SSS-Class Revival Hunter - Chapter 223

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ SSS-Class Revival Hunter ◈

Chapter 223: If (1)

──────

Looking back.

Jaa Soo-Jeong, the Viscount, had clearly warned me.

-Don't try to stop me. This is a warning.

Right before I unlocked her lock.

She already knew I held the key in my hand.

If she had been a brute, she would have made the key unusable. She wouldn't have answered my questions or given me the correct answers to my probing.

Jaa Soo-Jeong could have done that.

But she didn’t.

She just calmly forewarned that the lock I would open would lead to a secret room, and the person who would get hurt in that room would be none other than me.

-I have a habit of inadvertently ruining lovely children.

I unlocked the lock.

And I paid the price the god had warned me about.

-Yoo Soo-Ha.

A familiar bar.

A dim atmosphere.

There were many expensive bars on the Tower's first floor. The truly serious establishments were furnished no differently from bars in the outside world. They imported bottles considered luxurious even outside and sold them at eye-watering prices.

A rip-off.

But everywhere in the world, some customers welcome being fleeced as readily as they would welcome a shoulder massage. However expensive it was, people lined up to buy.

The outside world, now unreachable.

The illusion of stopping by an ordinary bar outside, spending an ordinary day, was worth pouring in several gold coins.

-Yoo Soo-Ha.

-Ahh…?

The bar where Yoo Soo-Ha woke up was a beer house.

A so-called 'Hof'.

In the vast Babylon, the only place that replicated a Korean-style Hof. There was a large fridge, and inside it, familiar branded beer cans were stacked neatly.

Cheap silver cans pretending to be cool with blue lettering. Cans with tacky gold trim, boasting their 'gold' as a sign of luxury. And so on.

Ironically, none of the brands had Korean labels, all in English.

-Oh, what now…

For Yoo Soo-Ha, those beer cans were proof of his homeland.

The country he fled from, where people had to loudly proclaim their love for their native script. In other words, the homeland's script wasn't much loved.

Everything born in that land wasn’t loved.

Citizens disliked their fellow citizens. People disliked other people. They hated the children they birthed, the parents who gave them birth. People who hated each other gathered and built schools. They hated each other there too.

-Why wake me up, whyy…?

Yoo Soo-Ha learned only how to hate people in that country.

Born among people who hated each other, growing up with them, what else could he learn? Math? Language? As useless as moral science classes. Essentially, Yoo Soo-Ha learned nothing but hatred there.

Among the parents who bore them, how many could loudly claim,

"I love humans."

How many parents could sincerely say they love humans, without any falsehood?

Not just parents, but teachers too. For 12 long years, numerous teachers occupied Yoo Soo-Ha’s time. He inhaled their breath into his lungs.

Yoo Soo-Ha wanted to ask,

"Do you really love humans, teacher?"

Probably not.

But the opposite question could be easily answered.

"Do you hate humans?"

Then his own parents would be the first to raise their hands. "Yes." The parent standing behind the classmate beside him would raise a hand too. "Yes." Finally, once all the parents and students had raised their hands, the teacher at the lectern would nod.

-Of course, I hate humans too.

So.

Screw you.

-Yoo Soo-Ha, you're totally drunk.

Someone patted his shoulder.

A small hand.

-This isn't a classroom, Yoo Soo-Ha. Do you see me?

-Ah, shit… Damn it... what... where is this?

-Right. This is actually a school. Yes. It's the high school classroom you attended.

-You said it wasn't a school before, didn’t you?

-Which school would serve beer cans for lunch?

Thud.

Someone placed two giant beer cans on the table.

The drunken Yoo Soo-Ha twitched his shoulders. His bleary eyes focused on the two pillars in front of his nose and sniffed.

-Eh…?

-It's beer. Korean beer that you can't live without. I think it's the worst beer in the world, but just like people from an island country love their hometown food, there must be one or two who love Korean beer the most. Here. Drink up.

-Woah… where is this?

-Two possibilities.

-Tell me! My manager!

-First, you skipped night study at school and rode a scooter with friends to a bar street in Samcheong-dong. Decided to drink beer instead of soju, entered a seemingly decent Hof, and drank till you were wasted.

-Drunk! Drun-k! Drunk!

Yoo Soo-Ha shook the beer can like an ancient barbaric warrior.

The beer can vomited the liquid in its belly, and Yoo Soo-Ha gladly took the holy water bestowed by Dionysus full on the head.

Yoo Soo-Ha didn’t care, the bar owner didn’t care, and the person speaking to Yoo Soo-Ha didn’t care.

-The second possibility is, you're no longer a high school student, not in Samcheong-dong’s cheap bar street, not even in Korea, but already an S-Rank Hunter. You stormed into this Hof for no reason to taste the hometown flavor and got wasted.

-Hmm.

-Which scenario do you prefer, Yoo Soo-Ha?

-What was the weather like outside… in the outside world?

-In one word, the weather on the Korean Peninsula right now is monsoon. Yesterday's rain is falling again today, and today's rain falls twice today. Clammy vapor has ripened throughout the neighborhood and rises in steaming wisps. Walking down these streets would make your stress meter take damage over time, -1, -1, -1 at a time.

-Did I bring an umbrella…?

-You didn’t. Neither did I.

-Dammit. Then let's go with the second possibility! Damn it!

Yoo Soo-Ha emptied another can and turned around.

-Owner! Er, here's the payment!

-Forget paying. First, please manage to walk properly on two legs.

A girl snatched Yoo Soo-Ha's wallet. Inside were numerous bills printed by the Bank of Korea. After counting the bills, the girl asked.

-How much is it, boss?

-He drank a lot. Including side dishes, it's 60,000 won.

-My goodness.

The girl looked back at Yoo Soo-Ha and glared.

-You drank that much?

-Sorry. I feel like I'm gonna burp…

-It’s not burp but alcohol you'll vomit out. Then maybe you could get a discount. Ordering five side dishes and eleven beer cans by yourself. Can all that fit in your stomach?

-Ugh... Glu… Hu… Cough! Weh… Cough! Waaah!

-Disgusting.

The girl’s expression soured.

-I'll clean it up. Don’t worry, owner.

-No, no, it's okay. It's all part of the service. Anyway, it’s 60,000 won.

The girl took out the Korean bills from the wallet and handed them over.

And from then on, the [illusion of a bar] unfolded its magic.

-One gold coin per 100,000 won in Korean banknotes, correct?

-Recently the exchange rate has risen a bit. It’s not easy to get Korean money here.

The bar owner whispered.

-Chinese or Japanese money can be easily brought in, but Korean money is really only for collection purposes in Babylon…

-I'll give you two more gold coins. Please prepare a good amount of cash. That way, customers can pay in Korean money and receive change in Korean money too.

-Ah, you're Yoo Soo-Ha's manager, indeed. So smart and attentive to our business needs.

The bar owner repeatedly bowed to the small girl.

Indeed.

A bar in Babylon Tower is a space of [magic].

This place is Korea. They only accept and give out Korean money. Thus, customers can taste common beers found in Korean Hof bars, domestic beers, Belgian style beers, and bottled Chinese beers. They can also enjoy boneless chicken, seasoned chicken, and somewhat oddly flavored pizzas, all cooked by the chef.

-Recently, the military provocations in the Korean Strait are escalating day by day...

Even the bar's television broadcasts outside world news, Korean news specifically.

It was a bizarre sight.

This Korean-style beer house had few Korean drinks on the menu. The few Korean drinks were all branded in English. The side dishes were either chicken or pizza, neither of which originated in Korea.

In this beer house, payments were made in Korean money. At least upfront. Behind the scenes, they counted the exchange value between gold and Korean money, trying to ensure the [casino chips] named Korean money didn’t run out.

None of the people clinking their beer glasses and cheering in the bar were Korean. Not a single one.

Those who abandoned their country to enter the tower had their nationality revoked for one reason or another.

In a land without a country, the patrons cried out the patriotism of some country, got heated about politics, argued, and sometimes even came to blows.

-Yoo Soo-Ha.

A city of displaced people.

-Are you sober now?

-Uh, well... more or less... Ah, usually I’d just use Aura to wash away the hangover. But I can't today because of our promise... Thought I was gonna die from drinking.

-Because you promised me.

Someone with the girl’s voice spoke calmly.

-You promised that you would not use Aura under any circumstances today.

-Yeah, well… Hey, damn. How did I make such a promise? I don’t remember.

-On our way back after clearing the stage, you and I bet on whether the Black Dragon Master would lead assassins in an attack. You bet that she would attack. I bet that she would not.

-Ah, ah.

Yoo Soo-Ha grimaced.

-I remember. Fuck. The Black Dragon Master. A bastard like a dog. A dog of a bastard. Hey, Soo-Jeong, did you know? The Korean syllables in [gae-sae-kki] look just like a puppy if you look closely. [Gae] is its head and front paws. [Sae] is its body and hind legs. [Kki] is its rump and tail. Look. Gae-sae-kki. Wow, I'm a genius. Doesn't gae-sae-kki really look like a gae-sae-kki?

-That’s right. Yoo Soo-Ha really is a son of a Yoo Soo-Ha.

-Umm…?

-I’m somewhat relieved you’re regaining your senses, but that ‘somewhat’ makes me anxious. Don’t tell me, Yoo Soo-Ha. You forgot about the interview tomorrow, right?

-Tomorrow’s... intervieeew...?

-Yes.

The girl.

A hunter with the appearance of Jaa Soo-Jeong answered briefly.

-We’re interviewing for a new manager.

Snap!

Yoo Soo-Ha grabbed Jaa Soo-Jeong’s small shoulder.

-I don't need a new manager!

-It hurts.

-Hey, Jaa Soo-Jeong! Is there something you’re unhappy with? If you’re unhappy, tell me. I’ll listen to anything. Is the salary too low? Should I pour cash into your mouth until it tastes like salty water? Someone bothering you? Who is it, these damn little bastards…? Hey? I’ll cut off their limbs and throw them away in the hunting grounds of Floor 2… Hey? Jaa Soo-Jeong! I’m a generous man. Just tell me!

-I…

-Yes! What, what? Anything, I’ll listen!

-I lack strength to move things, it’s hard.

-Oh…?

-And driving with Yoo Soo-Ha sitting behind me is a nightmare. My butt, back, and neck hurt when I drive.

-Ah…

-We need a new manager. Yoo Soo-Ha. For a star hunter like you, it’s inevitable to need manpower.

-I can just carry that stuff myself.

-And drive yourself too?

-Yeah.

-You sure?

-Yeah, but it won't look cool. Sorry. Can’t do it... I can do anything else, but killing my style is something I can't accept...