Chapter 127: Plans Are Made to Be Broken
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 127: Plans Are Made to Be Broken
Even I, who couldn't read minds, could tell she was only pretending to have cut the synchro. But I wondered how it felt to the sensitive Regressor.
With a deep sigh, the Regressor gripped Chun-aeng in her hand.
“Fine. If you really can’t cut it, I'll do it for you.”
『…!』
Thump.
This time, the connection was truly severed, and the plush toy went limp. Its short limbs dangled, subject to gravity.
I clutched the soulless-looking toy and wailed.
“Noooooo! My plush tooooy!”
“Who names their own doll ‘plush toy’? Stop being so dramatic.”
But I had to lighten the mood like this to endure the serious conversation ahead!
Despite my desperate efforts, the Regressor maintained her solemn demeanor.
“I have a favor to ask.”
“Is the sun rising in the west tomorrow? For you to ask a favor so seriously, Shei. What is it? I’m all ears.”
I had already read all her thoughts. I knew what she was going to say and why.
Yet here she was, mustering a lifetime’s worth of eloquence she never knew she had, just to ask me this favor.
Was it meaningless? No, the problem was that it was meaningful.
This forced me to face her wishes head-on. It made it hard to refuse.
“This time, when we all reach the source of the Abyss under Earth Sage’s guidance…”
The Regressor remembered the welcome Earth Sage had received just a few hours ago. Most of the people here knew who Earth Sage was, and they looked ready to spend all day explaining her achievements.
In contrast, whatever she might have been in a previous timeline, the current Regressor was just a drifter with no connections or accomplishments.
‘My opponent is Earth Sage, renowned for her benevolence. They might remember her as a future calamity, but right now, she’s a far more famous and trustworthy figure than a nobody like me.’
The Regressor knew how to assess herself objectively.
And she knew who her opponent was—how formidable and dangerous she was.
She was well aware of the power of Earth Sage, the Heaven-Defying Earthwyrm who heralded calamity.
The original wielder of the Sword of the Earth, Jizan. The tragic hero who was defeated and killed by the Crusaders and the Saintess. The nightmare of the Sanctum, whose death marked the beginning of its downfall.
Her Earth Art, combined with the Sword of the Earth, held the power to split the ground and topple mountains. Armies were no match for her. Even considering that she was in the early stages of her regression and had little time to prepare, the Regressor had never once defeated her in a one-on-one fight.
But now, she had to challenge the impossible.
“I’ll probably have to fight Earth Sage. So…”
She was afraid, but that was a separate issue. To achieve any meaningful results in this timeline, the Regressor had to defeat her.
Only then could she uncover Earth Sage’s plans and hatred, gather information, and decide how to respond.
All that mattered was the result. There was no need to be stubborn for the sake of training or pride.
What the Regressor needed was victory against Earth Sage. Nothing more.
However.
“Help…”
Before she could finish the word, the Regressor swallowed it and pressed her lips shut.
‘…Whose side will he take? Probably not mine. In this timeline I’d considered a throwaway, I haven’t won anyone’s heart.’
The Regressor had never tried to win people’s hearts before.
No, that wasn’t entirely true.
There was a time she had tried to persuade the Progenitor instead of assassinating her, to win over the vampires. She had succeeded. At that time, they needed to unite against a coming threat, and the Regressor had the power and the right to empathize with the wounded Progenitor.
There was a time she had cooperated with the resistance. She had succeeded. By striking the Military State’s weaknesses in a bizarre fashion and rampaging without a thought for the consequences, she brought it down.
Although they didn’t run the country satisfactorily—in fact, it was even more horrific—she had, at any rate, gained the strongest political backing at that time.
But when she regressed, it all ended.
It wasn’t just her failures that were erased; even the small successes she had achieved met their end. Like water swirling down a drain, even the small, beautiful kingdom she had cultivated vanished.
No matter how hard she had worked, no matter how much effort she had put in.
No matter how attached she had become.
‘The only one I can ask now is this man, standing in the middle of everyone. But will he really help me?’
Success built on relationships came at too high a cost for what was lost. It even varied wildly depending on when she met people.
That was most apparent in this regression.
An unwounded Tyr paid little attention to the Regressor.
The Beast King was a different person from the one the Regressor had known before.
Naturally, the Regressor’s interests shifted from relationships to power and weapons.
Because tools don’t betray you once they’re in your hand.
Because you can detach yourself from tools easily, even if you grow fond of them.
But perhaps this was the price for neglecting relationships.
‘Even if he doesn’t help, I hope he at least doesn’t oppose me.’
It wasn’t clear if this was because she feared failure or because she didn’t want to get hurt.
“When I fight her, make sure no one interferes.”
The Regressor asked me with more desperation than ever before.
I read the wind. The more earnest and desperate the plea, the harder it is for me to refuse—a sort of occupational hazard. Or maybe a side effect of my ability.
But the wind doesn’t always blow in one direction. Sometimes, winds blow from opposing directions, bickering and fighting like cats and dogs.
A wish for someone to be defeated is inevitably swept away by a headwind.
But a request for non-interference…
“Huh? Why would we interfere?”
I answered her request as if it were nothing.
“I don’t know why you’re fighting, but you two can sort it out. Try to end it on good terms if you can.”
“…You’re not going to stop me?”
“You’re both adults. Why would I stop you from fighting? Ah, are you a minor by any chance? You do seem a bit small.”
“O-Of course not! It’s been a long time since I became an adult!”
‘Wait, I’m nineteen right now, right? I came straight to the Abyss right after my regression started, just grabbing Chun-aeng and a few other things…!’
Honestly, I wouldn’t have cared if she were a minor, but this made things even less of a problem.
The real problem was something else. She grabbed just a “few things” and came out with treasures like that? Just how much did she have in total?
Anyway. I picked my ear with my pinky and said.
“If you’re both adults, then that’s that. Besides, you’re both incredibly strong, right? In that case, unless someone wants to get caught in the crossfire, only a fool would jump in, don’t you think?”
“Well, that’s true, but.”
“And Earth Sage is a good person, so go easy on her. I’m sure she won’t try to kill you either… Wait a minute. Is this actually a sparring match? If it’s just sparring, couldn’t you do it right now?”
“N-No. The fight itself is serious…”
“Is that so? Well, you must have your reasons.”
A request not to interfere when I had no intention of interfering in the first place was easy enough. I waved my hand dismissively.
“The others probably feel the same way. Tyr isn’t the type to get actively involved in other people’s business, Azzy will hide away if humans start fighting, and Rasch will be too busy protecting Callis.”
“Is… that so?”
“Ah, you’re not hoping Nabi will jump in, are you? That would make you a truly terrible person. Who gets a cat hoping it’ll fight for them!”
“I’m not! And I’m not raising Nabi! I’m just looking after her for a bit!”
In any case, the matter was settled. The Regressor spoke, looking much more relieved.
“Anyway… thank you. That’s enough.”
“By the way, I’m a little offended.”
“Now what.”
“Come on, we have some history together over these past months. You don’t really think we’d suddenly take Earth Sage’s side if you two started fighting out of the blue, do you? That we’d rush in and attack you, shouting, ‘How dare you attack the renowned Earth Sage! Die!’?”
The Regressor hesitated before answering.
“…I’m wrong?”
You’ve done it before, haven’t you? You’ve jumped into a fight out of nowhere, shouting, ‘How dare you attack someone I know!’
I feel sorry for whoever was on the receiving end. Regressors, I swear.
“Of course you’re wrong. Even if I’ve seen you lose your mind and try to chop off every right arm you see, even if I know you’re a loner who can’t read the room and is always on the outside.”
“…That’s an insult, isn’t it?”
“But I also know that while you may have your naive side, you’re the first one to rush in and try to solve a problem when it arises. That would be impossible if you were completely indifferent to others.”
“Is that an insult or a compliment?”
“Fifty-fifty, I’d say? Anyway.”
I patted the Regressor’s shoulder. She hated being touched, but perhaps because she was grateful for my ready acceptance, she stood still even as I gripped her slender shoulder and gave it a little shake.
Or maybe she’d grown fond enough of me that my touch no longer bothered her.
“These three months we’ve spent together meant something, you know.”
Come to think of it, not even three full months had passed since we first fell into the Abyss. Someone invaded, we fell, we fought. It felt like so many huge things had happened, but the gap between each event was barely a month.
Like me, the Regressor murmured as if in a trance.
“…It’s only been three months. So much has happened.”
Strange. We had the exact same thought, but when she said it, I felt the urge to tease her.
I said.
“‘Only’ three months? Three months is a whole semester. That’s enough time for you to go from an elementary school graduate to a secondary school dropout, Shei.”
“You just had to take it there!”
The Regressor, provoked, shot back.
“Fine! I’ll graduate next time, you’ll see! Just you wait. Seriously!”
“Next time? What next time?”
‘Oops. I can’t reveal that I regress…’
Wait, didn’t you say you were eighteen at the start of this regression? Then you can’t go back even if you regress, right? You’d be past secondary school graduation age.
My point was quickly rendered moot as the Regressor came up with a very unique solution.
“I can just fake my identity!”
“Wait, you’d fake your identity just to go to secondary school?”
“I can do it! I’m quite skilled in the art of disguise, you know!”
‘With the Boneshifting Art of Heavenly Counter Domain and Agartha’s Mask, I could probably pass for a male student who had a growth spurt…!’
The fact that she thought to do it was more amazing than the fact that she could.
“It’s not a question of whether you can, but whether you should. That seems like a character flaw.”
“Shut up! This wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for you!”
“What if you had just gotten good grades in elementary school?”
“Any dog or cow can get into secondary military school! Don’t act so high and mighty about it!”
“If dogs and cows can get in, then why…?”
“Heeeey!”
This was the unblockable technique of this society. You have Chun-aeng, but I have the education system. How’s that for a taste, elementary school grad?
I succeeded in thoroughly teasing the Regressor, but I hadn’t learned anything new. That was because even the Regressor hadn’t found out the full story behind Earth Sage in her previous timelines.
In the end, there was only one conclusion.
We wouldn’t know anything until we reached the bottom.
Please let nothing happen.
Forgetting that I was in the Abyss, I prayed to Mother Earth.