The Foreigner on the Periphery (English Translation)

< 175. Love Yourself (1) >

After reaching maturity, the elite warrior of Shutan, Solada, rarely looked at himself in the mirror voluntarily. He found it repulsive.

As a child, he had been reassured by the fact that his features were still developing. He believed that his noticeably large head, bulbous nose, uneven scales, and near-misaligned jaw might change with age.

But after completing his third stage of puberty and entering young adulthood, Solada had no choice but to be disheartened. The reason was simple: his face, which he would have to live with into old age, had not changed significantly from the past.

Solada was ugly.

Nevertheless, he did not lose hope. Instead of despairing, Solada decided to work hard, fulfilling the virtues expected of Shutan men and wandering through the alien worlds as a mercenary. While there were no worlds accepting Shutan immigrants, there was a high demand for short-term work visas for alien labor.

Moreover, Shutan men were affordable workers compared to their abilities. In other words, they were cost-effective.

'Oh? You're a weapon master. Good, there's an offer from Dimension #41-545. The contract period is 5 years, and the compensation is this much. However, you won't be able to return to your home dimension until the contract ends. What do you think?'

'That's fine.'

The average physical strength of Shutan men surpasses that of trolls and is famous for tearing steel with their bare hands. Additionally, their relentless persistence in tracking prey to the ends of hell made them welcome as mercenaries, hunters, and problem-solvers.

Furthermore, Solada was a weapon master. Just as a troll weapon master plays with human weapon masters, Shutan weapon masters overwhelm most similar species.

After entering the mercenary world, Solada worked tirelessly. And whenever there was an opportunity, he applied for marriage contracts, hoping that a woman with the right to marry would choose him.

He believed that being a weapon master put him at an advantage. Accumulating wealth was relatively easier.

'The measure of a Shutan man's worth is his wealth. What would a woman freed from the obligation to produce unfertilized eggs want? She would want to be rewarded for her hard work, likely with a luxurious life.'

The shells of unfertilized eggs produced by Shutan are used as raw materials for synthetic gold. The gold produced is a major export item, contributing a significant portion to the GDP of the Gelanko dimension. He needed to prepare a dowry that would satisfy mature women who had honorably retired from the industry.

'I need to make money. More money!'

Yet, he faced failure year after year.

Rejections, rejections, rejections.

Women did not easily choose him, and Solada had to keep waiting for the next opportunity.

Still, he did not lose hope. The wealth he declared on his application increased every year, enough to provide a comfortable life for a woman.

But the results did not change. Continuous rejections.

As decades passed, he began to feel anxious.

'Could it be... could it really be?'

It couldn't be. It couldn't be.

I can't fail.

I can't be left behind.

'Why? I'm a weapon master. Besides, I have accumulated a lot of wealth!'

He tried to soothe his rising anxiety with self-destructive labor.

Solada worked harder than anyone else.

The days of harsh labor continued.

In Shutan society, only a few women who meet stringent conditions are recognized by the Kingdom Union for marriage rights, or in other words, the right to produce fertilized eggs.

It was a well-known blood-soaked competition. Women had to endure the daily pain of tearing flesh for long years to prove that they produced high-quality unfertilized eggs and must be physically and mentally healthy despite enduring such hellish times. Excelling in activities other than egg production while being isolated from men was an added advantage.

A woman wanting to give birth had to be perfect.

Like a superhuman.

In fact, just surviving to the age required to apply for marriage rights and maintaining sanity was a remarkable achievement. Although never mentioned in the media, the suicide rate among Shutan women is much higher than any other species, class, or gender in this world.

Women who managed to obtain the rights through this grueling gate then transition from being the chosen ones to the ones making choices. The average age of successful women is around 150 years. Consequently, the Shutan marriage customs often show an extreme age gap between genders. Generally, they preferred younger men as spouses.

The day Solada, having turned 100 years old, decided to give up on further applications, was due to this reason.

It is impossible for a man of his age to be chosen as a spouse.

No matter how much wealth or ability he had, it was impossible.

'Why! Why the hell?! I've saved money. I haven't had a day of rest in decades. I've scraped together every bit. So why isn't anyone picking me?!'

On the day he bought a bottle of strong liquor, which he usually avoided for fear of wasting money, and drank it all, he sat at the table-cum-sink in his shabby single-room apartment, sulking in drunkenness. He suddenly looked up. An object he usually didn't pay attention to was there.

Truly, for the first time in a long while, he looked at the mirror.

The answer was there.

After that, Solada never went on an alien assignment again. Instead, he focused on spending the money he had accumulated recklessly.

'Hey! Solada! Is this really how it's going to be? It's been over a year since you last worked! It's a loss for your kind if someone as capable as you lets their skills go to waste…'

To the headhunter who came to his home, he drunkenly shouted.

'Damn it, stop babbling and get lost!'

'W-What?! What did you just say?'

'A loss for my kind? Hmph, here, have this. I'm not working anymore. Why should I keep working like a slave?'

He swallowed the next words. After all, he wasn't going to get married or have children.

'I'm going to live spending money. I'll live for myself now!'

That declaration was shocking. It was not something an exemplary Shutan man would say.

A man must be frugal. He must be diligent. He must have perseverance. He must continuously earn foreign currency from other worlds and keep it in savings. Instead of the hellish exchange rate of Dalant, it should be the currency of trading partner worlds. Since no one knows when he will marry, it is better to keep saving without spending it on frivolous things until that day comes.

Summarizing this long sentence in Shutan style: a man must be manly.

'Are you going to touch your regular savings? But that's supposed to be for marriage funds...'

'Damn it! I went to the bank today and emptied it all. I even paid the penalties! Those crazy bastards. How many men are there who die old without being able to use their savings and without passing it on to children? I won't live like that. I'll spend it all and die!'

And Solada was not alone.

He began to associate with other old men who had made the same decision. To fill the emptiness, he indulged in alcohol and drugs. With marriage and childbirth abandoned, there were so many things to enjoy in the world.

The reason Solada did not even give up on romance was that such a concept did not exist for Shutan. In this society where unmarried men and women live in isolated places.

He engaged in petty crimes, caused trouble, and insulted the royal family, repeatedly going in and out of prison. Even so, he did not stop his wild behavior.

Everyone desires recognition and attention. When these needs are unmet, deep frustration is felt, and despair often leads to actions that ignore social norms. They regress and become numb to shame. They justify committing all sorts of lowly acts, believing that they can do so because they cannot meet society's 'standards.'

For Solada, that standard was marriage. How much money he had saved was no longer important. He sensed that he was no longer an elite.

So he made a decision. In a society that considers waste and debauchery as the height of immorality and does not see those who do not work as people, he decided to live solely for sensory pleasures. After all, he had nothing to lose. Thinking so, he was not afraid of the surrounding criticism. He had already given up on seeking recognition and attention from others.

He was truly not afraid.

'Solada, this is the last chance. If you cause any more trouble in the capital, the royal family won't leave you alone. Insulting princesses loudly in public was... a huge mistake. It's only because of your previous contributions that you're not facing worse consequences.'

The headhunter who had established a connection with him in the past came to visit Solada after he finished yet another stint in prison.

"Stay away from the capital for a while. I've prepared a hideout for you. It's a villa on the rural coast. Stay away from alcohol and drugs and take some time to clear your head there."

Solada boarded the train heading to the outskirts of the Shutan Kingdom. The house the agent had arranged for him was said to have been considered an unidentified ruin even during the tribal wars 800 years ago. However, after the wars and several changes in ownership, most of the massive ruins that made up the structure were sold off in the black market, leaving behind only a dilapidated fragment.

The valuable items, including the furniture, decorations, columns, and bricks, had all been dismantled and sold by the previous owners and grave robbers. Now, only a single house with no historical value remained, which had been added to by later generations.

Reflecting on this description, Solada muttered to himself.

"Just like me. Only worthless rags remain... a deserted house that no one looks for."

As Solada stared vacantly at the outside scenery, the train entered a tunnel and the view outside went dark. The window, as if painted black, reflected the light and brightly illuminated the inside of the car. It was like a mirror made of black glass. There, the image of an old Shutan man appeared on the darkened surface. He looked extremely despondent and lethargic. Solada muttered curses between his teeth and turned his gaze away.

"Oh God… God… God…"

In a forest bordering the coast.

There were people gathered who, without background knowledge, would be difficult to discern their relation to each other.

There were four people in the group, two of whom were unconscious.

Among them was a fainted dragon. The dragon lay on the ground with dilated pupils. Although it was still breathing, its vitality was slowly fading. This was to be expected. A physical body not under the influence of a spirit inevitably cools down. At that moment, the dragon's body had no dominant soul.

There was also a fainted woman.

The remaining two, who were conscious, were tending to her. One was a man who appeared to be human, and the other was a pale-skinned being with three eyes.

The black-haired man asked.

"How is she?"

The priest, who had been holding Del's hand and focusing with closed eyes, replied.

"I'm sorry. Although she has transformed into a smaller form, she was originally a massive being that could cover an entire island, so her vessel of vitality seems immense."

This meant it was the limit of Yumtus's power. Hearing this, Min-jun looked at his former spouse with a dark expression.

Del was trembling with her tentacles in a state of confusion. At that moment, she was neither in her perfect human form nor her original form, which spanned a radius of 6 kilometers.

"She's been pushed to the point where she can't even perform polymorph perfectly."

Amid his contemplation, Min-jun heard the sound of a strange beast's cry in his ear. The density of the atmosphere was also subtly different from where they had been yesterday. Despite it being daytime, there were two moons faintly floating in the sky, and a humid, unpleasant moisture clung to the skin. A small bird spread its four wings and flew up between the blossoming trees.

Min-jun remembered the princess who had been arrested for committing a crime on Earth a few months ago. The Shutan who was reported to have died during transportation to the committee headquarters. Min-jun was now facing the landscape she had described.

The dimensional leap had succeeded.

The group had now arrived in another world, a neighboring dimension reachable with a single leap from Earth.

"Everything was fine up to that point."

During the leap, Del's condition had deteriorated rapidly. It was something Min-jun couldn't understand.

"Old dragons endured leaps, so why not Endellion? Where did it go wrong?"

The place where they first appeared after crossing the dimension was 10 kilometers above sea level, and at that moment, Del, who was losing consciousness, showed signs of falling. If she had hit the ground, it would have been a disaster.

So she desperately recited the polymorph spell. It seemed she intended to transform into a human, but due to her erratic mental state, it ended imperfectly. After barely finishing the spell, she fainted.

As a result.

"God…!"

Del repeatedly uttered the same word through her trembling lips.

Earnestly and faintly.

"Del…"

Min-jun looked at his former spouse, who had transformed into a half-human, half-tentacle form, with an unreadable expression.

Yumtus carefully set down the hand he had been holding to emit divine power. Then, with a sympathetic tone, he muttered.

"She's been constantly calling for God. The Endellion race seems to be truly devout."

"…"

Knowing that the meaning and usage of that sentence had turned into a curse over the long years, Min-jun chose not to correct the misunderstanding but instead pondered how to restore Del. Seeing her continue to curse even in a coma, it was evident she was in a dire state. Yumtus, with a tone of pity, whispered to Del.

"I don't know what kind of deity you believe in… but I hope your faith brings you peace."

"…tentacles that wrap around the stars…"

At that moment.

"Cough!"

The dragon nearby awoke. The dragon's spirit returned, and after a few more coughs, it detached from its physical form and reported to Min-jun.

"I found it. There is indeed a large mansion where the sea meets, just as you described."

Min-jun felt relieved.

"Good, it shouldn't have disappeared."

But then he realized something odd about the ghost's words.

"Wait a minute. A single mansion?"

Why just one?

"Yes. The surroundings are completely barren, and there's only one house strangely situated there."

This was incomprehensible.

But there was no time to dwell on the question. Min-jun thought that instead of leaving Del outside like this, they needed to move to a proper place to tend to her.

"Let's move."

Whoosh!

Shadows erupted from his body and enveloped Del. Min-jun wove them together like several strands of rope, tying Del and carrying her on his back. Yumtus also neatly stacked and carried several coffins he had brought along.

"Well, this is troublesome."

Min-jun soon realized the problem. Del's lower tentacles were dragging on the ground, causing issues if they walked or fluttered like a flag if they flew, which would be difficult for Del.

He quickly resolved the issue.

Whoosh!

The shadows moved like hands and bound Del's tentacles into neat knots. Her lower body was now rounded and neatly arranged like a bundle. Min-jun said.

"Let's go."

In a faint voice, Del struggled to mutter.

"Stars… wrapping… tentacles…"

End of chapter 175