Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 322

322―――――

The Eve of the Storm

“Check!”

“Nyaa!

Wh-what!

Why check again!

I’ve blocked it five times, why check again!”

“Hehe, you silly cat.

That’s your limit.”

“That’s cheating, cheating!

I don’t accept it!”

From morning, Ria and Trisha were engrossed in chess.

Sion was initially worried about the relationship between the two—one a cat-woman, the other a black dragon—but as time passed, they became closer than any other women, bickering like childhood friends but getting along well.

The only problem was that whenever they did something together, they both became more and more like children.

“Wh-what are you doing?”

“Just let me take it back!”

“No take-backs! Don’t you know you can’t take back a move once it’s made?”

“I don’t know, nyaaang!”

“This cat, really!”

The two women looked like they were about to pinch each other’s cheeks and bicker.

There were others who sighed as they watched Ria and Trisha.

“…Seriously… Wow, really… A legendary match.”

“Of course, you mean that in a bad way, right, Lucia?”

“Wouldn’t ‘not in a good way’ be more accurate, Lilith?”

For the record, it wasn’t that Trisha was a chess prodigy and had delivered five checks in a row.

It just happened to be pure luck that this situation was created.

Trisha was still confused about which direction the pieces could move.

At that level, almost any opponent could easily beat Trisha.

The problem was that the opponent was Ria, who was just as bad at chess as Trisha, or even worse.

No matter how much Sion explained, the cat-woman couldn’t grasp the concept of waiting for the other person’s turn and defending against attacks.

Thanks to that, Sion, who had been explaining chess all the way back to Clausen, was exhausted and dropped out, and Lucia ended up spending another whole day barely managing to get her to understand the rules.

“Nyaang!

Then I’ll do this!”

“…You can’t move like that, Ria.”

“No, why! This piece can move so many spaces, why can’t this piece move like that!”

“Because that piece can’t do that.”

“Why can’t it move! Who made these rules! Nyaaah!”

“…”

Lilith thought she might die of frustration watching this game.

Although it was a human game, Lilith had played quite a lot of chess because strategy was so important, and she had seen many games.

“I’m going crazy.”

In that sense, the fight between Ria and Trisha was truly unmatched.

“…”

Sion couldn’t bear to watch any more of the game that was an insult to his eyes, so he quietly left the room.

Normally, the women in the room might have grabbed him or followed him, asking where he was going, but now everyone was so engrossed in watching the chess game, which could only be described as a disastrous battle, that Sion was able to take a walk alone for the first time in a while.

‘It’s already been more than ten days since I left the royal castle.’

It had been four days since he arrived at Clausen, which could be called his home, and two days since Lucia and Ria returned from the territory of the beastmen.

By now, Zyan would have safely returned to the north and be reorganizing his tribe.

Thanks to the beastmen, they were able to avoid the great damage that could have been caused by the monsters, and the northern tribes and the northern territories of Hispania were also safe.

Vanessa was focusing on stabilizing Hispania, and she seemed very busy, especially as there were more and more exchanges with the beastmen and fairies, and big and small things were happening in the west.

Immediately, the news Helen sent contained detailed information about the positive and negative encounters between the people of Hispania, the beastmen, and the fairies.

‘They are so different from each other that there can’t be no friction. But in the end, it’s a part that must be gone through and overcome. I can only hope that Vanessa does well.’

If he gets involved more than this, it could be seen as a political challenge to the authority of the royal family.

It would be a huge loss for Sion to have nobles gossiping about him for doing unnecessary things.

In addition, Sion himself was honestly wanting to rest a little, so he wanted to leave the hectic things to others as much as possible.

He had been overworked so far, so he needed time to recharge for a while.

Tak!

As he headed towards the training ground in the castle, he heard the sound of wooden swords clashing.

At first, the sound was heard occasionally, but after a while, the speed gradually increased, and soon it turned into a tremendous continuous strike of ‘Tatatatatak!’

‘Those two never get tired of it.’

His bodyguard, Rishikeeda, and the Lion Knight Commander of Clausen. These two had been sparring like that since the day Sion’s party arrived in Clausen.

In terms of pure swordsmanship, Rishikeeda was a step above, but in terms of practical experience, the Lion Knight Commander was slightly superior.

Both of them were reliable allies, shields, and swords for Sion.

If he had to pick one of the two, Sion would pick Rishikeeda without a second thought.

The practical experience that the Lion Knight Commander had more of could be gained by Rishikeeda as well, and more than anything, Rishikeeda’s absorption of swordsmanship was so fast that Kim Yu-hyun was quite satisfied.

‘And the most important part. The Lion Knight Commander is loyal to Clausen, and Rishikeeda is loyal to me.’

Sion thought so and moved to sit in the garden for a while to get some fresh air.

Then he ran into a woman in front of him, who was so engrossed in thinking about something that she couldn’t even feel the presence of the other person.

“Sirien?”

“…Ah! Lord Sion Clausen.”

“Are you coming back from seeing Novashi again today?”

“Yes. I tried to persuade and threaten him in case there was anything he was hiding, but nothing more came out. It’s a shame.”

Sirien thought there might be something else besides the information Sion had extracted.

Sirien, being a fairy herself, knew that fairies would protect most of what they wanted to keep secret, even under harsh torture.

So she thought he was definitely hiding something more, but there was one thing she didn’t know.

That Kim Yu-hyun possessed the special truth serum from Murim [a fictional world often depicted in martial arts stories], was on this side.

“Well, I’ll have to go back to the forest tomorrow or the day after.”

“That’s too bad. Because you didn’t get anything in particular.”

“A little bit… but I’ve seen a lot of the human world instead. And…”

Sirien suddenly stopped talking and blushed.

Then, she rolled her eyes around and fluttered, as if she didn’t know what to do, and then cleared her throat, trying to erase her emotions, and said she would go first and moved her steps.

“…That’s going to be a pretty tough unrequited love for you.”

In fact, Sion had planned many strategies to connect Sirien and Kim Yu-hyun.

However, because Eos came along, there was almost no time to put Kim Yu-hyun and Sirien together, and even if there was, that time was spent taming Ekaterina, so he couldn’t put Sirien together.

In this case, there was only one way: to turn Kim Yu-hyun’s attention to Sirien and make him enter the path of the harem himself, but Kim Yu-hyun didn’t seem to have any thoughts on that yet.

Eventually, time passed without any results, and Sirien brought up the idea of going back.

Even now, it seems that Sirien still has feelings for Kim Yu-hyun, but the relationship between Eos and Kim Yu-hyun looks so sweet that she can’t approach him first.

In addition, she herself was not sure whether this feeling for the other person was really due to liking him as a member of the opposite sex, or whether it was just a momentary emotion due to curiosity about someone who was unbelievable as a human being.

‘If Sirien goes back in this state, I don’t know when I’ll see her again. Should I just give up? I think this much relationship with the fairies is enough.’

He paused for a moment and calculated whether the relationship between Kim Yu-hyun and Sirien would progress.

First of all, in terms of losses, the relationship between Kim Yu-hyun and Eos could become quite strange.

Currently, Kim Yu-hyun is pretending not to be, but he is completely immersed in Eos and is being dragged around, but at some point, he pulls her back.

If you ruin the relationship between two men and women who are progressing well, troublesome problems will arise in many ways, so if there is a loss from the development of the relationship between Kim Yu-hyun and Sirien, that would be the biggest part.

Then, what if the relationship between Sirien and Kim Yu-hyun develops and they become fond of each other again?

‘Sirien is a woman with a certain reputation in fairy society. The fact that she came to the human world to convey the wishes of the elders shows that she is no ordinary fairy. Moreover, she moves as she pleases and decides when to return to the forest as she pleases, so it’s certain.’

Just as there are nobles in human society, there are slight differences between each other in fairy society.

Among them, Sirien can be seen as the young lady of a noble family with some power, even if she is not at the level of a great noble based on human standards.

She is a woman from a tribe who can make her voice heard in fairy society, she is good at what she does, and more than anything, she doesn’t have any sharp edges in her personality, so she doesn’t make enemies easily.

So far, the fairy society has been reluctant to connect with other races, but if they survive the upcoming great war, they themselves will admit that they cannot live in a closed atmosphere forever and will accept new changes.

And within that, there will be a change in the perception of mixed blood.

‘Ah, this is crazy. What should I do with this? What should I do…’

Even sitting in the garden, Sion was racking his brains over that part.

There’s nothing as sweet as pure love, but wasn’t it said that there are always attractive people next to talented people?

Regardless of whether they are male or female.

He was wondering if there was a good way, and at that moment.

Sion immediately got up from his seat at the man’s voice from behind.

“What are you groaning about again?”

“Ah… Have you come, Father.”

“Is it a woman’s problem? You foolish fellow. Why do you keep so many women by your side and suffer like that?”

‘It was similar, but you were slightly wrong, Father.’ Sion muttered so inwardly, offered a seat to the Lichten Margrave, and then sat opposite him and waited for the next words from the owner of Clausen.

“Sion. Sion Clausen.”

“Yes, Father.”

“Shouldn’t we start preparing soon?”

“Preparing for what…”

“To take over the Margrave territory.”

At those words, he let out a sigh.

He had been so busy racking his brains over many things that he had completely forgotten about the succession of Clausen, which was getting closer.

It had been a while since Sion himself, the successor, had become an adult, and his ability to govern the territory had already been proven more than enough, and his social position had risen to the point where he could be compared to the 3rd Marquis.

In this situation, it was a natural result for the Lichten Margrave to be considering passing on his position.

“It’s been quite a while since you officially became the successor, and you’ve proven several times that there’s no problem for you to become the new owner to everyone in Clausen. Not only the territory residents, but everyone in the kingdom will not raise any objections to the change of the Margrave.”

“Isn’t it too early? You’re still healthy, Father.”

“Rising is slow, but falling is instant. That’s why people in high places are so desperate for a successor. Even if they can’t rise any higher, they have to maintain at least that position. In that sense, I will fall someday, but you won’t. Aren’t you the kingdom’s hero who will continue to rise, and will continue to rise in the future?”

“…”

Sion was silent.

As the Lichten Margrave said, if the successor is judged to be sufficiently prepared, it is definitely not a bad decision to give up the position before a major confusion occurs.

The succession can be completed without any power struggles, there is no reason for those who served the former owner to be dissatisfied and have other plans, and the territory can be operated immediately without a period of vacancy.

The successor can also consolidate his power and make perfect preparations for the future without suddenly having his position taken away by someone at the last minute.

‘It’s not bad. In the first place, the Clausen Margrave territory is mine. It’s not bad, but…’

The problem is that the work is not over yet.

No, far from being over, it hasn’t even started properly yet.

In this situation, if he rashly took the position of Clausen Margrave, it could act as a shackle when the moment came when he had to urgently leave his position due to other matters.

‘More than anything, if I officially become the Margrave, there will be even marriage problems…’

Whatever else, get married late.

Recalling the words of the Great Sage, Sion shook his head.

“I think it’s still too early, Father.”

“Too early?”

“You are still healthy, Father, and more than anything, there are many people who trust, follow, and respect you more than me, at least here in Clausen. To them, you are a greater hero than me.”

“What’s the point of an old man? Young is not always good, but in the current situation, a young man is needed. The old man should step down and just nag from time to time.”

“It’s still early, Father. Someday I will take over the Clausen Margrave territory and make it even more prosperous, but not yet. It’s too early for me.”

“…I’m a little embarrassed that you’re so sure. I thought you had been working hard to prove it to me, but was that not the case? You have already sufficiently proven the achievements and abilities you have made.”

As the Lichten Margrave said, the achievements are sufficient and the talent is overflowing.

But Sion still thought it was premature.

This huge place called Clausen, this splendid name called Margrave.

It was a weapon that gave him powerful authority and at the same time a shackle that made it impossible to move carelessly.

“I told you last time. While this son is out doing all sorts of things, I asked you, Father, to firmly protect this territory as a shield.”

“That’s right. This father is stuck in a place like this and you’re having fun alone.”

“…I hope you can play that role a little longer.”

It was the Lichten Margrave who was embarrassed by Sion’s confident voice.

It was a natural course of events to show such a figure because it was no different from telling his father to suffer a little more for him.

‘You rascal… Don’t you really know that every time you show such a good figure, this father wants to pass on the Margrave position more and more? Hehe!’

He wanted to see his son rise to the position of Margrave and become a figure who would be remembered in the history of the Clausen family, but he said it wasn’t yet, so there was nothing he could do.

In the end, there are no parents who can win against their children, so the Lichten Margrave decided to put aside his intentions for today.

“Then, when are you going to take the position of Margrave?”

Instead, he tries to soothe his disappointment with such a question.

Sion hesitated for a moment and then slowly opened his mouth.

“When my work is all done, I will do so.”

―――――――Afterword―――――――

I’m going to confess to her when this is over…

Eup, eup….