Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 101

101

If you want peace, prepare for war.

“More importantly, Young Master Zion,
Though it’s unrelated to our transaction, if it’s not too forward, there’s something I’d like to ask.”

“As long as it’s not a strange question.”

At Zion’s response, Helen paused for a moment before slowly posing her question.

“Summarizing the information I’ve received so far, it seems there’s a demi-human [a person of mixed human and animal ancestry] from the slave market attached to you.
I presume my guess is correct?”

“There is a Myo Eun [cat-like demi-human], meowing about repaying a favor, sticking around.”

“…I see.”

“Why are you asking?”

Helen stroked her wrist as she replied.

Zion didn’t miss the long scar in that area during that brief moment.

“I just wanted to see if she was doing well.
To see if she was being trampled on by others…
Ah, I apologize.
That was a strange thing to say.
I was just idly wondering if she could live peacefully by your side.”

Zion knew well the terrible times that Helen Heiness, the head of Heiness Merchant Group, had endured.

During the time when she should have been happy as a young girl, she was captured by humans and sold to Kashgar County [a region known for its slave trade].
And there, she faced unspeakable, humiliating, and painful experiences, gradually succumbing in both body and mind.

A woman who was played with as a toy, eventually abandoned, despised even by her own kind, unable to fit in anywhere, and ultimately decided to discard herself for revenge.

“…You want to see if that girl is doing well?”

At Zion’s question, Helen hesitated for a moment before nodding.

Looking at the elven woman, Zion was lost in thought.

In fact, Helen Heiness was, in a way, Kim Yoo-hyun’s ‘enemy.’

With a desire for revenge against Kashgar County, she helped radical elves, provided funds, procured goods, and even collected information.

They used Helen but never treated her as one of their own.
Saying it was natural to distance themselves from someone tainted by humans.
She was merely used here and there, eventually exiting life lonely.

‘…Should I take her?’

This wasn’t meant in a strange way.

So far, Zion had gathered those he deemed useful in terms of martial prowess.

Lilith was one, Rishikida was another, Lucia was as well, and Ria was the same.

Kim Yoo-hyun, of course, went without saying.

Ryan, the Knight Commander, Sebastian, and Raido weren’t made into his perfect people, but they were individuals with whom he had improved relations to some extent, all focused on martial strength.

Of course, he had created connections with Princess Vanessa, considering the minimum political conditions, but from Zion’s perspective, she was merely a political partner, nothing more.

If Zion’s thoughts were known, Vanessa would have been very disappointed.

‘When I think about it, I’ve only been preparing to fight and haven’t thought about the other people who will support those fighters.
I was just going to raise funds, saying I would take on that role.’

But when he thought about it, it seemed like there would be limitations.

The Klausen March [a border territory] was a territory bordering Nudia, leaning towards the border.
Naturally, it was bound to be distant from the central situation of Hispania [a kingdom], and as a result, there was a high possibility of missing things he hadn’t thought of.

‘It’s not just about money; to revitalize the Klausen territory, we need to increase the number of merchant caravans.
If they could also collect information, that would be perfect.’

Zion, staring at Helen, made up his mind.

He had even brought in Lilith, so why couldn’t he keep Helen by his side?

She was an elf who had helped the radical faction, but that was because of her desire for revenge against Kashgar, and now she was doing well to some extent, as he had completely brought Kashgar down to hell.

If he brought her in as an ally, he could resolve the economic instability and it would definitely be helpful in gathering information.

Having made his decision, Zion pulled back his chair and opened his mouth.

“What are you doing?”

“Yes?”

“You said you wanted to see the cat.
Come along.”

As Zion stood up, Helen also reflexively stood up and followed him as he headed to the upper floors of the castle.

The problem was that Lilith was next to Ria, but Lilith’s ability to sense presences was so outstanding that she would notice an elf nearby and quickly leave.

‘There shouldn’t be any problems.’

Thinking that, he opened the door, but Zion, as well as Helen, were taken aback by the scene that unfolded next.

“Huh?
What is it?
Already here?”

“Meow?”

Lilith was leaning against the bed, and Ria was lying on her lap, a pleasant smile on her face as Lilith gently stroked her head.

“Oh, uh oh?”

Thanks to that, Helen was horrified and took a step back.

The moment she made eye contact with Lilith, she seemed to immediately grasp her identity.

“D, demon…!”

“I expected you to be surprised, but being too loud would be rude to the humans, right?”

Thud!

Bang—.

As Lilith flicked her hand, the open door closed as it was.

Zion sighed and realized that this situation was what Lilith had wanted from the start.

There was no way she wouldn’t have noticed the presence of an elf approaching her, yet she was sitting there so carefree, which meant there was a reason.

“Ria.
Can you move for a moment?”

“Uung.
It was nice.
I want to stay longer.”

“My sister has something to say to that elf friend.”

The two women had become quite close in that short time.

Ria nodded as if she understood and jumped down from the bed.

Then, Lilith stretched with a refreshing gesture, gracefully got up, and approached Zion.

“Zion.
How long has it been since you brought in a cat, and now it’s an elf?
How am I supposed to take this situation?”

“It’s absolutely nothing like that, so don’t worry.
I just brought her to see Ria because she said she wanted to see if she was doing well.”

“Meow?
Me?”

Ria, sniffing and smelling Lilith’s scent all over her body, perked up her ears.

Helen, on the other hand, was on the verge of a mental breakdown.

Clearly, the one in front of her was a demon, and a very powerful one at that.

Zion, who claimed to have no mana, was carefree, and the beast-kin [a person with animal features], who hated demons just as much as elves, was grooming her fur without showing any wariness.

‘A, am I dreaming right now?’

It was understandable that Helen, who was always calm and rational, would think this.

“Helen.”

“Yes, yes.
Young Master.”

“Say hello.
Succubus Queen Lilith.
She’s been helping me for a long time.”

“E, eh?”

“And the one grooming her fur over there is Ria.
The Myo Eun you said you wanted to see.”

At Zion’s words, Helen blankly looked back and forth between Lilith and Ria.

Human, elf, beast-kin, and demon.

The four races, who could never mix, were in the same space.

Moreover, it wasn’t an atmosphere where they would fight each other, but in a very friendly atmosphere.

“Y, Young Master.
Th, that woman is a demon.
How can you….”

“That’s….”

“I was captured.
By that man.”

“Huh?”

It was the moment when Helen and Zion looked at Lilith at the same time.

Then, Lilith shrugged and continued her words as if it were nothing.

“My heart was captured.
So I can’t do anything reckless, and I can’t live like a demon.
Because that man would hate it.
Not being able to live as a demon is a bigger problem for me than not being with Zion.
So, elf girl?
I hope you don’t worry about this sister.”

“That’s nonsense….”

“The race that calls itself the most noble and wise, that’s the elves.
Then think about it.
Has he done anything bad because I’m by Zion’s side?”

At those words, Helen almost reflexively shook her head.

Certainly, as she said, the man named Zion Klausen had done many things for the kingdom so far.

Although there were strange parts in the process, at least he hadn’t done anything to plunge the kingdom and the continent into chaos, like the radical elves she had seen.

“D, don’t try to persuade me with such words!
Demons are inherently evil and wrong….”

“Don’t you think it’s funny that you’re saying that?
I’ve been working hard to clean up the mess that your people have made?
Zion too.
Are you going to call me evil and wrong, leaving your people who are doing all sorts of ugly things to bring the Celestial Race back into the world?”

Fss—.

Although there was still a smile on her face, a dark aura was seeping out in streaks in an instant.

Not only Helen but even Ria was startled and quickly hid behind the desk.

“Watch your mouth.
Although demons freely indulge their desires, that doesn’t mean there are any crazy people who laugh and try to burn the whole world.
This world is the best playground for us, so why would we ruin that playground and try to erase it from the world altogether?
Besides, the man I love is against it.”

Saying that, Lilith suddenly snuggled up to Zion.

A beautiful sight that made one admire the picture of a handsome man and a beautiful woman.

However, Zion accurately caught that the corners of Lilith’s lips were slightly raised as she snuggled up to him.

‘…This looks like acting?’

As if Zion’s prediction was correct, Lilith smiled ‘kik’ and winked slightly.

She knew what he was thinking when he brought that elf, so she was telling him to participate in her acting and bring in that elf as well.

“Nyaaang!
Me too!
Hug me too!”

Ria, who was frightened by Lilith’s momentum, was hiding.

But soon, seeing Lilith in Zion’s arms, she ran to the two men and women as if she couldn’t help but be jealous, and kept meowing, asking them to hug her too.

Then, Ria looked at Helen, who was staring blankly at her, and opened her mouth.

“What, what are you looking at!
You pointy-eared thing!”

“E, eh?”

“Do you know how much Zion has suffered because of you?
Slave traders are bad, but you’re bad too.
There’s no difference.
Haaaak!”

Helen was once again embarrassed by the sudden appearance of hostility.

If Zion hadn’t opened his mouth, Ria would probably have been wary of Helen until the end.

“Ria.
Still, Helen is an elf who helped me.
You have to be polite.”

“···Hmph!
St, still, she’s a pointy-ear who harassed Zion and Rishikida.
They’re worse than Lilith!”

Lightning struck Helen’s brain at those words.

Even though the radical elves were causing all sorts of incidents, they were worse than demons.

Even from the mouth of a beast-kin who hated demons as much as elves!

Meanwhile, Ria said that and still felt sorry, so she eased her wariness and approached Helen.

“What are you?
You’re an elf, but instead of the smell of the forest, you smell more like human bricks.”

“···Ah.”

Helen made eye contact with Ria.

‘…Right.
Maybe….’

Maybe it was just then.

When she was captured by slave traders and suffered all the humiliating and shameful things that a woman could experience under the name of ‘work,’ and finally sold to humans and violated in body and mind.

That time that would never come back, that time when the flower buds that would never bloom again were brutally trampled on.

“That’s a relief.”

“Nyang?”

“You… you are still radiant and beautiful.”

Ria was the one who was embarrassed by Helen’s suddenly sad face.

She took a step back, wondering why that woman was acting like that.

But Helen grabbed Ria as if she were seeing an old illusion and hugged her.

Then, she sobbed softly and murmured in a small voice.

“I… I wanted to be saved like you.
I wanted to escape from that hell….”

“Nya, nyaang?”

Ria didn’t know what was going on, but she didn’t struggle to get out of Helen’s arms.

She was just blinking her eyes in her arms, wondering, ‘Why is this pointy-ear like this?
Is she crazy?’

“Zion.”

Lilith opened her mouth in a very small voice.

“What’s wrong with that elf?
Why is she suddenly like that?”

“…That woman was also a slave.
Unlike Ria, she had a terrible time.”

“Not now, right?”

“She wasn’t freed, she was abandoned.
Because there was nothing more to eat.
She was rejected by humans and her own kind, and eventually lived with only revenge in her heart.
And that revenge ended when I completely overturned the Kashgar County.”

“Poor child.
She’s still in her prime, according to elf standards.”

Lilith continued, looking at Helen, who was still sobbing while holding Ria.

“So what are you going to do?”

“Well, isn’t it obvious?”

“…You’re a really bad guy.”

“What can’t I do to survive?”

Zion was wondering how to bring Helen in, but seeing this, he had a strong feeling that things would work out better than he thought.

Helen was hiding, burying, and pretending not to be, but the hell of the past was still an unhealed wound.

The scream of an elven girl who wanted to be saved, the desire of a woman who wanted to live a very ordinary life.

Helen was projecting that onto Ria.

‘Ria cut off that starting line.
Thank you, cat.
You’re already earning your keep!
’

It was Zion who saved Ria.