Not A Regressor - Chapter 323

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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 323
Treasure Hunt (2)
[I have returned!]
Pwoooosh.
Vega materialized in a shimmer of silver light, throwing both arms up triumphantly as she spun herself around in a complete circle.
Riak, who had appeared alongside her, stretched his body as if waking from a long slumber.
[So we depart for that Black Rock Mine today?]
“Yep. How’s the Divine Law restriction treating you?”
[It’s nearly vanished thanks to my thorough rest at the Sanctuary!]
Vega lifted her impossibly thin forearms and flexed them, forming a bicep no larger than an acorn.
Vega fluttered through the air and settled atop Kwon O-jin’s head.
[Hehehehe. Sitting here feels like coming home.]
From her perch on his head, Vega gently stroked Kwon O-jin’s forehead with a tender touch.
A faint smile escaped between Kwon O-jin’s lips.
“The Divine Temple is somewhere else, yet my head is home?”
[That place is not as warm as this one, after all.]
“Is that so?”
Kwon O-jin, oddly flustered by the soft caress on his forehead, cleared his throat awkwardly and turned toward Isabella.
“Did you pack everything?”
“Yes. I heard the area near the mine is a Volcanic Region, so I brought some cooling equipment as well.”
“Cooling equipment?”
“This.”
Isabella held out a vest adorned with scales on its surface.
Each scale on the vest bore intricate magical inscriptions.
“It’s a vest with scales inscribed with flame-resistance magic on the outside. The Elder prepared it for us.”
“I see.”
Kwon O-jin’s eyes brightened as he accepted the vest.
Since the reconstruction of my body, I had become largely unaffected by ambient temperature, but even so, in places as extremely hot as the surroundings of a volcano, I would inevitably feel the effects.
Taking the vest from Isabella, I tilted my head curiously.
“But why two?”
“Elder Sister can swim through magma without any trouble, right?”
“Ah, I suppose that’s true.”
For Ha-eun, who had absorbed even the soul of the Dragon God, heat was no longer a concern.
[By the way, preparations are complete, but where is Ha-eun right now?]
“Well, my sister is….”
Kwon O-jin glanced sideways toward the massive crowd of Dragon-race members gathered in the distance like clouds.
From the throng of Dragon-race members, so densely packed that Ha-eun was completely obscured, mournful cries could be heard.
“Our… our Priestess… how can you leave us behind….”
“We wish to accompany the Priestess!”
“We heard the mine is filled with filthy dust. If even a speck were to soil the Priestess’s pristine form…!”
The Dragon-race members, gathered like clouds, clung to Ha-eun’s ankles and threw a tantrum like a three-year-old child begging for a toy, refusing to let her go.
“Let go! Release me, you lot!”
Ha-eun brushed away their hands roughly, her face contorting in distress.
Unable to bear the sight, Kwon O-jin approached Ha-eun and grasped her shoulder.
“Oh, O-jin! Do something about these guys!”
“Elder Sister, remember when you acted before?”
“Huh? What?”
“Act like you did back then.”
Only after Kwon O-jin stepped forward and spoke in the Dragon God’s voice as he had before could Ha-eun finally escape the Dragon-race members’ grasp.
“If such is the Dragon God’s will… we shall obey.”
[Thank you for understanding.]
Behind Ha-eun, whose lips quivered like Conan after shooting the detective with a tranquilizer gun, Kwon O-jin mimicked the voice and took her hand, leading her away.
“Phew. I thought I was going to die there, seriously.”
Ha-eun melted like pudding and leaned against Kwon O-jin.
“How much longer do I have to keep up this priestess act?”
“At least until the situation in the Demon Realm is completely resolved.”
“Ugh.”
Ha-eun, who had wrapped her arms around his neck, suddenly jumped and climbed onto his back.
Soft.
An elastic sensation spread across his back.
The weight was nothing compared to Isabella, but in terms of firmness, Ha-eun had a decisive advantage.
‘No, this isn’t the time to be comparing such things.’
What was this Elder Sister doing before they’d even set out?
“I’m tired, Elder Sister. Carry me.”
Ha-eun, wrapping her arms around his neck, whispered a sweet, melting voice into his ear.
“A woman over thirty pretending to be cute….”
“Hm?”
Squeeze.
A tightening pressure around his neck.
“Where shall I take you?”
“All the way to the mine.”
“Then what about our Poppy?”
“Isabella can ride there instead.”
Perhaps because she had spent her time in the Kingdom living a royal life that didn’t suit her.
Or perhaps because she was finally leaving the Kingdom, Ha-eun’s voice carried an unmistakable excitement.
Like a prisoner freshly released from jail.
“My, who raised you? Our O-jin’s back is quite broad.”
“At least it wasn’t you who raised me.”
“What are you talking about? I’ve been raising you since you were little, spitting on my hands to do it.”
Ha-eun laughed brightly and playfully brought the tip of her tongue to the nape of Kwon O-jin’s neck.
A tingling sensation spread across the nape of my neck.
“What are you doing right now, Elder Sister?”
[Can you not see that my child is uncomfortable?]
Isabella and Vega approached with fierce expressions, moving toward Ha-eun, who was perched on Kwon O-jin’s back.
“Ah, why? I barely got to spend time with O-jin because of those two. Let me stay a bit longer.”
[Hmph! For a woman of your years, you certainly lack decorum!]
“Hm? That’s rich coming from you.”
Ha-eun twisted her lips and mouthed the word “butt” without speaking it aloud.
Vega’s body jolted as if burned by fire.
[T-That was a misunderstanding, was it not!]
“Sure, sure. A misunderstanding, then.”
“Stop it, Elder Sister.”
Kwon O-jin sighed and bent down to let Ha-eun off his back.
Ha-eun, having no real intention of riding all the way to the mine on his back, descended obediently from his shoulders.
That.
[H-Hiccup! This one is not such a shameless woman!]
Vega, who had taken a direct counter-attack after saying something to Ha-eun, hung her head with a dejected expression.
Ha-eun burst into giggles and cupped Vega in both hands as she sniffled on top of Kwon O-jin’s head.
“Just kidding, just kidding. I’m sorry.”
[Fine.]
Vega huffed and turned her head away sharply.
Ha-eun felt a sudden urge to bite Vega’s cheeks at that adorable gesture, but—
‘If I bite her cheeks with this size difference, it won’t be cute—it’ll be the start of a titan invasion.’
Since Vega was currently manifested in a physical form barely larger than a palm, biting her cheeks was out of the question.
Instead.
“Ehehe. Oh my, why is everything our goddess does so adorable~?”
[W-What are you doing!]
Ha-eun held Vega in her palm and tickled her belly with her thumb.
Vega shrieked and flailed her limbs, but in her current physical form with her power severely restricted, she couldn’t escape Ha-eun’s grasp.
[I-Insolent! P-Please let this one go… Hehehehe! I-It tickles!]
Vega pleaded with tears streaming down her face.
“….”
Riak, watching from a distance, let out a deep sigh and shook his head slowly.
“Haa. If the other Constellations saw this, they would foam at the mouth and faint.”
“Elder Sister really is too rough on Vega.”
“…Is that something you should be saying?”
Ahem.
“Let’s head out soon, Elder Sister!”
“Ah, yes! Got it!”
[M-My child! H-Ha-eun is doing things to this one’s body…!]
Freed from Ha-eun’s grasp, Vega fluttered swiftly toward Kwon O-jin.
Vega gripped Kwon O-jin’s hair tightly while glaring at Ha-eun.
Kwon O-jin let out a soft chuckle and mounted Poppy.
“Let’s go, Poppy.”
“Grrrowl!”
Poppy stamped its feet forcefully, clacking its beak with vigor.

* * *
After riding for roughly three days straight.
The ambient temperature gradually rose, and the acrid stench of sulfur assailed my nostrils.
“Ugh, what is that smell?”
Though Ha-eun could endure the heat, the odor proved unbearable—she clutched her nose and scrunched her face in disgust.
“There’s a volcano nearby, apparently.”
“But didn’t you say this was supposed to be a mine? They’re actually digging tunnels near a volcano?”
It was an absolutely reckless endeavor—toxic gases or magma could erupt at any moment.
“Well, how am I supposed to know what those Demon Race bastards are thinking?”
Learning that the Demon Race was mining ore veins at all had been news to me.
“You said they were mining for gold, correct?”
“Yeah. Apparently this guy Deimos has gone mad for all sorts of treasures and jewels.”
The Golden Daemon.
Just as the epithet “Golden” prefixed his name, he was said to harbor an obsessive fixation on precious gems, artifacts, and treasures—gold foremost among them.
“But would gold even hold value for the Demon Race?”
“Who knows.”
In human society, gold was a mineral whose worth was universally recognized across the world.
Yet whether gold held the same value in the Demon Realm remained a mystery.
“The gold of the Demon Realm is a somewhat different mineral than that of the human world,” Riak said, turning his head as he walked ahead.
“Different how?”
“Its appearance and rarity are similar, but the gold of the Demon Realm is imbued with the power of stars.”
The power of stars.
“Like star stones?”
“Precisely. Especially the gold mined from this Black Rock Mine is said to contain exceptionally potent magical power.”
If that were true, then Deimos was essentially monopolizing gold infused with formidable stellar force.
“Then when Mugang stole Grandfather’s treasure…”
“He likely heard rumors about Deneb.”
One need only observe the Divine Temple adorned with brilliant gems and sacred relics to understand.
When it came to “treasures,” Deneb was second to none.
Of course, he couldn’t have stolen treasures directly from Deneb at the Star Palace, so it made sense that he’d pilfered from one of Deneb’s apostles instead.
“So in other words, he’s a man whose eyes glaze over at the sight of wealth?”
“Well… I’m not sure if you’d call it ‘wealth’ exactly. But it’s certain he harbors an obsessive attachment to anything valuable and precious.”
“Well… I’m not sure if I should even call this ‘money,’ but one thing’s for certain—he’s obsessed with valuable and precious things.”
“Just like the Orphanage Director.”
Cough, spit.
Ha-eun spat out a thick glob of saliva as if an unpleasant memory had surfaced.
“But it looks like we’ll be entering the real Volcanic Region soon. Should we spend the night here and head out early in the morning?”
“I think that would be best.”
Though the sun hadn’t completely set, even if we continued forward, there was still some distance to cover before reaching the Black Rock Mine.
Since we had to traverse this path anyway, it would be better to spend tonight at the entrance where the sulfurous gas hadn’t yet grown thick.
“I’ll set up the tent.”
“Then I’ll prepare the meal.”
“In that case, I’ll….”
Ha-eun hopped down from Poppy’s back and slyly pulled a pack of cigarettes from her jacket pocket.
“I’ll go smoke one~”
Humming a tune, Ha-eun dashed off into the distance.
I watched her retreating figure and swallowed a hollow laugh.
“I heard from Elder Sister before that you like women who smoke… Is that true?”
“It’s not that I like women who smoke. I said that smoking suits my sister.”
“Hmm. What about me?”
Isabella brought her index and middle fingers together to her lips, mimicking the act of smoking.
Since she’d never actually put a cigarette to her lips, the gesture looked awkward and unnatural.
“You smoking would be kind of funny.”
“Oh, why, why?”
“It just doesn’t suit you.”
“I can smoke sexily too!”
I gently stroked the hair of the indignant Isabella.
“I don’t hate smoking, but I don’t like the smell, so don’t do it.”
“Understood. Then next time I’ll try with a vitamin stick instead.”
That somehow sounds even more amusing.
I swallowed a bitter laugh and turned away.
Then.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
Ha-eun, who had gone off to smoke, came charging back like an enraged rhinoceros.
“What’s wrong?”
“O, O-jin!”
Her eyes sparkled like stars as she shouted.
“There’s a Hot Spring over there, a Hot Spring!”
A Hot Spring?
A Hot Spring, all of a sudden?

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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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