WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Our Precious Demon King ◈
Chapter 68: Human Pet
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“Wow! This is my room!”
His nephew Yu Jihun was the first to arrive.
“My, moving companies really are good these days.”
Kim Jangmi followed, having come straight home from work as soon as the hospital closed.
“Mom, where's my laptop?”
“I saw it in the study.”
Yu Jia, who had missed two straight days of cram school, came home too.
Kim Jangmi had decided to rent out their old apartment rather than sell it right away.
Her younger brother was receiving special treatment now, so enjoying all these benefits seemed only natural. But no one knew what the future might bring.
As a mother responsible for two children, she had to prepare for the future. An apartment in Seoul was a safe choice for protecting her assets.
In any case, she would be living in a house owned by her brother for a while, perhaps for the rest of her life.
“Meooow! Welcome, my lady, young master, and young lady, meow! Today, I, Edmond de Lafleur, will prepare a meal using every bit of my skill, meow!”
Ed was thrilled by the wonderful variety of fresh ingredients that had arrived in the tribute storehouse.
With the Demon King’s Army gone, the Adrian Empire had become the most powerful nation in Belheim.
Goods of every kind naturally gathered at the imperial palace, but now they were being sent to the tribute storehouse instead.
Along with rare ingredients, there were wines and cheeses from various regions that had been difficult to obtain before. How could Ed not be excited?
“Wow, Ed. This is so good. What kind of cheese is it?”
“Meow, it's cheese from the Berika region of the Kingdom of Yon.”
“You know all that?”
“Meow! I can proudly say I know almost every ingredient in Belheim.”
Unlike Earth, with its advanced transportation, Belheim's regions were isolated from one another. Goods didn't move around very much.
Naturally, rather than developing through trade, each region had grown more distinct. As a result, every area had a wide variety of local specialties.
As the former best cook in the Demon King’s Army, Ed knew almost every ingredient. But Belheim was too vast a world for him to claim he knew them all.
“Isn't it wonderful to have the whole family together?”
“It sure is.”
“I'm glad you're back too, Remi.”
“Yes, Elder Sister.”
“Oh, just call me Sis.”
“...Pfft.”
Kim Junyong tried to hide his laughter, but Remi answered without a care.
“Yes, Sis.”
“Wow...”
Kim Junyong stared at Remi in disbelief.
How could she be so shameless?
Regardless, Kim Jangmi continued making small talk.
At a meal like this, a middle-aged woman's usual round of personal questions was only natural.
She had been holding back her curiosity all this time.
“By the way, Remi, where are you from?”
“Oh, I'm from the Demon Realm.”
“...?”
Kim Jangmi took a bite of food, then smiled.
“Oh, right. Y-you said you were a devil, didn't you? Haha.”
“Yes.”
She had let it pass when they first met, but goodness.
How was she supposed to react to that?
At a loss for how to respond, Kim Jangmi asked whatever came to mind out of habit.
“Then, are your parents devils too?”
“They probably are.”
“Oh! So your parents are in the Demon Realm?”
“No. I don't even know who they are.”
“...?”
“I hatched from an egg.”
“...!”
Kim Jangmi felt her mind go blank.
What was she supposed to say to that?
“Whoa! Big Sis Remi, you're like Bak Hyeokgeose.”
“...?”
When Remi stared at him, Yu Jihun grinned.
“He was a king a long time ago. He hatched from an egg too.”
“Oh?”
Remi looked interested.
“Are you saying there are descendants of devils on Earth too?”
“Uh, I wouldn't go that far.”
Or were there?
A land where the descendants of devils lived.
Was that why it was called Hell Joseon?
“Meow, the next course is ready.”
Just then, a line of plates flew over through Ed's telekinesis, replacing the empty ones.
“Wow.”
Well, this was a world with a cat that could talk, cook, and use supernatural powers.
Maybe being a devil didn't necessarily mean someone was bad.
‘There must be kind devils like Remi and Ed, right?’
Wouldn't that make sense if she simply thought of devils as a species?
Surely not every devil stole people's souls, ripped out their hearts, or killed for no reason.
‘My Junyong must have chosen his friends carefully.’
He was a good boy.
Weren't all the devils he spent time with kind too?
“Oh, right! Uncle, are you really going with me this weekend?”
“Of course.”
“Hm? Where did you agree to go with Jihun?”
“Oh, the baseball stadium.”
“Huh? The baseball stadium? Why all of a sudden?”
“Baseball draws the biggest crowds of any sport in Korea, right?”
“I suppose it does?”
Kim Jangmi didn't know much about sports, but that was probably true. Soccer only drew a lot of fans when the national team played.
“I'm going to watch baseball with Uncle!”
“Oh, really?”
Seeing her son's excitement made Kim Jangmi feel guilty for no particular reason.
He had grown into a strong boy, but whether he showed it or not, his father's absence had left a large gap in his life.
Perhaps that was why Yu Jihun was especially happy to have his uncle around and followed him so eagerly.
“What about you, Jia? Want to come?”
“I have makeup classes.”
Since Yu Jia had missed two days of cram school, she now had even more classes scheduled for the weekend.
“What about you, Sis?”
Kim Jangmi had plans for the weekend too.
‘I promised myself I'd pay more attention, and here I go again...’
Her brother's question made her hesitate for a moment.
“Let's go.”
“Oh, yeah!”
Yu Jihun cheered.
He would get to watch a baseball game in person with his mom and uncle.
With everyone in the family going except her, Yu Jia looked troubled.
“Come on, you should join us too.”
“But my classes...”
“Oh, taking a little break from studying won't hurt. Or should I fix your college entrance exam score for you?”
Smack.
Kim Jangmi slapped Kim Junyong on the back without thinking.
“How can you say that to a child?”
“Come on, she's working so hard.”
“The hard work is the point. Are the results all that matter?”
“Ah, that's true.”
The process became experience, and that experience became an asset.
Since things had come to this, Kim Jangmi made a gentler suggestion.
“Anyway, Jia, you can come if you want.”
“Then I want to go too, Mom.”
“All right. Let's do that.”
Preparing for the college entrance exam in her final year of high school was important, but so was spending time building bonds as a family.
After the dinner party celebrating their move, Kim Jangmi and her children went over to their new house.
Even after his family left together, Kim Junyong didn't feel empty the way he used to.
They hadn't gone far. They lived right across from him.
And now that their house was within the base's range, no intruder could escape his senses.
“Oh, right. What should we do about Malsun's modeling?”
“Hm?”
Remi gave a slight start.
That was certainly something worth thinking about.
Even if they summoned Malsun, only his soul would come. His body would have to be modeled on a creature from Earth.
“Should we just go to the zoo the day after the baseball game?”
“That's a good idea.”
“How about a tiger?”
“Hmm. That might not be bad.”
After talking for a long time about which animal to use as the model for Malsun's body, they reached a conclusion.
“Malsun will choose anyway, so let's just summon him at the zoo.”
“Let's do that.”
Then the next day dawned.
“Ughhh, what am I supposed to do today?”
Cruelly enough, it was Friday.
There was still another day until their trip to the baseball stadium.
“Remi, what are you doing today?”
“Shall I go cut someone down?”
“No, I'm not trying to give you a job. I'm just asking what you're doing.”
“I suppose I'll run the restaurant. Please divide up the luck stones.”
“Well, handle that yourself.”
Kim Junyong stretched.
“Hmmm.”
He checked his sister's house and found that everyone had already left.
Kim Jangmi had gone to work, and Yu Jihun and Yu Jia had ridden to school in a security vehicle.
Looking around the area, he had to admit that the old low-rise apartment buildings made it feel cramped.
“Sangsu.”
“Yes, Adviser!”
“When are they starting construction?”
“Oh! They said they can start right away if you want.”
“Really? Then tell them to go ahead.”
“Ah! I'll pass that along.”
They would have already heard what Kim Jangmi, her children, and Ed wanted done with the houses. Kim Junyong wasn't the type to worry about such things.
As an extremely practical person, he didn't mind what they did as long as this base remained intact. Still, this old two-story house held childhood memories of his parents and older sister.
The building played a major part in grounding his identity as an Earthling, so he didn't want to tear it down.
“I'm bored... Hey, Scales. Isn't there anything to do?”
<How about appointing more guardian's knights?>
“Why bother?”
There were still three more G-rank hunters in the world.
Vikram in the United States.
Sophie in France.
Okoye in Africa.
“If I cash those guys in for beads, who's going to protect Earth?”
<You could, Guardian...>
“Good grief. Every last god is so irresponsible.”
Earth's god had seemed to be quietly pushing the work onto him, and Belheim's sacred relic was no different.
The salvation gods spoke of always worked this way.
They never did anything themselves. They always tried to get someone else to do it.
<Then how about looking after the knights you have already appointed?>
“Oh, my little point earners?”
<...The guardian's knights are not merely a means of earning points...>
“Yeah, that's enough.”
Thinking of Ryu Jai and Logan made Kim Junyong chuckle.
“I should let them grow on their own.”
Then he could accept them as subordinates. If they were satisfied with just earning points for him, he could leave them that way too.
Kim Junyong didn't consider those two his “subordinates” in the true sense. They were simply connected through the Scales.
“Anyway, I wonder how my subordinates are doing.”
What would his real subordinates, Cheon Yubeom and Lee Mina, be doing right now?
* * *
The metaverse created by Earth's god consisted of multiple tile maps.
All 256 tile maps together formed the metaverse world, the Demon Realm.
Map Number 74.
KABOOOM!
“Huff, huff.”
“Hah, hah.”
Cheon Yubeom and Lee Mina, who hadn't been able to leave this map for days, had fierce looks on their faces.
Even with cuts and wounds all over their bodies, blood pouring out, the fighting spirit never faded from their eyes as they glared at their opponent.
Whooosh.
Luciel smiled in satisfaction as the two narrowly dodged another swing of his whip and counterattacked.
Bang, thud!
“Urgh.”
“Guh.”
Tumbling across the ground, they hurriedly regained their stances and prepared for the next attack.
“You're finally becoming somewhat presentable.”
Why had Master decided to raise these talentless humans, of all creatures?
It had been hard work.
Only someone like me, Luciel, could have trained such lowly humans into something even this presentable.
“Sparring is over. It's time to hunt.”
“Raaah!”
“Hyaaah!”
Cheon Yubeom and Lee Mina roared, their eyes shining with bloodlust.
Compared with sparring against Luciel, hunting monsters and devils was nothing more than entertainment.
Map Number 74.
More than half its devils were already gone.
At this rate, they would be able to wipe out every devil in a few days.
Even a generous estimate put it at no more than a week.
“Hehe, I can't wait to show Master.”
I have trained the human pets you took in so wonderfully.
O my master.
“Kiyaaaah!”
Slashhh.
With expressions more vicious than the devils themselves, Cheon Yubeom and Lee Mina continued hunting monsters.
Footnotes:
Remi initially uses nunim, a respectful term normally used by a man for an older sister. Jangmi invites her to use eonni, the term used by a woman, instead. Both also serve as familiar forms of address outside the family.
Bak Hyeokgeose, the legendary founder of Silla, was said to have hatched from an egg.
“Hell Joseon” is a bitter nickname for South Korea, comparing modern life there to hell. Here, Jihun briefly gives it a literal twist by imagining a land inhabited by descendants of devils.
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