The Heavenly Demon Can’t Live A Normal Life [EN]: Chapter 1

Hans, a servant of the Dmitry baronial family, couldn’t hide how worried he was about his young master’s strange behavior.

“So, I’m the eldest son of the Dmitry family?”

“And this is the Cairo Kingdom, a land known for its hot deserts, on the Salamander Continent? The world of Murim, a world of martial arts and warriors, doesn’t even exist.”

It was strange.

The young master was never known for being very smart, but he had never seemed this out of it before.

Hans thought that maybe he was using some kind of drug.

Recently, the bad behavior of sons from noble families had become a big problem. Roman Dmitry was someone people might expect to do such things.

Dmitry the Fool.

His younger brothers and sisters had already gone to the capital and were doing well. But Roman Dmitry was still here, in this remote area. He was twenty-five years old, which showed he wasn’t going anywhere.

Hans spoke in a gentle voice.

“Master, today the respected young lady of the Lawrence family, the one you’re supposed to marry, is coming to visit the Dmitry estate. People say the young lady from the Lawrence family cares a lot about noble manners and being proper. So, it would be smart to get ready and greet her. Since this is your first time meeting her, you should try to make a good impression.”

“There is something more important than that.”

He cut him off suddenly.

The young master, who seemed to be losing his mind, spoke seriously, in a way he never had before.

“Take me to the oldest person in this territory. It’s more important for me to learn about the world I will live in than to meet that young lady whose name I don’t even know.”

This was really strange.

For the young master, who had lived in the Dmitry territory for twenty-five years, to say that learning about the world he would live in was important…

But what could he do?

“Understood, Master.”

It was Hans’s job to do what his master asked.

Hans led Roman towards a village just outside the high walls of Dmitry Castle. When times were peaceful, the castle itself was too small for everyone who lived in the Dmitry lands. So, a village had grown outside its stone walls. At the edge of the village, the houses were simple but looked okay, made of wood and with thatched roofs. But as they walked deeper in, the houses became smaller and shabbier. Soon, they were mostly rough shacks made of mud and scraps of wood, many leaning to one side.

*Splash!*

Hans stepped into a puddle of muddy water, and his polished shoes disappeared under the brown liquid. He frowned, wrinkling his nose. A bad smell, like rotting food and something else he couldn’t name, hung in the air. He glanced sideways at Roman, hoping his young master was noticing the awful conditions.

“Is it really necessary to meet the oldest person in the Dmitry territory? If you want to know about the history of the territory, wouldn’t it be better to ask Dmitry’s wise man or look in the library? Master, are you sure about this? It’s very dirty here. Perhaps we could find out this information in a cleaner place?”

“It’s fine.”

Roman didn’t care about his surroundings.

Like Hans, he stepped into the muddy water without hesitating, and the bottom of his trousers got wet from the splashing water.

‘Oh, his trousers are getting all wet.’

Hans was surprised.

He expected Roman to get angry about his wet trousers, but Roman didn’t react at all.

Hans just couldn’t understand it.

The Dmitry family wasn’t very important, but Roman usually bragged about being the son of a noble family.

The villagers often gossiped about Roman, calling him Dmitry’s Fool because of how he acted like a noble, even though he had no talent at all.

But this was…

He wondered if this was the same person who wouldn’t even go outside the castle when the lord told him to.

‘…Did he hit his head or something?’

Lost in thought, they soon arrived at where they were going.

Hans stopped in front of a run-down shack and looked at Roman with a worried expression.

“This is the place. He’s an old man who has been with the lord since before the lord was given the Dmitry territory. He used to be a blacksmith. He’s lived for ninety years, so he could die any day now. The problem is… he can’t move around very well, so we have to go inside to talk to him.”

He looked around.

The smell was so bad it made his nose sting, and the cobwebs hanging everywhere made people cringe.

It was definitely not a place for the son of a noble family to enter.

That’s why Hans had been asking for his opinion the whole way here, but Roman moved forward before he could finish speaking.

“Wait outside.”

“Huh.”

He didn’t hesitate.

He brushed away the cobwebs with his hand, and Roman went inside to look around.

“Are you the owner of this house?”

“M-Master, how did you come to this poor place?”

The old man, who had been lying down inside, was startled.

He quickly threw off the ragged blanket and tried to get up, but he couldn’t because his legs didn’t work.

“Please, sit down. I just want to talk.”

Roman sat down in front of him.

The old man, unsure what to do, just glanced at Roman, who was sitting on the dirty ground.

“I want to know everything about the Dmitry territory. What kind of land is this, and what history does it have? It seems like it will be a long story, so how about we take our time and talk while drinking this liquor I brought?”

Clink.

Roman showed the liquor bottle hanging from his waist.

Seeing the old man’s surprised and flustered expression, Roman gave a smile that made him less wary.

“Go on.”

The bottom of life.

Roman chose his own way to fit into this world.

At first, the old man couldn’t speak well.

However, as the alcohol started to work and Roman listened sincerely, he became less wary.

“Lord Dmitry was originally a famous blacksmith. He ran a trading company that made money by selling the ironware he made himself. By chance, he got the chance to sell weapons to the Cairo Kingdom. It was a time when there was a lot of war, so it was a great chance to get past his low status. After the war, he was rewarded with the title of Baron…”

The story was long.

Most of it was information that the eldest son of Dmitry should already know, but the old man, now more relaxed, told all the stories he knew in great detail.

Roman’s plan was right.

He had asked Hans what the old man liked, and when he heard that he loved alcohol, he made sure to bring a liquor that he would enjoy.

Because of that, he was able to get all the information he wanted.

He, who wasn’t yet familiar with the person named Roman, carefully gathered new information in his head.

‘Roman.’

Roman Dmitry.

No, his original name was Baek Jung-hyuk.

Also, he used to be the leader of the Demonic Cult, which had united the world of Murim. That was the life that Baek Jung-hyuk had lived.

Baek Jung-hyuk, who had lived fiercely as a martial artist.

Having achieved everything, he calmly accepted death.

It was a great blessing to die after living a full life, but when he opened his eyes, he was in the body of Roman Dmitry.

It was a strange situation.

Actually, Baek Jung-hyuk had reached the realm of ascension when he died.

There was a sacred aura around his soul, but Baek Jung-hyuk didn’t want a life where he couldn’t live as a human.

So, he refused ascension.

Even though most martial artists wanted to ascend, Baek Jung-hyuk wanted to die as a human.

And now.

At a new turning point, Baek Jung-hyuk quickly accepted reality.

‘Is this fate, or is it a punishment for refusing ascension?’

It doesn’t matter which.

A new life.

A new environment.

Baek Jung-hyuk felt it again: excitement. It was a feeling he hadn’t known in years.

His last years as the powerful leader had been boring. But here, everything was different. The fresh air, the green trees, the sounds of birds – just being in this new place energized him. It was so different from the cold, stone halls he was used to.

“People need a reason to live,” he thought. “I had everything, could do anything, but I wasn’t really living.” Maybe this was a good thing. Roman Dmitry. The Cairo Kingdom. This world, full of things he didn’t understand, could be his new challenge.

His heart beat faster.

Baek Jung-hyuk was a legend. His name would be in history books. But now, looking back, he knew the truth. It wasn’t the peace of his final years that had made him feel alive. It was the fight. It was when his life was in danger, when he had to struggle to survive, that he truly felt human.

He was not a man meant for a quiet life.

That was Baek Jung-hyuk.

“…That’s all I know.”

The story had come to an end.

Quite some time had passed; the old man, once a stranger, now felt familiar.

“Thank you, you’ve been a great help to me. I will compensate you separately for this later.”

“Oh no, young master. It was my honor to talk with you. Thank you for listening to my stories.”

Baek Jung-hyuk, now Roman, smiled.

It was time to get up.

But at that moment…

Bang!

Crash!

“You son of a bitch!”

A loud shout came from outside.

It seemed something was happening nearby.

As expected.

Going outside, he saw a group of men beating a boy who wasn’t even an adult yet.

Thwack!

Thwack! Thwack!

“You vicious bastard.”

“Just die already!”

The boy didn’t even groan despite the intense beating.

It seemed to fuel the men’s anger even more, as they beat the boy without stopping, trying to kill him.

Each blow landed with a sickening thud, and the boy’s body jerked like a puppet with cut strings.

His exposed skin was a canvas of purple and red bruises. Blood streamed from his nose, painting his face a gruesome mask.

The commotion drew people from the surroundings.

However, they saw the canine tooth tattoos on the men’s bodies, got scared, and looked away.

“What’s going on?”

“Young master!”

Roman stood next to Hans.

Hans had been watching the scene and spoke cautiously when Roman appeared.

“That’s the Blood Fang gang, young master. They’re loan sharks, they lend money and… well, they’re not nice. They’re trouble. Best if we just walk away. It’s not our business.”

Roman’s gaze scanned the Blood Fang gang.

Loan sharking.

Although the interest was high, violence occurred because the money was borrowed and not repaid.

The problem was…

‘Punishment is not the responsibility of ordinary territory residents.’

This was Dmitry’s land.

According to the explanation he had just heard from the old man, they had a duty to be judged by the lord and resolve any issues.

Roman Dmitry.

He hadn’t yet clearly grasped how to act as Roman.

What was certain was that Roman was dead.

The first thing he found when he woke up was a suicide note, seemingly written by Roman, and pills scattered on the floor.

The contents of the suicide note showed how weak Roman was.

The Cairo Kingdom was constantly threatened by war, and as a result, each family had a law that required them to select a certain number of troops and a person to represent the family to serve in the national defense for two years.

Roman was included in that target.

Unable to drive his two promising younger siblings to their deaths, the head of the Dmitry family decided to send Roman to the battlefield.

So Roman chose death.

Trembling at all the bad rumors about the battlefield, he chose to end his life on a day he was intoxicated with drugs.

‘From now on, I am Roman Dmitry.’

He skipped over his previous life.

Whatever kind of life Roman had lived, now that he had taken over this body, he would believe in and follow the ‘values of Baek Jung-hyuk’.

“Stop.”

“Y-Young master!”

Hans was startled by Roman’s sudden action and tried to stop him.

But it was already too late.

Roman’s voice was loud, and the Blood Fang gang, who had stopped beating the boy, stared at Roman with puzzled eyes.

“Roman Dmitry?”

They seemed to recognize him.

The problem was that Roman’s reputation wouldn’t be enough to restrain them.

A man with a ferocious face, who appeared to be the leader of the gang, spat out the words with a sneer on his face.

“The Dmitry’s young master shouldn’t interfere. This is our business.”

“Look at him, playing the hero. Think you’re better than us, *young master*?”

“Stop, he says. Hee hee hee, you pathetic bastard.”

The gang whispered and laughed behind him.

Hans, worried that Roman might make a mistake because of the rather loud voices, spoke in a quiet voice.

“Young master Roman. You must go back now. The Blood Fang gang are ruthless fellows. If something happens, especially something outside the castle, the Dmitry family’s influence won’t be able to help. So please, calm down…”

“Hans.”

Roman looked at Hans.

The strong, low-pitched voice immediately captivated Hans, who had been trembling with fear.

“I don’t know the laws of this place well yet. So explain. Who has violated Dmitry’s laws here? And what kind of punishment is appropriate for violating the laws?”

Hans was breathless.

Hans felt like he was being sucked into Roman’s eyes.

Dmitry’s fool.

The unsightly man who had been indulging in pleasure every day now bound him with an inescapable, powerful force.

In the current situation, it was right to run away.

However, Hans unknowingly spoke the ‘truth’.

“The boy is guilty of not repaying his debt on time. He certainly deserves to be punished, but the Blood Fang gang does not have the right to punish him directly. Above all, they dared to utter words that insulted the Dmitry family’s eldest son, young master, in Dmitry’s territory. That is a serious crime that cannot be forgiven even with one’s life. According to the law, it would not be strange for them to receive the death penalty.”

Hans lowered his head.

His heart was pounding and his legs were trembling, but now he felt he had to speak respectfully to Roman.

Silence descended on the space.

The onlookers held their breath, and a sneer appeared on the faces of the Blood Fang gang.

Then…

“You have violated Dmitry’s laws. Therefore…”

Roman stepped forward.

In front of everyone, he picked up a common twig lying on the ground and pointed it at the Blood Fang gang as if it were a sword.

“As the eldest son of the Dmitry family, I will now execute the punishment upon you for violating the laws.”