Not A Regressor - Chapter 403

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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 403
Interlude – The Summons (3)
Commander-in-Chief of the Russo-Chinese Alliance.
Alina Vladimir of the Tae-eul Star.
She was such a renowned awakener that even Kwon O-jin, who had little interest in the Seven Stars, had heard her name mentioned in passing a few times.
“So if we succeed in recruiting that Alina, we can move the military?”
“Yes, that’s correct. She has complete control over the military authority of the Russo-Chinese Alliance.”
“Hmm.”
A military force.
Kwon O-jin fell into deep thought, arms crossed.
“Roughly how many troops are we talking about?”
They wouldn’t have simply gathered a few hundred awakeners and grandly labeled it a “military,” so he could reasonably expect at least a thousand or more.
‘If things go well, it could exceed two thousand.’
If there were more than two thousand awakeners, that alone would constitute tremendous military power.
An army of over two thousand awakeners.
On the surface, it seemed insufficient to warrant the title “military,” but that was only because the count was limited to awakeners.
It varied by nation, but on average, the ratio of ordinary people to awakeners was one thousand to one.
With awakeners appearing at a rate of one per thousand people, gathering two thousand was already a staggering number.
‘And awakeners are so difficult to recruit in the first place.’
Fundamentally, awakeners—regardless of their Star level—inevitably develop the belief that they are “special.”
It was no coincidence that society harbored the prejudice that all awakeners were arrogant and presumptuous.
‘Well… there’s no helping that, I suppose.’
With the stigmata bestowed by the Constellation, they could perform miracles that ordinary people could never even dream of, so it was inevitable that a sense of chosenness would take root.
Gathering awakeners with that underlying sense of superiority to form a military?
‘Just thinking about it makes me dizzy.’
Honestly, if someone asked him to take on that role, he might collapse from stress.
“Um. Just a moment. I don’t know the exact numbers either.”
Cassia, who had been calculating in her head, continued speaking.
“But it’s definitely over ten thousand.”
“What?”
Ten thousand?
Not a thousand, but ten thousand?
How was that even possible?
“Are they forcibly conscripting awakeners or something? How do they gather that many?”
“You’re quite perceptive.”
“What do you mean perceptive… Oh.”
Surely not.
“Yes. The Russo-Chinese Alliance forcibly conscripts all awakeners over the age of adulthood, regardless of their Star level.”
“….”
Good grief.
This could actually work.
“Of course, we don’t cram them all into one location like a regular military and force them into communal living, but fundamentally they’re registered as military personnel. Creating guilds is also prohibited. Well, I suppose they’re closer to civil servants than soldiers.”
“Huh.”
There really was a country that forcibly conscripted Awakeners.
Of course, Kwon O-jin had grown up in a country with conscription, but there was a clear difference between implementing conscription on ordinary citizens and implementing it on Awakeners.
Kwon O-jin let out a hollow laugh and shook his head.
Regardless of the reasons.
From Kwon O-jin’s perspective, needing military forces immediately, this was a good opportunity.
“By the way, what Stigma does Alina Vladimir possess?”
“It’s the Stigma of Cygnus Constellation.”
“Cygnus Constellation?”
Cygnus Constellation—wasn’t that Deneb’s Stigma?
‘Was Alina one of Deneb’s 12 Apostles?’
Given that, I’d never seen her near Deneb, not during the proxy war before nor afterward.
Well, in any case, if she was one of Deneb’s 12 Apostles.
“That works out well then. Can’t we just ask Allen to help with recruiting her?”
If I asked Allen Oskal, the de facto leader commanding Deneb’s 12 Apostles, it shouldn’t be difficult to recruit her.
Besides, I already owed Allen a favor regarding the matter with Baek Moo-gang.
[That would be difficult, I’m afraid.]
Vega shook her head at the end.
“Difficult? Why?”
[I once heard Deneb grumbling about having an insolent apostle among his followers who had never once visited the Divine Temple.]
“…You’re saying that’s Alina?”
[Hearing the name, it seems to match. I heard that even when Deneb swallowed his pride and invited her to the Divine Temple several times, she refused, saying she didn’t want to be associated with the Constellation.]
“Hmm.”
So she received the Stigma from Deneb but doesn’t actually follow him.
‘That’s not uncommon.’
In truth, Awakeners who revered Constellations like priests of some religion were rare.
‘Since serving a Constellation like a god doesn’t provide any practical benefits.’
A Stigma is, as the word suggests, a ‘seed.’
Once a Stigma takes root in a human, a Constellation can neither directly aid nor influence an Awakener’s growth, so there’s nothing to gain from devoting oneself to a Constellation, offering everything up to them.
‘There are blessings, certainly.’
If an apostle were singular like Vega.
But for a Constellation commanding hundreds to thousands of apostles, they couldn’t simply bestow blessings freely.
“So it’s difficult to expect Allen’s cooperation either.”
Still, one might say that Awakeners bearing the same Stigma could help each other—the arm bends inward, after all.
But relying on such a thin connection was too much for a matter of this magnitude.
‘For Awakeners, sharing the same Stigma feels about the same as graduating from the same school.’
Imagine a current military commander being approached by someone saying, “We’re from the same school, so please dispatch troops to help us.”
And that too to a dangerous region teeming with such powerful demonic beasts that an entire city vanished in an instant.
‘At least she didn’t get shot right there.’
In any case.
I couldn’t ask Allen for help.
“So that means I have to recruit Alina Vladimir myself….”
But the information I had about her was far too sparse.
“Leave that to me, please.”
Cassia stepped forward with confidence.
“I’ve already gathered all the basic information about Alina Vladimir.”
“Huh? When did you collect all that?”
“Hehe. I wasn’t just idling away these past three months, you know?”
Cassia puffed out her chest proudly and tilted her head toward me.
The gesture reminded me so much of a puppy begging for praise that I found myself reaching up and gently stroking her hair without thinking.
“Oh, sorry.”
I suddenly remembered the saying about how women hate having their hair touched carelessly, so I quickly apologized and withdrew my hand.
Tap.
Cassia hastily caught my descending hand.
“P-please stroke it a little more.”
“….”
How could I refuse such a request, made with those emerald eyes shimmering so brightly?
I resumed stroking Cassia’s hair as she wished.
“Hehe.”
Cassia’s lips curved into a loose smile as she pressed herself against me affectionately.
Lost in the sensation of her smooth, silky hair, I continued stroking until I noticed the gazes of the women around us growing increasingly sharp, at which point I withdrew my hand.
“Ahem. So what information do you have about Alina?”
Cassia, who had been gazing at my hand with a wistful expression, reached toward the shadow.
The shadow stirred sluggishly, and a photograph emerged from within it.
The photograph showed a woman with short silver hair that reached her shoulders.
Her tightly sealed lips and sharp eyes radiated the formidable presence of a seasoned warrior.
“Alina Vladimir. Born into a Russian military family, she served as a soldier even before the First Rift opened.”
“A born soldier, then.”
“Yes. After awakening the stigma of Cygnus Constellation, she led a military unit composed of Awakeners, hunting demonic beasts and growing rapidly. She joined Seven Stars about six years ago.”
Six years ago was not long after Seven Stars was founded.
‘So she’s practically an original member.’
If that were the case, it would be evidence that her cultivation as an Awakener was equally advanced.
“So how many stars does she have now?”
“We don’t have exact information, but… we estimate she’s probably at 11 stars like us.”
“11 stars, huh.”
That was certainly a high enough level to hold the position of commander-in-chief of the alliance forces.
“Let me see that photo too.”
Ha-eun, who had been quietly listening beside us, suddenly reached out and snatched the photograph.
“Hmm. So this is Alina Vladimir.”
Ha-eun whistled softly as she studied the photograph intently.
“She’s beautiful?”
Her tall, statuesque frame and defined shoulders, combined with her piercing gaze, inspired the word “commanding” more than “beautiful.”
But judging purely by her appearance, Alina Vladimir possessed undeniably striking features.
“So you’re saying we need to bring her to our side? With you taking the lead personally.”
“That’s right.”
“Hmm.”
Ha-eun stared at the photograph, swallowed hard, and narrowed her eyes.
“Why?”
“…Don’t tell me you’re getting entangled with her too?”
“What nonsense are you spouting?”
Why would such a comment suddenly surface now?
“Well, sir, your track record is rather… colorful, shall we say?”
Ha-eun crossed her arms and swept her gaze across Isabella, Vega, and Cassia in succession.
Kwon O-jin flinched, his shoulders trembling at the direct hit.
“There’s no need to worry about that.”
Cassia burst into delighted laughter and approached Ha-eun.
Another photograph emerged from within her shadow.
The image showed a middle-aged woman.
Her skin was rough as desert sand, weathered from hardship in her youth, and her face was etched with deep wrinkles.
“Who is this woman?”
“This is Alina Vladimir’s photograph from ten years ago.”
“What, what did you say?”
Ha-eun’s jaw dropped.
Looking at the photographs alone, it was impossible to believe they depicted the same person.
Cassia shrugged and continued.
“Now that she’s become a high-ranking Awakener, she’s rejuvenated herself through physical reconstruction, but she’s already well over fifty years old.”
“Hmm. But by that logic, Vega would actually be even older—”
[Can you not open that mouth of yours!]
Vega flew over in panic and yanked Ha-eun’s hair.
[Did I not tell you never to speak of my age!]
“Ow, ow, I’m sorry. I said I’m sorry.”
Ha-eun finally freed herself from Vega’s grip and turned to Cassia with a new thought.
“In any case, we shouldn’t let our guard down just because she’s older.”
“Miss Ha-eun. Isn’t there something you’re overlooking?”
“Huh? What?”
“Well, unless she’s a Constellation, most people in their fifties are typically already married and have families, wouldn’t you say?”
“Ah.”
A soft exclamation escaped Ha-eun’s lips.
“Alina Vladimir already has an adult son.”
“Ah, I see.”
Ha-eun exhaled with relief, as if a weight had finally lifted from her shoulders.
Or rather, she had been about to exhale with relief.
Before hearing what Cassia said next.
“Of course, it seems she lost her husband some time ago.”
“….”
Ha-eun’s gaze shifted toward Kwon O-jin.
A beautiful widow in her fifties with a child in tow.
An inexplicable sense of dread crept up my spine like a living thing.
“…Right?”
Elder Sister, you trust our O-jin, don’t you?

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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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