Regressor Instruction Manual

“Whoo…”

“Is something wrong, Mr. Elias?” a lizardman asked.

“It’s… nothing,” I[1] replied.

“You look like you have a lot on your mind… Let me… pour you a drink,” he offered.

“Thank you,” I said.

A lizardman clad in a suit served me a drink, and then he proceeded to clean the wine glasses displayed on the wall. A desert lizardman as a master of a bar wasn't a typical sight to see, but he was definitely qualified for it with how skilled he was at it.

‘I have too many thoughts…’

I had too many useless thoughts. Normally, I wouldn’t think much about it and would simply look at the various scenery. Perhaps it was because I had just realized that my worldview had been too narrow so far. It was to the point that I couldn't deny it if someone were to call me self-centered.

I'd often hear that from Elena. She'd often say, “You’re too narrow-minded when you look at the world. You need to be more open-minded. You need to look at the bigger picture when doing politics. Everia isn’t an island, and there needs to be change in the Union of Others.”

I was a pretty conservative man, and I'd always been looking at the world with a narrow mind. I thought that was the right thing to do. I was convinced that Elena had to inherit the kingdom, as she was a High Elf, and I couldn't understand why she had decided to join a group of humans.

Actually, I never really allowed her to step foot into a city full of humans. When the World Tree was under threat, I had no trust in outsiders, and I hadn't been able to accept the major revolutions occurring all over the continent.

Of course, due to both external and internal pressure as well as Elena’s persuasion, I agreed to open our doors to the other races. If I were the leader of the Union, however, the Union of Others wouldn't be able to adapt to the new continent.

The door of the Elf Kingdom would remain shut tight, and I wouldn’t be able to witness the members of other races wandering the Free City of Lindel. I wouldn't be able to uncover the dark side of the slave industry, and I wouldn’t be able to the slaves.

This place was the same…

The Union of Others wouldn’t be able to give shelter like this to the other races, as they would have had no way to find support. Laves was a city, but it was a work of art as well. The stabilization of the Laves Desert and the huge oasis was a blessing to its denizens.

“All I can say is thank you… Mr. Elias,” the bartender said.

“What?”

“I’m talking about this city. You're the representative of the Union of Others, so if it hadn't been for your decision, this city wouldn’t have been built. This place is like a blessing to us…” answered the bartender.

“I… didn’t do anything,” I mumbled.

“Of course you did. Haha. I know how hard you and Miss Elena are working for beings like us. The same goes for the agreement with the Democratic Country…” replied the bartender.

“I’m not the one who made that decision, Master,” I told him.

“...”

“It’s true that we signed a treaty… but I was actually against it. Thinking about it now, it was a really stupid decision. I couldn’t trust humans. They’re selfish, and they think that they’re better than the other races.

"I've always thought of them that way. I didn’t think… that they could change, but I've just realized that I was wrong,” I said.

“What do you think about them now?” asked the bartender.

“I've learned that there are a variety of humans out there. I also realized… that there are more noble souls among them than among us,” I answered.

No other words were needed, and this question actually made me laugh. I had always been a conservative man whose guard was always up around humans, but I ended up loving a human.

‘Jo Hye-Jin.’

She was a strong, upright, and a kindhearted woman with a noble soul.

Her soul had an unbreakable belief, just like the World Tree.

She was the reason why my opinion of humans had ended up changing.

At first, I just thought that humans like her truly existed, but her outlook on the world and how she treated the people around her ended up moving my heart.

Jo Hye-Jin captured my heart.

She took a big part of my heart, and I couldn’t do anything about it.

It felt like my heart was going to burst at the mere thought of her.

She had taken a big piece of my heart, and I could not… imagine a day without thinking about her. She was the reason I started looking at humans in a different light.

“You’re right, Mr. Elias. We’re the same… but I believe humans have more variety when it comes to character. The desert elves and us lizardmen would grit our teeth at the thought of humans, but we started questioning whether the humans written in history and the humans now are the same race,” said the bartender.

“...”

“That’s why… I developed a habit of looking after them recently. This habit was actually developed when I was working in the Republic. I think it’s gotten worse… lately,” the bartender added.

“So you’re from the Republic,” I remarked.

“That’s right. It’s pretty rare for a Lizardman. Many feel more uncomfortable around Lizardmen than elves. I operated a small bar in the back alley and saw many interesting people. Since then… it’s become a hobby of mine to observe humans,” explained the bartender.

“...” I nodded because I had the same habit.

It wasn’t exactly the best habit to have, but beings of other races would probably develop it eventually. They'd either observe the humans around them, afraid that the humans would harm them, or develop a habit of judging whether the humans before them were trustworthy or not.

Of course, that was probably not what the lizardman meant.

He was probably just saying that he enjoyed observing humans.

Just as I expected, the Master was looking around while cleaning wine glasses. When I looked around without realizing it, I saw the members of the Red Mercenary Guild drinking in the corner of the room.

‘They’re pure-hearted people.’

“This is fun.”

“We need to have music on a good day like this!”

“Have I told you this? During the Laves Desert expedition…”

“Can you bring us more drinks, Master?”

‘They’re really pure-hearted people.’

They were people who yearned for strength, and they loved to fight and have fun. They could easily walk the wrong path if they weren't careful, but they weren't the type to enjoy bloodshed. They were people who purely enjoyed fighting, like the green-skinned lizardmen.

I saw a young woman drinking quietly nearby.

“Master, one more drink for me. The alcohol tastes bitter today,” the young woman ordered.

‘Kim Ye-Ri of the Blue Guild?’

“This is what life must be like,” the young woman mumbled.

‘...’

“Whoo… keep the change, Master. It’s your tip,” Kim Ye-Ri said.

“We don’t accept—”

“Just take it. It’s a thank you for serving me good alcohol, hehe.” Kim Ye-Ri insisted.

I'd sometimes see someone with a cruel soul, but more often than not, their soul was cruel not because it was cruel in nature. An example of that was Kim Ye-Ri. She had a cruel soul because her soul was in a lot of pain, but I could see that pain being washed away along with that cruelty.

I could tell that she had a bright and pure-natured soul.

Kim Ye-Ri stood up and exited.

Soon, I heard a loud voice.

“I’m Dialuria. You don’t know who my dad is? Max, says something,” Dialuria said.

“O-Only adults can come in here, noona,” Max stuttered.

“Noonim, let’s hurry and turn back. If Father or Mother finds out that we were—”

“Cheru, how dare you interrupt your older sister… I’m not trying to drink alcohol. I just want to take a look. I can smell… Dad in here… Don’t you guys want to see Dad? He’s here,” Dialuria interrupted Cheru.

“I’m sorry, but… this place is…”

I saw children.

‘Miss Dialuria?’

And…

‘Max and the baby angels.’

The staff was having a hard time dealing with the children lined up at the entrance. Of course, they were eventually forced to leave.

“Miss Dialuria!”

They were forced to leave by a familiar figure.

“Miss Dialugia is looking for you. You have to hurry back. Max, Cheru, Thro, Domi, and Sera. You guys need to go back as well. You’re not supposed to be here! Stop being so rude!” Elena shouted.

“Tch…”

“Hurry!” Elena yelled.

“Run, guys! Let’s split up and meet there later!” Dialuria instructed.

“But unni! Miss Elena is!” Domi shouted.

“Noonim!” Cheru yelled.

“Run! This is an order! Run! It’s an order!” Dialuria shouted.

The children split up and ran away.

The figure that was left alone in the empty space had a face I would often see when I was young.

“Elena?” I said.

“Elias?” Elena muttered.

“...”

“What brings you—”

Just as I was about to greet her…

“Ah…”

A radiant light pervaded her figure, and an enormous amount of holy power instantly engulfed her. The color of her hair and eyes changed, and she hovered in mid-air. The next moment, bright dots manifested and spun around her, seemingly mimicking a cluster of stars.

‘Elena?’

I knew exactly what was happening, so I wasn't surprised at all.

‘Elune… Elune is…’

I knelt down and prepared myself to greet Elune.

Elune took quiet and sacred steps toward me using Elena’s fleshly body, and he spoke with a quiet, warm, and compassionate voice.

[My son.]

“O Elune…” I said.

[My son…]

“...”

[Your other half will appear.]

“What?”

[Your destined partner will appear. Your partner, whom you will love forever and never forget, will appear.]

“...”

[Your destined partner will appear before you. Cherish and love that child. Cherish her because she will bring peace and love to the continent. Live for that child because she’ll teach you true love.

[If you don’t… If you don’t… destruction will come to the continent…]

“Elune…” I mumbled.

[Destruction… will come… to the continent… True destruction… will come… to the continent.]

The light disappeared. Elena fell to the ground, and I caught her in midair.

I looked around without realizing it and…

“Oh no, are you okay?”

And I saw a woman with a captivating smile...

“D-Do you need help? Poor thing…”

“...”

“Ah… I’m Lee Ki-Yeon. Nice to meet you, Mr. Elias,” Lee Ki-Yeon greeted.

“How do you know…”

“Is there anyone on the continent who doesn’t know you, Mr. Elias? Anyway… we should look for a place for Miss Elena to rest,” Lee Ki-Yeon suggested.

She had a soul so beautiful and deadly that my heart nearly stopped at the sight of it.

“Haa… What are you doing? Can… you please help me… move Miss Elena?” Lee Ki-Yeon asked.

“...”

She had an extremely beautiful and pure-hearted… yet deadly soul.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

1. Elias’ POV ☜

Hikari's Thoughts

TLN: The return of Lee Ki-Yeon! Dun dun dun!