WeTried Translations

Translator: Yasi

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Precious Demon King

Chapter 59: Calm Before the Storm

Gulp, gulp.

"Wow, I feel alive again!"

Yu Jihun gulped down the cool water and exclaimed in admiration.

"What are you doing here this early?"

"Hehe, I came out for morning exercise, and since I was nearby, I stopped by."

"You brat."

The morning exercise was just an excuse. It seemed he had only come to see his uncle. Kim Junyong's heart softened involuntarily at the flood of positive emotions radiating from Yu Jihun.

Tenderness, delight, reassurance, respect, trust, stability, pride.

Family really was mysterious, wasn't it? It was remarkable that blood ties alone could carry such unconditional support and love.

Though he had spent only a short time with Yu Jihun since returning to Earth, he was receiving such boundless support.

"Have you been exercising lately?"

"Yes! Running is the trend right now, isn't it?"

"Oh, really?"

"Nyaa, looks like Earthlings are finally coming to their senses and trying to train, nya."

Kim Junyong chased away Edmond, who was interrupting the warm conversation between uncle and nephew.

"Ed, go make breakfast."

"Nyaa, understood, nya!"

"And put in plenty of luck."

"Nyaa! Don't worry, nya! I'll serve up a meal full of energy and luck, nya."

Edmond dashed into the kitchen. While the meal was being prepared, Kim Junyong continued his small talk with Yu Jihun, who he hadn't seen in a while.

"Uncle, you don't seem busy these days."

"Me? Nothing much going on."

"Haha."

Yu Jihun laughed awkwardly. The Ryu Jai incident, which had quietly spread little by little, was far too impactful for his uncle to say there was nothing much going on.

"What happened with Ryu Jai?"

Yu Jihun's eyes sparkled. He was clearly dying of curiosity.

For modern people thirsty for current news, communities serve as a channel for information, but with falsehoods running rampant, they cannot be a source of quality information.

The media hushed it up so much that virtually no information was available. The name "Kim Junyong" hardly appeared, and he was only mentioned as "Special Advisor."

Even when reading the same gossip on the communities, Yu Jihun felt twice the rush of dopamine because he actually knew the person.

Ryu Jai and the Special Advisor had fought. The Special Advisor won. Ryu Jai returned a bloody mess. And so on.

Amid the flood of information, Yu Jihun felt a thirst. Then it hit him.

Why not just ask directly!

This wasn't just some acquaintance. It was his uncle! When he told his mother that he was going out for morning exercise, she happily agreed. Today, the second day, he went straight to his uncle's house.

"Oh, her? I accepted her as a subordinate."

"Wha–!"

This information could not be found online. Yu Jihun was shocked. A subordinate?

"Wow, a G-rank hunter as a subordinate...No, wait, she's R-rank now though."

"Oh, really?"

Kim Junyong had only just realized that her rank had dropped.

"Yes! After what happened with you, her rank dropped and all sorts of crazy rumors started spreading. People said you were using some absorption skill or a skill to steal others' power–things like that."

"I just stripped her divine power."

"D-Divine power?"

"Like this."

Kim Junyong took out a divine orb and held it up. Yu Jihun's eyes widened at its golden, mysterious glow.

It looks...almost holy.

Maybe it was just because he had heard it called divine power. It even seemed miraculous.

"Well, even as R-rank, she can still hunt demons."

"But A-class demons can only be hunted by G-ranks, right?"

"Who said that?"

"Huh? Isn't that common knowledge?"

Kim Junyong chuckled. These weak Earthlings and their pathetic scraps of common sense.

"Even a Rank 1 hunter can hunt an A-class demon."

"What? H-How is that possible?"

"Jihun, listen carefully."

Kim Junyong kindly explained to Yu Jihun, who perked up his ears, unable to contain his curiosity.

"Now, here's a knife."

Pop.

A dagger about thirty centimeters long was summoned into his hand.

"Ah!"

"Go ahead. Touch it."

"It-It's real!"

"Of course it's real. Did you think it was fake?"

Yu Jihun lifted the dagger with trembling hands and examined it. Its shape was different from that of a kitchen knife.

This was not a knife for preparing food. It was a knife made for killing.

"If you used this to slaughter a chicken, could you do it?"

"Y-Yes!"

"Good. That's about a C-rank demon."

"Ah!"

He gasped at his uncle's bizarre scale of comparison. A C-rank demon, only at the level of a chicken?

"Now, what about using it on a big dog?"

"Wouldn't it be dangerous?"

"What in the world isn't dangerous?"

"I guess you would get hurt, but you could kill it."

"Good. That's a B-rank demon."

Kim Junyong grinned as he looked at Yu Jihun.

"Now, imagine a two-meter-tall bear showing up. Could you take it down?"

"N-No way."

"Good grief."

The frailty of Earthlings' preconceptions and their lack of will to challenge. It was enough to make God Earth lament.

"Of course you can. Why couldn't you?"

"But...but you could die!"

"Naturally!"

Since it was about killing the opponent, of course you could die too.

This wasn't hunting. The word "hunter" wasn't right.

It was about holding back demons. They should rightly be seen as warriors who fought with their lives on the line.

"G-rank hunters' divine power is like a gun. Could you kill a bear with a gun?"

"I guess you could."

"That's the problem."

Humanity had only ever hunted bears with guns. And only seven people had them.

When a bear appeared, they were dispatched to take it down, and their value skyrocketed.

Yu Jihun mulled over the explanation.

"There have been cases of A-rank dungeons being conquered without a G-rank, but the casualties were too high."

"But they succeeded, didn't they?"

"Y-Yeah, that's true."

"Then that's enough."

"But so many died. Talents who were Rank 1 hunters."

"Everyone dies."

"...?"

"Those who survive naturally grow stronger."

"...!"

"Live or die–that's the foundation of powering up."

Yu Jihun couldn't help but be impressed by his uncle's macho philosophy of growth.

"Are there people who train like that?"

"There are. Why wouldn't there be?"

Kim Junyong chuckled, thinking of subordinates No. 1 and No. 2, who were undoubtedly being worked hard by the Demon King's butler.

If Ryu Jai grew, she would be taken in as a subordinate. However, if she hunted complacently, she would be cast aside.

"So Uncle, what you're saying is that Hunter Ryu Jai has lost her gun?"

"Well, something like that."

"Th-Then it'll be difficult for her to conquer an A-rank dungeon, won't it?"

"She'll still have to try."

Subordinates who avoided challenges were of no use. But if they became warriors ready to risk their lives in battle, Kim Junyong would consider making them his true subordinates.

Whether Ryu Jai became a mere point-farmer or a true Knight of the Arbiter depended on her choice. The same was true of Logan Hayes.

"So, if an A-rank dungeon appears overseas, will Uncle go?"

"Me?"

"Huh, you're not going?"

"Why bother?"

Kim Junyong tilted his head as if this were a subject he hadn't considered before. Well, maybe if it were an extreme crisis, it might be worth going–since it would earn points.

"Th-Then will other G-ranks come to East Asia? The closest would be Hunter Arjun in India, right?"

"Oh, he's dead."

"He's dea–huh?"

Yu Jihun's eyes trembled uncontrollably.

"Uncle, that's too much, even as a joke..."

He said this because it was unbelievable, but he also knew his uncle never spoke empty words.

So he hurriedly picked up his phone and searched.

"Come on, Uncle. You must have misheard. Look, there are photos of Arjun at worship this morning."

"Huh? Let me see."

Kim Junyong looked at the photos.

"That's a double."

"..."

By this point, Yu Jihun was starting to feel uneasy.

"Who told you Arjun was dead?"

"I killed him."

"...!"

Oh no. His anxiety had become reality. Suddenly, his uncle seemed distant.

"W-Why?"

"Hm? Because he couldn't be rehabilitated."

"Whoa, he was a villain?"

"Something like that."

"Ha, then all of Asia is unguarded now."

This was bad! Two G-ranks were gone. According to his uncle, it was as if humanity had lost two guns. Now they would have to hunt with knives.

W-What now? Will they dispatch someone from elsewhere? The other G-ranks...

For a middle schooler, world peace was too abstract a concept to worry about. Kim Junyong ruffled Yu Jihun's hair.

"Breakfast's ready. Let's eat."

"Oh, yes!"

As they ate, Yu Jihun, uneasy with a rising sense of anxiety, kept stealing glances at his uncle.

Surely...no one else died, right?

He couldn't bring himself to ask. He was too anxious.

"Got any worries these days?"

"Huh?"

As school time approached and Yu Jihun grew more uneasy, Kim Junyong asked.

"Is someone bullying you?"

"Ah, no?"

"Shall I go and cut them down?"

"Hahh! No, don't! Remi noona!"

"..."

Remi's comment during the meal startled Yu Jihun.

"I get along with everyone."

"Then what? You just don't want to go to school?"

"Shall I cut the school down?"

"Hahh! No! Hold back, noona!"

"..."

Remi was slightly irritated at being called noona, but since Yu Jihun was her master's nephew, she couldn't bring herself to cut him down.

Kim Junyong, savoring his amusement, asked.

"So, what's the source of your anxiety?"

At times like this, being able to see others' emotions so clearly wasn't necessarily a good thing.

"What? M-Me?"

Startled, Yu Jihun admitted the truth.

"I was...worried you might have killed someone else."

"Ah, that? And here I was worrying that something had happened at school."

"Hehe, school life's no problem."

Still, knowing his uncle was worried about him gave Yu Jihun a sense of reassurance.

"I spared Logan. Jose, I killed."

"...?"

The names were too famous. They left Yu Jihun with cognitive dissonance.

"Hahh!"

Did that mean South America's G-rank was dead?

Two dead and two alive?

Yu Jihun flinched in surprise.

"Th-Then...Logan's rank too!"

Startled, Yu Jihun hurried into the Demon Realm Forum. Many boards were locked to the public, but the ranking board on the home page could be viewed by anyone.

"No way!"

It was gone.

[ 1. Sophie Girault ]

[ 2. Vikram ]

[ 3. Jabari Okoye ]

[ 4. Wang Yan ]

[ 5. Luca Romano ]

[ 6. Johan Mueller ]

[ 7. Ivan Petrov ]

...

[ 451. Logan Hayes ]

"It-It's true!"

Logan Hayes's rank had dropped. How had he missed this? Ah, he had gone out for a run as soon as he woke up. Huh? Why hadn't he seen it yesterday? Oh, it must have happened after he went to bed.

"Whoa! Uncle, you met Logan yesterday?"

"That's right."

"...!"

So much had happened while he slept. Was this really okay?

Yu Jihun's curiosity had been satisfied, but seeing that his anxiety not only failed to lessen but grew instead, Kim Junyong asked.

"What are you still worried about?"

"About Uncle."

"Hm?"

Kim Junyong was caught off guard by the unexpected answer.

"I-I believe in Uncle no matter what."

"..."

Though he believed, still...

"I just wish Uncle was a little less scary."

"I'm scary?"

"No! Not me. I mean, I'm worried that people might be scared of Uncle."

To Yu Jihun, Kim Junyong was his uncle. But what about others? Wouldn't they see him as a murderer? Finding Yu Jihun's concern both endearing and admirable, Kim Junyong ruffled his hair.

"Eat up and get to school."

"Yes."

Yu Jihun expected the world to be in chaos, but on the surface, it remained quiet.

Communities were heated by the ranking changes, but governments were devoting their full efforts to understanding the situation.

When Logan Hayes arrived at the airport on a national carrier, government officials were there to greet him.

"We're from Sentinel."

"We ask that you accompany us for an investigation."

"It isn't compulsory, but we would appreciate your cooperation."

Two agents from Sentinel, the United States' Hunter Management Bureau, had arrived. They were extremely cautious, worried he might take offense, but he just nodded as if it were nothing.

"Let's go."

He had to share information with the government anyway. He followed the agents without resistance.

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