WeTried Translations

Translator: Yasi

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Precious Demon King

Chapter 15: What If Seoul Had a Nuke?

Yu Jihun raced home straight from cram school.

"Huff, huff!"

Though there was no reason to hurry, he ran up the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator.

Beep, beep–

He quickly punched in the passcode. The smell of fried chicken greeted him as soon as he opened the door.

"Mom!"

"Oh! Jihun, you're back?"

As he passed through the living room, he saw his mother and uncle sitting at the dining table.

"H-Hello, Uncle."

"Oh, hey."

Yu Jihun bowed his head politely, and his mother welcomed him with a smile.

"You must be hungry. Go wash your hands."

"Okay!"

He took off his school uniform, washed his hands quickly, and sat down. His mother and uncle seemed cheerful, as if they had had a few beers.

"Here, eat this."

"Mhm."

Yu Jihun ate his chicken while sneaking glances at his uncle.

Whoa. I didn't get a good look at him yesterday, but now that I see him properly, he kind of looks like Mom...But seriously, that face is forty? Maybe hunter life really is the future.

"What are you curious about?"

"Huh?"

"You've got curiosity written all over you."

"Y-You can tell?"

"Of course."

"Haha."

Was it that obvious? Yu Jihun gave an awkward smile.

"I'm just...happy to have an uncle."

"Is that all?"

"A-And it's cool that you're a hunter..."

Kim Junyong let out a soft chuckle. At that moment, Kim Jangmi clapped her hands as if she had just remembered something.

"Oh! Jihun, you know a lot about hunters, right? Guess who Mom saw today? Choi Hyunju!"

"What? Hunter Choi Hyunju? Korea's number one ranked hunter?"

Yu Jihun was startled.

"Uh-huh. I saw a celebrity I had only ever seen on TV, you know."

"Whoa! She's not just any celebrity, Mom."

People who weren't into hunters might only know her as the top Korean hunter who appeared in ads and on TV.

"S-She's ranked 31st in the world. Just having her in Korea is a blessing. Thanks to her, our national defense burden...Korean hunters are treated well internationally all because of her...the pride and pillar of our hunter world...our dungeon break rate is...plus, she's the deputy bureau director of the Hunter Management Bureau and serves the country...she's seriously amazing!"

As Yu Jihun rattled off facts, Kim Jangmi looked startled while Kim Junyong chuckled.

"You sure know a lot."

"Huh? Oh, well, yeah. Most children my age do. Haha."

Then Kim Jangmi suddenly asked.

"So, do you know that your uncle joined the Hunter Management Bureau?"

"Wait, what?"

Yu Jihun slapped his forehead in realization.

"Ah!"

So his uncle had made a deal with the Hunter Management Bureau. He was doing patriotic work to get a lighter sentence.

"Junyong, show him."

"This?"

Kim Junyong pulled out his ID card.

"S-Special Advisor? That's a real position...?"

Sure, an advisor, but a special advisor? Such roles were usually given to executives either before retirement or when outside expertise or connections were truly needed.

It was a title that came with a salary but no real duties. Occasionally stepping in to show off one's connections or seniority was enough.

"Your uncle even got an expense card."

"Wait, really? Even though he's an advisor?"

Do they usually give advisors an expense budget?

"Then, no salary?"

"Twenty billion won."

"What?!"

That was way too much. It wasn't like South Korea was an oil country...As far as he knew, someone would have to join a top guild to earn that much in South Korea.

"Even you think that's a lot, huh?"

"Of course!"

"Choi Hyunju herself came to deliver the offer. That's what really moved me."

"Wow."

A man personally recruited by South Korea's top hunter. A man with a two billion won salary. A man with an expense card to boot...

"That's insane."

Yu Jihun looked at his uncle with awe-filled eyes.

"Heh."

And for some reason, Kim Junyong didn't mind that look at all. He realized that this was what they meant by blood ties. Although it was only the second day, he was already feeling attached. His nephew was just too adorable.

Kim Jangmi opened another can of beer and chugged it.

"Hahh, more than anything, I'm just so relieved I don't have to be on edge about your uncle getting dragged off again!"

"..."

But this didn't feel like a typical government job...Just what had his uncle been doing before he showed up?

* * *

Hunter Management Bureau. Choi Hyunju convened an emergency meeting.

Even Cheon Yubeom and Lee Mina, who had pulled two all-nighters and barely slept, were there by 10 a.m.

Park Taejun, fresh out of the hospital, wasn't exempt either.

"Since everyone's here, let's begin. Bureau Director?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure you're all right now?"

"I'm fine."

Park Taejun had nearly died. It wasn't a curse, and advanced diagnostics had found nothing wrong. There was just one symptom: every time he thought of Kim Junyong, he got a splitting headache.

Two hours ago, the headache vanished completely.

Clack, clack.

Choi Hyunju wrote on the whiteboard.

– Mad Monarch

"Since you're all in the Hunter Management Bureau, I trust you've studied up on Belhaim's history."

She tapped the whiteboard.

"You all know who the Mad Monarch is, right?"

"Yes. Isn't he one of the Demon Realm monarchs in the Demon King's army?"

"He was a pivotal figure who gave us the opportunity to fight back in the latter half of the war."

"Without his betrayal, the final expedition against the Demon King would never have happened."

As the room echoed with agreement, Choi Hyunju let out a short breath and spoke.

The Mad Monarch. Around Year 50, a Demon Realm monarch first made a name for himself by destroying five allied legions in one fell swoop. It was said to be five legions, but that included twelve fallen kingdoms and a collapsed empire.

Year 80. The Mad Monarch's betrayal. He suddenly began fighting against the demon army.

That became the turning point, allowing the nearly annihilated Allied Forces to regroup and muster their remaining strength for a final raid against the Demon King's army.

Year 100. The Final Seven Heroes defeated the Demon King and returned to Earth.

This information was common knowledge and easy to find online if you looked up Belhaim's history.

"But history and lived experience are very different. I encountered him personally."

Choi Hyunju's expression turned grave.

"You all know his most infamous nickname, right?"

"The Calamity..."

"Yes. Calamity. He really was a Demon Realm monarch who could be described with that very word. By the end, even the Demon King's army and the alliance feared crossing paths with him..."

Her face hardened.

"That's what makes him a calamity. You can't avoid or stop him just because you want to. He's an unstoppable disaster."

"Ahem. I understand. But Deputy Bureau Director, how does this relate to our current crisis involving Kim Junyong and the Daesan Group?"

Choi Hyunju added more to the whiteboard.

– Mad Monarch (Kim Junyong)

"...!"

Those who had suspected as much while she was recounting history were now in shock. Especially Cheon Yubeom and Lee Mina–their souls looked like they had left their bodies.

"Does everyone understand now?"

Bang!

Choi Hyunju slammed the podium.

"We're screwed. But!"

"..."

"Oddly enough, I saw hope."

She trembled slightly. She had been certain he was a demon...but he was human.

She couldn't forget how the Mad Monarch had sulked when his sister scolded him. It was a total shock!

A Mad Monarch who listened? A controllable calamity?

"If we can form a good relationship with him, then Seoul has essentially acquired a nuclear weapon."

"A nuke?"

"Yes, a nuke! What else could it be if not a war deterrent? Who would dare provoke Seoul if the Mad Monarch lived there?"

Everyone in the room fell silent at Choi Hyunju's words. They had never seen her so impassioned.

"And why are nukes so scary? Because we can't control them! Who can control the Mad Monarch? Ha! No one!"

Choi Hyunju glared at them with a fearsome look in her eyes. The moment she released the aura she had been holding back, a breath-stopping pressure filled the room.

"Listen closely. He is a calamity. We must stay alert and build trust with great caution–extreme caution. The fact that he has family is a stroke of luck. That's where I saw hope."

Even today had been a close call. The way they had wavered between recruiting and eliminating him. They couldn't keep thinking like this.

"Right now, we're dealing with the Mad Monarch...No, even that title is off-limits. Kim Junyong–no, from now on we'll stick to calling him 'Special Advisor.' We're setting up a dedicated support division for him."

Even the title had to be handled with care. They couldn't risk offending him. Caution. And more caution.

"Team Leader Cheon Yubeom, currently serving as deputy director, will be promoted to director and reassigned."

"Huh?!"

Cheon Yubeom looked completely caught off guard, but Choi Hyunju spoke firmly.

"You're the only one. The Special Advisor has specifically asked for you several times. Replacing someone he already trusts would be too risky."

"B-But that's a huge responsibility. I don't know if I'm up to it."

"There's no option to decline."

"..."

She continued issuing orders.

"Bureau Director."

"Go ahead."

"Block Daesan."

"...It's not that simple. Daesan's eldest grandson lost an arm."

"It's simple."

Choi Hyunju stepped down from the podium and walked over to Park Taejun.

"Would you rather lose your wallet or your life?"

"Obviously the wallet."

"Exactly. Even if the economy tanks, we have to protect people's lives."

If Daesan collapsed, the whole country would too. It was something people said half-jokingly.

However, a country wouldn't fall just because of one company. It might suffer, but it would survive.

"This is a matter of life or death, Bureau Director. You have to make it happen."

"Ugh. Still..."

"Convince them. Make sure they don't poke the calamity."

With a clap, Choi Hyunju pulled her aura back. The crushing tension in the room lifted immediately.

"This is a critical situation. Everyone needs to stay alert. If the Mad Monarch loses control, the country will fall!"

The others nodded solemnly, but Park Taejun looked uneasy. Choi Hyunju noticed.

"Bureau Director, is there something you would like to add?"

"No, I get it. I understand how powerful and dangerous the Mad Monarch is. I've read the history too! But...isn't it possible that he's not the same person as Kim Junyong?"

"A fair concern."

She nodded.

"But it's him."

"Are you certain? I'm not accusing you. I just want to be sure. We're up against the Daesan Group. We need solid justification."

He was right. They couldn't go up against South Korea's biggest conglomerate on a hunch.

"What's your basis for that certainty?"

"Because the Mad Monarch was the one who killed me."

"...I'll take full responsibility for Daesan."

They would have to sort out the situation and brief the president next.

"Let's wrap this up. We're reviving the Returnee Support Program that ended ten years ago. We'll help Kim Junyong adapt to modern society after his twenty-year absence."

The Returnee Support Program. Early returnees who came back from Belhaim's extremely stressful environment often failed to adapt to society and turned into villains.

However, after launching the social adaptation program, the rate at which returnees turned into villains decreased significantly, making it a highly successful initiative.

For those with family, the chance of social adaptation was nine times higher.

In Kim Junyong's case, the outlook was promising.

"But isn't a twenty billion won salary a bit much?"

"Bureau Director. If a returnee finds themselves in need of money, will they look for a job...or take it by force?"

"..."

Park Taejun nodded without further protest.

"Understood."

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