The Foreigner on the Periphery

The princess, who had not been able to speak for a while in that state, suddenly tensed and withdrew.  

"?!"  

As the dwarf approached as if noticing something, the princess held out her hand to stop her, as if she would not allow her access. She then began to shout as she proceeded to jump from her seat.  

"👀👀👀👀👀👀"  

It meant that Minjun heard it in that way. In response to that, the dwarf made a similar noise.  

At this, the princess leapt out into the largest of her suite’s inner rooms.  

Thud! Thud! Thud!  

If the whole hotel had not been rented, there was a noise that would have been quite serious complaints from downstairs.  

In addition to this, there was the loud slamming of the door. The dwarf began to speak from the living room, breaking the momentary silence that ensued afterwards.

"It's strange. The princess has already succeeded in producing it once this morning."  

"Oh, then what about that now?"  

“That’s right. A signal suddenly came."  

The princess seemed to have gone out of nowhere in order to lay a golden egg.  

"Hmm." Minjun looked out the window. Common sense that he had not learned came to mind.  

It was the opposite of the scene they had seen now. Did Stan women these days lay eggs even when the sun was high?  

That thought was interrupted by Bradley’s words. "Hey, Agent Ye Minjun?"  

He was looking at him with a look asking for an explanation. The Immigration Service kept the information that he was dispatched to Bradley a secret until the very end.  

***    

“What? Human Rights Solidarity?!"  

Bradley’s expression grew serious when he heard the reason only after moving to another room and leaving the two of them alone.  

"I thought they wouldn't like it, but when information comes in that proves to be beneficial, their personality changes!"  

He thought for a moment, tapping the table with his fingers. "Minjun, are you here to tell the story on behalf of the Korean immigration office?"  

“Yes.”  

This, too, had been commissioned by Blair.  

"Even a secret from the princess? Wait a minute. If this happens, I will also be on the terms of the first contract…"  

When Bradley was about to say more, the conversation was interrupted. This was because it sounded like a monster roaring through the wall. The source proved to be from next door.  

" · · · ·Hm," Bradley said calmly to Minjun, who was looking in that direction with a cold expression on his face. "No surprise. It's the sound of the princess laying eggs."  

"Oh, is that so?" Minjun felt a sense of déjà vu at the sound. He rummaged through the drawers of his memory for a moment before finally recalling the subject.  

When he caught ‘Crow Bahra' in the dimension just before he came to Earth, the noise he made was similar to what he heard now. He was a fearsome old dragon that was already over 5,000 years old at the time, and he was wanted by the committee who chased after him, leading him to hide in that dimension.  

The dimension, which was a mess because restoration work had been in progress at the time, was not an easy place to scour through if an old dragon decided to hide. The process of arresting the dragon, who had both extreme physical defense and magic resistance, was not easy as he lived a long time. The raids failed several times, and each time the dragon would flee to a distant galaxy to hide.  

Then, one day, the prisoners obtained a scale that had just fallen off from a fierce battle, and Minjun, who looked at it predicted that the dragon would escape within a few days.  

However, the reaction of his colleagues was not favorable.  

‘Is that what you mean? It’s hard to believe.’  

What Minjun said was information that even the analysts of the committee could not guarantee. Just as the genes of organisms classified as human species also differed slightly from one dimension to another, the biological characteristics were subtly different, depending on the habitat used, and there was no research data on an old and powerful individual such as Crow Bahra even in the committee.  

However, Minjun was confident and his prediction turned out to be true. The prisoners had just finished molting a few days later and poured 3,000 tons of sulfuric acid on the old dragon, whose scales were still soft and moist.  

It was the end of a long escape. Minjun didn’t know why he had such rare knowledge at the time or even now, and he didn’t even bother to wonder about it. Of the memories before his arrest, some of the ‘functional memories' that were not directly related to his identity were still alive.  

Instead, he wondered about this from time to time. What kind of body was the dragon assigned to, and in what dimension was it performing reformation labor?  

‘I’d love to see that one.’

With that thought finally managing to sweep away his old memories, Minjun said that he felt sorry for the princess.  

"It must be a terrible pain."  

"They say that a Stan woman has to go through almost every day and call it ‘nature's curse'."  

‘Every day? Was it like that from the beginning? I don’t think so.'

"I'm speechless, but let's go back to the point."  

Bradley turned the tide of the story. "Anyway, are you saying that I should continue to hold the command of the twelve superpowers that have been dispatched? You will move individually without my instructions."  

"Exactly."  

On behalf of Jenkinson and Blair, Minjun had come to propose to the thirteen of them, including Bradley, in order to accept the changed mission. There was the messenger role of the immigration office.  

"Then we should have a discussion."  

"Okay, I have enough time." Bradley immediately called the other bodyguards on alert throughout the hotel.  

Then, he soon informed Minjun of the agreement. "Now that the risks have become clearer and bigger, everyone wants three times the originally promised payoff. And I asked for talents in addition to earth currency in the terms of the contract, and I want three times that too."

Minjun called Blair and told them their request. Then, while emphasizing the caveat to secrecy, she thanked her for staying and promised to pay four times instead of three. If Bradley had known it would be like this, he would have demanded five.  

This made her grumble.  

***  

The day after Princess Vermi’s official schedule started, she appeared in front of the bodyguards in a very splendid appearance.  

"ね!"  

Bradley frowned. The moment she opened the door and the crocodile alien appeared, a dazzling halo flashed from behind her, as if thousands of Christmas tree lights had been turned on.  

The application of dyes or various materials on her nails was called ‘nail art.' So, should the act of decorating scales similarly be called ‘scale art?'  

She was covered with splendid jewels and thin metal trinkets, one on top of every scale. It was a traditional costume worn by women who had never given birth to fertilized eggs. There was a reason why she didn’t bring security personnel from her hometown of Guerlain, and dozens of maids in charge of dressing moved together.  

The dwarf, Olga, muttered as if puzzled. "Did you give strength to the costume? There is no banquet today, just business meetings all day, so why was that?"  

"…"

Minjun, who seemed to know the answer, didn’t say anything. And after a while, the declaration of the princess, translated by the dwarf, puzzled both him and Bradley. “Yes? Instead of teleporting, you’re traveling by car?”  

"You have changed your mind. I’d like to try some street tours. I know that a vehicle tailored to the body type of a Stan has been prepared in case of an emergency."  

"So it is."  

After quietly exchanging glances with Minjun, Bradley eventually nodded. “Alright. Then let's go by car."  

And then, he whispered to Minjun in an audible voice. "It seems they are really preparing for mass immigration. Have you ever wanted to see the dimension you are moving to with your own two eyes?"  

Minjun shrugged, signaling that he wasn’t interested. Bradley, who moved to the hotel parking lot, divided the delegation and security personnel to attend today’s meeting and placed them in the car.  

It was decided that the princess, her interpreter Olga, and bodyguard chiefs Bradley and Minjun would ride in the biggest vehicle. However, when the princess heard about it, another strange reaction came back. The dwarf moved the princess’s question.

"Excuse me, but she's asking which of the two is the stronger agent."  

The two exchanged glances again. Bradley, who had guessed something, answered for them. He pointed to Minjun. "This guy is better than me."  

With that, Olga said firmly. "Even if you are of a race with a physique that is different from that of a Stan, you all say that it would be frustrating if there were four people in the back seat. I’m sorry Agent Bradley, could you move me to another vehicle?”  

"…."  

In the end, only the three of them sat in the backseat of the princess’ car. There was a strange silence in the car that had left.  

Princess Vermi, who wanted to see the streets, fixed her head toward her window as if to prove her words, but her eyes moved very busily. It was because he was too busy spying on Minjun, who was sitting opposite her.  

After watching for a long time, the princess finally opened her mouth and said something to Olga. Olga’s face hardened slightly as they spit out her metal chewing sound at each other.  

Then, she finally gave a condescending look and ended her story with her princess, this time speaking to Minjun. "I said the same thing to the princess, but I will tell the same to the agent. I abide by the work ethic as a former interpreter. From now on, no matter what conversation comes and goes between Princess Vermi and Agent Ye Minjun, I will forget everything here and there, and I will never move anything outside, so you can rest assured about that."

The expression on her face darkened. Seeing this, Minjun wanted to shout, ‘Hey! Don’t do it, just don’t translate! If it sounds like a sensitive and inappropriate story, just don’t move it!'  

However · · ·  

‘What's the money at stake?'  

It was not always easy to eat other people's money, whether it was in terms of global currency or talents. First of all, it would have been better to have the princess suit the princess in moderation.  

Of course, if one wanted to cross the line, the story would be different. In addition to this, the conversation between the two people with Olga started.  

"Did you say your name is Minjun?"  

“Yes, it is. Princess.”  

An uncomfortable silence followed. After a while, the princess asked awkwardly again. "Have you ever been to the Dimension of Guerlain?"  

Minjun decided to continue being polite by being faithful to his status as an immigration agent.

  "Unfortunately, the opportunity did not come. Where are you from?"  

He might have been there before he lost his memory, but right now, it was impossible to say for sure. The princess still couldn't look straight at Minjun.

He answered with his head turned outward. "Very beautiful place."  

After that, the princess began to talk about the nature of Gelanco for over ten minutes. She explained how breathtaking the scenery, where two moons colored the silver-blue night sky was, how soft the wind was in the swampy swamp. And that, when spring approached, she carefully described the scenery where plants and amphibians were stretched out, and the beautiful tunes sung by the Four Ik-Jos were intoxicated with the scent of flowers.  

Minjun simply responded by putting on a suitable chuim-sae. Olga must have already noticed that he was being disrespectful. However, if it was not delivered to the princess, that would be enough.  

After talking about her hometown for a while, the princess then asked, "I heard you were born and raised here."  

“Yes, that's right.”  

"Are you mixed with elf blood? How old are you?"  

As documented in external documents, Minjun revealed that he was born in 1945 and explained that he was born from a half-elf who came to Earth pregnant during the 1st mass immigration.  

Then, hearing the translated words, the princess shook her head for the first time. She turned and looked at Minjun.  

She looked like she was shocked. "You're that young?!"  

“Yes, I am.”  

"You're not even half my age now. So, how long do quarter elves live?"  

"I'm not quite sure, either."

“ · · · · · ·Right.” The princess seemed hesitant before asking again. "Do you have any desire to live in another dimension other than Earth?"  

Minjun thought, ‘Yeah, right here.'

At this point, he decided to end the conversation. “Princess, I’m sorry, but…”  

However, before he could finish the sentence, the princess withdrew her body again. Minjun’s gaze interpreted Stan’s facial expressions and gestures. It was the expression of a person who regretted what she had just said and was ashamed.  

"…" The princess hurriedly turned her head again and looked out of the window. The plank-like mouth then opened, revealing his teeth.  

Olga moved her words closer to simultaneous interpretation. “I’m sorry. I want you to forget what I just said."  

"…."  

After an awkward pause, the princess spoke in an awkward tone. "It was just… the first time I had ever seen such a beautiful creature as you."  

"?!"  

At the same time absurd, a different thought popped into his head. Again, the common sense he would have gained before his arrest told Minjun this way. ‘No way? There’s no way a Stanin would be biologically attracted to this look. It' as humans and elves are never attracted to crocodiles.'

However, another voice whispered, ‘Don’t they say that they lay unfertilized eggs every day, don’t they spit out pheromones by looking at the appearance of a humanoid race, don’t they say that a princess who is old enough to be single and never gave birth to a fertilized egg… Did something happen?’  

Immediately after that, Minjun felt a strange sense of incongruity again.  

‘And why on earth do I have knowledge that conflicts with the current situation?'