Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 216

216―――――

Thou Shalt Not Judge

Wherever money flows, there are always so-called ‘VIPs.’

In that sense, Zion was a VIP—no, even beyond that, a ‘VVVIP’—to the Haines Merchant Guild.

Putting everything else aside, his reputation in the Hispaña Kingdom alone was enough to overwhelm any ordinary noble.

As the heir to the Count Klausen March, a great noble family of Hispaña, he was seen not just as a shield but as a sharp spearhead.

Moreover, he had somehow pacified the unruly northern barbarian tribes and, conversely, decisively dealt with the northern nobles who harmed the kingdom.

And that’s not all.

This time, he ventured south and turned the pirates on the sea into mere kindling with a strategy no one had ever conceived, eliminating them all in less than two months.

Each of these feats was worthy of being called a savior of the country, and he had accomplished it three times.

And he did it all so effortlessly, without much difficulty.

It’s not like Zion has no direct connection to the Haines Merchant Guild.

Granting them trade rights with the Count Klausen March, and more importantly, simply being associated with the Count Klausen March, caused the Haines Merchant Guild’s reputation to soar.

Just the fact that they had traded with Zion Klausen, that one man.

And that they were still trading with him.

“Welcome, Young Lord Zion.”

Some might sneak in secretly, but Zion openly and confidently frequented the Haines Merchant Guild.

And this time, too, he confidently stepped inside.

‘If you try to hide, the bugs will only swarm more.’

It’s not like he’s plotting some kind of treason with the Haines Merchant Guild; it’s just a very normal relationship where they share information and discuss trade.

Someone who’s really grinding their teeth might spread rumors, but giving the impression that he’s not hiding anything would make people dismiss it as ‘What nonsense!’ because of his reputation.

“Busy as always, Helen. You even went up to the royal capital in the meantime.”

“I have to go wherever money flows and information comes and goes.”

Zion responded to Helen’s greeting with a smile and gestured for her to sit down.

As the female secretary, who always attended to Helen closely, hurried out to get refreshments, Helen smiled, something rarely seen, and continued.

“I’ve been so busy that I didn’t even get to see you finish your work in the south.”

“There was nothing to see. And the prince finished it, not me.”

“But he was injured. Seeing that he hasn’t appeared at official events, it seems his condition isn’t very good. Is he alright?”

She’s not really asking if he’s okay.

What Helen is asking is whether the prince is really just resting from an injury, or if he’s entering a preparatory stage to strictly limit his official activities and distance himself from power and himself.

‘However, asking about these matters directly is incredibly rude. More than anything, she’s trying to avoid putting me in a situation where it’s difficult to answer, so she’s speaking indirectly.’

She’s definitely a sharp and intelligent woman.

That’s why she runs such a large merchant guild and sits as its owner.

Moreover, she’s provided me with quite a bit of valuable information.

“Probably.”

“Probably?”

“He’ll probably be lying low a bit longer.”

“I see.”

“When Princess Vanessa returns with the expeditionary force, he’ll probably get a little better then.”

“Ah!”

As Zion winked, Helen exclaimed as if she understood.

She seemed to have grasped why he specifically said ‘when Princess Vanessa returns.’

‘As expected, people and fairies need to be quick-witted to be likable,’ Zion mused and continued.

“I was really grateful for your help in the south. Even if nothing else, gathering the technicians quickly and procuring the materials for the scrolls wouldn’t have been possible in such a short time without you.”

“It’s nothing. Thanks to you, Young Lord Zion, our merchant guild is thriving like never before. Of course, I can’t say it’s all free, but I can do a lot of it for free.”

“Merchants are supposed to avoid getting things for free and doing things for free. I wonder if the Haines Merchant Guild is going to go bankrupt soon!”

“Then I’ll have no choice but to rejoin the Count Klausen March’s direct merchant guild.”

Saying that, Helen covered her mouth and chuckled.

Just then, her secretary came in with refreshments, and she flinched, quite surprised to see Helen laughing.

‘The guild leader is laughing? And so brightly, out loud?’

She had been assisting her for quite some time.

In all that time, the secretary had never seen Helen smile so brightly.

Especially when she first started working with her, the guild leader was so desolate and cold that she even wondered if she had any emotions at all.

“Put it there and wait outside.”

Even now.

Helen is speaking to her in a voice that has completely lost its smile.

Even that is enough for the guild’s staff to say, ‘Ah, she’s in a good mood.’

When she was in a bad mood, the entire guild building was as cold as if it had frozen over.

“Please, eat. I prepared it because you were coming.”

But when dealing with Zion Klausen, she always has a gentle smile on her face.

The secretary tilted her head at the change, but she was relieved.

It seemed that spring had finally come to her employer, who had seemed to live in a frozen winter until the day she died.

“News is already coming from the south.”

After the secretary left, Helen opened her mouth, watching Zion sip his tea for a moment.

She looked at Zion, who reacted with a ‘Why, what is it?’ with a rather intrigued gaze.

“You held a memorial service.”

“Did I? Ah, it rained a lot that day.”

“They say you left quite an impression on everyone in the south at that time.”

“Looking like a drenched puppy?”

“No. It should be called the quiet sorrow of a war hero who comforted the souls of his comrades who fought together, even in the rain, and accompanied them on their final journey.”

At Helen’s words, Zion covered his mouth and shook his head.

He always had the calculation to create a good image, but hearing it in such cheesy words suddenly made him feel quite repulsed.

“Don’t praise me too much. It’s quite embarrassing.”

“I’m not the one saying that. It’s the people’s stories about ‘Zion Klausen’ that are being told in the south, word for word.”

“···.”

“And as a bonus, they say this saying is also very popular.”

“What saying?”

As Zion asked with a slightly uneasy look, Helen smiled even brighter than before and replied in a voice that seemed to tease Zion slightly.

“‘I’m not sugar or salt.'”

“···I knew it, damn it.”

Hearing Helen’s words, Zion grabbed his head in a gesture of distress and whined.

He even muttered to himself, ‘Why did that spread?’ as if he was dying of embarrassment.

Thanks to that, Helen was able to laugh heartily for the first time in a long time.

That amazing man, not a king or a princess, but right in front of her, was showing such a gap, and for some reason, she couldn’t stop laughing.

She thought she would never laugh in front of anyone again.

No, before that, she thought she could never trust anyone.

She thought she wouldn’t trust anyone, but strangely, when she saw that man’s appearance, her resolve kept wavering.

‘Of course, it should waver. I’m the one shaking it.’

Zion, who was burying his head in embarrassment, muttered to himself.

The women beside them all had ends that were not good.

Zion used everything he had to change their futures, and even more, he kept them by his side.

In the process, he made them feel affection for him and have romantic feelings, transforming them into perfect people that only he could control.

But Helen Haines is different from them.

Long ago, she had been captured by others, brutally violated, and eventually abandoned.

Even her own kind pushed Helen away, calling her a tainted woman.

‘She’s a woman who’s already been hurt and wounded, her heart full of scars. I can’t just push her like the other women and expect her to be on my side.’

She must have a defense mechanism inside her to protect herself and to forget the miserable memories of that time.

And Zion was assuming that the defense mechanism was not showing emotions and distancing herself from people.

Unless he breaks down the wall, he can’t go in and have a sincere conversation, and furthermore, he can’t tell her to stop having nightmares and come out with him.

‘So I have to approach her little by little. And I have to break it down little by little. Without her even noticing.

What would make someone who’s afraid of showing their weaknesses feel most comfortable?

Perhaps it’s when someone who’s as thorough as they are in everything shows a slightly clumsy and comfortable side when they’re in front of them.

So that they can be sure that the other person thinks they can trust them,’ Zion thought.

“You don’t have to be so embarrassed. It just means that your reputation is very high in the south. At the party of Count Ischke to commemorate the victory, the heir, Heman Ischke, even openly toasted to Zion Klausen’s achievements.”

“···I expected that. He was a bit of an unusual guy.”

“He’s not unusual, he just has a good eye for people. The news that you and Heman were hunting pirates together has also made Heman’s reputation soar.”

It’s not like I’m Michael Jordan, and everyone’s soaring thanks to me.

Honestly, that’s true, but hearing it directly from someone else’s mouth made Zion feel a little awkward.

If it keeps going like this, dogs and cows will come running at him, trying to do something.

And of course, they’ll come with their hands full.

‘···Future me. Money is the best, but don’t take too much. You might get indigestion and die. Please, moderately, moderately.’

Zion, having worried about his future self in advance, decided to move on to the main topic.

“Actually, if it weren’t for you and the Haines Merchant Guild branch in the south, Helen, there would have been some setbacks in my work. Paying Gerald and the Ford brothers for their work, gathering other good technicians, and replenishing the materials for the magic scrolls.

I definitely owe you a lot this time, even if not at other times.”

“I’m glad you know. But I told you? I can let it go for free.”

“That’s true, but even if it’s free, there’s a profit, and I feel like I have to pay for it.”

“If you insist, I won’t stop you, but…”

Helen felt a little hurt, as if her kindness had been rejected.

She was about to open her heart a little, but watching Zion distance himself, she was grateful, but also felt a little sad for some reason.

“I’ve been given a job this time.”

“Yes?”

“It’s nothing. It’s just a job to clean up some trash. However, it’s something that a high-ranking person asked me to do, so I have to throw it away properly, so I’m a little worried.”

“···If it’s a high-ranking person, I see. But why are you suddenly telling me this…”

“There are two pieces of trash that I’ve been keeping an eye on. They’ve been living their lives doing disgusting things, and now they’re either going to repent at the last minute, or they’re going to do something strange behind the scenes. They’re the guys who went into the Order of Light.”

At those words, Helen looked slightly surprised.

Even if it wasn’t the Holy Prussen [likely a reference to a powerful religious or political entity], it wouldn’t be good to touch the Order of Light.

Even now, there are more and more followers of the Order of Light who say that the things happening all over the kingdom are the work of demons and their followers, so we must follow the teachings of light and shout for justice and realize peace.

“Young Lord Zion, it may be presumptuous of me to say this, but my opinion is…”

“As a result of a thorough investigation, both of them had a history of working as slave traders in the past.”

The moment she heard the word slave trader, Helen’s expression froze.

Zion, who made even Helen’s bright smile freeze and shatter in an instant, continued indifferently.

“They have separate real names, but the names they used when they were active at the time were ‘Ida’ and ‘Ryu’ respectively. Even the names they use are something I want to kill them for.”

Zion knows.

That the two men were the ones who had captured Helen and sold her into slavery.

That the two men were the ones who threw the elven girl, who might have lived happily without knowing misfortune, into the abyss of a miserable life.

“They did all sorts of things, and then, at the last minute, they repented, or they were worried about something, so they accepted the teachings of light and became followers. But they couldn’t abandon their nature when they were young, and they seem to have done something strange again.

So, I’m thinking of going to find them myself.”

“···.”

Helen’s tightly clenched hand trembled.

The memories of that day turned into anger, fear, hatred, pain, and all other negative emotions, swirling and creating a black pit, and Helen was about to fall into it.

“Helen. Is your revenge over now?”

“Yes?”

“It’s not. You have to catch all the people involved and kill them. So you have to get them to pay for their sins. That’s revenge, and that’s how you can truly escape that nightmare, I think.”

Helen is an elf who even joined hands with radical elves for the sake of revenge.

To avenge the Kashgar family, who had endlessly violated her and eventually abandoned her.

For her sad past, where she became a body that could not dream of anything.

She’s a woman who has been sharpening her sword for a long time.

‘Elves have a lot of venom in them, unlike their appearance. Helen must have been hiding it, but she must have a tremendous hatred for the slave traders who sold her.’

He won’t say things like it’s all in the past, forgive, or forget.

What kind of nonsense is that in front of someone who’s still struggling in hell?

Zion slowly said, as if reaching out his hand.

“Won’t you come with me? I’ll show you. How I smash those guys. How I make them a pulp. So that they can say what they’re saying, crying and begging for forgiveness.”

People tend to chase after those who grant their wishes.

People tend to follow those who judge those with whom they have a grudge.

People unconditionally want to be close to the person who finally took them out of hell.

“Let’s get out, Helen. From that hell. From that past. And let’s get revenge. On the guys who made you like that.”

―――――――Author’s Note―――――――

If the slave trader is just so-so, then Zion is T.O.P [Top of the Pops, meaning the best] ···.