Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 69

69―――――

No choice!

Protagonist deployed!

The inn where Zion and his party are staying isn’t just any ordinary inn; it’s a place for merchants or traveling nobles.

In other words, it was a top-class inn.

Thanks to this, there was hardly any disturbance around, and even if there were shops or restaurants, most of them were dignified places befitting those staying in the finest inn.

‘Lucia was crazy about milk tea, right?

She’s a woman who loves sweet things.’

Zion and Lucia were seated in a café that sold tea, coffee, and some desserts.

Enjoying the late afternoon sun setting in the west, Zion took a sip of his coffee.

He wasn’t as extreme as those who shouted, ‘I’d rather freeze to death than give up iced Americano!’, but he was quite the caffeine enthusiast himself.

‘Damn it, author.

Still, I’m so glad there’s coffee in this novel.’

Zion wondered if he would have survived only drinking water in a world without carbonation and even without coffee.

He sipped his coffee for a while, enjoying the lazy afternoon sun, and just as he was about to exclaim in satisfaction at the long-awaited idleness,

“Um… Zion?

If it’s not too much trouble, can I ask you something?”

“Anything?”

If they kept drinking without talking, they would fall asleep in the sunlight.

When Zion readily agreed, Lucia, with a slightly flushed face, fiddled with her teacup before opening her mouth.

“I want to hear about Zion.”

“About me?”

“Yes.

When I only heard rumors, I really, um… how should I put it…”

“Was a son of a bitch?”

Zion’s sudden self-deprecation.

Thanks to that, Lucia inadvertently ended up answering, ‘Yes.’

“Yes… Ah, no?

Absolutely not!

I didn’t!

I, I!”

“Who’s saying anything?

Even I feel like I was a son of a bitch, you know.”

To be precise, it was the story from when he saw it from outside the novel.

Anyway, Zion Claussen was definitely an irredeemable son of a bitch.

A crazy bastard who didn’t think about his own faults at all and retaliated unconditionally when others looked at him strangely.

He enjoyed hurting and killing people with his cruel blade, but when such a thing happened to him, he was frustrated and resentful, the worst kind of loser.

‘It’s amazing that I came this far after entering this body.

This is truly legendary, damn it…’

Of course, like most villains, his past wasn’t very happy.

The Lichten Margrave [a noble title, ranking below a Duke] was clearly an excellent commander, a reliable soldier, and a great nobleman.

However, in being faithful to his duties, he neglected his duties as a ‘husband’ and ‘father’.

Zion’s mother became rapidly weakened after giving birth to him and passed away when he was five years old.

Only five years old, a young and vulnerable boy who lost his mother at that young age.

It was a time when he needed a lot of attention and love, but his father was so busy with the ongoing war with Nudia that 24 hours a day wasn’t enough.

He had a lot, but he didn’t have anything in his childhood.

Zion Claussen gradually became twisted and eventually crossed the point of no return.

‘…Bullshit.

That doesn’t mean the things this body did can be covered up.’

Everyone goes through unhappy times.

The important thing is how you overcome it.

Lucia, sitting right in front of him, also lost her mother when she was young, didn’t she?

But she didn’t become twisted; instead, she became someone who could empathize with others’ pain and take care of them.

Even Kim Yu-hyun, whose heart was an iron fortress, eventually fell for her.

‘And Zion brutally ruined that Lucia and eventually killed her.’

But that Lucia, that woman who ended her pitiful life because of the original owner of this body.

Now she was being cute, complaining that she liked him and wanted him to love her.

And all of that was something Zion Claussen had accomplished, but it was also something Zion Claussen hadn’t accomplished.

To be exact, it should be seen as something the reader, who had taken over Zion Claussen’s body, had done.

“There wasn’t much.

Just a father who was too caught up in his duty to protect the country, and a mother who passed away too early.

And the story of a loner who naturally had to endure alone between them.”

“…Mother.

My mother also passed away when I was young.”

“Lord Rido said that.

In that sense, I’m glad.”

“About what?”

“That Lucia resembles your deceased mother, not Lord Rido.”

Lucia seemed to realize that Zion had made a joke to break the suddenly heavy atmosphere, and she smiled brightly and sipped her milk tea.

“Anyway, my story isn’t really anything special.

Just growing up as a loner, not even being able to handle mana [magical energy], so my body was full of weaknesses.

Plus, a new stepmother and younger sibling suddenly appeared.

I was confused, scared, and worried.

About myself and everything around me.”

“…”

“After that, I just decided to hide myself.

Until I was ready.

Until I was sure that I could endure alone, even if no one in the world was on my side.”

“So, even when strange rumors spread, you didn’t respond, but rather acted similarly…”

Of course, that never happened, but Zion put on a heavy expression and nodded.

He forced a smile as if he became depressed when he thought about that time, muttering that he was okay.

“Then, I heard that Nudia’s attack was imminent, and I became more determined to prepare.

In the meantime, I happened to meet you, Lucia.”

“Ah, I was so surprised at that time.”

“I get chills every time I think about that time too.

I should say it’s a miracle that Lord Rido kept me alive like this.

Anyway, starting from when I met you, Lucia, I decided to step forward.

Yes.

Right after meeting you.”

Zion deliberately put emphasis on the parts ‘you’ and ‘Lucia’.

Because of that, Lucia’s face was more flushed than the afternoon sun.

What woman wouldn’t fall for a man who openly said that she was so precious to him!

“D-Don’t keep emphasizing it.

I still get nervous and… a little like that when I think about that time.”

“I’m sorry, Lucia.

For making you go through such a rough time back then.

The knight has been punished, and I keep apologizing like this, so I hope you can at least understand, if not forgive me.”

“Yes?

No.

I, I’m not talking about that…”

I’m talking about you looking at me with such a worried face.

In the end, those words didn’t come out of Lucia’s mouth.

‘It’s embarrassing!

Uwaaaah!’

That was the reason.

‘Squeak!’

As if she was going to melt all her embarrassment into the milk tea and drink it, Lucia hastily gulped down the tea that she had been savoring little by little.

Zion, who had been watching her quietly, suddenly widened his eyes slightly as if he had discovered something and stood up from his seat.

“Zion?”

“Just a moment, Lucia.

You have some tea on your lips.”

Lucia thought that the man in front of her was about to wipe the tea off her lips.

Fiddling with her fingers, she waited for him to come closer.

But what Zion was thinking was one step further than that.

No, several steps above that.

‘…Lord Rido isn’t going to pop out of nowhere, is he?’

In fact, he had been thinking about advancing his relationship with Lucia a little further for a while.

But he was very concerned about Lord Rido, who was standing firmly behind Lucia.

He was quite afraid of hearing the crazy wizard with the daughter-obsessed attribute shout, ‘How dare you touch my daughter!

In the name of a daughter-obsessed father, I will not forgive you!

I’ll cut you in half!’

‘But I can’t just sit back and relax any longer.

Whether it’s a man or a woman, if the person you like doesn’t pay attention to you, they’ll eventually leave!

You have to manage it when you need to!’

Is it okay to do it?

It’s okay, right?

Damn it, do I really have to do it?

Can’t I not do it?

I’m so embarrassed?

All sorts of thoughts ran through his head, but his body was already moving on its own before his brain could make a decision.

He reached out and slowly grabbed Lucia’s chin, gently lifting it up.

Leaning his body forward, he looked her straight in the eye and pondered one last time.

‘Hey, is this really the best thing to do?

Are you sure?’

Yeah, damn it.

There’s no other way.

Are you going to back out now?

If you do, you can’t say anything even if you get slapped.

It’s best to just eat it when they tell you to eat it, you idiot!

‘Oh well, I don’t care!’

As soon as his brain made a decision and gave the order, his body, which had been waiting, immediately went to work.

Zion’s breath reached Lucia, who was blankly holding her chin and tilting her head forward, and his warm lips approached the woman in an instant.

“Eung?”

A sudden kiss from the man.

It wasn’t just a brief touch of the lips, but he was even using his tongue as if he was going to taste the woman’s lips and the sweetness of the milk tea on them.

Lucia struggled a little in the face of the unprecedented situation, but Zion didn’t let go of her chin.

Rather, he parted Lucia’s lips with his tongue as if telling her to adapt to this side.

“Heeeuuu!”

Lucia didn’t know what to do, as if asking why he was doing this.

But that didn’t mean she pushed Zion away or stepped back.

She was just cutely protesting, wondering what she should do.

When Zion’s lips finally parted, only the man’s territory, which he had left behind, remained on Lucia’s lips instead of milk tea.

Is Lord Rido nearby?

There’s no crazy person running at me with mana [magical energy] in both hands, right?

After checking several times, Zion was convinced that there was nothing wrong with his safety and smiled as he opened his mouth.

“It’s a little cleaner now.”

“Aeuuu?”

“The milk tea is very sweet.

Isn’t it, Lucia?”

“T-That, that’s…”

Lucia suddenly turned red as she spoke.

She didn’t know what to do, flapping her arms and fiddling with her lips, then exclaiming ‘Uwaaa!’ again, and then covering her head and groaning with a flushed face.

Her appearance was so cute that Zion laughed out loud, and Lucia, who finally came to her senses, opened her mouth with a tearful face.

“Y-You’re too much.”

“What?

Ah, if you felt bad…”

“T-This is cheating.

You should have given me time to think about how to react…

What is this, I feel like I’m the only fool…”

“So, did you not like it?”

At Zion’s fastball [direct question], Lucia groaned and slowly shook her head with a flushed face.

She was terribly embarrassed, but she was also terribly happy.

“Then that’s a relief.”

“I-It was my first kiss!

It was my first kiss!”

“I’m glad it was me, right?”

Another fastball followed.

Lucia pondered again how to answer, but decided to answer honestly.

“…Y-Yes…”

She was still a pure woman.

Just like the heroine he saw in the novel, who tried to stay by Kim Yu-hyun’s side until the end.

‘I suddenly feel ‘a little’ sorry for Kim Yu-hyun.’

It seemed like he really had to find a good woman and set him up with her.

That way, he wouldn’t have to worry about his glass mental [fragile mental state] and, above all, he could reduce the burden on his mind even a little when he used him.

‘Ah, now that I think about it, it’s about time Kim Yu-hyun stormed into the slave market, right?’

The time for aiming the drop [waiting for the right moment] has ended, so it’s time for a reaction.

Should I wait a little longer?

Zion muttered and looked at Lucia.

“W-Why?”

“I’m just looking.

Is there a man who wouldn’t look at a beautiful woman in front of him?”

“D-Don’t say things like that!

It’s weird!”

“I’m saying it because it’s Lucia.”

Should this concept be called ‘a man who is soft, gentle, and a little cheesy and sweet like soft ice cream and whipped cream on top of coffee to my woman’?

Honestly, he didn’t know if the acting was working well, but one thing was certain.

Today, this face did its job.

“First of all…”

KWAHHHHHHHHH!―.

At that moment, the small hippo that Zion launched.

No, the small Yu-hyun finally exploded.

With a tremendous roar, the atmosphere vibrated, and the viscount’s castle in the distance began to shake like crazy as if there was an earthquake.

“W-What’s going on?

S-Surely enemies are targeting Zion again?”

Of course, Lucia, who didn’t know the situation, was flustered and immediately prepared for battle.

Zion gestured to Lucia to reassure her and opened his mouth.

“It seems like someone is quite angry.”

“Yes?

What does that mean…”

“You’ll see when you see it.”

To Lucia, Kim Yu-hyun would only have seemed like her father’s disciple and a fairly skilled swordsman.

In fact, Kim Yu-hyun was also a man who was just as crazy as the villain Zion Claussen.

The only fortunate thing was that, unlike Zion, he knew how to control himself, and above all, his heart wasn’t evil or cruel, so he was a guy who couldn’t remain a villain until the end.

‘But he might be able to split Viscount Conean’s head in half.’

Kim Yu-hyun, who extremely hates slaves, considered Viscount Conean as the number one target for honorable purge [righteous elimination].

Hoping that he would at least stay alive, Zion decided to slowly go to the viscount’s castle.

Ah, why do I want him to stay alive?

‘Because I can squeeze more money out of him if he’s alive.’

…Really, he was worse than Satan.

―――――――Author’s Notes―――――――

Chu Chu Chu Cheon