The Regressor Plays the Game Too Well - Chapter 35

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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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Episode 35
Episode 35
Upon inspection, Parkin’s identification badge was indeed genuine.
One couldn’t casually counterfeit the credentials of someone of the Guard Captain’s rank.
Without question, it was authentic.
But I truly despised having that man inside my house.
A fellow of questionable refinement.
Just look at him. His appearance is hardly impressive, is it?
Dressed in shabby cloth like some common traveler.
Jin-woo had habitually changed into beginner’s attire, but Ben had no way of knowing that.
Yet why was it?
An air of quiet elegance emanated from him.
‘Hmph.’
Regardless, he was undoubtedly nothing more than a tattered adventurer.
Blessed by the goddess or not, he remained an insignificant creature.
Perhaps that was why Ben felt this way.
Even that subtle grace about him grated on my nerves.
As I pondered what to do about it,
the fellow prattling on ahead spoke to me.
“Ah, so it really is genuine, then?”
In that instant, irritation surged through me.
But what could I do?
The man spoke the truth.
I summoned superhuman patience and offered a measured smile.
I was a dignified butler, after all.
I had to treat him with the utmost courtesy.
Such was the virtue of one who served a noble household.
“Yes, it is certainly authentic. Please, do come inside.”
“I wish you’d said that from the start. What a shame.”
A grinding sound.
I gnashed my teeth without realizing it.
But no one noticed.
Least of all Jin-woo, who followed close behind.
I gestured for Jin-woo to follow, then stepped directly into the mansion’s interior.
But what was this?
‘Unexpected.’
His gait was quite impressive.
So he did possess basic etiquette after all?
Yet he remained an adventurer nonetheless.
A lowborn creature of uncertain origins.
So I’ll be disrespectful even before the Mayor.
Marquis Jihokin is such a merciful person that he’ll probably overlook it.
But something like this, I have to resolve with my own hands.
I’ll make my position clear with conviction.
An adventurer of unclear origins daring to set foot in a noble house—what audacity.
Guard Captain Parkin bears responsibility for this as well.
‘I need to make him take some responsibility.’
But then a thought crossed my mind.
What if that shabby fellow actually brought something important?
I had that thought for a moment, but I shook my head.
How could that be?
His basic etiquette seemed somewhat refined, but his visible level was far too low.
I couldn’t imagine he’d brought anything of importance.
And so I concluded roughly.
‘He might be some adventurer clinging to Parkin.’
This is it, this is it.
They’re all worthless riffraff.
I absolutely must inform the Marquis.
How much longer did we walk?
Finally, we arrived at the reception room.
Ben opened the door for Jin-woo and said.
“Please wait here. I’ll bring the Mayor for you.”
“Ah, yes. I understand.”
The fellow who emerged looking somewhat awkward.
Indeed, seeing his unsavory demeanor confirmed it.
He’s scheming something with Guard Captain Parkin.
Whatever it is, I’m certain of it.
And so Ben left the reception room, putting on the brightest smile he could muster.
Meanwhile, Jin-woo chuckled as he watched Ben leave.
From an angle Ben couldn’t see.
‘Still the same as ever. Or is that natural since I’ve regressed?’
Ben, the butler who despises adventurers.
Jin-woo already knew this.
Anyone who’s played Felsia would know, wouldn’t they?
The infamous butler Ben.
He was truly famous.
The way he looked at users like they were insects.
I only get this treatment because I have the First title, which grants me nobility.
If I didn’t have that title, he probably would’ve ignored me outright.
Speaking to me without even using formal speech.
They might have even driven me out.
Before my regression, I actually experienced that kind of humiliation.
‘But I have a trump card, you see.’
After all, this came as a Quest.
Wait, hold on?
This?
Now that I think about it, I could actually mess with them.
There was that famous thing before my regression.
Teaching a disrespectful NPC adventurer a lesson!
There were plenty of videos about it.
‘I’ve even used it as content before.’
Oh, this could be fun.
And conveniently, this came as a Quest, and I’m dressed like this anyway.
Not that I intended it?
Either way, I have an enormous number of cards to flip.
What if things don’t go that way?
I never even entertained that worry.
That hateful butler Ben would definitely be eagerly running his mouth to the Mayor, trying to tear me down in every way possible.
I’m certain of it.
Oh, come on! I’m serious? I can even place Asir’s curse.
Anyway, let me prepare for that then.
Get a taste of the lesson from the future!
* * *
Confident, Ben left Jin-woo in the reception room and headed toward the Mayor’s office.
A report that should naturally be made when a guest arrives.
But this time, his intentions were different.
Ben, who had arrived at the Mayor’s office, knocked on the door.
Knock, knock, knock.
“Mayor, we have a visitor.”
“Hmm? Come in for now.”
Marquis Jihokin’s voice was full of questions.
If he didn’t explain this, things could get messy.
He would expose every detail of that rude and shabby adventurer’s sinister scheme.
In the office he entered, there sat a middle-aged man at a large desk.
His appearance was dignified and imposing at first glance.
He was a man who possessed a physique that suggested he had been quite formidable in his youth.
His graceful bearing and expression were the very epitome of nobility.
This man was the Mayor of Felsia and a nobleman.
Marquis Jihokin.
“You said we have a visitor?”
Upon seeing Ben, Marquis Jihokin—the Mayor—regarded him with a questioning gaze.
A sudden visitor, no less.
It was only natural that he’d be puzzled.
And so Ben’s report began.
It unfolded exactly as I had anticipated—not a single detail amiss.
“Yes, sir. An adventurer arrived bearing Guard Captain Parkin’s credentials, demanding an immediate audience with you.”
“That is rather peculiar.”
“I found something distinctly suspicious about this individual, sir.”
“Suspicious, you say?”
“Blessed by the goddess or not, these adventurers are of unknown origin, are they not? To send such a person directly to you, my lord? Surely Guard Captain Parkin himself should have come if this were a legitimate matter?”
Listening to him, I could see the cunning rhetoric at work—persuasive, even.
Yet Marquis Jihokin merely frowned slightly, offering no agreement with Ben’s sentiment.
Ben had made his prejudiced remarks without the slightest self-awareness.
The Marquis’s frown stemmed from distaste at those very hateful words—something Ben was far too blind to perceive.
Instead, he mistook the silence for approval and grew even more animated in his complaints.
“I suspect foul play, sir. Guard Captain Parkin may well be accepting bribes and attempting to forge connections between you and this scoundrel.”
“Hmm, but I’ve always known Parkin to be above such things.”
“As the saying goes, one may fathom the depths of ten fathoms of water, but never the heart of a single person. Moreover, this adventurer arrived in the most disreputable attire—shabby, threadbare cloth garments, utterly unfit for proper company. Clearly, there is some hidden scheme at work. I beseech you, my lord, exercise caution!”
“Hmm.”
Marquis Jihokin regarded his steward Ben with an expression of mild exasperation.
I understood well enough that his intentions were sincere, in his own way.
Though his loyalty was decidedly warped by deep-seated prejudice.
Still, wasn’t he acting this way out of genuine concern for my welfare?
Such devotion was admirable, in its fashion.
I couldn’t bring myself to scold him for it.
Besides, dismissing him outright posed its own complications.
‘His family has served our house for generations, after all.’
In any case, there was no harm in heeding his words.
If an individual of unknown standing had indeed arrived, it was prudent to exercise some caution.
Of course, if Guard Captain Parkin had sent them, that lent considerable credibility.
Though Ben seemed to distrust even that much.
The man harbored such contempt for commoners, after all.
I supposed it was understandable.
Still, that odious habit of his needed to be corrected.
But reforming the ingrained prejudices of an aging man like Ben seemed a hopeless task.
“Very well, I understand.”
“Ah, I am merely grateful that you recognize my sincerity, my lord.”
Ben bowed his head as he spoke.
Then, thoroughly pleased with himself, his mouth split into a satisfied grin.
Ah, what exhilaration—his lips parted of their own accord.
That arrogant bastard is finished now.
If I go to his room right now, he’ll still be wearing those shabby cloth rags.
And if he’s stolen something on top of that, it would be perfect.
It would prove my claims beyond a shadow of doubt.
No, he must have already done it.
There’s no way I could be wrong.
Ben held this conviction with absolute certainty.
“Then let’s go.”
It was only until Marquis Jihokin rose from his seat to leave.
He believed without the slightest doubt.
When Marquis Jihokin, whose muscular frame made his middle age seem unbelievable, stood up and headed toward the reception room, Ben followed right behind him.
It was only natural for a butler to attend to Marquis Jihokin.
The two of them headed straight for the reception room.
As they reached the entrance to the reception room, Ben, who was behind, called out.
“The Mayor of Felsia and the esteemed nobleman of the Deron Kingdom, Marquis Jihokin, has arrived.”
“”
They were entering the reception room.
Did it really have to be this elaborate?
Marquis Jihokin thought the same thing.
But well, the butler said it was necessary.
Maintaining the dignity of nobility was truly important.
With that, he opened the reception room door and stepped inside.
But then.
“Hmm?”
“Uh, uh… what?”
Ben was astonished as if this couldn’t possibly be happening, while Marquis Jihokin tilted his head in confusion, finding the reality quite different from what he’d heard.
Both of them were simultaneously gazing at Jin-woo, who stood before the sofa offering a deep bow of respect.
His attire was also vastly different from what they’d heard.
He wore high-quality equipment that truly reflected the bearing of a hero, and yet despite donning such gear, he carried not a trace of arrogance.
Moreover, he was showing proper courtesy to a nobleman.
It was an absolutely ideal appearance.
Naturally, that wasn’t the end of it.
“I am honored to meet you, Marquis Jihokin, the Mayor of Felsia and an esteemed nobleman of the Deron Kingdom.”
It was neither excessive nor an exaggerated display of loyalty.
Simply a perfectly measured display of courtesy.
Faced with such impeccable manners, Marquis Jihokin looked toward his butler Ben as if asking what on earth was happening.
“Th-this… how could this…?”
This couldn’t possibly be happening.
Ben stood there in shock, unable to believe his eyes.
Ben gasps in disbelief.
Marquis Jihokin’s brow furrowed as he observed Ben.
He’d always thought Ben would receive a proper comeuppance one day.
Apparently, that day was today.
“Attend to our guest first, then come see me.”
“Ah, y-yes… I understand, sir.”
Ben bowed his head in apology, his spirit visibly deflated.
Jin-woo let out a quiet chuckle.
Unnoticed by anyone else.
This was the finest form of education for a bigot.
First, let them underestimate you, then make them eat their words, and finally reveal a completely contradictory image.
It was a small thing, admittedly.
But this wasn’t the end.
“Please, have a seat.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Even the way I settled onto the sofa was measured and composed.
Ben, the butler, regarded me with the look one reserves for something utterly repugnant.
Well, from Ben’s perspective, it was only natural.
After all, the fellow who’d been acting so insolently just moments ago was now behaving like this.
There had to be some ulterior motive at play.
While he was thinking such thoughts.
I withdrew items from my inventory.
“Guard Captain Parkin asked me to deliver these to you, so I’ve come all this way.”
“Hmm? What is this?”
Now came the moment.
I smirked inwardly.
The items I’d just pulled out were naturally Quest items.
Two of them, no less.
The Black Mage Organization’s ledger and Parson’s chimera experiment journal.
Both were substantial pieces, these were.
Once I hand these over, Ben, you’re in serious trouble.
‘It’s obvious without even looking.’
He’d cursed Parkin along with himself.
The man was far too renowned.
Even Parkin himself found him insufferable.
A man of such character that he’d even disrespect a knight of commoner birth.
This time, let him experience a proper reckoning.
With precisely that sentiment, I placed the two thick volumes on the table and opened my mouth.
Naturally, as provocatively as possible.
“These are items I obtained during my investigation in the Dark Forest, as well as what I acquired after eliminating Parson, the city’s persistent problem. Upon discovering these and informing Guard Captain Parkin, he said this was entirely my achievement and asked me to deliver them directly to you, Mayor. I apologize for the sudden visit.”
Kyaaaah!
Perfect.
A truly flawless cover-up!
Everything unfolded exactly as I had anticipated.
Look at Marquis Jihokin, his expression turning contemplative as he accepts the two books from my hands.
“Huh!? Is that truly the case?!”
Marquis Jihokin’s delight is unmistakable.
And in that same moment, the atmosphere grew cold.
Was it because of the Black Mage Organization’s news?
No, that wasn’t it.
That chill emanated from none other than Marquis Jihokin, directed at his butler Ben.
Naturally, it was clear this wouldn’t be something he’d simply overlook.
“How could I have failed to recognize such a benefactor? I nearly cast you aside without a second thought. I must extend my gratitude to Guard Captain Parkin as well. Of course, I owe my deepest thanks to my benefactor.”
Oh?
What does this mean?
[Linked Quest ‘The Mayor of Felsia, Marquis Jihokin’ has been cleared.]
[Marquis Jihokin’s satisfaction has reached its peak.]
[Rewards have been maximized.]
[You may receive your rewards from Marquis Jihokin.]
[You have acquired vast experience points.]
Sigh.
Nobility Quests are truly a blessing.

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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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