Not A Regressor - Chapter 367

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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 367
Black Star Constellation (3)
“Hahaha! Aren’t you and I sworn brothers who’ve shared a cup together, O-jin? The younger brother of an oyabun is also an oyabun!”
Sakaki Ryo stood waiting at the entrance of a sprawling Japanese Traditional House, having come to greet us after the Kuroshi Organization Members guided us here.
His frame was so massive that one might believe a bull had donned human skin.
From Sakaki Ryo, who held the title of Japan’s strongest awakener, emanated an oppressive presence of an entirely different magnitude than when I’d first laid eyes on him.
“It’s been a while, Sakaki.”
“Heh! Why do you speak so formally between us, O-jin? Call me big brother instead of such stiff titles!”
I offered a wry smile and nodded.
Though considerable time had passed since our communications had grown sparse to call it “between us,” Sakaki’s characteristically hearty atmosphere made it feel surprisingly natural.
“Understood, big brother.”
“Ahahaha! How have you been, little brother?”
Sakaki burst into boisterous laughter and waved his hand at me.
“I’ve heard endless tales of your exploits! So you ventured into the Demon Realm this time?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“Hahaha! I never imagined you’d actually go to the Demon Realm! From the moment I first saw you, I knew you were no ordinary man!”
Sakaki made a fuss disproportionate to his massive frame, patting my back with a hand the size of a pot lid.
Thump! Thump!
Despite the seemingly gentle pats, each one resonated like striking a drum, sending weighty shocks through my organs.
‘As expected.’
I’d sensed it even when I first met Sakaki,
“It seems you’ve made considerable progress.”
“Hmm? Hahaha! How embarrassing. Compared to your achievements, it’s nothing!”
For someone claiming it was nothing, the mana flowing from Sakaki was as fierce and formidable as an enraged bull thrashing about.
‘At least 9-star or higher.’
When I’d first met Sakaki before, he’d been an 8-star awakener, so reaching 9-star was entirely plausible.
Sakaki Ryo had been a rare talent among awakeners in Japan, a land called “the land abandoned by stars.”
“Japan now has a high-rank awakener.”
Though the exact connection remained unclear, countries without Gates leading to the Star Palace, like Japan, tended to have fewer awakeners and lower average star ratings.
Precisely because of this, Japan had never possessed an awakener who’d transcended the 9-star barrier—what the masses called a “high-rank awakener.”
And now this towering figure, Sakaki Ryo, had taken root and risen from this barren wasteland.
“Hehe. I’m not the only one who became a high-rank awakener.”
“Pardon?”
Was there another awakener in Japan capable of reaching 9-star besides Sakaki?
“Koshiroooooo! How much longer do you plan to hide like a little mouse?”
Boom!
Sakaki stomped his foot roughly and turned around, shouting.
A young man who’d been hanging his head low among the yakuza in black suits flinched, his shoulders trembling.
The organization member who’d once betrayed Sakaki by being held hostage with his younger sister.
‘This time I’ll return as a true man,’ he’d said as he departed—and now I saw Koshiro before me.
“Oh, it’s been a while.”
Koshiro shuffled forward hesitantly.
“You absolute idiot!”
Smack!
Sakaki’s palm connected with Koshiro’s back in a satisfying blow.
Koshiro’s body launched into an acrobatic spin through the air before crashing into the hard marble floor, tumbling across it in a chaotic roll.
Sakaki glared down at Koshiro with eyes burning like molten fire and bellowed.
“What kind of pathetic voice is that for a man! Didn’t I tell you that a true man should always speak with a loud, resonant voice!”
“I-I’m terribly sorry, boss!”
Koshiro, who had been rolling across the floor as if struck by a truck, sprang to his feet without a single scratch on him.
Kwon O-jin let out a quiet chuckle at what seemed like a comedy sketch from some outdated variety show.
‘So he’s returned to the organization.’
It shouldn’t have been easy to accept back into the organization someone who had once betrayed it, no matter the circumstances.
Well, knowing Sakaki’s personality, he probably laughed off such trivial matters.
“By the way, besides Sakaki, you’re saying the other high-tier awakener is Koshiro?”
“Hahaha! That’s right! He vanished without a word for so long—dead or alive, who knew—but he came back as a high-tier awakener!”
Though Sakaki added disparaging remarks about Koshiro being foolish, his eyes gleamed with pride as he looked at him—like a father watching his son graduate from a prestigious university after years of struggle.
“Well… I had a debt to repay.”
Koshiro scratched his cheek with an awkward smile.
He clenched both fists tightly, his eyes sparkling with determination.
“In any case! I swear I’ll repay the kindness you both showed me, even if it costs me everything!”
Koshiro’s voice rang out with unwavering resolve.
With the stigma of the Shield Bearer constellation—specialized in defense—he had declared his willingness to sacrifice himself to repay their debt, which should have filled one with reassurance.
‘Though I’m not sure if he can actually hold out against the Black Star Constellation.’
In this case, the opponent was simply too formidable.
‘Still, a high-tier awakener with the Shield Bearer stigma should have reliable tanking ability.’
The more extreme a stigma’s specialization—whether offensive or defensive—the more overwhelming its power in that particular domain.
Just as Ha-eun’s Dragon constellation stigma demonstrated firepower exceeding even that of the Lyra Constellation stigma, Koshiro’s Shield Bearer stigma wielded defensive power that surpassed even the Polaris constellation stigma.
“Ah, and there’s one more person I’d like to introduce to my younger brother.”
“Who?”
Who could it be that even Sakaki, the boss of Kuroshi, would address with honorifics?
“Wait a moment.”
Sakaki gently touched the prayer beads hanging around his neck.
Uuuuuung!
A stream of crimson light flowed from the beads, coalescing in the air to form a shape the size of a palm.
Skin of deep red, two horns protruding from the forehead.
Rippling muscles like armor covered the entire body of this being.
[Gahahaha! It’s been ages!]
Aldebaran, the Taurus constellation, beat his clenched fist against his chest and burst into hearty laughter.
[Ho. So you too have manifested on Earth?]
[There’s one fellow who caught my fancy.]
Aldebaran’s lips curled into a sly grin as he glanced back at Sakaki.
[Hmph. Like father, like son, they say—but where did you dredge up someone so similar to yourself?]
[What?]
Regulus and Aldebaran’s gazes locked.
Aldebaran pointed at Lee Woo-hyuk while Regulus pointed at Sakaki Ryo, and an unexpected quarrel erupted between them.
[How dare you speak so carelessly when you’ve taken on a parasitic weakling as your apostle?]
[What did you just say?]
[Look at my child compared to yours! These broad shoulders and chest! Don’t you feel the majesty of a bull radiating from him?]
[What nonsense you spout. How can you call my child frail when you look at him? Observe those eyes—sharp as a predator concealing its claws!]
Were they seriously having a Pokémon battle right now?
Kwon O-jin let out an incredulous laugh, watching the two Constellations raise their voices.
[What in the world are you two doing?]
Vega’s commanding voice rang out sharply.
[Have you no shame, bickering like this in front of the children, you so-called Constellations?]
[Ahem.]
[Cough, cough!]
Regulus and Aldebaran, who had been raising their voices, fell silent with embarrassed coughs.
Kwon O-jin nodded as he watched Vega render both Constellations speechless in an instant.
That’s right.
There was a reason Vega was called the Constellation of Polaris—
[And no matter how you look at it, my child is the most magnificent, isn’t he?]
Vega declared confidently, her hands planted firmly on her hips.
[That handsome face, that dignified physique! How could your children—mere brainless muscle and parasitic weaklings—compare in appearance?]
[…What exactly are you saying?]
[Even if you are Vega, I cannot overlook those words!]
Now with Vega added to the mix, the Constellations began raising their voices against each other.
“Uh…”
“Hmm.”
Lee Woo-hyuk and Sakaki stared at the bickering Constellations, utterly bewildered.
Kwon O-jin pressed his forehead, as if his head were throbbing.
‘What is this, a parent-teacher association meeting in Daechi-dong?’
Watching the Constellations passionately debate whose child was superior, he couldn’t help but sigh.
“Man… I bet people without a Constellation are feeling pretty sorry right about now.”
Ha-eun, observing the stars’ fierce—no, petty—quarrel from the sidelines, shook her head with a wry smile.
Should she call this a blessing or a curse?
Eltanin, the Constellation of Draco, was currently in deep slumber, so he couldn’t participate in this embarrassing dispute, even if witnessing it would make his face burn.
Ha-eun playfully tugged at Kwon O-jin’s arm with a mischievous grin.
“O-jin, I’m sad.”
“About what?”
“I don’t have parents who would boast about me like that, do I?”
“I’m grateful I don’t have parents.”
Now that I said it out loud, it sounded like quite the crude joke.
But it perfectly captured the sentiments of Kwon O-jin, Lee Woo-hyuk, and Sakaki, who were witnessing the Constellations’ quarrel unfold beside them.
“Ha ha… I never knew Regulus had such a side to him.”
“Ahem. I didn’t realize Aldebaran thought that way either.”
Lee Woo-hyuk and Sakaki Ryo exchanged awkward glances while clearing their throats.
Though they shook their heads in denial, faint smiles played at the corners of their mouths.
Well, to be honest.
My face was burning, but it wasn’t an entirely unpleasant feeling.
I could tell the Constellations genuinely cared for the children.
‘It’s far better than Transcendents looking down on humans.’
Kwon O-jin shrugged helplessly as well.
Just as parents couldn’t stop their children, children couldn’t easily stop their parents either.
‘Well, it’s not like they’re actually fighting, and raising their voices won’t cause any real problems.’
I was about to turn away when—
[Hmph! A real man must have strength, mustn’t he! As for my children, I have three of them, three!]
Aldebaran proudly shrugged his shoulders while spreading three fingers.
Now he was even bragging about having many children.
[Compared to them, these two brats look so frail they can’t even handle night work properly!]
This bull bastard really had no filter.
What about me? I have three lovers, you old fool.
[How dare you speak such crude words about my daughter’s child!]
Yeah, yeah.
What would you know to speak such crude words….
“…Huh?”
An ominous premonition ran down my spine.
“Wait…!”
[You cannot even imagine how skilled my daughter’s child is at night work!]
[Hmm?]
Aldebaran turned to look at Vega and Kwon O-jin with a confused expression.
[How do you know my daughter’s child is skilled at night work?]
[Well, of course I know from direct experience… oh.]
Oh.

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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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