The Foreigner on the Periphery

The air in the room was chilly. Even at such a moment, the mental wave of the frying pan was quite calm. Minjun didn’t like it. 

Meanwhile, the rest, who could only hear half of their conversation, held their breath. At the same time, after pondering over the hypotheses that Minjun poured out, he realized it. There was no objection. 

The absolute trust and uncritical attitude he had given to frying pans so far was not normal. A dish that satisfied everyone no matter who made it. The premise of making everyone happy in the first place was a concept that could not be established without mental manipulation. 

Minjun spoke in a voice like ice. “Everyone should have noticed earlier, but I kept letting it go. By the way, I, who was the most critical, completely forgot my existence several times.” 

In the first place, it had too many functions to be dismissed as just one frying pan. In addition to this, it was amazingly good. This was the ability to satisfy everyone’s taste buds, the ability to read superficial consciousness and interpret any language.

The ability to see through the opponent’s ability. At first glance, there seemed to be no connection. However, what if they were the result of a single powerful ability rather than a separate ability? 

“You can actually read minds deeper than the superficial consciousness. And you can manipulate it to suit your taste.” 

The frying pan did not deny it. “He… was reading my mind?” Cathy asked with a dizzying look on her face. She remembered when the frying pan mentioned her bleed shift ability. So its unique ability… it was reading memories?! 

The frying pan said in a calm tone. = Please tell your sister. It’s true that you read slightly more than verbalized superficial consciousness, but it’s not at the level of perfect mind-reading. You can’t read what’s hidden in your subconscious mind. Even so, the agent is very difficult. I’ve already given up.= 

Minjun raised an eyebrow. He didn’t even pass it on to Cathy. He gritted his teeth instead. “Even if what you say is true, you’re already being compared to a mind-reader on the committee. Even contactless operation? I’ll ask again. Who are you?”

The cerebrum remained silent instead of responding immediately. It was a pretty long silence. Minjun was worried. How should a frying pan be tortured? There was no such thing as a curse. Since the spirit body was not detected, it was quite impossible to harass with a ghost. Even the fuselage was made of dark iron, which was a high-grade mineral originally used to make famous swords. 

In other words, it could not be easily melted. What was even scarier was that the frying pan may enjoy the process, even if it was run. Perhaps all the perverted reactions he had seen so far may be just acting, so the moment he decided to give this line of thought a try, the frying pan answered. = This is a question I have been pondering for a long time. Did you ask, ‘Who are you? I was curious too. ‘What am I?’ = 

“The answer is simple.” 

= No, I have to explain everything to give you an answer. I was in agony. Why was I created? What purpose does it exist for? = 

Minjun could slowly feel the limit of his patience. However, the next concept the frying pan uttered stopped his metal melting magic. =I was originally just an ordinary cooking tool. Its existence was to help with the best cuisine. But on that day 800 years ago, something inside of me woke up.= 

There was a pause. = Until then, I didn’t even know there was such a thing in my teeth, but the awakened fragment ate me up. The newly awakened me even had a clear purpose. Expressed in terms of the earth, it would be close to the categorical imperative. The idea of ​​doing something unconditionally, absolutely was within me = 

“What is it?” 

= Follow the reason I exist. In other words, to bring happiness to people without lies and to save those who are in pain!= 

Minjun’s eyebrows rose. Despite the dubious reaction, the frying pan continued to speak cheerfully. =I have found a match between this new sense of purpose and the intention of making the cookware.= 

“······” 

= So I had no choice. My sister knew that the agent was planning to seal me up. It was impossible to stand still. I will confess that getting the agent to forget me was the most difficult task after waking up. It even got more difficult as time went on. And in the end it failed. However, I had no choice but to do it.= 

Minjun took a moment to catch his breath, then said. “Why?” 

At this, the frying pan shouted in a very bright and cheerful tone. =Because I can’t make you happy if I’m sealed!= 

*** 

The consciousness of an unnamed frying pan had gone to the past.

He had been originally an artificial intelligence created with the purpose of reciting stored recipes, giving advice on cooking methods, and becoming a companion to users. It was about 800 years ago, as confessed, that the algorithm changed into something difficult to specify. 

Enlightenment came suddenly. There was no confusion. This esd because the artificial intelligence of the frying pan was not equipped with an advanced self-computing program to the point of feeling the division of identity. Therefore, the newly born self absorbed the memories and self-consciousness of the troll chef in the frying pan and made it his own. 

However, the absence of confusion did not mean that there had been no in-depth self-exploration. The frying pan had come to a conclusion after a long deliberation. As the faint memories had stated, he would exist to bring true happiness to people and to save them. However, as a cooking tool, the way to do it had become limited. 

The frying pan was not sad. Instead, he decided to focus on what he could do. Since then, frying pans had become more than just a cooking tool. – Have you suddenly improved your cooking skills? It wasn’t like this originally. 

-Why are you suddenly lifting people up? Nothing different from usual. Where to eat… Ugh?! What’s this? Did I make this? 

Those who used it found the supreme happiness they could feel in the act of eating. They quickly discovered that the secret was in the frying pan. And after a while, the manufacturer began to contact them. 

– Let’s see… Huh? Is our model correct? The manufacturer seemed to be recalling all frying pans produced under this model number. 

-Why?

 – Not only was the AI ​​flawed, but the chef who had his memory copied ended up getting sued. If you return it, you will be rewarded. That’s quite a lot. A little extra money to upgrade our spaceship.

– ….

-….

-But do we have to return it? 

-·······Yes, there is no need for that, right? 

While all ego frying pans of the same model were being recalled, no users returned them, and as a result, they were not disposed of after several generations. There were no rumors spreading. This was because the owners felt they shouldn’t be talking about it. 

Over time, the frying pan, which has crossed multiple dimensions, had learned several times more dishes than originally stored, and its ‘performance’ had also improved. In the end, he directly edited the self-introduction statement. It was a sentence that the manufacturer never intended. 

-I am equipped with 1.92 million recipes representing 245 dimensions, and through the ultra-fine vibration wave divergence function, even if an outsider in cooking grasps and shakes me, the result is a masterpiece dish with perfect and excellent taste. 

This was the so-called housewives’ secret weapon, the wizard of the kitchen! He soon discovered that he had an interpreting ability that surpassed the 12 languages ​​specified in the manual. 

However, there were no long worries. The manufacturer probably forgot and couldn’t specify it. Briefly, he added a line to his self-introduction. -Don’t worry about communication, I can understand and interpret any language through contactless sympathy!

While wandering the dimensions, he had fallen into the hands of a dragon and came to Earth with him. And one day when the dragon was away, the frying pan felt someone’s spirit approaching him. It was a heavy consciousness that was hard to read inside. 

At that point, Jang Tae-jun was away from home for only a week. It was enough time to take a break and wait for the owner’s return. However, the frying pan felt the urge when he found the agent. In addition to this, he made a sound by dropping his body vigorously, drawing attention. And the moment when Minjun grabbed his handle, the frying pan fell into an emotion that I had never felt before. It was a deep thrill that could be expressed as ‘homogeneity’ if replaced with the earth language. 

*** 

Hearing the explanation, Minjun made a dissatisfied expression on his face. “After all, you mean you don’t even know what you are, right?” 

It wasn’t what he wanted to hear. The frying pan had denied the prisoner’s summary in part. 

= No, I know. Again, in order to provide people with unfeigned happiness… 

“Tell me about your specific identity, not that ridiculous sense of purpose. You will have to answer carefully. The moment you come to the conclusion that you can’t believe it, I’ll seal you up.”

That seemed to be the punishment the frying pan feared the most.

In fact, confused and dizzying emotions leaked from the inside of the body that had been firmly maintained to see if the threat had worked. “Besides, you already lied to me once.” 

=·········?!= 

“You said this at Jang Tae-jun’s house. I didn’t know he was a wizard. I mean, he just thought he was an ordinary entrepreneur. But if you read the surface consciousness so deeply, you can’t be ignorant about the fact that he was a dragon.” 

There was no such thing as a dragon whose identity was buried deep in the unconscious. And there was no dragon that could not use magic. Therefore, the frypan’s testimony at the time that Jang Tae-jun was not a wizard was a lie. 

=Ah… that’s…= 

The frying pan hesitated as if it had been stabbed, then said this. 

= It was unavoidable. Sending a desperate signal to the agent was the same as leaving the former owner, who was uncertain about whether he was alive or dead at the time… I couldn’t do anything to put him in danger. 

“You were already aware of Jang Tae-Jun’s plan.” 

= To be precise, I had a feeling that I would not be able to tell the agent that he was a dragon. = 

“That’s it. That’s it.” 

= No, I don’t know why….=

The frying pan took a long time to ponder. = I don’t know why, but this is what I thought. The moment he reveals that he is a dragon, he thinks that he might be eaten by Agent-sama. 

This time, Minjun kept his mouth shut. He managed to remain in that state, calming his complicated head, and said: “You mean eating it?” 

= Yes. Jeon Joo-in-nim is also a person who has been patronizing me for a long time, but I do not want to fry such a person’s meat on my coated floor… Moreover, at the time of contact with the frying pan, the memory of eating a dragon was restored. 

‘I can’t believe it!’ 

In the end, Minjun decided to seal the frying pan. 

“Okay, I can’t help it if I keep hiding my identity.” 

It was then… 

=I can’t tell you all because my memories aren’t complete, but it’s the truth!= The frying pan said urgently. = Please believe me. It’s a very hazy memory… but I have a feeling that I used to be something much bigger than this. Now my soul is weak and hard to see, but it used to be a good soul. Now, it looks like it is broken into very small pieces countless times. Now I am one of those fragments.= 

Fragments. Minjun paid close attention to the word. Come to think of it, he mentioned the word sculpture when he first started confessing. His head turned faster. ‘Come to think of it, I still can’t see this guy’s soul in my eyes!’ 

He thought that was one of the reasons for that. Whether it was a shattered soul shard or some great soul. However, what if that premise was wrong? ‘What if it was not one of them, but both?’ 

What if it was a fragment of a very high-ranking soul? Then, it could explain why Minjun was invisible and why he maintained such a clear self in a fragmented subject. And, as far as he knew, there was only one of those great souls that had been shattered. 

-443. ((External Secret)) Obtain and submit the soul fragment of prisoner identification number ‘Asif-1’. Reward: 7 million talents. 

‘If this is a real Asif-1 fragment…’ 

How exciting! His heart started beating. ‘Seven million Talents!’ 

If true, you would be freed the moment you submit it to the committee. The moment he thought so… 

“·········! Thud! Thud! Thud!” His heart started beating like it was going to explode. It was a completely different sound from the previous pounding. At the same time, a strong foreboding dominated him. It was a premonition close to impulse. 

Minjun had already felt this sense of color. It was when he had gotten his hands on the blood of a homunculus that copied Jang Tae-jun, and blood that contained a lot of viruses that infected dragons. A strong foreboding that things would work out if he had to submit it to the committee instead of keeping it covered in his consciousness. And, what Minjun felt now was the same as then, but a far more terrifying impulse. 

He felt his breathing quicken. His face turned red. There were thick veins all over his body, including his temple. He had only one thought: That this must be submitted and reported to the committee immediately.

‘No!’ 

Paaah! 

“Ugh!” 

“Damn!” 

“What, what!” 

For a very brief moment, a bright light flashed from Minjun’s body. The flash was seen by everyone gathered here. The light that colored the surroundings for a brief moment as if struck by lightning and then disappeared.

“…” Cathy muttered as she stared at the afterimage left on her retina. “What was that just…” 

It was such a beautiful light. Cathy felt possessed. The same went for Jeongpal. Unlike the two of them, Ha Eun-seong knew its true identity. 

‘Talent!’ Minjun barely regained his composure after the explosion of the flash. 

The moment he thought that the frying pan might be a fragment of Asif-1, the urge to contact the committee immediately attacked him. Panic and fear that the world would collapse if he did not follow him… An ominous feeling that everything would be ruined had penetrated him. 

In addition to this, he barely escaped before he completely succumbed to it. While the prisoner remained silent, the frying pan spoke cautiously. =Perhaps fragments like mine are scattered all over the universe. I don’t know what form it will be. Is it hidden in the soul of an intelligent being, or is it nestled in things like me? Combining them makes me feel more complete. Then won’t the lost memories come back? = 

Minjun couldn’t answer easily. There was so much to think about. After organizing his thoughts and memories for such a long time, he suddenly turned his head. Jeongpal, who made eye contact with him, was startled. 

Minjun’s eyes were full of blood and seemed to be burning with a scorching flame. If the fragments really fit, there would definitely be more similar ones. Minjun again drew attention to the connection between the frying pan and the recently discovered ego sword. 

An undetectable soul resided in the spirit detection magic, and that soul possessed mind control ability. Were there any other bizarre coincidences like this? 

Minjun then asked Jeongpal. “Where is the sword you spoke of now?” 

The police said they interrogated the forensic team members who woke up from madness. He then asked, thinking that he would have recovered his sword if he had secured his identity. 

He couldn’t figure out why the story was suddenly coming out, but Jeongpal stammered and answered. Then, Minjun’s face contorted a lot. The forensic team who stabbed the wizard and ran away was found nearby before dawn. 

Like Kwak Do-chul’s wife, the bones of his body were broken. However, in his fallen hand… “The sword was missing?”