161. The Dream of the Sinner (4)
"Candidate? We have arrived."
"..."
"Candidate?"
"Oh, sorry."
Jungpal barely tore his gaze away from his phone.
He had been exchanging messages with Cash. Minjun, whom they both trusted and followed, had suddenly gone missing, leaving his whereabouts unknown. He had heard the situation explained by Cash, who had met with the chairman's secretary, but there were still many parts he didn't understand.
What could have happened to Minjun, who seemed like he could survive even fighting a dragon? The worry had made it hard for him to focus on anything else.
"Candidate, this way."
Though he felt it wasn't the time for this, conversely, it was also a time when it was necessary.
Jungpal thought about the voters waiting for him. It was tough, but he needed to focus on this moment.
"Let's go."
The orc, wearing a fluorescent windbreaker with the number 1 symbol on his back, got out of the car.
"Give a warm welcome with hearty applause. Candidate Park Jungpal is here!"
As he went through the door, applause poured out. It was an unusual sound. It wasn't a sound that could come from humans or elves. It was different from the typical troll's loud roar.
"Thank you, nice to meet you!"
His voice in response to the welcome was strong and earnest.
'Doing this makes me realize.'
It was amazing how quickly he adapted, considering it wasn't long ago that he had thrown his resignation letter at the chief of police with a pale face. He kept his smile and made eye contact with each person.
As expected, everyone gathered was an orc. The ruling party he belonged to regarded the human voters in this district as "discarded votes." The half-orc human rights lawyer nominated by the opposition party would sweep up the human votes. For them, there was no choice.
The more he engaged in the campaign, Jungpal couldn't shake the suspicion that this entire game was being decided purely on the basis of "race," rather than policies and visions.
Could the limitations of a species, which strictly differentiates between "us" and "them" based on race, really not be overcome?
'It's laughable.'
It was self-contradictory.
Wasn't it because he was an orc that he had received the nomination?
Aside from receiving his pension quickly, wasn't this the only instance where his race had actually benefited him?
"Thank you for taking the time to come. Today, what I will discuss is..."
After the brief speech, the Q&A session with the voters began. Though there were rare questions about policies, most focused on expressing how difficult it was for orcs to live in this country. They regarded Jungpal more as a local uncle than a parliamentary candidate. This was a result of the orc's informal sense of solidarity.
"When you argue with humans on the internet, this is always the part where you fall short..."
A young orc with acne scars on his face lamented.
"Originally, Earth belonged to humans. That's a fact, right? And when the elves came, they made a good deal to avoid losses."
The increase in ambient mana concentration and the large-scale industrial revolution driven by magic began during the first wave of collective migration, when the elves arrived.
"But that useless little prick... Oh, sorry. I mean, humans... During the second wave, when orcs migrated, there was no such big deal. They insisted that humans were scammed. They say orcs are useless and provide no help in this world. That humans can do all the hard work. So, they say we should be driven back to the original world."
He fumed, unable to contain his frustration, unsure how to counter such logic.
Jungpal responded cautiously.
"That is not correct. Migration was negotiated and decided by the governments representing Earth's nations at that time. They are the ancestors of the humans living in this era, and no descendants are free from historical responsibility. Moreover, they could not pick and choose only the desirable aspects when inheriting the legacy of the nation. The second wave of collective migration was the result of human choice. Living together is a duty based on that choice, and fulfilling it as a member of society is a responsibility. In fact, humans were very eager for the second migration and actively demanded it."
Though he was quite flustered once he realized the race was orc.
"We are not a penalty. Whether in democracy or socialism, representatives chosen by humans in their respective ways made the decision. Orcs are neither a means to disadvantage humans nor a component of a fraudulent contract. We are their neighbors. We are people."
"...If it wasn't a fraudulent contract, what did humans receive?"
Jungpal hesitated for a moment. This was an area not covered by textbooks or the media.
He decided to answer vaguely.
"Many overlook this, but during the second wave, humans received a variety of forms of aid. The issue is that the value assessment of whether it was a sufficiently 'big deal' is often misconstrued."
"Yeah..."
The young orc thought. Though Jungpal's answer was the correct one, it was hard to use in the harsh internet world. He concluded that it was better to continue with the usual practice of anatomically insulting anonymous opponents and expressing suspicions about professions as insults, and then stood up.
Jungpal watched the young man's back and thought.
'What humans received? A big deal... well, there was.'
He had worked as a police officer for decades and had seen with his own eyes the public secrets passed among civil servants like urban legends.
At the time of the second migration, the high-ranking politicians in Korea who made that decision were mostly elderly men.
And not one of them had had their death officially confirmed to this day.
There had been no official confirmation of death for decades.
He thought. It was probably one of the gifts prepared by the committee. To send orcs to Earth.
But Jungpal could not speak of this fact.
"Sir, Candidate."
A staff member with a phone approached. Jungpal raised his eyebrows in puzzlement. Now?
"It's an urgent matter."
He checked the caller ID. It was Cash. Jungpal apologized and went to a place with no one around.
"What's going on?"
Uncle, have you received any contact from Eunseong?
"No? Why suddenly?"
Though they had grown somewhat close through numerous shared meals, he did not know the deep story of the ghost. He only knew that he owed Minjun a bit of money.
He had never deeply considered how someone could incur debt even with the dead and then diligently collect it. He was merely impressed by Minjun's thoroughness.
'Oh, wait a minute.'
Now that he thought about it...
He remembered that Ha Eunseong had stayed by Minjun's side all this time solely to repay a debt.
And now that Minjun had disappeared...
'Could it be...?'
On the other end of the phone, Cash said:
Chairman Jenkins was trying to arrange for a place to stay, but they say they haven't been able to reach him all day.
Lying in the forest under the night sky, he recalled the past.
His memories were mostly about his mentor.
Though he was the only one living on this planet now, there was once two of them. They had managed the dragon ranch alone together until she passed away. When he woke up in the morning, they would face each other, eat together, and exchange even simple stories. For each other, they were the only one.
From the moment his mentor chose him, she had been the most important person in the universe. It seemed like no one could surpass her, and in reality, no one did.
Yet, she, who seemed like she could not become more important, grew in mass and weight within him over time, becoming an irreplaceable existence.
Recalling his mentor, he felt a deep grief and sorrow for the first time in a while.
Her death was an unbelievable tragedy. If she had been born a bit later, much would have been different. He believed that true immortality would become a reality during his lifetime. It was just a matter of staying alive until then.
But she...
"Grrr!"
The well-fed Adkiel let out a long sigh of joy, then approached his master and curled up. As it placed the tip of its wing lightly on his hand, he responded by stroking the wing tip. The dragon, enjoying the warmth of the hearth and the master's touch, began to snore softly.
Naturally, it resembled its distant ancestors. The special gold dragon he had first seen, in other words, the guide dragon, had been raised by his mentor.
He rummaged through his memories. It was probably named Elyscid.
According to tradition, his mentor had given a name to the companion who stayed by her side instead of a numerical identification number.
It's a tradition to name them after the most important person to you. Since they are a precious friend who cannot be replaced on the ranch.
He had asked her what kind of person the original owner of the name Elyscid was. However, despite her usual leisurely and thoughtful manner of answering questions with enthusiasm, she remained silent at that moment.
Instead, she only looked at her dragon, Elyscid. From that gaze, he felt a deep emotion she had never shown him before. Seeing that made him feel a mysterious stirring in his stomach.
When Elyscid died, she was so sad.
Though the lifespan of dragons at that time was much shorter than it is now, it was still a dragon that could have lived for several more decades. When it was found cold and lifeless, covered in its own foam, she was as frozen as an ice statue.
But she did not just collapse. As a true mentor, she tried to use the incident as a stepping stone for her thoughts. Thanks to her efforts, dragons improved through years of research, acquiring bodies that did not get poisoned even after swallowing poisonous amphibians. Just like the current Adkiel.
"Grrr! Meow!"
The dragon's snoring became the accompaniment to the forest's song. Even at midnight, there was no moment of absolute silence here. The traces of beasts that made this time their living space resonated everywhere. The brief pauses between the cries were filled with the symphony of wind, branches, and leaves. The melody sounded like a lullaby for the gold dragon or a memorial song for the mentor buried nearby.
Thoughts circled back to her again.
The deferred aging came on strongly just before death. From then on, they spent time reflecting on various knowledge and maxims. As a result, it was an unexpected side effect that when recalling his mentor's teachings now, the voice of an old man would be heard first.
The advice was not limited to dragons alone.
You need to learn to let go of what you hold in your hands. You never want to give up something you have once grasped. Sometimes you need to open your fist and let things go... that's how everything naturally resolves itself.
It was advice that was hard to agree with.
Before meeting her, he had nothing that he could call his own. Everything was given for communal use and had to be used communally. It was only after following his mentor that he had something of his own.
Once he learned the concepts of monopoly and ownership, he never wanted to lose anything. Regardless of what it was.
You're thinking complex thoughts right now, aren't you? You must be making complicated plans. I can't imagine what they are, but please, don't do it.
Facing death, she begged in a weakened voice. Despite conducting various studies related to life force to 'artificially' extend her lifespan, he ultimately had to give up.
Thus, he stayed by her side during her final moments. That should be considered as following her wishes up to that point.
However, he ultimately committed a sin.
He could not let his mentor go. Absolutely not.
And since she was already dead, there was no way to stop him.
"...!"
In that moment, the recollection was interrupted.
His gaze grew fierce. The dragon, who had been in a deep sleep, opened its eyes wide, readied itself, and extended its claws and scales. After that, no sound could be heard.
The forest was silent.