Regressor Instruction Manual

Chapter 1387. An Unexpected Debut (22)

— Cut the crap! You bastard, Lee Ki-Young! Cut the damn act! J-just stop with the bullshit and do your damn job already! Damn it!”

“...”

— Please... please! Just stop it... Lee Ki-Young....”

‘This jerk finally came to his senses.’

I[1] felt satisfied hearing such words coming from him.

‘If you don't mind... could you beg just a little more?’

— Answer me, Lee Ki-Young. Please...

‘Yeah, that's it.’

— Please answer me. I think... I may have made a mistake.

I had never imagined hearing such words coming from his mouth. Where had that proud Commander Jin gone? Even his voice was trembling. I knew it would be effective, but his response was even more satisfying than I had imagined.

Had the continent collapsed without my knowledge?

It was a brief moment, yet he was riding an emotional roller coaster of every kind.

— Lee Ki-Young? Lee Ki-Young, can you hear me? Are you listening? I swear, if what I’m imagining right now is really happening, then you...

Anger!

— Ah, I mean, that was a slip of the tongue just now. I apologize. I understand how you feel. Yes, you might be upset. But I hope you'll realize I have my reasons, too. Instead of this, how about we talk things over calmly? If you’re up for it, come over and have a glass of wine with me.

Negotiation!

— Yeah, it was fun. For something you did, it was a pretty funny prank. So that’s enough. You win. It was a delightful little game. Hahaha. Are you hearing me?

Hope!

— Please... stop... stop now... please... I understand what you meant, so please... stop...

Resignation!

His emotions were shifting rapidly. Was this how it felt to watch someone slowly go insane in real time? I wanted to sever our communications and start teasing him, but unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time for that.

He had to have finally realized his mistakes, so this was probably the right moment to talk to him.

"Aaaah~! Jayce! No, that’s... Ah... aaaah~!"

— Stop it! Lee Ki-Young! Stop, I said, stooop!

"..."

— ...

"Alright, fine. I won’t do it."

— What?

"I said I won’t do it."

— ...

"..."

— Right. Hahahahaha! Of course you won’t. Hahahahahahahaha. There’s no way... haaa... there’s no way. Something like that... could ever happen.

‘Commander Jin, you bastard... are you crying?’

— Yeah... something that horrible... that nightmare... could never happen...

‘Your emotions are running high.’

I wasn't exaggerating things here; his voice truly sounded like it had gone back and forth between heaven and hell several times in the blink of an eye. He sounded utterly exhausted. As for whether it was from a sore throat or sheer loss of strength, it was unclear.

Through the Telescope, I saw Commander Jin drenched in sweat. I had never seen him like that before. Not when he was imprisoned, not when he lost the war, not when he had chosen honor, and not even when he was about to die.

He had always maintained his dignity and composure.

Of course, being broken in his case only meant he was soaked in sweat, his breathing was uneven, his eyes were bloodshot, his lips were dry, and his hair was disheveled, but...

‘It's my first time seeing him panic like that...’

The man who had snorted in amusement when his office was hit by a cupcake terror attack was nowhere to be found. His tension had drained away, and he sat slumped in his chair as if he could collapse at any moment. He still couldn’t let go of his suspicions, proving he was definitely Commander Jin, but it was a sight that was really unlike him.

— So... you’re sure you’re alone right now...?

"..."

— Please... answer me, Lee Ki-Young...

"Ah, I’m alone. Why don’t you believe me?"

— Phew... r-right, of course. You must be alone. I’m just saying this so there’s no misunderstanding. I wasn’t trying to question your trustworthiness. Yeah. May I ask what you were doing just now?

Even his tone had changed. It was like he was trying to soothe an unruly child, or like someone facing a bomb that could explode at any moment.

‘Yeah, damn it. He finally realized that he shouldn’t have messed with me.’

"Why do you want to know what I was doing? You say you trust me, but you don’t sound like it."

— I already told you, that’s not it, Lee Ki-Young. I’m not trying to judge you. I was just... genuinely curious about what you were doing. Calm down... Please calm down.

"Damn it. You think I can calm down right now?"

— So, I...

"What? If you were me, would you calm down? I already said that it’s not like that, so it’s not like that. Why keep on prying? Is your trust in me that little? Is that all your trust in me amounts to?"

— T-that’s not it.

"Then why are you so anxious, huh? If you didn’t want to see something ugly, then maybe you shouldn’t have provoked Aina Peneloti in the first place. Do you even understand what times we’re living in?

"You cut off the comms because you didn’t like the plan and ran the operation however you wanted... Tell me, Commander Jin, do you really think you did the right thing?"

— ...

"You’re not going to answer? Damn it. I guess you really want to see Jin Young's birth in a parallel world, huh?"

— It was a mistake.

"Do you even know why I’m angry?"

— I... know.

"Good. Then act accordingly. While you’re here, don’t even think about provoking Peneloti."

— I’ll follow your advice without question. So... may I ask how you’re feeling?

"And why are you asking that?"

— The debutante ball schedule was rather tight. As you said, attending such an event isn’t exactly an easy thing. You probably didn’t get much sleep. You’ve been pushing yourself physically and mentally. After everything that’s happened recently, I just thought... that perhaps you need some rest.

"I can guess what you’re trying to do, but unfortunately, it’s not going to work. That’s a little too predictable for you, Commander. Still, I’ll give you this much. Your concern is appreciated. My anger’s cooled down a bit."

— Really? So you’re sure you’re feeling all right, then?

‘This jerk... is actually being warm.’

As Lee Ki-Young had once said, if one wanted to be treated well, one had to throw a tantrum. This was a universal truth that worked anywhere, anytime, and even Commander Jin wasn’t an exception to it.

— You must be... a little tired, right? In that case...

"But what can you do? We’re seconds away from a disaster here. The situation’s bad enough as it is. I almost caused a real mess. You really should’ve picked up sooner."

— Things were complicated on my end, too. I swear, I never intended to act on my own. I just thought moving in parallel would be more efficient. Still, I admit I shouldn’t have severed the comms. Looking back, I was under personal stress at the time. Mixing that with work was clearly my mistake.

"Seeing you reflect is even better. That’s what I like to see from you, Commander Jin. So you must have a general idea of how things are unfolding."

— Of course.

In the end, his report was probably about the same as what Chang-Ryeol and Ha Yeon-Soo submitted. There would be some minor differences, but nothing too significant. Just a matter of how he had interpreted the data and perhaps a few lines of extra intel he had picked up on his own.

‘Still, it wouldn’t hurt to compare notes.’

He was most likely unaware of the brigade’s existence. If he had heard of First Life Hee-Young, he could make some deductions, but pinpointing their real objective would be hard, like the fact that First Life Ki-Young’s target was Song Jung-Wook of Castlerock.

A single piece of intel could be twisted in countless ways depending on who was reading it. Knowing Commander Jin, he was probably hiding a lot more than he let on. The man’s nature was shady and cunning; he’d keep anything important locked tight to himself. No doubt he hadn’t even told Ha Yeon-Soo or Lee Chang-Ryeol.

I could bet that he had ordered them to plant a recording artifact. Then, he had to have hoarded the intel or gone off to act alone—typical Commander Jin.

"The brigade will probably get involved," I said.

— Really?

"Yes. Their target’s likely to be Count Kim Hyun-Sung or Song Jung-Wook..."

— Song Jung-Wook? That name rings a bell... Wasn’t he tied to the black market in Castlerock?

"So you did know him. In the second life, he died early. I thought he was just some useless bastard, but I guess he did pretty well for himself here. As an adventurer, he was maybe slightly above average... but he had political instincts, I’ll give him that. Born in the right era, too.

"Anyway, if someone gives the signal, the brigade’s bound to act on their own. You know what’s about to happen here, right?"

— Of course. I may not know the timeline as precisely as you do, but this place is almost certainly the flashpoint for a war. Considering the state of the Republic and the Empire, conflict is inevitable.

— Skirmishes have already been breaking out along the borders. It’d be stranger if things didn't explode, and from the Republic’s perspective, they were never happy about this new alliance. It’s a situation they just can't tolerate for long.

"The Republic really is a problem..."

— The Empire isn’t exactly innocent either. They’ve been tightening ranks and consolidating power. It’s not just the Republic that wants war. I can’t say every imperial leader is pushing for it, but some of them clearly are encouraging it and are eager for it.

— Even if they pretend to have unified under the Queen’s authority, that unity is an illusion. Power that wasn’t inherited properly always comes with cracks. I can respect Kim Hyun-Sung’s ambition to pull adventurers into politics by becoming a count, but how many nobles truly want that?

— How many nobles are celebrating that? If my assumption is right... a few of them are probably...

"Hoping for Count Kim Hyun-Sung's death?" I said, finishing his sentence.

— It’s just a theory. I only added a bit of my own deduction to the data in the reports, but I won't call it unlikely. The debutante ball hosted by the Union of Kingdoms every season is famous enough, but the Republic's people are already present, so the fact that a noble of the Empire, Count Kim Hyun-Sung, is here is just... unusual.

"Sounds like there was an information leak somewhere. So it wasn’t the Kingdoms who spilled the info, but the Empire itself?"

— Most likely.

"Then it’s not as under control as it looks. I figured Charlotte would’ve completely secured the Empire by now..."

— Do you really think that’s possible?

‘...Of course not.’

That was how ruling by fear worked. It would breed resistance and hatred in the shadows. Everything she had done to seize power and enforce her will was going to bite her in the back. Perhaps she simply made the best choice available to her at the time, but sometimes the so-called best decision could end up being the worst, especially the purge...

"Yeah... it’s impossible. So, how are the people of the Republic now? When are they planning to pull the trigger? You can probably guess, can’t you, Commander?"

— That’s...

"..."

"Why are you hesitating? You’re hiding something, aren’t you?"

— No, I just...

"Ah, so you are hiding something. Got it."

— No, there’s nothing to hide. As far as I know, preparations were finished quite a while ago.

"Oh, really? Then why—"

— The one who makes the final call is Marquis Jayce.

"Marquis Jayce must have a reason for stalling things. What is it? You can probably make an educated guess, can’t you, Commander?"

— ...

"..."

— That’s...

"Yes?"

— ...

"..."

— It’s probably... because of Aina Peneloti.

"What?"

— Don’t make me say it twice. Aina Peneloti is the reason he has yet to pull the trigger. I don’t know exactly why, so don’t ask. Just remember that she’s the one delaying the operation. C-come to think of it, where is he right now? I...

"Marquis Jayce?"

— That’s right..

"He’s right next to me."

— What?

"I said, he’s right next to me."

— Y-you crazy bastard!

"What are you thinking? He’s just next to me, that’s all."

I turned my head slightly, and there he was—Marquis Jayce, smiling right at me.

‘This jerk...’

“Lady Peneloti?” he asked.

‘No way... Did he really fall for her?’

At this point, it was hard to think otherwise.

1. Lee Ki-Young’s POV ☜