Regressor Instruction Manual

Chapter 1302. The Magic Tower (15)

“Hey, Big Boy!” Yoojin called out to him.

“...”

“Big boy! You idiot!” Yoojin shouted.

“...”

“Hey, Big Boy!” Yoojin shouted again.

“Uh... yeah?” Big Boy answered.

“What are you thinking about, idiot?” Yoojin asked.

“It’s obvious. He’s thinking about that little kid,” I[1] chimed in.

“Wh-What are you talking about, Carlton?!” Big Boy yelled.

As expected, Big Boy was angry.

‘This guy... he really can’t be honest. Well... he’s always been like that...’

Even so, I couldn’t help but think that he wasn’t being honest with himself. After a few days of work, he was worried about the little kid being alone in the room while coming home late night after night. What seemed like a one-time job had turned into a semi-regular job, which meant the little kid was spending more time being alone.

By the time we discovered the unknown side effects, things had already gone wrong, so it wasn’t surprising that Big Boy was losing his mind.

‘Still, there was no choice...’

Normally, a guy like Big Boy wouldn’t have accepted such a suspicious job. Despite his appearance, he was a very cautious individual and was extremely doubtful of just about anything.

It was probably thanks to that side of him that we were still alive. He wasn’t the type to gamble recklessly, and he was also making far more gold for what he was doing.

‘He believes that something fishy is going on.’

Sure enough, Big Boy sounded annoyed as he said, “There’s definitely something shady here. Damn it...”

“What?”

“This job, Yoojin. We’re getting way too much gold for what we’re doing. It’s easy, sure, but everything is suspicious... A few times would be fine, but... maybe it’s time to stop,” Big Boy explained.

“Well... it seems safer than expected... isn’t it okay? Besides, we do need money right now, right, Big Boy?” Yoojin asked.

“It’s not just the money... Damn it! How long are we going to keep doing this? It only looks safe on the surface, but anyone can see it’s illegal. What if something goes wrong later? What if it’s related to black magic or something? Then inquisitors and templars will be on our backs...” Big Boy said.

“Cut the crap, Big Boy! The Vatican, my ass. The inquisitors are busy torturing the Saladins they just captured... and so what? The Templars? Have you ever seen them before? You'd be better off saying you’re worried about the little kid,” I told him.

“I mean—”

“I feel the same way, Carlton,” Yoojin said.

“You too, Yoojin?” I asked.

I never thought Yoojin would think the same way as him.

“At first, I got a little crazy seeing all that gold coming in... but... like Big Boy said, we should stop soon. It’s true that his job is safer than we thought, and there doesn’t seem to be much risk... but it’s grown too big. We’re too deep in it... We need to stop before we get more deeply involved.

"We’re not going to do this job for the rest of our lives, are we?” Yoojin asked.

“...”

“And there’s the little kid...” Yoojin added.

“...”

“Think about it, Carlton. He’s been in the lab or in boxes all this time... and now he’s just stuck in his room. Without finding a mage who can remove the brand, just getting gold blindly isn’t going to solve anything. If we stay here, when will we ever go back to Lindel?” Yoojin asked.

“...”

“Do you even think there’s a mage in this backwater town? At the very least, we should try contacting the Devil’s Guild or the Tower,” Yoojin suggested.

“That’s true, but—”

“You got distracted by the gold. Now that we’re his guardians, we have to take responsibility for him, right?” Yoojin asked.

‘Since when did you... become his guardian? And why the hell am I getting dragged into this?’

I saw Big Boy and Yoojin staring straight at me. I was so stunned that I was at a loss for words. Yoojin didn’t seem to remember teasing Big Boy with me. Apparently, we had just become the guardians of that little kid.

‘These guys... they’re seriously crazy. Raising a kid in a world like this...’

He was some retainer we somehow picked up along the way. Of course, thanks to that kid, we had been laughing more recently. It had been a long time since anyone greeted me at home... and for some reason, the kid often felt like family.

‘And the way he handles chores is amazing.’

Even though we told him that he didn’t have to do anything, he would sometimes cook for us himself...

‘And it’s delicious, too.’

It was hard to describe it exactly, but his cooking actually had the comforting feel of a home-cooked meal. It wasn’t just ordinary home cooking; there was no other way to explain it, but the care and warmth were real.

‘Where did he even learn to cook?’

Being treated as a high-ranking retainer, he probably had the chance to taste a variety of foods. And yet, he had been insisting that his favorite was hambier meat. The kid was ridiculously funny.

Unlike kids these days, he was full of charm and listened well... Whenever he made a mistake, he’d sniffle a little, and then he’d smile brightly as if nothing happened. Now that I thought about it, I genuinely started feeling fond of that kid...

"Huh...?"

'Still, calling him family or his guardian...'

"Uh..."

'Is that even right? Am I... already doing that?'

“Uh...”

Weird... why was I even trying to earn money again? Why... was I trying to earn money?

“Damn it...” I mumbled.

At first, I was pretty sure my goal had been simple—drink some good liquor and get a nice house to live... but somewhere along the way, that goal had clearly shifted.

It hit me in an instant that I was now earning money to remove the brand on that kid. Like a frog cooking slowly in hot water, my priorities were shifting more and more toward the kid.

“Damn it... what the hell is this?!” I complained.

“Why the sudden outburst, Carlton?” Big Boy asked.

“Just leave him alone, Big Boy. Looks like he realized something,” Yoojin said.

“...”

“...”

In the end, I had no choice but to cautiously say, “No... I’m not... really his guardian... Maybe more like... a helper. I think that’s more fitting.”

“You idiot...” Big Boy muttered.

“Hahaha! I knew it! Carlton, you dummy. You still don’t realize that you’ve got a soft spot. So... what are you going to do? Quit the job?” Yoojin asked.

“I need to think about that a bit more, Yoojin. Damn it... you’ve got a point... but we don’t know exactly how much it’ll cost to remove the kid’s brand. I figure we should keep working at least until we find a mage. Am I wrong, Big Boy?” I asked.

“How much could it possibly cost?” Big Boy questioned.

“Hey, you idiot. He’s a high-ranking retainer! High-ranking! That’s not just some ordinary brand. If we can’t find someone in the backstreets, we might even have to request help from the Black Swan Guild... What if we end up needing more gold? Are you going to come back here and ask them to give you work?” I explained.

“Damn it...”

“No matter what we do in Lindel, our measly wages aren’t enough. For now, it’s impossible. We should take our time and have a proper discussion among ourselves first,” I suggested.

‘Damn... I can’t stop thinking about it.’

I hadn’t really thought about it before, but now that it was on my mind, it was impossible to ignore it. Yoojin's words kept nagging at me the most. The kid used to stay only in boxes and the lab, and now, he was stuck in his room all this time...

‘Damn it...’

It wasn’t a short period of time, either. Since we often left in the morning and returned late at night, it wasn’t an exaggeration to say he spent more than twelve hours alone in that room. I couldn’t even imagine how he had been managing his time during those long hours of loneliness.

Despite that, I heard not even a single complaint from him.

“Damn it, telling me unnecessary things...’

I decided it would be better to ask if we could take a little break. Even just wandering around nearby could probably lift his spirits a bit. Thinking that way, it was only natural for me to head slowly toward the inn.

Perhaps because of our serious conversation, the atmosphere felt unusually subdued. Yoojin was there, too, trying to cheer us up, but she probably worried that the kid would scold us, so her efforts weren’t doing much to improve our mood.

Then, almost instinctively, I kicked the door open and shouted, “Hey, kid! You okay?!”

However, the usual smiling figure waiting for us wasn’t there.

The kid who would always dash over from the window wasn’t anywhere in sight.

“Wh-What the heck...”

Big Boy’s voice came first, sounding like he had just lost everything.

“Where... where is he?” he questioned.

He strode into the room, scanning it frantically.

“What the hell... Yoojin, Carlton... where’s the kid?” Big Boy asked.

“...”

“...”

“Ah! Where did he go?!” Big Boy shouted.

“...”

“I’m asking where he went!” Big Boy added.

“Damn it! How the hell would we know?!” I shouted back.

“Damn it... damn it! Damn it!” Big Boy shouted.

Big Boy slammed his fist on the wooden table, and it shattered instantly. His eyes were shaking, and he seemed way too agitated. He was even more extreme than when I saw him lose his composure before.

I figured he was about to run outside to look for the kid on his own, so I had no choice but to grab his wrist.

“What the hell, Carlton?” Big Boy asked.

“Calm down, Big Boy. You idiot,” I told him.

“Calm down?! You think I can calm down right now? The damned kid just disappeared out of nowhere! What if some bastard kidnapped him, huh?! What if something happened—Shit! That’s why I need to move fast! Damn it! I don’t have time to just stand here!” Big Boy shouted.

“Hey, I’m in the same boat, idiot. Do you think I feel relaxed? Calm down! Maybe the kid just wandered outside out of curiosity. Let’s first alert the Heren guards... come up with a plan... and ask around the neighborhood. Damn it... Yoojin,” I said.

“Yeah, I’ll go ask the guards. I don’t know if they’ll know anything, though,” Yoojin said.

“Big Boy... gather the others,” I instructed.

“Whoo...”

“Getting kidnapped and ending up in a retainer trader’s hands... is the worst-case scenario. It might not be that bad, though. Maybe he’s just wandering the streets, spacing out because of the brand’s side effects...

"The people in Heren don’t really pay much attention to others. They probably think he’s just some random kid on the street,” I reassured him.

“Damn it... shit. This is why...”

“Now...” I said.

Just as we were about to move outside...

BOOM!

A deafening explosion made everyone’s eyes snap toward the window.

“What the hell?! What is that?!” Big Boy asked.

“Uh! Huh?”

“Wh-What is that, Big Boy?” I asked.

We saw chimeras that appeared like they were stitched together from demons.

“Saladin... are those Saladin bastards?” Big Boy asked.

“No... these... these are different,” I answered.

They weren’t demons. They looked more like beings that someone had manufactured. Screams erupted from all directions as the creatures swept through Heren. In an instant, the city that had been going about its daily life turned into a living hell.

“Ahh!”

“Ahhhhh! Help! Run!”

The cries drained the color from everyone's faces.

Everyone probably thought the same thing at the same time.

“The kid.”

“The kid.”

“The kid.”

“Damn it! Carlton, grab your bow!” Big Boy shouted.

“Got it, Big Boy,” I answered.

“Yoojin!” Big Boy shouted.

“I’ll get ready,” Yoojin said.

“Are we fighting, Big Boy?” I asked.

“We’re just saving the kid and running,” Big Boy replied.

“We don’t even know where he is,” I said.

“I don’t know! Damn it! If we take care of those monsters, we’ll probably find him!” Big Boy said.

Logic told me that running away was a safer choice, but...

‘Can we even take down those monsters? Damn it...’

The face of the lost little kid pervaded my mind more than anything else.

1. Carlton’s POV ☜