The Foreigner on the Periphery

Minjun was deeply shocked.

"Did you just say Endelion?"

"Yes, Agent. That is correct."

It was the most shocking news he had heard all day.

"Not just an Endelion, but a princess?"

The appointee he had been so curious about was the royal heir of the tentacle creatures!

It was a completely baffling personnel choice.

'To dispatch someone from the Ancient Race to a backwater dimension like this.'

The Ancient Race avoided remote areas. There was a reason that position had been vacant for so long.

'Could it be because of me?'

Did they find the recent spike in his acquired Talents suspicious, prompting them to monitor him directly?

But he quickly erased that assumption from his mind. It was nothing more than the illusion that the world revolved around him. What was this, the delusion of a pubescent teenager?

'Don't tell me Del is involved in this.'

As far as Minjun knew, the last tentacle creature to visit Earth had been his ex-wife.

But linking the two Endelions together based solely on that fact was a stretch.

Regardless, it was an undeniably shocking turn of events.

'Nothing I hear for a while is going to top this.'

Minjun hung up for now and waited for the security detail Blair had sent.

A little while later, a commotion echoed throughout the hospital.

"Looks like they've arrived."

"Boss, should we head out then?"

"Yeah. Just a quick handover and then—"

Just then, Jeongpal's face stiffened as he looked out the window.

"...What is all that?"

Following his gaze, the assemblyman's expression also stiffened.

"...?!"

After staring outside for a long moment, Choi Panseok barely managed to speak.

"Agent. Was there intelligence about a coup being plotted at this hospital?"

Only after confirming with his own two eyes what they were looking at did Minjun understand why they had said such a thing.

Thud-thud-thud-thud—

The heavy sound of air being beaten. A helicopter squadron was approaching from afar, and they weren't for emergency patient transport. Hospital windows opened as bewildered patients looked out. Rotorcraft with dull green exteriors began landing on the roof of each building, one by one. When they ran out of helipads, they even attempted to land on the ground.

And then.

"Those are tanks, right? Unless my eyes are deceiving me..."

Military trucks and tanks began pouring into the outdoor parking lot. Armed special agents jumped out and spread across the hospital grounds. Following their commander's orders, they moved swiftly.

The scale of personnel and equipment was far from ordinary.

"Everyone to your positions!"

Minjun recognized familiar faces moving among the soldiers.

A lot of them, in fact.

'Just how many Immigration Office agents did they deploy? Those guys alone could take down a young dragon.'

By the looks of it, they had summoned every available agent in the country.

At that moment, the hospital room door opened.

"Greetings, Agent!"

Snap!

An agent in combat gear walked in and saluted. His movements were rigid and precise. He was a fairly renowned veteran at the Immigration Office, though not on Minjun's level. At face value, he looked twenty years older, but his attitude toward Minjun radiated awe.

Minjun lazily raised a hand.

"Ah, it's been a while."

Instead of returning the greeting, the agent delivered a crisp report.

"As per your request, Agent, we are commencing a joint civil-military defense operation using these hospital grounds as our base from this moment onward!"

"...Talk about overkill. You aren't even a real soldier."

Minjun tilted his head and asked.

"By the way, I asked for a security detail to guard one person, not for enough firepower to blow the entire hospital away. Or what, is a Hatchling kidnapper hiding here?"

The agent replied that these were direct orders from Blair.

The ensuing explanation omitted a few key words, seemingly conscious of the other listeners in the room, but Minjun quickly grasped the situation.

Not long ago, Jenkinson had lost Ji Seon-kyung—or more accurately, the Red Star executive possessed by Ha Eun-seong—whom he had been protecting at Minjun's request. She had been kidnapped right under their noses. Tasked by a friend to provide protection, his pathetic failure to do so had carved a deep crack into the Red Dragon's pride.

After that, the dragon had instructed his subordinates: if Minjun ever made a similar request in the future, they were to respond by mobilizing all available forces. Literally, to give it their absolute best.

And Blair, acting like an extreme stickler for the rules and a typical elf, had followed the instructions to the letter. With Jenkinson currently unreachable, there was no one to put the brakes on her.

The result was what was currently unfolding at this hospital.

'The personality flaws of a dragon and an elf have achieved an exquisite collaboration.'

Unaware of the situation, doctors and patients peeked into the hallways, only to flee in terror upon seeing soldiers armed with machine guns roaming everywhere.

The assemblyman muttered with a pale face.

"I-I'm certainly grateful for this, but..."

Minjun waved his hand.

"It's already come to this, so we can't send them back. Just enjoy it."

That elf would just claim she was following orders and wouldn't budge an inch. From Minjun's perspective, there was no need to insist on reversing it.

'With this kind of security, you don't need to stay here. Yumtus, come with us.'

Waiting around for Choi Seona—who could wake up at any moment—risked the invisibility magic cast on him wearing off anyway. This actually worked out better.

=As you command.=

Beyond the open door, the hospital director could be seen observing the situation with a soul-drained expression.

*

Minjun took the priest and headed to the troll's residence.

And he was met with frustration.

"Damn it, just as I expected."

As the police had already declared, there were no clues to be found there. The house and the tobacco shop were both dead ends.

"What should we do, boss?"

Jeongpal asked Minjun, completely unaware that a concealed priest was watching them from nearby.

"It's no use. Let's call it a day here."

There were no more places to poke around and no more witnesses to interrogate. Minjun decided to wrap things up for the day. Jeongpal then dropped Minjun off in front of the commercial building.

"Want to grab a drink before you go?"

"I'm good. Oh, right... I noticed your phone kept ringing earlier."

Lost in thought, Minjun pulled out the phone he hadn't touched until now. The missed calls and texts were mostly from Cathy. They were messages saying a guest had arrived at the office.

'Who is it?'

"Well then, I'll be on my way."

"Yeah, get back safely."

After sending Jeongpal off like that, Minjun opened the office door and froze completely.

"..."

"Ah, you're here?"

Cathy's voice called out from the breakroom attached to the office. However, he had no energy to turn his head in that direction. Instead, he stared fixedly at a single spot with a cold face.

Because on the guest sofa sat a woman who absolutely should not be there.

"Hi, you're here?"

It was a serene tone, as if they were reuniting after only a few hours.

At the same time, it was an unforgettable voice. It was also the voice that had repeated in his recent dreams over and over again. It wrapped around his ears, soft and gentle. Despite its warmth, Minjun felt goosebumps race down his spine.

Leaning back in a comfortable, relaxed posture as if she were in her own home, she was...

"...Del?"

Flinch!

The moment Minjun spoke, the concealed inquisitor showed a strange reaction. That name was not unfamiliar to him.

Yumtus remembered. The avatar, gritting his teeth and breaking out in a cold sweat as if crushed under a heavy weight while suffering from a nightmare. The name he had screamed over and over in an eerie voice.

It was that very name.

*

The stench of blood.

Minjun smelled a thick, metallic scent lingering at the tip of his nose. The peaceful office scenery instantly overlapped with the dark laboratory of another dimension.

At the same time, his phone call with Blair came to mind.

"The Committee has dispatched a new head to the Earth Representative Office. She arrived on Earth today, but please be aware there is an embargo on this information until midnight tomorrow, Korean time. Today's welcoming party will be held unofficially. The appointee is... the Princess of Endelion, from the Ancient Race."

Even if she was a princess, there was no chance she had brought other members of the Ancient Race along as her entourage. To a backwater dimension like this? Absolutely impossible.

In other words, at this very moment, there was only one Endelion setting foot... no, setting a tentacle on Earth.

"...!"

The Princess of Endelion visiting Earth.

And Minjun's ex-wife was an Endelion.

The two concepts merged in his mind.

'Oh my god.'

Just being an Endelion was already beyond being born with a silver spoon—it was a titanium spoon. And yet, even among them...

'She was a princess?'

Looking at his stiff face, Del flashed a bright smile.

"Are you surprised, honey?"

Crash!

It was the sound of Cathy dropping a tray while preparing snacks in the breakroom.

Del didn't turn her head in that direction. Instead, she stared at what her ex-husband was holding.

"A Frying Pan? You used to say there were no weapons you liked other than a Dagger, but has your taste changed since then? It's certainly unconventional."

"..."

"Do you carry that around these days to smack bad guys on the back of the head? So tough... It doesn't seem like your style, but people do change."

Casting a calm gaze toward the Frying Pan, she continued.

"I can see it's made of sturdy material. If you sharpened the edge well enough, it could even slice through a spaceship's hull. But since we're on the subject, can't you carry something else? The vibe is just awful. Should I make one for you? Is it fine as long as it's shaped like a frying pan?"

=Wow, this lady sure says some hurtful things! But... who is she? I can't read her mind at all, just like yours, Agent.=

He ignored the Frying Pan's rambling. And with great effort, he moved his stiffened lips.

"Wait. Let's talk privately."

He considered moving to another location but couldn't think of anywhere better than here.

'Yumtus, to the basement.'

=Understood. I shall purify my body and mind down there and restore my Divine Power until you call for me again.=

Then he turned his head and looked at Cathy. She was looking back and forth between Minjun and Del with a pale face, as if she were staring at a ghost.

"Cathy, I'm sorry, but could you go home for the day?"

Her answer came six seconds late.

"...Ah, yes?"

She then looked down at the shattered plates.

"Still, let me clean this up..."

"No, it's fine. I'll take care of it."

Even after they were left completely alone, Minjun couldn't speak for a while.

When he finally managed to produce a sound again, his voice was so dry it felt foreign even to him.

"Why are you here?"

It was a question with two meanings.

Why did you join the Committee and come all the way to Earth?

And why did you come to this house?

Del understood both points of the inquiry, and she returned a response that answered both simultaneously.

"Because of you."

She stared up at her ex-husband. Her two eyes were as deep as pitch black.

"Are we going to keep talking while standing?"

Minjun remained rigid. He hadn't been this tense even when they had reunited at the Terminal.

Back then, even though his vision had turned black-and-white with his ex-wife at the center, and the air had grown as cold as a dead beast's skin, it hadn't felt this terrifying.

He quickly realized the reason.

'It's because of the dream.'

The horrific dream that had repeated over and over recently had dragged his state of mind back to the past.

Minjun took a seat while simultaneously throwing a temporary seal on the Frying Pan. He tossed it right into storage before speaking.

"Why did you hide—"

He stopped before finishing the sentence. Come to think of it, she had never actually hidden it. He had simply never asked.

Should he blame his own lack of imagination for failing to interrogate his ex-wife on whether she might secretly be a princess?

He changed his question.

"The Princess of Endelion wants to go to a backwater dimension like this, and the royal family actually agreed?"

Del wore a blatantly disappointed expression.

"Are you more curious about how I got here than why I came?"

Minjun didn't answer, and Del let out a shallow sigh before explaining.

"I'm officially here to look for the fragment of Asiph-1."

"..."

The prisoner did not show his surprise on his face.

He thought there would be nothing left to shock him today, but his hasty assumptions were being shattered time and again.

"Not that we're going to announce it publicly. The royal family placed such a massive bounty on it that... all sorts of riffraff would flock to Earth."

"The one who put the bounty on the fragment is Endelion?"

"To be exact, our race's will and budget were reflected the most."

After saying that, Del muttered in a sullen tone this time.

"I was planning to bring this up later... I have to be on the other side of this planet in a few hours. Since you got here late, we don't have much time left. I wanted to put off talking about work for a bit."

But her ex-husband's cold expression did not change, and Del eventually decided to spill it.

"The most important reason I requested a dispatch here is... again, because of you. The goal of finding the fragment is ultimately tied to you, too."

Barely suppressing the urge to glance toward the sealed Frying Pan, Minjun asked.

"How?"

"Do you know the next step after a prisoner acquires the fragment? The Committee, upon receiving it, is bound to share ownership with the Endelion royal family."

It was an internal Committee matter that Minjun was ignorant of.

"And I obtained a highly credible tip that the fragment has made its way to Earth."

She explained the reason why she had to be by Minjun's side.

"If I happen to find it... wouldn't it be better to dress it up on the outside so it looks like you acquired it and submitted it to the Committee? This plan would be my 'Plan A-2'."

It was a phrase that hinted at the existence of a Plan A-1 and a Plan B.

But the more important question was...

"A plan for what?"

Del's eyes went wide.

"A plan to set you free, of course!"

Minjun naturally recalled the 'husband assassination plan' again. Seeing his expression, Del shook her head and spoke.

"Put those old thoughts away. Plan A-1 is for you to successfully complete minor missions and save up your severance pay. Yeah, like the Demonic Goblin DNA. I have an update on that too, but let's talk about it a little later. And Plan A-2 is finding the fragment and covering your severance pay all in one shot. Don't tell me your severance pay exceeds seven million Talents?"

After a brief silence, Minjun asked.

"Then is there a Plan A-3?"

"No, but there's a Plan B instead."

"What's that?"

Plan A was the most desirable solution from both Minjun's and Del's perspectives.

A plan where the prisoner gathered his severance pay, submitted it, and regained his freedom fair and square.

Plan B onward, however, strayed a little from the righteous path.

"I can't tell you all the details of Plan B right now. Still, the reason I brought it up is that I have a favor to ask you for it."

A favor?

"What is it?"

His ex-wife then earnestly pleaded with him not to take it the wrong way.

"Actually, I did come to see your face today, but there's also something I want to take from you, okay?"

Minjun felt an ominous premonition crawling in his chest.

"I'm asking, what is it?"

His ex-wife then glanced at him cautiously and mumbled.

"Look, don't misunderstand and just listen. Could I get just a little bit of your blood and cerebrospinal fluid?"

"..."

Minjun began pondering the composition of an eviction barrier that could kick an Endelion out of his house.

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