< 51. 21st Century Robin Hood (5) >
Minjun’s expression darkened as he hung up the phone.
“Isn’t the timing so weird?”
Kim Gwang-woo is famous for being a workaholic.
Moreover, it is beyond common sense for a corporate CEO to take a vacation for several weeks without even being able to communicate freely.
“What is that sinister old hag up to?”
The dragon declared.
“A cold-blooded person who doesn’t care if millions of goblins and orcs die and does charity work? There must be something going on. It would be better to assume that the landowner is missing. He’s a psychopath who still has a way of doing things.”
Minjun tried to listen to Jenkinson’s gossip with a grain of salt, because he had already known that he had ill feelings toward Changcheon.
Changcheon, who had pretended to live out his remaining years in seclusion on an island decades ago, quickly began to raid Korean companies and grew in power. Then, Jenkinson, trembling with betrayal, raised an objection to the Dragon Clan Council.
However, since Changcheon never promised not to engage in corporate activities in the first place and it cannot infringe on the ‘right to freely increase property (treasure)’ guaranteed by the Draconic Code, the conclusion was that the action was justified.
In the end, they had no choice but to compete fairly, but Changcheon’s money-management skills were absolutely superior to Jenkinson’s, and the fight between the two, using capital instead of guns, continues to this day.
But even taking Jenkins’ personal feelings into account, it seemed that Changcheon was an unusual dragon.
Now his gossip has gone off topic.
“It’s a secret even among dragons, but that woman has some mental issues. In the first place, I’m not in a position to question what I polymorphed into!”
Jenkinson, who had been insisting on staying the same since coming to Earth, seemed to be very upset because of Chang-cheon, who had been criticizing him for having a Peter Pan complex and for trying to seduce humans of his age. He grumbled and told a secret story that only the dragon knew about.
“Even after her ex-husband died, she only dates men who are at least a thousand years younger than her. Rumors spread all over Earth, so she’s famous for going so far as to hunt men that she even goes to outer space!”
Even if the opponent is an adult, it seems that other dragons find it unpleasant if the age difference is that much. Meanwhile, it is said that since her taste is like pine trees, she only dates men who look exactly like her, considering the specific scale color, horn length, membrane shape, and even head shape.
“What’s even scarier is that Changcheon’s ex-husband, who died in China… there’s a rumor that he was actually killed by Changcheon.”
“what?!”
“She loved him when he was young and small, but when he got older and grew up, she lost interest in him and killed him. If she divorced him without any problems, she would have to pay a huge amount of alimony according to the Draconic Code.”
When Minjun made a face of disbelief, Jenkinson spoke in a serious tone, saying that it was already an established fact.
“There are several missing young men I met after my ex-husband died! Of course, they were all cleared of charges due to lack of evidence.”
“······It does sound a bit strange when you say it like that.”
If Cash were here, she would have eagerly accepted and written down the gossip, but Minjun thought it was time to get back to the main topic.
“Anyway, I agree that Changcheon is not a great person who would spend money to save goblins, whether he is a psychopath or not. Then why is he doing this?”
He thought for a moment and then finally made a decision.
“Let’s accept this request for now.”
“Really?”
Jenkinson was the first to suggest joining hands with Changcheon, but he was reluctant because of the suspicious nature of the business. However, it was surprising that Minjun came forward like this.
“I don’t know what you’re up to, but once you hold my hand, it’ll be easier to figure out what’s going on.”
“Whether they’re doing something bad or suspicious, it’s better to keep them in the yard so that I can observe them.”
“If you really have another intention, I can find out and use it as a weakness for you, Jenkins. If not, I just need to get the DNA data like I originally wanted.”
The dragon smiled brightly.
“I like that.”
“But I think we need to change the terms of the deal a bit.”
“how?”
After the operational meeting, Jenkinson called Changcheon directly.
The first condition was that we would take 30% instead of the 10% that Changcheon had proposed, but Changcheon was so excited that he wanted to bring in mercenaries from outer space that we adjusted it to 20%. Minjun had originally expected the level to be around 15%, but since the deal seemed to have been made too easily, his doubts deepened.
The second condition was that the contracting party would be ‘Immigrant’, not ‘Minjun’, and that the compensation would be received in the form of actual talent from Immigration.
“Second, why do you have to do it this way?”
“If I were the contracting party and received the talent directly, I would have to report it to the committee and pay taxes immediately. And there is a high probability that they will pressure me to deposit the money into an account instead of holding the actual thing in my hands. That is how it has always been.”
Because of that, Minjun never really had a real talent.
Since I started my life as a prisoner, I have never once.
“But the committee cannot touch your property, Jenkinson.”
For now, I thought I would buy some time and do some research using my actual talents.
If we were to nitpick, we could attack that this is also tax evasion since the name is Jenkinson and the actual owner is Minjun, but we could defend it by insisting that the structure is such that the employer (Jenkinson) receives the external compensation (Changcheon’s talent) and then pays it to the employee (Minjun) as wages.
“By the way, if Korea helps, it could end easily. Jenkinson, it’s a win-win situation. In the end, Changcheon decided to cooperate, but if information leaked in the process, it was a mistake.”
“Ah, no. I don’t think that’s necessarily the case… I’m not just playing around, I’m planning on cooperating with Changcheon as a group….”
“No matter how much I think about it, it seems like it would be difficult to write off 300,000 won like this. Jenkinson, are you also pushing forward with that idea?”
“······.”
Jenkinson prayed earnestly that the DNA collected in Korea alone would be enough to recreate the genetic map of the Demonic Goblin that the Committee was demanding.
So that we may be free from those viper-like creditors.
***
The vice president of Changcheon Bank was the most gaunt elf Minjun had ever seen.
He must have not slept well for several days because dark circles were running down his nose and his voice was hoarse. The eyes that looked at him pitifully were bloodshot and the fingers that shook his hand were trembling.
“Hey, Agent! Welcome. Please… take good care of me.”
He spoke as if trying to make excuses, perhaps misunderstanding Minjun’s gaze at the business card.
“I am currently acting as the bank president.”
“What about the original bank president?”
Then, fear quickly crossed the vice president’s face.
“A few days ago, he passed away in an unexpected accident···.”
Minjun understood the situation.
‘He was murdered.’
It was clear that Changcheon was responsible for the theft of the talent. Ordinary employees may not know, but a vice president would have more than enough time to guess the inside story.
He must have been desperate to run away, but he held on because he knew that if he did, Changcheon would chase him to the ends of the earth.
‘I see how you handle your subordinates. Are they all just parts, as Jenkinson said?’
Minjun said without showing it.
——————
faqwiki.us
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
“Then let’s look at the CCTV first.”
Naturally, the special safe where the talent was stored was equipped with a CCTV that ran 24 hours a day. The scene on the day of the incident was replayed on a clear screen.
‘That’s a million talents.’
In the recorded video, a gigantic light body was emitting an auspicious light.
It’s hard to see on the screen, but inside what appears to be a single crystal, there are probably millions of tiny crystals combined. With special techniques, you could freely fuse or separate the talents like that.
“The scene you are seeing now is 10 seconds before the incident occurred.”
Let’s wait and see what the Vice President’s announcement will be like, and indeed, something surprising will happen on the screen.
The talents that had been safely stored in various barriers suddenly disappeared. It happened in an instant, as if they were seeping into the air. There was no sign of the barriers opening or anyone breaking through the vault walls before or after that point.
However, Minjun noticed another strange thing in the scene where the talent disappeared.
Maybe I should change the category of this incident. From ‘theft’ to ‘destruction’.
“Could it be that this was stored incorrectly and evaporated into the spirit world?”
The waves were not unfamiliar when the talent disappeared.
It was very similar to the waves that occurred when the spirit of Lakefield returned to the spiritual world.
“If that’s the case, you shouldn’t call me, but hire a fairy to search the spirit world… Well, the odds of finding it are slim, though. The spirits living there wouldn’t leave it alone.”
This is one of the reasons why races outside the committee do not withdraw their talents easily. An accident that occurs when the balance is even slightly broken during storage.
If creatures like humans are the inhabitants of the material world, spirits are the inhabitants of the spiritual world. Spirits that roam freely in that world without a contractor are naturally uncontrollable and act according to instinct. If they saw the talent brought into the spiritual world, they would have been blinded by the light and run away, so it is impossible to recover them.
When he heard Minjun’s guess, the vice president waved his hand in surprise.
“Absolutely not!
“You’ll know when you go.”
“······Yes, I will take you into the safe.”
The main branch vault that Minjun was entering for the first time had a security system as thorough as expected. It had mechanical and physical defenses as well as several layers of magic to create a barrier.
Even the largest exorcism circle Minjun had ever seen on Earth was prepared. Unlike the spirits of the spiritual world, it was a magic circle that exorcised spirits bound to the material world, that is, ghosts and phantoms. It was completely blocked from spying on the internal structure.
“This is the safe where the talents were kept.”
Minjun entered the place protected by a barrier stronger than any other facility, and his eyes lit up with white flames.
Pot!
When magic is used in the material world, traces are bound to be left in the spiritual world within the same overlapping coordinates. A dazzling afterimage of light corresponding to footprints in the material world.
however···.
‘What the heck, it’s completely clean?’
Minjun’s prediction was completely wrong.
Even if we assume that the reason the thieves weren’t caught on CCTV was because of invisibility magic, and that the secret to their intrusion from outside was teleportation that rivaled that of an ancient race… there had to be at least some trace of all that magic left here.
But there isn’t.
The most recent traces were from when the barrier was built. That means no one has used magic here since then.
Of course, it is possible to assume that a magician who could completely avoid Minjun’s eyes was involved, but there is no reason for such a being to rob a bank for 1 million talents, and even if he had, Changcheon would not have noticed until the end.
Minjun told the vice president what he saw.
“It’s not magic?!”
“Yes, I don’t know what method the thief used, but it’s not magic.”
“Ha, but… it disappeared just like you saw on the CCTV… If that wasn’t magic, then what the….”
The elf said, half sobbing.
“Then, there really was a flaw in the barrier and it evaporated into the spirit world···.”
Minjun shook his head.
“No. There is no trace of the boundary between the spiritual and material worlds collapsing. The talents moved within the material world.”
But I don’t know how.
It was a ghost’s job to sing a song.
“I need to take a look outside the bank.”
Minjun walked around the main office alone, pushing people away to make it easier for him to concentrate. He still had white flames burning in his eyes.
But there was no sign of any magical intrusion.
‘What the heck?’
He was observing his surroundings with such careful steps.
“!”
I felt a serious gaze on the back of my head.
‘Who are you?!’
Look without turning your head, just slightly turning your eyes.
A swallow was sitting on a telephone pole and looking down.
‘In this city center?’
It was natural to observe with eyes that were still seeing into the spiritual world. There was no trace of being controlled by magic.
It is a species that has become difficult to find in cities due to habitat destruction, but it has not disappeared completely. It could have been dismissed as just a rare sight.
If it weren’t for Minjun.
‘Hmm.’
He quietly raised his hand, still pretending to explore. He was just pretending to tap the exterior wall of the bank’s headquarters building.
“!”
He quickly turned around and stretched his arms toward the sky.
Exactly!
Just snap your fingers.
Padadak!
A heavy and urgent sound of wings was heard. The swallow, whose blood clots had formed inside its body after being hit directly by Minjun’s curse, was falling to the ground.
‘Got it!’
The moment I thought its sharp beak had touched the concrete floor, its long black hair tangled in the air like a ball of thread. The feathers fluttered, and its wings transformed into slender arms, and its thin legs transformed into those of a human in an instant.
Just before his head hit the ground, his body shape changed and his arms naturally extended forward to take his weight.
thud!
“Whoa!”
When the swallow, who had turned into a human, screamed, Minjun had already flung the leather strap from his sleeve. The spy, who was unconscious due to the pain he felt from the rapidly coagulating blood clot in his thigh and the pain in his broken arm, was immediately subdued.
The opponent I almost missed was a person with supernatural powers.
‘Breed Shift.’
A unique ability to transform into another species, most notably Were Swallow.
“Uh… how!”
The woman glared at Minjun with an expression full of shock and anger. It seemed as if she couldn’t believe that her identity had been revealed. This kind of ability wasn’t the kind that would leave a trace in the spirit world, so she couldn’t help but be surprised.
Instead of telling her the answer, Minjun thinks about it on his own.
‘You must have been trying to observe, but you were too close to me.’
Most animals have sharper senses than ordinary people. A representative example is the recent fight between aliens and dragons in Sokcho, causing chaos among all the nearby animals.
On the other hand, Minjun was the type who was hated by animals even though he didn’t use any particularly scary magic.
When he approaches, even the bravest fighting dog pees on him and the cat becomes hysterical and faints.
The secret was a black knife that he carried in his sleeve. The resentment he had accumulated while killing and sacrificing countless lives was what provoked the animals.
The phenomenon of avoidance is no exception, not even to birds. Animals that approach like that swallow are ultimately of two types: either already dead or not real.
‘Who sent it? I’ll have to take a closer look. No matter what, it’s a bit difficult here…’
Since I couldn’t make any noise in the middle of the city, I thought I’d take them to a quiet place and reveal what was going on behind their backs.
however.
As he held out his hand, the woman quickly changed her expression and shouted in a venomous voice.
“Don’t touch me! You… dirty capitalist dragon’s hunting dog!”
It was a rebellion, but a very kind rebellion.
A woman who glared at him as if she was going to kill him, spitting out a sentence that allowed him to guess who was behind it with just that one word. Minjun thought as he stared at her.
‘What the heck, kid. Are you an idiot?’
< 51. 21st Century Robin Hood (5) > End
