Not A Regressor - Chapter 46

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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 46
Monster Subjugation (2)
By the time I finished preparing equipment suitable for the subjugation, two days had already slipped away.
“This should be enough.”
Whoosh.
I hoisted a rather heavy backpack onto my shoulders.
Though it carried considerable weight, my body had grown far more powerful upon reaching 4-star rank, making it feel no heavier than a light laptop bag slung across my back.
“Isn’t that too much?”
Ha-eun approached and asked.
“It’s better to have excess than shortage.”
“What’s gotten into you, Mr. Penny-Pincher?”
“Still, I do know when to spend and when to save.”
After all, when acquiring equipment necessary for survival, one couldn’t afford to be stingy.
Anyway.
“…Why are you dressed like that?”
I narrowed my eyes, scrutinizing Ha-eun, who wore a form-fitting leather armor clinging snugly to her body.
I understood the emphasis on mobility, but the racing suit-like armor clung so tightly that her physique was laid bare without restraint.
“Hehehehe! Why? Do you like it?”
Ha-eun burst into giggles and struck a pose befitting a magazine model.
My face burned at the embarrassingly suggestive posture.
‘This woman is unbelievable.’
We’re alone now, but what was she thinking wearing that outside?
“Change into something else. Now.”
“Hmmmm. Why~? This is super comfortable and feels great~?”
Ha-eun covered her mouth with her hand, giggling mischievously.
“….”
My eyebrows rose slightly.
“Kahaha! Just kidding, you dummy! Would your sister really go outside dressed like this?”
She laughed brightly while pulling on a jacket she’d hidden in the corner.
The jacket was long enough to cover everything down to her thighs.
“Geez. You cute little thing! What, were you jealous someone else might see?”
Ha-eun bounced up and playfully mussed my hair with a headlock.
My eyes gleamed coldly.
“Yeah. I was jealous.”
“…Huh?”
Flinch.
Ha-eun’s body trembled.
I gently unwound her arms from around my neck and stepped closer.
“Your body is for my eyes alone. You can’t show it to anyone else.”
“O, O-jin?”
“Ha-eun.”
Thud!
I pressed her against the wall.
“Huh? W-what?”
She trembled, her entire body quivering.
Her left eye, uncovered by the eye patch, darted about frantically.
Slowly.
I leaned my face closer to hers.
“O-O-jin! W-wait!”
Ha-eun’s flustered form.
“…Close your eyes.”
“Nngh!”
She squeezed her eyes shut.
Her shoulders trembled delicately.
“O-jin…”
I could see her carefully tilting her chin up, her lips parting slightly.
Her pale pink lips━
-Snap!
“Aaaah!”
I flicked my finger against them.
My fingernail struck her front teeth with a crisp sound.
“Haha! Just kidding.”
“You bastard!”
Ha-eun rubbed her lips vigorously and kicked at my shin.
Well, she started the teasing first.
“We’re running late. Let’s go.”
“Tch.”
She narrowed her eyes with a disgruntled expression but gathered her belongings and followed me out.
Vroom.
We loaded our luggage into the trunk of the car borrowed from the Association and headed toward Sokcho.
Ha-eun, sitting in the passenger seat, looked around and asked.
“By the way, you can drive?”
“I learned.”
“Oh really? When?”
“Yesterday.”
“Damn it.”
Her face went pale as she gripped the auxiliary handle above the window.
-Ding dong.
Just then.
The pendant hanging around Kwon O-jin’s neck glowed, and a goddess the size of a small figurine appeared.
[Oh. Are we leaving now?]
“Yeah. It’ll take a few hours, so stay inside. I’ll call you when we arrive.”
[Hmm. Before that, I’d like to take a look at this automobile thing.]
Vega, perched atop Kwon O-jin’s head, gazed around with an expression of fascination.
[I heard from Riak that humans ride in these metal contraptions… but I never thought I’d actually get to ride in one!]
“You find it that interesting?”
[Of course! It’s something I’ve never seen in the world I’ve lived in until now!]
“I find it interesting too.”
[…?]
Well.
Shall we get going?
“The right one’s the accelerator and the left one’s the brake.”
[My child?]
“Good, perfect.”
[Is it truly perfect?]
“No. That’s not perfect.”
VROOOOOOM!!!!
The engine roared like a beast.
Perhaps the vehicle borrowed from the Association had exceptional performance.
The car surged forward with terrifying acceleration.
“Th-this is!”
Thrust far exceeding the creator’s expectations!!
“KYAAAAAAAH!!!”
[S-stop this!!]
The screams of the two women echoed faintly through the air.
* * *
Click.
I opened the car door.
“We got here pretty quick.”
“Ha… ha… ha!”
Song Ha-eun stumbled out from the passenger seat, breathing heavily.
Vega had fled into the pendant less than five minutes after the car started moving.
“I thought my insides were going to flip.”
“But you got the hang of it halfway through and adjusted your speed.”
At first, I’d pressed the accelerator too hard since I wasn’t used to it, but I’d managed to drive reasonably well from the midpoint onward.
“I’m never riding in this again.”
“You’ll have to ride it on the way back anyway.”
“Damn it.”
Song Ha-eun made a disgruntled expression.
I chuckled and moved forward.
After walking for about five minutes, the distant silhouette of Sokcho came into view.
“That’s….”
“It’s pretty bad.”
Acrid smoke rose from various points throughout the city in the distance.
It appeared the beasts had indeed descended into the urban areas and launched their assault.
“They said all the people evacuated, right?”
“Yeah.”
The Awakened Users Association and the Guilds had prioritized evacuating the city’s residents before launching the subjugation operation.
“So Sokcho must be absolutely overrun with beasts right now.”
“Probably.”
With the people gone, the beasts that had been inhabiting Seorak Mountain would have descended en masse and seized control of the urban areas.
“Ugh. It would’ve been better to strike while they were still hiding in the mountains.”
“But if fleeing beasts all rushed into the city at once, that would’ve been a problem too.”
The Association had no choice but to prioritize evacuating the residents.
“Let’s go.”
“Yeah.”
Walking a bit further, I could see over two hundred Awakened Users gathered together.
-Click! Click!
“What resolve does the Star of Peace Guild bring to this subjugation operation? We’d love to hear a few words!”
“We will always prioritize the peace of our citizens and promise to eliminate this evil horde of beasts!”
As we approached where the Subjugation Squad had gathered, reporters wielding heavy cameras were trailing behind the Guild members, conducting interviews.
The Guild accepted the interviews as if they had been expecting them.
The subjugation operation had taken a backseat while everyone enthusiastically spouted rhetoric about citizens’ peace and safety.
But that didn’t last long.
“Nae, Nae-rang!! It’s Nae-rang!”
“Waaah!”
“Kwon O-jin! Please say a few words!!”
The moment Kwon O-jin appeared, the reporters swarmed like ants discovering sugar.
Click! Click! Click!
Camera flashes sparkled like starlight.
‘Let me think.’
I organized what I wanted to say to the reporters in my mind.
After a brief pause.
“…What exactly are you all doing right now?”
“Pardon?”
“We’re… conducting an interview.”
-Twitch.
I furrowed my brow and spoke coldly.
“Even at this very moment, there may be citizens who haven’t managed to evacuate. Is this really the time to be leisurely conducting interviews?”
“Ah.”
“Tsk. Move aside. I’m busy.”
I brushed past the reporters with an unnecessarily irritable expression.
Honestly, I couldn’t care less whether there were still citizens who hadn’t evacuated or not.
“Y-yeah! That’s Neorang!”
“Yes! Now that’s what I’m talking about!”
“We’ve already got three articles out of this!”
The response came exactly as I’d anticipated—enthusiastic and immediate.
‘Here, this works far better than spouting empty rhetoric about public safety and all that nonsense.’
Who would care if I droned on about the same tired platitudes everyone else did?
“…You really do have a gift for saying the right thing at the right time.”
“Well, I’ve made a living off that one skill, so I’d better be good at it.”
Song Ha-eun, having caught on to my intentions, clicked her tongue in disapproval.
I shrugged and headed toward where the Subjugation Squad was gathering.
“Due to the urban environment, the Subjugation Squad will be divided into groups of three! Those who need additional members, please fill out this form with your name and abilities!”
Since it was just Song Ha-eun and me, I went over and filled out the form.
After a brief wait, a young man carrying a heavy shield approached us.
He had a striking square jaw, as if measured with a protractor.
‘A tank-type awakener, perhaps.’
That would work perfectly for party balance.
‘…Though he might not be just a tank.’
In the hand opposite the shield, he gripped a massive hammer.
“Oh! Neorang! You’re Neorang, right?!”
The square-jawed young man broke into a bright smile upon spotting me.
“Wow! Looks like fate’s bringing us together again!”
“Fate?”
What fate was he talking about?
“Haha! I’m with the Valhalla Guild! I’ve known about you since before the Seoul Station incident!”
“I see.”
So he was from the Valhalla Guild.
“Well then. Nice to work with you! Oh, that’s right. I’m Park Chang-hyun, Apostle of the Taurus Constellation!”
“Pleased to meet you. I’m Kwon O-jin, Apostle of the Lyra Constellation.”
Park Chang-hyun.
‘Wasn’t he an awakener who conquered the Mokdong Gate in the first cycle?’
A faint memory surfaced from Lee Shin-hyuk’s inherited recollections.
“How is Lee Woo-hyuk doing these days?”
“My hyung is busy chasing down the Black Star Society or whoever they are.”
He’s doing well then.
‘Still, three months have passed and he hasn’t found any decisive leads yet.’
I’d given Lee Woo-hyuk Ashad Khan’s contact information, but it seemed he still hadn’t uncovered any crucial clues.
‘Well.’
I have a contact.
In other words, I have ‘only’ a contact.
Lee Woo-hyuk’s goal wasn’t to bring down Ashad Khan alone, but to dismantle the entire Black Star Society.
To sweep away those operating covertly in the shadows all at once, information beyond a mere contact would be necessary.
“Still, he’s been going out frequently lately. Perhaps he’s discovered something.”
“I hope we get good results soon.”
The Black Star Society was an organization that even Kwon O-jin himself kept a close eye on.
‘After all, it’s the organization where the Demon God will be born in the future.’
Naturally, there was also the purpose of using them.
‘But even setting that aside, they’re worth being cautious about.’
They spouted the insane notion of making the Black Star dominate the world.
If they were merely mentally unhinged, it wouldn’t be so troubling.
But they possessed both the power and influence to make that madness a reality.
“If there’s good news, I’ll contact you right away, Kwon O-jin.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
I shook hands with Park Chang-hyun.
Park Chang-hyun’s gaze shifted toward Song Ha-eun.
“By the way, who is that person over there?”
“Song Ha-eun, Apostle of the Draco Constellation. She’s not comfortable with formal speech, so feel free to speak casually too.”
“Whew! I like your directness! Well… I’ll speak more casually once I get used to it.”
Park Chang-hyun burst into hearty laughter and nodded.
“Then shall we head out?”
“Let’s do it.”
I nodded and was about to head toward the city when—
“Hey, who’s this? Isn’t this our oh-so-great rookie? Huh?”
A blonde youth with a disagreeable expression approached us.
“You remember me, right?”
The blonde youth pointed to his chin with his hand and asked.
“No. I don’t remember.”
“Damn it! Park Jung-woo!!! Park Jung-woo from the Pandinius Guild, you bastard!!”
Ah.
That guy I met at the Association back then.
“Did you pass along my regards to the Guild Master?”
“Regards my ass!!!”
Park Jung-woo gnashed his teeth in indignation.
‘Well, he probably didn’t actually break anything asking about regards.’
He likely discovered his own face in news articles and only then realized he’d been deceived.
“Whoa, whoa! Calm down, Jung-woo.”
Footsteps sounded from behind.
Someone approached from the rear and stopped Park Jung-woo.
A middle-aged man with a sinister face that made one’s skin crawl just looking at him.
By sheer coincidence.
It was a face that remained etched in my memory.
“Well, well~ Fate keeps bringing us together like this!”
Hehehehe!
The middle-aged man turned to face Kwon O-jin and Song Ha-eun, his tongue extending obscenely long.
His gaze toward Song Ha-eun gleamed with viscous desire.
Kwon O-jin’s expression twisted sharply.
“…Choi Jong-chul?”
What the hell is this bastard doing here again?

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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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