Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 108

108―――――

Assemble!

“Cough!

Cough!”

Trisha groaned, rolling on the ground and covered in dust.

She was clutching her stomach and trembling, indicating she had taken quite a strong hit.

In the past, she would have shouted, ‘It hurts! You damn woman!’, but this time was different.

Trisha gritted her teeth and staggered to her feet.

Then, she picked up the shield that was lying on the ground and struggled to hold her ground.

“···I’ll stop here.”

Rishikida, who had delivered the strong blow to her stomach, said in a cold voice.

Trisha took a deep breath, and the impact on her stomach seemed to have been quite severe, as she slumped down on the spot.

Rishikida watched her silently and opened her mouth in a still low voice.

“If this were a battlefield, your skin would be pierced, and your entrails would be shattered and rolling before your eyes.”

“···.”

“I don’t know if that Dark Dragon or whatever will protect you there, too.”

There was no inflection in her voice, but it was definitely provoking Trisha.

At that, Trisha clenched her fist tightly and gritted her teeth, but she didn’t express it outwardly as before.

Trisha now knew that there was no benefit to be gained from doing so.

“···.”

Instead of complaining, Trisha quickly bowed her head.

In a way, it seemed like she was showing respect to Rishikida, but in another way, it just seemed like she was nodding her head out of courtesy.

As Trisha moved to rest, she ran into Jimmy, who had just finished sparring with another trainee knight and was cleaning up.

“···.”

“···.”

They were siblings who had been extremely close, but the fallout from their fight was just as significant.

For days, they passed each other without a word, pretending not to see each other.

Trisha couldn’t bring herself to apologize first because her pride was at stake, and Jimmy didn’t know how to open his mouth to apologize.

In fact, Trisha would have apologized first by now.

After all, her brother was the only one who accepted and supported her.

If she grew distant from him, she would end up at a loss and feel lonely.

But this time was different.

Trisha, who had been swinging her sword and shield while thinking about Rishikida’s handsome face, immediately packed up her training equipment as soon as she heard the bell signaling the end of the day and ran to the garden.

“Yo, Dark Dragon Lady.”

It was Sion, who was waiting for her in a corner of the garden as always.

Trisha tried to hide the rising smile and slowed her pace as if it were nothing, then sat down on the chair Sion had brought.

“You’re still a mess today. Doesn’t the Dark Dragon inside you wail today?”

“What can I do? It would be a disaster if it really wailed, wouldn’t it? And that great knight is working me so hard that I’m too tired to react to everything.”

“Oh, is that so?”

Sion chuckled and laughed openly.

Normally, it would be normal to feel bad if the other person reacted like that, but Trisha just laughed along and didn’t react as if she felt particularly bad.

In the week or so since she first met Sion, she had realized that this man wasn’t saying things to make fun of her, but just joking around to lighten her mood.

‘Easy, easy.’

*Chuunibyou* [Japanese term for “middle school second-year syndrome,” describing adolescent delusions of grandeur], or Dark Flame Dragon-like things, ultimately manifest for two main reasons.

One is when a kid is really crazy and can’t distinguish between reality and fantasy.

And the other is when the desire to show myself to the world is expressed, and at the same time, I think that I am receiving the attention and focus of others.

Fortunately, after a thorough examination, Trisha was closer to the latter than the former.

‘Other people would have seen this guy’s Dark Dragon nonsense as just a childish prank by a young lady.

But *chuunibyou* is a period that everyone goes through in the process of creating their own identity.’

Everyone imagines at least once whether I might be the main character of the world.

Some people quickly realize this and think it’s not true, but some people believe it for a very long time and create their own Dark Flame Dragon to create a reason for the attention and focus that they believe people are sending them.

Originally, the desirable path is to slowly awaken you that you are also an extremely ordinary person and make you escape on your own.

But Sion didn’t think it was necessary to change Trisha in that way.

‘The things that will unfold in the future are things that ordinary human minds can never endure.’

Trisha, who was Saik [Likely a typo and should be ‘psycho’ or a similar term] in the novel, had her eyes turn because of Jimmy’s death and hatred for the world, and she burned the world like a Dark Flame Dragon, but here, there is no device to cover her eyes.

She is still just a *chuunibyou* patient, a childish woman, nothing more and nothing less.

So Sion decided that the reason would be himself.

Since she is a woman who is easily swayed by emotions beyond imagination, the only way to control her is to completely grasp and hold those emotions on this side.

Sion listened quietly to all of Rishikida’s stories.

At the same time, he occasionally added meaningless interjections or agreements, clearly gesturing that he was very focused on her.

At the same time, he occasionally mixed in the comfort and support that she wanted to receive most from her brother.

“Sir Rishikida has a fierce side.”

“It’s not just fierce.”

“Then should I call her and scold her? She’s my escort knight, so it’s definitely possible.”

At Sion’s words, Trisha reflexively tried to answer ‘Yes!’, but then closed her mouth.

She thought that it wasn’t quite right, no matter how you looked at it.

“···It’s okay. It’s embarrassing. I’ll just endure it.”

“You’ve become a knight. I could use you as my escort knight right away.”

It still sounded like he was teasing her, but in reality, it was a statement acknowledging her.

Trisha, who noticed that, looked at Sion with slightly surprised eyes.

Except for her brother Jimmy, there were few people who had evaluated her so positively.

The villagers also tried to smile, but the true feelings they couldn’t hide were all revealed in their expressions.

But this nobleman, Sion Clausen, didn’t seem to be doing that.

Rather, he told her about his own dark history little by little, giving her a laugh when she was depressed with the words, ‘I used to carry dozens of Dark Dragons in my heart.’

They were just stories without any nutritional value, but in that ordinary conversation, she was finally becoming a real Trisha, not a Dark Dragon.

So Trisha ran to the garden every day after training.

And she gradually opened her heart to the beautiful and wonderful noble young man who understood her and sometimes gave her comfort and support.

She even imagined that this man might like her.

Slowly, little by little, the object of her affection and obsession was shifting.

However, exactly one month after she started receiving Squire training.

In other words, two weeks after meeting and talking with Sion, she witnessed a scene she never wanted to face.

The knight she hated so much, Rishikida, was sitting in the seat where she should have been sitting, and next to her was Sion, wearing a soft smile.

“··· ···.”

“··· ···.”

She was only watching from afar, so she couldn’t know exactly what conversation was going on.

But it was enough just to see that Rishikida and Sion were meeting privately.

Trisha went straight back to her room and struggled to suppress her wildly pounding heart.

Not only did she take her brother away from her and make her feel all sorts of humiliation, but now that knight is coveting even the new relationship she had gained.

She is trying to take away the only person besides her family who has shown her affection!

‘No. It can’t be.’

It was another refuge she had barely obtained, a place of comfort and support.

A sanctuary that she thought only she could enjoy.

That place was invaded again.

Thinking that way, a murderous intent suddenly began to rise madly.

She felt a tingling in her back from that intense emotion that she was feeling for the first time, and her whole body trembled with anger.

‘···No, no. Maybe, maybe they were just talking for a moment?’

When she thought about it, that knight Rishikida was said to be Sion’s escort knight.

So it’s perhaps natural for them to be together.

In addition to that, she has no relationship with that noble young man.

Let’s not worry about it, let’s not worry about it.

It’ll be nothing.

Trisha muttered that and tried to calm her wildly overturned heart.

Then, without her even realizing it, a red light flickered several more times on her back before disappearing.

The next day.

After finishing training, Trisha headed back to the garden.

And as always, she waited for Sion Clausen.

10 minutes passed, 30 minutes passed, 1 hour passed.

Finally, Trisha squatted in that corner until it was almost bedtime, but the person she was waiting for never showed up.

“···.”

Trisha buried her face between her knees and bit her lip until it bled.

Not only did she take away the family that had been on her side until now, but she also took away even the one who had believed in her, supported her, and brought her out into the world little by little, even though they were not in any kind of relationship.

Finally, realizing that there was no point in waiting any longer, Trisha slowly got up and returned to her room with rough steps.

―

Thud!

Clatter!―

Trisha was sent flying several meters back and fell over as Rishikida’s shield charged.

She became unsightly again, covered in dust, but she didn’t utter any complaints or dissatisfaction as before.

She just stared at Rishikida with lifeless eyes and slowly got up from her seat.

“Now you’re finally a bit like a trainee knight. You’ll be able to survive for about 10 minutes even if you roll around on the battlefield.”

The first words of acknowledgment towards Trisha from Rishikida’s mouth.

But Trisha just nodded her head and didn’t say anything else.

In that situation, with only one day left until the basic military training was completed, Trisha moved her steps weakly.

Even though Jimmy Faker, whom she had relied on so much until recently, called her name and approached her, she pretended not to hear him and passed by.

Trisha herself would never say it, but she was subconsciously thinking that her brother had betrayed her and fallen for that knight.

‘My brother wasn’t by my side when I was really having a hard time. He was just taking that knight’s side.’

As she was walking while thinking about this and that, Trisha was already in the garden again.

She was heading to that corner of the garden where she always had this and that conversation with Sion.

“Why are you so weak? Did you get scolded again?”

At the extremely playful voice, no different from usual, Trisha hurriedly looked around.

And as before, she was able to find the man sitting in a chair and waiting for her.

“S, Sir Sion.”

“What. Why such a reaction all of a sudden? Are you a Dark Dragon with rich emotions today?”

Even as he said that, Sion’s expression was full of concern for Trisha.

Trisha unknowingly tried to ask why he hadn’t come yesterday, but then closed her mouth.

She was afraid that if she asked the reason, she would hear an answer she would never want to hear.

Instead, Trisha tried to tell other stories.

Deliberately stories without any nutritional value.

“Tomorrow is the last day. The day the basic military training is completed. After that, I’ll learn the virtues that a trainee knight should have in earnest. Ha, haha. Etiquette and horsemanship like that in one go···.”

Trisha stopped talking in the middle of her sentence.

She had noticed that Sion, who had always listened to her and occasionally agreed with her, was unusually quiet today.

“Trisha.”

“I’m definitely going to become a knight. So, so that I can put that knight’s nose to the ground···.”

“Trisha Faker.”

At Sion’s call, Trisha closed her eyes as if she didn’t want to hear it.

It’s obvious.

It’s too obvious.

What will be said, what will happen to her.

“I can’t come here for a while.”

“···Why?”

When Trisha asked that question in a choked voice, Sion let out a light sigh and answered in a voice that clearly tried to hide something.

“I have some things to do. Anyway, I’m sorry if I’ve been a hindrance to your training. Don’t forget that I’m also cheering you on from behind until you become a trainee knight who can be recognized by everyone.”

Trisha couldn’t say anything.

She just sat blankly and stared at Sion, not showing any reaction.

Even though Sion left first, she didn’t know how to leave.

‘I’m sorry if I’ve been a hindrance to your training.’

Sion’s words kept lingering in her ears.

Has she ever jokingly said to him that training is a hindrance?

No.

Never.

Conversely, Sion had never asked Trisha herself a question like, ‘Am I hindering your training?’

But the fact that those words came out of the man’s mouth meant one thing.

‘Someone, someone said such nonsense.’

From the point when she had that thought, Trisha had already singled out one woman.

Rishikida Amshel, yes.

She is certain.

She has taken something away from her again.

Trisha squeezed her eyes shut, trying to hide the burning anger.

Then, when she opened her eyes at the sound of someone calling her, she was already standing armed in the vast plains outside the castle as part of the final basic military training.

“Have you lost your mind, Trisha? I trust that you haven’t relaxed just because it’s the last day.”

She didn’t answer.

Instead, she collided with her body.

She swung her training sword, struck with her shield, and used every means possible.

Rishikida Amshel.

Just to hit that knight even once.

In the hope that the woman would also experience the pain she had experienced.

But the difference in skill between the two women was too great, and it was by no means a simple thing that could be reduced in just one month.

Trisha fell to the ground for the seventh time.

Even so, she bit her lip and got up from her seat.

“Are you upset? Or do you have something to say to me?”

“···Why. Why on earth. Why are you taking it away from me?”

“What?”

“It’s everything to me. It was the only thing I had, with nothing. You took it all away. With just a few words, with just a few actions.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Rishikida had a dumbfounded expression.

What did she take away?

She just followed orders.

And if someone said that, Rishikida was going to say this.

“Let me tell you one thing. It’s not that I took it away, but that you were taken away. You were naturally taken away because you had no power, no ability, and nothing.

That’s the law of this world. If you have no power, you have to be taken.”

“Is that so?

Ha, haha.

Hahaha···.

Yes, if you have no power, everything will be taken away.

Taken away···.”

Chew, chew―.

Hidden inside the carriage, Sion was constantly chewing on jerky, watching the great battle between Rishikida and Trisha.

Everything was going according to his plan.

The great villain who took Jimmy away from Trisha and also took away himself, who had newly approached her.

Rishikida Amshel.

It was all just a part and role of the play he had prepared and planned.

‘Of course, I wondered why Rishi was acting so rough in the middle.’

Anyway, he twisted the relationship between Trisha and Jimmy and made their emotional lines shake wildly.

In the meantime, he stepped in and dug into her gap, and made it a picture of being forcibly taken away by someone again while she was settling down.

The picture of Rishikida, who took her brother away from her, repeating the same thing this time.

‘Honestly, it’s a bit of a conscience-pricking thing, so my heart hurts a little, but what can I do?

I can’t stay a *chuunibyou* character forever, a Dark Flame Dragon who just chuckles.

At the very least, you have to become a real Dark Flame Dragon that spits out flames, right?’

Thinking that way, Sion was trying to find the timing to step in.

If he stepped in at the right time, stopped Rishikida, and saved Trisha, she would have the thought that she had regained Sion, as well as a strong determination not to be taken away again.

Fascicle!

Woo-oong!―

‘···But, something’s wrong?’

Suddenly, a group of red lights began to ripple behind Trisha’s back.

Those groups of lights gradually took shape and moved in unison behind her back.

At first, he thought it was some kind of grotesque tentacle monster, but when he looked closely, it was a huge thorny vine in the shape of a green branch with brutal thorns.

‘Huh? Uh?’

···Sibal [Korean slang, equivalent to “Shit” or “Damn”]?

There was no such picture in my plan?

While Sion was stuttering, the group of lights that had the shape of a thorny vine and spewed out red light entered Trisha’s body again.

At the same time, the same patterns as the vines began to be engraved on her arms, legs, neck, and face.

“···Take it away by force. Yeah, good. I’ll do that. I’ll take it all away too.”

The focus disappears from the woman’s two eyes.

A creepy energy flashed in her blurred eyes, and scarlet flames and lightning that made your skin crawl just by looking at them gathered in both hands.

‘I’m screwed.’

Before Sion could even stop her, the flames and lightning were instantly crushed into Rishikida.

No matter how high-ranking a knight she was, it was virtually impossible to defend against such an attack without any damage.

Rishikida also instinctively drew out her mana to the maximum and took a defensive stance, but she sensed that it was not enough just by looking at Trisha’s changed appearance.

No, beyond being insufficient, she could have melted away without a trace in this place.

“Ah.”

The moment a sigh flowed from Rishikida’s mouth, sensing an unfavorable future.

Pee-ee-ing―.

Kwaaaang!

Somewhere, a fireball flew in and hit the flames and lightning that Trisha had fired.

Of course, it was true that the power and destructive power were quite insufficient, but it was somewhat offset, and in that gap, a silver-haired woman wrapped a huge barrier around it and succeeded in blocking the attack.

At the same time, Tatatat!

A light blue-haired cat woman ran towards Trisha, making a sound.

Then, she kicked her side coolly and succeeded in making it impossible to do any more attacks.

“That was close.”

“Rishi! Are you okay?”

“Nyaong!”

If a ray of salvation were to strike in the middle of hell, this would be the feeling.

A woman with impressive black horns, exuding a very noble atmosphere, let out a sigh of relief, and another woman in a magician’s robe, who had rushed over in a hurry, checked Rishikida’s condition.

The woman who jumped and ran next to her examined Trisha, who was staggering and getting up from her seat again, with fierce eyes and made a wary hiss, ‘Haaaak!’

Sion, who was watching the scene, hid in the carriage and raised his hand, cheering inwardly.

‘Ladies! Assemble!’

―――――――Author’s Afterword―――――――

We’re almost at 10,000 pre-selections···!

Don’t stop recommending and run, run!

Assemble!

GwaaaaaaakRRRRRRRRRRRR!