The Foreigner on the Periphery

“Candidate? I’m here.” 

“…” 

“Candidate?” 

“Oh, sorry.” Jeongpal managed to take his eyes off the phone. He was exchanging messages with Cathy. Minjun, whom the two trusted and followed, had suddenly disappeared and his whereabouts were unknown. 

He had heard an explanation of the situation from Cathy, who said she had met the president’s secretary, but there were still many things he didn’t understand. What happened to Minjun, who seemed to be able to survive even if he fought a dragon with a little exaggeration? He felt too worried. 

“Candidate, this way.” He thought it was not the time to be like this, but on the contrary, it was also the time to be like this, exactly.

Jeongpal thought of the voters who were waiting for him. It was quite hard, but one would have to focus on the present moment. 

“Let’s go.” 

With that, the Orc put on a fluorescent windshield with the number 1 on his back and got out of the car. “Welcome us with strong applause. Park Jeongpal is the candidate!” 

A roar of applause then broke through the door. It was an unusual sound. It was not a sound that humans or elves could make. It was also different from the typical troll roar. 

“Thank you, nice to meet you!” His voice in response to the welcome was powerful and serious. It was only a while ago that he had thrown a letter of resignation at the chief’s blushing face, and he was amazed that he had adapted so quickly. He never lost his smile and made eye contact with each one. 

As expected, all those gathered were Orcs. The ruling party to which he belonged considered the people of this constituency to be ‘throwaway votes’. A human rights lawyer-turned-half-Orc advocated by the opposition party would soon wipe out all human votes. 

This was because they had no choice. As the election campaign progressed, Jeongpal could not shake his doubts that all of this was a game that was decided only by ‘tribe’ rather than policy and vision. Couldn’t they overcome the limits of species, which truly put all important selection grounds on the race… and thus thoroughly distinguished them from others? 

‘That sounds like a dog laughing.’ 

It was quite the contradiction. Wasn’t he also nominated because he was an Orc, after all? He wondered if this would be the only case of benefiting from the tribe, except for getting a pension quickly. “Thank you for your precious time. What I am going to tell you today is…” 

After a short speech, a question and answer session with voters began. There were also a few policy questions, but most of them focused on expressing how ‘X-like’ it was to live in this country as an Orc. He seemed to think of Jeongpal as a local man rather than a candidate for the National Assembly. It was the result of Orc’s unique informal solidarity. 

“This is the part that always gets pushed around when you’re on the Internet with humans…” Lamented the young Orc, who had pimple marks on his face. “Originally, the Earth belonged to humans. that’s a fact right?”

The concentration of mana in the atmosphere was as high as it was now, and the massive industrial revolution by magic began when the first group of elves accepted immigration. “But that stupid thing… Oh, I’m sorry. The story of humans… in the second round, when the orcs immigrated, there was no such big deal. They insisted that humans were being scammed. Orcs are useless and useless to the world. He said that humans can do all the hard work. That’s why we have to expel them back to the original world.” 

He groaned, unable to contain his anger. He said he didn’t know what logic to use in this case. Jeongpal answered carefully. “That’s not right. Immigration was negotiated and decided by each government representing the people of Earth at the time. They are the ancestors of people living in this era, and there are no descendants who are free from historical responsibility. Also, when they inherit the heritage of a nation, they cannot pick and choose what they don’t want. The second mass migration is the result of human choices. Living together is a duty according to choice and fulfilling responsibility as a member of society. Even at that time, humans were very thirsty for the second migration and actively requested it.” 

Although, he felt very embarrassed after learning that the race was an Orc. “We are not penalized. Democracy or socialism, the choice was made by the representatives to whom men delegated power in their own way. Orcs are not a means to penalize humans, nor are they a component of fraudulent contracts. We are their neighbors. It is a person.”

“…What did the humans get if it wasn’t a fraudulent contract?” Jeongpal hesitated for a moment. From here on, it was an area that was not covered in textbooks or the media. He decided to answer vaguely. “Many overlook it, but during the Second World War, humans received aid in many different forms. The problem is that the valuation of whether it was a sufficiently ‘big deal’ is often misunderstood.” 

“Yeah···” The young Orc thought to himself. Jeongpal’s answer was indeed correct, but it was difficult to use it in the harsh Internet world. He got up, concluding that it would be best to anatomically insult his anonymous parent, as he had always done, and expletive his occupational speculations. Looking at the back of the young man, Jeongpal thought to himself. ‘What did humans receive? There was a big deal…’ 

He had worked as a cop for decades and saw with his own eyes an open secret that had been passed on like an urban legend among civil servants. At the time of the second round of immigration, most of the high-ranking Korean politicians who made the decision were elderly people. And not a single one of them had been reported dead yet. 

For decades, no one had been officially confirmed dead. Perhaps that was one of the gifts prepared by the committee. To send Orcs to Earth. However, Jeongpal couldn’t bring himself to say this. 

“Candidate.” An aide came with a cell phone. Jeongpal wriggled his eyebrows as if he was puzzled. Now?

It is said to be a very urgent matter.” Read the most updated version of this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at Novel Multiverse – “NovelMultiverse dot com”

He identified the caller. Jeongpal apologized and went to a place where there were no people. “What’s the matter?” 

– Mister, did you ever get a call from Eun-seong? 

“No? Why all of a sudden?” 

Although they had become close friends because they had many meals together, they did not know the deep story of the ghost. He was told that he owed Minjun some money. How in the world could he pay off his debts even to the dead and even collect them faithfully? 

‘Oh, wait.’ 

Then he thought… Ha Eun-seong said that the reason he stayed with Minjun until now was to pay off his debt.

And now that Minjun was gone… 

‘Couldn’t he?’ 

Cathy spoke over the receiver. -President Jenkinson tried to move my residence, but they said they couldn’t reach me all day today. 

*** 

Lying in the woods at night, he began to recall the past. The reminiscence was mainly about the teacher. Now he was the only person living on this planet, but at one time there were two. Before he passed away, he ran the dragon ranch alone for a long time. 

When they opened their eyes in the morning, they saw each other face-to-face, had a meal together, and shared simple conversations with each other. From the moment his master chose him in the first place, he was the most important person in the universe. 

Eventually, he felt irreplaceable. Recalling his teacher, he felt deep sorrow and pity for the first time in a long time. His death was an incredible tragedy. If the teacher had been born later, many things would have been different. He believed that real eternal life would become a reality while he was alive. He just needed to be alive until then.

However, he… 

“Kreureung!” Adkiel, whose stomach was full, blew a long snort of joy and crouched next to his owner. The guy gently put the tips of his wings on the back of his hand, and in response, he stroked the tips of his wings. The dragon, enjoying the warmth of the hearth and the touch of its master, began snoring barely audibly. 

It was only natural that the guy resembled his distant ancestors. The first special gold dragon he saw, in other words, the guide dragon, was raised by his master. Perhaps, the name was Elucid. In accordance with tradition, the teacher gave the friend a person’s name instead of a numerical identification number. 

-It is a tradition to name someone after the person who was most important to you. That’s because they are indispensable and valuable friends on the ranch. 

As he said that, he asked what kind of person the original owner of his name, Elucid, was. However, he was silent at that time, as he answered any questions with ease, prudence, and enthusiasm. Instead, he just looked at his dragon. 

In those gazes, he felt a deep emotion that had never been shown to him. When he saw that, something unknown stirred in his stomach. How sad he was when Elucid died. Although the lifespan of a dragon back then was much shorter than it was now, he was hardened like an ice statue when the dragon, which could still live for decades, was found cold and frothy in its blood.

However, he didn’t still. Like a teacher, the teacher tried to make thinking a rock. Thanks to this, the improved dragons, after years of research, had bodies that were not poisoned even if they swallowed poisonous amphibians whole. Just like Adkiel now. 

“Purr! Gyareung!” The forest sang with the dragon’s snoring as an accompaniment. Even in the middle of the night, there was absolutely no time for silence here. The traces of the beasts that made this time zone their home resonated everywhere. The void created by the intermittent crying was filled by an ensemble of wind, tree branches, and leaves. 

The melody sounded like a lullaby for a gold dragon or a tribute to a nearby buried teacher. Deferred aging had driven him to the brink of death. From then on, the two spent time ruminating on various knowledge and proverbs. 

Thanks to this, when he came to think of the teacher’s teachings now, he could hear the voice of the old man first. It was a side effect. The request was not necessarily limited to dragons.

 – You have to learn to let go of what you hold in your hands. You never want to give up what you’ve got. Sometimes you have to know how to loosen and let go of your fists… everything works out naturally. 

It was advice that was hard to agree with. Before he met her, he had nothing to call her own. Everything was given for common use and was to be used for common use. It was only after following her mentor that she came up with something of her own. Once he learned the concept of monopoly and ownership, he never wanted to lose, regardless of the target.

-Are you having complicated thoughts right now? You must be making complex plans. I can’t imagine what it is, but I’ll beg you. Don’t. 

Before his death, he then asked in a weak voice. He had been conducting various studies related to his vitality in order to ‘forcefully’ extend his lifespan, but in the end, he had no choice but to give up. Thus, he stayed by his side until his deathbed. 

He could not let his master go. No way, he couldn’t do that. And since he was already dead, there was no way to stop him. 

“…!” In an instant, the flashback was cut off. His eyes went wild. The sleeping dragon opened his eyes and took a posture, erecting his claws and scales. 

After that, he couldn’t hear anything. The forest was silent.