The Foreigner on the Periphery

The inmate who came down to the strip bar with his back was now wearing the name Christoph, and he and Minjun were the first to know on Earth. Occasionally, the committee only assigned missions to inmates of a certain dimension, like this one, but even at that time, there was competition and it was inevitable.  

In addition to this, the memory seemed to remain in a very terrible form.  

“What would you like to drink?” Minjun glanced at the display case behind the bar. The whiskey assortment was pretty good for a strip bar. There were several labels with the signatures of Master blender or Master distiller, who were known for their high ransom.  

Of course, the font was in a curvy handwriting, and because of this, he couldn’t tell if it was a Dwarf-specific drawing or a handwriting. "I'm done."  

"Don't do that, let's have a drink."  

Without waiting for an answer, he took out another bottle at will and poured it onto the glass. It was definitely a drink that would be more expensive than the store’s monthly rent. If the owner here was an ordinary person, he would be terrified, but Liam was not an ordinary merchant.

In truth, he was Germany’s best information merchant. The expensive alcohol displayed here was intended to spit out innocent (?) drunks who sometimes came for the purpose of striptease, but the purpose of entertainment for real customers like these proved to be bigger.  

Christoph muttered as he watched the brown liquid filling the bottom of the glass. "If you drink this, you will suffer from vomit, or…"

"Oh, that's right. I have a lot of doubts."  

"I remember well. An inmate who finished eating with you in a friendly atmosphere with a smile on his face showed symptoms of cholera just an hour after breaking up and started pouring it down like a waterfall."  

Minjun replied calmly. "I remember. But do you have any proof that it’s because of me? That was the 60’s. There was a time when cholera was not as rare as it is now. The sanitation concept of the people of the earth was not good either. Wouldn’t it be more likely that the chef didn’t wash his hands?”  

" · · · · · · ·By the way, cholera and mucosal hyperalgesia syndrome also developed at the same time! That’s a rare disease, even by Earthling standards!”  

Was it? He couldn’t remember that well, but when he heard it, he had initially thought that it was something he could do. This is because dehydration caused by cholera alone could not seal the movement of a superhuman prisoner.  

He shrugged, all with that introspection still buried in his chest. "Do you have any evidence?"

" · · · ·" In any case, it was not something that the inmates had planned. If they did, they would most likely be killed by the committee. Committees didn't do well unless they found themselves in extreme situations where their tools were completely broken.  

The victim, who should be feeling agony at this point in time – especially now that the inmate identification number was fuzzy – must have struggled for a few days and eventually gave up.  

Minjun then spoke up. "If you don't believe it, then don't. I won, really. It was only when prisoners did not trust each other and rejected each other like this that… Well, it was truly an era of distrust."  

Then, Christoph looked at Minjun with eyes full of reproach and criticism, ‘Is that what you mean?’  

Minjun then replied, returning that gaze shamelessly. "Looking back, Liam's reaction was a bit strange."  

"What do you mean?"  

"I heard that I was the first inmate to come to him for this matter."  

As soon as he confirmed his mission, he secured a plane ticket and flew to Germany, thinking he would be one step behind the agents stationed here. However, contrary to expectations, no one was looking for Liam for more than half a day.  

Christoph hesitated for a moment. "This is information that should not be leaked outside Europe…"  

"Aren't you going to exchange information?"

At this point, he began to speak in a slightly resigned expression. "Right now, all the prisoners around me are tied up because of what Callieter did. I was lucky enough to get out for a while."  

It seemed that none of the prisoners living in this area did not owe at least one debt to the old dragon. It looked pathetic from Minjun’s point of view, but such was the reality. The ancient dragon, which had taken possession of Germany, Austria, and parts of the Czech Republic, had been very uncomfortable to plant due to a series of recent events.  

"What's going on?"  

Christoph replied with an expression that even he couldn’t understand. "Because of press control, I haven't hit the press yet… These days, crazy people have suddenly been popping up all over Germany."  

“Maniacs?”  

According to Christoph, there had been a series of incidents in which seemingly unconnected people suddenly went crazy and would engage in a brutal killing spree. What they had in common was that the criminal, who had just been fine until the day before, would suddenly commit terrible things with various weapons right in the middle of the night.  

The most troubling part was that, even though they were doing similar things, there was no common ground between these criminals.  

The least costly case was that of the city of Augsburg, where the perpetrator was a four-year-old Orc girl. At two o’clock in the morning, she went down to the kitchen for some reason and went into her parents’ bedroom with her transient in her hand, right before poking it into her mother’s stomach.  

However, the 4-year-old girl was unable to penetrate the hard abs and tough leather of an adult orc, and in the end, no one died and the case was closed. Conversely, the most casualties occurred in small villages near the Austrian border. Unfortunately, the culprit was a policeman on duty at the police box that day, and he had a gun. Even worse, his race was that of a troll's.  

In the end, no one in the village survived that night, except for the trolls. "What's even worse, not all of the criminals remember what they did. I was just thinking that I was having a terrible dream."  

“Dream?” Minjun’s expression became serious. "Manipulating people’s minds is something only warlocks do. One has to put something like a parasite in the brain."  

After speaking, Christoph realized that the person in front of him was also a warlock, so he blinked and looked at him. However, Minjun remained unfazed. He meant to continue the story.  

"Because… most of the scenes were that terrible. I’ve never seen anything like that since I came to Earth. Ugh.” Christoph’s face turned white as he rekindled his memories.

"Nobody was found intact. Originally… Warlocks do things like that when they make who has been devoted to her parenting, it means that she has taken the situation quite seriously."

"Callieter professed that there was no sign of magic involved there. That's why I thought that a race with abilities we didn't know had smuggled in."  

With that, he tapped his head with his fingers. "Why is this mission suddenly popping up?"  

"When did those events first occur?"  

Hearing Christoph’s answer, Minjun rested his hand on his chin. The date he said was shortly after Jochaim Steinmeier disappeared with the head of the patriarch. "If you call this a coincidence, even a dog would laugh."  

“Okay, okay… Moreover, ‘Ellahu-Praga?' It is said that the doctrine of that denomination tells about dreams."  

Minjun thought about this a little more and tilted his head. "By the way, even if this is related to Jochaim, there are things that I cannot understand. Were there any kinds of divine powers capable of mind control? It goes beyond healing wounds and making ghosts or Buddhas become holy. As you suspected… this is rather close to black magic."

"I don't know."  

"Then, where was the last incident?"  

He thought that if he followed the events, Jochaim’s movement might come out. "That means it will just get vague again."  

There must be a reason why Christoph, who had access to the information, came to the information merchant. "But, before we go any further. If something goes, something must come back, right?"  

His eyes were full of a certain type of enthusiasm. Minjun nodded and asked, "How much do you know about the life of the deceased Patriarch?"  

Despite being a prisoner operating in Germany, he was unaware of recent events within the denomination, and Minjun informed him that the patriarch had killed high-ranking clergy one after another. However, the fact that he eventually died at the hands of Minjun and the strange appearance of the patriarch at the moment of his death were omitted.  

"What, that little guy… was he already crazy before he died?"  

Christoph looked as if he had gotten lost in a labyrinth. "Then why is the committee asking you to bring in such a crazy head?"

"What, you have more customers?" Liam, who had gone into the closet to gather information, returned and looked at the double number of customers.  

Minjun asked. "Did you know?"  

At that, the information merchant merely nodded. In accordance with the movement, the inelastic skin trembled. "I put together what our kids saw, heard, and were assigned to…"  

Liam was a druid. Unlike normal druid abilities, only one species could be controlled, but its efficiency was incomparably superior to those of ordinary abilities. Minjun didn't exactly how far he could go when it came to controlling beasts. First of all, since most cases in Germany are covered, he could only guess that the minimum scope would be that much.  

“By the way….” Liam rolled in his mouth as if giving information. "Christoph, why are you here?"  

At that, Christoph retorted, pointing to Minjun. "It's the same thing as this one."  

Then, the information merchant spoke firmly. “I don’t deal with group purchase discounts. Even if you want the same information, you both have to pay the information fee. And you know that second-hand trading is against business ethics, right? If you sell the information you bought from me to someone else, you can no longer do business with me."  

“We know, we know. So how are you?" "

Three million marks." It was an amount that the average middle class could not save even if they ended up not spending a single penny by working all their lives.  

Ordinary people were stunned by the fee. However, the reaction of the prisoners was the opposite. “What? 3 million? Why is it so cheap?"  

"Are you sure about the information? Did you cut the price because it was ambiguous?"  

With that, Liam spoke bitterly. "Don't say anything until you pay. What are you going to do? Will you take it or not?"  

With that, Christoph took out his smartphone and fiddled with it for a while. "Transfer completed."  

“Payment has been confirmed.”

On the other hand, Minjun didn’t even look at things like cell phones. "Three million?" He murmured, almost as if estimating something, then snapped his fingers.  

In the next moment, Minjun disappeared from Liam’s view.  

"…"

It was because stacks of hundred-mark bills suddenly piled up on the bar and completely obscured his already short face. After some silence, the information merchant began to mumble, "Hey, have you ever heard of account transfer?"  

"My pocket is safer than a bank vault."  

"Moving must be troubling…" The information merchant said as he lowered the pile of money down the bar. "After all, it's the same information for which we received the same information fee, so listen to it together."  

After his explanation, Christoph said, “Czech Republic? I didn’t go as far as I thought. I thought it would just bounce off the other side of the world."  

"Again, the smell of the travelers who arrived there yesterday is the same as Jochaim Steinmeier. I can’t guarantee it’s the same person. That is why the low information fee of 3 million marks was set."

Christoph began to think for a moment. Contrary to expectations, his vigilance seemed to have softened slightly because of his common sense exchanging information. "What are you going to do? Minjun, are you going to keep moving alone? If we have more information to exchange, how about sharing it with each other?"  

It was clear that Minjun was interested in the recent bizarre incident in Germany. In addition to this, Christoph had yet to say something other than the location and time of the incident.  

Minjun would not have been exposed to all the cards either. "What do you think?"  

However, Minjun didn’t respond. Christoph seemed to be quite relaxed, sipping his drink and taking a few sips. Minjun stared intently at Christoph’s hand that was holding the glass.  

He didn’t say anything. Christoph was then seized by an ominous feeling for a moment. He immediately puts the glass down. “ · · · · · ·Come on? No wonder there was something mixed with this drink…!"  

Minjun's next words stung. "Somehow, I kept feeling strange… Now I understand."

“What?”  

"Hey, how many years have you been making jjambap for prisoners this year, are you still wearing those things?"  

"?!"  

After finishing his words, Minjun pulled out the dagger of the ceremony from his arms at lightning speed. The movement was so natural and so fast that Christoph didn’t even think to fight it.  

Shh! The sword cut down on the back of Christoph’s hand, which he had placed on the bar counter.  

Bang!  

With that, screams tore apart. "Aww!" Christoph screamed in pain as the nerves in his body burned. As long as there was no dragon-level resistance, the curse that one could only suffer through had been penetrated.  

At the same time…  

Aaaaaaaaah!  

A desperate scream was heard through the wall. Minjun and Liam raised their heads at the same time. The sound could be heard from the roof of the building.  

"Hey, what the hell is this…!" Liam, bewildered by the sudden situation, was shocked at the scene that followed.

He inhaled hastily. Christoph’s skin pierced by the sword was now beginning to swell. Then, began to mold a chosen part of his body.  

“ · · ·An ear?” On the back of his hand, where his blood was dripping all over, an ear with a pierced hole in the middle began to grow like a tumor. It was not human in its shape and size.  

“Elf?!” Minjun took another pack of hundred marks from his pocket. Christoph had already rolled his eyes and passed out, biting his bubble. He threw a bundle of money at his feet and frowned as he retrieved his sword.  

The money that had fallen on the floor was wet with yellow. "Tell me this is hospital bills."  

The moment he finished speaking, Minjun disappeared from the basement, all while thinking of piercing the other ear of the elf who had just overheard the conversation. In some cases, it seemed to be a penetrating wound that was slightly deeper than before.