Not A Regressor - Chapter 291

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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 291
Interlude – The Banquet (1)
“Come now, everyone raise your cups.”
Leoru lifted his glass with a heavy, somber expression.
He swept his gaze across the Silver-maned Tribe members gathered around him.
Warriors of the Silver-maned Tribe, their bodies wrapped in bandages, stepped forward one by one and raised their cups.
Their focus turned toward a cemetery created at the edge of the village.
It was where the warriors who had fallen in battle against the Pro-Demon Faction during this rebellion were buried.
“The first toast is for those warriors who have departed.”
He tilted his cup over the grave where a stone monument stood.
The clear liquor streamed down like tears, wetting the monument.
“The second toast is for those warriors who remain among us.”
The wounded drained their cups in one gulp.
Some warriors bore such grave injuries they could barely lift their cups, yet they all swallowed the potent liquor without hesitation.
“The final toast is for ourselves.”
The villagers tilted their cups in unison.
Among them were young Beast-humans like Leo and Lilu, who drank the strong spirits with their eyes tightly shut.
Leoru turned to face the Silver-maned Tribe and spoke once more.
“For a hundred years, our tribe has lived in fear and hunger, stripped of our home.”
As if all the sorrow of those years erupted at once, more and more of the Silver-maned Tribe began to shed tears.
“But!”
Boom!
Leoru stamped his feet roughly, drawing all eyes to him.
“No matter how much the Demon Race plundered our lives, there was one thing they could never take!”
Light sparkled in the eyes of the Silver-maned Tribe members who had been weeping, ignited by the fervent tone of his voice.
“Warriors who kept your pride as wolves! I am prouder of you than anyone could be!”
He raised his cup high, the liquid glimmering within.
“I declare this here and now!”
A passionate roar echoed across the village.
“The Silver-maned Tribe—no, all Beast-humans have finally been liberated from the Demon Race! We have become wolves with dignity!”
Roooaaarrr!
The entire village erupted in cheers.
Leoru watched the villagers embrace one another with tears of joy streaming down their faces, and when the cheers finally subsided, he spoke again.
“It is shameful to admit, but our liberation from the Demon Race was not achieved by our strength alone.”
Leoru stepped aside from the platform and cast a meaningful glance toward Kwon O-jin.
Kwon O-jin walked up onto the platform with an awkward expression.
“This is the great warrior who pierced the heart of that vicious Kalike.”
Leoru introduced Kwon O-jin to the villagers who had not participated in the battle.
Kwon O-jin felt countless eyes upon him and bowed his head lightly.
“Without the brave warriors of the Silver-maned Tribe fighting at the forefront, I could never have defeated Kalike.”
These were not mere words of false modesty.
Had the Silver-maned Tribe’s warriors not felled two of the Demon Race before Kwon O-jin arrived at the Royal Palace, it would have been impossible for him alone to face three demons simultaneously.
“The Silver-maned Tribe will never forget the debt of gratitude we owe to Kwon O-jin.”
Leoru bowed deeply toward Kwon O-jin, his respect unmistakable.
“Both of you, please come up as well.”
Leoru turned to regard Ha-eun and Isabella.
“Huh? Us… us too?”
“Are you not the benefactors who protected the villagers from becoming hostages in the hands of those vile demons?”
“Well…”
Faced with Leoru’s resolute demeanor, Ha-eun and Isabella ascended the platform.
Leoru’s gaze swept across the crowd in search of Riak, but he was nowhere to be found.
“As you all know, these are the saviors who rescued our village from the treacherous grasp of the Demon Race while our warriors were away.”
Waaaaaaaaaa!
Another thunderous roar erupted from the crowd.
The Silver-maned Tribe, who had initially regarded Kwon O-jin’s party with suspicion as outsiders, now welcomed them with fervent enthusiasm, much like how the ninjas of the Leaf Village greeted their new leader.
“Uh… well, that is…”
Ha-eun scratched her head, clearly uncomfortable with the overwhelming cheers surrounding her.
Isabella stepped forward on her behalf.
With graceful poise, she bowed toward Leoru and spoke.
“Without the kindness of our Khan in welcoming strangers from afar, we too would not have achieved our goals.”
Isabella’s smile was radiant and beautiful.
“Thank you for inviting us to this celebration.”
Her breathtaking beauty stirred the Beast-human Tribe members, drawing gasps of admiration.
“We have plenty of food and drink prepared, so please enjoy yourselves freely.”
Leoru nodded with a faint smile.
Another cheer erupted, and Kwon O-jin’s party descended from the platform amid the roaring applause.
“And…”
Leoru’s gaze turned toward the opposite direction.
Outside the village, the Black-maned Tribe, the Brown-haired Wolf Tribe, the Red-haired Tribe, and several others had gathered.
They were all members of the Anti-Demon Faction, those who had resisted the dominion of the Demon Race.
Unlike the Silver-maned Tribe, which had confronted the demons directly in battle, they had provided support from the shadows—secretly freeing the Silver-maned Tribe members who had been enslaved and sold to the demons, and supplying the village with much-needed resources.
Representatives from each tribe stepped forward and stood before Leoru.
“The Black-maned Tribe recognizes Leoru, wolf of the Silver-maned Tribe, as Khan.”
“The Red-haired Tribe recognizes Leoru, wolf of the Silver-maned Tribe, as Khan.”
“The Brown-haired Wolf Tribe recognizes Leoru, wolf of the Silver-maned Tribe, as Khan.”
They stood with straight spines and struck their chests three times with clenched fists.
Leoru surveyed the Beast-human Tribe members of the Anti-Demon Faction and gave a slight nod.
“Though we have been manipulated by the demons’ cunning tongues and turned our fangs upon our own kin, we are all proud Beast-humans whose blood runs with the same wolf heritage.”
Kalike and the demons who followed him were dead, but the Pro-Demon Faction—those who had sided with the demons and enjoyed power within the Kingdom—still remained.
To purge them and rebuild the Kingdom, conflict among the remaining Beast-humans had to be prevented at all costs.
However, no matter how much the Anti-Demon Faction claimed unity, the emotional rift between the different Beast-human Tribes ran deep.
That was precisely why this banquet had been arranged.
To bridge the widening chasm of resentment through dancing and revelry while thoroughly intoxicated.
“Today marks the liberation of the Beast-human Tribes—a freedom reclaimed after a century!”
Though many matters remained unresolved.
In fact, nothing but unresolved matters remained.
Yet for this one day alone.
“Let us forget everything and surrender to the wine!”
Roooaaarrr!
The banquet erupted amid thunderous cheers.

* * *
As the festivities commenced and the pungent aroma of wine drifted from the village, a silver-haired man stood motionless in the Forest nearby.
He was alone, watching the distant revelry with hollow eyes.
“…Sigh.”
A deep breath escaped the man’s lips.
Riak gazed down at the grave of his longtime friend, his jaw clenching.
“Fool.”
He muttered the curse with a hollow voice, then placed his hand upon the gravestone before him.
“Is this really where a man like Khan should be buried?”
Normally, those who inherited the name Khan would be entombed in the Warriors’ Tomb beneath the Royal Palace.
But Horus had never formally inherited the Khan name, and because he had surrendered the Kingdom to the Demon Race, he was denied burial in the Warriors’ Tomb.
Instead, he lay in a desolate Forest far from the Royal Palace.
It was the very place where Riak had once dragged Horus along when he skipped lessons and fled.
“Heh, thinking about it now, a shabby grave like this suits a fool like you perfectly.”
Riak poured a bottle of wine he had brought from the village over the gravestone.
Within seconds, the bottle was empty.
“….”
Upon the wet stone, a droplet fell—not wine, but something else.
Riak’s shoulders trembled as his head bowed.
“Hey, you crying?”
Sniff!
Riak’s head snapped up, and he turned toward the voice.
Kwon O-jin approached unsteadily, a bottle of wine in one hand.
“W-what are you doing here?!”
“Came to watch you whimper.”
“I-I wasn’t crying!”
Riak shook his head urgently, his expression flustered.
Kwon O-jin chuckled and sat down beside him.
“You going to be alright?”
“…What are you talking about?”
“Even if I hand Khan’s position to Leoru.”
“….”
I had achieved the liberation of the Beast-human Tribe that I had longed for so desperately.
I would want to witness the Kingdom regaining peace under my rule as Khan.
“But right now, there’s something far more important to me than remaining as Khan and leading the Kingdom, isn’t there?”
“I don’t think much will change just because you’re gone.”
“Hmph. Don’t spout such clumsy bluster, boy.”
“You saw through it?”
Kwon O-jin chuckled and shrugged his shoulders.
After facing the Demon Race this time, I came to realize painfully that Riak was an indispensable force.
“My place is at Vega’s side.”
Riak smiled faintly as he thought of the goddess.
“How is Vega doing?”
“She’s resting at the Sanctuary. She should be able to return soon.”
“It seems the Divine Law’s restrictions have genuinely weakened.”
Normally, using a blessing once would require staying at the Sanctuary for at least several weeks.
Thanks to the weakened Divine Law’s restrictions, that period had been drastically reduced.
“Here.”
Kwon O-jin set down the bottle of liquor he had prepared and offered an empty cup to Riak.
Riak accepted the cup from Kwon O-jin.
Clink.
The two of them, their cups filled, clinked them together in silence.
“Damn. Why is this liquor so strong?”
As I took a sip, the sharp scent of potent alcohol spread across my palate.
Watching Kwon O-jin shake his head with a grimace, Riak drained his cup in one go as if amused.
“Krhehe. The Beast-human Tribe’s traditional liquor seems to have been too much for the boy.”
“Huh?”
“Liquor, like life itself, is meant to be savored with bitterness.”
“Crazy old fool.”
A hollow laugh escaped from Kwon O-jin’s lips.
“Come to think of it, this is the first time we’ve drunk together like this.”
“…Didn’t it happen in my past life either?”
“Who knows?”
Kwon O-jin shrugged and refilled his cup.
The two of them sat before Horus’s grave and emptied an entire bottle in no time.
“I should head back soon.”
Kwon O-jin rose to his feet, holding the empty bottle.
I had left without telling Ha-eun and Isabella, so by now they were surely searching for where I had gone.
“Aren’t you coming?”
“I’ll stay a bit longer.”
“That so?”
Kwon O-jin nodded and turned to leave.
Just as he was about to head back to the village.
“Brat.”
Riak called out to Kwon O-jin, who had turned away.
“What?”
“….”
Riak lowered his head in silence.
His voice came out as barely a whisper.
“…Th-thanks.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“Ugh! I said th-thanks!”
“Hmm~? I can’t quite hear you. Could you say it one more time?”
“You little brat!”
Riak’s eyes snapped open fiercely as he glared at Kwon O-jin.
Kwon O-jin burst into laughter, waving his hand dismissively.
“I’m heading out.”
“….”
Left alone, Riak gazed up at the Night Sky shrouded in darkness.
A single star burned brilliantly through the gloom, shining with unwavering light.
“…You’re just as needlessly considerate as that friend of mine.”
Riak looked at his friend’s tombstone and let out a soft chuckle.

* * *
After parting ways with Riak, Kwon O-jin headed straight for the village.
The sounds of intoxicated Beast-human Tribe members boisterously carousing filled the air as the festivities reached their peak.
Walking through the heated atmosphere, I felt the warmth radiating from all around.
“Kwon O-jin~? Where are you~?”
“You bastard! How could you abandon such a beautiful sister and run off like this?!”
As expected, I spotted Ha-eun and Isabella searching for me.
However, I hadn’t anticipated their condition.
“…Are you drunk?”
Ha-eun and Isabella, their faces flushed crimson, rushed toward me upon spotting me.
Two women stood before me.
Isabella glanced sideways at Ha-eun and gave her a meaningful look.
Despite the alcohol clouding her senses, Ha-eun’s face reddened with embarrassment as she abruptly turned her head away.
“Elder Sister, come on. We agreed to do this together, didn’t we?”
“I’m… I’m too embarrassed.”
Ha-eun stammered with slurred pronunciation, her words tumbling out hesitantly.
“Then should I do it alone?”
Isabella stepped forward, raising both arms as if greeting a master returning home after a long journey.
“Woof woof~♬ Welcome home, Master?”
“…What?”
At words that made me doubt my own ears, my mouth fell open in shock.
Ha-eun, who had been looking away in embarrassment, forced her lips open.
“M-meow. M-meow. Welcome… home.”
….
What kind of insane situation is this?

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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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