WeTried Translations

Translator: Yasi

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Precious Demon King

Chapter 38: The Star of the Party

"Yes, then take care."

"Yes."

With the envelope in hand, Kim Junyong tilted his head.

"Hm? Daesan Guild?"

"What?! Daesan Guild?"

Lee Mina was startled.

"What?"

"Th–uh, ah, no, never mind!"

Since Kim Junyong looked as if he didn't know, she quickly swallowed her words. Did the Special Advisor not remember?

"Oh? It's an invitation."

After glancing over the invitation, Kim Junyong turned his attention back to the TV news.

"Wow, looks like I'm getting a free lunch."

"...!"

Cheon Yubeom and Lee Mina trembled at those words.

"Y-You're going to go?"

"They sent me an invitation, didn't they? That means they want me to come."

"S–Special Advisor, do you really have to go?"

"It's just sightseeing. They said the Asian folks are gathering."

This was bad. Did the Special Advisor know why the consortium was being held?

"I-I'll escort you."

"All right."

"Yes. I'll have the car ready."

As Lee Mina headed outside, Cheon Yubeom quickly followed.

"Hey, Deputy Director Lee! Why are you taking the Special Advisor there?"

"Could you stop him?"

"No."

"At least if I go along, it's better. Imagine if the Special Advisor went with just Remi."

"Gah!"

"Hurry and report this!"

"Ah, okay."

While Lee Mina went to get the car, Kim Junyong looked at Remi.

"Want to come too?"

"Is it a massacre?"

Why did she enjoy turning other people's celebrations into a bloodbath so much?

"No, just to look around, take a tour, and then come back. Eat, too."

There was a note of excited anticipation in Kim Junyong's voice.

"Not really interested."

"Then help with the shop."

"Tch."

"Hehe."

Leaving Remi behind, Kim Junyong stepped outside. People were still eating in the yard and giving him curious looks.

"Huh? I think I've seen that guy somewhere."

"What do you mean you've seen him?"

"Isn't he a celebrity?"

"He's too plain for that."

The Yeouido incident had happened only three days ago, yet the hero's face was already fading from people's minds. In the flood of modern life, memory faded quickly.

"Get in."

"All right, let's go! Go, go."

"Is Remi not coming?"

"She said no. It wouldn't be fun if she did."

Seeing the slightly excited look on Kim Junyong's face, Lee Mina asked in puzzlement.

"D-Do you like it that much?"

"Heh, it's fun. I'm looking forward to it."

"...?"

He was looking forward to the Asian Hunter Alliance?

"I wonder what kind of trap they've prepared."

"...?"

Did she hear that right?

"Excuse me?"

"Ah, even a lackluster swallow can be impressive when it brings back a gourd seed."

"...!"

Lee Mina flinched as if she had been struck by lightning.

He remembers everything!

Kim Junyong remembered all the trouble with Daesan Guild's Executive Kang Hyunsik. Now he was brimming with anticipation over what kind of revenge Daesan would inflict.

This is bad.

She had to tell someone. No–even if she did...what could be done?

Vroom.

With a complicated expression, she drove off. Left behind, Cheon Yubeom quickly made a call to report.

Ring– Click.

"Deputy Bureau Director! We have a problem. The Special Advisor is heading to Daesan Hotel right now."

[ What did you say? ]

"He received an invitation to the Asian Hunter Alliance Consortium and went gladly."

[ Heh, those crazy Daesan bastards sent him an invitation? ]

"Yes. Please make sure Hunter Ryu Jai doesn't run into him if possible."

[ Where are you, Team Leader Cheon? ]

"I'm at the restaurant."

"Nyaa! You dare let my food get cold, nya?!"

"Ah, coming!"

[ ... ]

"Anyway, I'll join you after I close up."

[ ...All right. ]

"All right, table three. Your appetizers are here!"

As Cheon Yubeom served the food, the car carrying Kim Junyong slowly headed toward the Daesan Hotel.

* * *

Daesan Hotel's convention hall.

"Oh, Nakamura! Long time no see."

"Oh, Wang Chen!"

"Let me introduce you. This is my third wife."

"Oh, pleasure to meet you."

The banquet hall bustled with Asian hunters who had arrived steadily from the previous night until morning.

The Daesan Group had finished preparing the consortium and only needed Ryu Jai's approval.

Once she gave the okay, word spread overnight to the guilds with which they had already made arrangements. According to the prearranged script, everyone arrived at Daesan Hotel by morning, and by lunchtime hunters had gathered to the point that the banquet hall was full.

Beyond the bustling banquet hall, in a VIP room, the heads of Daesan, Tenluo, and Hardbank–the main organizers–were gathered.

"Any word from the government?"

"Tenluo has already been contacted by the Communist Party. The negotiations look promising."

"Japan's government is also floating a mediation plan through unofficial channels."

"Hmm."

"What about South Korea?"

"No news yet."

"Heh, surely we'll hear by tonight at the latest?"

"Indeed. If we wait until tomorrow, the Asian Hunter Alliance will officially launch."

"Hmm."

The Asian Hunter Alliance was a bluff. It was a corporate rebellion against the state, a form of resistance.

Don't tighten our leash too much. We can step beyond national borders and form a transnational alliance!

This threat only worked because Ryu Jai had joined. No government could easily ignore or criticize her. That was the true standing of a national-level hunter.

In any case, a guild cannot exist above a nation. The guilds gathered here knew it, as did the governments.

China and Japan were already dangling carrots to stop her from leaving, but there was still no word from South Korea.

"Hm, Daesan also needs to get results soon."

"Haha, we'll surely get word soon."

"At this rate, won't it end up being only Daesan participating in the alliance?"

"Surely not."

"...Hahaha, that's going too far as a joke."

Kang Changseong was burning inside.

If Tenluo and Hardbank, who were already negotiating with the Chinese and Japanese governments, dropped out while South Korea still ignored Daesan...

That would truly put me in the position of a national traitor.

Ryu Jai had long advocated for a transnational hunter alliance. For her, there was no reason to refuse.

It might sound nice to call it a transnational organization, but in reality it was about solidifying Asia's power structure under Taiwan's lead, since that was where Ryu Jai was.

It's all because of him.

The one who took his son's arm. The new G-rank awakened hunter under government protection.

With the appearance of a new hunter capable of handling the irresistible disasters of A-rank demons and A-rank dungeons, Ryu Jai's importance had diminished.

At that moment, the chief secretary, who had been standing on one side of the conference room, heard from a subordinate, then approached Kang Changseong with a grave look and whispered.

"Hunter Kim Junyong has arrived in the banquet hall."

"What?"

What? He really came?

Kang Changseong quickly hid his surprise and excused himself.

"Pardon me for a moment."

"Haha, yes. The government must have contacted you at last."

Thinking that the long-awaited contact from the government had come, they congratulated him. Kang Changseong gave an awkward smile and left his seat.

He asked the chief secretary who had hurried after him.

"Where is he now?"

"Eating in the banquet hall."

"Heh, damn it. Why did he come?"

"You sent the invitation."

"No, would I have sent it for him to actually come?!"

"My apologies."

They had merely agreed for the sake of securing Ryu Jai's participation.

"I don't know whether he'll come or not, but I'll send the invitation."

"All right. That's enough."

Ryu Jai didn't seem to be expecting much either. In fact, it was unlikely that Kim Junyong would show up at the consortium.

He was the special advisor to the Hunter Management Bureau. In other words, he was a government-friendly hunter.

"Who from the Hunter Management Bureau came with him?"

"He was accompanied by Hunter Lee Mina."

"The Rank 5?"

"Yes, that's right."

Kang Changseong's face twisted into a sharp frown.

"Did he come as a messenger from the government side?"

"It's possible."

"This is ridiculous."

This was unexpected. He hadn't invited Kim Junyong himself, so he wasn't prepared. Someone else had wanted that.

"What about Ryu Jai?"

"She's staying in the suite."

"Hmm. Don't tell her yet."

"Yes."

"Go ask him if he came as a government messenger."

"Yes, understood."

* * *

"You need an invitation to enter."

"Here."

"All right, confirmed."

After handing over the invitation without a second thought, Kim Junyong walked into the convention hall with Lee Mina.

"Wow, quite a crowd."

"Ugh, we actually came here."

"Hehe, did they really gather just to kill me? This is kind of touching."

Daesan really was a big company–putting in all this effort was commendable.

"No, why would they want to kill Special Advisor?!"

"Then why else would they gather?"

"For the Asian Hunter Alliance, obviously."

"Pfft."

Once again, because the Special Advisor was treating her like a fool, Lee Mina's face turned bright red.

"That's just a smokescreen."

"A smokescreen?"

"Look, according to my big data, things like the pretext of a party aren't important."

"...?"

Big data based on what?

"They're all capable guys, right? But you, Deputy Director Lee, look like the lamest one here. Hmm."

Looking around, she spotted quite a few familiar faces here and there. She saw R-rank, even SR-rank hunters, and at the very least, Rank 1 hunters packed the place. Lee Mina felt intimidated for no real reason and hunched her shoulders.

"Come on, I'll train you soon too. For now, straighten your shoulders."

Kim Junyong picked up two wine glasses and handed one to Lee Mina. Caught off guard, she clinked glasses with him. He gave her a knowing grin.

"No doubt there are at least ten assassins hiding here. Maybe every last one of them."

"That seems like too much of a leap."

"It's all experience. Experience."

"Experience?"

"Noble brats keep it small, but princes operate on this scale."

"...!"

"Daesan is big in Korea, right? Avenging their son means at least ten. No–twenty!"

"..."

What kind of life did the Mad Monarch live in Belhaim?

Lee Mina was left at a loss for words by Kim Junyong's self-centered thinking.

She thought there was no way a corporation like Daesan would go to such lengths over personal revenge...yet she couldn't be certain.

Could the Special Advisor be right?

"Oh, this is tasty. You should eat some too."

The Special Advisor, who claimed to be under threat of assassination, was calmly enjoying the party. The sight was so familiar and relaxed that Lee Mina's tension suddenly and completely eased.

"Hahh...I don't know either. Hmm, it is tasty though."

It looked like stewed fruit, but what was it? Half in resignation, she downed her wine in one shot. At that moment, Kim Junyong grinned.

"Oh, is it starting?"

Lee Mina whipped around and saw a middle-aged man in a suit approaching. They hadn't met, but she knew who he was. He was the chief secretary of Daesan Electronics and was often in the media.

"He's just a civilian."

"In an assassination, does being a hunter matter? It's the intent that matters. Right, scale?"

< ... >

The scale had been quiet lately with nothing to pick a fight over. Just wait a little. Soon, it would witness a grand spectacle of self-defense.

This was why it was fun to deal with noble brats. They came at you one after another, each time on a bigger scale.

"Thank you for accepting the invitation."

"Hm?"

The man approached confidently and bowed.

"May I ask if you're here to deliver the government's position?"

"The government? Oho!"

Kim Junyong gave a small chuckle and asked inwardly.

"Scale, isn't this an insult?"

< No intent to insult detected. >

"How is asking if I'm someone else's damn dog not an insult?"

"What?"

Seeing the chief secretary cut into his conversation with the scale, Kim Junyong gave a short laugh.

"What."

"...!"

The chief secretary was taken aback. Was this the flow of a conversation with a normal person? What was this?

This guy is out of his mind.

Something was off. It was his first time meeting Special Advisor Kim Junyong. He might be even more reckless than the information they had gathered suggested.

"Where's Kang Hyunsik?"

"...!"

The chief secretary was shocked. Could it be that he accepted the invitation with the young master as his target?

While he was at a loss for what to do, the banquet hall grew noisy.

"It's Ryu Jai."

"Oh, a Guardian hunter!"

"Wow, seeing her this close!"

The celebrity of celebrities. A true warrior among hunters.

Her arrival caused a stir among the hunters. She walked straight toward Kim Junyong.

"Oh, she's got some skill."

Kim Junyong's expression changed to one of interest at the aura Ryu Jai exuded. At that level, she was a tier above Choi Hyunju, the strongest hunter he had met so far.

"Deputy Director Lee, what's her rank?"

"Th-Th-That's Ryu Jai!"

"Hm? That's her?"

Kim Junyong frowned as he looked at Ryu Jai. Did Daesan hire her to avenge their son?

"You're Kim Junyong?"

"Yeah, I'm Junyong."

"I see...a familiar energy."

"Hm?"

< ...Bel's Scale senses the power of Belhaim. >

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