The Foreigner on the Periphery

Yumtus wanted to clock out the moment he arrived at work.

"No, I mean..."

The bishop felt a headache coming on as he spoke to the person sitting across the table.

"Are you seriously asking me to convert right now?"

The blond young man, who had once been known namelessly as Fourth, replied with utmost confidence.

"Yes. I want to scout you for our order, Bishop Yumtus. We'll offer you a great package."

Only three people sat around the table. The most powerful Divine Power user in the universe had his face uncovered. In fact, there was no longer any need to hide it.

Yumtus muttered inwardly that trying to poach someone right in front of their direct superior was crossing a line.

"Why me of all people? And... you even want me to change my name after converting?"

"Wait, as far as I know, Dong-cheol never actually agreed to join your order..."

"And the name change is so our three names will rhyme."

Yumtus had a sinking feeling he knew what the proposed name was.

"Don't tell me..."

"Yep. Since Dong-cheol can't change his name, why don't you change yours to 'Eun-cheol'?"

'You crazy bastard.'

Yumtus wanted to scream at him. But even if the man was the head of a different order, he couldn't show disrespect to someone favored by 'God'.

The bishop remembered the moment this one-man order's leader had woken up after fainting. His very first words had been: '...Ah, chicken. I want some fried chicken.'

Despite the rather frivolous remark, he instinctively remembered what had happened during the seven days he spent in a trance. He remembered the miracle of the seeds he had spread covering the entire planet, and of Dong-cheol gathering them all back up.

It seemed to have been a deeply ecstatic spiritual experience. He had been so profoundly moved by Dong-cheol that he made a decision. Despite calling himself a pope, he had finally chosen a name for himself, naming himself after his very first successful convert—a completely one-sided claim.

And those two syllables were...

"Geum-cheol, this is highly inappropriate."

"I'd prefer it if you called me Pope."

"Ah... that's a bit difficult, considering there are two popes in this room..."

Whether it was because of his hair color, his position as pope, or just to match the last syllable of Dong-cheol's name, Geum-cheol seemed immensely satisfied with his own naming sense.

Yumtus tried hard not to frown.

"As you well know, I already serve a living God. Do you not fear His wrath? How could I possibly deny the God who already exists?"

Geum-cheol raised his index finger and wagged it back and forth.

"Oh, don't worry about that. I've given it a lot of thought, and I've decided our order will go with an inclusive polytheistic concept."

Yumtus couldn't believe his ears.

"...What?"

"Polytheism. You're familiar with the concept, right? The God I believe in is a God, and the God you believe in is also a God. We acknowledge and accept them all, bringing them together under the same doctrine. We become a greater 'us'."

Yumtus wanted to storm out of his seat. Suddenly, he missed the little hatchlings back in Dimension #00-001. Thinking about how much he'd rather be tossing them into the air for flight practice, he shot a desperate look at the man sitting at the head of the table.

However, the man—who lately couldn't even be bothered to keep up appearances in front of Yumtus—was wearing a leather biker jacket and selvedge jeans instead of his ceremonial robes. With both feet propped up on the table, he was busily fiddling with his cell phone.

"P-Pope..."

Ignoring the desperate plea, the head of the Ellahu-Praga Church muttered inwardly.

'I probably shouldn't tell him that the God he believes in is actually the exact same God you believe in, right?'

The sight of Geum-cheol and Yumtus—who both technically worshiped the same God—arguing over conversion and doctrines was so utterly absurd that he had just been letting it all go in one ear and out the other.

Without tearing his eyes away from his phone, he spoke.

"Drop it, both of you. Let's talk business."

Relieved that his boss was finally changing the subject, Yumtus let out a sigh.

He looked at the single empty chair and said,

"By the way, Dong-cheol is running late."

Both popes spoke at the exact same time.

"He's here."

"He's coming right now."

The automatic doors slid open the moment they finished speaking. Yumtus hadn't sensed his approach, but the two popes had clearly noticed him long before.

Dong-cheol offered the three of them an embarrassed smile in greeting.

"I'm sorry... for being late."

He had just returned from Lakefield's farewell party. The elf, now reunited with his daughter, had announced his plans to wrap up his life on Earth and return to his homeland by the end of the month. Back when the Committee was in power, it was a land he could never step foot in again, but now he was free to come and go as he pleased.

As Dong-cheol took his seat, Yumtus began the briefing.

A dimensional map materialized, embroidering the air.

"He has judged that we have conducted enough experiments in the 'sowing' phase. Moving forward, we plan to increase the 'harvesting'. Our route is as follows: Dimension #54-129. Dimension #99-104. Dimension #14-323..."

The dimensional coordinates they would have to travel through were continuously listed off.

For about four months after the dawn of the new year in 2021, the two popes and the goblin had toured selected dimensions, doing the exact same work they had done on Earth.

"Uh... so... I just have to do exactly what I did before... right? And Master... I mean, Minjun... will be there too?"

Yumtus's expression grew slightly uncomfortable. He cleared his throat and pointed to one of the dimensional coordinates.

"Yes, 'God' plans to join us on this tour starting from this dimension here, three days from now."

At that moment, the long-haired man engrossed in his phone looked up.

"By the way, where exactly is he right now? I haven't even been sending him any Spirit Realm Communications in case I disturb him."

Yumtus recited a completely different dimensional coordinate from the one he had just pointed at.

Dong-cheol asked out of pure curiosity.

"What is... Minjun doing there?"

The long-haired pope nonchalantly scratched his chin.

"Well, the one thing I can say for certain..."

Rolling his eyes upward, he added,

"Is that he definitely isn't 'working'."

   *

"Assemblyman, your knees..."

Jeongpal snapped out of his daze at the sound of his secretary's voice.

His mind was foggy. His secretary had probably called his name several times already. But his knees? What was wrong with his knees...?

Only then did he shudder from the cold sensation seeping into both of his kneeling legs. The dew from the grass seemed to have soaked through his suit pants. At the same time, a moment from his past surfaced in his mind. A day when his knees had been soaked not in cold dew, but in a warm, metallic liquid.

"Assemblyman..."

"Ah, I apologize."

Jeongpal stood up. The wet stains remained visible on the knees of his trousers. His secretary suggested he change clothes, but the orc shook his head.

In front of where he had been kneeling stood a row of tombstones. Engraved on the surface of the stones were the names of the people Jeongpal loved more than anyone else in the world, and still loved to this day.

He gazed at the flowers placed before their graves. There were two kinds. One bunch he had brought himself, but he didn't know who had left the other. Both looked as fresh and vibrant as if they had just been set down.

'It wasn't Mr. Lakefield, Serene, or Dong-cheol.'

He had just been with them a moment ago. He had made a brief appearance at the farewell party.

Yesterday had been his late mother's birthday. Unable to visit due to a business trip, Jeongpal had intentionally kept quiet about his plans to come here today, even if it was late. They wouldn't have known that he was heading straight to the cemetery after leaving the party.

"Let's go."

The sedan pulled away smoothly. Shifting his thoughts, the orc flipped through the documents in the backseat.

He was busier these days than any other assemblyman. This was partly because he had naturally inherited the role of being the central figure for the orc assemblymen—a position previously held by Assemblyman Choi Panseok. Compared to the five-term assemblyman, his age and experience were meager, but no one could ignore his presence. It was all because of the dragon standing behind this orc.

Rumors that Earth's Dragon Lord was Assemblyman Park Jeongpal's backer had spread nationwide, and Jeongpal had decided to use the rumor rather than deny it. He felt no shame in doing so.

Lately, the orc lived every single day giving it his absolute all, as if he were restarting his life every morning he woke up.

He muttered while reading the documents.

'Assemblyman Choi... you were orchestrating quite a lot of things.'

The files contained a record of a series of activities Assemblyman Choi Panseok had carried out to escalate the conflict between orcs and humans in order to foster internal unity within their race.

Normally, these were documents that even Jeongpal would have had a hard time getting his hands on.

But a few days after the dawn of the new year in 2021, he had reunited with Choi Panseok, only to discover that the man had completely changed.

The old man had been half out of his mind. Unsure of when the 'Master of the World' would punish him, he trembled in fear, simply waiting for that day to come. And there was one more factor that exacerbated the old man's terror.

The scream he had heard back then brushed past Jeongpal's ears like an auditory hallucination.

—Prophesy! I'm telling you to make a prophecy! Why... why can't you see anything all of a sudden?!

Having lost his reason, Choi Panseok blabbered about things he never needed to confess. Thanks to that, Jeongpal learned that even though the father and daughter had reached the long-awaited date of January 1, 2021, they could no longer see the future beyond it.

Neither the father and daughter nor Jeongpal knew the reason why.

'Truly bizarre.'

Both Choi Panseok and the Human Rights Alliance were targets of Jeongpal's boundless hatred.

Up until the beginning of the year, just thinking of either one of them would fill him with a rage so intense he could barely work.

But things were a little different now.

It wasn't that he had forgiven them. It was just that the bitter fury and self-loathing directed at himself—feelings that always used to follow whenever he thought of that old man or the terrorists—were gone.

The emotions that had turned his arrows inward, blaming himself for failing to prevent his family's tragedy.

'Something does feel different.'

Jeongpal had no idea that at today's farewell party, Dong-cheol had been about to tell him something with a bright expression, only to stop himself.

It was true. The Demonic Goblin could see it. The flames that had been burning Jeongpal as fuel had noticeably shrunk.

Last year, the orc had made a wish to the being he relied on and believed in the most.

He wished that his convictions would remain unchanged as time passed. That he could continue to want what he wanted for himself.

Could the fact that he was no longer as miserable as he used to be... mean that his convictions had rusted away?

'No, that's not it.'

He thought as he closed the files.

The blade Jeongpal harbored in his heart was still heavy and sharp. He still felt anger toward the world. He would continue to dedicate everything he had to changing it and moving it in the direction he desired.

Yet, the reason the orc felt confused was that he didn't know exactly how his first wish had been granted.

Jeongpal had wished to continue wanting what he wanted.

And the man who heard that wish had decided to also grant the wish that any person would unconsciously desire.

The orc, lost in thought about him, suddenly realized something.

"Ah... don't tell me?"

It wasn't Lakefield, nor Cathy, nor Dong-cheol.

From what he had heard, it couldn't have been Ha Eunseong, either.

Then ultimately...?

"No."

He quickly shook his head.

"There's no way."

The secretary in the passenger seat asked.

"Is something the matter?"

"It's nothing."

Taking off his glasses, Jeongpal turned his head to look out the window.

Right, there was no way.

He muttered inwardly.

'Brother, which dimension are you in right now?'

Jeongpal clearly remembered the expression on his face the last time they met.

He was always like that, but that day, the man had looked so incredibly exhausted.

'Wherever you are...'

The orc prayed.

'I hope you are a little more at peace than you were back then.'

The vehicle was entering his electoral district.

Traces of violence and destruction were still visible throughout the slums. Inside the alleys hidden from sight, a far more horrendous stench might still be brewing. People still struggled to survive, committing evils big and small or getting entangled in them.

During the horrific year of 2020, many had prayed that if they could just survive the year, everything might get better.

But now that they had reached the highly anticipated 2021, people's lives might not have improved as much as everyone had hoped.

Even so, Jeongpal vowed to help everyone take at least one step further this year than they had last year.

He rolled down the window a crack. The warm sunlight blossomed in all directions. The noticeably warmer air tickled his skin.

It was spring. A good season for beginnings.

No matter what those beginnings might be.

   *

Minjun opened his eyes.

"...What are you doing?"

Filling his entire field of vision, Del was smiling.

Minjun sat up. It seemed he had fallen asleep for a moment. He hadn't needed to sleep after fully regaining his memories, but things had changed starting this year.

He looked out the window of the space battleship. Despite being an alien landscape, a familiar cityscape spread out before him. It was one of the dimensions where he had worked during his time as a prisoner. Over his shoulder, Del spoke.

"I was just wondering what kind of wonderful dream you were having to make you smile like that."

"Did I do it again?"

"Yeah. Again."

Minjun stroked his jaw. He vividly remembered the dream he had just woken from. It seemed he had been smiling again without even realizing it.

Del followed Minjun's gaze out the window. Since this was a place where Minjun had served time before meeting Del, it was her first time visiting.

Lately, the two of them had been visiting the places where Minjun had stayed during his days as a prisoner, one by one.

"What was the dream about?"

To Del's question, Minjun replied, his voice a gentle resonance.

His tone belonged less to the primordial race and more to the man who had once been called Asif-666.

"Just the same as always."

"Dreams about people?"

"Yeah. Dreams about people."

Minjun recalled the reason why, long ago, he had devised the plan to connect them to one another through happy dreams.

The dreams his sleeping subjects would have were none other than dreams about each other.

Even though the space between people couldn't be filled with only goodness, joy, and satisfaction, and even though it wasn't perfect, they were happy dreams because, through the process, they had ultimately come to affirm one another.

Beyond insatiable desires or fleeting euphoria, what was the greatest happiness a person could enjoy as a person?

Minjun believed it was found within the connections between people.

Tracing her finger over Minjun's chest, Del spoke.

"I still can't believe it. The fact that you're still connected to them even now."

Del had been present when Minjun awoke his subjects.

And Minjun remembered how she had bawled her eyes out that day, to the point where she could barely stand. He had asked her later why she cried, but Del hadn't been able to give him a proper answer.

"How long do you think it will take?"

Minjun reflected on the moment he had spoken with Ha Eunseong in the mental world.

Minjun had never articulated in clear words what he, as a person, desired.

Nevertheless, Ha Eunseong and his subjects seemed to have understood it.

They had told Minjun:

"I don't think it'll take as long as you expect."

If Dong-cheol were to look at him now, how large would the flames in his eyes appear?

Minjun thought of his subjects, who were experiencing and diluting the hatred and anger that had once filled his inner self through their dreams in this very moment. At the same time, they were pouring their strength into understanding and empathizing with one another, so that their king could advance to the stage they had reached.

And rather than relying solely on them, Minjun had decided to find ways to help his subjects as well. Thus, he planned to continue his experiments.

"Everyone's gathering here, right?"

"Yeah. I thought this place would be good. It overlaps with my route anyway."

"The dragons here..."

"Are mostly the ones who came to Earth on December 31st."

Del easily understood.

Del hadn't been on Earth on the last day of last year, but she had heard all about the incident that had occurred.

Minjun had implanted the memories of the previous Dragon Lord and Jenkinson into the tens of thousands of dragons charging at him.

As Minjun had assessed, it was hard to view it as brainwashing. It was, more accurately, a mental attack. Unlike Jenkinson, who had absorbed his predecessor's memories in a rougher, more incomplete manner, they hadn't suffered from split personalities.

They simply came to know.

The hearts of the Gold Dragon who had lived and died on Earth, and the Red Dragon who was still living there today.

And they felt extreme confusion. Originally, the invading army had believed they had to instantly tear apart and kill Asif-666, the member of the primordial race standing before them.

At the same time, however, the memories and emotions of the two dragons who had cherished that 'person' as a friend were vividly alive within them.

It hadn't taken long for the army to disintegrate and their frontlines to collapse.

And surprisingly, Minjun had simply watched them flee Earth. He hadn't chased them down to hunt them and wring out their blood.

"The dragons who experienced that event have been acting completely obedient to everything the Ellahu-Praga Church does ever since. Even while confused as to why they're making such choices. That's why they are fully cooperating with my visit this time and the Divine Power experiments I'll be conducting here."

Furthermore, they couldn't even muster the courage to dare defy Minjun.

If they were subjected to something similar again, it was hard to imagine what kind of beings they would turn into.

Of course, there was another reason as well.

Minjun mentioned it in passing.

"On top of that, I heard some rather surprising news."

"What news?"

"They say that, besides Jenkinson, there are other dragons stepping forward with promises to voluntarily offer their blood."

Lacking a direct way to contact Minjun, they had attempted to reach out through the order.

So lately, the priests were suffering from massive headaches, scrambling to draft detailed rules and enforcement ordinances that their God had deemed unnecessary and deliberately left undefined.

"They're voluntarily becoming blood donor dragons? Is that to save sinners? Or because they're afraid of becoming sinners themselves someday? Or maybe... to postpone the universe's destruction in the distant future?"

"Their motives might all be different."

Minjun pondered deeply before speaking.

"Though I suspect that last reason might have been the most decisive. The desire to continue existing, whether as an individual or as a species, is inherent in everyone."

He added,

"In the first place, the only reason I was able to wake my kin with 'Divine Magic' was that it ultimately aligned with the desires any person would naturally harbor."

Just as Earthlings had affirmed the magic that chased away dragons.

The instinctive desires of people had also affirmed the result of the magic that awakened his kin.

Since then, Minjun had been recreating what he did on Earth across various planets. Chasing away dragons and waking his kin, he was exploring whether this power could be used in a positive direction.

For example, using Divine Power to accelerate the speed at which his kin and himself integrated, or finding something to replace the nutrients that blood transported to the universe, or perhaps creating positive effects on the world in ways he hadn't even imagined yet.

As long as that direction didn't deviate too far from people's desires.

The possibilities were endless.

—Beep!

The Communicator lit up, announcing they were thirty minutes away from landing. That was when Del spoke up, as if she had just remembered something.

"Oh right, remember when I was looking up information on Divine Power before?"

Minjun nodded. Del had once spent a few days at Endelion's database to help her son. In the end, the pope had solved the problem by tracking down Geum-cheol, but still.

Del recalled the files she had seen back then.

"It might be a meaningless story at this point, but..."

At her next words, Minjun raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"He said the root of Divine Power wasn't 'faith' or 'hope', but 'self-transcendence', right? And that religion was the easiest way for people to transcend themselves. The only exceptions being goblins. But... it seems there was another case that existed long ago."

According to Endelion's records, there was a case of a person awakening to Divine Power who neither believed in a god nor was a goblin.

"He was born on a planet where Divine Power users already held dominance. But he himself denied the existence of God. Instead, he argued that people had to save each other, not God."

It was a statement that made Minjun instantly think of a certain orc.

"Eventually, he was caught and beheaded by an order that disapproved of him. It was a planet where religion held immense power."

And Del explained why the case had caught her attention.

"But according to the records... he seemed to have been a kind of mutant. Because he claimed to feel a blinding light from every single person he saw."

"...Not the other way around?"

"Yeah. To the eyes of the public, he looked completely ordinary. But to his eyes, all the people of the world shone brightly, and bizarrely enough, he couldn't help but love everyone. That's what was recorded."

"What was his race?"

"He was a human."

A race originating from the test subjects of the primordial race.

Minjun sank into deep thought for a moment.

Del voiced a thought that was similar to his own deductions.

"If there's a unique ability user in this world who radiates light himself and earns the love of the people,"

In other words, if there was someone like Minjun in the world.

"Conversely, couldn't there have been a person who saw light in everyone in the world and was capable of loving them all? Even if we don't know what caused that difference."

Perhaps someone with the exact opposite ability of Minjun had also existed.

Del explained why she had brought this story up.

"So it got me thinking. He defined the root of Divine Power with a difficult term like 'self-transcendence', but wouldn't there actually be a much simpler word to replace it?"

Minjun didn't say anything for a while. Del waited patiently until he had properly organized his thoughts.

And just as they were getting used to that comfortable, cozy silence, Minjun stepped closer.

"We still have twenty-five minutes left until landing."

Del felt she didn't need to hear his next words.

Reflected in her eyes, he seemed like a completely different person than before, yet he also seemed like the exact same Minjun she knew. She took his hand as he approached to put into practice the word that would replace 'self-transcendence', and met his gaze. At the very least, Del could no longer see the blazing anger that used to slash at him.

Within her gaze, Minjun affirmed himself.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!