The Foreigner on the Periphery (English Translation)

6. Three Ways to Kill Your Boss (3)

The first scene that the ego frying pan with a sexual fetish remembers is said to be this kitchen.

Jang Tae-jun was his first "master."

=Our master? He seemed like an entirely normal human. From the moment I first met him to the last time I saw him.=

Since there are many aliens who don't shed their human forms at home, Min-jun did not abandon his suspicions.

"When was the last time you saw him?"

=About a week ago, I think. Around 2 a.m.? I saw him leaving without driving a car late at night.=

The last image of him captured by the alleyway CCTV outside the house also matched the frying pan's testimony.

=I wondered why he was out so late at night. I was worried. So, the next night, I heard some noise from the living room, and I thought nothing had happened, so I was relieved...=

"What did you say?"

Had Jang Tae-jun come back home since then?

When Min-jun relayed what the frying pan had said to Jeong-pal, he shook his head.

"I've already checked the CCTV footage outside. The first time the door opened after Jang Tae-jun left was today."

=Ah, that person. He definitely wasn't the master. I can distinguish that much.=

This meant that an uninvited guest entered the house after Jang Tae-jun disappeared the very next day, without even opening the door.

=Anyway, that night, he suddenly appeared in the middle of the living room, searching for something, rummaging through every corner of the house, and then disappeared by dawn. He repeated this for five days, but for the past two days, he didn't come.=

"Did you see his face?"

=He always walked around without turning on the lights. Unfortunately, I don't have night-vision, so... judging by his physique, he looked like a human.=

A foul stench filled the air. An unidentified human appeared immediately after Jang Tae-jun vanished, searching the house for several days. Min-jun rested his chin and thought for a moment.

"Not opening the door and going in and out means he used warp-type magic."

In that case, there should have been some traces left.

Since entering this house, Min-jun had been searching for the magic that was 'currently here' to find Jang Tae-jun's secrets. Something like a secret safe cloaked with invisibility magic. But to track magic that had been activated 'here in the past,' he needed a different method.

"Jeong-pal, what did that frying pan say just now... Ah, ouch!"

Jeong-pal was suddenly startled as he was questioning, noticing a white light gleaming in Min-jun's eyes.

"This would be the living room, right?"

=Yes, he always appeared from that side.=

Now, Min-jun was looking at the overlapping spirit realm from the same layer as the material world. Just like footprints are left in wet soil, magic leaves traces in the spirit realm corresponding to the same spatial coordinates in the material world.

Among the various magical fingerprints left over many years, Min-jun carefully sifted through layers of light to find the most recent one.

'This is it!'

Like the fluorescent afterimage left on the eyelid after looking at the sun with the naked eye, a round trace hung in the air. The shape of large holes punctured in a wide plastic sheet.

There were ten of them, scattered at a slight distance, with thin beams of light stretching out from each hole towards the outside of the house. The number matched—five times back and forth.

"Jeong-pal, there are traces of several warps here. Let's follow them."

"What about this perverted bastard?"

"Let's take him with us for now. He's the only witness and evidence."

The ego frying pan was lost in satisfaction and bliss, leaking psychic waves.

After sealing the frying pan in the backseat, Min-jun sat in the passenger seat of the car driven by Jeong-pal and gave directions.

"Turn left here."

His pupils continued to shine as he kept his gaze fixed on the spirit realm. Jeong-pal glanced at him in awe.

"Wow, can wizards do stuff like this? You can easily find and follow the warp magic that was activated a few days ago, connecting where it was used to where it's going?"

Of course, this was not something anyone could do. Most wizards couldn't even glance at the spirit realm for long periods, let alone see it for extended times like taking a photo.

Min-jun didn't explain it in detail, just roughly dodging the subject.

"Not everything, but... I've been at this for a while."

"Ah, right."

"Turn right at the next intersection. Then just go straight."

After staring at the air for a moment, Min-jun seemed to recall something and asked.

"By the way, Jeong-pal, are you really going to retire in five years?"

"Of course. Even though I'm fine now, orcs age slowly at first, but once it starts, it goes fast, you know? I'll live comfortably on a pension."

Since each race had a different average lifespan, the time for pension eligibility varied. The fact that orcs were notably earlier than other races had been a long-standing controversy.

Opponents argued that orcs' early death was due to low income and high crime rates, suggesting that by the same logic, the poor humans and other races should be held to the same standard.

"Other orcs might be whatever, but you seem like you'll be strong for a long time..."

Looking at Jeong-pal while he was tuned to the spirit realm, Min-jun noticed a different anomaly in him.

Min-jun subtly proposed.

"After retirement, how about working at our office?"

"Hyung, you know our family motto, right?"

"Don't mess with trolls?"

"Not that one."

"Your family motto is so long it could fill a book. How am I supposed to memorize all that?"

"What I was going to say is this: live within your limits."

"Your limits are enough for us to work together."

"Eh, forget it. My mother will faint."

"She's still worried, right? Just like the incident with the news the other day. Maybe it's better for her if you work with me."

Jeong-pal silently smiled bitterly.

He had made one mistake once. While subduing a drunken human, he had caused a severe injury requiring eight weeks of treatment. The internet went wild. "Orc police beat a human!" This led to Jeong-pal's mother being dragged into the comments, suffering through a series of incidents that almost cost her life.

"..."

A brief silence filled the air as the car waited at the traffic light. During that gap, the promotional broadcast from an election campaign vehicle struck their eardrums loudly.

"A party for humans, by humans, and for humans! Don't forget, Earth was originally a world for humans only! All power back to humans, 'Human-Centered Party' candidate, number 7, Choi Taek... "

Min-jun raised the window naturally and spoke.

"Shall we listen to the radio?"

"Yeah."

It happened to be tuned to the news channel.

"This is foreign news. The visit plan of Princess Vermi of the Gelanko Dimensional Royal Court was announced today. There are suspicions that this invitation may be part of preparations for another mass migration, which the United Nations denies..."

"Police authorities have issued a statement regarding the recent elf disappearance incidents. This afternoon, the police station in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul..."

"Ghosts once again held a guerrilla protest in front of the National Assembly today. Their demands include guaranteeing 'existence rights' on par with the right to life and the withdrawal of the proposed law revision on 'privacy violations caused by mental entities'..."

As Min-jun was half-listening to the news, he spoke.

"This is it! It splits into several paths here."

"Huh? This place...?"

Jeong-pal said.

"…This is the orc community."

An area where orcs make up more than 50% of the population. Min-jun nodded, as if this wasn't unusual.

"He must have set up a temporary residence nearby, coming and going every night for five days. This neighborhood is actually a suitable place for that."

Jeong-pal agreed with that reasoning.

"Seems like the warp spots were spread out here and there, carefully."

As Minjun guided the way, he informed Jeongpal of the ten locations where the warp gates had been opened. The culprit likely walked to his temporary residence from there, perhaps to shake off any potential pursuit.

Fortunately, there were no traces of invisibility magic near the gates.

"To track the walking route, we just need to check the CCTV footage of this neighborhood, right? Please take care of that."

Minjun had no doubt that the temporary residence of the suspect would soon be uncovered.

Even if the residence was already vacated, tracking rental records or any remaining clues would lead to further leads.

Although Jeongpal's expression was slightly uneasy, they proceeded with the plan and parted ways for the day.

The next day, Minjun heard an unexpected report from Jeongpal.

"What? There are less than 100 CCTV cameras in this whole area?!"

Jeongpal shrugged his shoulders.

"You know how it is. Since it's an orc neighborhood…"

Because of the low population, investment in facilities was lacking.

Thanks to Minjun narrowing down the time and place where the warp gates were opened, a few shots of the suspected man had been captured. However, he had worn a hat so low that it was impossible to track him with spirits, and his silhouette was unrecognizable.

The bigger issue was that there were many areas where CCTV cameras were either broken or nonexistent, which meant the suspect's movements were lost, and no footage of him entering buildings was recorded. Additionally, most of the streetlights were out, making it impossible to analyze the footage.

"So, that's why your face looked like that."

The reason the suspect had chosen this neighborhood and extended his walking route became clear.

"I know the neighborhood well."

Minjun frowned.

"Sorry, you'll have to help a bit more."

Since they couldn't rely on modern technology, they had to resort to traditional methods.

"Man, a mage doing detective work in the 21st century…"

The neighborhood where the intruder had disappeared into was a typical orc community.

Trash was scattered all over the ground, and it was hard to find a functioning public facility. The deeper they went, the more Minjun realized it was a miracle that even CCTV footage had been captured. Passing through building walls covered with various profanities and crude drawings, Jeongpal stopped in front of a shabby orc pub.

"Hey, Lee Taesam."

He opened the pub's door and called for the owner.

"Looks familiar?"

"This is one of my jurisdiction areas."

An orc of the same age as Jeongpal emerged, looking tired. Without delay, Jeongpal got to the point.

"Have you seen any humans who recently moved into this neighborhood or suddenly appeared? Their build should look like this photo… They were probably out at night, and they might have had the scent of a mage."

The owner shrugged his shoulders.

"Of course, if a detective asks, I'll look into it. I'll make a few calls. Wait here for a bit."

Jeongpal turned to Minjun.

"If he says no, then they're not in this neighborhood. We can move on to the next one."

Minjun silently raised his thumb.

After a while, the owner returned with names of orcs and unfamiliar places mixed with vulgar language.

Listening carefully, Jeongpal thanked the owner and turned to Minjun.

"He hasn't seen them here, but he did mention seeing a suspicious person in a nearby neighborhood. Let's head there and check it out."

Whistle. Minjun whistled. That was fast.

"Hey, Kim Yushin!"

The next stop was a playground, where sand and cigarette butts were scattered across the ground.

The orcs who were joking around and smoking turned their heads. As soon as they spotted Jeongpal, their expressions froze.

The largest one spoke.

"What?! What now?! It's not me! I haven't done anything!"

"You always say the same thing. Even if you did something, you'd deny it."

Minjun noticed strange tattoos on the orc's face and scalp. As he stared at them, their eyes met.

He spoke.

"You're asking about a suspicious human? That guy, he's the weirdest of everyone I've seen lately."

Jeongpal growled.

"Watch your mouth. That man is someone I respect…"

The expression of the tough orc who had been mocking them turned serious.

"He's an official agent from the immigration department."

Upon hearing the decisive word, the orc's face turned pale.

"...Should've said that sooner."

Kim Yushin lowered his gaze, avoiding eye contact with Minjun.

"...Almost messed with a troll. If you're an agent, you should act like one."

Minjun heard every word, even though the orc had probably thought he couldn't.

After a brief exchange with the photo, Jeongpal's face lit up. He turned to Minjun, giving him a thumbs up.

"I think we've found him, boss."

One of the unspoken rules for humans living in orc communities was to avoid walking around at night.

In a neighborhood like that, it seemed the human who was out only at night had caught the eye of one of the local thugs.

After hearing the details, they turned the corner to find a five-story apartment building, whose age was hard to determine.

"Boss?"

"Yeah."

Minjun's eyes gleamed with white light again.

And then.

"...Oh!"

At one particular house, there were clear traces of multiple overlapping magic uses. Minjun examined the characteristics of the spell left behind, like a fingerprint that's unique to each mage.

And then the word he had been waiting for came out of his mouth.

"Bingo!"

"Is it right?"

"That's the guy who used the warp."

Minjun smiled.

"He's asleep now. Let's go in and catch him."