Regressor Instruction Manual

Chapter 1329. First Life Ha-Yan (12)

Hearing Grandman Giena’s laughter from outside the closed door made me feel that my choice was correct. I was certain that she was relieved as well, as the sound of her laughter was much louder than her usual chuckle.

She had to be thinking about her mischievous granddaughter finally getting a taste of her own medicine...

‘Well, that’s only natural.’

I felt like she remembered Jung Ha-Yan’s flustered face and felt a sense of satisfaction from it. After all, Jung Ha-Yan had been easily dismissing her attempts at persuasion.

Perhaps Grandma Giena had always felt that Jung Ha-Yan needed a character like me—someone clueless. Ideally, she ought to play that role herself, but given the circumstances, neither Jung Ha-Yan nor Grandma Giena could do that.

Just when she thought she could no longer watch over Jung Ha-Yan, I appeared out of nowhere. Seeing Jung Ha-Yan stare at me in surprise made me even more certain that my choice was correct.

I could guarantee that Jung Ha-Yan had never experienced something like this, and it was proven by the trace of embarrassment on her visage. Well, I was also looking at her room full of trash. Regardless, anyone would feel naked in this kind of situation.

‘Well, what can you do?’

Some things couldn't be handled without help. Before I could even think about whether she had the will to change, the mountain of clutter right in front of us would sap anyone’s motivation.

I was sure Jung Ha-Yan had never imagined that her room could become this bad. She knew it had to be cleaned, but she didn’t know where to start or how to go about it.

“I-I’m going to call s-security! L-Leave! If you have business with me... contact me formally later...” Jung Ha-Yan said.

‘She’s still saying things like that.’

“Wh-What are you doing?!” Jung Ha-Yan shouted.

‘What do you mean? I’m cleaning.’

Sometimes, even small changes in one’s environment could be a big help. Living in a cleaner space was obviously better for her mental health than living in this mess.

“I-I was going to clean it! I-I’ve just been so busy recently... I’ll do it... I never asked you to do this,” Jung Ha-Yan said.

“Then let’s do it together!” I suggested.

Jung Ha-Yan could say whatever she wanted, but this clueless kid would never stop.

“Ah... d-don’t put that there! Ahh!” she screamed.

It seemed that even amid the chaos, some sense of order existed. Of course, I was serious about cleaning, so I could recognize that much.

‘The papers and records go here...’

“D-Don’t throw that away!” Jung Ha-Yan shouted.

‘What are you talking about? This is obviously just trash. Please, just throw it away. For the love of... please, just throw it away.’

At least it seemed she had been regularly casting a cleaning spell because there was no smell and no cockroaches. If it weren’t for that, I'd definitely run away. It wasn’t a problem that could be resolved quickly, but as time went on, a sense of structure slowly formed.

Of course, it was only the framework.

It was still impossible to dig through this mountain through courage alone.

‘Better not touch the drawer with the rope...’

'Ah, I forgot to open the window.'

As soon as I opened the window, it felt like fresh air had finally entered the room for the first time in a long while. A little light poured into the dim room.

“I’ll place the research materials over here, Miss Jung Ha-Yan!” I told her.

“...”

“And I’ll put your personal items here, so you can just organize them as you see fit,” I said.

“I-I was going to clean up everything myself...” Jung Ha-Yan mumbled.

“...”

Eventually, Jung Ha-Yan became more proactive. It was a significant change. She was probably feeling distracted, courtesy of myself standing next to her, but she had also realized that her hopeless and dirty room was changing rapidly.

She placed the leftover food into bags and separated the items she considered important. I wasn’t sure how long it had been since she worked up a sweat, but beaded sweat pervaded her forehead as she focused on cleaning her room.

In addition, she began taking the lead in a conversation.

“I-I’ll gather those over there,” Jung Ha-Yan said.

“Okay.”

“I also need to sort the research materials...” Jung Ha-Yan mumbled.

“I’ve already organized them by category!” I told her.

“Ah... th-that’s good,” Jung Ha-Yan said, sighing.

“Can I throw this away?” I asked.

“N-No. Y-You can’t throw that away,” Jung Ha-Yan replied.

‘Why is she holding onto this? It’s obviously garbage.’

“I’ll need to use a space-expansion spell to make a separate storage,” Jung Ha-Yan said.

“Ah... okay.”

“L-Like this,” Jung Ha-Yan said.

“You might want to make it over here. You won’t need the storage much, and a large drawer with the spell at the entrance might work better,” I suggested.

“That’s a good idea,” Jung Ha-Yan commented.

Jung Ha-Yan kept glancing at me, and I felt like it was because of my sparkling eyes. Without asking anything, she carefully and quietly channeled a spell. She clearly made it easy so that I could follow her.

“A space-expansion spell on the cabinet...” Jung Ha-Yan mumbled.

‘She’s even trying to give me a chance.’

“Ah... M-May I try?” I asked.

‘It’d be better if I fail once.’

“N-No, not like that. W-Watch closely. I think it’s because your mana is still weak... but you can use a magic circle. I’ll help you...” Jung Ha-Yan offered.

“Ah... okay.”

It wasn’t a spell that consumed much mana, nor was the spell particularly difficult, so the space-expansion spell was cast without any issues on the cabinet.

I noticed Jung Ha-Yan’s face lighting up with joy as if it were her own accomplishment, but the road ahead was still long. She called it a collection, but to me, it looked like trash. Even so, the fact that the pieces of trash were stacked up together made them appear respectable.

“From now on, let’s gather that kind of item over here,” I suggested.

Apparently, Jung Ha-Yan liked the idea. She just stood there, dazed, staring at her collection.

‘Come to think of it, second life Ha-Yan had that side as well.’

I used to think they were completely different people, but now, it seemed like I was mistaken. Most of the pieces of trash that she was hoarding were broken, ancient artifacts. Useless to me, sure. But to her, they were precious. Like how Second Life Ha-Yan guarded Han Sora’s fan merch as if they were priceless treasures.

When I accidentally dropped an artifact...

“Ahh! H-How could you drop that?!” Jung Ha-Yan scolded me.

‘Come on. If it’s that precious, why was it on the floor? And honestly, what’s so important about this junk?’

“Ahh... What if it got scratched?! S-Step aside, I’ll sort this part myself,” Jung Ha-Yan said.

Still, she seemed to have realized that yelling at her little helper was a bit too much. She hurriedly calmed down and arranged the artifacts herself.

I braced myself for hours of work, and yeah, it took hours, but it went faster than I expected. Once Jung Ha-Yan got into it, the trash heap vanished in record time. Her cabinet finally looked like a proper display case. A preservation spell was even cast on it, making it appear like some museum exhibit.

Jung Ha-Yan took a deep breath—the kind one would take when a massive chore was finally done.

Just then, a breeze blew through the window.

‘See? Easy, right?’

“...”

“...”

‘Feels good, doesn’t it?’

“...”

“...”

Jung Ha-Yan didn’t need to say anything, as her face said it all. There was still some tidying up to do, but she looked satisfied. Naturally, the next step was to thank the little helper.

Jung Ha-Yan was embarrassed, but she still said, “Thank you.”

“It’s only natural for me to help,” I said.

“Eh... what?”

“Master Giena told me to assist you in your research, so I’ll be helping out with various things,” I told her.

“Ah... I-I don’t really need the help...” Jung Ha-Yan muttered.

‘Don’t need the help? You absolutely need it.’

“Master said it would be good if I learned many things,” I added.

It was important to keep addressing Giena as Master. That alone would help close the distance with Jung Ha-Yan. Unlike those so-called apprentices who had wormed their way in through talent or tons of sponsorships, I had to make it clear that I wasn’t here to become her disciple.

I had to ensure that she would become convinced that I was only here as a research assistant who would drop by now and then.

Despite being traumatized by the very idea of taking on a disciple, Jung Ha-Yan seemed somewhat persuaded. After all, I was helpful and I was more capable and clever than she had expected.

In truth, hadn’t Jung Ha-Yan been the very first to recognize my talent?

Talking about magic circles together was actually enjoyable. She was unpredictable, yes, but at least I could hold a conversation with her. Perhaps this wasn’t such a bad arrangement after all. Of course, Jung Ha-Yan still hesitated. Was it discomfort at forging new ties? Fear? Or was it because I came too close, too quickly?

“Of course, I can probably drop by only once every few days. I still have a lot to learn from Master Giena as well...” I informed her.

“...”

“...”

“Ah... yes. If it’s once every few days... I-I also have a few things I’ve been curious about...” Jung Ha-Yan said.

‘Should I leave now? Maybe that’s enough for today.’

“Then for today—”

I was just about to take my leave when...

“W-Would you like to get something to eat?" Jung Ha-Yan asked.

‘What?’

“Y-You haven’t eaten yet, right? Let’s eat here,” Jung Ha-Yan suggested.

‘Yeah, that’s the least she could offer. If she’d just sent me off, that would’ve been really heartless. This is the Korean way. At the very least, you share a meal.’

Compared to the second life, she had some social skills. For her to invite someone to eat together first, I felt like crying at how mature she had become.

“I-It’s nothing special... and it’s late... so...” Jung Ha-Yan muttered.

‘Anything’s fine. No way it’ll be worse than hambier.’

“P-Please wait here,” Jung Ha-Yan said.

“Okay.”

I was waiting idly when a knock rattled the door. Was it someone delivering some food?

Jung Ha-Yan opened the door slowly, only to reveal—

“Huh?”

—Park Joo-Hwa’s face. She looked a bit nervous. Her reaction was understandable since she knocked on the door to Jung Ha-Yan’s room. Even more than that, her expression was too grim to hide.

Jung Ha-Yan peeked her head out as usual.

“I’m sorry, Miss Jung Ha-Yan. May I ask... inside...” Park Joo-Hwa mumbled.

“Huh? Ah... sure,” Jung Ha-Yan answered.

“I’m sorry, but my business isn’t with you. It’s just... urgent news from the Blue Guild. Well... you see, your guardian...” Park Joo-Hwa trailed off, staring at me.

“Yes?”

“...”

“...”

“Who?” I asked.

“Mr. Big Boy... has suffered a critical wound. He’s lost consciousness,” Park Joo-Hwa revealed.

“...”

It was shocking news.

“Uh... uh... What?”