Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 104

104

Somewhere Between a Black Flame Dragon and Blackening

As Zion and his party entered the village, the gathered villagers quickly bowed their heads.

Among them were some of the men who had fought Nudia the other day.

Guarded by the knights, Zion stopped and surveyed the village. The village chief approached and bowed once more.

“L, Lord. I’m overwhelmed that you would visit such a humble place.”

“I need to see how the people of the territory are living. Just looking at the inside of the castle isn’t the same as seeing the entire territory, is it?”

“Please, don’t say that! How could you, Lord…?”

“Isn’t the village chief the one who is leading this village well? How could I treat such a person poorly?”

This wasn’t just lip service for managing public sentiment; it was Zion’s genuine feeling.

He believed that the leader of a group, regardless of how insignificant the group might seem, should be treated with the respect they deserve.

‘That way, they’re more likely to cooperate and manage their own people, even if they’re tempted by others or hear bad things about us.’

People naturally want their efforts to be recognized.

If they meet someone who acknowledges and respects them, they will naturally feel grateful and work harder to earn more praise.

Relationships between people need to be built in advance so they can be relied upon when needed.

Trying to build relationships in a hurry after something happens is like building a sandcastle.

“Lord.”

A group of men approached Zion and gave a military salute, not the ordinary greeting of commoners.

Zion recognized that they were all comrades who had fought alongside him in the previous war, and he greeted them with the brightest smile he could muster.

After finishing his greetings with the villagers and completing the tasks of managing public sentiment and building his image, Zion decided to get down to business.

“By the way, I don’t see the friend I brought with me.”

“Ah, if you mean Jimmy, he went home. He’s very fond of his sister… Please wait, I’ll bring him right away.”

“No, Village Chief. I’ll go myself. I’d like to see the village a bit.”

As Zion said this, Rishikida told the villagers to return to their daily lives, except for one man who volunteered to be a guide.

It was a natural course of action, as it would be very inconvenient for them to move around if people were crowded together, and it could also hinder the escort mission.

“You fought with me too, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. I was the one who saw you saving Jimmy with my own eyes.”

He was another young man who had tried to rush to save Jimmy.

However, he was stopped by the squad leader and almost had to give up on his friend.

At that moment, Zion dashed in and rescued Jimmy.

“I’m grateful to you too, Lord. I almost lost a close friend.”

“I saved you this time, but next time, you’ll have to do it yourself. Keep that in mind.

Once is okay, but not twice. Don’t be foolish enough to hope for another miracle.”

“I will keep that in mind!”

He was a young man who answered as loudly as Jimmy.

‘Did these guys from this village eat train whistles or something? They’re all so loud,’ Zion grumbled inwardly.

However, Rishikida and the knights were not frowning at the noise but were smiling instead.

From their perspective, the only way they could show Zion their loyalty and gratitude was through their voices, so they were determined to show him the best they could.

“By the way, you’re friends with Jimmy?”

“Yes. We’ve been very close since we were very young.”

“Really? Then I’m just curious, but what kind of friend was Jimmy?”

“Hmm… He was always positive and smiling. Even after losing both his parents, he never seemed sad or downcast.

I think he was just trying to show his sister a bright side.”

“Sister.”

Once again, Zion was getting closer to the answer he wanted.

Zion deliberately remained silent to let the young man speak more, and Jimmy’s friend continued with a bitter smile.

“Jimmy cherished his sister so much. I was amazed just watching him.

To his sister, Jimmy was both a parent, her only family, and everything she could rely on in this world.”

“…If she lost such a brother, his sister must have been very distressed.”

“It wouldn’t have just been distress. Probably… I don’t even want to imagine it.”

The young man shook his head vigorously.

Meanwhile, Zion and his party arrived in front of a house.

It wasn’t a great house, but it looked cozy enough for siblings to live together.

“Then I’ll go in and tell them you’ve arrived, Lord.”

“Don’t give them much time. Tell them to clean up the house in exactly 10 seconds.”

“Hahaha! Yes, I understand!”

With those words, the young man dashed into the house!

As Zion watched his retreating figure, he was about to say something to Rishikida, who was standing behind him.

“Aaaaaaah!”

Not a playful scream, but a genuine shriek of surprise.

As Zion tilted his head, wondering ‘Huh?’, Rishikida and the knights had already drawn their swords and were on guard.

“Master! Step back!”

“Lord, quickly!”

The knights were on guard, ready to swing their swords at any moment.

But Zion had no time to worry about that.

‘Damn it, could Trisha have already awakened as a Dark Lord even though Jimmy isn’t dead?’

A chill ran down Zion’s spine, but he had to see for himself.

Ignoring Rishikida and the knights calling out to him, Zion quickly entered the house.

‘I’ll probably get a lecture from Rishikida later,’ Zion thought as he stepped inside, finding it surprisingly dark despite the bright daylight.

It was hard to believe that a house with windows all over could be so dark.

“Ugh! J, Jimmy!”

Turning his head, he saw the young man sitting on the floor, trembling.

He wondered what was wrong, but through the faint light coming through the door, he could see something lying motionless on the floor.

A familiar head.

It was definitely Jimmy, who had been riding in the carriage with them until just now.

“Master!”

“Lord!”

Rishikida and the knights also rushed into the house, following Zion.

They tried to take Zion out, but since the opponent wasn’t trying to move, they drew their swords and guarded the dark interior of the house, preparing for any eventuality.

“Heh. Hehehe…!”

A disgusting laugh came from somewhere.

As the blurry figure moved slightly, the knights also raised their swords.

“Guests have come to visit. Yes, come in.

I will welcome you with joy and offer you your last day!

Ahahahahaha!”

‘This is really messed up,’ Zion muttered inwardly, glancing out the door.

By now, Lilith and Kim Yoo-hyun would have realized that something was wrong.

If those two attacked, even a Dark Lord wouldn’t be able to withstand it.

It was still an immature form, without proper power.

“Rishi. Right now…”

He turned his head to tell her to prepare for battle immediately, but Rishikida’s face was strange.

She looked slightly embarrassed, tilting her head and trying to lower the tip of her sword.

Not only her but the other knights as well.

They all had ambiguous expressions, reacting as if they didn’t know what was going on.

‘Could the Dark Lord have some kind of hypnosis or ability to disrupt the opponent’s reason?’

He thought about it, but he didn’t remember it having such abilities.

If it had such abilities, he would have been affected too.

He was about to ask why Rishikida and the knights were acting like this when.

“Master.”

Rishikida finally spoke.

‘Is this woman suddenly going to swing her sword at me?’ Zion thought, preparing to run away alone if necessary.

“It’s barely noticeable.”

“What?”

“The opponent’s mana, I mean.”

‘What the hell are you talking about!’

Just as Zion was about to shout, he realized what she meant.

In this world, the amount of mana a being possesses is proportional to the power it can exert.

A strong enemy has a lot of mana, while a weak one has very little.

In other words, according to Rishikida, the one who was cackling in front of them was just incredibly weak.

“Lord?”

Zion turned his head at another voice.

There was Jimmy, lifting his head and making a foolish sound.

“…Weren’t you dead?”

“Huh?”

“Why were you lying on the floor?”

“Well, that’s…”

Watching Jimmy give an awkward smile, Zion noticed something strange again.

He lowered Rishikida’s sword and ordered the knights on the other side.

“You guys roughly remember the window locations, right?”

“Yes, Lord.”

“Check the windows in this house.”

At Zion’s command, two knights still holding their swords entered the house.

And a moment later, with a whoosh!

The thick curtains that had been covering the windows were pulled back.

The bright midday sun filled the house through the windows.

The house that was finally revealed was just an ordinary home with nothing special about it.

As Zion had feared, there were no corpses lying around or blood splattered everywhere.

And as the light came in, a woman sitting on the table suddenly grabbed her head.

“Kuh! You, you guys!

To see through this body’s weakness to sunlight like this!

Amazing!

In that case, it’s a shame, but I have no choice but to retreat.

Ahaha!

But there’s no way it’ll work next time!”

“…”

Zion looked at Jimmy with a ‘what the hell is this’ expression.

Jimmy just gave an awkward smile and scratched the back of his head, unable to say anything.

Meanwhile, the woman wrapped a black cloth around her body and performed a rather stylish triple axel [a figure skating jump involving three and a half rotations].

For reference, the black cloth was the curtain that had been covering the window.

Spinning around like a figure skating queen, she suddenly jumped and sat on the windowsill.

Then, she gave what she thought was the most terrifying smile and opened her mouth.

“Ahaha!

Remember this.

This body’s name is Trisha!

Trisha Darkdragon!

Although I’m retreating like this now, there’s no way it’ll work next time… Kyaaak!”

Thud.

Sitting on the windowsill and making such a fuss, it was only natural that she lost her balance and fell backward.

“T, Trisha!”

Jimmy jumped up from his seat and ran out of the house.

The situation was so absurd that not only Rishikida and the knights but also Jimmy’s friend couldn’t stop him and just stared blankly.

“Ugh! O, ow!”

“Trisha!

Are you okay?”

“…O, of course!

This body is a direct descendant of the Darkdragon who will burn this world to ashes!

Th, this much is nothing… Ouch!

It hurts, you idiot!”

“S, sorry.

More than that, it looks like you have a bump on your head.

Fortunately, there’s no blood.”

Listening to the siblings’ conversation from outside the house, Zion suddenly craved a cigarette like crazy.

“Rishi.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Go out and bring those two siblings back.”

“Yes, sir.”

At Zion’s extremely subdued voice, Rishikida braced herself and immediately turned around and ran out of the house.

As Rishikida ran outside, Zion sighed.

‘Fortunately, she didn’t awaken as a Dark Lord.’

Yes, that was really fortunate.

‘…But, but why is this so anticlimactic?’

Zion covered his face.

No matter how he thought about it.

‘This is just not it.’

Oh, damn it. God.

No, you damn author.

The terrifying woman I was so worried about and wondering what to do with.

Turns out she’s just consumed by chuunibyou [Japanese slang for someone who acts like they have special powers or knowledge] and black flame dragons.

“Master is calling you, so hurry…”

“Trisha, this is Lord Zion Klauzen.

Hurry inside…”

“Does this body go just because someone calls me!

I am an omnipotent being with the power and qualifications to burn this world to ashes…”

Yes, looking at it this way, it was easy to understand.

If such a black flame dragon character lost her brother and even blackened [became corrupted or evil].

It was safe to say that she would have become a true ‘King God General Emperor Black Flame Dragon’ that even her allies couldn’t handle.

‘…Should I kill her?’

For the first time, Zion seriously wanted to eliminate someone.

―――――――Author’s Notes―――――――

The King God General Emperor Black Flame Dragon roared!

Zion, let’s make babies!

The effect was amazing!

Zion out!

Zion out!