The Foreigner on the Periphery

Contemplating, Kentius concluded that he did not need to talk to the dragon any longer. ‘It would be a waste of time to talk to the mad dragon for a long time.’ 

Moreover, Minjun’s story had to be brought up in order to share his own story deeply. The suggestion he had planted in his mind deterred it. Eventually, he decided to end the conversation roughly at this point. “No… I… Well, I hope you’ll just ignore this.” 

However, for his own honor, he then added a word. Kentius didn’t want to downgrade himself to a psychopath who was confused about the obvious, such as his racial identity. “Anyway, I am different from you. I think I am a dragon, and I am satisfied with that fact.” 

“Okay··.” Leo’s expression turned downcast. 

He began to whisper quietly, “Is there some way…?” 

It was a way to throw away the dragon’s body. Kentius asked as he timed to leave his seat. “You don’t want to die, do you?” 

“It sounds funny, but dying is scary.” Kentius pretended to be worried and spoke casually. “It’s a way to transfer to another body without dying.” 

The reason why something popped into his mind at that time was because he was moving with Minjun. It was an idea that he would not have come up with if it hadn’t been for that particular reason. This was because it was unlikely to happen and it was considered immoral to recommend such a thing to a friend. However, Kentius had already lost the will to engage in this conversation seriously and spoke with an attitude as if he were literally spitting out whatever came to his mind. 

“There is one.” 

“What?”

“The committee is doing its thing. Against prisoners who have committed crimes and been caught.” 

“···Well? You mean those sentenced to hard labor and enslaved? Like that agent in the next room right now.” 

“Okay. I guess you didn’t know this. His humanoid body we see now is not his original body.” 

“·······?!” 

Leo’s eyes widened as if he was hearing this for the first time. He didn’t know it because he was young and lacked knowledge, and he had no interest in the criminals in charge of the committee. Kentius shared with him information he had not known for a long time. “The moment a correctional labor sentence is sentenced, the committee says that the soul of the criminal is forcibly removed from the original body. Then, it is said that he selects an appropriate body and possesses it. It’s like a ghost or specter dwelling in the body of a person with spiritual empathy. The difference here is the part that it is possible even if the body does not have the ability to respond… and the part that inserts the life spirit of a living creature that has not yet died. No one other than the committee has been able to figure out the exact principle of this. No one knows how they make such a shell, or where they get it from. Perhaps there is a secret hidden in that body.”

“That… then.” 

“Yes, it is possible in principle, but it is a technology that has nothing to do with us. I don’t know why, but the committee seems to treat the technology very carefully. There is no record of execution for any purpose other than correctional labor punishment. Officially, that is.” Kentius spoke in a tone that meant he was about to end the conversation at this point.

“Come to think of it, they said they would never give the body of a dragon to prisoners. Does that mean crafting a dragon shell is impossible even for the council? So, a dragon enslaved by the Council after committing the right accident has a 100% chance of being trapped inside the body of a creature other than a dragon. With the memory erased.” 

These words were close to sarcasm. It was intended to point out that there was no possibility of becoming a reality unless it was an extreme situation like this, and to urge Leo to abandon that absurd dream. smart. Just then, someone knocked on the door of the room the two of them were in.

“Come in.” 

The Asian man who opened the door and showed his face was Raymond’s servant. “The owner is ready to welcome guests.” 

“Ah? Okay. Depart.” Kentius greeted Leo roughly and left. And, with Minjun waiting outside the door, he moved to meet Raymond. After he disappeared, Leo sat on the sofa, deep in thought.

“…” 

The words Kentius said echoed in his head like an echo. 

 “Welcome. See you again in a few days. both of them.”

Raymond Wong, who greeted the two in the office, had the face of a normal middle-aged human man with a moderately fat body. Minjun knew that it was a polymorph based on a 3D-rendered portrait created by experts including psychologists. It embodied a look that the people of the Guangdong Commonwealth could like and trust for emotional, visceral, and historical reasons. That old dragon held no official position in the federal government, but the fact that he was the de facto ruler of Hong Kong was an open secret. 

He very well knew that it was better to rule when the people paid respect and reverence to the head of the Confederacy. “Sit down. Thank you for responding to my sudden call.” 

He once again expressed his condolences to his son who had lost Rod, and Kentius responded with a calm expression. Minjun and Kentius sat calmly as if they didn’t know why he called them, but in reality, they didn’t feel relaxed. The old dragon that Inais pointed out as the culprit of the Lord. 

In addition to this, as soon as Minjun accepted the request, he called them to Hong Kong at the right time. What did they mean? 

“The reason I brought you here is simple. They’re all busy, so I’ll be honest with you,’ said Raymond, his voice firming up. 

“The legacy of the private safe in New York left by Dragon Lord, I will sell it to me.” 

“·······?!” 

Minjun and Kentius’ expressions hardened at the unexpected proposal. “I have heard the rumors too. You passed on the inheritance you inherited to Kentius? But when I heard that word, the meaning was not clear. Was it a complete transfer of some kind of transaction in return, or was it to protect it temporarily instead… Seeing the two of them moving together made me more confused. So I thought it might be a good idea to just open up and call them both over.” Read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at Novel Multiverse – “NovelMultiverse dot com”

Kentius then spoke with a frown on his face. “No, wait a minute. I don’t understand. Why does an elder dragon like you care about the legacy that Lord has left for this prisoner?” 

Kentius was dumbfounded. Most of the old dragons wondered what legacy the Lord would leave by pointing out the prisoner, but it was only intriguing. He already had too many things to compete with the young dragons greedily. It was also a matter of losing face if he ever participated in the war in the middle of the young ones. 

However, Raymond openly revealed his greed. Meanwhile, Minjun now understood why Raymond’s message was mixed with the gaze that followed him in New York. He couldn’t believe it was the same motivation as the other dragons. 

Receiving questioning glances, Raymond said: “To save time, it would be better to be honest. If you don’t understand the reason, you’re not going to let it pass.” 

Kentius replied. “Honestly, yes.” 

“You know that I was on close terms with your father, right?” 

“···Is that so?” 

“It was. And even the day before he passed away, we met and chatted. Then he played Go for a long time. It’s no fun if you just do it, so he made a bet.” 

At this, Minjun’s eyes widened. “I lost that day, probably due to bad luck, and in return, I asked you to pick out a suitable item from my treasure chest and take it. So, do you know what Lord chose?” 

At this, Kentius and Minjun remained silent. Then Raymond smiled and said, “I chose an artifact made by an ancient race. I had half forgotten I even had one of those in my storage room. Of course, the value in itself is very high, but… you know? I handed it over to Lord without hesitation, for reasons you both might guess.” 

“So what?”

“But after I quit that day, I changed my mind. It’s too precious to give in return for a bet on Go. It was an impulsive choice. And so I decided to pay the right price and buy it back. When the day dawned, I tried to contact Rod again. But that kind of accident happened.” 

Raymond then put on a sad expression. Minjun looked at his face with a gaze as sharp as a razor blade. He then joined the conversation. “What is the relationship between that and the legacy I inherited?” 

“It has nothing to do with it. As an elder dragon, I also participated in listing Lord’s Legacy. Found at the site and treasures stored in his lair. I listed them all. By the way···” 

What followed was the same as what Inais had already confirmed. “Nowhere! as if evaporated. The artifact I gave you has completely disappeared!” 

Minjun was confused. Was that smoke?

Inais had guessed that the person who retrieved it was Raymond in order to secretly destroy evidence. “Witnesses and heirs investigated Lord’s lair and private safes. I couldn’t find it though. Of course, the other inheritors don’t even know the artifact is gone. Of course, he doesn’t even know he got something like that right before he died. But do I know?” 

Raymond’s eyes deepened. “Then it suddenly dawned on me. Others think they’ve searched all the lairs and safes in the lord. But in fact, there is only one place that we haven’t checked yet.” 

Minjun groaned. “Private safe on West 34th Street.” 

“Exactly.” Raymond smiled, revealing it. “For a dragon the size of a lord, moving treasure into a safe on the other side of the world is an easy task. If I knew him, he’d put another safe inside the safe. Judging by the expressions on their faces, I’m betting 100,000 talents on that second safe you haven’t opened yet.” 

Kentius objected to his remarks. “It’s just speculation, isn’t it? What if the artifact wasn’t part of that legacy?” 

“But if you clear all the other options, that is the only place left. I’ll have to buy the artifact back. no matter how Even if you think about it, it was too much for the price of betting Go.” 

Minjun then sent a mental wave to Kentius. Complying with the instructions, the dragon recited the lines it received. “The inheritance inherited by this prisoner has been passed on to me. And I’m sorry, but I can’t accept this deal.” 

Raymond made an expression of incomprehension. “Okay? Why? Without hearing my terms?” 

“I can’t give you the details of why.” 

Not to mention that the legacy was in the form of a cube, and they hadn’t opened it yet. It was impossible to determine a value because they didn’t yet know what was inside and that they hadn’t yet cleared their suspicions that Raymond killed Lord. And so, rather than giving a detailed reason, they had the intention of rejecting the transaction while crushing it moderately. 

He needed time to organize his thoughts. ‘What do you mean? What’s the point of mentioning the ring’s existence in front of us, and why are you openly insisting on getting it back? All I can hear is that he will belatedly destroy the evidence.’

And if that statement was true… if Rod had really put the ring in the safe right before he died, it would have been even more unacceptable to hand it over to the other party. That was, if the ring was a clue to the cause of the death of the Lord. 

“Hmm? Okay. Too bad.” 

He wanted to get away easily like this. However… 

Whoops! Kentius became contemplative and shouted, “Now, what are you doing!” 

The space around them froze and hardened. blocking from the outside. “The next Balaur meeting is over 90 days away. Until then, the Dragon Lord position is vacant. Besides, this is my territory.” 

At this, Raymond smiled arrogantly. “Proposing a deal was the utmost consideration for the son of a close friend of mine who had passed away. It’s foolish not to take care of it properly.” 

“…That’s what I meant from the beginning!”

“I have already suggested a moderate method. It was you who rejected it.” 

While the atmosphere rapidly froze. Minjun thought quietly. ‘Raymond Wong was a thunder dragon.’ 

Coincidentally, he was from the same genus as the dragon he most recently slaughtered. He instinctively pictured a series of processes in his head. He could remember the sensation of sticking his tongue into the back of a dragon’s head, bursting it into the skull, and crushing its brain. 

The ruler of Hong Kong, who misunderstood Minjun’s hard expression as fear, laughed. “I am a common-sense dragon who understands the weight of the Dragonic Code and knows that conflict with the Council is futile. So I have no intention of killing them both. But at the same time, I’m also a reasonable dragon who hates losing money rather than dying. So, until you sign the deal in front of me, neither of you will ever see the light of day again.”