The Modern Founding Chronicles of the Returned Demon King

The Modern Founding Chronicles of the Returned Demon King

Episode 23: Press Conference (1)

Solomon’s Demon Realm, the Demon King’s Castle.

“Heh… No matter how much research you do, it never ends.”

Roberto, sitting in his office, took off his monocle and stretched. His desk was full of documents, all related to his research.

Knock knock—

“Minister Roberto, may I come in?”

“Come in.”

Roberto glanced at the door.

The door opened and a demon walked in, bowing formally before speaking.

“Minister Roberto, this time the 4th Legion Commander Quel has disappeared.”

“Is that so… After Hyude, it seems Quel was the chosen one.”

Roberto gave a bitter smile.

Originally, when Seo-Jun disappeared, the demons called it a ‘missing case’.

But since Hyude, the term changed from ‘missing’ to ‘chosen’, completely altering its meaning.

“The demons are getting depressed about the current situation. They must be saddened they were not chosen by the Demon King.”

“Is that so? I’ll go out and see for myself.”

Roberto left his office and walked to the throne room. There, demons were sprawled out like earthworms.

Everyone sighed deeply, forgetting that they were in the throne room, laying their bodies carelessly.

Among them, he saw Lezie, hugging a gemstone as if reminiscing about someone.

“Your… your Majesty…”

Although her eyes were covered, the soft quiver in her voice clearly showed her sadness.

“Why do you leave a lonely girl like me alone… Do you prefer the younger Quel over old me…?”

Roberto approached her with a sad smile.

“Miss Lezie, if you’re lonely, shall I keep you company?”

Lezie lifted her head. The next moment, her eyes sparkled red through her blindfold, and a terrible aura of murderous intent surged forth.

Roberto laughed heartily, waving it off.

“Haha, just a joke.”

“Even if it’s you, Roberto, I can’t forgive such a trivial joke.”

Lezie warned him coldly.

Roberto, apologizing for his rudeness, touched his chest and slightly bowed.

“I’ll be more careful.”

“……”

Lezie glared for a moment before swiftly turning her head away.

The murderous aura that had been looming vanished, and Lezie leaned back on the gemstone seat, sighing once more.

‘What a terrifying woman.’

Roberto shrugged his shoulders and walked away.

“Alpha and Beta should always be by my side, why have you left me alone…”

Alter sat down randomly, drawing a magic circle with a skeletal staff.

Roberto asked him.

“Alter, what are you drawing?”

“Ah, Roberto, look at this. No matter how much I think, I can’t find a way to be beside the Demon King. Was my long-term study of magic all for naught…?”

“Hmm, is that so?”

Roberto rubbed his chin, interrupting his words.

“Would you like to have a chat with me to cool your head for a bit?”

“I’m sorry, but I’m not in the mood for that.”

Alter drooped his head down.

“How can I happily converse when the Demon King is not by my side? Of course, the Demon King is stronger than me and will be fine wherever he is, but I still want to think of a way a little more.”

“I see…”

Roberto took his eyes off Alter and looked around.

There, he saw even the commanders who usually roamed outside the castle.

“My Lord…”

“Our Master…”

“Our King…”

Zeratus was hugging a large pillar as if it were a wife,

Shayen hung from a chandelier like a wet cloth,

Ophelia was completely lying down on the floor like a log.

It wasn’t just the commanders.

All the demons here were sighing deeply, whimpering like ownerless dogs.

‘How dull.’

There was no fun because there was no energy.

He had lifted the atmosphere once before, but since he wasn’t chosen, it became like this again.

That’s when Alter spoke up.

“Roberto, don’t you feel bothered that you weren’t chosen by the Demon King?”

“Now that you mention it, are you aware of some special method, Roberto?”

All eyes focused on Roberto.

They knew Roberto was knowledgeable and had been very helpful thus far. He might know a new approach.

“Maybe, maybe not,” Roberto replied, meeting their expectations.

“Is that true?”

“If so, please tell us what we should do!”

“Ah, my apologies for the misunderstanding.” Roberto grinned.

“I don’t know a special way to go to the Demon King’s side. I simply have faith.”

“Faith? What do you mean? Explain!”

Roberto spread his arms and elaborated.

“What I believe is that the day will come when we’ll reunite with the Demon King. He might think it’s not yet time for us to be summoned.”

Truthfully, he didn’t know for sure.

“So, I simply have faith and aim to improve myself so I can be useful to the Demon King in the future.”

A brief silence followed. Then Alter suddenly jumped up.

“Indeed! I am being tested by the Demon King! How could I not see this profound implication? Roberto, you’re a genius!”

“You are always steps ahead of us, Roberto! Truly, being the closest to the Demon King isn’t for everyone. This made me realize my shortcomings!”

As the demons sang his praises, Roberto hid a sinister smile.

‘Simpletons.’

Roberto then spoke again.

“Don’t be down. Lift your heads. We need to regain our spirit to respond to the Demon King’s call whenever it comes.”

‘So that I won’t be bored.’

Roberto swallowed his next words.

“Let’s continue our research on magic right away!”

“I’ll also focus on sharpening my insight!”

Pledges echoed everywhere, and the mood became lively again. Roberto’s influence was evident.

“Let’s all get moving for our glorious Demon King.”

***

The next day, after summoning Quel,

[Disturbance in a Seoul apartment complex?]

[Unidentified flying object detected by NASA’s ‘Skynet’]

[Strange flying object detected in Korean airspace? Is it a new monster?]

The disturbance in the apartment was probably Hyude’s battle, and the object in Korean airspace was likely me and Quel.

I left my apartment and went next door, where Hyude was staying.

When I rang the bell, not Hyude but a woman opened the door.

“Welcome, Your Majesty.”

Silver hair, small horns on her forehead, and skin white as ivory. It was Quel in human form.

“What were you doing?”

“Talking with Hyude.”

“Heh, talking with Quel makes the scar in my eye burn,” Hyude murmured, rubbing his eye with a scar from a past battle with Quel.

“But, Your Majesty, why are you visiting?”

“You and Hyude will attend a press conference tomorrow.”

“A press conference?”

“Yes. Time to speak up, or it’ll become troublesome.”

As an S-rank Hunter, I had the honor to let Solomon’s guys live here. They’ll appear in a previously planned press conference.

“It’s time to make it clear to the world.”

I looked at them.

“That you two are going to live here.”

Everything until now was merely a prologue.

Becoming a Hunter, establishing a guild, was just laying the foundation.

My ‘Twilight Magic Kingdom’ starts now.

The next day, the grand press conference announcing this new beginning took place.

***

Hunter Association Headquarters Rooftop

In front of a large, white table sat numerous reporters, and notable figures like Dawn Guild and Moonlight Guild could be seen in the vicinity. When it was time for the press conference, Park Sang-Cheol on the stage pulled out his notes.

“Let’s start the press conference about ‘Hunter Lee Seo-Jun’ now.”

Chatter chatter chatter–

As I walked toward the table, my vision was filled with blinding flashes.

“Is that the secretary?”

“Who’s that woman behind him? She’s striking enough to slap any celebrity in the face.”

Reporters looked puzzled as they saw Quel and Hyude behind me. Amid all the questioning gazes, I sat squarely at the center of the table. There were seats for Quel and Hyude as well, but they chose to stand next to me.

“Mr. Lee Seo-Jun will answer all questions except disrespectful ones. However, please raise your hand to have the right to speak.”

It was as if they had been waiting for that moment; the reporters reached their hands high into the air. I pointed to one among the sea of arms.

“Thank you, Mr. Lee Seo-Jun. I’m Lee Sang-Cheon from Speed Daily News. There are talks that the Hunter Association will appoint you as an ‘SS-class Hunter.’ What are your thoughts on this?”

“I don’t have any particular thoughts.”

“Ah, I see…”

“However.”

Reporters, who had been taking notes, looked up.

“If people view me as the strongest and place their expectations on me, I’m willing to meet those expectations.”

“…Are you saying you’re willing to bear the responsibilities of an SS-class Hunter?”

“Yes. Because that’s what I do best, and I have the capability to do so.”

Upon my answer, the reporters’ eyes filled with respect. I then shifted my gaze to a particularly noticeable hand.

“…Kim Eun-Ha?”

It was Kim Eun-Ha, beyond where the reporters sat. She was still bandaged, perhaps not fully healed. I chose her.

“Hello, I’m Kim Eun-Ha, the team leader from the Dawn Guild.”

“I know.”

“I fought in the S-class Gate collapse.”

“I know that too.”

I waited for her question.

“At that time, there was a special secretary who fought the boss and saved the citizens. Is that secretary standing over there? They’ve been with you for some time, haven’t they?”

Kim Eun-Ha pointed at Hyude.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Then let me be blunt. With that skin color and appearance, he hardly looks human. Is he similar to your abilities?”

Kim Eun-Ha spoke as if she had been waiting for this moment. I briefly glanced at Hyude, who slightly nodded.

I moved back to my original position and refuted Kim Eun-Ha’s statement.

“No,”

“…No? What does that mean?”

I had pondered for a long time—how could Hyude, Quel, and the future Solomon demons adapt well to this Earth without force. There was a more comfortable way, simply shrugging it off as a summoning ability. Although that wasn’t a lie, they were not merely entities born from my ‘ability’.

They had existed in Solomon’s demon realm all along. They were dependent on me, but I didn’t want them to live only in my shadow. I wanted them to live ‘proudly’ and ‘as individual beings’ on this Earth.

Therefore…

“He’s a demon.”

I decided to be upfront.

(To be continued in the next episode)