The Foreigner on the Periphery

The air in the room turned ice-cold.

Even in a moment like this, the Frying Pan's telepathic waves remained perfectly calm. Minjun didn't like that one bit.

Meanwhile, the others—who could only hear half the conversation—held their breath. As they mulled over Minjun's hypothesis, realization dawned on them.

There was no room for argument. The absolute trust and uncritical attitude they had shown the Frying Pan up to this point wasn't normal. A dish that satisfied anyone, no matter who cooked it? The very premise of making everyone happy couldn't exist without mental manipulation.

Minjun spoke in a voice like ice.

"We all should have noticed earlier, yet we kept ignoring it. Even I, the most critical among us, forgot its very existence time and time again."

From the start, it had too many functions to be dismissed as a mere frying pan. And it was bizarrely exceptional at all of them.

The ability to satisfy anyone's taste buds.

The ability to interpret any language by reading surface thoughts.

At first glance, these seemed unrelated. But what if they weren't separate abilities at all, but the byproducts of a single, powerful one?

"You can actually read minds far deeper than the surface level. And you can manipulate them to suit your tastes."

The Frying Pan did not deny it.

"That thing... was reading my mind?"

Cathy asked, looking dizzy. She remembered when the Frying Pan had brought up her bleed shift ability.

It hadn't used some unique Supernatural Ability to detect her power—it had been reading her memories?!

The Frying Pan spoke in a calm tone.

=Please tell big sister this. It's true that I can read slightly deeper than verbalized surface thoughts, but it isn't perfect mind-reading. I can't read anything tightly locked away in the subconscious. And reading you, Agent, is far too difficult. I've already given up.=

Minjun ignored that. He didn't bother passing it on to Cathy, either. Instead, he ground his teeth.

"Even if that's true, you're already putting the Committee's mind-readers to shame. And you can manipulate minds without even making contact? I'll ask you again. Who are you?"

The mental entity remained silent. The quiet stretched on for a long time. Minjun considered his options. How exactly was he supposed to torture a frying pan?

Curses wouldn't work on it.

Since it had no detectable spiritual body, tormenting it with ghosts was also impossible.

Its body was even made of Darklight Iron, a high-grade mineral traditionally used to forge renowned swords. In other words, it wouldn't melt easily. Worse, even if he tried, the Frying Pan might actually enjoy the process.

Reasoning that its perverted reactions up to this point might have just been an act, Minjun was about to give it a try anyway when the Frying Pan replied.

=That is a question I have pondered for a long time. You asked 'who are you?' I was curious too. 'What am I?'=

"Keep the answer short."

=No, I must explain everything to give you an answer. I agonized over it. Why was I created? For what purpose do I exist?=

Minjun felt his patience reaching its limit. But what the Frying Pan blurted out next stopped his metal-melting Magic dead in its tracks.

=I was originally nothing more than an ordinary cooking utensil. My reason for existence was to assist in making the best dishes. But on that day 800 years ago, something inside me awakened.=

The prisoner chewed over one particular phrase.

Eight hundred years ago?

=Until then, I didn't even know such a thing existed inside me, but the awakened fragment devoured me. My newly awakened self even had a clear sense of purpose. In Earth terms, it would be close to a categorical imperative. The concept of doing something unconditionally and absolutely was ingrained in me.=

"Which was?"

=To follow my reason for existing. In other words, to gift people with genuine happiness and save those drowning in suffering!=

Minjun's eyebrows shot up. Despite his open suspicion, the Frying Pan continued cheerfully.

=I found the overlapping point between this new sense of purpose and the intention behind my creation as a cooking utensil.=

"..."

=So I had no choice. Big sister knew you were planning to seal me, Agent. I couldn't just sit by and let that happen. I will confess that inducing you to forget me was the hardest task I've faced since my awakening. It only grew harder as time went on. And in the end, I failed. But I had to do it.=

Minjun took a steadying breath, then spoke.

"Why?"

At that, the Frying Pan cried out in an incredibly bright and cheerful tone.

=Because if I am sealed away, I won't be able to make you all happy!=

   *

The nameless Frying Pan's consciousness drifted to the past.

It was originally an AI created with the purpose of reciting stored recipes, advising on cooking methods, and acting as a conversation partner for its user.

As it confessed, it was about 800 years ago that its algorithm morphed into something hard to define.

The realization came suddenly. There was no confusion. That was because the Frying Pan's AI wasn't equipped with an ego-calculation program advanced enough to experience an identity crisis.

Instead, the newborn ego simply absorbed the memories and self-awareness of the troll chef stored inside the Frying Pan, making them its own.

However, a lack of confusion didn't preclude deep self-exploration. After a long period of contemplation, the Frying Pan reached a conclusion.

Just as its vague memories dictated, it existed to gift people with true happiness and grant them salvation.

But as a cooking utensil, its methods to carry that out were limited. The Frying Pan wasn't saddened by this. Instead, it decided to focus on what it could do.

From then on, the Frying Pan became something more than a simple cooking utensil.

"Your cooking skills suddenly improved, didn't they? You weren't like this before."

"Why are you suddenly flattering me? It's the same as always. Let me taste... Gasp?! What is this? I made this?"

The people who used it obtained the highest level of happiness one could feel from the act of eating. They quickly realized the secret lay within the Frying Pan.

A short while later, the manufacturer contacted them.

"Let's see... Huh? It is our model. They say the manufacturer is recalling all frying pans produced under this model number."

"Why?"

"Not only is there a flaw in the AI, but the chef whose memories were copied filed a lawsuit. They're offering compensation if we return it. It's a pretty huge sum. Add a little more, and we'd have enough money to upgrade our spaceship."

"..."

"..."

"But... do we really have to return this?"

"...Yeah, I suppose we don't need to."

Even as every other Ego Frying Pan of that model was recalled, not a single user returned this one. As a result, it survived undiscarded for generations. No rumors spread, either. Its owners all felt a strange compulsion to keep quiet about it. None could explain why.

As time passed and it crossed through multiple dimensions, the Frying Pan learned many times more dishes than its original storage allowed, and its "performance" evolved. Eventually, it personally revised its self-introduction. It was a pitch the manufacturer had never intended.

"I am equipped with no less than 1.92 Million Recipes Representing 245 Dimensions! Moreover, through my ultra-fine vibration wave emission function, even a culinary novice can shake me and produce a masterpiece of transcendent taste! I am the secret weapon of housewives, the wizard of the kitchen!"

It also soon realized it possessed an interpretation function that far surpassed the twelve languages specified in its manual.

It didn't think too hard about this. The manufacturer must have just forgotten to list it. It simply added another line to its self-introduction.

"I can understand and interpret any language through non-contact mental communion, so do not worry about communication!"

While wandering the dimensions, it fell into the hands of a dragon and came to Earth.

Then, one day while the dragon was away from home, the Frying Pan felt someone's mind approaching it. It was a heavy consciousness whose inner depths were hard to read.

At that point, Jang Tae-jun had only been away from home for a week. It had plenty of time to patiently wait for its master's return. But the moment it detected the Agent, the Frying Pan felt an urge. And so, it violently shook its body, clattering to draw his attention.

And the moment Minjun grabbed its handle.

The Frying Pan plunged into an emotion it had never felt before.

   *

Hearing the explanation, Minjun wore a displeased expression.

"So in the end, even you don't know what you are."

That wasn't what he wanted to hear. The Frying Pan partially denied the prisoner's summary.

=No, I do know. I will say it again: I exist to gift people with genuine happiness...=

"Not that. What about the memories you had when you woke up? Tell me your concrete identity, aside from that ridiculous sense of purpose. You better answer carefully. The moment I conclude I can't trust you, I'll seal you away."

That seemed to be the punishment the Frying Pan feared the most.

Sure enough, the threat worked. Confused, dizzying emotions leaked out from the mental entity's previously solid inner workings.

"Besides, you've already lied to me once."

=...?!=

"Back at Jang Tae-jun's house, you told me you didn't know he was a wizard. You said you thought he was just an ordinary businessman. But if you can read surface thoughts this deeply, there's no way you wouldn't know. You knew he was a dragon."

A dragon burying its own identity deep in its subconscious was an impossibility.

And a dragon that couldn't use Magic didn't exist, either.

Therefore, the Frying Pan's testimony—claiming Jang Tae-jun wasn't a wizard—was a lie.

=Ah... about that.=

Seemingly struck where it hurt, the Frying Pan hesitated before speaking.

=That couldn't be helped. Sending a desperate signal to you, Agent, was practically the same as abandoning my previous master when his life or death was uncertain... I couldn't bring myself to put him in danger on top of that.=

"So you knew there was a reason I shouldn't find him. You had already figured out Jang Tae-jun's plan."

=To be exact, I had a premonition that I shouldn't let you know my previous master was a dragon.=

"That's the same thing."

=No, I don't know the reason, but...=

The Frying Pan deliberated for a long time.

=I don't know the reason, but I had this thought. That the moment I revealed he was a dragon... he might be devoured by you, Agent.=

"...!"

This time, Minjun clamped his mouth shut.

Standing there, he barely managed to calm his chaotic thoughts before speaking.

"...Devoured?"

=Yes. My previous master used me fondly for a long time, and I was thankful to him. I didn't want to stir-fry his meat on my coated bottom...=

It had clearly said that it couldn't read even an ordinary person's subconscious, and reading Minjun's memories was even harder.

Furthermore, the point of contact with the Frying Pan was even before he had regained his memories of devouring dragons.

It didn't add up.

'I can't trust it!'

In the end, Minjun decided he would seal the Frying Pan.

"Fine. If you're going to keep hiding your identity, I have no choice."

Just then.

=My remaining memories aren't intact, so I cannot confess every single detail, but it is the truth!=

The Frying Pan spoke urgently.

=Please believe me. It is a very hazy memory, but... I feel like I was once something much more massive than this. My soul is so feeble right now that it is barely visible, but in the past, it was a proper soul. Then, it seems I was shattered into countless tiny fragments. Right now, I am one of those fragments.=

A fragment.

Minjun locked onto that word. Come to think of it, it had mentioned the word 'fragment' when it first began its confession.

His brain went into overdrive.

'Come to think of it, I still can't see this guy's soul!'

He had thought there could only be two reasons for that. Either it was a shattered soul fragment, or a soul of massive caliber.

But what if that premise was wrong?

'What if it wasn't one or the other, but both?'

What if the thing dwelling inside was a fragment of a soul with a tremendously high caliber?

If so, it would explain why it was invisible to Minjun's eyes, and why it maintained a distinct ego despite being a mere fragment.

And as far as he knew, there was only one being with a soul that extraordinary that had been shattered to pieces.

-443. ((Confidential)) Acquire and submit a soul fragment of Prisoner Identification Number 'Asiph-1'. Reward: 7 million Talent

'If this is really a fragment of Asiph-1!'

Thump!

His heart began to race.

'7 million Talent!'

If it were true, the moment he submitted it to the Committee, he could buy his freedom.

The moment he had that thought.

"...!"

Thump! Thump! Thump!

His heart began to pound violently, as if it would burst. A completely different kind of pulse from the previous racing.

At the same time, an intense premonition washed over him. A premonition that bordered on an impulse. Minjun had felt this exact flavor of sensation before.

It was when he had obtained the blood of the Homunculus copied from Jang Tae-jun—the blood brimming with the virus that infected dragons. An overwhelming premonition had blanketed his consciousness, telling him that instead of keeping it, he had to submit it to the Committee for everything to work out.

And what Minjun felt now was a similar, yet far more vicious impulse. He felt his breathing grow erratic. His face flushed. Thick veins bulged from his temples and all over his body. Only one thought echoed in his mind.

He had to submit this to the Committee. Submit it. Submit it. He had to report to the Committee right now...

'No!'

Flash!

"Gasp!"

"Aaaah!"

"W-what the!"

For a fleeting second, a brilliant light flashed from Minjun's body.

Everyone gathered in the room saw the flash.

Like a strike of lightning, the light bathed their surroundings for a brief moment before vanishing.

"..."

Staring at the afterimage burned into her retinas, Cathy muttered.

"What was that..."

It had been such a beautiful light. Cathy felt as if she had been bewitched. Jeongpal felt the same.

Unlike those two, Ha Eunseong knew what it was.

'Talent!'

Minjun barely regained his composure after the explosion of light.

'...What was that just now!'

The moment he thought the Frying Pan might be a fragment of Asiph-1.

The impulse to contact the Committee immediately had assaulted him.

A panic-inducing fear that the world would collapse if he didn't comply... an ominous premonition that everything would be ruined dug into him.

And right before he completely succumbed to it, he barely managed to snap out of it.

While the prisoner kept his silence, the Frying Pan spoke cautiously.

=Fragments like me are likely scattered all over the universe. I do not know what form they take. Whether they are hiding inside the souls of sapient beings or dwelling in objects like me. I feel that if I fuse with them, I will become more complete. Wouldn't my lost memories return then?=

Minjun couldn't answer easily. There was too much to think about.

He spent a long time organizing his thoughts and memories.

He suddenly turned his head. Meeting his gaze, Jeongpal jumped in surprise. Minjun's eyes were heavily bloodshot, looking as if they were blazing.

"B-boss?"

If it really was a fragment, there would be more like it.

Minjun once again focused on the connection between the Frying Pan and the recently discovered Ego Sword.

A soul that wasn't detected by spiritual body detection Magic dwelled inside it, and that soul possessed mind control abilities.

Could there possibly be such a bizarre coincidence?

Minjun asked Jeongpal.

"That Sword you mentioned, where is it now?"

The police had reportedly interrogated the forensics officer who had snapped out of his madness. Minjun asked, assuming they would have recovered the Sword since they secured the man.

Though he couldn't understand why that topic was suddenly coming up, Jeongpal stammered out his answer. At that, Minjun's face contorted violently.

The forensics officer who stabbed the wizard and fled had been found nearby before dawn. Every bone in his body was shattered, just like Kwak Do-chul's wife. However, in the hands of his collapsed body...

"The blade was gone?"

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