Chapter 26 – Princess Run (1)

In early spring, there were three events that shook the country. The first was, needless to say, Princess Vermi’s visit to Korea.

Contrary to the official announcement, rumors that its purpose was to prepare for the migration of the Stan people, who were despised by the Gelanco dimension, spread strangely and quickly. Alchemy companies and supremacist groups, of course, vehemently opposed the visit, while general manufacturers and liberals issued statements in favor.

The divided national debates were not likely to be easily sealed. Afterwards, there came the bankruptcy of small and medium-sized domestic alchemy companies. The International Association of Alchemists was already in the process of increasing gold production in order to drive the biosynthetics produced by the Stanians from the market, but as rumors of them migrating to Earth spread, this ended up backfiring on them.

As a matter of course, the international gold price had plummeted by 20% compared to the same period the previous year. Other than the big hands, they lacked the stamina to endure, and many companies went out of business when the operating unit price could not be met. The outlook for the industry looked bleak.

Finally, the third forest fire occurred in Bukhansan. The fire, which started late at night, burned for six hours. Everyone asserted that it was not spontaneous combustion. A fire that did not spread for hours tented to burn only a specific area, and began to change color continuously, could not possibly be called a product of nature. Anyway, thanks to that, the citizens of Seoul were able to watch the sky all night long, alternating between green, yellow, and blue as bright as neon lights.

What was even more strange was that the agents hired by the owner of the property blocked the entry of the dispatched Dobong Fire Station members. They sent fire trucks and helicopters back, saying they would put out the fire on their own. On the other hand, the owner of the field was a fairly famous company, Jenkinson Fathers & Sons Company Limited.

In addition to this, Minjun didn’t pay much attention to these three pieces of news. Stan-in immigration was a story that had nothing to do with him until it was confirmed, and no matter how much the price of gold fell, it did not affect Minjun’s wallet situation much.

It wasn’t new news that Jenkinson’s naive sons and daughters would shoot each other fireballs when they were wrong, and the punishment that Jenkinson ate when he returned from a business trip would be in person. Therefore, Minjun had half-forgotten the news.

That was, however, until he heard something from Jeongpal, who came to his office in the evening.

---

“What? Road control?” Minjun made a strange expression on his face. “No, it’s not even eight years now, and who the hell did that idea come from?”

Jeongpal, who was sitting opposite him, merely shrugged. “It must be a big deal for the country. My superiors, who are too high to be seen, will also be included in it.”

However, Minjun could not understand the explanation.

“How do you think Princess Vermi would tie up Seoul citizens?”

The news that Jeongpal delivered was absurd. To ensure the safety of the alien envoy Gongju, the passage of vehicles and pedestrians in all areas included in the route had been prohibited. However, this said applicable district was close to 20% of the total area of ​​Seoul.

“Even if Princess Vermi sells a lot of gold and her money rots, it’s impossible to move all of this large area in a few days!” Minjun was pointing out that it was an impossible movement unless the wizards were rotated and teleported dozens of times a day.

As if expecting the question, Jeongpal responded calmly. “It was intentionally widened so that it would be difficult to specify detailed movement lines.”

“Okay, I see.”

He frowned as if displeased.

“If the car doesn’t run, do all buses and subways stop?”

“It has nothing to do with my brother anyway. When was the last time you rode the subway?”

He pondered for a moment before answering. “Was it when Line 2 opened? It passed near my house, so I rode it once.”

That was right. Jeongpal nodded his head. Habitually scratching his fangs, he began to ask a question, as if he had suddenly remembered something.

“Oh. Come to think of it, can you ride the subway for free too? I’ve never tested it, though.”

“No, I’m a quarter elf and I’m already registered with the community center. Except for the things that pure blooded people my age enjoy. You don’t even get a pension?” The enthusiasm and obsession with pensions of modern people proved to be amazing. If you exceeded that age, the amount starting at 200% of the median income was deposited monthly.

Of course, there were also certain pitfalls. If it was confirmed that a person had committed a crime or exhibited dissident or anti-social behavior, the pension would be reduced, or most likely disappear.

Conversely, unless that was the case, even at the minimum, twice the statistic waistline would be promised. Most people lived on the hope that they could get a decent amount of money as long as they could survive to that age, no matter how hard and terrible life was now.

Minjun often felt that this was similar to a religious worldview. Just like the belief that if you met certain conditions and lived according to the law, you could go to heaven after death, if you obeyed the government’s instructions, you could live without financial worries in your old age.

Of course, in the case of humans, the rapid increase in the death rate regardless of race after the age of 75 was a topic that was not covered well by the media.

“Do you even care about that? A man who makes a lot of money.”

“Just… It’s a shame if you don’t get what everyone else is getting.”

“Instead, you live a long time. How long do quarter elves live?”

“······I do not know, either.”

“Anyway, because of that, the third hyung is crying a lot right now. These days, the earnings have not been good, but the store door has been forcibly closed.”

“Is there Jeongsam’s shop there?” There was no confusion about the names of the brothers in that family.

“Yes. It is, after all, part of the containment zone.”

Orcs gave birth to 6-8 babies at a time. If one were to look at him as a human, it meant that he was a big boy.

Like the Orcs of that era, Jeongpal’s parents did not give much meaning to the name, so the eight siblings were named with simple and clear numbering, right from the first Jeongil to the youngest Jeongpal.

Therefore, whenever he imagined the school life of Jeongpal’s fourth older brother and sixth sister, Minjun could not help but feel sad and blessed. It was a difficult time to live as an Orc.

“By the way,” He changed the topic. “When are you going to put the next number? How long are you going to talk?”

A checkerboard was placed in front of them, and now it was Minjun’s turn. Minjun, who dragged the time by constantly bringing up other topics of conversation, eventually gave up.

“Leave one hand away.” “I don’t know…” “You don’t catch criminals, do you? You just play Go all day. Why are you so good?!”

“Considering the length of time we’ve lived, my brother must have had a lot more than me.” “Hey, damn it.” He grumbled as he pulled out a fifty thousand dollar bill from his wallet.

Jeongpal chuckled and grabbed it.

“How about a card next time? Or the hwatu, that sounds good.”

“Do you play a game of magic love? Unless I’ve been shot in the head.”

Jeongpal knew that looking at the back of the card was an easy task for a wizard like Minjun.

“Do I look like such a disgraceful person?”

“I don’t know if it’s rude, but he is one of the magicians I hate to lose the most. Did you drink all the beer? I’ll get some more out of the fridge.”

Jeongpal got up from his seat. Minjun, who looked at the board seriously as if he was doing a replay, said without looking away. “Okay, go and see what Cathy didn’t do.”

“What the hell is she doing to stay locked up for so long?”

When Jeongpal arrived, she was already at Minjun’s house across the hallway on the second floor. Minjun answered his question with a more depressed expression.

“She said he has a new recipe to show us.” Minjun, who raised his eyes slightly, witnessed a rare sight of the terrified okra.

“Why? Really now? Why? Suddenly?”

“You have to get rid of that YouTube asap,” He sighed and muttered to himself as if depressed. “Otherwise, she’ll poison us all one day.”

After a while, as soon as he opened the front door of Minjun’s house, what Jeongpal sensed was a terrible burnt smell. “Hey, Cathy! Did you burn it?!”

A blunt answer came right back. “Don’t be a little fussy. I just burned it a little.”

If an Orc nose, who had a dull sense of smell, felt this intense, it would be enough to fight the urge to call 911 by human standards. Passing by Cathy, who was engrossed in a movement not knowing whether to stir-fry or torture, Jeongpal found something in the trash can as he went to the refrigerator.

The middle-aged Orc spoke while looking down at a lump of charcoal, which was once a food ingredient.

“Even if I put on makeup, I can’t burn like this.” “!”

He then began to speak to her as if she had a crazy idea. “Hey, if that’s the case, how about asking hyung to lend you that frying pan?”

Her true arm did not forget the self-PR that her artificial intelligence had poured out just by grabbing her handle. A frying pan that not only had 2 million built-in recipes but also produced masterpieces no matter who used it. If those words were true, Cathy’s terrible cooking skills just might be saved.

“You call yourself the housewives’ secret weapon and the magician of the kitchen? Isn’t that just tempting?”

Cathy nodded distastefully. “Of course. But are you saying no?”

“Why?”

“That frying pan’s complete phase metamorphosis is a joke… If you are exposed to such telepathy for a long time, your mind will be polluted. Am I?” Jeaongpal responded while coughing in vain. “Please be a little more earnest. Wasn’t it a lack of sincerity? Express a desperate appeal that you desperately want it.”

Cathy didn’t answer as to whether she noticed the intention or if she blew it. At this, the Orc shrugged and headed out the door with a can of beer in his hands. This attempt seemed to be a failure. Then he turned to his back and asked Cathy in a low voice.

“Did you know… by any chance?”

“What?” She pursed her lips for a moment and then turned her head away. “It’s nothing.”

“That’s pretty bland.”

Returning to his office, he held out a can of beer to Minjun. The (self-proclaimed) quarter elf, who had begun to burn with a passionate desire to win, took out a chessboard, saying that they could not end things like this.

As he was arranging the horses on the board, Minjun’s cell phone rang.

“Who are you, at this important moment!” Minjun’s face hardened slightly as he looked at the liquid crystal display outside the folder phone.

“What is going on at this hour?” “Wouldn’t you like to know?” “Yeah, you lucky elf.”

He began to speak bluntly as he opened the cover of the foldable phone marked “Blair Campbell (Queen Jenkinson). “Hello?”

A few words came out of the receiver.

“!”

Minjun’s expression hardened quickly.

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A few hours before Minjun picks up the phone, the Elven Chief of Staff, Blair Campbell, was in his office.

He wasn’t alone. He was with the fairy, who blowing out the original sweet smoke all over the office. The air in the room was sweet, but the atmosphere was not. The two were unable to speak because of the shocking news they had just heard.

Blair asked again, breaking through the heavy and thick silence.

“Really… really?”

It was a question that had been repeated five times. The two looked at each other with expressionless expressions.

Her voice trembled, which was not like her, who always maintained a business-like expression and tone, and her face crumbled slightly. The fairy then began to answer the elf’s question.

This was also the fifth, Tossi’s correct response. “Yeah, everything that was in Area B-39… is gone. The other zone barriers were not touched. I just robbed what was there.”

The inside of the warehouse in Bukhansan was divided into numerous cells, and only the B-39 area, where a large amount of unidentified cargo had recently been received, had been completely stolen and the seal had been broken.

Last night’s wildfire in Bukhansan, reported in the media, was a ritual to cast a huge spell. The fire broke the barrier that the dragon had set up by itself, and burned the physical and spiritual realms at the same time, eliminating traces of intruders.

It was a scale and guts that could not be seen as the work of ordinary people, and it was a frightening ability to guess its identity.

Fear of crushing herself, Larisa, the general manager of real estate security, began to ask. “Hey there, sister. I’m scared to death too, can you please tell me? What was in it?”

By nature, the safekeeper didn’t care as to what was inside the safe. Larisa was also faithful to her duties, but now the situation was different.

After hesitating for a moment, the chief of staff returned the long-delayed answer. “The reason why the president went on a business trip to another world was kept there.”

“What?!” A nightmare-like scenario popped into the fairy’s mind. It must be a very important business if the president were to directly cross over to the other dimension. It was a fierce deal that did not easily show each other’s hand but negotiated even the last penny before negotiating the terms.

However, the president, who had been so absorbed in communication up till then, had disappeared out of the blue.

‘Ah, customers. What about it? The item I was trying to sell was stolen in the meantime. This was all thanks to my excellent staff. Hahaha!’

“······Crazy. Crazy!” Larisa didn’t have enough medicine to calm her heart, so she threw the arabesque in the air. She then pulled out a transparent plastic zipper bag from her pocket.

What was inside was white powder. It was a fine, sweet frosting powder sprinkled on baked goods such as muffins. She let out a rough breath and sprinkled it lightly on the back of her hand. What was inside was a form of white powder, the type you’d see sprinkled on baked goods such as muffins.

Her body shook due to the agitation, but she did not shed due to the vastly thick veins protruding from the back of his hands and wrinkles like dried chicken skins.

She sucked in. “Whew.”

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Feeling the ecstasy of sugar seeping into the mucous membrane of her nose, the fairy, who barely suppressed her panic, remained silent for a few seconds.

And then she asked again. “Sister.”

“Yes?”

What followed was a question still full of anxiety. “When was the last time an elf was added to Jenkinson’s diet?”