Not A Regressor - Chapter 330

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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 330
Treasure Hunt (9)
[Analyzing unique mana pattern. Please wait.]
The Golden Castle.
The entrance to the Golden Treasury, where Deimos had accumulated wealth throughout the ages, was sealed shut by a massive iron door.
There were three doors to pass through to enter the treasury.
Each door was protected by dozens of layers of barriers, and with his knights standing guard twenty-four hours a day, the Golden Treasury was a place where not even a mouse could slip through.
The first door guarding the Golden Treasury.
A single mage stood before the door—entry itself was impossible without belonging to the Guard Corps.
[Identity confirmed: Orcal Del, member of the Golden Knight Guard Unit.]
“Glory to gold.”
The stern-faced mage called Orcal Del saluted the iron door with precise, disciplined movements.
Creak.
The tightly sealed iron door swung open.
“Ah, welcome, Vice Commander Orcal Del!”
“Glory to gold!”
Two mages on guard duty saluted him as he entered.
“My apologies for the delay.”
Orcal Del gave the guards a light nod.
“The Commander is waiting inside.”
“Understood.”
He turned and entered the Guard Corps office.
Inside sat a man with an impressive mustache and a warm, kindly expression.
“You’re ten minutes late for shift change.”
“My apologies.”
Orcal Del saluted the Guard Commander with utmost respect.
The Guard Commander turned to face him and continued in a low voice.
“I’m not trying to reprimand you for being late. It’s just that you usually arrive twenty minutes before shift change—I’m curious what kept you.”
“That is…”
Orcal Del’s voice trembled.
The Guard Commander sighed softly and continued.
“Is it because of Jackal?”
“…”
Orcal Del said nothing and averted his gaze from the Guard Commander.
“Did Nogui do something to you?”
“…Yes.”
“If you’re thinking of pursuing him, I’d advise against it.”
The Guard Commander rose from his seat and approached the silently standing Orcal Del.
“Our role is solely to protect Deimos’s treasury, is it not?”
“I will keep that in mind.”
“Yes.”
The Guard Commander exhaled a breath of relief.
Rather than concern for Orcal Del himself, it seemed he was worried about the consequences Orcal Del’s accident might bring upon him.
The Guard Commander donned his overcoat and stepped outside.
“Contact me if anything comes up.”
“Glory to the Gold!”
Orcal Del saluted respectfully toward the Guard Commander’s retreating back, then unbuckled the sword at his waist and settled into the office chair.
“….”
Seated in the chair with heavy, sunken eyes, he skimmed through the handover report, then refastened the sword leaning against the table to his waist and rose to his feet.
After all, direct visual inspection was far more reliable than receiving a handover through paperwork alone.
As he stepped out of the office, two Mines belonging to the Guard Corps fell into step behind him.
“Anything unusual?”
“No, sir! Nothing at all!”
Orcal Del nodded heavily and withdrew a sacred stone inscribed with intricate runes from his breast pocket.
“I’ll conduct a patrol. Follow me.”
“Glory to the Gold!”
He brought the sacred stone from his pocket before the massive door.
Grrrrrung!
The sacred stone and door resonated, and the second door guarding the treasury swung open.
Orcal Del stepped inside and gazed upon the firmly sealed third door.
With his authority, he could only access up to the second door.
Opening the third door required the sacred stone the Guard Commander possessed.
“Come.”
“Yes, sir!”
Of course, there was no need to open the third door during a routine patrol.
Orcal Del led the two guards down the long corridor, checking for any irregularities.
“…Hmm?”
As he walked the corridor, Orcal Del’s footsteps came to an abrupt halt.
“What is it, sir?”
The guard following behind tilted his head in confusion.
Orcal Del silently ran his hand across the corridor floor and walls.
“…There’s moisture.”
A faint dampness registered at his fingertips.
Deimos’s Domain, where the Gold Refinery Factory stood, was saturated with humidity throughout despite being an underground realm where rain never fell.
The Golden Treasury, where Deimos’s treasures were stored, was the exception.
“M-moisture, sir?”
“Feel this.”
“Ah….”
The guard’s complexion drained of color as he felt the dampness on the wall.
Given the nature of the treasury, which housed countless treasures, moisture was nothing short of poison—something that should never exist here.
“It appears the humidity control system has malfunctioned.”
“Y-yes, I’ll contact the Guard Commander immediately!”
One of the guard corps members rushed out urgently.
“I need to call the facilities manager.”
Orcal Del furrowed his brow and walked toward the office.
He hurriedly contacted the facilities manager at the Main Castle through a communication relic, but for some reason, the connection wouldn’t go through.
“Hmm.”
A low groan escaped his lips.
“The manager isn’t answering.”
“I’ll go search for them directly at the workshop!”
“No.”
The Guard Corps’s role wasn’t merely to protect the Golden Treasury, but to maintain and manage the treasures stored within in optimal condition.
I had to restore the management facilities to normal as quickly as possible.
“Who among the executives is skilled in relic adjustment?”
“I’ve heard that Arctur possesses exceptional skill in that regard.”
“Arctur, you say….”
“The executive who manages the Gold Refinery Factory.”
I’d heard of him before.
Wasn’t Arctur the one who designed the factory’s facilities?
“I’ll contact Arctur immediately!”
“I’ll do it myself.”
Most executive-level mines were generally arrogant.
Without a call from a fellow executive, they’d be difficult to reach.
“Glory to gold. This is Orcal Del, Vice Commander of the Guard Corps.”
Orcal Del sent a communication to Arctur.
-Ah, yes. G-glory to gold.
Arctur’s voice came through the communication relic.
‘Hmm?’
Orcal Del furrowed his brow at the fear evident in his voice.
I wanted to ask what was wrong, but this wasn’t the time for such leisure.
“The Treasury’s management system has broken down. Could you come directly and take a look at it?”
-Understood.
Arctur readily accepted the proposal without even asking why he was being called instead of the facilities manager.
“…You understand?”
I was momentarily taken aback by such an eager acceptance.
-Yes. I’ll head there right away.
“Ah, yes. I understand.”
I couldn’t very well question why he was so readily accepting the request when I was the one asking for help.
After ending the communication and setting down the relic.
“The humidity control system broke down, you say?”
The office door opened and the Guard Commander entered.
“Yes. I confirmed it while making my rounds.”
“B-but when I checked, there was nothing like….”
The Guard Commander trailed off, biting his lip with an anxious expression.
Watching him break into a cold sweat and avert his gaze, it wasn’t difficult to discern that the Guard Commander hadn’t been conducting his patrols properly.
“The device appeared to have malfunctioned not long ago.”
“R-right?”
“Yes.”
“Haha. That’s right! When I checked, there was definitely nothing wrong!”
The Guard Commander patted Orcal Del’s shoulder with a relieved expression.
“So, did you call the manager?”
“I couldn’t reach him, so I called another executive who is skilled in adjusting sacred relics.”
“Another executive?”
Orcal Del nodded and explained to the commander that he had called Arctur.
“Hmm. Arctur, you say… Do you really think he can fix the device?”
“Since he personally constructed the factory facilities, I believe it’s entirely possible.”
If he had built even the complex Gold Refinery Factory facilities, there was no way he couldn’t repair a simple sacred relic with humidity maintenance functions.
“And even if problems arise….”
I could shift the responsibility onto the unreachable facility manager and Arctur.
“A-ahem. I see.”
The Guard Commander nodded and turned to leave.
“Commander! I’ve arrived!”
Arctur arrived at the Golden Treasury as quickly as if he had been waiting for the call.
“G-glory to the gold.”
Arctur saluted with a visibly intimidated expression.
The Guard Commander approached him with his characteristic warm smile.
“Well, thank you for coming. I heard you were told to take care of it because we trust you can fix it?”
“The part about trusting me….”
“Haha! No need to be modest! You’ll be able to do it!”
The Guard Commander subtly shifted the responsibility onto Arctur and patted his back.
“The humidity management sacred relic is inside the treasury. I can open the door, but for security, the guard corps will need to accompany you.”
“Eh? Y-you mean I go in with the guard corps?”
Arctur shook his head with a flustered expression.
“N-no. It’s not a complicated task anyway, so I’ll go in alone, fix it quickly, and come back out.”
“Hmm. That seems difficult. Is there a particular reason you need to go in alone?”
“W-well, not exactly….”
Beads of cold sweat formed on Arctur’s forehead.
“I understand. I-I’ll go in with you.”
“Haha. Thank you for understanding.”
The Guard Commander led Arctur toward the third door.
He retrieved the holy stone from his bosom and brought it close to the door━
“Wait just a moment, sir!”
Orcal Del’s urgent voice echoed through the corridor.
“What’s the matter with you?”
“….”
An ominous premonition crawled down my spine.
Instinct, not logic, was warning me.
That this man must not be allowed inside.
Orcal Del, his mouth clamped shut, stared intensely at the terrified Arctur.
“…Your arm.”
“My arm?”
“What happened to it?”
Orcal Del, who had been examining Arctur carefully, approached him and roughly seized his forearm.
“Aaaahhh!”
A cry of agony burst from Arctur’s lips.
“What are you doing!”
“I treated it hastily, but this is clearly a sign of a broken arm.”
“What?”
Orcal Del tore away Arctur’s garment, exposing the area around his arm.
The forearm was abnormally swollen.
It bore the telltale marks of a recently regenerated fracture.
“Why is your arm broken?”
“That, well…”
Under Orcal Del’s sharp interrogation, Arctur retreated with a pallid, sickly expression.
“There was, was an accident…”
“An accident?”
A cold sneer played at the corners of Orcal Del’s mouth.
“There was an attack.”
An executive-class demon would never break an arm over a mere “accident.”
“An attack, you say…”
“Surely you’re aware of the news about Jackal’s unit being attacked not long ago?”
“…Could it be that Nogui has invaded the territory?”
“It won’t be just Nogui.”
Given Nogui’s mental state, there was no way he could devise such a cunning operation.
“Then…”
“Yes, it means those rats after Deimos’s treasure have infiltrated the territory.”
“….”
The Guard Commander’s eyes gleamed coldly.
He turned his head toward the guard standing motionless and spoke.
“Contact the Main Castle’s administrative office immediately and confirm whether the gold scheduled for delivery today has arrived.”
“Yes, sir!”
The guard rushed off urgently and returned within five minutes.
“The gold scheduled for delivery today hasn’t arrived yet!”
“As expected.”
The Guard Commander’s lips twisted upward into a grin.
The gold that should have arrived hadn’t shown up.
There was only one meaning to that.
“Looks like the rats have occupied the Factory.”
Flinch.
Arctur’s shoulders trembled.
“N-no, that’s not….”
“Silence.”
From the Guard Commander’s body, which had clamped down on Arctur’s mouth, a suffocating surge of immense magical power erupted.
“I’m not foolish enough to fall for your clumsy act.”
“Ugh! Uhhh.”
Sizzzzle!
The Guard Commander’s hand, gripping Arctur’s mouth, began to burn intensely hot.
“Can you guide me to where the rats are right now?”
“U-uhhh. Ugh!”
Arctur’s eyes rolled in terror before he frantically nodded his head.
“Good.”
The Guard Commander handed the Holy Stone he held to Orcal Del.
“I’ll handle catching the rats myself. You check inside the Treasury to make sure the goods haven’t been damaged.”
“No, I should come with you….”
“Orcal Del, Lieutenant Commander. Did you not understand my words?”
The Guard Commander glared at Orcal Del with eyes gleaming with avarice.
His gaze burned with the desire to capture all the rats who had infiltrated the Domain and monopolize all the credit.
“…Understood, sir.”
“Haha. I’ll make sure to tell Lord Deimos that your role in catching the rats was quite significant.”
The Guard Commander, wearing a friendly smile, assembled all the guards from the Treasury.
“We’re heading out now to catch the rats!”
“Yes, sir!”
The guards rushed off toward the Factory in a thunderous wave.
“…Sigh.”
Left alone, Orcal Del exhaled a weary breath and brought the Holy Stone in his hand to the third door.
Click, click, click, click, clunk!
As the final door opened, countless treasures stored within the Golden Treasury revealed themselves in all their splendor.
Orcal Del entered the Golden Treasury and closed the door behind him.
And then.
Crack, crackle!
With a sickening crack of bone, Orcal Del’s face began to contort grotesquely, twisting like kneaded clay.
The twisted visage gradually reformed into the appearance of a young man.
“People are easiest to deceive, you see.”
I gazed upon the treasures filling the Golden Treasury, my lips curling into a sinister smile.
“When they believe themselves to be clever.”
My cackling laughter echoed throughout the Golden Treasury.

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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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