The Weight of a Single Question
My mind went blank. What the hell did this guy just say? Did he just ask if I knew about regression? The completely unexpected remark hit me like a club to the head. ‘What on earth is he thinking?’ More than anything, I couldn’t read his intentions. For a regressor to suddenly ask someone if they knew about regression… Was he really planning to reveal his identity just like that?
‘Maybe… he’s already figured out that I’m a regressor too.’
A cold sweat trickled down my back. To throw a person into this much confusion with just one sentence. The commander might actually be a genius at psychological warfare. In that case, how the hell was I supposed to answer here?
I kept my true feelings hidden and put on an apologetic expression.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t quite catch that. Could you say it again, please?”
“Yes. Layla. Do you happen to know about something called regression?”
“…?”
I’d only said it to buy myself time to think. But hearing it again, the nuance felt strangely off. He hadn’t revealed that he was a regressor. Nor was he directly accusing me of being one. It was simply a straightforward question about whether I knew what regression was.
In that case… was this a trap to gauge my reaction?
After running through every possible scenario in my head, I reached a conclusion. For now, I’d play dumb.
‘No matter what, it would be troublesome if he found out I’m a regressor. I wouldn’t be able to toy with him anymore.’
I hadn’t even properly enjoyed myself yet. There was no way I could let it end so pathetically here.
Steel myself, I tilted my head in confusion.
“Regression… that means returning to how things originally were, right? Why do you ask?”
“Do you not know about things like… time turning backwards?”
“…Time turning backwards?”
“Yes. If something like that actually existed, what would you think?”
Ah, so that’s what this is about. Now I get it.
Only then did I finally understand the commander’s intentions. This guy… he was trying to figure out whether it was safe to reveal his identity.
‘I overlooked the fact that he’s a novice regressor.’
The most certain way for a regressor to prevent someone’s death was to reveal their identity without holding anything back. I know you’re going to die in the future, so cooperate with me. That kind of statement would usually work. But there was a problem. Whether the other person would actually believe the claim of being a regressor. Not everyone took others’ words at face value. In fact, it could easily breed distrust.
In other words, the commander was testing me to see if it was okay to reveal that he had regressed.
‘So he’s not actually suspecting that I’m a regressor?’
Only then did I feel relieved. Honestly, I’d been chilled to the bone thinking everything had been exposed. As expected, there were no holes in my acting.
Besides, this was actually a good opportunity. If I steered things properly here, I could manipulate the commander however I wanted.
Alright. I have a rough idea of what to say.
After organizing my thoughts, I looked at the commander. Then I smiled at him, who seemed somewhat anxious.
“That sounds like something out of a movie or a comic, doesn’t it? Turning back time… I think it lacks realism.”
“…Is that so.”
“Besides, if something like that really happened… it would be a little scary.”
“Scary?”
The commander’s body stiffened slightly at my answer. I inwardly chuckled at the sight and continued.
“I’m imagining an erosion species with that kind of ability. It’s quite chilling. I’m not sure how one would even fight such a monster… It would undoubtedly be a formidable enemy.”
“…What if it were on our side?”
“On our side? Hmm… Even then, if it wasn’t someone I could trust, I’d want to keep some distance. It would feel like they knew things about me that even I don’t… Yeah, it would still be a bit scary.”
“…”
I discreetly observed the commander’s complexion. As expected, he looked like he’d just swallowed a bitter persimmon. How obvious.
“By the way, why are you so curious about this?”
“Ah, well… I read a novel with that kind of plot last night, so I was wondering what other people thought.”
“Hehe… Was it interesting? Tell me the title later.”
“That… I’ll be sure to tell you later.”
Fortunately, it seemed my answer had some effect. The commander appeared to have given up on revealing himself as a regressor right away. After all, in this timeline, we’d only met yesterday. He probably thought he hadn’t built up enough trust yet. Thank goodness for his cautious personality. Seriously.
Once the conversation had more or less wrapped up, we sat at the desk and tackled our respective paperwork. Then, out of nowhere, the commander spoke to me again.
“Layla. May I ask you one more thing?”
“Yes, go ahead.”
“If you knew the future in which someone precious to you was going to die… what would you do?”
My hand, which had been signing documents, froze mid-motion. No matter how I thought about it, that “someone precious”… had to be me, right? Was it normal to ask the person in question something like that?
I barely held back the hollow laugh that threatened to burst out. Without turning to look at him, I answered.
“Is this also from that novel you read?”
“Ah, yes. Something like that.”
“Hmm, that’s an interesting story. Knowing the future where someone precious dies…”
I pretended to ponder deeply, tapping my fingers on the desk. There was no need to think about it at all. I answered as if it were obvious.
“Of course I’d save them. They’re someone precious, after all.”
“Even if the process is incredibly difficult and painful?”
“Hehe, how difficult are we talking?”
“It would probably require staking your life on it.”
“Eek. You’d have to risk your life?”
“Yes. I intend to stake my life on it.”
The commander’s voice had grown somewhat subdued. Though I couldn’t see his face, I could feel the gravity in his tone. From that attitude, I sensed something. Just as I had spent the previous night wearing my notebook ragged with plans, he must have been racking his brain for every possible way to save me.
Well, when I thought about it, it was quite a difficult trial. We only had about a week left. The enemies we had to fight were Midir and an endless legion of erosion species. How could we overcome that crisis? A commander without any combat power must have been agonizing over it in countless ways.
‘Wow, I’m actually tearing up. To think he cares about me that much.’
I really must have sinned quite a bit. To drive a single person to this extent. Still, the only thing I could say to him here was this.
“Then, should I do the same?”
“Stake your… life?”
“My life isn’t all that special, but if it’s someone that precious to me, I think I could throw myself in with that kind of resolve.”
“If you failed after doing that…”
“If I failed, then both that precious person and I would die together, right? In that case, I definitely wouldn’t have any regrets.”
At my answer, the commander fell silent, lost in thought. I wasn’t sure how it came across to him, but it seemed fairly positive. After that, the conversation didn’t continue, and we both immersed ourselves in our work.
About two hours passed like that. I leaned back deeply in my chair and asked the commander.
“I’m going to grab some coffee real quick. Would you like some too?”
“I’m… fine.”
“Really? Then I’ll be right back.”
Promising to return soon, I left the commander’s office. My destination was a vending machine in a secluded area. After pulling out a can of chilled coffee, I looked around. No one was watching this way. I claimed a bench for myself and slowly leaned my body against the wall.
“Haa, this is troublesome…”
The commander’s face kept flickering in my mind. The look in the eyes of someone who had made up their mind and was determined to carry it out. No matter how I thought about it, this wasn’t a good development.
‘At this rate, he’ll reveal that he’s a regressor sooner or later. It’s only a matter of time.’
Of course, what I’d said earlier was nothing more than a temporary measure. If he set his mind to it, the commander could reveal his identity at any moment. The reason I was so certain was simple. Because that was the most reliable way to solve the problem.
His goal was to prevent my death. The best thing the commander could do for that purpose was this.
‘Just reveal that he’s a regressor and get the existence of Midir officially acknowledged.’
In other words, at this rate, he would eventually reveal that he was a regressor. And that… wasn’t exactly a favorable development for me. If he only confided in me, that would be one thing. But if he told anyone else about regression, the situation could get twisted in all sorts of ways. After all, the ability to regress had never been revealed before. He might even get scouted by the central headquarters…
…The commander slipping out of my grasp?
Crack.
The opening of the can I’d unconsciously bitten into crumpled pathetically.
‘That won’t do. The commander must stay by my side no matter what. There has to be some way…’
But how could I make sure he kept the fact that he was a regressor hidden? What if I killed myself the moment he confessed? No, as a method it wasn’t bad, but the commander seemed to remain alive even after I died. There was a chance that his suicide would be discovered during an investigation of the corpse. And if he revealed to others that he was a regressor? That method would become completely useless from the start.
“Then what should I do…”
Feeling frustrated, I downed the canned coffee in one go. I was about to throw away the empty can and head back to the commander’s office when a Valkyrie came running urgently down the hallway from the opposite side. A bob-cut girl with a somewhat familiar face. She spotted me and her eyes widened into perfect circles. She gave off the impression of a squirrel.
I greeted the girl.
“Hello. You’re Morka… right?”
“Eh, you know my name?!”
“Hehe, I’ll be working in this branch from now on. I made sure to memorize everyone’s faces and names in advance.”
The girl’s name was Morka. She was the victim who would be devoured by Midir in a week. Despite her innocent-looking face, she was surprisingly tall. Standing side by side, we were almost eye level.
Morka seemed moved by my greeting and spoke in an excited rush.
“To be remembered by someone so beautiful! May I call you Lady Layla?!”
“Ahaha… You don’t have to go that far. I want to get close to all of you. Oh, would you like to exchange numbers?”
“Y-yes, please!”
Morka looked like a large dog wagging an invisible tail furiously. As I watched her, a good idea suddenly occurred to me.
‘If I create a reason for him to absolutely have to hide the fact that he’s a regressor…’
Yeah. It looked like I’d have to do something a little bad.