Chapter 51
Chapter 51
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Regressor
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Shwaaak!
The pre-dawn sky was dyed pitch black, and moonlight poured down onto an open clearing.
In the hour when everyone else was asleep, a boy was swinging his sword endlessly.
"Haa... This is tough."
Rowen's blue-silver hair was already soaked with sweat.
Peeking through the gaps in his patient gown, his muscles exuded a different kind of charm, contrasting with his delicate features.
"It's already been three days..."
Rustle.
A short distance from the clearing.
In a spot thick with bushes, a tuft of pink hair poked out.
She gulped nervously, holding her breath as if something thrilling was happening.
And yet, with her face strangely flushed, the one watching Rowen was none other than Karin, the Saintess of the Holy Kingdom.
"Your wounds haven't even fully healed yet..."
Ever since the midterm exams, Karin had started secretly following and watching Rowen.
Witnessing him push himself to the limit despite his battered body filled her with curiosity.
Slide.
"Hmm... It feels like it's right there, but I just can't grasp it."
He got back up as if he'd rested enough, gripping his sword once more.
Yet his expression betrayed the pain from his wounds, unable to hide the agony completely.
'Why is he pushing himself so hard...?'
Considering the prowess he'd shown in the midterms.
It didn't make sense for him to strain his injured body like this.
"It must hurt like hell..."
Rowen's condition wasn't good, even setting aside the visible wounds.
His muscles were strained, and especially his meridians were completely wrecked.
The fact that such severe injuries only made him grimace a little proved he was on a different level from ordinary people.
"And... how did he get so hurt...?"
Click, shwaaak!
Rowen's swordsmanship was restrained yet carried its signature sharpness.
Anyone could tell at a glance that he possessed exceptional skill.
But Karin's face, watching him, was etched with persistent doubt.
Both when they'd first met and now.
The injuries marking Rowen's body were all dangerously severe.
It didn't add up as him taking hits on purpose to avoid suspicion.
"It's not like he's hiding his power..."
It felt more like he was wearing clothes that didn't fit.
A certain suspicion bubbled up in Karin's mind as she watched.
"What if... he's not hiding his strength, but regaining it...?"
If that were the case, everything made sense.
How the bottom-ranker Rowen had grown so rapidly.
How he'd obliterated a demon with a single, chilling strike.
And how his body had fallen apart from unleashing a blow beyond his current limits.
"Then... what happened to him...?"
Karin, who loved fantasizing, had indecent scenes flashing through her head.
A man standing alone against hordes of demons.
His body covered in wounds, staggering from blood loss.
Yet the sword gripped tightly in his hand remained unshaken, radiating deadly intent.
-Kieeeek!
-"...Ha! Come on, then! I'll kill one more!"
Even as demons blackened the sky with their assaults.
The man just swung his sword with a bold laugh.
And in the end, after slaying them all, he met a lonely death.
"That's when the Heavenly God appears...!"
A miracle from the Heavenly God shone before the man accepting his death.
Sent back to the past, the man struggled to change the future using the experiences etched into his soul.
And that man was undoubtedly the blue-silver-haired boy before her eyes.
"The revelation from the Heavenly God to me...!"
As Rowen advanced toward a better future, facing countless dangers.
She, who received the Heavenly God's love, must stand by his side and support him.
"Eek, hee hee... No choice! As the Saintess, I have to help you...!"
Thump, thump.
The girl who had dreamed of becoming a hero since childhood, reading fairy tales.
Now gazed at the boy who approached her like fate.
Herself standing beside the man who ultimately saved the world.
Just imagining it made her heart tingle.
And so, our pink-haired Saintess wore a strangely seductive smile.
...I wonder when she'll come out.
Shwick, shwaak!
The clue to reaching the next level.
To not miss the faintly shimmering thread right before my eyes.
I'd ignored the nurse's orders to rest absolutely and come out here to swing my sword.
'But... I can't focus.'
Rustle.
The burdensome gaze I'd felt for a while now.
Turning toward it, there was a bush with pink hair sticking out.
"Heek...!"
"..."
Every time my gaze reached her, she flinched without even trying to hide, looking utterly pathetic.
I found that Karin oddly cute, and a small laugh escaped me.
'...No matter how I think about it, she must have seen it.'
At the end of the midterms, when I cut down the demon.
I'd faintly felt someone's gaze.
I'd dismissed it as imagination back then...
But Karin hiding there had clearly witnessed it.
'Otherwise, no reason to follow me.'
Lately, Karin had been trailing me, giving me strange looks.
For her, who often indulged in wild fantasies, it made sense she'd take an interest in me.
Step, step.
Unable to focus on training, I sheathed my sword.
And started walking toward Karin, crouched in the bushes.
Flinch!
With every step I took.
Her trembling grew, shaking like a leaf.
"Hmm... I really don't like this bush."
I approached right up to her nose and touched the sword at my waist.
Rustle!
"W-Wait a sec...!"
Karin, looking teary-eyed, awkwardly crawled out from the bushes.
She must have recalled the midterm day when I'd pointed my sword at her.
With a whimpering expression, she hugged her tiny head with both hands.
"You're too much! You knew I was here...!"
Her legs numb, she wobbled to her feet.
I picked a leaf off her hair and chuckled without thinking.
"You did it on purpose...! You're so mean!"
"Haha, no, Karin. If I'd known, I'd have called your name. Why would I draw my sword?"
"Then at least don't laugh when you say that!"
She naturally accepted my hand on her head, pouting up at me.
After removing all the leaves, I stepped back.
And watched her, her mouth working as if she had something to say.
Sure enough, specs befitting the ultimate healer.
But what stood out most was the line at the bottom—her psychology.
"Um, that... during the midterms..."
Karin's face tensed up oddly.
Avoiding my eyes, glancing around, she finally squeezed her eyes shut and mumbled.
"The demon in the cave. That was you who took it down, right...!"
"..."
As expected, Karin had seen me defeat the Demon of Deception.
Even though I'd thought I'd handled it quickly.
She must have caught me after dealing with the forest keeper, heading to the cave.
◆[She's afraid you might show hostility toward her.]
The silver lining was that Karin had some misunderstanding about me.
"Your current injuries... you got them fighting the demon, right...!"
"..."
"That final slash you showed... it's a technique too much for you to handle yet!"
Karin peeked at me with one eye open.
Confirming my silence, she seemed convinced.
She puffed up proudly, her eyes sparkling in annoyance.
"Ehehe, no need to worry! I haven't told anyone about your identity!"
"...?"
"The reason you didn't report the demon after killing it...! The reason you're getting stronger so fast...!"
Now fully excited, she leaned in close, breathing on my face.
Any second now, she'd grab my hands and jump around.
'...Identity? What is she talking about?'
Did she somehow know I'd possessed this body?
Looking at Karin staring at me strangely, my mind grew more complicated.
"Regressor, you're a regressor, right! You met your end to the demons...! That's why you hunted the demon this midterm too, right!"
Words tumbling out, she sparkled expectantly for my answer.
Watching her, I felt a sense of emptiness.
True to her love of fantasies, she'd jumped to the wrong conclusion again.
'No need... to correct the misunderstanding.'
Having idolized heroes since childhood.
Letting her think I was a hero returned from the past didn't seem bad.
"...Quiet. Your voice is too loud."
"Y-Yes!"
"You're sure you're the only one who knows my identity?"
I changed my expression instantly, murmuring in a low voice.
Like a growl from someone irked.
Karin, watching me, soon looked tense.
"I-I really haven't told anyone...!"
Step, step.
One step, another.
To intimidate, I wrapped my body in aura and approached.
Karin stared with trembling eyes, even hiccuping.
"H-Hiek! Why are you suddenly...!"
"..."
"Y-You're not going to hurt me, are you...?"
Reaching her, I just stared silently.
Meeting my gaze, Karin soon blurted out with teary eyes.
"Please, don't... Even if, I'm the Saintess... I must be useful...!"
Shaking like a cornered small animal.
Seeing her like that filled me with guilt.
'Karin... sorry...!'
She'd be a huge help in future journeys.
With few chances for a Class D like me to get close to Class S Karin.
I had to secure her help, even with this method.
"Fine, I have no intention of harming you."
"R-Really...?"
"But I have my circumstances. Keep my identity secret."
I gently lifted Karin's bowed head, staring coldly into her eyes.
Confirming her frozen, I turned and headed back to the infirmary.
"Um, Rowen...!"
Then, a desperate voice called from behind.
Still trembling in fear, yet with a resolute expression.
Step, step.
Karin approached timidly and continued.
"You seem... really hurt... If you don't want, I won't..."
Shaaaa...
Warm holy power glowing white.
Karin had mustered courage to heal my wounds.
...Good girl.
Moving to treat the one who'd just threatened her.
It proved why she was called the Saintess.
"...Thanks, Karin. I've only ever received help from you."
"Y-Yeah..."
In the game too, thinking of her aid.
I wanted to express my gratitude right then, but to maintain the regressor concept, I just patted her head.
Stroke, stroke.
"Hng... Eut."
After receiving treatment from the oddly expressive Karin.
I gave her a small smile and left.
"M-My guess was right..."
After Rowen left, Karin stood alone.
Feeling strangely elated in place.
His sudden change upon hearing her words.
It resembled a wounded beast growling.
"What... connection did we have...?"
He'd tried to push her away...
But that lingering smile at the end stuck strongly in her mind.
-"...Thanks, Karin. I've only ever received help from you."
Plus those cryptic words from Rowen.
Her fantasy-loving head brimmed with stories.
"Maybe... Rowen and I...!"
Perhaps she was the one who'd helped him before his regression.
No, maybe even more—an irreplaceable presence to each other.
"How... hard it must have been."
Forced to ignore his lover right before his eyes.
To inexperienced Karin, it felt utterly daunting.
"...Maybe I have to embrace him."
To befriend a wounded beast, first heal its wounds.
Anyone else would freak out at the idea.
But no one could tell her that novels were just novels, after a lifetime of romance books and a thousand imaginary romances.
"Hee, hee hee."
Thus, Karin returned to the dorms immersed in her bizarre fantasy.
And due to student testimonies of her faint laughter,
For a while, rumors spread that the academy clearing was haunted.