WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Our Precious Demon King ◈
Chapter 9: Seoul Is Kind
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Even Yu Jihun, the middle schooler who left for school later than anyone else in the family, had gone. Kim Junyong was now home alone.
“Hmm.”
There was still some time before sunset.
Should I collect some order points and get rid of the remaining black orbs? The pain would be bearable enough if I just settled up and endured it.
Pain and screams were all too familiar to a warlock.
“What a bother...”
First, he opened the refrigerator.
With an ice cream in his mouth, he wandered over to the window.
“Now this is a city.”
Kim Junyong smiled happily at the tightly packed buildings.
Then a question occurred to him.
“Where’s the Demon King’s Army?”
Earth had suffered a Demon King’s invasion, just like Belheim, yet it looked so peaceful.
“I don’t see a single monster, either.”
There wasn’t even a common slime around. Surely the city’s defenses couldn’t be that airtight.
“I need to experiment with hunting monsters, too.”
If he killed a monster and unlocked his status window, he would probably gain an Order Mana Core that stored white mana.
Then the Chaos Mana Core, currently suppressed by the scales, would start working again, too.
“Are they all hiding?”
Even in the imperial palace of Belheim’s well-policed empire, monsters weren’t an unusual sight if you visited the underground sewers or some damp, abandoned house.
“Should I go out and look?”
He had time until evening anyway.
It would be nice to find a monster while taking a walk. Running into some villains and earning order points from them would be good, too.
There was no reason not to go.
He threw on some clothes and headed outside with a credit card, the crowning achievement of modern alchemy.
After leaving the apartment complex, he walked without any particular destination.
[33-Hour Grandma’s Gukbap]
“Oh, yeah. Grandma’s rice soup is always best. Remi.”
Whoosh.
As soon as Remi was summoned, he looked around and met the eyes of a passerby.
“Shall I cut them down?”
“No. Let’s eat.”
“...”
“You need to get a taste of Earth.”
Remi looked sick of him.
His master’s obsession with food was enough to leave even a demon speechless.
“Understood.”
Jingle.
Remi obediently followed him into the restaurant. No sooner had they sat down than their food arrived.
“Oh, my. Is this young lady a celebrity?”
“No. A swordsman.”
“Well, now! You look so young to be a prosecutor! Enjoy your meal.”
Once the woman left, Remi stared at the bowl of rice soup on the table.
“This is common food in Belheim, too.”
“Hey, Earth’s version is different. It’s got more savory flavor. Add some of this to season it.”
Copying the people around him, Remi added some salted shrimp and tasted the soup.
Slurp.
“...I think Belheim’s is better.”
“Oh, come on.”
Kim Junyong took a spoonful and frowned at the mediocre taste.
“This place must be especially bad.”
At that moment, the eyes of the headscarf-wearing grandmother cheerfully chopping green onions in the kitchen flashed.
“What was that? Young man, say that again.”
“It doesn’t taste good.”
“What? It doesn’t taste good?”
The grandmother pointed at the writing covering the wall.
“Look at that! Even celebrities come here to eat! I’ve been running this place for thirty years!”
“Oh, please, ma’am. Calm down.”
“Let go of me! That little brat’s trampling on my pride!”
Watching the fierce struggle between the angry grandmother and the woman holding her back, Remi asked a question.
“Shall I cut her down?”
“Hmm. Wait a little longer. The scales aren’t reacting.”
Shouldn’t an insult like this make the scales react?
They were called Bel’s Scales, after all.
If they followed any standard of good and evil, it would be Belheim’s, not Earth’s.
An insult like this was legal grounds for a duel in Belheim.
“You damned brats! I’ve spent thirty years boiling bones for broth! Thirty years!”
Jingle.
Just then, two men hurried into the restaurant, held out a piece of paper, and announced themselves.
“We’re from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. We’re here for a hygiene inspection.”
“What? All of a sudden?”
“Are you the owner?”
“Yes? I’m the owner...”
“Let’s go to the kitchen.”
The grandmother lost all her bluster as they led her away. The woman who had served them looked apologetic.
“Oh, you young couple. Finish your food before you go. I won’t charge you.”
Once she had gone into the kitchen, too, Kim Junyong shook his head.
“Well, that killed the mood.”
“...Shall I cut them down?”
“Stop asking.”
“Are you lifting the binding?”
Remi’s eyes shone as he asked. Kim Junyong chuckled.
“What, so you can turn this place into a sea of blood?”
“Tch.”
“Let’s go. I’ve lost my appetite.”
Once the two left, the men in sunglasses quickly wrapped things up, too.
“So, be more careful from now on.”
“What? But I haven’t broken any hygiene laws.”
“Watch what you say.”
“What? Are you really from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety?”
“We’ll be going now.”
After they left, the grandmother and the other woman stood in the kitchen, feeling utterly dazed.
“Good grief. Even a ghost couldn’t explain this.”
Kim Junyong continued looking around the neighborhood with Remi.
“Have you ever had coffee?”
“What’s that?”
“An Earth stimulant.”
“Even demons don’t do drugs.”
“It’s not a drug, you idiot.”
Traveling through an unfamiliar world was fun.
And inviting a stranger to my hometown was fun, too.
Showing his stiff, unsociable bodyguard Remi all the different aspects of Earth’s culture was quite exciting.
“Hello. Would you like to order?”
“Let’s see.”
Kim Junyong raised a finger as he studied a café menu for the first time in two hundred years.
“Give me everything from there to there.”
“Pardon?”
“From there to there.”
“Is, is that to go?”
“We’ll have it here.”
“Oh, all right. Just a moment.”
He handed over the credit card to pay, and the employee returned it with a pager.
With that in hand, the two sat down by the window.
Both Junyong and Remi wore tracksuits, but now that Junyong had washed up, he was quite a handsome man. Remi’s beauty was on a level that hardly seemed human.
Naturally, they drew the attention of the café’s customers.
“Wow.”
“Babe, where are you looking?”
“Huh?”
All around them, people stole glances or openly stared.
“Well, look at you, Remi. A superstar of the universe.”
“...Shall I cut them all down?”
“Heh heh heh.”
Demons had sexes, too, and Remi had originally been male. On Earth, however, he had ended up in a female body.
“Just enjoy yourself.”
“...I’m adjusting.”
“Oh?”
“Gender is no great concern to a swordsman.”
Bzzzzzz.
When the pager went off, the two stared blankly at it.
“The customer who ordered fifteen drinks, from the Americano to the strawberry Frappuccino! Your drinks are ready!”
Remi’s eyebrow twitched as he watched the part-timer call out from the counter.
“How insolent. I’ll cut that one down. Give me permission.”
“Oh! This is a pager.”
Recalling the device from his old memories, Kim Junyong gestured at Remi with his chin.
“Take this over and exchange it for the coffee.”
“Hah. Earth’s humans have no manners. Making the Mad Sovereign (狂君主) run errands!”
Kim Junyong chuckled.
He had no intention of ruling over everyone on Earth, too.
How could he enjoy such a comfortable, entertaining life if he did?
“Just bring it over without causing trouble.”
“Tch.”
Remi clicked his tongue and went to collect the coffee.
Murmurs rose around them.
“Wow, the woman went.”
“That guy must have some serious game.”
“Fuck, I think I’m better than him. Should I ask for her number?”
Kim Junyong dug at his ear.
His body had transcended its limits several times, becoming not only more durable but also more sensitive, which could be inconvenient at times like this.
Junyong deliberately limited his hearing.
“Good. Is this about the volume an ordinary person hears?”
Overly keen senses weren’t good for daily life, either.
You needed to be a little dull to live comfortably.
Remi returned with fifteen drinks on a tray.
“Have some... You’ve already started.”
My Remi really is impatient.
Do I need to start by teaching him the table manners of Korea, the land of courtesy?
Kim Junyong picked up an Americano and took a sip through the straw.
“Ahh, nothing beats a straw.”
Maybe half the flavor really did come from the pleasure of this environmentally destructive convenience.
“Hey, hey. I won’t steal it. Take your time.”
“...This tastes good.”
Junyong chuckled.
“See? I told you Earth’s food culture was on a much higher level.”
“I don’t think that’s true.”
“No arguing.”
Remi was too busy sucking down the drinks to do anything else.
Then an unfamiliar man approached and bowed.
“Hello. I promise I’m not some weirdo. This is what I do for a living.”
“What?”
Junyong snatched the business card the man offered and examined it.
[SL Entertainment, Manager Kim Mangcho]
“Hmm?”
“Haha. I’m not here for you, sir. I wanted to speak to this person... Excuse me, but what’s your relationship?”
Just then, Remi finished sucking down his fifth drink and spoke.
“Get lost.”
“Pardon?”
Holding the business card, Kim Junyong leaned back in his chair with a broad smile.
He was curious how Remi would react.
‘The binding prevents him from killing without permission...’
But he was free to hit people.
“Hahaha. You’re rather prickly. I’m sure you get plenty of offers, but here at SL Entertainment...”
“Sir, you can’t do this here.”
“Pardon?”
The newcomer wore the same apron as the café staff, but he was unusually big.
“Leave.”
“What? I’m...”
“Enough. I said leave.”
“Pardon?”
“Out.”
The big man intimidated Kim Mangcho and drove him out of the café. The café owner approached the apparent part-timer to praise him.
“Wow, good job. Huh? Wait, who are you?”
“Oh, I’m a customer.”
The man took off the apron, set it down, and hurried outside.
“What a funny bunch.”
Kim Junyong looked in the direction the man had gone and chuckled.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes.”
He went outside with Remi, who had finished all the drinks in the meantime.
“Let’s get something to eat.”
“Yes.”
Remi’s beauty drew attention wherever they went, and there were frequent confrontations. Each time, however, people appeared from somewhere and interfered, preventing any bloodshed.
That afternoon, a phone shop caught Junyong’s eye during their walk.
“Oh, right.”
He remembered his mission.
“Let’s go there.”
“What are we eating this time?”
“It’s not food.”
Kim Junyong decided to show Remi the crowning achievement of modern civilization.
“Welcome!”
“Two phones, please.”
“Of course, sir. Are you looking for the latest models?”
“The best ones you have.”
He had his big sister’s magic credit card, after all.
“You’ve come to the right place. We’re running a promotion on the latest model, the Galary 22. If you just use this plan for the first three months, it’s practically free...”
The employee tapped at a calculator with fingers even quicker than the slick sales pitch. Then an unfamiliar hand reached over, grabbed the employee, and pulled them away.
“Oh, sir. I’ll help customers in the order they came in.”
“This will only take a moment.”
The shop owner returned looking pale after the customer dragged them outside.
The customer who had gone out with the owner sat on the waiting sofa, stealing glances their way.
“Haha, sir. What was I saying earlier?”
“Free.”
“Oh, right! I said I’d give you the Galary 31 for free.”
“...? You said 22 earlier.”
“Oh, sir. That model’s ancient. You must have misheard. Please wait a moment.”
The owner went into the storeroom and soon returned with two phones.
“Please give me your IDs and wait just a moment.”
“Don’t have them.”
“Pardon?”
“I didn’t bring mine. This one doesn’t have one.”
“What?”
The flustered owner’s eyes darted about.
The owner looked pleadingly at the man in the waiting area.
Kim Junyong also turned his gaze toward the man.
He thought he had seen that face about twice over the course of the day.
He had also seen the woman hiding behind the roadside tree outside the phone shop at least three times.
“Ah, not having an ID makes me feel like killing someone.”
At Junyong’s words, the man went pale, while Remi brightened.
“Shall I cut someone down?”
“No.”
Leaving the dejected Remi behind, Junyong approached the man on the waiting sofa.
“Tell them to make us two IDs.”
“Pardon? What do you mean?”
“You really don’t know?”
Kim Junyong grinned.
Jingle.
The door flew open, and a man with a familiar face shouted.
“Please wait just a moment!”
“Oh, the paladin.”
The two were meeting again after just one day, but a great deal had changed.
Footnotes:
The Korean word geomsa means both “swordsman” and “prosecutor.” Remi means the former, but the restaurant worker hears the latter.
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