༺ Plans Are Made to Be Broken ༻
I couldn’t read the signaller’s thoughts, but even I could tell she was pretending to have desynchronized. So, how obvious would it seem to the regressor?
The regressor gripped Chun-aeng with a deep sigh.
“Fine. If you can’t bring yourself to disconnect, I’ll do it for you.”
『…!』
My plush toy went limp, this time disconnecting for real. Its short limbs dangled in the air.
I clutched my inanimate plushie and wailed.
“Nooooh! Plushieeeeee!”
“Who actually names their doll Plushie? Stop making a scene.”
But I have to ease the atmosphere if I wanna endure the serious talk we’re about to have!
Despite my desperate efforts, the regressor got into a serious mode.
“I need a favor.”
“Is the sun rising from the other side tomorrow? Mr. Shei, coming to make a serious request of me? What is it? I’m all ears.”
I had already read all her thoughts, knew what she would ask and why. Yet the girl in question was struggling to word her request with the eloquence she never possessed.
Did that make her efforts meaningless? No. The issue here was that it did hold meaning, obliging me to directly confront the regressor’s wish. And that made it hard to refuse.
“Once everyone reaches the root of the abyss under the Earth Sage’s guidance…”
The regressor thought back to the warm reception the Earth Sage received merely hours ago. From her perspective, most of us here knew the Earth Sage and could spend all day listing the latter’s accomplishments.
In contrast—ignoring past life cycles—the regressor was just a wanderer with no background or reputation.
｢I’m facing the celebrated Earth Sage, known for her benevolence to all people. It’d be different in the future when she’s remembered as a calamity, but right now she’s famous and trustworthy. Way more than an unknown like me.｣
The regressor was capable of objectively evaluating herself. She knew who she faced, and how formidable and dangerous her opponent was. She was well aware of the power possessed by the Heaven-Defying Earthwyrm, the harbinger of disaster.
The Earthwyrm was not only the original owner of Jizan, the Sword of the Earth, but also the tragic figure who had been vanquished by a saintess and her crusaders. Simultaneously, she was the nightmare of Sanctum, the catalyst for their downfall.
Armed with the Sword of the Earth, the Earth Sage’s geomantic powers would be great enough to cleave the earth and tip mountains. Not even armies could match her.
Setting aside that Shei always had little time to prepare due to events playing out so early in her regressions, she had still never managed to beat the Earth Sage in a one-on-one encounter.
Yet right now, she had to challenge this impossibility.
“I’ll have to fight against the Earth Sage. Probably. That’s why…”
She was afraid, but that was a separate issue. The regressor had to defeat the Earth Sage to make meaningful progress in this life cycle. Only by doing so could she uncover the Earth Sage’s plans and hatred, which would enable her to decide her next steps.
Results were all that mattered. There was no need to be stubborn about defending pride or doing some training. What the regressor needed was a victory over the Earth Sage. Nothing more. However…
“Hel—”
She stopped short, pressing her lips shut.
｢…Whose side would he take? Probably not mine. I treated this life cycle as expendable and failed to win anyone over.｣
Until now, the regressor had never made the effort to win somebody’s heart. Or well, she actually did try on a couple of occasions.
There was a time when she attempted to persuade the Progenitor instead of assassinating her. She aimed to change vampire sentiments, and she succeeded. At the time, they had to unite to face an approaching danger, and the regressor possessed both the strength and the right to empathize with the scars suffered by the Progenitor.
There was also a time when she collaborated with the Resistance. She succeeded in that endeavor as well. She brilliantly exploited the Military State’s vulnerabilities, wreaking havoc without concern for the repercussions. Thanks to her efforts, the State collapsed.
The Resistance didn’t govern the country well. In fact, they performed even worse than the State… Nevertheless, the regressor gained the most solid foundation possible, politically speaking.
But everything was over once she regressed. Not just her failures, but even her small successes would evaporate. Like water going down the drain, even the small kingdom she beautifully established disappeared.
Her efforts, investments, even emotional attachments… none of it mattered.
｢He’s the only one I can ask right now, this man who stands in the center of us all. But will he actually help me?｣
In the realm of relationships, the cost of success often outweighed the effort involved. Even the outcome varied wildly, depending on the moment of intersection.
This regression highlighted that more than ever.
Tyr was unscarred this time and paid little attention to the regressor. The Beast King, too, presented a different persona from the one she had previously encountered.
Naturally, the regressor’s focus shifted from relationships to power and weapons.
A tool won’t betray you once it’s in your grasp, after all. And even if you grow attached, you can easily let it go.
Perhaps what she faced now was the price for neglecting those relationships.
｢If he at least doesn’t reject me, even if he won’t help…｣
Though well, it wasn’t clear whether she feared failure or emotional hurt.
“When I fight her, I want you to make sure no one interferes.”
The regressor made her request with more desperation than ever before.
As a reader of desires, I had a sort of occupational hazard: the more earnest and desperate the request, the harder it was for me to refuse. Or perhaps it was better described as a side effect of my ability.
Nevertheless, hopes didn’t always flow in one way. Sometimes they’d collide, leading to conflict much like what happens between cats and dogs.
A plea to defeat someone would inevitably find resistance, but a request to not interfere?
“What? Why would we interfere?”
I retorted with genuine nonchalance.
“I don’t know why you want to fight, but sort it out yourself. Preferably, in a peaceful manner.”
“…You won’t stop me?”
“Why would I get involved in a fight between adults? Oh wait, are you a minor? No wonder you’re a bit small.”
“A-as if! I’ve been an adult for ages now!”
｢Uh, I think I’m 19 right now? After regressing, I only grabbed a few things along with Chun-aeng before diving straight into the abyss…!｣
Frankly, I wouldn’t have cared if she was a minor. This made it even less of a problem though.
The real issue lay elsewhere. She had grabbed “only a few things” and still managed to produce such treasures? How much more would she have if she took everything?
Anyway. I picked my ear with a pinkie as I continued.
“If you’re both adults then well, need I say more? And aren’t you both incredibly powerful to boot? What idiot would want to get caught in the crossfire? Unless they wanted to be blown up.”
“Well, that’s true.”
“Also, go easy on the Earth Sage. She’s a good person. She probably won’t try to kill you either, Mr. Shei… Huh. Doesn’t that just make it a spar? Can’t you do that even now?”
“N-no. The fight itself is serious…”
“Really? Well, you must have your reasons.”
Her request was an easy one since I never planned to get involved in the first place. I waved my hand dismissively.
“The others probably feel the same. Tyr isn’t the type to meddle in other people’s business, Azzy will steer clear of human conflicts, and Rasch will be too busy protecting Callis to care.”
“Is that… right?”
“Oh, you’re not hoping for Nabi to get involved, right? If so, you’d be a really terrible person. Who raises a cat hoping it’ll fight for them!”
“I’m not hoping for it! And I’m not raising Nabi! I’m just looking after her temporarily!”
In any case, the matter was settled. The regressor spoke with visible relief.
“Anyway… thanks. That’s enough for me.”
“Everything aside, I’m a little offended.”
“What is it now?”
“After all the time we’ve spent together, you think I’d just take the Earth Sage’s side if you two suddenly started fighting? You’d imagine me jumping into the fray, shouting, ‘How dare you attack the esteemed Earth Sage! Die!’ while attacking out of nowhere?”
The regressor hesitated before replying.
“…You wouldn’t?”
Oh, I could tell she did this before. Rushing in all of a sudden, screaming, ‘How dare you attack someone I know!’ and picking a fight. Whoever was on the receiving end must’ve felt aggrieved to hell.
This was why regressors were no good.
“Of course I wouldn’t. Not even after you revealed a maniacal tendency for chopping off right arms on sight and displayed the social awkwardness of a loner who can’t read the room.”
“…That’s an insult, right?”
“But for all your immaturity, I know you’re the first to rush in and take action when there’s a problem. You couldn’t do that if you had no interest in others at all.”
“Are you trying to give praise or insult?”
“Strictly speaking, a bit of both I guess? But anyway.”
I patted the regressor’s shoulder. The girl was extremely averse to physical contact, yet she kept still even when I gave her shoulder a firm shake on top. Perhaps she was grateful that I accepted her request so easily, or maybe she had grown fond enough of me not to mind.
“The past three months have meant something, you know.”
Looking back, it still hadn’t been more than three months since I first dropped into the abyss. I felt like so many big things had happened—people invading, falling, fighting—yet the span of time between those events was only a month.
The regressor seemed to share the sentiment, murmuring dazedly.
“… After everything that’s happened, only three months have passed.”
How odd. We felt the same way, but when she said it, I couldn’t help but want to tease her.
“Only three months? That’s a whole semester, Mr. Shei. And a semester is long enough for you to go from graduating elementary school to dropping out of secondary school.”
“You never let up, do you!”
The regressor snapped back with annoyance.
“You know what, next time I’ll come after graduating! Seriously, just you wait!”
“Next time? What next time?”
｢Darn it. I can’t let him know I’m a regressor…｣
I mean, wasn’t she supposed to be eighteen at the start of her regression? She shouldn’t be able to go back to secondary school then, no? She’d already be past graduation age.
The regressor paused only briefly before coming up with quite a unique solution.
“I can just fake my identity!”
“Uh, you’d fake your identity just to attend secondary school?”
“I can do it! I’m also quite proficient in disguise, you see!”
｢With the Boneshifting Art of Heavenly Domain Counter and Agartha’s Mask, I could probably pass as a male student who’s a bit of an early bloomer…!｣
More than the feasibility of the idea, I was amazed that she was even considering it.
“Isn’t this less about whether you can do it and more about whether you should?”
“Shut up! I wouldn’t be like this if it weren’t for you!”
“What if you’d done well in elementary school in the first place?”
“Anyone can go to secondary military school! Don’t get proud over something like that!”
“If anyone can go, then why…?”
“Hey!”
I considered this an unblockable social technique. She might possess Chun-aeng, but I had the education system on my side.
How’s that for taste, elementary school dropout?
Anyhow. While I managed to rile up the regressor, I gained no new insights. Not even she, in her previous life cycles, managed to discover what happened to the Earth Sage.
Ultimately, we were left with a single conclusion: we’d remain in the dark until we reached the bottom of this place.
I prayed to Mother Earth, intensely wishing that nothing big would happen. I felt so anxious that I forgot I was in the abyss.
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