6. Three ways to kill your boss (3)
***
Ego Frying Pan, who has a paraphilia, said that the first scene he remembers is this kitchen.
Jang Tae-jun was his first ‘owner’.
=Our master? He seemed like a completely ordinary person. From the moment I first met him until the last time I saw him.=
Minjun couldn’t let go of his suspicions because there were many aliens who didn’t even disguise themselves as humans at home.
“When was the last time you saw me?”
=I think it was about a week ago. Around 2 in the morning? I saw you going out in the middle of the night without even driving.=
His last appearance, captured on CCTV in the alley outside his house, also matched Frying Pan’s testimony.
=I wondered if you had some plans so late at night. I was worried. So, the next night, I heard some noises in the living room and was relieved, thinking that nothing was wrong···.=
“what?”
Has Jang Tae-jun ever come home since that day?
When I relayed what the frying pan had said to Jeongpal, he shook his head.
“I’ve already checked the CCTV footage outside the house, bro. This is the first time the door to this house has been opened since President Jang Tae-jun went out.”
=Ah, that guy. It definitely wasn’t the master. I can tell the difference to that extent.=
It meant that the very next day after Jang Tae-jun disappeared, an uninvited guest entered the house by passing through the closed door without even opening it.
=Anyway, that night, it suddenly appeared in the middle of the living room and searched every nook and cranny of the house as if it was looking for something, and by dawn, it was gone again. The next night, it appeared again. It repeated this for five days, and for the past two days, it gave up and didn’t come.=
“Have you seen the face?”
=I always walk around inside without turning on the lights. Unfortunately, I don’t have night vision… But looking at the body shape, it looks like a human.=
A foul smell vibrated. An unidentified person who appeared right after Jang Tae-jun disappeared and searched the house for several days. Min-jun rested his chin on his hand and thought for a moment.
‘If you went in and out without opening the door, it means you used warp magic.’
In that case, it is inevitable that some traces will remain.
After entering this house, Minjun has been searching for magic that exists ‘here and now’ in order to find Jang Taejun’s corruption. It’s like a secret safe with an invisibility spell. However, in order to track down the magic that was activated ‘here in the past’, he had to use a slightly different method.
“Brother, what is that frying pan saying…. Ouch!”
Jeong-pal was startled as he asked the question. Min-jun’s eyes were shining with a white light.
“If it’s the living room, is it this way?”
=Yes, it always appeared from that side.=
Minjun was now looking at the spiritual world overlapping the same level as the material world. Just as stepping on wet soil in the material world leaves footprints, magic leaves traces in the spiritual world corresponding to the same spatial coordinates.
Among the various magical fingerprints left behind over a long period of time, Minjun searched through the strands of light one by one to find the most recent one.
‘This is it!’
Just like the fluorescent afterimage that remains inside the eyelids when you close your eyes after looking at the sun with your naked eyes, I saw a circular trace left in the air. It was in the shape of a large hole punched in a widely spread piece of vinyl.
There were ten of them, spread out a little distance apart, and from each hole a long thin beam of light extended out of the house. Five round trips would be the right number.
“Jeongpal, there are traces of multiple warps here. Let’s follow them.”
“What about this pervert?”
“Let’s take it first. It’s the only witness and evidence.”
Ego Frying Pan was flowing with mental waves of satisfaction and ecstasy.
***
After putting the frying pan in the backseat and sealing it, Minjun sat in the passenger seat of the car driven by Jeongpal and gave directions.
“Turn left here.”
His eyes continued to shine brightly, fixing their gaze on the spiritual world. Glancing at the sight, Jeong-pal was amazed.
“Hey, can wizards actually do something like that? Can you easily find and follow the space connection between where and where the warp magic that was cast a few days ago is?”
Of course, this wasn’t possible for everyone. Most wizards were limited to taking a quick peek, like taking a picture, let alone viewing the scenery of the spirit world for a long time.
Instead of explaining the fact in detail, Minjun just glossed over it.
“It’s not like I can do it all… I just have some time.”
“Oh, right. That’s right.”
“Turn right at the next intersection. From there, go straight.”
Minjun, who had been staring into space for a while, asks as if he remembered something.
“But Jeongpal, are you really going to retire in 5 years?”
“That’s right. Even if you’re fine now, orcs don’t age slowly, but once they start, they age in an instant. You should live comfortably while receiving a pension.”
Since each race has a different average lifespan, the timing of pension receipt also varies. The fact that Orcs’ is significantly earlier than that of other races has long been a matter of debate.
Opponents argue that the reason they die young is because of low income and high crime rates, and that by the same logic, the same standards should be applied to poor humans and other races.
“No matter what happens to the other orcs, you seem to have a long and prosperous life ahead of you…”
If you look at Jeongpal while tuning in to the frequency of the spirit world, you will see something unusual about him.
Minjun suggested subtly.
“After you retire, wouldn’t you like to work at our office?”
“Brother, you know our family motto, right?”
“Let’s not mess with trolls?”
“Other than that.”
“If you recite all your family mottos, it would fill a book. How am I going to memorize them all?”
“What I was trying to say was this: Let’s live within our means.”
“If you are of that caliber, we can work together well.”
“Hey, that’s fine. My mother is going to get angry.”
“You’re still worried, aren’t you? It was the same with the article that came out last time. In that sense, maybe it would be better for you to work with me?”
Jeongpal smiled bitterly without answering.
There was just one time when I made a mistake. In the process of subduing a human drunkard, I seriously injured him and required 8 weeks of treatment. The internet was in an uproar. ‘The orc police beat up a human!’ Thanks to that, Jeong-pal’s mother was suddenly summoned in the comments, and he went through the ordeal of being pushed into a certain profession several times.
“······.”
There was a moment of silence between the two as they waited at the traffic light. During that moment, the campaign vehicle’s promotional announcements blared loudly against my eardrums.
-A party of humans, by humans, for humans! Do not forget, the Earth was originally a world for us humans only! Return all power to humans, the ‘Human-Centered Party’ candidate, No. 7 Choi Taek···.
——————
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Minjun said, casually rolling up the window.
“Shall we listen to the radio?”
“yes.”
It just so happened to be tuned to a news channel.
– Extraterrestrial news. Princess Vermi of the Gelanco Dimensional Union Royal Family’s plan to visit our dimension was announced today. The United Nations has completely denied any suspicions that this invitation is preparation for another mass migration…
-The police authorities have announced their position on the recent series of elf disappearances. This afternoon, the Seoul Seodaemun-gu Police Agency…
– Today, Ghosts once again held a guerrilla demonstration in front of the National Assembly. Their demands are the guarantee of the ‘right to exist’, which has the same status as the right to life, and the withdrawal of the ‘law amendment to prevent private life damage by mental entities’ submitted to the National Assembly…
Minjun, who had been listening to the news, opened his mouth.
“Here it is! From here on out, the path splits into ten.”
“Huh? This is···”
Jeongpal said.
“···It’s an orc community.”
An area where orcs make up over 50% of the population. Minjun nodded as if it wasn’t strange.
“You’ve been coming and going every night for five days in a row, so you must have set up a temporary residence nearby. In fact… this neighborhood is a good place for that purpose.”
Jeongpal also agreed with that.
“They spread out the warp points here and there to be careful.”
Minjun gave directions and told Jeongpal all ten locations where warp gates had opened. The culprit would have walked from there to his residence. To avoid any possible pursuit.
Fortunately, there was no trace of invisibility magic around the gate.
“If I want to follow the walking route, I can just check the CCTV in this neighborhood, please.”
Minjun had no doubt that the criminal’s temporary residence would be revealed soon.
Even after you’ve vacated your residence, tracking down rental records or remaining clues may open up new avenues.
Although I was concerned that Jeongpal’s expression was slightly unpleasant, we called it a day and parted ways.
***
And the next day, Minjun heard an unexpected story from Jeongpal.
“What? There aren’t even 100 CCTVs in that big neighborhood?!”
Jeongpal shrugged.
“You know, the Orc Village is ultimately···.”
Since the number of taxes is low, investment in facilities is also insignificant.
Thanks to Minjun specifying the location and time when the warp gate opened, the man suspected of being the culprit was captured in a few shots. He was just a silhouette with his hat pulled down low so that it was impossible to track him with the spirit.
The bigger problem is that there are so many areas where CCTV is broken or completely absent that the path is cut off and scenes entering the building are not captured. Streetlights are also mostly out, so there are many cases where the video cannot be read.
“So that’s why your expression was like that.”
It was also a moment when it became clear why the criminal had chosen that neighborhood and expanded his walking range.
“I don’t know the situation in that neighborhood very well.”
Minjun said with a frown.
“Sorry, I guess you need to help me a little more.”
Since we couldn’t get help from advanced civilization, we had no choice but to resort to traditional methods.
“Wow, I’m a wizard living in the 21st century who’s an investigative investigator.”
***
The interior of the village where the intruder disappeared was a typical orc community scene.
The floor was littered with trash, and it was hard to find any public facilities that were intact. The deeper Minjun went, the more he realized that it was a miracle that there was even CCTV footage left. Jeongpal stopped walking after passing the building walls covered in various vulgar language and embarrassing graffiti.
“Hey, Lee Tae-sam.”
I open the door to the shabby Oak Pub and call out to the owner.
“Does it look familiar?”
“Because this is also one of my jurisdictions.”
When a tired orc of the same age appeared, Jeongpal immediately stated his business.
“Has anyone moved into this neighborhood recently, or has anyone suddenly appeared? Their body type is similar to this picture… They probably mostly wander around at night. They might smell like a wizard, too.”
The owner shrugged and said.
“Detective, I have a favor to ask of you. Of course I should look into it. I’ll make a few phone calls and come back, so wait a moment.”
Jeongpal said while looking at Minjun.
“If that gentleman isn’t here, then he really isn’t in this area. You can just go to the next building.”
Minjun raised his thumb without saying a word.
After a while, the owner came back and said some names of orcs that Minjun didn’t know, mixed with vulgar language.
Jeongpal, who had been listening intently, expressed his gratitude and spoke to Minjun.
“It’s not here, but they said they saw a suspicious guy in a nearby neighborhood. Let’s go there and check again.”
Wheeze. Minjun whistled. Is it fast?
***
“Hey, Kim Yu-shin!”
The next place we headed was a playground with a floor covered in sand and cigarette butts in equal proportions.
The orcs who were smoking cigarettes and making silly jokes turned their gazes. Then, they froze as soon as they saw Jeong-pal.
The biggest one among them spoke.
“Ah, why! Again, what! It wasn’t me! I didn’t have an accident!”
“It’s the same thing every day. Whether there was an accident or not, there was none.”
Minjun noticed a strange pattern tattooed across the opponent’s face and scalp. He stared at it intently, and met the orc’s eyes.
He said.
“Have you seen that suspicious person? That person over there is the most suspicious of all the kids I’ve seen lately.”
Jeongpal said, growling.
“You, watch your words. That person is my older brother whom I respect and···.”
The expression on the face of the rascal orc who had been laughing until now.
“You are an exclusive contract agent for the Immigration Office.”
He turns pale and freezes after hearing the crucial words that explain Minjun’s identity.
“······Sir, you should have said something sooner.”
Kim Yu-shin slowly lowered his eyes that had been glaring at Min-jun.
“······I almost got yelled at by a troll. If you’re an agent, you should act more like one.”
Although he thought he wouldn’t hear it, Minjun heard it all.
After a brief exchange of words over the photo, Jeong-pal’s face brightened. He turned to Min-jun and gave him a thumbs up.
“I think I found it, bro.”
***
One of the unspoken rules of humans living in the orc community is not to wander around at night.
In that neighborhood, a person who only went out at night seemed to have caught the eye of one of the gangsters.
I turned down the alley as I had heard, and found a five-story apartment building that I couldn’t even guess when it had been built.
“older brother?”
“okay.”
Minjun’s eyes once again emit white light.
and.
“······Oh my!”
In just one house, there were traces of magic used multiple times. Minjun took in the characteristics of the spells left there… a kind of fingerprint. Just as the shape of the blemishes left on each person’s fingers are different, so too are there unique differences in magic depending on the magician.
And then the words we were waiting for come out of Minjun’s mouth.
“bingo!”
“Is that right?”
“That’s the kid who warped.”
Minjun smiled brightly.
“He’s sleeping now. Let’s go in and have a rest.”
