The Foreigner on the Periphery (English Translation)

20. Three Ways to Kill a Boss (17)

A few days after the Sokcho incident, Minjun finished his work at the Changcheon Bank headquarters and came out.

He was about to hail a taxi but suddenly stopped. It seemed as if a thought had crossed his mind, and he quickly looked around. Luckily, there was a flower shop nearby.

"Welcome."

Passing by a Mandragora plant with its vocal cords removed and a basket of acid herbs for mosquito control, Minjun stopped in front of a normal potted plant. It was the right size to take along, with many leaves—it was perfect for an elf's taste.

"What is this?"

"It's a money tree. The leaves are shaped like coins, so it's also called a 'money tree.' A lot of people buy them as gifts for new stores."

"Perfect. I'll take one."

Minjun wasn't interested in the origin of the plant's name, but since he would be bringing it to the store, it seemed like a good excuse.

While the owner wrapped the pot, the radio played the news.

The government's official stance on the localized storm that occurred last week along the Sokcho coast remains unchanged. It was, after all, just a natural phenomenon. It's true that some citizens with extraordinary abilities in Sokcho have reported the event, but there is much room for confusion, and the government further explained that such storms could easily be mistaken for magical phenomena...

The flower shop owner snorted.

"Who believes that? Did you see the video of it? It's all over YouTube."

"Ah… well, yes."

Minjun responded indifferently. The owner, busy with wrapping, continued speaking.

"A natural phenomenon? What nonsense. Do you know what people are saying? They say, if the government is hiding it so thoroughly, something big must've happened. Of course, they can't say that on TV or the internet. They're afraid the government will track them down for spreading conspiracy theories and cut their pensions..."

She trailed off, realizing what she was saying. She glanced at Minjun's outfit and, sensing he might not be involved with the government, finished her sentence.

"Anyway, it's a strange world. How could something like that just get buried?"

Minjun took the pot and answered dryly.

"That's true."

After leaving the flower shop, he immediately got into a taxi. After telling the driver his destination, he sank into thought.

'As expected, even that barrier wasn't enough.'

The aftermath of the fierce battle that had lasted more than an hour between Minjun, the Elder Dragon, and a dragon comparable to the Elder Dragon could not be hidden.

Despite that, the truth of the incident had been thoroughly covered up. It was the result of Jenkins' influence. Even though the story was still causing a stir, it would disappear from the media in a few days, as it always had.

That was one of the driving forces behind this precarious society still holding together.

'Did Jang Taejun believe this world was abnormal?'

The flow of his thoughts continued naturally, wondering what that idealist's intentions had been.

'But even if dragons were eradicated, would anything really change? For example, even if humans took their place and ruled everything, would the world really be any different?'

In the end, it was a dangerously close-to-delusional thought.

Minjun recalled the words Jang Taejun had said in his last moments.

The rain and wind that had been battering the Sokcho harbor gradually weakened.

The flame of Jang Taejun's life also quickly died out.

Minjun knew that, for any other creature, this would be a state of irreversible injury. He was already at the point where he was brought to the emergency room, just waiting for his breath to end.

However, the dragon's body helped him maintain consciousness and normal thought even in this moment. Minjun speculated that at least three of the six brains in Jang Taejun's skull had already stopped functioning.

The dragon transmitted mental waves only Minjun could hear. Their conversation proceeded almost at the speed of thought, so quickly that Jenkins couldn't even notice it.

= I was originally planning to leave this world tomorrow. =

Because of just a one-day delay, his escape had failed, and he had lost his life. However, there was no hint of resentment in his telepathy.

= If that homunculus had been discovered by an ordinary person, it would've been cremated just as I requested. No matter how fast, it would've been about a week after I left before that happened. =

Minjun had already gotten one answer to the two questions he had when he discovered the homunculus. Why had a fake corpse been hung after waiting a week for the disappearance? Judging by the state of decomposition, there had clearly been a gap.

'It wasn't a pre-planned act, so it must've taken time to create... But there was another purpose. If there was a reason the cremation had to happen after you left...'

Minjun managed to keep a neutral expression. In that fleeting moment, fragments of meaning passed between them, his mind quickly processing the answer.

'You messed with the corpse...'

A trace of satisfaction was evident in the dragon's returning mental wave.

= I played a little prank. =

Even in his dying moments, he spoke as if it were amusing.

= During the research, a mutant appeared. The virus still only infects dragons, but the symptoms are chaotic and unpredictable. =

It seemed the dragon had gone a step further than Minjun and the Immigration Department had anticipated.

= It was ambiguous whether to call it a success. What I wanted was a virus that would show 100% lethality in any environment, but... the symptoms caused by this mutation were random. In some tests, the response was weak, while in others, the DNA of the subject was destroyed within seconds. When it reacted most strongly, it had effects similar to being exposed to radiation over 100 sieverts. =

His mind, straining to squeeze out the telepathic communication, was gradually collapsing. With intense focus, the dragon confessed the malice he had kept hidden until the end.

= The cases were all over the place, so I needed more samples. So... I thought I'd try spreading it here, where a suitable number of creatures live. =

He spoke as if it didn't matter if it failed.

A quiet laugh reverberated.

= So, I embedded a magical property into the mutant virus. When exposed to temperatures above 500°C, it would awaken from dormancy and begin to activate. =

A normal virus wouldn't survive such a temperature, but cleverly hidden magic made survival possible.

The homunculus was the perfect medium to hide this. Even if the police had examined the body, they wouldn't have found anything, and it would have been handed over to the next of kin for proper cremation.

Eventually, according to the deceased's wishes, the body would be cremated, and the virus would spread with the smoke, drifting far and wide. That was Jang Taejun's plan.

Minjun asked.

'Why are you telling me all of this?'

= Well, you can probably guess the reason. Prisoner. =

'...'

= Now I've told you everything. Whatever choice you make from here... it's entirely up to you. =

That was the last thing he said.

The conversation ended in an instant, and Minjun watched as Jang Taejun's enormous pupils gradually lost their light.

It was the death of an idealist who despised his own kind.

"...It's over."

Jenkins quietly paid his respects to the dragon's kin.

A few seconds of silence passed between them, enough time for Minjun to make his decision.

What to do with the homunculus.

"Jenkins."

Minjun's decision was swift.

The goblin sensed a presence and looked up.

"Ah... Master!"

Dongcheol, who had been sweeping, greeted Minjun with a bright face.

"Are you feeling better now?"

"I'm fine... hehe."

After narrowly escaping the dragon's attack that had stormed into the bookstore, Dongcheol had been bedridden for three days, sick. Despite overcoming the fear of dragons ingrained in his genes, his body had borne the strain of that desperate resistance in the form of exhaustion and poison.

"Now that you're better, let's go eat something delicious after we're done with work today."

The goblin's eyes sparkled with excitement.

With the goblin enthusiastically sweeping twice as fast, sending dust flying everywhere, Minjun entered the bookstore.

"I'm back. This is a gift."

The elf, who had been fixed on a thick book, shifted his gaze when he saw the money tree pot in Minjun's hand and said curtly.

"Did you not have time to dry him out and kill him this time?"

Minjun scratched the back of his head and placed it beside the cactus pot. He then sat facing the bookstore owner.

"What about your body?"

"I was fine from the start. It was Dongcheol who got hurt."

Despite his old age and frail body, the elf's mind remained as firm as steel. Both of them were more concerned about Dongcheol. Minjun lowered his voice and spoke.

"I'm worried it might leave a trauma."

"He's been watching videos related to the dragon race on his phone lately."

"…Really?"

It was an action that could be interpreted in various ways.

"By the way, why didn't you tell me?"

The elf asked the question he had been holding back, his gaze fixed on the two pots placed side by side.

However, Minjun did not explain the reason he had been guarding this bookstore with a barrier. He also refrained from mentioning why he hadn't informed Lakefield about it. He merely smiled faintly.

The old elf furrowed one eyebrow as he looked at his mischievous face. After a few seconds, an uncomfortable silence passed.

It was the elf who broke the silence first. He spoke about the current trends in the world, and Minjun responded with a lighthearted joke. After a few minutes of conversation, Minjun stood up first, citing a report he had to submit to the 'headquarters.'

Lakefield then handed him a thick book he had been reading. It was the new release by the dwarf author. Lakefield mentioned he had already finished it and suggested Minjun borrow it if he was interested. Minjun politely refused.

Woong! Woong!

Upon entering the office, the first sound that greeted him was the resonance echoing from the warehouse.

The ego frying pan with unusual sexual desires was still here.

After the identity of Jang Taejoon was revealed, his will lost its legal effect, and all his property was confiscated by the state. Originally, that item should have been transferred to the immigration department, but Jenkinson communicated through his secretary that there was no need to do so.

It turned out that the model had been created by a troll chef whose personality had been copied, and the manufacturer had sued, causing the production and sale of the item to be halted. The reason was that his "private parts" had been copied without prior consent, and his preferences had been exposed across all dimensions. This was a completely understandable motivation.

Because of the complicated legal issues, it seemed that the immigration department was hesitant to dispose of it on their own.

Woong! Woong!

He ignored the pan's protest for attention.

'Seems like it's fully recovered now?'

When Minjun had informed the frying pan of Jang Taejoon's death, the artificial personality had merely responded with, "I see?" After that, the pan had remained silent the entire day, making no noise.

It seemed that was its way of mourning its former owner.

Beep!

He turned on the computer in the corner. It was an old machine with an all-in-one monitor, body, and keyboard. As he typed, white characters filled the black screen. He was compiling the final report with the information he had gathered earlier in the day.

The property of the deceased illegal immigrant was seized by the Korean government's immigration department, and there are no clues in the will to speculate about the accomplice's identity.

Earlier that morning, Minjun had visited the headquarters of Changcheon Bank with an immigration officer to review Jang Taejoon's will. Since Jang was proven to be an alien, the administrative actions were a given.

Minjun had searched for clues to identify those who helped him immigrate illegally. However, disappointingly, nothing significant was found, and instead, he learned some less relevant facts.

Will summary: Jang Taejoon's shares in Hyoseong Industries (worth approximately 2 billion KRW) are to be donated to a social welfare foundation. There are no confirmed links to aliens or criminal organizations.

After thinking for a moment, he typed the next line.

Other assets, including savings, securities, artworks, precious metals, patents, and real estate (valued at approximately 8 billion KRW), were bequeathed to the human woman he maintained a relationship with until his death.

Kim Yeonju had suspected that Jang Taejoon's wealth was mostly tied up in Hyoseong Industries stock, but in reality, that was far from the truth.

The stocks were just a small portion, and he seemed to have planned to donate them before his disappearance, judging the risk of holding onto them.

The true inheritance was everything else, which was to go to Kim Yeonju.

'Maybe the reason he had the Homunculus left at the house instead of hidden in the distant mountain was… because that house too was to be Kim Yeonju's inheritance?'

If Jang Taejoon had disappeared more naturally, and Minjun had not taken on this case, he would have died as a human, and everything would have been executed as per the will.

But now, that was a meaningless assumption.

Minjun continued to type a few more lines, staying focused.

'This is the most important part!'

He had to list his contributions clearly and succinctly.

The compensation Jenkinson had personally promised was already received. This report, however, was for another, even more urgent kind of reward. When apprehending a wanted criminal, a simple report would suffice, but in such special cases, he needed to sell his achievements to ensure recognition.

And with 800 years of experience, Minjun knew how to sell his achievements better than anyone.

'Submit!'

He pressed Enter, and the screen blinked. This computer wasn't connected to a landline, let alone the internet, but it used a communication network through the spirit realm to transmit data to another dimension. Minjun now only had to wait leisurely for the committee to determine how many talents they would allocate.

Perhaps, they might even acknowledge his contribution to the 50,000-talents request to identify the principles of ISP. Since the immigration department planned to share some of the samples they seized in Rare with the committee, there was hope for further recognition.

In the end, specialized areas like pheromone research were beyond his reach, but if he could get involved here, it was a great satisfaction.

'Now then…'

He glanced at the clock. There was still some time before Evergreen Bookstore closed. To pass the time, he poured himself some of the Scotch that Cash had recently brought to the office. After filling his glass just enough to wet the bottom, he took a sip.

'…'

Savoring the taste of minerals and grains that seemed to be melted together, he sat there for a while.

Then, suddenly remembering something, he opened a drawer. He pulled out a small ampoule. Inside the magical container, dark red blood sloshed around.

He murmured to himself.

'A virus that only reacts to the dragon race.'

At the moment of Jang Taejoon's death in Sokcho, Minjun had decided what to do with the Homunculus.

He had handed over the body to the immigration department as evidence during the investigation. With confirmation of the original death, there was no longer any reason to hold onto it. There had been no reprimand from the immigration department for not reporting immediately; it was simply the way contract agents worked.

However, he had not submitted every part of the evidence without a 100-gram margin.

'It awakens when exposed to heat?'

What he held was the blood extracted from the Homunculus.

Minjun had not mentioned his conversation with Jang Taejoon to Jenkinson. He was confident the immigration department wouldn't destroy it outright. Given it was from a dangerous terrorist, a thorough investigation would be conducted, and they would most likely uncover that secret as well.

However, they would never know the truth. Minjun was also keeping the fact that he possessed the virus to himself.

'Someone might get suspicious. But that alone won't be enough to touch me.'

He placed the ampoule back deep in the drawer and sealed it.

Keeping it was an impulsive act. He had suddenly had a 'feeling' pass through his mind—that he shouldn't touch it before handing it over to the immigration department.

So, Minjun decided to act against his usual instincts this time. His 800 years of experience had taught him that his feelings were often horribly wrong.

As he finished the last sip, he pondered how to use the virus in the future. When he placed the empty glass on the desk, he erased the image of a foolish dreamer who had tried to love humans the way dragons did.