WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Our Precious Demon King ◈
Chapter 88: Time to Choose
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Demon Realm Forum Regional (South Korea) Community
- Holy shit, a new G-rank just popped up in Korea.
- Cheon Yubeom? What? Who's that?
- A Bureau hunter.
- Huh? I looked him up, and he's a Grade 3 hunter. Someone with the same name?
- That's him. The guy who hit SR-rank at number 50 not long ago.
- Whoa, suddenly he's number two? What's going on?
- This is nuts. What's with Korea lately?
- But can we even trust these rankings?
- Who cares? It's not like hunters at that level can fight each other to check.
- Honestly, ever since “you-know-who” showed up, everyone on the rankings looks like a joke. lol
- You-know-who, lolol
- Who's you-know-who?
- Mad
- Hey, is that asshole up there insane?
- Shut your fucking mouth.
- Is this bastard crazy?
One comment vanished under the sudden flood of angry replies.
In any case, the rankings ran on experience points.
Experience points also represented the amount of mana a hunter had, but simply hunting more wasn't enough.
Hunting the same kind of monster over and over reduced the experience points earned.
Hunters had to hunt a wider variety of monsters and kill plenty of devils.
Experience points reflected actual experience, and more mana meant more uses of skills. So it wasn't entirely wrong to say that ranking reflected combat ability.
Still, it couldn't serve as an absolute measure of strength.
It was almost impossible to compete and see who was stronger, as people did in combat sports.
Arguments sometimes led to fights between hunters, but with supernatural powers involved, someone was bound to die. Such matches rarely happened at all.
People had quietly treated the rankings as a list of who could beat whom, but everything changed when South Korea's Special Adviser appeared.
He wasn't even listed, yet he'd defeated Ryu Jai.
These days, people increasingly saw the rankings as little more than a “veteran index.”
Even so, Cheon Yubeom's case was special.
- No matter how crazy he is about hunting, does jumping from 50th to 2nd make any sense?
- Something's weird here.
- Is he a G-rank hunter?
- That's a double blessing.
- What's that?
- Is this guy a total noob?
- Everyone in the know knows. Guardians use god power.
- So what the hell is that?
- I don't know the details, dumbass. I'm not a Guardian.
- Wow, a Guardian in our country.
South Korea wasn't the only country stirred up by the news.
Kim Junyong's appearance had been shocking, but it made sense.
Those who knew his past could all understand his strength.
But Cheon Yubeom had been a Grade 3 hunter until recently.
Was such rapid growth possible in so little time?
If so, couldn't others do it too?
Who was Cheon Yubeom, and how had he grown so quickly?
Once again, the world's attention turned to South Korea.
* * *
Japan's Superhuman Awakening Agency.
Director Kuroda Yunosuke summoned the hunter Sasaki Yoichi.
“Your humble servant, Sasaki! I've come running at your call, Director!”
“Oh! Sasaki! As quick as ever! The fastest in the entire agency!”
“Yes, sir!”
“You're the face and pride of the agency! I've called you here today to entrust you with a very special mission.”
“Just give the word! I'm prepared to lay down my life!”
“Starting today, you'll be going on a long-term assignment in South Korea!”
“South Korea? What will my duties be there?”
“Stay close to your sworn older brother.”
“...?”
Sasaki Yoichi didn't quite understand this order.
Spending time with his brother was a purely personal matter.
“Am I to deliver something?”
“No.”
So he wouldn't be going as a representative of Japan.
“Then is this a vacation?”
“Yes, that's a good way to think of it!”
“With great power comes great responsibility! I, Sasaki Yoichi, cannot leave my country behind to enjoy a vacation alone!”
Oh, no!
Sasaki was a patriot who put his country before his own safety or interests! Personal rewards and temptations would only have the opposite effect on him.
Kuroda started by shouting.
“Sasaki!”
“Yes, sir!”
“Don't you understand the purpose of this undercover mission?”
“U-undercover mission?”
“That's right!”
“Wh-what is it?”
“On the surface, it's a vacation, but this mission has a much deeper purpose.”
“...”
Sasaki Yoichi thought for a moment.
“S-surely you don't mean to have me act as some ninja spy!”
Kuroda Yunosuke realized he'd made another mistake.
Stubborn and single-minded!
He'd let his guard down after successfully managing the notoriously difficult Sasaki all this time.
“I, Sasaki Yoichi, may lay down my life for my country, but I will never betray my brother! Order me to commit seppuku instead!”
Shit.
He couldn't back down now!
He had to come on strong.
Smack!
Director Kuroda Yunosuke slapped him without warning.
He couldn't give Sasaki time to think.
“Sasaki! Do you think I'd ask a fine Japanese man like you to do something so cowardly?”
Dazed by the director's shouting, Sasaki asked again.
“Then what is my mission?”
“...”
The director swallowed hard.
Damn it, spying was exactly what he'd had in mind.
He needed Sasaki to discover the secret behind Cheon Yubeom's rise in the rankings...
Oh, to hell with it.
“S-studying abroad!”
“Studying abroad?”
“Even if you see confidential information there, you don't need to report it to me!”
“Is that true?”
“You're not a spy! Would such a petty task befit a hunter who is the pride of our country?”
“You know me well!”
“Go there and learn! Returning stronger is how you can repay your country!”
“Sir!”
“Do you understand now why I called it a vacation?”
Thud!
Sasaki Yoichi dropped to his knees before the director.
“I misunderstood your profound intentions!”
“It's already forgotten!”
With a solemn expression, the director helped Sasaki to his feet.
“You are Japan's future! This isn't merely personal growth. It's an increase in Japan's national strength!”
Sasaki bit his lip.
“I, Sasaki Yoichi, shall endure even the pain of broken bones and torn flesh! I shall learn, train, and return stronger!”
“Good! You are Japan, and Japan is you!”
“Sir!”
Sasaki Yoichi looked deeply moved.
Kuroda Yunosuke could tell he was ready.
“Go put your affairs in order and leave for South Korea!”
“Yes, sir!”
“There is no time limit! Don't even think of coming back before you reach at least SR-rank!”
“Yes, sir! I, Sasaki Yoichi, shall grow stronger for the sake of Japan's national strength!”
“The future of our country rests in your hands!”
Kuroda Yunosuke pulled Sasaki Yoichi into a fierce embrace.
He sent him off with hot tears.
Once Director Kuroda Yunosuke was alone, he let out a deep sigh.
“Hah, I'll have to try another approach.”
His plan to send Sasaki to uncover the secret of Cheon Yubeom's growth was dead. Given his personality, he wouldn't say a word, no matter what he saw, heard, or learned.
As a spy, he was completely useless.
Who would have thought his loyalty to his brother would be as firm as his patriotism?
“I wanted the blueprints, but all I can get is a single battleship...”
It would have to do.
Sasaki Yoichi was ranked 999th, G-rank, anyway.
Fortunately, his absence wouldn't leave too large a gap for now.
Even if he only returned as an SR-rank hunter, that would still be good for Japan.
* * *
Sophie Giro.
The current number-one Guardian hadn't set foot outside her home.
“He's gone back to South Korea.”
The Mad Sovereign had returned to South Korea.
Her house arrest, half voluntary and half forced, was over.
“All of Europe is making such a fuss.”
Everyone was busy talking about South Korea's Special.
The presidents of Italy and France were racing each other to South Korea.
‘Have they no pride?’
Italy had the weakest hunter forces in Europe, so she could understand that. But why on earth was the French president behaving this way?
When he had her?
The pride of France.
France's hunter.
France's Saintess.
“How absurd.”
The French president had hurried off to sign a dimensional defense treaty between France and South Korea.
According to a close contact in the Special Security Bureau, he'd decided to visit South Korea immediately after a long meeting with the bureau's director.
“What nonsense did they tell him?”
How dare they ignore me?
How dare they wag their tails at the likes of the Mad Sovereign?
Didn't both the president and the bureau director know who he really was?
Why on earth would they deal with a villain...?
“Italy is just as ridiculous.”
Everyone else had gone home, but they were treating the one remaining member of the Mad Sovereign's family like an honored guest.
Closing tourist attractions, controlling traffic... It was the full treatment for a state guest.
What angered Sophie Giro was that she hadn't received such treatment even when she'd visited Italy to clear an A-rank dungeon last year.
“She's just a relative! A villain's older sister!”
How dare they treat a villain's family better than me, the Saintess of France?
What should she do?
‘If someone hurt her...’
The Mad Sovereign's older sister was traveling through Italy.
If she came to harm, where would his anger turn?
‘If Italy were devastated, Europe would get nervous.’
Then all the attention, interest, and hope would turn back to me...
A faint smile had formed at the sweet thought, but Sophie Giro's face turned cold again.
“...The risk is too great.”
Would the Mad Sovereign's rage really stop at Italy?
She couldn't dare predict what he would do.
Fear crept into her heart.
“Whew.”
She should just stay put.
He was a villain, after all.
Sooner or later, the world would shudder at his brutality.
Heroes were meant to appear in times of crisis.
‘The one who survives is the strong one.’
Sophie Giro, the current number one, adopted a wait-it-out strategy.
The Mad Sovereign.
Someday, he would explode.
Hoping that Vikram or someone else would hurry up, cross the line, and take care of him, she quietly went to ground.
* * *
“Then we'll see you tomorrow!”
“You've worked hard. You can take a few days off.”
“Oh, no. We'll be right back at work.”
Cheon Yubeom and Lee Mina left for the day.
Walking along the road through the construction site, they congratulated each other on making it back from the Demon Realm alive.
“Whew. You worked hard, Deputy Department Head Lee. Get some rest.”
“I will. But what are you going to do?”
“Huh? About what?”
“The Bureau.”
“Oh.”
Both of them had already received cautious offers from the Bureau.
A pay raise was a given, along with a steep jump in their civil service ranks.
Cheon Yubeom was currently a Grade 5 administrative officer, while Lee Mina was a Grade 6 senior clerk.
Both had been promised treatment equivalent to a Grade 2 director general.
That was just below Deputy Director Choi Hyunju's Grade 1.
“I've actually been flooded with calls from guilds too. Haven't you, Team Leader Cheon?”
“That's why my phone's on silent.”
They laughed at how similar their situations were.
“I'm going to stay.”
Cheon Yubeom nodded at Lee Mina's words.
“I'm quitting.”
“...?”
Lee Mina's eyes widened.
“Wh-what did you say?”
She'd never imagined this.
Was Team Leader Cheon actually thinking of moving to another country?
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