Not A Regressor - Chapter 38

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

I Am Not a Regressor Chapter 38
Paradise (5)
Yongsan Auction House.
Operating at the largest scale in South Korea, the regular auctions held mid-month attracted such high-quality merchandise that even foreign bidders participated with keen interest.
“Sigh.”
Upon arriving at the auction house entrance, Song Ha-eun exhaled a breath laden with tension.
Tap, tap, tap.
I entered, leaning on my cane.
“Are you here to participate in the auction?”
“Ah, yes.”
“Then please fill out these forms first.”
After barely managing to reach the counter, the staff member handed me documents.
Song Ha-eun’s expression grew troubled.
The staff member, who had been watching me stand blankly before the counter, caught sight of the cane gripped in my hand and let out a short exclamation.
“Ah… I apologize. Do you perhaps not have a guardian with you?”
“…No, I don’t.”
“Hmm. Would it be alright if I filled out the forms on your behalf?”
“Yes, please do that.”
True to Korea’s largest auction house, the service was remarkably attentive.
After providing simple personal information when asked, I received a waiting number.
VIP members could enter immediately without waiting, but I—who barely scraped by the entry requirements, let alone qualified as VIP—had no choice but to wait patiently.
After waiting roughly two hours.
“We’re beginning entry now~ For security reasons, no one may enter or exit during the auction, so please complete any necessary business before entering!”
Entry had begun.
-Thud, thud-thud.
“Ah… wait, just a moment.”
As the waiting crowd surged forward all at once, bodies collided with me from every direction.
Though my superhuman physique prevented me from being knocked down, I couldn’t avoid being jostled about.
“These bastards really…”
Irritation surged through me, but I couldn’t cause a scene here.
I waited for the crowd to thin before slowly entering the auction hall.
“Um, where is seat P-17 around here?”
“Yes? Ah… just go straight to the right.”
Each time I stopped passersby to ask for directions, I caught faint murmurs.
-These days even blind people participate in auctions.
-A few years ago, that would’ve been unthinkable.
-But why doesn’t she have a guardian?
-Tsk tsk. Who’d want to take care of a disabled person in times like these?
Ridicule and astonishment.
Voices tinged with pitiful sympathy.
“….”
Crunch.
I clenched my fist with brutal force.
My fingernails dug into my palm.
It hurt.
Not my palm—my heart.
‘It’s fine.’
If I could just obtain the Dragon Eye Relic.
Then I could release all this resentment, this searing pain.
“Well then, let’s begin the December Yongsan Auction!”
The auctioneer stepped onto the podium.
“Our first item today is the [Ashen Censer], hailed as the finest among 4-star holy relics!!! It’s renowned as a practical holy relic for real combat situations!!!”
The auction commenced with hollow platitudes.
As always, the auction began with appetizer-level holy relics.
“The minimum starting bid is 10 million won! The immediate purchase price is 1 billion!! Ah, everyone knows that immediate purchases can only be made in cash, right?”
Immediate purchases were conducted exclusively in cash because too many successful bidders didn’t actually possess the funds.
‘Buying at the immediate purchase price means someone desperately needs that item.’
It wasn’t difficult to find examples of cornered people resorting to lies.
“100 million!”
“130 million!!”
As the auction gained momentum, the atmosphere in the venue grew heated.
The 4-star holy relic [Ashen Censer] was indeed a superior specimen among 4-star relics, just as the auctioneer confidently proclaimed.
“340 million!”
“400 million!”
The price climbed rapidly.
“670 million!!”
“670 million!! We have 670 million! Any further bids?”
“….”
“Yes! Then [Ashen Censer] goes to bidder 157 as the final winner!”
670 million won.
More than double my entire net worth.
“…Ah.”
Money insufficient to even purchase a 4-star holy relic.
My hopeful thoughts cooled rapidly.
“No, wait.”
Shiver.
My clenched fist trembled faintly.
The [Ashen Censer] was a popular holy relic to begin with.
The Dragon Eye Relic had far less universal appeal, so there was still reason to hope.
“Now, our next item is…!”
The auction continued.
By the time all the 4-5 star sacred relics that had come out as appetizers had been sold off.
“Haha! Thank you for your patience~! Now it’s time to introduce today’s main attractions!”
Gulp.
This was where the real auction truly began.
If this were a novel, the prologue had just ended.
“Wow~ this item hasn’t been put up for auction in quite a while! A sacred relic that can be obtained only extremely rarely from dragon-type monsters!! A sacred relic with the incredible effect of dispelling all curses!!”
Finally.
“A 6-star sacred relic [Dragon’s Eye]!!!”
Clap clap clap.
Perfunctory applause echoed through the hall.
‘Perfect!’
With barely any cheers, it seemed the competition wouldn’t be too fierce.
“Regarding this sacred relic, first of all, it’s an absorption-type sacred relic that seeps into your body upon use rather than being worn as equipment! In other words!”
My lips felt parched and dry.
“You can permanently gain the power to dispel all curses without the hassle of carrying it around! Kya-ha! Everyone! Don’t you think having even one sacred relic like this would be incredibly reassuring in a Gate where you never know what might happen?”
Tremble tremble tremble.
The cheap prosthetic leg quivered faintly.
“The starting bid is 100 million! The immediate purchase price is 10 billion!”
“1, 100 million!”
The moment the auction began.
Song Ha-eun raised her hand high and shouted loudly.
“Pfft!”
“Did she just call the starting bid?”
“Hahaha! Looks like an auction rookie!”
“Hehe. Or maybe just some pauper hoping to strike it rich?”
Snickering laughter filled the air.
My face flushed hot with embarrassment.
Their mockery had hit the mark perfectly, and I lowered my head, biting my lip firmly.
“Um~ haha. Yes, 100 million! We have 100 million! Does anyone wish to raise the bid?”
The auctioneer himself wore an amused expression, barely suppressing a smile.
‘Please.’
I clasped my hands together in earnest prayer.
‘No one bid.’
My shoulders trembled faintly.
And then.
“2 billion.”
“2.55 billion!!”
“Yes~! We have a raise! Haha-ha!”
Without incident, without exception.
Without leaving behind even a single shred of miracle.
“Ah….”
A brief gasp escaped my lips.
Moisture gathered in my unfocused, ashen eyes.
“3.2 billion!”
“3.26 billion!”
The price continued climbing relentlessly.
To even place a counter-bid—let alone win the auction—I would need ten times the money I currently possessed.
“Ha… haha.”
My hope had turned to ice.
A bitter laugh spilled from between my pink lips.
“Right… there’s no way I could ever buy it.”
Six-star sacred relics traded for no less than 5 billion won.
What was I thinking, trying to bid with less than half of that?
“….”
I bit my lip until blood welled up.
Why, why, why.
What had I done so wrong?
“Just once….”
Hadn’t my life been miserably, unbearably hard?
Abandoned by parents whose faces I never knew, I had clawed my way through a dog’s existence.
And yet.
Why on earth.
“Just once… couldn’t a miracle happen for me?”
I wasn’t asking for much.
I didn’t want everything.
Just once.
Only once.
“I just… wanted to be with Kwon O-jin….”
I knew what greed was.
I knew what selfishness meant.
Kwon O-jin had his own life.
His own aspirations, his own longings.
For five years—no, even before that—I had shackled him to my existence.
I had cursed him with the name ‘Song Ha-eun’ and dragged him into this suffocating darkness.
“Ah, ugh.”
Tears streamed down my cheeks.
“4.1 billion!!”
“4.23 billion!!”
“4.3 billion!”
Even as tears fell.
Yong Ma-an drifted further and further away.
Already beyond reach.
━Then.
“Hehe. Could it be you’ve come to rescue Yong Ma-an?”
A slick voice reached my ears.
An unpleasant tone laced with greed and covetousness.
“…Who are you?”
Song Ha-eun’s gaze sharpened toward the source of the voice.
“Ah, I’m Choi Jong-chul of the Starlight Lake Guild. You’ve heard the guild’s name, surely?”
Starlight Lake Guild.
A healer-specialist guild formed by awakened users of Aquarius.
“…And?”
“I’ve been watching you since you were waiting earlier.”
A viscous voice.
“You were trying to buy Yong Ma-an, weren’t you?”
“….”
I clamped my mouth shut firmly.
A sickening discomfort spread down my spine.
“5 billion. Or rather… I could lend you up to 6 billion.”
“…!”
My ashen eyes widened.
The ember of hope that had vanished flickered back to life.
“━In exchange.”
I felt Choi Jong-chul drawing closer.
His hand came to rest on my thigh.
“This bastard’s insane….”
My fist clenched as my expression twisted in fury, but my hand froze mid-motion.
6 billion.
That astronomical sum circled through my mind.
“Hehehehe!”
A slick laugh echoed.
“Could you be my ‘friend’ for about 5 years? I’m not asking for much. Just grab meals together when you’re free, have a drink or two, and then… well, you know the rest without me spelling it out, right?”
“….”
Tremor.
My shoulders quivered faintly.
The sensation of filth pouring over my thigh.
Nausea rose unbearably from the revulsion.
‘…But.’
6 billion.
With that money, I might even be able to obtain the Dragon’s Eye.
I could escape this suffocating darkness.
With him.
I could live.
‘But, but, but.’
My lips burned raw from clenching.
Tears traced down my cheeks, gathering into droplets at my chin.
“What is your decision?”
“….”
I squeezed my eyes shut.
I forced down the nausea rising in my throat.
I pried open my reluctant lips.
“━I accept.”
Crash!
Then.
The auction house door burst open violently.
“What, what is this?”
“Who are you!”
Sudden commotion erupted.
Thud-thud!
The sound of bodyguards scrambling frantically toward the entrance.
“You cannot enter during an auction….”
“…Huh?”
“A, a Special Investigator?”
“Why is a Special Investigator here….”
“Wait. Isn’t that the person from Seoul Station a few days ago….”
The bodyguards’ bewildered voices.
And.
-Footstep.
A quiet footfall echoed.
Through my ears.
“━What?”
My ashen eyes trembled.
‘What, is this?’
-Footstep, footstep.
A familiar gait.
-Footstep, footstep.
A footfall I should never hear.
-Footstep, footstep.
A footfall that must not reach my ears.
“Why, why…?”
Why are you
here…?”
“Ahem! I-I apologize for the commotion, everyone! The Special Investigator from the Association, why are you…?”
The auctioneer forced an awkward smile as he regarded the uninvited guest who had burst into the middle of the auction.
-Thud, thud.
-Bang!
The intruder shoved two massive trunks he’d dragged in, hurling them to the floor.
Bundles of cash cascaded from the fallen trunks like snowflakes.
“━One billion won. All in cash.”
A low, gravelly voice reverberated through the auction house.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————