WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Our Precious Demon King ◈
Chapter 77: You Don't Have One of These?
──────
South Korea's Hunter Management Bureau.
Director Park Taejun was so sick with envy that his stomach hurt.
“Oh, why did he have to give them to Japan?”
Acquired awakening, which could turn ordinary people into hunters.
An item that made it possible had appeared, but three tickets had gone to Kim Junyong's family and two to Japan.
“He gave them to Sasaki, not Japan.”
“Oh, that's the same thing. Ugh, my stomach.”
Deputy Director Choi Hyunju clicked her tongue at him.
“Stop dwelling on it. They belonged to the Adviser anyway. Why are you so upset about them?”
“What, am I the only one? You're not upset?”
“If you know how to fish, would you worry about losing a few fish?”
“Hmm?”
“It's not as if the Adviser is going anywhere.”
Director Park Taejun slapped his forehead.
“Right! If anyone can get more awakening tickets, it's the Adviser!”
They now knew the tickets existed.
There was no rule saying an item that had appeared in the world couldn't appear again.
“Hahaha! My stomach suddenly feels better.”
“Good grief.”
With his face bright again, Director Park Taejun watched the breaking news on TV.
For the past couple of days, every channel had been full of news about the Korea-Japan summit.
From Korea's point of view, it was all good news. All the long-standing issues had been resolved.
[Korean and Japanese Leaders Visit Dokdo.]
Footage showed the Korean president and the Japanese prime minister holding hands and raising their arms in celebration. People were bound to find the sight strange.
For Japan, this was effectively a declaration that it was giving up its claim to Dokdo. So why was Prime Minister Mishima grinning from ear to ear?
The public didn't know the full story, but Park Taejun did. He smiled bitterly.
“Japan got a great deal out of this.”
What could they do with two tickets?
They could use them in negotiations with China or gain major advantages in trade with the United States.
“Isn't there some way to get more tickets?”
“Don't rush.”
“When exactly are Department Head Cheon and Deputy Department Head Lee coming back? Those two were good at keeping the Adviser happy.”
“They'll be back by tomorrow at the latest.”
“Oh, finally!”
The director's eyes sparkled with anticipation.
He had felt quite safe when those two stayed right by the Adviser's side. Their absence had left him a little uneasy lately.
Hadn't the Adviser gone all the way to Japan during their absence, killed two G-rank hunters, and wiped out the yakuza?
There was no point in asking what might have happened, but if those two had been there, they could surely have stopped him before he caused trouble.
Ding!
Just then, a notification sounded on Choi Hyunju's hunter phone.
[World Notice]
[All devils in Region 77 of the Demon Realm have been slain.]
[A Conqueror has been born.]
World notices were very rare.
A regional notice followed immediately.
[Regional (Korea) Notice]
[A “Conquest Monument” has been erected in Seoul.]
[Dungeons will no longer appear in the surrounding area.]
“Gasp.”
The regional notifications kept coming.
Beeeeep!
Then an emergency alert sounded on both the ordinary civilian director's phone and Choi Hyunju's hunter phone.
[Seoul Metropolitan City] An unidentified stone monument has appeared in the Hansan 2-dong area. Citizens are advised to avoid unnecessary approaches to the site.
The two looked at each other as soon as they read the safety alert.
“The Adviser?”
“Has the Adviser done something again?”
They hurried into the Teukgoji group chat to find out what was happening, only to discover that the Adviser was at Jamsil Baseball Stadium.
“What?”
The Adviser was in Jamsil, while the unidentified monument had appeared in Hansan 2-dong.
While they were still trying to understand the situation, another notification appeared in the Teukgoji group chat.
Pigeon - TeamLeaderCheon and the deputy team leader are back!
DeputyDirector - I'll be right there.
Pigeon - Oh! Yes, ma'am.
“Director, please request police support and secure the site for now.”
“Will do.”
Choi Hyunju immediately opened the Demon Realm Conquest app on her hunter phone and tapped the base.
The moment she tapped “Big Bro Junyong's House,” currently the world's only base...
Pop-pop!
* * *
I'm Cheon Yubeom.
I've burned myself down to white ash.
I have a pretty good class: paladin.
It's an all-round class that can tank, deal damage, and heal. Put another way, though, it's an average class that doesn't stand out in any one area.
But after I improved across the board, everything changed.
Now I'm a true all-rounder.
Tell me to take a hit, and I'll take it. Tell me to bite, and I'll bite. Tell me to heal, and I can do that too.
“Grrrrrr!”
I'm Lee Mina.
The ranger class offers a fairly solid chance of survival.
Specializing in scouting, tracking, and evasion, it lets you survive even in the middle of enemy territory and make a smooth escape.
But now I know.
Tearing enemies apart is easier than dodging them.
“Rrrrrrr!”
The two stood in the yard, whipping their heads around to scan their surroundings.
Then Choi Hyunju appeared with a pop!
“Ah!”
Choi Hyunju flinched.
‘What's with all this killing intent...?’
It felt like facing a freshly sharpened blade.
No, before that... were these two even in their right minds?
Both had a crazed look in their eyes.
“Hmm, that face looks familiar... Oh! Deputy Director!”
The killing intent in Lee Mina's eyes quickly faded.
Her tearful gaze hinted at everything she had suffered.
“Deputy Department Head Lee, it might be a doppelganger.”
“Get a grip. We're on Earth.”
“Oh.”
After Lee Mina smacked Cheon Yubeom on the back, the wild look in Cheon's eyes softened too.
Nostrils flaring, they took a deep breath.
“Haaaaah! Earth's air!”
Choi Hyunju calmed her pounding heart.
It had only lasted a moment, but the killing intent the two had given off was tremendous. Enough to make even Choi Hyunju, an SR-rank hunter, tense up.
“You two must have been through a lot.”
“Waaah, I missed you!”
Lee Mina threw her arms around her.
How she had missed the scent of another human being.
Devils. Monsters.
She was sick of them.
“You did well.”
Choi Hyunju gently patted Lee Mina's back.
“Waaaah! I really thought I was going to die!”
“Oh, you poor thing. You've been through so much.”
The Special Adviser must have put these two through some truly harsh training.
“But were you two left alone in the Demon Realm?”
“Hic!”
“Gasp!”
Lee Mina and Cheon Yubeom went pale.
“Th-the instructor isn't here right now.”
“Where is he?”
“He said he couldn't enter the house before its owner...”
When summoned devils were unsummoned, they waited in the void pouch unless they were sent to the dark mage's dungeon.
Luciel was currently inside Kim Junyong's void pouch.
“Anyway, you've both worked hard. But I came to investigate the Conqueror's monument... Could you tell me if you two have anything to do with it?”
The two seemed to be showing the sort of PTSD symptoms a returnee might have, so she asked carefully.
“Oh, that's easy to explain. When we cleared the map, we received the Conqueror title. It also let us choose where to put the monument.”
“Yes, that's right. So we put it in front of the Adviser's house.”
“The Conqueror trait?”
“Yes.”
Choi Hyunju was amazed.
Twenty years had passed since the Day of Beginning. Some people had been designated as villains and registered in the system under aliases, but no one had ever received a separate title.
<Conqueror Cheon Yubeom>
<Conqueror Lee Mina>
“Wow. Have you two had your strength measured?”
“No.”
“Then we'll do that later. I'll take a look at the monument first. You two should rest.”
“Oh, I won't turn that down.”
“Deputy Director, I'm sorry we can't help. I really, really need some rest.”
“I can see that. You've both worked hard.”
“Yes, ma'am. We'll get a little sleep, then.”
They wanted to rush straight to the Special Adviser and report their return, but held back. He was enjoying a cozy family outing at the baseball game, and they didn't want to interrupt.
More than anything, they desperately needed rest.
“Phew.”
Choi Hyunju let out a short sigh.
Brief as it had been, their intensity was impressive enough to make her tense up without realizing it. She couldn't be sure, but they must have grown considerably stronger.
‘They might even reach Grade 1.’
She would have to test them with a measuring device later, but she expected them to exceed the Grade 1 threshold.
When Choi Hyunju went outside, she found that local police officers had rushed over and were restricting access to the monument.
It stood outside the chaotic construction site, on the sidewalk just beyond the boundaries of the nine lots that had been combined into one.
As Choi Hyunju approached, an officer guarding the area recognized her and greeted her.
“Oh! Ma'am!”
“Don't let people take photos, and move them farther back. Put up a screen too.”
“Yes, understood.”
“Be especially careful about keeping foreigners out.”
“Yes, ma'am!”
Hansan 2-dong had become a battleground for spies from all over the world.
Regional notices didn't care about nationality.
They were sent to every hunter currently in that country, so the foreign hunters in Korea had learned about the monument too.
They must have been dying of curiosity.
After all, Choi Hyunju had come straight here because she was curious herself.
“Why are you keeping us out?”
“Let us have a look too!”
“Please step back!”
The foreigners spoke excellent Korean.
There was no need to give them a chance to investigate.
“It's dangerous, so keep access strictly controlled.”
“Yes, ma'am!”
Fortunately, the monument had appeared while work was underway at the cultural heritage excavation site, so they could quickly block it off with construction fencing.
Once she stepped inside the fence, a Bureau agent who had arrived before her recognized the deputy director and saluted.
“Oh, you're here.”
“So this is it.”
The monument was about two meters tall, with an inscription written in Korean.
[Conquest Monument for Region 77 of the Demon Realm]
“There are names on the side too.”
[Conquerors]
Kim Luciel
Cheon Yubeom
Lee Mina
“...”
This was a monument to victory.
Whether they called it a monument to new frontiers or a victory monument, it commemorated the achievement of people from Earth reclaiming one region of the Demon Realm.
“What about dungeon suppression?”
“Please take a look at the dungeon map.”
“...They've vanished.”
“Yes. Within a radius of about ten kilometers.”
Every dungeon within ten kilometers of Hansan 2-dong had vanished. They would need to observe it longer to be certain, but dungeons would probably never form in this area again.
“...It's a true safe zone.”
“That's right.”
“...”
This would have a huge impact.
Hunters might soon rush to conquer regions of the Demon Realm.
But...
‘Who could actually pull it off?’
Was there a guild with enough strength to do that?
No, was there even a country that could?
* * *
South Korea's Presidential Office.
Having returned from his visit to Dokdo, Kim Seungtae received some very welcome news.
“A safe zone? Well, now. The Bureau has really accomplished something great.”
Bureau agents Cheon Yubeom and Lee Mina had achieved something remarkable.
“Who is Kim Luciel? Did they work with a foreign hunter?”
“No. We believe it's someone connected to the Special Adviser.”
“Hahaha! Our Special Adviser really is a blessing.”
“Indeed!”
Seoul now had a dungeon safe zone.
The implications were enormous.
“Good. Let's discuss the impact this wonderful news will have.”
“Mr. President! Our most urgent task is to stop real estate transactions.”
“Hmm? Oh! Of course.”
A dungeon safe zone had appeared in Seoul.
Any Korean would have much the same thought.
“Make an emergency announcement. We'll require permits for all land transactions in the affected area.”
“We're being flooded with demands to release information about the monument.”
The whole world was in an uproar.
“There doesn't seem to be anything we need to hide... What does the Bureau director think?”
“I believe it's safe to release the information.”
Even if foreign countries learned about the monument, there was nothing they could do.
They could only envy Korea.
Right now, Korea's Special Adviser was the only one with the resources to conquer a region of the Demon Realm and obtain another monument.
“Hahaha! The whole world will be jealous of Korea.”
President Kim Seungtae grinned from ear to ear.
It looked as though he would end up teabagging the whole world without even meaning to.
The presidency.
A heavy burden that came with so much stress. Yet lately, Kim Seungtae was finding it quite enjoyable.
Soon, the president's announcement at an emergency press conference shook the world, just as expected.
Among all the reactions, Taiwan's response was especially enthusiastic.
Footnotes:
“Burned myself down to white ash” echoes the famous image from the boxing manga Tomorrow's Joe, often used to joke about complete exhaustion.
“Teabagging” is gaming slang for a mocking victory taunt.
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