Absolute Regression Chapter 138

Episode 138: Would I be a villain if I just let it go?

“Where have you been?”

In response to Seo Dae-ryong’s question, he told him where his destination was.

Seo Dae-ryong asked, blinking. He wasn’t even surprised anymore.

“After four days there?”

“okay.”

“Of course you’re not joking or playing around, right?”

I nodded and Seo Dae-ryong shook his head.

“I won’t ask you any more. I won’t even try to understand you. If I worry about it for no reason, I’ll just end up looking like a weirdo. If you suddenly say one day, I’ll join the Murim Alliance tomorrow, it won’t be strange at all.”

“Okay, I know. By the way, what about drinking?”

“You haven’t come here once since your lord left the church.”

I remember what he looked like when we last broke up. Sitting on a boat, drinking alone.

I told him to stop talking nonsense like Murim Peace and tell me the real reason, but I thought maybe he was angry at what I said.

‘Unless you are honest, we will never be able to get along.’

He may have had a wish for war to not break out, but I could definitely sense that it wasn’t the only reason he approached me.

“Inspector, why have you been limping since a while ago?”

“Yesterday, there was Master’s hellish training.”

“suddenly?”

“Yes. You looked a little upset.”

At that moment, Hyeolcheon Doma entered the office, guided by another investigator.

Seo Dae-ryong was startled because he was talking about him at that time.

“Master!”

To Seo Dae-ryong, he was always a welcome and respected master.

“It would be nice if you treated me a little more gently,” said Hyeolcheon Doma, simply nodding his head slightly.

“You go out for a while.”

“yes!”

Seo Dae-ryong went out. He had been limping in front of me, but now he gritted his teeth and walked out confidently.

Detective Seo, come on. It’s not easy to open the door to your stubborn master’s heart.

The small, sharp eyes of the Bloodthirsty Demon looked even more fierce today. He said he was in a bad mood yesterday, and today he was in a similar mood.

“Welcome, sir.”

Hyeolcheon Doma got straight to the point.

“A drunkard came to see me yesterday.”

I could tell. Seo Dae-ryong’s hellish training was due to drunkenness.

“You bought a bottle of alcohol. It’s a very expensive bottle.”

Although he was speaking calmly, Hyeoncheon Doma looked displeased with the situation.

“Why did you come?”

“He said he just bought it because he wanted to give it to me, but he just gave me alcohol and left.”

I started making efforts to reconcile with Hyeolcheon Doma. It took me five days to decide to go get him a bottle of alcohol.

“It was similar to when the evil Soma came and asked you to tell him about the mask.”

“That’s different. That was my business, and this time I have business for you.”

“I still thought it was your business?”

Seriously, you’re so quick-witted.

“No, this is my first time hearing about it. So, have you had a drink?”

“Do you know what’s in it? I just poured it out and threw it away.”

“What can you do if you throw away other people’s kindness like that?”

“Why do you care about other people’s sincerity?”

“I know it’s expensive, so give it to me.”

The Bloodthirsty Demon glared at me suspiciously.

“You? What did you do? Otherwise, there’s no way that drunkard would do something he hasn’t done in his entire life.”

I was going to be honest, but I held on until the end. In order for this reconciliation to work, the two of them had to somehow work it out.

“No, I don’t know. Maybe I was impressed by you while drinking at the Pungryu tavern that day.”

“What impression? All I did was curse at him?”

“Who in the world would curse at him like that? He might have had a change of heart.”

“Don’t condone drunkenness. I told you clearly, drunkenness is a sinister person. Lee Gong-ja, don’t give your heart to someone you don’t like. If you go too far, the road back will be difficult.”

After saying what he had to say, Hyeolcheon Doma left the office.

The reconciliation between the two depends on how Chwima reacts in the future. In the process, Chwima will shed another layer of prejudice and become an opportunity to learn more about him.

* * *

That night.

I was sitting on a branch of a large tree far away, watching Ian practice. She was too far away to notice, but I could see her expression.

She was practicing her swordsmanship with a serious face and sweat dripping down her face. She was doing the same thing over and over again. She wouldn’t rest until that repetition and repetition finally gave her a response.

Just then someone entered her training ground.

Surprisingly, the person who came to see her was none other than Cheongmyeon, a subordinate of the evil Soma.

“This unmanned.”

“Ah, Your Majesty.”

“Sorry for being late.”

“No. What brings you here?”

“Is the advice you gave me back then to come in as a leader still valid?”

“Until Your Majesty the King clearly refuses, the position of Iljojang will always remain vacant.”

Ian’s voice trembled. He was taken aback by Cheongmyeon’s sudden visit. On the other hand, Cheongmyeon continued asking the questions he had prepared.

“What will the Guiyeongdae do in the future?”

“The Gwiyeongdae will only function as an organization for the benefit of His Majesty the Duke.”

“What if the orders of the cult leader and the disciple conflict?”

Ian just smiled faintly, as if he had already answered.

“Do you know what you are answering now?”

“I didn’t say anything?”

The two people’s gazes met in the air. I could sense worry in the eyes behind Cheongmyeon’s mask.

When this strange woman who was once incredibly fat and then incredibly beautiful suddenly asked me to be the team leader, honestly, at first I thought she was crazy.

Even though he was the one who saved my life by destroying the carriage, I’m asking him to give up his position as the future Demon Lord and become a leader?

At that moment, I really thought, Heaven doesn’t give everything. How can someone this beautiful be crazy?

But as time went by, I couldn’t stop thinking about that crazy bitch.

Rather than waiting twenty or thirty years to become a Demon Lord, I wanted to stir up the martial arts world with her. The more I tried to shake off that thought, the more Ian came to mind.

If she had suggested it to him before she transformed, would he have agonized over it like this? He chastised himself for being a fool who was dazzled by beauty, but he couldn’t help thinking about it. The thought that he would have died if it weren’t for her added strength to the temptation.

Ian chose honesty over sweet talk that would have drawn Cheongmyeon in.

“I trust you, my lord. If you look at the sky and say that it is the ground, from that day on, I will live thinking of the sky as the ground. If you say, “Die for me,” I will die for you. I even practice in front of the mirror to see what I will say at that time. I have prepared many words. There are words that will make you remember me for a long time, words that will let you go without any burden, and words that will hurt you. I think I will only know what I will say when it happens. The organization I lead is Gwiyeongdae. You should come in knowing what you will say.”

The more she spoke, the more her tremors subsided.

“You don’t have to decide right now. Please decide carefully for my sake as well.”

“For this unmanned? What does that mean?”

“The position I offered you is a very important and precious position to me. It is the position of the first division leader of the organization I have ever led. I don’t want to see you regret that position. I don’t want that precious position to become someone else’s regret. So please take your time and make a decision that you won’t regret. I plan to leave the position of the first division leader vacant until you decide. Even if all the other division leaders are filled, I will leave the position of the first division leader vacant.”

Their gazes met in the air.

“Can I continue to wear this mask even after entering the royal palace?”

“Yes. Instead, you should talk to me a lot on a regular basis. So that when someone appears in front of me wearing that blue mask and pretends to be Cheongmyeon-nim, I can recognize them right away.”

Cheongmyeon stared at Ian in silence for a moment, then bowed his head and greeted him politely before leaving.

Only when he was gone did Ian finally feel relieved.

“Ugh! I thought I was going to die from shaking. What did I say? Aaah! I’m screwed. I mumbled too much!”

I burst out laughing as I watched the scene from afar.

Just then, someone flew over and landed next to the branch I was sitting on.

Surprisingly, he was a very evil soma. He probably came here following Cheongmyeon.

“After struggling to sleep for a while, I finally came here.”

It seemed that Cheongmyeon’s worries had already entered the eyes of the evil Soma.

“You idiot! What are you doing, so bewitched by beauty?”

“Isn’t this a beauty that can be enchanted?”

“The scholar took my mask, and now he’s taking my subordinates too.”

“Okay, let me get this straight. The mask was a gift, and the blue mask is not mine, it’s Ian who’s taking it.”

“Then I guess I have to get revenge on that pretty heart.”

“I’ll just take it away.”

The evil Soma laughed softly. It sounded like a beast growling in a bad mood.

“What are you going to do if Cheongmyeon says he’s going?”

“If I just send it, wouldn’t I be considered a villain? I should at least cut off an arm and send it to you.”

I couldn’t tell if he was serious or joking. When Ian first proposed to Cheongmyeon, the evil Soma who was watching didn’t say anything. So I thought maybe he could let him go, but maybe not. I didn’t know what he thought about Cheongmyeon.

“Wouldn’t it be okay if I let you go?”

“Are you saying that the leader of that organization that has no one is better than the future Amazon?”

“In this respect, Amazon is something that is in the distant future, and what the leader wants to do is his present state of mind.”

Actually, there was another reason from the beginning. Cheongmyeon cannot sit in the seat of the Amazon even when he gets older.

The current evil Soma would not know that he would be the Demon Lord for so long. That Cheongmyeon would spend all those years supporting him.

“Soma-nim and I are both bound by our innate fate and are unable to live as we wish. Let me, Cheongmyeon, live as I wish.”

“You’ll regret it later. What can I do about that?”

“What can you do? You made your choice, so you’ll regret it. Then you might regret it and go back to Soma-sama. Ask him to accept you again.”

“No way.”

“Please accept it. There are plenty of reasons to accept it.”

“For what reason?”

“The current Cheongmyeon and the Cheongmyeon who lived their lives will definitely be different. The Cheongmyeon who wandered and returned will be stronger. The sword of a person who has regrets will be faster.”

The evil Soma stared at me intently.

“Why do you look at me like that?”

“Have you always wondered what’s inside my mask? I’ve always wondered too. What’s inside the mask of a scientist?”

Although I felt a pang inside, I answered calmly.

“Sometimes I wonder, too. What’s inside me that makes me talk like I’ve lived my whole life? If I talk too much and try to teach people, I won’t be popular with women these days, right?”

“I see, you know.”

The evil Soma laughed, and I laughed along with him.

“While we’re on the subject, let me ask you one thing. If Cheongmyeon chooses Jojang and Soma gets so angry that he wants to cut off his arm, please meet me first.”

“Why? Are you cutting off my arm so that I can’t cut it?”

“You are better than Cheongmyeon, so why would I do that?”

“Then why do you want to see it?”

“For Ian’s sake, we must somehow persuade and dissuade Soma-sama. I say this with all sincerity.”

“Let me think about it.”

The evil Soma flew away and left the place.

My gaze turned back to Ian.

She calmed down and went back to her boring martial arts training.

You’re doing well, Ian. Cheongmyeon will eventually come to you because of your skills rather than your persuasion. I think Soma’s forgiveness will depend on that.

* * *

The next day, as soon as Seo Dae-ryong entered the office with an excited face, he asked.

“Your Majesty, have you heard the rumor?”

“What rumor?”

Seo Dae-ryong brought some truly surprising news.

“Master is going to have a showdown with Master Chuma.”

I was surprised.

“Really?”

“I’m not sure if it’s a rumor or true. It’s just a rumor that started in Namdo-jong. But isn’t it an unwritten rule that the demons don’t fight each other?”

Seo Dae-ryong seems worried that the rumors might be true.

“Are you worried?”

“Honestly.”

“What are you worried about? Your master, I’ve been practicing martial arts a lot lately.”

“But you are old.”

Does Hyeolcheon Doma know that his disciple is worried about him like this? If he had known, would he have made him go through hellish training just because he felt bad?

As I stood up, Seo Dae-ryong asked.

“Where are you going?”

“To buy some alcohol. Today, I’ll have some really strong alcohol.”

“Ah! Are you going to stop drinking?”

He said as he left the office.

“There will be no duel. You will die by my hand first.”

I told you to reconcile, but you’re demanding a duel instead? I can’t live like this, I can’t live like this.