Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 119

119―――――

Northern Lands, Land of the Barbarians

On the way to the royal palace to meet Princess Vanessa.

Originally, it should have been a boring journey, but as Zion headed to the royal palace, he found himself in a truly tense situation.

“···.”

“···.”

“···.”

The carriage, which seemed perfect for a romantic getaway, felt like it was about to explode at any moment.

Not only because of the sheer number of people crammed inside, but also because of the palpable tension emanating from each of them.

‘I brought this on myself, and I wish I could step in and stop it somehow.’

This was a situation where the power dynamics were simply too skewed.

Zion himself was quietly squashed in a corner of the carriage, with an empty space beside him. Trisha sat next to that, glaring with a frosty expression.

And on the opposite side sat Lilith, Rishikia, Lucia, and Ria.

“Haaam.”

Of course, Lilith reacted with her usual nonchalance.

Rishikia had acted under Zion’s orders, but she couldn’t deny that her own feelings were somewhat involved, so she glanced around with a slightly guilty conscience.

Lucia and Ria were expressing intense vigilance at the appearance of a new woman who openly declared she would monopolize Zion.

“Can’t you all just relax?”

The first to speak was, unexpectedly, Trisha.

She swept a strand of fiery hair back and continued.

“Didn’t we agree to a truce?

But right now, it seems like you’re all just spoiling for a fight.”

“Haaack!”

“Blue cat.

Stay still before I singe all your fur off and turn you into grilled cat.”

“T, that’s too harsh!”

“Wizard girl, you too.

I don’t want to fight.

‘Not now,’ that is.”

With that, Trisha turned her gaze to Rishikia.

Feeling Trisha’s gaze, Rishikia looked back, sighed lightly, and began to stare at Trisha silently.

At that, Trisha smirked and said,

“I’ll say this in advance: I have no personal feelings towards you.

After all, my brother needed to find a good older sister and get married.

Did you make things difficult for me?

What, is being a trainee knight easy?

I know you have to work your butt off to become even remotely useful.

Well, merciful me will just have to endure it all, everything.”

“···I appreciate you thinking that way.”

“You should have just fallen for my brother back then.

My brother is a good person too, not just Zion.”

“I’m sorry, but I am only my master’s knight and have no interest in other men.”

“Oh, what a shame.”

Chuckling, Trisha stared intently at Lilith, who was sitting next to her.

“···.”

She knows it, she’s noticed it, she feels it instinctively.

That knight Rishikia, the magician Lucia, and the Myoen [cat-like beastfolk] Ria are not the center of this dynamic.

The center of them is that demon woman, the Succubus Queen ‘Lilith’.

With her as the axis, they agree with each other, concede and step back, and sometimes step forward. And if the other concedes, they embrace one man without worry.

Since Zion doesn’t want anyone by his side to fight each other, they have come up with a somewhat clever method.

‘It’s not bad.

But···.’

Delicacies are still desirable even if you eat them every meal, sparkling jewels are always worth looking at, and a loved one is always worth holding, even if you’re holding them right now.

How long will such shallow tricks work?

Right now, Zion needs many people, so he doesn’t want to waste his strength, but in the end, everything will be ranked.

And women will be included in that ranking.

‘I have to fight from now on to prove my excellence.

I mustn’t be fooled by such things and fall for it.’

Lilith is a succubus from the start, and she’s an inherently attractive demon, so there won’t be much trouble.

But what about the others?

Rishikia, Lucia, and Ria are too lacking compared to her.

If things continue like this, it will be Lilith’s monopoly.

The other women will unconsciously acknowledge this.

That’s why they seem to have chosen harmony instead of competition, but she doesn’t.

The pleasure of overcoming an insurmountable mountain and reaching its peak is great, but more than anything, Trisha has confirmed that Zion’s gaze towards her will be distinctly different from what it is now.

‘I have to prove that I am better than the other women.

The best way is to make Zion cling to me, not me clinging to Zion.’

Whirr―.

The flames and lightning within her agreed with that.

It was when Trisha was thinking that and letting out a confident smile.

“Haaam···.

A woman who hasn’t even slept with Zion has a lot to say.

Right, girls?”

“Huh?”

“L, Lilith-nim?”

“···What?”

Zion looked like he was about to jump out of his skin, looking flustered, and Rishikia, Lucia, and Ria had expressions that said, ‘Why is that story coming up all of a sudden?’

But Lilith was only looking at Trisha with a confident expression.

Starting with her chest, she tapped her crotch and then her stomach, and continued.

“While you were playing house with your brother in the bedroom, what were Zion and I doing?

Hmm, try to guess.

Baby.

Ah, how deliciously Zion eats me this time.”

“Wh, what are you talking about···.”

‘No, why is this queen suddenly like this?’

Zion was looking at Lilith with that look.

Trisha was trying to suppress her flames and lightning and said she would be quiet for a while, but suddenly, she was launching an intercontinental ballistic missile right at her.

“Lilith-nim.

How did Master eat you deliciously?”

“Ooh-hoo-hoo.

Curious?

Rishi, are you curious?”

“T, tell me!

Nyaang!

I, I want to be eaten by Zion too!”

Rishikia’s face was flushed red, but she nodded, Ria was meowing as if she wanted to hear more from the start, and Lucia swallowed hard!

While listening to Lilith’s exciting story.

‘No, what are these women doing now!’

Zion hurriedly tried to stop Lilith, but soon Lilith’s toes blocked Zion’s knees and began to exert force as if telling him to stay still.

As if stepping in here would only make things worse.

‘What on earth are you thinking!’

The scream soared to his throat, but Lilith, of all people, was not the type to throw out such stimulating content carelessly.

It seemed like she wanted something….

“Girls, I did it in a very unusual place?

Ooh-hoo-hoo!

Not in the usual room, but outside!”

“R, really?”

“Nyaang!

I want to do it outside too!”

“P, please continue.”

“First of all, the night breeze was so nice!

And Zion said it was a dinner date and licked me very carefully from my toes?

And···.”

It was the moment when Lilith’s full-fledged sexcapade began.

Zion, who was at a loss for words, struggled to cover his ears and looked towards Trisha.

‘Ah, right!

Trisha!

Will that woman stay still after hearing this story?

Damn it, suddenly getting jealous and burning up the carriage and everything, and having a huge fight with Lilith-nim….’

In that moment, Zion exclaimed, ‘Huh?’

As he expected, Trisha’s face was flushed red as if it would burst at any moment.

But one thing that was different was that the expression on her face was not anger, but an uncontrollable shyness.

‘···What?’

It’s not that she’s not trying to listen to Lilith’s story.

She’s diligently eavesdropping on the story of her and Lilith’s intense dinner date, but her face is bright red and she’s sitting there twisting her body.

As if she’s embarrassed to death, but she’s impatient to hear more.

The woman who had been burning as if she would burn Lilith to ashes until just now suddenly showed such a 모습 [Korean: appearance/figure], so he couldn’t help but be flustered.

So, Zion glanced at Lilith and soon realized that she was glancing at him and smiling.

‘···The Queen is the best.’

She seemed to have grasped Trisha’s weakness and how to handle her in that short time.

―

It was several days later that they arrived at the royal palace.

After leisurely completing all the inspections, Zion entered the royal palace and had the carriage drive to the location of Count Klausen’s villa in order to let his party rest.

Originally, he should have gone straight to the royal palace, but since it was almost evening, it would be more convenient for both him and the royal palace to meet the next morning.

“Ughhh! Ah, my whole body is stiff!”

“I want to take a shower once I get inside.”

“Nyaang!”

Lilith stretched, followed by Lucia and Ria.

Rishikia had insisted that the saddle was better than the inside of the carriage as she was a guard knight, so she had moved her position since yesterday.

As the women came out of the carriage one by one in a good mood, the red-haired woman who came out last didn’t seem to be doing well.

“Ugh···.”

Trisha was slumped over and trudging along as if she had motion sickness.

Of course, she didn’t really have motion sickness.

From her point of view, she wouldn’t have been so embarrassed if she had motion sickness.

‘I didn’t know she had such a side to her.’

Due to being a Black Dragon cultist and having the pyromaniac stigma, he thought her personality would only be as intense as a burning flame.

However, while riding in the carriage to the royal palace, she showed him without end how embarrassed she was while listening to Lilith’s R-rated stories.

She had shown rapid growth since accepting some of the stigma, but it was clear evidence that there was still a 소녀 감성 [Korean: girlish sensibility] somewhere, and a very strong one at that.

‘Lilith-nim taught me something very good.’

He had gained a big hint on how to handle Trisha in the future.

Anyway, Zion told everyone to rest, as the official schedule was to be handled tomorrow, and he was about to lie down on the bed to relieve his tired body from the days of travel.

“Master!”

Suddenly, Rishikia was seen running towards him from afar, calling out to him.

It was the moment she was about to catch her breath, steady herself, and open her mouth.

“I’m sorry, but I’m a little tired today.”

“Yes?

Ah, no! That’s not my purpose, Master.”

“···Isn’t it?”

Zion was relieved, but also a little disappointed.

It would have been fun to explore Rishikia’s firm body again.

“Someone from the Haines Merchant Guild has arrived.”

“Already?”

“Yes.

It seems they heard the news that Master had entered the royal palace and rushed over right away.”

“···Bring them to the reception room.

If they moved this quickly, there must be a reason.”

“I understand.”

Rishikia turned around and disappeared somewhere, and Zion crossed his arms and headed to the reception room.

‘That’s strange.

If it were a woman like Helen, she would know that we are quite tired from traveling a long distance, but she sent someone right away?’

It was definitely strange.

Moreover, he had even decided to visit the royal palace the next morning and entered the villa.

But the fact that they still wanted to meet meant only one thing.

‘Something very urgent has happened.’

Did the radical fairies take Helen Haines hostage?

Or are they infiltrating the guild again and threatening them to cooperate?

Or did they hear some news that could be dangerous from another part of the kingdom?

Zion was filled with all sorts of thoughts.

As he waited for the person from the Haines Merchant Guild in the reception room, Rishikia knocked after a while and peeked her head in.

“Master.

Shall I bring them in?”

“Yes.”

At Zion’s answer, Rishikia told someone to go inside.

And after a while, a woman wearing a hood carefully entered the reception room.

“Helen.”

“Young Master.”

Unlike ordinary humans, she was a fairy with pointed ears and unparalleled beauty.

It was Helen, the owner of the Haines Merchant Guild.

“You’re safe.”

“Are you stating the obvious?

Hasn’t it been a little less than two months since we last saw each other?”

“I guess so.”

The woman’s appearance of covering her mouth and laughing was quite beautiful.

A ripe and beautiful elf woman, but Zion thought it was fortunate that she had really given up on revenge, looking at the flower that had been brutally trampled by humans.

If she hadn’t, he wouldn’t have been able to see her smiling like that.

“More than that, I didn’t expect the guild leader to leave the guild again and come all the way here.

I was planning to visit you tomorrow, but was there something so urgent that you came all the way here?”

“···That’s right.”

Helen is a merchant.

Although the reason for starting the guild was for revenge, she had the talent, so she became the owner of that huge guild.

And merchants extremely avoid things that are detrimental to them, so they don’t overreact to things they do, nor do they not react at all.

In other words, the fact that she came here meant that there was a good reason.

“Zion Young Master.

If it’s not rude, may I ask you about your party?”

“My party?”

Zion looked at Helen for a moment and nodded.

Then, an unexpected name popped out of Helen’s mouth.

“A Myoen woman named Winnie… I heard that you rescued her from the slave market before.”

“Winnie?

Ah, Ria?”

“Is the name wrong?

They definitely called her Winnie-nim over there.”

“There’s a story behind that.

More than that… over there?

Winnie-nim?”

He could roughly picture something.

When Zion looked at Helen with a ‘maybe?’ expression, she nodded as if to say that his expectation was correct and opened her mouth.

“Recently, several beastmen, especially Myoen men and women, came to our guild.

They heard that the Haines Merchant Guild was in contact with Count Klausen’s territory and asked if we could take them there.”

“···And then?”

“First, I told them that Young Master Klausen would be coming to the royal palace, so why don’t they wait here.

And I was secretly monitoring them under the guise of escort.”

“Impressive.”

As expected, she was a woman with good sense and quick wit.

She seemed to have judged that it would be more beneficial for Zion to stay with them and figure out their intentions than to send them to cause confusion in Count Klausen’s territory.

‘Helen is definitely capable.

I want her even more?’

Of course, he was talking about her talent.

He no longer wanted to force women to be under him.

“So, what were their identities?”

At that, Helen smiled and put her finger to her lips.

Should I call it a merchant’s cute charm that you have to pay for more than this?

Other nobles would have screamed that it was rude, but Zion was even more satisfied.

‘Even if you’re a 랄부 [Korean slang, can be interpreted as ‘close’] friend, you have to make sure the deal is solid.

That’s the best way to maintain a long-term relationship.’

Zion believed that transactions should be clear even between co-workers, friends, and even family.

In that sense, Helen Haines was a woman who perfectly met Zion’s standards.