The Foreigner on the Periphery

To the Endelion children, Dell was practically a savior.

The ordeal of being kidnapped from their warm, cozy home had been enough to leave severe trauma. Dell gave the trembling children hope that they could return home, and she comforted their wounded hearts.

News that Dell had teetered on the brink of death came as a terrible shock.

Even after she regained consciousness, the children were in for another shock.

=What? Her body changed?!=

The tentacles who had gone to visit her on behalf of the group had heard a simplified explanation from Yumtus. Now they were back in their room, passing it on to their friends.

=How did that even happen in the first place?=

=Long story short... the 'bad people' who kidnapped us tried to hurt the Princess.=

The tentacles' single eyes swam with terror and sorrow.

=So right before the Princess died, they barely managed to transfer her soul into a human-shaped Homunculus.=

A mix of emotions—relief, pity, joy, and sorrow—rippled through the children.

=Still, it's a relief she survived.=

=Does that mean the Princess has to live in a human body until she dies?=

=That's awful... Poor Grandma...=

To the children's minds, her situation was a sheer tragedy.

=Yumtus said she was actually lucky. It would have been completely impossible if the avatar hadn't been there.=

=The avatar... You mean that scary human Yumtus is always singing praises about?=

=He isn't actually human, they say.=

=I don't believe it. If that man is really a god... he could have just made the Princess a body exactly like her original one.=

At that, one of them exaggeratedly wiggled its tentacle and mimed looking around.

=It's a good thing Yumtus isn't here. If he heard that, he'd go absolutely crazy again. He'd tell you to be careful not to end up in hell.=

=I don't get that either. Why does Yumtus throw a fit whenever gods are mentioned?=

=His job is being a priest, apparently.=

Someone jumped in surprise.

=He isn't a play instructor?=

=Actually, he isn't. Surprising, right? According to the Princess, he's a pretty high-ranking bishop, too. Preaching and warning people about that stuff is Yumtus's job.=

=Oh my gosh, how did Yumtus end up with a job where he has to scare kids like us with talk of hell?=

=Well, maybe he had no choice. He has to make a living, right?=

The children knew that those who weren't of the Ancient Race had to work to earn money.

After that, the young tentacles continued their heated debate. Topics ranged from whether that terrifying human was truly a god, to just how dire Yumtus's financial situation must be for him to choose such a harsh career, to whether it would comfort the Princess if they all transformed into humans to visit her.

Right in the middle of their debate, Swish!

The cabin's automatic door slid open. The children's gazes simultaneously snapped toward it.

The visitor was Yumtus, proving the old adage about speaking of the devil.

"What are you all discussing so intently?"

The tentacles gave vague, mumbling answers. It was simply too awkward to admit that Yumtus's financial struggles had been one of their main discussion topics.

Soon, that awkwardness vanished, replaced by something else entirely.

"Now, a few of you come with me."

=Where? Back to the Princess?=

"No."

Yumtus shook his head, his eyes tinged with slight concern.

"The avatar has questions he wishes to ask you."

*

Earth.

Jenkinson's Lair.

"Ugh...!"

The rapid succession of shocking information left the Ancient Dragon's mind in tatters.

The voice in his head was certainly a psychotic symptom, but the information it harbored could not be dismissed as false. Organizing the newly acquired facts with a chaotic mind, Jenkinson lowered his gaze.

Rod's personality had fallen silent, offering him a brief moment to catch his breath.

'He said they saved me.'

Jenkinson spoke to Assemblyman Choi Panseok first.

"I neglected to express my gratitude."

The old orc bowed his head, showing he didn't mind.

At that, Blair—whose pupils had been trembling wildly from watching her superior converse with an imaginary friend—finally managed to compose herself. Her boss had returned to the chairman she knew.

"Although it was a rather violent method."

He was referring to the suggestion to extract a scale from his private area.

"I agree with the conjecture that had you not intervened in such a manner, I would have fallen back asleep."

Turning his head, he spoke to Choi Seona this time.

"You are an extraordinary seer."

"Thank you."

"Do either of you desire anything in exchange for extending a helping hand to me?"

The father and daughter shook their heads.

"As we've mentioned before, we have already made our contribution. This is enough."

Jenkinson's eyes gleamed. For a moment, Rod's personality squirmed in his head, attempting to express his thoughts, but there was no need to voice them aloud. Their intentions were perfectly aligned.

The Red Dragon spoke.

"Could you perhaps tell me about that prophecy in greater detail?"

Choi Panseok's tale was no different from before. Jenkinson and Rod pondered the contents together.

Metaphorical expressions regarding the impending new world.

The two personalities exchanged speculations.

'Could it be... what I think it is?'

'I think so too.'

After a brief exchange of opinions within his mind, the dragon made an offer to the father and daughter.

"Please, feel no pressure. Even though you declined a reward, I would like to show my hospitality in my own way. Would you stay in my Lair for the day?"

In this era, an invitation from an Ancient Dragon was considered a tremendous honor. The orc father and daughter accepted.

Park Jeongpal followed closely behind the retreating pair. He looked as though he had a mountain of things to say but had barely managed to hold them back until now.

The Ancient Dragon saw a chilling light flash in the eyes of the freshman assemblyman, who shared deep ties with Minjun. The sharp glare seemed ready to pierce right through Choi Panseok and Choi Seona. There seemed to be an unresolved issue between them, but the Ancient Dragon didn't have the spare energy to meddle that far.

Once it was just the two of them, the dragon offered words of gratitude and encouragement to Blair.

"You worked hard while I was asleep. And... thank you. I'm sorry for making you worry. I will definitely repay this debt."

Blair forced her wavering expression back under control.

Jenkinson pondered. He had to reward her as well, but what would be best?

The deliberation was short. The dragon knew well that the greatest gifts an employer could give were a higher salary and more vacation days. Her case was different from Choi Panseok's. Asking an employee what they wanted would only make them feel pressured.

Thus, instead of asking further, Jenkinson moved on to current affairs. He began receiving reports on everything that had occurred while he slumbered.

"...Ah, yes."

Blair hesitated for a fraction of a second but quickly resumed the posture of a highly capable secretary.

There hadn't been any major incidents on Earth.

The Ancient Dragons were still busy multiplying their wealth. A few of them had noticed the unusual global situation and were focusing on reverse investment strategies or sweeping up various raw materials. Among those materials, the price of Mana Crystals was showing a steep upward trend. The reports went on in this vein.

The young dragons were still boycotting the vote, but with the disappearance of the young man who served as their focal point—namely, Kaien—the fervor had visibly died down.

The younger dragons had already witnessed every detail of the retaliation Kaien suffered at the hands of the Ancient Dragons. It was one thing if someone else stepped up as a representative, but nobody wanted to stand on the front lines and take the concentrated fire themselves—a collective result of sheer selfishness.

What truly stunned Jenkinson was the extraterrestrial news reported right after.

"An unbelievable rumor is circulating. It hasn't been confirmed as fact yet, but..."

Jenkinson's pupils expanded as if they might burst.

"W-What?!"

"The Committee is refusing to confirm the facts. The news sounds so absurd that the other Ancient Dragons aren't paying much attention to it."

In a frontier dimension like Earth, information traveled slowly. This was especially true when the Committee was intentionally disrupting and controlling the flow of news.

An incident that dragons in several other dimensions had already recognized as true—and deliberately agreed to ignore—was currently floating around Earth cloaked as a ridiculous rumor.

"A single prisoner is preparing for an all-out war with the Committee?"

Furthermore, it was someone Jenkinson knew quite well.

The person had already been mentioned several times during his mental conversations today.

"Minjun? Him?!"

Considering the time it took for rumors to reach the frontier, the situation had probably been escalating rapidly even before Jenkinson fell asleep.

"W-Wait a moment. I need some time to think alone. I'll call for you later."

Blair hurriedly parted her lips.

"Ah, but why didn't you ask me—"

She stopped mid-sentence.

Rather than finishing her thought, the elf simply nodded.

"...Understood."

She bowed and took her leave.

Left alone, Jenkinson spoke to Rod in his mind once again.

"Can you believe this?"

'Knowing his secrets, it's hard to brush it off as a baseless rumor.'

During his life, Rod had surmised that Minjun had lost the majority of his abilities and memories.

From what Jenkinson had personally observed, his friend was certainly a remarkably capable individual, but he wasn't at the level where he could wage a war against the Committee.

What was the cause of this sudden power gap?

"Could it be that he has regained what he lost?"

'That must be it. Think back to the prophecy. It said a world governed by the golden rule and moral laws is coming.'

"It said those who make contributions will surely be rewarded, and those who sin will inevitably be punished."

'Nations currently play a similar role. But the prophet claimed those rewards and punishments would be executed across the boundaries of life and death.'

"That is something even the Committee finds impossible."

Who in the world possessed such power?

'To create such a world, someone must establish an absolute standard for good and evil, and enforce it upon all people through mythical means.'

Who would take on that role?

Who would sit in a position that essentially made them the master of this new world?

Rod felt he knew the answer.

'Think about it simply. Who possesses that kind of power?'

"The Dragon Eater Tribe!"

'Exactly. It might be a leap in logic, but I believe the prophecy can be interpreted this way.'

The returning Dragon Eater Tribe would become the masters of the new world.

They would evaluate people's actions and dispense rewards and punishments accordingly.

"Dear god."

Jenkinson felt a throbbing in his temples.

'The answer to how the existing authority—the Committee—will fall has also been given. We just heard the incident that will serve as both the catalyst and the omen, didn't we?'

War.

Jenkinson felt as though he had already seen exactly how this conflict would end.

"But..."

With an unconvinced expression, he continued.

"To my knowledge, there is no such thing as a predetermined destiny, is there?"

'That prophet simply looked through countless diverging paths and saw the conclusion with the highest probability of occurring.'

Jenkinson chewed over every single word the orc had said.

"Then, what did Choi Panseok mean when he said... that he had already made his contribution? I don't understand. Why would preventing my personality from being completely devoured be something worthy of a reward from the Dragon Eater Tribe..."

Ah!

Jenkinson stopped mid-sentence.

The answer flashed across his mind.

"Could it be?"

'Yes.'

Rod affirmed his suspicion.

The master of the world did not want Jenkinson to disappear.

The voice inside his head murmured bitterly.

'Think of the beasts of Earth. Even among animals with identical genes, some individuals are cared for simply because a human has grown attached to them, while others are slaughtered and wiped out because they hold no such affection.'

Hearing those words, Jenkinson felt a wretched sense of relief.

'It seems he still considers you a friend.'

In other words.

'Perhaps, Jenkinson... in this very moment, you have become the most important dragon in the dimensional system.'

*

After leaving Jenkinson's room.

Park Jeongpal cornered Choi Panseok, pressing him as if he had been waiting for this exact moment.

"Tell me the truth, Assemblyman!"

"Do not raise your voice here. We are currently in the dwelling of a great Ancient Dragon."

Guided by the waiting staff, they relocated. Sitting face-to-face in the reception room, Choi Panseok's expression was utterly impassive. That sheer indifference drove Park Jeongpal even crazier.

He demanded.

"Is it true?"

"Is what true?"

Jeongpal's face twisted like a demon's. Shooting a burning glare, he fired back.

"Did you really not foresee it?"

The answer arrived in a calm tone.

"I've already explained. Controlling a prophetic ability is exceedingly difficult. Seon-a did not foresee the terrorist attack."

"Then why isn't she saying that herself!"

Choi Panseok hadn't let his daughter sit with them; he had sent her out of the room.

"The child is still unwell. Her condition is too fragile to stand before an orc rampaging in excitement like you..."

"She looked perfectly healthy to me! Wasn't she completely cured back then? On the day Minjun performed that miracle!"

Choi Panseok's daughter, who had fallen into a coma after an accident, had recovered completely the moment Minjun came to visit and took some sort of action.

And Jeongpal, who had accompanied Minjun at the time, had witnessed the scene with his own eyes. Astonished by that inexplicable miracle, he had even suspected that Minjun might be a dragon hiding his true identity.

Choi Panseok replied in an exhausted voice.

"I told you. She relapsed."

Jeongpal growled. His breathing grew increasingly ragged.

"I've been a fool. Why didn't I notice?!"

A relapse?

Jeongpal couldn't believe it.

"I don't know what method Minjun used for Seon-a at the hospital, but one thing is certain. He would never resort to a flimsy stopgap measure."

The orc, who considered him a friend, was utterly convinced.

"He isn't the type of person to do things halfway. If he said she was cured, she was completely and flawlessly healed. There is no possibility of a relapse. That's the kind of man he was!"

"Assemblyman Park."

"Hear me out."

There was only one thing Jeongpal wanted to confirm from this old man.

"On the day my election victory party was held, you hurriedly canceled your attendance that morning. And then the terrorist attack happened."

Baring his fangs, Jeongpal spoke in a voice as cold as frost.

"Did you really not foresee it?"

"..."

Choi Panseok was neither surprised nor intimidated.

He merely grumbled to himself that things had gotten rather thorny.

It was true that his daughter's prophetic ability was not perfect.

'To think he would overhear the conversation I had with the dragon. I suppose this is another consequence I must bear.'

Weighing his response, the old orc stared at the man across from him. Standing right before his eyes was the man who, without even realizing it himself, had become the most important orc in the dimensional system.

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