The Foreigner on the Periphery (English Translation)

14. Three Ways to Kill a Boss (11)

It was, of course, not Edelenes' telepathy. The reckless dragon didn't have the energy to cast such simple magic. The identity of the opponent was easy to discern. And Minjun's response to it was:

"..."

He pretended not to hear.

In his mind, he unfolded a more detailed anatomy of a dragon. Aesthetically, it would receive a failing grade, but in terms of the mental shock it would inflict on the dragon community, the simulation of the cut would score a perfect ten.

Minjun had no intention of making a clean cut.

The moment he positioned himself and raised his blade, a stronger mental wave struck his mind.

= I strongly recommend stopping here. =

Only then did Minjun look up and gaze at a part of the night sky. There was nothing there but the bright moon and stars, but there was no hesitation in his gaze.

The one who had sent the mental wave seemed a bit flustered, speaking after a short silence.

= ...You're still truly impressive, Minjun. =

The opponent was using magic from afar to observe Minjun's location. The reason he was surprised was that Minjun immediately recognized the angle from which he was viewing the scene. It was like a subject in a monitor staring directly at the viewer.

Minjun spoke to him.

"I can't do that, Chairman."

Chairman Jenkinson spoke in a regretful tone.

= Thank you for completing the task I entrusted to you so perfectly. The conditional Earth citizenship Edelenes obtained has just been revoked. She will now be forcibly exiled back to her original dimension. It's thanks to your efforts. =

Just as there are both yellow-haired Koreans and Korean-Americans, the decisive factor in determining an individual's affiliation is citizenship.

Similarly, a dragon who acquires Earth citizenship is recognized as a resident of this world, while one without it is merely an alien.

Thus, Edelenes is now an alien.

What Chairman Jenkinson wanted was to prove her guilt and create a pretext to expel her from this world.

"As you said, the official duties have been completed. She should be detained now. However, there's a problem. I can't be certain that Edelenes has been completely neutralized."

= Just look at those eyes. It's clear and obvious. Edelenes is no longer in a state where she can resist. =

"We need to test the waters, even with a stone bridge. Especially when dealing with a dragon. Isn't that the reason you like me? Because I make sure things are settled properly? I won't disappoint you today either."

= Do you really need to cut off her wings? =

"Yes. Her arms and legs as well."

To ensure that no reckless dragon could dare touch him again.

= ...As your employer, I might let it slide. But as a dragon, I must stop you here. This is what I, as an Elder Dragon, must do. =

Minjun felt his anger rising.

"If you entrusted the proof of guilt to me because we can't doubt a kin without evidence, then you must also entrust me with the punishment, right?"

= Entrusting the punishment is correct. That's why I've simply watched as you've been venting your frustrations after the guilt became certain. But can you really just watch as you go beyond the punishment and try to cut off her legs? =

So the saying goes: "a hand that bends inward." Minjun swallowed his curse and spoke.

"This bastard has crossed my territory."

= I know what that means to you. =

"Now that you know I'm sensitive about it, you should understand what comes next."

= It's a matter of our species. I can't do anything about it. =

In truth, what Minjun was about to do was a very fine line. He would avoid immediate death, but the aftermath was uncertain. There was even a chance it might lead to death.

Chairman Jenkinson, after some deliberation, finally said what he had been reluctant to say.

= Minjun, please don't make me act any more petty. Do we really need to mention the Draconic Code here? =

"...!"

According to the Draconic Code, which effectively supersedes the constitution, only dragons of the same kind may take the lives of other dragons.

Chairman Jenkinson subtly hinted that Minjun's matter might be brought before the Dragon Council if it went too far.

It was a declaration that he would treat this as the position of an Elder Dragon, not as the head of immigration, considering it was no longer a matter of self-defense or lawful duty.

Minjun felt his anger surging even more. He spat out words with sharp thorns.

"Really, everything is too easy for dragons. Especially for you, Chairman. Whether in the past or now."

= Minjun, let's talk more honestly. No one else can hear this magical conversation except the two of us. =

At that, Minjun exploded with the anger he had been suppressing until now.

He yelled into the air as if staring directly at the unseen opponent.

His voice echoed loud and clear across the mountainside beneath the night sky.

"...If you want to tell me what to do, then you should have managed your kids better from the start!"

= ... =

The telepathy fell into a brief silence.

Minjun recalled the letter that Jenkinson's secretary had given him.

"To my long-time and precious friend. I'll get straight to the point. Please find out who this reckless fool is who committed this foolish act. I can't step forward, so I want to entrust it to you. If you accept my request, I will consider the debt from the interstellar slime extermination operation 200 years ago settled."

Below that was a promise of a certain amount of talent and Earth currency.

The event mentioned from 200 years ago was something that had happened before both of them came to Earth for their own reasons. In other words, Chairman Jenkinson knew that Minjun was not an Earthling.

= ...I have no excuse for that. =

Edelenes had completely misunderstood the relationship between the two.

Minjun worked as an immigration contractor because this identity was a legal and natural way to eliminate alien criminals, providing the best disguise. On the other hand, Chairman Jenkinson needed an excellent troubleshooter to resolve problems in his jurisdiction.

Their needs had naturally converged at a certain point, and Minjun could terminate the contract and act freely whenever he wished. It would be inconvenient for him, but not for Jenkinson.

Minjun spoke clearly.

"Jenkinson, the situation has changed. The task you entrusted to me through the letter has already been completed. From now on, this is a personal matter. I'll deal with the fool who touched my territory."

= In that case, as a personal favor, I ask you. As an old friend, please grant my request. =

The implication was simple.

In addition to clearing Minjun's 200-year-old debt, another debt would be added to Chairman Jenkinson's account.

The reason Jenkinson was going this far was due to his responsibilities as an Elder Dragon. If Minjun were to shape the reckless dragon's form carelessly, even if it survived, it would take decades to recover. The rumors would spread.

Though Minjun didn't understand every provision of the Draconic Code, he knew enough to realize that if such an incident occurred, Jenkinson, the regional leader, would be in trouble.

'As expected, you want to resolve this as quietly as possible.'

Minjun remained silent for a moment. Then, as if he had guessed his intentions, Jenkinson added a few words.

=Of course, I promise that education for young dragons will be conducted thoroughly from now on. We don't know how many more dragons will come to Earth, so I'll make sure to establish a process to prevent reoccurrence.=

There was one thing Jenkinson didn't know.

In fact, from the moment Minjun realized that the chairman was watching, he had half discarded his original plan.

'But no matter how I think about it, exchanging just one debt is not enough.'

It seemed that stalling for time had been enough for now.

He stared at the night sky and spoke.

"Isn't it troublesome to carry out obvious private sanctions in front of others? You don't want to see a dragon being carted off like a log, right?"

=That's right.=

"But I'm still not satisfied with this much."

=Then what should we do?=

Jenkinson urged him to speak his mind.

Minjun replied.

"I'm thinking of taking some blood from this bastard."

=······.=

"Don't worry, I'm not planning on using black magic to sacrifice it. I'll just use regular magic to draw the blood. What do you think?"

Since it was a magical method, it would drain a bit of life energy, just like Kim Yeonju had done, but it wouldn't result in death.

"His lifespan might shorten a bit, but it won't be noticeable. How does that sound?"

The longest silence between them passed.

Eventually, Jenkinson made his decision.

He repeated the words he had used when he had tried to dissuade Minjun earlier, but with a somewhat different emotion.

=······Still, you're really something, Minjun.=

After a brief wait, the immigration agents in charge of the scene arrived.

They approached cautiously and gave a respectful bow to Minjun. As he gave a slight nod, they immediately set to work, erasing the traces of the battle and handling the unconscious Edelenes. The interrogation of the dragon would be carried out by the dragon kin that Jenkinson had dispatched.

The agents carefully extracted the shards of scale embedded in the stone floor and placed them in a separate container, while they dug up the soil soaked in dragon blood and stored it.

Transactions involving dragon bodily fluids, organs, and exoskeletons were strictly prohibited by law, but they could occasionally be sold on the black market, with outrageously high prices attached.

'Just what's been collected here alone would be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.'

Even so, it could not compare to the value of the fresh dragon blood that Minjun had gathered.

Dragon blood, drawn through magical means and infused with life force, was the most powerful magical sample. Minjun had no intention of selling it in the black market. This precious treasure, once it passed through his hands, would be worth many times more. Its uses were limitless.

And then.

Ding!

○Account Information (Prisoner ID: Asif-666)

-'Old Friend' has deposited 10,000 dalants into the prisoner's account.

Jenkinson had used his personal funds to deposit dimensional currency into Minjun's account.

Unlike Earth currency, this was something not easily obtained, even by a dragon. The Elder Dragon had shown considerable goodwill.

-Current account balance: 31,523 dalants.

-Warning: If the balance goes into negative, legal interest will be applied, and excessive late payment may result in immediate execution.

-The retirement pay (bail for immediate release) assigned to 'Prisoner ID: Asif-666' is 5,124,990 dalants.

'The account balance increased by 50%.'

The dalants received today would have been the equivalent of catching 50 petty criminals like Etrella.

After confirming that the money had been deposited into his Earth bank account, Minjun sent a portion to Jeongpal's account.

He then called him.

"Ah... Hyung! I just saw the text and checked it."

His voice was full of joy, perhaps seeing the amount.

"What about Kim Yeonju?"

"I thought it'd be difficult to keep her in the office, so I took her to a different location. Of course, not a police station. The dragon... it's been dealt with, right?"

"Yeah."

"Wait, but how did you do it? Even if you're hyung..."

Minjun interrupted his question and said,

"Give me the address. Let's wrap this up."

"Yeah, you're going to interrogate Kim Yeonju yourself, right?"

Though he had completed Jenkinson's personal request, the original mission to find CEO Jang Taejoon was still ongoing. While the dragon kin interrogated Edelenes, Minjun had no intention of idly waiting around.

Now that the troublesome dragon was out of the way, Minjun had a feeling that the work would be much easier.

However, as always, his intuition didn't quite match reality.