Regressor Instruction Manual

Chapter 1434. Continental War (14)

‘It's inside you?’

"So you’re saying that... you can take it out and put it back in?" I asked.

"Yeah. It should still be here now. It’s faint, but I feel it a little..." Sung Ji-Hoon answered.

"And right now, you can’t take it back out anymore?" I asked.

"Yeah..."

"..."

"..."

"I-I don’t know the reason either, but at some point it just stopped coming out. I don’t even really remember exactly when it happened... and they never told me why it was happening, so I don’t really know. All I heard was that I should come here... I thought the answer to seeing Yuriel again would be here," he explained.

‘So the higher-ups must’ve just handed over the holy relic.’

I was worried that it was still under their direct control, but apparently, it wasn’t. I felt like they borrowed it from another dimension, or perhaps it was a relic that had long existed on the continent and had become filled with holy power.

It was clearly different from the sacred objects I had given to Kim Hyun-Sung and Jo Hye-Jin.

Strictly speaking, those weren’t things I had made entirely from scratch either, but at the very least, they could indirectly convey the will of the gods. If the higher-ups, including Altanus, hadn’t taken the Holy Sword back from him, then the sword had to have decided to abandon him on its own volition.

‘Now that I looked at it, it’s an incredibly high-grade item. Just bestowing something like that to someone would already be pushing it...’

Perhaps their expectations for the Holy Sword Hero were just that high. I couldn't even begin to imagine just how much they had to pay for it, especially since it could be stored inside one's body.

This so-called Yuriel could even choose its owner. I still had no idea whether it had a full ego, but even if it didn’t, the fact that it possessed some amount of will was impressive.

I could once again understand why the people up top sent Sung Ji-Hoon here so rashly.

‘Since their entire investment was about to go up in smoke, they probably thought to try and salvage it at least.'

I could also understand why the Holy Sword had abandoned him. There was hardly anything to think about it.

‘He killed people so callously, so it was only natural that Yuriel is mad at him.’

Weapons with will were rare, and they were always more sensitive than others. In extreme cases, some demanded nonviolence altogether, and others refused to return to their owners until they tasted blood.

Of course, once someone reached a high enough level, it was possible to suppress the will of the weapon and use it anyway, but our Holy Sword Hero had yet to reach that level. In any case, what mattered most right now was that he needed to regain the Holy Sword’s acknowledgement.

‘So... it's an ego sword?’

“Come to think of it, when we first met you, you kept shouting, 'Yuriel, Yuriel'" I said.

“Yeah, Yuriel is the name of the Holy Sword... Ah! Yuriel isn’t an ego sword,” he clarified.

“...”

“Still, it might look a little strange, but I just... I don’t know, I somehow felt like I should talk to it, so I talked to it a lot... Yuriel never answered even once, but it kind of felt like we were having a conversation, so when it suddenly stopped showing up, I really panicked.

"I even wondered if maybe I’d done something wrong to Yuriel. Well... not that it matters anymore...” he explained.

‘Why wouldn’t it matter?’

“Maybe Yuriel didn’t want me to fight either. It just didn’t want me getting pushed around by those people,” he added.

‘You’re interpreting it however you like.’

It was one of those things that could be interpreted in any way, but even so, wasn’t he twisting it a bit too much to suit himself? Fortunately, he had no signs of resentment toward Yuriel.

Just before he fainted, he had been carefully using honorifics when he spoke of the gods, yet now, he was referring to them as "those guys."

I wasn’t sure whether I ought to be glad that he wasn’t running around swearing revenge, but it felt more like he was simply too kind-hearted to have those kinds of thoughts.

‘He’s a good kid. His mind is just weak.’

When we left the tent and walked outside, he was consciously trying to avoid the morgue. He kept glancing this way as if wondering whether we meant to go there.

He couldn’t hide his discomfort as we continued walking, but what the Holy Sword Hero had in mind didn’t happen at all. Our destination was the tent where the wounded were gathered.

“Why did we come here?” Sung Ji-Hoon asked.

“I thought maybe someone might need help. This is the only thing I can really do,” I answered.

“T-then are you going to stop trying to prevent the war?” he asked.

‘No. I’m going to stop it. Don’t get your hopes up for nothing.’

“Well...”

“...”

“To be honest... I don’t really know what we should do either. Sure, I was talking big to you just now, but aside from that, the situation isn’t good. Right now, we aren’t in a position to take the initiative, and it’s doubtful that this independent unit will all move with one will,” I continued.

Of course, Oksana and Lee Chang-Ryeol were probably running themselves ragged. Since Oksana had been hiding the fact that she was the child of someone high up in the Republic, it seemed she could get help one way or another.

From the look of things, she gave off the mood of a runaway delinquent, but there was a saying that parents could never win against their children.

“...”

“Oksana noona seems to be trying to push things toward making this unit an independent one,” I said.

“That... won’t go the way she wants,” he commented.

“No. Even finding a place to stay is a problem. If the entire unit pulls out of the front line like this, the Republic isn’t going to just let it slide. Until we find somewhere we can stay safely, we can’t act on our own,” I said.

“...”

“And... even if we get lucky and manage to prepare a place... I don’t know if the people in this camp will still support me by then,” I added.

Fortunately, it didn’t look like my support rating had gone down. I wasn't sure if it was because Chang-Ryeol’s information guild members were working hard at campaigning, or if they were secretly removing the reactionaries in the camp, but the opinion that everyone ought to follow the saint was still going strong throughout the unit.

I decided to visit the wounded to see what the atmosphere in the unit was like.

“Mr. Jin Yoo.”

“It’s the Saint. The Hero is here too.”

‘They've already glazed Ji-Hoon as well.’

The sight of the medics running out to greet us in such a hurry was almost absurd, and since it hadn’t been long since they had come back from a crushing defeat, there were still plenty of wounded left. Of course, there was no way any of them looked fine.

The stains smeared here and there seemed to say just how bad things were inside.

“I’m not a saint. I don’t even know how to use miracles. I only came because I thought you might be short on hands,” I said.

“P-please don’t say that. We have eyes and ears too.”

‘Why are they speaking formally all of a sudden?’

“Is there anything I can help with?” I asked.

Some people clearly wanted to stop me, but if one wanted to boost one's approval rating, one had to get one's hands dirty where people could see it. Since basic first aid was something I could at least do, I grabbed some bandages and joined the medics.

Groans rose from all sides, and blood splattered everywhere because the patients were thrashing about in pain. Although the Holy Sword Hero stood frozen with a face gone pale at the sight, the saint who had bloomed on this battlefield was different.

“Hold him tight.”

“Okay.”

“Aaaaargh!”

I was running around drenched in sweat, but even if my rating seemed good, I could not let my guard down, as the situation itself was really unusual. I wanted to play the compassionate healer helping people with simple ailments, but sadly, there were no soldiers suffering from abscesses or boils.

If this had been a ward battling a plague, my actions would have had a symbolic impact, but right now, I hardly felt any different from an ordinary medic, which left me feeling faintly disappointed.

Still, this was exactly the time to stick to the basics. Every small act would become a good story, and it was right to appear here and there like a damn Hong Gil-Dong, sweating buckets while living up to people’s expectations.

Of course, empathy for the patients couldn't be neglected either. I clasped each person’s hand firmly, telling them to hang in there and that they could overcome this. I delivered those clichéd lines with eyes brimming with tears.

‘Damn, looks like I need to show a miracle one more time.’

The patient I was treating had ceased breathing, and a holy light seeped out of me in response. When my tear of grief over their death fell to the ground, the faint light that spread out wrapped around them and held them gently.

“O God.”

“...”

“O God...”

The bewildered look on his face came as a bonus.

“Thank you, Mr. Jin Yoo. Heuuk... thank you.”

“Jin Yoo, you...”

Of course, I couldn’t afford to waste the whole day here. Now that I had decided to build a new faction, there were far too many things to do.

Oksana, the unit’s existing commanders, and Lee Chang-Ryeol came to the infirmary just as I was finding it tedious to wrap bandages around wounds.

“Here you are, Mr. Jin Yoo,” Oksana greeted.

“Oksana?”

“I have something to discuss, so I came even at the risk of being rude,” she said.

“Please, speak freely...” I told her.

She gave a small nod and went on speaking. The topic, of course, was obvious.

“Since we have declared that we’ll act according to your will, we’re thinking of fully separating the unit and making it independent. Most of the soldiers have already resolved to share that intention, but... some will not follow us.

"As for them, we don’t plan to detain them separately or impose other sanctions,” she explained.

“Ah... I see.”

“I wish we had more time, but we’ll have to leave this place in a few hours. If it takes too long, the higher-ups will sense that something is wrong, and the Imperial forces...” she paused.

“They’re getting close,” I said.

“I’m not certain, but that’s what I think,” she said.

“...”

“...”

“We're in a difficult situation. Even if we move right away, it will not be safe unless we’re inside a city. Food will also run short... b-but why are you telling me this?” I asked.

“Because we have decided to follow you,” she answered.

‘How many loyal retainers do I have already?’

“...”

“...”

Still unused to this kind of treatment, the earnest Saint looked away and stammered, “F-first of all, I think finding a place to stay has to be the top priority. The soldiers need rest. It doesn’t have to be a castle, but it should at least be somewhere we can hide.

"Ah... we can’t secure provisions by plundering, so we’ll definitely need a stable supply line. And if there are others... who might be able to share our cause...”

“...”

“...”

“They don’t exactly share our cause, but I know of some who I think will agree. The reliability of the information is low, however...” she paused.

‘There are people?’

“If they were to join us, I believe they would be greatly helpful to us,” she added.

My gaze naturally shifted to Lee Chang-Ryeol standing beside her. Even for Oksana, it would have been difficult to get such information in so short a time. As expected, I caught a glimpse of Lee Chang-Ryeol nodding slightly.

Oksana immediately unfolded a map, and absurdly enough, she pointed to a place that wasn't too far from our current location. Of course, I reflexively activated the telescope.

At first, it looked like nothing but ruins, which startled me, but when I lowered my gaze, I saw people underground—no, what my eyes caught first was the writing reflected on the wall.

“Mr. Jin Yoo?”

“...”

“...”

[The 411 Noblewomen Who Fought to Defend Our Territory]

It was just like our own little event at the debutante ball back then. The number of people seemed to have increased significantly, but it was definitely the same as it had been at the debutante event. The names of the noblewomen were densely written on the wall, and some of them were even familiar names.

Naturally, I remembered the name of the figure looking up at the wall.

“...”

“...”

Lady Brush.

‘So that’s where you are...'

She had been talking nonstop about a revolution, but was she fighting for a new value now? The sight was very much like her.