Absolute Regression Chapter 42

I also ran into bad luck on the 42nd.

On my way back to my residence, someone I never expected to see was waiting for me.

Ilhwageomjon was sitting in the place where Hyeolcheondoma was waiting.

Surprisingly, he even set the table with drinks.

“Lee Gong-ja, you worked hard today, so have a drink before you go.”

“Okay, senior.”

I sat down in front of Ilhwageomjeon. Just like when I met Hyeoncheondoma, I smiled comfortably, but I was nervous inside.

“Didn’t you say you don’t drink alcohol?”

“This drink is not for me, it is for the scholar.”

“thank you.”

She poured me a drink.

I drank without hesitation.

“What if there’s poison in that drink? Why are you drinking it without even checking?”

“I haven’t confirmed it, but I have prepared for it.”

“how?”

I spat out the poison in my mouth. It blocks the poison smoke, but when you drink it like this, it neutralizes the poison in your mouth.

“When did you do this?”

“I asked you a question when I greeted you earlier.”

“How come I didn’t get a reaction even though I asked about the poison?”

“It’s a top-class poison, so it’s very small, and I trained myself to be able to pronounce it without leaking even when I put it in my mouth.”

Admiration crossed Ilhwageomjeon’s face.

“I know it’s presumptuous of you to ask, but I know that you don’t have good feelings toward me. In that situation, I can’t drink the alcohol you give me, right?”

She didn’t get mad because I told her honestly that I was biting the poison bottle. Instead, she confirmed this.

“Did you drink the wine that Doma gave you while biting the poison?”

“That’s not it.”

In that moment, Ilhwageomjon’s expression hardened.

“Does Thomas believe and I don’t?”

“Because a lot happened before I had that first drink with Elder Doma.”

“We were there too, weren’t we?”

“No, there wasn’t any.”

Ilhwageomjon protested to the firm answer.

“I was the one who recommended Jangho over and over again.”

“You recommended Jangho, but it wasn’t for my sake. It was to force me not to have a relationship with Elder Doma. Was that a choice for my sake?”

I didn’t just push Ilhwageomjeon, who was disappointed with the answer.

“I want to create a lot of things with you, senior. So I drink the alcohol you give me without any side effects.”

“Don’t say things you don’t mean.”

“Why wouldn’t you like it?”

“There’s already a chopping board in that heart, right?”

“If you were me, who would you want to be in your heart?”

I drank my alcohol without any poison, as if it was you. Ilhwageomjon’s expression softened at my action of trusting her.

She is someone who refuses to even be compared to Thomas. She is also someone who has the pride to choose herself if she were to choose between the two. She is not someone who would naturally burn like poison.

“Scholar of engineering.”

“yes.”

“Tell me what you want.”

“Please help me become the successor. But please help me without the condition of severing ties with Elder Thomas. That’s all I ask.”

“Lee Gong-ja, in this world, you should expect unconditional help only from your parents.”

Ilhwageomjon, who had expressed his refusal, stood up from his seat. She, who was about to leave, suddenly remembered something and asked.

“Is it true that you gave Thomas a birthday present?”

“yes.”

Her eyes shook. She asked as if she had suddenly remembered something, but in reality, she probably wanted to confirm this for herself.

“Can I ask what you gave me?”

I picked up the poisoned wine I had placed on the table.

“I gave you this.”

“You gave me something precious.”

“Because I received something precious.”

Ilhwageomjon seemed to hesitate for a moment about what to say, but ended up saying nothing.

“We’ll have a drink at the Pungryu Tavern later. Come by if you remember.”

Ilhwageomjon left without answering.

* * *

When I returned to my quarters to change clothes, there was another guest.

To my surprise, my father was waiting in the yard of my residence. Following the two Amazons, my father. If I were to give today a title, I would say it was a meeting with the big shots.

“What are you doing in this wretched place?”

“I came to see how Sana was.”

It was the first time my father had come to my house. It was the first time we hunted together, it was the first time we had a meal together, it was the first time he came to my house. There were many things that were firsts with my father.

“Shall we go in?”

“What is a man doing in a smelly room living alone?”

“Then I will bring out a chair.”

“Okay. I’ve had enough sitting today.”

“That’s right. The magician used to say that sitting for long periods of time is the worst thing for your health. Your lifespan is shortened by the amount of time you sit. Don’t sit in the Taesa Temple for too long.”

I went next to my father and stood side by side.

“Do you want to live long?”

“Yes. How many things have I not tried yet? I want to die having tried them all.”

Then I looked back at my father.

“What about father? Is there anything else you would like to try besides the Cheonma?”

“does not exist.”

It was such a definitive answer that I actually heard it as, ‘There are too many to answer.’

“Someday, I want to go to the Central Plains with my father.”

My father glanced at me.

“Well, I’m not saying we should go fight in the Murim Alliance.”

My father chuckled, as if he found this joke funny.

“Let’s just take a look around the places where people live. What do you think? How about going out with me to see the world later? I heard that Seolsan (雪山) is really cool in the summer.”

My father didn’t answer.

We watched the sunset in the distance for a while.

“I met Ilhwageomjon on the way here. He said that if I cut ties with Doma, he will support me.”

I told my father exactly what was happening.

“Who do you want to hold hands with?”

“I think it would be easier to handle the sword. The cutting board has a cute side.”

“If you let your guard down like that, you’ll die.”

“Old people certainly have a knack for making people let their guard down.”

Dad probably knows more about cutting boards.

“Why did you give the Heavenly Sword to Thomas?”

“I once entrusted you with a task.”

My father didn’t tell me what happened. It was clear that it had happened when both he and Thomas were young.

“What do you plan to do?”

“I want to have both. Left-handed sword and right-handed sword.”

My father turned his head and looked at me.

“It’s not an empty desire. My instinct tells me that if I bring those two who are like enemies together, the result will be much better. It will be difficult at first, but it will be easier later. It keeps whispering this to me.”

“Where does your confidence come from?”

“Isn’t it the confidence that my father passed down to me in his blood?”

Now the sunset was at its peak, blushing my father’s and my faces.

My father suddenly said.

“The swordsman is a man with many wounds.”

I looked back at my father, but he said that and didn’t say anything else. I wondered if he was telling me to take advantage of that, or if he was telling me to let it slide.

“When I first met Hyeolcheon Doma, he said that he had lived with bad luck his whole life, so it was better not to see him often. But these days, I see him as often as I see my father.”

I once again expressed my intention to take both of them.

“I have faced misfortune well, so I will face wounds too.”

* * *

That evening, we drank at a tavern.

I told both Hyeolcheon Doma and Ilhwa Geomjon to come. I didn’t know who would come, or if neither of them would come.

“Try this.”

The owner, Cho Chun-bae, brought out a dish and handed it to me. It seemed like it was made especially for me.

“Thank you. Sit down and have a drink with me.”

“Oh my, where would I dare sit?”

“I guess you don’t want to drink with me.”

“No way.”

Jo Chun-bae sat down.

I poured him a drink. Jo Chun-bae kept saying, “Oh my, oh my,” as he took my drink.

“There’s no need to be so polite.”

“No. We need to have it. How much more comfortable have we become thanks to you, my lord?”

“Are you feeling a little more comfortable?”

“Of course. Since the Hwangcheon-gak branch opened in this alley, the number of cases of people drinking and causing trouble has decreased significantly. And that’s not all. The number of cases of people leaving debts that they never pay has also decreased significantly.”

“Thank goodness.”

“It’s all thanks to you, sir.”

“Please keep an eye on it in the future, and if there is anything you need to tell me about, please let me know.”

“All right.”

After Jo Chun-bae drank the drink I gave him, he stood up from his seat.

Then another person came, bowed, and left.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

He didn’t say why he was grateful. Perhaps he too received help from Hwangcheon Pavilion.

When he just said hello and quickly went back to his seat, someone walked towards me and said.

“You’re popular.”

The man who came walking with a large sword on his back was none other than Hyeolcheon Doma. The room froze at his appearance. The last time I had a drink with Doma, it was early so there were no customers, but today there were many customers.

How could it be comfortable for them to drink alcohol in a place like Amazon?

I got up and told everyone.

“Your Majesty is a man of great character. So don’t worry and drink. Just don’t get drunk when you come here.”

The tension eased as we added some jokes.

As I sat down, Hyeolcheondoma spoke with a pouty face.

“Why do you lie?”

“That’s a nice lie. I paid to drink, so I can’t drink while being mindful of others’ reactions, right?”

“If you don’t want to see that sight, just go.”

“If you’re going to say that, give those people the money first. Take this money and go eat somewhere else. Pay the owner back for the loss.”

“Pretending to be nice again.”

“It’s not about pretending to be nice, it’s just the basics.”

“Is this a mine?”

“Isn’t Mine a human?”

“Look here, Lee Gongja. At times like this, I get confused as to whether you are from my school or the Murim Alliance.”

I don’t think that the basis of my identity is the devil’s cult. It can’t be helped. In my past life, I left my cult when I was young and wandered around the Central Plains all my life.

At that time, I met many people. Not only during my time as a ronin, but also during the process of obtaining Dafa materials, I encountered all kinds of human beings. I was hurt, felt anger, and learned what true humanity was.

My values in life were all formed at that time, so in a sense, I can be said to be a person who is neither a devil, a saint, nor an apostle.

The idea of eliminating absolute evil and establishing a new magic world was also created from such an empirical background.

I raised my glass in an excited voice.

“Well, happy birthday. It’s not even midnight yet, so the congratulations are valid.”

“Lower your voice.”

He was the type of person who didn’t take anything seriously, but he seemed to be burdened by birthday parties. It was the first time since I met him that I saw him so embarrassed.

Who would have congratulated me like this? Of course, I’ve received countless formal congratulatory gifts, but they would have had a different meaning than today.

“Don’t do useless things from now on. What good is growing old that you even celebrate?”

“They use this as an excuse to drink and party.”

“Even the scholar likes alcohol more than he looks.”

“That’s right. I also have a few alcoholic worms inside me. Some raise their heads when it rains, and others raise their heads when I’m depressed or miserable. Do you like drinking, sir?”

“I used to like it… …but I’ve cut down a lot these days.”

It was just then.

I heard someone’s clattering voice behind me.

“But you didn’t quit.”

When I turned my head, I saw Ilhwageomjeon standing a little distance away.