The Foreigner on the Periphery

Minjun left the house that day. In addition to this, he reported to Telesia a synthesis of what he had heard and guessed. This was then passed onto the committee, and Dell was isolated from Minjun. However, contrary to expectations, he remained in Ashtal. 

Minjun then attributed the reason to the ‘special application for retention of the dispatched place’ that he submitted. He thought that it was meaningless to tie Dell up to this dimension, and he didn’t want to be left in a place where terrible memories kept oozing out everywhere. 

And so, Minjun canceled it. As noted in advance, paid Talents were not returned. 

*** 

Gadwick was meant to contact her again the day of the Endelion princess’ audience since it was quite undesirable for her to keep the princess waiting longer than a day anyway. And when she asked for a seat in the committee’s district representative office, the answer was simply ‘I’m very sorry.’

Obviously, that was the plan. The princess then spoke, “There is no need to deny it. By the time I contacted you, it had already been discussed with the high person over there.” 

“What condition did you put on? And to some of the delegates…” 

At this, Endelion drew the line. “I’m sorry, but I don’t need to tell you that.” 

Carbite spit inwardly, ‘That blue young bitch’

However, he spoke politely, though, outwardly, without a vote. “As soon as I finished the audience yesterday, I got a call from the commissioner. It was also emphasized that it was a rare circumstance and that it was a recommendation rather than an instruction… The bottom line is that the message is that they are concerned that the place on Earth has been left vacant for too long. And you pointed out that the percentage of Endelion in my jurisdiction is too low. She added that she would like to pay close attention as it could lead to a racial problem if done wrong.” 

The way of speaking sounded so hesitant. Even the message came down in the name of the Great Commissioner’s Council. It was said that it was impossible to distinguish exactly who sent the message among the delegates. Carbite then asked, hiding his uncomfortable feelings. “Anyway, the above discussion is over, is there any reason why you asked me separately?” 

The reply was quite sarcastic. “Because it looks pretty.” 

“…” Gadwick once again realized the difference between the values ​​of Endelion and Carbite. The moment she recruited the Great Commissioner, the princess had already won the battle. 

Nevertheless, he remained polite and dared to direct a picture in which he made a request to himself first. This was because he thought that it was the polite thing to do. In addition to this, he didn’t even mention it to Gadwick. 

‘From one to ten, it’s full of useless pretense. The bastards,’ and with that, he said to the princess. “I will prepare as soon as possible. The content to be familiar with in advance is transmitted to the spirit world network. I’ll tell you in advance, but the amount won’t be huge.” 

“That’s fine. I like to study, anyway.” 

As a courtesy to the royal family, Carbite waited for the other party to end communication first. However, the gigantic tentacles beyond the screen bring out an absurd story instead of blacking out the screen. “And, about that slave last time. caught on the video conferencing screen.” 

Because of the uncontrollable words and actions that were not like the usual ENdelion, Carbite was a little nervous. “I apologize again for that. It is my responsibility for not properly educating the assigned slaves. We will do our best to avoid such unpleasant incidents in the future.” 

At this, the princess wiggled her tentacles to express negativity. “No, I am not trying to blame the past. I have one question personally. That slave… By what way was it supplied?” 

Gadwick asked curiously, “Are you interested? However, I know that the Princess race does not use humanoid slaves.” 

At this, the princess did not answer, and Gadwick found himself grumbling inwardly. ‘Damn, are you asking me or answering me?’ 

The courtesies of the royals of Endelion to an ordinary ancient race were limited to the public domain. Carbite decided to just throw in the information the opponent wanted. Come to think of it, there must be people of each race who would have a hobby of collecting strange things, like humans who raised bugs and reptiles that others say they hated. 

He thought that the princess would have the same taste, and so Carbite answered. “These are slaves supplied through the Carbite Alumni Association within the committee.” 

“…Okay?” 

“Yeah, if you want a slave with a similar shell, you’d better contact them.” 

“Alright. Thanks.” 

After ending their communication, the princess fell back into her thoughts. The slave he had last seen managed to draw attention from several aspects. Those who worked at the committee headquarters were instilled in strict rules of etiquette. It was a place where all kinds of different races would gather, so it was not surprising no matter how they looked. 

However, as soon as the slave saw him, he screamed. It meant that there was a deep-seated feeling of rejection that could be resolved through education. And that scream… 

‘It didn’t seem like it was because of physiological rejection. Besides, the original race is Shutan, right? They’re not mammals, so there’s no reason to be so terrified. An ideal without her horrific memories of being tied to Endelion.’ 

Another thing that struck him was the fact that he had just started her prison life. According to the will of the commissioner, information related to prisoners was classified as top secret, but the management of criminal arrest records was relatively loose. Therefore, the princess looked at the records of Stanians recently arrested by the Commission. However… no matter how much one looked at it, no one could be classified as ‘Bezny’.

As she continued to look, a record of an incident caught her attention. An accident had occurred before the jump ship carrying the Stan princess and her companions who had been arrested on Earth reached the headquarters. No one survived the scene. That was the official record. 

‘Isn’t it too much to call it a coincidence?’ 

In fact, the route through which the slaves were supplied was also the Carbite Alumni Association. A picture was then drawn in the princess’s head. 

‘Illegal supply of slaves.’ 

Such was the act of extorting and enslaving those who originally deserved a lighter sentence. It was something that Endelion extremely hated, but in fact, it was commonly practiced among them. 

‘I should have held this hand a little more.’ 

It was unknown whether Gadwick was deeply involved in the supply of slaves. However, if he were to reveal this and a scandal would break out, he too would feel the pressure. The princess, who had made such a promise, thought of one remaining question. ‘If you had to choose one among the people on board, who would it be?’ 

Intuitively, she must have been a princess of the Shutan tribe, but she was not confident in this reasoning. ‘Do you really need to make her a slave to her? She didn’t seem to have this special ability. She doesn’t even have to cover up her identity if royal status matters.’ 

And so, she looked further. She told the story of what happened in her native world and what she witnessed on Earth. Some of her would consider her trivial, but it was never trivial to her. According to her report, the Shutan princess expressed her extreme affection for an inmate who was guarding her. 

This was a story about a race that had no interest in humans and acted like it was love at first sight. It seemed like a lie, but the princess couldn’t ignore it. Because it brought back memories of her distant past. 

“…” After being immersed in her thoughts for so long, she suddenly felt tired. 

‘It’s been a while.’ Gadwick hadn’t sent her material yet. While she waited, she decided to spend some personal time. 

Pot! She then leaped through her space a few times to enter a room that only she could access. A man was sleeping there – a normal human body.

The princess approached the man. There was no soul in it. She was breathing normally, and warm blood circulated inside, but she was only alive. At this rate, there would be no opening of eyes, no smiling, no talking. 

The princess had several plans. The one in front of her right now would be a plan B if one had to classify it. She looked at the homunculus, which was manufactured to be genetically identical to her ex-husband’s body. It had developed beyond comparison with what had been burned during her prisoner life. 

“I will see you again soon.” At this, she stuck out her tentacles. The things on her body were too thick and huge, so new relatively short and thin tentacles appeared like buds sprouting from branches. She carried it right in front of the sleeping homunculus’ face. 

However, it stopped right before contact. In that state, the princess pondered for a moment, feeling terribly tired all of a sudden. She quietly crouched her body in front of the homunculus. It was a contrast like a giant rock island and a grain of dust floating in front of it. Sreuk, Endelion’s eyes closed. 

From there, she dreamed of a happy past. 

*** 

=Ah… are you awake?!= 

When Minjun woke up, he saw a priest looking down with his back to the dim fluorescent lamp. He could see a three-eyed alien from his dim consciousness. He blinked a few times. Soon, the boundary between reality and dream became clear. Minjun clearly felt where he was and when he was. The nightmare was over. 

“Yeah, it happened.” He responded with a hoarse voice and got up. 

Yuntus then asked with a spirit of anticipation. = How was it? Did you achieve your purpose?= 

However, he flinched by the end of his question, simply because Minjun’s eyes were not serious. The ‘incarnation’ he worshiped opened his mouth. “The effect was… good. too much.” His expression looked cruel as he spoke. 

By analogy, it felt like he wanted to shoot Yuntus for creating an effect so good. Minjun frowned as he felt a slight headache. The judge then asked in a cautious tone. =I… Wasn’t this a terrible nightmare as expected?= 

From there, Minjun trembled. “No, it was a terrible dream. It’s the worst dream I’ve ever had.” 

Only then did Yuntus feel relieved and proud. “But it wasn’t the kind of nightmare I wanted.” 

It was an event that left him deeply traumatized. Since that day, Minjun had never settled down with anyone. He also never used or conceded any Talents for anyone other than himself. Dell made him that way. It was such an important memory, but he didn’t have to go through it now. He wanted a dream in which the material was made from long-lived memories, much older than this dream. 

As he explained it, Yuntus lowered his body. = It was intentional, but it seems that it was not enough because of my lack of ability. In order for the incarnation to be satisfied next time…= 

It was unreasonable to retry immediately after the divine power had already run out. Minjun said that he did a good job and came out to the ground. He had a bitter taste. ‘I didn’t see the memories I wanted to get back, I just saw the memories I wanted to forget. Even if I dream, I’ll always have a nightmare of that time.’ 

Minjun, who came up to the office, sat blankly in his chair for a while. It was such a vivid dream. It was like he was going through those days again. An emotion that he didn’t want to even call it a lingering feeling took over his body damply. 

Minjun, who was sitting there like that, began to look under his desk. He sealed the bottommost drawer. At this, the prisoner felt worried. However, in the end, he couldn’t resist the urge.

Pot! 

He removed the seal momentarily and opened the drawer, taking out what was inside. Holding it in his hand, he began to stare with his back buried deep in the chair. He couldn’t even remember how long it had been since he had taken it out of the drawer to look at it. Then, he heard a shout from outside. 

“Were you here? You haven’t called me all day.” 

Minjun didn’t bother explaining why. Cathy was no longer surprised. “How many days has it already been? Do you take rice? Let’s go out together. Let’s eat out after a long time. I will live I also called the bookstore people. Of course, Eunseong will also go…” 

At this, Cathy went through her closet and pulled out Minjun’s coat. And then he continued to chatter. “Uncle Jeongpal seems to be busy these days. Who do you have to follow? I can’t help it, what? You should eat with leisurely people, not busy people. uh? What is that sword?” 

She stopped when she saw the dagger Minjun was holding. In the world he stayed in before coming to Earth, the development of mage engineering compared to mechanical engineering was very poor. As with all frontier dimensions. Therefore, it was difficult to find a suitable material there. It was no use looking around the places where the historical tragedies that would be helpful for the cursed type magic. Such a planet was cleaned of traces during the dictator’s lifetime, and to make matters worse, nothing was left of it because of the last-minute self-destruction. 

In the meantime, this sword that came into his hand had been a welcome gift. Unfortunately, after only using it for about a year, it was buried deep and never touched again. Still, she had learned some magic, she said, as Cathy narrowed her eyes. 

“Doesn’t that look just as expensive as Minjun’s usual knife? Isn’t it metal that comes from Earth?” He looked at it carefully, almost as if he was interested. Minjun grabbed the handle and covered the inscription on it. It was something she had done unconsciously, even though she knew Cathy could not read it. 

She then asked, knowing that her boss hadn’t bought anything new recently. “It looks like something you’ve had for a long time, so why not use it?” 

The agent pondered for a while before answering. “This is bad.” 

“Ah? But it looks good…” said the secretary, who tilted her head like that. “Anyway, let’s go ahead and talk.” 

Minjun then got up from his seat, all while pretending not to win. In addition to this, he put his dagger back into the drawer. He fixed his knife in an empty spot next to the glass tube containing his blood. Then his handle turned over, revealing the hidden phrase. It had been engraved by his ex. Minjun looked at it for a moment with a firm expression on his face and then closed the drawer again, and in doing so, put the old regrets away from his eyes. Then, he sealed it tightly.