Not A Regressor - Chapter 404
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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 404
Interlude – Summons (4)
A chill settled over the silence, heavy and suffocating.
Anxious gazes converged on me.
“What do you mean ‘no’?”
I squinted at her as if she were spouting nonsense.
Ha-eun turned her head away awkwardly and stammered.
“I mean… why, that… you know?”
“….”
Surely not.
Was she actually worried I might seduce a married woman with a child?
“Good grief, woman. What absurd thing are you saying now?”
I let out a hollow laugh at the ridiculousness and flicked my finger against Ha-eun’s forehead.
A sharp, clear sound rang out, followed by Ha-eun’s yelp.
“Why! Isn’t it reasonable to worry about this?!”
“You should worry about real things—do you think I’ve lost my mind to seduce a married woman with a child?!”
“But you said she was widowed!”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Why… you know, that kind of story where you fill the emotional void left by her late husband or something like that!”
What, some cheap domestic adult film?
“Look. Even if I do have quite a record, I’m not as crazy as you think, so stop worrying about that.”
“…Really?”
“If I’m lying, I’ll cut it off.”
I didn’t bother specifying what “it” was.
[Wait, that, that’s….]
“That would be rather inconvenient for me…?”
“No.”
Why are you speaking as if the lie is already confirmed?
“Stop talking nonsense and start preparing to head to the Star Palace.”
I shook my head dismissively and turned away, exhausted by the conversation.
“Don’t you need information about the other Seven Stars?”
“I’ll hear about that slowly on the way.”
While I didn’t need information about Allen, Rebecca, or Baek Moo-gang, I did need details on the remaining two Seven Stars—Bianca Bennett of the Jade Star and Edward Walton of the Radiant Star.
Even if I couldn’t expect them to command “armies” like the others, as members of the Seven Stars, they would certainly possess the strength of a hundred warriors each.
‘I need to gather all the power of the Seven Stars in one place.’
Until I could accurately assess Mobius’s full strength, I had to pull together every ounce of power available.
* * *
In front of the Star Palace located in Hongdae.
The street, which was always bustling with countless Awakened Users and merchants targeting them, lay deserted—not a single soul in sight.
‘Did the Seven Star Council have the entrance cordoned off?’
Kwon O-jin moved forward, observing the Association staff spread throughout the area around the Star Palace entrance.
“You’ve arrived!”
In the distance, a massive gorilla of a man—no, Han Jun-man—came rushing over.
“Yes. Is the Association controlling the entrance here?”
“If a terrorist were to breach a gathering of the Seven Stars, it would be catastrophic.”
“Ah… well, I suppose so.”
Though the catastrophe would befall the terrorist rather than the Seven Stars themselves.
In any case, minimizing unnecessary disruptions at a gathering of the Seven Stars was important work.
And now was hardly the time to worry about such trivialities.
“Then let us proceed inside, Kwon O-jin.”
“Yes.”
“However… everyone except Vega will need to wait outside during the proceedings. Is that acceptable?”
Han Manager glanced back at Cassia, Isabella, and Ha-eun as he asked.
At the mention of waiting outside, Ha-eun’s expression crumpled slightly.
“Can’t I just observe without actually participating in the meeting?”
“I’m afraid not. Given the sensitive nature of the matter, even I, as Kwon O-jin’s attendant, must wait outside.”
“Ugh.”
Ha-eun frowned in clear displeasure, crossing her arms.
Isabella, who had been listening quietly, opened her eyes narrowly in confusion.
“You mentioned everyone except Vega earlier—what does that mean?”
“Ah, the Constellations are permitted to observe the proceedings. Of course, they have no voting rights.”
“Why are only the Constellations allowed to observe?”
It was only natural that complaints would arise when even attendants had to wait outside, yet only Constellations could observe.
“…Because they are ‘Constellations.'”
….
Han Manager’s simple reply thoroughly dismissed all objections.
“Sigh. Fine. I’ll wait outside.”
Isabella exhaled deeply and nodded her head.
[I… well, I feel somewhat sorry about this.]
“There’s nothing for you to apologize for. In any case, please help ensure that Kwon O-jin’s meeting proceeds smoothly.”
[Hm! Leave it to me!]
Vega nodded, exhaling a breath brimming with enthusiasm.
“Then let us head to the conference hall.”
Kwon O-jin’s party followed Han Manager into the Star Palace.
The place where the meeting was held appeared to be a temple belonging to the Constellations.
The temple, with its pink exterior walls, shimmered with scattered light as if some special effect had been activated around it.
[So this is Spica’s Temple.]
“…Ah.”
That explained it.
The atmosphere had felt unusually bright and cheerful—because it was the temple of the Virgo Constellation, after all.
“Why would they choose this place for a meeting….”
Here I was, about to hold an emergency strategy session regarding the demonic legions that had devastated Italy and Mobius, yet the temple’s atmosphere was as radiant as a fairy tale princess’s castle.
It felt as jarring as holding a court trial in an amusement park.
[Which Constellation would willingly vacate their own temple for an emergency Seven Stars meeting?]
“Well, in that sense, Spica’s Temple is perfect.”
Given Spica’s personality, she couldn’t possibly miss such a special event, so she must have readily agreed to lend her temple.
And in exchange, she probably secured the right to observe the proceedings.
“Then, Kwon O-jin. We’ll wait here for you.”
“Do well at the meeting?”
“Thank you, Kwon O-jin.”
As I turned to enter the conference chamber, accompanied by the farewells of three women.
“Have a good trip, Mom!”
“…Didn’t I tell you to call me Commander outside?”
“Ah… I’m sorry. Commander!”
When I turned toward the voice, my eyes fell upon a young man seated in a wheelchair and a woman with short silver hair.
Beside the woman in her crisp uniform stood soldiers in military dress, lined up in perfect rows and columns as if measured with a ruler.
“Salute Commander Alina Vladimir—!”
“Loyalty!”
“Loyalty.”
The woman who received the salute with movements so flawless they could be printed in a military manual turned and entered the temple.
“Hmm. Is that the Tae-eul Star?”
“Seems like it.”
I nodded and watched Alina’s retreating figure as she entered the temple without sparing us a glance.
My gaze shifted from Alina’s back to the young man in the wheelchair.
The silver-haired youth, like Alina, had a frail appearance—as if he’d collapse with a single push—unlike Alina, who exuded the bearing of a valiant warrior despite her feminine form.
“The man sitting in that wheelchair is Alphonse Vladimirova, Alina Vladimir’s son, as I mentioned.”
“…He looks quite different from his mother.”
“He contracted some mysterious illness a few years ago and can no longer walk on his own.”
“Hmm.”
An illness of unknown origin.
My gaze naturally turned toward Cassia.
Since she too had once suffered from an incurable disease and spent time in a wheelchair, I wondered if she knew anything about this “mysterious illness” afflicting Alina’s son.
In response, Cassia shook her head quietly.
“It’s a different illness from what I had. My condition involved progressive muscle rigidity throughout my body, but I’ve never heard that Alphonse Vladimirova suffers from muscle rigidity—only that he cannot walk properly.”
“Is that so? You don’t know what illness it is?”
“That… I apologize. Alina guards her son so thoroughly that I couldn’t gather information about Alphonse.”
“There’s nothing to apologize for.”
Still, it was thanks to Cassia gathering all manner of information over the past three months that I could gain direction for my plan.
If anything, I should be expressing gratitude, not finding fault.
“Thank you for helping me in so many ways. I’ve benefited greatly because of you.”
I offered a faint smile and gently stroked Cassia’s hair.
“Hah….”
The moment my hand touched her head, Cassia trembled slightly and her cheeks flushed crimson.
The warmth radiating from my hand spread through her entire body, flowing down from the crown of her head.
As Cassia melted into a drowsy smile, savoring the warmth of my touch with every fiber of her being.
Tap.
Isabella removed my hand from atop Cassia’s head.
“That’s enough, Kwon O-jin. Your sister might go into heat.”
“…Is that any way to speak to your elder sister?”
“Was what I said wrong?”
Watching the sisters begin to growl at each other, I swallowed a bitter smile.
“Then, I’ll be going.”
[I shall gather reinforcements to rescue those captured by Mobius!]
Vega and I turned our steps toward the Divine Temple.
* * *
“First, before we begin the meeting, I thank all of you Seven Stars for taking time from your busy schedules to gather here.”
A woman with a businesslike demeanor, wearing thick-framed glasses, stood at the podium.
She was the woman who had explained the rules at the ‘Seven Star Council’ that I had attended before.
She pushed her glasses up and surveyed the Seven Stars seated around the round table with tense eyes.
Alina Vladimir of the Heavenly Authority.
Allen Oskal of the Heavenly Drum.
Edward Walton of the Brilliant Light.
Rebecca Bell of the Green Star.
Baek Moo-gang of the Heavenly Authority.
Bianca Bennett of the Jade Form.
And.
Kwon O-jin of the Broken Army.
For her, who had guided the ‘Council’ until now, this was the first time she had witnessed all seven stars gathering in one place.
“I am Olivia, representing the Council to assist in conducting this meeting.”
Bowing at a ninety-degree angle, she placed a transparent crystal sphere on the table.
Light flowing from the sacred relic created a holographic image in the air.
The image showed the streets of Rome engulfed in Fire Demon.
At the horrifying footage filled with screams and cries, the expressions of the Seven Stars seated around the table hardened like stone.
“You have been gathered here to devise countermeasures regarding the large-scale terrorist attack that occurred in Italy and a figure named ‘Mobius’ who is presumed to be the mastermind behind this terror. First, regarding the details of the incident….”
“Wait.”
Interrupting Olivia’s explanation, someone raised their hand.
The one who raised her hand was Alina Vladimir, known as the Taeul Star.
“Before we begin the formal meeting, there is something I must say.”
She swept her cold gaze across the Seven Stars seated around the round table and opened her mouth.
“I, Alina Vladimir of the Taeul Star, along with the Russia-China Allied Forces, will have no involvement whatsoever in this Italy terror incident.”
A chill descended upon the conference room at her declaration, sharp and decisive as a blade cutting through flesh.
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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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