Not A Regressor - Chapter 271

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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I Am Not a Regressor Chapter 271
Greed and Love (3)
Warm breath tickled against my lips.
Within that soft touch that robbed me of reason, Kwon O-jin furrowed his brow slightly.
“Just now, what did you say?”
Had he really said he would set her as ‘first’ while leaving Ha-eun behind?
The memory refused to surface, as if shrouded beneath dark, heavy clouds.
What could have happened inside that Ferris Wheel for him to make such an absurd promise?
“You said it yourself, didn’t you? That the disappearance of memories doesn’t erase what actually happened.”
Isabella continued, her eyes glistening with fervent desire.
“You definitely said that I was… more precious to you than Elder Sister Ha-eun.”
“….”
Me?
He had said Isabella was more precious than Ha-eun?
“Of course, you also said that didn’t mean you could break up with Elder Sister Ha-eun and date me. I’ve decided to respect your position on that as well.”
The more Isabella spoke, the more tangled his thoughts became.
What Isabella was saying now sounded as if….
“Instead, you said that I would always be ‘first.'”
Yes.
Didn’t it sound as though his heart lay more with Isabella than with Ha-eun?
No—it wasn’t just how it sounded. Those words could only have come from someone who genuinely harbored romantic feelings for Isabella above Ha-eun.
‘Did I really say something like that?’
Could memories beyond just those inside the Ferris Wheel have vanished as well?
Of course, he harbored no shortage of feelings for her.
It was a selfish thought beyond measure, but there had been moments when he wished to have both Ha-eun and Isabella.
Yet to think he had now cast Ha-eun, his current lover, aside and prioritized Isabella instead.
With only the memories remaining to him, such a choice was utterly incomprehensible.
“So, Kwon O-jin.”
Isabella gazed at him with eyes glistening with moisture.
A soft touch, serpentine in its grace, traced down his cheek and caressed his chest.
A sweet temptation that threatened to shatter reason itself.
“Love me more.”
Swallowing the unspoken words—than Elder Sister—Isabella exhaled hot breath.
A heart throbbing with guilt.
The fact that she whispered such lies to him, who had even borne the terrible price of memory loss to protect himself.
Rather than healing his wounds, she was greedily drinking the blood that seeped forth like a leech.
The realization became a sharp blade, cutting through her chest.
‘What a worthless wretch.’
Contempt for herself boiled up within her.
That his kindness, affection, and sacrifice should be repaid with such filthy, ugly lies.
Just as Elder Sister had said, I was a greedy, covetous person.
Someone who couldn’t survive without taking what belonged to others.
‘It’s not too late even now.’
I could laugh it off with a tinkling giggle, claim it was a joke, insist that Kwon O-jin would never have made such a promise.
Then I wouldn’t have to witness the distorted expression on Kwon O-jin’s face, twisted by the dissonance of these vanished memories.
But.
“…Surely not.”
But, but, but.
“You’re not backing out of your promise now, are you, Kwon O-jin…?”
Desire is the most effective remedy for wounds festering with guilt.
The aching pain in my torn chest was soon smothered by surging desire, transforming instead into a ticklish, intoxicating pleasure.
“…Isabella.”
“I… I gave everything to you, Kwon O-jin.”
“Wait, wait. Everything?”
“….”
Transparent tears streamed down Isabella’s cheeks.
She clasped her hands together over her chest and continued in a sorrowful voice.
“You took my first time, didn’t you?”
“…What?”
My thoughts ground to a halt.
So I had been intimate with Isabella while Ha-eun was… somewhere else?
“Wait, wait. When exactly?”
The memory I was certain had vanished was the one from inside the Ferris Wheel.
More precisely, it was the memories of that day’s date with her at the Amusement Park.
If we hadn’t done it outdoors during the Amusement Park date, then what she was referring to now must be an ‘entirely different’ memory.
“So… you’ve forgotten that memory too.”
Isabella gazed at me with sorrowful eyes.
Without answering my question of when, Isabella bit her lips tightly.
“I kept believing in your promise to love me even more….”
“….”
“Did you forget it all…?”
Isabella’s head drooped as if she were collapsing.
I felt my chest burning as I looked at her.
Of course, it was possible that Isabella was lying to me right now.
But just as I’d experienced with Ha-eun.
I felt no sense of discord about the memories that vanished into the stream.
Just as I had accepted ‘naturally’ that I wasn’t in a romantic relationship with Ha-eun.
It meant that my feelings toward Isabella might have been completely different before using the stream.
If that were the case.
If everything Isabella said was true.
What was I supposed to do about this?
“There’s no need to overthink it.”
Had Isabella noticed Kwon O-jin’s agitation?
Isabella’s eyes gleamed as she caressed his cheek.
“No matter how jealous I might be, I’m not ignorant of how important you and Elder Sister Ha-eun are to each other.”
She whispered in a voice that dripped like melting honey.
“I would be content if you simply loved me a little more than Elder Sister Ha-eun—just a tiny bit more—and cherished me.”
Isabella’s lips curved upward in a subtle smile.
Perfect, the thought flashed through her mind.
Given Kwon O-jin’s nature, it would be difficult for him to refuse her proposal, especially after they had already been intimate.
Of course, her body bore no marks of virginity.
She could easily fabricate such evidence herself.
The pain of torn flesh was nothing compared to what she would gain in return.
Isabella waited for his answer with eyes burning intensely.
Kwon O-jin, who had been wrestling with his thoughts, finally opened his mouth.
“…I’m sorry.”
Kwon O-jin bit his lip and shook his head.
It wasn’t that he had no feelings for her.
The relationship with Isabella, formed by chasing Lee Shin-hyuk’s memories, had become something precious to him that he didn’t want to lose.
But if his own selfish desires meant pushing Ha-eun aside.
If it meant hurting her.
“The person most precious to me is my sister.”
Even if his relationship with Isabella fell apart.
He had to prioritize Ha-eun.
“I don’t even know what emotions I felt before losing my memories.”
He continued, bowing his head like a penitent.
“But at least now… I don’t want to hurt my sister because of my own greed.”
“…Kwon O-jin.”
“As for taking your first time… I’ll take responsibility for it somehow.”
Though he had no idea how to actually fulfill that responsibility.
“…I’m sorry.”
“…”
Isabella stared at Kwon O-jin with trembling eyes.
“Sigh.”
Isabella exhaled deeply and shook her head as if she couldn’t bear it.
“Then I suppose I’ll settle for being second…”
“No.”
Kwon O-jin shook his head.
It wasn’t something he should say right after promising to take responsibility somehow, but he didn’t want to brush past this by saying first or second didn’t matter.
“That would be nothing but an insult to your own heart.”
For Ha-eun’s sake, and for Isabella’s sake as well.
I had to abandon this selfish desire to hold onto both of them.
If I didn’t cleanly let go this time, this would keep happening over and over.
‘I don’t know how many more times I’ll have to use the Heavenly Demon’s power.’
Memories carry emotions within them.
Each time a memory disappeared, the emotions would become hopelessly tangled and confused.
A messy relationship like this could only end in catastrophe.
“From now on, let’s keep some distance. Until we can both sort out our feelings.”
At a time when I needed to prepare for the Demon Realm, losing closeness with Isabella—a key member of my party—was fatal.
But I didn’t want to charge into a life-or-death battlefield carrying an unresolved emotional bomb.
Though unavoidable, I found myself in the position of telling a woman I’d been intimate with to sort out her feelings.
Kwon O-jin braced himself, expecting Isabella to slap him across the face.
But contrary to his expectation, the emotion that appeared in her eyes wasn’t anger.
“…What?”
Her eyes wide open.
Isabella, her face drained of color as if she’d witnessed a scene from a horror film, pushed herself up from the bed.
She stumbled down from the bed, her movements precarious and unsteady.
Her body trembling, she muttered as if she’d lost her mind.
“No, this isn’t… This can’t be happening…”
Her blue eyes, which had gleamed beautifully even in the darkness, constricted.
She stared at Kwon O-jin with eyes that had lost their light, backing away hesitantly.
“You said you didn’t want to lose either of us. So, why?”
“…Isabella?”
“No, that’s not… I wasn’t trying to… I just….”
Crunch.
Isabella curled into herself, nervously biting her fingernails.
Blood seeped from between her broken nails.
“Somehow. I have to find a way….”
Isabella suddenly lifted her head and spun around urgently.
Crash!
Before Kwon O-jin could stop her, Isabella kicked open the door and bolted from the room.
“What in the….”
Kwon O-jin stared at the wide-open Hospital Room door with a bewildered expression.
Had his words about sorting out their feelings truly shocked her that deeply?
“…Sigh.”
Kwon O-jin let out a deep sigh and rubbed his face.
They say you can fathom ten fathoms of water, but never the human heart.
It was difficult to understand why Isabella had reacted as if she’d lost her senses.
‘Though there is one possibility I can think of.’
As he continued his thoughts, Kwon O-jin furrowed his brow and shook his head.
It was premature to jump to conclusions when the memories lost due to the aftermath of the Demon Realm were far too vast.
Moreover, it was a conjecture that could inflict deep wounds upon Isabella.
“For now… I’ll need to discuss this further.”
With the Heavenly Demon, the kings of the Demon Realm, and countless other matters piling up like mountains, this had to happen now.
Kwon O-jin squinted as if his head ached.
Thud, thud.
Then, footsteps echoed from the corridor beyond the wide-open Hospital Room door.
‘Is it Isabella?’
Kwon O-jin hurriedly rose from the bed and slipped on his slippers.
“Hello, Kwon O-jin.”
Contrary to Kwon O-jin’s expectations, the person who entered the Hospital Room was not Isabella.
A handsome young man with striking, cold eyes.
One of Deneb’s 12 Apostles and a member of the Seven Stars.
Allen Oskal, the Warrior Star, stepped into the Hospital Room.
“I heard you were attacked by The Snake, and fortunately it seems you haven’t sustained any serious injuries.”
Allen held out a fruit basket he was carrying and offered a faint smile.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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