Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 140

140

If You Don’t Want to Stand Alone

“…What was that just now,

Master?”

“…Who knows?”

Sion answered, putting on the clothes he had taken off for a while so as not to be noticed by the warriors.

If he had been completely naked, it might have been different, but he was definitely wearing something that could be called clothes.

On top of that, he hadn’t even considered that Zhan Temujin, the Khan [a title of leadership], would be so sensitive to this kind of thing, so this reaction was nothing short of absurd.

Sion scratched his cheek and was about to call Zhan again when…

There was a slight commotion outside, and someone peeked their head in.

“Sion.

Are, are you dressed yet?”

“Jalan?

Oh, I’m mostly dressed.

If you see Temujin, tell her she can come in…”

Jalan disappeared as suddenly as he had appeared, not even listening to Sion’s question properly.

Sion laughed in disbelief at the sight, and Rishikida, who had been standing quietly next to him, opened her mouth.

“Master.

That man, Jalan.

It looked like someone grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and just shoved his head into the tent.”

“…Like he was being told to check inside?”

“Yes.”

…Surely it wasn’t Zhan, that woman, oh screw it.

Jalan was bigger than most warriors, and even their superior, but the only person in this Kaltan who could grab him by the scruff of the neck and shove him in to check was her.

The woman who had suddenly turned around and left just now, the woman who was now trying to act calm as she re-entered the tent.

“Ahem.”

Zhan re-entered the tent naturally, as if nothing had happened and she hadn’t seen anything.

She approached Sion with her usual serious and heavy steps and spoke to him.

Of course, still avoiding eye contact.

“Didn’t you come here to talk about something?”

“Ah, right.

That’s right.”

With that, Zhan glanced at Rishikida.

Meaning that it was a conversation for the two of them, and wouldn’t it be better if the other person left.

But Sion immediately dismissed Zhan’s expectations.

“She’s not a woman who would go around blabbing her mouth, and she’s my most trusted escort knight.

It’s no problem to have her next to me, so don’t worry and just talk.

I just took a shower and want to get some sleep.”

Sion didn’t hide the fact that he was a little uncomfortable with her barging in at a time when he should be resting.

Zhan noticed this and nodded before opening her mouth.

“It seems things have gone the way you wanted.”

“The way I wanted?”

“I mean the opportunity for the warriors of Kalta to rethink the war.

A figure so different from the sly, lying nobles of the kingdom.”

“I hope you don’t equate me with the northern nobles of the kingdom.

It makes me feel pretty dirty.”

Now that Sion had prevented the incident that had occurred in the royal capital without any problems and cut off the fuse that would ignite the Great Schism, he was behaving himself, but in the novel, several northern nobles, as national opinion was divided, allied with the northern tribes who had a grudge against the kingdom and started a rebellion.

‘Tank’ Kim Yu-hyun was dispatched to suppress those reactionary bastards, and the northern nobles were literally beheaded by the overpowered protagonist.

Being treated as the same level as those who only caused trouble for the kingdom without doing anything and caused the devastation of the northern part of the kingdom was a great discourtesy to Sion.

“Ahahaha!

Ah, ahem!

Ahem!”

Zhan suddenly burst out laughing and hurriedly coughed, trying hard to emphasize, ‘I wasn’t laughing,’ but Sion and Rishikida, who was standing next to him, had already seen everything.

“Why did you suddenly laugh?”

“…Hmph, it’s nothing.”

“Why did you laugh?”

Sion leaned forward slightly, as if he would never back down until he got an answer.

Thanks to this, Zhan began to back away, whimpering.

However, in this sitting position, leaning forward allowed her to move much more than leaning back, and as Sion narrowed his eyes and approached her, Zhan hurriedly stopped him.

Then, after hesitating for a moment, she spoke in a slightly cautious voice, unlike her usual self.

“Because it’s fascinating.”

“…Fascinating?”

“Aren’t you a noble of the kingdom?

But you say things like, ‘Don’t equate me with them, who are the same nobles of the same kingdom, it makes me feel dirty.’

It was as if I was talking to a northern warrior, not a noble of the kingdom.”

From Zhan’s point of view, it must have been a funny scene.

Sion and the northern nobles of the kingdom were on the same side, but one side was gleefully criticizing the other, so it couldn’t help but be funny and fascinating.

‘But what can I do?

This is reality.’

In fact, Sion volunteered to come up to the north not only to win over Zhan, Eos, Khan, and the Daughter of Winter, but also to deal with the northern nobles, who were said to be the best at being slippery in the kingdom.

He had succeeded in obtaining complete immunity by having the king grant him ‘final decision-making power,’ so now all that was left was to catch either the northern barbarian tribes or the northern nobles.

‘There must be some shady guys even if they’re behaving themselves.

I need achievements to further solidify my position within the kingdom.

Who is the hero of the kingdom?

Sion Claussen, you son of a bitches!

So that’s the kind of reaction I want.

So I’ll get some achievements and add another one to my resume.’

Whether she knew Sion’s inner thoughts or not, Zhan fiddled with her hands and continued.

“As you know, our northern tribes are like ice.

Cold and hard, they are very reluctant to let other things come near them.

And those who touch them are disgusted, saying they are cold and sharp.”

“Isn’t that natural since it’s cold?”

“Stop with the jokes.

I’m serious now.

And you, stop with the unnecessary honorifics.”
Hmm.

Sion looked at Zhan, touching his chin.

At the other person’s serious reaction, Zhan hesitated for a moment and finally looked at Sion of her own volition for the first time.

“…”

Whoosh.

She couldn’t even last 5 seconds and eventually turned her head.

“Ice.

It certainly felt that way.

But we can’t stay as that cold, sharp ice forever, can we?”

“Yes, that’s why the warriors wanted to attack the kingdom.”

“Ah, that’s not it.

If you do that, you’ll melt away without a trace.”

“…Aren’t you underestimating the warriors too much?”

“I’m not talking about military power or strength.

I’m talking about looking at the whole picture.

Do you really think you’ll be happy if you take over part of the kingdom’s territory and establish a country?

I guarantee you won’t.

The northern tribes have lived their lives in a certain way for a long time, and you can’t expect them to abandon that and adopt the same lifestyle as the kingdom in just a few years, can you?”

“…I was worried.”

“Ice?

It’s good.

In this north, you have to be cold and hard to survive.

But if you leave that area, will you be able to survive without melting?”

At Sion’s words, Zhan tried hard to look at his face, wondering, ‘What is he trying to say?’

At least when talking, you have to look at the other person’s face to tell if they’re being sincere or lying.

“You’ll melt away.

If you go into that land.

Some will be assimilated into the kingdom, and others will reject being northern tribes and try to live as citizens of the kingdom.

The cavalry that the northern tribes were so proud of will disappear at some point.”

“…”

“If you want to live like that, I have nothing more to say.

I don’t know if the northern tribes really want to live like the ‘kingdom’ or the ‘people of the kingdom,’ or if they just want to live.

But one thing is certain.

If you guys go down there, it’s war.

And that’s a real war, completely different from the small-scale skirmishes that have taken place so far.”

“I’m not afraid of fighting.”

“You wouldn’t be.

The warriors wouldn’t be either.

But I don’t know if all the tribesmen feel the same way.

Would those who want to live want to stick their heads into the jaws of death?”

Sion now knows very well that the northern barbarian tribes had no other choice, which is why they were driven to this situation.

He made a point of getting close to the warriors to hear their stories.

What kind of lives the barbarian tribesmen were living, and how their thoughts had changed compared to the past.

‘When trade with the kingdom was infrequent, they were satisfied with their lives.

But the moment they learned about the true nature of the kingdom through trade, everything they had thought was denied.

The life in this cold and difficult land that they thought was okay, and the reality of the kingdom, which they thought was not much different from living here, all of it.’

At first glance, Kalta, who hates the kingdom, and Aigiore, who shows a peaceful appearance to the kingdom, seem similar, but the reality is slightly different.

Kalta is a place where those who want to live like the kingdom gather, and Aigiore is a place where those who want to maintain the northern way of life gather.

That’s why one side wants to occupy the kingdom’s territory and live like them, while the other side is satisfied with trade and doesn’t want to abandon this land.

Both of them know now.

That they can’t go back to the way they were, that they can’t live pretending they don’t know what they already know.

“The tribal chiefs may be wary of not only the damage caused by the war, but also the fact that the way of life is completely disrupted and the tribe can no longer be called a ‘tribe’.”

“Is that so.”

“That’s not a bad thing.

Even I don’t think your tribesmen are compatible with the kingdom’s way of life.

If it doesn’t work out, they’ll eventually take up swords and attack the kingdom to fill that void, and they’ll repeat that.

Then what will happen?

Eventually, either the kingdom or your northern tribes will fight until one of them really goes bankrupt.

Zhan Temujin.

There’s a saying.

Those who rise by the sword, die by the sword.

You may think you can rise by the sword now, but eventually you’ll realize that it was wrong.”

The woman in front of him was not a war maniac who was eager to fight the kingdom.

Rather, she was a true warrior who took the lead in fighting for the tribesmen.

When such a woman was suddenly burdened with a heavy duty, she couldn’t make a decision and was wavering.

In the novel, she eventually struggled without finding an answer and was killed by her younger sister.

“Then what am I supposed to do?

The warriors of Kalta are advocating a final battle with the kingdom, and there are tribesmen who unknowingly support and want that.

What am I supposed to do…”

“You have to push it through.

A leader can’t always take care of everyone below them.

Sometimes you have to take some flak and listen to unpleasant things, but the one who leads them on the right path is the real leader.”

Sion tapped the table and continued.

“I came here so you guys could make a more rational choice.

Use me.

The food will arrive first if you just wait a little longer!

You can trade again, which is what you wanted so badly!

If that was the kingdom’s trick, then you can vent your anger on the kingdom.

So let’s just wait and see for now.

If it doesn’t seem right, you can just take the food and stab them in the back!

Like this.”

“Are you even happy to be used?

How can you be so confident?”

“Sometimes it’s beneficial for each other to pretend to be fooled even though you know everything and find a more rational direction.”

After saying that, Sion sighed and leaned back in his chair as if he was tired.

He revealed all the promises, words, and parts he could show.

Now all that’s left is their decision, and the Khan’s decision.

If it’s still war, Sion will erase the Khan with regret.

If he spends more time on the north, the south will be shaken, and if that happens, the entire kingdom will be shaken, and all the hard work he’s done so far may be in vain.

“…”

Zhan, who had been sitting in her seat and thinking for a while, stood up.

She let out a small sigh and left the tent with a rather hopeful word, ‘I’ll think about it.’

Her steps didn’t feel strong, unlike the title of Temujin.

As Zhan’s presence completely disappeared, Rishikida, who had been standing quietly next to him, finally opened her mouth.

“I don’t like that woman.”

Huh?

Sion tilted his head.

It was quite rare for Rishikida, of all people, to say something like this.

Sion was worried that she might be slowly turning into Trisha, since she was saying something that Trisha or Lia would say.

“Ah, and Master.

You said you’d let me hear it if I was good.

Can’t you do it now?”

“Here?”

“Yes.

I want to hear it too.

You singing.

You playing the lute.”

Rishikida, who had found the lute that he had brought in case he needed it, had been begging him to play the lute and sing in front of her.

When Sion asked her if she hadn’t heard him play the lute when he was in the Nudia army, Rishikida grumbled, ‘Of course I was out of my mind at the time,’ unlike her usual self.

Seeing the woman gradually becoming more natural at Sion’s words that they could be ordinary men and women, not master and knight, when they were alone, Sion nodded in agreement and accepted the lute that Rishikida had handed him.

‘What song should I sing in front of Rishikida?

There’s a song that’s perfect for this woman…’

Sion’s head was working quickly in this area as well.

Praising his brain for working so hard, Sion began to strum the lute gently.

-Sometime, not now, somewhere, not here-Will there be a place to accept me-Even if I don’t try to hide my poor soul-Will there be someone to embrace me-

-Do I also have wings, can I fly away-

-I stand alone in a world of wind…-

Tears immediately began to well up in Rishikida’s eyes.

Sion clicked his tongue and warned her in a low voice, ‘Stop it!’ and only then did Rishikida hurriedly wipe her eyes.

Thanks to his father, who was a big fan of the Jawoorim group, Sion was able to pull it off again today.

And in the meantime, the two men and women in the tent didn’t even notice.

Zhan hesitated and wandered around the tent, stopping at the faint sound of singing.

-Unexplained loneliness, the pain of being alive-

-The starry sky is so beautiful-I stand alone in a world of wind-

Alone, alone.

Yes, I’m all alone like this.

Ironically, the one who’s worrying with me is that noble of the kingdom.