Chapter 198
Chapter 198
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Translator: crow
Chapter Title: EP.45 – The Knight Gallops Through Autumn (3)
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The two boys had been sharing the information they each possessed in perfect unison ever since the keyword "angel" came up.
Of course, sharing didn't mean they revealed themselves as regressors or possessors.
Even if they had similar experiences, their guarded natures made it impossible to become instant friends.
"What did the angel you saw look like?"
"Hmm, honestly, I couldn't see its face clearly. But the moment I saw it, I just knew, 'Ah, that's an angel!' Instinctively?"
"Similar to me."
"Oh, one more thing—'beautiful yet sorrowful?' That thought crossed my mind too."
"That matches as well."
"Hmm……."
"……."
The two boys suddenly fell quiet.
It wasn't that the conversation had stalled; they seemed lost in recalling their encounter with the angel.
However, both wore troubled expressions….
"But the more I think about it, the more it feels like I'm trapped in fog, stuffy and blind."
"Like ink splattered in one corner of my brain."
"Ah! Exactly!"
The more they dwelled on it, the deeper they sank into a labyrinthine haze, leaving them to sigh in resignation.
They had clearly met an angel, yet couldn't recall it clearly, some 'decisive memory' eluding them.
Meanwhile, watching his students from a third-party perspective, Lee Han had a rough idea of their frustration.
'Looks like these kids have hazy memories of their own regression or possession.'
The sensation of a vivid dream that vanishes upon waking.
'That angel must be on the level of the Spring Fairy—or higher?'
Well, it was an angel, after all.
A divine messenger called God's apostle, a sacred being comparable to dragons or seasonal fairies.
If such an entity asserted its presence, faded memories were inevitable.
Those who encountered fairies or dragons often lost their minds entirely.
A blurry memory like this was probably unavoidable.
'Did Chickie meet an angel too?'
Imagining his neighbor might have had the same encounter, Lee Han chuckled softly.
And rightly so.
'I got smacked on the back of the head and recovered my memories, while others get angels… Am I the only one with an old-school genre?'
Being the sole relic of a bygone era amused him.
Still.
'Classics are my taste anyway.'
Honestly, watching these grown boys babble "angel, angel" was a bit cringeworthy, and Lee Han was relieved not to be part of it.
Afterward, the two boys talked for quite a while.
But they dropped the angel topic.
"There's nothing we can figure out from it."
"It's not something we can know just because we want to."
…They couldn't dwell on an unsolvable puzzle forever.
So their conversation shifted mostly to the 'future.'
"In the future I 'saw,' the temple never went this berserk."
"My 'known information' doesn't have it either."
They seemed to share opinions freely, but still held back what needed hiding.
Naturally so.
Even with shared experiences and events, could they really bare everything?
For their personalities, even this minimal exchange was a major concession.
One was overly suspicious, the other overly worried, so caution prevailed….
Thus.
"If you give me the information I want, I'll pay the price."
"Th-then me too. I'll pay a fair price."
They agreed to fair [trades] for mutual gain.
Suspecting each other and hiding info would only lead to stalemate.
It was their maximum concession.
But.
"What about the instructor?"
"…Huh?"
"Want to make a deal?"
"Me?"
Lee Han blinked at the sudden proposal from the dark-skinned boy.
He hadn't expected this.
"…You're the one panicking me now. Aren't you curious? It's info on the future. Knowing it would be a huge boon."
"……."
He had a point.
Future info wasn't just events; it meant tapping into their boundless potential too.
Living in palace-like mansions, feasting on truffles and steak thrice daily.
An irresistibly tempting offer—one any non-fool would accept.
But.
"Eh… I don't really need it?"
"…??"
"No need to tell me. Besides, I'm just a poor wage slave with no money for trades anyway."
"…You can pay in something else."
"I said no. See, rich folks always want more…! Tch, go eat a flea liver instead, you conscienceless noble brat."
"I-I didn't mean to fleece you, Instructor. It's a misunderstanding."
He looked genuinely aggrieved at the insult.
He hadn't intended an excessive demand, yet ate the curses anyway.
He tried to continue and clear it up, but….
Swipe.
"Enough, really."
Lee Han cut him off firmly, palm outstretched.
"……."
…For a moment, the dark-skinned boy fell silent.
"Huh?"
Staring at Lee Han's palm, his pupils dilated suddenly. Lee Han shrugged, puzzled but unconcerned.
"Ahem, that other guy once made a similar offer, but I turned it down. Didn't need it."
"……."
"Oh, don't misunderstand. It's not that your info lacks value—it's astronomically valuable, which is why I'm not listening. A simple guy like me trying to scheme the future would just give me headaches."
"……."
"So you two do well. All I can do is fight. But you? You can do anything. Smart kids who pull off whatever. Protect Chickie and Bearcub. Call me if you need my strength—that's the one thing I can offer."
"……."
"I'll head out first. Time to prep class. Don't be late, especially you, noble brat! Show up!"
Lee Han ended with nagging.
He'd wanted a quiet parting, but nagged anyway.
'Is this a mentor's heart?'
…Who knows. Probably just his twisted personality.
'Getting old?'
Ah, didn't want to become a geezer.
Lee Han missed his youth.
…Though his youth wasn't much to miss.
"…He even paid for our coffee."
"……."
Derek eyed the silver coin on the table.
Roan had already lavished gold on the owner, yet Lee Han covered their meals too.
What a diligent man.
"Hmm."
Derek fought a twitch at his lips, lest he burst out laughing.
'Being acknowledged feels… like this.'
Chewing on his words brought an itchy joy surging within.
"…He trusts us."
Unpacking his parting words: he trusted them enough not to pry.
'You can maneuver smarter than me'—that faith underpinned his blunt tone.
Derek's face burned.
First time so validated by someone—no, a man he respected.
Embarrassing, yet proud.
That he could earn such regard.
Then.
"—His hands were a mess."
"Pardon?"
"His hands… were wrecked…."
"?"
Roan muttered vaguely; Derek tilted his head, uncomprehending.
"…You saw the instructor's palm."
"His palm? Oh, yeah, I did."
"What was it like?"
"Well…."
Caught off-guard, Derek's [Instant Recall] skill let him vividly remember.
"…Tons of calluses, right? Scars and wounds everywhere. Not just the palm—the whole fist was scarred. Whew, thinking back, he's incredible. How harsh were those years…."
The more he recalled, the more impressed he grew.
Scars dotted not just hands, but his entire body.
Proof of relentless effort, commanding respect.
But.
"Why bring up scars? Impressive, sure, but nothing new…?"
"……."
"Young Master?"
"…You're sharp in some ways, naive in others."
"Huh?"
Why the sudden criticism—
"—Forgot the instructor received the fairy's blessing."
"…!"
Thwack! Derek's head throbbed as if struck.
"Ah…."
Fairy's blessing.
In the instructor's terms: complete body rebirth.
As implied, it reconstructed the body, erasing old wounds.
Yet today's instructor clearly had….
'Why so many calluses and scars?'
…How?
A mind-numbing question; Roan's answer followed.
"Every scar and callus formed after the blessing. All in a single month."
Absurd.
Roan couldn't fathom it.
The instructor's raw power already rivaled kingdom elites.
Yet those wounds suggested ceaseless ordeal—Derek mistook them for thirty years' worth.
In other words.
'He lived one month like thirty years?'
Ha!
Laughter escaped.
Such scars demanded repeated life-or-death training.
Plus, with his freakish recovery, scars lingered because he outpaced healing.
…Intense?
The word fell short.
He lived every minute, every second, at full throttle.
'No wonder he doesn't need the future….'
Not fretting tomorrow or next year, but charging through the 'now.'
To one living a month as thirty years, looming crises held little weight.
…He'd live each day without regrets.
"…I nearly made a grave mistake, almost chaining the instructor."
"He shines brightest when free."
"Agreed."
Roan nodded vigorously, admitting his proposal was worthless.
…A twinge of self-reproach, but they swiftly returned to the main topic.
"How do you think the temple will act?"
"Too many methods; hard to pick. …Any guesses?"
"……."
"You do."
"Uh, it's uncertain, so…."
"I'm listening."
"…Haha."
Roan struck a perfect listener's pose; Derek looked awkward but continued.
"Phew, 'that time' is coming soon. I'd target it."
"That time?"
"Yes, one of the academy's biggest fall events."
"…You mean that?"
"Yes."
—Entrance Exam.
Pandragons' premier event to select new cadets.
"I'd definitely target the [Entrance Exam]."
The academy opened to outsiders then.
"Apt timing, as you say. Easy for temple spies to infiltrate."
"……."
"Worried? Makes sense—other cadets at risk too. But fret not. I'll ensure it doesn't happen."
"…I trust you."
Derek replied with apparent relief, but his real concern was elsewhere.
None other than.
'…She's finally coming.'
The herald of the true main chapter, turning prologue to story proper.
'The main heroine.'
The so-called 'female protagonist.'