Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 60

60―――――

The villain isn’t just a bad guy; they’re the smart ones.

“More importantly, where exactly are we?”

Sion was only now asking the most crucial question.

Most people, upon waking up after losing consciousness, would immediately ask, ‘Where am I?’

Lilith, finding Sion’s reaction quite amusing, giggled and opened her mouth.

“You’re asking that now?

You idiot!

You’re just asking that now?”

“…Let’s just say I was mentally preoccupied with the Celestial race. Anyway, where are we?”

“Well, you know the carriage was completely wrecked, right? I managed to offset their attacks in the nick of time, so no one suffered major injuries, but everyone was pretty shaken up. So, we came to the nearest town. From what the locals are saying, it’s some baron’s land or something.”

“Ahem, ahem. They definitely said it was the Konean barony.”

Rishikida, having finally stopped crying and seemingly regained her senses, spoke, her face flushed.

Of course, she was still holding Sion’s hand tightly in both of hers, looking like she was going crazy with worry that he might get hurt again, but she wasn’t clinging to him and sobbing like before.

More importantly, the Konean barony.

In terms of distance, it was clearly located right in the middle of the royal capital and Count Clausen’s territory, a rather ambiguous location.

‘Wait a minute.

Hold on.

Come to think of it, isn’t the Konean barony the family that Kim Yu-hyun later turns upside down and shakes every last speck of dust out of?’

To be precise, it would be more accurate to say he didn’t just shake the dust out; he crushed them into dust.

The Konean barony was quite far from the royal capital, and there were no major noble families nearby.

Therefore, despite being a baronial family, they lived quite comfortably, or so it was written in the novel.

On the surface, it seemed like they were just living leisurely without worrying about what others thought.

Of course, in typical cliché fashion, there was a reason why the baronial family was living so comfortably.

“Lilith, did anyone from the barony come to see us?”

“They came in a state of utter shock.

It seems they were afraid that the blame would fall on them since such a thing happened near their territory.”

“Indeed, that was the prevailing atmosphere. Even with the royal capital under attack and the whole country in turmoil, the fact that a war hero like you, Master, was attacked will make things incredibly serious.”

“Hmm.”

Of course, the fact that the heir of a great noble family was attacked while passing through their territory was definitely not a pleasant matter for the lord of that territory.

If they were openly suspected, they would have to put on a big show of protesting their innocence to be believed.

‘Of course, the barony would never do such a thing.’

Of course not.

They were the kind of people who wanted to live as quietly as possible, keeping their mouths shut.

If the surroundings became noisy, and if the great noble families and the royal investigation teams were to enter their territory, it would become quite a headache.

‘There are a total of three places where the kingdom secretly operates slave markets.

One of them is right here.’

Deep within Hispania, and in a relatively small territory like a barony, contrary to the expectation that things would be ordinary, unexpected things often happened not in earldoms or marquisates, but in baronies or baronetcies [smaller noble territories].

Why?

Isn’t it obvious?

The high-ranking officials who want to possess and exploit those beautiful demi-human slaves can’t do such things in their own lands because they’d be too anxious about getting caught, and those below them are desperate to catch the eye of the powerful and wealthy.

That’s how the slave market came to be in this barony.

The slave market must be eradicated.

That was Sion’s ultimate conclusion.

Because of it, even after the demi-humans allied with humans, they couldn’t truly trust them.

Even if all the slave markets were eradicated, it would be hard to believe easily.

If asked whether he would destroy the place right now, he would shake his head.

‘It’s not just about taking down the sales outlets; you have to secure all the customers and wipe them out completely for a clean sweep.

If you try to catch them vaguely, there’s a high chance they’ll just cut off their tails and hide [escape without punishment].’

In the novel, the families directly mentioned in connection with demi-human slaves were Kashgar and this Konean.

Other than that, it was only written that a few other nobles were involved.

The reason why the kingdom couldn’t track down all the people involved in operating the slave market, even after they caught them, and vaguely glossed over it, was mostly Kim Yu-hyun’s fault.

When Kim Yu-hyun, who had quelled the northern rebellion, stopped by the Konean barony on his way back to Raido, the baron offered him a demi-human slave, hoping to win the rising swordsman’s favor and also to exploit his weakness.

He thought that as a young man, he would naturally be weak to the charms of a woman.

‘Crazy bastard.

He told me not to get angry while smiling and holding flowers in my hand [a sarcastic remark about someone’s infuriating actions].’

Upon seeing that, Kim Yu-hyun laughed and completely overturned the barony.

Was it because of a sense of justice or pity for the woman?

Absolutely not.

Kim Yu-hyun simply remembered his experience of being captured by slave traders and going through all sorts of hardships when he fell into the Murim world [a world of martial arts and cultivation, often found in Asian fantasy novels].

And the fact that a woman he once loved was captured by a member of the Demonic Sect, enslaved, and brutally murdered.

‘Anyway, thanks to Kim Yu-hyun’s antics, the entire kingdom found out.

That a slave market was openly operating within a noble’s territory.’

If he were Kim Yu-hyun, he would have immediately secured the list of customers who came to the market.

He would have exploited their weaknesses and squeezed them for confessions, or threatened them to extort money.

But Kim Yu-hyun just lost it and destroyed everything related to the slave market.

Thanks to that, the royal family ended up with the worst possible outcome, without obtaining even a shred of evidence.

‘Thanks to that, the suspicious guys cut off their tails and shut their mouths [destroyed evidence and silenced themselves].

The Konean baron took all the blame, was imprisoned, and then quietly disappeared.’

Later, when the Celestials began to appear in earnest and the continent was literally engulfed in the flames of war and turned to ashes, the locations of the other two slave markets were revealed.

Even that wasn’t found by the human side, but was the result of the slaves, who had been waiting for the news of the alliance between humans and demi-humans, rising up at the cost of more than half of their lives.

‘After that, this liberation of the slave market plays an important role in Kim Yu-hyun gaining the favor of the demi-humans.

But since I’m not Kim Yu-hyun, that’s not particularly important to me.

The most important thing for me is this.

If I properly exploit the baron’s weaknesses and shake him down, money will fall out on its own.’

In order to prepare for the upcoming era of war, money, unconditional money, is needed.

But since he couldn’t recklessly use the Clausen County’s assets, he needed personal assets.

And the only sure way to obtain those personal assets stably and in large quantities was through bribes or tributes.

And in very large quantities.

“Lilith.”

“Yes?”

“It wouldn’t be difficult for you to cloud the mind of a human with nothing particularly special about them, would it?”

“A little? Actually, I used some power to stroke those Celestials earlier.”

“In any case, you’re saying it’s possible?”

When Lilith nodded, Sion rubbed his hands together as if he was looking forward to it.

He woke up after only two hours and started spouting stories that would embarrass a succubus, then suddenly smiled evilly and reacted as if he was really looking forward to it.

Lilith was utterly confused as to which side of him was the real one.

Sion reassured Rishi, who said he needed to rest a little more, and left the room.

For the record, he was not in the baron’s castle but in the finest inn in the city.

Shouldn’t it be normal for someone like me, an important guest, to be invited to their castle and for them to say, ‘Oh, a distinguished guest has come to such a humble place!’?

That was Sion’s thought.

Of course, for the Konean baron, who had a lot to hide, it would be quite uncomfortable to bring a noble he was meeting for the first time into his castle.

Sion didn’t like that part at all.

‘This bastard.

Still, if a precious person like me came, shouldn’t you have invited me to your castle and said, “We will take care of you with all our heart until you wake up!”?

I was going to leave it to Kim Yu-hyun and stay here casually if you guys acted confidently without being scared, but this is unacceptable.

Guilty of disrespect, sentence confirmed.

Bang, bang!’

If you’re going to do bad things and worry about what others think and be afraid, that’s just being stupid.

If you’ve decided to do bad things, you should do it with your chest out and be confident.

Of course, the prerequisite is ‘not getting caught.’

“Is the Konean baron inside?”

“C, Count Sion Clausen of Clausen! Are you awake?”

The butler, who had roughly sensed that his master was doing something strange, greeted Sion, who had barged into the castle, in a flustered manner.

Sion clicked his tongue inwardly and asked to be guided to the Konean baron.

Watching the old man hurrying up the stairs after leaving the words to wait a moment.

“…Suspicious, isn’t he?”

“Very suspicious.”

“What a strange butler.”

“Very strange.”

Lilith and Rishikida each uttered a word.

No, if you’re going to run an illegal slave market, shouldn’t you at least have some guts? What were they thinking, doing such a terrifying thing while being so scared?

‘Well.

Since he’s so clueless, he looked down on Kim Yu-hyun like a child and showed him a demi-human slave, and then got everything plucked out [suffered severe consequences].’

Kim Yu-hyun didn’t particularly enjoy ‘killing’ people.

So, he broke the arms or legs of all the knights of the barony who stood in his way and buried them in the ground like radishes, and plucked all the hair from the butler’s body.

And he told the Konean baron that he would never let him speak his dirty mouth again, pulled out all his teeth, and stepped on his crotch to make it impossible for him to function as a man anymore.

‘…Damn, thinking about it like this, maybe killing him would have been better.’

How could a protagonist be outwardly strong and inwardly soft, with a mental state that looks like vibranium but feels like rubber clay when you touch it, and yet be unwilling to kill but not hesitate to half-destroy people’s bodies?

‘The author must have been out of their mind.’

Yeah.

They must not be normal.

That’s why they put me in this novel, not as the protagonist or another powerful villain, but as Sion Clausen!

Of course, looking at this body alone, it’s more than average except for being a mana cripple, so I’ve been using it well.

“Count Sion Clausen!

You’re awake!”

Yeah, yeah.

I’m awake.

So, do you have a lot of money?

“Allow me to introduce myself for the first time, Baron Konean.”

“Ah, yes.

I am pleased to meet you too, Count Sion Clausen.

More importantly, are you feeling alright?

I heard you experienced an unsavory incident that is hard to describe in words nearby.”

“Fortunately, I wasn’t seriously injured.

Just a slight headache.”

“T, that’s a relief!

Hahaha!”

Hey, you said you’re innocent.

But if you let out such a strange laugh like ‘Haha! Hahaha!’, wouldn’t everyone shout ‘You’re the culprit! Gotcha, you rascal!’?

I guess you really need a smart guy to do bad things properly.

“W, well, we have dispatched knights and soldiers to investigate the surrounding area.

To see if there are any suspiciously dressed individuals or unidentified people still lurking nearby.”

“That’s good news to hear.”

The culprits were already all eaten up by the Succubus Queen standing next to Sion.

The Konean baron, who had no way of knowing that, was just expressing his innocence with his body, saying, ‘I’m not the culprit.

I’m definitely not the culprit.’

‘Don’t worry.

I never intended to frame you as the culprit in the first place.’

It’s definitely a huge incident that a war hero, the eldest son of the Clausen County, was the target of an assassination attempt.

But that doesn’t mean I can arbitrarily push the blame on the Konean baron.

In any case, he is a noble who has officially received a title from the royal family.

“I don’t suspect the Konean baron.

Why would a noble of the kingdom try to harm me?

It’s not like I’ve done anything ‘bad’.”

“T, that’s right!”

“Nor have I done anything to ‘earn anyone’s resentment’.”

“Ahaha!”

It was an excellent choice of words with appropriate emphasis.

Thinking that this was enough to explain it roughly, Sion slowly got to the main point.

“Baron Konean.

You’ve probably heard some rumors about me, right?

Like a young master hiding behind the family’s reputation, or a debauched playboy and drunkard.”

“You are a war hero, Count, who would say such things…”

“In any case, weren’t those rumors openly circulating until recently?

So, what kind of person do you think I am, Baron?

A young master?

Or a playboy?”

“As I said, you are a war hero who has brought glory to the kingdom…”

“Then that’s a relief.

But, hmm… but you see.”

Deliberately lowering his voice, Sion slowly placed his hand on Baron Konean’s shoulder.

Sion may be the son of the County, but it was an impolite act that he should not do to a baron of the kingdom.

But Baron Konean could not express any displeasure.

Because Sion’s next words carried a very cold aura.

“I don’t know about the others, but I will say with my own mouth that one of them is true.

I’m a man, so I can’t help but like women.

Do you understand what I mean, Baron Konean?”

“O, of course.

Count Sion.”

“Yes, yes, good.

So, what I’m saying is…”

Sion continued in a whispering voice, as if worried that someone else might hear.

“I’m really curious about what the skin of a demi-human woman would feel like.”

―――――――Author’s Notes―――――――

I’m currently posting pre-written chapters.

I had another stomach cramp and was hospitalized on Monday morning.

I never knew not having a strong stomach would be so sad.

But I want to eat chicken…

Waaah…

Can I eat it when I get discharged…?

I wonder if I can’t…