WeTried Translations

Translator: Yasi

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◈ The Precious Demon King

Chapter 49: SNS Goddess

Edmond returned to the dungeon and steeled his resolve.

"All right! Shall I cook for Master, nya?"

He couldn't believe how much his master treasured the Lucky Stone.

"Nyaa, nyaa, nyaa."

He was in a good mood. Well, the Lucky Stone's usefulness really was tremendous.

It wasn't just my skill that made me the Demon King's chef, nya.

Edmond de La Fleur.

The greatest force in his life had been "luck." He somehow survived, became a demon's chef, and that demon prospered and rose to monarch...When the monarch he served was slain by another Demon King, he caught that one's eye and became his exclusive chef...

Eventually, he became the chef of the most powerful force of all–the "Great Demon King."

His entire life had been greatly influenced by luck. It was full of twists and turns, but he survived in the end.

Had that luck too ended with the death of the Great Demon King? He had thought his luck was gone with the kimchi stew.

"Ku-kuk, I really am the luckiest cat in the world, nya."

Though he had ended up in the body of a cat, hadn't he been granted a new life? Moreover, the new master he now served was merciful, generous, and stronger than anyone in the world.

The second act of Edmond de La Fleur's life was quite safe and rather lucky.

"Now, let's cook for Master, nya!"

He would quickly feed humans far and wide and plunder their luck.

Proving himself with delicious food was good, but being acknowledged through the tribute of Lucky Stones wasn't bad either.

He would plunder the luck of all Earthlings!

"What should I do?"

"Heeuk!"

Edmond's fur bristled as he jumped in fright.

"R-Remi? What brings you to the kitchen, nya?"

"Business."

"Eh?"

"I'll help."

"...Nya?"

Edmond was taken aback. Remi, who always seemed barely present–just resting, watching TV, or glued to her phone–helping with the business?

"W-Why the sudden change, nya?"

"Lucky Stones."

"Hahh!"

Even Remi was moved to action by the popularity of the Lucky Stones.

"Ah, I understand, nya. But the kitchen is entirely my domain. You cannot trespass, nya."

"..."

Remi lightly grasped the hilt of her sword. At her unspoken demand for a role, Edmond broke into a cold sweat and replied.

"P-Please take charge of greeting the customers and serving, nya!"

"All right."

Edmond regretted it as soon as the words left his mouth. The Demon King's sword, Reminox, handling customers? Wouldn't this cause some kind of trouble?

"C-Can you do it, nya?"

"Heh, do you doubt me?"

As Remi scoffed, Edmond hunched his shoulders.

"Ah, I understand, nya. I'll prepare the food, nya."

"All right."

By Edmond's telekinesis, the kitchen began to move like a single living creature. Ingredients washed themselves, knives danced, and the fire heated the pan.

"A-Aren't you preparing, nya?"

Edmond gave an anxious look at Remi, who was still standing blankly and watching the kitchen.

"You have to make the food before it can be served and sold."

"No, my cuisine is course meals, nya. First, seat the customers and take their orders, nya."

"Just give them a bowl of gukbap."

"Nyaa!"

Edmond's fur stood on end.

"That is an insult to my cuisine, nya!"

Gukbap?! A dish only commoners eat could not be placed on his table.

"You can't sell many course meals."

"...?"

"How are we ever going to earn Lucky Stones?"

"N-Nyaa! My restaurant is not a factory, nya!"

Edmond was rattled by Remi's greed. Regardless, Remi was simple.

More Lucky Stones meant a bigger share.

He saw the greed filling her glittering gaze, but he didn't back down. No, he couldn't.

"Th-This is a matter of my pride as a chef, nya! How could food not be a course, nya? Even with a blade at my throat, I cannot yield, nya."

"I've heard such last words many times."

Shrrk.

"K-Killing a fellow familiar will bring Master's wrath!"

"Would it really?"

"W-Wait a moment, nya!"

Edmond panicked. That crazy bitch. No, if Remi lost her mind, could anyone stop her? And, even if she killed him, would the master punish her?

He would probably just scold her and leave it at that.

In any case, Remi was the highest-ranked familiar. He had to follow her words.

Gukbap, seriously...

If he boiled up one big pot and doled it out all at once, he could certainly feed many.

"N-No Gukbap, nya!"

"Then you'll have to die."

"Th-That's not the issue, nya! If it's not a course, I can't plunder Lucky Stones, nya."

"...?"

Remi was startled. This wasn't about feeding customers until they were full. If they couldn't gain Lucky Stones, it was nothing but meaningless labor.

"Lie, and you die?"

"Y-Yes, plundering Lucky Stones is also a kind of demon's contract, nya."

A demon's contract. It always followed the principle of equivalent exchange.

Just as a demon gave power and received souls or lifespan in return.

"The more splendid the meal, the more luck I can plunder, nya."

"What if they don't have much luck?"

"Ah!"

As expected of his master's bodyguard, she grasped the core of the matter at once.

"S-Still, at least the main dish and dessert must be served, nya."

"Fine. I'll allow up to two."

"...Nyaa."

At Remi's ultimatum, Edmond had no choice. Only then did Remi leave the kitchen and head to the courtyard.

Four tables were set up.

"Hmm."

Even if every seat was filled, it was only sixteen people. At this rate, when would they ever gather Lucky Stones? Nothing could be done.

Remi flipped the "Closed" sign hanging on the gate to "Open."

"Wow! They're opening for business!"

"It was worth waiting since yesterday!"

Remi clicked her tongue at the people who had even camped out in tents.

All the beggars have flocked for free food.

She understood. For humans, food was above all a means of sustaining life. All the more when free food was being given out. If people didn't flock, that would be strange.

Just as splendor and darkness coexisted in Belhaim's cities, would Seoul be any different?

It seemed as if all the poor who had been hidden within the city had swarmed out.

The question was how much luck humans who had fallen into such poverty could possibly have. If they truly had any, they wouldn't have been blinded by free food and struggling so fiercely to grab the front spots.

"Tsk, get in line."

"Looks like they're letting people in."

"Wow, that part-timer is super pretty."

"Crazy. Should I try asking for a picture?"

Amid the crowd's murmuring, Remi used her sword sheath like a stick and pointed briskly.

"From there to there, get inside."

"Wow, is rude speech part of the concept?"

"So unique."

"What a fun theme for a restaurant."

"Forget the theme, the food's supposed to be amazing."

"Ah, I'm so excited."

People were chattering away.

"Uh, excuse me? There aren't enough seats."

"Sit together."

"Huh?"

"There's a seat open there."

"S-So, you want us to share a table?"

"If you don't like it, leave."

"C-Can't we just wait?"

"No. Out."

"Then we'll just sit."

With Remi's casual suggestion to share tables, all sixteen chairs were soon occupied.

"Some water here, please."

"Do not dare make demands of me."

"Ah!"

Remi's presence was so intimidating that the customer who had asked for water recoiled. Spooked by the chill in the air, the others fell silent as well.

"Then wait. I will bring out the food."

"..."

When Remi went inside, the suffocating atmosphere was lifted.

"Wow, her charisma is insane."

"Is this a foul-mouthed grandma concept?"

"S-Seems so."

The customers just accepted it as it was.

The restaurant was hot on SNS. It was a place known only to those in the know.

On top of that, it seemed like a pop-up shop–and the food was free. Such free, event-style restaurants weren't about filling one's stomach, but about enjoying culture and content.

Since the food was free, anything was tolerated.

Click, click.

Everyone snapped photos of the restaurant with their phones. The courtyard landscaping was excellent, and the reviews said the lighting was beautiful, but since it was daytime, the lights were unfortunately off.

"This remodeled house has a great vibe."

"It looks like there's seating inside, too."

"Are those rooms by reservation?"

"The kitchen's huge."

Everything was fascinating and worth showing off. Their cameras finally went down when Remi came out pushing a food cart.

"It's the main dish. Take one each."

"Whoa, the food's here."

"Wow, this restaurant's concept is really unusual."

While Edmond focused on cooking in the kitchen, his eyes widened at the sudden rush of luck.

"Nyaa, looks like business really is happening..."

Remi serving? It was downright unsettling, but business seemed to be working and luck energy was flowing in. Turning it into Lucky Stones was his unique ability.

"Nyaa! Let's do this properly, nya!"

Anyway, since even Remi, who Edmond had been worried about, was serving without issue, he began cooking with vigor as well.

"Sixteen dessert plates, nya!"

"Start the next main dish right away."

"Nyaa! How many customers are next, nya?"

"Sixteen."

"Nyaa? Got it, nya."

Once again, sixteen lavishly prepared main dishes and sixteen desserts were served.

"How many customers are next, nya?"

"Sixteen."

"Nyaa?"

Today, groups of four kept coming in neatly. Was this one of those days when everything went right?

With each satisfied meal served, the luck energy gained through equivalent exchange kept rising steadily. When his master returned, he would likely receive considerable praise.

* * *

[ Special Advisor Support Division Group Chat ]

Team Leader Cheon: It seems returning will be difficult for the time being.

Team Leader Cheon: The Special Advisor has returned home.

Team Leader Cheon: Deputy Director Lee is tied up here with me as well, please dispatch support staff.

Team Leader Cheon: If we make it out alive, let's be sure to meet again.

Choi Hyunju furrowed her brow as she read the newly arrived messages.

"What? Why aren't they coming back?"

The Special Advisor had returned to Earth, yet Cheon Yubeom and Lee Mina had stayed behind in the Demon Realm. What were they doing?

Even when messages were sent, neither of them checked. More important was the Special Advisor's return.

With the two who usually handled close care absent, new supervisory staff had to be dispatched.

"...Who should we send?"

It was better to send someone familiar, even if they were just an ordinary person and not a hunter, than a complete stranger.

"Dispatch Agent Kim Sangsu."

"Yes, Deputy Bureau Director."

"And why hasn't today's Jun Dragon Kitchen review report been submitted yet?"

"I'll submit it right away."

It had been two days since Edmond and Remi started running the restaurant. She had watched with anxious concern, but they were managing fairly well.

She had worried someone might stir up trouble and get killed by Remi, but the customers simply ate and left safely.

If there was a problem, it was that word of the unusual restaurant was spreading frighteningly fast on SNS.

– A restaurant with a crazy concept. The girl employee's looks are insane.

– Curse at me more, noona.

– Ha, rough me up.

Remi's popularity rose along with it.

– Does anyone know her account?

– Doesn't look like she uses SNS.

– Is she some kind of trainee?

– She's got potential! The restaurant itself feels like a planned pop-up shop.

– It's really free. They talk about paying with luck, but that's just lip service. They literally give free food. And it's insanely good.

Choi Hyunju groaned while reading the report.

"Hmm."

The claim of paying with "luck" wasn't just empty talk.

Hunter Management Bureau staff disguised as customers had suffered misfortunes one after another.

Nothing too serious–three employees got into car accidents on their commute, six were splattered with bird droppings, and two were scammed on their leases.

Oh, seven fell for phone scams and four had family members suddenly fall ill.

As soon as they realized that paying with "luck" manifested as misfortune, they immediately halted sending staff in as customers.

That was what happened on the first day. By the second day, everyone coming was someone who had truly heard the rumors.

So the reviews now came purely from genuine customers.

"Is it okay for Remi to keep getting more famous like this...?"

Maybe the real danger wasn't Kim Junyong, but Remi...She had already become famous online to the degree of an influencer.

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