Chapter 30
Chapter 30
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 30
Chapter Title: A Son's Guilt
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The blue dragon sat hesitantly, avoiding Shin-ju's gaze.
Shin-ju asked again, just to be sure.
"Is your father's name Restprime?"
"Ah, yes... it is."
Realizing his mistake, Shin-ju narrowed his eyes and stared into the distance for a moment.
He did his best to hide his awkward expression, glancing at the blue dragon from the corner of his eye.
He couldn't lose his composure while punishing the young dragons.
*Ah, this is so damn awkward.*
He knew Restprime had a child, but he never imagined it would be such a fragile one.
Speeder, who had been frowning, nudged Shin-ju with her elbow.
Shin-ju looked down at Speeder with a faint, knowing smile.
Early in his career as a police officer, he had once protected a young alien from a family on welfare.
The child's mother, their only guardian, had been imprisoned, leaving the child on the verge of starvation.
Shin-ju recalled the furious protests of a woman in that slum building.
She was an ordinary human.
["We can barely help our own children, so why do we have to protect alien kids too? What a waste of taxes!"]
Her voice echoed in his ears like an auditory hallucination.
He quietly closed his eyes, admitting his own carelessness.
Despite that experience, he had just driven a wedge into the heart of a child who was already being bullied.
Shin-ju chastised himself for not being more careful.
A moment later, he opened his eyes.
His plan was to send the three dragons away first, then apologize properly.
Shin-ju turned to the yellow dragon.
"Hey, so was your reason for bullying him something like, 'It's okay to bully the son of a criminal'?"
The yellow dragon couldn't meet Shin-ju's gaze.
"Whatever. Grab that white one and the black one and get lost."
Shin-ju gestured with his chin toward the two collapsed dragons.
The yellow dragon hastily slung his two friends over his shoulders and scrambled out of the clearing.
Shin-ju watched the trio's retreating backs for a long while before turning to the blue dragon.
"Are you okay?"
"Ah, yes, thank you..."
Shin-ju sighed as he looked at the blue dragon's condition.
"Hmm..."
He could guess the reason for the bullying.
The Dragonkin were originally a very aggressive and belligerent alien species, with the second-largest population on Earth after the Bluerobic Planetarians.
They had understood and integrated well into human culture, and even the United Intergalactic Government had cautiously accepted them, leading to positive cultural exchanges.
However, the treatment of Dragonkin who had settled in America deteriorated sharply because of Restprime, the Titan-class blue dragon who committed a terrorist act in downtown LA six years ago.
As a result, the Dragonkin were driven out to these outlying slums that resembled internment camps.
The anxiety that had been simmering in a corner of the human psyche had resurfaced.
No matter how highly intelligent the Dragonkin were, humans harbored an instinctive fear of them deep in their subconscious.
The Dragonkin were apex predators capable of wiping out humanity at any moment.
Shin-ju remembered the recent incident where 'Kandora the Wyvern' and a 'mercenary' from Cha-yoon Enterprise got into a scuffle in the middle of Gangnam, Seoul.
In truth, terrorism was just one of many heinous crimes that humans also committed frequently.
When it came to crime, there was little difference between humans and aliens.
The only stark difference was in the response, which varied based on species.
Shin-ju looked down at the dejected blue dragon.
*Jeez, the son ended up shouldering the guilt for his parent's actions.*
*Anyway, just because the father is Titan-class doesn't mean the son is too.*
*Did he take after his mother's side more?*
Shin-ju knelt on one knee and asked directly.
"What's your name?"
"Kendroprime... sir."
"Is your father home?"
"Probably...?"
"Probably?"
"His work hours are always irregular..."
"Hmm, I see."
An awkward silence fell between them.
"Kendro..."
"Yes?"
Kendro jumped in surprise. Shin-ju took a breath before looking at him.
"First, I want to apologize for badmouthing your father in front of you. As a police officer, it was my fault for failing to see a victim suffering from discrimination and stigma."
Kendro couldn't bring himself to lift his head, staring only at the ground.
"Don't worry too much. I'm not here to arrest your father. In fact, I might be able to help him."
Kendro still said nothing.
"You know your father used to hang out with some bad people, right?"
Kendro nodded silently.
"I'm investigating those people now, and there's something I want to find out through your father. We can't let him get caught up in something bad again, can we? Would it be alright if I visited your home?"
Kendro still didn't answer.
Shin-ju sighed.
He felt sorry for the boy, but he couldn't just let it go.
"Kendro, please. Your father can't be in danger. Let's go."
Shin-ju recited a spell from the Old Book to make Kendro stand up.
"Huh... huh?"
Frightened, Kendro reluctantly led the way.
"Lead on."
Huge, dilapidated shipping containers were stacked on top of each other like Tetris blocks.
Each container, of various colors, was a staggering six meters tall.
Kendro pressed the doorbell attached to the edge of a container.
*Bwaaahk—*
A bizarre doorbell rang out.
Kendro pressed it again, but there was no response from inside.
He turned to Shin-ju.
"I guess he's not home right now."
"What kind of work does your father do?"
"Uh, just manual labor..."
"What kind of manual labor?"
"He's a construction worker."
Shin-ju thought for a moment, then looked down at Speeder and began signing.
[*Looks like we'll have to wait here. Are you okay with that, Speeder?*]
Just then, Shin-ju's phone rang.
He glanced at the screen and immediately answered.
"Yes, Hyde. Did you find anything?"
- Yes, I managed to get the cast schedule for Goodfellas.
The grim expression on Shin-ju's face softened slightly.
"Ah, as expected...! Send the file to my phone."
- Understood. However...
Hyde paused again.
Shin-ju's relieved expression turned back to one of concern.
*This guy never gives it to me straight.*
"Is there something else?"
- The cast list... includes a terrorist... I don't know why.
- Restprime, you know, the terrorist who tried to tear LA apart six years ago?
Shin-ju sighed the moment he heard the name.
"...I understand. Send the file and wait for my call."
*Click-*
Shin-ju quickly checked his phone screen.
A file had already arrived.
He tapped the screen with his thumb, and the cast list appeared.
*Kai, where's Kai?*
[Friday – 12 AM]
[Cast – Kai]
*Okay, Kai's appearance on Friday is confirmed.*
*And Restprime.*
[Wednesday – 10 PM]
[Cast – Restprime]
*Restprime's appearance on Wednesday is confirmed.*
Shin-ju looked up at Kendro.
Kendro's eyes were sparkling as he watched a strange toy Speeder had summoned from her micro-gate.
Seeing him like that, he looked just like any other child, no different from a human.
It seemed the young dragon had no idea what kind of situation his father was in.
Restprime was clearly not at a construction site today.
Shin-ju checked the time on his phone.
Tuesday, 2 PM.
He couldn't think of anything he could do right now.
*Is waiting all I can do now?*
Shin-ju pondered.
Technically, all he had to do was arrest Kai on Friday at midnight.
But now that he knew about the former terrorist's activities, it was difficult to just turn a blind eye.
"I feel bad for Jason. I promised I'd just grab Kai and leave..."
*Vwoom, vwoom, vwoom.*
"Huh?"
Shin-ju looked up at the sound of something buzzing, like the beating of wings.
*Shhhhhhh-*
Suddenly, he felt an ominous presence descending from somewhere in the sky.
*Tweeeeeeet-*
Speeder blew her whistle, as if sounding an alarm for the impending danger.
Shin-ju quickly opened the Old Book and moved closer to Speeder and Kendro.
[*What is it all of a sudden?*]
Instead of answering, Speeder raised the edges of her hands, warily scanning their surroundings.
Meanwhile, Kendro's pupils trembled as if he'd recognized something.
"Ah... Ahh."
*Rumble, rumble, rumble.*
The shipping containers began to shake violently.
Shin-ju chanted a spell from the Old Book, looking around.
Something was definitely coming.
"Aaaah! It's them from before!!"
"Them from before??"
Kendro whimpered.
"They must have brought their leader!!"
Speeder's brow furrowed deeply.
*Tweeeet!!*
She blew her whistle sharply, as if ready to teach whoever it was a harsh lesson.
Shin-ju bit his lower lip in annoyance.
"Ah, these damn punks..."
*Whoooooosh-*
A massive gust of wind swept through.
*Flap, flap, flap-*
The pages of the Old Book flipped wildly, and Shin-ju's hair whipped around his face.
He blinked, his eyes stinging from his hair, and looked up at the sky.
Through the gloomy, dark clouds, the faint outline of enormous wings began to appear.
Speeder looked up and blew her whistle four times.
"Four of them."
Shin-ju narrowed his eyes to get a better look.
*Boom-*
Something burst from the dark clouds, and a red dragon shot out.
Its presence was on a completely different level from the trio earlier.
The red dragon began to dive at an incredible speed.
"Eek!"
*Th-th-th-thud— CRASH!*
Terrified, Kendro dove inside a shipping container to hide.
"That one..."
Shin-ju glanced at the container where Kendro was hiding with a look of pity.
A white dragon emerged from behind the diving red one.
The marks from Speeder's earlier beating were still vivid on its face.
*Tweeeeet.*
Speeder narrowed her eyes, as if daring them to try something.
*Boom— Boom—*
Soon after, the yellow and black dragons who had been scolded by Shin-ju also broke through the clouds and began to dive.
Their flight formation clearly showed their hierarchy.
Shin-ju gritted his teeth.
*Hah... four Dragonkin...*
*Even if they're young, predators are still predators.*
If they all attacked at once, it would be incredibly difficult to handle.
*KABOOM—*
A massive shockwave kicked up a cloud of dust in front of Shin-ju and Speeder.
Shin-ju and Speeder stared straight ahead.
As the dust began to settle, the vicious glare of the red dragon flashed from within.
Shin-ju calmly pressed his lips together and met its gaze.