Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 91

91

“Curse you bastards.”

“Kkeueuk.”

“Oh, it seems one didn’t die. Thankfully.”

“I told you to take it easy. Humans really don’t understand ‘moderation’.”

“…What am I supposed to do if they’re too weak and die? Demon.”

“Ohoho. Darling.

Shion is watching, so I’m holding back, but if you keep acting up, I might really tear you limb from limb, you know?”

“Try it. If you can.”

Shivers ran down Shion’s arms at those words.

‘Damn it, I’m scared to death they might actually fight.

Even if I don’t know anything else, Lilith and Kim Yu-hyun are the real deal.

Now, the possibility is almost zero, but there’s always a chance.

If they really fight… don’t even think about stopping them.

Just quietly running away is the best option.

Damn it.’

Anyway, there are plenty of people who can stop them even if it’s not him, and if those people even mention Shion, Lilith will immediately come to her senses and engage in the battle passively.

Kim Yu-hyun’s emotional swings are a bit crazy, but he’s not a clear ‘enemy,’ so his anger cools down quickly, so there’s nothing to worry about.

‘More importantly.’

Shion sat down in front of the guy who Kim Yu-hyun had beaten half to death, unsure if he was an elf or just about to die.

He was tied tightly to a chair, having been unconscious like a dead man until just now, when he finally opened his eyes.

“Hey, buddy. Wake up.”

“Kkeueuk…”

“Hey, buddy? Snap out of it and open your eyes.”

“Eueuk…”

“Hmm.”

Shion glanced at Kim Yu-hyun.

‘If you were going to bring him back alive, you should have at least beaten him up enough so he could talk.’

Kim Yu-hyun seemed to understand that, as he cleared his throat while arguing with Lilith, trying to avoid Shion’s gaze.

‘Hoo. I want to nag, but I’ll hold back, Yu-hyun.’

In fact, Shion didn’t want to say anything because Kim Yu-hyun’s serious face would put a lot of strain on his heart.

In any case, Shion looked back at the male elf.

He seemed to be conscious, but Shion couldn’t tell if he was groaning because of the pain or if he just didn’t want to talk to them.

“Rishi.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Go and get that.”

“That would be…”

“The one the Heiness Merchant Guild gave us before. Just bring one bottle from among them.”

At Shion’s words, Rishikida exclaimed, ‘Ah!’ and nodded before running off somewhere.

Watching him go, Shion refocused on the annoying elf in front of him.

“Hey, benefactor.”

“Shion.”

“Ah, Shion. I’m curious… What exactly is this pointy-ear? Why are the pointy-ears attacking humans? Aren’t these guys the unlucky bastards who don’t even associate with humans?”

Shion couldn’t help but chuckle at Winnie’s rather sarcastic tone.

Everything she said was true, so if this elf was in his right mind, he wouldn’t be able to refute it even if his face turned red.

They look down on humans and call other races inferior.

They bicker among themselves over whether to put jam on their bread or not, yet they act so high and mighty.

They were the trash that had been kidnapped by humans and lived a terrible life, only to be cast out when they barely returned to their village, claiming they had been tainted by humans, and then threatened the Heiness Merchant Guild, saying that their fellow elves were good when they needed them.

‘Come to think of it, Winnie doesn’t know the true nature of these elves yet.

Well, other people only know that there are elves among the unidentified forces targeting the kingdom.

They don’t know what they want or what kind of situation they’re trying to create.’

The fact that the Celestial Race turned out to be the biggest mastermind had not yet been revealed.

Lilith knew from the start that the Celestial Race was not a pure race, and Rishikida would judge anyone who laid a hand on his master, whether they were Celestial or Demon.

But the others were completely mistaken about the Celestial Race.

Lucia, a human, and Winnie, a Myoen [a cat-like humanoid race], had grown up hearing that Demons were bad and that Celestials appeared when the world was darkened by such evils.

‘It’s quite difficult to break the stereotypes that have been ingrained in their minds since childhood.

Even if I tell them, they probably won’t believe me.

It would have been great if Lilith had saved even one of those Celestials, but what can I do?

I’ll just have to get the truth out of these guys.’

There was already solid evidence that the elves, who were supposed to be noble and beautiful, had not only attacked the royal palace but were also luring monsters to attack the territory.

Now, all Shion needed was for them to say, ‘The Celestials are the real bastards!’ and he would be all set.

‘Of course, these guys have no idea what the Celestials are really up to; they’re just running around, trying to create chaos in the world.’

The Celestials burned everything, starting with their powerful rivals, the Demons, then humans, beastmen, dwarves, and finally even the elves who followed them.

Only then did they realize they had been used, but it was already too late.

Shion’s top priority was to shatter the illusions about the Celestial Race by showing when they would invade this world and how vile their followers were.

And in that sense, this radical elf was the perfect prey.

“Winnie. You don’t know, but the elves actually invaded the kingdom’s capital and targeted the royal palace.”

“Nyaoong? Isn’t the royal palace where the human leaders are? Why would the pointy-ears go there?”

“It seems they were trying to cause chaos in the kingdom. It wasn’t just an assassination attempt on the king; they targeted all the nobles and almost succeeded.”

At Shion’s words, Winnie exclaimed in disbelief, “Nyaang!”

Directly threatening the ruler of a faction was tantamount to declaring war.

Even though the other races looked down on humans, they were wary of them because of the power of the vast group that was their nation, and they had touched the top of that nation.

“…Aren’t humans and elves going to start a war?”

“I don’t think so. For now, the kingdom is keeping the fact that elves were involved a secret because of the situation.”

Shion tapped the elf’s head and answered Winnie’s question.

King Edgar IV seemed to have decided that taking down the Kashgar family was the priority, so he kept the part about the elves being involved a secret.

Of course, once the kingdom calmed down, they would immediately make it public and accelerate the process of crushing the elves, who were already a thorn in their side.

“More importantly, hey? You seem to have come to your senses, so why don’t you say something? What is a noble elf doing being captured by lowly humans?”

“…”

“Can’t you answer, or won’t you?”

“…”

“The existence that these dark-hearted guys worship is the Celestial Race. Wow, I wonder if the Celestials have become as corrupted as these guys?”

“Kueuk! W-What are you saying? You lowly human!”

‘Oh, he’s reacting right away.

I thought this guy would pretend to be dead until the end.’

Shion grinned as he looked at the elf, who was glaring at him with a fierce look as if he was about to attack him.

“No, what’s bothering you, noble elf, that you’re pretending to be unconscious or dead? Do you have something to hide?”

“As expected, humans are good at talking.”

As expected of a radical elf.

They were the kind of guys who never saw anyone other than the Celestials and their own kind as rational beings.

They were so hopeless that even other elves were fed up with them and harshly criticized their excessive behavior.

“Alright, you’ve come to your senses. We should get down to business, right? What do you have to say about the fact that elves, who were seen attacking the royal palace, are now pushing all sorts of monsters into human territory and targeting high-ranking knights?”

“I know nothing about that.”

‘Wow, it’s not like we’re holding a hearing, but he’s saying he doesn’t know from the start.’

He had been beaten up by Kim Yu-hyun, and his handsome face was swollen like a pufferfish, but he was still trying to look cool, which was quite…

No, it was just a ridiculously funny sight.

“Kikik!”

Even Winnie next to him was openly laughing at the elf.

“Why are you laughing, stray cat?”

“Ah, it’s because you look so cool, pointy-ear.”

“Ha. As expected, your tongue is as lowly as your body, which always comes first.”

“I don’t think you’re the one to talk. Nyaoong―”

Winnie wags her tail in front of the elf, teasing him and giggling.

But the elf tied to the chair ignored such provocations as if they had no effect on him, and instead turned his gaze to Shion.

“I was just working as a ranger for our elves when I suddenly followed the monsters that were rushing into human territory and came here. I wasn’t trying to attack a human; I shot an arrow at the griffin that was flying towards a human woman.”

“Ah, I see. Should I at least say thank you?”

“I’m just telling the truth, human.”

Shion wondered if the definition of the word ‘truth’ that he knew had changed.

They call themselves a noble, pure, and glorious race that follows the descendants of light.

How can they lie so smoothly without even wetting their lips?

‘This bastard is making me angry from the start.’

It seemed like he had to take the conversation seriously from here on out.

“Winnie, chair.”

“Nyaoong? Ah, uh-huh! Here!”

Winnie quickly brought a chair, and Shion pulled it over and sat in front of the completely bound elf with his legs crossed.

“Shall we start over from the beginning?”

“It’s meaningless.”

“Whether it’s meaningful or not is for me to decide, not you. You just sit there comfortably and answer quietly.”

At Shion’s words, the elf scoffed as if he found it ridiculous.

It was a reaction that he already knew what questions the other person would ask and that his answers were already decided, so why bother?

“Name.”

“I have no name to give to a mere human.”

It was the elf’s answer that properly scratched the other person’s insides from the start.

If it were an ordinary human, they would have immediately become agitated or angry and gritted their teeth.

But who was the man in front of him? It was Shion Klausen, who already had everything in the palm of his hand, looking down on everything and worrying every day about how to make the other person even more angry.

In the society he lived in, he could kill or save someone with just his words.

Therefore, he knew very well how to provoke the other person.

“Is that your name? Wow, it’s so long. ‘I have no name to give to a mere human.’ Then is your father’s name ‘I have no name to give to a lowly human,’ and your mother’s name ‘I have no name to give to a humble human,’ or something like that? Elves are so unique? Ah, should I say they’re unique, or should I say they’re pathetic?”

“…As expected, your thoughts are as lowly as a human.”

“I think it’s not me who’s lowly, but your parents. How could they name their precious child like that and still be able to swallow their food?”

“Shut up.”

Whether rich or poor.

Whether ruler or ruled.

Whether human or not.

If you get a family insult, you’re bound to react.

This was a situation where you couldn’t help but get angry unless the other person was a saint.

“So, ‘I have no name to give to a mere human,’ who has parents who are the most pathetic people in history for naming their child ‘I have no name to give to a mere human’? This humble and lowly human has something to ask you.”

“…Novashi.”

It seemed he couldn’t stand his parents being insulted because of his name.

Novashi ended up revealing his name because of Shion’s antics.

Then Shion openly chuckled and rubbed his hands together as if he was extremely grateful.

“Ah, Mr. Novashi. It’s an honor. You even told this lowly human your name. Shall we move on to the next question then?”

“…”

“If you were trying to help our knight, why did you break your bow and try to leave?”

“I was ashamed of myself for trying to help a human.”

“You broke your bow and tried to run away for that reason?”

“Run away? Refrain from making such rash statements. I was just…”

Thud―.

Novashi glared at the human sitting in front of him with wide eyes when he put his hand on his shoulder.

It meant, ‘Can’t you take this dirty hand away?’ but Shion didn’t seem to care at all.

“Mr. Novashi. I want to have a more sincere conversation. You don’t seem to have any intention of doing that at all. Am I wrong?”

“As I said, I’m only telling the truth. I’m different from you humans, who lie through your teeth.”

“Ah, is that so.”

Shion nodded, checked that Rishikida had just entered, and held out his hand.

Then, he opened the stopper of the bottle, drank the contents, and exclaimed, ‘Kyaak!’ after a while.

“Ah, excuse me. I was a little thirsty from talking. Would you like to drink some too, Mr. Novashi?”

“I don’t need it.”

“Yes, well, I knew you’d say that.”

Shion, who had answered that way, snapped his fingers.

Then Rishikida nodded, went behind Novashi, suddenly grabbed his face, and tilted it back forcefully.

“Keuk!”

“I’ll pour it for you specially. Mr. Novashi.”

“Keu, keukeu! Are you saying you’re going to feed me drugs because you can’t do anything else? Stop it, our elves…”

“I think you’re making a big mistake.”

Shion stepped forward slightly with the bottle in his hand.

“I don’t use such gentlemanly methods. Giving drugs to make you feel good and then getting the information you want. How ambitious. I have no intention of doing that at all.”

“Keok!”

Rishikida tilted Novashi’s head back even more forcefully.

Novashi closed his mouth tightly as if he would never drink it, but what Shion was aiming for was not his throat but another hole.

“I’ll ask you one more time. The reason you tried to run away, and the purpose of coming here.”

“Kueuk! Kkeueuek!”

“Yeah, well. If they were weak enough to answer right away, they wouldn’t have done this.”

Shion muttered in a coldly subdued voice and poured the contents of the bottle straight in.

It was the moment when the unprecedentedly cruel torture of ‘carbonation in the nostrils’ was executed.