The Foreigner on the Periphery

Korea was Jenkinson’s estate. Changcheon (蒼天) was an ancient dragon who originally lived in China, and with Jenkinson’s permission, he set up a rare in Korea decades ago.  

When she came to this country, China was in a state of disarray because of the civil war that was sparked by the Guangdong Declaration of Independence. During the CCP era, China’s territory, population, and resources seemed very attractive to dragons, while its economic system was not in tune.  

The division in China then quickly broke out when the dragons, who were determined to resolve their complaints themselves, stepped forward. Behind each warlord and independence force, an old dragon was attached to each other and waged war with a shogi horse.  

A phenomenon similar to that of the Western powers, who randomly slashed and drew borders on the African continent, appeared. In the process, humans fought as dragon soldiers without even realizing that they were doing so. Few knew that their leader was a servant of a dragon. Because of the purge and revolution, it was already difficult to find an extraterrestrial race other than dragons in China at the time, so the wars seen from the outside became all human.  

The cause of the end of the war was the incident in the late 1970s when an old dragon dropped an ultimate magic in a nuclear warhead storage in Sichuan Province. Nuclear fission, wide-area magic, curses, and the evil spirits of ghosts have been mixed to create a radioactive storm zone covering hundreds of kilometers in radius.

The storm, which was predicted not to disappear even tens of thousands of years from now, attempted to expand its territory as if it had reason. If this were to continue, the dragons, who had fallen into a situation where what they already had would be polluted, far from being deprived of other old dragons, they built a great wall with magic to defend their respective countries.  

The truth was concealed, as always, and the ancient dragons were revered as the guardian deities of one billion Chinese people. Even now, each government of each independent country was offering huge treasures to the ancient dragons in the name of maintenance and defense of the magic barrier.  

Whereas the ancient Chinese prayed to the fictional dragon god to prevent tsunamis and floods, the modern Chinese pay their blood to the ancient dragons that block radiation. As a result, the surviving dragons had a happy ending, but there was a purpose for which they lost their lives in the process.  

One of them was one who was a thousand years older, deemed as Changcheon's concubine.  

‘I'm sick of this land now.' Jenkinson agreed to move. It seemed that this would lead to a semi-hermetic life in the future, and it was the decisive moment that he voluntarily pledged the two into a dragon verse.  

The promise was as followed. Changcheon would never look beyond Jenkinson’s political position in the future, and he would not form a military organization that would harm him. As a result, Changcheon had kept all of its promises.  

As he never made any promises that she would not engage in any ‘for-profit activities' on his estate. “come.” Of course, Jenkinson was quicker than Minjun to notice the dragon’s approach. A light life flashed around his eyes that had transformed into a human.

The door to the reception room they were waiting for opened and a dwarf, without an attendant, entered. It was an old goblin old woman in a luxurious shiny blue China dress. The hairpins, earrings, and rings, which were clearly custom-made to fit the goblin body, were expensive artifacts. There was no reason to wonder who it really was.  

Jenkinson got up from his seat, changing his expression like crazy. “Sister!” The old woman’s face brightened under her white, ragged hair.  

"Brother, how much is this?!" Just like the reunion of a couple who had been separated from their lives, the two dragons greeted each other with their whole bodies expressing their joy.  

Few people would recognize the two as enemies without background knowledge. Seeing the two dragons giving each other a smile as warm as sunlight, Minjun felt goosebumps for some reason. "No, why did you suddenly polymorph into a goblin? Isn’t this the first time?”  

"I am suddenly interested in that race these days. Does your brother still do that?"  

"How am I?"  

"By lifecycle, we are both old. Wouldn’t people be misunderstood if such a yangban walked around in the form of a young human man for half a hundred years? You want to be a little boy, or you need to be seen as a little boy. It is worthy of an unpleasant imagination from the standpoint of misunderstanding either of them."

"People around me do not misunderstand me. Because you understand me well. After all, it would be difficult to imagine such an emotional exchange from the point of view of the older sister who treats all the intelligent beings living on this land as mechanical parts except for the Balaur."  

"Emotional exchange with the ruling class? They will be very grateful."  

The two of them spit out everything they had to say, laughed, and then sat down while maintaining a clean and tidy smile. The goblin’s gaze turned toward Minjun this time. “It’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other like this, Agent.”  

From Minjun’s point of view, there was no need to be more polite than necessary and there was no need to start a nerve war, so he responded appropriately. Changcheon didn’t seem to want to fight for a long time with Jenkinson in front of him. He beckoned, and his door opened again, and the secretary came in and placed the papers in front of them.

The old woman looked at Jenkinson and said, "Are we talking about goblins first? Coincidentally, it seems that your interests are also of this race. As a rough guess, it seems like you want to collect as many goblin DNA as possible and then compare them to combine specific patterns. Right?”  

Minjun barely suppressed the desire to stare at Jenkinson. The information had already been stolen. “Actually, I’m not interested in things like goblin DNA… If I had to explain it, would I say that I’m interested in the goblin itself?”  

Jenkinson’s eyebrows rose as he turned the page with a slightly rough hand. Say what you’ve verified. "So, are you going to start a charity work for the poor who are in the blind spot of health care? At your own expense?"  

Changcheon planned to build a medical center for the urban poor by mobilizing his owned welfare administration and medical-related companies. The plan was as follows: to prepare a bed for hospitalization of seriously ill patients, to check for disease, and to administer essential vaccines.  

‘That’s a country-scale business.'

Jenkinson then asked in a voice that failed to hide his suspicions. "Why are you doing this all of a sudden?"  

"Suddenly? This is a business for the good of society, for the public good."  

"?"

  "Since we were talking about goblins, shall we take that race as an example? Diseases caused by goblins are often transmitted to orcs and humans as well. Isn’t it a risk to society as a whole that many of those goblins have never been to a hospital?”  

Minjun quietly muttered to himself. ‘It must be because of the high premiums charged by the insurance company you run.'  

Anyway, this was the point Changcheon was talking about. The situation had gotten too bad, so he was going to come forward from now on. Minjun, who was flipping through the documents, said, "It seems that this project was prepared at least several months in advance."  

"That's right, Agent."  

It didn’t seem like it was a fake business because of Minjun. As he continued to stare at the documents, he noticed something else and said: "Isn't most of the sites where the medical center is built are adjacent to the orc community?"  

"The closer it is to the place where the poor live, the more efficient it is."  

"Are you finished talking with Chairman Kim Kwang-woo?" A strange light flashed around the goblin’s eyes when Minjun suddenly said a name that had never been mentioned in the conversation or appeared in the documents.  

Minjun didn’t miss this. “Incredible. How do you know right away who owns the land?"  

Minjun knew that a businessman, known as Korea’s richest orc, was the beneficial owner of most of the estates featured in the documents. "It is no secret that all the land over there belongs to Chairman Kim Kwang-woo."  

"It is. It’s not something the agent should be concerned about… but if I can tell you, the land lease contract has already been completed.” The dragon changed the subject.

"Anyway, it is not difficult to inoculate all the urban poor and collect DNA samples in the process of checking for disease. Jenkinson’s brother and Agent-sama seem to be very interested in this. How is it? I think it's an area where we can go hand in hand."  

  ‘Hmm.'  

It was meaningful enough to start with the Korean goblins. In the first place, Minjun did not even expect a full-scale investigation at the district level. However, the two did not shout consent at once here. The carrot came out from the other side first, so one should check what was hiding behind it. said Jenkinson.  

"So, what kind of work do you want to commission?" The request she brought out in response to her question surprised both of them.  

"Not long ago, there was a theft incident at the main branch of Changcheon Bank."  

What kind of dragon’s suffering was this? It had been a while since Jenkinson Rare was robbed, and this time it was a bank owned by Changcheon.  

‘It’s not a bank that can be robbed so easily. Even if it's the head office.'

Minjun asked with a frown. "Maybe cash?"  

"It is and it is not."  

"?"  

The dragon then spoke with an embarrassed smile for the first time. "It was the talents that were stolen."  

Minjun then asked as if he did not readily understand. "Talent?"  

As far as he knew, most of the talent trading was done only with data. Still, it was stolen…  

"Maybe real money?"  

“Yes.”  

He couldn’t understand more and more. It was rare to withdraw that currency, which was difficult to store and transport because was is at the boundary between spirit and objects. This was because all transactions were possible, even if one were to not hold it in your hand.  

"Did the committee give it to you?"  

"It's my money, of course I have to give it to you. Even so, I was extremely picky about the withdrawal process. To the extent that I doubt that he wants to leave because he is exhausted… A million talents is not a small amount of money."  

What? A million?  

  "If you have the real thing, it would be cumbersome to manage, so is there any reason to withdraw it?"  

"Why? We are a bank. I thought it was necessary to secure a little bit even for the purpose of risk prevention."  

"In case the committee goes bankrupt?"  

"100% sure in the world What could have been wrong?"  

It was quite an ambiguous explanation. Minjun could be sure that Changcheon was hiding something.  

"Anyway, I don’t have an organization to track down the thief. Because there is an oath I made with my brother here. Entrusting it to the police isn’t even a joke, so in the end, you have to outsource it… In this matter, the best person is also Agent Ye Minjun, isn’t it? He has a longer career than anyone else."  

Changcheon knew Minjun’s true identity as he was an old dragon. "If you take on this task, I will mobilize all of the group's capabilities to help collect and analyze goblin DNA. And 10% of the recovered talents will be given as a reward."  

Then, he looked at Minjun with a strange gaze.

"By the way… is it legal or illegal for prisoners to possess real talents? If you wish, we will deposit it directly into the prisoner’s account. However, please note that I will not be able to pay the gift tax."  

"Now, what are you going to do?"  

***  

"Minjun, what do you think the reason is?" As soon as the meeting was over, the two returned to Jenkinson’s headquarters by teleporting immediately to have an operational meeting.  

"Why does Changcheon withdraw his talents in real life?"  

"Um… yes. From there."  

"It was a dubious thing to say for sure." The explanation was also vague. He couldn’t come up with a better excuse because there really wasn’t any other reason He could give.  

The statement that the bank would keep the real money in the safe was a natural statement, but the case was different when the target was talent. Especially when considering the maintenance cost, difficulty, and risk. Minjun, who was thinking about it, suddenly felt puzzled.  

‘Now then, why is everyone taking the system for granted? I know the danger of evaporating into the spirit world if the talents are stored incorrectly. I know that it takes resources to create a barrier. However, can it still be said that it is normal for the committee to keep the real money instead of sprinkling it on each dimension?'

Of course, it was advantageous to do so in that the storage costs were passed on to the committee. The most efficient and economical choice under the premise that one could trust the committee 100%. However · · ·

‘It's strangely reluctant.'  

It was the first question he felt after starting life as a prisoner. "And, there is another."  

Minjun’s thoughts were interrupted by Jenkinson. "The hospital is also strange. I smell something."  

"No matter what you hear, isn't it something Changcheon should do first?" It was also doubtful that the culprit, who contributed to the situation now that most of the goblins lost their health insurance, started the vaccination business belatedly.  

"Jenkinson, let me first check one simple thing. We need to verify that the large-scale project that Changcheon promised is real."  

"How?”  

"I can't rob Changcheon, so I'll have to talk to an outsider involved in this business."  

Minjun immediately called Cathy up. "Oh, it's me. Please schedule an interview with Chairman Kim Kwang-woo. That’s right. that orc. If you refuse, tell immigration and get a subpoena."  

Having said that, he blinked at Jenkinson, and the dragon grunted and called Blair. It was to give instructions to fully cooperate if Minjun or Cathy contacted.  

Minjun was taken aback when he received a call from Cathy again a few minutes after hanging up. This was because he heard about Chairman Kim Kwang-woo’s current subject.  

" · · · · · · ·What? You said you took a sabbatical vacation and went on a trip to another world? A few weeks ago?"