< 50. 21st Century Robin Hood (4) >
***
Korea is Jenkinson’s territory.
Changcheon (蒼天) is an ancient dragon originally from China, and with Jenkinson’s permission, he established a lair in Korea several decades ago.
When she came to this country, China was in shambles due to the civil war triggered by the Guangdong Declaration of Independence.
During the Communist era, China’s territory, population, and resources were very attractive to the dragons, but its economic system was not to their liking. When the dragons decided to take matters into their own hands, China’s divisions quickly took place.
Behind each warlord and independent force, there was a dragon who used them as pawns and waged war. This was a similar phenomenon to how Western powers ravaged the African continent and drew borders wherever they went.
In the process, humans fought as soldiers of the dragon without realizing it. Few knew that their leader was a servant of the dragon. Because of the purges and revolutions, it was already difficult to find any non-human races in China at that time other than dragons, so the war seen from the outside was exclusively human.
The trigger for the war was an incident in the late 1970s when an ancient dragon dropped its ultimate magic on a nuclear warhead storage facility in Sacheon. The result of the nuclear fission, wide-area magic, curses, and the evil of the ghosts was a radioactive storm zone that covered a radius of several hundred kilometers.
The storm, which was predicted not to disappear for tens of thousands of years, tried to expand its territory as if it had reason. If things continued as they were, the dragons, who were in a situation where not only would they not take what other dragons had, but what they already had would be contaminated, used magic to build a Great Wall to defend their respective countries.
The truth was covered up as always, and the dragons became the guardian deities of the 1 billion Chinese people. Even now, each of the governments of the small independent countries pays a huge amount of treasure to the dragons as defense and maintenance costs for the magic barrier. If the ancient Chinese prayed to the imaginary dragon god to prevent tidal waves and floods, the modern Chinese pay their blood tax to the dragons who block radiation.
Ultimately, it was a happy ending for the surviving dragons, but some dragons lost their lives in the process.
One of them was a man over a thousand years younger than her, who was the husband of Changcheon.
‘I’m sick of this land now.’
Jenkinson gave permission for her to move. She seemed destined to live a semi-reclusive life, and her willingness to make two promises in dragon language proved decisive.
The terms of the promise were as follows: Changcheon would never in the future attempt to overtake Jenkinson’s political position, nor would he form a military organization that would be harmful to him.
As a result, Changcheon kept all of his promises. He had never promised not to engage in any ‘profiteering activities’ on his land.
“Coming.”
Naturally, Jenkinson was faster than Minjun in sensing the dragon’s approach. A faint murderous glint flashed in his eyes as he transformed into a human.
The door to the reception room where they had been waiting opened and a small man entered without any attendants.
It was a goblin old woman wearing a luxurious, glossy blue china dress. Her hairpin, earrings, rings, and other accessories were all expensive artifacts that were clearly customized to fit the goblin’s body. There was no reason to wonder who she was.
Jenkinson stood up, his expression changing dramatically.
“Sister!”
The old woman’s face brightened under her shaved white hair.
“Brother, how long has it been?”
Like a couple who had been separated for life reuniting, the two dragons greeted each other with joy in their entire bodies. Without any background knowledge, it would be rare to realize that the two were enemies.
Minjun felt goosebumps for some reason as he watched the two dragons smiling at each other as warm as sunlight.
“No, why did you suddenly polymorph into a goblin? Isn’t this your first time?”
“I’ve suddenly become interested in that race lately. Does your brother still do that?”
“What’s wrong with me?”
“By life cycle, we are both old. If a gentleman like that were to walk around for half a century in the form of a young human male, wouldn’t others misunderstand? That he wants to be a young boy, or that he needs to look like a young boy. Either way, it’s easy for anyone who misunderstands to imagine unpleasant things.”
“People around me don’t misunderstand me like that. They understand me well. Well, it would be hard for you, my sister, who treats all intelligent beings living on this land as machine parts, except for the Dragon Clan, to imagine such emotional exchanges.”
“Emotional exchange with the ruling class? They would really appreciate it.”
The two of them, who had been laughing and saying everything they wanted to say, sat down with clean and neat smiles on their faces.
The goblin’s gaze turned towards Minjun this time.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve met like this, Agent.”
From Minjun’s perspective, there was no need to be overly polite or engage in a war of nerves, so he responded appropriately.
Changcheon didn’t seem to have any intention of prolonging a war of nerves with Jenkinson. At her gesture, the door opened again and a secretary came in, placing papers in front of them.
The old woman looked at Jenkinson and said.
“Let’s start with the goblin story. It just so happens that you’re also interested in this species. I’m guessing that you want to collect as much goblin DNA as possible, then analyze it and combine it into a unique pattern. Right?”
Minjun barely suppressed the urge to glare at Jenkinson. The information had already been completely stripped away.
“Actually, I’m not interested in things like goblin DNA… If I had to explain, I’d say I’m interested in goblins themselves.”
Jenkinson’s eyebrows rose as he turned the pages with a slightly rough touch. He said what he had confirmed.
“So, you’re going to start a charity project for the poor who are left out of the medical welfare system? Using your own money?”
Changcheon planned to build a medical center for the urban poor by mobilizing the welfare administration and medical related companies she owned. Her plan had two main tracks: preparing hospital beds for seriously ill patients and checking for diseases and administering essential vaccines.
‘This is a national-scale project.’
Jenkinson asks, his voice barely able to hide his suspicion.
“Why are you suddenly doing this?”
“Suddenly? This is all a project for the benefit of society and the public interest.”
“?”
“Since we’re talking about goblins, let’s use that race as an example. Many of the diseases that goblins catch can be passed on to orcs and humans. If many of these goblins have never been to a hospital, isn’t that a risk factor for society as a whole?”
Minjun muttered quietly to himself.
‘It’s all because of the expensive insurance premiums charged by the insurance company you run.’
Anyway, this was the gist of what Changcheon was saying. The situation had gotten too bad, so she was going to step forward now. Minjun said, looking through the documents.
“It looks like this project has been in preparation for at least a few months.”
“That’s right, Agent.”
It didn’t seem like a fake business because of Minjun. He kept staring at the documents and then he found something else and said.
“Most of the sites where medical centers are built are adjacent to the Oak community?”
“After all, the closer it is to where the poor live, the more efficient it is.”
“Are you done talking with Chairman Kim Gwang-woo?”
When Minjun suddenly mentioned a name that had never been mentioned in conversation or appeared in any documents, a strange light flashed in the goblin’s eyes. Minjun didn’t miss it.
“That’s amazing. How can you tell right away who owns the land?”
Minjun knew that a certain businessman known as the richest orc in Korea was the actual owner of most of the land listed on the documents.
“It’s no secret that all that land belongs to Chairman Kim Gwang-woo.”
“Well, that’s true. It’s not something you need to worry about, Agent… But if I may tell you, the land lease contract has already been completed.”
The dragon changed the subject.
“Anyway, it wouldn’t be difficult to collect DNA samples while vaccinating all the urban poor and checking for diseases. Agent Jenkinson Auwa seems to be interested in this. What do you think? This seems like an area where we can definitely work together.”
He added, “Don’t worry, we’ll provide the data for the few goblins who aren’t considered poor in other ways.”
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‘Hmm.’
Even if we start with the Korean goblins, it is meaningful enough. In the first place, Minjun did not even expect to conduct a comprehensive investigation on a district level.
But the two of them didn’t immediately shout their approval here. Since they had already offered the carrot, they had to check what was hidden behind it.
Jenkinson said.
“So, what would you like to request?”
“There was a theft at the main branch of Changcheon Bank a while ago.”
Is this the time of suffering for dragons?
How long has it been since Jenkinson Lair was robbed? This time it’s a bank owned by Changcheon.
‘It’s not a bank that can be robbed that easily. Let alone the head office.’
Minjun asked with a frown.
“Cash, no way?”
“Yes and no.”
“?”
The dragon spoke with an awkward smile for the first time.
“What was stolen was a talent.”
Minjun asked back as if he didn’t quite understand.
“Talent?”
As far as he knows, most talent transactions are done with data only. And yet, it was stolen…
“Surely not real currency?”
“that’s right.”
It became more and more incomprehensible.
Since it is difficult to store and transport the currency, which exists on the border between the spirit and the physical, it is rare to withdraw it from such a remote place, because all transactions are possible without holding it in one’s hand.
“Did the committee give it to me?”
“It’s my money, so of course I should give it to you. But you were incredibly picky when it came to withdrawing money. It was to the point where I wondered if you were hoping I’d get tired and leave… A million talents isn’t a small amount of money, though.”
What? A million?
He asks, trying his best to hide the agitation in his expression.
“Even if you had the actual item, it would be a hassle to manage, so is there a reason you withdrew it?”
“Why? We’re a bank. We thought we should keep some for risk prevention purposes.”
“······In case the committee goes bankrupt?”
“What in the world is 100% certain?”
It was an unclear explanation. Minjun was sure that Changcheon was hiding something.
“Anyway, I don’t have an organization to track down that thief. I have a sworn oath to you here. Leaving it to the police is no joke, so in the end, I will have to outsource it… When it comes to these issues, the best person to go to is Agent Ye Min-jun, right? He has the longest career.”
Since Changcheon is a dragon, he knows Minjun’s true identity.
“If you take on this task, we will mobilize all of our group’s capabilities to help you collect and analyze goblin DNA. And as a reward, we will give you 10% of the recovered talents.”
Then she looks at Minjun with a strange gaze.
“But… is it legal or illegal for a prisoner to possess the actual talent? If you want, I can put it in the prisoner’s account right away. However, please note that I don’t think I can pay the gift tax.”
She urges him to answer with a smile.
“So, what do you want to do?”
***
“Minjun, what do you think the reason is?”
As soon as the meeting ended, the two returned to Jenkinson’s headquarters via teleportation and had a strategy meeting.
“Why did Changcheon withdraw the talent in real life and keep it?”
“Um… Okay. Let’s start with that first.”
“It was certainly suspicious to say that.”
The explanation was also not convincing. The reason why I couldn’t come up with a better excuse is because there really is no other reason I can come up with. Other than the ‘truth’.
It is a natural statement that a bank will store actual currency in a safe, but if the object is talent, the situation is different. Especially when you consider the maintenance cost, difficulty, and risk. Minjun, who was thinking about that, suddenly felt a sense of doubt.
‘Come to think of it, why does everyone take the current system for granted? I know that if you don’t store your talents properly, they will evaporate into the spirit world. I also know that resources are consumed in creating barriers. But even so, can you really call it normal for the committee to keep the actual currency instead of scattering it around each dimension?’
Of course, it is advantageous to do so in that the storage costs are transferred to the committee. It is the most efficient and economical option assuming that the committee can be 100% trusted.
but···.
‘It feels strangely uneasy.’
It was the first question I had since I started my life as a prisoner.
“And then there’s this.”
Minjun’s thoughts were interrupted by Jenkinson.
“That hospital is weird too. Something smells.”
“No matter how much I listen to it, isn’t it something that Changcheon should take the lead in?”
It is also questionable that the culprit who contributed to the current situation where most goblins have lost their health insurance, and who is not only not giving medicine but also belatedly starting a vaccination program, is also the one who is responsible.
“Jenkinson, before we catch the culprit, let’s check one thing. We need to verify whether the grand undertaking that Changcheon promised is real.”
“how?”
“I can’t raid the inside of Changcheon, so I’ll have to talk to the outsiders involved in this business.”
Minjun immediately called Cathy.
“Oh, it’s me. Set up an interview with Chairman Kim Gwang-woo. Yes, that’s right. That orc. If he refuses, tell the immigration office and get a subpoena.”
As he said that and winked at Jenkinson, Dragon grumbled and called Blair, ordering her to cooperate fully if Minjun or Cassie contacted him.
Minjun hung up the phone like that and a few minutes later, he received another call from Cathy, and he was flustered.
Because I heard about Chairman Kim Gwang-woo’s current whereabouts.
“······What? You took a sabbatical leave and went on a trip to another world? And that was a few weeks ago?”
< 50. 21st Century Robin Hood (4) > End
