Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 303

303―――――

Who’s the villain now?

“···.”

Ive blinked, momentarily stunned, staring blankly at Sion.

Was she mishearing him, or was this man playing yet another strange trick?

All sorts of thoughts raced through her mind before she finally shook her head slightly and spoke.

“Sir Sion Claussen,

I must have been lost in thought and didn’t hear you properly.

Could you repeat your answer?”

“I said I will not accept the Basura County.”

“···.”

So, she hadn’t misheard him.

Then what on earth was going on?

Thinking that, Ive cautiously spoke, just to be sure.

“Sir Sion Claussen.”

“Yes, Ive.”

“Is there something else you want besides the Basura County?”

“What do you mean?”

“This… your rejection of the Basura County… I’m finding it hard to understand.”

“Ah.”

At those words, Sion chuckled.

It was a deliberate attempt to charm her, so naturally, the smile and gestures were quite disarming, and Ive had to grit her teeth momentarily at Hispaña’s… *attack*, thinking, ‘Ugh.’

“It’s as I said.

I will not accept the Basura County.

I don’t need it.

I don’t want anything more in return.

It seems that just the Nudia delegation, along with a personal letter and promise from His Majesty the King of Nudia, will be enough for Hispaña.”

“···.”

*That can’t be.*

Ive thought.

Who started this war?

In any case, it was Nudia.

But who was defeated in that war?

That was also Nudia.

And now, in whose land is who being driven to even more dangerous places?

Again, it’s Nudia.

No matter how you look at it, Hispaña is currently in a favorable position.

They don’t need to bow first, nor should they be the ones bowing; that’s Hispaña’s place.

‘But…

But why on earth?

Why?’

If they were to take the Basura County, they would naturally occupy the surrounding areas as well.

They would be seizing part of Nudia’s main roads, and the Basura County, which had previously served as a shield, would now act as a bridgehead for Hispaña.

Sion Claussen, who knows almost everything about war, is rejecting the Basura County, which could play such a great role? It’s understandable that Ive would find it suspicious.

“Judging by that look, you seem curious as to why I won’t accept the Basura County.”

“Isn’t it obvious?

You’re not some ignorant kid, and you’re the one who’s been playing with me and Nudia in the palm of your hand, yet suddenly you’re rejecting the legitimate compensation we’re offering.

I think it’s only natural to find it strange.”

“I’m disappointed.

It’s not like I’m some war or achievement-crazed maniac.

I’m just someone who fought this far for the stability of Hispaña.”

“So···.”

“So, I’m not accepting the Basura County.”

If Hispaña and Nudia had started a war due to territorial disputes and fought even more fiercely, tearing down every castle along the way, then the story would be different.

But right now, they fought over somewhat nonsensical reasons.

The light, the good, the justice they were shouting about… now it’s unclear who the enemy even is.

If Hispaña takes land as compensation for winning the war here, the picture changes slightly strangely.

Even though the Nudia side offered it first, it might appear to the people of the Nudia kingdom that Hispaña coerced them into giving it up.

Above all, Sion, who wants to restore relations between Hispaña and Nudia and use Nudia as the front line in the upcoming great war, found such rumors, the resulting conflicts, and discord unpleasant.

‘Nudia is annoying, but their sin can be sufficiently repaid by acting as a shield.

Even without the annihilation of the 1st Army, the damage to the main force, and the change of the king, the picture of handing over territory to another country in a situation where the country is shaken by whether to pledge allegiance to the new king or not is definitely not good.’

If you spare the life of someone you were trying to kill and demand a life debt in return, they will inevitably burn with revenge.

But if you sigh and say that you think there were many misunderstandings and end it here without taking or being taken from each other, it will arouse suspicion but not necessarily animosity.

Rather, it can even convey the message that Hispaña came this far out of anger towards the ‘fairies,’ that the harm done to Nudia was also due to misunderstandings caused by them, and that they hope to get along well again as before.

“Now that the King of Nudia has changed, relations between Hispaña and Nudia must be restored.

In such a time, making a humiliating agreement close to surrender would not be good for the royal family, Ive, or you.

Isn’t that so?”

“···.”

“Paying reparations and giving up land are completely different issues.

I only wanted to reveal to the world the true nature of the fairies who harbored hostility towards Hispaña, tried to harm it, and even used Nudia, so I have achieved my goal.

There’s nothing more to take here.”

Even with Sion’s words, Ive still had a suspicious look on her face.

The man named Sion, whom she had experienced several times, was not such a righteous and clean-hearted man.

Of course, he wasn’t rotten or someone who only looked after his own interests, but what was certain was that she thought there was more to what he was saying than just a reason to help Nudia.

“Instead, I have a favor to ask.”

“A favor?”

“There will still be some in Nudia who can’t let go of their attachment to the fairies.

I want you to catch them all and investigate what happened between them and the fairies.”

“···.”

“They are the ones who extended their reach into the Nudia royal palace and attacked the Hispaña royal palace at the same time.

Even those who were told by their own kind that they were not fairies.

I will pursue them.

Together with other fairies who will cooperate with the human side to prove their innocence.”

“You’re suggesting we exchange information and cooperate with each other.”

There is no place for radical fairies to gain a foothold in Hispaña anymore.

Even the fairies themselves are fed up with them, so it’s only natural that they can’t stay there any longer.

Therefore, it was certain that they would be secretly active in the Holy Prussen and Nudia.

In this case, Hispaña, which is relatively far away, would inevitably be late in gathering information.

It was also the reason why Ive had no choice but to nod at Sion’s suggestion to cooperate with Nudia to pressure the fairies and get one step closer to the truth.

“I don’t think very highly of Nudia either.

Just as you, Ive, don’t completely trust me and Hispaña.”

“···.”

“But as we have stated externally, and as we both acknowledge, our common enemies are those who tried to use us and profit from it.

And those who don’t even know what they want and what they’re aiming for that they’re doing such things.

Creating a reason to be at odds with each other here is not wise for either of us.”

“···I agree.”

The reason Ive was able to take such a risky adventure of treason was because she had a clear justification.

She could no longer stand by and watch the king, who had completely lost his mind due to the fairies and was driving the country to ruin, for the sake of both the kingdom and its people.

In order to justify her actions afterward and avoid a major backlash, she had to turn the subsequent antipathy of the Nudia side towards the fairies, not Hispaña.

‘If I say this, Ive won’t suspect our intentions any further.’

A tremendous amount of talk would have gone back and forth about giving up the Basura County.

It would be better to fight further and inflict damage on the Hispaña side, as giving up territory to those who invaded their country without even fighting a proper battle would set a precedent for Nudia to be taken lightly in the future.

In this situation, Hispaña taking a step back would be good for Ive, her supporters, and the new King of Nudia.

Ive wouldn’t be crazy enough to support someone with the opposite intentions as her as king, and if she had installed someone as the new king, it meant that person at least had a brain.

‘Okay.

That’s the very touching reason.’

Next, the reason Sion refuses the Basura County is this.

‘In the upcoming great war, the Nudia refugees will flock to the west of their country, that is, the east of Hispaña.

In that situation, if we suddenly accept the Basura County, an unmanageable number of refugees will surely flock there.

It’s the worst.

It’s the worst!’

From Sion’s point of view, the Basura County had to be a fortress located at the western end of Nudia.

The war is in Nudia’s land, the suffering is in Nudia’s land.

Hispaña must be a land of opportunity only for himself, so there was no need to be directly affected by the aftermath of the war.

‘Aren’t you pricking your conscience?

Not at all.

Rather, if we were to push in this state and completely devastate Nudia, isn’t it natural for them to suffer that much if we’re backing off like this?’

If Ive could know what was going on in Sion’s head, she would have grabbed him by the collar and shaken him with the feeling of spitting blood, wondering how there could be such a terrible man.

She would shout that if he knew all those things, he should be thinking about working together to stop them, how could he only think about using them.

Of course, if the other party said that, Sion would mutter ‘So what?’ with an indifferent expression and say, ‘Let go of this,’ but he was that kind of man.

“Some time ago, we were each other’s evil, but now we are not.

Shouldn’t we fight against the true evil that has finally revealed itself?

Ive Gi Lestion?”

Now, Ive is not just the daughter of a chancellor, or a woman who stands behind and gives advice.

She is revealing herself and now actively intervening in Nudia’s affairs.

She will probably soon take a key position in Nudia, or even higher, perhaps even becoming chancellor in her 20s.

For Ive, such a condition is hard to refuse.

If she subtly lets slip that she used her abilities at the negotiating table to prevent the Basura County from being handed over even in an unfavorable situation, she could quell the antipathy of leading the rebellion and installing a new king in one fell swoop.

“Let’s turn our hostility towards each other to someone else, is that it?”

“Haven’t Hispaña and Nudia already fought enough?

If we fight again, surely one of us will not stop until we disappear from the map.”

“···.”

She was talking with a smile, but Ive had already anticipated which country would disappear from the map.

Objectively speaking, Hispaña had at least seven more advantages than Nudia.

‘But even so, he’s coming out like this, so I can’t help but follow him even though it’s suspicious.’

If she rejects the hand that Sion has extended, all that remains is war again, or a rigid situation equivalent to it.

It is Nudia itself that desperately needs stability right now, so Ive had no choice but to put aside her doubts and take the hand that Sion offered.

“Are you really not going to regret it?

Giving up the Basura County.”

“It’s not giving up, it’s showing leniency to Nudia’s mistakes with a broad mind.”

“···Really, you never give in, not even for a word.”

Saying that, Ive began to discuss other matters.

If this was the way to resolve the animosity between Hispaña and Nudia.

From now on, it was a consideration of how to tighten the screws on the radical fairies, who were identified as the new evil, and the Nudia nobles associated with them.

―

“You’ve worked hard, Master!

If you sit here and rest···.”

“Hey, Lishi.

Why have you changed so much?

Sion, was she this proactive?”

“She must have grown again while Lilith was away.”

She was clearly a guard knight, but Rishikida was doing all the work of a maid.

I don’t know when she had prepared the inside of the camp to be no different from Sion’s room in the Claussen Territory, with a very comfortable-looking chair and even refreshments prepared.

“Where are Lia and Lucia?”

“They said they had things to do in Nudia since they came all the way here?

Since the war has officially ended after you finished the negotiations, it seems they have things to do before retreating from here.”

“···I can guess roughly.”

Lia probably left to make proper preparations to plant their Myo Eun clan [a specific family or group] in Nudia, and Lucia, although she switched to martial arts, was ultimately a mage by birth, so she went to get magical materials that were easily available in Nudia.

Sion shook his head as he was about to say, ‘Did you take a guard with you?’

In the current situation, it was difficult to subdue them by force unless the Celestial openly appeared.

“Sir Sion.

What happens now?

Is it right to end it like this when we’ve come this far?”

Meanwhile, Trisha had an expression that she couldn’t understand at all.

She had been very excited about the war, and she had made a great contribution by creating a huge wall of fire when Hispaña annihilated the 1st Army of Nudia.

Of course, it was outwardly known that the allied mages had done it, and Trisha’s existence was still only known as Sion’s apprentice knight, but she didn’t need the attention or praise of others.

What she did only needed to be known by Sion, and only needed to be praised by Sion.

“This is right.

In the first place, Nudia must not fall.”

“I don’t know what you mean.

Isn’t Nudia the place that bothered Sion?”

“It’s annoying, but it’s worth exploiting enough.

Above all, if there are no lips, the teeth will be cold [an idiom meaning to protect something in order to protect yourself], so I can’t get rid of them carelessly.”

“···Are you plotting something strange again?”

“Strange things?

Rather, they are very good things.”

Just as Sion was about to explain his future plans to Lilith.

Rishikida, who had been outside, suddenly peeked inside.

“Master?

We have a guest.”

“If it’s Gian, tell him to come right in···.”

“No.

The person who came is Marquis Volko···.”

At Rishikida’s words, Sion tilted his head, ‘Huh?’

He had just met Marquis Volko and informed him of everything about the negotiations with Nudia, and explained in detail the future movements of the Hispaña side.

And Marquis Volko nodded as if he understood everything he had to do, and gave an answer that he would do so, but Sion couldn’t understand why he had suddenly returned.

After sending Trisha and Lilith out and cleaning up the surroundings, Sion welcomed Marquis Volko.

Unlike before, he had a stern face, so Sion thought that perhaps the commanders had opposed the agreement to end the war and caused a commotion.

“Marquis Volko.

Is something wrong?”

“···Sion Claussen.

When did you decide to return to Hispaña?”

“Four days later.

I was going to give the soldiers a rest for two days and also observe the movements of the Nudia side a little more, but is there any problem?”

At Sion’s question, Marquis Volko said in a bitter tone.

“I was hoping you could go back a little sooner.

To be exact, I think you should go back right now.”