Not A Regressor - Chapter 281

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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 281
Dog and Wolf (6)
Kwon O-jin retrieved a potion bottle from his backpack and approached Leo.
He poured the potion bit by bit onto the boy’s body, which was covered entirely in wounds from what must have been an intense battle.
Leo, who had been refusing the potion with guarded eyes, soon drank it obediently as his wounds healed at a rapid pace.
“Are you calmer now?”
“Hmph! J-just something like this wouldn’t….”
“A moment ago, you looked like you were dying for it.”
“S-shut up!”
Leo’s cheeks flushed crimson as he shot to his feet.
Ha-eun narrowed her eyes and clicked her tongue disapprovingly.
“All you men are the same, I swear. What’s so great about that lump of fat?”
Ha-eun glared at Isabella’s chest with clear displeasure.
Isabella smirked slightly and crossed her arms.
As she did, the already massive twin peaks became even more imposing in their presence.
“I wonder? I don’t understand why people like such things either.”
“Y-you wench.”
At Isabella’s brazen display of innocence as she brushed her hair back, Ha-eun grabbed the back of her neck in frustration.
“That’s not what this is about!”
Leo cried out with an aggrieved expression.
With his body somewhat recovered from the potion, Leo jumped backward, creating distance, and resumed his combat stance.
“Don’t move from there! If you take even one step….”
“Big brother.”
Lilu approached Leo, who stood with his ears and tail perked up in vigilance.
Lilu gently patted Leo’s back, soothing him.
“You know they don’t mean any harm, don’t you?”
“…That’s…”
“Stop now, big brother. I’m fine.”
Lilu smiled brightly and flexed her bicep to show him.
“…”
Leo relaxed his combat stance and abruptly turned his head away.
“Don’t you have something to say to them?”
“N-no, nothing like that.”
“Big brother.”
Lilu looked at Leo with a stern gaze.
Leo, keeping his head turned and avoiding her eyes, fumbled with his lips.
“…Sorry.”
“Huh? What was that~? I couldn’t quite hear~?”
Ha-eun grinned mischievously and poked Leo’s side.
Leo’s face flushed red as he shouted indignantly.
“Th-thank you! Thank you for saving us!”
“Hahaha! Now that’s more honest, you little runt.”
Ha-eun burst into laughter and ruffled Leo’s hair playfully.
Leo, bristling with indignation, bared his teeth as if to bite her hand.
“By the way, you called us ‘demons beyond the veil’ earlier, didn’t you?”
“Huh? Yeah, that’s what humans call us among our kind.”
“They say if you do something bad, we come at night and devour you whole!”
Like some kind of goblin nonsense.
Kwon O-jin let out a hollow laugh at the treatment that couldn’t have been further from the truth.
“Could it be because of the Black Star Society?”
“Ah.”
Now that he thought about it, the Black Star Society was said to be hiding in the Demon Realm.
“Well… even among the Executors, there are few Awakeners who actually lived in the Demon Realm.”
Isabella herself had never even ventured near the Demon Realm.
“Still, Cassia was in the Demon Realm.”
To begin with, over 90% of Awakeners who crossed into the Demon Realm were either heinous criminals or targets marked for execution who had fled.
It was only natural that ominous rumors of “demons beyond the veil” circulated.
‘It’s rather ironic.’
The very beings that humans feared most—the inhabitants of the Demon Realm—were actually afraid of humans.
It was a testament to how ignorant humanity had been about the Demon Realm.
“B-but O-jin oppa doesn’t seem like a bad person!”
Lilu’s eyes sparkled as she gazed at Kwon O-jin.
Ha-eun scoffed and shook her head.
“This bastard’s rotten to the core. A real son of a bitch.”
“No, I don’t think so…”
Lilu murmured hesitantly, shrinking back.
Kwon O-jin rose to his feet with a wry smile.
“Anyway, which way is your home? I’ll walk you back.”
While not quite as dangerous as the Forest of Mahae, he couldn’t leave the children alone in such a dense forest.
“…Our tribe has a village where we all live together. It’s this way.”
Kwon O-jin and his group followed Leo toward the Silver-maned Wolf Tribe’s village.

* * *
The village was situated quite far from where the Kingdom lay.
“L-Leo! Lilu! You’re safe!”
“Dad!”
Upon arriving at the village, a beastman rushed out and embraced Leo and Lilu.
“And you are….”
The man regarded Kwon O-jin’s group with cautious eyes.
Leo and Lilu began explaining everything that had transpired since meeting Kwon O-jin’s party.
Though the beastman had initially shown hostility, witnessing the two children desperately vouch for Kwon O-jin’s group seemed to change his mind, and he bowed respectfully toward them.
“Thank you for saving my children. I am Leoru, leader of the Silver-maned Wolf Tribe.”
“If you hold such responsibility….”
“…Yes. I am inadequate—unable to even protect my own child properly—yet I bear the position of clan chief.”
Leoru held the two children close, his expression tinged with bitterness.
“…Your father was the clan chief?”
“That’s right! Our dad is the clan chief who leads the Silver-maned Wolf Tribe!”
Leo gazed at Leoru with eyes brimming with admiration.
Leoru gently stroked Leo’s head and approached Kwon O-jin’s group.
“Please, come inside. I’ll explain matters to the villagers.”
As they entered the village following Leoru, waves of cautious and hostile gazes crashed down upon them from all directions.
“Please, come in.”
Leoru opened the door to a dilapidated cottage and stepped inside.
A dwelling far too humble to be called a clan chief’s residence.
It was smaller and more weathered than the cottage where Baek Moo-gang had lived.
“Leo, Lilu. Step outside for a moment.”
“Okay! I’ll tell the villagers we’re safe and come right back!”
“M-Me too.”
Leo and Lilu scurried outside.
Leoru watched their retreating forms with a bitter expression before speaking.
“Thank you for saving my children.”
“Did I not already receive your thanks?”
“No amount of gratitude could ever suffice.”
I had expected Leo’s father to possess considerable presence.
Yet Leoru proved far more composed than anticipated.
“I hear you are human, Kwon O-jin… what brings you to the Demon Realm?”
“I came to meet Horus.”
….
Leoru’s face hardened visibly.
A chilling killing intent filled the cottage.
“The king of the Black-maned Tribe… what business do you have with him?”
“To determine if there exists any connection between him and the Heavenly Demon.”
“The Heavenly Demon….”
Leoru narrowed his eyes and continued speaking.
“I may not know about the Heavenly Demon, but there’s definitely a connection with the Demon Race.”
A grinding sound.
Leoru bared his pristine teeth and spat out his words.
“That bastard sold the Kingdom to the Demon Race.”
A fierce killing intent swept through the cottage.
So dense that a human without magical power would have their heart stop—such was the weight of that murderous aura.
Leoru’s dignified expression transformed in an instant into that of a ferocious beast.
“…Could you tell me what happened?”
Kwon O-jin asked in the calmest voice he could muster, trying to prevent Leoru from exploding.
Leoru took a moment to steady his breathing and calm his rage before continuing quietly.
“Over a hundred years ago—no, more than a hundred years ago—there was a great war between the Kan Kingdom and the Demon Race.”
This was what I had heard from Baek Moo-gang.
“The beastkin fought desperately against the Demon Race’s invasion. But the Demon Race’s power was overwhelming.”
A prolonged war.
As the beastkin’s prospects darkened, the Demon Race offered them a sweet proposal.
The first tribe to surrender would not only survive but could seize wealth and honor.
“…So Horus surrendered to the Demon Race?”
“Yes.”
Leoru snarled, baring his teeth savagely.
“He betrayed Khan, who had led the beastkin until then, and became a loyal dog of the Demons.”
“The Silver-maned Wolf Tribe….”
“Fought to the very end.”
And that’s where we are now.
Banished from the Kingdom, building a village hidden deep in a remote forest.
“…That’s unfortunate.”
“No, it’s honorable.”
Leoru shook his head, his eyes gleaming with intensity.
He placed his hand over his chest with an expression overflowing with pride.
“We are wolves. We will never become dogs.”
His voice carried the resolve of an oath.
Kwon O-jin nodded and asked.
“Then the Kan Kingdom is currently under the rule of the Demon Race?”
“…To be precise, under the rule of the factions that follow them. The actual number of Demon Race residing in the Kingdom is small.”
“How many?”
“Five.”
“What?”
No matter how elite the Demon Race were, that number was far too few to occupy an entire nation.
“Originally, there were far more. Recently, the Demon Race has been withdrawing in large numbers.”
“Is there a particular reason?”
“I’m afraid I couldn’t say.”
A mass migration with no discernible cause.
‘Could it be connected to the Heavenly Demon?’
Kwon O-jin furrowed his brow and shook his head.
There was still far too little information to jump to conclusions.
“Ah, now that I think about it, strange rumors have been circulating as the Demon Race has been fleeing.”
“Strange rumors?”
“Yes. Rumors that they’re preparing for war.”
“…War?”
Kwon O-jin’s eyes narrowed.
“There are rumors that Horus, the demon beyond the veil… ah, forgive me. That he’s gathering forces while preparing for war with humans.”
“….”
War with humans.
‘Is this what Cassia was talking about?’
Regardless.
This was information I couldn’t afford to ignore.
“Of course, it’s still merely a rumor. There hasn’t been any formal mobilization order issued yet.”
“Thank you. I’ve gained valuable intelligence thanks to you.”
Kwon O-jin bowed respectfully.
“You’re the benefactor who saved my children—this is nothing. But tell me, what do you intend to do when you meet Horus?”
“First, I need to confirm whether he’s connected to the Heavenly Demon.”
“…And if he is?”
“Then I’ll have to kill him.”
Before a greater catastrophe descends.
“….”
Leoru’s eyes flashed with sudden sharpness.
His lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but he shook his head instead.
“Then please rest comfortably in the village until you depart for the Kingdom. I’ll prepare a suitable place for you.”
“Thank you.”
“Haha. The Silver-maned Wolf Tribe never forgets a debt or a favor.”
Leoru smiled warmly.
“Then let me show you to a house. If you’ll follow me….”
“One thing.”
Riak, who had been listening quietly to the conversation, spoke up.
“One thing I’d like to ask.”
“…Yes.”
Leoru’s hand clenched slightly, wary of the black-furred Riak.
“Do you… have any regrets?”
The words came out bitter, ground between his teeth.
A question condensed from a tangle of conflicting emotions.
“What regret?”
“Because you refused to submit, you now cower miserably in this desolate forest.”
“….”
“Trembling in fear of being kidnapped and sold into slavery at any moment, suffering from hunger without proper food or clothing. And yet… you still don’t regret it?”
“…You.”
Leoru narrowed his eyes and glared at Riak.
“I do not regret it. Khan may have passed away now, but… he once told us this.”
Leoru placed his hand over his chest and spoke with a voice brimming with pride.
“We are wolves of honor.”

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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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