughtered Japanese people had become a Korean agent who had helped wipe out the yakuza.
Any criticism would amount to asking why Japan had needed Korean help or why it had gone begging for assistance.
“Know what's even bigger?”
“What?”
“They want to settle the historical disputes between Korea and Japan.”
“What?”
“They brought it up first.”
“Why?”
“Heh. Sounds like the Adviser said something to them.”
“...?”
It was frustrating.
The absence of Cheon Yubeom and Lee Mina, who had always stayed right beside the Adviser and reported his every move, was keenly felt.
There was only so much they could learn by observing him indirectly.
'He seems to be having more trouble adjusting lately, too.'
She worried that the humanity he had slowly been regaining might be slipping away again.
She wanted to turn his main interests toward the little things in everyday life rather than power, war, and conflict.
'He really does still need to be with his family.'
There was a reason returnees with families adjusted better to society.
This needed careful attention.
“Anyway, the Adviser played a big part.”
“Oh, a huge part. From what I can see, the prime minister and everyone below him are terrified. Heh, they're scared. Well, even I'm scared.”
Park Taejun knew that fear well, having once clashed with Kim Junyong himself.
“You are too, aren't you?”
“...”
Choi Hyunju pressed her lips together.
Who could be more afraid of the Adviser than she was?
He had killed her, after all.
Far from anger or revenge, she couldn't even imagine standing against him again.
In any case, she was growing more anxious as Kim Junyong's recent actions seemed increasingly extreme.
And Lee Mina and Cheon Yubeom, who were supposed to be looking after him, still hadn't returned...
'Having Ms. Kim Jangmi move really is our only option.'
He had moved out because the apartment was too small.
They couldn't tell Kim Junyong to move back into Kim Jangmi's home, and moving him elsewhere presented another problem.
They couldn't relocate the base registered in the Demon Realm Conquest app, so she intended to buy all the houses around it and provide them instead.
For that, she needed money.
“Anyway, I'll need you to approve some additional funding.”
“Oh, spend it. The president's really invested in this right now.”
“It's quite a large amount.”
“That's fine! Spend all you want!”
The director didn't ask a single question.
“The presidential office is celebrating right now. The Japanese prime minister will be visiting in person soon.”
“Then what about the G-rank issue?”
“Japan hasn't said anything about that either.”
“They must've decided to ignore it.”
“They're probably still trying to work out what happened.”
“They're already dead. What's there to work out? They're probably just trying to come up with a response.”
Director Park Taejun shrugged.
“How are things in Paraguay and India?”
“Quiet on the surface.”
“And underneath?”
“Chaos.”
Choi Hyunju shrugged.
“They lost their G-rank hunters overnight. They're scrambling to find them, but they're already dead, so...”
“What about Logan?”
“Our intelligence network can only tell us so much there. Has the National Intelligence Service said anything?”
“America seems to be waiting to see how things develop.”
Choi Hyunju nodded.
That was a relief.
Considering what he had done, it seemed things might blow over without much trouble.
Four G-rank hunters had disappeared in a matter of days.
Logan and Ryu Jai had dropped in the rankings.
Jose and Arjun were officially missing, but in reality, they were dead.
'As long as no dungeons break...'
There were only two uncleared A-rank dungeons left in the world.
One in America and one in Germany.
Fortunately, both places still had their G-rank fighting power intact.
Even if a B-rank dungeon or anything lower broke open, they could handle it.
Probably...
“Well, that's one less thing to worry about.”
“Right. Deputy Director Choi, give the Adviser's care a little more attention.”
“That's what the additional funding is for.”
“Haha. Submit the report. I'll approve it right away.”
The mood relaxed.
It seemed Kim Junyong's excursion, during which he had suddenly gone to Japan for sushi and caused an enormous incident, would blow over like this.
Bweeeeeep!
Just then, both their phones blared a warning.
[Dungeon Break Alert!]
[Please evacuate to the nearest shelter!]
[Follow all instructions from the military and police!]
“Hah.”
Things had been quiet lately, but the dungeon time limits had suddenly shortened again.
“I'll get going.”
“Right, go ahead. Let's get through this.”
In situations like this, Deputy Director Choi Hyunju always took charge of the Bureau's response. She headed to the Dungeon Management Department's situation room.
“Where's the trouble?”
“Deputy Director!”
The department head greeted her looking close to tears.
Her eyes went to the map of Korea mounted on one wall.
Seven dungeons were in trouble.
“Which ones have requested support?”
“B97, B54, and B114.”
“Damn it.”
All B-rank dungeons.
“What about C-rank and below?”
“No requests for support yet. It looks like they can all clear the dungeons themselves.”
Fortunately, after experiencing several sudden reductions in the time limits, everyone now allowed more time for raids. It seemed none of those dungeons would reach the point of a break.
“Thankfully, we only need to support the B-rank dungeons.”
A team of Grade 1 hunters would be enough to clear them, but the shortened time limits left little room to spare.
A standard raid would take too long. They needed overwhelming firepower to take down the dungeon bosses and finish the raids in an instant.
That required high-level hunters.
“Where are the three?”
“Busan, Jeonju, and Paju.”
“Hah. If only there were three of me.”
Emergencies like this were precisely why they needed high-ranked personnel like her held in reserve.
Choi Hyunju, an SR-rank hunter, considered her options.
Given the travel time and the remaining time limits, she could only handle one dungeon.
How much better would things be if the Bureau had two more hunters like her? No, even one would help.
“Deputy Director, what about asking the special adviser?”
“...Well.”
Kim Junyong had been the first person to come to her mind too.
But even using a butcher's cleaver to kill a chicken had its limits.
These weren't A-rank dungeons. They were B-rank.
She hesitated to ask the Adviser for help when they couldn't even handle little emergencies like these on their own.
What if he wouldn't help them when a real crisis came? He was their trump card, to be used carefully.
“How many dungeons does Daesan currently hold raid rights to?”
“Just one C-rank and one D-rank. D-don't tell me you're going to ask Daesan to send hunters?”
It was the company with the largest number of hunters in South Korea.
Yet it only had two dungeon raids underway.
That was the result of not bidding on raid rights to any newly formed dungeons after its trouble with Special Adviser Kim Junyong.
'They have plenty of hunters to spare.'
But the trouble between them remained a problem.
“Will Daesan cooperate willingly?”
“Hmm.”
If they could get even Im Dongsu, an SR-rank hunter, that would be more than enough to handle one B-rank dungeon.
Choi Hyunju's mind raced.
'Should I issue a compulsory summons?'
Just as she was considering it...
Ring-ring.
[Daesan Electronics President Kang Changseong]
“Hmm?”
Not Daesan Guild, but the president of Daesan Electronics?
She quickly answered, and a familiar voice reached her ear.
[This is Kang Changseong.]
“Yes, Deputy Director Choi Hyunju speaking. Go ahead.”
[I'd like to send Daesan's hunters to assist immediately.]
“...”
It was welcome news, but what was he after?
Had her brief silence conveyed that question?
[Please don't misunderstand. I only wish to ask for forgiveness, even now, and seize a chance.]
“A chance?”
[I'd like to improve my relationship with the special adviser.]
“...”
He was quite a man.
On a personal level, wasn't the Adviser the enemy who had killed his son?
Still, there was nothing to debate here.
When the house was on fire, you had to work together, even with an enemy.
“The Bureau won't forget Daesan's support.”
[Thank you. That's all I need. Please speak to the guild president.]
Deputy Director Choi Hyunju ended the call and took a breath.
According to the rumors, Chairman Kang Mujin had withdrawn from management entirely, leaving Kang Changseong with actual control of Daesan Group...
“Contact Daesan Guild and arrange for hunter support!”
“Yes, Deputy Director.”
Only after calculating how much time remained before the dungeon breaks and assigning personnel could she finally catch her breath.
Im Dongsu would handle the B-rank dungeon in Jeonju, while Choi Hyunju would take care of the one in Paju.
“Busan's the problem...”
Five hours remained until the break.
In truth, that was so little time that the raid needed to begin immediately.
'If I clear the Paju dungeon as fast as possible and head to Busan...'
Even then, there simply wouldn't be enough time.
“Why don't we at least sound the Adviser out?”
“If we keep asking him for little favors like this, he might not give us the help we need later.”
“But Taiwan's in an uproar anyway. If the Adviser stays busy, won't he hear less about it?”
“Oh?”
Right. Taiwan.
Anti-Korean sentiment was raging out of control there.
Ryu Jai, Taiwan's icon and leading hunter, had clashed with Kim Junyong during her visit to Korea and returned home with a lower ranking...
It wasn't as though Choi Hyunju couldn't understand how they felt.
But she was afraid that their raging anger and demands for accountability would reach the Adviser's ears.
That was why the two agents, Choi Hyunju and Lee Mina, had chosen to accompany him into the Demon Realm...
Yet the Adviser had returned to Earth alone, leaving the two behind.
“All right. Until public opinion in Taiwan settles down a little, we'd better keep the Adviser as busy as possible.”
Perhaps this was for the best.
In return for his help, she could quietly give him a house in Hansan 2-dong as a “reward.”
Then she could have his family, Kim Jangmi and her household, move into it.
'It's all falling into place.'
Choi Hyunju smiled faintly at her plan.
“All right. Let's ask the Adviser to handle the Busan dungeon.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Good.”
“Sorry?”
“Hmm?”
“You'll have to call him, Deputy Director.”
“Gah.”
Choi Hyunju suddenly felt a pain in her chest.
Ask the special adviser for a favor?
The mere thought of calling him made her heart pound.
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