WeTried Translations

Translator: Yasi

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ The Precious Demon King

Chapter 75: The Potential of a Middle Schooler

Park Taejun came to see Kim Junyong.

"Remi's school transfer and registry records have been completely taken care of. I had no choice but to register her as Special Advisor's daughter. Do you want me to amend it?"

"It's fine. Leave it."

It was just administrative paperwork anyway.

"Ah, and may we begin the demolition work today?"

"So it's finally all ready?"

"Only a provisional design has been released so far, but it seems demolition can proceed ahead of time."

"Yeah?"

Kim Junyong assessed the base. All nine houses, including his original one, were felt in detail within his consciousness.

"Are you rebuilding everything?"

"Except for Special Advisor's house and your sister's, the plan is to reconstruct them all."

"Well then, I'll gather them over there."

"What?"

There was no reason to suffer days of dust and noise. This place was a dungeon–an absolute space under the black mage's control, along with all the objects and terrain features within it.

Rumble.

A building buckled and compressed.

"Hahh!"

The neighboring building was torn apart, too. Its remains clung to the mass of debris left by the building that had been crushed in an instant.

"W-What..."

The old villa next to Kim Junyong's house was torn away and hurled into the sky. There, as if seized by an invisible hand, it crumpled into a ball. The sight was utterly shocking.

Crack-crunch.

In an instant, seven buildings shattered into fragments and clumped together in a heap across the street. However, demolition wasn't as simple as tearing buildings down.

Every house except Kim Junyong's and his sister's was torn up and sent flying into the sky.

Boom.

The buildings came down, collapsing in layers on top of one another. The enormous mass of debris piled up into a mountain-like heap.

Bang, hiss!

Whoosh!

With water pipes and gas lines bursting everywhere, the place was in chaos.

"Hahh, w-we have to stop it."

At Park Taejun's fussing, Kim Junyong shrugged. Even the burst gas pipes were within the dungeon's domain and under his control.

Crunch.

They pressed together on their own, sealing the gas shut. With the water lines blocked as well, things grew quiet again.

"...Hahh, what in the world..."

It was uncanny–enough to make a ghost cry. Of all the houses on the block, only Kim Junyong's and Kim Jangmi's remained intact. The rest had become vacant lots, with nothing left but the sites where houses once stood.

"Start construction."

"Ah! Understood. Given this, we can start right from the foundation."

They weren't going to fill every empty lot with buildings. Nearly all of the empty lots would be used for landscaping, with only a few buildings to house the functions Kim Jangmi's family had asked for.

For example, facilities like a swimming pool or a fitness room–similar in concept to apartment amenities.

And a security office too.

Additionally, the Hunter Management Bureau would establish the security post they deemed most important. This valuable space would serve as a forward base where the security team would be stationed at all times.

The security team would bear the grave duty of guarding the area around the Special Advisor's house with ironclad security and preventing any potential intruders from being killed.

"Ah, make sure the restaurant is built quickly."

"Yes. The design for that one is already nearly complete."

Across the street, the three lots piled with building debris would become the site of the new restaurant.

With only a single road separating the restaurant from the residential area, Kim Junyong's contact with the general public could be minimized.

For the Hunter Management Bureau, the most pressing matter was constructing the restaurant. First, however, the debris had to be completely cleared away.

"I came to discuss scheduling, but it looks like we should start right away."

"Do it."

"Yes, we'll begin immediately."

As if they had been waiting, heavy machinery rolled in one after another. On the rooftop bench, Kim Junyong sat back with the beer Edmond had brought him and watched.

"Master, what's that called, nya?"

"That's an excavator."

"Whoa, such a huge mechanical arm. That would be really useful for drake hunting, nya."

"Nah, it's too slow."

"They all look like they're for construction...none are for battle, nya?"

"Nope."

Kim Junyong answered reflexively, then flinched in surprise. His common knowledge of Earth was twenty years out of date.

"...Or is there?"

It seemed like something might have been developed in the meantime...

"Sangsu."

"Yes, Special Advisor!"

"Stop hanging around down there and come up."

"Yes!"

Kim Sangsu, who had been pacing the yard, hurried up to the roof.

"Robots with mechanical arms for combat haven't been developed yet. A single missile is far more effective. Instead, drones are the standard now."

"Drones?"

"Yes, like those. See?"

"Oh, those."

Kim Junyong gave a few nods as he looked at the drones floating in the sky.

"So that's what they were."

"They're small but versatile. With high-definition cameras, they're perfect for surveillance. Load them with bombs and they can carry out suicide strikes–great for offense too."

"So they're monitoring us now?"

"Yes."

"Hahh, unbelievable."

Since all they did was buzz around in the distance, he hadn't thought they were actually for surveillance.

They're like sentinels.

Sure enough, sentinels had to be dealt with by other sentinels.

Kim Junyong squeezed every last bit of black mana from his core. Since he would refill it at the baseball stadium later, he didn't need to hold back.

Whoosh.

The summoned black masses shot off in every direction. Some flew into the roadside trees, some into the park, and some onto the telephone poles.

Flash!

The type of model sentinels liked best was birds. Occasionally, some preferred rats instead, but most liked to transform into winged birds.

Pigeons, crows, magpies, and sparrows. Roughly a hundred sentinels had transformed into every kind of bird in the area.

"Take them all down."

Flap–

The sudden sight of birds taking flight was a spectacle. When the birds attacked the drones, dozens came tumbling down all at once.

"Wow! That's such a relief."

"None from the Hunter Management Bureau, right?"

"O-Of course!"

Instead of drones, Kim Sangsu was here. Kim Sangsu said as he watched the drones fall.

"They're all illegal. Drone flights are banned in Seoul, so every one of those flying like that is against the law."

"Then just shoot them down."

"It's not that easy...haha."

Kim Sangsu scratched his head.

"I had been fretting over it, but since Special Advisor solved it, I feel so relieved."

"Flatterer."

"Hehe."

Suddenly curious, Kim Sangsu asked.

"But what are Team Leader and Deputy Team Leader up to in the Demon Realm right now?"

"Training."

"It's been quite some time...are they fine without supplies?"

"Who said they don't have supplies?"

As long as Kim Junyong permitted it, his familiars could draw from subspace. Luciel, who had been left behind for Cheon Yubeom and Lee Mina's safety and training assistance, provided them with supplies as needed.

"Do you know when the two of them will return?"

"Why? Do you need to know that badly?"

"..."

Kim Sangsu looked flustered. Without even needing to read his emotions, he was the perfect target for teasing.

"They'll return when it's time."

"Haha, yes."

Kim Junyong consulted Luciel within his consciousness for confirmation.

"Well, maybe tonight or tomorrow at the latest."

"Whoa! Understood."

It was new information. After cautiously gauging the situation, Kim Sangsu quickly reported it to the Special Advisor Support Division group chat.

"Who would've thought that just watching this would be fun?"

Kim Junyong passed the time by watching the excavators clear away the debris and the dump trucks haul it away.

His two human subordinates and Luciel were in training. Remi was at school. Kim Jangmi was at work, and his niece and nephew were at school.

Only Kim Junyong and Edmond were home.

Since the surroundings were nothing but a construction site, Edmond had decided to pause business for a few days and was, if nothing else, keeping Kim Junyong company.

"I'm bored. When's Jihun coming home?"

"Once you've had lunch and a nap, he'll be home soon, nya."

Of all the family members, Yu Jihun, a middle schooler, came home first.

"Maybe I should go pick up Jihun?"

"Nyaa, wouldn't that just get in the way of his studies? It seems the young master is keeping your identity thoroughly hidden, so there's no need to attract unnecessary attention, nya."

"Ah, true."

With the mission of protecting his uncle, Yu Jihun never spoke of Kim Junyong's existence, not even to his closest friends. For someone only in his second year of middle school, that was tremendous self-control.

After all, he was at an age when impressing friends mattered most.

Thanks to Yu Jihun's efforts, the situation was such that he was still only receiving remote security from the Hunter Management Bureau.

"Haaahm."

In the house with his family away, Kim Junyong passed the time demolition-gazing, as if fire-gazing.

* * *

Yu Jihun couldn't make sense of it at all.

I'm a hunter! I awakened, didn't I!

He had long admired hunters. Now that he had become one himself, it would have been strange not to be excited. He had looked at his status window all day yesterday.

Although he received the uninspiring Student class, he accepted it. After all, he really was a student.

Was I living too insincerely?

If he had even once been immersed in something, like his sister, perhaps a corresponding job might have been chosen for him.

In any case, he had awakened, and even received a skill. For a student, the fitting skill: Studying!

He was really looking forward to it.

If I just have this skill, I'll be able to study well like my sister too, right?

As soon as he got to school, he tried using the skill, but...

[ Not enough mana. ]

"...!"

Right. Yu Jihun, who had undergone a forced awakening, had 0 mana.

As a rookie who had never hunted a servant of evil, he lacked the resources to use skills.

If I say I want to go to the Demon Realm, I'll probably get scolded, won't I?

Ah, he wanted to be a hunter! Since his mother would definitely oppose it, maybe he should quickly ask his uncle before she gets home from work.

Mana! He needed mana! He wanted to use his skill!

Having only half listened to the day's classes, Yu Jihun bolted straight to the bathroom as soon as homeroom ended.

"Whew, no one saw me, right?"

His heart pounded like crazy. It was the same kind of thrill as a superhero sneaking into a bathroom stall to transform without being seen.

[ Demon Realm Subjugation ] ver. 1.3

"Hahh..."

A phone with this app installed was called a hunter phone. To avoid being caught, Yu Jihun hadn't even pulled it out all day.

I need to hurry home and get on the Demon Realm Forum!

How much he had wanted to read those secret posts on the hunter-only forum!

[ Move to the base? ]

"Ohhh!"

He almost shouted out loud. He quickly clapped a hand over his mouth before pressing the base button.

Flash.

The surrounding scenery changed in an instant. In the yard next to Kim Junyong's front gate stood a large landscaping boulder. In the middle of that boulder was a rusty sword, stuck there as if it were Excalibur.

It was right before his eyes now.

"Freaking awesome!"

He had teleported straight to his uncle's house.

"Hey, Nephew is here."

"Uncle!"

Seeing his uncle wave from the rooftop, Yu Jihun ran up excitedly.

"Please take me to the Demon Realm!"

"Hm? The Demon Realm?"

"Yes! I want to increase my mana!"

"Hmm."

Kim Junyong stroked his chin.

"Do you really have to?"

"Well, there's Uncle, Remi noona, and even the bodyguards, but still, shouldn't a man at least learn some self-defense?"

Seeing Yu Jihun speak as firmly as he could, Kim Junyong gave a small chuckle.

"Sure, why not."

Adults eventually get thrown into the harsh world. It wouldn't hurt to start a little early.

"Let's go."

"Nyaa! I'll support you, nya!"

In an instant, Kim Junyong, Edmond, and Yu Jihun formed a party and disappeared, leaving only the civilian Kim Sangsu on the roof.

"Uh, uhhhm..."

He hurried to report the Special Advisor's status in the Special Advisor Support Division group chat. That was his job. But why did he feel so left out?

"...Don't cry, Sangsu."

He comforted himself, praying that at least Remi would come home from school soon. For him, the best workplace perk was simply being able to look at her from nearby.

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