< 67. Dragon Enthusiast, Dragon Hater, Dragon Slayer (1) >
Blair Campbell has a firm conviction.
The most adorable creature across all dimensions is the dragon.
She subscribes to every channel related to dragons on YouTube and collects every piece of media featuring dragons, regardless of genre. She even regularly uploads her own dragon illustrations on a pseudonymous social media account, making her somewhat of a well-known figure in those circles.
The reason for her deep affection for dragons is simple.
They are beautiful. And, they are great.
Given this, her achievement of serving the highest-ranking dragon in Korea could truly be described as a perfect alignment of passion and profession.
"Chairman, this is the proposal for the new business venture within the Orc community by the Jenkinson Welfare Foundation."
Jenkinson, who had been frowning slightly while looking at his computer screen, extended his hand without even turning his head.
As Blair handed over the documents, she felt a pang of regret.
'It would be nice if there was a place in the headquarters where the chairman could work in his true form.'
Of course, there are spaces like that at the headquarters, but Jenkinson preferred to meet his subordinates only in the workspace specified in their employment contracts rather than calling them into his home. He was a clear-cut employer who separated work from personal life.
Because of this, Blair rarely had the opportunity to see Jenkinson in his magnificent true form. It was a significant disappointment for a dragon enthusiast like her.
As Jenkinson flipped through the pages, he asked:
"Are you telling me that even if we buy all the schools and companies run by Red Star, this is all the budget we need?"
Jenkinson intended to use his welfare foundation to fill the void left by the collapsed Red Star. The foundation, which had rarely operated according to its original purpose, was finally on its way to fulfilling its intended role.
The real reason he established the foundation was to exploit the loophole in domestic laws that did not impose limits on political donations to non-profit organizations.
While Jenkinson was interested in governance, he was not interested in holding office. He firmly rejected his subordinates' suggestions to run for president, saying:
'As long as I hold my current position, I can wield enough influence. Isn't it better than the presidency? I don't have to beg for handshakes every five years and wander the market.'
He was not tempted. The current chairmanship was an attractive throne with no term limits, no impeachment concerns, and no re-election worries.
Even without running for office, one of the means by which he exerted influence on society was the aforementioned foundation.
It was rare for a prominent presidential or parliamentary candidate not to have tasted the political donations from the Red Dragon. Even a five-term president could hardly refuse Jenkinson's demands.
So, a portion of the foundation's funds, which had been managed well for such purposes, would now flow into the Orc community.
Jenkinson intended to finally take care of the neglected, sick sheep beyond the fence of the pasture.
Before another dangerous agitator appeared to deceive them.
"We cannot just acquire the existing schools and supply networks. We need to pour in quantities several times greater. We must ensure that no one says the old days were better."
Although the reputation of Red Star among the orcs had already plummeted, there were still impoverished humans who harbored no strong aversions. Memories tend to be romanticized, and those who longed for Red Star would appear. There was no guarantee that a second Red Star exploiting those psychological gaps wouldn't emerge.
"Yes, understood."
Jenkinson turned the page.
"What about the companies of Kim Kwang-woo?"
After driving out Red Star and ruling the slums, they had enjoyed a brief period of dominance before retreating.
A video, apparently filmed shortly before Kim Kwang-woo's death, had been distributed. The old orc, with a haggard face, was confessing his sins. The content of the video will shocked many.
What astonished the public was not the confession that the legitimate companies he ran were funded by orc gangs.
People already knew that.
The shock came from the fact that the video was freely disseminated without interference from government officials who were on the gang's payroll.
Naturally, this was due to the influence of the dragon.
According to the will of the Red Dragon, who no longer saw the orc gangs as necessary, the police, who had previously been neglectful, began investigations, arresting executives of the shell companies one by one and breaking up the corporations.
The orc gangs, deprived of their funding, were slowly disintegrating.
"The cleanup of the companies is nearly complete, but the situation of the orcs who were affiliated with the gangs remains a problem."
It was impossible to imprison all those people, and there were limitations to hiring them through Jenkinson's private security firm.
Most of the orcs had committed crimes that were neither excessively severe nor too light.
Jenkinson was contemplating what to do with them, as they had played essential roles in their respective households in the slums.
"This part doesn't have an immediate solution. We'll need to think about it over time."
"Yes, Chairman."
"And... what about the other task I assigned?"
Jenkinson pushed aside the report related to the welfare foundation.
Blair then began to report the progress of the investigation to find the spy with a serious face.
Ha Eunsung hates dragons.
Though he has only directly encountered two dragons, one of which displayed such repugnant qualities and behavior that his perception of dragons became fixed as 'extremely negative.'
Ironically, Ha Eunsung is now trapped in a dragon's body.
Initially, he was bewildered every time he looked in the mirror, but he was slowly adapting.
Specifically, he had adjusted enough to comfortably lie on a slime bed and manipulate the remote control without breaking it.
"Ah, I've seen this too."
He pressed the remote control button while crunching on a fried bone.
He had been trapped in the secret underground room of Minjun's commercial building for over a week. He didn't even dare attempt to escape as a spirit. He merely spent each day in the basement as instructed by Minjun.
The agent, not an entirely unfeeling person, had installed a TV here. A smart TV, no less. Thanks to this, Ha Eunsung managed to binge-watch a 12-season series on Netflix.
As he chewed on the bones, Ha Eunsung evaluated the show he had just watched. The drama featuring a special police unit of psychics was praised for its hyper-realistic depiction of magic and supernatural abilities that exist in reality. However, Ha Eunsung thought the portrayal of ghosts was terribly inadequate.
Especially the scene where the ghost, the sole witness to a murder, possessed a regular lawyer—not a medium—and testified in court for over ten minutes was laughable.
"Really, who has a ghost possess a regular person for over ten minutes?"
Immediately after muttering this, Ha Eunsung realized the contradiction in his words.
Oh, wait. That's me, isn't it?
"Hmm."
A week had passed since he had taken over a non-medium body with the power of Talant, but there was no rejection. Ha Eunsung was afraid that he might end up like Ji Seon-kyung. He had no desire to live long in this repugnant dragon's body.
Unlike what people might think, not all ghosts yearn for resurrection. At the moment of death, they lose their desires for food, sex, and sleep. Instead, their desires shift towards wanting to see more interesting things, seeking emotional stability, and maintaining their ghostly state to avoid dissolution.
Ha Eunsung hesitated before speaking to his inner self.
"Um, sir?"
Ha Eunsung called out to the dragon's soul with whom he shared his body.
Although Minjun had mentioned there was still a lot of time left, he wondered if perhaps the recovery might have progressed quickly.
"Sir, are you coming to your senses? Sir!"
He had heard that the body had grown to at least fifty years old by now. To Ha Eunsung, he was still "sir."
The young dragon, who was considered middle-aged by human standards but still very young by dragon standards, remained unconscious and, of course, did not respond.
Ha Eunsung gave up.
"Oh well, I guess it's nothing to worry about."
He felt there was no need to be overly concerned. At least there were no signs of being trapped in the body like during the Ji Seon-kyung incident.
Ha Eunsung still had no access to the dragon's memories stored in the body.
"Unless some memories I haven't experienced suddenly come up, I should be safe."
With his safety and livelihood guaranteed through legal arrangements, there was nothing else to worry about.
Thinking this, Ha Eunsung started to use the remote control to select the next video.
A reality show caught his eye. It was an observational reality program featuring young orc men and women in their mating season, confined in a luxurious resort. The show captured their struggles over partners, steamy displays of affection, and, in the middle of the season, the sudden intrusion of attractive individuals from other races who disrupted the dynamics and hierarchy.
The preview alone looked interesting. Ha Eunsung pressed play on episode one and soon became completely absorbed, forgetting all his previous concerns.
Minjun had no choice but to acknowledge it. Before he lost his memory, he had clearly been involved in the butchering and selling of dragons.
Nevertheless, confusion was inevitable.
He had knowledge of the matriarchal monarchy of the Shutan people. They had formed such a culture roughly a thousand years ago. This implied that Minjun had been active up until a thousand years ago.
However, Minjun also had memories from before history began. How ancient were these memories? Without records to serve as benchmarks, he couldn't gauge the passage of time.
This led to another question.
Just how long had he existed?
'The era doesn't match up...'
As he pondered this, he heard someone knocking on the door.
He turned his head and said, "Come in."
The door opened, and a young man wearing sunglasses peered in. He asked in a cautious voice,
"Excuse me, are you Agent Minjun?"
"That's right. Please, have a seat."
The slightly pointed ears caught his eye.
A half-elf.
The client he had arranged to meet today.
Minjun usually doesn't accept requests from outside the jurisdiction, but there are exceptions. If the requester is an acquaintance or if the request comes through a connection, he might consider it. Even though the previous case with the arrogant businessman ended in tragedy, if the request had been made formally, Minjun would have reluctantly agreed.
Given that Minjun values connections even from decades ago, if the requester is someone like Cassie, who currently works with him, it would be a sufficient reason not to outright refuse.
Additionally, Minjun was quite free lately.
The goblin DNA collection was being handled by Jenkins, who had seized the data from Changkcheon, and the magic circle for extracting Dalant was being constructed by the research team under the High Dragon, based on the blueprints Minjun had provided. Of course, these were just fragments of parts, and they didn't even know what they were making. Minjun's job was to assemble them later.
Until the subcontracted parts were completed, it was true that he didn't have much to do.
He looked at the man across from him, recalling the story Cassie had told about introducing the client.
'They said he was a childhood friend from kindergarten...'
After agreeing to the request, he learned more details about the client through a phone call.
The man sitting across from him now was the heir to one of Korea's top six conglomerates — it used to be seven before Changkcheon's death.
Edward Mitchum.
As an elf, he was the eldest son of a family that had retained their American name even after naturalizing in Korea.
'What could a young master from such a prominent family possibly want to request here?'
Edward hesitated, as if to show respect, before taking off his sunglasses.
Understanding the meaning behind this action, Minjun said,
"I'm not interested in men. So please, feel free to take them off."
"Alright, understood."
After a conversation that could easily lead to misunderstandings if only the voice was heard, the client finally removed his sunglasses.
Minjun then found himself meeting the enigmatic gaze typical of a vampire. Of course, he was completely immune to any "charm" effects. It would have been the same even if Edward had been a woman.
"What is it that you wish to request?"
The half-elf spoke with clear intent and meaning, quite different from the hesitation he showed when entering.
Minjun was immediately faced with a statement that made him consider whether he should throw the young master out of the office.
"I will be direct. I would like you to find and kill one extraterrestrial I specify... and her children."
< 67. The Dragon Enthusiast, Dragon Hater, Dragon Butcher (1) > End