Absolute Regression

Chapter 698: Why Did You Think I Suggested the Wager?

‘The person she trusts the most is someone I know?’

If the one among the hidden forces included someone already dead, it was impossible to tell who it might be.

But it didn’t seem like she would have answered that the one she trusted the most was someone dead.

If it were someone alive?

Naturally, one person came to mind.

The Sword King, Ak Gunhak.

Among the people who could be the owner of her answer, he was the only one still alive.

The last moment when he had parted ways with Ak Gunhak came to mind.

His back as he walked away, hair tightly tied back, an iron sword and shoes hanging from his waist.

The way he had walked barefoot, then turned from afar to look back at him.

―My name is Ak Gunhak.

Even the memory of him shouting, and smiling brightly at him with eyes that looked lonely. The fact that this scene always came to mind must have meant that he wanted to see him.

‘The one you trust the most is Ak Gunhak?’

With this answer, Geom Mugeuk was able to know.

She was speaking to him.

That what he knew about her, she also knew about him.

Until now, whether she had knew of him or not, she had never shown it outwardly.

The reaction of the Secret Box was no coincidence. She was throwing down a challenge.

Stop me if you can.

Geom Mugeuk looked at Cha Iran. She was pounding the table and shouting as if she was a martial artist standing before an enemy.

“Come on then! I’ll take any question!”

At that, Lee Ahn stepped forward.

“I’ll ask the next question.”

Since they had decided to drink before questioning, all four emptied their cups.

“I’ll ask Miss Cha.”

Lee Ahn had been displeased with Cha Iran’s first question about Geom Mugeuk’s feelings toward her. How could she ask whether he liked her, and not even in private, but in front of everyone involved?

It had made her feel as if Cha Iran was treating her relationship with Geom Mugeuk, those emotions, like a joke.

But Lee Ahn didn’t react emotionally. Precisely because she treasured the relationship so much, it made her overreact, but even that was probably the result Cha Iran wanted.

Lee Ahn smiled and asked calmly.

“I want to ask about the person you said you trusted the most. Does that person know of your trust?”

Cha Iran’s expression stiffened slightly.

“Why are you asking about him?”

It was because of Geom Mugeuk. If he was someone even Geom Mugeuk knew, then he must be important. She wanted to be of some help to him, even just a little.

Even if she herself couldn’t figure it out, Geom Mugeuk would sense the faintest of her emotions.

“I was curious. The Cha Iran I’ve felt doesn’t seem like someone who easily trusts others, so I became curious about what kind of person he must be for you to trust him the most. Does he know as well?”

He would know, or perhaps he would not.

It was a simple answer, yet without hesitation she drank three more cups of penalty wine. She showed her intent not to speak of that person at all.

With an apologetic look, Lee Ahn spoke.

“I won’t ask any more about him.”

“It doesn’t matter. There’s plenty of wine. Come on, bring it on again!”

Lee Ahn’s question had been useful. From Cha Iran’s reaction, Geom Mugeuk realized that her feelings toward Ak Gunhak ran quite deep.

‘While digging the ground so endlessly underground, when did you steal away the heart of such a beautiful woman?’

The next turn belonged to Bih Sa-in.

“I’ll ask Miss Cha.”

Cha Iran laughed and replied.

“Seems I’m exploding with popularity. This young lady here might start feeling neglected.”

“I’m not the type to ignore someone who calls me out.”

In truth, aside from why she wanted to kill his master, Bih Sa-in honestly had nothing else he wanted to ask her.

But he figured that if he learned even a little more about Cha Iran, it might help with this whole affair. So he pointed to her.

“Why do you seek to become the Greatest Beauty Under the Heavens?”

It looked like a mere formal question, but in fact it touched on what he was truly curious about. Her plan had been to become the Greatest Beauty Under the Heavens, then use it to approach his master and launch a sneak attack. If she were to answer honestly, the words would have to be:

To kill the Leader of the Unorthodox Alliance.

When Cha Iran hesitated to answer, Lee Ahn laughed and jokingly said,

“I just ran in for the prize money.”

But in the end, Cha Iran gave no answer.

“Ah, if only my reason had been something so simple.”

And with that, she downed another three cups of penalty wine.

She could have easily answered with something like, “Isn’t it a dream every woman would have at least once?”

At the very least, this showed through the penalty wine that she was utterly honest and serious about this gamble.

Her face flushed with drink after consecutive cups. Her alcohol tolerance didn’t seem that great.

“Are you alright?”

At Geom Mugeuk’s concern, she answered boldly.

“Are you worrying about me? I haven’t even started yet!”

The round of questions went full circle, and it was Cha Iran’s turn again. He had expected her to ask Geom Mugeuk, but instead, her target was Bih Sa-in.

“I’ll ask the Young Leader.”

And the question was one no one had anticipated.

“What does the Leader of the Unorthodox Alliance like the most?”

Bih Sa-in was momentarily stunned. He hadn’t expected such a question from her.

Even beside him, Lee Ahn had to calm her tensed heart.

“May I ask why you’re asking this?”

In response to Bih Sa-in’s question, Cha Iran answered.

“Isn’t it something worth being curious about? What is it that the Supreme of the Unorthodox Faction truly likes?”

She then looked toward Lee Ahn and provoked her.

“If I become the Greatest Beauty Under the Heavens this time, I’ll meet him directly at the celebration banquet. Wouldn’t it help to know what he likes?”

Instead of answering, Bih Sa-in drank the penalty wine.

“How could I dare speak of the Alliance Leader at a drinking table? Please understand that I’ll take the penalty instead.”

He was furious at her brazen boldness in asking about his master, but Bih Sa-in did his best not to show it.

“I’m sorry, I must have asked a rude question.”

“It’s fine.”

Geom Mugeuk understood. She had asked that question to confirm whether they knew she was aiming for the Leader of the Unorthodox Alliance. Her question too had been useful.

Then it was Geom Mugeuk’s turn again.

Once more, he pointed to Cha Iran.

“I’m sorry if this feels like a one-sided questioning, but there’s something else I’m curious about, Miss.”

“Questions from Guard Geom are always welcome.”

But the question was far from welcome.

“Who is the person you fear the most?”

In that moment, Cha Iran visibly flinched.

“First you asked who I trusted the most, and now you’re asking who I fear the most?”

The one who asked, Geom Mugeuk, gave his own answer.

“For me, it’s my father.”

Aside from the two questions he had already asked, there were many more where the answer for him would also be his father.

The person he loved most, the one he respected most...

In the end, Cha Iran once again lifted the penalty wine.

“Come on then! Keep them coming!”

Lee Ahn carried on directly from that question.

“Then I’ll give you a slightly easier one. What’s the most precious thing to you, Miss Cha?”

But even with this question, Cha Iran looked troubled.

“Goodness, these people!”

As if she hadn’t imagined such questions when she had first agreed to this wager, she shook her head.

“What’s precious to me right now...”

Her gaze turned toward her wine cup.

“This wine.”

She answered, but it seemed not to be what she truly wanted to say. She drank the penalty wine again.

The sound of her cup being set down rang louder. Her eyes, hazy from drink, began to lose focus.

As Geom Mugeuk suggested taking a break to drink slowly, he said to her,

“Miss, it seems you’ve lived too harsh a life. These were questions others could have answered without much difficulty.”

Her eyes met Geom Mugeuk’s in the air.

In her gaze, sorrow flickered as she let out a sigh.

“It wasn’t a smooth life.”

She didn’t hide her emotions. Whether she was speaking truthfully or pretending to be drunk was uncertain.

“Come on, let’s keep going!”

“Take it easy.”

“Bring it on!”

From this point on, the questions weren’t directed only at Cha Iran.

Lee Ahn asked Bih Sa-in what he regretted the most, and Geom Mugeuk asked Lee Ahn what book she had recently read. Sometimes the order of questioning changed, and sometimes someone asked two questions in a row. Gradually, they grew more intoxicated.

Though wariness still lingered in their hearts, they enjoyed the pleasures that only a drinking table could bring. On such a day, when else would they ask such questions? They exchanged questions and answers with one another.

And as the questions went round and round, the last one Cha Iran asked, still barely understandable through her slurred voice, was this. She turned to Geom Mugeuk.

“What’s your greatest secret?”

In her drunken eyes, it seemed she was truly asking this:

What are you, that our organization is being destroyed because of you?

What are you, that he chose to spare your life?

What are you, that I must go this far?

What are you…?

Geom Mugeuk lifted his cup and answered in a drunken voice.

“In my drunkenness, I almost revealed my secret.”

When he drank the penalty wine, Cha Iran cheered.

“You’re starting to crumble too! Now, let’s keep going!”

That night, the words she said the most at the drinking table were:

Come at me, all of you!

*         *         *

When Cha Iran awoke from her sleep, she found herself lying on a bed in a guest room specially prepared in the Bright Blossom Pavilion.

As she turned her head, she saw Geom Mugeuk sitting in a chair beside her bed.

“What did you do to me? You look innocent but are secretly sly.”

Geom Mugeuk, with an incredulous expression, asked,

“Are you pretending not to remember, or do you truly not remember?”

“Of course!”

Cha Iran grinned and said,

“I’m pretending not to remember.”

“You threw up, caused a drunken scene, shouted your lungs out, cursed… Do you remember any of that?”

“Bits and pieces.”

To drink without expelling the liquor with qi!

What on earth had she trusted in, to do such a thing?

No one knew where her intention began or ended, but at least her drunken antics had not been an act.

In the battles against the hidden forces, he had experienced many things. In fact, through his entire past life before the regression, he had never once witnessed an enemy’s drunken antics so vividly. No, he would likely never see it again—this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

“Did you know you had drunken habits?”

Cha Iran shook her head.

“Yesterday was the first time I drank that much.”

Her worst drunken breakdown in her life, and it had to be in front of enemies—worse, in front of the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult and the Young Leader of the Unorthodox Alliance. Who knew what words might slip out of her mouth in that state? Truly, her sheer guts deserved recognition.

And now it was time to speak of the truth that they had not exchanged the night before.

“Why did you reveal your identity?”

As expected, she didn’t pretend not to know what he meant.

“You already knew about me, didn’t you?”

How had he noticed? The reason he knew about her was because, in his life before the regression, he had already known her.

“How did you know?”

“A woman’s intuition.”

This time, she asked him. He should have regarded her as just one of the many beautiful women competing in the tournament.

“And how did you know about me?”

“A man’s intuition.”

Cha Iran smiled seductively.

“That’s a relief, actually. I’ve been so frustrated not being able to speak freely. Why else do you think I suggested such a wager?”

“But the one who drank the most penalty cups was you.”

“I didn’t know demons would ask such questions. One even asked what my childhood dream was, right? Who was it?”

“You remember everything.”

Cha Iran slowly rose from the bed. Her clothes were crumpled, stained with things he couldn’t identify, even smeared with mud. She must have gone outside and rolled on the ground.

“You could say I look like a soldier just returned from war, and people would believe it.”

“You underestimate the cleanliness of martial artists.”

She laughed, lifted the water jug from the table by the bed, and drank it down in gulps.

“What if I had poisoned it? How could you drink so carelessly?”

“If you intended to kill me, you would have done it while I was asleep.”

Geom Mugeuk knew. She wasn’t the type to fall into such a defenseless sleep just because she was drunk. So why had she shown such a vulnerability?

“Why didn’t you kill me?”

“A person who wouldn’t die easily—if the chance to kill someone like that comes too easily, isn’t that surely a trap?”

At his words, Cha Iran lowered the jug and laughed.

“As I’d heard, you’re clever.”

Stretching, she walked to the window and gazed outside. It was still early dawn.

“At the very least, even if you don’t kill me…”

When she turned back toward Geom Mugeuk, her figure was nothing short of sensual. No matter how soiled her clothes were, they couldn’t diminish her beauty.

“I thought you might succumb under the influence of wine. You even had the excuse of helping me change clothes.”

At her candid words, Geom Mugeuk laughed and said,

“If you hadn’t tried to vomit on me, maybe I would have.”

With a faint smile at the corner of her lips, Cha Iran formally greeted him.

“Young Cult Leader, it’s a pleasure.”

Even with her identity revealed, she remained as confident as ever.

“I’m not the type to let an enemy live and leave trouble behind. What were you thinking, revealing yourself like this?”

It sounded almost like he was saying he had been waiting to kill her. But she showed no fear.

“Then I die.”

Her eyes held no fear of death. It wasn’t courage—it was certainty that Geom Mugeuk wouldn’t kill her.

“The one who returned from fighting you told me…”

It was clear that she had meant Ak Gunhak.

“That you let him live and sent him away.”

But Geom Mugeuk shook his head.

“He was the one who spared me and left.”

At that, a smile spread across her lips, as if to say, ‘I knew it.’

It was a smile different from those she had shown until now. Unlike her usual reflexive, enchanting smile, this one was stiff and awkward.

But Geom Mugeuk could feel it. That smile was her true smile.

And one thing more.

She not only trusted Ak Gunhak the most—she also liked him.

“Has he left?”

Cha Iran was inwardly startled.

Geom Mugeuk knew he was going to leave. But Ak Gunhak was not the kind of man to tell anyone such a thing.

‘What did he see in you, for him to even say such words?’

The wind blowing in from outside the window lifted her hair.

“He hasn’t left yet.”

Geom Mugeuk asked nothing more and only nodded.

“Why don’t you ask? Why he hasn’t left yet.”

If it had been an organization easy to leave, then he wouldn’t have been encountered in that underground place. He wouldn’t have spoken of leaving. How could it be easy to walk away from such a suffocating organization?

Geom Mugeuk bade her farewell.

“Take care of your hangover.”

As he moved to leave the room, she asked,

“Why are you leaving me alive?”

Geom Mugeuk turned back to look at her. Because he had yet to learn why she wanted to kill the Leader of the Unorthodox Alliance. And now, there was one more thing he had to find out.

“Is this mercy, letting me fight in the finals before killing me?”

At her needless display of weakness, Geom Mugeuk firmly shook his head.

“I won the wager after witnessing your drunken disgrace.”

And as he stepped out of the room, he added,

“How could I kill someone who still has to pay for the drinks?”