Absolute Regression Chapter 558

558
“Is this Magachon?”

Hanseol opened her eyes wide at the sight unfolding before her eyes.

It wasn’t the scene I expected.

There were shops on both sides of the clean street, and many pedestrians were walking around.

There were no evil eyes looking for a quick buck, no drunken staggering. In the alleys where people were likely to be butting heads, children were running around playing.

There was no need for Geommugeuk to answer her question of whether it was really Magachon.

“Your Majesty!”

The herbalist at the entrance ran out and greeted Geommugeuk happily.

“How is your business?”

“Thanks to you, things are going well.”

Hanseol was honestly surprised. How could a simple merchant from a small market greet the leader of a new religion so openly?

Of course, she didn’t know that in this Magachon, Geommu-geuk was more popular than Cheonma. It was all thanks to Geommu-geuk’s efforts that this town became such a good place to live.

Among the Han Bingsanggeoms, So Bing quickly sent a message to Han Seol.

– Step back! They might be poisonous weeds.

– Are you really going to sell poisonous plants like that as if they were medicinal herbs?

-That’s why it’s a demonic cult.

Their culinary tour with the Geommugeuk had made them feel much more relaxed, but now that they had arrived at Magachon, they were very nervous again.

They were on edge, wondering if there was even one person who would come after Hanseol.

“Your Majesty, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you!”

A merchant selling farm implements on the other side also came out and greeted Geommugeuk.

-Be careful. There may be secret weapons disguised as farm equipment.

From now on, he was ready to tell people to be careful even of rocks on the street.

At that time, Sahan, the husband of Han Bingsanggeom, sent a message to Han Seol.

– It’s a distance that was manipulated because the Princess was coming. I’m sure they sent a telegram in advance to sort it out.

Hanseol looked at the merchants’ expressions and answered in a voice.

– But aren’t these merchants too happy to see the little cult leader?

-I’m acting.

Han Bingsanggeom believed in Geommugeuk, but he did not believe in Mine.

It was acknowledged that Geommu-geuk was a great help to Bukhae Ice Palace, and that he had an unusual personality for a Mine.

But there was a cult they knew of. A cult with a brutality and ruthlessness that would make even the fiercest of the Apostles give up.

If one person doesn’t change easily, how can a large organization change easily?

So Sahan guessed as follows.

-This will be the first gate protecting the headquarters of the Demonic Cult.

-A gateway?

―There will definitely be mines lurking everywhere. If anyone suspicious appears, the headquarters will be contacted immediately.

Hanseol looked at the sword dance. The sword dance that she had experienced so far was not someone who pretended to be friendly with the merchant in order to deceive herself. If it were such a place, he would have passed by without getting off the carriage.

Still, I understood Han Bingsanggeom’s suspicions. Even she was very surprised by this unexpected atmosphere.

‘I don’t think the atmosphere in front of the Murim Alliance will be this bright. Is this really a manipulated street? Are they mobilizing this many people to deceive us?’

As she walked along the Geommu Theater, she came across a shop selling dumplings. When she saw the steaming dumplings, she remembered the rumors about Magachon.

‘Is there really human flesh in those dumplings?’

Even so, the middle-aged owner had a very kind face, and the dumpling restaurant was bustling with customers.

As she was looking at the dumplings, Geommu-geuk offered her some.

“This is delicious. Would you like to try some dumplings?”

“are you okay.”

Hanseol quickened her pace, hoping to get a taste.

Even those choosing clothes at the timber store, the owners and clerks of the fruit and rice stores all recognized Geommugeuk and greeted him politely.

“Sell a lot!”

Each time, Geommugeuk greeted them one by one.

That appearance felt new to Hanseol.

I knew that Geommu-geuk was a man of few words, but I thought that was just a kind of tactic that he would use when dealing with his mother, the Princess of Ice Palace, when dealing with himself, and when dealing with the successors of the Murim Alliance or the Sadomaeng. Of course, there must have been an intention behind his kindness. It was something that ordinary people would find difficult to do even if they knew it, so it was amazing.

But the swordsman treated the merchants the same way.

‘How can this be?’

How could the way he treated the Princess of the North Sea Ice Palace and other successors be the same as the way he treated shop owners? No, he actually felt more affectionate towards merchants.

‘Is it really a disguised street like the two elders said?’

Why else would such doubts arise?

At that moment, Hanseol’s eyes caught sight of a vendor selling wooden dolls.

‘There really is! A person who sells Amazon dolls!’

They actually had a stand set up and were selling Amazon dolls. When I first heard the rumor, I thought they were just scary looking dolls called Amazon dolls.

It was a doll that was exactly like Amazon. I could tell it looked exactly like Amazon because I had met him in person.

‘There’s even a Cheonma doll!’

I thought it was really ridiculous. I think I would be dragged in if I sold the doll of the leader of the martial arts alliance in front of the martial arts alliance.

A goat-bearded merchant selling dolls approached her.

“It’s only sold here in the Central Plains! If you buy all the Amazons, I’ll give you a 30% discount!”

At that moment, the peddler noticed the swordsman behind her.

“Ah, Master!”

“How have you been?”

Hanseol saw the merchant’s expression brighten.

‘That expression is acting?’

If that’s the case, then all the actors from the Central Plains must have gathered here.

Hanseol asked Geommugeuk.

“Does the leader really give permission to sell this?”

The sword dance nodded.

“You can see how broad our father’s tolerance is just by looking at this one thing.”

The sound of the Four Hans flew in again.

– That’s impossible. It could be a doll with a curse, as rumored. In an emergency, that doll could move on its own and attack the opponent.

Hanseol sent a telegram to him.

-It’s too cool and cute to be called a doll.

I thought it would be nice to buy it and put it on the display case.

Goatbeard brought good news to Geommu-geuk.

“I finally get to see you, Master. I had something to tell you anyway.”

“What’s the matter?”

“The Little Leader’s doll will be out soon.”

“Oh! My doll is finally coming out!”

Now that I have officially become the successor, I plan to release a puppet of the Sword Dance Theater.

“Is there a pose you would like? I couldn’t ask the others and just made them on my own, but I’m going to ask the Soryoju and make them.”

Hanseol could sense that. The very fact that he was asking such a question showed how much the merchants here trusted Geommugeuk. How could he dare ask such a question?

“Just make it. It just has to be cool. Just put it right there so that it’s the first thing you reach for! You know?”

Geommugeuk lowered his voice and spoke as if whispering.

“You’re cooler than your father.”

Goatbeard smiled and nodded.

“Even if the master makes the worst product, it will sell the most.”

Geommugeuk looked back at Hanseol and said.

“Would you like to buy a doll? Which one do you like?”

Then, surprising words came out of Hanseol’s mouth.

“Give me everything.”

At the same time, the Han Bingsang Swords simultaneously sent out a sound.

-No!

-It’s dangerous!

Of course, if she had listened to them carefully, she would not have come here in the first place.

“If I buy them all, you’ll give me a 30% discount?”

At her words, the goatee merchant spoke while packing first.

“You made a good choice! When you put it up and look at it, it will really brighten up your house. Your guests will all ask where you bought it.”

She smiled and said as she looked at Han Bingsanggeom, who was still shaking his head.

“I came to visit Shingyo, so I should buy at least one souvenir, right?”

The items in other stores were available everywhere. But these dolls were said to be sold only in Magachon. And more than anything, I felt like buying them.

Then Sahan stepped forward.

“Let’s take a look before that.”

Sahan looked closely at the dolls he was holding. No matter how I looked at them, they were just ordinary dolls.

“Okay.”

Goatbeard started packing again, and Blacksmith asked her.

“Which one do you like the most? Since you’ve already seen it once, doesn’t it feel the most familiar to you?”

But surprisingly, the doll she chose was Kwonma’s. She chose the biggest and scariest doll among them.

The sword dance smiled at her taste.

“I understand that our young lady likes scary faces. Oh, and it’s true that she likes men of few words.”

Among the Palma Zone, he was the second most talkative.

Meanwhile, the goatee merchant had wrapped it up nicely and handed it to her. She paid for it herself, saying that she would buy it as a gift for Geommu-geuk.

“Please use it again when the next Little Leader doll comes out!”

“I don’t know if I’ll ever come back again.”

At her words, Geommugeuk quickly spoke.

“What reason could be stronger than this?”

“You want me to come all the way here to buy a doll?”

“Why would only my doll appear? Your doll could appear, or maybe a doll from the Underworld could appear too.”

Yeah, this guy is the kind of guy who would make a doll of this goatee peddler too.

Wouldn’t your pride be hurt if you were sold together? Wouldn’t your reputation be tarnished?

The sword dance drama is one that would never think like that. Perhaps the same goes for the Heavenly Horse and the Ma-Jons. That’s why it would continue to sell like this.

It was she who thought that way. She would have hated being sold with dolls that didn’t match her class.

Through this doll, she was able to look back at herself. She realized that she had the kind of vanity and useless authoritarianism that even those much stronger than her did not have.

‘It must be a cursed doll. Seeing it stabbing my heart so painfully.’

I used to live without thinking about others at all, but when I’m with this person, I feel like I’m being dragged out of my own world.

Just then, someone ran out of the tavern across the street and shouted.

“Your Majesty!”

Of all the merchants I’ve seen so far, he was the one who welcomed the sword dance the most.

He was Jo Chun-bae, the owner of the Pungryu tavern. He heard from a customer that the little lord was walking around Magachon and came running out.

“Fall down, come slowly.”

“Your Majesty! Are you here?”

Jo Chun-bae was really happy.

She glanced at the Han Bing Ssanggeom. Now, there was no longer any message from them that this was all an act.

“How are you, sir?”

“Yes, yes. I’ve been fine. Are you hurt anywhere?”

“it’s okay.”

“Thank goodness, I’m so glad.”

Since this exodus was quite long, Jo Chun-bae was secretly worried about the sword dance.

“The master seems to have lost weight.”

Geommu-geuk grabbed his hand. Jo Chun-bae was at a loss, saying, “Oh my, please don’t do this.”

Geommugeuk introduced Jo Chun-bae to Han-seol.

“This is the owner of my regular tavern.”

As the successor to the Ice Palace, she has never been introduced to a tavern owner in her life, and never will be.

“This is the Little Palace of the North Sea Ice Palace.”

Jo Chun-bae was startled by the mention of the North Sea Ice Palace. The North Sea Ice Palace had a different meaning from the Murim Alliance and the Sadomaeong Alliance. To drinkers, the North Sea Ice Palace was the most mysterious sect.

“Oh my, it is nice to meet you, dear sir.”

Jo Chun-bae bowed his head politely.

“Master, I need to say hello to my father. I’ll see you later.”

“Come anytime!”

As he was about to turn around and leave, Jo Chun-bae spoke to Geommu-geuk.

“It’s really good to see you back, Young Master.”

Hanseol could feel that he was truly happy that his son had returned.

Hanseol sent a message to Han Bingsanggeom as if making a declaration.

-Even like this?

But Han Bingsanggeom didn’t believe it until the end.

―They said that a three-party meeting was held at a tavern in Magachon. Would such an important event have been held at an ordinary tavern?

Still, they thought that there was some secret hidden in this village of Magachon that they did not know about.

“Let’s have a drink with your friends there later. I have some friends at my school that I can introduce you to.”

For someone who had no friends, friends were pouring in.

The four people who left Magachon walked towards the main temple of the Cheonmasin Church.

“What do you think? What are your thoughts on coming to Magachon?”

Hanseol answered the question of Geommugeuk exactly as she felt.

“It was great. It was much brighter and cleaner than I expected.”

Then Sahan intervened and said something sharp.

“As if it was made on purpose.”

Then Geommugeuk said something unexpected.

“It was made on purpose.”

For a moment, the three people’s eyes, startled, turned towards the sword dance.

“At first, the atmosphere wasn’t like this. It was so vicious that anyone could tell it was Magachon. There were a lot of people who would act up because they were unmanned, and there were a lot of people who would get drunk and cause trouble. When I became the Lord of the Underworld, I arrested them all. Those who got drunk and hit people, those who stole money or threatened people, those who swindled people and killed people, I caught them all. If someone got drunk and caused trouble, the punishment was doubled, and if a unmanned person touched a civilian, the punishment was tripled. In fact, I made it all up here.”

Hanseol stared at the sword dance without saying a word and then asked calmly.

“Why did you do that?”

After a moment, Geommugeuk said.

“Because it’s something I can do. No, more precisely, because it’s something I can do easily.”

Hanseol could feel from the gaze of Geommugeuk looking at her that he was sincere.

“You and I can do it easily. We are in a position free from various interests. If we have the will, we can do it.”

Hanseol said nothing for a moment. He was the successor, and she was the successor. But she had never known what was happening in the village near Bukhae Ice Palace. She had never cared. Maybe the real cursed dolls were being sold there.

She was just walking through the market, but her thoughts started to get heavy.

Meanwhile, they arrived at the headquarters of the Cheonmasin Church.

The walls were so high that they seemed to pierce the sky, and the huge iron gates were engraved with images of evil spirits.

Han Seol was nervous. She had finally come to the Cheonma Shingyo that she had only heard about since she was young. This was a place that even her mother, the owner of the Ice Palace, had never been to, and she was the first to come. This was also Han Bingsanggeom’s first time at the Cheonma Shingyo main temple.

The elite minions guarding the main gate respectfully bowed to Geommugeuk.

“Meet the Young Master!”

A loud shout echoed in all directions. The eyes of the minions were sharp and discipline was firmly established. Seeing this, Han Bingsanggeom exchanged glances telling them to be even more careful.

Krrrrrrrr.

Usually, the miners enter and exit through a small door under a large iron gate, but when the leader of the sect returned from his long absence, the large iron gate began to open.

At the sight revealed like that, Han Seol and Han Bing Ssanggeom simultaneously let out exclamations.

“ah!”

The interior was so vast that the end was not visible, and the buildings erected here and there were tall and magnificent. The Bukhae Ice Palace was also large and magnificent, but it was nothing compared to the Heavenly Demon Sect.

There was a large, wide street leading to the center. On both sides of the street stood huge statues of demons.

They were erected like gatekeepers, looking down arrogantly with a fearful look in their eyes as if they were telling people that once they passed through here, they would never be able to return.

Hanseol was amazed by the grandeur of the main shrine, and it was his first time seeing such a huge stone statue.

The swordsman stood in front of him and spoke with a smile.

“Welcome to the Cheonmasingyo Church.”