Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 152

152

If you’re a man, you’ve dreamed of this at least once.

“Buryer!

Buryer!”

After the dramatic peace talks with Kalta, a sense of urgency once again gripped the Aigeore side.

Scouts arrived every hour, creating an atmosphere as if a war had broken out.

“Is this another report about the kingdom’s border?”

“Yes, Buryer.”

Eos raised her hand, signaling him to report, and a warrior began to speak with a hurried expression.

“The report that Count Taiker’s castle was engulfed in a massive fire is confirmed. The fire, which started in the evening, has continued to burn past dawn and is still raging.”

“It hasn’t been extinguished even after morning?”

“That is correct.”

Eos couldn’t help but tilt her head at the report.

Count Taiker was one of the few northern nobles of the kingdom who could truly be called a warrior.

Naturally, the soldiers under his command were thoroughly trained for any war situation.

Since fires can break out in castles during sieges, they must have been trained in firefighting, so it was very strange that they couldn’t put out a fire that started in the evening, even after dawn.

‘Surely they wouldn’t have abandoned their castle. Why couldn’t they put out the fire?’

As she thought that, Eos suddenly remembered what Kim Yu-hyun had said before leaving.

‘Don’t panic, no matter what happens. Everything is probably happening according to that man’s plan.’

‘What do you mean, Yu-hyun?’

‘It’s a bit much to explain right now, but it means he’s a trustworthy man.’

His eyes, which had always been cold and hardened because he couldn’t trust anyone—colder than the biting wind of winter—showed a hint of trust, albeit briefly.

Eos chuckled at how strange that was, and Kim Yu-hyun cleared his throat.

Then, he left for the kingdom, reassuring her once again that there would be no problems here, so she could rest assured.

‘A strangely sad man.’

That’s how Eos would define Kim Yu-hyun.

For some reason, he seemed to be barely holding on, carrying all the sadness of the world.

He looked so lonely that, although their meeting was short, she could clearly feel how careful he was not to cause any harm whenever he treated her.

Such a person said that ‘that man,’ Zion Clausen, was worth trusting.

Eos herself already had a high opinion of Zion, a noble of the kingdom, and the warrior, who seemed like a lone wolf, raised her trust even more by saying that.

‘Is that why my sister fell for him?’

While Eos was tapping the table, lost in thought, the old general, who always served as her advisor, cautiously spoke.

“Buryer, are you alright?”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m talking about Kalta, and Temujin.”

At those words, Eos frowned slightly and looked at the old man, as if to say, what nonsense are you talking about?

“Of course, Temujin won’t break his promise and attack the kingdom. Most of Kalta who follow him will do the same. But I’m worried about the tribes with different intentions.”

“You mean the tribes who wanted a war with the kingdom and ended up breaking away.”

Not all of Kalta gathered to follow Temujin.

Among them, there were definitely tribes who harbored animosity towards the kingdom and joined Kalta hoping that Temujin would turn his blade against them.

This moment, when a temporary peace was promised between the kingdom, Aigeore, and Kalta, was definitely not the scene they wanted.

“They must have noticed that something happened on the kingdom’s border. If they take this opportunity to act independently and attack the kingdom, the peace that Buryer, Temujin, and the kingdom have worked so hard to achieve could be broken again, wouldn’t it?”

“It’s certainly possible.”

The tribes don’t usually get along well.

In a situation where their intentions differ like this, no one knows what those people will do.

As the old man worried, if they really crossed the border amidst the kingdom’s chaos and launched a full-scale attack, the problem was highly likely to escalate.

“If you’re asking if I’m worried, I’m not worried.”

“Yes?”

But Eos didn’t seem worried at all.

The woman who used to be anxious about what Temujin and Kalta would do was acting very differently today.

“Even though she sometimes acts strangely, she’s not a warrior who has forgotten her honor and pride. I know my sister well. If she were the type to just sit back and watch the tribes that broke away from Kalta cause trouble, Kalta, which gathered so many tribes, would have scattered long ago.”

“But…”

“Don’t worry. Above all, everyone in the world wants to look good to someone they like, no matter where they are.”

The old man looked at Eos for a moment and nodded as if he understood.

He trusted Eos Buryer, who had led them until now, more than Zan Temujin, who was still leading Kalta.

And as Eos was sure, Zan was taking very quick action.

“Temujin.”

Several Kalta warriors had been lying in ambush and captured those who were heading to the kingdom’s border.

They were not lightly armed, but properly equipped, and it seemed that they were preparing not for looting but for causing a proper mess.

“I remember clearly saying that we should wait for the kingdom’s answer.”

He slowly clenched and unclenched his fist, and when he said that in a voice without any inflection, it was like a scene from a horror movie.

Zan stared at them for a moment and gestured to the waiting warriors to step out briefly.

“Do you have anything to say?”

When the Kalta warriors left, Zan spoke in a gentle tone, as if doing them a favor.

In response, the middle-aged man who seemed to be the senior among those captured by the warriors spoke in a deeply subdued voice.

“Didn’t you say you would drive out the kingdom and create a country for the various tribes of the north?”

“I only said I would fight for the people of the north.”

“That’s the same th…”

Zan stood up from his seat and slowly approached the middle-aged man.

Then, he grabbed the man’s head with one hand and began to turn it slightly.

“I said I would fight the kingdom because I believed that our people could be happy. No, rather than belief, I was just having a foolish thought that I wanted to believe. I know that there are strong people like me in the kingdom, and I know how the kingdom will react the moment we call for war, but I just thought that there was no other way.”

“…”

“But a way for the tribesmen to live without insisting on that path has come to me. A way to avoid harming other tribesmen who oppose the war, and to prevent the people around me from perishing due to a war that may last for who knows how long.”

“It’s useless. Eventually, the same things will be repeated later. Even if we receive some food, form a marriage alliance, or continue trade, we will eventually have no choice but to be at odds with the kingdom. This won’t change the future!”

The middle-aged warrior muttered resentfully, as if to ask if Zan didn’t know that.

At that, Zan nodded and said that could be the case.

“Even if it’s not now, a war might happen someday. The kingdom might despise our tribes first and launch a large-scale attack directly, and at that time, we might be too weak to resist and disappear without even being able to resist,” that’s what he meant.

But in reality, her expression didn’t change at all.

“Aren’t my brother and I working this hard to change the tribe’s seemingly unchangeable future?

Persuading the tribesmen, caring for them in new ways, and negotiating with Hispania.

And one more thing.”

Squeeze—.

Zan slowly tightened her grip on the man’s head, squeezing hard. Holding the middle-aged warrior’s face with her other hand, she stared directly at him. He bit his lip, as if sensing what was about to happen, and she continued speaking.

“It’s also to punish someone like you, who owns nothing, for disobeying the northern law: ‘Follow the will of the strong,’ and acting as you please.”

Crack!—.

The man’s neck twisted grotesquely, and the warrior died instantly.

The body, which had turned stiff as a log the moment life vanished, fell to the side.

Zan, staring at the now lifeless body with cold eyes, slowly moved toward her next target.

“Ugh!”

“T-Temujin!

Even though we were once members of Kalta [a tribe or clan] who followed you…”

“If you invoked my name and followed my banner, shouldn’t you have followed my will?

Why should I treat those who hide behind my name for safety when they need it, and then try to cause me trouble when their intentions change?”

Crack!—.

Another life crumbled once again.

Zan moved to the next target without a moment’s hesitation.

“You are no longer Kalta, nor are you my warriors.”

Crack!

“You are my enemies,”

Crack!

“And only enemies of my consort.”

—

Shiver—.

Sion lightly trembled at the sudden chill he felt.

For some reason, a cold feeling ran down his spine, as if something unpleasant was happening somewhere.

“Sion.

Are you feeling unwell?”

Lilith, who was reviewing the documents Count Gino had provided with Sion, noticed Sion’s change and asked him.

Sion waved his hand dismissively.

“I’m glad to hear that.

More than that, this guy is really amazing.

Even I, who don’t know much about your work, can tell that he’s been up to something huge.”

“Isn’t that why the northern tribes fell into such a difficult situation as soon as trade was cut off?”

They thought that if the barbarian tribes’ financial situation improved, they might grow stronger and threaten the kingdom, so they limited trade. But it was Hispania and the royal family who opened the trade route in the first place, taking that risk.

Going against that intention, driving the barbarian tribes to the brink, causing the worst-case scenario of war, and even trying to hide what they had been doing and use the war to their advantage—it was no exaggeration to call this treason.

“Honestly, I was a little surprised.

I thought you were just going to catch them moderately and make them spit out all the information they had, but you just got a little confession and then killed them all off.”

“There are those who benefit from being kept alive, and those who are only a liability.”

“Scary, scary.”

Sepher Kasghar is useful bait to unite the divided atmosphere of the kingdom by highlighting him as a criminal who attacked the royal castle every time people forget about it.

But the northern nobles are those who have nothing to gain.

Rather, they only create a sense of threat along with the division of the country.

So, except for Baron Repoem, who showed the most promise, all but a few who confessed were quickly eliminated.

‘The kingdom will be more stable if we get rid of them before some northern tribes demand something, mentioning those responsible. Isn’t that why the royal family granted me the qualifications of an agent?’

If they gave the qualifications of an agent to do only pleasant and beneficial things, it would be better to send an heir.

It is because the work is difficult, sometimes earns curses, and receives both positive and negative evaluations between kingdoms that the qualifications of an agent are given.

That’s why Princess Vanessa called Sion, but she looked very apologetic.

“I’ll go in.”

The one who came into the room with those words was Rishikida.

Unlike her duty as a knight, she came with tea, as if she were a maid.

At the appearance of Rishikida, Lilith hummed ‘Hmm!’ and got up from her seat.

“I have something to do for a while.”

“Something to do?”

“Uh… uh!

Trisha keeps messing around, so I’m going to put her in her place a bit.”

“…Do it moderately.”

“What are you worried about!”

Lilith hummed and immediately left the room.

Of course, she didn’t forget to poke Rishikida in the side while leaving!

And winking as if to say good luck.

“Why suddenly tea, Rishi?”

“Ah, th-that.”

She clearly had something to say, but Rishikida couldn’t answer and hesitated.

At that sight, Sion thanked her and accepted the teacup.

As he sipped the tea, he kept feeling a bitter taste on the tip of his tongue, so he kept thinking about the sweet cookie he had eaten before.

“Um… M-Master.”

“Yeah?”

“D-Do you perhaps want something sweet?”

“…I kind of do.

It’s a shame to just drink tea without something sweet.”

It was a sincere feeling that he blurted out without thinking.

Originally, wasn’t the combination of something slightly bitter and something sweet always the best?

‘…But.’

Sion wondered if he was dreaming for a moment.

Clearly, the knight who had been standing perfectly fine in front of him until just now had disappeared from his sight in the blink of an eye.

‘So, why is Rishi?’

Why is this knight suddenly lying on the table?

“Rishi?

What are you doing…”

“Th-That!

S-Something sweet!

I thought you’d want something sweet.

Lilith told me to say that… Ah!”

Rishikida blurted out the truth without realizing it as she flailed in embarrassment.

Looking at the woman lying on the table at those words, Sion let out a sigh of disbelief.

‘…What on earth did that older sister teach her!’

If you thought I’d like it if you did this!

That’s a ‘Oh yeah!’

―――――――Author’s Note―――――――

Everyone, oh yeah!

I also recommend oh yeah!