WeTried Translations

Translator: Yasi

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◈ The Precious Demon King

Chapter 45: WWE

Luciel satisfied Kim Junyong immensely.

There was no need to even think about the usual "taming" ritual that always followed the summoning of a new demon. Contrary to what one might expect of a demon, he was obedient, quick-witted, and competent.

"Slurp. So you were the one who oversaw the Demon King's castle?"

"Yes, that's right."

Luciel elegantly slurped down the naengmyeon–his first taste of Earth's food–then chewed carefully before giving an answer that perfectly pleased Kim Junyong.

"Earth's noodle dishes are excellent."

"Hehe, right?"

"Belhaim has no noodles this chewy. I wonder how they're made."

"Huhu, you really know how to appreciate food, don't you?"

Watching the two "demons," Lee Mina and Cheon Yubeom, in the middle of inhaling their third bowl of naengmyeon, whispered to each other.

"That guy's social skills are max level, huh?"

"Think our spots are in danger?"

"Eat quickly. We'll have to move like hell again later."

"Ha, of course. But do you think he can fight?"

"They said he's a butler. Wouldn't his combat strength be lacking?"

"Whew, let's eat quickly and grow stronger fast."

"Right."

Kim Junyong left his human subordinates to themselves and struck up a lively conversation with Luciel.

"So you really managed the entire Demon King's castle?"

"Yes."

"Wow, I really picked up a gem."

"It is my honor to serve you."

The Demon King's banquet. Every Demon Realm monarch of Belhaim had gathered there, only for Kim Junyong to storm in and kill every last one of them. Since he had collected all their souls, he naturally assumed Luciel was also a Demon Realm monarch, but in fact, Luciel was the castle's butler.

When the Demon Realm monarchs balked out of pride, his ready acceptance was no problem for him at all.

He had always served someone else. The only change was that his master had shifted from the Demon King to Kim Junyong.

Doesn't seem all that different...

The Demon King or Kim Junyong...

"When we get back to Earth, I'll take you around to some restaurants."

"It would be my honor."

After only seeing Remi's salty reactions all the time, Luciel's sincere responses felt healing.

"Okay! Let's pack up and go."

"Yes, Master."

Luciel began putting away the camping supplies. Since he had never seen such items in Belhaim before, he perceptively followed what Cheon Yubeom and Lee Mina were doing.

"Hmm."

Kim Junyong stroked his chin.

Ed's telekinesis really is broken.

One person doing the work of more than ten. Edmond turned out to be surprisingly useful in many ways.

He's only for field-use, but I can't waste Luck Plunder either.

Having too many talents could also be troublesome. Since Edmond could supply Lucky Stones, it made no sense to let him rest from that work.

By ability alone, it would be proper to make Luciel the dungeon keeper and to take Edmond into the field, but...

"Preparations are complete."

"Okay, let's go."

Kim Junyong stuffed the hastily gathered camping supplies into subspace and finished preparing to depart.

"Wow, subspace really is convenient."

"I envy you."

"I told you, if you do well, I'll give you one."

"Ah, I'll do my best!"

With their morale fully recharged, Cheon Yubeom and Lee Mina set off again.

"The nearest demon is this way."

"Let's go there."

On the dungeon map, the map of the Demon Realm and the locations of demons were marked in red. But their ranks weren't indicated, so the usual method was to send scouts to assess them. This, however, did not apply to Kim Junyong's party.

Though tense, Cheon Yubeom and Lee Mina had no worries.

"Phew, my heart's racing."

"The mana I've gained today alone already exceeds several months' worth of hunting."

Their energy returned after they ate and rested briefly. Earlier, they felt like they were going to die. But after resting and confirming the results, their anticipation soared.

I never thought it would be possible to hunt monsters with safety so guaranteed.

It was nonsensical when one thought about it. A precious G-rank hunter, carrying mere Rank 3 and Rank 5 hunters. Wasn't that absurd?

In a single dungeon, there were three to five types of monsters. Experience point efficiency decreased if you kept hunting the same species.

This was why Rank 9 through Rank 1 hunters leveled up more slowly than expected. No matter how well-trained they were, they were still human and needed time to recover from mental fatigue. Hunting like a machine was impossible.

But here, all those issues were solved.

Why go to dungeons when the Demon Realm is crawling with demons?

They had already killed their seventh demon. And what about the monsters under their command?

Many were entirely new species, so the experience gain was remarkable. Mental fatigue?

If they left the Demon Realm now, news of Taiwan would reach the Special Advisor's ears. To save Taiwan, they had to keep him here.

Fueled by duty and greed for leveling up, they endured and persevered.

"It's monsters."

"Hunt them."

"Yes!"

Fairly accustomed to the situation by now, Cheon Yubeom and Lee Mina sprang out and began hunting the monsters. Seeing the monsters appear, it seemed they had stepped into a demon's territory.

If they didn't take them out quickly, the monsters gathering like mad would surround them. If that happened...

"S-Special Advisor! Save us!"

"Urgh, it-it's impossible!"

Soon, Cheon Yubeom and Lee Mina were surrounded by monsters and on the verge of death.

"Hahh, stop trading blows pointlessly and just take them down one by one with a single strike."

"Ahhh! Save us!"

"You're not going to die."

"More are coming!"

There really were a lot of monsters creeping in. Was this demon's territory a bit larger in scale?

"Luciel."

"Yes, Master."

"Your worth isn't just in flattery, is it?"

"Certainly not."

"Handle it."

"As you command."

Luciel strode forward. A long black lash stretched from his hand.

Slash, Boom!

"Skreee!"

With a sweep of his long mana whip, the monsters were instantly swept away and burst apart.

"Hahh!"

"H-He's supposed to be a butler?"

"Th-That's insane."

Cheon Yubeom and Lee Mina were startled as the surrounding monsters burst apart one after another from just a few swings of the black whip.

Luciel eliminated all the monsters without his complexion changing in the slightest.

"May I give the order to collect the spoils?"

"Ah, they're not slaves."

Luciel flinched in surprise and bowed his head toward them.

"I have committed a discourtesy."

Since they were humans accompanying such a noble being, he had naturally assumed they were slaves.

Pet humans?

Perhaps so. The Demon King would have no reason to keep humans with him. It seemed that he had to care for them. After all, a butler's role was to handle the master's troublesome tasks.

"I'll properly gather the monsters and put them through training."

"Oh, as expected. You know exactly what to do without being told."

Was it because he used to work for the Demon King as a butler? His awareness was exceptionally quick. He even intended to take over training the subordinates.

"Let's go."

"Yes. If it seems you're overdoing it, I'll step in, so you two go on ahead."

"Ah, yes."

"Huff, let me just heal first."

Cheon Yubeom was a paladin. His holy power was quite useful in battle, but especially effective at preventing loss of combat strength.

The wounds covering Lee Mina and Cheon Yubeom quickly closed and healed. Their depleted stamina and energy couldn't be helped, but at least their external injuries were gone.

"To what level should I train them?"

"About A-rank."

"Hmm, this lowly servant does not know Earth's standards, so I find it difficult to gauge what A-rank means."

"About the boss here."

"Ah, I understand."

Cheon Yubeom and Lee Mina were stunned after overhearing Kim Junyong's conversation with Luciel.

We've stepped into an A-rank demon's territory?

To handle that would be practically G-rank!

Regardless of their silent screams, Luciel drew his whip.

"They're swarming again. Prepare yourselves."

"Ah!"

"Tch."

Almost in despair, the two raised their weapons to face the charging monsters.

* * *

After Ryu Jai's trip to South Korea at Daesan's invitation, she withdrew into seclusion.

Naturally, Taiwan was in chaos. The people and the government both wanted to hold someone accountable.

Taiwanese media articles riding the anti-Korean wave set new viewership records day after day, breeding even greater hatred and resentment.

[ The wounded hero of Taiwan returns. ]

[ South Korea's vile trap brings down Taiwan's hero. ]

[ Worse than North Korea: South Korea's selfish, barbaric acts threatening world peace. ]

[ Looting and arson at Taiwan's Daesan electronics market. ]

[ Boycott of Daesan smartphones spreads. ]

On a larger scale, South Korea was the target of anger. More specifically, Daesan Group, which had lured Ryu Jai with the bait of the Asian Hunter Alliance, was in the crosshairs.

Occasionally, criticism was also directed at South Korea's newly awakened hunter.

Both the South Korean government and the Hunter Management Bureau responded with great sensitivity.

"Bureau Director! Did you report to the president properly?"

In response to Choi Hyunju's hysterical question, Park Taejun nodded.

"I reported properly."

"Then why are there hit pieces against the Special Advisor?"

"The Taiwanese government is struggling to control the public. The articles will be taken down soon."

"Ha. Their anger must not be directed at the Special Advisor."

"I know that well."

Was she afraid of hurting Special Advisor Kim Junyong's heart? Hardly. What they truly feared was the savagery of the Mad Monarch, lurking within Earthling Kim Junyong, resurfacing.

He was someone who could smile while destroying a country or two.

"The president got a call from Taiwan's president. He apologized profusely, so don't worry."

"Hahh, if they're sorry, they should control it."

"You know it's not easy. Whatever they do now will only fan the flames. We just have to wait until things cool down."

Outwardly, the Taiwanese government protested to South Korea and even spoke of war. In reality, however, they called the South Korean government directly to convey an apology.

Since public opinion was running hot, it was a gesture asking for understanding.

Unlike the citizens, who were consumed by emotion, the government had already made its calculations.

With Ryu Jai's defeat, South Korea would come to control East Asia's hunter society. And militarily, South Korea had always been stronger.

There was no way it would come to a fight. They were only lashing out because they couldn't go against public sentiment–it wasn't sincere. The message was simply to endure it.

"Come on, even WWE has limits. If they mess with the Special Advisor, how are we supposed to handle it?"

"I made that clear. They'll tone down anything about him as much as possible."

"Hahh."

Still, Choi Hyunju anxiously shook her leg.

"What about Daesan?"

"It's like a funeral over there right now."

In fact, there really was a funeral.

Kang Hyunsik, the chairman's eldest grandson and a third-generation chaebol, had died.

Along with the high-profile fiasco of the Asian Hunter Union, it was an incident that should have been widely discussed, but for now, things were very quiet.

Daesan was desperately suppressing information. With both the government and Daesan blocking information, Kang Hyunsik's funeral was carried out quietly and was known only to those aware.

Not a single online article mentioned Kang Hyunsik's death...

"What will Daesan do next?"

"How would I know?"

"The NIS has informants planted, don't they?"

"Sheesh."

"There's nobody listening."

Despite Choi Hyunju's calm words, Park Taejun glanced around once and spoke cautiously.

"For now, whether it's revenge or anything else, they won't extend their reach this way. Chairman Kang Mujin is practically in seclusion, and President Kang Changseong is pushing the group's succession past all his siblings."

"So, it's a son's rebellion..."

Choi Hyunju nodded.

"Not bad."

"Jeez, you're cold."

"As long as no harm comes to the Special Advisor. No, as long as they themselves aren't harmed."

Daesan was still South Korea's number one company. She only hoped they wouldn't recklessly stir up a hornet's nest.

"Deputy Bureau Director!"

At that moment, one of the overseas monitoring team members shouted.

"A-A hit piece on the Mad Monarch just went up!"

"...!"

Had she misheard? She had heard a word that should never be spoken.

"Where?"

"Japan!"

Choi Hyunju and Park Taejun hurriedly turned their eyes toward the employee's monitor.

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